August 2012

Ballard Liquor and Convenience Store Grand Opening

The formerly state-run Ballard Liquor and Wine on 2840 NW Market St is having it's official grand opening this Saturday, Aug. 11. After Ablom Mengstu purchased the store during the state-wide auction a few months ago, the place has been undergoing some changes, adding more specialty liquors, mixers and a selection of beer. It promises to be a one-stop shop for all of your beverage needs. For an added treat this Saturday, local distillers will be at the store from 12-4 p.m.

2840 NW Market St

Ballard Art Walk

Second Saturday is here, which means the Ballard Art Walk will be arriving, too. The walk is held 6-9 p.m. throughout the Ballard Neighborhood, with businesses and galleries opening up their doors and featuring a range of local artists. The event is free and open to the public. A map of participating locations can be found here.

Kirke Park Grand Opening

Bartell Drugs, founded in 1890, is bringing their corporate headquarters to the West Seattle Corporate Center at 4025 Delridge Way S.W. in October of 2012.

The family-owned company operates 58 drugstores in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, with two locations in West Seattle and one in White Center.

Bartell’s public relations spokesperson Barry Bartlett said the time has come for the company to move from their current digs in a “very industrial area” of South Seattle to a more modern facility, and the WSCC fits their needs.

“I know they are excited about it because, number one, it is a great location and it has fiber-optic capabilities that the current building does not have, so that’s a big upgrade,” he said.

Bartell’s set up their South Seattle location in 1989 over their warehouse, which was “very functional at the time,” Bartlett said, but with new warehouse capabilities, corporate operations no longer need to be tied to shipping and receiving.

The Log House Museum and the Museum of History and Industry are joining for the annual bike tour of Alki. The tour will be leaving from the Log House Museum and ending at the Duwamish Longhouse on Aug. 25.

The tour will give riders the opportunity to bike the shoreline history of the Duwamish Peninsula, from the Log House Museum on Alki to the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center on the Duwamish River.

This tour will visit the sites of Native American villages, the beachhead of the founding families of Seattle, Luna Park and the natatorium, ferries, bridges, a steel mill, shipbuilding, and the immigrant community of Riverside.

Led by Judy Bentley, author of Hiking Washington’s History, the tour is presented in partnership with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center.

All ticket sales are final, and advanced registration is recommended. Day-of tickets are subject to availability and an additional $5 charge. All tours are offered rain or shine, so please wear weather appropriate attire, including comfortable shoes.

"Telling Our Westside Stories: Land, Work, and Home", a collection of 40 oral history interviews and photographs from the society’s collection is set to open to the public on Aug. 26 at the Log House Museum near Alki. It is the first exhibit of a three-year project being developed by The Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum.

The exhibit brings to life the stories of ordinary people on the Duwamish Peninsula in the decades after the Alki landing in 1851. The first phase focuses on how residents have interacted with the land and water—the Duwamish Peninsula, Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, and the Duwamish River.

The public is invited to the grand opening, Sunday, August 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.

The Log House Museum is located on Alki, 3001 61st Ave. S.W. Parking is available in the parking lot of the old Homestead Restaurant, half a block north.

An interactive map of southwest Seattle, with audio clips from interviews, will travel in 2012-2013 to local libraries, schools, and community centers.

For more information, contact the Log House Museum at 206-938-5293 or loghousemuseum@comcast.net.

Christopher King, a media literacy teacher at Whitman Middle School, has just won not his first, not his second, but his third award in a row for screenwriting.

This year he won second place in the 2012 Pacific Northwest Writer's Association Literary Contest for his script, "The Tina Modotti Project," co-written with Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Beristain. In 2011, King won 2nd place for his script, "Little America," and in 2010 he won first place for "Jade."

Though King will never stop writing in any case, he said it is always nice to be recognized for his work. So far, he has only written screenplays, and has never delved much into short story or book form.

"I like writing, but I don't know if I have a novel in me. I think visually, it just comes more naturally to write in screenplay form," he said. "It probably stems from the fact that I started out as a camera person at a school."

Robo calls went out yesterday to Seattle area residents regarding their recycling, urging people to put out their bins even though they would not be picked up. Why? Expressly to allow city inspectors to drive around and note how many containers were missed to determine how much to fine Waste Management as a result of the recent driver's strike.

Today King County Executive Dow Constantine and King Count Councilmemer Kathy Lambert called for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to conduct a thorough investigation into missed garbage, yard waste and recycling pickups in the unincorporated areas during the strike.

In a press release today Constantine said. “I’m glad that Waste Management and its drivers were able to reach agreement, but we received many complaints from residents about missed pickups. I urge the WUTC to conduct a thorough investigation and to use its regulatory authority to ensure that residents and businesses whose collections were disrupted are made whole.”

Bob Fuda got his dog Blitzen, a Border Collie, 14 years ago from a lady on the eastside out of a litter of 10 to 12 pups and he and some friends had brother dogs. Blitzen is a very tall dog for this breed but Fuda explained, "His brother got the short legs and Blitzen got the long legs." Blitzen also has relatively short hair for a Border Collie

Blitzen's talent that Fuda finds most notable is his ability to find his own food. Though that has led to some comical consequences.

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent José Banda has named Sanhica Washington as the new principal for Roxhill Elementary School, replacing the recently promoted Carmela Dellino. Dellino was named as Executive Director for Seattle Public Schools West Seattle Region last month. Dellino leaves the school in great shape having coordinated and overseen the recent T-Mobile makeover at the school.

Banda shared the news with the Roxhill Community in a public letter.

Dear Roxhill Elementary community,

I am excited today to announce the appointment of Sahnica Washington as your new principal.

Ms. Washington has been with Seattle Public Schools since 1998, and she comes to Roxhill after serving as a STAR mentor for the past four years. She is deeply committed to helping all students excel by encouraging them to work to their highest potential. She will be a great fit for Roxhill Elementary community.

Kelly Davidson of Seattle Parks and Recreation shared this news about the Riverview Comfort Station:
"The comfort station at Riverview Playfield at 7226 12th Ave SW will be replaced with a new comfort station. The existing facility has been vandalized multiple times and does not meet the current ADA codes. The project is expected to bid in September 2012 and start construction in November 2012."

The park features:

• Basketball (Full)
• Play Area
• Restrooms
• Tennis Court (Outdoor)
• Woods
• Soccer
• Baseball/Softball

Press release:
Jamie Ewing, a fifth grade teacher at Mount View Elementary, was awarded top honors in Microsoft’s Partners in Learning U.S. Forum.

He is one of 16 educators in the nation honored for inspiring student learning and impacting positive change through technology in the classroom.

The Forum annually recognizes innovative teachers and school leaders who creatively and effectively use technology in their curriculum to help improve the way students learn.

Ewing won first place in the Collaboration category for "Using Technology to Develop Science Fair Projects for the Virtual World."

“Our cloud-based science fair takes the idea of the ‘old school’ card board science fair and spins it into the 21st century,” says Ewing.

Students begin by exploring earth systems and designing related science experiments. Students present their experiments as interactive web games, videos or PowerPoint presentations.