July 2009

Ballard's over-friendly faux “ex-newspaper boy” made another appearance recently. He walked right in through an open front door on Dibble Northwest, began chatting with the elderly resident, and asked for his usual glass of water. He asked for change and the would-be victim said she had none. He then asked about her medical alert bracelet. When she told him it was for summoning police help, the visitor apparently remembered a previous engagement: He left in a hurry.

In the 4300 block of 4th Northwest, a man heard what he thought was a tussle on his front porch. Curious, he discovered 75-80 loaves of bread, some artfully arranged and others scattered. The fun didn't stop there. The next day someone broke into his home and stole some cash and jewelry. The resident also reports that the thief took time to open many bottles and small containers, seemingly in a search for drugs.

A memorial will take place this Sunday at Camp Long for Lynn Barnicle, a music teacher at Arbor Heights Elementary School. She lost her battle with A.L.L. , acute lymphocytic leukemia.

The service is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

According to her blog:

At 11 a.m. doors will be open and at noon we will head down to the large fire circle at the southern point of of the park for a memorial. Preceding the memorial we will celebrate Lynn's life with music, food, and good people.

We will be doing food potluck style, so please bring your favorite food dish to share (refreshments will be taken care of). If any of you would like to bring your instrument, my mom would have loved to hear some musical tunes on this day.

We will wrap things up around 5, so feel free to stop by and pay your respects before then. Please spread the word to any of my mom's companions, friends or acquaintances you may feel wont be contactd by myself.

Dress of course is very casual, so dress for comfort.

Thank you all again!
-Colin and Dan

Camp Long is located at 5200 35th Ave. S.W.

Seattle Public Utilities said today that there has been a misunderstanding between it and the owners of Restaurante Michoacan on 15th Avenue Northwest about whether they need to remove a happy face sign on the front of the restaurant building.

A letter sent from the city on July 21 to the property owner states, “A City inspector will visit the property in 10 days to determine whether the graffiti has been removed from: Restaurante Michoacan tags on front side. If the graffiti has already been removed, please disregard this letter.”

Restaurant owners misunderstood that to mean they needed to paint over a smiley face that has been on the building for more than 10 years.

“We don’t think it’s (the happy face) graffiti,” Andy Ryan of Seattle Public Utilities said. “We sent them the letter because there was graffiti on their building, which they acknowledged and cleaned up.”

On Sunday, July 26, Manish Melwani was shot while he was at work at the Pit Stop/ 76 Gas station on the corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 58th Street and later died of his injuries.

The next day, a suspect was arrested at a house a few blocks away from the Pit Stop. This senseless and tragic act has really made me stop and think about how precious life really is.
 
You hear about the news of murders and other acts of violence on a daily basis, so much so that it takes a really gruesome case to get your attention. That, or having an act of violence happen to you, someone you know or love, or happen in your neighborhood.

I cannot say that I knew Manish, although I know that I had interactions with him when I went to the Pit Stop for gas. The last time I was there was when I was taking pictures for my previous article. He was a person who worked in my neighborhood and therefore a neighbor. 
 

Senior citizens are one of the groups most vulnerable to heat. And, with tempatures reaching an all-time high of 103 degrees July 29 and expected to hit the high-90s today, Seattle’s heat wave is in full effect.

“I’ve never seen heat like this before,” Ballard Manor resident Arline Carnagie said. “And, I’ve lived in Washington all my life.”

Ballard’s retirement living facilities are doing what they can to make sure their residents stay cool and comfortable.

Ballard Landmark staff are encouraging its residents to come out of their rooms, only some of which are equipped with air conditioning, and spend time in the air-conditioned common rooms.

Landmark resident Sara Throop said she was glad to escape her room, where two fans aren’t doing much to combat the heat, and watch a Mariners game and movies in the common areas.

Bob Schwalbe, another Landmark resident, said the Landmark is the best place for senior citizens during the heat wave.

“The whole staff has been very protective of the residents,” he said. “This is great as far as I’m concerned.”

On July 5 at about 3 a.m. an unknown suspect entered the victim’s apartment in the 1700 block of 12th Avenue through an unlocked window.

The suspect sexually assaulted the 20-year-old female victim inside her apartment and fled the scene. The suspect remains at large. Seattle Police Sexual Assault Detectives are asking for assistance in identifying the suspect.

The suspect is described as a white male in his late teens or early 20’s, 6 feet tall, chubby build with very short hair. He was last seen wearing a dark short-sleeve T-shirt, dark cargo shorts and dark running shoes.

Anyone recognizing the suspect or who may have information about this individual should call the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at (206) 684-5575 and refer to this incident. Those wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or text CRIMES (274637) and preface your text information with TIP486.

Members of the Metropolitan King County Council said today, July 30, the best approach to reducing the projected $213 million deficit facing Metro Transit is to implement a wide range of measures to fill the shortfall.

Implementing the findings of an audit of Metro, transferring property tax revenues from the King County Ferry District, living within the 1/10th of one percent sales tax for the voter-approved Transit Now initiative, reducing discretionary services, implementing yearly fare increases and charging Seattle a higher rate for the downtown Ride Free Area are some of the measures proposed by Council members Reagan Dunn, Julia Patterson, Kathy Lambert and Pete von Reichbauer.

The council members said the plan unveiled today would reduce cuts in bus service from a projected 20 percent to approximately four to six percent. 

“These are not political gimmicks,” said Council member Dunn, Chair of the Council’s Government Accountability and Oversight (GAO) Committee. “These are hard policy choices that we have considered over a period of months. This plan will limit service cuts to a minimal level, while keeping faith with voters who adopted Transit Now.”

On Sunday, July 26, a mere 24 hours following the collection of signatures in Olympia to place the domestic partnership initiative Referendum 71 on the Nov. 3 ballot, West Seattle residents Matthew Darling and Ray Burley got “hitched” at a reception at the Feedback Lounge in Morgan Junction.

The happy couple did not wait around for the final vote count, which may take well over a week to total. And regardless of its outcome, same-sex marriage will still not be legally recognized in Washington.

“Ray is someone I don’t ever want to be without,” said Darling, sporting a black outfit including a cowboy hat and casual suit. “I don’t need the government to sanctify our union. But what I need is some recognition from our government to say what we are doing matters. Our votes matter, and we are very involved in the West Seattle community.”

Darling is a food and wine expert who has managed several West Seattle restaurants. He works at the Chocolate Box downtown. Burley is a manger at Alki Bakery.

(Editor's note: City Council member Tom Rasmussen wrote this letter to the community, with a copy to the Ballard News-Tribune, in response to recent concern about crime in downtown Ballard parks.)

Dear Ballard Community,

Recently I met with members of the Ballard community about increased illegal activity in and around Ballard Commons Park, Bergen Place Park and Marvin’s Garden. They requested my assistance and I wanted to provide you with an update of what has happened since that meeting. 

I contacted the Department of Parks and Recreation to request them to follow through on earlier commitments made to the community to improve lighting at the parks. Shortly thereafter, the department sent a crew to Ballard and they have assured me that their lights have been repaired and are now in working order.

They are also coordinating with Seattle City Light to upgrade the lighting to brighten the area and discourage crime that has been happening in the darker portions of the parks.  

An accidental house fire broke out at 5241 45th Ave. S.W. shortly before 1 p.m. today, Wednesday, July 29 after ashes from a barbecue ignited the porch attached to the house, said Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick.

The fire has since been distinguished and one person was transported to Harborview Medical Center with minor burns, said Fitzpatrick.

Damages are estimate to be about $150,000.

It was hot enough before the firefighters arrived to the scene, and the added heat presented additional challenges. The commander on duty brought in additional crews, which took turns putting out the fire so as not to overheat and to prevent heat exhaustion, Fitzpatrick said.

A misting fan like one sees on the football stadium sidelines was utilized to cool off the firefighters. Plenty of bottled water and other beverages were being consumed.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW