June 2014

June 4 – Over 50 concerned citizens attended the public meeting at the Ballard Community Center to make their opinions heard on whether a Low Income Housing Institute's (LIHI) Urban Rest Stop should be established at the currently being constructed Cheryl Chow Court (2014 N.W. 57th St.).

LIHI’s application (#3016841) asks for the 1,952 square feet ground level area of the Cheryl Chow Court to be used for a hygiene center. The facility does not provide parking for the senior residents or for the URS visitors, which does not meet code requirements to have at least six parking spots.

In addition, the facility does not follow zoning code because as a “community center” it is an institutional use facility and the code says institutions need to be at least 600 feet apart. The new facility falls within 600 of two other institutions: the Ballard Public Library and St. Luke’s Church.

by Scott Anthony 

It's funny how a person's outlook can change over time. There was a time for myself, as a kid particularly, when the most fun I had was putting firecrackers in tin cans to see how high they might go when I lit the fuse. Even when the fireworks fun backfired and scorched off my eyebrows one year, I still continued to buy and use them up until I became an older adult.
 
As an adult I was content to see the big displays at the park or on TV during New Years and on the 4th of July. Now I think it's time to reconsider entirely, as I can find nothing particularly good about the practice and use of personal fireworks.
 
If we examine the pros and cons of fireworks use, we come up this something like this:
 
Pros: an American tradition meant to exemplify our successful liberation from the tyranny of our oppressors, typified by the use of colorful gunpowder filled charges to mimic the theme of battle or just to show our enthusiasm for the coming New Year.
 
In public displays, the preparation and exhibition of fireworks creates a few jobs around the country, for a few days at least.
 

This year Foss Maritime celebrates its 125th anniversary after starting with single rowboat in Tacoma and evolving into one of the leading marine transportation and harbor service companies in the world.

Thursday, June 5, hundreds of attendees celebrated the anniversary at the Bell Harbor Conference Center (2211 Alaskan Way) at Pier 66. Food, drink and revelry were abundant amid 125 years worth of etching out a living in the seas of thePacific Northwest. Foss Maritime president and CEO, Paul Stevens, said the event was truly a family affair with much of his family in attendance.

During the program Stevens presented Co-President of Port of Seattle Commission, Stephanie Bowman, with a new Foss Anniversary book to commemorate years of Foss Maritime working in stride with the Portof Seattle. The book is a collection of historical photos and stories revealing the company's rich maritime history and current activities.

Bowman commented on Foss’s role in representing the regions maritime history and the future.

By Tim Clifford

Not so home alone
A surprise awaited one victim as he returned to his home on the 7900 block of 31 Ave. S.W. just before 4 a.m. on June 3. After entering his home from the car port, and not locking his door behind him, the victim walked upstairs for about 10 minutes and when he went back downstairs he found two burglars bagging up his property. The suspects, described as young females who were both wearing dark jackets, began giggling and laughing before they ran out the door. The suspects made off with four laptops, a wallet with $85 dollars in it and an iPod mini.

When police arrived they conducted a search of the area with a K9 unit and found the two suspects a couple of blocks away hiding under a porch. After arresting the two suspects the police brought them back for the victim to make a positive ID. The victim was able to positively identify one suspect but was not completely certain about the other one.

By Ann Kendall

Her reading scores weren’t good and while her refugee family was connected to some resources, at school she just wasn’t doing well. All she really needed was glasses so she could see her books and her teachers – and after glasses, tutoring so she could catch up to the rest of the class. Daily, Communities in Schools Washington (CISWA) site coordinators facilitate solutions – find the reason for the low test scores, steer families to health care and set-up tutoring. An optometrist appointment and tutoring may not sound like classic school dropout prevention programs, but for students (and parents) that struggle with a myriad of complex challenges, simple guidance from a trusted adult provides a sense of well-being that leads to future success.

The Westway and Imperium expansion projects that are proposed to bulk up storage and rail capacity at Port of Grays Harbor in Hoquiam to handle a flux of crude oil have some Washington legislators saying pump the brakes.

Seven members of the Washington State legislature issued a letter to Imperium and Westway and ICF International.

They asked for a more thorough environmental and economic evaluation of what would be an addition of an estimated 858,800 barrels of crude oil shipped per day, which equates to 12.3 loaded trains per day. If all the proposed plans were implemented as they are now that would exceed the volume of oil shipped in the planned Keystone XL pipeline.

By Kyra-lin Hom

Congratulations, Seattleites! I may no longer be in position to benefit direct from Ordinance 124490, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the grand gesture for what it is. Making national news the nation over, Seattle now has on the books the highest minimum wage to date, a full $15/hour.

According to the ordinance, this rate is going to be steadily implemented over the next several years by local businesses at a pace dependent on size and benefits provided by the employer. Employers with more than 500 employees will have until 2017 (providing benefits bumps this to 2018). Employers with less than 500 employees have either until 2021 (those with 'wage compensation' such as commissions, bonuses, tips that contribute towards the $15/hour rate) or 2025.

Effective January 1, 2025, minimum 'compensation' will no longer be applicable and all employers must pay an hourly wage of $15 per hour worked. Potential exceptions to this are those under 18 years and trainees. The time delay is designed by economists to make the transition as smooth as possible for employers.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Good, good, good.

Good hitting, good fielding and good managing led the way for the Nationals in an 18-6 if-necessary championship game win over the A's in West Seattle Minors end of season league tournament action at Bar S Fields Sunday.
The Nationals will move on now to the District 7 Tournament of Champions for the Minors division, which commences June 13 at the Normandy Park City Hall diamonds.

But, in this game, after experiencing a loss to the A's the day before, the Nationals came back to play with their 'A' game against the A's.
They knocked out 18 hits in six innings.

"The game last night was not indicative of what this team can put forth," said Nationals manager Isaiah Brent. "What they did today is what they've done all year. They are the hardest working team."

The Nationals won the Minors division with a 12-2 record and went through the winner's bracket of the end of season tourney until the As beat them Saturday to force the deciding Sunday championship game.

But this final game could have gone either way.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The West Seattle Little League A's had a perfect start offensively in a 19-8 victory over the Nationals in a must-win game in Minors divisional championship action Saturday.

That forced an if-necessary rematch at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Bar-S to settle the title.

The A's started off the top of the first with bunt singles back-to-back from Jackston Helmstetler and Liam Floyd pior to Nick Hazelgrove's two-RBI single that brought a 2-0 lead that was never relinquished.

"We had a game plan," said Marc Cook, the A's manager. "We executed. We did bunt singles and Hazelgrove drove them in."

That kept the A's season alive for one more day.

"One more tomorrow," Cook said. "We'll see what happens."

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
The West Seattle Little League's Cubs earned the title of Majors Division champions after a five-hit, 13-strikeout pitching performance from Henry Muench.
He led his team to a 6-1 victory at Bar-S Field Saturday.
Now the Cubs go on to the District 7 Tournament of Champions, which starts June 13 at the Normandy Park City Hall fields.
Jason Woodward, the Cubs' manager, said of Muench, "He was what I expected. I am proud of all of my kids. Everyone contributed to our success this season."
The Cubs, who went 9-5 during the season before catching fire in the postseason league tournament for three straight wins in the winners bracket, started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning. Jarek Woodward singled to third base, a hard hit grounder, before Muench helped out his pitching with a single through the third-shortstop hole into left field. After the runners advanced on a double steal, Dylan Pool's fly out to center field produced a sacrifice run as Woodward tagged up on third and came home to make it 1-0.