January 2009

Several events are happening in Ballard to celebrate the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

Get free "Ballard for Obama" buttons at Epilogue Books while supplies last.

Dante's Inferno Hotdogs will host an Inauguration Day party Jan. 20 from 5 to 10 p.m.at Dante's Warehouse, 1544 N.W. Ballard Way. The party is also to support the Ballard Food Bank, so please bring a non-perishable food item.

The BalMar is also supporting the Ballard Food Bank on Inauguration Day. It will open early at 5 p.m.

Much of the personality and charm of Ballard is due to the small businesses that have been popping up on Market Street, 24th Avenue and Ballard Avenue.

A little north from Ballard's historical district is an up and coming neighborhood of small shops and cafes on 70th Street.

It was the first game of the Ballard Knights Pee-Wee football team's 1999 season. They were facing off against one of their main rivals, Richmond Blue, and the offensive coordinator was not going to be able to make it to the game.

Mark Donnelly, assistant offensive coordinator, was ready to step up but head coach Sean Austin said there was no way he was going to let Donnelly call the offense.

"I wouldn't even let him coach a play," Austin said. "The year after that, he took the same team (at the Bantam level) and won four straight championships.

The Seattle City Council laid out its goals for 2009 under three overarching themes - fostering safe communities, fairly investing public resources and building a livable city.

A number of the 15 priorities set forward by the council at their Jan. 12 meeting could directly affect the Ballard neighborhood in the coming year.

Councilmember Jan Drago made moving forward on replacing the Viaduct a goal for 2009.

(Editor's Note: Jerry Robinson continues his exploration of downtown Burien.)

Like many of you, we often drive through Burien and marvel at the progress of the construction of the new town square, town plaza, city center or whatever comes to mind.

We go by it from all directions and usually stop long enough to take a historic picture for our newspaper files.

It is exciting to have a ringside seat at this changing scene and marvel at what has happened.

After more than 11 months behind bars, Glenn Proctor is going home.

Prosecutors in his upcoming murder trial, originally scheduled to begin this week, announced last Thursday that they believe they arrested the wrong man.

His exoneration in the January 18, 2008 shooting at the Federal Way Transit Center relied heavily on evidence gathered from surveillance cameras at the crime scene.

Tempers flared and voices were raised as Des Moines council members and residents wrestled with the idea of adopting the Multifamily Property Tax Exemption Program for some areas of the city.

The exemption does not apply to the land or non-housing improvements.

The residential target area is the Pacific-Ridge area on Pacific Highway South.

It turned out to be a hot topic at the Jan 15, city council meeting.

"It lacks adequate safeguard and doesn't support social policy," said resident Mark Proulx."

Proulx added that he is philosophically d

Thomas Jefferson and Decatur were on the mat, bars, beam and vault performing well, in their own ways, as the Gators got a second place finisher, Holly Phan, and the Raiders won the meet as a team.

The action also had Kentridge and host Sumner in it Wednesday.

TJ’s 148.15 score bested Kentridge’s 146.05, Sumner’s 142.70 and Decatur’s 135.8.

“We’ll take it,” said longtime Raiders coach Debbie Hunter, in her 34th year with the program.

Mike Bressler is the man at Decatur, making that program sing since arriving as coach in 1998, taking the Gator wrestlers from a dismal place to a spacey state -- two state champions and many, many qualifiers.

What was it like in ‘98?

“We were at the very bottom, with only eight kids,” said Bressler, who this season has a full slate of wrestlers like he’s pretty much had for many years now.

A few clutch plays near the end of the game and a tight-knit defense sent the Thomas Jefferson Raiders away winners in a competitive girls basketball victory that was really more the answering of a battle cry than anything else. TJ prevailed against Auburn, 43-41, in the tough South Puget Sound League North Thursday.

This game came down to the very end, with it anyone’s game until then.