April 2015

On April 8 the 34th District Democrats held a candidate’s forum to select the candidate that they will endorsed to represent West Seattle and South Park in the Seattle City Council. The endorsement vote for the 34th District Dems will be held on May 20.

The auditorium at the Fauntleroy Hall was filled to its maximum capacity by members and supporters, with guests such as King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott in attendance. Chair of the Executive Board Marcee Stone-Vekich moderated the Q&A and managed to keep the proceedings moving at a fast pace.

Each candidate was given one minute to answer each question.
Shannon Braddock, Chas Redmond, Lisa Herbold, Tom Koch, Philip Tavel, and Brianna Thomas were the six candidates who participated. Amanda Kay Helmick had been scheduled to appear but was unable to participate since she is running as an independent and would not declare herself a democrat, a requirement per the 34 DD’s bi-laws.

It has gone by different names over the years: White Center Stadium, Mel Olson Stadium and Steve Cox Memorial Park.

But whatever you call the venerable covered ballpark on SW 102nd Street just east of Ambaum, it has a history dating back to the completion of the original wooden grandstands in May of 1940.

In decades gone by hundreds of fans used to pack the stadium to watch semipro baseball and national level men's fastpitch softball teams going by such names as Pay 'N Pak, Westside Federal and The King & His Court.

The Highline Bears are hoping to bring back the days of such high level ball and the big crowds that go with them when the Pacific International League semiprofessional baseball expansion team plays its first season at the park this summer.

"Our main goal is to bring the community together through baseball," said Bears general manager Justin Moser. "This is the community's team. We want to bring fans from West Seattle and Highline all the way through Des Moines on Friday and Saturday nights and watch a game of baseball."

Joining Moser on the brass of the team are president Russ Pritchard, manager Tom Coughlin and treasurer John Thomson.

Jill Simmons is leaving her position as Director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment. Her last day in the Office will be May 21.

“Jill has been an insightful advisor this past year, and I will certainly miss her leadership on the environmental issues critical to Seattle’s future,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “She was instrumental in developing aggressive climate action goals for the City, reducing the City’s energy use, as well as bringing a new eye to equity for all communities in the City’s environmental work.”

“I want to thank Mayor Murray for the opportunity to serve in his administration. He has set a high bar for moving progressive policy quickly and with conviction,” said Simmons. “Under his leadership, I have no doubt that the Office of Sustainability and Environment will continue to lead the nation in addressing our most pressing environmental challenges while creating vibrant communities and building shared prosperity.”

Janette Sadik-Khan, an internationally-known expert in transportation innovations, will speak at Town Hall in Seattle on Wednesday, April 15. Her presentation is part of a series to inspire new ideas and opportunities for transportation in Seattle.

What: “Changing Lanes: Blueprints for a New Road Order”
Who: Janette Sadik-Khan
Moderator: Ross Reynolds, KUOW Public Radio
Where: Great Hall at Town Hall
When: April 15, 6 p.m.
RSVP here: https://janettesadikkhan.eventbrite.com

Janette Sadik-Khan was the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation from 2007 to 2013. Under her direction the flow of traffic improved and fatalities dropped sharply on New York City’s streets. More than 250 miles of bicycle lanes were added and bicycling doubled. She is probably most well-known for painting out areas on city streets and setting out lawn chairs, transforming areas such as in Times Square, a major commercial intersection, into pedestrian zones. She is now a consultant, advising mayors around the world to design urban transportation systems that can be built quickly and inexpensively.

In March 2015, Mayor Ed Murray introduced a proposal for a nine-year, $900 million levy to replace the existing $365 million Bridging the Gap levy that will expire at the end of 2015. The Transportation Levy to Move Seattle proposal focuses on taking care of the basics, maintaining our streets, bridges, and sidewalks, while also investing in the future with improvements that will provide more transportation choices to move more people and goods around our growing city.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has held three open houses since introducing the levy proposal across the city, and presented it to numerous community and business organizations, in addition to city advisory boards and commissions.

Over the next three weeks, SDOT will host an additional round of opportunities for the public to learn about the proposal and provide feedback. “It’s our goal to include community priorities in this importation transportation proposal that Mayor Murray will submit to the City Council in May”, said Seattle Department of Transportation Director Scott Kubly.

Here are ways to participate:

By Michael “Buffalo” Mazzetti

Why does the Washington State Legislature (WSL) want to undermine medical cannabis? Alison Holcomb and Peter Holmes with Initiative 502 clearly stated that if passed, it would have no effect on medical cannabis laws. Reassuring voters that “I-502 won't harm patients”.

Senate Bill SB 5052 is an effort by the WSL that could doom our medical cannabis patient rights. This bill could bring harm and even death to many medical cannabis patients. Why would the WSL do this? Immediately, three reasons grab my attention: knowledge deficit, power, and greed. Let’s examine this.

BURIEN ARTS GALLERY is a non-profit community gallery that fosters an

environment to expose artists and their work to patrons, dealers, collectors and art buyers.  It also allows for an ongoing discussion of the artist’s process and intent. It provides a venue for the public to increase its aesthetic awareness in the deciphering of the artist’s work.

OVERVIEW:

Burien Arts has an open call to artists working in glass or enamel.

Fine art glass objects in any form or combined with other mediums in 2-D or 3-D

(sizes established) should be submitted in JPEG form to gallery using the information

from the website: http://burienarts.org/artist-entry-form/

There is no submission fee.

The curators will select work based on the uniqueness of the vision conveyed, the quality of execution and how clearly the artist’s individual technique style is presented in each work.

The Department of Planning and Development has reported that there are three new land use applications set within the Ballard area. There is a one application for a subdivision at 2119 NW 65th St. Another application proposes to divide a lot into four parcels at 8757 15th Ave. NW. The final application calls to allow a three-story structure containing six row-house units. Parking for seven vehicles to be provided.

Comments may be submitted through April 22nd, 2015.

2119 NW 65TH ST:

Land Use Application to subdivide one development site into two unit lots. The construction of residential units is under Project #6429746. This subdivision of property is only for the purpose of allowing sale or lease of the unit lots. Development standards will be applied to the original parcel and not to each of the new unit lots.

8757 15TH AVE NW:

White Center – Prospective buyers on Saturday, April 11, will get their first look at the new single-family homes being built at Seola Gardens.

Richmond American Homes will unveil a furnished model home to kick off their second phase of construction consisting of 54 new homes, in the mixed-income community developed by the King County Housing Authority. Seola Gardens is located at 4th Avenue Southwest and Southwest 108th Street in White Center.

Prices for the three- and four-bedroom single-family homes range from about $347,000 to $390,000, subject to pricing release.

“The grand opening of the phase two model home will provide a chance for prospective buyers to see the vibrant neighborhood growing to completion at Seola Gardens,” said Stephen Norman, executive director of KCHA. “The first phase sold out very quickly. This second and final phase fulfills KCHA’s vision and commitment to provide quality, market-rate homeownership in White Center as part of Seola Gardens.”

UPDATE 12:30pm

The Seattle Fire Department announced that the cause of the blaze on Fauntleroy Way SW was unattended candles. The estimated damage was $275,000.

Original Post
A massive two alarm fire that broke out early this morning destroyed a house in the 8000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW on April 10. Heavy flames were reported coming out of the roof when firefighters arrived. In total over 100 firefighters were called to the scene including ones all the way from Downtown Seattle and Capital Hill. Fire hoses were hooked to hydrants as far away as the Fauntleroy ferry terminal.

The fire left one man in critical condition after suffering from smoke inhalation and another person in an unknown condition, both were transported to Harborview Medical Center around 7a.m..

Traffic on Fauntleroy is closed and transit is disrupted. Routes 116, 118, 119 and the RapidRide C Line are currently rerouted off Fauntleroy Wy SW, using California Av SW instead.

According to Seattle Fire there were five people in the house at the time of the fire, and four got out safely. A dog was also saved from the blaze.