Every month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites a local elected official (LEO) in for a brown-bag “Lunch with LEO”; today City Councilmember Jean Godden came to the WSCC’s office for a turn at the table (at left, with Chamber Board president Jerome O. Cohen, one of the half-dozen people who also joined in. The topics usually range far and wide for these roundtables; since Godden chairs the Budget Committee, money talk dominated this hourlong session. This year’s the city’s “big budget year,” as she put it, working toward a 2-year budget, and that’s why the Citizens’ Budget Conference is being held later this month (January 31; here’s the invitation again). She expects the mayor and most if not all councilmembers to be there, and says those who show up will get a chance to have their budget concerns heard long before the actual plan is assembled. She also talked about the council’s reaction to Mayor Mike McGinn‘s proposal for a special election in May on a property tax to fix the Alaskan Way seawall; she was one of 8 councilmembers (all but Mike O’Brien) who sent the mayor a letter this week voicing skepticism about the proposal. She said the measure seemed “premature,” while also stressing she is not questioning the need for the seawall to be replaced. Also discussed: With the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project soon to close off direct access to the West Seattle Bridge from SODO, Chas Redmond pitched for the city to again try to get the Coast Guard to agree to limit openings of the low bridge during rush hours (a previous attempt was rejected in October 2008). Godden, vice chair of the Transportation Committee, said she’d look into it. The topic of White Center annexation came up as well; we’ve reported that discussion on partner site White Center Now.
Two updates tonight on West Seattle help for Haiti. First, artist Todd Martin – shown at left while participating in last November’s West Seattle Art Walk at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) – wanted to send out a challenge to his fellow artists:
Hello West Seattle art lovers; with the help of the West Seattle Blog, I am issuing a challenge to all West Seattle Artists.
We have all seen the suffering in Haiti and the lack of medical help and supplies so far in the country. My name is Todd Martin and I am a local Alaska Junction artist and photographer. Since November I have been raising money using my photography. I have raised money for The Woodland Park Zoo and now it’s time to raise funds for Doctors without Borders. Many of you may have seen my work at Hotwire Coffee in November of 2009. My collection was “Head Shots” if animals were celebrities … what it would be like if the paparazzi chased animals instead of people. I will be donating 65 percent of all proceeds to the cause. My website: headshotsifanimalswerecelebritie.shutterfly.com/
If you are interested in knowing more about the challenge or want to buy…call me at 206-817-1784 or chillynhot@msn.com
Everything on the site is available. I have many framed items in stock right now as well as some smaller items and cards. Artists, let’s all join together so we can give weekly updates. My Goal myself is 1000 dollars. I would like to do a lot more. If we could all get together to raise 10,000 dollars in 5 weeks (end of February) It would put us on the art map and also help those less fortunate. I feel so fortunate when I see the news stories of Haiti. I have been unemployed since last May from my full-time job, but I still feel fortunate for all I have and still feel I can afford to give and help out. Please buy some art and encourage your artist friends to join in too. Artists, whatever portion you wish to donate is fine. Let’s just band together and help out our brothers and sisters in Haiti…
Also, an update from West Seattle-based filmmaker Jamie Chamberlin on the ROCK4RELIEF concert coming up January 28 at Showbox SODO (here’s our report from yesterday) – with an art component here too:
Tickets will go on sale tomorrow Friday the 22nd @ www.showboxonline.com and www.ticketmaster.com. 100% of all proceeds from this event will be sent to the American Red Cross.
A raffle is being planned the night of the event to raise additional donations. Laura Boos, a local West Seattle artist, and others will be approaching local businesses for event support.
Any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. While at Chief Sealth High School for tonight’s open house, we saw signs for a bake sale during Friday night’s basketball games, raising $ for Haiti relief.
That map just sent around by Delridge Neighborhoods District Coordinator Ron Angeles; it expands on the map published here last night when SDOT sent out its latest news release about the upcoming construction-related closures on and around the Spokane Street Viaduct (aka the section of West Seattle Bridge between 99 and I-5). As you can see, this one includes some other closures right outside the general area covered by the original map/info. This expanded list can be found on the city website here – along with a larger, more readable version of the map. Most immediately, as mentioned last night, tomorrow’s the day that the 4th Avenue S. exit from the westbound SSV closes forever, and a longer stretch of lower westbound Spokane Street closes too; plus the West Seattle Bridge ramps from northbound I-5 and Columbian Way on Beacon Hill both will close for the entire weekend, 10 pm tomorrow through 5 am Monday.
A memorial service will be held at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 3050 California Ave SW, Sunday, January 31 at 2 pm with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances to honor Bear may be made to the Mission Folk Festival at Box 3125, Mission, BC, Canada, V2V 4J3 , and tax deductible donations for Anna’s education and Bear’s medical costs can be made through Anna’s church, Friends of the One, Bear Fund, P.O. Box 18646, Seattle, WA 98118.
Today we are welcoming one of our newest sponsors, Sweeney’s Plumbing; as is traditional with new WSB sponsors, we offer them the chance to share information about their business with you:
Sweeney’s Plumbing was established in 1907 by Tim Sweeney‘s great-grandfather. As well as building the home in West Seattle where Tim Sweeney was born, raised and still lives with his wife, His great-grandfather set the tone for a career in plumbing for generations to come. Tim Sweeney has been a West Seattle resident for his entire life and a plumber for 25+ years. He has grown up here, raised his family here and is proud to be a part of this community. He does many different types of jobs, such as service work, re-piping and remodeling. A lot of his clients first hear about Sweeney through word of mouth from his past clients. Most of his clients like the fact that he is local, does great work and has been doing business in West Seattle for over 25 years. They also appreciate the importance of honesty and communication – for every job he does he is readily available to his customers with questions or concerns. He likes to walk them through the process so they can set realistic expectations and be educated from the start. The most common comment from customers is that he is on time, ready to work and finishes the job well. Please give him a call for an estimate, 206.551.6465.
We thank Sweeney’s Plumbing for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
Just got an update from Annie Kolb-Nelson at King County Wastewater Treatment Division, who we talked with following the news release they sent around yesterday afternoon about pump-station problems following a tidal surge: She says environmental-lab team members have verified NO sewage went into the water at Murray (Lowman; county file photo at left): “Our water quality samples confirm extremely low levels of fecal coliform in the water off both Lowman Beach and Lincoln Park, indicating no sewage went into the environment, so we’re very happy about that.” When we published their news release yesterday, we mentioned a large dark patch in the water reported to us by a resident uphill and east from Morgan Junction; Kolb-Nelson says the high tides led to “a tremendous number of logs and debris in Puget Sound,” reported firsthand by a boat that had to maneuver through them, and that’s what the resident likely saw.
(Design rendering from last November – note that the design is still being finalized)
The Parks Department says it’s hoping to break ground for the Delridge Skatepark in late spring – and the latest move to enable that, happened minutes ago – the City Council’s Parks Committee (with only its new chair, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, in attendance) just gave its approval to the $750,000 funding plan for the project. That sets up a vote, likely next week, before the full council. Before voting, Bagshaw heard from supporters including North Delridge resident Nancy Folsom and West Seattle-residing Skatepark Advisory Committee member Matthew Lee Johnston. Both talked about the Delridge community’s strong support for the project, which accelerated after a proposal for a smaller skateboarding facility at the future Myrtle Reservoir Parkdrew opposition from neighbors. The funding for Delridge is coming from what was earmarked for Myrtle and from money saved on other Parks projects with bids that came in under budget. The site is the northeastern corner of the parkland adjacent to Delridge Community Center.
So are you in for this Sunday’s Special Olympics of Washington Polar Plunge at Alki (with WSB among the co-sponsors)? Among those who already are – the man who leads the Seattle Police Department‘s Southwest Precinct here in West Seattle, Capt. Joe Kessler. We were there for the photo op at Alki this morning as he tested the waters, so to speak, for a last-minute promotional push. You can join Captain Kessler and hundreds of others on Sunday morning – 9 am registration (if you haven’t signed up online), 11 am Polar Plunge, festivities afterward. There’s a special connection for law enforcers and Special Olympic – the Law Enforcement Torch Run – so you’ll see other members of the law-enforcement community braving Elliott Bay on Sunday too. So how was the water today, you might ask?
Laura Bermes at Family Promise shares the photo and this report on another MLK Day of Service project earlier this week in West Seattle:
Thanks goes out to the University of Washington students who stepped up on Monday to help out at West Seattle’s only homeless shelter for families, Family Promise of Seattle (located at 3626 California Ave SW). The students worked alongside shelter guests, and Family Promise’s employee Mark Zimmerman, and Director Elizabeth Heath. The group cleared out the Day Center’s basement, leveled the floor, and put the basement back togehter again. The newly cleaned and organized space will benefit families by allowing them to store their personal belongings as they work their way through homelessness. For those in our West Seattle Community who would like to know more about how to help families going through homelessness, visit the Family Promise website, or give us a call at 937-2703.
DELRIDGE SKATEPARK $: As discussed at last week’s citywide Skatepark Advisory Committee meeting (WSB coverage here), the City Council’s Parks Committee – now led by new Councilmember Sally Bagshaw – takes up a measure this morning that would finalize funding for the long-awaited project. 9:30 am at City Hall downtown; committee members had suggested an in-person show of support might be helpful, but if you can’t be there, it’ll be live via Seattle Channel — online here or cable Channel 21.
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: If you live in the Alki/Beach Drive area, join your official community group tonight at its new meeting location, Alki UCC (map). Agenda items include a special presentation on Alki Point Lighthouse history and an opportunity to meet the ACC’s new webmaster/Alki News Beacon editor, Glynnis Vaughan. (The newsletter’s info-packed new edition is online here (PDF) and on its way to ACC members’ mailboxes.) Meeting starts 7 pm.
OPEN HOUSE (AND MORE) @ CHIEF SEALTH: Tonight’s event at Chief Sealth High School for prospective students and their families has a packed agenda – it will include an update on the Sealth renovations that are to be complete in time for the school to move back to its permanent location this summer, for reopening this fall, plus student cultural performances, and more (detailed here). 6 pm, Sealth at Boren (map). The full list of citywide Seattle Public Schools open houses is here.
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL WINTER CONCERT: 8 pm, WSHS Theater, admission free (donations accepted and appreciated, as the school’s Daily Bulletin notes).
THE KENNEY: From last night’s Morgan Community Association meeting (full report to come) – A West Seattle consultant working on the retirement center’s redevelopment project says they’re working toward having its next Design Review meeting in early March (no date formally set yet). The latest comment period for the proposal is open until Feb. 3; the consultant says the project team is looking at all the comments as they come in – “We just went (downtown) and picked up another batch (Wednesday), 16 more.” He says traffic and parking concerns are generating the most comments right now.
Story, video and photos by Randall G. Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Brianne Goulet and Anna Hobby combined for 39 of the Wildcats’ 51 points to lead their team to victory over the rival Chief Sealth Seahawks, earning West Seattle (1-7, 3-10) their first Metro Conference victory of the season Wednesday night at West Seattle High School.
Every month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites a local elected official (LEO) in for a brown-bag “Lunch with LEO”; today City Councilmember Jean Godden came to the WSCC’s office for a turn at the table (at left, with Chamber Board president Jerome O. Cohen, one of the half-dozen people who also joined in. The topics usually range far and wide for these roundtables; since Godden chairs the Budget Committee, money talk dominated this hourlong session. This year’s the city’s “big budget year,” as she put it, working toward a 2-year budget, and that’s why the Citizens’ Budget Conference is being held later this month (January 31; here’s the invitation again). She expects the mayor and most if not all councilmembers to be there, and says those who show up will get a chance to have their budget concerns heard long before the actual plan is assembled. She also talked about the council’s reaction to Mayor Mike McGinn‘s 
Two updates tonight on West Seattle help for Haiti. First, artist Todd Martin – shown at left while participating in last November’s 
When we 
Sweeney’s Plumbing was established in 1907 by Tim Sweeney‘s great-grandfather. As well as building the home in West Seattle where Tim Sweeney was born, raised and still lives with his wife, His great-grandfather set the tone for a career in plumbing for generations to come. Tim Sweeney has been a West Seattle resident for his entire life and a plumber for 25+ years. He has grown up here, raised his family here and is proud to be a part of this community. He does many different types of jobs, such as service work, re-piping and remodeling. A lot of his clients first hear about Sweeney through word of mouth from his past clients. Most of his clients like the fact that he is local, does great work and has been doing business in West Seattle for over 25 years. They also appreciate the importance of honesty and communication – for every job he does he is readily available to his customers with questions or concerns. He likes to walk them through the process so they can set realistic expectations and be educated from the start. The most common comment from customers is that he is on time, ready to work and finishes the job well. Please give him a call for an estimate, 206.551.6465. 
Just got an update from Annie Kolb-Nelson at King County Wastewater Treatment Division, who we talked with following 
DELRIDGE SKATEPARK $: As discussed at last week’s citywide Skatepark Advisory Committee meeting (
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: If you live in the Alki/Beach Drive area, join your official community group tonight at its new meeting location, Alki UCC (
THE KENNEY: From last night’s 
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