March 2017

The core business district of White Center has been in the process of change for the last few years with the arrival of Noble Barton and Bok A Bok chicken, a Starbucks store and training center and soon Drunky Two Shoes BBQ. Those changes are picking up pace with the impending opening of Beer Star by Seattle bar and restaurant owners James Weimann and Deming Maclise. The new business takes up residence at the corner of 16th SW and SW 98th Street which in recent years was home to a marijuana lounge, and other restaurants but for most of its history was the Epicure Restaurant. Their partners in the venture are Deveaux Hill, Galen Krohn, and Patrick Riggs.

The new family friendly beer outlet will offer 46 taps pouring local beer and at least two hundred more beer selections in cans and bottles.

information from Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) invites the community to provide input on the High Point Community Center play area renovation project on Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the High Point Community Center, 6920 34th Ave. SW. Weather permitting, the event will be held outside near the play area. The landscape architect, project planner and project manager will provide information on the renovation project and gather community input on play features and amenities. The play area is south of the community center near the tennis courts.

This is an all-ages event with light snacks and children’s activities. We encourage all to attend and participate by providing input on the best play area design option for the High Point neighborhood.

This project will replace the play equipment, provide access improvements, and improve safety and other features at the park.

By Peggy Sturdivant

It’s the same kitchen table in a home near West Woodland Elementary, a bookrack almost always on the front porch. Sitting with her mother Doris McDill, Secret Garden Books owner Christy McDanold talked about the early days when the table was the only physical location for the business. “All I’d really purchased was the name and computer system,” McDanold said. “There was no location, and no books.”

Yet over the course of 22 years McDanold was able build from the near demise of Secret Garden Books and deliver it safely, and firmly, to its Market Street storefront and 40th Anniversary as an Independent Bookseller.

Whole Foods, an anchor tenant of the massive Whittaker complex on Fauntleroy Way SW has announced they will not follow through on the construction of a West Seattle store. In a statement from the company they said, "As part of a careful evaluation of our growth strategy, Whole Foods Market has decided to delay indefinitely the opening of our West Seattle store. We look forward to continuing to serve Seattle with our three other area locations: Interbay, Roosevelt Square, and South Lake Union.”

The lease was for a 41,000 square foot space from the owner Weingarten Realty who issued a statement saying they are "actively working with Whole Foods to find a replacement for the space Whole Foods leased at the Whittaker. We currently have several prospects interested but cannot make an announcement at this time.:"

Whole Foods has been struggling of late witnessing a 3 percent traffic decline over the last 18 months and has lost traffic the last six consecutive quarters..

Ballard High School filmmakers are being recognized on an international level with three short films by twelve students in the Digital Filmmaking Program winning honors at the Dominisque Dunne Film Competition in Colorado Springs.

BHS students, Nolan Baker, Maya Konz, Bailey Wall and Kajsa Woolford took the first place prize in the documentary category for their film “9066,” a film about American citizens of Japanese ancestry detained during World War II. Visit https://vimeo.com/190324486 to view the film.

Miles Andersen, Josh Gaynor-Cote, Willow Hudson and Jesse Romero were also recognized with an honorable mention in the documentary category with their film “Heart of Gold.” The film documents a student during her final year of high school, and in the time she almost loses her life to medical condition. See the flhttps://vimeo.com/207728173.

BHS students also received honorable mention in the dramatic category with the film “Comeback,” by Avery Davis, Skala Leake, Aaron Miller and Cameron Miller. The film depicts the story of a soccer player overcoming adversity. Check out the filhttps://vimeo.com/190952853).

By Amanda Knox

I’ve never liked being in a rush. I forget things: my coat, my wallet, my keys. I bump into doors and doorways and stumble over cracked pavement. Or, as was recently the case, I back out of my mom’s driveway and accidentally knock over her mailbox.

Oh, don’t worry—the thing’s a tank. It’s a security box made of seamless steel, including a post sheath. When the back of my Subaru Forrester drove into the mailbox, what gave way was the twelve-inch stretch of exposed 4X4 between the bottom of the sheath and the ground, where the post was secure inside an 80lbs lump of concrete. Chris and I cut the engine, rushed out of the car, and found the mailbox lying in the grass, impermeable, scratch-less even. Meanwhile, there was now a hole in the back of my car, just below the rearview window. A quick Google search on Chris’s phone revealed that the punctured part was called the “garnish,” and replacing it would cost about $500. Ugh.

By Pat Cashman

Here is a headline for you: A NEW STUDY HAS COME OUT!

Now that you have been thoroughly startled, let me give you the stunning details.

Actually this is not a new study---but I newly stumbled across it. Experts in Britain say they have identified six common sleep positions and what they mean. The study was a yawner to conduct---but the results are interesting. They are also a bit incomplete. It fails to include man’s favorite sleep position: La-Z-Boy.
Nor does the study mention anything about people who walk in their sleep. My younger brother Sean used to crawl out of his crib---late at night---and start ambling around the house completely asleep. Once, he was discovered---illuminated by a street lamp---walking down the road. Good thing he did not have the car keys that night.

After that, the folks decided to ensure that baby Sean stayed in his crib at night---and fashioned a hard cover that went over the top of his little bed. It worked well enough---but Sean felt and looked like a caged monkey. It did not help they’d put in a tire swing.

Ballard High School
Quote of the Week
"Go as far as you can see and you will see further” ~Zig Ziglar

Ballard High School Activities Calendar
March 27 - 31, 2017
https://goo.gl/TJPTNY

Monday
Library closed for Testing - 1st-3rd periods

Tuesday
Digital Film Screening - PAC - 1st-6th periods
Library Closed for Testing - 4th-6th periods
Rotary Student of the Month - 12pm
Senior Graduation Auditions - PAC - 3:30-4pm

Wednesday
Library Closed for Testing - All Day

Thursday
Library Closed for Testing - All Day

Friday
Orchestra Trip - Icicle Creed - March 31-April 2
On the Horizon (Next week)
ASB Elections - April 3-5
IC / BLT / Safety Team / PTSA Meetings

End of 3rd Quarter - April 7

There is a new Land Use Application with the Department of Construction and Inspections to allow a three-story, fve-unit rowhouse at 6002 17th Ave. N.W. Surface parking to be provided for two vehicles. The existing structure would be demolished. Environmental review includes future unit lot subdivision. Plans show two spaces for parking.

Public comment for project #3026592 will be accepted until 04/10/2017.

Send comments to PRC@Seattle.gov.

(Robert Drucker sent this as a copy to the Director of Department of Neighborhoods.)

From: Robert Drucker
Date: Sat, Mar 11, 2017 at 4:53 PM
Subject: Eviscerating Neighborhoods
To: "Nyland, Kathy"

Ms. Nyland:

I was distressed to learn that the Neighborhood District Coordinators have been removed from their neighborhoods, and will be given new titles and desks downtown. What justification can there be for vacating the Neighborhood Service Centers, except to centralize power and authority, and deprive communities of our voice in government?