December 2012

A little bit of turkey can go a long way. Which means a lot of turkey can go even further.

So, that's why the Bishop Blanchet Swim Team took it upon themselves to raise money for the Ballard Food Bank to buy turkeys.

Tuesday night, around 5 p.m., Coach Leo Jaeger and four of the swim team leaders gave over $1,800 worth of donations over to the Ballard Food Bank.

Coach Jaeger said he hardly had to do any prodding to get the swim team to gather donations from family members, neighbors and peers. In fact, Jaeger said he hardly had to do any work at all. Mostly he just did accounting and made sure all the donations were accounted for.

Jaeger said he first came up with the idea last year, when the Ballard Food Bank had a shortage of turkeys and had to pay out of pocket to accommodate the overwhelming need. He said he was surprised at how expensive they were, at $20 per 14 lbs. turkey.

According to very basic calculations, that means the $1,800 worth of donations the team brought would buy 90 turkeys.

WSDOT press release:

Drivers should plan for delays on southbound State Route 99 through downtown Seattle the next two weekends. Crews working for WSDOT will reduce SR 99 to one lane near the stadiums and close the southbound off-ramp to South Atlantic Street.

During the closures crews will drive more than 50 pilings to support construction of the new South Atlantic Street overpass.

“The pile-driving work will happen in a tight space just a few feet from the right lane of SR 99 and the off-ramp,” said Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program Deputy Administrator Matt Preedy. “These closures keep drivers and crews safe while getting the work done each weekend.”

Lane and ramp closures

Dec. 14-17 weekend

Crews will close the right lane of southbound SR 99 between Columbia Street and South Royal Brougham Way and the southbound SR 99 off-ramp to South Atlantic Street from 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, to 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17.

Dec. 21-24 weekend

Reader Peggy Bourlier gave us this photo of a snowy owl she and her son spotted in the Sunset Hill neighborhood. She had this to say:

"My son and I went looking for the snowy owls that we've heard were in the neighborhood. Sure enough one was looking right down at us from the roof of a tall house at 72nd Street and 34th Avenue NW. We loved watching it swivel it's head.

A second owl was next to a chimney on a house at 75th Street and 33rd Avenue NW. At about 3pm we watched the owl on 34th Avenue fly across the street and perch in a tree. We've heard that they have been swooping by the Bluff --Sunset Hill Park--at sunset."

Have you spotted any snowy owls? Or any other critters? Send your photos and stories to zachb@robinsonnews.com.

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Press release:

Earlier this week, the House Democratic Caucus announced its committee structure for the upcoming session. State Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien, 34th District) will continue to serve as vice-chair of the House Local Government Committee.

The Local Government Committee considers issues relating to operations and financing of counties, cities, and certain special districts. The committee also considers matters relating to the State Environmental Policy Act, Growth Management Act, and land use issues.

"Making sure we keep our strong environmental protections in place will be one of my top priorities this session," said Fitzgibbon.

Fitzgibbon was elected in November to the Deputy Majority Whip leadership position by his peers in the caucus. He'll assist the Majority Whip - Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (D-Sequim) - in organizational matters such as member attendance, vote tallying, and mentoring new legislators on House processes and procedures.

"I'm honored to be selected by the caucus to serve in a leadership role," said Fitzgibbon. "I'm looking forward to working with my colleagues on the many challenges facing us this session."

By Brian LeBlanc

Over the past few months, one of the biggest topics of conversation around Ballard has been the issue of coal trains. In an effort to learn more about the issue, I recently attended the Washington State Rail Plan Public Workshop at City Hall, which was hosted by WSDOT. I had a chance to hear different perspectives on the coal train issue and saw that Ballard’s big concern is just one small piece of a complex puzzle.

WSDOT is currently in the process of developing the Washington State Rail Plan, which “will serve as a strategic blueprint for future public investment in the state’s rail transportation system” and “provide an integrated plan for freight and passenger rail” over the next 20 years. (For more information on the State Rail Plan, visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Rail/staterailplan.htm)

The presentations on the current state of passenger and freight rail service were fascinating. The figures that made the biggest impression on me, however, were WSDOT’s assessments that “freight rail also supports goods movement industries that comprise 41 percent of Gross State Product and 40 percent of total state employment.”

By Elizabeth Wang

For over 11 years, the Urban Rest Stop in downtown Seattle has been providing homeless and low-income individuals with warm showers, clean washrooms, and laundry facilities at no cost.

Striving to make a difference in the community, the staff at the Urban Rest Stop hopes to help those in need for a chance at a clean start each day.

“Many of the homeless individuals don’t have access to hygiene or restroom facilities,” said Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low-Income Housing Institute. “They are trying to keep their jobs, find work or get into housing, but there are a lot of homeless people who are living on the street or in their car and they just don’t have any facilities to stay healthy and clean.”

Gifted

‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house
Not a creature was snoring except for my spouse
Who though he could wake up the dead with his clatter
Still blissfully slept, unaware of the matter

When up on the rooftop what noise did I hear
But the sound of St. Nick and his tiny reindeer
Who with a quick nod and a wink of his eye
And a sip from his flask, down the chimney would fly

But instead of attending directly to work
He said I’d been granted, as kind of a perk
The chance to try something brand new I might like
Or else he would give me an exercise bike

And now I adore my new “Wife Only Phone”
Complete with the “Buy What You Want, Dear” ringtone
With an app that sends flowers, holds my purse in the store
Puts the toilet seat down and might sleep, but won’t snore!

Carol Smith

The Wolverines took one on the chin from the Renton Indians in Seamount League play.

The Renton team was just the better team. One could point out the Wolverines shortcomings during the game but Evergreen head coach Tony White put it succinctly when asked about the outcome;

“Renton is just a better team. They played harder, they played smarter. My guys let themselves get pushed around and got intimidated. Too many mistakes, too many turnovers (and) missed free throws. I think we missed 14-15 free throws. We can’t win like that.”

West Seattle Herald/White Center News-What will you tell your guys in the locker room?

“Forget about it and move on to the next game.”

That game will be against the Kennedy Lancers on Friday. Game time is 7:45 at Kennedy High School.

Renton will be at Highline High School on Friday. Game time is also 7:45.

More photos will be added in an update.

Mayor Mike McGinn is on the offensive against coal again.

Earlier today, he announced that the City of Seattle will soon commission a study on the local economic impacts that would result from extra trains should a proposed coal export terminal be built. Up to 18 trains could be passing through Seattle (and through Ballard), each one more than a mile long.

Findings from this initial economic impact analysis will inform city of Seattle policymakers, interested stakeholders, and the general public of the potential range and magnitude of local economic impacts from the proposed coal terminal and associated train operations, a press release issued by the Mayor's Office stated.

The impact review will study the following:

• Impacts on operations and employment for the Port of Seattle
• Impacts on operations, employment and sales for businesses along the proposed coal train route, including the Duwamish industrial and north waterfront districts
• Evaluation of the displacement of higher value goods being shipped by rail

SeaTac lawmakers gave approval Dec. 11 to going ahead with plans to consolidate the city’s fire department with the Kent Fire District Authority.

The consolidation would be similar to the city’s contracting with the King County Sheriff’s Office for police services, according to fire chief Jim Schneider.

Schneider said he could come back to the City Council with a consolidation plan in May. In September, council members could start reviewing the process for an Interlocal agreement between SeaTac and Kent.

In presenting a white paper on consolidation, Schneider cited the cost savings to SeaTac in contracting with a larger fire department.

SeaTac already shares a fire chief and a fire marshal with Kent. Schneider heads both departments.

The city also has been part of a larger training consortium with Kent and Kent provides public education programs.

Other possible advantages outlined by Schneider include lower insurance rates, lower supply costs and elimination of duplicate services.