June 2013

Pestle Rock Isan Thai Cuisine, which opened last September, is jumping onboard the sidewalk cafe bandwagon. (If you haven't noticed, several restaurants and bars have sidewalks cafe on Ballard Ave and especially on Market St.)

According to the Department of Planning and Development, Pestle Rock sent in the application on May 29. Pestle will have to display a notice for at least 10 days. Since it is in the Ballard Ave Landmarks District, the Ballard Ave Landmark District Board will have to approve it at their next meeting.

Comments regarding the sidewalk café application will be accepted through June 17th, 2013. Comments should be submitted via email to annualpermits@seattle.gov or by mail to:

SDOT
Attn: Annual Permits
PO Box 34996
Seattle, WA 98124

Please be sure to include the application number, project address and your contact information with your comment. More info can be found at http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/luib/Notice.aspx?BID=820&NID=15350

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

For a little while, Bill won't be right off Broadway on Capitol Hill. Instead, he'll be on Greenwood Ave, in Greenwood.

In an announcement made via the Capitol Hill Seattle blog, Bill's Off Broadway owner said that they will be relocating to Greenwood and rename the new incarnation Bill's On Greenwood.

"We will be opening at 8560 Greenwood Ave North. Our plan is to open on September 1. The menu will be essentially the same with a few additions but otherwise it will be Bill’s. Bill’s on Greenwood!!" the announcement, which was made in the comments section, reads.

Capitol Hill Seattle reports that Stevens expects the original Bill’s to close for about a 20-month hiatus at the end of July. Good news for Greenwoodians (What do Greenwood residents call themselves?), Stevens said he plans to operate both locations when the seven-story building and preservation project at Harvard and Pine is completed.

Jumped near 16th and Barton
Just before midnight on May 24 a young man was walking near S.W. Barton St. and 16th Ave. S.W. to his girlfriend’s apartment nearby when an older model white sedan pulled up and two young men jumped out, one armed with a bat. The young man tried to run but was struck in the back with the bat, slowing him. The bat-wielding suspect then pushed the victim to the ground and said he did not want to hurt him (a bit too late), but only wanted his stuff. The second suspect, standing close by, asked if he should pull out his gun. The victim told his attackers to take his laptop and book bag, which they did. Police responded but were unable to find their suspects, described as a black male, late teens to early twenties, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and a red bandana over his face and a black male, same age, wearing a black hood sweatshirt and large “Ray Ban” style sunglasses.

BBQ theft cut short by a gun

Bunny Bonanza
Alki Community Center 5817 SW Stevens Street

(206) 684-7430
$5 per person
Friday, June 14th
6:30-7:30pm

Would you like to play with bunnies without the up keep? You’re in luck, Alki C.C. is having 15-20 bunnies on June 14th from 6:30-7:30pm just for you to play with. You ‘re not going to want to miss out on this furry good time.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169
We continue our Manager's Specials with 40% off media and entertainment including books, DVDs, CDs, games and puzzles June 7 and Customer Choice on one purchase June 8.  Also, all items with pink tags are half price and men's wear is 40% off every Sunday.  We are looking for people who can volunteer a 4 hour shift each week working in the shop, sorting and pricing donations or using your skills to make small repairs.  It's rewarding and our volunteers are people well worth meeting.  When you volunteer, donate and shop with us, you help fund a cure for cancer.  The all volunteer run, non profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Citywide Precinct Advisory Council is offering the public a chance to meet all nine mayoral candidates on June 22 to focus on public safety issues, and let the candidates present their qualifications.

The 2013 Mayoral Candidate Public Safety Forum will run from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, City Hall – Main Floor at 600 4th Avenue, Seattle

If you plan to attend an RSVP is appreciated: seattlecpac@gmail.com

The event is co-sponsored by Seattle City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen & Tim Burgess and will be moderated by Brian Callanan – Seattle Channel Host

You can submit candidate questions to seattlecpac@gmail.com.

Presenters/Sponsors: North Precinct Advisory Council | West Precinct Advisory Council |East Precinct Advisory Council | South Seattle Crime Prevention Council | SW Precinct Advisory Council | Eastlake Community Council

Download more information at the link above.

By Kyra-lin Hom

I recently peer reviewed a classmate's statistics paper on ADHD. Her son had been exhibiting hyperactive traits. So she decided to look at the rates of ADHD diagnosis in children and the various treatments proscribed in the US. To put things simply, no matter what demographic you look at, ADHD and the prescription of stimulants to treat the disorder are staggeringly on the rise. I'm using the term 'staggeringly' to mean 'in a really, really hard to believe way.'

That's not my opinion, though I agree with it. The belief that ADHD is being over-diagnosed and stimulants over-proscribed is the professional opinion of several child psychologists, including Dr. Ned Hallowell. He previously pushed for prescription stimulants saying they were “safer than aspirin.” Nowadays he's telling a different story and says that he, “regrets the analogy.”

UPDATE: 2:21pm

Our full report is found here.

Information from the King County Sheriff's office:

Near White Center- a mother fought off a mask suspect who tried to take her 3 year old son as he played in their yard last night.

The incident happened in the 10400 blk of 3 Ave SW just before 6pm. The family had just arrived home from an outing and was preparing to barbeque. The mom was outside and her 3 year old son was playing nearby.

The mom said she felt someone brush by her and saw the suspect run around the back of her house with her child under his arm. She gave chase and the suspect tripped and fell, dropping the child. A fight ensued between the mom and the suspect and the mom said she eventually laid on the ground on top of her son to protect him from the suspect.

The suspect kicked and punched the woman repeatedly in the head and body then fled over the backyard fence.

Now that I am semi-retired, my days are often punctuated by the simple and pleasurable activity of going out for lunch. I usually go with two of my sons, Tim and Ken, who manage the paper these days. Last week, we went to one of our favorite spots in White Center, Young's Cafe.

Young's is on 16th S.W. just north of Roxbury Street. It has been there since 1982. As a testament to the quality of its food, we saw a cop in there eating lunch one day last week. It's that good.

We are always greeted by name by the effervescent Janice Young , daughter of the owners. She has a great personality and a big smile for everyone who comes through the door. Young's has a lot of regulars.

While I am no longer on the merry-go-round of daily business life, it is still nice to get out in the community. One of the great things that happens is I often get to meet new people and sometimes I even meet a subscriber!

Something like that happened last week. We had finished our lunch and son Tim was at the counter paying the bill when a man named Bill overheard Janice mentioning my name. Bill asked Tim if he was me.

Tim said "Do I look like a 93-year-old man?" Then Tim pointed at me. 

From U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard will close to all marine traffic 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 6, allowing U.S. Navy divers to inspect a saltwater drain screen structure.

The structure, immediately upstream of the locks, prevents salmon from entering the locks’ saltwater return intake. Navy divers from Naval Base Kitsap, will close 10, 10-foot-by-6-foot doors and inspect the 30-by-60 foot curved-front, mesh screen structure. The Navy annually supports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with this procedure before salmon migration season begins mid-June. Divers will perform monthly inspections until the doors are opened mid-September.

The inspections require Lock closure to all but emergency vessels on emergency calls. The staff will complete work as quickly and safely as possible. Monthly inspection closures will be posted at least a week prior on the Seattle District’s public web site at http://bit.ly/BoaterInfo and on the Locks on Facebook and Twitter sites at www.facebook.com/chittendenlocks and http://twitter.com/ChittendenLocks.

At Whittier Elementary, where once jagged and broken mosaics adorned the wall extending the entire length of the playing area, now (as of last Friday) a whimsical mural has come to life.

A cheetah wearing sunglasses, a cat wearing a ballerina suit, grim-faced bees with heavy brows and jutting jaws, a swarm of red ladybugs of all different shapes and sizes are just a few of the characters you’ll see adorning the wall. The mural is a garden of colorful and cartoony flowers and creatures.

And it was all painted and drawn by children. One of the main jobs for parents was merely to complete the tedious task of painting the background blue. The teachers were mainly responsible for guiding the children, and maybe making sure they didn’t splatter or drink the paint.
Parent and volunteer Caroline Zizza, whose child will soon be going on to middle school, said taking part in this project was a way to give one last thing for the school.

“Every single kid has painted on this wall,” Caroline Zizza said, adding that there are over 450 students at Whittier Elementary. “The community spirit of doing this project together -- it’s kind of great.”