March 2012

The Amber Den, a cozy corner establishment on 17th Avenue N.W. and N.W. 56th Street, has only been open for a month but it's already attracting regular customers, says owner Nick Simonton.

At the end of last year, Simonton set out to create a place that would provide Ballard with what it's been missing - "a good neighborhood corner hangout to enjoy great food, wine and beer".

Now, several months later, Simonton says business is going well.

"Lots of good neighborhood folks come in, and we even have some regulars," Simonton said.

Yelp reviews are promising, too, as reviewers rave about their "new neighborhood favorite", the unpretentious atmosphere, and the food and drink selection.

"I was surprised how fast some of those reviews popped up. I want to listen to what people want in this area," he said. "I want it to be a real neighborhood place."

Additionally, Simonton aims to promote small craft breweries and wineries and make good quality craft beers and wines to all.

After two community input meetings regarding the Sunset Hill Greenmarket site on the corner of 32nd Avenue NW and NW 64th St, developer Bill Parks will now present his designs to the City at an upcoming design guidance meeting.

On Monday, March 12, Parks and his team will present his plans for a 3 or 4 story mixed-use project with apartments, retail, offices, and Greenmarket.

The site, home to Sunset Hill Green Market, an artist studio and holistic practitioner, was bought by Parks in 2007 but Parks waited to develop until the market stabilized.

Parks is revisiting this project and held two community meetings last month to hear people's concerns and allow the neighbors to give input before presenting his project to the City.

Parks is considers one of three schematics; a three-story remodel of the existing building, a brand new three-story development, or a four-story “Living Building” challenge. (View schematics, here)

Press release:

A team of fourth and fifth graders from Parkside Elementary School in Des Moines has won the title of Central Regional Champions in King County Library System’s twelfth annual “Global Reading Challenge” on March 6.

Teams representing the Highline and Tukwila school districts advanced to this round of the challenge after participating in a quiz bowl based on ten books given to the school by the youth librarians from the King County Library System.

The winning team from this round will represent their region at the Grand Challenge. All four regions will compete in this final on March 23.

Grand Challenge winners will take back to their school a trophy and a gold medal neck drape for each team member. David Patneaude, author of Thin Wood Walls, will be the featured author at the Grand Challenge.

The “Global Reading Challenge” program is modeled after the popular “Battle of the Books.”

The Les Schwab Tire Center located at 3801 SW Alaska St provided awards to Justin Dennison & Jerry Wiesner of West Seattle, winners of their Free Beef promotion held in February.

Each winner had a choice of $500 worth of free beef or the cash equivalent.

The Free Beef program started in 1964 as a way to thank customers in small and rural farming and ranching communities where the company had its first stores.

A well known rotating landmark changes Friday March 8 in the Admiral Junction. Linda's Flower's and Gifts at 2600 California Ave. s.w. is becoming the Flower Lab.

The spinning sign (one of the few left in Seattle and 'grandfathered in) will carry the company's new logo and reflect owner Wendy Damoth's promise to offer more creative uses for flowers and the other products the store carries.

The business itself has been around West Seattle for more than 20 years in several different locations and finally settled at the corner of Admiral Way and California Ave. s.w. ten years ago. It was started by Linda Harader, who last year chose to retire and sell it to Damoth in January of 2011. Harader still "comes in and buys something. She's been very supportive," said Damoth.

Press release from Det. Mark Jamieson with Seattle Police:

On March 7th, at approximately 10:00 pm, Southwest Precinct Anti-Crime Team officers along with patrol officers were checking an address in the 4800 Block of 47th Avenue Southwest for a suspect with an outstanding warrant.

Officers contacted the homeowner who let the officers know that the suspect was in a downstairs bedroom. Officers went downstairs, only to find a locked door. The suspect’s roommate was located in the garage and opened the locked door with his own key. The 23-year-old warrant suspect was located sleeping inside and was arrested without incident.
Officers observed guns and drugs inside the room.

Officers wrote a search warrant and then arrested the roommate as well for Violation of the Uniform Firearm Act (VUFA) and Violation of the Controlled Substances Act (VUCSA). The roommate, a 49-year-old male, is a convicted felon and two of the guns recovered were stolen.

As Ballard High School's football players are hitting the gym hard this off-season, head football coach Joey Thomas released the first draft of the 2012 football schedule this week, preparing for one of Ballard's toughest schedules yet.

“This is probably one of the toughest Ballard football schedules in the last eight to ten years,” Thomas said in a statement. “We want to be the best. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. In order to beat the best, you have to play the best.”

Ballard opens the season with the “Battle for Ballard” game as the Beavers play at Blanchet for the first game ever under the lights on the weekend of August 31st.

"We hope to start a great tradition for the Ballard community with this game,” said Thomas.

With the realignment of Kingco, Ballard now faces three of the perennial powerhouses in the conference—Skyline, Issaquah and Newport. Ballard’s conference play includes games at Redmond, Issaquah and defending 4A state champion Skyline. Ballard will host Garfield, Newport and conclude with Roosevelt in the 5th annual Anchor Bowl.

UPDATE: Saturday morning, March 24

SLIDESHOW: Click on photo for more

You still have an opportunity tonight, the second of a two-night run, to experience Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's spring cabaret at Crown Hill Center.

Based on audience reaction last night, tonight, too, promises to be a world-class treat in Ballard's own backyard as the G&S Society delivers an eclectic collection of patter songs, romance, onstage hijinks, and characters, too, at Crown Hill.

Long-time ensemble member and Seattle talk show icon Dave Ross, KIRO-FM radio host, would be the first to admit he is a character, and quite the curmudgeon as usual. The Savoyard is joined on stage at times by his grinning daughter, Caitlin. He does have a serious side when it comes to supporting and fundraising for the Society.

Enthusiastic lead soprano Jenny Shotwell enchants the audience as always. Some quipped that the aging ceiling at Crown Hall might crumble when she hits her high notes. But so far, so good.
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Crafts are in the spotlight at the Nordic Heritage Museum as two new exhibitions open celebrating weaving and Nordic-American ceramics.

Titled "Celebrating 75 Years of the Seattle Weavers’ Guild", one of the new exhibitions commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Seattle Weavers’ Guild and its rich variety of Nordic weaving techniques and continuing traditions.

The exhibition features work by over 30 members of the Seattle Weavers’ Guild, including pieces created by members during studies in the Nordic countries, as well as recent pieces that showcase distinctive Nordic techniques such as the long-pile rya, ribbed Swedish ripsmatta, and Norwegian krokbragd, among others.

A hands-on area will allow visitors to try simple weaving techniques. The exhibition stands as a testimony to the impacts of modern technology in textile art, and the relevance of traditional textile arts in contemporary life.

UPDATE 3/22/12

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Marination, the new Seacrest Boathouse concessionaire, announce a delay in the transition of the boathouse to a Marination facility.

Since early March, Marination has been working with Parks to prepare and submit architectural and design plans for remodeling and tenant improvements of the boathouse. Most of these proposed improvements are for the interior of the building. As Marination was preparing to submit its building permit application to the City’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) on March 8, DPD staff informed Marination that additional review would be necessary for a conditional use permit needed for the restaurant use.

The space in question is the kitchen area that was formerly a boat repair space. The need for a restaurant permit was not anticipated, since the boathouse has been used primarily as a restaurant/food service facility since the late 1990s. A conditional use permit typically takes two to four months for review and approval. This timeline will likely delay Marination’s anticipated opening of June 2012.