September 2012

Ever wonder who the brains behind the Ballard Bridge is? Well, the good folks over at the SDOT Blog have you covered.

In a series of profiles they are doing on "hard working employees," in honor of Labor Day, the Seattle Department of Transportation is featuring our very own David Leask, the Senior Operator of the Ballard Bridge.

Other than giving the neat, gnitty-gritty details of how he operates the bridge (yes, there is a specific angle the bridge gets raised at), the article also gives us a look at the man:

"Leask has been employed with the city for 25 years now and has been helping SDOT keep people and goods moving through this important corridor since the mid-90s. He has managed the bridge through various retrofits, paint jobs andeven the Nisqually Earthquake of 2001. One of his favorite parts of being a Bridge Operator is enjoying the view from the tower of sunrises, the various vessels going by and the birds he gets to see like Peregrine Falcons, eagles, Blue Herons and Osprey."

Thumbing through an old volume of the White Center News this week I
spotted a picture of the officers of the Kiwanis club taken at a
meeting at the once famous Epicure restaurant. Now empty, the Epicure
was the focal point where the "elite met to eat" in the glory days of
the 1950's. It was a lot more than another Duffy's tavern.

The "EP", owned and operated by Joe Boothby, who also owned the Sky
Room at the county airport, was where you took your family or your best date. It was also where every service club (White Center had five or six active men's service clubs) had their lunch meetings. There was a lower level for large gatherings and banquets. Vi Childs, a West Seattle born entertainer, spent many
nights singing in the "Huddle Room" with her piano and accordion. (Vi
passed away last year in retirement in Florida)

The kids loved the Juicy Ray roast beef that cooked on a spit near the
front window. Turning slowly under the glare of blazing infrared
lights, it dripped enticingly. It was an automatic favorite of ours as
well. Pancakes were a family favorite too. The service clubs held
annual pancake breakfast fundraisers downstairs. White Center was

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Remember last year when I waxed poetic about a visit to the Cedar River?
I was excited when I was invited to experience that wonderful place again, this time sharing it with not only my special friend Emil, but his son and partner Mary Louise and her parents from England who had heard about my visit to the Antiques Road Show. They watch the British version and wanted to hear all about my chance to show my pottery on camera.

But before they arrived with the picnic fare, we had gone ahead to see what havoc the storms of winter had created for us to clear away. After typing in the code to open the gate and parking the car, we were met with tall undergrowth and a path completely blocked by limbs which had fallen. My friend was prepared with branch cutters and a weed whacker. At last we made our way down the steps to the picnic area but there we were faced with branches which had fallen on the platform above the river and more fallen branches near the picnic table.

By Kyra-lin Hom

This last week I stumbled across an article in Discover magazine that was just too fascinating not to share. The article, “Sex and the Society” by Robert Epstein, outlines a little known social and political theory casually referred to as the 'availability sex ratio.' This theory proposes that any given country's (or any geographical region, I assume) social and political climate can be explained, predicted and projected by the ratio of available men to available women in that country at that point in time. Sounds almost too good, straightforward and simple to be true, doesn't it? Let's investigate.

Community Center’s Fall Open Houses
There are 103 new programs and over 60 free programs available. Come sample some of the class offerings at your nearest Community Center. Light snack and beverages will be available.
High Point - Sept. 15, 11:30-1.30 p.m.
Delridge - Sept. 20, 6:30-8 p.m.

”You Dirty Beach Clean-up” Benefits Coastal Code
Duke’s Chowder House on Alki
2516 Alki Ave. S.W.
Saturday, Sept. 15, registration starts 10 a.m. at Duke’s. The first 50 people to register and return a bag of trash will receive a pair of tickets to see Jason Mraz (Sept. 22 at Gorge Amphitheatre; 1 pair of tickets per household, must be 18+). Everyone is welcome to join the after-party at Duke’s featuring happy hour specials from Alaskan Brewing Company and Alaska Seafood; live steel drum music, and receive a stylish souvenir beach bag.

18th Annual 2nd Time Sale
Fauntleroy Church Fellowship Hall
9140 California Ave. S.W.
932-5600

Slow motion getaway
Four juveniles, the youngest only 11, were nabbed by police for the burglary of a 5600 30th Ave S.W. home around 7 p.m. on Sept. 3. Police were called after a neighbor watched the four youngsters stand in front of the house for a while. Two ran to the backyard and the neighbor heard a rock crash through a window. They came back out front, conferred with the two there, and they all decided to enter the home via the backyard. Police had no problem tracking the juveniles down as they had all crammed their pockets full of “copious” amounts of loose change and were slowly/loudly making their labored getaway up a nearby steep hill. $67.54 in change and a few small miscellaneous electronics were recovered. The oldest of the crew, who was also carrying a butterfly knife, was booked into the Youth Service Center. The others had to deal with the wrath of their mothers as they were picked up at the Southwest Precinct.

Privatized liquor theft

If you were in Ballard Saturday night, you probably heard the commotion. After all, it's hard to miss a reckless driver hitting four cars, one of which being a police car. Not to mention the sirens.

At approximately 10:17 p.m., Sept. 8, an officer spotted an adult male driving recklessly in his Ford pickup truck westbound on NW 62nd St at 14th Ave NW, according to the Seattle Police Blotter.

The officer attempted to stop the driver, but the driver backed into the officer's car, causing minor damage, and fled. The car struck three other unoccupied vehicles while fleeing before the truck, after sustaining too much damage, was unable to move anymore. The suspect got out of his truck and ran for it on foot, but was quickly located and apprehended by police.

One of the cars briefly caught on fire and was put out by the Seattle Fire Department.

The 22-year old male, after being taken to the North Precinct, was subsequently booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Felony Eluding and two counts of Investigation of Felony Hit & Run.

UPDATE: Katrina Sigurdson, one of the rally organizers, had the following to say in a Facebook comment:

"IMPORTANT NOTICE! We have received word from a source that Mark Hendricks has been placed on administrative leave and will be terminated within 24 hours for insubordination -- failure to follow a direct order to move to the Federal Way Club. We need the communities support more than ever!!!"

Community members will be holding a rally in support of Mark Hendricks on Monday, Sept. 10. It will take place 5:30 p.m. at the Ballard Baptist Church across the Boys and Girls Club on 20th Ave NW.

Mark Hendricks, who has been the executive director of the Ballard Boys and Girls Club for over 25 years, recently got ordered to transfer to Federal Way, with seemingly little consent or notice. The executive director from Federal Way will be coming here to take his place.

With the rally, supporters hope to show their support and love for Hendricks while objecting to President/CEO Calvin Lyons' decision. Rally organizers also want to keep the rally peaceful and positive.

No doubt about it, the Ballard High School football team is having a rough start to the season. After a close 6-7 loss to Bishop Blanchet in their first game, they lost 6-28 to O’Dea High School Friday, Sept. 7. But don’t worry, Beaver fans, not all hope is lost.

Certainly, Ballard had a lot to take on in O’Dea, the No. 2 ranked team which has always been a force to be reckoned with. Even the mascots seem like a cruel matchup dreamt up by what can only be a terrible, terrible person -- Beavers (even if they are vicious) versus the “Fighting Irish.”

If nothing, O’Dea won through consistency. With two touchdowns in the first two quarters, two touchdowns in the third quarter and an offense that routinely broke through the Beaver defense, the Fighting Irish were able to make their way across the field gradually and handily. This was nowhere more evident than in the third quarter, when play after play O’Dea was able to rush through Beaver ranks.

SLIDESHOW: Click on photos for more

Arts-A-Glow, Burien's Lantern Festival & Procession took place tonight, The parade launched at 8:00 p.m. at Dottie Harper Park, 421 SW 146th. Marchers of all ages converged, some toting lanterns, some in costumes that lit, and others just to be part of the fun. Some children made lanterns onsite and others in workshops in July and August.

Performers included Harp by Jini O'Flynn, Abrace, Acappella from around the world, and the Brazilian style VamoLa` Dance & Drum Ensemble which led the procession and finished out the night with music to dance. "Vamos la" means "Let's go" in Portuguese, the language of Brazil.

Artist Installations by: Celeste Cooning, Mary Coss, The Moonrock Collective, ArtAbility Faire

Food included tea samples by Burien's Phoenix Tea, Fusion on the Run, Sweet Wheels, Six Strawberries Bikelava.