All posts by dennis

Crime/Emergency

Crown Hill Burglary Suspect Featured on Washington’s Most Wanted

mccaslinOn Saturday May 14th, Wallyhood reported on a burglary by the same suspect wanted for the April 18th attempted burglary and assault occurring in the 9700 block of 12th Ave NW. The suspect is Jeffrey McCaslin, who is also wanted for failing to appear for a court date for an earlier burglary in Wallingford.  McCaslin is prominently featured in the May 6th edition of Washington’s Most Wanted from Q13 FOX. The Washington’s Most Wanted report lists the following vitals:

  • Name: Jeffrey McCaslin
  • Age: 33
  • Height:  6’0″
  • Weight: 205 lbs
  • Long Hair
  • Nose: Bends to left
  • Tattoos: Peace signs on both forearms

Read the report at Q13 Fox, and if you see this individual, or know of information that will lead to his apprehension, please contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or 911.

For details on the April 18th burglary, see the Ballard News Tribune article. The police report for that incident is available here (registration required).

Crown Hill Center

Crown Hill Center Grant to Repair Roof Moves Forward

At the Ballard District Council meeting on May 11th, a grant to repair the roof of the south wing of the future Crown Hill Center received an excellent rating. This means the grant will move forward to the next round, a city-wide review of all large project neighborhood matching grant applications for this year.  The Department of Neighborhoods administers the Large Project Fund for awards up to $100,000 to foster community members in projects which build community involvement in large projects.

The Ballard District Council review committee headed by Joe Wertz, rated the project at 96 out of 100.

The Crown Hill Center was purchased from the Seattle School District two years ago as the result of a community supported effort to acquire the former Crown Hill School, creating the Crown Hill Center and the soon to be Crown Hill Park. The roof project is one of the most critical at the Center, and will prevent deterioration of other elements of the building. Although this project is called the ‘roof project,’ it actually includes many additional elements:

  • Gardening, digging, planning including the rain garden for the west side to address drainage issues
  • Creating signage for the building
  • Building a fence between the playground and the new park
  • Restoring the south lobby
  • Turning the nook outside of the south lobby into an active space to compliment the park
  • Arts Festival activities (all aspects of)

Catherine Weatbrook recently appealed for pledges of community support for this project. Thanks for all the offers, and we look forward to completing the project with your help.  The actual roof work will be done by a contractor rather than volunteers, so no worries about climbing up there and toiling in the hot sun with roofing tar!

Uncategorized

Signal Upgrades for Pedestrians on 15th Ave NW

Seattle Department of Transportation will be upgrading some of the signals at various crosswalks on 15th Ave NW, north of Market Street. Work is expected to be complete in 2011 on these improvements. At this point it appears no signals north of 80th will be altered. They will be adding a pedestrian countdown feature to the walk signals:

  • 15TH AVE NW AND NW 80TH ST
  • 15TH AVE NW AND NW 75TH
  • 15TH AVE NW AND NW 70TH ST
  • 15TH AVE NW AND NW 67TH ST
  • 15TH AVE NW AND NW 58TH ST

Other pedestrian & traffic improvements will be made to several signals/intersections in Greenwood:

  • AURORA AVE N AND N 145TH ST:    Upgrade to Countdown Ped Signal
  • Greenwood Ave. N. & N. 80th St:   E/W Left Turn installation
  • Aurora Ave. N. & Winona Ave. :  Northbound left turn installation
  • Greenwood Ave. N. & N. 73rd ST:   Upgrade to full signal plus preempt by fire house
Events

Ballard District Council Meeting, Wed May 9th 2012, 7-8:30 PM

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 PM

Chairperson:  Catherine Weatbrook
AGENDA
7:00     Introductions & Short Announcements – please hold announcements to not more than one minute.
7:15     Assistant City Attorney Jana Jorgensen.  Jana has recently been assigned as the City Attorney Liaison to the North Precinct.  She’ll be working on stubborn neighborhood public safety issues including:  graffiti, chronic public nuisance locations, as well as advising and supporting the work of the North Precinct Community Police Team.  She also plays a major role in developing the city’s response to liquor license applications in north Seattle.
7:35     Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program Update, Matt Preedy – WSDOT.
Matt will provide an update on the two projects replacing the SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct along Seattle’s waterfront: replacing the viaduct’s southern mile, near Seattle’s port and stadiums, with a new side-by-side roadway and replacing the viaduct’s central waterfront section with a bored tunnel beneath downtown Seattle. He will provide information on the upcoming construction milestones and measures planned to mitigate the impact to those who must travel to or through the construction zone.
8:00     Update — Central Waterfront/Seawall Project, Steve Pearce, SDOT Project Manager. With the completion of the Deep Bored Tunnel, what are current plans to replace the existing surface Alaska Way?  How will this roadway be configured to accommodate the needs of general traffic, freight, bikes, as well as those who must cross this roadway to access waterfront destinations?  What is envisioned for how ferry traffic to the Colman Dock will be accommodated?  What is the estimated cost of the entire project; and how will it be financed?    Will surface Alaska Way continue to provide an accessible and efficient means of travelling through this corridor; esp for those of us in northwest Seattle?
8:25     Report — Executive Committee, Catherine Weatbrook
8:30     Adjourn
Notes:

For more information or to share your ideas about projects and issues contact

For more information about Ballard and the Ballard District Council go to
www.ballarddistrict.org

Uncategorized

Opt out of phone books

Seattle recently enacted a couple of ordinances which will make it easier to opt out of yellow page phone book deliveries. These ordinances provide for stiff penalties for companies delivering unwanted directories to your home if you have opted out. Seattle has contracted with Catalog Choice, an outside agency for this service. Catalog Choice handles junk mail as well. They do require creating an account to manage which phone books (if any) you wish to receive. More information is available at Seattle Public Utilities.  SPU maintains a Frequently Asked Question page as well with the answers to a lot of potential concerns.

You have to take the initiative to opt out of the delivery. Many folk already just drop their phone books in the recycle bin the day they are received. Opting out solves not only the immediate problem of unwanted yellow pages, but also the overloading of the recycling operation, and reduces the waste of forest resources. Your opt-out selections must be made 30 days in advance of the scheduled delivery for them to be honored. The Dex deadline for opt-out is May 16th.

The web site for Catalog Choice is slow today (May 5th) due to the extremely high percentage of Seattle residents who wish to opt out or otherwise manage their yellow pages deliveries. The ordinances are not popular with the phone book companies, and some are mounting a First Amendment challenge to them as noted in this article on the PI. Update: As of May 10th, 105,000 Seattle households have opted out per this article.