April 2009

On Sunday, April 5 at approximately 1:20 in the morning, neighbors reported hearing shots being fired in front of a house in the 6700 Block of 32nd Avenue Northwest. When they looked out their window, they saw a man standing in the middle of 32nd Avenue Northwest pointing a gun at the victim’s home.

They then phoned 911 and reported that the suspect had now entered the victim’s home and closed the door.

Upon arrival, officers contacted the owner of the victim residence. Officers quickly located and arrested the suspect in the victim’s backyard and discovered that the suspect is the boyfriend of the homeowner’s daughter.

The victim homeowner eventually allowed officers to check inside her home for any possible weapons and evidence. Once inside, officer’s quickly located a loaded and cocked 9MM semi-automatic handgun under the homeowner’s daughter’s bed (the daughter was not home at the time).

Neither of the victims were injured and no property damage was discovered as a result of this incident.

The 29 year-old male suspect was booked into KCJ for Investigation of domestic violence burglary and violation of Firearms Act.

(Editor's note: The following opinion piece was provided from Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles' e-newsletter.)

Monday, the senate introduced our "operating budget." Our Majority Leader, Sen. Lisa Brown, described it as “shared pain.” And, painful it is.

Our budget writers tried to spread the sacrifice so that this budget determines no winners or losers. While as our state reels from a national recession that has led to historic drops in state revenues, we have proposed a balanced budget that unfortunately stalls the progress we have made for our state’s workers, children and communities.

We introduced an all-cuts budget, as we know people across our state are cutting their own family budgets. However, I believe that this all-cuts budget cuts too deeply, so I am working with our leadership to present a tax package to the voters to provide some relief from these cuts.

The operating budget (some examples)

Basic Health Plan

A large crowd gathered today under the sun to enjoy a live band, complimentary refreshments and kick of the King County Water Taxi season.

From noon to 2 p.m. local leaders, including King County Council member Dow Constantine and Seattle County Council President Richard Conlin, spoke about the value of the Water Taxi while residents were able to ride the passenger ferry for free all day.

"People here in West Seattle have found that this is a great alternative to driving your car, looking for parking and paying for gas,"
said Constantine.

Smiles were not tough to find among a crowd that was treated to refreshments provided by Zatz bagels, Alki Crab and Fish and Husky Deli.

The Fireboat Leschi’s water cannons also greet the King County Water Taxi as it returned from its first trip to Downtown Seattle this season.

After being renamed, the vessel has received a fresh, new look to match the two new shuttle vans.

The water taxi will have its longest season to date, continuing service on the West Seattle-to-downtown route through Oct. 31. Soon after, year-round service could begin.

The Cambodian community celebrated that country's New Year at a White Center street festival, Saturday, April 4.

It was a sunny day and the festival was in full swing at 15th Avenue Southwest at Southwest 98th Street in White Center.

A stage draped in Cambodian decor featured entertainment with traditional dance, music and games. There were booths with authentic traditional arts and crafts, food, and information tables for Cambodian charities, as well as other organizations like the White Center Food Bank.

The New Years tradition is called Chaul Chnam Thmey and falls on April 13 to 15. The community event was organized by the Cambodian Cultural Alliance of Washington.

What looked like a second surefire win in a row for the Ballard High School baseball team slipped away as Woodinville scored seven runs in the bottom of the final inning.

The Beavers poured on the offense April 3, scoring two runs in the first inning, two in the fifth and five in the sixth, and lead 9-3 going into the last inning.

Pitcher Dylan Murphy came in to close out the game and earned the loss, giving up four runs on two hits.

The good news for Ballard is the offense seems to be on track, averaging just under 10 runs in the last three games.

Murphy went three-for-five with one run, Kyler Korsmo went two-for-four with two runs, and starting pitcher Nick Palewicz hit two-for-three with two RBIs.

Ballard goes up against Newport at 3:45 p.m., April 7 at Whitman Middle School.

Like Superman, the Ballard High School soccer team just needed a taste of Earth's yellow sun to get its power back. As the sun peaked out and gave Seattle a taste of spring weather April 4, the Beavers beat Bishop Blanchet High School 1-0.

Ballard broke its three-game long scoring drought early when junior Cooner Jarvie scored off an excellent pass at the 37 minute mark of the first half.

From there, Ballard just had to hold on to get its first victory since March 17. They did it with the help of senior goalie Lizardo Lopez, who had a clutch save in the final seconds.

Coach Gary Hunter said Ballard has been competitive for a city team so far this season, having beaten O'Dea and Blanchet.

"We are moving in the right direction," he said. "We just have to take care of the Eastside schools."

With the non-conference win, the Beavers are 2-3-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the conference.

Ballard faces Lake Washington at 7:30 p.m., April 7 at Interbay Stadium.

Spring seemed to arrive in Ballard April 4 as the sun peeked out and temperatures threatened to break 60 degrees.

Jonathan Testa celebrated the drastic change in weather by rendering his interpretation of the Seattle skyline at Ballard Commons Park.

"I woke up and saw that it was a nice day, so I came down to Bartell's and bought some sidewalk chalk," he said.

The weather is supposed to take a turn for the warmer and sunnier next week.

Somebody’s girlfriend is crying outside. It’s raining, frigid cold and after midnight.

That someone was sitting at the end of the bar. I know because he’s in every Wednesday night, most times with her sometimes alone. They had been in earlier, happy and on a date. He is a good looking kid no more than 22.

An obsidian mane piled high and greased to perfection with pale blue eyes and a hell of a smile, at least what can be seen through the sneer. A wicked scar runs from his forehead to the cheek over his right eye, glazed with quiet rage and drunkenness. The same one that has been staring at the shot of tequila on the bar for 20 minutes now.

I notice a bunch of crumpled cocktail napkins in front of him and I come over with a glass of water.

“How’s it going, Frank?”

He manages to lift his now heavy and swimming head.

“Fine, Chuck.”

Miniature gardening is a great way to introduce gardening to kids, in a very fun way. The garden fairy idea is sure to win over the girls, and, with the number of small action figure toys out there today, there’s no reason boys can be left out of the idea either.

It doesn’t have to be expensive, it can be as big (in a garden bed), or as small (in a container), as you like - you can even make one for indoors. Mini gardening is very accessible to all ages, and can be a valuable learning theme for the young gardener just getting started in the hobby.

A good place to start, if you have a backyard, is next to a shed, gazebo, or fence that the child can make into a little hideaway where they can feel like it is their own imaginary world. If there isn’t a man-made structure, use a big tree, a shrub, or a large rock to create a closed-in feeling – a cozy place where they can play with their garden, and toys, with their friends, or by themselves, in peace. Dedicate that spot in the garden that they can call their own, and they can easily water and tend to.

The popular mobile kitchen Skillet will soon begin serving West Seattle on Sundays at the local Farmers Market.

"Weekends suburbs are always good for business so we decided to give it a shot," said Joshua Henderson, owner and executive chef.

Skillet serves bistro-style cuisine from a Streamline trailer all over Seattle. Each day, they serve a different neighborhood burgers, BLT sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, salads and garlic fries. Each dish features gourmet ingredients such as fine cheeses, caramelized onions and saffron.

Their take on the burger is served with bacon jam, blue cheese and arugula.

On his Web site, Henderson wrote, "Our goal is to provide seasonally relevant, locally sourced and impeccably executed bistro style food up and down the west coast…...out of our airstream trailers."

Skillet will begin serving lunch in West Seattle on April 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will also begin serving breakfast in mid-May.