January 2016

By Peggy Sturdivant

The first Ballard District Council meeting of the year took place on January 13, 2016. If you’re unfamiliar with the existence of the Ballard District Council (BDC), its members and relationship to the City of Seattle government, well that’s a topic for another time. Except in August the BDC meets the second Wednesday of every month in the meeting room at the Ballard Library.

Let’s jump right to the first 2016 meeting in which City Council member Mike O’Brien was on the agenda for “updates to the district.” He was re-elected to the City Council in November over challenger, and BDC member, Catherine Weatbrook. During O’Brien’s first term the City Council was not divided into districts; he now represents District 6, which includes Ballard, Loyal Heights, Fremont and some of Greenwood.

After introductions and announcements O’Brien had 30 minutes on the agenda followed by Weatbrook who is BDC” representative to the city-wide Neighborhood Council (CNC). The best exchange of the evening came when O’Brien stood up and offered his seat to Weatbrook. “Thanks but I tried that already,” she said.

information from the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association

Over the past 20 years, DNDA has worked tirelessly to energize and activate the Delridge corridor, leading positive community change by spearheading innovative projects and providing resources to partners and residents alike. Where run down residences and overgrown green spaces once stood, there are now bustling affordable housing hubs, and cleaned-up parks and trails. The historic Frank B. Cooper School, once a foreboding and seemingly abandoned monolith along the corridor, is now the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center - a dynamic mecca for arts, culture and nonprofits. It too is a vibrant residence, providing affordable housing for artists and a space to make their art - all in one. The Delridge neighborhoods also boast Brandon Court and the West Seattle Community Resource Center, two additional DNDA projects that now house the Delridge Library and West Seattle Food Bank, respectively.

Our kind-hearted, generous, beautiful mother, Helen Metz, 93, went home to Heaven November 20, 2015. She was born June 29, 1922, in Waukon, Iowa, the 2nd of 5 children born to Dorothy (Soullier) and Ward Duff. She married Oscar Metz November 23, 1943, in San Francisco, CA.

Helen loved to sew, make braided rugs, play bridge, beachcomb and travel. She was an active member of John Knox Presbyterian Church for over 30 years. She made hundreds of layettes, lap and baby quilts for the church and the Pregnancy Aid Center. She was a guild member of the Seattle Children’s Hospital and Ruth School for Girls. Everyone who knew Helen, loved her.

A big sports fan, she loved the Huskies, Sonics, Seahawks, and especially the Mariners. Even in her later days Helen still loved to watch or listen to the games.

Predeceased by her husband, Oscar Metz, and her daughter, Karen Ramey, Helen is survived by her sister, Audrey Anderson; children, Beverly (Don) Unruh, Elaine Metz, Raymond (Judi) Metz; 11 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandson; and many nieces and nephews.

Private and publically-owned properties in Ballard’s commercial areas are eligible to benefit from public art installations that aim to strengthen community ties and increase pedestrian traffic. World-renowned artists, will create unique and attractive murals on area walls as part of a ten day, art-focused event called artSEA from August 4th to August 14th, 2016. This is an opportunity to directly participate in a celebration of Ballard’s arts scene and become involved with a project that aims to develop public spaces and support a “walkable” neighborhood. The public art will be fully subsidized and property owners will not be required to contribute to the cost of the installation.

artSEA is organized by The World Is Fun (TWIF), a community-based, registered non-profit that creates rewarding, fun, and meaningful ways for businesses and individuals to give back to their community. TWIF will work with participating property owners to ensure that the artists’ designs are suitable for the selected walls and are maintained for a period of at least three years.

After 7th District fourteen term congressman Jim McDermott (D) announced his retirement earlier this month it led to a scramble among potential candidates. On Wednesday Jan 20 West Seattle's Joe McDermott announced his intention to run for the seat.

McDermott, just elected to be the Chair of the King County Council also announced his “Repeal Citizens United” pledge rejecting any dark money independent expenditure spending on his behalf.

The two men are not related.

In a press release McDermott said:

“As the son of schoolteachers, I am running for Congress to ensure that middle class Washingtonians continue to have a strong voice in Washington, D.C. and that’s why overturning Citizens United and preventing dark money from destroying our politics will be my priority from my first day in office – so we can finally achieve the progressive results our families need.”

information from King County Council

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Joe McDermott will Chair the County Council in 2016. McDermott was unanimously selected as Council Chair today by the full Council, and will be joined by Rod Dembowski and Reagan Dunn, as the Council’s two Vice Chairs.

The appointments of McDermott, Dembowski and Dunn are part of the reorganization of the County Council for 2016. Councilmember Dembowski will serve as Vice Chair of Policy Development and Review with Dunn serving as Vice Chair of Regional Coordination.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Boys basketball
Tyee hosts Highline for a 7 p.m. game Wednesday as Kennedy Catholic entertains Renton, Evergreen goes to Lindbergh and Foster to Hazen.
Shorewood Christian visits Puget Sound Adventist at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before dropping in on Seattle Lutheran at the same time Friday.
At 7 p.m. Friday Mount Rainier is at Federal Way, Evergreen at Foster, Hazen at Highline, Tyee at Renton and Lindbergh at Kennedy, while at 8 p.m. Seattle Christian is at Bellevue Christian, West Seattle at Ballard and Chief Sealth at Lakeside.
Seattle Christian hosts Overlake at 6:30 p.m. Monday and Tyee hosts Shorewood Christian at 7 p.m. as Mount Rainier meets Decatur at Todd Beamer.
Seattle Christian visits Vashon at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday and Shorewood Christian hosts Quilcene at 5:30 p.m.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, West Seattle hosts Blanchet, Chief Sealth entertains Ingraham and Seattle Lutheran goes to Auburn Adventist.

Girls basketball

Seattle Restauratuer Duke Moscrip has led a colorful life, one which you might even characterize as "flavorful".

The owner of six Duke's Chowder House, Seattle area seafood restaurants, known for his provocative promotions and community involvement has over the last 40 years amassed hundreds of recipes and learned lessons about sustainability that he realized were worth sharing.

The best of his collective experiences is now in book form with the release of "As Wild As It Gets: Duke’s Secret Sustainable Seafood Recipes", a cookbook featuring exclusive content including Duke’s Secret Sustainable Seafood Recipes and featured stories known as “Duke Tales.” The book, Published by Aviva Publishing, NY is 384 pages of professionally shot photographs, carefully prepared and proven recipes, and colorful stories with a lot of Moscrip's humor included.

information from the City of Seattle

In response to the continued crisis of homelessness on the streets of Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray issued an emergency order to expedite the siting of two safe lots in Ballard and Delridge for homeless individuals and families living in recreational vehicles and cars.

“These are not long term solutions to end homelessness, but temporary locations that can be managed to provide a safer environment for those living on our streets and have less impact on our neighborhoods,” said Murray. “The City’s active case management services will reach out to those experiencing homelessness and living in their vehicles, with the goal to help move them to permanent housing as quickly as possible. These safe lots will also help reduce the public health issues currently impacting several of our neighborhoods.”

Salmon Bay Elementary and Ballard High School were locked down this morning after there was a report of a man with a gun seen in the area.

A witness reported that a man ran through a construction site near the school and fell down. He dropped and picked up a gun then ran through the Salmon Bay campus.

The man was described as being around 20-years-old, thin, about 5’7, with long blonde hair and wearing a green jacket.

The schools were locked down around 9:30 a.m. while police investigated the report and searched the area.

For safety precautions a “shelter in place” was in affect at Adams Elementary School.

SPD reported that there was "no indication of risk,” and school have since resumed their normal daily schedule.