April 2014

By Gwen Davis

Small lot development: is it efficient at providing people with satisfactory housing, or does it degrade the beauty and enjoyment of the neighborhood?

That depends on who you ask.

Last Friday, April 18, the Seattle City Council held a planning and development meeting, where dozens of people gave testimony for being pro or con the ‘One Home Per Lot’ effort, which advocates for permanent restrictions on the construction of new, tall houses in small lots.

The committee heard passionate testimony about how squeezing tall buildings into small lots harmed views and spoiled the beauty of the area. Those in favor of the effort said they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford living in their current residence.

Susan Neaton, Seattle resident is against the effort because the regulations wouldn’t make the situation any better.

“The City of Seattle can't come up with good design standards for other zones,” she said. “What makes you think they could do a decent set of standards for this?”
However, others feel regulations are necessary.

A public meeting to gather comments on the proposed construction of a three story, 40 unit building with five parking spaces at 4439 41st Ave. S.W. is set for May 8 at the West Seattle Senior Center. Its proximity to Hope Lutheran School and siting in a residential neighborhood caused the formation of an opposition group "Residents of the Junction" and has drawn numerous complaint and comment letters. A petition by the group was created and circulated and they will be in attendance at the meeting.

The project requires the following approvals:

SEPA Environmental Determination

INFORMATION AVAILABLE

A copy of the plans and other application materials are in the DPD Electronic Library at http://web6.seattle.gov/dpd/edms/. Computers are available for public viewing of these documents at the DPD Public Resource Center, 700 5th Avenue, Suite 2000 (206) 684-8467. The Public Resource Center is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.

Our news partner KCPQ FOX NEWS shares this news about an upcoming fundraiser for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of Stephen Jeffries.

Do you remember what you were doing last New Year’s Eve?

Probably out partying or maybe you had a quiet night at home?

For Stephen Jeffries, it was the last night of his life. He was killed in the White Center area of Seattle at a party on 16th Ave. SW. The shooting took his life and wounded a woman. Now, Jeffries’ family is planning a fundraiser to raise money to add to the Crime Stoppers reward for information identifying Jeffries’ killer.

It's on Saturday, April 26th from 10am to 1pm at the Puerto Vallarta Restaurant in West Seattle. The 40 year old father of four was a City of Seattle employee for 20 years and a hard working good citizen.

A candlelight vigil will be held on the corner of the 9200 block of 16th Ave. S.W. from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm on May 1.

We are looking for a photo of Ballard Bowl which operated from 1936-62, at 5216 Ballard Ave NW. If you have such a photo, would you kindly share it with us? If you can copy it by scanning or even taking a photo of it and emailing it, we would greatly appreciate it.

Send to editor@ballardnewstribune.com

The annual egg hunt at West Seattle Thriftway saw the crowd swell at the last minute and hundreds of kids and their parents swarmed into the store to get their share of some 30,000 plastic eggs.

The eggs contained candy with some special eggs full of prizes. Kids had a limit of 25 and there were a lot of excited children who ran everywhere to find their treasure.

It is always a fast event with most of the eggs in obvious display, picked up and exchanged for prizes within about 30 minutes.

press release

Internationally acclaimed storyteller and award winning children’s book author, Atinuke, is coming to West Seattle to share her stories and tell the students of Village Cooperative School and the Bridge School about her work as a writer. Atinuke has written twelve children's books including the “Anna Hibiscus” and “No. 1 Car Spotter” series. This is a private event.

Atinuke was born in Nigeria and spent her childhood in both Africa and the UK. Before writing her first book, “Anna Hibiscus,” she worked internationally as a storyteller, telling tales from both Africa and African diaspora. Her stories are a medley of traditional folklore and contemporary urban life. Atinuke now lives with her husband and sons in Wales.

Atinuke’s visit is a culmination of one eight-year old student’s curiosity leading to a question that unraveled into a famed author’s meeting. This is a great example of how parent supported, small, cooperative educational settings promote innovative learning opportunities for school aged students.

press release

The 2014 NW Green Home Tour, on April 26th from 11am-5pm, is an amazing opportunity for the public to tour homes built or renovated with green/sustainable options and businesses dedicated to supporting the green building industry. Two West Seattle homes will be featured as tour sites and one neighborhood organization will be featured as a Sustainability Stop. Participants can take a free, self-guided tour of these beautiful and innovative spaces, talk to the professionals, and learn how to transform their home to become part of a healthier, more sustainable community.

The Three West Seattle Sites Include:

Slot House hosted by David Neiman Architects and Heartwood Builders - 4827 Beach Drive SW, Seattle, WA 98116, http://www.nwgreenhometour.org/slot-house (pictures available from the website)

This two-story, West Seattle waterfront home overlooks the Olympic mountains and is attempting a 5 Star Built Green Rating, with features such as a heat pump, a heat recovery ventilator and super insulation, on-demand hot water, a 6kW PV (solar energy) system, and rain gardens.

Thursday, April 17
Track and field
Evergreen
The Wolverines took a 110-31 loss to Renton on the girls side and a 99-38 loss to the Indians on the boys side in Thursday action at Highline Memorial Stadium.

Wednesday, April 16
Baseball
Chief Sealth 9, Franklin 4
Merle Rowen-Kennedy struck out nine batters in seven innings as the Seahawks scored a victory on Wednesday.
Jackson Chilcott hit 1-for-2 with a triple and two runs scored for Chief Sealth as Izac Bauer hit 1-for-2 and scored three runs.
West Seattle 6, Ingraham 5
Regional rain failed to dampen the Wildcats' day as they got their game in and won it Wednesday.

Tuesday, April 15
Baseball
University Prep 3, Seattle Lutheran 0
The Saints were blanked by University Prep in Tuesday action.
Foster 17, Evergreen 7
Foster flew past the Wolverines of White Center on Tuesday.
Fastpitch softball
Seattle Prep 14, Evergreen 0
Seattle Prep scored a shutout victory over Evergreen in a Tuesday game.

Boys soccer
Foster 5, Evergreen 1
Evergreen fell to Foster on Tuesday.

Pacific Islander Access to College Night (PACS) is set for Thursday, April 24 from 6-8PM at the Jerry M. Brockey Center at South Seattle College. The free event will introduce Seattle’s Pacific Islander community to educational opportunities and support services offered at SSC. The event will

Hosted by the the college's AANAPISI (Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution) Center, PACS will give prospective students and their families first-hand experience with South’s education programs, student resources and services, and financial aid/scholarship information.

Community non-profits, including International Community Health Services, will also be at PACS to connect attendees with additional services.

To keep the evening entertaining as well as informative, light refreshments will be served and a live acoustic set from professional recording artist Samu will take place. Samu is a Pacific Islander musician who describes his sound as “urban island music.”

After midnight on April 18 police were called to the scene of a stabbing in an apartment in the 9200 block of 20th Ave. S.W. near White Center.

According to police an adult male victim answered a knock on his front door to his apartment but as he opened the door two unknown male suspects forced their way in. After trying to get the victim to go outside a fight began.

The victim said he thought he was being punched by the suspects but was actually being stabbed.

Police said that the victim had been stabbed in the chest and in the arms. Both suspects then fled the scene in an unknown direction and remain at large. It is unknown is anything was stolen in the incident.

There were additional family members inside the apartment at the time of the home-invasion, a woman and two children who were not injured and were asleep at the time police surmised.

The victim, believed to be in his 20′s, was taken to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers conducted an area search but found no suspects.