November 2016

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced that they would close the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks park grounds today at 4:00 p.m. due to the anticipated gathering of more than 700 people who support the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s action against the construction of the Dakota Pipeline.

"Current projections are for a gathering of more than 700 people near the Locks, and the Corps doesn’t have the scheduled staff to ensure public safety and property protection for a gathering of the size anticipated this afternoon, " the Corps wrote in the announcement

Normal operations will continue in the small lock. The park will reopen at 7 a.m. on November 16.

A new sculpture at Junction Plaza Park by artist Troy Pillow will be dedicated in a special ceremony on Nov. 20 at Noon. The groups behind making the sculpture a reality are according to the West Seattle Junction Merchants Association, JuNO, The Junction Association, Department of Neighborhoods, and Seattle Parks. The total cost was $50,000 with $25,000 from Blue Star and a matching $25,000 grant through the Department of Neighborhoods.

Junction Plaza Park is a .15 acre park in the heart of the West Seattle Urban Village. It was dedicated in 2010 and is owned and maintained by Seattle Parks and Recreation. Under the project management of Seattle Parks and Recreation, the park land was purchased with initial funds from the Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund and a park design was completed with significant public input. In 2007, developer Blue Star Management was granted an alley vacation by the City of Seattle for their West Seattle development (now known as the Spruce Building). As part of the public benefit, $25,000 was dedicated to Junction Plaza Park.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Winter sports
Winter sports practices just got underway across the state of Washington with no openers until the end of next week.

Pros
Seahawks
Hot off their impressive win in New England, the Seattle Seahawks will come home to CenturyLink Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles in a 1:25 p.m. game Sunday.

Sounders
Seattle will host the Colorado Rapids for a 7 p.m. Western Conference Finals playoff this coming Tuesday at CenturyLink Field.

Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds will host Lethbridge for 7:35 p.m. Canadian Hockey League action at the Showare Center in Kent on Friday.
Seattle then visits the Portland Winterhawks for a 7 p.m. match Saturday before hosting Edmonton at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.

Stars
The Tacoma Stars professional indoor soccer team visits the Dallas Sidekicks at 5:35 p.m. Friday before dropping in on the St. Louis Ambush at 5:05 p.m. Saturday.

Colleges
Husky football

Information provided by Seattle Police Department

North Precinct burglary detectives have recovered hundreds of stolen items from a suspected burglar’s storage locker and are now looking to return them to their rightful owners.

Over the past year, police have been investigating a series of break-ins targeting storage units in Lake City, Fremont and Downtown Seattle. After a great deal of sleuthing, detectives were able to identify the suspect and served a warrant on the man’s own storage unit downtown. Inside the 15 x 8 room, police found more than a thousand items, believed to have been stolen from other storage units around Seattle.
Detectives have already returned some of the recovered items–including military discharge papers, a watch and even a banjo–but believe many of the items found in the locker have not been reported to police.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a storage unit break-in this year, detectives ask that you review the gallery of photos below and contact police to claim your items. If you believe one of the items pictured below is yours, please have your case number ready and call (206) 684-5735.

Masked man robs store, flees with $800 in cash and lotto tickets

Seattle Police responded to a robbery at a business located on the 6700 block of 15th Avenue N.W. on October 31. The initial report came in as a strong-arm robbery. Police were there within six minutes. A male wearing a ski mask had entered the store. His arm was in his shirt, implying the threat of a handgun underneath. He demanded the bills from the register and all the twenty-dollar scratch tickets from under the counter. The suspect asked for the complainants phone and the portable store landline phone. He said he wasn't going to break them, but that he would set them outside. He told the clerk to wait five minutes before coming outside; otherwise he would come back. The complainant handed over the phones. The suspect fled on foot. After ninety seconds the complainant called police. He described the suspect as possibly being 40-years-old with a skinny build, black hoodie and pants and a mask covering the lower part of his face. Police found two fingerprints on the phones. The estimated loss was $800.

By Amanda Knox

Tuesday, I dressed up for a big celebration—pearl tie, rainbow-plaid pantsuit—and attended The Stranger’s countdown party at the Showbox. I rubbed shoulders with colorful Democrats sipping “Donkey” cocktails made with Bombay Sapphire gin. I joined in the sportsman-like cheers and boos as predicable states were officially called for Blue or Red. But as I witnessed Hillary lose Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania…my jaw dropped. I backed up against a wall, sank to the ground, and watched as people with gold H’s painted on their cheeks trickled out of the venue, miserable and bewildered. At the end of the night, I was relieved that Hillary decided to wait until the morning to give her concession speech. I was already crying.

Like all of my politically liberal friends, I still haven’t wrapped my mind around it. I’ve not strayed far from media and social media, scrolling for signs of perspective and direction. I’ve struggled to reflect on what’s happened, what’s going to happen, and what, if anything, I can contribute to the conversation. What unique perspective do I have on the whole thing?

By Peggy Sturdivant

No November day in Seattle ever seemed as magnificent as Election Day dawned. At 7:30 a.m. at Ballard Commons the sky was cloudless, the sun already warm. I was trying to catch Bernadette Walcott in the kitchen at St. Luke’s where she is one of the breakfast cooks for their Edible Hope Ministry three mornings a week. She will be one of the cooks “competing” in the Bringing in Ballard: Harvest event that continues to be my ‘next big thing.’

But at 7:30 a.m. in the warm kitchen I was already too late to catch Bernadette. And on a day when millions of women thought they would see the first woman elected President of the United States it was already too late…but we didn’t know it.

Rain returned on November 9, 2016 along with shock. At Ballard Food Bank they thought there might be a shortage of volunteers to restock the shelves, open the doors and deliver food to clients. It was the opposite. The volunteer turnout was higher than normal, with people walking in during the day to say, “I’d like to volunteer.”

Information provided by Seattle Public Utilities

The Ballard Natural Drainage Systems will reach substantial completion this week, which means the contractor has fulfilled the work assigned through their contract and the system is operational. Thank you for your patience throughout construction. Over the next two to four weeks, the primary agencies who oversaw the work will complete their final inspections of the site.
- Seattle Public Utilities representatives will inspect the roadside rain gardens and related drainage infrastructure.
- Seattle Department of Transportation will inspect the new sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, and street trees.

After the inspection, the contractor will make any final repairs if requested. Seattle Public Utilities will also send homeowners information about the new roadside rain gardens and short-term and long-term maintenance needs. If you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call or email Grace Manzano, Project Manager at (206) 233-1534 or grace.manzano@seattle.gov.

To the editor:

Now that the campaign is over, where do we go from here?  Believe it or not, there is pending legislation in the U.S. Congress that enjoys wide bipartisan support. HR. 3119, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act is one such bill, with over 220 bipartisan cosponsors.

Representatives Jaime Herrera-Beutler, Derek Kilmer, Rick Larsen, Suzan DelBene, and Dave Reichert are cosponsors, along with others from the Washington State delegation east of the mountains.

HR. 3119 ensures expanded education, training, research and public awareness of palliative care impact on patients, families, and professional caregivers. The legislation would lift burdens for all ages, but would have tremendous positive impact on our aging population.

Burien Books is hosting Book Signings for two local authors :Phyllis Pahl Mitchell, who wrote, "Growing Up on Prairie Farms: A Rough & Tumble Childhood"November 19th, Saturday from 1-3pm. 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28869101-growing-up-on-prairie-farms and David Larson, who wrote "The Scoreboard Keeper"On Small Business Saturday, November 26th from 1-3pm.http://thescoreboardkeeper.com