December 2013

information from WSLL

2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year for West Seattle Little League. A new division of play called Double-A Rookies is being introduced and is specifically designed for 8 year old kids moving up from Coach Pitch before playing in the Minors. This division will continue the focus on education and development, and will introduce players to pitching, hitting against kid pitchers, more advanced defensive play, and umpires calling balls and strikes.

Also new for 2014 is a revised Little League rule regarding residency and boundaries. Now children that attend schools within the West Seattle Little League boundaries will be able to play in our league even if they live outside the boundaries. This is a wonderful rule change that will enable friends from our schools to play baseball together even though they may live in different parts of West Seattle.

A second “Parents Night Out” benefiting the non-profit Evergreen Community Aquatics Center will be held at center’s pool in White Center from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.

For a minimum donation of $30 per child, parents can give their children a fun evening of swimming while they go Christmas shopping or to a dinner or a movie.

The White Center pool faces a Jan. 15 deadline to raise $15,000 to keep the facility open.

Larger donations at “Parents Night Out” will be gratefully accepted, said WhiteWater Aquatics president Brian Hastings, who recently told Burien City Council members, “It costs a lot of money to heat a 250,000 gallon pool.”

By Jan. 15, “either we will have the money to pay our utility bill or we won’t,” Hastings warned the council members.

This prompted high school senior Megan Kawaguchi – a member of the Evergreen Community Aquatics Center swim team, who has earned a swimming scholarship to the University of Utah – to urge the council members, “Please help us keep our doors open.”

Ballard seems to have always had a different way of doing things, for good or ill.

Newspapers of Ballard are not exempt. Even the Ballard News Tribune has suffered and relished its own oddities. Media itself has changed, but the bottom line for publishing during the holidays is how to get shoppers into stores to appease their advertisers.

100 years ago there was a depraved practice known as “print advertising.” Yes that might sound like a strange string of syllables to some people, but there was a time when that was the sole method of spreading the word.

The Ballard News Tribune did some digging and found out that not only are the November and December 1913 editions of the Ballard News saturated with holiday display ads, but also that it was the role of a Ballard News reporter to let the public know what Ballard merchants had to offer in their “displays” over the holiday season.

The Admiral Theater needs a Santa. A special event coming up on the 22nd requires a visit from St. Nick and if you are that person (or know one) this is the time to speak up.

Owner Dinah Brein shared the details:

"We're looking for a jolly volunteer Santa (you own your own suit) who will make an appearance at the Admiral Theater free Xmas movie on Sunday, December 22. The movie is 4:00 pm so we would love Santa to be on hand to meet and great and take some photos from 3:15-3:50.

The kids will love it and there are free movie passes in it for you. Please email us at admiraltheater@gmail.com"

Warren Aakervik is a calculating man. He is a community man. More importantly, he is a problem solver.

The Ballard News Tribune visited him at his family business, Ballard Oil, for coffee as the sun rose over the docks and explored Aakervik’s 70 years of community service and experience living in Ballard.

Aakervik is a busy man. He presently serves on the SDOT Freight Advisory Board, Manufacturing & Industrial Council Executive Board, Executive Board of Ballard/Interbay North End Manufacturing & Industrial Center, Board of Directors for Seattle Marine Business Coalition, Ballard Chamber of Commerce and Board of Directors for the Ballard Masonic Temple. The list goes on. Aakervik is also a private pilot.

“I’m really the laziest person you might meet in your life. I will take four hours to think about a project that will take 15 minutes. ... There’s a point to it. I don’t want to do it again, and I want to get it done as quick as I can the first time,” said Aakervik.

Seavuria is holding a Life Straw Benefit for the children in Kenya tonight Dec. 12 at Brunette Mix 4306 S.W. Oregon from 6-9 pm.

There will be a film showing the necessary help to provide clean water in Kenya.

With just a donation of $7 you can buy a Life Straw that will give one child clean water for a year.

SeaVuria is a 501c3 dedicated to connecting students and teachers across the globe, striving to create global awareness and sustainable partnerships.

Using STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curricula collaboratively designed by teachers, SeaVuria engages students in the Seattle-area and Kenya in synchronous studies designed to foster collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving. Global health scientists mentor students over the web, offering career information and cutting edge science ideas.

The fire at BAT’s theater space tried to play Scrooge and stamp out “Coney Island Christmas.” Not so fast! As promised, BAT (maybe better named PHOENIX right now) has located a temporary space. The “Coney Island Christmas” is moving to 216 SW 153rd in Burien (The Hope in Hard Times museum exhibit). Friday, December 13 will be pay-what-you-can tech run. "Full" shows on Dec 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22. This Friday’s show starts at 8:30 pm. All other shows are at the regular times: Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm. PLEASE bring nonperishable food with you as admission to Hope in Hard Times and to help those in need.

THANK YOU Highline Historical Society for making this space available to BAT! THANK YOU Dukesbay Productions from Tacoma for the lighting and sound equipment loan! THANK YOU to all of BAT’s volunteers for stepping up to help. THANK YOU everyone who has voiced their support to BAT in this stressful time.

Please let the Burien City Council know that you want them to rebuild the existing theater space that was fire damaged and to support BAT in its time of need - council@burienwa.gov.

The annual holiday gingerbread house display, built by children attending Lafayette Elementary School, are on display across the street at the Admiral Safeway store. There are seven on display right now (an eighth is coming soon) and they range from sports to pets for inspiration.

The range of creativity shown includes funny creatures made of cookies and gumdrops, a full Seahawks logo done in frosting of course on a Ginger "Hawks" House from Room 13 , frosting trees from Mrs. Schwab's first grade class (with Mrs. Arenivar), and pretzel fences around the yard of the house built by Mrs. Ybarra's first graders. Mr. Ngboi's 5th graders from Portable 31 have gumdrop trees lining the front walk way of their house.

A special needs class contributed a home with a dog you have to look pretty hard to find.

The houses will be on display in the deli department for the holidays and a winner (chosen by Safeway in-store management) will be announced before the children leave for winter break, likely Dec. 20. The houses will be displayed on stage at the school after their showing at the store.

By Greg McCorkle

On a cold evening in White Center a large crowd began to gather outside Full Tilt Ice Cream in anticipation of what? A new ice cream flavor? A new version of Full Tilt’s great Root beer?

No. Well, yes and no. Rock and Roll is still king in the Great Northwest and one of those rock kings were making their White Center debut at one of the area's premier ice cream shops.

The long time iconic band Mudhoney whose dark thrashing sounds have led over two generations out of puberty into adulthood brought their song “Touch me I’m sick” to hundreds of fans that spanned multiple generations.

There were teenagers to gray hairs standing in the cramped confines inside and lining the sidewalk outside just to get a glimpse of lead singer Mark Arm and hear the classic grunge chords of a band that personifies an era when Seattle ruled the music world.

The band was there to help launch an ice cream flavor that bears their name.

by Cindi Rinehart