March 2015

A somewhat common "food on the stove" fire resulted in some serious smoke on Monday night sending one resident of a home on Delridge Way SW to the hospital.

Kyle Moore, of the Seattle Fire Dept. said, "When our truck got here they found a lot smoke coming out and male on the front porch suffering smoke inhalation. A second male said he also suffered smoke inhalation, so they called for a full response and it now appears it was untended food on the stove that extended up through the cabinets and into the walls.

The male who we estimate to be about 65 years old was transported to Harbourview and he's in stable condition. We just want to get him checked out. The second male suffered only a little smoke inhalation, so we evaluated him and let him return to the home.

The kitchen is pretty extensively damaged but the rest of the house is ok.

By Anastasia Stepankowsky


A coalition of environmental groups has sued the Port of Seattle to block it from leasing 50 acres to Foss Maritime to homeport Shell’s Arctic oil drilling fleet.

The Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Washington Environmental Council and the Seattle Audubon Society sued Monday in King County Superior Court, alleging violations of the State Environmental Policy Act and Shoreline Management Act. They allege the project would damage water quality.

The lease, which the Port approved in February, is expected to generate $13.7 million in revenue for the Port. Foss would use the area to service Shell’s Arctic fleet.

The Port sees a deal with Foss Maritime as an opportunity to modernize its empty Terminal 5, thus reducing taxpayer support for the area and creating a significant number of maritime jobs. Port officials have said they’re spending $2 million a year just to keep up the area now.

The environmental groups said the Port failed to provide adequate information about the deal with Foss.

The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition meeting to plan an event for the Fauntleroy Substation on Brace Point Drive is set for Sunday March 8 at the Southwest Library from 3:00pm to 4:45pm.

From the SGSC website:
"Seattle Green Spaces Coalition (SGSC) has asked the City to provide extensive information on Seattle City Lights' actions and plans for the 35+ Surplus Substations in order to determine the basis for their clearing of the vegetation at Neighborhood properties, their methods of clearing and environmental remediation alternatives, and the process of including the Neighborhoods in the determination of what is best for both the Neighborhoods. Seattle City Light has been very helpful in providing the requested information.

SGSC continues to review and analyze the large amount of information provided so that we may provide recommendations for move forward in the most effective and realistic manner to best re-purpose the Surplus City Properties for the benefit of the Neighborhoods and the resident of Seattle. This information gathering was begun early in 2014 and continues."

Legislation that could make Washington a worldwide leader in the research of marijuana is headed to the House of Representatives following its passage by the Senate by a vote of 45-3.

Senate Bill 5121, sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), would create a marijuana research license for the production and possession of marijuana for research purposes.

“Prohibition of marijuana at the federal level has hampered research into the plant’s effect,” said Kohl-Welles. “Now that we have legalized marijuana in our state, it makes sense to research all the possible uses and applications of this plant.”

By Megan Wildenradt

By now most of us living here have heard about the challenge for this year’s state legislative session—too many obligations and not enough revenue to support them all. That gives our state lawmakers a tough job to determine the next budget, but, I believe, not an impossible one.

Earlier this month I joined fellow volunteer board members and staff from HealthPoint, a network of King County non-profit community health centers, at the State Capitol to make sure King County legislators knew the importance of protecting health care safety net programs that serve as a lifeline to so many people in our Ballard community and across Washington.

By Pat Cashman

I was walking around a couple of days ago when someone shouted from over a block away. I turned and saw a distant figure waving wildly and running my way. It was an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in years. “Cashman!” he yelled, as he got closer. “I knew it was you! I’d recognize that dumb walk of yours anywhere!”

I too recognized him immediately. I’d know that tactless, insulting boor anywhere.
But he was right. I do have a bit of a dumb gait. It’s not quite similar to a chicken, but rather more like a duck.
My feet tend to flare out at slight angles when I stroll. If they were hands on a clock (or, in this case, feet on a clock) they’d point at ten o’clock and two o’clock. So I’m about twenty minutes short of a normal stride.

Worst of all, I’m also somewhat knock-kneed---which also affects my sauntering. As a kid, I didn’t know what ‘knock-kneed’ meant. Then I heard a comedian tell a joke on a TV show: “Yesterday I saw a knock-kneed woman telling a bow-legged man to go straight home.” The audience guffawed---but I didn’t get it.

By Amanda Knox

Editor's note: This article originally appeared last week online. This version contains some clarifications and corrections.

We all know—by the green going up—that St. Patrick’s Day is just around the
corner. But did you also know that March is National Kidney Month? Maybe not, and perhaps that’s because a lot of us don’t give our kidneys much thought.
To get you reacquainted, the kidneys are two fist-sized organs in your lower back
beneath your rib cage. Their main function is to filter metabolic waste (like urea,
creatinine, and uric acid), excess water and impurities (like drugs) from your
bloodstream. They also regulate your body’s salt, potassium, and acid content,
release hormones that regulate blood pressure and control the production of red
blood cells, and produce an active form of vitamin D that allows your body to absorb calcium.

Join us from 6-8 PM tomorrow night, March 3, at Ballard High School for a discussion on proposed industrial lands policies that are part of Seattle 2035 – the City’s major comprehensive plan update. We are considering specific land use policies for designated Manufacturing and Industrial Centers (M/IC) that will preserve these areas for ongoing industrial use. Our proposed policies would also limit the potential for converting property to non-industrial uses unless specific criteria are met.

We will share your input with the City Council when they consider our policies as part of the major comprehensive plan update, later this year. If you can't make it to the meeting in Ballard, we are hosting similar meeting in Interbay and Georgtown. We hope to see you at one of these upcoming meetings.

To learn more, visit our website on Seattle's Industrial Lands. Questions or comments? Email Tom Hauger.

information from SDOT

Today a contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation began working on improvements along Delridge Way Southwest between Southwest Andover Street and the West Seattle Bridge Trail. This project will improve safety for all roadway users as well as for pedestrians and bicyclists using the trail.

Crews are beginning work at the intersection of Delridge and Andover, removing existing asphalt and installing new storm drainage and curb ramps. The contractor expects work at this intersection to take about three weeks. There will curb lane restrictions, on-street parking restrictions, transit stop relocations, and pedestrian and bicycle detours around the work area.

Today Mayor Ed Murray launched Move Seattle, his 10-year vision for transportation in Seattle, providing a comprehensive strategy that will improve how people and goods move around the city.

The plan integrates Seattle’s many travel modes to better support everyone, whether walking, biking, riding transit, driving a car or delivering freight. With a strong emphasis on safety, maintenance, innovation and performance measurement, the plan aims to improve travel even as the city continues to grow rapidly.

“Move Seattle will help transform our transportation system over the next ten years,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “With new technologies and infrastructure investments, we have the opportunity to reshape the way we get around the Seattle.”

By creating a unified transportation strategy, the Move Seattle plan focuses on investments in critical corridors and projects that serve all modes. The plan outlines arterials throughout the city that will benefit from multi-modal overhauls.