August 2012

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.

Seaway Marine's F-1 tunnel boat driven by Greg Foster won the Graham Trucking Cup title on Sunday Aug. 5 on Lake Washington. The West Seattle Herald profiled Seaway Marine in mid June.

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F1-PROP boats include a 375-horsepower Mercury or Johnson engine that propels them to speeds of 140 miles per hour. The boats are 17 feet long and weight approx. 1,150 pounds with a driver.

About Greg Foster Courtesy of Seafair

SLIDESHOW. Click photo to see more.

Hamilton Viewpoint Park, on the northern end of California Ave. SW, had a busy afternoon, playing host to a wedding, and a view of watercraft and aircraft, including Fat Albert and the Blue Angels.

It was hot, maybe too hot, as Kool & the Gang would say.

By David Rosen

Thousands of people flock to the shores of Lake Washington, enjoying lots of tasty food, hanging out with family and friends, to watch The United States Navy Blue Angels put on their acrobatic air show over Lake Washington. This weekend to most people is known as Seafair weekend.

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High flying acts from aerial stunt teams and powerful hydroplanes that skim across the water at high speeds brings out the excitement for kids. Tomorrow marks the closing of the events and wraps up with an awards ceremony for the top winners for the hydroplane races.

The F1 Prop tour featuring Seaway Marine will compete in tomorrows race. The testing will begin around 8:30 am followed by two heats starting at 12:45 pm and 2:30 pm and finishes off with the Graham Trucking Cup F1 Prop Tour Finals at 4:20 pm.

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.

Bring the entire family for Disney's the Lion King on Saturday August 4. The animated family film features the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones.

The story of Lion King is about Simba, a lion cub who is tricked into thinking he killed his father, riddled with guilt he flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King. Simba grows stronger, matures, makes new friends and comes back to his home to confront the uncle who betrayed him and become the Lion King.

Pre-Show entertainment is by the Louie Foxx Magic Show and you can enjoy a FREE Community BBQ.

You are urged to bring blankets, chairs family and friends to 4410 California Ave. s.w. (between Hotwire Coffee and Dr. Wolff).

West Seattle Outdoor Movies are presented by the West Seattle Junction. You can learn more by visiting www.wsmovies.org or on their Facebook page.

350 million miles away, a man made object, a mobile robot is on the surface of Mars after a somewhat improbable manner of landing and an 8 year development process here on earth. The Mars Curiosity rover landed successfully Sunday evening Aug 5 and as it did viewing parties, one at the Museum of Flight and one here in West Seattle at The Kenney broke into cheers. The $2 billion project landed the 1 ton rover at the bottom of a large crater adjacent to a 6 kilometer high mountain.

Solar System Ambassador for NASA and West Seattle resident Alice Enevoldson was the host for the viewing party and she explained some of the jargon the NASA broadcast contained. She also brought models and even attached a nylon rope to the center of the room to show the distance the rover had to hang from its rocket motors. That's only part of how the spacecraft accomplished this remarkable feat.