March 2012

Highline-1, Seattle and Bellevue-Nil

Things are looking brighter in Highline after we stole Dr. Susan Enfield away from both the state’s largest district and the glittering Eastside.

I tend to be your usual reporter skeptic, but I’ve got to tell you, Enfield dazzled me as the last of the three school superintendent finalists up to bat at the public forums.

As one of the few civilians in the room for all three forum nights my eyes were glazed over with ”Educationese”-- standards-based grading, one-on-one computing, dual language learners, highly capable students, equitable access, etc.

Why do educators speak English as a second language?

Enfield knows her stuff but the remarkable thing was how simply she translated it into everyday English. It’s amazing how plain spoken she is considering her world-class education—degrees from Cal-Berkeley, Harvard and Stanford. Wow!

I got the impression that--dare I say it-- she would be a “nurturing” superintendent but one you would just hate to disappoint. And behind all that “chief cheerleader” façade, her expectations are high.

“Genuine” was the word I wrote in my reporter’s notebook.

Numerous Ballard High School student-athletes were names to All-Kingco conference teams for the 2011-12 season:

Girls Basketball:

Cailey Beckett—2nd Team
Beverly Verduin—Honorable Mention
Nancy MacGeorge—Honorable Mention

Boys Basketball
Seth Berger—2nd Team
Johnny Verduin—Honorable Mention
Brad Baker—Honorable Mention

Football
Dominic King—First Team Running Back
Johnny Verduin—First Team Punter; Honorable Mention Quarterback
Marcus Johnson—Second Team Offensive Guard
Tony Meyer—Second Team Defensive End; Honorable Mention Offensive Guard
Blake Sechler—Honorable Mention Linebacker
Devaughn Dorsey—Honorable Mention Linebacker

Volleyball
Monique Marquez—Honorable Mention
Deanna Myers—Honorable Mention

Congrats students!

Superstition has always played a big part in baseball and Ballard High School baseball coach Jim Du Bois has one that dates back to the spring of 1982, when Du Bois was a 16-year-old student wanting to tryout for the BHS baseball team.

"Coach McDonald told me at the try outs in the spring of 1982 that I would make the team if I got a haircut," Du Bois said. "Being 16 at the time, there was a part of me that wanted to rebel."

But wanting to play ball, he decided to get a haircut after all and walked to Smitty's Barber Shop on 15th Avenue N.W. at lunchtime.

"Smitty was an old, Navy barber with a grey flat top, mermaid tattoo, and a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth," Du Bois recalled. "I told him the coach was on my back and [he should] just take enough off to get coach McDonald to ease up."

But to Du Bois horror, Smitty gave him a very short haircut not unlike a military buzz.

But Du Bois said that the specific haircut became a pivotal point for him in his baseball career. He not only made them team, he also helped the team win the 1982 championship.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here are a few ideas:

Laughs to be had at Don Fleming's adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

Most of us may not remember The Tempest as being a particularly humorous play when we were forced to read it in high school or college classes but Don Fleming has managed to turn Shakespeare's play inside out to make it a local, modern, and most of all, highly entertaining tale.

Titled Freak Storm, the play was the winner of Battle of the Bards V and surrounds the story of a powerful and corrupt scientist, Dr. Benedict Karybduff (played by James Lyle), who returns to the Cascade Mountains to investigate the causes of the disruptions in his research on using volcanoes as an energy source.

A powerful mad scientist (played by Jillian Boshart) awaits him in a secret base, ready to wreak revenge on him while ushering in a new, environmentally-sensitive and sustainable age.

By Cassandra Baker, Intern

8:03 p.m. on February 25th. 22nd Ave NW and NW Market St

Police responded to reports of a man attempting to start fights in downtown Ballard on the night of February 25th. When police arrived at the scene, one of the victims said that the suspect had been fighting for the past three hours. The victim said he had attempted to break up one of the suspect’s fights, but the suspect hit him on the head with a rock. The victim then followed the suspect around the area to keep him from fighting.

A witness told police that he had seen the altercation between the victim and the suspect, and had seen the suspect kicking a bicycle in front of the library. He said that the victim told the suspect to stop, and the suspect attempted to start a fight. The victim asked the witness to call 911, and the suspect began to threaten the witness as well. The witness called 911 and left the area.

UPDATE 3/16
There are only two days left to enter your name for the next West Seattle/White Center Charity beer. So pour a cold one and give it some thought. It has to be West Seattle/White Center centric and in keeping with Lowman Brau and Whale Tail Ale is best if it's clever.

Original Post
Jeff Gilbert, owner of Feedback Lounge (and incidentally the graphic artist behind the poster design you see above) shared the announcement of the latest in a series of charity beers and this time it's a contest. The winner will get a $25 gift certificate from each of the participating restaurants ($225 worth) and a promotional T-shirt from each, the right to pick the local charity recipient, and a photo and bio about themselves on the website. Here's the announcement:

NAME THE NEXT WEST SEATTLE/WHITE CENTER CHARITY BEER
A COMMUNITY-WIDE CONTEST MARCH 1, 2012 - MARCH 18, 2012
~ brought to you by ~
Big Al Brewing, The Feedback Lounge, West 5, Shadowland, Mission,
The Bridge, Locöl, Beveridge Place Pub and Company Bar

Around mid-morning today, a large marine vessel is scheduled to depart Lake Union and move through the Ship Canal to Shilshole Bay. First the Fremont Bridge and then the Ballard Bridge will close to vehicle traffic while opening for the ship’s passage through the waterway. Given that vessel speed is determined by weather conditions, other marine traffic and safety factors, timing cannot be precise. That said, the anticipated vessel opening schedule is set for 9:45 a.m. at the Fremont Bridge and 10:15 a.m. at the Ballard Bridge.

Each of these closures to vehicles will last between 10 and 15 minutes, however traffic could become very congested on all streets surrounding both bridges on both sides of the canal.
Motorists should allow for delays or consider avoiding the general area and taking alternate routes between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Burien resident Albert Elmer Seifert, 91, passed away Feb. 20. He was one of the longest-serving employees at Boeing, working nearly 70 years there. The tool master fabricator worked full time at the Auburn plant until two months ago. He had cancer.

In 2001, Seifert (pronounced "SIGH-fert) created the Laser Trim Cell, a device that employs a laser to cut stainless-steel tubing. Patents held by Albert E. Seifert include the Circumferential Measurement of Tubular Members, granted Feb. 14, 2006, and Post-Forming of Thermoplastic Ducts, granted Oct. 6, also in 2006.

The headline for the 124-unit Burien Town Square condominium website declares: "Small Town Big Charm". The ownership group is also hoping for big sales as spring approaches. Chicago-based ST Residential report that 13 units have sold since it lowered prices last October.

A sample of price reductions of unsold units include an "Alcove One-Bedroom" unit, 527 square feet, originally priced at $236,950, now $129,900. The larger one and two-bedroom units are also reduced. At the other end of the spectrum, for instance, a 1,427 square foot two-story, two bedroom-plus-den-townhome priced at $614,950 in 2009 has been reduced by over $230,000.

Just six units sold at original prices as construction was completed in June, 2009. A few months later, developer Urban Partners was forced to suspend sales when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) closed Corus Bank which financed Urban Partners' construction loan. ST Residential stepped in and sales resumed last fall.

"Now that spring is around the corner we expect interest in the property to pick up," said Peter Marino of ST Residential. "We're feeling very positive about the quality of the project and the pricing."

The new K-5 STEM option school scheduled to start classes in September of 2012 at Boren has a deadline of Friday, March 2 for anyone interested in joining the design team to work with teachers, administrators, parents and community members.

The team will make decisions on curriculum, mission/vision and program features (to name a few tasks) for the school and will require a time commitment of 2 to 4 hours sessions two to four times a month for the next several months, according to Seattle Public School officials.

You can apply online here.

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and students will focus on those disciplines to a greater extent than other schools.

For more information on the STEM system, please visit Seattle Schools informational page here.