August 2012

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Our little village of West Seattle held out against corporate takeover for a long time. There was even a move to secede and form a town of our own. After all, entrepreneurs of every persuasion set up little shops that covered all our needs. I remember browsing in apparel shops for one-of-a-kind garments that no one else would be wearing. There was the La Grace shop, Johnson’s Apparel and of course Louise North Apparel. These special shops could not continue to compete in a world of large corporate retailers obtaining wearing apparel manufactured in sweat shops overseas. So luckily manager retirement was an option as one apparel shop after the other disappeared. Louise managed her store for forty years before closing the shop at last.

Today, Aug. 7, is the last day to submit your vote for the primary elections. Ballots can be returned by mail (must be postmarked for today), or returned through one of the many dropboxes sitting around Seattle.

In Ballard, a drop box is sitting in front of the Ballard Branch Library at NW 57th St and 22nd Ave NW.

Though Secretary of State Sam Reed had an optimistic outlook that this year would have a higher-than-normal turnout in primary voting, so far the numbers support the opposite view, according to The Stranger's SLOG. As of today, only 207,000 ballots have been returned as of yesterday, according to the election website -- no primary in the last ten years has seen fewer than 248,000 ballots returned.

However, today could still see a rush of last-minute voters, possibly turning those numbers around.

The primaries include candidates for Washington State legislature, U.S. Congress and the Governor's office, as well as Proposition 1, which focuses on funding for core library services.

The tranquil town of Normandy Park suddenly burst into the news last month with reports of its possible demise as a separate city either through disincorporation or annexation to Burien or Des Moines.

City officials countered that those were not options but placed a levy lid lift measure on the November ballot as way to raise more funds.

The first public meeting to discuss the ballot measure was held Aug. 2. Two more meetings are set for Aug. 20 and Sept. 26. Both meetings are at 7 p.m. in the City Hall gymnasium.

At the Aug. 2 meeting, City Manger Doug Schulze told participants the levy lid lift would raise Normandy Park’s property tax rate from $1.31 per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.60.

The raise would mean the owner of a $500,000 home would pay $12.19 more a month. That works out to $146.23 more per year.

He noted that Initiative 747 limits property tax increases to 1 percent per year without voter approval while inflation is rising by 3 percent per year. Flyers passed out at the meeting indicated that sine 2002 inflation has gone up 26 percent while taxes have increased only by 8 percent.

Burglary with a happy ending
On July 26 a woman living on 3200 block of 47th Ave S.W. took an afternoon trip to the grocery store and returned to find a random bicycle lying in her front yard. Investigating further, she realized her back door was wide open and, after saying “Hello” several times, she ventured in to find things askew. An officer responded to her call for help and as he filed his report another officer called to say he had made a burglary arrest and recovered a laptop with the current victim’s name on the login screen. The woman verified her computer had indeed been stolen and the two were quickly reunited. The mystery bike was placed into evidence.

…And, the arrest leading to the laptop

By Kyra-lin Hom

I have Dark Knight on the brain. Plain and simple. Watching Nolan's new Dark Knight Rises has re-inspired my Batman fangirl, and ever since I've been hopped up on old Batman cartoons. I do a lot of craft work and need something mindlessly entertaining for the background after all. I even caught myself drawn to the Batman themed island in Barnes and Noble and nabbed up several of the books featured there.

What is it about Batman – and the whole 'bat family' – that strikes so true to me? Why can I recite the different alternate timelines in the Batman series when I can't even remember the names of Superman's parents or where Wonder Woman comes from? (The other two of the 'Big Three.')

I suppose it has to do with him being human. No super powers. No experiment gone awry. Just plain old-fashioned human... with billions of dollars and a glacier of emotional issues on his shoulder of course. The only other comic book character that comes anywhere close to my love of the bat family is Elektra – notably not the one played by Jennifer Garner. And guess what? She's human too.

By Cassandra Baker

8:00 a.m., August 2. NW 90th St and 24th Ave NW

Staff at North Beach Elementary arrived on campus on the morning of August 2nd to find that the playground had been damaged by several Molotov cocktails. The playground was covered in broken glass and scorch marks, but the building was not damaged. Seattle Police’s arson/bomb squad is investigating.

12:10 a.m., July 31. 92nd block of Holman Rd NW near 13th Ave NW

A man was rushed to the hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a car while crossing the street just after midnight. The victim, a man in his twenties, was treated at the scene before being transported to Harborview Medical Center. The driver of the vehicle, a man in his fifties, was evaluated for signs of intoxication, but alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the incident. The driver was interviewed and released, and the investigation is ongoing. Police are asking for anyone who witnessed the collision to call Detective Scott Schmidt at (206) 684-8935.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169
Two for One Sale on all women's wear Wednesday, August 1st through Sunday, August 5th and all items with yellow tags are 50% off marked price through August 21st.  Don't forget to bring your own bags when you shop.  In keeping with our motto: "A World With Less Cancer is a World With More Birthdays," come in on your birthday and receive a 20% discount on your entire purchase.  When you shop and volunteer with us you help fund cancer research.  The all volunteer run, non-profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Follow our blog at www.discoveryshopwestseattle.org.

Wine in the Woods at Camp Long
5200 35th Ave. S.W.

Q13 Fox News (KCPQ-TV) and Robinson Newspapers have formed a news partnership. The agreement will mean that stories in the coverage areas for Robinson Newspapers which include Ballard, West Seattle, White Center, Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines will see shared coverage and credit between the two organizations.

The agreement will mean faster response for breaking news in some cases for Q13Fox News since the Robinson Newspapers staff will often be closer to the scene of an event. It will mean greater brand awareness for Robinson newspapers through on air credit for stories provided to Q13 Fox News.

The Robinson Newspapers include the Ballard News-Tribune, the West Seattle Herald/White Center News, the Highline Times/Des Moines News/SeaTac News.
KCPQ, channel 13, is the Fox television affiliate licensed to Tacoma, Washington serving the Seattle/Tacoma television market, owned by the Tribune Company.

Keep in mind this week that there will be a lane closure on the Ballard Bridge.

Starting today from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the east sidewalk and northbound curbside lane on Ballard bridge will be closed for work on bridge lights, according to a press release from the Seattle Department of Transportation.

This will go on all week. On Thursday or Friday, Aug. 9 or 10, the closure will switch to the other side, with the southbound curbside lane closed. Both sidewalks at that time will remain open.

Then, for the late night or early morning drivers out there, the Ballard Bridge will be closed entirely, from 11 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 11, to 7 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 12. One sidewalk will remain open. This closure is to replace the strain poles that the traffic signal on the bridge.

For more information, visit http://www.seattle.gov/ballardbridge.htm.

I had never set foot in THE Ballard P-Patch until the 12th Annual Art in the Garden event on August 4th. A friend who had to be out of town asked if I would mind her vendor table of gift cards for an afternoon shift, relieving her sister-in-law. I saw it as an opportunity to write a column “live” from the garden while earning a commission.

I failed on several counts but succeeded in others. As usual I did flitting rather than sitting and outspent any potential gains (in fact I had no gains). Now that I've rinsed off the dry dirt and insufficient sunscreen of a smoldering Saturday I'm ready to tally my pluses. I've spent the day surrounded by dahlias and artists, the sound of live music and the fruits of gardens, while being passed from passionate gardener to passionate gardener like a hot potato. Plus there's the organic peach pie (includes pie plate!), a basket of dried fresh herbs, framed herb print poster and pages of notes.