February 2017

Running in Ballard just got a whole lot better because the Ballard High School Foundation is launching its first annual Bernie’s Automotive’s Running of the Beavers 5K event to benefit Ballard High School.

April Fools Day, April 1, marks the day of the 5K Run/Walk, and at 9:00 a.m. runners will start at Golden Gardens and follow the Shilshole Bay waterfront to eventually circle back and finish at the park. A kids’ dash will be offered after the main race.

Runners will walk away from the race with a t-shirt and a racing bib. All proceeds from the race will benefit the school. The BHS Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that supports BHS. Since its inception in 1997, the foundation has raised over $5 million for the school. Funds from the foundation have gone directly toward a greenhouse for the Science Department and Bio-technology Academy, the BHS Maritime Academy and student athletics.

Sue Verduin is member of the foundation and chair of the event. She is also a graduate of BHS, along with her mother and two children.

The producers of BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY are taping season 6 of their entertaining and educational BIZ KID$ TV show! Join the stars of the show, which is a national Public TV series seen by millions. It’s all about money and business, and teaches kids ways they can make and grow their money. It’ll be a fun, entertaining evening and you’ll get to go “behind the scenes” and learn how a TV show is produced. You might event end up on TV!! There will be food and PRIZES, too.

We are taping before a live studio audience March 8, 14 and 15 from 4-7pm in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. Space is limited so email now to reserve your space.
To request FREE tickets email audience@bizkids.com.

BIZ KID$ is an Emmy Award-winning Independent Television show that airs on Public Television teaching kids financial literacy. The series, shot in Seattle with stories from around the country, reaches over one million viewers per episode. Using a clever blend of entertainment and education, each Biz Kid$ episode shows kids and their families how to make and manage money by introducing concepts of financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Dirt devil makes off with watches, personal papers

Police responded to a burglary that occurred on Northwest 64th Street on Feb 16. The complainant told police that when he returned home from work he found his bathroom window and back door open. His bedroom was in disarray. The complainant noticed a vacuum cleaner was used to push his dog into its kennel. A flashlight, watches, a Kindle, birth certificates and social security cards were stolen. The rest of the house was undisturbed. The complainant said that is daughter had taken a shower earlier that day and had left the bathroom window cracked opened. There was a trail of dirt from the bathroom, indicating that it was the point of entry. The estimated value of the loss was $826.

Man’s plasma cutter stolen, house ‘tossed’

By Peggy Sturdivant

It was the day after the power outage. Leaving the yoga studio at Ballard Health Club my path crossed with that of Alison Krupnick near the elliptical machines. Because we stopped in our sweaty tracks, for no longer than a minute, Alison Krupnick changed my life.

One could argue that our lives change every single minute, which is true, but I’m speaking in the abstract and potentially profound way. I didn’t know at that momen, but the opportunity offered by fellow Ballard Writers Collective member Krupnick had the potential to change me.

Krupnick is formidable in the way of a former world-traveling diplomat, Jersey girl, soccer mom, and education writer. I think she wiped sweat off her brow and looked at me as though trying to decide whether to take me off the bench and put me in the game. “I volunteered to put together a Media Crew for the Womxn’s March,” she said. “We need people to do interviews. How about you?”

By Ken Kagan

If, like me, you are of a certain age – and by that I mean, for example, that you remember where you were when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been shot, then your early association with Italian wine was almost undoubtedly the modestly-priced Chianti that was brought to your home by well-meaning guests.

Sometimes the bottles were shaped like a regular wine bottle, sometimes they had extremely long, skinny necks, and sometimes they were truly oddly misshapen, but almost always, the bottles were covered in straw, and the wine was most often bone dry, tannic or acidic.

For the last 20 – 25 years or so, and more and more every year, we here in the States are blessed with an abundance of some of the world’s greatest wines, at prices real people can afford, from all over Italy, with no woven straw in sight. Italy boasts more than 20 very significant, world-class wine producing regions, within which are literally scores of smaller regions producing fabulous wines – red, white, rosé, and sparkling.

By Amanda Knox

On Valentine’s Day, my friend and I were walking along the waterfront at Lincoln Park. We came across a large stone on which someone had assembled a bunch of shells to spell out “LOVE” in large, capital letters. My friend stared at the word for a moment, then looked me square in the eyes as she swiped her arm across the stone, scattering the shells to the ground. I gave her a half-smile and we walked away.

Looking back on the latter half of my twenties, I can’t help but notice how much romance has characterized these years. Romance in my own life and romance in the lives of my peers. Many of my friends have been getting married, one after another, a wedding every few months. The first of my three sisters is getting married this November. This is both great (I love Love!) and unsurprising. Millennials are tending to get married in our late twenties; our parents and grandparents tended to get married in their early twenties. It’s a notable difference, but it’s no cultural revolution. Just like so many generations before us, we’re excited to celebrate and officialize our most important adult decision: life partner.

By Greg Whittaker

Those of you who were able to make it up into the Summit at Snoqualmie had an surprising 12 inch dump of fresh snow that was unexpected and well worth skiing. Cold air that was stationed over the Cascades was slammed into by the wet front, and particularly at Alpental, the snow just filled the sky and it kept on coming. It was a very specific storm which settled in over I-90 the strongest, with Crystal, Stevens Pass and Mt. Baker seeing only about 4 - 5 inches.

That said, skiing is fantastic throughout the region right now. The days are getting longer, and while the chance of lowland snow pretty much ends March 8th according to Cliff Mass the local weather guru, March and April can be some of the best skiing days of the year with big snowfall and more sunlight which keeps some key lifts open later in the day.

So, if you have been thinking of heading up to the mountains, it is definitely worth your energy. If you've been up somewhere you enjoyed, swing through the shop and regale us with your tales of adventure.

Here is whats happening at all the local resorts:

By Lindsay Peyton

Many children rebel against their parents – but Ballard chef Sam West chose to follow in his father’s footsteps instead.

“It made perfect sense,” West said. “There’s no other thing I should be doing.”

His father Tim Baker is a long-time restaurateur and consultant in the industry. He has been a force in a number of popular Seattle establishments – and now is one of the partners running San Fermo Restaurant, 5341Ballard Ave NW.

The project was something father and son had dreamt about for years. And when the Italian eatery serving up comfort food and seasonal dishes opened in May, their vision became a reality.

West grew up in Ballard – and stepped into the kitchen at an early age.

“My dad has been cooking us great meals since I was a little kid,” West said. “I always helped him, whether I wanted to or not.”

It didn’t take long to realize he wanted be in the kitchen more often than not. When he was 16 years old, he took his first job – making pizzas in a neighborhood joint.

Update Feb. 27
After the announcement of the closure of John's Deli at 7500 35th SW was made, it was shared that the building would be converted to a "brewpub" to be opened later this year after some remodeling was done. The West Seattle Herald heard from the new business owners and they wanted to clarify some issues and explain what the new business will be, specifically the Best of Hands Barrelhouse, a specialty brewery.

Owner Nicholas Marianetti explained:
"We will not be a brewpub, as we will not have a kitchen on premises. We will be a microbrewery and taproom, and we hope to make some rotating food trucks available on a regular basis.

We are looking to fit 56 seats in the taproom.

The current plans submitted to DPD are only draft versions and things will likely change and progress as we begin building out the space to suit our needs.

Now for a little background on the business and the proprietors:

The plans to build a parking lot at a once Fraternal Order of Eagles commercial property have now changed, and what’s going up in its place is a five-story hotel.

The property at 5244 Leary Ave N.W. was once owned by the Salmon Bay Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) but was sold to Jim Riggle, a Ballard developer, last year after a contentious battle among members and trustees.

Accusations flew as Riggle, owner of Olympic Athletic Club (OAC) and Hotel Ballard, allegedly swayed the Eagle’s club decision by enrolling his own OAC members in order to swing a vote in favor of purchasing the property.

The Ballard News-Tribune reported last year that the OAC offered to pay for its members to join the Eagles. Membership dues were $36. Also, the OAC circulated a flyer that said they would to build a structure at the purchased property with space for 400 units. They were encouraged to vote. The OAC also promised a “special party” at the Ballard Hotel (catered by Stoneburner with a raffle and live music) after the final Feb. 6 vote as a “special ‘Thank you!’ to everyone who made the effort to make it possible to solve the parking problem!”