June 2009

The Seattle Department of Transportation Bridge Maintenance crews will close lanes and sidewalks on the Fremont Bridge while they replace traffic gates.

In each case, pedestrians and bicycles are being detoured to the sidewalk
on the opposite side of the bridge.

The remaining dates:

Tuesday, June 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Northbound right lane and eastern sidewalk

Wednesday, June 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Southbound right lane and western sidewalk

Tuesday, June 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Southbound right lane and western sidewalk

A boarded-up house at 1753 N.W. 56th St. that neighbors said was filled with transients and drug use was torn down June 1.

Kevin Johnston has had an office across the alley for 10 years. He said he was happy to see the building, which he described as a flop house, go.

Diana Naramore, owner of the Sip and Ship across the alley from the house, said she had reported transients living there to the police and that it was a health and safety concern for her customers.

"I think it's wonderful," said Naramor, who's business was offering $2 "Demolition Lattes." "Our customers are thrilled that it's coming down."

The Compass Center, a low-income housing provider, purchased the property from the Low Income Housing Institute in 2008.

In March, Compass Center Executive Director Rick Friedhoff said he wanted to tear the building down, though construction was not imminent, because it was a fire hazard and people were getting in and out despite it being boarded up.

Michael Hardin, an employee at the nearby FedEx Kinko's, said he heard people were moving out of the building the morning of the demolition.

Fly fishing entered my life when John Olson parked his City of Seattle Department of Transportation backhoe along the front curb and prepared to eat lunch in the cab.

He was the advance team for the crew from the streets division dispatched to lift the concrete at the base of the alley in order to explore the void by a storm water drain (At Large in Ballard: The void).

When your vehicle is a four-ton backhoe it isn’t practical to return to the break room at Haller Lake for lunch; besides John prefers the quiet at the job site.

Excited at the appearance of equipment that could solve the sidewalk problem I waved up at John in the cab to ask questions. It seemed fitting to learn in our “street talk” that he grew up within a half a mile, back on the street where I lived for the last 21 years.

“We played baseball down your way,” he said. “The catch basins were the bases.” It was clear he really knew these streets.

Last summer, when the Admiral Theater hosted a weekend comedy series they recieved a favorable response from the community who wanted to see the genre return.

“Much of our audience were coming every weekend, knowing they had a great place to watch stand up without going over the hill”, said Dinah Brein-McClellan, Admiral’s director of entertainment.

One of the inherent problems in standup comedy is being able to book big names as those comedians usually tour the larger venues. After looking into other forms of interactive comedy, the theater is pleased to announce that Unexpected Productions’ Theatersports and Jet City’s Twisted Flicks will both take the stage this summer with two distinct shows.

Unexpected Productions has been performing comedy improv in Seattle since 1983, and is dedicated to promoting the art and spirit of improvisation. Their show, Theatresports is Seattle’s longest running show, turning 25 years -old on last year.

The Southwest Seattle Historical Society invites residents to bike into history as its 2nd Annual Bike Tour returns to West Seattle Sunday, June 7, 12:30 to 2 p.m.

The bike tour accompanies the historical society's popular walking tour series, showcasing some of West Seattle’s most influential landmarks.

Beginning at the Log House Museum on Alki Beach, the Bike Tour is a casual five-mile bike ride around the Duwamish Peninsula via Alki and Harbor Avenues and West Marginal Way. Featured sites on the route include the Log House Museum, the newly reconstructed Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, Alki Beach, Anchor Park (formerly Luna Park) and the new Duwamish Longhouse on West Marginal Way.

Bike tour creator and museum assistant Sarah Frederick and museum director Andrea Mercado are excited about the bike tour’s unique format in reminding Seattleites of West Seattle’s central influence on the city’s history.

We often feel torn between fashion and function. Why not have both?

It is particularly important for us Northwest folk to have functional shoes, so let’s find stylish ones while we’re at it. Make your shoe stop at The Sneakery.

Open since October 2006, owner and Ballard resident Drea Berthold is a shoe lover and big walker. One of her favorite Las Angeles pastimes was shoe shopping at warehouse shoe sales. Within four to five blocks you can score shoes at a major discount. It’s shoe shopping for entertainment.

She moved to Seattle and wanted to find the same thing, a place where people can be comfortable, the environment is laid back, and you don’t have to feel intimidated.

The Sneakery specializes in mainly sneakers and comfort shoes – hence the name – you won’t find anything uncomfortable.

“It’s called The Sneakery for a reason,” Berthold said.

There’s nothing with a high heel (stiletto lovers, sorry you won’t find Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo here).

Of her inventory, she said, “Half the shoes are sporty, some are casual to semi-dressy, comfortable shoes you can still wear for dress-up.”

Bring something old or find something new to the Whittier Elementary School community rummage sale this weekend, Saturday, June 6.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Whittier Elementary, 1320 N.W. 75th St. and all are welcome.

Community members are encouraged to either come and sell their own items or are able to donate items to Whittier Elementary where they will be sold at the Whittier Wildcat Store.

Items should be between $5 and $100 in value and should be in good condition with no stains, tears, or missing or broken pieces.

Those who are interested in selling their own items can reserve a space to sell for a minimum $20 donation to Whittier Elementary.

To donate items contact jamiegs@u.washington.edu or to reserve a space contact forsherj@seattleu.edu.

The 64-foot research vessel Ocean Watch shoved off Shilshole Marina 11 a.m. sharp Sunday, May 31.

A crowd waved and crew members’ loved ones hugged them goodbye. It will sail to Barrow, AK, through the Inside Passage in Canada, down to the southern tip of South America, to the Galapagos Islands, and return up the American West Coast.

The Ocean Watch is scheduled to return to Ballard June 20, 2010

Its voyage, coined "Around the Americas," will monitor ocean water temperatures, pollution, and wildlife. It stops at 31 ports in the Americas, including St. Johns, Newfoundland, Boston, MA., and Punta Renas, Costa Rica, before returning to Ballard.

Karen Gentile lost her dog of 12 years about a year ago, so when her coworker's dog had puppies she thought it was about time for a new pet.

Tia was born on March 30 and has only been with Karen for one week. Her mother is half Yorkie and half Shih-tzu and her dad is a pure bred Yorkie. While she is in the house she stays in a playpen that she inherited from Karen's granddaughter, and when she is in the yard she plays in a mini fenced area about six feet in diameter.

At night she stays in a kennel on the bed where she sleeps the whole night through.

Tia is learning how to fetch with a little three inch stuffed bear. She will go and get the bear and bring it back. Pretty good for nine weeks old!

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:

Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Veterinary Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

If you've ever made a wish using a Turkey wishbone you probably regretted that there's only one per bird, but Ken Ahroni decided there had to be a way to make more wishes possible so he invented the Lucky Break Wishbone.

Ahroni is a born and raised West Seattlelite who spent the better part of his career as a product development consultant helping companies develop decorative lighting products.

Today, he lives in a beautiful home south of the Fauntleroy Ferry dock and works on marketing his invention.

In 1999, Thanksgiving just happened to coincide with his birthday.

"The idea just really came to me that with the abundance of the food and all that there was just this one lonely wishbone and I thought, 'Hey that's a clever idea' so I made note of it," said Ahroni.

When he began to develop the idea Ahroni realized there were a lot of questions to be answered and issues resolved. It had to be safe (no shards of plastic that could injure someone). It had to look like a real wishbone (or close enough). It had to break unpredictably (and remarkably enough they do), and it even had to sound right when it snapped.