February 2013

Say hello to Hotel Ballard.

Ballard's first four-story, four-star hotel will be officially be opening in May at 5216 Ballard Avenue NW by the Olympic Athletic Club, which owns the hotel, bringing "classic old world charm to Ballard."

With 29 rooms, the guest rooms and suites range from $189 to $429 a night, and feature a king bed, ample room to work with a desk and complimentary wi-fi, in-room entertainment on HD plasma screen TVs, "exquisite" linens and down comforters, and more. Hotel Ballard also boasts panoramic views of the city and the Olympic Mountains. Underground parking will provide space for 60 cars.

Since it will be in the Ballard Ave Landmarks District, the owner said the design both distinguishes itself from the historic buildings and pays tribute to them, using handmade stucco, sandstone and wood panels as a modern interpretation of the "notable neighbors" it stands next to.

Bud Plischke got his dog Oliver, a Shih Tzu via his niece who brought the dog to he and his wife, Gloria one day when he was two years old. "He was living with a family that had three Shih Tzu's and they were living in an apartment and wanted to get rid of one so we wound up with Oliver," Plischke said. Oliver is now 13 years old.

Like all dogs, Oliver must go for a walk, and the walk of choice is usually along Beach Drive but Bud doesn't make that decision. That's purely up to Oliver. "He sniffs and doesn't miss a thing. It's the same stops, the same telephone pole," said Plischke but the route is different depending on Oliver's mood. "When it's time to go for a walk I get this one toy and I squeak it and we go. This morning we walked down to Constellation Park and this afternoon he wanted to go up to Jacobsen Road and back. Some days he takes a short cut. Wherever he wants to go, that's where I go."

Oliver does not bark which is not unusual for this breed. "When we first got him we thought he had been de-barked."

He ignores other dogs but loves people and the attention he gets though at his age his hearing is fading a bit, and he is blind in one eye.

Several Alki-area residents were finally given the opportunity on Feb. 20 to publicly express dismay over a camera surveillance system coming to the shores of West Seattle as part of a $5 million federal homeland security grant to combat potential terrorist threats in Puget Sound, Elliot Bay and the Port of Seattle.

Seattle Police have taken the lead on explaining how the system of 30 cameras citywide (12 of which will be in West Seattle, mostly along Alki and Harbor Avenues) will create a “wireless mesh network security system” that several regional partners will be able to tap into for surveillance data and purposes beyond terrorist-threat monitoring.

For more background, please click here.

What follows are comments from Alki-area residents (and the director of Washington ACLU) given during a Seattle City Council Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology meeting. Additional details on the security system can be found below the quotes.

SDOT press release
Due to an inclement weather forecast, SDOT has postponed this weekend’s construction at the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Trenton Street. The construction scheduled for February 22-25 will be rescheduled.
Reminder: During Phase 1 construction, southbound Delridge Way SW traffic is being detoured at SW Trenton Street as follows:
· West on SW Trenton Street
· South on 25th Avenue SW
· East on SW Barton Street
· South on Delridge Way SW

Also, the intersection of 25th Avenue SW and SW Barton Street is temporarily a 4-way stop to assist safe traffic flow.

This is a five-phase project. At the completion of Phase 1 the construction activity will move to the Phase 2 section of Delridge Way SW - between SW Trenton and SW Thistle streets. Please visit the project website for more information:www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_delridge.htm

TACOMA - Kerrie Heckel of Mount Rainier gave it her best effort on Sat., Feb. 16, in the individual event finals of the state gymnastics championships held at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall before falling just short of a medal.

On Friday, Feb. 15, the Ram gymnast qualified to the finals of the floor exercise with a fourth place finish of 9.5. Saturday was just a step below as she scored a 9.45 to just miss the top eight medal level in a ninth place 9.45.

"I'm really proud of myself for making the finals. It wasn't my best today, but was still exciting today. There were a lot of great floor routines to watch. I'm done with gymnastics,but I might do some diving in college. I'm not sure where I'm going, yet. It's been fun to compete in high school gymnastics."

Britni Atwell of Heritage captured the gold on floor with a 9.7 score followed by Tia Thomas of Federal Way (9.625) who didn't start gymnastics until high school and Monica Church of Thomas Jefferson (9.56)

The top three on vault were Atwell (9.825), Carolyne Scmidt of Emerald Ridge (9.7) and Nicole Moss of Heritage (9.65).

Sound Transit is seeking South King County volunteers for its Citizen Oversight Panel.

A completed application and resume must be submitted by Friday, Feb. 22.

The 15-member group independently monitors Sound Transit to make sure it meets its commitments to build and operate a regional bus, light rail and commuter rail transit system.

The group meets twice monthly during normal business hours with the task of digging into agency details, asking hard questions and reporting its findings to the Sound Transit Board of Directors.

Those interested must be a registered voter within the Sound Transit District and reside and/or work in South King County. They should have skills in one or more areas related to the panel's responsibilities: business and finance management; engineering; large projects construction management; public facilities and services; government processes; and public policy development or review.

More information is available via email at main@soundtransit.org or by writing Sound Transit, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104.

Most of this post comes from a press release sent out by Thaiku

Everyone, permission to weep with joy is granted: Thaiku, a Seattle staple, reopened its doors on Phinney Ridge at 6705 Greenwood Avenue North, after being displaced for over a year.

What's more, a mini version of its apothecary bar, Fu Kun Wu (named one of the "Best Bars in America" by Esquire magazine in 2006 and 2011), is also back.

While the restaurant is not returning to it's original location on Ballard Avenue, where it was for nearly a decade, it will still be delivering the same delicious Thai cuisine based on original family recipes from Thailand, in addition to a selection of favorite dishes that are back by popular demand, according to a press release sent out by the restaurant.

"At the mai (new) Thaiku, we're offering an authentic experience with food and culture that people would have to fly to Thailand for or go to a Thai family's house to taste," said General Manager Unchalee "O" Ayucharoen, who was born and raised in Jantaburi province on the eastern part of Thailand. Ayucharoen also managed Thaiku at the old location.

Perhaps you saw him yesterday telling fortunes in the sun on the intersection of NW Market St. and 22nd Ave NW?

Of course, we mean the one and only Isaac Newton, who had his own booth setup, complete with crystal ball and a film crew. It was hard not to get distracted by him.

Director Tracy Dethlefs of Hullabaloo TV, local writer/producer and former West Seattle Herald/Ballard News-Tribune Columnist Lori Hinton and actor Ian Bell (playing Sir Isaac Newton) hit the streets of Ballard to shoot a pilot project aimed to inspire kids to learn about the wonders of science and math.

Because the film crew has a nondisclosure contract with their client, they couldn't say much more, but there may be an update in coming months.

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib

On Feb. 19, the King County Sheriff's Office unveiled the King County Sheriff's Blotter, an online website that will be updated often with major crime updates and smaller news items, according to KCSO Sgt. Cindi West.

KCSO plans to make it a multimedia experience, with video and pictures accompanying stories whenever possible, West said.

The expansion of KCSO's digital impressions, with the firing up of a Twitter account last year and the newly-released Blotter in 2013, is similar to the Seattle Police Department's recent foray into a strong online presence.

The King County Sheriff's Blotter is available at http://kingcountysheriff.wordpress.com/

You can follow KCSO on Twitter @kingcosoPIO, where Sgt. Cindi West relays breaking crime and public safety information.

A power outage that hit the West Seattle area just before 2 a.m. Wednesday was largely unnoticed by thousands who slept through it, only to wake up with clocks reset and other items blinking, but it did affect the King County Murray Avenue Pump Station which overflowed an estimated 18,000 gallons of wastewater for 20 minutes through an emergency outfall into Puget Sound near Lowman Beach Park. This prevented raw sewage backups and equipment damage.

Wastewater Treatment Division utility crews responded quickly and deployed a portable emergency generator in the pump station as a source of temporary power.

Division employees notified health and regulatory agencies about the overflow. King County will install a permanent generator at the pump station as part the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) project.

The Murray Avenue station pumps wastewater from West Seattle to the West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. West Point treats about 133 million gallons of wastewater daily, and up to 440 million gallons during rainy weather.