July 2014

By Peggy Sturdivant

Last Wednesday night I carried a stack of newspapers up from the basement; the last 52 weeks of the Ballard News-Tribune/Westside Weekly. I was considering updates on past columns. What struck me instead was a sense of a turning point in Ballard history that occurred in September 2013, which in hindsight feels as significant as when Ballard was annexed to Seattle in 1907.

“Serving Ballard since 1891.” Those were the small words beneath the Ballard News-Tribune banner on its front page, stand-alone edition. Looking back it’s so fitting that was last in front and center in August 2013. That’s the month when Lockhaven Apartments were sold to Goodman Real Estate, after 50 years in the Ecklund family. For 123 years there was the Ballard News and then Ballard News-Tribune, and for over 50 years Lockhaven Apartments.

information from the City of Seattle

The City of Seattle is beginning a collaboration to produce a shared vision and action plan to continue improving the health and equity of the Delridge community.

Delridge is a unique area of West Seattle and home to a rich heritage, diverse communities and organizations. Over the years, the people of Delridge have worked with the City to create neighborhood assets such as Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail, Cottage Grove Park and affordable housing options. These and many other additions to the neighborhood are the result of community activism and the neighborhood plan completed in 1999.

Fifteen years have passed since the Delridge community completed their neighborhood plan and there are new opportunities to seize. The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and Department of Neighborhoods (DON) are kicking off the planning effort by asking the community to identify its priorities at Delridge Day. What do you think about the future of Delridge? Here’s how you can provide your feedback:

Little League
The District 7/Pac West Junior Little League age 13-14 baseball all-star team is involved in Western Regional action in Vancouver this week.
District 7 comes in as the Washington state champions and will play Arizona at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nevada at 3 p.m. Friday and host Vancouver at 6 p.m. Sunday in round-robin play.
Championship action ensues for the top pool finishers.

Swimming
Arbor Heights, Gregory Seahurst, Normandy Park and Olympic View will be among the teams going on the road to Renton for Southern Division championship action Thursday.
The meet starts at 4 p.m. at the Lakeridge pool.
Gregory Seahurst will host the All-City meet for top Southern Division and Northern Division swimmers starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Mariners
Seattle is on the road for Major League action this week, paying 4:05 p.m. visits to Cleveland Wednesday and Thursday.
From there the M's will visit Baltimore for action at the same time Friday and Saturday ahead of a 10:35 a.m. game Sunday.
Seattle comes home to Safeco Field to play the Atlanta Braves ay 7:10 p.m. Tuesday and 12:40 p.m. next Wednesday.

By Marjorie Young

An interesting thing happened as I prepared to write this month’s column. I ran the topic of ‘life out there’ by several friends. Their reaction took me by surprise. One responded with a cry of, “Ugh…Aliens! Can’t you write about healing or something instead?” Another greeted the idea with an embarrassed silence, followed by firm suggestions that I reconsider. Instead of discouraging me however, I found their feedback intriguing. Why should the proposition of life beyond our planet prove so unnerving?

Sports Watch
Little League
The District 7/Pac West Junior Little League age 13-14 baseball all-star team is involved in Western Regional action in Vancouver this week.
District 7 comes in as the Washington state champions and will play Arizona at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nevada at 3 p.m. Friday and host Vancouver at 6 p.m. Sunday in round-robin play.
Championship action ensues for the top pool finishers.
Swimming
Arbor Heights, Gregory Seahurst, Normandy Park and Olympic View will be among the teams going on the road to Renton for Southern Division championship action Thursday.
The meet starts at 4 p.m. at the Lakeridge pool.
Gregory Seahurst will host the All-City meet for top Southern Division and Northern Division swimmers starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Mariners
Seattle is on the road for Major League action this week, paying 4:05 p.m. visits to Cleveland Wednesday and Thursday.
From there the M's will visit Baltimore for action at the same time Friday and Saturday ahead of a 10:35 a.m. game Sunday.
Seattle comes home to Safeco Field to play the Atlanta Braves ay 7:10 p.m. Tuesday and 12:40 p.m. next Wednesday.

By Tim Clifford

Triangle Properties Development has issued a writ of Mandamus in King County Superior Court to force the Seattle Police Department to take action against the Barton family, who are back in their home after an attempted eviction by the King County Sheriff’s office on July 18, and arrest them for trespassing. In a press release from Triangle Properties Development lawyer Synthia Melton said:

“Mayor Murray’s refusal to uphold the law is undermining the legal process by preventing a property owner from lawfully using and possessing its property. The legal issues the mayor refers to in this case have already been determined by the courts. The mayor’s inaction is supporting criminal trespass, and can set dangerous precedent for how court ordered evictions will be executed, making it more difficult for law enforcement to perform its job”.

By Ann Kendall

There was no way for Vashon-Maury voters in the late 1930s to fully understand the impact of their pending ballot box decision: which ferry dock should be the primary for Vashon and Maury Island – Fauntleroy or Tacoma? The Fauntleroy dock opened in the 1920s but it was seen as secondary, with the Tacoma facing route the primary means of getting back and forth to the mainland. Most island residents lived towards the south end of the co-joined islands at the time; commerce flowed daily back and forth through Tacoma with the island’s multiple saw mills, brickyards and shipyard. When the West Seattle dock was chosen as the primary ferry route, the island’s population began to shift north, altering the location of the island’s focus of commerce and habitation.

Town Square Fabric and Yarn is the drop off point for new Quilts and Blankets for families of the Eastern Washington Wildfires

We have word from Jean at Layers of Hope – Quilting 911 that she is collecting quilts for the families and first responders dealing with wildfires in Eastern Washington. In the Okanogan area alone, one fire is larger than 200,000 acres and more than 100 homes have been destroyed. There are several thousand people trying get the blaze under control.

It’s now being called the largest wildfire in Washington’s history.
As before, quilts can be from toddler size to queen size (we want quilts large enough to wrap around someone), in any style and any color. Quilts (or knitted or crocheted blankets) must be new and handmade – no store-bought items, please! Please do not donate stained, torn or otherwise damaged items. For more details on this need (or on Jean’s work), see this post.

Burien man charged with second-degree murder after police locate body of ex-wife
According to the King County Prosecutors Office, 41-year-old Telesforo Hernandez-Roa of Burien was charged with “Murder in the Second Degree” after the body of his ex-wife, Ruth Castillo-Yanez, was located by police at the Kent Park and Ride on July 20th. Telesforo first came in contact with the Seattle Police Department just after 10:00 a.m. on the same day, police approached him walking in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood because his shirt was turned inside out and he was covered in blood. The man proceeded to tell police that his ex-wife had been cheating on him and that her “new lover” had been sending him nude photos of her. When Kent police located the victim’s body, they found evidence of a struggle outside of her vehicle and found that she had been stabbed over 25 times. Telesforo Hernandez-Roa remains in custody with bail set at $2 million. Arraignment is scheduled for August 4 at 9 a.m. in courtroom GA at the Maleng Regional Justice Center.

Police investigate juveniles shooting victims with B.B. gun in North Highline

The long dark mahogany bar amid century old brick walls, pints of Guiness and portraits of James Joyce make Conor Byrne (5140 Ballard Avenue NW) a haven for thirsty folks that have been touched by the Irish charm. Tucked away deep in the belly of the bar is the stage where musicians have been jamming, jiving, and churning out the pure energy and raw power of live music for over 110 years.

Conor Byrne is Ballard’s oldest bar and one of the oldest in Seattle. It used to be the Owl Saloon, which opened 110 years ago. The Owl was once known as a Blues music mecca in Seattle. But the music is never over and now Conor Byrne is one of Ballard’s hottest spots for live music.

This month Conor Byrne celebrated its 21st anniversary with special shows all last week. But the fun is not over folks – they offer the cream of euphony almost any night of the week.

“Music is such a big part of Conor Byrne and the scene along Ballard Avenue,” said owner Diarmuid Cullen.