September 2009

Monday, Aug. 31 at approximately 5:15 p.m., a witness reported the stabbing of a male at a Gas Station parking lot, in the 5900 block of E. Marginal Way S.

Officers arrived on scene and found a male with his shirt covered in blood. They also saw a male exiting the gas station, who was bleeding heavily from one of his hands.

Apparently, the victim and suspect got into shouting match and the suspect exited his car and approached the driver’s door of the victim’s vehicle. The suspect punched the victim several times in the head and face while the victim was sitting inside of the car. The victim then pulled a knife and stabbed the suspect in the face and neck.

The suspect was transported to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries. The victim was also transported to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries.

The male suspect is a 26-year-old Seattle resident. He was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault.

The male victim is a 28-year-old Seattle resident.

On Monday, Aug. 31 at approximately 10:55 a.m. Seattle Police North Precinct Anti-Crime Team officers and the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Task Force located and arrested a suspect on a $100,000.00 Seattle Police Department Burglary warrant.

The suspect, a 43-year-old male, was wanted in connection with two residential burglaries and a felony theft that were committed in north Seattle in June and July of this year. He was booked into the King County Jail on the warrant.

Seattle Police North Precinct burglary detectives believe the suspect may be responsible for several other burglaries in the city. Those investigations have been completed and forwarded to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review and potential charges.

Calling all Ballard first-through-fourth-grade students interested in playing flag football this fall, sign-ups have opened for the fall season.

The season will begin on Sept. 14 and practices and games will be on Mondays and Wednesdays at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club field.

To register. inquire about coaching or for more information visit http://www.ballard-bgc.org/ or contact Billy Rogers at 783-5775 or wrodgers@positiveplace.org.

The large, vacant house and a single-story, empty retail building that had been occupying the southwest corner of the former Denny's property were torn down on the morning of Sept. 1.

The site on the corner of Market Street and 15th Avenue Northwest will soon become the Market Street Landing development.

A longtime Denny's was torn down a little more than a year ago amidst many strong feelings in the neighborhood.

The city approved the application to allow the construction of Market Street Landing in August.

The development will be an eight-story structure with 261 residential units above 32,307 square feet of retail space.

A Bartell Drugs is slated to be the anchor tenant of the retail space.

The Market Street Landing project has been in permitting stages for the past two years. It went before a design review board four times before being approved.

According to the National Association of Realtors, for the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June. Sales are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008.

The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he is encouraged.

“The housing market has decisively turned for the better," said Yun. "A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales."

The monthly sales gain was the largest on record for the total existing-home sales series dating back to 1999.

Susan Schneider makes me want to become an artist. She makes art sound so much fun that I want to show up for her classes that start at the Bell Tower on Ballard Avenue before the Sunday Farmer's Market and begin “eavesdropping” by sketching.

If the lives of artists were as celebrated as movie stars the headlines would read: "Famed batik artist relocates to Ballard" or "London's loss is Ballard's gain."

In Susan's artistic career she has been a nationally recognized batik artist, co-founder of Carnegie Craft Gallery in Ontario, gallery owner, card company owner and administrator. But what Susan loves doing is combining her two greatest loves, teaching and creating art out of doors.

Plein air is French for outdoors, or out in the open. Plein air painters sound lofty, until Susan describes them as, "Somebody who does any kind of art outdoors."

Sketching or painting outside allows her to participate more fully, through comments overheard, needing to avoid passing cars and pedestrians, a gust of wind or curious passers-by. Even when she creates art while indoors Susan looks to what is happening outside of her window.

It was the end of a long, hot week and all I really wanted was for a handsome man to fan me while serving me cool, refreshing beverages. What I got instead was the playdate from hell.

Two minutes after shoving three children into the back of my very small car, I had to pull over in a "oh my god I've become my mother" episode.

"I can not drive with all of this screaming. You HAVE to settle down right now, damn it."

Both of my kids' eyes widened and they looked at each other with the all knowing, "She's in one of those moods" looks.

But my son's friend, the one I was mainly yelling at, didn't bat an eye. He resumed his thrashing and screaming, I yelled again, he yelled louder, so I turned up the stereo and sped home.

Once there, I told the kids to play outside, threw them some snacks, and locked the door.

Occasionally, I would hear a scream or yelp and drag my sorry butt to the window. "Put that shovel down, someone."

"Bang! Owww!"

"Are you bleeding?"

"No"

People of West Seattle appreciate Flora Belle Key. She has spent her whole life of nearly 77 years being there for other people and most recently hosted patio events for such groups as the League of Women Voters, the West Seattle Senior Center and the Committee to Stop Drug Ads on Television.

Her wrap-around patio is gloriously welcoming with umbrella tables, flower plantings and bowls of popcorn—her trademark offering at every gathering.

Her style is come one, come all. No RSVPs necessary. A far cry from my “better let me know you are coming” method of entertaining. Whenever she knows someone needs a ride or needs help, she is there. Flora Belle is in constant contact with her sister in California who is now facing the end of her life.

Just the other day she found out that I needed a ride to Tacoma to do a standup comedy appearance at my daughter’s church and was there with her vintage diesel Mercedes-Benz to pick me up, giving me moral support at the open mike evening.

I told the audience that a young woman in her 70s brought me. I can do almost anything but drive on the 60 mile freeway at night.