West Seattle, Washington

23 Tuesday

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day : 27/04/2009 17 results

Highland Park Action Committee to tackle traffic trouble
April 27, 2009 11:58 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

Meet the new Traffic Committee for the Highland Park Action Committee – from left, Carrie Carroll, Blair Johnson, HPAC chair Dan Mullins, and Paul Morton (not pictured: Craig Rankin). They’re in place after tonight’s HPAC meeting, at which HPAC leaders talked with the city’s Neighborhood Services Coordinator for the Delridge District, Ron Angeles, about strategies for getting city Department of Neighborhoods money into HP for traffic-calming projects. A crosswalk right by the building where HPAC meetings, Highland Park Improvement Club [map], is high on the list:


View Larger Map

The committee will meet outside the usual HPAC meetings to determine what Highland Park’s traffic hotspots are, and will report back. Other meeting notes: As discussed at last week’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, Officer Adonis Topacio from the Southwest Precinct’s Community Police Team has been working with community members to keep closer watch on suspicious activity at Westcrest Park; it was reported tonight that he’s organizing park walkthroughs. One other word about crime – which won’t surprise you if you’ve been watching West Seattle Crime Watch reports here – car prowls and thefts will likely be up, when the month’s over. Also up: The need for Big Brothers and Big Sisters volunteers, per Erin Wenzel (you can find out about volunteering here). And HPIC is having a Tiki Dance at 7 pm Saturday (tickets $7.50 at the door).

The Highland Park Action Committee meets the fourth Monday of each month, 7 pm, at HPIC.

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Seen on shore: Alki at low tide; Canada goose family revisited
April 27, 2009 10:09 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | Wildlife

Thanks to Mary T. and David Sheely for sharing that photo from this afternoon’s low tide at Alki; the tide will be just as low tomorrow right before 2 pm, but then we won’t see tides this low till late May. Down the shore a ways, David Hutchinson checked back with some members of Harbor Avenue’s semi-celebrity Canada goose family:

Bonus — just as we were getting ready to hit “publish,” Alma sent us a photo of tonight’s sunset:

Thanks again to everyone who shares photos via WSB – whether breaking news or beautiful sunsets – editor@westseattleblog.com any time!

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Get in pre-Garage Sale Day mood NEXT Saturday: 2 school sales
April 27, 2009 9:22 pm
|    Comments Off on Get in pre-Garage Sale Day mood NEXT Saturday: 2 school sales
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

ARBOR HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY: Dana Varon from the Arbor Heights PTSA e-mailed to announce their fundraiser rummage sale next Saturday (May 2)- and they’re looking for donations. The sale is 9 am-1 pm at the school (map); Dana adds, “We will be accepting donations at the main entrance of the school on Wed April 29th and Thurs April 30 from 3pm to 4:00 pm and on Friday May 1st from 3 pm to 6:30 pm.”

WEST SEATTLE MONTESSORI: As you may have noticed in the school’s ad on the WSB sidebar, WSMS has a Community Rummage Sale next Saturday, 9 am-3 pm at the American Legion Hall (map).

As for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on Saturday 5/9 – the map (180+ sales now!) is in progress, and more updates tomorrow.

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Just days till Style ’09: Fashion and fun for NW Hope and Healing
April 27, 2009 7:08 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(photo from Style ’08, courtesy Northwest Hope and Healing)
Just three nights till Style ’09, the fashion-show fundraiser for West Seattle-based Northwest Hope and Healing, which helps breast-cancer patients all around the area with some of the practicalities of life after they’ve been diagnosed. NWHH rejoined WSB as a sponsor recently to help get the word out about the event, 7 pm Thursday at Showbox SODO with local boutiques and salons among the participants; there are still some tickets left, and since it’s coming up Thursday night, we wanted to make sure you had the full story, so to speak – here’s the official news release:

– NFL veterans Nesby Glasgow and Greg Lewis are among the many celebrity models who will saunter down the fashion runway on April 30 to help raise money for breast cancer patients. “Style ’09: Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good” will feature the hottest spring fashion trends and collections of 10 Seattle boutiques as modeled by local celebrities and community members. All proceeds benefit breast cancer patients at Swedish Medical Center.

Other runway models include Shawn Stewart, radio personality at 103.7 The Mountain; John Maynard, former host of the Robin & Maynard Show; Brian Canlis, third generation visionary of the iconic Canlis Restaurant; and local breast cancer survivors and supporters whose lives have been impacted by this disease.

Participating boutiques include Carmilia’s, Coastal [both in West Seattle], Canopy Blue, Nuvo Moda, The Finerie, Oslo’s, Asher Anson, Lululemon, Clutch, Kick It Boots & Stompwear.

Style ’09: Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good
Thursday, April 30, 2009

Cost
Look Good (general admission): $40
Feel Good (includes VIP reception): $125
Do Good (front row table seating for two): $500
Top Model (Choice of modeling in the show or front row table seating for four): $1,000

Purchase tickets at nwhopeandhealing.org or any of the participating boutiques.
Tickets will also be available at the door.

Feel Good/Do Good VIP Reception: 6 p.m.
Look Good Admission: 7 p.m.
Showbox SODO
1700 First Avenue South, Seattle
Ages 21 and over

Northwest Hope & Healing is a non-profit organization founded by Christine Smith in 2000. Christine created the Foundation while undergoing breast cancer treatment at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Her goal was to help newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in the Puget Sound area.

The mission of Northwest Hope & Healing is to provide financial assistance to patients in need, for non-medical support services such as child care, meal service, transportation, and emergency rent. In addition, our signature “Healing Baskets” are assembled and delivered, at no charge, to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.

The goal of Northwest Hope & Healing is to assist women with the healing process so they may begin to feel whole once again. We assist women on their journeys and give them hope for the future.

Again, you can buy tickets online here, or at the West Seattle venues mentioned above – Carmilia’s (in The Junction) and Coastal (on Alki).

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Traffic alert: Crash slowing southbound 99 before WS exit
April 27, 2009 6:32 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle traffic alerts

We’ve already mentioned this in quick bulletins on Twitter (@westseattleblog) and Facebook (WS Blog) — but it may take a while for traffic flow to get back to normal so we’ll post it here too – a three-car crash is slowing traffic on southbound 99 right before the West Seattle exit. Thanks to Nichole Taylor for sending photos (the one above shows 2 of the vehicles; none of them looked too badly crunched); the 911 log says fire crews have cleared out so things should get better soon.

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West Seattle music notes: Seeger P.S.; Dylan breakfast tomorrow
April 27, 2009 5:58 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle history | WS culture/arts

SEEGER/HAGLUND SIDE NOTE: If you missed it over the weekend, we previewed next Sunday’s Admiral Theater event celebrating Pete Seeger‘s 90th birthday (see the story, with video, here) – and it turns out there’s a link to one of the news stories we’re covering today. The former home of Ivar Haglund (left) that’s about to be used for training fires in Upper Alki (WSB story here) is apparently the one mentioned in our Seeger/Admiral preview, as the house where Seeger and Woody Guthrie stayed with Haglund (a folk musician as well as entrepreneur) during a West Seattle visit in the 1940s – so says legendary local historian Paul Dorpat in this detailed comment.

DYLAN BREAKFAST TOMORROW: The folks at Easy Street Records in The Junction e-mailed to make sure you know about their “Coffee with Dylan” event tomorrow morning: It’s release day for “Together through Life,” the new Bob Dylan record, tomorrow, so from 7 am-noon they’re offering free coffee and various giveaways. More info on this Easy Street webpage.

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Fire Station 37 groundbreaking set for May 12
April 27, 2009 4:38 pm
|      18 COMMENTS
 |   Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news

35thholden1.jpg

Just in from the city. This is the new fire station, to be built at the site of the vacant house shown above (across from 35th/Holden Chevron), to replace the historic-landmark station building at 35th/Othello:


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Mayor Nickels will be there for the groundbreaking at the new site at 11 am May 12. Here’s the official invitation.

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More trailer food en route to West Seattle: Rancho Bravo Tacos
April 27, 2009 3:37 pm
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Just one day after Skillet Street Food staked its claim in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard (our coverage here, Skillet’s update here), where it will return next Sunday (new menu here), another famous-in-other-neighborhoods trailer-centered food purveyor is heading this way: Rancho Bravo Tacos. So says food writer Nancy Leson at seattletimes.com. In her story, Rancho Bravo‘s proprietor describes the impending spot as “half a block up from Diva Espresso.” That opens a multitude of options, so we’ll be checking further to nail the site down. (Photo courtesy Capitol Hill Seattle; Rancho Bravo recently opened its first non-mobile location in that neighborhood.)

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Another Viaduct milestone: Nearby demolition work about to start
April 27, 2009 3:08 pm
|    Comments Off on Another Viaduct milestone: Nearby demolition work about to start
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

If you drive 1st Avenue South near the stadiums, you’ll see this starting tomorrow – read on for the latest official WSDOT update:Read More

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Another Seattle Public Schools property sale plan in West Seattle
April 27, 2009 2:36 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

We’ve been reporting extensively on the deal in the works for the long-closed Fauntleroy Schoolhouse to be sold to the Fauntleroy Community Services Agency (latest WSB coverage here). However, there’s also apparently also a deal in the works to sell another West Seattle site from the district portfolio: The deal would sell the Seattle Public Schools-owned Jefferson Square Apartments land to the company that’s been leasing it, Pan Pacific Retail Properties (Jefferson Square was a school site long ago). According to a published legal notice (thanks to the tipster who called it to our attention), “The district is currently negotiating to sell the property to the lessee.” A public hearing – for which no media release has been issued – is set for 5:30 pm May 21st in the cafeteria at Gatewood Elementary and anyone interested in testifying is invited to sign up by calling 206-252-0118 (or you can sign up at the hearing). We have a call out to the district to find out more about the proposed deal.

4:53 PM UPDATE: Still working on details. Just talked to West Seattle School Board rep Steve Sundquist, who says the sale proposal has been discussed by board members in “executive session” but he can’t say anything publicly yet, though he expects something will be announced in time for attendees at the public hearing to have an idea in advance what they’ll be commenting on.

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Toplines from King County Council’s swine-flu briefing (and more)
April 27, 2009 12:34 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

As King County Council Chair Dow Constantine put it at the end of the council briefing that just ended, the information presented by county public-health managers was “reassuring.” NO swine-flu infections reported in the county, so in response to the question “What should people here do?” there was only one answer: Stay informed. It was also noted, as you may have read in national/international reports, this is not an automatically grave illness — some who’ve gotten it elsewhere may have been “asymptomatic.” Also, in terms of what’s being used to treat it, Tamiflu can be used, and it’s stockpiled. So the admonition between the lines, throughout the briefing, was: Don’t panic. (It was also noted, regular flu kills 35,000 people nationwide every year, so even a flu death would not necessarily be cause for panic.) As for that advice to “stay informed” – the latest nationwide info is always available at this Centers for Disease Control page (40 cases in the U.S. as of today). Any additional county info that emerges post-briefing, we’ll add here; the county has some links in the right sidebar here.

1:26 PM: Also noted (thanks to Delridge Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ron Angeles for forwarding the e-mail), the county has activated its Health and Medical Area Command to monitor the situation; in addition to the web links we’ve already provided above, the county’s health hotline 206-296-4949 is also recommended for public information. (The HMAC is explained here.)

5:19 PM ADDITION: The Seattle City Council Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee will get a swine flu briefing in a special meeting this Wednesday, 1:30 pm.

8:30 PM: Seattle Public Schools families will all get a letter with some basic public-health tips – here’s the text:Read More

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Police: 3 guns found after Fauntleroy SWAT standoff surrender
April 27, 2009 11:36 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(WSB photos from Saturday, by Christopher Boffoli)
We just checked with Seattle Police to follow up on the end of the five and a half hour SWAT standoff on Saturday in Fauntleroy (our as-it-happened coverage is here, our coverage of the arrest and aftermath is here). First, the status of the man police took into custody: What we believe to be his name (we’re not publishing it without 100% certainty) has not turned up on the jail register; according to police spokesperson Officer Mark Jamieson, he was taken to Harborview Medical Center for what they expected would be a 72-hour mental evaluation. We also asked Officer Jamieson if weapons were indeed found inside the man’s apartment; he says yes – a shotgun and two handguns. (Police were first called after neighbors nearby saw the man outside the building with what they described as a shotgun.) As for whether the man will be charged with a crime as a result of the incident, Jamieson says officers wrote up a “mental report” rather than one suggesting charges, at this point – even if he were charged with “obstruction,” for example, that’s a misdemeanor.

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Fire Department training at Upper Alki house with history
April 27, 2009 10:59 am
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle history

On 59th SW, south of Admiral Way and just a few blocks uphill from Alki Elementary/Playfield, you may notice smoke sometime in the next day or two: Don’t worry, the Fire Department is already there. They’re preparing this house for “test burns,” which is sometimes done when a house is slated for demolition (as is this one, with a new house to be built in its place). One side note, though – Both our tipster (John from the Rotary Club of West Seattle – thanks!), and the Fire Department folks at the scene, pointed out that this is a house once owned by the legendary Ivar Haglund (of clams, songs, and until this year, fireworks fame). The plat name there, in fact, is Haglund’s 2nd Addition (as various online histories note, the Haglund family once owned all of Alki Point). There’s a traffic note here, too:

Nearby resident Cathy Woo tells WSB neighbors have been told northbound 59th SW (the road is split by a median slope in that area, so 59th is really two one-way streets for a short stretch) will be closed Tuesday-Friday for “all but local residents” – it’s a popular route to Alki.

Online property records say this house was built exactly a century ago, in 1909. Ivar Haglund was born in 1905 and died in 1985.

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Updates from Delridge Produce Cooperative, as it grows
April 27, 2009 10:13 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Gardening | West Seattle festivals

This ongoing volunteer campaign aimed at helping get more fresh food for sale in Delridge has sent a few updates this morning – including Delridge Produce Cooperative‘s upcoming participation in the next two weekend’s biggest West Seattle events, the Sustainable West Seattle Festival (Sunday 5/3) and West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (Saturday 5/9), as well as one more chance to enter a contest — read on!Read More

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Tide-walking, anyone? Lowest tides of the month, today/tomorrow
April 27, 2009 8:01 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle beaches

Beach Drive Blog reminds us that the lowest tides of the month are here. And they bottom out today and tomorrow – 1:11 pm today, 1:58 pm tomorrow.

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Got an old car seat you’re not using? WestSide Baby can recycle it
April 27, 2009 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on Got an old car seat you’re not using? WestSide Baby can recycle it
 |   How to help | Safety

We first published this at partner site White Center Now, but the invitation goes for West Seattle families too: It involves a car-seat-safety event with which WestSide Baby is involved on Wednesday at IKEA in Renton, but if you have really old car seats (6+ years old) still sitting around, WestSide Baby would love to get them today or tomorrow because of a rare opportunity to recycle most of what’s in them – get the full scoop here.

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West Seattle Community Garage Sale countdown: 2 big updates!
April 27, 2009 3:27 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Community Garage Sale countdown: 2 big updates!
 |   Community Garage Sale Day | West Seattle news

West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, May 9, 200912 days till West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (Saturday, May 9th). Thanks to everybody who signed up – and everybody who’s planning to shop – we’re past 175 and may hit 180 by the time we finish counting/recounting.

FIRST UPDATE: If you missed the deadline – here’s one last chance to be part of it, from Lora Lewis at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor):

Due to the overwhelming response to our group garage sale, the folks at Ginomai have been kind enough to also open up their parking lot to the group sale. The Ginomai lot is location right behind Hotwire so we’ll just combine forces! This opens up an additional fifteen 10×10 spaces so if people missed the deadline for the garage sale registration they can still join in the group Hotwire/Ginomai sale. Just e-mail Lora at lora@hotwirecoffee.com

SECOND UPDATE: In addition to the courtyard group sales at Hotwire/Ginomai and C & P Coffee, we have just finished going through the signup stack – here are the schools, businesses, churches, block sales:

SCHOOLS — Alki Co-op Preschool, Bella Mente, Chief Sealth PTSA, Lincoln Park Co-op Preschool, Roxhill Elementary, West Seattle High School Grad Night Committee

NONPROFITS/SERVICE GROUPS — Amigos de las Americas – Seattle Chapter, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls-West Seattle Assembly #18, Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, Liberty Tree, Lincoln Park P-Patch, Seattle Glee Clubs, Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum, Southwest Youth and Family Services

CHURCHES: Grace Church, Hope Lutheran Youth New Orleans Mission Trip, Seaview Methodist, Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation

BUSINESSES: Brunette Mix (WSB sponsor), C and P Coffee (courtyard group sale), CF West Seattle, Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), Freshy’s Coffee, Hotwire courtyard group sale (plus Ginomai lot), Muttley Crew Cuts and English Springer Rescue America, Sharon’s Westwood Florist, Shotridge Studios, Riverhouse Creperie

BLOCK SALES: We’ve counted eight – and we’ll spotlight them tomorrow! We’ll also have a flyer you can e-mail to friends, neighbors, anybody else you want to share the news with, post at your workplace, etc. For sellers, watch for updates at westseattlegaragesale.com, and also the info packet we’ll be mailing later this week.

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