August 2014

By Tim Clinton, SPORTS EDITOR

Week of Aug. 20-27
High schools
Football tryouts officially begin Wednesday across the state of Washington, and all other fall sports get underway Monday.
Contact your respective school for more information.

Sounders
Seattle will be at home at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday when it hosts the San Jose Earthquakes for a 7 p.m. Major League Soccer match that can be seen on JOEtv.
The Sounders go to Portland for 2 p.m. action Sunday, with ESPN2 carrying that action.

Seahawks
Seattle hosts the Chicago Bears for a 7 p.m. National Football League exhibition game at CenturyLink Field on Friday.
The action can be seen live on Channel 13.

Mariners
The Seattle Mariners continue their quest for a postseason berth Wednesday when they pay a 10:05 a.m. visit to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Then it's on to Boston for a 4:10 p.m. game against the Red Sox on Friday followed by 10:35 a.m. action on Saturday and Sunday.
Seattle comes home to Safeco Field to play the Texas Rangers at 7:10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and at 12:40 p.m. next Wednesday.

SDOT crews were busy on 35th Ave. S.W. on Aug. 19 painting fresh stripes, just as they are on other major arterials —a total of 850 “lane miles”—on days when the weather is warm and dry enough for applying water-based paint. Remarking the yellow, solid white and dashed white lines makes them easier to see, and the reflective beads in the paint also helps, enhancing safety.
When the fall arrives and days are shorter and rain can reduce visibility clear lane markings make a difference in safety.

The crews have completed work in North Seattle and Downtown, and now are completing work in East Central Seattle. Now the crews are in Southwest Seattle where, if weather is favorable, they expect to complete striping in about three weeks. After Southwest Seattle, they will paint in Southeast Seattle.

Backup trucks follow the paint trucks, progressing along the streets as the paint dries. Drivers must obey the signs on the trucks directing them away from the wet paint.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has been able to restripe streets annually due to funds from the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative.

Since the last physical inspection done by the King County Assessors office in 2012 the Fauntleroy neighborhood has seen an increase in value of over 11%.

The area is home to 6,185 one to three unit residences. The increase is due partly to market changes over time and the previous assessment levels.

The Assessor recorded 18 land sales with an 11.7 increase in land value for 2014.
The office showed 670 useable residential sales in the area. There was only one mobile home recorded in the area.

The full report on the area shows each of the properties sold, the sale date, sale price, the adjusted sale price, the building grade, the year built, the condition, the lot size, whether it is a view or waterfront property, and of course the physical address.

While the sun shines there have been some majestic moments captured by Ballard News-Tribune photographers. Here are a few images taken from the region including the Ship Canal, Shilshole Bay and Green Lake.

Thor at sunset. Photo by Shane Harms

View from Sunset Park of the sun sinking behind the Olympic mountain range. Photo by Shane Harms

Sunset at Rays. Photo by Shane Harms

In the trees at Carkeek Park. Photo by Shane Harms.

Masts at Shilshole Marina at sunset. Photo by Shane Harms

The Lockhaven issue continues to spill like a cup of dark-roast Starbucks coffee across the news-desk of the Ballard News-Tribune even after the once affordable housing complex, Lockhaven Apartments, has become Cadence Apartments: upscale apartments, operated by Goodman Real Estate (GRE).

A longtime tenant of the apartment complex, who prefers to not be named in this article, -- the BNT will call her Ann -- has been fighting what she calls “illegal action” and “retaliation” since GRE took ownership in 2013.
Ann, a Lockhaven Tenants Union (LTU) and Tenants Union of Washington (TUW) member, has been battling over tenant’s rights with GRE since their early eviction notices in late September 2013. Those 20-day eviction notices were illegal and were reprimanded by the Department of Planning and Development.

“We've spent countless hours over many months working with this resident to help her successfully relocate,” stated GRE.

By Erin Bosetti

The Ballard farmers market has a dose of new mushroom exploration for mycophiles to enjoy. Chaga mushroom, a medicinal mushroom for Eastern and Northern European, Korean and Russian cultures has arrived in our little corner of Seattle. Ascended Grounds, a vendor at the Ballard Farmers Market offers Chaga mushroom infused coffee has caught the eyes of Sunday morning shoppers and business is up. They hype is fueled by curiosity but maintained by devotion and results.

The Chaga mushroom contains a higher concentration of antioxidants than any other substance on earth and is touted for it’s anti-cancer and immune boosting properties.

“It helps cancer cells go into apoptosis, which is the act of cancer cells to kill themselves, inhibiting tumor growth,” says James Wood, owner of Ascended Grounds.

Studies to quantify the effects of this powerful medicine are still ongoing, but it has been trusted as a powerful medicine for thousands of years and the hope is that soon scientific evidence will corroborate the claims of tradition.

Slate Coffee Roasters will be going to Portland to compete for the title of DaVinci Gourmet’s America’s Best Coffeehouse this October at Coffee Fest Portland! Coffee Fest, a tradeshow for specialty coffee since 1992, will be holding this year’s final rounds of their DaVinci Gourmet’s America’s Best Coffeehouse in Portland, OR, at the Oregon Convention Center on October 17-19, 2014. Slate earned its seed at Coffee Fest Seattle 2013 where it was named as a regional champion. They were named as DaVinci Gourmet’s America’s Best Coffeehouse for the western region. The six regional champions will come together to compete for the top prize of $10,000 and the title of America’s Best Coffeehouse of 2014.

Slate Coffee Roasters may only be a year old but they have been competing with other coffeehouses that are decades older and excelling. They source high-quality coffees from a number of different countries and continents in order to highlight the diversity inherent in coffee. For Slate Coffee Roasters, they have found that quality is always the result of collaboration. Slate Coffee Roasters promise unparalleled hospitality and a delicious beverage every time.

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD
Nutrition and fitness manager, Northwest Kidney Centers

If you’re planning a family road trip, you can save a lot of time and money by having a cooler full of ready-to-eat, flavorful and healthy food for you and your hungry travelers.

Make a list of your family’s favorite foods and plan to prep them ahead. It may seem like extra work, but you’ll be able to enjoy your trip without worrying if everyone is well fed enough to have a good time. Besides, what kind of vacation is driving up and down a strip mall looking for everyone’s favorite expensive fast food?

What to drink?
Instead of soda, think flavored waters (sour flavors quench thirst better), or UHT packaged milk. For a treat, make up a thermos of strawberry or rhubarb lemonade. For something even more special, try an Indian fruit yogurt drink called a lassi. The recipe below is made in a blender and keeps chilled in a thermos.

Nuts!

information from WSDOT

The Washington State Department of Transportation will close both directions of SR 99 between South Spokane Street and Valley Street from 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, until 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25. Crews will reopen SR 99 south of the Battery Street Tunnel just before the Monday morning commute; however, the highway will remain closed through the tunnel to Valley Street until 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27.

“We need Seattle commuters to plan ahead for this closure,” said Dave Sowers, deputy administrator for the WSDOT Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. “The section of 99 we’re closing Monday and Tuesday is shorter in length than what we’re closing that weekend, but it has the potential to create longer backups and delays both on city streets and I-5.”

Seahawks traffic considerations
· Northbound SR 99 will be open from South Royal Brougham Way and southbound SR 99 will be open from Columbia Street until midnight Friday, Aug. 22, for traffic related to the Seahawks’ preseason game.

Why a four-day closure is needed

SPD responded to reports of gunfire adjacent to Boren K-5 Stem school at 23rd SW and SW Juneau at around 8:30 pm on Monday night Aug 18. Officers on the scene recovered evidence but no people were seen and no arrests were made.