December 2011

Highline awarded county grant to improve playfield

Improvements to be funded in partnership with City of Burien and Burien Bearcats

press release:
Young athletes will have an additional practice field at Burien’s Moshier Park, thanks to a $20,000 matching grant from King County and contributions from the city, the school district, and the Burien Bearcats youth football program.

Currently, the field is covered with water for several months in the fall and spring. The grant will fund regrading of the field and installation of a drainage system that will make it playable all year.

The project was initiated by Highline Director of Athletics Terri McMahan, modeled after similar partnerships she brokered as Director of Athletics in Edmonds School District. “When I realized the level of district use on Moshier's practice field, specifically Highline High School’s football and soccer programs, coupled with the fact that the field was down for many months of the year and unavailable for community use, this project became my immediate mission,” says McMahan.

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Emergency ramp closure planned tonight on SR 18/I-5 ramps

The ramps from westbound SR 18 to southbound I-5, and from eastbound SR 18 to northbound I-5 will close from 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, to 5 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, for emergency pothole repair.

Detour routes will be posted and drivers are advised to expect delays and plan extra time.

Find more construction news on the King County construction update page: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Northwest/King/Construction/

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Prudential Real Estate sold to management company

Expected to be 'business as usual' for Burien, West Seattle offices

Press release:

On Dec. 6, Brookfield Residential Property Services (“Brookfield”), a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. affiliate, announced that it has purchased Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, a recognized leader in global relocation and real estate brokerage from Prudential Financial, Inc. Prudential Relocation Services operates as Pricoa Relocation in Asia and Europe.

(Prudential has local branch real estate offices in Olde Burien and West Seattle.)

“We are thrilled to join Brookfield, a leader in residential real estate franchising and employee relocation services and a brand name that is synonymous with strength, stability and growth,” said Mike Gain, CEO of Prudential Northwest Realty Associates. “Locally, Prudential Northwest is still the same great company, providing the same great service to homebuyers and sellers.”

The addition establishes Brookfield as North America’s third largest residential real estate brokerage business and the world’s second largest global relocation services provider.

Neighborhood
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Boys basketball wins conference opener

The Beavers boys basketball team played their conference opening game at home on Tuesday night, beating Eastlake 66 to 55.

Ballard gained a four-point lead in the first quarter but Eastlake came back strong in the second quarter, leading 26 to 24 at halftime.

Ballard opened the second half strong, scoring 21 points while allowing Eastlake to score 16. The Beavers finished the game strong and scored an additional 21 points for a final score of 66 to 55.

Stuart MacGeorge led the Beavers in scoring with 24 points, followed by Seth Berger with 22 points.

The boys basketball team will play another home game on Friday, Dec 9, against Bothell. Game starts at 8 p.m.

Neighborhood
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Roxhill Elementary Empty Bowls Banquet teaches hunger awareness

On Dec. 1, the City Year team at Roxhill Elementary School celebrated the end of a school-wide Hunger Awareness Month Campaign with the school's first Empty Bowls Banquet.

All students and families were invited to share a humble meal of soup and bread out of student-decorated bowls and to hear student's amazing essays on how to combat hunger around the world.

It was a powerful and inspiring evening that could only have been possible with the generous donations from Endolyne Joe's, Ivar's, Target, and Great Harvest Bread.

Sample student essay

Faith 2nd Grade

Get food for the kids! Parents feed their kids but, some parents want to get more food for their kids because they don’t have enough food. If this happens all the kids will grow. The village will grow stronger with the help a community. The community will grow stronger if all the nations unite. Together we can help change the world to change ourselves.

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Ballardite arrested in "Occupy K Street" protest in Washington DC

A Ballard resident was arrested for civil disobedience in Washington DC today, after thousands of people converged for a major demonstration on the street that means high-powered corporate lobbyists — K Street in Washington DC. The arrests came after a boisterous march and rally that disrupted the daily routines of the big corporate lobbyists and called attention to the excessive influence of money in politics.

"I'm here because there's too much money in our government and our politics," explained Isaiah Earhart, an unemployed construction worker who lives in Ballard in a press release. "All the politicians care about is their corporate masters. They've forgotten that they work for us."

Earhart was among several dozen people from across the country arrested for civil disobedience on a rainy Seattle-like fall day in the nation's Capitol.

"I stood outside in handcuffs in the pouring cold rain for three hours," Earhart said. "I couldn't be more wet if you dumped a barrel of water over my head, but it was worth it."

After making their point clear, the protesters marched down K Street and other major boulevards in high spirits all the way back to the National Mall.

Neighborhood
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Holiday Hoops at The Ballard Boys & Girls Club

Looking for something to keep the kids busy in the days leading up to Christmas?

The Ballard Boys & Girls club will be hosting a Holiday Hoops Camp for boys and girls K through third grade.

The programs runs from 9 a.m. till noon December 19th through the 22nd.
Cost is $85 for all days or $25 per day.

The club will also host extended care from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and noon till 6:30 p.m. for an additional $25 a day.

For more information and to register, visit http://www.ballard.positiveplace.org.

Neighborhood
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Highline Public Schools wins national award for new logo project

Press release:

Highline Public Schools has received a MarCom Gold Award for logo development and design. The competition sponsored by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals is one of the largest, oldest, and most respected competitions in the creative industry.

“Community and staff participation is what made the process of developing our new logo so successful,” says Catherine Carbone Rogers, Highline’s Director of Communication and Community Engagement. “People shared their ideas about what Highline means to them, and we came up with a logo design that reflects our diversity, multiple paths to success, our focus on higher education, and our dedication to every student.”

The MarCom competition attracts about 5,000 entries per year from marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, PR firms, production companies and freelancers. Winners range from individuals to Fortune 50 companies.

Highline adopted its new logo last spring after nearly a year of gathering input from students, staff, parents, and community members.

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AmericanWest Bank completes Viking Bank acquisition

press release:
AmericanWest Bank has announced its holding company completed the acquisition of Seattle-based Viking Financial Services Corporation, parent company of Viking Bank. Immediately following the close, Viking Bank was merged into, and became part of, AmericanWest Bank.

The Viking Financial Services Corporation shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the merger and acquisition at their November 3 special shareholder meeting. The necessary regulatory approvals have also been received, clearing the way for the completion of the sale.

“We are pleased to officially welcome Viking Bank customers and employees to AmericanWest Bank,” said Scott A. Kisting, Chairman and CEO, AmericanWest Bank. “Customers will benefit from the many commonalities that exist among our two banks, including the importance we place on exceptional customer service and being actively involved in the community. These core values serve as a strong foundation, and today we add our increased lending capabilities, robust products and services, and additional benefits inherent with being a well-capitalized bank.”

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Nighttime Fauntleroy Expressway closures start Dec. 12

SDOT putting in work to bolster Expressway for future earthquakes

Starting Dec. 12 and lasting into June of 2012, Seattle's Department of Transportation will begin work to strengthen the Fauntleroy Expressway to better hold up to earthquakes. SDOT says nightime closures (from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. will start next week, with the possibility of "additional ramp closures" and weekend closures in the future.

Here are the full details from SDOT:

Fauntleroy Expressway Nighttime Closures to Start December 12

Work by SDOT to seismically strengthen structure

Starting next week, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin the first of a series of nighttime closures to strengthen and seismically retrofit the Fauntleroy Expressway to better withstand an earthquake. These closures are scheduled to begin the week of December 12th and continue regularly until the project’s completion in June 2012. Future closures will include additional ramp closures and may also occur on weekends, though none are scheduled at this time.

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