West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle Saturday: Egg hunts; Duwamish Alive!; Junction Tax-Free Day; Record Store Day; Earth Day Run; more

(Photo by Mark Bauschke, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
So much happening today! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, highlights from morning until night, starting with an event that includes a traffic alert:

ALKI TRAFFIC ALERT FOR EARTH DAY RUN: Traffic/parking restrictions will be in effect along Alki Avenue in the 9-11 am vicinity because of the second annual Earth Day Run, first time on Alki. Start time is listed as 9:30 am, with post-race events continuing until noon.

EGG HUNTS TODAY

9 am – West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan; WSB sponsor) egg hunt – get there early, there’s always a line!

10 am – Seattle Parks & Rec community-center egg hunt of your choice:
*********Alki – 5817 SW Stevens – billed as for ages 11 and under
*********Delridge – 4501 Delridge Way SW – for ages 3-11
*********Hiawatha – 2700 California SW – for 3-11
*********High Point – 6920 34th SW – for 3-11
*********South Park – 8319 8th Ave. S. – for ages 1-10

11 am – Eastridge Church community egg hunt on the south side of Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) – bring donations for the diaper drive for WestSide Baby

Noon – Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village egg hunt (2600 SW Barton), right after 11 am seasonally themed story-time

WHAT ELSE IS UP

(WSB photo: Record Store Day art greeting on Easy Street marquee, spotted on Friday)
RECORD STORE DAY: From early morning on into the evening, Easy Street Records is the celebration epicenter – see the full lineup here; doors open at 7 am, signings throughout the day include West Seattle’s own Caspar Babypants signing and spinning 3-4 pm, and Rose Windows performing live in-store at 7 pm. (NW corner of California/Alaska)

DUWAMISH ALIVE! 10 am-2 pm, hundreds of volunteers are bringing TLC to sites along the Duwamish River and in its watershed. If you haven’t already signed up, pick a site and go join in – see the map here.

WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION ‘TAX-FREE SHOPPING DAY’: Look for the red balloons to see who’s participating – shops and restaurants that are will pick up your sales-tax cost for whatever you buy today. You can also see more than three dozen participants listed online.

APRIL POOL’S DAY: Free family event to promote water safety, with activities in and out of the water at Southwest Pool, 10:30 am-noon. (2801 SW Thistle)

ANTIQUE TYPEWRITERS: Last weekend we showed you one of the stops for “Ribbon and Rhyme,” in which antique typewriters are provided for YOU to tap out some art – poetry, perhaps.

Today, they’re at Southwest Branch Library, 1:30-4:30 pm. (35th/Henderson)

‘COLLAGE CURE’ ART SHOW: 2-6 pm installation at Highland Park Improvement Club - details here. (12th/Holden)

NATURE HIKE: “Owls and Other Organisms” evening hike with naturalist Stewart Wechsler in Lincoln Park, 6:30 pm – details here, including where to meet & suggested donation.

MUSIC OF OUR TIME: Piano, cello, soprano performing “Music of Our Time” concert at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor)’s Olympic Hall, 7:30 pm. (6000 16th SW)

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL REUNION: Widow, 30 years later! Tonight at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 9:30 pm. (6451 California SW)

See the calendar for even more ...

You can help! ‘Sing for Oso’ karaoke fundraiser on Sunday

Another chance to help the mudslide recovery up in Oso – a karaoke benefit in West Seattle on Sunday. Lee Bui from the Vietnamese Cultural Center invites you to come sing and donate, 3-7 pm Sunday at the center. He says an American Red Cross representative will be there to accept checks. The center is just north of Home Depot, at 2234 SW Orchard.

Remembering Ethel Eyrse, 1914-2014, who lived ‘with great wit and curiosity’

The family of 99-year-old Ethel Eyrse, who spent the final fourth of her life here, shares this remembrance:

Ethel Louise (Boyer) Eyrse passed away on April 9, 2014. She was born in Saidora, IL on Dec. 2, 1914, to Harry and Elsie Boyer. Ethel moved to Pekin, IL in her teens and, after graduating from Pekin High School, worked at the Pekin Finance Company. She married Fred Eyrse on Aug. 2, 1936.

Ethel was an active volunteer at the Pekin Hospital League, holding many chairs including League President, and started the Nearly Nu Shop which over the years has raised thousands of dollars for the hospital. She moved to Seattle in 1997, following the death of Fred. She lived her 99-plus years with great wit and curiosity about life.

Always independent, Ethel was able to stay in her own apartment in West Seattle with a view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains and was as sharp as a tack to the end. A bit of her wit was shared online by her granddaughter, Shanna, through the website Upload Your Grandma.

Ethel is survived by her son, Steven Eyrse of Pekin, daughter Cinda (Eyrse) Christie of Seattle, three grandchildren, Shanna Christie, Severn Eyrse and Margaret Lanphier, and two great-grandchildren, Severn Eyrse Jr. and Hazel Lanphier. She will be greatly missed.

There will be a celebration of Ethel’s life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made in her name to the Pekin Hospital League, 600 South 13th Street, Pekin, IL 61554.

(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

West Seattle’s newest Little Free Library: 4502 Glenn Way

Add another Little Free Library to the list of West Seattle’s LFLs! Joan shared the photo of this one that’s new this week at 4502 Glenn Way SW (map), explaining, “It has great finds of books: fiction, biographies, science, art, history and medical books and 2 children’s books!” The official LFL map has a dozen others in this area, some of which we’ve been honored to feature here.

Log House Museum close to welcoming ex-Admiral totem pole home

(WSB photo from April 2012)
Two years after it was bundled onto a flatbed and taken away for some expert TLC with the restoration experts at Artech, the Log House Museum‘s totem pole – which stood for 40 years at the Admiral Way Viewpoint – is finally close to its homecoming. The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce has announced an event on May 8th featuring Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals detailing the plan to install it soon in its new home on the east side of the Alki-area museum; the plan’s already gone through city review, including the Landmarks Board, since the museum is an official landmark. See photos of the pole’s history, and a sketch of its future site, on the SWSHS/Log House museum website, here.

West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Two robbers sentenced in Arbor Heights, Fauntleroy, Beacon Hill spree

(WSB photo of getaway car stopped in Arbor Heights, August 21, 2013)
We’re back at the King County Courthouse, where Superior Court Judge Dean Lum has just sentenced two of the three men arrested for last August’s night of armed street robberies in Arbor Heights (where they were caught thanks in part to alert witnesses), Fauntleroy, and Beacon Hill. (As reported here last month, all three pleaded guilty.)

First, 22-year-old Najib A. Aden, who had not been in jail since , as he had posted bail.

Click to read the rest of West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Two robbers sentenced in Arbor Heights, Fauntleroy, Beacon Hill spree…

Saturday reminder: Duwamish Alive! in West Seattle & beyond

(WSB photo of October 2012 Duwamish Alive! volunteers at Brandon St. Natural Area)
Several Saturday reminders coming up as the afternoon progresses, since it’s a BUSY day around the area. First – signed up for Duwamish Alive! yet? It’s that springtime day of work parties along and near the Duwamish River and the waterways that feed into it. That goes for West Seattle’s own Longfellow Creek, where the Brandon Street Natural Area work party could use a few more volunteers, we’re told. 10 am-2 pm on Saturday is all you need to commit to … sign up here ASAP!

West Seattle businesses: My Three Little Birds opens Monday

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Morgan Junction’s business district continues its mini-boom.

In a little brick commercial building in south Morgan, at 6959 California SW, Monday is opening day for My Three Little Birds, offering new and “upscale used” clothing, toys, and accessories for children.

We talked this morning with proprietor Jennifer Young (above), who lives in nearby Gatewood.

This is her first venture into retail, though she has worked in business management for years, and cites “great support and mentors” helping get My Three Little Birds launched.

“I have three kids, I really love the community, and wanted to do something to get more involved in the community. (This business) is a great fit for me as a mom.”

The merchandise will target kids from newborn through 12 years old.

Young is clearly excited: “It’s going to be awesome!”

Work on the store is almost done; signage went up earlier this week, and more exterior work is under way today. Monday is mostly intended as the start of a “soft open” week, and then a “grand opening” is planned the following Saturday. Hours will be 10 am-6 pm Mondays-Fridays, 11 am-5 pm Saturdays, 11 am-4 pm Sundays.

SIDE NOTES: Avalon Center, which used to be in the street-front space, hasn’t closed, nor has it really moved – it’s now in the back of the building. And thanks to the eagle-eyed WSB readers who noticed the shop taking shape even before the signage went up and tipped us!

Design Review doubleheader, #2: 4505 42nd SW passes Early Design Guidance on second try

(Option 3 from design packet for 4505 42nd SW)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The second project seen by the Southwest Design Review Board in their 3 1/2-hour-plus Thursday night meeting was, like the first one, coming back for a second round of Early Design Guidance – that’s the stage in which the proposal is seen for general properties such as size and shape. Unlike the first one (3824 California SW, covered here), this one – 4505 42nd SW – got the go-ahead to move to the second stage of Design Review.

For this project, Steve Fischer of NK Architects presented the revised design proposal. The site, 6,900 square feet, is across an alley from the Senior Center of West Seattle, where the meeting was held.

Click to read the rest of Design Review doubleheader, #2: 4505 42nd SW passes Early Design Guidance on second try…

High-school sports: Baseball updates, including WSHS game today

Play ball! West Seattle High School‘s varsity-baseball team will do just that at their home field today, hosting Ingraham HS at Hiawatha after a road win against them on Wednesday:

(Cameron Slader with a hit in Wednesday’s game; photo by Greg Slader)
The players won’t have to deal with one thing that beset Wednesday’s game – rain! Greg Slader reports that the game was tied 5-5 in the 4th when pitcher Alex Coats took over and held Ingraham scoreless the rest of the way. As for offense: “Cameron Slader‘s three hits got the offense going but none were more important than his walk in the seventh inning, as he scored when Alex Coats laid down a squeeze bunt for the go-ahead run. Three more outs and it was ‘game over’.” Go cheer on the Wildcats at Hiawatha this afternoon, 3:30 pm.

Also today: Chief Sealth International High School‘s varsity baseball team is on the road, playing Franklin HS at Rainier Playfield at 3:30 pm. … Seattle Lutheran High School‘s team is off until Monday night, when they’ll host Tacoma Baptist at Southwest Athletic Complex, 6:45 pm.

West Seattle Friday: Three movies; two development issues; more

(Shared via the WSB Flickr group; photo by “old desolate“)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

EARTH MONTH BAKE SALE: Until 7 pm today (and 9-7 tomorrow), Shanti in North Admiral is raising money for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance with a bake sale. (2138 California SW)

TOT TREK AT CAMP LONG: See the “water babies” in Camp Long‘s ponds. Details in our calendar listing. 10:30 am. (5200 35th SW)

FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: “The Plainsman,” with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur, is the featured movie at the Senior Center of West Seattle this afternoon, 1 pm; details in our calendar listing. (California/Oregon)

SMALL-LOT DEVELOPMENT, MICROHOUSING BRIEFING @ COUNCIL COMMITTEE: Two hot development-related topics are on the agenda for the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee at 2 pm today at City Hall downtown – documents are linked from the agenda. Public-comment time at the start of the meeting; if you can’t be there, it’ll be live on Seattle Channel. (5th/Cherry)

MOVIE NIGHT AT HPIC: Wrap up spring break by taking the family to the monthly Movie Night at Highland Park Improvement Club. See our calendar listing for the hint! Free as always, but concessions are available. Doors open 6:30 pm. (12th/Holden)

MOVIE AT YOUNGSTOWN: “The Passion of the Christ” will be screened by The Way Church of God, 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

LIVE MUSIC … multiple West Seattle venues! See the listings on the calendar.

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday updates; weekend traffic alerts

(Latest bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Finally Friday – last week of spring break for most Seattle schools – and we’re looking ahead to a few weekend traffic alerts:

I-5 LANE CLOSURE TONIGHT: Updated from the larger lane-closure project, which has been canceled for this weekend, one lane in the northbound collector-distributor will be closed 10 pm tonight to 7 am tomorrow.

SATURDAY MORNING ON ALKI: Tomorrow morning, Alki Ave SW will be closed – to parking, too – 9 am-11 am or so for the Earth Day 5K, in West Seattle for the first time.

OTHER WEEKEND CITYWIDE ALERTS … are here.

We’ll also be checking on the SW Genesee project (was still under way when last we passed that way Thursday afternoon).

Update: Man stabbed in South Delridge; two attackers sought

12:19 AM: Police and fire are rushing to the 9200 block of 20th SW (map), where a 35-year-old man is reported to have been stabbed in the abdomen. No other information about circumstances so far.

12:36 AM: Medic conversation over the radio indicates the man has multiple stab wounds to the upper abdomen and what were described as slash wounds to the arm(s) from defending himself, but has not lost consciousness.

7:15 AM: Police say via SPD Blotter that this happened during a home-invasion break-in, and they are looking for two people who knocked on the victim’s door, forced their way inside, tried to get him to go outside, and attacked him when he refused. His wounds are described as non-life-threatening. Here’s the full text of what Det. Jeff Kappel wrote on SPD Blotter:

Click to read the rest of Update: Man stabbed in South Delridge; two attackers sought…

Design Review doubleheader, project #1: 3824 California SW ordered back for a third round of Early Design Guidance

(The “massing” options shown tonight for 3824 California SW, whose architects have to try again)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

3824 California has never had it easy before the Southwest Design Review Board.

Seven years ago, when a standalone Petco store was proposed on the site, the project died after its first two Early Design Guidance proposals were shot down, and the Charlestown Café stayed open three more years before closing in 2011.

Now, the first post-café development proposal for 3824 California SW – a ~30-townhome/live-work-unit project – has been ordered to come back for a third round of Early Design Guidance, meaning it will appear before the board at least four times before, if, it gains approval to move ahead..

Here’s how EDG round two unfolded tonight (here’s the design packet that was used for most of the review):

Click to read the rest of Design Review doubleheader, project #1: 3824 California SW ordered back for a third round of Early Design Guidance…

West Seattle scene: Double rainbow before sunset

Thanks to everyone who’s shared views of the double rainbow that appeared before sunset! We’re building a gallery and adding more. For starters – this one’s from Max.

In some cases, the view wasn’t double so much as just, big. This view looking toward Fairmount is from Maris:

Next – from Debbie Bukoski:

From Eric Renn:

And Melissa sent her perspective via video, panning across the double rainbow from the shore of the bay:

Might add a few more – meantime, thanks to EVERYONE who shared!

Townhouse-rezone endorsement and more @ Morgan Community Association’s quarterly meeting

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Morgan Community Association is now officially on the record as supporting the West Seattle Church of the Nazarene‘s proposed six-townhouse plan for land it owns south of the church and its parsonage at 42nd and Juneau.

The vote came at the end of last night’s meeting, after a return appearance by developer and area resident Joe Paar (above), who said he and the church – planning to sell the townhouses but retain ownership of “park” open space on the rest of the site – wanted MoCA’s blessing since they are about to take the first part of the rezoning proposal to the city. The room was full of church members/supporters, about triple MoCA’s usual turnout in the lower-level meeting area of The Kenney (WSB sponsor).

They had a multipage glossy color handout with renderings and Q/A on the project. (Previously, they set up a website.) A sign and painted-on-the-ground outlines are now set up, said Paar. He said they’re still working out where to put the park on the open space that will be left between the townhouses and 42nd SW. He said they’ve been designed to look like “Craftsman-style townhouses,” not the “modern” design that is prevalent in new construction today. The community will be asked to vote on color schemes.

He noted that he and church leadership already have made three appearances at MoCA and will be back often as the proposal proceeds – “you’re going to get sick of us.” A community garden and movie screen are proposed as part of the park section of the site. The project will require a zoning change, as noted previously. The townhouses will have a private porch transitioning into a semi-private yard, then a public path, and the community park area. Their garages won’t be connected to the homes – residents will have to walk to their homes, “which is intentional,” Paar said.

They propose 12 spaces of parking for the townhomes, in addition to 11 parking spaces for the church. The biggest townhomes will have 2 bedrooms and 2 baths in addition to basement space that could be used for a bedroom or office. It was reiterated that these will be sold, not rented, townhomes on fee-simple land. “Would somebody be allowed to buy them for an investment and rent them out?” an attendee asked. “That’s not what we’re looking to sell these for,” said Parr. The church retains ownership of the “park” portion of the land, as well as the parsonage house between the “park” site and the church building.

One attendee said “I commend you on how these buildings look; the buildings they’re building now, they look terrible.” Parr reiterated that he lives nearby and he was afraid a “bad-guy developer would get a hold of the site and build something (we didn’t want to see).”

He outlined a timeline:

*May 2014 – rezoning proposal going to City Council
*May 2015 – response expected from council
*Construction not expected until 2016 or even 2017

It’s a two-step rezoning process, he said, and it requires community support. So far, he says, they have 33 letters from neighbors voicing support, but they all but pleaded for MoCA’s support. The brochure they circulated even included a public accounting of what the church would do with the expected $760,000 revenue, including $200,000 work on the church’s exterior.

MoCA president Deb Barker stressed that the comprehensive-plan amendment being proposed here to facilitate a contract-rezone proposal would only affect the lots on the site. And Parr noted that what they were presenting involves the public benefit they would be required to provide. MoCA’s Eldon Olson said the “park” portion of the site – which would be open to the public but remain church-owned – was attractive, as urban areas are supposed to have more of those.

In the end, MoCA went on the record as voting unanimously to support the comprehensive-plan amendment proposed to change the zoning from single-family to Lowrise 1 on the site. Since MoCA allows anyone present to vote, those who came to show support were part of the vote too.

Earlier in the meeting:

Click to read the rest of Townhouse-rezone endorsement and more @ Morgan Community Association’s quarterly meeting…

Traffic alert: Motorcycle crash on 1st Avenue ramp to westbound bridge

4:42 PM: After some difficulty in sorting out the exact location, emergency crews have just arrived at the scene of a motorcycle crash on the 1st Avenue ramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge. The rider was reported (via scanner) to be “sitting up.” No other details but a heads-up if you are heading this way from downtown/SODO any time soon, avoid that ramp.

4:46 PM: Injuries apparently not serious – the medic unit’s been canceled.

5:45 PM: Haven’t heard an update but the SFD portion of the call is “closed” now and it doesn’t[ appear the ramp ever had to be closed, so traffic should be back to relatively normal in the area.

Mid-afternoon photo break: The eagle has (almost) landed

You love skyline-from-Duwamish-Head photos. You love bird photos. Now – thanks to Craig Howard – two in one! Couldn’t wait until tomorrow’s daily preview to share it, so while we work on a few more news stories, here it is. Craig was on the beach at low tide, and “a murder of crows sent this eagle down right in front of me. He hung around until the crows went away. Didn’t seem to mind me at all.”

Looking for more/better police/crime info online? West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network hosts SPD Web rep Tuesday

Wish you could get more/better/faster information about crime/police activity online? Have ideas for how Seattle Police could improve/beef up what they offer online now? Come talk about it in person with Shanna Christie from the SPD Web team, next Tuesday (April 22nd) at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network. As explained by WSBWCN leaders Karen Berge and Deb Greer:

She wants our feedback about the online tools that are currently available on the SPD website, how they work and how they don’t. Are you able to find the information you need? Is the Block Watch Toolkit useful to you? She will talk about the plans in the works for a re-vamp of the precinct webpages, starting with the SW Precinct. They hope to provide better information, and more timely information, about what is happening in our neighborhoods. Your feedback is needed!

That’s 6:30 pm Tuesday in the meeting room at the Southwest Precinct (Webster/Delridge).

Video: Pointed questions for DPD @ Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting

With three representatives from the city Department of Planning and Development due at last night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting, we thought video might be in order. The interactions, in fact, were tense at times.

Land use and planning was the night’s theme. Before we started rolling, attendees at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center heard from their crosstown counterpart Southwest District Council‘s co-chairs Sharonn Meeks and Vlad Oustimovitch, talking about the West Seattle Land Use Committee that SWDC is launching with hopes of peninsula-wide involvement. (Stay tuned for news of its first meeting and how to get involved.)

The DPD presenters began with the Seattle 2035 comprehensive-plan-update process we’ve mentioned a few times (including the sparse-in-many-ways “open house” here a week ago). DNDC members’ pointed questions for DPD rep Patrice Carroll included North Delridge‘s Michael Taylor-Judd wondering why the city is looking ahead 20 years when current problems (including exceeded growth targets and inadequate transportation to handle who’s here now and who’s on the way shortly) don’t seem to be getting addressed. WWRHAH‘s Amanda Kay Helmick noted that none of the DPD handouts even mentioned West Seattle.

Second DPD rep was Aly Pennucci, who’s been making neighborhood-meeting rounds for three months talking about the potential rezoning for “pedestrian retail areas.” In the case of Delridge, it was pointed out, that too seems to be looking past a problem – how can you dither about tweaking business districts when there isn’t much commercial space available?

Third up from DPD was David Goldberg, talking about a new project to create a “Healthy Living Framework” for Delridge. A somewhat jargonistic handout was provided, including this paragraph:

“The planning process and resulting action plan will serve to engage the full range of community stakeholders including historically underrepresented communities. The outreach and engagement will focus on the opportunity areas, but may expand to address priorities for historically underrepresented communities. The process will also convene an advisory committee envisioned to transform into or help establish and ongoing and representative implementation committee.”

Part of the preceding bullet points (we don’t have an electronic version of this two-sided handout yet but are looking for) included a mention of “future SDOT improvements along Delridge,” but the DPD rep didn’t have information about upcoming Delridge projects, at and around Andover, which was a point of concern for Pigeon Point‘s Pete Spalding.

ALSO AT THE MEETING: Our crew had to leave after the DPD presentations, so we apologize that we don’t have Cindi Barker‘s land-use-primer presentation on video (but there’s lots of context and info in this one we recorded last fall). In a non-DPD item, North Delridge’s Patrick Baer announced that the city had agreed to fix the asphalt-covered planting strip that resulted from the recent Delridge/Findlay project mentioned here, for which Baer was the original proposer. Here’s our photo from this morning:

We have since confirmed the de-asphalting plan with SDOT’s John Vander Sluis, who says, “Based on public feedback, SDOT will be removing the asphalt and working with the community on the installation of a landscaped planting strip. … The decision to remove the asphalt was made late last week, so I don’t have details on schedule at this point.”

DNDC meets third Wednesdays at Youngstown, 7 pm.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Package theft on video; illegal dumping; car prowl…

Four reader reports to share today, starting with a package theft caught on video:

Pam says the video shows her Netflix Amazon package being lifted Wednesday afternoon near 12th and Barton – and right before the person comes fully into view, they took mail out of her mailbox. Recognize the person in the video? (Added: Here’s a frame grab.) Let police know.

Ahead, three more reports – a car prowl, illegal dumping, and suspicious nail-scattering:

Click to read the rest of West Seattle Crime Watch: Package theft on video; illegal dumping; car prowl……

The Whale Trail’s hitting the road; come to the sendoff party!

(2011 photo of orcas in Elliott Bay, by Craig Savey)
The Whale Trail is hitting the road! West Seattleite Donna Sandstrom‘s vision of helping killer whales with education all along their routes is coming true with an upcoming tour – and you’re invited to the local sendoff next Thursday:

The endangered southern resident orca travel as far south as Monterey, CA. In May, The Whale Trail is headed down the Pacific Coast, too – we’re adding new Whale Trail sites in Monterey (Point Lobos), Santa Cruz, and San Francisco (Point Reyes)!

In May we’re also presenting noted author and marine conservationist Erich Hoyt in a series of talks around The Whale Trail, from Saturna, BC, to Monterey, CA, – nine locations in two countries and four states in 20 days – Orca Tour 2014!

Our vision of building awareness about the orcas throughout their range is quickly coming true – we need your help to make it happen!

Join us for a celebration and informal fundraising event for the Whale Trail, featuring light refreshments, no-host bar, and music by DJ Joe Ross!

–Music from or about California, from the Beach Boys to Los Lobos.
–Seal Sitters and “Diver Laura” James will also be there!

Thanks for your support these past six years, West Seattle. Help us celebrate, and take a giant next step for the orcas. Tickets available now at brownpapertickets.com. You can also buy tickets (at BPT) for our upcoming presentation with Erich Hoyt, Sunday, May 18, at McCaw Hall.

West Seattle Thursday: Design Review x 2; nighttime egg hunt for teens; more!

(Female Anna’s Hummingbird, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
A selection of what’s up for today/tonight:

TODDLER EGGSTRAVAGANZA: Still time to get to High Point Community Center for this 10 am Easter-time little-kid fave. Details in our calendar listing. (6420 34th SW)

WINE AND BUNNIES: From South Seattle College (WSB sponsor):

1-5 PM at South Seattle College’s Northwest Wine Academy student-produced wines and Pastry Arts student creations will be on sale. From egg-shaped cakes to chocolate bunnies and hot cross buns, South will have you covered!

Tomorrow too. (6000 16th SW)

COMMUNITY ORCHARD OF WEST SEATTLE: Drop-in volunteer opportunity every Thursday, 5-7 pm, explained here. North end of SSC campus. (6000 16th SW)

DESIGN REVIEW X 2: Two projects go back to the Southwest Design Review Board for second-round Early Design Guidance reviews – 3824 California SW (30 townhomes/live-work units) at 6:30 pm, 4505 42nd SW (45 apartments) at 8 pm. See our preview of both hearings, including links to the “packets” with renderings and info, by going here. (Both meetings are upstairs at the Senior Center, California/Oregon)

ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL BOARD MEETING: 7 pm at Alki UCC, but a location change: “Because of Maundy Thursday service in the Parlor, we will meet in the Choir Practice Room on the third floor next to the church office.” Board-meeting format but all welcome. (6115 SW Hinds)

FLASHLIGHT EGG HUNT: No, teens are NOT too old to hunt for eggs – this special event starting at 8:15 pm at Hiawatha Community Center is just for them; details in our calendar listing. (2700 California SW)

NIGHTLIFE: Multiple West Seattle venues have listings on our calendar!

Don’t wait until it’s too late: Less than one week left to sign up your sale for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day

Quick reminder, because every year we get a few post-deadline phone calls from people who JUST heard about it … Less than a week left in the registration period (which has been open for more than two weeks) for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, the biggest day of its kind in the city! This is the 10th year for WSCGSD, which we at WSB have been coordinating since year four. Great turnout already, with more than 160 sales in the works – individual, block, school, business, service group, and the multi-seller sites at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company (both WSB sponsors – inquire directly with either one about space). Your space awaits too. Here’s where to sign up – deadline is 11:59 pm next Wednesday night, April 23rd.

And for shoppers – we close registration early so we can make the map and guide in time for it to be available a week in advance, so check back here and at westseattlegaragesale.com on May 3rd.

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday, and what’s ahead

(Latest bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to Thursday – we’re on the home stretch, headed for a big weekend. And that goes for weekend traffic alerts, too:

ALKI AVE CLOSED SATURDAY MORNING … 9 am-11 am or so for the Earth Day 5K, on the run in West Seattle for the first time.

I-5 RAMP WORK ALL WEEKEND … Another weekend of lane closures on northbound I-5, just north of the West Seattle Bridge, from late Friday through early Monday. Details here.

8:35 AM: Luvsseattle points out in a comment (thank you!) that the I-5 work page now has the notation “canceled,” no further details; likely because of the rain, but we’re checking with WSDOT>

Undies with a twist: West Seattle women crowdfund for BoiBums

“We are excited to share our vision with like-minded women who want a
comfortable alternative to girly women’s underwear,” say Betsy Bruce and Dana Joy – both longtime West Seattleites – as they launch a crowdfunding campaign for their creation: Underwear called BoiBums. They’re trying to raise money to manufacture “a product for women using the same soft fabrics, comfortable cut, and wide-waistband used in men’s underwear.” (Briefs, not boxers.) And the sizing range will be robust – briefs in sizes up to the equivalent of 3XL. You can watch Dana and Betsy’s sassy pitch video on the Kickstarter page for BoiBums. In crowdfunding tradition, they’re offering rewards to donors, all detailed on that page. And if the underwear business goes well, they’re expecting to expand into other – perhaps, more visible – lines of apparel.

Morgan Junction Community Festival on June 21st: MoCA offers a sneak peek

(WSB photo from 2013 Morgan Junction Community Festival)
We’re at the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting, and have just heard updates on the MoCA-sponsored Morgan Junction Community Festival, which will be happening before MoCA’s NEXT quarterly meeting. This year’s festival date is Saturday, June 21st, and it will include music (likely two stages, including a “cantina”), about 30 booths (a bit less space than last year, and they’re hoping for more nonprofits as well as vendors), ever-popular Bubbleman (one show this time), the Bark of Morgan pet event, the Bite of Morgan food tastes, food trucks (possibly up to three), hands-on kid stuff with the help of local kid-oriented businesses, and more. One thing REALLY needed now – volunteers to step up; this festival doesn’t run without them – “We need volunteers and we need them badly,” said MoCA’s Tod Rodman. And they’re signing up sponsorships, too, with new levels – you’ll find information on the MoCA website at morganjunction.org.

P.S. Lots more has been and is being discussed as tonight’s MoCA meeting continues – more coverage to come.