Another new park coming to West Seattle: Puget Ridge Edible Park
(Photos courtesy Stu Hennessey)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Thanks to a group of Puget Ridge neighbors, the historically agricultural parcel of land at 5265 18th Ave SW [map] will retain its agricultural status and become urban farmland in West Seattle.
Stu Hennessey, owner of Alki Bike and Board, is part of a community group that has been working toward the preservation of this site to turn it into a publicly owned permaculture farm, to be known as Puget Ridge Edible Park (PREP). They applied for, and were recommended to be granted, a $520,000 share of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund (here’s our coverage, with video, of project supporters making their case last October).
He says, “We thought it would be cool to have a P-Patch or garden” for fresh produce in their neighborhood.
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‘Style Swap’ this Saturday, to help girls half a world away
From Wendy Weeks – a reason to go through your closet before Saturday. That’s the day she’s hosting a “Style Swap Benefit,” 11:30 am-2 pm Saturday (April 2nd), at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW):
Empowering women in developing countries is one way that we can directly make a change on a global level. On April 2nd, you have the opportunity to contribute toward change. How does this work? Attend our Style Swap and bring your favorite out-of-size clothes. Contribute 20 dollars to participate and you will help fund the scholarship of a high-school girl at a school in Malawi.
By participating in this charitable act, you and 49 other women will sponsor a student for her entire high-school experience. All monies collected will go directly to the scholarship fund of a girl to be selected by the school. But wait, there is more!
There is a side benefit for you as well! You can purge your closet of those clothes that you love but will never get in again and in return you may find some gems to bring home!
Just bring your clean and well-cared-for items (tops, bottoms, shoes, purses, scarves, jackets, etc…) to the swap between 11:30 am and 12:00 pm and at 12:00 you can start looking for your new best outfit! We can even arrange to pick-up your items ahead of time either from a north or south end Seattle location. Call before March 30th for information concerning an advanced clothing pick-up or drop-off.
So contribute 20 bucks, clean out your closet and find some new treasures! All clothing not swapped that day will go to charity. Light refreshments will be served. A complete description of the school and how this non- profit works will be available on the day of the event.
You can call Wendy at 206-769-1049.
Helping from afar: West Seattle for Japan update; CSWS bake sale
Two updates tonight on West Seattle help for Japan. First, we checked in again with West 5‘s Dave Montoure on the second day of tallying up the donations/proceeds percentages from the nearly 30 businesses that joined in West Seattle For Japan on Sunday:
As of 2:00 p.m. we had passed the $6,000 mark, with 15 businesses left to collect from. Getting e-mails that several of those businesses made deposits after I checked at 2:00 p.m. Tremendous!
West 5 also is hosting a “tweet-up” (Twitter users’ gathering) on Thursday night that will include a Japan-fundraising raffle, starting at 5:30 pm.
Meantime, Community School of West Seattle is getting ready for a fundraising bake sale – teacher Jen Foster shares the update, and this photo:
Jen writes:
In a whole school effort, students, teachers and parent volunteers have been busy all day baking for our bake sale.
We will have some gluten-free, some nut-free, and of course typical bake-sale favorites like brownies and Rice Krispie treats for purchase.
Last year we were lucky to have a Japanese pre-school teacher, Mayuko, who returned to Japan in September. While she was with us, she taught the kids some Japanese words and origami. When the students heard about the earthquake and tsunami they thought of Mayuko. We have been in contact with her through e-mail and Facebook, and she said the best way to help was to send $ to the Red Cross.
*All of the bake sale proceeds will benefit the Red Cross.
Our k-2 class has been busy making origami cranes. These cranes have been strung onto mobiles and will be for sale also. The class decided that they would like to donate their proceeds to Mercy Corps.
Bake sale at CSWS, 9450 22nd Ave SW
Thursday 2:45 PM-3:30 PM
Friday 11:45-12:30 PM
Traffic alert for bicyclists: New Alaskan Way detour starts tomorrow
Among the many ongoing changes related to Alaskan Way Viaduct and Spokane Street Viaduct construction, here’s one that starts tomorrow, affecting bicyclists:
Starting Wednesday, March 30 through Friday, April 8, crews will route bicycles off of both directions of Alaskan Way S. between S. Atlantic Street and S. Royal Brougham Way while they rebuild the entrance into the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 46. Cyclists will need to follow a signed detour route via East Frontage Road S.
Find more information about the detour – including a map – by going here.
Brief court appearance for jogger-attack suspect Starkenburg
We’re at the King County Courthouse, where the hearing we came for lasted barely a minute. The defendant: 46-year-old Duane Starkenburg, the West Seattle man arrested in late January and charged with indecent liberties for allegedly attacking three women in Lincoln Park over the past seven months. This was to be a “case-setting” hearing; Starkenburg’s lawyer asked for a continuance (postponement), as they continue to receive and review various records in the case, he told the judge; the prosecutor did not object. So Judge Ronald Kessler agreed to the defense’s request to set Starkenburg’s next appearance for May 3rd. Starkenburg did not speak; we won’t have a new photograph from today, but he looked about the same as he did at his last hearing (see photo in this February story), close-shaven head, wearing a dark suit. He remains free on $175,000 bond, and remains under orders to stay out of all parks in King County.
Update: Death investigation in Fairmount Ravine
10:40 AM: Police and fire are now rushing into Fairmount Ravine (Fairmount Avenue south of Harbor). There is a report via scanner that someone went off the Admiral Way Bridge over the ravine. Avoid Fairmount from either end. Crews on scene report via radio that they do not believe the person survived.
10:53 AM: Though Fairmount is not blocked on the Harbor Avenue end, the emergency response is centered near the underside of the bridge. Units have just called by radio for the Medical Examiner to be summoned, which is a confirmation that the person died.
11:07 AM: Authorities on the scene tell WSB this is believed to be suicide. Identifying the victim will be up to the ME, who has not yet arrived. Traffic remains blocked off along Fairmount on both sides of the site where the road goes under the bridge. It has been three years since the last such death on which we reported.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are wondering why we are reporting this, when some media do not: Suicide is an epidemic – claiming more lives than homicide – that must be addressed, not ignored; we report it here along with other violent deaths, and as per experts’ recommendations, offer resource information: If you or someone you know has contemplated suicide, the local Crisis Clinic is there to help: 206/461-3222. There’s a national hotline at 800/SUICIDE
5:41 PM: We asked the Fire Department if they had any age/gender information from the time their crews spent at the scene; Lt. Sue Stangl says their report notes only that the victim was an adult female.
Tunnel tussle: Referendum signatures turned in; city goes to court
Petition signatures have just been turned in at City Hall by the group Protect Seattle Now, seeking a public referendum vote this summer on the tunnel-related measures recently passed by the City Council, then vetoed by Mayor McGinn, whose veto was overturned by councilmembers. The group says they have almost 29,000 signatures; here’s their announcement, including a challenge to the mayor and council (2:10 PM UPDATE – responses from the council and city attorney, who is taking this whole thing to court, have been added, ahead):Read More
Traffic alert: Westwood crash, no serious injuries
Just got to the scene of what originally drew a sizable “rescue” response from Seattle Fire crews but has now scaled back – a car up on the sidewalk at 28th/Trenton. According to scanner traffic from the call to cancel most responding units, “no major injuries.” Major advisory on this – be careful driving this stretch of SW Trenton, northwest of Westwood Village, till the scene is clear.
West Seattle Tuesday: Global Reading Challenge; benefit concert…
(Melanie says this owl is now a fixture in her West Seattle backyard)
Good luck to the Roxhill Elementary Bulldogs, Sanislo Elementary Ice Dodos, and Concord’s Orange Dragons as they go downtown tonight to compete with seven other teams in the citywide finals of the Global Reading Challenge. Public’s welcome at the Central Library, 7 o’clock. Also today/tonight:
BENEFIT CONCERT: West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Symphonette and Beginning Strings perform a community outreach concert at 7 pm at Concord International School (723 S. Concord in South Park) to benefit the music programs of Concord and Arbor Heights Elementary in West Seattle. Musical selections will include several of Disney’s most popular tunes from “Mary Poppins” as well as youth orchestra standards. Suggested donation, $1.
FREE SCREENING AT HEALTH FAIR: Senior Center of West Seattle‘s Health Fair 10 am-1 pm today includes free peripheral-arterial-disease screening by Futura Health Screening (WSB sponsor).
LIVING WELL WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS: Also at the Senior Center, this 6-week class begins, 1-3:30 pm, call 932-4044 to see if space remains.
INTERGENERATIONAL BOOK CLUB: Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) sponsors an intergenerational book club. Readers of all ages are welcome. Potluck and dessert as this month, the discussion centers around “The Book Thief,” a gripping tale set in WW2 Germany. 5:30 pm; for more info, call the church office at 206 932-7777.
More on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar!
West Seattle help for Japan: Mashiko owner looks ahead
By Bill Hutchison
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Continuing to reach out to help Japan is important, not just in the short run, “because it’s going to take years to recover from this,” observes Chef Hajime Sato.
For the owner of Mashiko Restaurant in The Junction – who joined in Sunday’s West Seattle for Japan fundraising effort (WSB photo at left) – the recent earthquake in Japan and ensuing tsunami hit too close to home. Hajime grew up in Utsunomiya, an inland city in the Tochigi Prefecture of Japan, not that far from the quake zone. His immediate family is safe here in the USA but he has many extended family and friends near the disaster areas.
Luckily, everyone is okay. The hardest part of dealing with the disaster was trying to communicate with friends and family. “Trying to get hold of someone by phone was frustrating and nearly impossible for the weeks following the disaster”, he said. As it turned out he finally did so by using e-mail and other online methods, such as Facebook.
Asked how he first heard about the March 11th quake, Hajime told a story full of irony. He was vacationing in Hawaii (on the Big Island) and went to his hotel room after dinner. While watching TV, he started seeing the stories about what just happened in Japan. Suddenly, Hawaii was under a tsunami watch. Hajime and his girlfriend struck up a conversation with a hotel employee summoned to his room to fix the internet connection and asked, “Where do you go if there is a tsunami?”
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The latest Land Use Information Bulletin from the city brought word that the
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