September 2012

Open for nearly two years, the Wingdome, in the West Seattle Junction is set to close its doors Sunday September 30. Here's our story about the opening.
http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/10/11/news/slideshow-wingdome-get…

Katie Wilkinson, who manages the public relations for Consolidated Restaurants shared this news:
It has been our pleasure for Wing Dome to be part of the West Seattle community for the past few years. Unfortunately the performance of this location has been impacted by difficult economic conditions, and we are saddened to announce the decision to close our restaurant in the Junction. On a positive note, we have been successful in relocating most of our team members to other locations in our family of restaurants. We have enjoyed serving the West Seattle community and are grateful for the support. Sunday, September 30, will be our last day of operation.

Another traffic warning -- not only will a lane on the Ballard Bridge be closed Wednesday, Sept. 26, but a lane on 15th Ave W, from the Ballard Bridge to just south of the West Dravus Street Overpass, will also be closed.

The inside, southbound lane on 15th Ave W will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Seattle Department of Transportation will be performing landscaping maintenance in the median of 15th Ave W.

Donny Winbush, a 43-year-old missing sex offender, was found and arrested earlier this month near Ballard after a viewer of Washington's Most Wanted tipped off police, according to the Ballard News-Tribune's news partner, Q13.

Winbush was arrested by Seattle Police Department on Aurora Ave and 85th St. He was wanted on a felony failure to register warrant since 2011 after being convicted of sexually assaulting two young sisters. He was a Level 3 sex offender and had at least 20 fake names that he was using to keep his identity hidden.

He had sexually assaulted the two sisters for months and had a long criminal record.

He’s been booked into the King County Jail on a no bail warrant.

by Renée Bacino Davis

The Annapurna Circuit, a 160-mile trek amongst some of the highest peaks in the world. My husband, Jeremy, and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in one of the most memorable and astounding ways we could possibly imagine.

Nepal, the land of pristine mountains; workers tending rice fields with oxen as their burden; the wealthy flying to remote villages by helicopter; the poor living under roofs covered by plastic tarps. We arrived late on a Saturday night, greeted in the airport by local taxi men seeking to sell us a bargain. “Yes, my guesthouse best one around. Only 5 US dollar a night, no problem. Taxi take you there.” We avoided most, pushing through the crowds of barters and other travelers toward the airport exit.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says they're nearing completion of their lighting upgrade project on the Ballard Bridge -- but lane closures aren't over yet.

Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the northbound outside lane will be closed as they set utility poles.

Thursday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. they will be performing the same work on the southbound outside lane.

If needed, work will continue on Friday during the same hours.

Good luck, travelers.

Seattle Parks and Rec press release

Seattle Parks and Recreation is seeking nominations for the Denny Awards, which honor volunteer service to the city’s parks system. The deadline for nominations is Monday, Oct. 15, 2012.

The awards will be presented at a recognition ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S.

The Denny Awards acknowledge and honor the crucial role volunteers play in neighborhood parks, community centers, and recreation programs throughout the city. Each year, more than 43,000 volunteers donate over 360,000 hours of service to Seattle Parks and Recreation.

They do everything from pulling invasive ivy and planting native trees in our parks to coaching kids’ sports to working as docents at selected parks to serving on various advisory councils and boards.

“Volunteers are one of our most important resources,” said Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams. “Without the help of the community, we could not run the first rate park and recreation system that Seattle depends on.”

Holding signs that declared “Arbor Heights Can’t Wait” and wearing yellow t-shirts signed by the youth of Arbor Heights Elementary, well over 30 parents, teachers and students of the worn down West Seattle school made their case clearly to Seattle Public School administrators at a public meeting for the upcoming BEX IV and Operations Levy votes in February.

The meeting at Madison Middle School on Sept. 24 was a chance for the school district to explain the importance of passing the levy in order to maintain, improve or build schools over the next six years in order to stay up with expected increases in student population. It was also a forum for the community to voice their concerns over a preliminary wish list of BEX IV projects the district hopes to tackle with the funding.

One item from that wish list pertained to Arbor Heights, with plans to “replace (the) existing building with (a) new/expanded facility by 2019.”

As election season closes in, ads circulate the television and people with petitions go around town, there is one question that is beginning to grow in the minds of Ballardites:

Does Ballard want coal?

Or, rather, does Ballard want extra coal trains to pass through it as they travel up to Bellingham to be shipped off to China?

It’s a question that is gaining immediacy as SSA Marine and Burlington Northern Sante Fe push forward to get a proposed coal export terminal established at Cherry Point, just north of Bellingham. The new line would result in 150 million tons of coal being transported through the Pacific Northwest, and through Ballard, on its way from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming, the largest coal-producing region in the United States. Currently, only 5 million tons of coal are shipped through the Northwest annually.

Coal companies have become increasingly interested in exporting coal to the energy hungry China as business has long been declining back in the United States, where environmental concerns and alternative energy sources have stymied profits.

Conor MacEvilly of Coldwel Banker Danforth (www.mynorthseattlehome.com)

Questions you need to ask when buying a Ballard condo.

Unless you’ve been in coma for the past few years, the ongoing construction of new Ballard condo developments is hard to miss along 24th Ave NW, Market Street, Leary Ave and other locations. Ballard condos are a popular foot in door for many first time home buyers. Those looking to downsize will also consider buying a condo.

Compared to buying a Ballard house, there is an extra layer of investigation that you need to do when buying a condo. Some of these factors will affect your ability to get a loan for the condo. Your credit might be fine but the condo's financial health may not be good enough for your lender. Basically, both you AND the condo development need to qualify for the loan, particularly when it comes to FHA loans (see below).

By Conor MacEvilly, Coldwel Banker Danforth, www.mynorthseattlehome.com

Hallelujah! The Ballard real estate market is going up! Or is it?

A lot of recent news reports have enthusiastically stated that the Seattle real estate market is recovering and prices are going up again. Ballard homes are a popular first choice with many Seattle home buyers as it was for me when I bought my own home in Loyal Heights 10 years ago and have happily lived here since. Good Ballard homes that are priced correctly will usually sell quickly and many with multiple offers.

It’s human nature to unquestionably embrace positive news, especially when it involves the price of our homes going up. Before I became a Ballard Realtor I was a science guy (biochemist / chemist) and so I’m naturally wary of any and all statistics. They say smoking and baseball are the biggest causes of statistics but I think you can add real estate to that list as well.

OK so what is Ballard real estate market doing I hear you ask?