March 2012

By Christy Wolyniak, Contributor

On Sunday afternoon, the fishing community gathered at the Fisherman's Terminal for the 84th Annual Blessing of the Fleet. All came to pray for safety for the fishermen approaching their upcoming season and to remember those lost at sea, who have sacrificed their lives in providing seafood for the community.

“It’s all part of the business,” said fisherman Chris Phipps regarding the danger involved. “They say there are no atheists out on the water.”

Pastor Erik R. Wilson Weiberg and Pastor Laurie A. Jones of Ballard First Lutheran Church conducted the service. The audience joined in singing hymns of peace and praise led by the church choir. Special speakers included Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Congressman Reuven Carlyle, and Councilman Richard Conlin.

Winter is the perfect time to cook wonderfully satisfying meals that would be too heavy in the summer, but are just right for cold evenings. Savory pies are one of those things.

Usually, if you buy a chicken pot pie or other meat pie, you’ll find they can be frighteningly high in sodium (salt). Keeping your salt intake down is one of the best things you can do to prevent heart and kidney problems. So, how can you make a savory pie without all the salt?

The trick is to be smart about the convenience foods you use. For the pie crust, try Pillsbury pre-made crusts. An eighth of a pie with a top and bottom crust has only 200 mg of sodium. In general, any entrée under 400 mg is a good choice. A healthy diet includes about 1,500-2,000 mg. per day.

These quick and easy recipes can make a weeknight dinner an amazing meal.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
1 medium baking potato
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup dried onion flakes or ½ cup onion, chopped
½ pound mushrooms, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups water
¼ cup white wine (optional)
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
3 cups of leftover chicken, turkey, or beef, cooked
1 box (package) Pillsbury pie crust dough

After some weather-related delays, the contractor for the Ballard Bascule Bridge Painting project plans to begin closing a single southbound lane of traffic tonight. The closures will take place on weekdays, continuing into April.

The lane will remain open during peak traffic periods for southbound traffic, but closed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays and closed at night from 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday to 6 a.m. the following mornings.

Due to the southbound lane closure, the west sidewalk will be closed; however, the east sidewalk will reopen.

Bicyclists will be detoured from the west sidewalk when it is closed. Bicyclists may use the Fremont Bridge or may cross the ship canal at the Ballard Locks. (The sidewalks on the Ballard Bridge are too narrow to accommodate bicycle traffic in two directions on the same sidewalk).

With the Burien City Council set Monday, March 19 to discuss putting annexation of White Center and North Highline on the ballot Aug. 7, outspoken annexation critic John Poitras has come up with 10 reasons why it shouldn’t be on the ballot:

10 Reasons For Why The Annexation of Area Y/White Center Should Not Be Put On The Ballot

1. The Sales Tax Credits from the state have not come through to support the annexation of this area. There is no money. And even if the monies came through they are still not enough to support Area Y annually. Area Y will cost in excess of $5 million dollars to support and Burien does not have that money. One of the major writers of the Draft Berk Report did not even show up to the Boundary Review Board to speak about his report because the report is economically non-defensible. Members of the Boundary Review Board openly commented that the math in the report did not add up. All that Mike Martin and the Burien Finance Director could mumble into the microphones was that this was only a guess report. (Source: Boundary Review meeting minutes).

Press release:

“The Who’s Tommy” ends on March 25th. A great show that should not be missed. Nevertheless, Burien Little Theatre is already working on “reasons to be pretty.” BLT is looking for a few unique props/set pieces for “reasons to be pretty.”

BLT needs:

(1) two to three vending machines, preferably working machines. These need not look new, but they need to be willing to becomes stars and stay on stage from April 13 to May 20, 2012; and

(2) up to eight lockers, like those used in a workroom or locker room. A place where street clothes can be put when working in a factory; and

BLT’s supporters have always been so kind to help us find hard to find props, we turn to you again. Here is your chance to become an integral part of BLT production.

If you have any of these items please contact Burien Little Theatre at info@burienlittletheatre.org or 206-242-5180.

By Patrick Robinson and David Rosen

A vigil was staged Sunday evening, March 18 to "remember Greggette Guy and to claim the parks as safe public space."

Guy, 51, was murdered, according to Seattle Police on the evening of March 11. Her body was found 30 feet off shore, floating in Puget Sound.

More than 50 people came to Emma Schmitz Park on the waterfront side of Beach Drive to walk the length of the park, making a statement about and against crime in the neighborhood and honoring the memory of the murdered woman.

One woman attending, "Meg", said, "I've always felt that this is a safe place to be, but this is really sad and unfortunate but we have to keep living our lives."

Dear Editor
Many thanks for the well written article on our 96th birthday. You wrote exactly what Al and I are all about. Small town guys who loved our childhood, family and the grocery business. We have each loved every minute of our lives.

Good luck and success to you in the future. Will look forward to your articles in the Herald.

Many thanks,

Ray DeGabriele

PS- At our family party before they cut the cake they chanted "four more years". The neighbors must have thought Obama was here.

Ben Capdevielle, Holly Robinson, and Todd Leabman, the trio behind the newly-opened small batch gin distillery, Captive Spirits, have a lofty goal: to make a world-class gin, comparable to Bombay, Tanqueray and the other "big boys".

"I have lots of respect for the big boys but want to be competitive with them. If there's only room for three bottles on the shelve, we want to be up there," said distiller Capdevielle.

But in order to go big, you have to start small. Located on 15th Avenue NW and NW 52nd Street, Captive Spirits Distillery is a small but welcoming space that smells of juniper bushes.

"We're starting small, growing large," said Capdevielle. "To make money is a challenge so we try to be as efficient as possible and take the Apple approach: if we can use the same cork twice, we should."

"Craigslist has been our friend," added fiance Holly, "As well as goodwill and the Re-Store."

SLIDESHOW: Click on photo for more

Green is king along SW 152nd Street in Burien today, St. Patrick's Day, where everyone appeared to be irish in Mick Kelly's. They are celebrating St. Patty’s with live music, Irish food specials, drink specials today and tonight through the wee hours of 2:00 a.m.

"It feels great, with so many wonderful people here today," said Adrian Kelly from Belfast, who co-owns Mick Kelly's. "Everybody's wearing green," he added. "It's great to see."

press release:
In an effort to increase community participation in serving others, the Western Washington councils of the Boy Scouts of America are teaming up with local residents in the fight against hunger. Last weekend, Cub and Boy Scouts from the Chief Seattle Council dispersed door hangers around their neighborhoods to make the community aware of this initiative and if they want to participate they should leave food donations on their doorstep and the Scouts will return the this Saturday, March 24th to collect, transport, and sort at a local food bank. Through partnerships with more than 50 local food banks, the Scouting for Food drive provides more than 500,000 cans of food annually to needy families. This community service project is designed to help fill the shelves of neighborhood food banks at a time of year when needs are high and supplies are low.