July 2013

No one likes to pay the piper but our state is in dire need of some rehab on our bridges and roads. I don’t mind paying to cross Lake Washington or even the Narrows Bridge to get back from Gig Harbor. With all the talk lately of tolls and Good-To-Go passes on area bridges it reminded me of an earlier time.

As a Portland boy, born and bred, I am familiar with the ancient steel bridge that connects Vancouver with my hometown. As part of Highway 99 it was the only way to get to an occasional Sunday picnic alongside a rippling stream called Salmon Creek, about three miles from Vancouver. My dad had a battered 1918 Buick four-door, soft-top sedan.

He and Mom sometimes took me and my nine-year old brother and little sister on Sunday picnics.

I don't know the year but one Sunday, as our dad ordered, my sister and I hunkered down on the floor in the back seat under a tattered blanket as we stopped at the Portland tollgate. Brother Russ was in the back seat with his legs and feet concealing our bodies.

Dad saved ten cents on each of us. It was a little lumpy looking I suspect but the toll guard waved us through.

By Peggy Sturdivant

I no sooner set foot over the threshold at Secret Garden Books than Events Coordinator Suzanne Perry held up a piece of paper to me like a Russian figure skating judge, proclaiming, “This is big!”

After being out of town so long I had planned to ask her to catch me up on local doings, maybe get some column ideas. Instead I struggled to understand what was big about the paper in her hand and a six-inch cardboard cutout on a shelf over her shoulder of that iconic redheaded character known only as Waldo.

It took a few beats, but I am now up to speed on the July-long FIND WALDO LOCAL event playing out in 25 family-friendly local businesses. Participating businesses are listed in a “passport” which anyone can pick up and then find the Waldo figure hidden in each business. Once spotted the participant has the store stamp or sign and then they proceed in a quest for more spottings on the path to grand prizes.

By Shara Wallace
HIGHLINE TIMES

Police looking for Big Top bandits
The King County Sheriff's Office, Seattle Police Department and the FBI are looking for a group of men they believe are responsible for at least five armed, take-over style bank robberies. The Sheriff's office doesn't know exactly how many people are involved. KeyBank in Newcastle was hit first on January 16th. Then a Seattle KeyBank on February 28th followed by a Seattle Washington Federal Bank on May 22. The Sheriff’s office believe the men are also responsible for June 8 robbery at a Burien Sterling Saving Bank in which a teller was hit in the face and July 1 robbery at a Newcastle Bank of America. Handguns have been shown in all five robberies, and the Sheriff’s office believes robbers drove a blue 1983-1987 Mercury Marquis in one of the robberies.

SUV hits girls

Reflecting on nearly nine years of owning Blackbird in Ballard, set to close at the end of the month, Nicole Miller has plenty to be proud of and little to regret. After all, her store shot from humble neighborhood boutique to an internationally recognized powerhouse of menswear.

“I never could have imagined that anyone would care about my point of view,” she said. “It's still hard for me to understand and accept the impact Blackbird has had on American menswear, retailing and design. I get a little dizzy when I think about it.”

Now, Miller is going a different direction, having reached and exceeded her goals in menswear. She will be focusing on wholesale with incense pyres, beard oils and black square soap, among other items. In addition, she told the Ballard News-Tribune that she has new goals and new challenges to aim toward.

“Designing stores and products for other people, public speaking and personal coaching is what truly kept me excited these past few years. Changing the business model will now give me time to take on more clients,” she said.

Original post (updates found below)
Shortly after 6 a.m. on the morning of July 17 a female driver allegedly intentionally struck a male victim on the 9400 block of 11th Ave. S.W. in West Seattle.

The victim, in his 20s, suffered head and body trauma and was taken to Harborview Hospital.

Seattle police are investigating and say they have a known suspect they are looking for.

UPDATE for 8:30 a.m.

At the scene, only a pair of shoes and a smear of blood remain as police continue their search for a "known" suspect who allegedly ran down a man in his 20s on the 9400 block of 11th Ave. S.W., just north of Roxbury.

The alleged hit and run occurred near the end of a dead end street, and while we are still waiting for confirmation from police on whether there is a connection between the victim and suspect, the victim's younger brother Nathaniel Hall-Deal spoke with us to provide what details he knew.

The 16th Annual Alki Art Fair will bring together more than 60 artists in a perfect setting on Alki Beach July 20-21.

On Saturday July 20, the artist booths are open from 10 am - 6 pm with music all day until 9 pm. On July 21, artist booths are open 10 am - 6 pm with music until 8 pm. This is a FREE, family friendly event.

This year’s fair will feature:

• 60+ artist vendors selling works of a variety of media including painting, pottery, glass, textiles, metal, jewelry and more
• 3 stages featuring 44 musical and other live performance acts
• Food booths
• An interactive Children’s Art Area
• Silent Auctions (in the Alki Bathhouse)

The Alki Art Fair offers a free park and ride from the West Seattle High School parking lot (3000 California Avenue SW) to and from Alki Beach. Shuttle will run from 10 am to 7 pm both days.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle's dreams of taking the Washington State Little League Majors title took a hit Tuesday when the Westsiders took a 14-6 loss to Federal Way.

West Seattle now needs to win three games in a row to reach championship play and then would have to win two more in a row to take the title and advance to Western Regional action.

The road back starts Thursday, when the Westsiders will play Richland or Eastlake at 4:30 p.m.
West Seattle had opened the tournament with two straight wins, defeating Camas by a 5-4 score Saturday and then beating up on Gig Harbor National Sunday, 13-1.

9-10 year olds

The West Seattle age 9-10 did a two and out at their state tournament in Oak Harbor.
After losing to Northwest, 14-4, to open the team was eliminated with a loss to Riverview on Monday.

Juniors

West Seattle's Juniors open state action at Medical Lake High School near Spokane with a 10 a.m. game Sunday.

Free breakfasts, lunches and snacks for children and teens up to 18 years of age are available through Aug. 23 at a variety of locations around Seattle. The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), formerly known as Summer Sack Lunch, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and was established in 1968 to respond to growing research that correlated a child’s nutrition with academic success and concerns about the lack of nutrition resources for children during the summer months. The City of Seattle has operated this program in Seattle since the early 1970s.

The meals are served to children and teens at approved sites where at least half the participants are eligible for free or reduced price school lunches.

Use the Summer Meals Search Tool that displays sponsor, site and meal information with online mapping tools;
Call the multilingual Family Food Hotline 1-888-4-FOOD-WA (1-888-436-6392);
Text FoodWA to 877-877 (NEW this year!); and
Call City of Seattle Human Services Dept. office at 206-386-1140.

The new Ballard Tallman apartment building, which in April displaced several businesses, is set to break ground in the fall of 2013.

According to the land use bulletin, the Ballard Tallman apartments (5343 Tallman Ave NW) will be composed of two new seven-story towers with 17 live-work units and 286 residential units. According to the architects, Runberg Architecture Group, the seven-story mixed-use Ballard Tallman blends Ballard’s rich Scandinavian heritage and Seattle’s maritime and timber hisory.

As with most Ballard development, the Ballard Tallman did not come without controversy. In way of the development was the old Tallman Medical Building, an auto repair shop, Angelo's Hair Salon, another apartment building and more.

Back in April, tenants were frustrated at the lack of notice developers gave them to move their businesses and their livelihood -- one month.

"It was just very abrupt and pretty heartless," said Lorraine Jackson, of Elements Skin Care. "It's big business I guess. We're just little people."

Update 2 for July 18
Shortly after the Whole Foods corporation responded to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's denial of an alley vacation for a massive mixed-use project in West Seattle, developers of the project (Lennar Multi-Family and Weingarten Realty Investors) have joined the debate.

In their response, the developers recall the West Seattle Triangle Plan adopted less than two years ago "calls for the vacation of the alley in this block and the creation of a new mid-block connector - goals this project has fully embraced."

McGinn, in his letter to SDOT manager Peter Hahn, said he opposed granting the alley vacation because the mid-block connector will be used for Whole Foods delivery trucks as well as pedestrian traffic, posing public safety risk and diminishing public benefit.