day : 31/07/2009 12 results

(photo by Brenda Peterson)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Digging for shellfish at most – if not all – West Seattle beaches is unsafe and unlawful.

Not everyone knows that. It seemed to be news to three men confronted this morning while digging along Beach Drive, before they agreed to put the clams – a cooler full of them, as you see in the photo above — back.

This all began when Brenda Peterson, a West Seattle author and wildlife advocate, was out walking on the beach this morning, as she does most mornings as the founder of Seal Sitters, the local group that watches for baby seals this time of year, and, when one is found, assigns volunteers to guard it from human/animal disturbance till its mom comes back for it.

Peterson spotted three men going back and forth along a sizable stretch of Beach Drive shore, where the tide was somewhat out this morning, digging big holes, and filling a blue and white cooler.

She tried calling wildlife agents and got only voice mail. She also called WSB.

Share This

Door-to-door alert: Crew says they’re here for a month

July 31, 2009 4:41 pm

| 20 COMMENTS

| Door-to-door alert | West Seattle news

Matt sent in the latest door-to-door alert – don’t know if they’re legitimate or bogus but there’s been some power in people discussing solicitor sightings so we’re sharing them. (Also note this online article from the Better Business Bureau.) Read on for Matt’s report:Read More

Share This

Local food bank needs help, and not in the usual way

July 31, 2009 2:51 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | White Center

We mentioned this earlier on partner site White Center Now – but as we frequently note, White Center Food Bank serves a significant part of southern West Seattle as well, so we all have a stake in the WC and West Seattle Food Banks. Next Saturday and Wednesday, August 8 and 12, WCFB needs help emptying and refilling the warehouse so floor work can be done. This item on the WCFB website gives you multiple ways to volunteer.

Share This

West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Edible Garden Tour, lots more

July 31, 2009 12:23 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | WS culture/arts | WS Weekend Lineup

Tomorrow’s the day for a new West Seattle tradition, in its second year – the Edible Garden Tour (free!) presented by Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. And of course it’s Seafair weekend, which means Blue Angels sightings, bridge closures, etc. … West Seattle Outdoor Movies on the Wall gets “Footloose” on Saturday night … help clear off a park-like section of land on Saturday morning with St. John’s Episcopal Church (one of several work parties you can join that day) … And on street-food watch, note that Skillet is NOT scheduled for The Junction this Sunday, but Marination Mobile will be back at High Point on Saturday … more than four dozen events, ahead in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club … here goes!Read More

Share This

Heat wave casualty: West Seattle’s most famous crow

July 31, 2009 11:30 am

| 37 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

Just yesterday, we mentioned that unusually colored crow – “leucistic” is the term – in our story about Gatewood author Lyanda Lynn Haupt‘s new book (from which she is reading at Elliott Bay Books, 7:30 tonight). This morning, on our way out to cover a story, we saw one of our neighbors here in the Gatewood/Upper Fauntleroy area where “Leucy” has hung out for years – and she told us she found “Leucy,” aka the “brown crow,” dead in Wednesday’s historic heat. No sign of blood or injury – just dead. Neighbor Jane thinks “Leucy” was female, and had noticed her “showing off her babies” this past season. No way to tell how old “Leucy” was; Lyanda told us crows can live longer than a decade in optimum conditions.

Share This

Quick alert if you’re near the beach

July 31, 2009 11:10 am

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Full story on this coming up later but wanted to post a quick alert now. We were just out covering three men digging clams up along Beach Drive, which is (a) illegal and (b) dangerous – the beaches are closed to shellfish harvesting for health reasons, explained here (and most of it wouldn’t be open anyway – either parkland or private property). Confronted by a local wildlife advocate, they claimed it was for personal use, claimed they had no idea about the health risks etc., and returned the 100-plus clams to the beach. But in case they just packed up and moved somewhere else, be on the lookout – copper/gold Suburban-type SUV with plate starting with 861, blue and white cooler. More later!

Share This

Update: Memorial, fund for West Seattle hero mom Arden Balyeat

July 31, 2009 9:08 am

| Comments Off on Update: Memorial, fund for West Seattle hero mom Arden Balyeat

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The time and place of this Sunday’s memorial are now set for Arden Balyeat, the 48-year-old West Seattle mom who died earlier this week after saving her 7-year-old son when they got into trouble in the Skykomish River (here’s our Tuesday night story). It’s at West Seattle Christian Church, 4 pm Saturday, with an “open house wake” at her home afterward, 4008 46th SW. Friend Cori Myka says those who want to bring food/drink to share at the wake are invited to, but perishable leftovers will need to be taken home afterward. They will have a guestbook and video camera for sharing memories. There’s now an online obituary with a comment area and maps to the memorial/wake locations; find it here. And Cori says there’s a benevolent fund in Arden’s name at BECU, with donations to be used for her son; checks designating the fund can be taken to any branch or mailed to BECU, she says (here’s the location-finder). Cori added in an open letter, “Thank you for all the thoughts, condolences and memories that have been given thus far.”

Share This

Seafair today: Blue Angels’ practice show, and where to watch

July 31, 2009 8:54 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Blue Angels | Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

(photo taken from south side of Boeing Field before yesterday afternoon’s practice takeoff)
If you’re not interested in watching those six bright-blue jets tear through the sky, the main effect of today’s practice that you’ll want to know about is the 12:45-2:20 pm I-90 bridge closure (tomorrow and Sunday too). If you are, today’s what we dubbed “Free Day” – you can go to Lake Washington and watch the air show (the Blue Angels are the stars but other acts perform) and hydro time trials without paying admission, unless you want to sit in the grandstands. (We wrote in 2006 about how to get to the lake shore.) For other Blue Angels-watching options, our preferred option remains the Museum of Flight, where you can arrive early for a spot on the fence to watch the “walkdown” (here’s our “on the fence” story from 2007) before the ground-rumbling takeoff; always hard to tell how the fence crowd will be, but we wouldn’t advise getting there later than noon. You can also watch the takeoff from other vantage points around Boeing Field – cars line the frontage road on its east side, and yesterday we wound up on its south side. Our fellow independent-neighborhood-news-site operators at Central District News have published not-so-well-known free viewing options in their “Blue Angels bonus” report. Also part of Seafair: Fleet tours continue today.

Share This

Can you be a Homework Helper? Library system puts out the call

July 31, 2009 6:07 am

| Comments Off on Can you be a Homework Helper? Library system puts out the call

| West Seattle news

From the Seattle Public Library – a call for volunteer “Homework Helpers” for the school year that starts in just six weeks:

Homework Helpers assist elementary, middle and high school students with understanding homework assignments, developing study skills and learning approaches for solving math problems. English is a second language for the majority of the students. Homework Helpers are asked to assist students for two hours per week throughout the school year. Please read the attached volunteer service description for more information.

There are volunteer openings at the following branches in central and south Seattle:

Beacon Hill Branch 2821 Beacon Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Columbia Branch 4721 Rainier Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Thursday, 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Delridge Branch 5423 Delridge Way SW
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

International District-Chinatown Branch 713 Eighth Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

NewHolly Branch 7058 – 32nd Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Wednesday, 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Rainier Beach Branch 9125 Rainier Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

South Park Branch 8604 Eighth Avenue South
Homework Help Hours: Monday – Thursday, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Please see http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch for a map of branch locations.

To request volunteer application materials, please contact Anne Vedella, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at anne.vedella@spl.org by Friday, August 14. Interviews will take place in August. Thank you!

Share This

Election 2009 closeup coverage: Council candidate Mike O’Brien

July 31, 2009 1:58 am

| Comments Off on Election 2009 closeup coverage: Council candidate Mike O’Brien

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

King County has mailed the ballots for the August 18 primary. WSB continues offering close-up looks at — asking the same 3 West Seattle-specific questions — candidates in races including the three Seattle City Council contests you’ll find on the primary ballot. Previous stories are in the WSB Politics archive.

By Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Mike O’Brien’s background is in finance and economics; his passion is the outdoors and protecting the earth.

The 41-year-old Fremont resident is running for Seattle City Council Position 8 with the hope that he can use his experience as the former chief financial officer of a Seattle law firm to help the city create more housing, better transportation, and develop policies that will make Seattle vibrant economically and environmentally.

“I’m a numbers guy, I’m not a political beast by nature,” he said.

That started to change about nine years ago when O’Brien got involved with the Sierra Club.

Share This

“Great season!” West Seattle Little Leaguers out of tourney

July 31, 2009 1:08 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

The West Seattle Little League‘s 11-12 All-Stars have come to the end of the road at the state tournament, after losing a nailbiter to Richmond last night in Port Orchard, 12-11. “Great season, All-Stars!” cheered the Twitter update at game’s end.

Share This

Duwamish Trail closed part of next week for repair work

July 31, 2009 12:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Transportation | West Seattle news

View Larger Map

From right around that spot (Idaho/West Marginal), southward to SW Brandon, bicyclists, walkers and runners will have to detour off the Duwamish Trail next week – according to this announcement from SDOT:

The Seattle Department of Transportation is repairing the Duwamish Trail where sections have been damaged by tree roots and general deterioration.

The trail will be closed between SW Idaho Street and SW Brandon Street from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, August 3 and 4, and may be closed 24 hours a day on Wednesday through Friday, August 5 to 7, if it cannot be made safe for trail users after work hours.

Bicyclists and pedestrians will be detoured onto West Marginal Way SW. Advanced warning signs have been provided along with a notification board at the ends of the trail.

Share This