October 2012

By Shane Harms

Thursday, Oct. 4, at approximately 3:30 p.m., at the intersection of 17th Ave NW and NW Market St in Ballard a car crashed into the the building residing on the south side of Market street between a vacant store and Beverly's Daughter.

Graham Smith, store manager at Bevery's Daughter, said that he was helping a customer in the store when a car driven by a Caucasian elderly man drove over the sidewalk going eastbound on Market St and slammed his car into the one car before making impact with the building.

"It seemed like he was coming right toward us because it was so close, so I pulled the customer I was helping out of the way. I thought we were in the way of the car...we were pretty shaken up" said Smith.

According to Graham, after the car hit the building some other witnesses ran to the fire department for help. The elderly man remained in the car until an ambulance arrived. The accident did not dramatically impede traffic flow. SPD was unable to comment on the reason for the accident or the condition of the elderly man.

Press release:

Burien Little Theatre is seeking submissions of unproduced, unpublished plays by Washington State Playwrights for the 2013 Bill and Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival.

Winning scripts will be staged May 3 through May 26, 2013, as part of the company’s 2012-2013 season.

In addition to being produced, winning plays will also receive monetary prizes. Additional scripts of merit may receive readings.

The submission deadline for all scripts is November 7, 2012. To qualify for the Festival all submissions must follow Playwrights Submission Guidelines detailed below. The guidelines and entry form can also be found at www.burienlittletheatre.org.

About the Bill and Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival:
The mission of the Bill and Peggy Hunt Playwrights Festival is to encourage, promote and showcase previously unproduced theater works written by Washington state residents.

The Southwest Design Review Board will meet for a design review of a proposed four-story structure at 9051 20th Ave S.W., near the intersection of Delridge Way S.W. and S.W. Barton St.

The land use application, submitted by FL 200 Investments, LLC, is looking to build a four-story structure with just over 2,000 square feet of retail, four live/work units and 35 residential units with an attached garage for 37 vehicles. An early design review packet has the name “Vesseliye Apartment Buildings” attached.

The existing structure will be demolished and the project requires 950 cubic yards of grading.

The design proposal will be available at the review meeting (open to the public).

Meeting details from Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development:

Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: West Seattle Senior Center
4217 S.W. Oregon St

A long list of Admiral District merchants is preparing for their annual Halloween themed event Treats & Treasures set for Oct. 26. Each participating merchant will have a copy of the "Treasure Map" and you can (in costume of course) collect Treasure Stamps and Treats at each one. After collecting goodies you can head to Merrill Gardens to enter to win one of two Treasure Chests worth more than $350.

The fun starts at 3pm and runs until 6pm. This is a FREE event.

The full map can be downloaded and printed from the link above.

Participating Merchants (in map order):

1.Freshy’s Coffee
2.Studio Greene
3.Financial Designs
4.Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy
5.West Coast Entertainment
6.Wiseman’s Appliance
7.Mud Bay
8.Circa
9.West Seattle Lock & Key
10.Admiral Neighborhood Assoc.
11.Life Care West Seattle
12.Atomic Boys
13.Bank of America
14.Admiral Chevron
15.Alki Mail & Dispatch
16.Mission
17.Angelina’s
18.State Farm Ins-Brent Amacher
19.Edward D. Jones-Greg Theobald
20.Farmers Ins-Verne Valentine
21.Pailin Thai Cuisine
22.Shanti Salon & Day Spa
23.Mind Unwind

From 1:30 to 2:00 a.m. on Sept. 29, two men robbed three victims at gunpoint in the University District, striking all three in the back of the head with a handgun during the commission of their crime.

According to Seattle Police, one of their two alleged suspects was arrested near the intersection of S.W. Genessee St. and Delridge Way S.W. (at the Delridge Community Center and park) on Monday, Oct. 1.

Information on the suspect was discovered at the scene of one of the robberies, and detectives used that to pinpoint a 29-year-old man and send out his details to precincts across the city.

Around 6 p.m. on the 1st, two Southwest Precinct officers recognized the suspect as he was boarding a bus and arrested him without incident, Det. Mark Jamieson wrote.

He was taken to King County Jail and booked for investigation of assault.

Jamieson said the suspect lives in North Seattle, and detectives are not sure why he was in Delridge.

by Holly Brown

Fall brings a chill to the air, the onset of comfort food cravings, and football season! NFL, college, and high school football fans alike switch gears this time of year, trading their shorts and swimwear for caps and sweaters, and don their team colors for the highly anticipated tailgate.

We’re fortunate to be living in Husky, Cougar, and Seahawk territory. Our enthusiastic sports town offers many opportunities for Parties in the Parking Lot! In our family, Michigan football is practically a religion. Each year we make our pilgrimage from Seattle to "The Big House" to join other die hard Wolverine fans, and so that my husband can pay homage to his alma mater. Whether you're a fan of the game or not, anyone can be a fan of the tailgate!

press release from SDOT:
Spot Repair on Delridge Way SW

SDOT crews will resurface an area of Delridge Way SW between SW Andover and SW Genesee streets from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (October 4). One lane of traffic will remain open in each direction. This spot repair was funded by King County Metro.

As previously announced, tomorrow, October 5, the crews will begin resurfacing S Horton Street from E Marginal Way S and Colorado Avenue S to First Avenue S, working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. One lane will be shared by alternating the directions of traffic. A Police Officer and traffic flaggers will assist motorists. The crews plan to return on October 12 to complete the work, weather permitting.

Haven't had a chance to say goodbye to Mark Hendricks or Kim Brandenburg yet? Next week is your chance.

The Ballard Boys and Girls Club is hosting the 8th annual barbecue and auction fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 12. The main purpose of the event will be to recognize the long-time service of Hendricks, the executive director who will be transferring to Federal Way, and Brandenburg, the childcare director who will be retiring to spend more time with her children.

The decision to transfer Hendricks was the center of controversy last month when CEO Calvin Lyons had problems communicating with community members his reasoning. Since then, vocal outrage has mostly settled down and Hendricks has formally accepted the transfer to Federal Way, which is also where he lives.

The barbecue is not meant to re-instigate any outrage and is meant solely to honor and say thank you to Hendricks and Brandenburg.

The event will feature a silent and live auction, a salmon BBQ dinner, beverages (beer, wine, sodas and juice) and entertainment. Auction prizes include condos, trips, Mariners and Sounders tickets and more.

Recently, "Hunger Games" created a stir in archery and put bows and arrows into the hands of many in its young, target audience. Similarly, two decades ago, the film, "A River Runs Through It" inspired a tidal wave of newbies to purchase bamboo rods, artificial lures, costly matching khaki hats, vests, and "river pants".

Burien-raised Steve Kokita appreciates the interest that Montana river sparked in that sport, but his obsession with fly tying and fly fishing is not just a fly-by-night hobby, but rather his half-century obsession.

"The 'River Runs Through It' movie made it trendy," Kokita said of fly fishing. "You can spend all kinds of money but not know how to fly fish, but you'll look good standing by the water. Then there is just us old guys who like to fish. It's just another form of fishing. It's harder. It's sportier than traditional fishing. I'm hardcore. I find bamboo rods cheap on eBay," he said. "The most I ever paid was $50 and that was a lot. You can spend $5,000 on a new bamboo rod. It won't catch any more fish than mine will. I buy what are called 'blue collar rods.'"

Want to create a park? Or, at least, improve or maintain an existing one?

Thanks to a new microgrant program through Groundswell NW, which is funded by an anonymous donor, people can do just that, according to a press release.

The program will award up to $500 each to support community members who want to start a project which aligns with Groundswell NW's mission. I.e., creating community, parks and habitat. (Not top hard to achieve!)

Projects are preferred to be in the Northwest quadrant of Seattle, be a new project and have a group which is open to public participation.

Of course, it should involve the creation or maintenance of public parks, habitat, or green space. Or involve education about a topic or project related to Groundswell NW's mission.

The Groundswell NW Startup Microgrants are open to formal and informal neighborhood and grassroots community groups.

Applications are accepted year-round and applicants are notified of award decision within four weeks of application submission. Quicker approvals may be possible. Grants are awarded at the discretion of the Groundswell NW Board of Directors.