July 2014

The July 10, 2014 meeting to be held at 7 p.m. at Swedish Hospital,
Conference Room A, will have David Goldberg from the Seattle
Department of Planning and Development to talk about the Ballard Urban
Design now going on. The Ballard Framework is a process where DPD is
working with Ballard stakeholders and citizens to look at various
design issues in the central core of Ballard. This discussion is not
about microhousing and LR zoning issues which are being discussed
elsewhere.

This discussion is critical to what we want the core to be like. Are
you concerned we might end up with a canyon of 6 story buildings along
Market St? Should there be some type of design constraints placed on
new buildings to make them conform to some type of standard? Bring
your questions and concerns to the meeting. Below is the URL for the
website on what is going on.

http://www.seattle.gov/DPD/cityplanning/completeprojectslist/ballard/wh…

We will also continue our discussion on the proposed business
improvement area. This is being proposed by the Ballard Partnership

By Tim Clifford

Being at the front of the line to make the first historic retail purchase of marijuana in Seattle was not the initial plan for Ballard’s Deborah Greene.

“James [the owner of Cannabis City] came walking out the door and said “Oh my god, it’s my first customer," looks at his watch and it was 2:58. ”This is incredible, and I said 'I guess I can’t go home now,'” Greene describes of showing up the day before Cannabis City begins legal retail sales of marijuana.

With well over 200 people in line and waiting before mid-day and after hosting a media event to inaugurate the grand opening the small retail space that is Cannabis City was swarmed beyond capacity. After winning in a lottery held by the state liquor board to obtain a license to sell marijuana and a lengthy inspection process Cannabis City opened Tuesday at noon as the first retail marijuana store in Seattle, with Deborah Greene as their first customer.

The price for 2 grams on opening day will be $40 dollars and Cannabis city is prepared to sell out quickly despite the high mark up.

Reuben’s Brews came out a winner at the 2014 U.S. Open Beer Championship. The Ballard brewery tied for 4th place on the list of “Top 10 Breweries 2014” and was awarded four medals – gold for the Roggenbier, silver for the American Brown and Auld Heritage, and bronze for the Dry Irish Stout. This is Reuben’s second Top 10 finish in the competition in as many years. In 2013, they placed 6th.

The U.S. Open Beer Championship is one of the biggest brewery competitions in the world and the only one to include both professional breweries and award-winning home-brewers. This year, entries in the highly regarded competition included more than 3,000 beers from 300 breweries in 20 different countries.

“We were very excited to hear how well we did this year,” says Reuben’s Brews co-founder and head brewer Adam Robbings. “It’s fantastic to be recognized in such a large competition with so many great breweries. We've won some nice recognition so far, but this is definitely the highlight!”

On August 12 at 6 p.m. enjoy a wild salmon dinner and performances by Poulsbo Leikarringen and Barneleikarringen of Great Seattle; dancers and musicians straight from Norway; and local dancers and musicians, Roo Lester, Jane Johnson and Jeff Anderson, at Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th Street, Seattle WA 98107.

The event is sponsored by Leikarringen of Leif Erikson Lodge No. 1 and Norsk Folkedans Stemne. Proceeds benefit the educational programs of Norsk Folkedans Stemne, a 501c3 organization. Afterwards, there is dancing for everyone. Seating is limited so buy your tickets early.

Poulsbo Leikarringen is the premier young adult dance group in the greater Seattle area. They were the featured program at the centennial of Sons of Norway District 2 and wowed the delegates with their fast paced dances. It included the amazing athletic halling which culminated with the high kick off of the hat held on a long pole 10 feet in the air!

Barneleikarringen features performances of the children's dances of Norway and Scandinavia. The enthusiasm and smiles of youngsters ages 3-10 is heartwarming as they show off their skills in singing and dancing!

What do you do when you walk out from your job, your home or a World Cup soccer game and find your car gone? This was the dilemma this Ballard News-Tribune reporter faced less than two weeks ago and has prepared a step by step guide to save readers time, money and basic sanity.

After seeing a vacant space where a car once was, panic may be the first notion that occurs to a person, but there’s a better solution.

Step one: If you are in city limits and your car is stolen, call Lincoln Towing and check to see if your car was towed. LT is contracted with the city and is the company parking enforcement calls when a car has been parked illegally and needs to be moved. Moreover, they are the company Seattle Police Department calls when they have found a stolen vehicle. Call and give them your license plate number and make of the car, and the dispatcher will be able to look it up.

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD
Nutrition and fitness manager

I often bring flowers to work to share with my patients and co-workers, but this week I brought a different kind of flower—cauliflower! Prettier than any rose, and you can eat this flower.

When you think of cauliflower you may think of the usual creamy white vegetable, but this year I am growing a beautiful orange “cheddar” variety and a vivid dark purple variety too. I think serving your children raw “Husky flowers” of purple and gold might be one way to get them to eat their veggies!

Not surprising, the brightly colored cauliflowers have more nutrients than the white: more vitamin A in the orange and more antioxidants in the purple. There is a chartreuse green variety too. All cauliflowers benefit from a cooking technique that gets rid of bitter sulfuric acid compounds in the plant. Oven roasting or stir frying are great ways to tame cauliflower’s bitter side.

Oven-blasted cauliflower

information from King County

King County’s contractor will repair equipment at the Murray CSO Control Facility project site on Saturday, July 12. Work will begin at 9 a.m. as required by permit.

Nearly all the work will be completed with hand tools. No drilling, pumping or other construction activities will occur. Some materials may be moved around the site with a fork lift.

Making the repairs will help keep the contractor’s work to build a watertight ring at the site on schedule. The ring will serve as the outer wall of the storage tank King County is building to keep more sewage and polluted stormwater out of Puget Sound. Please avoid the site or engaging workers. Use the project information line (206-296-9185) for answers to any questions.
What to expect:
• Work on Saturday, July 12
• Work hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Workers on site using hand tools
• A fork lift working to move materials
• No drilling, pumping, digging or truck deliveries to the site are planned

By Matt Wendland

100-year-old SeaTac man’s death being investigated as homicide
Suspicious circumstances around the death of 100-year-old SeaTac resident, Robert O. Benson, are leading police to treat this case as a homicide. According to SeaTac police, a friend of Benson become concerned after he did not show up for a coffee meeting the two had been keeping for over 40 years. When the man went to Benson’s home to investigate, there he found his body. The cause of death has yet to be released but because the man was missing his wallet, police are asking for the public’s help in gathering more information about the case. Though over the age of 100, Benson was considered to be in good health and independently lived in the SeaTac home he and his family had lived in for decades. Police are asking anyone with information that could be relevant to the case to call the King County Sheriff’s Department’s nonemergency line at 206-296-3311.

Police investigate letter claiming Bill Gates and Paul Allen are serial killers

Federal Way, Washington - June 2, 2014 - The PowellsWood Storytelling Festival “is like a little pearl,” enthuses storyteller Syd Lieberman.

The two-day festival, which runs July 18-19 this year at PowellsWood in Federal Way, is decidedly unique.

The first day of the festival, storytellers engage registered guests with workshops designed to turn everyday people into tellers of their own stories. Full-pass participants even get a chance at “Tea with the Tellers” on PowellsWood’s fabled Garden Room Terrace.

The second day, it’s all telling, all the time, with special secret spots in the 3-acre garden set up with tents featuring storytelling tracks for adults, families, and children. This year’s tellers include Donald Davis, Diane Ferlatte, Angela Lloyd, Barbara McBride-Smith, and Ed Stivender.

This year there is a new addition to the Ballard Seafood Festival with the first annual Skateboard “Festi-Bowl.” The additional event will take place July 12 starting at 3 p.m. at the Ballard Commons park.

Activities include:
Skateboard Clinics taught by certified instructors (beginners welcome)
Slalom Course with chance to win prizes
Skateboard Exhibition by the Grommets team from Mukilteo
Open Skate in the Bowl
Skateboard Competition for Prize Money

There will also be live music from the “Not-its” and DJ music from C-89 radio.

Everything is FREE for kids, parents will be required to sign a waiver.

This is the first ever Kid’s specific skateboard event in Ballard, sponsored by several Ballard local businesses as well as national brands which will bring wide exposure to the event. If you’re already planning to visit the Ballard Seafood Festival, this will be fantastic fun for the children! The first ever, Ballard Festi-Bowl!

July 12 Schedule of Skateboard events:

3:00pm Registration/Signups for clinics, lessons and contest events
5:00pm Slalom event and contest