Besides the non-emergency line on the blue flyer above, here are the phone numbers listed on the site:
North Precinct Community Policing Team – (206) 684-0794
Report Camped Vehicles – (206) 684-8763
Report Graffiti – (206) 684-7587
Report Trash Carts – (206) 684-7587
Report Encampments – (206) 684-2849

The documentation and plan of action (.pdf) outlines eleven different “problem areas,” shown in the map above.

“The end goal would be that all Ballardites would know this number, have it programmed into their cell phones, etc. and that they would use it whenever they see unsafe behavior or unsafe environments,” according to the plan of action document.

Updated: From keepballardfriendly in the forum:

I am Hovie Hawk, a long time Ballard resident who is the spokesperson for the Keep Ballard Friendly campaign. Even though conspiracy theories abound regarding our group, I can assure you that we’re just normal Ballard residents; moms, dads, young, old, who found ourselves concerned about certain troubling things happening in Ballard and decided to try and do something rather than just sit around and complain about it.

Even though I am a member of the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, founder of inballard.com and a board member of the In Ballard Merchants Association, those organizations are not part of this. We did talk with them, the Seattle Police Department, and the Assistant City Attorney in creating this plan in the hopes of building the best possible plan. They provided comments, advice, critiques, etc. which we sifted through to develop the current plan. But, again, none of those organizations are part of our group.

We are not trying to run anyone out of town or implement some super secret plan to undermine the City. We’re just people looking for the City to notice that we have some issues in Ballard and help us address them. I would welcome any questions people have regarding our group and its intensions.

So while the new dim sum restaurant isn’t in Ballard, it is closer than the International District. It’s just in Wallingford (4900 Stone Way.) According to our sister site, My Wallingford, the former owner of House of Hong in the ID has decided to open his new Chinese restaurant, called Bamboo Village, in north Seattle.

Bamboo Village will serve dim sum all day everyday as well as Cantonese and Mandarin dishes. The new restaurant is slated to open in late May or early June. You can read more about the new restaurant here.

Wippel spoke with a member of the capital projects group who says there is no money in the budget to replace the old equipment. Some of the parents, according to Wippel, are talking about applying for a “self help grant,” (.pdf) although no decision has been made. (Thank you TumTum for first posting this in the forum.)

This is the first year North Beach Elementary has sent a team to the NW Regional Sport Stacking Championships in Auburn and the first and second graders practically swept the medal rounds. Four of the students qualified for the individual finals in the age 7 and under division. In the finals, 2nd grader Maronne Suzuki took 1st place in each of the three individual events.

Sport Stacking coach Rett Hartmann with the medal winners

Here is how the North Beach students stacked against the competition:
3-3-3 Finals – Age 7 & under
1st place – Maronne Suzuki
4th place – Luke Sellers

3-6-3 Finals– Age 7 & under
1st place – Maronne Suzuki
2nd place – Charlie Cole
3rd place – Luke Sellers
5th place – Melina Nilson

Cycle Finals– Age 7 & under
1st place -Maronne Suzuki
2nd place-Charlie Cole
3rd place-Melina Nilson

And if you still think sport stacking looks easy, check out this kid. (Thank you Marla for emailing us!)

Back in October, JD, a junior at Ballard High School, was dealing with a slow-growing grapefruit-sized tumor that was taking over the left temporal lobe of his brain. Northwest Hospital neurogsurgeon Dr. Daniel Lazar told JD and his parents Christine and John, that surgery was the only option. “The temporal lobe may be one of the most important parts of our brain with respect to language, memory and the ability to understand,” Dr. Lazar says.

As a catcher for the Beavers team, JD was worried that he wouldn’t play baseball again. “Don’t worry, you’ll play ball again,” his dad assured him.

Shortly after the surgery in early November 2009, JD was passing all his assessment tests with flying colors. His speech, which is often affected by this type of brain surgery, was the most difficult for him. It didn’t take long to overcome those issues, Northwest Hospital speech pathologist Kara Baringer says.

After going through out-patient therapy, JD is back at Ballard High School right along with the other students and training for spring baseball. “I may have only half a brain but I am still smarter than most people,” he jokes.

You can read the entire story about how JD’s tumor was discovered, his fears and recovery here (.pdf).

(Photo courtesy: Gary Benson Photography)

The annual affair is chock full of food, arts & crafts, music and other events. It is historically held the last weekend of July but this year the Ballard Chamber of Commerce is moving it up two weeks to July 10th and 11th. “I have considered changing the date for the 10 years I’ve produced SeafoodFest, but finally bit the bullet, with the blessing of our committee,” Beth Williamson, the executive director of the Chamber tells us. The move, she says, is because the Bellevue Festival of the Arts is held the same weekend. In a letter sent to merchants from the Chamber, “This has seriously hampered our ability to recruit higher numbers of quality vendors. We simply can’t ‘compete’ with one of the largest festivals around.”

The Raggedy Anns perform during the 2009 SeafoodFest.

The KEXP Capitol Hill Block Party is also held the same weekend. “In short, SeafoodFest, always considered a food, arts and music festival, is going up against one of the nation’s largest arts festivals AND one of Seattle’s biggest music events,” the letter states.

The winner of the 2009 lutefisk eating contest is licking his plate clean.

The new weekend, July 10th and 11th does not conflict with any other major Seafair events. It does, however, affect the Merchants’ Sidewalk Sale, which has traditionally been held the same weekend as SeafoodFest. No word on if the sidewalk sale will also change weekends.

We’ve also added Seattle Burger Company to the restaurant guide, so if you’ve stopped in, give it a rating and leave a comment.

2008 NW 56th St. (map)
(206) 973-1970

My Toyota Corolla was broken into sometime between 11p Friday night and noon on Saturday, March 13. It was parked in our driveway (address omitted). The thieves broke out the rear driver-side window and stole our Garmin GPS and windshield bracket. Luckily, there was nothing else of value in the car and no other damage. I’ve reported it to the Seattle Police but thought others in our neighborhood ought to be alerted so they can avoid leaving things of value in their cars.

During a work party on Saturday, one of the volunteers noticed the plaque, which describes the dedication of the mural by the King and Queen of Norway in 1995, wasn’t there. The bolts which held the plaque down are still intact.

Victoria Sangrey Hunter, the volunteer coordinator for Friends of Bergen Place, hopes the community and scrap metal places will keep their eye out for the plaque. If found, it can be returned to the Nordic Heritage Museum to her attention or email v.sangrey@comcast.net. “It means a great deal to Friends of Bergen Place and citizens of Ballard and outlying areas,” Sangrey Hunter says, “I am truly saddened by this and hope for a happy ending.”

Update: The plaque was found on the ground by local businessman Art Olsen. More information can be found here.

Cliff Ellis with Mars Hill Church confirms that the church members are sponsoring the event. Here is information on the event. Organizations that are listed as participating are: Ballard Food Bank, East Ballard Neighborhood Association, Volunteer Chore Services, Groundswell NW, YoungLife and YouthWise.

Updated: According to Nick Bogardus, the Media Relations Director for Mars Hill church, this is apparently not a Mars Hill Church-hosted event. “The event is being paid for and hosted by people who live in Ballard, who go to the church, and who simply want to help partner with other Ballardites and respected organizations to help make Ballard an even better place to live.” In regards to the flyer: “The flyers were a mistake and we’re taking measures to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. Mars Hill attendance is the size of Snoqualmie or Snohomish. We encourage our members to be involved and active in their local communities but we can’t, nor do we want to, monitor everything that is done. We hope your readers can see through that mistake to the real underlying heart of the effort; people who love Ballard and who want to help make it better.”

Updated #2: From Nancy McKinney, the Executive Director of the Ballard Food Bank in comments, “Ballard Food Bank will not be present at the forum this evening. The reason is solely because of the lack of transparency in advertising of this event. We were very interested in show casing our volunteer opportunities – just not in this fashion. As a point of interest, our policy is to provide for client’s need in a manner sensitive to the dignity of the individuals. Services are provided to all persons in need regardless of race, color, age, sex, creed, national origin or sexual orientation. The same goes for our volunteers.”

My Ballard reader Blaine emailed us Thursday to report that he saw the sailboat floating off shore. “It’s been there and visible for at least three days and today it is mostly submerged,” he said. A few days before that, Dan emailed to say he saw the boat “submerged to its cabin,” and the Coast Guard had checked to ensure there were no people in danger.

We’re checking with the Parks Department to see what they plan to do with the beat-up boat. (Thanks Eric, Tom, Blaine and Dan for your tips!)

Photo from last October’s work party at Salmon Bay Natural Area.

Stoke Strategy (5816 – 24th Ave. NW) will be hosting a $10 dress sale during the Ballard Art Walk from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday benefiting The Ruby Room. All dresses are in excellent condition and run the gamut from elegant cocktail dresses to paint-the-town-red dresses. Some are brand new, some have only been one once. All are only $10 and there’s no limit to how many you take home.

For live music, check out the calendars for Tractor Tavern, Sunset Tavern, Picolinos, Conor Byrne and Egan’s Ballard Jam House. As always, check out our events calendar. And if you have an event to add, just email us at tips@myballard.com.

Bayliss is aiming to open the new pub next month. “The good people of Ballard should have their pub in approx 4 weeks,” he writes, putting the opening around the middle of April.

The new pricing is:
Studios (578 — 598 sq. ft.) will start from $244,950;
One bedrooms (614 — 921 sq. ft.) will start from $274,950,
One bedroom plus dens (792 — 923 sq. ft.) will start from $314,950;
Two bedrooms (1,037 — 1,447 sq. ft.) will start from $399,950
Two bedrooms plus den penthouses (1,331 — 1,578 sq. ft.) will start from $589,950
Three bedroom plus den penthouses (1,909 sq. ft.) will start from $799,950

Eighteen of the LEED “Silver” targeted homes will be released in the first batch of units available for purchase. Renters who currently call Hjarta home have the option of purchasing a unit. Leases will not be renewed in 2010. (Urbnlivn has the entire press release here.)

“Our focus this session has been on plugging our budget hole in a way that least harms our communities and our families. This measure helps organizations, such as Crown Hill Small Faces Child Care Center and Phinney Neighborhood Center, providing vital services and relief to our neighbors with only positive results to the state’s coffers,” said Sen. Kohl-Welles.

The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday and the House passed it Thursday evening. It now goes to the Governor for her signature. You can read the bill in its entirety here (.pdf).

On Monday, March 15, Park Department administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration) will be closed.

Interbay Golf Course and the Seattle Aquarium will operate as usual.