June 2012

On Saturday, Salish Sea Trading Cooperative held a Skipper and Crew Kick-Off party at the Ballard Library to celebrate the start of their third season.

Salish Sea Trading Cooperative, a Ballard grassroots non-profit, relies on wind and tide to transport locally produced goods around Puget Sound by sailboat. Their goals are to conserve precious energy resources and reintroduce the idea of sailing as everyday transport while building resiliency into our local foodshed.  

"I think it's a cool, innovative solution to reducing our carbon footprint even if it's small scale," said Beth Scribner, owner of Aster Coffee Lounge, who volunteers her store-front as a produce pick-up spot for the non-profit. 

A brainchild of Dave Reid, the Cooperative's primary program is the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable box subscription. Customers can buy a box of organic vegetables from Dharma Ridge Farm on the Olympic Peninsula to support local farmers and the development of sail-based transport. 

SDOT will reduce travel lanes on N 85th Street to a single lane in the east- and westbound directions from 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to saw cut the north side of the existing roadway.

This work is part of the N/NW 85th Street and Greenwood Ave N Paving Projects, and is being done in preparation for the start of construction between Greenwood Avenue N and Aurora Avenue N (Phase 3), scheduled to begin on June 11.

Lane closures are as follows:

- Tuesday, June 5 – Traffic will be reduced to a single lane each direction between Fremont Avenue N and Aurora Avenue N from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This work will be noisy. Drivers should expect congestion and allow extra time for travel. Flaggers and uniformed police officers will be present to assist traffic and pedestrians.

To sign up for regular construction email updates, send an email to pave_85th@seattle.gov.

For more information, contact the 24-hour project line at (206) 496-9993, email pave_85th@seattle.gov, or visit http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_85th.htm.

The Admiral District, a business association that has been going through the process of getting all its organizational elements set for the last few months, announced on Monday they have a new slogan "Welcome Aboard" (a nod to their nautical name) and a full, if somewhat tentative schedule of events.

First up is the Hi-Yu Parade on July 21. The discussion at the meeting on June 4, led by association President (and Atomic Boys owner) Parris Sadow mentioned having a boat, being built by Admiral Neighborhood Association President Katy Walum's husband Erik Walum specifically for the parade and a banner bearing the district's new porthole logo. "What we're hoping to do is invite merchants to wear something that represents their business," said Sadow, "and walk with us as part of the Admiral District. They'd be able to put out candy to the spectators, flyers, advertised specials (...) It will be like our coming out party."

Dear Mr Mayor and City Council Representitives,

Dear Mr Mayor and City Council Representitives,

Dear Mr Mayor and City Council Representitives,

The picture of Ian Stawicki’s four hour path, once he dumped the stolen vehicle of his fifth victim on Delridge Way and set off on foot, is slowly coming together, and it appears the gunman may have come to West Seattle to make contact with an ex-girlfriend, according to his father Walt Stawicki.

Walt Stawicki, the father of the 40-year-old man who turned to violence on May 30 and killed five people before shooting himself in a quiet West Seattle neighborhood, spoke to the Herald on June 2 as he came to the spot at 37th and Raymond where his son ended his life (that conversation can be found here).

The elder Stawicki said he learned in speaking with the woman, that, “They were driving around and she was trying to figure out what the hell was going on and he was scaring the hell out of her …”

At some point, Walt Stawicki claimed, the woman said, “No, no, no, no, get out of the car please.”

At first I was rather horrified by the theft of Port of Seattle jobs by the Port of Tacoma. In short the pointless transfer of Grand Alliance container ship cargo from Seattle to Tacoma. The only thing accomplished
is that workers from the airport cities and King County have their lives disrupted and loose their jobs to workers in Tacoma to save the Grand Alliance shipping lines a few dollars.

About 12 years ago the Port of Tacoma pulled the same stunt and transferred three shipping lines to Tacoma.

The Port of Tacoma has a big cost advantage because the Tacoma and Pierce County has never paid their share of the $90 million in property taxes which King County residents pay for cost overruns by the Port of Seattle.

I have sat in on merger discussions between the two Ports. The Port of Tacoma has no interest in any kind of merger.

In the past you have considered some of my suggestions.

Perhaps you will consider this approach. Container shipping for several years has been a loosing operation for both both the Port of Seattle and the United States. Every full container coming into Seattle represents

A body was found Tuesday morning, May 29, inside a burning Class-C, E450 Ford motorhome parked in the driveway of a Normandy Park house.

Normandy Park Interim Chief of Police Chris L. Gaddis told the Highline Times, "At a little after 7:00 o'clock this morning our officer and King County Fire were dispatched to the 1900 block of Southwest 170th Street for a report of a motorhome on fire. Once we were on the scene the fire department put out the fire. There were reports that an elderly female was living in the motorhome as kind of a caretaker (for residents) inside the house.The King County medical examiner is on the scene along with the fire investigator from the Tukwila Fire Department, and it could be quite a while until we know more. The King County fire investigator is on medical leave now so Tukwila Fire Marshall Don Tomaso is doing some reciprocal work for him."

The body was found on the floor between the back sleeping area and the front of the cab. A woman in her 70's and her cat had been living in the motorhome since March. If her name is released, it would be done so by the King County Medical Examiner.

Man flees US Marshals in Sea Tac

By Pam Fernald

The 4th Laws and Paws class graduated 5 more students and their canine charges May 31, 2012 at Chinook Middle School in the City of SeaTac. This unique and popular after-school program for school students was spearheaded by Officer Karen Davy who is the School Resource Officer at Chinook.

Laws and Paws is a six-week, after school, dog training program funded by the Greater King County Police Activities League in partnership with the City of SeaTac Police Department, the King County Sheriff’s Office, Chinook Middle School and Homeward Pet Adoption Center. (Homeward Pet Adoption Center is a no-kill, non-profit animal shelter located in Woodinville. http://www.homewardpet.org/)