April 2012

Press release:

The Burien Community Center is pleased to present the work of local artist Dennis Harrison.

Dennis creates work in Marquetry. Marquetry is an art form that uses only natural and dyed wood veneers in its presentation. It is a little-known art form in America, but it is hundreds of years old as practiced elsewhere.

In the United Kingdom and on the European continent it is considered a ‘fine’ art and is practiced extensively. It is a detail demanding discipline with few, if any, second attempts possible.

Every Marquetry picture is truly one-of-a-kind; beginning with the infinite stresses placed in a growing tree to the final slicing of the veneers, each piece of veneer will never be duplicated again.

Dennis is a founding member of the Puget Sound chapter of the National Marquetry Society. The Society hosts exhibitions and hands-on classes to raise public awareness of the art. Additional art work for viewing and other information is available at www.pugetsoundmarquetry.org

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW. Hours are Monday-Thursday 8AM-8PM, Fridays 8AM-5PM.

"Matt's Chance", a Seattle-based film featuring notable actors such as Lee Majors of "6 Million Dollar Man", Edward Furlong of "Terminator 2", Gary Busey of "Lethal Weapon", Margot Kidder of "Superman I-II", and Seattle Seahawks running back, Marshawn Lynch, will be filming in Ballard today.

The film, directed by Nicholas Gyeney, President/CEO of Mirror Images Ltd, is a dark comedy/action film about a mid-20s cowboy who finds out his girlfriend is cheating him and begins to spiral downward in his search for revenge. His downward spiral brings him face-to-face with the mafia, corrupt bankers, a trash-talking priest, and even God himself.

The crew has been filming in various Seattle locations, and will be on set at King's Hardware in Ballard today.

For more information visit http://mirrorimagesltd.com/WP/matts-chance/.

Seattle Parks and Recreation, in partnership with Seattle City Light, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, built and installed a nesting platform for ospreys in Commodore Park near the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard. The new platform provides a safe nesting habitat for breeding ospreys.

The four foot by four foot platform is secured on top of a 70-foot pole very close to the location of the pole that was removed, and reflects the design of other successful nest platforms. Seattle Parks worked with neighbors, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to site the pole. The goals were to place it in a desirable location, minimize impacts on park neighbors, and avoid interfering with navigational devices used by boaters or one of Seattle City Light’s electricity poles.

In 2009, ospreys began nesting on a telegraph pole on the trestle bridge. The telegraph pole, approximately 90 years old and severely deteriorated, was removed in 2011 after osprey nesting season because it posed a significant safety risk.

Update for April 9
The official details are in on a car fire that triggered an apartment complex sprinkler system on Monday, April 2.

According to Kyle Moore with Seattle Fire, the fire was caused by a battery malfunction in the vehicle. The content loss was $18,000 and structural damage was put at $1,000.

Here is the SFD recount of the incident:

On April 2, at 4:18 p.m. the Fire Alarm Center received an automatic fire alarm from the basement of a 3-story condo complex located on the 3800 of Beach Drive Southwest. Residents had evacuated the building upon hearing the fire alarm.

The first arriving engine company found a car on fire in the underground open-air garage. Fortunately, the buildings sprinkler system had activated and contained the fire to the one car. Firefighters from Engine Company 29 located the source of the fire under the hood and dash of the car and quickly extinguished it.

Last week, students from Adams Elementary won the city finals of The Global Reading Challenge, Seattle Public Library's Battle of the Books program for 4th and 5th graders.

The program encourages children to have fun and enjoy the sport of reading. After reading 10 books, children take part in a "Quiz Bowl" game to determine the winner for the city of Seattle. Modeled after a former weekly Chicago radio show, the competition tests children's knowledge of the books with questions about characters, plots and settings.

According to Global Reading Challenge rules, questions are read and repeated once. Teams have 30 seconds to write down the answer to a question. The winning Seattle team takes home the Global Reading Challenge traveling trophy and goes on to a videoconference challenge between Seattle and Fraser Valley and Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.

This is the first time Adams has won the finals, and together with Alki Elementary, will compete against a Canadian team in a video conference on April 13.  

Seattle City Council President Sally Clark will make an appearance in Ballard on Wednesday evening as the featured speaker at the Groundswell NW annual meeting.

The public is invited to come and learn about Seattle City Council’s green space priorities for 2012 and how that will have an impact on Ballard. These projects include the development of greenways, rain gardens, and the “missing link” of the Burke-Gilman Trail.

In addition to a question-and-answer session with Council President Clark, Groundswell NW will also present their annual “Local Heroes” awards, where fellow Ballardites’ are recognized for their efforts to create and enhance parks, public spaces, and habitat in our community.

Representatives from current Groundswell NW-sponsored projects, such as the 14th Ave park boulevard and Sunset Hill - Shilshole Gateway, will also be on hand to talk about their progress of their projects.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and learn first hand what is in store for Ballard," according to Groundswell NW.

press release:
Kids can plunge into spring this year with quality swim instruction and water safety lessons at the Evergreen Community Aquatic Center in White Center.
 
Whitewater Aquatics Management will teach any child who wants to learn to swim and have fun safely in the water – regardless of their ability to pay – from April 17 through May 23.
 
A non-profit pool, ECAC and Whitewater Aquatics Management asks only that parents pay what they can afford, even if it’s nothing, for their kids to participate in this special community session.
 
And if you can pay and can also help other families who can’t, we thank you for your donation and the much needed assistance in giving more kids this springtime swimming opportunity.
 
Not only will the lessons help children enjoy swimming but will also aid in the prevention of drowning, the second leading cause of death in children.
 
While an eight-session lesson block usually costs $72, no one will be turned away because of cost.
 

The deadline has been extended for Pacific Northwest visual artists who wish to be considered for inclusion in one of eight gallery exhibitions. Submission deadline is April 10, 2012. Information 206-938-0963 x115 or www.artswest.org.

Artists’ Reception: Temporal Perceptions
ArtsWest Gallery
Thursday, April 12, 6-7:30 p.m. “Temporal Perceptions” exhibit features three artists, Don Turriago, Sheryl Westergreen, and Patti Bowman, with distinct visions and approaches to art. Join us for some light refreshments and great conversation with the artists. The gallery showing continues through May 5. Information: 206-938-0963 x115 or markd@artswest.com.