June 2013

Do you have a pet-friendly workplace? Or maybe you want to try and create one?

Now's the time, as Ballard-based pet insurance company Trupanion is holding a competition from June 21 last week (which was bring your dog to work day) to August 31 to find out who has the best practices for a pet-friendly environment.

The field will be narrowed down to five finalists, who will each receive a Trupanion Pet-Friendly Workplace Seal of Approval along with goody bags including toys, treats and resources for each office pet. But among those finalists, only one can be the best. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000.

According to Trupanion, a recent survey by the American Pet Products Association found that 73 percent of pet-friendly businesses said pets created a more productive work environment.

By Christopher Duclos

Last Saturday, while many were outside enjoying the sun and the Solstice Parade, another event was happening within the doors of Ballard high School. A celebrity basketball brought together big names -- SuperSonics Slick Watts, rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot, actor Suli McCullough, just to name a few -- to reinforce the community's burning desire to bring back the Sonics.

The event, “Bring Our Sonics Back,” was presented by local rap artist Edawg and Movement clothing. A portion of the proceeds benefited the Joey Thomas foundation, founded by former NFL football player and Ballard High School head football coach.

“Joey is a good friend of mine, he's been working with kids throughout his NFL career and hes always trying to do something for kids. I trust him to do good with the proceeds with the event because I trust him as a person,” Edawg said.

The late Seattle Times humor writer Steve Johnston once wrote about attending a parents’ night at his kid’s school with his wife.

Recalling his own school days, Johnston slumped in a chair in the back of the classroom.

Not his wife. She headed front and center, right next to the teacher.

The teacher began, “Before we get started, I have a couple of hand-outs. I wonder if I could get some help passing them out?”

Mrs. Johnston’s hand shot up.

“Me! Me! Please, Ms. Hansen. Pick Me!” Johnston quoted his wife as imploring.

My wife is kind of like Mrs. Johnston.

So that is how Marge and I came to be the new coordinators of our Burien neighborhood’s crime block watch.

My mother was a 40-year PTA member so I really had to admire the techniques the neighbors used to get me to volunteer to join Marge.

They had me at, “Eric, you can be the ‘Captain’ and we’ll be your ‘lieutenants.’”

A sudden up tick in neighborhood crime caused me to quickly call Burien Police Sgt. Henry McLauchlan to give some crime prevention tips at a hastily called block watch meeting.

Despite the short notice, he came over, even though it was his wife’s birthday.

By Shara Wallace
HIGHLINE TIMES

Copper thieves facing federal charges
Two mean who allegedly stole thousands of feet of copper wire from runway light towers at Sea-Tac Airport are in custody facing federal charges, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.
Jeramie Harms, 28, and Timothy Lynch, 50 were charged with the crimes.
The theft was discovered on Feb. 12, when a Port of Seattle employee noticed damage to the fence surrounding the runway light structures near South 188th Street and Des Moines Memorial Drive.
In total, approximately 7,200 feet of copper cable was stolen from the FAA light towers, rendering them inoperable and potentially posing a threat to airline safety.
According to the criminal complaint, Harms and Lynch entered a secured area of Sea-Tac airport and removed copper cable from the light towers. The copper wire cost more than $77,000 when it was installed in 2008. The men are charged with theft of public property, which is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Boeing landing

Haz Mat teams responded to 911 call about an unknown odor or gas leak at an abandoned Daycare facility that sits at 30th and Adams Street SW today about 5:10pm.

The building, whose roof is visible from Avalon Way was used as Avalon Daycare until about five years ago according to neighbors. Prior to that it was a church.

According to SFD Spokesperson Kyle Moore said, "It was the smell of chemicals or gas but we put up air monitoring and nothings coming out. We circled the whole place and will make entry. This won't be a quick one."

After thoroughly investigating the source, SFD's Moore said they "did not find any evidence of a hazard."

Navos Mental Health Solutions, the Coalition for Drug-Free Youth and United Health Care are hosting the "Health, Prevention $ Culture Fair" this Friday, June 28, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Greenbridge Plaza in White Center (8th Ave. S.W. and 99th Ave. S.W.).

The fair is open to everyone and will include free blood pressure checks, fitness resources, blood glucose tests, healthy cooking demos, kids activities and substance abuse and prevention information.

There will also be food, entertainment, prizes and more.

In the ongoing saga of what will happen with the Nickelsville homeless encampment and it’s residents, Seattle’s City Council voted unanimously in favor of a bill on June 24 that will provide $500,000 to a non-profit for the work of providing “outreach, engagement, case management, shelter, housing and other services to immediately move the campers at the encampment at 7116 W. Marginal Way S.W.”

The Nickelsville Central Committee is not keen on their solution.

Nickelsville, which has been in West Seattle’s Highland Park neighborhood since 2011, has a fluctuating population around 120 people, meaning around $4,000 for each individual from that half million. The issue of moving the camp along has come to the forefront in recent months, with Highland Park residents complaining of public safety issues while Nickelsville tenants complain about lack of police support in dealing with trouble tenants and public health concerns, including rat infestation and periodic flooding.

The West Seattle Summerfest, set for July 12-14 is rolling toward us and the music schedule is now out with Seattle favorites Young Fresh Fellows as the signature act on Friday night at 10pm. Saturday night the big attraction will be Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band Whiskey River.
See the music video- Young Fresh Fellows - "A Fake Hello" here for reference.

Also appearing throughout the three day event are West Seattle's Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew) who will be kicking things off on Saturdy at 11am., well known power rockers Hobosexual appearing Saturday at 6:40pm, and Mark Pickerel drummer for The Screaming Trees who also played on albums by Mark Lanegan, Brandi Carlile, and Nirvana will play on Saturday at 4:40pm.

The full schedule is found here: http://wsjunction.org/summerfest/music/

Dear Editor:

I found the front page article on the Ard family quite interesting, but was also disappointed that you didn't mention Brittani's land use work in Ballard. Brittani is (was) a driving force behind developing the small lot housing (skinny houses and multi-dwellings where one house sat prior) that have sprung up on so many streets in the Ballard area. We are very fortunate to have her work blight our neighborhood and get to look across the street at one everyday. She should be given public credit for her work so those using the Dirt Exchange know where the dirt may be coming from or going to.

Sincerely,

RM Hayes

information from King County

Returning to civilian life after spending time in the armed forces can be difficult for veterans. One of the biggest challenges is finding a job in a tough economic climate. King County is assisting veterans making the transition to civilian work through the Heroes Employment Reintegration Opportunity (HERO) Program. The program offers six-month paid internships to qualified veterans, along with support services tailored to men and women re-entering the civilian workforce.

"Veterans are a highly skilled and capable group of workers, but it can be difficult to translate their military training into civilian employment," said King County Executive Dow Constantine. "Our HERO Program helps bridge the gap between military and civilian life by giving veterans the tools they need to succeed."