August 2014

information from SDOT

Getting around in Seattle this weekend and early next week will be complicated by the closure of State Route 99, including the Alaskan Way Viaduct, to accommodate the demolition and replacement of the section of this highway that crosses above Broad Street.

State Route 99 way will be closed to both directions of traffic from the West Seattle Bridge to Valley Street from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday. The exception will be to accommodate Seahawk traffic leaving CenturyLink Field on Friday night. Northbound SR99 will be open from South Royal Brougham Way and southbound SR 99 will be open from Columbia Street until midnight. Then, from 5 a.m. on Monday through 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the State Route 99 will be closed to both directions of traffic from the south end of Battery Street tunnel to Valley Street.

If your weekend plans include traveling in the Pioneer Square, lower Wallingford or Fremont, or Alki areas, you might want to look into traffic impacts of special events in those neighborhoods (see below).

information from Seattle Parks

The Department of Parks and Recreation will hold a public meeting Tuesday, September 9, 2014, concerning a proposed land exchange in the West Duwamish Greenbelt. The meeting will begin at 6:30pm at Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way SW.

Comments from the public will be included with information presented to the City Council’s Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries and Gender Pay Equity Committee at its September 16th meeting.

The land trade involves undeveloped, heavily wooded, open space near 15th Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street (both unopened streets), shown on the map above.

Currently owned park property is shaded green. A long-existing driveway (indicated as blue on the map), serving a single family house at 4707 – 14th Avenue South, crosses the park property. Under the proposed land exchange, the red-marked lots would be traded for the yellow- marked lots, resulting in an exchange of equal area, equal or greater value, and equal or greater usefulness, serving the same user community and the same park purpose.

Mayor Ed Murray today thanked Christopher Williams, Acting Superintendent of Parks and Recreation for the past four years, who is stepping down to the role of Deputy Superintendent. Williams is returning to his previous role with the department as he manages some personal health issues.

“I want to thank Christopher for his dedication and service to Seattle Parks and Recreation and the people of Seattle over the last four years as Acting Superintendent, and for many years before that in other capacities with the department,” added Murray. “Under his leadership, the department has successfully weathered significant budget reductions as the result of the Great Recession, including both service and staffing cuts. Seattle’s park system will benefit from Christopher’s work for years to come.”

The Mayor will conduct a national search to find a new leader for the Parks and Recreation Department. The search is underway and will be completed by January of 2015.

By Peggy Sturdivant

My mother’s father, my Grandfather Teal died 22 years ago. We shared a cottage every summer with my grandparents; they arrived from Illinois in the spring, my family joined them the day after school let out for the summer.

Even as a child I knew they were not like the other grandparents who watched me tricycle past. My grandmother wore culottes, bare legs, smoked brown cigarettes and sat low in the driver’s seat of the red Pinto. My grandfather picked up any hitchhiker that he passed, brought home donuts from choir practice, treasures from the dump and rode his bike to the beach afternoons for a swim. They had taught in the Philippines in the 1920s; traveled to Europe on freighters after retirement.

Please join your Chamber colleagues for a discussion about parking in Ballard during our lunch on September 10 at Rays.

Throughout 2014, the Ballard Chamber, the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth, Ballard businesses, residents and others have engaged in a community parking program planning process in conjunction with the Seattle Dept. of Transportation.

The program is focused on developing near-term improvements
to on-street parking management in the central downtown Ballard commercial area. This includes reviewing the needs for loading zones, time limits, areas of unpaid parking, and other related parking management items.

We hope to see you there for what will be an engaging and informative discussion!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Rays
6049 Seaview Avenue NW
Please RSVP by Friday, September 5
$25.00 members; $30.00 non-members
$30.00 at door without RSVP
No-Shows will be billed

Christopher Williams, Acting Superintendent of Parks and Recreation for the past four years, announced on Aug. 20 that he would step down to the role of Deputy Superintendent. Williams is returning to his previous role with the department as he manages some personal health issues.

"I want to thank Christopher for his dedication and service to Seattle Parks and Recreation and the people of Seattle over the last four years as Acting Superintendent, and for many years before that in other capacities with the department," said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. "Under his leadership, the department has successfully weathered significant budget reductions as the result of the Great Recession, including both service and staffing cuts. Seattle's park system will benefit from Christopher's work for years to come."

The Mayor said he will conduct a national search to find a new leader for the Parks and Recreation Department. The search is underway and will be completed by January of 2015.

Deadline for receiving items for Community Calendar is 5 p.m. Wednesday for the following week’s Times/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email submissions to: calendar@robinsonnews.com
Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Dona Ozier at 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our “Out & About” advertising section.

Southwest Suburban Sewer District Board of Commissioners
Regular meetings are held on the First and Third Tuesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the district office located at 431 S.W. Ambaum Boulevard, Burien, WA. Contact number: 206-244-9575.

SeaTac Music in the Park Summer Concert Series
Bring a blanket or lawn chair and family and friends to enjoy live music. Performances are free. For Angle Lake shows additional parking available at Alaska Airline parking lot north of park. Sponsored by SeaTac Parks & Recreation and supported by 4Culture. Concerts 6:30-8pm. Friday, Aug. 22 Kellee Bradley (American/Folk).

SeaTac Touch-A-Truck
Tyee Educational Complex Parking Lot

By Matt Wendland

White Center man pistol-whipped and beat over $120
A White Center man was repeatedly pistol-whipped and kicked over a $120 debt according to the King County Sheriff’s Department. The incident took place during the early morning of Sunday, July 10, between the houses of midnight and 1am. Police were called to the intersection of S.W. 98th Street and 12th Avenue S.W. after witnesses reported a man being beaten with a gun. When they arrived they found a man severally beaten. He told police that he was attacked over a debt he owned to man that he would not name. According to the victim, the man pistol-whipped him in the head before repeatedly kicking him in the ribs. The man refused both medical service and to give police the name of his attacker.

Crash in North Highline causes power outage for thousands

By Matt Wendland

Police are investigating an explosion at a Des Moines home that shook an entire neighborhood and left one man in the hospital with severe burns.

The explosion occurred just after 7pm on Friday, July 15, at a house located within the 2000 block of South 232nd Street.

According to neighbors on the scene, the house had long sat empty as the neighborhood eyesore until the last few months ago when a local man had begun fixing it up. “The house was nearly complete.” One neighbor stated while overlooking the remains of the structure the following day. “Now there’s not much left of the house at all.”

While police have yet to release the official cause the fire and explosion, witnesses reported to police seeing the man working on the roof of the house’s carport with a torch just seconds before the building was destroyed. The blast sent glass and pieces of the structure across the yard and into the road and neighboring properties. The east wall from the house was sent nearly intact against the next house over.

By Betty Rose Cortes

Do you remember the story of Jared, the “Subway Guy” and his weight loss success achieved by eating only Subway sandwiches? Now, there’s a new woman in town - meet Elvina Downs.

The Burien resident was crowned Queen of Washington state for her weight loss success of shedding the most pounds among all state female members of “TOPS”, an international non-profit organization that helps members to “Take Off the Pounds Sensibly”.

Downs has lost an incredible 129 pounds to achieve this grand honor. Like most people struggling to attain and maintain a healthy weight, Downs went on diet pill after diet pill, program after program, with short term success as her weight would fluctuate until it continued to just climb to her heaviest. And then it hit her. “You know when football season starts and before each game they go over each player and get the heights and weights? I was as heavy than most of them!” Downs said, “That is what really set me off.” “I like football, but I don’t want to be like (the players)!” she joked.