The postcards are going up around Ballard for a new campaign called “Tuesdays in Ballard” (.pdf file). It’s a summer-long campaign designed to entice people from both outside of Ballard and within the neighborhood to come shop, eat and play here. Tuesday night is a meeting for interested retailers to find out how they can …
A shoplifter hit a security guard with his car at 14th and Market last night and sped away, police say. It all started around 8 p.m. when the store security guard — presumably at the Safeway there — approached the suspect, who was getting into his light blue Honda Civic. They struggled over the keys, …
Update: Demolition crews are taking apart the old, boarded-up home at 1753 NW 56th St., and many neighbors are happy to see it go.
The “meth house,” as some call it, has been a longtime hangout for vagrants. The abandoned building was recently acquired by the Compass Center. It has plans to rebuild on the site, but not until the economy turns around.
Back in March, we wrote about the dilemma the non-profit was facing after it purchased the boarded-up building. “To us it’s a threat to life, so we have petitioned the city to take it down,” Rick Friedhoff, director of the Compass Center told the Ballard Distric Council in March. “But it’s very difficult to take down a building like this, because the city wants you to have a Master Use Permit for what’s going to go up next.” But now it appears the Compass Center was successful in its petition to demolish the building. “The city was really helpful,” Friedhoff told us this morning. The city walked through and determined that “it would cost more to bring the building up to code, more than half of the fair market value, and said that we could tear it down.”
The building has long been the source of complaints by nearby businesses, and the Sip & Ship is celebrating the event by offering $2 tall “Demolition Lattes” all day today. Here’s some video of the demolition (Thanks, Rob!), and click the link at the bottom for more photos.
Last month, Roy Hobbs sent us this picture and said that he sees situations like this pretty often. He says the corner from 15th heading east onto Market is a tight fit for big rigs. The city agrees. Aubrey Cohen of the SeattlePI asked the city about this predicament. Eric Widstrand, city traffic engineer with …
First, there was Rachael Ray at Volterra. Now My Ballard reader Heather sent us this email about another celebrity chef sighting: “Anthony Bourdain was in a cream-colored Mini convertible with another gentleman parked outside La Carta de Oaxaca at around 3 p.m. today. He posed for a photo with some girls inside who ran outside …
The Ballard Locks will be closed to boaters for much of Monday morning and possibly on Tuesday. The Army Corps of Engineers is sending divers down to check on the “Adult Salmon Exclusion Structure” that was installed last year to prevent Chinook salmon from getting snagged in the locks’ water system. Both the large lock …
Wildlife officials captured a small black bear in Everett on Friday, and now they say it’s likely the same bear that scurried through Ballard last week. The 180-pound bear was shot in the rear end with a tranquilizer dart while napping just north of Everett, and he’ll be relocated back into the wilderness. We’ve made …
Buffalo Exchange has announced that they’ll be open in less than a month. The eclectic buy-sell-trade clothing shop is taking over a 2,500 square foot space on Market Street where SuperCuts and the Tux Shop used to be. “Buffalo Exchange is unique because clothing and accessories are bought, sold and traded directly with store customers. …
Seattle Police say a drunk driver ran into two parked cars at Golden Gardens just before midnight last night. When witnesses called 911, they said they saw the driver run from the scene with a rifle and hide it in the bushes. When officers arrived, they said they took two suspects into custody — the …
When spring football practice starts on Monday, Ballard High School football coach John Bowers has a new tool for the team: an aerial camera. With just one win last year, Coach Bowers hopes showing film will help the team. This new $5,000 stand will hoist a camera 31 feet up in the air, providing a …
The Whittier Rummage Sale is scheduled for next Saturday, June 6th, to raise money for the elementary school. And they need your help. (We didn’t take the photo, but we couldn’t resist posting it!) Here’s the info: Whether you’re an avid garage-sale shopper on the lookout for great deals or someone interested in selling your …
The Crown Hill QFC on 15th Ave. near 85th St. is closing at the end of its lease. QFC spokeswoman Kristin Maas tells us the lease is up the end of August, but they’re working to extend it for a few months. The extension would keep a QFC in Ballard until the new 42,000 square-foot …