March 2013

Sports Roundup
Monday, March 11
Baseball
Foster 8, Ingraham 5
The Bulldogs outlasted the Rams in a Seamount League game played Monday, March 11.
A. DeLa Torre was the winning pitcher for Foster.
Mercer Island 4, Kennedy 2
Kennedy Catholic journeyed to Island Crest Park and lost to Mercer Island last Monday.

Tuesday, March 12
Boys soccer
Mt. Rainier 1, Kent-Meridian 1
The Rams played the Royals to a tie last Tuesday.
Baseball
North Kitsap 15, Kennedy 1
The Lancers lost a lopsided game Tuesday.
Girls lacrosse
Kennedy 8, Lake Tapps 7
Monica Moffat scored three goals and one assist for the Lancers in last Tuesday's win as teammate Alexis Jones had two goals and four ground balls.
Brita Whisler camed through with six saves.

Wednesday, March 13
Boys soccer
Peninsula 2, Tyee 1
Peninsula struck for a one goal win over the Totems in non-league action this past Wednesday.
Cedarcrest 4, Highline 1
Cedarcrest crushed the Pirates last Wednesday.
Baseball
Kent-Meridian 11, Tyee 5
The Totems were trounced by Kent-Meridian in a non-league game played Wednesday.

Navos Mental Health Solutions CEO Dr. David Johnson told the Highline Times that its merger with Ruth Dykeman Children's Center in 2010, and the Seattle Children's Home last July, will soon result in beautifying and modernizing the Lake Burien campus while also updating services for children, youth and young adults.

Currently, Navos continues to operate the Children's Home in Queen Anne. The Children's Home will share the Dykeman campus in the fall of 2014 once construction is complete. Navos is selling the Queen Anne property to help fund the construction, and new programs.

The seven-and-a-half acre Ruth Dykeman campus will break ground June 30 on a new, two-story apartment building on an acre or so of vacant land bordering 10th Ave. SW just south of St Elizabeth Episcopal Church and 152nd. Other new construction and updating will occur in and around the Youth Residential Cottages. Navos will hold a public meeting sharing more details March 28, 6:30 p.m. on its Ambaum Ave. campus.

Update, March 29: BevMo! just opened up today, Friday, March 29. We'll stop by to take some pictures. Grand opening is still open next weekend, see below for more details on that.

Original, March 15

Within the past couple of weeks, the fencing has come down around the new BevMo! location in Ballard by the Fred Meyer and workers are putting on the finishing touches. We received word that their grand opening will be on Friday, April 5.

BevMo! has 130 stores in the company, including one in Northgate. People refer to it as the "Costco of liquor stores," a warehouse with all of the liquor you can possibly handle in this lifetime, and the next.

BevMo! describes itself as the "ultimate neighborhood specialty beverage store." If you're not convinced, they also promise treats for customers:

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Jose Banda announced that the district wide arts access plan, enabled by the 2011 Wallace Foundation grant is about to be implemented. He shared the announcement in a letter to parents, staff and the community.

Dear Seattle Public Schools teachers, principals and staff,

I strongly believe it is our obligation to ensure our students have a well-rounded education, including the arts. We know arts education improves student engagement, motivation, academic success and also develops 21st century skills such as creativity and collaboration. We also know Seattle Public Schools is not currently providing equitable arts access to our students. This must – and will – change.

In June 2011, Seattle Public Schools received a tremendous opportunity: a $1 million arts education planning grant from the Wallace Foundation to create a city-wide arts plan. With this funding, we have spent the last 18 months developing a comprehensive plan to meet our goal that each and every student has access to high quality arts education, every year and in every school.

Monday, March 11
Tennis
West Seattle 7, Cleveland 2
West Seattle cruised past Cleveland in action played at Lincoln Park.
Michael Lee, Ryan Durkoop and Blake Bias swept the boys singles matches by default, while Amanda Lacayo won, 6-0, 6-0, in girls action and August Carow was leading 3-0 when rain arrived..
Thomas Tuong and Calvin Sewell won No. 1 boys doubles by default and Jun Ton and Jason Nguyen won the No. 2 match, 6-2, 6-0.
Megan Duong and Da Seray Dang teamed up for a 6-2, 6-3 girls No. 1 doubles win.

Baseball
Ballard 2, West Seattle 1
Ryan Kangas of Ballard struck out seven in three innings to earn the win last Monday and also hit 2-for-3 with a double. Frank Airey hit 1-for-2 on a home run, collecting one run scored and one RBI.

Tuesday, March 12
Boys soccer
West Seattle 2, Ingraham 1
West Seattle won its season opener against the Ingraham Rams last Tuesday.
Chief Sealth 5, Rainier Beach 1
Chief Sealth clobbered Rainier Beach as the Metro League season opened Tuesday.

Thursday, March 14
Boys soccer

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Jose Banda announced that the district wide arts access plan, enabled by the 2011 Wallace Foundation grant is about to be implemented. He shared the announcement in a letter to parents, staff and the community.

Dear Seattle Public Schools teachers, principals and staff,

I strongly believe it is our obligation to ensure our students have a well-rounded education, including the arts. We know arts education improves student engagement, motivation, academic success and also develops 21st century skills such as creativity and collaboration. We also know Seattle Public Schools is not currently providing equitable arts access to our students. This must – and will – change.

In June 2011, Seattle Public Schools received a tremendous opportunity: a $1 million arts education planning grant from the Wallace Foundation to create a city-wide arts plan. With this funding, we have spent the last 18 months developing a comprehensive plan to meet our goal that each and every student has access to high quality arts education, every year and in every school.

West Seattle High School students in the culinary program took home honors in the annual Boyd's Cup culinary competition held last weekend. Vu Nguyen, won the "ProStart Student of the Year" award from the Washington Restaurant Association. This honor is given to only one student in the State of Washington every year. The requirements to win were met. Vu had to be a current ProStart student, having completed level one of the ProStart culinary program as well as be employed at a restaurant. He received a $1,000 scholarship, a glass plaque, and a distinguished chef's knife kit.

In addition to Vu's award, another student, Garrisson Smith, received a "fund-a-dream" scholarship for $1,000 to attend the Northwest Culinary Institute, which he was recently accepted into; he also needed to have been a student of ProStart. Both students are currently enrolled in ProStart II, and were both members of the West Seattle High School Culinary Team.

From SDOT Blog

Crews working on the Ballard Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project originally planned to close the Ship Canal Trail for 30 days to enable work on the south side of the bridge; but now the plan is to bridge the trail instead. To do that, work platforms are being constructed on top of scaffolding.

The wood platforms atop the scaffolding shown in the photo above are similar to what you will soon see over the Ship Canal Trail itself, in the area this photo highlights. Trail users may experience some very brief interruptions by flaggers while this platform is being placed (or dismantled) and possibly at other times, but these interruptions will be few and short.

SDOT is always looking for ways to minimize the impacts that our projects have on the public, consistent with the safety of both workers and the public, while ensuring high quality work. A work platform “bridge” over the trail is an example of that effort. So, keep enjoying the trail, and we’ll keep trying to keep the Ballard Bridge improvements from interrupting travelers!

At the March 14 Central Ballard Residents Association, Ballardites expressed concerns about parking and explored with SDOT officials Ruth Harper and Margo Polley the possibility of Restricted Parking Zones (RPZs).

What are RPZs? It's a program that is used to ease congestion in residential neighborhoods, essentially to keep outsiders from taking parking spots in front of houses and apartments. Currently, RPZs are in 31 neighborhoods, with the most known example perhaps being the Capitol Hill neighborhood. You can learn more about RPZs here.

In Ballard, residents have been expressing a growing frustration with outsiders taking their parking spots, particularly during the weekends when a popular nightlife attracts people from all over town.

"Parking helps support a thriving business district and so taking parking kind of ... (she doesn't complete the sentence) there's a delicate balance," Polley said.

Eleven flowering plum trees (Prunus mume) are starting to bloom in the Welcome Garden, along the pathway to the Chinese Garden. One of China’s most beloved plants, Mei hua (梅花) has long inspired Chinese poets, painters, and gardeners for its delicate blooms and sweet scent.

Garden manager Amy Converse reports that several trees are starting to fill up with blossoms, while others should bloom over the next week or two. Through March the Garden is open on Saturdays from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. You can enjoy the plum blossoms even when the Garden is closed, and also visit to the adjacent arboretum at South Seattle Community College.

Admission to both gardens is free. Location: North Entrance at SSCC, 6000 16th Avenue SW. www.seattlechinesegarden.org

Chinese Garden Work Party: Sunday, March 24, 10 am to Noon