September 2015

Neighbor foils cell phone fiend’s burglary attempt

The Team Mobile store on the 8300 block of 15th Avenue NW is having their main door replaced after a burglary attempt on Sept. 4. Late that night Seattle Police received a call from a neighbor of the store who said she saw four young men attempt to pry the door open. The men were making a lot of noise, which alerted the neighbor. She called out to the men and said she was gong to call the police. The men scattered and fled. When police arrived they found the front door badly damaged. The cost to repair the door is $2500.

Cig-pig breaks into car, has smoke before leaving the scene

Concerned neighbors understand that Loyal Heights Elementary needs to increase capacity and make long overdue updates and improvements, but we want a plan that balances the needs of the school district with the needs of the neighborhood! Your presence at this meeting is crucial and will let the district know that the conversation about the proposed plan is not over! Please join your community and neighbors to give feedback and voice concerns about the proposed Loyal Heights Elementary remodel and expansion. This could be the last opportunity to do so!

Public is invited to attend a meeting and provide comments on
Tuesday, September 15th at 6:30 pm in the school lunchroom

A public meeting is scheduled to discuss the Seattle School District’s request for a waiver from City zoning regulations to modernize Loyal Heights Elementary School and construct an addition to the building.

The Seattle School District is requesting changes to City zoning regulations for the following:

1) Increase lot coverage from the 35% allowed to 50%.

By Amanda Knox

The first dance lessons I ever took were swing dance lessons in middle school. At the time, Explorer West was still a tiny, start-up, independent middle school that rented out the caboose-end of the then Westside Elementary School building. Our class numbered an intimate fifteen, almost evenly divided between male (seven) and female (eight). Now, as an adult, I wonder how gleefully conniving it must have been for our first-name-basis teachers to decide to suddenly introduce awkward hand-holding and bunny-hopping into the curriculum.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to dance,” Colin astutely recalls. “It’s that we weren’t willing to.”
Fast forward and you’ll find me at a loss at high school homecomings, tolos, prom…Without regular access to the choreography of, say, MTV music videos, I sang along more than danced along to the DJ’s rehashing of KUBE 93’s afternoon line-up, and limped away in the bunion-bruising black heels I had bought at Payless for the occasion.

By Peggy Sturdivant

This is an open letter to all of my friends and communities in Ballard, the writers, artists, teachers, parents, children, readers, gardeners, dog-walkers, cat-lovers, okay, everybody. Come out and play on Friday, September 18, 2015 (and keep on playing through Saturday if you want).

Friday, September 18th is one of my favorite days of the year, Park(ing) Day. For the third year in a row I’ll be part of a Pop-Up Park for the Ballard Writers Collective in front of The Scoop at Walter’s on 32nd NW. But that just wasn’t enough fun. I now have a hand in four out of the five parks that will be in Ballard area and am looking forward to visiting at least one other in “District 6,” over by West Woodland.

information from King County

What could be better than commuting across Puget Sound in a water taxi and bypassing all that traffic? Now there’s yet another reason to appreciate the ride - in addition to fighting congestion, these King County water taxis are doing their part to combat greenhouse gas emissions by switching to the use of biodiesel fuel.
“Using homegrown biodiesel, our water taxis have some of the cleanest-burning engines around,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “The use of biodiesel on the newest member of our fleet, the Sally Fox, will reduce particulates in the air and prevent more than 140 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.”

In line with the biodiesel initiative, the County’s Marine Division has earned membership in the Passenger Vessel Association’s Green WATERS Program – a national volunteer effort that encourages environmental responsibility and action to reduce the environmental impacts of marine operations.

The Sally Fox, soon to be joined by a second new vessel, the Doc Maynard, has a host of green features that include:

The Ballard Chamber of Commerce has requested a meeting with Mayor Ed Murray to discuss an alternative site location for the proposed Ballard transitional homeless encampment.

Mike Stewart, Executive Director of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to Mayor Ed Murray last week and hopes to meet with City Officials as soon as possible.

“Subsequent meetings with [the Mayor’s Staff ], City department leaders, Councilmember O’Brien and homeless encampment advocates have resulted in identification of a suitable alternative site location in the Ballard area,” wrote Stewart in the letter to the mayor. “This alternative site meets the criteria of the ordinance and could be ready for occupancy as soon as late October.”

Stewart said he is confident the site will be a good fit and praised city officials for working with the Ballard community to find an alternative site. For instance, at a community meeting in August, Councilmen O’Brien said he would consider reopening the ordinance to accommodate a new location under certain conditions.

By Tim Clifford

Wednesday evening, Sep.10, detectives with the Lakewood Police Department intercepted Moua Vang, 31, a Lakewood woman who had been missing since Tuesday, at Sea-Tac airport. Detectives were alerted to Vang having boarded a flight by Homeland Security at the airport.

While detectives were speaking with Vang in the airport she admitted that she had staged her disappearance so that it would look as though she’d been abducted. After making comments about committing suicide Vang was taken to a mental health facility by the detectives.

Vang is married with one child and works as a regular flower vendor at the Lakewood Farmer’s Market. On Tuesday she sold flowers at the market as she normally would and it wasn’t until around 4:30 p.m. when her stall was found still in the process of being taken down, and her family hadn’t heard from her in hours that anyone became concerned.

Around 8:30 p.m. her van was discovered with the doors wide open and the interior ransacked. Her cell phone and keys were also discovered on a seat.

To the editor:

“But this I would say, standing as I do in view of God and eternity: I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” – Edith Cavell, written while awaiting execution

The name Edith Cavell is one of many etched on a granite memorial wall in front of Sunnydale School on Des Moines Memorial Drive.

In 1915, following her execution, Great Britain held her up as a martyr.  Her story went international. Indeed, the image the British press painted of a defenseless woman being gunned down by German soldiers helped to sway American public opinion away from neutrality and helped pave the way to our own entry into the war.

Cavell was many things.  She was a patriot who served humanity beyond her country’s borders.  She was a quintessential Victorian matron who devoted herself to elevating nursing as a profession for women.  She was a woman of faith whose sense of duty eventually led her to be executed for treason. Her story is one of idealism, compassion and incredible courage. 

"It has been a privilege and an honor to serve Burien residents for the past four years as deputy mayor and as a councilmember. Public Safety, Economic Development, resolution of the Annexation issue (PAA) and completion of the Shoreline Master Plan (SMP) have been top priorities for the City, " he said in a prepared statement.

"My goal for Burien: A safe, vibrant city with a small town flavor that supports Burien residents, families and businesses for the long-term. Burien is poised for further success and the time is now to elect energetic, positive and practical problem-solving leaders to the Burien Council. With many years of business experience, I stand for open, honest, responsive government, sound fiscal management and robust economic development for Burien."

A crew of six teenage Scouts and their leaders from Boy Scout Troop 360 went on a life changing summer trek through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont covers 214 square miles of vast wilderness. During their trek the scouts hiked 70 miles over 12 days, summited 5 peaks and camped at altitudes as high as 11,740 feet

The group of Scouts and their advisors carried everything they needed to survive during the trek on their backs while hiking from camp to camp. They participated in backcountry programs along the way including blacksmithing, rock climbing, mine exploration, fur trapping lore and gold prospecting. The trek included a conservation project where the Scouts learned and participated in the upkeep of Philmont’s ecosystem. Along the trek, Scouts endured tough challenges including backpacking in bear and mountain lion territory, steep climbs, and often-inclement weather.