August 2013

A full decade ago, in 2003, the Seattle City Council adopted a plan to close the Missing Link, the nonexistent section of the Burke-Gilman Trail stretching from the Ballard Fred Meyer on 11th Ave NW and 45th to the Ballard Locks on 30th Ave NW.

Now, in August of 2013 -- after much debate, a traffic study and litigation -- the city is going through with a full environmental impact study. The EIS will have a much larger scope than the previous study, which only looked at traffic, reviewing the full gamut of impacts: transportation, land and shoreline use, environmental, historic and cultural, economical and others based on comments received.

Last night, the Seattle Department of Transportation held an open house for the scoping process of the EIS. While some complained that there was too little notice for the open house -- information about it went out just earlier this week -- there was still a fair mix of opinion in the less-than-a-hundred crowd.

A celebration of life for Lawrence Kelller who died in a motorcycle - SUV collision in West Seattle July 26 is set for Wednesday the 14th of August at the Yen Wor Village from 5-9pm.

His obituary is here: http://www.westseattleherald.com/obituary/241067/lawrence-john-keller

The Yen Wor Village is located at 2300 California Ave SW (between College St & Admiral Way)

Anyone in Ballard -- heck, anyone who has heard of Ballard -- knows that we've had an invasion of breweries lately. What does that mean for us? It means that we can hit all of them up in one day. Duh. After all, they're all in semi-walking distance.

Luckily, Thrillist is helping promote our neighborhood by crafting a list for your very own Ballard brewery crawl. It features all of the latest and greatest, as well as the old powerhouse mainstays. Check out their article here.

Here's what they have on their list, in order (though, to be honest, geographically it kind of bounces around):

• Hale's Ales (4301 Leary Way NW)
• Jolly Roger Taproom (1111 NW Ballard Way)
• Hilliard's Beer (1550 NW 49th St)
• Reuben's Brews(1406 NW 53rd St #1A)
• Urban Family Public House (5329 Ballard Ave NW)
• NW Peaks Brewery (4912 17th Ave)
• Populuxe Brewing (826B NW 49th St)
• Peddler Brewing (1514 NW Leary Way)

The car is not where we left it

August 2, 8:22 a.m., 9200 Block of 6th Ave NW -- Residents woke up to find their house had been burglarized, but that their car had been moved. After being gone for a couple days, they saw that their garage door was pried open and about two feet off the ground. Their car was unlocked by the suspect and moved. The residents suspect that the suspect has their remote key fob, which was stolen during a previous burglary. Nothing was taken and no prints were found.

Victim of burglary fast asleep

August 2, 2:24 p.m., 1440 Block of 1st Ave NW -- An unknown suspect kicked down the front door of a house and proceeded to steal as the victim was laying on the living room couch, obliviously asleep. The burglar stole $4,600-worth of items.

Burglary happens suspiciously after pest control visit

Alki resident Will Winter, a member of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and of the all-volunteer U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, presented a program on the history of the lighthouse on Aug. 8 at the historical society's Log House Museum, 3003 61st Ave. S.W.

During the event the historical society presented a new video about the centennial festivities for the Alki Lighthouse.

The historical society launched an enhanced exhibit on the lighthouse, "Alki Centennial Summer: From Lantern to Lighthouse," on June 1, 2013, the 100th birthday of the lighthouse.

The exhibit will be on display through the summer and fall, leading to the historical society's annual Champagne Gala Lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, at Salty's on Alki, 1936 Harbor Ave. S.W. The theme of the gala will be "Tripping the Lighthouse Fantastic."

King County is publicly presenting their proposal for where and how both recreational and medical marijuana shops, collective gardens, cultivation and processing will be allowed in unincorporated areas with implementation of I-502 coming up around the turn of the New Year.

As the proposal stands now, the vast majority of unincorporated North Highline and White Center will be off limits to all of the above based on zoning restrictions and a clause that keeps those activities from occurring within 1000 feet of “youth-oriented facilities such as parks, libraries, schools, child care centers, and game arcades.”

Existing medical marijuana operations already in place, however, will be grandfathered in and allowed to continue operation under current legislation (this will include any that open up from now until the legislation is actually implemented, expected to occur in the next few months).

King County’s Department of Permitting and Environmental Review is in charge of drawing up the legislation, and Executive Dow Constantine is expected to present his final proposal to the Metropolitan Council by the end of August for review and a vote.

City Council members will see all the proposals Aug. 19 from search firms bidding to find Burien’s next city manager.

The lawmakers will also hear staff recommendations on who they should pick.

Mike Martin left the city manager position at the end of July to become Lynden’s city administrator. Lynden is a small town located near Bellingham. City Attorney Craig Knutson is filling in as interim city manager.

Even if current council members hire an executive search firm, it will be up to the new council that will be sworn in in January to select the new city manager.

Councilmember Rose Clark, who has helped select two city managers, said it might be in the spring, four or five months after the search firm is picked, before a new manager is hired.

Another veteran council member, Jack Block Jr., noted it took over a year before Martin was selected. Block said there is no rush because Knutson is a capable interim manager.

Councilmember Joan McGilton said current lawmakers “have a wealth of experience on who would be appropriate for Burien.” She added new council members wouldn’t have that knowledge.

Dear editor,

There are several issues related to the notion of building aPodments in Ballard which are being glossed over in the rush to construct. First, in large, densely populated urban areas--Manhattan, Tokyo, even San Francisco, aPodments may be a workable alternative housing for many, but really, in Ballard? In neighborhoods comprised of families, they make far less sense. The argument is made that aPodments are inexpensive, but for whom? The twenty- or thirty-somethings, flush with disposable income? Perhaps. But, this is also a mobile, transient population with no real ties to the community.

Then, there is transportation. Developers assume, and assure us, that renters of aPodments will use public transportation. Few developers have ever been on public transportation. If they had, they’d be far less sanguine about its effectiveness, attractiveness, and reliability. There is even the possibility that developers backed opposition to the light rail project. So, the wave of aPod people will be driving, and, there is no provision for parking for them in the neighborhood.

By Eric Mathison, Highline Times editor

Editor's Note: This article was original published in Ballard News-Tribune's sister newspaper, The Highline Times. For the past year and a half, Jerry Gay has taken front page photos for the BNT, capturing the image of many of our community members. At the end of July, Jerry left the BNT and is now pursuing the next stage in his life. We included some of his more memorable Ballard photos in a slideshow; you can view them either by clicking the main photo above or the thumbnails below.

Former Highline Times freelance photographer Jerry Gay is forever linked with Burien by one photographic image snapped 39 years ago.

It’s a photo of four exhausted volunteer firefighters resting after battling an early morning blaze at Burien’s Three Tree Point.

It won Gay the Pulitzer Prize for news photography in 1975.

He’s told the story a million times.