March 2009

Ballard Blocks II, the sister project to the nearly-completed Ballard Blocks, is in need of an anchor tenant before construction will get under way. The site at 1401N.W. 46th St., just east of the Ballard Bridge, remains an empty lot filled with standing water.

Nick Carkonen, with CB Richard Ellis real estate, said they are actively marketing the space and are prepared to move forward with construction as soon as a significant tenant is found.

"With everything in place, we can move forward relatively quickly once we have a tenant," he said.

There is no deadline to find a tenant, but a few businesses have expresses some interest, Carkonen said.

The permit for the site allows for a five-story building with 25,000 square feet of retail space below 100,000 square feet of office space along with underground parking.

The warehouses that sat on the property were demolished this past fall.

Ristorante Picolino, owned and operated by Tom Bailiff, recently opened in the Sunset Hill area of Ballard and shines like a new penny with fresh paint and new plantings.

But this restaurant does more than just look good on the outside. The building, recently remodeled, has been built to last, and sustainably so. Recycled steel for the handmade ironwork compliments the beauty of reclaimed timber.

And that’s just part of what is special here. Chris Miller, from People for Puget Sound, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the health of Puget Sound waters, recommended I visit Picolino’s in response to questions about storm water issues.

Ballardites are being called on to help manage runoff waters due, in part, to an overloaded system that is currently not effectively protecting our local waters. Tom Bailiff’s example of stewardship provides a model we can all learn from.

So what’s wrong with the system? Currently, too much of the ground is simply not available to absorb water. Due to the loss of natural vegetation and the paving over of the ground, much more water runs off the land.

Hosting their first "Coffee Talk," the Ballard Sip & Ship has welcomed two Ballard Women’s Health doctors to host free monthly sessions for those interested in getting medical advice.

Dr. Heidi Knickerbocker and Dr. Peter Brandon recently spun off the Northwest Women’s Health of Ballard Swedish Hospital and are now located on Barnes Avenue Northwest.

Sip & Ship owner Diana Naramore said she is more than happy to have the professionals in her shop due to her history with both doctors.

Brandon delivered her son Jack the day before they opened Ballard Sip & Ship, while Knickerbocker handled care for both her middle child and baby, Naramore said.

“I fell in love with the idea because it was community oriented and seemed like a good fit for all of us,” Naramore said.

Invites have already been sent out to customers, and Naramore said the doctors came up with a topic and wanted it to be somewhat shocking.

This month they chose “Heavy Periods.”

Latte's were on the house for all who attended the event March 5. Naramore said the doctors conducted some lively and wonderful conversation up in the store’s loft.

The sports landscape this spring at Ballard High School is going to look very different from 2008. Four teams have new head coaches and one senior took it upon herself to found girls lacrosse at Ballard.

Senior Krista Nelson decided to form a lacrosse team at the school for her senior project because the project is supposed to be something the student is passionate about, she said.

Along with a few other Ballard students, Nelson played high school lacrosse at Roosevelt until this season.

Nelson said there seemed to be a lot of interest at the school, and 25 girls showed up for the first team meeting.

Coach Lise Martin has 14 years of playing experience and more than seven years of coaching experience. Ballard is the fourth brand new team she has been involved in founding.

Martin said she is not surprised there was such a showing of interest at Ballard because lacrosse is the fastest-growing sport in the counry.

There is a lot of experience and work ethic on the team, and being new can help the team, she said.

Oh, dear. Much to do and just look at this day! It’s Monday morning and I’m out in the garden in only my shirtsleeves. I think I’m coming down with a severe case of Sunny-day-itis. It hits when you least expect it, and often coincides with that first spring day.

I’m just gearing up for my next show this weekend. Do you think I’ve got things to do? Do you think I want to give up a moment like this, where there is a massive blue sky above me, full of sunshine, while watching a huge wall of clouds quickly coming in from the west? It looks like I have maybe an hour or so, before they take over the blue sky.

I’ve been toying with an important decision as of late. Many people are asking – and have been for years now - where my store is. I don’t have one. I’m only available online, and do the major garden and miniature shows in and around Seattle. As much as I’ve wanted to own a store for a long time now, the decision isn’t an easy one for me.

Three Ballard High School seniors, Joel Dunkelberg, Claire Lust and Elliot Ransom, have been named National Merit Scholar Finalists.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarships qualifying test (PSAT/NMSQT)-a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year-and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements.

“It’s largely based on test scores,” said Ransom. “First you have to get PSAT scores. Even if you get a good SAT score afterwards you are not eligible unless you get a good index on the PSAT.”

Ransom is also the alto-sax section leader and has an ear and passion for music. But he's considering going into an aero-space engineering major and is also looking at other engineering options at both the University of Washington and Stanford.

The Senate Wednesday approved the plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bored tunnel, which is expected to cost $4.2 billion.

The Senate passed the measure 43 to 6 but it will also have to be approved by the state House of Representatives.

Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Executive Ron Sims and Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the tunnel as their preferred option last month.

The plan calls for the tunnel to connect the stadium area with Aurora Avenue with exits near Royal Brougham Way South and north of the existing Battery Street Tunnel. Some traffic would also have the option of traveling north or south bound on Alaskan Way.

Gregoire also said there will be investments in improved bus service, east-west city streets, a new seawall, relocated utilities, and an upgraded waterfront.

 The bored tunnel will be approximately two miles long and carry four lanes of traffic with 50 mile-per-hour speeds. Drivers will bypass downtown by entering the tunnel near the sports stadiums in the south and connect to Aurora Avenue North near the existing Battery Street Tunnel.

Commute Seattle has launched a new campaign and Web site to alleviate downtown congestion and help commuters green-friendly transportation decisions.

One of the key goals of the Commute Seattle organization is to reduce drive-alone commuter trips and improve access to and mobility through downtown Seattle.

Just recently, they’ve shifted from talking to employers to directly speaking with commuters.

“Primarily we focus to work with businesses and commuters to find alternatives to driving alone,” said Jamie Cheney, director of Commute Seattle. “What we’ve been doing is going out and talking to businesses and providing them with transportation consultations.”

Transportation consultations is when they sit down with employers and discuss how they can create or improve an employee commute program so they can reduce commute trips to their businesses.

“We’ve been working with businesses for several months and show them different options of transportation.” she said. “Everything from bus passes, tele-work programs, rethinking how they buy or pay or subsidize parking and that’s been successful.”

Local West Seattle artist Monica Rodriguez Pieratt has created a new collection that proves you really can make something out of nothing, or at least out of things you find around the house.

Pieratt’s latest work, titled "El Emmascarado," is a series of paper mosaics created entirely from materials she found in her home. The exhibit captures the expressive nature of her Mexican culture while conserving materials in her strong desire to recycle.

Pieratt was born in Mazatlan, Mexico but has been a West Seattle resident for the past three years. After earning a degree in Illustration from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., she spent years doing commercial artwork.

But for the past two years, Pieratt has been working eclusively on fine art mosaics.

She describes her latest collection as “very experimental,” using colored paper on both canvas and three-dimensional objects.

But for Pieratt the most important factor in her work was that she include aspects of her heritage in each piece. As a result the work highlights the fun, curious side of Mexican culture. 

Seattle Public Schools will hold its quarterly community meetings to discuss updates on the district's Strategic Plan, high school math materials adoption, Student Assignment Plan, and other issues.

The community meetings will provide updates on progress of the Strategic Plan and an opportunity to discuss key topics with the community. Included will be updates on high school math materials adoption and development of the new Student Assignment Plan.

All staff, families and community members are welcome. Interpreters will be available. Dates, times and locations are as follows:

Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to noon
, John Stanford Center, Auditorium
, 2445 3rd Ave. S.


Tuesday, March 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. 
Urban Impact, Main Office, 
7728 Rainier Ave. S.


Thursday, March 26, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
 Ballard High School, Library
1418 N.W. 65th St.

Presentations, handouts, feedback and other information from previous community meetings are available under the Engagement section of the Strategic Plan Web page.