December 2012

Meagan Dahl got her dog Alki almost by accident. "We found him in West Seattle. He was a stray wandering in the alley behind Jefferson Square. My girlfriend found him and brought him in and called me, because she knows I'm a sucker." That was twelve years ago and they figure he's about 13 years old now.

His breed is unclear but Dahl said, "he probably has a lot of flat coat retriever in him, I have been told. It's like a black, golden retriever."

Alki, like many dogs, is all about loyalty. "He's the most loyal dog in the world," Dahl explained,"and he probably loves me more than my husband and kids combined. He's a best friend." Husband Dan, and kids Scarlett and Tatum took a little time to warm up to Alki but they all came to love him.

But the relationship took some time to develop. "He was really awful when we first decided to keep him. He chewed the upholstery in our car. He had a lot of separation anxiety. We had to stick with him for awhile. Then he turned out to be the best dog in the world after we let him work through it."

They feed him Solid Gold from Next to Nature in the West Seattle Junction.

Christopher Duclos

Ballard traveled to Woodinville to take on the Woodinville high Falcons in what was a hard fought battle on the court.

In the first quarter, Woodinville appeared to have the upper hand, outscoring the Beavers 12-8. But then the Beavers looked like they got a grasp on the situation as they edged the Falcons by 6 points or less in the remaining three quarters. With under a minute remaining, Woodinville seemed to be on the breach of retaking the lead with a score of 42-39, Ballard. With the defensive teamwork remaining stingy, the boys were able to hold on to beat Woodinville with a final score of 48-42.

UMass signee Seth Berger was dominant for the Beavers, netting 20 points on his own throughout the game.

Undefeated in conference play, Ballard will hope to continue this momentum into Friday as they take on Seattle powerhouse Garfield at home. Tipoff is at 8:00 p.m.

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Nina Laden admits, “Ever since I was born I’ve been trying to do the whole package.”

Although referring to writing and illustrating books, the statement could apply to all aspects of her life. She is so creative she can barely hear a word without realizing its story potential, gather shells without creating jewelry, or pick berries without making her own liqueur (and labels).

Nina credits her creativity in part to genetics -- her parents were both artists -- and from the time she could hold a crayon she was drawing. At three, she was folding paper into books and dictating stories to her mother. She completed her first book, “The Unbearable Bird,” at nine years old; including a handwritten copyright and a dedication to her 4th grade teacher. With every single school assignment she included full-page color illustrations.

A framed illustration from her 4th grade book hangs on the wall of her Ballard home office, next to the bookshelf with first editions of some of her 13 books in print, above the oak file drawer that belonged to her mother and holds every sketchbook journal she’s kept since she was a teenager.

By David Rosen

The Seattle Fire Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident involving four cars around 11:55 pm on December 11. According to Seattle Police, a woman driver was traveling Southbound on Fauntleroy Way SW and fell asleep at the wheel and swerved into parked cars on the shoulder.

The people who owned the cars that got hit were inside asleep at the time the accident occurred. Kasey, one of the homeowners where the crash happened said he heard the crash and that his entire house shook from it. The driver who fell asleep behind the wheel was not injured and was checked out by the Seattle Fire Department and released.

Fauntleroy Way SW was closed for a short time but is now back open.

Each month the Tool Library brings together West Seattle's experts to provide advice on your home and garden ideas. From light-hearted transformations (like holiday decorating) to heavy-hitting ones like rainwater catchment, building an addition, or becoming an urban farmer and everything in-between, experts will give you the power to understand and tackle your challenge.

On hand this month:
Sustainable Home Renovations | Mighty House Construction
Architecture and Interior Design | LC Arch Design
Rainwater Harvesting | EarthSystemsNW
Edible Gardening + Urban Farms | Gray Sky Farms

This month we will also be brainstorming a calendar of featured monthly topics. Come tell us what you want to learn more about! If you can't make it to the meeting, please email your thoughts to our volunteer host, Laura Elfline .

You bring your inspiration, inquiring mind, and projects. We’ll bring the experts and the pizza! See you there!

Ask an Expert @ West Seattle Tool Library
Thurs, Dec 13, 2012, 6-8pm
4408 Delridge Way Southwest Seattle, WA 98106

Chief Sealth had their first loss of the year against a taller Rainier Beach Viking team on Tuesday night Dec. 11. The mis-match was apparent when the two teams took the floor at Chief Sealth High School. Rainier Beach looked like men among children.

Sealth is a good basketball team, they're fast and have a tenacious defense, but when the team they have to play is almost a full head taller... well you don't need much imagination to visualize an outcome.

Beach controlled the entire area under the hoop and Beach guards Niam Ladd and Dejounte Murray pushed a lightening fast break that the Seahawks couldn't consistently put a lid on.

There is a lot of basketball left to play. This Sealth team will bounce back, and facing a Cleveland team on Friday will be a good chance to do it.

Game time is 8:00 pm at Chief Sealth HS.

Update, 10 p.m.:

One man was found dead after a fire consumed an apartment unit of a four-level, 33-unit apartment complex on the 85th block of 12th Ave NW.

Seattle Fire Spokesman Kyle Moore said that the victim was laying on a hideabed, deceased, and had burns. Official cause of death is still unknown and medical examiners were looking into it.

No other injuries were reported. A twitter report citing an elderly woman being transported after trying to save someone -- heard over a scanner -- are apparently untrue, or at least part of another case.

Fire crews responded to the fire at 7:35 p.m. and were able to contain the fire to one room and dispatch it within five minutes after knocking the door down, Moore said. At its peak, flames were shooting about eight feet out the window of the second floor unit.

Smoke alarms on all levels were working and everyone was quickly evacuated. After about an hour, and after carbon monoxide levels were tested, they were let back in.

Fire investigators are still determining the origin of the fire. We will update if we hear the cause.

For now, the vacant lot at 4731 40th Ave S.W. is nothing more than overgrown weeds and chain link fences. Luckily for West Seattle, the city council has different plans.

On Dec. 10, Seattle’s City Council unanimously (8-0) approved their parks department’s plan to acquire a portion of that vacant space to build a new park. The location, near the Fauntleroy Triangle and just west of a proposed massive apartment complex and Whole Foods grocery store, fits perfectly into the city’s goal of offsetting aggressive urban growth and towering stories of development with green spaces.

“West Seattle, with all the development going on, is a little hard to get a handle on … and I think the whole idea of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy was recognizing of these urban centers to try and put open space and parks where density is going and this couldn’t be a better example of that,” Parks property manager Donald Harris said in a preliminary meeting with the council on Dec. 6.