May 2013

Friday, May 31

Ballard Bike Street Party

What: Celebrate the Bike Month finale with hundreds of other bicyclists at the annual Ballard Street Party. Cascade Bicycle Club transforms the heart of Ballard into a bike block party, and you're invited!

Where: Bergen Place Park

When: Friday, May 31, 4-7 p.m.

More info: http://www.cbcef.org/btw/btw_afterparty.html

Ballard High School presents “Songs for a New World”

What: Ballard High School Playmakers present Jason Robert Brown’s musical revue, which transports his audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue to meet a startling array of characters. Purchase tickets at https://www.showtix4u.com

Where: Ballard High School, Earl Kelly Performing Arts Center (1418 N.W. 65th St.)

When: Friday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.

More info: http://www.ballardperformingarts.org/

SketchFest at Ballard Underground

Car burglar makes away with nothing

May 24, 9:18 a.m., 1220 block of 11th Ave NW -- Police responded to a call of a burglary in the Broadview neighborhood. Unknown suspects entered the unsecured garage, rifled through the 2001 Honda Accord, but appeared to take nothing. Suspects took out the glove box and leave it in the front passenger seat.

Officers found no latent prints and no evidence left on the scene. No items were in the car.

Burglar has eyes for pressure washer

May 24, 4:28 p.m., 8500 14th Ave NW -- An unknown suspect had is eyes set on stealing a pressure washer on the night of May 23. He entered the victim's backyard, opened up the unlocked storage shed, moved a push mower and gas barbque out of the way and stole the pressure washer.

The victim was not home at the time of the incident. He asked to file a police report and was given a case number for the incident.

A case of stolen furniture

Jamie Thorpe, who won two state doubles titles for Kennedy Catholic with brother Mitch, put his perfect high school record on the line in the Class 3A boys tennis championships held at the Tri-City Court Club and Kamiakin High School May 24-25.

After advancing through the rounds in singles play, Thorpe faced Connor Garnett of Interlake who headed into the championship match with an unbeaten 14-0 record in this season's singles action. Garnett proved to be stronger on this day and took home the gold with a 6-1, 6-1.

In his semifinal match, Thorpe captured a long, drawn out 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, battle against Lust Le of Interlake.

The Lancer ace's tournament began with a 6-4, 6-2, win against Henry Smith of Mercer Island before he methodically mowed down Daniel Park of Lakeside, 6-3, 6-1, in a quartefinal leading up to the upcoming two matches which left Thorpe's bid for a singles title one win short of fruition..

RICHLAND - In the first game of its 2013 Class 1A Washington state tournament softball appearance, Seattle Christian's girls spent little time on the field. Unfortunately, the reason was a 10-0 loss to Montesano in five innings via the 10-run mercy rule on May 24..

The Warriors were stymied by Bulldog pitcher Madison Didion who pitched a three-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks. In all, Montesano collected 16 hits.

Seattle Christian rebounded strongly to defeat Columbia (Burbank) 6-2 with good pitching and timely hitting. Okanogan forced the battling Warriors out of the tournament 9-4.

Connell defeated Woodland 4-0 to claim the championship. Montesano buried Lakeside 11-3 for third place.

SEATTLE - Cecilia Vu of Evergreen (White Center) created the greatest impact among local players at the 2013 Class 2A girls high school state tennis tournament held May 24-25 at the Nordstrom Center.

The Wolverine athlete earned a two-set, 6-1, 7-5, win against Callie Hanson of East Valley (Spokane) in her opening round match before falling into the consolation bracket via a 6-2, 6-3, defeat from Lauren McCann of Capital (Olympia).

Vu fought strongly, but fell out of the tournament in a 6-2, 6-3, loss to Anna Lefevbre of Burlington Edison.

Chloe Goyette of West Valley (Yakima) became the state champion by defeating McKenzie Kieser of Selah in two sets, 7-6, 6-4.

In girls doubles, Foster sent two teams into action on the indoor courts. Yen Le and Esmeralda Bailon won a 6-4 first set against Shayla Robinson and Brittani Harvey before the Pullman pair rebounded for 6-3 and 6-1 set wins to move on in the winners bracket. Emily Barclift and McKenzie Click of Tumwater then ended the Bulldog pair's hopes, 6-0, 6-4.

Information from Barbara Dobkin, NHUAC

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council set for Thursday, June 6 will be hosting Bill Ptacek, Director of the King County Library System (KCLS), who will provide updates and answer questions regarding the status of the White Center and Boulevard Park Libraries.

In 2004 the voters of North Highline, along with all voters in King County served by the King County Library System, passed a Capital Bond Levy to rebuild, expand, and improve aging libraries. Taxpayers have been paying on this bond levy since its passage and work has been completed on most of the libraries throughout the county, but the promises made to the voters of North Highline and North Burien, which included a new 10,000 square foot White Center Library at its current location, and capital improvements to the Boulevard Park Library, have yet to be fulfilled.

In December 2012 an unusually high tide damaged the WPA seawall on the north side of Colman Pool, and in January 2013 the Parks Department repaired this seawall damage. THEN they dumped in front of the repaired area a mound of rock. We spoke to the staff person in the Park Office at the north end of the Park about this (his name was Bill), and he said that he had recommended against dumping these rocks on the beach. Why? Their size makes them environmentally unsustainable—the first strong north wind at a high tide will toss these rocks over the beach.

In late April the Parks Department held a public meeting on management of Lincoln Park, which we could not attend because of travel, but we wrote a lengthy letter to the Mayor, Parks Department Interim Superintendent, and Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw (Chair of the Parks Committee, Seattle City Council). In this letter we expressed our concern about these rocks, among other topics, but got no reply from any of the officials.

Lincoln Park is one of the biggest and oldest of its ilk in Seattle, and for decades reaching back to the early 1900s it has been a gathering, exercising and getting away spot for West Seattleites young to old.

The park boasts 135.4 acres, 4.6 miles of walking paths, 3.9 miles of bike trails, picnic shelters, fireplaces, seawalls, impressive Olympic and Sound views, coyotes and owls, a saltwater pool: You name it, Lincoln’s got it. As West Seattle gets denser with development, the expansive natural reprieve remains as vital as ever.

Unfortunately, with all that good comes a touch of bad with the possibility of crime, and the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council gathered with park users, park staff and police to discuss safety and take a walk on the evening of May 28.

Car prowls are the number one safety concern
Except for the lucky few living close enough to always walk to Lincoln Park, many have to drive and park before entering the forest or heading to the beach. That, according to Community Police Team Officer John Flores, is at the core of Lincoln’s most prominent crime issue: car prowls.

Information from SDOT

Most of the intersection of Delridge Way Southwest and Southwest Holden Street will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday, May 31 until 6 a.m. Monday, June 3 for roadway restoration and storm drain installation. This work is part of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Delridge Way Southwest Paving Project that is rebuilding much of Delridge Way Southwest between Southwest Orchard and Southwest Roxbury streets.

For the closure of the Delridge/Holden intersection, the detour will be as follows:
· Northbound traffic on Delridge Way Southwest - Take Southwest Thistle Street to 35th Avenue Southwest, then proceed north to Southwest Morgan Street, then to Sylvan Way Southwest which becomes Southwest Orchard Street, returning to Delridge Way Southwest.

· Southbound traffic on Delridge Way Southwest - Take Southwest Holden Street to 35th Avenue Southwest and then head south on Southwest Thistle Street, returning to Delridge Way Southwest.

Information from King County
Wondering if a rain garden is right for you? King County staff held their “Yards in the Hood”, community event June 1, at Highland Park Improvement Club, 1116 SW Holden St., Seattle.

The event, named by the community, celebrated what neighbors in Highland Park are doing to be green in their yards - from staying pesticide free to installing rain gardens.

King County Wastewater Treatment Division’s and Seattle Public Utility’s RainWise Program offers rebates to cover up to 100 percent of the cost to install cisterns and rain gardens on eligible properties in South Park, Highland Park and the Barton/Fauntleroy areas of West Seattle.

People spoke with RainWise contractors and learned about the program eligibility.