Become an Orca Steward! Free training offered on June 11th

| Comments Off on Become an Orca Steward! Free training offered on June 11th

The Whale Trail is presenting an Orca Steward Training at the Alki Community Center (5817 SW Stevens Street) on June 11th from 10 am to 2:30 pm. This half-day program is designed to teach individuals about orcas, issues impacting them, and what people can do to make a difference. Starting with West Seattle, they hope to offer this training to communities around the region. Details below…

A pilot project to train orca stewards is launching in June with its first presentation to the local community. Presented by The Whale Trail, the Orca Steward Training Program seeks to teach members of the local community what they can do to help endangered southern resident orcas. Starting with the West Seattle community, the goal is to offer the Orca Steward Training Program in communities around the region, creating a network of people making positive changes for the orcas and the Sound.

The event will feature experts sharing their knowledge of orcas with residents of West Seattle and beyond. Cindy Hansen from The Whale Museum will teach “Orca ABCs,” Lynne Barre from NOAA Fisheries will discuss the management and recovery of the southern resident orcas, Mark Sears will share his photos and experiences from over 30 years of orca research in West Seattle, and Franziska McKay of People for Puget Sound will show how everyone can have a positive influence on the Sound, linking stormwater management to orca recovery.

The event is free, and open to all ages.

Preregistration is required at Brown Paper Tickets. Training is free and lunch will be provided. Attendance is limited. Register early!

This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

Why become an Orca Steward?
Local Southern Resident orcas (J, K, and L pods) have historically and currently use the entire Puget Sound basin. During winter months, they are frequently spotted from the shores of West Seattle. These iconic marine mammals were listed as Endangered in 2005. Threats contributing to their decline include lack of prey, toxin accumulations, and stress and noise from vessel impacts. If current trends continue or worsen, they could go extinct in as little as 100 years.

Residents of the Puget Sound region have a tremendous impact on whether the orcas will survive. The pilot program will teach how individuals can make a difference for the whales, the Sound, and the marine life that it sustains. As part of the program, participants will be encouraged to make a commitment to one or more specific stewardship actions, focused especially on stormwater management.

About The Whale Trail
The Whale Trail is a series of sites around the region where the public may view orcas and other marine mammals from shore. Its mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment. The project is partnering with groups, agencies and communities around the region to select and develop the Whale Trail sites, and to create and deliver educational programs. With 20 sites established, the project plans to add at least 20 more this year, including four in West Seattle.

For more information, visit www.thewhaletrail.org, see them on Facebook, or email info@thewhaletrail.org

Share This

West Seattle Crime Watch: ‘A terrible ripoff’ & 3 more reports

May 22, 2011 6:48 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes as the weekend comes to a close. First, the one to which Kevin tipped us, with e-mail headed “A Terrible Ripoff” – it’s about what you don’t see on this door, any longer:

The opening-soon Junction restaurant/pub A Terrible Beauty (California/Edmunds) is missing an ornate metal door-knocker. After Kevin’s note came in, WSB contributor Katie Meyer went over to find out more. Seems it turned up missing yesterday, and they speculate it might be a case of metal theft.

Sorry to say there’s no photo we can point you to so that you would know it if you saw it, but Katie says ATB’s co-owner Jenna Shannon Garvey O’Brien describes it as “(matching) the hardware on the door, which is pretty dark patinated brass, looks nearly black – it was round, about 3 inches, with a loop or ring that swung as the knocker. It was original to the antique door they got from a reclamation/salvage place, and they had taken the hardware off, painstakingly sanded/refinished and re-stained the door, then screwed the hardware back on.” Jenna told Katie they regret not nailing or gluing it to the door, since, Katie reports, “they’ve learned to nail everything down from their other establishment, where someone walked off with an ornate Celtic cross from inside the restaurant, and someone else walked out with a brass urn and an antique washboard!” Three more Crime Watch reports ahead – a parking-lot hit-run and a GPS theft – plus an arrest report from the Southwest Precinct:Read More

Share This

West Seattle schools: 2 Chief Sealth notes, including new website

May 22, 2011 6:09 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle schools: 2 Chief Sealth notes, including new website

| West Seattle news | West Seattle online | West Seattle schools

NEW PLACE TO FIND CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL ONLINE: Seattle Public Schools has been revamping its web presence, not just for the district’s own website, but also for individual schools. The latest West Seattle school to get a new site – and new URL – is Chief Sealth, at chiefsealthhs.seattleschools.org. According to the announcement, CSIHS families should know “the new site has new capabilities for connecting with your students’ classes and teachers,” though they won’t be fully functional till fall (they’re explained here). Meantime, one event you’ll find listed on the new site is coming up Wednesday:

5:30-7 pm on Wednesday (May 25), student art will be on display, with some on sale too. Then at 7 pm, Sealth 9th graders will perform original poetry, written in the Book-It Repertory Theater “page to stage” style.

Share This

Happening now: Scenes from Alki’s Summer Streets party, till 5

May 22, 2011 1:33 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

From 56th SW to 63rd SW, Alki Avenue SW is all people power till 5 pm, as part of the annual Seattle Summer Streets party. You can even go airborne:

…or enjoy a unique set of wheels:

At 61st SW, the Alki Community Council-presented “Family Fun Day” events are under way (see the list in our earlier report). And by Alki Bathhouse, you’ll get to meet folks from community groups including West Seattle Be Prepared and The Whale Trail. We’re headed back to the beach after a brief break at HQ – more coverage to come! ADDED 4:10 PM: The kids’ talent show about an hour ago drew a crowd:

And along the route, community and advocacy groups greeted visitors – like The Whale Trail (that’s founder Donna Sandstrom at right):

Also here for marine-mammal advocacy – Seal Sitters:

And the Seattle Fire Department‘s here too, with Engine 29 from the fire station in Admiral:

Beach businesses are joining in too – Coastal Boutique has been a fixture every year; this year, there’s T-shirt screening outside:

(added) A new participant this year (unless our memory fails us) – Team Half Racks, getting ready for the 3-Day breast-cancer-fighting walk:

They were selling cupcakes and promoting their upcoming June 18th bingo fundraiser:

(TRAFFIC NOTE: While Alki SW is technically open east of 56th SW, we noticed on the way back here that it’s restricted in the lanes heading to the beach, “local traffic only,” so you’re still best advised, if you don’t live on Alki, to approach from back ways including Admiral; even the Alki end of Bonair had an officer – who was, as we drove past that point, talking with someone who sure looked a lot like former Mayor Greg Nickels, who lives uphill in North Admiral.)

Share This

Happening now: Furry Faces Foundation plant sale, pet adoption

May 22, 2011 1:05 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Gardening | How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

As listed in our “West Seattle Sunday” daily preview, lots going on today in addition to the events on Alki; we stopped by one inbetween events at the beach. Furry Faces Foundation is in the second day of the first weekend of its annual series of fundraising plant sales at 3809 46th SW (just south of Charlestown), and today, you can also go home with Ed the dog, shown above with Rebecca from King County Animal Services. She also brought along a nameless 3-week-old stray kitten, shown at right – not to adopt (yet) but to remind everyone of the importance of volunteers who foster abandoned kittens and other pets that shelters may not be able to care for. Oops, almost forgot about the plants – there are some available for as little as 50 cents; there are veggies, flowers, natives, herbs, sun, shade, hundreds available:

Sale is on till 4 pm.

Share This

West Seattle wedding announcement: Congrats, Samir and Breanna!

May 22, 2011 12:30 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Wedding announcements | West Seattle news

We’ve published obituaries since requests started coming in – but this is the first time we recall being asked about a WEDDING announcement; we’d be happy to publish those too! Congratulations to Samir Baillie and Breanna Duvall, celebrating their first full day as husband and wife. He says you might know him as the “espresso-scooter guy” – which explains why the couple also is congratulated on an A-board we just saw outside Red Cup Espresso in The Junction. They got married yesterday at Hamilton Viewpoint Park in Admiral, and had their reception at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; Samir says they are both West Seattleites, so: “Our idea was to have all of the money spent on the wedding to be put back into the West Seattle community.” (Their officiant was local too, Samir says – Michael Supino, owner of Red Star Pizza.) Wishing you many happy decades together!

Share This

West Seattle 5K: The 2011 winners are…

May 22, 2011 10:01 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand – that’s from the race’s start; video below, by WSB editor Tracy Record, added 1:08 pm, is the entirety of the field, off and running/walking!)

10:01 AM: The 1,234 West Seattle 5K runners/walkers/joggers are still crossing the finish line. Here are the top men and women:

MEN
1. Joe Sheeran, 53, Ellensburg, #871, 15:57 chip time
2. Kyle Smits, 32, Seattle, #879, 16:16 chip time
3. Ian McMorran, 33, #1186, 16:33 chip time

WOMEN
1. Megan Johnson, 29, Seattle, #445, 17:31 chip time
2. Mary Hanna, 49, Maple Valley, #1266, 19:02 chip time
3. Alexandra Walton, 30, Seattle, #982, 19:12 chip time

P.S. Appropriately enough for a race raising money for education (organized by the West Seattle High School PTSA) – #1 female finisher Johnson is a teacher here in West Seattle.

(added 2:13 pm) Full results will be available later here – though many checked them right after the race, at terminals inside Alki Bathhouse:

P.P.S. The race is about the people on the sidelines, too:

Lots of cheering. And other sites – people running with kids, even pets:

(added 11:03 am) Thanks to Debra Herbst for this overview from further down the race course:

If you squint at the lower-right corner, that’s Spud the fish-and-chips mascot. (added 2:20 pm) A few more photos – starting with WSHS first-year principal Ruth Medsker, thanking the participants for supporting her school:

WSB sponsor Erik LaSeur of Alki Moves, jubilant to have run the West Seattle 5K for the first time:

Kids on the run:

Congratulations to all. We are proud that WSB has been a co-sponsor of the West Seattle 5K since year one.

Share This

West Seattle 5K/Summer Streets on Alki, report #1

May 22, 2011 9:00 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

The signs are up, the runners are out, and we’re a half-hour away from the start of the West Seattle 5K (organized by the West Seattle High School PTSA, with co-sponsors including WSB), which will take over Alki Avenue SW from 63rd to Don Armeni till 11 this morning. Here’s the west end of the roadblock zone:

We found the family with bib numbers 1, 2, and 3 – Shelly Aaron of West Seattle Body Works:

Other race sponsors include two WSB sponsors, Link Apartments and Metropolitan Market, and Northwest Hope and Healing‘s Alki Beach 5K (coming up in late summer):

After that, the Summer Streets party begins, including an afternoon of Family Fun presented by the Alki Community Council – event co-chair Libby Carr just shared this updated schedule for their events (which are in addition to booths and demonstrations from other participants):

12:00 – Brazilian music (flute & guitar) on Plaza
1:00 – Washboard Band
1:00 – Fun Kid Games (w/prizes) west of Bathhouse
2:00 – Irish Dancers
2:30 – Kids’ Talent Show
3:30 – Tae Kwon Do demonstration
4:00 – Ultimate Frisbee demonstration

Also, pirates, gorilla and a real live miniature horse who lives in Alki will be talking with folks in the street near our stage at 61st & Alki.

More photos in a moment!

Share This

West Seattle Sunday: WS 5K, Summer Streets, Farmers’ Market…

May 22, 2011 7:43 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Early arrivals for the WS5K, along the Alki promenade)
Quick look at what’s happening today, before our coverage from Alki begins:

WEST SEATTLE 5K: West Seattle 5K (co-sponsored by WSB), to benefit West Seattle High School PTSA, 9 am – last-minute registration starts at 8 at Alki Bathhouse. Alki Ave closed from 63rd to Don Armeni, 9-11 am. Race starts 9:30 am. MAP HERE.

SEATTLE SUMMER STREETS: 11 am-5 pm, Alki SW remains closed 56th-63rd for the street party including Alki Family Fun Day. MAP HERE.

ALSO AT THE BEACH: AVA beach volleyball on Alki, see full details here.

PLANT SALE: Furry Faces Foundation Plant Sale and Pet Adoption at 3809 46th Ave SW, 10 am – 4 pm. See full story here.

FARMERS’ MARKET: West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm, The Junction (44th/Alaska). Today’s highlights, shared last night by market manager Catherine Burke:

Kittitas Greenhouse: T-O-M-A-T-O-E-S (come git some!)
Rockridge Orchards: Apple Cider Granitas!
Music: Squirrel Butter

WITH BELLS ON: Join Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor, 3940 41st Ave SW) at 4 pm to hear hand bell choirs in all their glory. Afterward, an ice cream social!

WITH WINGS ON: Orchestra of Flight is holding its annual fundraiser dinner at Highland Park Improvement Club (1116 SW Holden), 4 pm – 6:30 pm. Tickets are $15. Dinner is pot luck provided by the orchestra members. Doors open at 4, dinner starts at 4:30 and the concert starts at 5:30. Tickets are available at the door. See Facebook Event page

AT THE GARDEN: Book Reading by Grant Hayter-Menzies at Seattle Chinese Garden at SSCC (6000 16th Ave SW), 4 – 6 pm. FREE. The Empress and Mrs. Conger: The Uncommon Friendship of Two Women and Two Worlds. The reading will touch on the relationship between Cixi, Empress Dowager of China and an American diplomat’s wife Mrs. Conger and Mrs. Conger’s fascination with symbolism in Chinese art, gardens, and architectural design.

SINGING IN GATEWOOD: The Seattle Glee Clubs presents the Seattle Metropolitan Glee Club in concert, “Hope is the Thing”, at Peace Lutheran Church (8316 39th Ave SW), 4 pm. Admission by donation. Directed by John Gulhaugen and accompanied by Diana Shvets, this choir of 22 women will be singing a varied program containing music inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Percy Shelley, songs from Broadway musicals and popular music enjoyed by many.

Share This