March 2013

The legal ordeal, and anguish, of West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox, and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, continues. Both were aquitted Oct. 3, 2011 of all murder charges of her British college roommate, Meredith Kercher, stabbed to death in their shared apartment Nov. 1, 2007 in Perugia, Italy, also the town where trial took place.

Early this morning West Coast time, an Italian court ruled they must stand trial again. Legal experts, at least here in America, are reporting that it is doubtful Knox will return to the courtroom in Italy. She lives in Seattle where she studies at the University of Washington. However, Sollecito is more vulnerable as he lives in Italy.

See the West Seattle article about the overturned appeal here.

Let's face it, we've been spoiled the past few days. With stunning sunny blue skies and temperatures in the 50s, Ballardites have been going crazy with happiness this spring. And who's to blame? With our great parks, wonderful architecture, splendid booze and all around excellent neighborhood, there's hardly a reason to stay in your house.

So, while the clouds have descended upon us for the time being, lets take a look back and remember what makes Ballard so great in the spring. And next time the sun rears its face, we can enjoy it even more:

1. Bicycling to Golden Gardens. (Photo by Jerry Gay)

2. Walking instead of driving. (Photo by Jerry Gay)

3. Kayaking into the great yonder. (Photo by Zachariah Bryan

In early April of 1980 some of my friends threw a 60th birthday party for me at Kingston Village. It was a thrill to see so many friendly faces.

As a surprise my kids arranged to have King County Executive John Spellman come to the party. About mid point of the event John gave a nice speech about how important community newspapers were to the lives of the residents and presented me with a plaque honoring my service to White Center.

He called it “Jerry Robinson Day.” John was a candidate for governor to replace Dixie Lee Ray. He succeeded and thanked me personally "for not running for governor" as he believed my popularity might have threatened his candidacy. I was flattered.

What he did not know was that I was a big fan of his and had no intention of seeking political office.

Yes, I have opinions and I used them in my newspapers, but living in Olympia would have been quite a commute for me because I loved living and working in White Center. It is where I got my start as a newspaperman. And it was a mile from my house.

By Shara Wallace and Steve Shay
HIGHLINE TIMES

Security breach at SeaTac
Officials at Sea-Tac Airport reported that a passenger entered a secure area through an exit lane March 19, which resulted in a security breach. Authorities cleared several concourses until the man was located.
Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said that meant 1,000 to 1,500 passengers in the C and D concourses and central terminal had to leave the area.
They were then re-screened through other security checkpoints.
Port of Seattle police and Transportation Security Administration officials found the passenger at about 9 p.m. He was questioned and released. Cooper said the issue was a misunderstanding, and "not anything of a security concern to passengers."
After the man was cleared, passengers began the rescreening process. Cooper says the checkpoint backup was cleared by about 10:30 p.m.

Arrest Made In SeaTac
The King County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested a 30 year old Los Angeles man in connection with the shooting death of a man on March 11th in the 3000 block of South 146th St reet in SeaTac.

Experienced teams with veteran players know how to come from behind and win games. They don't panic when they are down.

Of the 21 players on Ballard's varsity roster, 16 are seniors. One-half of these players have at least three years of KingCo 4A varsity playing time. The Beavers are playing like veterans and though it is just the first week of conference play, the 5-1 Beavers (2-0 conference) are on top of the league standings.

Though they have played well against Roosevelt and Newport, it has taken 19 innings to win those games. After Wednesday's 9-inning victory against The Roughriders, The Beavers came from behind again to beat the previously undefeated Newport Knights of Bellevue on Friday, March 22.

What makes these wins special is not just the play of the veterans, but also the play of the first year starters. In Friday's 7-5 win against Newport, the first year starters, Freshman CF Joe Eskenazi, Sophomore's 2B Jacob Westerman, DH/P Alex Livengood and Junior LF Davis Lohman combined for 3 runs, 5 hits, 4 RBI's, 2 walks and zero strikeouts!

In honor of its 30th anniversary, the Hardanger Fiddle Association of America (HFAA) will hold a gala concert on Friday evening, April 12, 2013, 7:30 PM, at the Nordic Heritage Museum (http://www.nordicmuseum.org/), 3014 Northwest 67th St., Seattle, WA. The concert, all proceeds of which will go to benefit the HFAA, features many of the most talented performers of Scandinavian folk music and dance in the Seattle area and further afield.

Friday, March 22
Baseball
Chief Sealth 12, Sammamish 9
Chief Sealth's Seahawks beat Sammamish in a slugfest this past Friday.

Boys soccer
Evergreen 3, Renton 0
Evergreen blanked the Indians in action at Highline Stadium last Friday.
The Wolverines play Evergreen in a 5:30 p.m. game at Valley Ridge (next to Tyee) Tuesday.

Fastpitch
Lindbergh 14, Evergreen 3
The Eagles soared past the Wolverines in a lopsided Seamount League game played Friday.
Evergreen is at Renton in both baseball and fastpitch at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Saturday, March 23
Baseball
Kentridge 11, West Seattle 5
West Seattle of the Metro League got to play at Safeco Field on Saturday, but with the memories will come an 11-5 loss to Kentridge of the South Puget Sound League.
The Wildcats were set to play Seattle Prep Monday before taking on Ingraham in a 3:30 p.m. game at Hiawatha Friday.

White River 4, Chief Sealth 0
Chief Sealth journeyed to Buckley to play White River Saturday and came away with a 4-0 non-league loss.

Puget Sound Energy is hoping to shine a light, an energy efficient light in fact on saving energy by making good choices at every stage of lighting and energy use in the home, with a contest they call "Re-energized by Design," a design competition in which PSE customers will compete weekly in a series of energy efficiency room makeover challenges. Among the contestants is the Bedford family of West Seattle that the Herald reported on on March, 20.

Each Wednesday up to April 24, Puget Sound Energy is releasing a new episode of Re-energized By Design. Viewers are following the contestant’s race to combine design choices and energy-efficient ideas, transforming rooms into functional and efficient spaces on a tight budget. To advance, contestants must impress celebrity judges—radio personality Marty Riemer, 425 and South Sound Magazine Editor Lisa Patterson, and local society and event photographer Duell Fisher.

West Seattle traveled to Mel Olsen Field to face the Seattle Prep Panthers on Monday. The Wildcats got on the board first when in the second inning led off hitter LaTrey Newsome laced a double off Prep starting pitcher Patrick Stanton.

Next batter, catcher Jimmy Mai then hit a solid single that allowed Newsome to advance to third. With runners on the corners Stanton’s next pitch went wild and got away from the Prep catcher.

That was all LaTrey Newsome needed, and the speedy left fielder came home for the Wildcats first run of the game.

The Wildcats struck again in the third. Pitcher Sam Hellinger showed patience at the plate, and with the count full watched a high and outside pitch send him to first base. Jimmy Mai continued his offensive presence at the plate by hitting a can-o-corn over the Prep first baseman and West Seattle had runners on first and second. Third batter up was DH Tim Adams who took a one-one pitch and blasted a shot into left center field for a two RBI triple sending home both Mai and Hellinger giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

Over the next two innings both teams struggled and would leave batters stranded with nothing to show for their efforts.

The King County Sheriff’s Office finally nabbed Alan Polevia on March 22 after a Washington’s Most Wanted viewer spotted him dumpster diving behind a Burien apartment complex and called police.

Polevia escaped from KCSO custody at Harborview Hospital on Feb. 25 and reappeared near the Arbor Heights neighborhood of West Seattle on March 5. Despite a manhunt using K-9s, he was able to elude law enforcement again.

According to David Rose with Q13 Fox (West Seattle Herald news partner) and Washington’s Most Wanted:

“Sgt. Cindi West with the King County Sheriff’s Office says a WMW viewer called 911 Friday night to report that fugitive Alan Polevia was rummaging through a dumpster behind a building at the Heights at Burien in the 1200 block of S.W. 137th St.