August 2014

The Seattle Department of Transportation is scheduled to begin the last phase of its current repaving work on North Northgate Way on Thursday, Sept. 4. On that date, construction crews will move to the final phase of the project, the one-block segment of North Northgate Way between Meridian Avenue North and Corliss Avenue North, adjacent to I-5.

The street in this stretch is sufficiently wide that crews will be able to work while keeping a single lane of general purpose traffic open in both east- and westbound directions. This lane reduction will remain in place until the work is completed, which is currently slated to occur in mid-November.

Due to the heavy volume of traffic that normally uses this road, motorists should expect delays, particularly during the morning and afternoon commutes. Both north- and southbound traffic exiting from I-5 at Northgate Way may encounter backups onto I-5 at such times. Motorists are encouraged to consider alternate routes during the peak travel times, if that is an option.

Next week the Seattle Department of Transportation will begin a series of lane closures for painting the Fremont Bridge, a project which will last into February. These closures will occur during off - peak travel hours, but heavier traffic should be expected regardless. The first stage of the closures, lasting several weeks, will affect just northbound traffic.

The northbound curbside lane will be closed to all vehicles, leaving a single travel lane open, between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday thru Friday starting Sept. 2. The adjacent walkway (on the east side of the bridge) will also be closed during these hours. All pedestrian and bicycle traffic will have to share the walkway on the west side of the bridge. Directional signage will be placed to route pedestrians and bicyclists when the lane/walkway closures are in effect.

Northbound vehicles – and bicyclists travelling in either direction – should allow for additional crossing time due to congestion during this initial phase of the painting project.

When it rains in Ballard it dumps. When there is more than one tenth of rain, hundreds of gallons of sewage and stormwater rush into Salmon Bay from the Ballard Basin.

In 2013 Ballard accounted for over one-third of the entire city’s overflows. That year Ballard overflowed 58 times, totaling 14.9 million gallons.

“It’s a water quality issue; neither our regulators nor the public like the idea of sewage overflowing into Salmon Bay. It is not good for quality of the water or the critters that live in the water, ” wrote Shanti Cowell of SPU.

To make sure the “boom boom” does not make it into the big water, Seattle Public Utilities have taken action.

The problem is that rain overwhelms the system before it can be moved. The goal is to divert stormwater so the sewage system is unaffected by fluxes of water.

SPU has multiple ways to address the issue through their Ballard Basin project. It combines Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI), also known as natural drainage systems (NDS) or raingardens, and future underground storage near Salmon Bay that will filter and collect dirty water.

The West Seattle Herald was given a tour of Fairmount Park Elementary School which was originally built in 1964 but closed in 2007 and was subsequently given a nearly $20 million makeover.

It will open Sept. 3 following a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2:45pm Sept. 2 attended by King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Julie Breidenbach the new Fairmount Park Principal, the design team, and other local dignitaries.

The school is located at 3800 S.W. Findlay Street.

The project included a complete renovation and modernization of the existing building and construction of a 200-seat, 12 classroom addition. The capacity of the school is now 500 students, though it will open with approximately 350 and have room for growth.

Project Manager Jeanette Imanishi had her office on site for the duration of the update. She noted that the overall project put an emphasis on bringing in natural light to the classrooms, common spaces and offices.

By Tim Clinton,
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
The fall football season kicks off with jamborees Saturday, including the Highline School District Jamboree scheduled for 10 a.m. at Highline Memorial Stadium.
Evergreen High School of White Center will be joined by Mount Rainier of Des Moines and Highline of Burien for the action.

Mariners
Seattle will be at home at Safeco Field for a 12:40 p.m. game against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday before hosting the Washington Nationals at 7:10 p.m. Friday, 6:10 p.m. Saturday and 1:10 p.m. Sunday.
Then it's on to Oakland to play the Athletics at 1:05 p.m. Monday, 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and 12:35 p.m. Wednesday.
All of the games can be seen on ROOT Sports cable television.

Rainiers
Tacoma plays its final regular season home game at Cheney Stadium on Wednesday, hosting the Iowa Cubs at 7:05 p.m.
The Rainiers finish the Pacific Coast League season at Fresno.
They will play the Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday ahead of a 6:05 p.m. game Sunday and a 1:05 p.m. game Monday.

Seahawks

A young male who had stripped off his clothes, growled and did pull-ups on a tree limb was taken to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon after he was restrained first by people in the neighborhood and then police.
According to neighbors who called 911, three young men were seen walking south in the 2700 block of 56th SW around 6:30pm Tuesday Aug. 26. While all three appeared intoxicated, according to neighbors, one was more agitated than others, rolling on the ground and first hugging then hitting one of associates.

Then, he removed his clothing and ran southbound on 56th SW, and began growling at people and doing pull ups from a tree limb. Neighbors, alarmed at this, attempted to subdue the man, and at around 7:15pm Seattle Police and Seattle Fire medical units arrived whereupon he was taken into custody and subsequently taken to the hospital.

UPDATE 10:10pm
Seattle Police report on the Seattle Police blotter that "officers spoke with the driver of the semi who said he was unsure of what punctured the tank, but he had been traveling in the direction of the leak. Officers scoured the area and found a raised curb that appeared to have been hit by the truck, tearing a hole in the exposed fuel tank.
Four other vehicle were damaged in collisions related to the fuel spill and many others were trapped in the spilled fuel.

The ramp is closed as crews continue to cleanup, but is expected reopen around midnight.

Original Post
An approximately 80 gallon fuel spill on the eastbound ramp to the West Seattle Freeway at East Marginal Way shut down the ramp, re-routed buses and apparently was responsible in part for a 3 vehicle accident.

Came from a semi trailer from Harbor Island from 11th Ave. SW and a fuel line on the truck broke spilling diesel fuel on the ramp.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Burien Bearcats Junior Football is practicing, and, things looks like, once again, the Seniors division will lead them, as they await their Northwest Junior Football League opener on Sept. 6 weekend.

The coach of the Seniors is John Howard, who teamed with George Jackson and Milton Chatman for many years very successfully.

But last year was different. No Jackson coaching. And, not so coincidentally, no championship. The Seniors for the last decade delivered more trophies to the Bearcats than any other division of the youngest 76ers to the 89ers to the Pee Wees to the Bantams and Juniors.

And, not only that, but the Bearcats Seniors, with championships littered throughout the last 10 years, probably have more of those than any other division of the whole NJFL, which includes teams from places like North Seattle, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, Mulkiteo and Shoreline.

"We didn't win the championship last year. We got to the playoffs, but we lost there," said Howard. "We didn't have George (Jackson). He went to coach a semipro football team, the Renton Ravens."

information from Seattle Parks

UPDATE: Full Mountain Fest schedule has been posted at the link.

Original Post Aug. 26
Seattle Parks and Recreation invites you and your family to celebrate Camp Long Mountain Fest and the 75th anniversary of Schurman Rock from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2014.

Camp Long Mountain Fest celebrates Seattle’s mountain climbing history and community. Visitors can challenge themselves on the high ropes course and try climbing and rappelling on Schurman Rock (with waivers). There will be mountain games and interactive workshops for people of all ages and abilities and prizes will be awarded. Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest, is scheduled to attend.

All events are free and take place at Camp Long (5200 35th Ave. SW).

By Christy Wolyniak

Everything changed for one Ballard family when a husband and wife quit their office jobs and took to the open fields.

Jonathan Fisher was working grueling hours as a lawyer in downtown Seattle, while his wife, Petrina, was working long hours doing nonprofit work. After the birth of their first son, Petrina quit her job, and soon after Jonathan joined her. They wanted to refocus – to enjoy life together again as a family.

“We never really talked about farming, but then Jonathan began researching about what we could do if we did have land to make it productive, and we both always had an interest in that sort of thing,” said Petrina Fisher.

The Fishers were already religious Ballard Farmer’s Market shoppers and soon their dreams culminated into purchasing a farm.

Located on the lush banks of the Snohomish River, Skylight Farms reaps a bountiful harvest and is never short of surprises. Bought in 2012 the same year their daughter was born, working 20-acres of farmland was much like having two babies in one year, said Fisher.