July 2017

By Marjorie Young

One of the pleasures I relish this summer are the frequent updates from my great-nephew Sam, currently backpacking through Europe with his best friend Aidan. In addition to gorgeous photos on Instagram, entertaining and descriptive text messages arrive daily. The two eighteen-year-olds are clearly having a marvelous time while gaining valuable experience along the way.

Following their journey vicariously caused me to reflect on my own first solo venture; three months in Europe and North Africa when I was nineteen. Unlike Sam and Aidan, I’d never traveled till then, though harboring a burning ambition to explore the world since earliest childhood. At the time, there was no internet, texting, cell phones, or the like, so I was truly on my own…which proved both terrifying and liberating.

In its forty-third year of attracting seafood lovers from the region, Ballard SeafoodFest had a strong showing this year and festivalgoers thronged the streets in search of salmon, crab, and a smorgasbord of sea fare.

But more importantly, whether the crowds knew it or not, the festival reflects the history of the community with strong ties to the fishing and maritime industries.

Victim interrupts burglary

Around 3 p.m. on Mon., July 3, officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of S.W. Charleston Street to investigate a robbery.  The victim saw an unknown silver vehicle parked in his driveway, then walked up to his front door and found someone inside his home. He had recently rented the place and only had a few tools and some beer in the garage. He explained that the home was clean the last time he had been there. He found it, however, with trash strewn on the floor, the alarm pulled off the wall and locks removed from the doors. His tools and beer were stolen as well. A neighbor had seen a suspicious man around. Officers explained that the home looked vacant – due to the overgrown yard and need for external repairs.  They told the victim that transients sometimes squat in abandoned homes and suggested that he ask the landlord to make repairs. 

Forced entry on Delridge Way

By Pat Cashman

Millenial, noun.

           1.   A person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st Century.

    •    A person who is ruining things for everybody else.

I heard a song on the radio yesterday called The Living Years.  A group called Mike and the Mechanics had a small hit of it almost thirty years ago---making what I like to think of as a contemporary song, in fact, an oldie. The opening lyrics are: 

    “Every generation blames the one before…

    And all of their frustrations come beating on your door.”

It’s true enough. Going back to the start of mankind, the Neanderthals thought the chimpanzees that came before them were nothing but monkeys.

By Jean Godden

When I was a city columnist, the Pike Place Market was my beat. The Market always had a story to tell, a controversy to explain and a song for our hearts. It was the best thing that ever happened to me when I was at work, reporting the news four times a week. 

Although the 110-year-old Market has deep roots in the city's past, it now has a bright present and an outstanding future. That's more true than ever with the opening last month of "MarketFront," the ambitious expansion that will link the nation's oldest farmers' market to the Seattle waterfront, our two grandest attractions. 

Provided by Sarah Cecil

By Tim Clinton

SPORTS EDITOR

A pummeled first pitch paved the way to a 9-5 victory for PacWest over South Highline National in the District 7 Majors age 10-12 Little League baseball championship Saturday.

Wybrand Barron of PacWest launched the game's initial offering over the fence in left center field to give his team a lead it never relinquished.

"He led off three or four games with home runs this year," said PacWest manager Luke Hagler. "It gets the kids going."

Barron also dropped a high fly over the center field fence for a solo home run and a 3-0 lead in the top of the second and teammate Lamont Richardson hit a three-run shot out to right in the sixth to turn a still close 4-2 game into a 7-2 contest at the time.

Around 5000 people crowded together to see the Seafair Pirates land and take over Alki Beach around 2pm on July 8. The event featured the usual food vendors, others selling pirate swag, with live music and children's activities all part of the fun.

The landing craft had two cannons aboard this year and they boomed convincingly to announce the Pirates presence.

Last May Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a new Driving Under the Influence of Electronics law (DUIE) set to go into effect on July 23.

It has been illegal to text, take photos, watch videos, or otherwise be distracted while driving for a long time. Yet, everyone has seen people holding a phone while driving, waited behind someone at a stoplight who was looking at their phone, and heard multiple stories of accidents caused by someone who could not control their urge to take their attention off their phone and keep it on driving. 

Let’s review some simple facts: