June 2012

Seattle Democrat, tax attorney Andrew Hughes, is running against Congressman Jim McDermott, 7th District, in the upcoming election. McDermott has won 12 consecutive elections, and is hoping for lucky 13. In our area, the 7th District includes West Seattle, Vashon Island, and portions of Burien, Normandy Park, and Sea Tac. It now extends north to Edmonds, while portions of the Central and International District have been pealed off of the District.

The 30 year-old candidate has garnered attention by raising a lot of money, $200,000 to date, and, on May 17, he rode his bicycle across Vashon Island then kayaked trip across Puget Sound the same day. The following morning he swam across Lake Burien, and began the first leg of a two-day, 30-mile walk ending up in Edmonds, the new northern boundary of the 7th Congressional District. Here is a map of the new boundaries.

PRESS RELEASE

Event organizers announced June 20 that the B•Town Brewfest – a fundraiser event for the SeaTac Guild of Seattle Children’s Hospital – has changed its event date to Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the Burien Community Center.

“We got a call last week from the folks at the Burien Brat Trot regarding their charity beer garden on Saturday, October 6 – the original date of the Brewfest,” said Eric G., one of the B•Town Brewfest organizers. “They were concerned about the Brewfest taking away attendance from their Saturday
evening charitable event. We’ve always loved the Brat Trot and the Burien Community, so we didn’t want to do anything to harm their incredible fund-raising efforts.
“That’s why we’ve moved the date of the Brewfest back one week to October 13th,” he continued.

As a “Thank You” to the B•Town Brewfest, you will find Brewfest event information available for anyone attending the Brat Trot’s Friday night Pub Crawl on October 5th and Saturday beer garden event on October 6th.

The historic Alki Homestead, lodged in the collective memory of West Seattle, has been sitting essentially dormant since a fire did $2.5 million in damage to the building in January of 2009. It's been the subject of demonstrations and press conferences hoping to preserve it, engineering studies as to its condition, architectural designs, and a great deal of public curiosity.

It has also been delayed by a public process that while designed to be democratic and fair has created a bottleneck for projects of this size and complexity.

Press release:

The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Accounting has been awarded to the City of SeaTac for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for 2010.

The award was given by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and represents the highest honor possible in the area of governmental accounting.

“In order to be recognized by this prestigious group we must satisfy national guidelines for governmental and financial reporting,” said Todd Cutts, City Manager for the City of SeaTac. “Its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. I am very proud of our staff for consistently earning this distinguished honor.”

Specifically cited in the award are Michael J. McCarty, Finance and Systems Director, now retired, and Brenda J. Rolph, Assistant Finance Director as the individuals most responsible for the achievement.

Press Release:

A defining moment. An ambitious team. Seattle Children’s Home (SCH) and Navos announced June 19 that they will merge their two non- profit organizations, and effective July 1, Seattle Children’s Home will officially become part of Navos.

The combination represents a breakthrough for young people affected by mild, moderate and severe mental illness.

Since 2009 SCH and Navos have partnered to deliver inpatient and outpatient programs for the most troubled children and youth, from infancy through young adulthood, in our community.

In 2011 Navos began providing limited administrative support services for SCH. At the beginning of 2012, SCH became a member of the Navos Consortium, joining 20 peer organizations, who collaborate to provide mental health services to over 40% of the children and youth receiving treatment in King County.

Artists for Artists (AFA) a "volunteer powered collective of local artists http://artistsforartists.org/, will stage a visually poetic fundraiser for youth arts programs on July 21 on Alki Beach. Their "Light Up The Sky" lantern launch is selling paper lanterns for $10 through brown paper tickets. Those making the purchase get to choose which school or art program they want their donation to support.

The lanterns will be lit and launched into the sky at sunset near the intersection of 57th Ave. s.w. and Alki Ave. s.w. Officially that time is 8:58pm but the launch will likely take place shortly after that time.

AFA is a 100% volunteer powered collective of local artists (and a few creative nerds) who are committed to supporting one another and future generations of artists. We aim to strengthen, enrich and expand our connection to the community through art and for art with neighborhood events and fundraisers.

Update: The unofficial results are in. Heather McAuliffe, Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board Coordinator, announced that Position 1 was won by the unopposed Jim Riggle, and the four-way race for Position 2 was won by life-long Ballardite and architect Gordon Lagerquist.

Riggle in the owner of Olympic Athletic Club, and Lagerquist of Lagerquist & Morris is one of the architects working on the new Olympic Athletic Club.

The seven-member Ballard Avenue Landmark District Board protects the historical and architectural values and significance of the district by regulating all proposed changes to the external appearance of buildings, structures, and public rights-of-way located within the district boundaries.

"The Landmarks Board and it's guidelines set the tone for protecting this valuable resource which are it's buildings. I have seen this work for the past 30 years," said Lagerquist ahead of the elections.

Lagerquist and Riggle will serve two-year terms ending June 30, 2014.

McAuliffe informs the BNT that the election results aren’t final until at the end of the challenge period, which ends next Thursday.

Organizers of the 38th annual Ballard SeafoodFest have kickstarted a fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $5,000 in two weeks to keep the Ballard tradition alive and free.

For 38 years, Ballard SeafoodFest has brought live entertainment, delicious foods, and summer fun to the heart of Ballard and attendees were never been charged admission.

This year, Ballard SeafoodFest has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help defray the cost of nearly $40,000 for entertainment.

"We're asking folks to show their appreciation in advance. If our goal is met, we promise not to ask for monetary donations from the stages," said the organizers in an email.

Kickstarter, the largest funding platform for creative projects, is a simple, online way to support this Ballard tradition. People can pledge whatever they can afford and as an added incentive, each pledge level offers complimentary gifts from totes, bumper stickers and buttons, to local merchant gift certificates and salmon BBQ tickets.

By Tammy Chang, UW News Lab

Meet Sahar Fathi, a young Iranian-American woman who traveled to Rwanda to advocate for human rights and started the Middle Eastern Legal Association for people of Middle Eastern descent in the country. Now, she is trying to speak up for the 36th district by running to be the next state representative for the 36th District, a place she calls home.

The BNT recently caught up with Fathi over coffee at the Ugly Mug, a small cafe hidden on the outskirts of the University of Washington which she often frequented while she studied at UW.

Fathi’s parents first came to America to flee the Iranian Revolution in 1979. They met in Boston and immediately fell in love. Soon, they gave birth to Fathi.

“My father worked numerous jobs,” said Fathi. “He was a dishwasher and tutored kids while my mom worked at Dunkin’ Donuts. I was about eight and a half when my father got an engineering job over in Silicon Valley and we finally moved into our first house.”

An upstairs apartment in a Ballard duplex that overlooks the playground behind Adams Elementary School is vacant for the first time in 13 years. The anti-war signs that were between the shades and the inside glass for a decade aren’t there anymore. Across the one-way street the recess bell still rings and the playground will be noisy with grade-schoolers for another week. Then both sides of the street will be silent except for the bounce of a basketball and the crack of a stick against a puck during rollerblade hockey.

The first time I looked up at those windows from the sidewalk it was a misty Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving in 2004. I had not yet met my future husband in person but we’d exchanged enough information such that old-fashioned white pages revealed that his own mother lived one block from me. It seemed to reveal fate.