July 2007

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.

At Large in Ballard by Peggy Sturdivant

There are some stories that you are allowed to tell over and over, like telling a child the story of their birth. I've told this story before but I'm allowed to tell it at least once a year, and especially this year, because the 4th of July falls on a Wednesday, as it did back in 1995.

Back in 1995 I certainly didn't know that passing out an anonymous flyer inviting everyone on the street to a 4th of July Parade and Potluck was going to create an annual tradition now in its 13th year.

Radio listeners interested in a liberal alternative Christian viewpoint are turning their dials to the left for "Living Faith Now: Creating a Way of Life that Matters," hosted by Ballard Reverend Rich Lang.

In March, Lang began his weekly show on KKNW 1150 AM.

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.

After 45 years of personal service to the Ballard community, the Market Street Pharmacy owned by the Stimac family has closed for good.

George Stimac ran the store for 45 years before retiring in 2005. For the last two years, his son John Stimac has been keeping the pharmacy open.

John Stimac said the national trend is little pharmacies are closing down because of low profitability.

In an unprecedented move, the Northwest Design Review Board reversed its decision last week after voting that a new mixed-use development slated for the southeast corner of 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 65th Street needed further review.

The board, a citizen-led group that reviews the design of new developments, took issue with the proposed metal siding materials at the ground floor level of the proposed five-story building.

A Seattle City Light repair crew restored power to 91 customers in Ballard last Thursday afternoon. The area generally bordered by Market Street on the north, 54th Street on the south, 24th Avenue on the east and 30th Avenue on the west lost power about 5:45 a.m. The repair crew discovered a bad splice in the underground cable and completed repairs about 12:45 p.m.