March 2012

The University of Washington women's basketball team is hosting Pac-12 rival Utah Sunday at noon in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at Edmundson Pavillion.

The Huskies (18-13) are looking to avenge a heartbreaking 49-36 overtime loss to the Utes earlier this season. UW had a five-point lead with 1:32 remaining in a hotly contested defensive struggle before Utah (16-15) came back to tie it at 32-all on a three-pointer by senior guard Janita Badon. The Utes converted 10-of-12 free throws in overtime to win it going away.

"Since we lost in overtime, we definitely will go out and play tough," said UW freshman guard/forward Aminah Williams, a Kennedy graduate who lives in West Seattle. "We all took that personally."

The Utes are led by two Canadians, both sophomore forwards, 6-foot-4 Michelle Plouffe (14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and 6-foot-3 Taryn Wicijowski. (13.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Plouffe has a team-leading 44 blocks and Wicijowski 41. Baden, the Utes' fourth all-time assists leader, has 44 steals on a team that holds opponents to 55.9 points a game.

King County Assessor Lloyd Hara and his colleagues from his office, the King County Tax Advisor’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office held a meeting March 14 at the Burien Library/City Hall Building. Only about nine citizens attended. Hara said he has hosted nearly 400 such meetings in the last few years.

Hara was introduced by King County Councilmember Julia Patterson, District 5. She and Council member Joe McDermott, District 8, represent Burien. She also represents Sea Tac and Des Moines. Also speaking were King County Tax Advisor Barbara Alsheikh who discussed the methods of "property valuations and taxes", and handling disputes, King County Treasury Office's Scott Matheson, KC Outreach Coordinator Phillip Sit, and Dept. of Assessments Residential Division, Debra Prins.

Topics included a good news/bad news scenario for Burien homeowners. According to the King County Assessor’s Office, the median assessed value of property in Burien in 2010 was $238,000. The city’s median assessed value of property in 2011 fell to $205,000. Burien took one of the biggest hits in King County. However, property taxes also decreased.

King County Assessor Lloyd Hara and his colleagues from his office, the King County Tax Advisor’s Office and the Treasurer’s Office held a meeting March 14 at the Burien Library/City Hall Building. Only about nine citizens attended. Hara said he has hosted nearly 400 such meetings in the last few years.

Hara was introduced by King County Councilmember Julia Patterson, District 5. She and Council member Joe McDermott, District 8, represent Burien. She also represents Sea Tac and Des Moines. Also speaking were King County Tax Advisor Barbara Alsheikh who discussed the methods of "property valuations and taxes", and handling disputes, King County Treasury Office's Scott Matheson, KC Outreach Coordinator Phillip Sit, and Dept. of Assessments Residential Division, Debra Prins.

Topics included a good news/bad news scenario for Burien homeowners. According to the King County Assessor’s Office, the median assessed value of property in Burien in 2010 was $238,000. The city’s median assessed value of property in 2011 fell to $205,000. Burien took one of the biggest hits in King County. However, property taxes also decreased.

The pre-schoolers may not have realized who Yvette Sanchez Fuentes was when she walked through the classroom doors of the Children’s Home Society of Washington’s Highline Early Learning Center at Highline Community College, sat down at a child-sized table, played with them and read to them. But the kids seemed to have as much fun with her as they would with any other patient grown-up.

Appointed by President Obama, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes is the National Director, Office of Head Start, with the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She is in town for an Office of Headstart Region X Conference is this week. (There are 12 regions nationally.) In addition to Washington State, Region X supports children and families in Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. About half of the 54 or so children at the center, which is partnered with the college, are enrolled in Head Start, from newborns to "waddlers", those 1 to 2 years old, to pre-K.

By Jeff and Eileen Bidwell

Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes. As we write our first column of 2012 we are still in the hold of winter’s grim, gray grip. But by the time you read this we will be basking in dazzling spring colors and the Cubs will still be in first place.

Just outside our front door, the fragrant flowers of Daphne Odora are beginning to open, and lavender, white and yellow crocus have appeared in our herb garden. Strolling through Ballard, we witness more promising signs of spring: Camellias, rhododendron, azaleas, forsythia and pieris Japonica are in bloom, fruit trees are blossoming, and daffodils and tulips are pushing their way into the light.

For us, the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in early February supplied a needed dose of optimism. We drew inspiration from the wide variety of display gardens, each with its own unique theme creating its own island of beauty, peace and tranquility.

Soil vs. Dirt

The World is Fun, a non-profit organization with the goal of introducing 20-30 year olds to the Seattle volunteer scene, has found a new home in Ballard.

TWIF supports a number of Northwest causes throughout the year with events such as the annual Beard and Stache Fest, which took place in Fremont two weeks ago and a BNT reporter was there to see the elaborate facial hair.

Operating from their new office along 15th Avenue NW, TWIF is gearing up to increase their presence in the community and make Seattle an even more exciting and rewarding place to live, work, and play.

“Moving to a permanent office in Ballard will really allow us to settle down, grow our organization, and get even more involved in the community,” TWIF Executive Director Amy Faulkner in a statement.

Many of Ballard’s well-known bars, and restaurants and other businesses have already become valuable partners in TWIF’s mission.

After two overtime periods of scoreless lacrosse, Blanchet’s James Donaldson took a pass and dodged down the right alley, bouncing a high shot past Ballard goaltender Alex James’ right shoulder to secure the Blanchet first boys high school lacrosse win of season on Wednesday.

After playing to a 4 – 4 draw at the end of the third, Ballard’s John DeGarmo struck first, putting the Beavers up by one goal. But as the clock sped toward zero, Blanchet’s Zane Zielke put the ball past Ballard goalkeeper Alex James to knot the game at five with just over a minute left in the game.

In each of the first two five-minute overtime periods, Ballard controlled the tempo for duration. In the third, after Ballard lost possession deep in the Blanchet zone, the Braves cleared the ball upfield to set up the game winner.

Ballard’s DeGarmo had two goals and goaltender Alex James had 13 saves.

Blanchet (2-0-0) next faces Nathan Hale (1-1-0) , Saturday, March 17 in a 3 p.m. start at Blanchet High School. Ballard (0-1-0) next faces Selah (0-0-0) , Saturday, March 17 in a 5 p.m. start at Ballard High School

Scoring
Blanchet 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 -- 6

By Cassandra Baker, Intern

1:53 a.m. on March 12th. 14th block of NW 61st St

Police responded to reports of an assault in progress in the middle of the night on March 12th. The complainant said that two males were attacking a third man. The suspects were seen fleeing the scene on bicycles while the victim was left lying on the ground. Seattle Police and Seattle Fire arrived at the scene to find the victim unconscious and with serious head injuries. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center and his injuries were characterized as serious but non-life-threatening. The investigation was ongoing at the time of the report.

6:32 p.m. on March 9th. 65th block of 26th Ave NW

A woman told police that her home had been burglarized 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on March 9th. The suspect entered through a door and stole several items. No fingerprints were found at the scene. The victim said that she saw a white male with a goatee driving very slowly past the houses on her block earlier that day. The suspicious vehicle was a wood-paneled brown Chevrolet van.

1:13 p.m. on March 7th. 85th block of 25th Ave NW

By Eric Mathison
Susan Enfield won’t have to take that much of a salary cut to move from the state’s largest school district to become Highline’s new superintendent July 1.

The Highline School Board Wednesday, March 13 voted unanimously to adopt Enfield’s three-year contract with an annual salary of $220,000.

The Seattle Times has reported that Seattle and Bellevue pay their superintendents about $225,000 a year. Enfield became a serious candidate for the Bellevue top job after indicating she was not interesting in moving from the interim superintendent to the permanent position in Seattle, the state’s largest school district.

Highline and Bellevue both enroll about 18,000 students.

Enfield will be making a larger salary than her predecessor, John Welch. The Seattle Times reported Welch was earning an annual salary of $186,000. Welch left the district in June to become superintendent of the Puget Sound Educational Service District, headquartered in Renton.

The pre-schoolers may not have realized who Yvette Sanchez Fuentes was when she walked through the classroom doors of the Children’s Home Society of Washington’s Highline Early Learning Center at Highline Community College, sat down at a child-sized table, played with them and read to them. But the kids seemed to have as much fun with her as they would with any other patient grown-up.

Appointed by President Obama, Ms. Sanchez Fuentes is the National Director, Office of Head Start, with the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She is in town for an Office of Headstart Region X Conference is this week. (There are 12 regions nationally.) In addition to Washington State, Region X supports children and families in Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. About half of the 54 or so children at the center, which is partnered with the college, are enrolled in Head Start, from newborns to "waddlers", those 1 to 2 years old, to pre-K.