West Seattle Blog…

West Gatewood sunset

Supposedly next week brings the gray back, so we’re hoarding the beauty shots till then:

Trader Joe’s rumor watch

The ol’ Trader Joe’s rumor just keeps swishing around WS like a glass of Two-Buck Chuck in a Nisqually-length earthquake. An intrepid reader just e-mailed the company again, hoping perhaps for a pleasant surprise, and shared with us the following response. (Personally, we find the “check back in fall” rather intriguing!)

“At this time, we do not have any confirmed plans for Western Seattle. Feel free to check back sometime this fall for any updates.

Thanks for shopping with us,

Marci

Trader Joe’s Customer Relations”

Working to save their school

Parents from the nonprofit Community School of West Seattle, which offers preschool through 2nd grade, say their little school is in danger of losing its building at 22nd/Roxbury (photo below). CSWS has been renting there since 2004 and has been raising money to try to buy the building since, according to one parent, the owner indicated last year it could be theirs for a reasonable price. Now, suddenly, events have accelerated — a developer has reportedly made an offer, and parents say that’s pushed the owner to set a deadline for the school to come up with the $. They have till August 31st to raise $88,000 more. They’re planning an intensive slate of summer fundraising events, including an auction, but also are hoping community donations (which are tax-deductible) will help save the day.

“Monster” sighting at Alki

Call it a monstrous way to try to save the Sound. The “Mud Monster,” mascot of a new Puget Sound cleanup campaign (photo below), starred at a media kickoff event at Alki this morning. The campaign’s site says the “Mud Monster” is “designed and produced by the folks who brought us the Mariner Moose.” Couldn’t we just have somebody in, oh, say, a plush six-gill-shark suit?

Party previews

TOMORROW: The West Seattle Community Resource Center at 35th/Morgan officially celebrates its grand opening (a few weeks after the WS Food Bank and Megawatt moved in) by opening the doors to all. An open house with tours, treats, and guest WS dignitaries (the press release promises Mayor Nickels and Councilmember Constantine) is set for 4-7 pm.

SATURDAY: Skylark celebrates its first anniversary with a day and night full of revelry: Brunch 9 am-3 pm, karaoke 5-8 pm, bands 9 pm-1 am (Electrochakra, Amy Stolzenbach, Brent Amaker & The Rodeo, The Delusions). Owner Jessie Summa-Kusiak also promises “prizes, and happy hour prices all day and night.” (She’s also put in air conditioning, quite visionary since summer heat arrived early!)

Schuck’s-site specifics

Taking a moment to more closely examine the land-use permit just granted for the burned-out Schuck’s site (second part of this post), we noted that what was originally described as approx. 5K square feet of “customer service office” has become approx. 5K square feet of “medical services.” (No change in the projected restaurant and retail space.)

Went to see the sunset and a moonrise broke out

First photo from Alki Beach. Second, about 15 minutes later from just south of Alki Point.

Restaurant review with a dash of history

The Stranger finds a creative way to stir Kokoras and Ephesus into one review.

Just in from Land-Use Land

-Now we know why the “for sale” sign on Beach Drive’s “Painted Lady” (aka the Satterlee House) has moved all the way to the front of the house: The city just issued a permit for the short-plat that will allow three homes to be built in what’s currently the historic home’s front yard. We’re working to find out what happens next and when.

-A land-use permit’s also been issued to allow a new commercial development where the burned-out Schuck’s store shell now sits, kitty corner from Charlestown Cafe.

Street of screams

As in, screams from drivers fed up with bumpy Sylvan Way/Orchard between Delridge & High Point. We just noticed this addition to the warning sign along the westbound lane:

It takes a village to build a park

It’s another do-or-die moment for the folks working to make Ercolini Park (west of The Junction) a reality: They need more commitments of volunteer time (and $) to help show the city they deserve a grant to transform the parkland from grassy field (photo below) to fully equipped neighborhood park — for an area that’s long on families but short on park space. The grant-decision time is near so if you can chip in to help the project, you can click here to e-mail project organizer Bill Barna or check out the Ercolini Park Updates site.

2 car-theft hotspots in WS

Scroll to the end of this P-I story for map/stats: 6000 16th (SSCC) and 6900 Delridge.

More on Westwood neighbors’ vandalism fight

Two updates on the violent vandalism mentioned here a week ago — first, neighbors are working to revive the Westwood Neighborhood Council, which apparently had gone dormant; second, the vandalism story was featured on tv last night.

West Seattle’s other spectacular sunset view

Much as we love sun-behind-Olympics sunsets from Alki, Beach Drive, Lincoln Park, etc., we also are fond of the Mount Rainier sunset-time view from Arbor Heights:

WS Gas Price Watch: Tumbling price

For the first time in a long time, at least three WS gas stations have regular posted in the $3.20s. The 35th/Avalon 7-11 has taken a big dive to $3.28; not to be outdone, Delridge Arco is down tonight to $3.27 (left). (Admiral/Cali Chevron was at $3.29 when we last went by this morning; we trust our north end spotters will tell us if it’s fallen further!) Looks like this is in keeping with a national trend, though we’re still above the U.S. average.

A look into the future

A few things we thought you might want to know about before the next weekend roundup rolls around:

-School-play season isn’t over yet: Schmitz Park Elementary stages “101 Dalmatians” @ WSHS tomorrow night and Thursday night.

-”Carver’s Pieces,” presented by The Community Theatre, opens Thursday night @ Youngstown Arts Center.

-If you run an area business, there’s still time till the end of this week to get a spot at the June 5 Greater West Seattle “Neighbors In Business” Open House @ SSCC — go here to find out more (also note, you don’t have to be a businessperson to attend the actual event).

-Best buy tickets now for ArtsWest’s annual benefit/gala Saturday night.

-ArtsWest also just announced an after-hours event June 9 featuring “six rising West Seattle comedians.”

-Next Sunday @ 2 pm at the WS Library, poet Frances McCue lectures about legendary local writer Richard Hugo, who we didn’t know till now was a White Center native and wrote extensively about post-WWII West Seattle.

$ to plot a viaduct-less future

The City Council just officially approved its $8 million plan (which will apparently take a year to draw up, so guess the viaduct’s not going anywhere any time soon) to try to figure out how we would all get around without a viaduct or a tunnel. Press release text after the click: Click to read the rest of $ to plot a viaduct-less future…

Be the first to make an offer

Looks like we have to drop Mischiefblog off our Other Blogs In WS page — he’s moved to Mill Creek, and just posted about getting ready to FSBO his WS house “cheap-cheap-cheap.”

Door-to-door canvasser who perhaps needs a different career

The Herald‘s Letters to the Editor section yields another tale of interaction gone awry.

Proactive policeman

The Times profiles WS-based Officer Ralph Wilson, the star of this recent post about a bank-robbery suspect busted while panhandling.

Condomania, the latest

Funny this P-I article didn’t even mention WS, where condos/townhomes are popping up like dandelions. And the teardown-to-townhomes along Cali are selling fast. Checking up on a few – Soundview in the 5900 block is “sold out,” as are Sea Holly in the 5600 block and Bayberry in the 6900 block of Cali. A bit further south, the condo-converted 1 bed/1 ba units at SeventyOne are close to half-sold. Question is now, how is the higher-end market doing? Still some openings listed at NoMo 12 — half-mil and up. (Though if you really want luxury, we’d suggest Alki’s most expensive current condo listing.)

Greenpeace in WS waters

Spotted off Don Armeni this afternoon, the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza (its live webcam helped us verify it was what we thought it was). Greenpeace’s big push this weekend has been awareness-raising regarding the International Whaling Commission meeting that started today in Anchorage.

The Junction shows its colors

Flags grace The Junction for Memorial Day — glad some traditions stay strong:

Memorial Day service reminder

If you see this before 2 pm: that’s when the major WS observance happens, at Forest Lawn.

Gatewood neighbors besieged by burglars

Gatewood neighbors have just met to plot strategy to fight burglars who have struck repeatedly in the past two weeks. One of them just sent us a full report with details, plans, even a plea to Mayor Nickels — read it all, one click away: Click to read the rest of Gatewood neighbors besieged by burglars…

Briefly on the beach

Thanks again to beach blogger Cathy Woo for the tip about artist Thom Ross working for a while on Alki today; by the time we got down for photos at midafternoon, he was about to pack it up — reader Tim’s comment on our original post has more details on why. The figures are made from plywood, which Ross has used for other memorable displays.

Toddler hurt in Delridge fall

According to this short report, a toddler is in critical condition after falling off a balcony. No address specifics in that report, but the online Fire Department log lists a major medic call in the 5400 block of Delridge (near Brandon) this afternoon.