West Seattle Blog…

Paving alert for the south side of WS

The city website just put up this alert about paving work on Roxbury over the next few days.

Flasher alert

Just posted at the P-I site: Flashing incident over the weekend in the 4500 block of 36th SW.

You may have been part of history!

According to Councilmember Dow Constantine’s ace staff, the official count for Elliott Bay Water Taxi passengers on kickoff day was 2,545 — which they suspect was an all-time WT record (previous known high, 1,600-plus on the day last summer when a crash closed The Bridge). As for the King County Ferry District plan that could ensure the WT’s future — DC’s team says it made progress today in the council’s “Committee of the Whole” (8:17 PM UPDATE: click ahead to read the full press release on that):

Click to read the rest of You may have been part of history!…

This week: Cheapest gas in WS

Last week we tracked the 35th/Holden Chevron, which to our knowledge still has the highest posted price for regular gas in WS (holding at $3.39 as of an hour ago). Some folks wrote us asking for help in finding the cheapest gas. As of our unscientific drivearound survey last night and this morning, the Cali/Andover Exxon and Cali/Charlestown 7-11 (left) appear to be tied for that honor, at $3.17/gal for regular. (Both are in the repaving zone, so getting there requires patience.) As of last night, the Arco near Home Depot on Delridge wasn’t too far above that, at $3.19. Let us know if you’ve seen cheaper!

2 Water Taxi tips for next weekend

#1 — Avoid the parking crush by Seacrest (photo below; it stretched for a mile each way); walk or take the water-taxi shuttle (weekend schedule here; also this year they’ve printed schedule cards, easier to use than the brochure formats from previous years). The shuttle is running 7 days/week but parking probably won’t be quite as crunched on weekdays.

#2 — If you want to save a few bucks, now that the annual freebie day has passed, the best bargain for WEEKEND WT use is the Metro all-day pass. $2.50/person gets you all-day use for one full day on Metro buses and the Water Taxi – which otherwise is $3/each way. Remember that you can only buy this pass on board a Metro bus, only on Saturdays/Sundays, and it’s only good for the day you buy it. But what a deal!

And the next Junction-area mixed-use site is …

… currently home to 2 houses on 42nd, just listed at $1.5m “to be sold together.”

A tale of Good Samaritanism, and Bad Driverism

Just received a note about something traumatic that happened on Admiral earlier today, with a request to let everyone know about those who did a very good deed as a result. We’re putting it up exactly as we received it, and it’s a bit long, so if you’re seeing this on the home page, click ahead to read:

Click to read the rest of A tale of Good Samaritanism, and Bad Driverism…

Condo name game, the latest

The place to play that game right now is on the south end of Cali; hot on the heels of NoMo 12 comes SeventyOne, a condo-conversion apartment building SoMo, er, south of Morgan Junction, having its first open-house weekend as we write, just days after the remodeling crews cleared out. It’s got its own hypey website, of course, which proclaims that SeventyOne “redefines style on California Ave.” (Pardon our obsession with accuracy, but must ALL these condo-marketing websites have typos? This SeventyOne page alone has four.)

Farmers’ market faves

Checked out the WS Farmers’ Market a few minutes into opening day, and we are thrilled to see that our personal faves are back, including Eats Market Cafe, Herban Feast with its strawberry-lavender lemonade, and best of all, Langley Fine Gardens, which brings over beautiful plants from its Vashon nursery, including exotic solanums like the one at left (3 for $8!). The market’s open today till 2.

All aboard!

We’ve been so eagerly awaiting the return of the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, we couldn’t resist getting up to glimpse its first Seacrest arrival of the season. Below is the proof (before the sun came out!), as it approached the dock @ 8:50 am today. (The kickoff party isn’t till noon but the Water Taxi is running its official schedule; first run from WS was at 9.)

Schoolhouse blues

On this busy spring Sunday, perhaps between your Farmers’ Market stop and your Water Taxi trip, take a little time to help ponder the future of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. A community open house is happening there 11 am-2 pm to facilitate and inspire that pondering. And there’s urgency — the school district still owns this 90-year-old treasure (the child-care center, events hall, and others based there are tenants) but is indicating it’s time to sell off this and other “surplus property.” If you have only driven by, perhaps heading to or from the nearby ferry dock, you may not realize how large the schoolhouse property is; as a result, as one reader wrote to us, “there are developers who are hovering over the property.” Will it be the next townhouse cluster — or will the community rally to preserve it? Drop by today to offer ideas … or absorb them … a rare chance to do something before it’s too late.

Quiet heroes

Didn’t know this was happening today, till we saw a banner at a worksite along Fauntleroy near Lincoln Park while we watched out a bus window: It was “Spring Rebuilding Day” for Rebuilding Together Seattle, which we hadn’t heard of till now; sounds like a great cause.

Could be worse

As of this morning, the WS station we’ve been watching was holding steady at $3.39/regular, but after a bus ride downtown (just $1.25!) we saw lots worse, such as the Shell @ Denny & Aurora (left). So if you’ve gotta fill up, home is better! (Or South Seattle Costco, where we paid $3.13 yesterday.) Oh, and the governor proclaims herself “ticked off” by the pump jumps.

Revisiting the great pizza debate

After all the chatter leading up to the WS debut of Garlic Jim’s, it’s been open a month now, and the buzz has died down. A lot of folks gave it a try, with mixed reviews. So we’re asking today, has your pizza routine changed? Is GJ’s a regular part of it? Or, has the Pagliacci delivery-zone extension changed anything for you? We’ll start: Since GJ’s delivers to us but Pagliacci doesn’t, we haven’t gotten Pag pizza in weeks. (We’re sure they’re not missing us, since we’re not frequent pizza procurers.) Got GJ’s recently; 25 minutes from order to delivery, slightly overbrowned pepperoni pizza (left). We’ve noticed two major differences between GJ and Pagliacci: price, and subtlety — Pagliacci flavors can be subtle; GJ’s, generally not. Which is fine by us, as you would never mistake us for actual gourmets, though we do think GJ’s beats the non-locally based delivery chains (Papa John, Pizza Hut, Domino’s), and the price is right. Next up in the WS pizza world: the mysterious (still can’t find a biz license or anything else pointing us to who’s behind it) Giannoni’s (and neighboring Taco del Mar) is progressing at Westwood Village (right)

Worth reading

Three WS-related articles on the P-I site today:

-A well-known climber from West Seattle, Lara-Karena Kellogg, died after falling in Denali National Park. A tribute on this climbing blog points to a site friends have set up to share memories and condolences.

-Robert Jamieson pays tribute to Charlie Chong. (We are still keeping an eye out for funeral/memorial plans and will let you know when we hear something.)

-The entrepreneurs who moved Retroactive Kids from Morgan Junction to Columbia City are profiled. Among other things, they observe that WS wasn’t funky enough. (We hereby apologize; we’re quirky and crazy ourselves but never quite made it to funky.)

Vandals on the rampage, again

We’ve vented about graffiti/tagging vandalism before, but it’s reaching critical mass again. The latest “last straw” is an ugly tag on one of the charming Luna Park signs near the Avalon business area that’s taken on that historic name. Then there’s the ongoing saga of West Seattle’s once-fabled murals; taggers hit the one at the post office in The Junction (just part of the semi-disrepair the murals have fallen into, as Warren Lawless lamented in this recent‚ column). Finally, an e-mail tip says paint-equipped vandals have hit Lafayette Elementary repeatedly in recent weeks; not only is this kind of attack a needless hassle and expense for cash-strapped schools, but a parent points out, it also frightens the kids. Who is doing this and why can’t they be stopped?

The BIG WEEKEND arrives

The Water Taxi and Farmers’ Market, both returning on Sunday … Easy Street’s new “afterhours” shows continuing tonight … your chance to help shape a West Seattle landmark’s future … all part of the weekend preview roundup, a click away:

Click to read the rest of The BIG WEEKEND arrives…

Pump jump

Gas Price Watch update (no, we’re not picking on the 35th/Holden Chevron, just happens to be our baseline this week – next week we might track someplace else): Up a dime/gallon this morning (photo at left). That’s 21 cents since early Monday morning.

RIP, Charlie

The Times just posted that West Seattle’s ex-city councilmember and citizen activist Charlie Chong is gone. Most recently, as we mentioned in February, he had lent his support to the Charlestown Cafe campaign, although we’ll always remember him best for the snowplows. 11:15 AM UPDATE: The P-I has an article up now too.

25th/Brandon standoff aftermath

A few more miscellaneous notes in the aftermath of the domestic dispute turned SWAT standoff @ 25th/Brandon last night: A nearby resident’s blog reports on the news crew that lingered long afterward and also has an earlier post with some great pix of the police action; the P-I has a fairly basic wrapup; Slog’s got the only truly complete report, including an interview with the owner of the battered BMW, seen below, ax in windshield and SWAT vehicle right behind, in a photo sent to us by a witness. P.S. According to the King County Jail Lookup, the suspect, Robert Joseph James, is still behind bars as of this writing, under investigation for four possible crimes including domestic violence, court-order violation, and malicious mischief.

Police standoff in WS

Some kind of a standoff happening — just caught a bit of a tv report – here’s an e-mail report from a witness – needless to say, sounds like an area to stay away from! (If you’ve got pix, send ‘em to us.) 5:57 PM UPDATE: One comment quotes a media site as saying it’s over. Also, Slog has scene photo. 8:18 PM UPDATE: More details from the P-I.

Unmasked, at last

One month after putting it up, city crews finally pulled the covers off the left-turn light at 35th/Thistle this morning, and it’s up ‘n’ running:

What goes up, must go up some more

Gas Price Watch update (if you’re just joining us, we found ourselves tracking the Chevron station @ 35th/Holden after witnessing a price change in progress Monday morning): After a day off, the rise resumes, perhaps inspired by the headlines. Up three cents overnight to $3.29/gal for regular (up 11 cents in all since the weekend).

And yet more from Admiral

Just verified a reader tip that Auto Buff, west of Metro Market, is moving next week (you can’t miss the huge banner out front, with the address of its new location on the east edge of The Junction). No detectable permit movement on the 42nd/Admiral mixed-use project planned for that spot, though.

Admiral action ahead

More going on than just repaving:

–Set aside some time this Saturday to join West Seattle’s Most Famous Politician and a multitude of cool people at the Admiral Neighborhood Clean & Green event, 9 am-1 pm, meet at the Metro Market parking lot. Read more here about the whole Clean & Green mission.

–Say “so long” to the SOA storefront headquarters of Megawatt. Big sign in the window notes they’re moving to the new West Seattle Resource Center as of next Tuesday. (We’ll miss their SOA presence; best place to walk by and check out posters for everything and anything coming up in the ‘hood. We don’t usually hoof along 35th so we’re going to have to get our poster fix elsewhere.)

WS scam alert

If somebody calls you and claims to be from City Light, put up your ripoff radar.

Rare treat(s)

While up around 35th/Holden on Gas Price Watch (for the 1st time in 3 mornings, no increase), we stopped at Carosello for our morning coffee, first time in a while. We were more than pleasantly surprised by some improvements there: They’re serving some local brands you don’t see many other places: coffee from Caffe Umbria, organic treats from Boulangerie Nantaise and Mighty O Donuts. (If you’re a public-service worker, drop by on Thursdays in uniform and drinks are 2-for-1.)

More backhoe-bound brickwork

The city just granted permits for the townhouse project that’ll replace this brick multiplex @ SW corner of Cali/Seattle (not far from similar projects).

Also on the topic of doomed brickwork, there’s an addendum to the saga of the unique fourplex that’s on its last legs across the street from Charlestown Cafe — scroll to the bottom of the original page to check out a comment just posted by one of its current renters.

Cali makeover crew moves north

When the city reported that the repaving was moving fast, that was no exaggeration. If you have to drive the north half of Cali, be forewarned that as of this morning, the heavy equipment has all moved north, currently focusing on a stretch from Admiral Safeway to McDonald’s — particularly challenging for drivers, considering there are two schools in that stretch (Lafayette Elementary and WS High). The work this morning is centering on the west side of the street and the crews are still straightening out the traffic flow on the east, so be patient — and watchful — our trip through was a bit of an adventure.

Beer buzz

3 months after going public, WS-based Schooner Exact says business is hopping. They e-mailed us to make sure you know they’re the “featured cask” tomorrow night @ 6 @ Beveridge Place Pub, with what Schooner Exact partner Marcus calls “a seriously over-the-top Imperial 3 Grid IPA, on cask, naturally fermented, dry-hopped.” (We are beer idiots but we’re guessing that means it’s fairly swell stuff.) Marcus also tells us they’re up to three kegs/week, with new equipment and more on the way. He says you can find their creations “on a rotating basis” at West 5 too; follow their adventures on the Schooner Exact blog.

New ferry ticketing system coming to Fauntleroy

The automated ticket machines and other components of “Wave 2 Go” have been working their way down from ferry routes further north; now the date is set for their Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth debut.