November 2013

We here in Ballard don't need the Seattle Times to tell us what makes us so great. But it's still flattering.

In an article titled, "Go play and stay in Ballard," features editor Lynn Jacobsen waxes poetic about Ballard, a place that has seen a lot of change in the past year -- let alone the past ten years.

In her opening, she writes: "With its walkable streets, quirky shops and inviting restaurants, Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood has long been a great place to spend the day. Now, with the addition of an upscale hotel on Ballard Avenue Northwest, it’s also an appealing place to spend the night. Whether you’re a visitor from out of town or from just the other side of Phinney Ridge, the neighborhood makes an ideal in-city getawayt."

Cameras don’t lie
The owner of a restaurant on the 4700 block of California Ave. S.W. was dealing with a longstanding pattern of money disappearing from his crew’s collective tip jar and purses, so he decided to set up a surveillance camera to find his culprit. The victim told police thefts started 12 months ago and several employees complained about personal or tip money disappearing. Recently, he realized someone was also stealing “till money” and decided to purchase two small safes as a safeguard. The money kept disappearing. The secret camera was installed and on Oct. 23 and it worked, catching their alleged suspect in the act. The camera captured one of his employees entering the business five hours before opening with a backpack. The suspect proceeded to steal cash from the tip jar and cram the backpack full of items from the kitchen before leaving. The victim put the damning footage on a zip drive and gave it to police. The police report ends with the statement: “There is probable cause to arrest (redacted name) for Commercial Burglary.”

Counselor hit by client

By Shane Harms

When The Viking Tavern on 24th Ave NW closed down earlier this year, many people mourned not just the death of old-styled watering holes, but the death of Ballard as a whole.

But all is not lost. The memory of The Viking can be found at The Stepping Stone, located at 5903 24th Ave NW.

As reported in September, the Stepping Stone has new owners, Darren and Elizabeth Miller. The Millers worked and frequented the Viking Tavern -- Darren was a bartender and bar manager for more than a decade. Now they have carried the spirit of their once loved hang out to the Stepping Stone.

“We wanted to place to have the same feeling as the Viking … just a nice comfortable neighborhood place where you can hang out, drink beer, eat good food, and watch the game,” Darren said.

Indeed, the Millers have carried not only the ambiance of the Viking, but also some objects that once furnished their old hang out. A large painting of a Viking ship hangs in the back, fixtures pepper the bar, and even the door from The Viking’s walk-in cooler -- known for where they stored the eggs they sold by the dozen -- is being used on the Stepping Stone’s cooler.

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Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206 937 7169
Store-wide clearance, November 6-9, with everything 40% off.  We're clearing the store to prepare for our popular Holiday Event and we'll be closed Sunday, November 10 to transform the shop into your decorating headquarters.  We'll open at 10 a.m. on Monday, Veteran's Day, and you'll want to stop by and admire our window, then come in and get in the holiday mood.  Double stamps on customer cards every Monday from 10 a.m. to noon. 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.  Follow our blog at www.discoveryshopwestseattle.org and LIKE us on Facebook.

White Center Library November Events
11220 16th Ave. S.W.
206-243-0233
Children & Families:
Movie Mondays ~ Nov. 18, 4 p.m. Contact library for movie title.
Rise & Shine Family Story Times ~ Thurs., Nov. 7, 14 & 21, 11:15 a.m. Newborn to age 6 with adult.

By Paul Moseley

It was a great game except for the mistakes.

The Chief Sealth Seahawks took on the Bishop Blanchet Braves at Seattle Memorial Stadium in the Metro League playoff game Saturday night. It was a game the Seahawks wanted badly after the Braves handed them a 70-0 clubbing in their 4th game of the season, and Chief Sealth came into the game with lots of intensity and a healthy roster.

Sealth walked the walk in the first quarter. They attacked the Brave offense, and the Seahawks' Justin Alvarez intercepted a Blanchet pass on the first series. The Seahawks were unable to convert, and on their next series, Blanchet pulled a drive together and Oshea Trujillo found his familiar spot in the end-zone, putting the Braves on the board first making it 7-0.

from the Seattle Police Blotter
by Detective Jeff Kappel
Detectives are actively investigating a vehicle arson that occurred early this morning.

At approximately 1:15 a.m. officers responded to the 8600 block of 12th Avenue South to assist the fire department with a car fire. Fire marshals responded to the scene and through further investigation determined the fire was deliberately set. The unknown suspect(s) accessed the victim’s car, a 1988 blue Subaru, through an unlocked door and subsequently set the interior of the car on fire.

Seattle Police Arson/Bomb Squad detectives will now have responsibility for the on-going investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect(s) is asked to call 911 or Seattle Police and refer to this incident.

Anonymous tips are welcome.

The power pole at the corner of 42nd Ave. S.W. and S.W. Dakota Street became unstable at its base on Saturday afternoon. High winds were the likely culprit as the pole was seen to be swaying widely, as strong gusts buffeted the area.

Seattle Police closed the intersection and neighbors were not allowed to remove their cars. People were warned away from the area since the lines were live.

City Light, busy with restoring power to thousands affected by the early November storm, was delayed in coming to resolve the problem.

UPDATE 7 am Monday Nov. 4
It now appears that the remaining power issues for West Seattle are finally solved. While most were fixed within the first few hours following Saturday's wind storm, a large outage persisted through Sunday near Lowman Beach and others including one on Austin Street and scattered others were still out well into Sunday night. Seattle City Light was out on Gatewood Hill Monday morning inspecting and repairing the last of the issues.

UPDATE 10:30pm Sunday Nov. 3
Readers report that for some, the power is still not back on, specifically along Austin Street S.W. according to a reader report. 495 City Light customers are still without electricity across the region. But City Light says they should have everyone back to normal in the next few hours.

UPDATE 3 8 :10pm
The power outages that hit West Seattle and other areas around Seattle are still affecting people but in West Seattle at least, the problem seems to be resolved. The 270 homes near Lowman Beach that were out for hours now have power restored. Small outages remain but should be fixed soon.

UPDATE 2 5:30

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for Western Washington, including Seattle

..WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING...

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...SEATTLE...BREMERTON...TACOMA...OLYMPIA...CHEHALIS...ELMA.

* TIMING...THIS MORNING THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL LIKELY BE IN THE LATE MORNING OR AFTERNOON.

* WIND...SOUTH 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH...BECOMING SOUTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH.

* IMPACTS...WINDS THIS STRONG CAN SNAP SMALL TREE BRANCHES...TOPPLE SMALL OR SHALLOW ROOTED TREES...AND CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES.

Meat the Live Butcher's Tom Salle will be in attendance as his annual Food Drive and Dinner event is held at the White Center Eagles Aerie Nov. 8. The Aerie is located at 10452 15th Ave. S.W. in White Center.

The goal as always is to feed the hungry so those attending are asked to make a $10 donation and bring non perishable food items.

Seatown Rhythm and Blues will be on hand to provide the music starting at 8pm but the doors will open at 5 as the dinner gets underway at 6pm.

Here's the menu for the dinner:

• Assorted Artisanal Sausages
• Crudite with Caesar Cream Dressing
• Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage
• North Dakota Sausage Thanksgiving Dressing
• Salad with Homemade Italian Dressing
• Italian Green Beans with Bacon and Almonds
• Rolls with butter
• Assorted Fall Pies