July 2007

A 48-year-old man drowned while diving in Puget Sound off Constellation Park Saturday evening.

Granite L. Garver was diving with a partner in water near the intersection of Beach Drive and 63rd Avenue Southwest shortly before 9 p.m. Acccording to Helen Fitzpatrick, spokeswoman for the Seattle Fire Department, the two divers became separated and when they couldn't locate each other, one rose to the surface, swam to shore and called 911

Fire Department divers later found Garver's body about 50 feet offshore in water 6 feet deep.

While the Charlestown Street Cafe's regular Saturday crowd of hungry seniors and tot-toting parents were nibbling fruit salad, slicing omelets, and sipping iced tea and coffee, about two dozen others were marching along the sidewalk in front, picketing to keep its doors open.

Those picketers, plus some six thousand cafe customers who have so far signed a petition, want to block the proposed sale of the property to Petco.

Susan Melrose has been hired as the new executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association.

Melrose is an environmental activist and a10-year West Seattle resident. She began the job in February, replacing Angela Rae, who departed last July to open a Ballard clothes boutique.

Formerly, Melrose was employed by an organization to find innovative technologies to clean up the Hanford site. She worked for Adopt-a-Beach, then the Washington Wilderness Coalition, which restores and protects wildlands and waters.

Johnson returns for his academy

By Dean Wong

Michael Johnson grew up on the basketball courts of Ballard, learning the game, becoming a star at the local high school and going on to the college and professional game.

Johnson now has a vision of giving back to the community through his Hoopaholics Academy's basketball clinics coming to Ballard July 23 to 26 and August 13 to 16 for boys and July 10 to 13 for girls.

As a boy, Johnson and his father had the key to the gymnasium at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club.

You've had breakfast, now try dinner

Senor Moose

5242 Leary Ave. N.W.

784-5568

Open 7 days, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

By Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson

In December of 1852 David and Arthur Denny and William Bell set off to explore the area north of Elliott Bay searching for good land. Bell, discouraged by the exhausting job of fighting through the incredibly dense vegetation and cold steady rain, turned back around 2 p.m.

The brothers continued on until they reached the tidewater, called Shilshole by the native residents. This is the first time on record that Shilshole was seen by Euro-Americans. The settlers soon named the tidewater Salmon Bay because of the huge seasonal salmon runs.

Musician Karin Kajita's reflection is seen on the lid of a piano during a performance at Egan's Ballard Jam House on June 21 as part of Jack Straw Productions Artist showcase. Jack Straw Productions is a non-profit audio production facility that works with artists, musicians and school children in producing recordings.

Do you ever think you are awash in stories in the newspaper, on television and on the Internet about the plans of government and quasi-government to make Seattle and the Puget Sound region better and ready for the expected deluge of new residents over the next five, ten, fifty years?

Do news stories about the woes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the 520 floating bridge give you heartburn because each of them seems to come with a higher and higher billions of dollars price tag.

Proposal would restore worker union rights

By Rick Bender

If it's not clear to you by now, President Bush and the rest of the Republican Party think it should be exceedingly difficult for workers to form unions.

In fact, they would prefer that it be impossible.

On June 26, Republicans blocked a U.S. Senate vote on the House-approved Employee Free Choice Act reforming federal labor laws to allow workers to choose card-check union elections.

A taxi stand was installed last month in front of Bergen Place Park at 22nd Avenue Northwest at Northwest Market Street to promote a new designated driver and safe-ride home program.

It's part of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center's Last Call.