February 2016

A project at the Olympic Athletic Club is underway that will add a six-story hotel and parking to the side annex area of the historic building.

The proposed structure has 63 hotel rooms and 38 spaces for parking -- an addition of 16,000 square feet for the athletic club.

The planned site is the annex at 5301 Leary Ave. N.W. It was built in 1980 and is part of a building complex connected to the Olympic Athletic Club: a three-story building on Ballard Avenue Northwest. The overall plan is to replace the annex with the new structure. Skidmore Janette is the architect for the project.

The Department of Planning and Development held an early design guidance meeting early last December to discuss design considerations.

OAC owner, Jim Riggle, is part of a group that in 2013 opened a 29-room boutique hotel on the same block, at 5214 Ballard Ave. N.W. The hotel would share underground parking with the new structure.

An employee of a Ballard business reportedly soaked someone’s belongings in an attempt to discourage them from squatting on the property.

According to a Seattle Weekly report released yesterday, an employee of Mac’s Upholstery (5015 15th Ave. N.W.) propped a garden hose over the fence so it could spray a collection of objects below. The pile was covered by plastic.

Despite their headline, Seattle Weekly could not confirm if the structure was actually a homeless person’s camp:

“To be clear: while it's hard to imagine an alternative explanation, we haven't actually identified the owners of the flooded items or confirmed that they're homeless.”

However, they did speak with the employee who rigged the hose, and he said he was trying to “help the meth heads find another place to live.”

The Ballard News-Tribune stopped by Mac’s this morning. In the customer parking lot there was a sprinkler spraying freely on the hood of a car. Inside the shop an employee denied knowing anything about the incident or hearing about the Seattle Weekly’s report.

information from SeaTac Airport

Passenger traffic at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport set a record for the fifth straight year in 2015, with over 42.3 million overall travelers, according to statistics released today by the Port of Seattle. The total represented a 12.9 percent growth rate over the previous year, including a 14.6 percent increase for international passengers. Sea-Tac has been the fastest growing Top 20 airport in the U.S. for the past two years. Final statistics are still to come for other airports, but Sea-Tac is expected to remain at or near the top in growth.

“This growth rate is nearly double what we saw in 2014 – 7.7 percent – and continues to reflect the importance of air travel and cargo to our region’s economy,” said Port Commissioner Tom Albro. “Business and leisure passengers benefit as airlines provide more flights and travel options, translating into more jobs in the community. Our success, however, also highlights the urgency in planning for expanded facilities to meet this growing demand.  We are committed to engaging the public and stakeholders in this critical effort.”

Brother and sister Cedric Jackson and Keoni Williams are now both in custody after being on the run for what is described as a brutal attack in Seattle.

According to Seattle Police, the siblings were both wanted after being charged with armed robbery, assault and auto theft and both had $250,000 warrants out for the their arrest. Witnesses told police that on Aug. 2 the siblings were seen forcing a bloodied woman out of a vehicle before they fled in her car. The victim told police that they had savagely beaten her with a pistol before demanding her money and discussing killing her. Emergency responders found the woman with large cuts on her head and one of her teeth knocked out from being hit with the gun. 

A few weeks after the attack, 17-year-old Williams turned herself in to the police and is currently being held on $250,000 bail. The search continued for 16-year-old Jackson and police continued to release statements asking that he turn himself in as his sister did. 

Republican strategists are attempting to scare the American people by promising that Bernard Sanders, when president, would turn the United States into a Scandinavian-style welfare state. I am not endorsing Sanders or anyone else here yet simply want to encourage others to get informed first. Honestly, should we be scared and get emotional about this potential shift – or not? I have heard the conservative rants many times before: 'That's Socialism, we don't want that!' And so I ask them this question in return, 'What is socialism, I forgot?' 'I have no idea – BUT WE DON'T WANT IT!' Would you walk into a room with a zephyll without first being reassured that it is safe? A monster that will eat you alive – or cuddly as a bunny?
 

PrizeLast week Highline College was named one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. The honor gives Highline the chance to compete for the 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in prize funds.

“Being recognized as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation reflects Highline’s innovative efforts to support student access and attainment,” said Dr. Jack Bermingham, president of Highline College. “My colleagues take great pride in their success in making a difference in the lives of our students, working together every day to create equitable and inclusive opportunities.

” The Aspen Prize is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. It recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and access and success for minority and low-income students.

Last week, the City of Burien was notified that it is a recipient of a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its 2014 comprehensive annual finance report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and according to the GFOA, its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government as well as its management.
 
“We’re thrilled to have received this acknowledgement,” said Kim Krause, Finance Director for the City of Burien. “It’s always our goal to produce finance documents that are clear and transparent.”
 
The CAFR was judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes a demonstration by the CAFR of a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential user groups to read the CAFR.
 
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C.
 

Karen Helmick, Chris Mark, Kalin Graves having a great time at the Annual CARES fundraiser, 'Bite Night' held Saturday night, Jan 30 206 at the Elks

Karen Helmick, Chris Mark, Kalin Graves having a great time at the Annual CARES fundraiser, 'Bite Night' held Saturday night, Jan 30 206 at the Elks

Karen Helmick, Chris Mark, Kalin Graves having a great time at the Annual CARES fundraiser, 'Bite Night' held Saturday night, Jan 30 206 at the Elks