June 2009

"SQ/25," code for "The Squirrels' 25th Anniversary Party" will be held at the Tractor Tavern Saturday, June 13, 9:30 p.m. with special guests The Moonspinners. The Squirrels will play many of their popular oldies, some unheard for over two decades. They will also hand out their new, studio-produced, four-song CD at the door.

The Squirrels were founded in Seattle in 1984 by ex-Pudz vocalist Rob "Capt." Morgan, a Ballard resident.

"We have just three shows left, all in beautiful Ballard," said Morgan, who prefers to keep his real age under his captain's hat, but claimed he was three years old in 1984 when the band started. "Most of our fondest memories are our shows in Ballard," he said. "The Backstage, Tractor, Seafood Fest a few zillion times.

"This is not a reunion," continued Morgan. "We never stopped existing."

The Squirrels will perform at the Seafood Fest July 25, and their last gig will be at the Tractor, Dec. 12. After that their existence will stop.

In 1984 he persuaded the Young Fresh Fellows (YFF) to back him under the name Ernest Anyway and the Mighty, Mighty Squirrels, seen as the first Squirrels lineup.

After 20 years working at the school Schmitz Park Elementary librarian Judi Lybecker is retiring.

The school will host a celebration on June 9 at 3:30 p.m. at the Schmitz Park Elementary Library. Current and past students, parents, friends and family are invited to attend and say goodbye to Lybecker.

Lybecker has been the librarian at Schmitz Park Elementary for 20 years and she is retiring at the end of this 2008-2009 school year. She shared the job for the first 17 years and then became full time three years ago. Her favorite part of being a librarian has been matching children to books that will get them excited about reading. Lybecker says that computers have brought the biggest change to libraries over the last 20 years.

She has observed that students are reading longer books now since the arrival of the Harry Potter 300+ page books. Before the Harry Potter books, authors and scholars thought that younger kids would not read 300+ page books and now there lots of them.

I just finished heating up my pizza on a cookie sheet in the sun. It’s 88 degrees outside and the roses and the rhodies are in full bloom at the same time.

Spring was late and summer came early to Seattle, which, after this winter’s freeze, makes for a very durable garden.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?

Well, now we can have our lemonade and drink it too.

Ah, refreshing, isn’t it?

Now go. Take a walk around your garden. Then take a walk around your neighbor’s garden, and then keep going until you get a good view at all the plants in your neighborhood that are thriving in this heat. Take a picture or note which ones you like.

Chances are, they are the ones that survived the freezing temperatures back in December, and now they are the same plants that are taking this early heat wave like it is something they’ve been doing for years. They are the plants to focus on for a really low maintenance garden.

"A-board signs are illegal," was the mantra at Wednesday night's monthly Southwest District Council meeting held at the South Seattle Community Center.

The initial focus of the meeting was guest Barbara Gray representing the Seattle Department of Transportation speaking on the new Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan. Gray has been on tour visiting area councils and community centers citywide to discuss the plan, including Broadview, which we reported in the Ballard News Tribune.

Its draft states its goals are rooted from the Pedestrian Master Plan Advisory Group in April 2008 to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation based on four goals: safety, equity, vibrancy and health. The city decided in 2008 that priority areas for the plan would be higher density pockets like business districts where there is access to transit, rather than residential neighborhoods that are less dense, Gray explained.

"There are 450 crashes a year involving pedestrians, " said Gray. "Most occur in downtown Seattle, and most occur at busy intersections."

Teachers, parents and students all gathered outside Seattle School District headquarters on June 3 to protest the recent layoff of 172 teachers across the district, including 20 from West Seattle schools.

The rally occurred while Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson received her annual performance review insided the John Stanford Center.

Madison Middle School's Jesse Hagopian, a humanities teacher that was cut in the latest reduction in force, spoke out about the importance of maintaining teacher-student relationships and criticized Goodloe-Johnson's decision to close schools.

"If our children don't get the individual attention they deserve then they fall through the cracks," said Hagopian. "We need a better vision, we can do so much better in the Seattle School District."

Four teachers were have been cut from Madison, and Hagopian said they will be deeply missed by their students. The worst cut, he believes, was a counselor position.

Hagopian explained that school counselors are the only faculty that maintain a close relationship with students during all three years of middle school.

"That should be illegal," said Hagopian. "That's criminal."

The Annual Duwamish Tribe Gala Dinner and Art Auction will be held for the first time in the Duwamish Longhouse Museum and Cultural Center, 4705 West Marginal Way S.W. Saturday, June 13. Doors open at 4:00 p.m.

The gala will feature a cultural performance by “Singing Feet” the Duwamish Language and and Dance Youth Group, a wine reception and silent auction, and a traditional dinner and live auction. There will be an unveiling of major new art pieces by respected Northwest Native artists including Marvin Oliver, Bill Holm, Preston Singletary, Marylou Slaughter, and John Paul Jones.

The live show, silent auction and reception is $30.

Full gala event, including traditional dinner and live art auction is $100.

Call (206) 431-1582 to purchase tickets. No dinner tickets will be sold at door on day of event. The last day to make reservations is June 3, 2009.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit Duwamish Tribal Services.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced legislation today calling for federal recognition of the Duwamish Tribe.

The bill’s introduction came on the same day the House voted to extend federal recognition to Virginia Tribes; in recognizing those efforts, McDermott noted in remarks on the House floor that there was more work to do:

“Despite the Treaty of Point Elliot the Duwamish signed in good faith with the United States in 1855, federal recognition has not been extended and this is wrong," he said. "Promises were made to the Duwamish, but not kept. And it is time to correct this injustice for the Duwamish, just as we are doing in Virginia.”

For a matter of hours at the end of the Clinton Administration the Duwamish Tribe seemed to have obtained federal recognition, but the status was reversed at the beginning of the Bush Administration. The legislation introduced by McDermott would decide the matter once and for all.

In the House today, McDermott said: “It is my hope that the new day dawning across America is bright enough to shine enough light for us to see and correct the injustices endured for too long by the first Americans.”

The freighter Marit Maersk, a 1,150 foot 9,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit ship), arrived Wednesday afternoon at Seattle's Terminal 18 on Harbor Island.

According to Port of Seattle spokesperson Peter McGraw, the Marit Maersk and just one other ship, which arrived last week, are the two largest freighters ever to enter Elliott Bay.

According to McGraw, the ship is calling here to position containers for a new service beginning Sunday that will dramatically increase the container activity in the Port of Seattle, one of the few deep-water ports, with state-of-the-art facilities, cranes, and intermodal capabilities, that allow it to handle ships this large making it an exceptional gateway for shipping and commerce.

While the Admiral neighborhood’s new barbecue restaurant was originally scheduled to open on June 1, Brickyard BBQ now plans to open one month later on July 1.

Ryan Ackerson, who will be the restaurants’ chef, blames the delay on the Department of Planning and Development misplacing their plans. In the meantime, Ackerson and owners Don and Dan Kriley continue to work on construction of the restaurant.

Brickyard BBQ will feature indoor and outdoor seating, as can be seen in a painted model of the restaurant. It will offer both dine-in and take-out service.

Ackerson has been a chef at How To Cook a Wolf and Tabulata in Queen Anne and opened Café Venus in Lake Union. He has already planned a menu which will include:

• Brick Chicken
• Beef Brisket
• Pulled Pork
• Baby Back Ribs
• Daily Seafood Special
• Jalapeño Cornbread
• Coleslaw
• Baked Beans
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Corn on the Cob
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Sweet Pea Salad
• Potato Salad

Brickyard BBQ will be opening at 2310 California Ave. S.W., just south of the Admiral Pub.

As the Mayor Greg Nickels Pedestrian Master Plan nears its final draft, Broadview residents are concerned their pedestrian needs are being overlooked.

The plan, among other elements, determined which neighborhoods need sidewalks, improved drainage and which have priority over another.

Sidewalks from North 85th Street and continuing north to Broadview Avenue North are noticeably absent, and some residents are worried for the safety of children and seniors, said Gloria Butts, member of the Broadview Community Council.

Last year about six blocks of sidewalk was installed on the north side of Broadview-Thomson Elementary,13052 Greenwood Ave. N., on both sides of the street, but it doesn’t come close to how many more are needed, Butts said.

The recently released draft of the pedestrian plan states that its vision and goals were rooted from the Pedestrian Master Plan Advisory Group in April 2008 to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation based on four goals: safety, equity, vibrancy and health.