West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
If you see or hear anything suspicious in your neighborhood – particularly around vehicles – don’t hesitate to call 911. That’s the message from Southwest Precinct police, because of what Lt. Ron Rasmussen confirms is “a palpable increase in auto thefts in West Seattle.” We’d noticed the trend and mentioned it as a side note on this unrelated crime story just yesterday, noting that the city police-reports map showed nine auto-theft cases here just from this past Monday through Thursday, and then talked with Lt. Rasmussen today at West Seattle Summer Fest. He says the stolen cars are “mostly mid-’90s Honda products with a tendency toward the Civics. It appears to be occurring mostly between 10 at night and 5 in the morning.” He says no particular neighborhood is getting targeted – it’s all over West Seattle.
The first evening of West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 is under way and we still have sunshine here in The Junction – lots of people, too. Everybody’s asking about The Fastbacks – they play at 8 pm at the main music stage, California SW just south of the post office (between Genesee and Oregon). Except for Caspar Babypants at 6:30 pm, right here at California/Alaska by KeyBank, all the music acts are on that stage. (After The Fastbacks, it’s The Cops at 9 pm.) The spot where CB will play in an hour is hosting a jump-rope demonstration by champion jumper René Bibaud and her Ropeworks business, right now (video added):
6:25 PM UPDATE: Big crowd already before Mr. Babypants even starts playing.
If you’re coming to the festival tonight, bring a sweater – there’s a bit of a breeze. P.S. Looking for the trash cans? Keep an eye out for the Zero Waste stations first and foremost – this is one in the middle of the Alaska-to-Oregon block:
If you don’t make it here tonight, Summer Fest revs up at 10 am Saturday.
7:02 PM: Caspar Babypants is still playing. Here’s a bit of video:
Every 10 seconds or so, someone stops by to ask us where The Fastbacks are playing. 8 pm, the main stage up by the beer garden/Eagles aerie/post office. See you there!
8:26 PM: Hanging out just north of the stage. Here’s a quick clip of The Fastbacks (we’ll substitute a longer one when we get back to HQ, music takes a while to upload in the field):
The Cops are up around 9 pm, and that’s the last scheduled music for the evening, though the party will go on at some of The Junction’s regular venues.
9:50 PM: Here’s the long Fastbacks clip, including their intro by Easy Street Records owner Matt Vaughan (joking that he was filling in for Dow Constantine, a nod to the King County Executive’s famous intro for Mudhoney at Summer Fest two years ago):
*NOTE – Even if you don’t see a screengrab, we tested, and the video DOES play, just click the arrow* Wondering about tomorrow’s music? Schedule’s here. It’s *all* on the one stage on the north end of the festival zone, California between Genesee and Oregon – Caspar Babypants was the only performer scheduled for the “informal” area in the heart of The Junction.
(Video of entire sentencing hearing, about 25 minutes, added 5:23 pm)
We’re at the King County Courthouse downtown, where West Seattle catalytic-converter thief and repeat offender Joel Lund, 28, has just been sentenced by Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer. 
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, represented by senior deputy prosecutor Shaya Calvo, had asked for the top of the range available – 29 months in prison; Lund pleaded guilty last month to the charges filed in the case, including malicious mischief for a February incident involving converter theft, and malicious mischief/stolen-property trafficking, related to a variety of cases (including a theft at the Boren School site), but the case discussed most at the sentencing was the one reported here, in which the converter was taken from a vehicle belonging to an disabled 78-year-old woman. Judge Shaffer read a letter written by the victim, saying the theft deprived her of transportation for more than two weeks. “She could have starved,” said the judge, admonishing Lund.
While Judge Shaffer described herself as “notorious” for sentences that included less prison time and more drug-treatment time – the defense had asked for that kind of a sentence – she said that Lund’s repeated crimes in the West Seattle community were, among other things, “callous.” Speaking to her in the courtroom, Lund claimed he wanted to turn his life around now because of his daughter, who is four. But the judge noted that he had repeated convictions every year since her birth, saying it didn’t seem like fatherhood had been a “motivating factor” thus far. (We recorded the entire hearing on video and will upload it to add to this story when we are back at headquarters.) And she ordered the 29-month sentence.
Despite his lengthy history, this will be the first time Lund has gone into the state prison system. His most recent arrest was in April; he had been allowed into a community work-release type of program after the February arrest but violated its terms by getting arrested again, as we had reported here.
We’re into hour three of day one at West Seattle Summer Fest already – and we’ve had sunshine, though the clouds are coming and going too. It’s not too hot, not too cold, just right. Kicking back has begun – earlier, we caught Dave and Dean from West 5, with Dean’s fiancee Quinn, at the Elliott Bay Brewing outdoor area:
It’s not all play and no work, though – as chair of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board, Dave is currently pulling a shift in the Information Booth at California/Alaska, where we are embedded throughout the festival as well. Among the changes this year – food stands on both sides of Alaska:
Thinking about the food you cook at home – longtime WSB sponsor Dream Dinners is here, and if you place an order during the festival, you get a special salad bowl – at left is DD’s Leslie Thomson, with her visiting cousin:
And if you have any concerns about safety – no worries, the police are here:
From left, Southwest Precinct’s Lts. Ron Rasmussen and Ron Smith. When you come to Summer Fest, remember to check out the GreenLife zone down on the south end, presented by Sustainable West Seattle and West Seattle Nursery. That’s where we found Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail, showing off one of their new whale-viewing kits:
Want to find out about backyard cottages? Ncompass Cottage Company (WSB sponsor) is there too:
Remember there’s one main music stage this year, California near Genesee, where Ali Marcus was scheduled as the first act, 12:45 pm. There’s one exception – Caspar Babypants will be here at California/Alaska at 6:30 tonight. Much more coverage to come (and other news too) … we’ll be adding to this as the afternoon goes on.
Order berries through the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Berry Sale (WSB sponsor)? Or – want some berries? Strawberry pickup is today and tomorrow, at a different location (since the old Admiral Safeway back parking lot is now part of a new store opening next month) – 40th/Alaska, on the east side of The Junction. 1-6 pm today, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday. And there’s still time to order the next two rounds of berries – raspberries and blueberries – with online ordering available via the Rotary’s website.
We don’t often get advance warning of helicopters that might give you cause for concern, but here’s one: The state is doing a survey of urban radiation levels, with a chopper that will be based out of Boeing Field over the next couple weeks. No, they say, it has nothing to do with the quake/tsunami-related nuclear trouble in Japan – they’re taking baseline readings of “normal” levels as part of a project that started two years ago. Seattle-based Local Health Guide explains the plan here; the state’s own webpage, with even more details, is here. Flights are scheduled to start next Monday, and so far we do not have a schedule of when, or even if, you might see the chopper here.
If you routinely drive along Fauntleroy near 35th, just west of the entrance to the West Seattle Bridge, you might have noticed a more-visible-than-usual burst of tagging vandalism earlier this week. Part of it is shown above (with the tags themselves blurred, as is WSB policy). Tagging is always a double crime – not only has someone’s property been vandalized, but the owner is usually expected to clean it up, and that can cost. Bob Heinemann knows this firsthand, since the vandalized building is the place where he’ll soon be moving his SIMA Martial Arts studio (it’s currently in the 42nd/Alaska building that will come down when the Conner Homes project starts going up). Just after we took the photo, we met him there, talking to someone about getting it painted over. (By the way, the city has a new paint-out program this summer – check it out here.)
From the SDOT traffic camera pointed north along California SW from SW Alaska – a “live” overview as West Seattle Summer Fest is now officially open! A few more reminders and preview notes, including info from businesses and organizations that shared information when we issued an open invitation, are ahead – but first, the basics:
TODAY’S HOURS AND HIGHLIGHTS: 10 am-10 pm, with vendors till 6 pm and food till 8 pm. The music schedule is here – Caspar Babypants is at California/Alaska (informal performance area) at 6:30 pm and the long-awaited The Fastbacks reunion is at the California-north-of-Oregon stage at 8 pm. The vendor list and map are here. Kid-zone rides/pricing/hours here.
HACK-CYCLE – BRING THAT NEGLECTED/OUTGROWN BIKE: If you missed our story about metal artist Rusty Oliver‘s participation in Summer Fest to help you transform a neglected/outgrown bicycle into a work of hopefully rideable art – see it here. Just make sure the bike you bring is still intact. The Hack-cycle area is on the east end of the SW Alaska festival zone, by Junction Plaza Park (next to bicycle parking and other recycling).
HELP SUMMER FEST BE AS GREEN AS IT CAN BE: Just in case you missed this call for volunteers, one more time – the Zero Waste effort at Summer Fest could use a few more bodies:
Volunteer Friday 3 pm-8 pm or Sunday 11 am-2 pm. Help educate festivalgoers on how to recycle and compost. Help make the festival a Zero Waste event! Contact Liz@wsjunction.org ASAP …
ONE MORE WAY TO BE GREEN – CORK RECYCLING AT BIN 41: Got wine corks? Bring them to Bin 41 wine shop, on the west side of California just south of SW Alaska:
Many of you are aware (and have been contributing, thank you!) to our cork recycling efforts at the bin. We’re teamed with Recork of Amorin, serving as a Public Collection Partner. Cork is a renewable, fully reusable natural material. Let’s join together to keep the life cycle of this amazing product in action. WE WANT YOUR CORK. This weekend we’ll have our collection box outside at our table to get the word out. Bring in a minimum quart size bag of corks (natural only, sorry no synthetic / plastic) and enter your name into our cork-a-thon raffle. We’ll draw the winner of a wine accessories medley on Sunday before we close.
SPEAKING OF WINE (AND BEER): Tastings in The Junction during Summer Fest – Bin 41 has its regular Friday night tasting tonight, 6-7:30 pm (details here) … The Beer Junction (4707 42nd SW) has Friday and Saturday tastings this week – 5-7 pm tonight, it’s 21st Amendment Brewing.
SALES, SALES, SALES: Honoring Summer Fest’s origins as The Junction’s “sidewalk sale,” many merchants are offering deals – be sure to shop the stores that line Downtown West Seattle 365 days a year, in addition to browsing the festival booths. Among the sales: Summery items at WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits (detailed on their blog-format website) … Again and A Gain children’s consignment store on California SW just south of SW Edmunds is offering this sale: “$5 off Keen Sunport sandals, 20% off Giggles dance / costumes and Half Off selected Girls Dresses, Boys Tops, Toys, Crib Aquariums & Bedding, Baby Baths and Maternity Wear!” … WSB sponsor J.F. Henry has its big sale under way too, as detailed in our official “welcome” story yesterday … And Easy Street Records has its traditional megasale too.
HEALTH FREEBIES: Freebies at Summer Fest include this one that West Seattle Whole Health Center e-mailed to tell us about – free acupuncture and Pilates lessons, on this schedule:
Free acupuncture: Friday 10 am – 1 pm, Saturday 10 am – 2 pm, Sunday 2 pm – 5 pm* – Free Pilates: Friday 1 pm – 4 pm, Saturday 2 pm – 6pm, Sunday 11am – 2pm
You can look WSWHC up on the vendor list (which links to a clickable map), booths 155-157.
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES: We just snapped that photo of Laurie Paul, director of Bright Horizons-West Seattle at Summer Fest – BH is a major sponsor of the kids’ area in the Wells Fargo parking lot at 44th/Alaska. We published pricing/ride info in this story yesterday, but remember there’s plenty of free fun too, including art activities coordinated by Pathfinder K-8.
LOTS more to come – we’re live on site at the Summer Fest information booth at California/Alaska, along with reps from the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood groups, and more). (But no worries, we’ll be covering lots of OTHER West Seattle news throughout the day too.)
(Photo courtesy Kate Farley)
From back when it was just an idea for what to do with a big empty city-owned lot, through Parks and Green Spaces Levy funding, community meetings, and now, volunteer-powered site work, the birth of the Barton Street P-Patch (34th/Barton) has charged forward. Of all the work parties they’ve had, this weekend is among the most pivotal – they’re starting to “form the web” that makes up the garden design, and they need labor help the next two weekends – including anyone with construction skills -as well as donated materials, and some tools (all the way up to a cement mixer – they have one, and need one more) – read on for details:Read More
A brand-new fundraising 5K is launching in West Seattle this summer – and this one will be in Lincoln Park instead of the popular route along Alki. The date for the Breathe Deep Seattle run/walk is August 13th; it’s a fundraiser to fight lung cancer. And tomorrow, noon-4 pm, you can find out more about it at a registration party at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor; California/Charlestown).
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