November 2013

While mayoral and city council hopefuls engage in a final day blitz of campaigning and phone banking, a frenzy has been happening at the ballot dropbox outside the Ballard Branch Library.

First, we have the picture above, which shows a van showing up to empty the dropbox after it filled up too fast.

Erin posted on our Facebook page, "It's been filling fast! A small mob had formed around this very full box drop until an authorized van careened up to the curb and emptied the bin."

Phew. Who knew Ballardites were so passionate about last-minute voting?

Another reader sent along the picture below, showing a sign that says "NO STOPS TOW AWAY" where there's usually a three-minute parking spot. The reader said drivers are prevented from parking along the entire block. Is this perhaps a shadowy effort to stymy the final get-out-the-vote effort? Or is it just an effort to prevent congestion? Who knows. At the very least it's semi-inconvenient.

UPDATE: SDOT sent along the following tweet -- looks like it's OK to use the parking spot to drop off ballots.

OP-Ed by De Mehaffy

Odyssey High School should remain open! Most parents in
the Highline School District may say... I've never heard of
Odyssey High School. Where is it? Why is it important to
keep Odyssey open? Looking at the notice in the Westside
News, it looks like a straight forward financial decision
due to a low enrollment and that it makes sense to close
Odyssey, but I THOROUGHLY disagree. Odyssey is
changing lives.

There was a public hearing on the potential closure of
Odyssey High School on October 23rd. The board room at
ERAC was overflowing with Parents, Students, Community
Members and Staff from Odyssey High School. A large
banner went across the back of the room and T-shirts
were abound in efforts to "Save Odyssey High School". All
60 minutes were filled with testimonies from parents,
students and staff on reasons to keep Odyssey open and
more would have testified if time allowed.

What does Odyssey offer?

A safe environment. Students and Parents testified how
the school was "Bully Free". Students had gone to other
High Schools and Middle Schools in the Highline School

By Matt Wendland

The B-Town Beat will use their November 7 free Music and Art Walk in downtown Burien to gather nonperishable food and clothing for local not-for-profit organization, Transform Burien.

The B-Town Beat is an independent not-for-profit group of volunteers that formed in early 2013. Their mission is to utilize arts and culture in Burien as the catalyst to increase community and economic development. The group’s primary event is a free monthly Music and Art Walk that takes place on the first Thursday of each month from 6pm to 9pm in downtown Burien.

Last month at the October 3rd B-Town Beat Music and Art Walk, attendees welcomed seven new businesses opening in downtown Burien. Around 500 people attended and multiple eateries performing soft openings that night reached their occupancy limits while one business even completely sold out of food.

3 car injury accident at 4th south & 128th

November is chockfull of programming related to the Highline Historical Society’s Hope in Hard Times traveling exhibit. This will be the only King County venue for the exhibit, which is free and open to the public at a pop-up museum location at 216 SW 153rd Street in Burien.

The exhibit, which originated with the Washington State History Museum and has been made possible with sponsorship by Humanities Washington, focuses on how people got through the difficult times of the Great Depression.

Radio entertainment lifted many people’s spirits in the 1930s, and the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound will be performing a classic radio show at the Museum at 2 PM on Sunday, November 24.

On Sunday, November 10, Sustainable Burien will be facilitating a 2 PM forum for people to share their ideas and skills from gardening to disaster preparedness.

Highline Historical Society curator Nancy Salguero McKay will lead a workshop on caring for your family treasures on Friday, November 8 at 2 PM. And geneaology expert Winona Laird will talk about the basics of genealogy research on Thursday, November 14 at 6:30 PM.

All ballots for the general elections most be returned today.

Ballots can be returned by mail or simply be dropped off in one of the drop boxes around town.

By mail, ballots must have a first class postage and be postmarked by Nov. 5.

Ballot drop boxes are located throughout the county and no stamp is needed. Ballots must be in drop boxes by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.

In Ballard, a drop box is located in front of the Ballard Library at NW 57th and 22nd Avenue NW.

This election will decide the new mayor of the city of Seattle, school board candidates for the district covering Ballard, GMO labeling, who serves on city council and more.

For more info, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/currentelections/201311.aspx

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

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib

From Ballard High School

For the ninth straight year, students from the Ballard High School Video Production Program are winners in Fresh Film Northwest. This competitive regional festival is coordinated by the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. It accepts entries from filmmakers ages 13 to 19 in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

Here is the itinerary for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council's Nov. 7 meeting:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (NHUAC) meeting:
When: Thursday, November 7 - 7pm
Where: North Highline Fire Station (1243 112th Street, SW)

Please plan on joining us for our next monthly meeting - NHUAC meetings are a great way to connect and network with other community members - and stay up to date on information about our community - We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us and learn how you can provide input for the King County Strategic Plan with our guest Meagan Eliot from the King County Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget.

We are also pleased to have Shirley Noble, Program Manager - King County Superior Court - who will discuss her work and volunteer opportunities with Partnership for Youth Justice.

Rudy Garza - Coalition Coordinator for the Coalition for Drug Free Youth will discuss issues related to drug use and prevention among youth in the greater North Highline area.

Today, Nov. 5, is the final day to submit your ballots for the King County General Election.

- Mailed ballots need to be postmarked with first class postage today.

- We have two local drop off vans, open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day: One at the West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th Ave. S.W.) and the other at the Greenbridge Library in White Center (9720 8th Ave. S.W.)

- There is also a voting center at Seattle Union Station, open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (4th Ave. S. and S. Jackson St.)

For more information on candidates and ballot measures, visit King County Elections online at http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/currentelections/201311.aspx

Mars Hill is attempting to move their headquarters out of Ballard and to Bellevue, where they say they have been seeing unexpected growth and where the church has grown to 2,500 worshippers and four Sunday services.

The move isn't without it's controversy. Their current Bellevue church campus is getting demolished in 2017 to make way for a new skyscraper and the property they have expressed interest in has been scooped up by Sound Transit. They claim that the International Paper building in the Bel-Red Corridor is the only property that is capable of holding the newly expanded campus and administrative buildings.

Sound Transit bought the property in June as a possible location for a light-rail maintenance and storage yard. ST doesn't expect to make a final decision on where their property would be located until 2015.