June 2009

The Seattle Planning Commission and the Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee (NPAC) invite the public to review Seattle’s neighborhood plans in Phinney on July 23.

The two citizen groups want to hear the public’s thoughts about how well the city's 24 Neighborhood Plans are responding to issues such as growth, transportation, housing, economic development, basic utilities, neighborhood character, open space and parks, public services, public safety, and other issues.

The meeting for Ballard, Greenwood/Phinney, Crown Hill, Fremont, Wallingford and Green Lake will be July 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

This first series of meetings will provide an opportunity to learn about specific neighborhood plans, neighborhood projects that have been implemented, and growth and changes that have occurred since the plans were written in the late 1990s. The Planning Commission and NPAC are also looking for the community’s perspective on how the neighborhoods have changed since adopting neighborhood plans in the late 1990s.

The Seattle Planning Commission and the Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee (NPAC) invite the public to review Seattle’s neighborhood plans in West Seattle on July 28.

The two citizen groups want to hear the public’s thoughts about how well the city's 24 Neighborhood Plans are responding to issues such as growth, transportation, housing, economic development, basic utilities, neighborhood character, open space and parks, public services, public safety, and other issues.

The West Seattle meeting will be held on July 28, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Delridge Community Center Gym, 4501 Delridge Way S.W.

This first series of meetings will provide an opportunity to learn about specific neighborhood plans, neighborhood projects that have been implemented, and growth and changes that have occurred since the plans were written in the late 1990s. The Planning Commission and NPAC are also looking for the community’s perspective on how the neighborhoods have changed since adopting neighborhood plans in the late 1990s.

The 2009 High Point Diversity Festival will take place on July 4 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Commons Park in High Point, 32nd Avenue Southwest and Southwest Graham Street.

Volunteers are needed to help prepare and serve food (ethnic and american) and serving food.

Food preps will need to have a food handlers permit which we can help them obtain. Volunteers are also asked to help set up tables and clean up after the event.

Any organization with valuable community information is welcome to attend.

Please contact Cynthia Clouser at (206) 933-2431 or cynthiaclouser@yahoo.com.

One morning, at 7 a.m., as I was considering getting out of bed at an earlier hour than usual, the phone rang with a voice asking me about my Who’s Who information. I should have been wary when the caller stated my wedding date as my birthdate.

Since I have appeared in several Who’s Who publications over the years I answered a few questions and even gave my email address so they could post the Who’s Who information for me to check. Never before had I been asked to correct or add to my Who’s Who information on email but this is a techie age and I complied.

I joked that they would have to call this old “lady” each year to check if I were still around. But they weren’t checking to see if I were still in the land of the living. They were out to get their $95 up front and probably even more for the plaque and publication of my Who’s Who.

I didn’t wait long enough to find out what the plaque and book would cost but bowed out as soon as I could hang up.

At the Southwest Crime Prevention Council meeting on June 16 Community Police Team officers reported that recent arrests of known gang members, improvements at Westcrest park and plans for summer patrols.

Crime statistics since mid-May have normalized. Between May 16 and today, there have been 42 residential and two non-residential burglaries, 33 auto thefts and 75 car prowls.

Offer Kevin McDaniel, who is covering the High Point area, announced that two known gang affiliates with warrants were arrested recently after residents suspected they were planning to break into cars or homes.

McDaniel is also addressing problems associated with a multifamily housing unit on the 2800 block of Southwest Nevada Street. Neighbors have complained about possible narcotics use, noise and trash piling up on the property. McDaniel has been working with the building owner who he says has agreed to work with him and try to evict problem tenants.

The Porterhouse Pub is moving into the former Blackbird restaurant and dubs itself a family-friendly pub owned by West Seattle resident Silas Reynolds.

Reynolds currently operates another Porterhouse restaurant in Mount Vernon, Wash. He said the West Seattle location will be similar, but catering more to the Seattle clientele.

The Porterhouse Pub will serve 25 beers on tap, including a rotating selection of West Coast ales. Still, it will not be a 21-and-over establishment, and Reynolds said he plans to make it "family-friendly."

"We're trying to get into the neighborhood pub feel," said Reynolds.

Then menu will be similar to the Mount Vernon restaurant which offers a variety of "pub foods" including seafood, steaks, pasta, soups and salads.

Inside the new restaurant, Reynolds wants to include new wood work and warmer colors to create a "cozy" environment. The West Seattle Herald will be posting pictures of the new decor soon.

While he has not set a specific date, Reynolds plans to open the Porthouse Pub in July.

Three of the five candidates for Jan Drago's Seattle City Council seat introduced themselves to a handful of residents and answered their questions June 15 at Ballard's Trinity United Methodist Church.

David Bloom, Sally Bagshaw and Dorsol Plants attended. The other two candidates, Thomas Tobin and Brian Carver, were not invited because the church was not aware of them at the time, Pastor Rich Lang said.

Each candidate was given 15 minutes to introduce themselves to the audience. Lang said this format was important so that residents could get to know the candidates instead of hearing the same two-minute sound bite.

Sally Bagshaw, former chief of the civil division for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, talked about two people that changed her life.

One, a pastor, had given a sermon that made her think if she was fulfilling her life's purpose. The other was her former boss in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Norm Maleng.

Bagshaw said she is looking forward to serving the community.

"This isn't a chore for me," she said. "It's what brings me life."

This Father's Day West Seattle residents are being asked to support a family, which has recently lost their own.

Pasha Phares, 41, passed away on April 24 after he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He is survived by his wife Debbie and his two daughters Sierra and Maddie.

Because Pasha and his wife were unable to work for the past year, the medical bills and other family expenses have added up.

On Sunday, West Seattle families will have an opportunity to help the Phares out by attending a benefit gala at the Alki Beach Bathhouse.

The Mediterranean-themed evening will be filled with Pasha's family and friends and many activities including a silent auction and raffle, belly dancing performances, a henna tattoo station, tarot card reading and more.

There will also be a Mediterranean-inspired feast, catered by Sabrina’s International Cuisine along with beer and wine.

Entry and dinner for the event will cost $20 per person or $35 per couple. Children under 12 are free of charge.

This year will mark the Seafair's 60th celebration and some of the main events are happening in and around Ballard.

59th Annual Greenwood Seafair Parade, July 22

The parade starts at 6 p.m. on Greenwood Avenue North from North 95th Street to North 85th Street, turns right at 85th and continues to 6th Avenue Northwest in Ballard.

Description from Seafair Web site:

"The Greenwood Seafair Parade is in its 59th year of providing great family and community entertainment and features neighborhood schools, businesses and other organizations. Come experience "Greenwood Gets Active!" and see 2009 Grand Marshal - Coach Bob Ernst, Director of Rowing, University of Washington."

For more information on this event, contact Ann Woodard, 206-782-6532 or email her at annmw55@comcast.net. Also visit www.greenwood-phinney.com.

Ballard Seafoodfest, July 25 and 26

Many Ballardites probably don't think of the annual Ballard Seafoodfest (now in it's 35th year) as part of Seafair, but officially, it is.

We must have been a sight to see last night. Twenty women lined up in a row, on the narrow paths of the Streissguth Public Gardens, with wine glasses in our hands, nattering away about the plants, trees and flowers on the hillside.

“What did she say this tree was?”

It was like a game in kindergarten.

“She said it was a Stewartia.”

“She said it was a Stewartia…”

“She said it was a Stewartia…”

Pass it on…

What a treat to see! This lovely oasis is right in the middle of Seattle, on the northwest side of Capitol Hill. If you ever get in a traffic jam on I-5 going north around Roanoke, you might have a chance to see it from that perspective, otherwise, the garden itself offers many views of our wonderful city: Lake Union, the Ship Canal, downtown Seattle and the Olympic Mountains on the horizon.

But it was the garden that our club had come to see. The Streissguth Gardens is about one acre in size, and built on a hillside – “50 vertical feet of change.”

I felt like a mountain goat.

“Did she say peach or beech?”

“Beech, peaches don’t grow here.”

“Oh ya….”