day : 18/07/2011 12 results

This is one of those reports that’s hard to interpret – maybe it wasn’t what it seemed – but Todd asked that we share it, just in case:Read More

Free, live music tomorrow! West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park

July 18, 2011 6:13 pm

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| West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

(WSB photo of the West Seattle Big Band during the 2010 Hi-Yu Concert in the Park)
Might be some clouds, but no rain forecast for tomorrow (Tuesday) night – which is good news for the next big summer event, the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival Concert in the Park. You’re invited to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, 7-8:30 pm tomorrow – bring your own blanket/chair, picnic dinner if you feel like it, and enjoy the West Seattle Big Band (celebrating its 15th anniversary). If you haven’t been there before – Hiawatha’s address is 2700 California SW, just north of West Seattle High School, but the concert area is on the east side, which is bordered by Walnut. (Parking is generally plentiful in the high-school lot, entering from California SW, however.)

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West Seattle Junction Car Show reels in ‘Deadliest Catch’ visit

July 18, 2011 4:07 pm

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| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from 2010 West Seattle Junction Car Show)
From West Seattle Junction Car Show organizer Michael Hoffman, we get word that this year’s show will have four special guests from the cast of Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch.” Which four? Not set yet – stay tuned. Michael also says the website is updated at wsjunctioncarshow.com – if you’d like to enter a car in the show, you’ll find applications there. The Last Resort Fire Department‘s scheduled to bring back its antique fire trucks, and a charity raffle is again scheduled, with Junction True Value already stepping up to donate a $350 Weber Gas Grill. The Junction Car Show – with co-sponsors including WSB – will be on Sunday, September 18th, 8 am-4 pm, in the heart of The Junction. (P.S. In case you missed earlier word, no Alki car show this year – so this is your next big chance!)

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More food trucks on a street near you? City Council OK’s rule change

July 18, 2011 3:30 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

The City Council has just approved a change in the city rules that have required food trucks to find private lots to set up on: Now they’ll be allowed to get permits to park on streets, with some restrictions, as detailed by our partners at the Seattle Times. (To read the full text of what the council approved, here’s the ordinance, and here’s a related resolution.)

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Wednesday traffic alert: Big soccer game; extra Water Taxi service

July 18, 2011 2:31 pm

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| King County Water Taxi | Transportation | West Seattle news

Heads up for Wednesday night: The Seattle Sounders-Manchester United soccer game at 7 pm Wednesday will bring an estimated 66,000 people to the stadium zone. But the good news is that you can take the West Seattle Water Taxi – it’s running Wednesday night between Pier 50 and Seacrest every half hour from 7:30 to 10:30 pm, the county says. (Thanks to Jissy for the tip!) There’s also a series of bus reroutes – read on:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Updating 4 high-profile cases

July 18, 2011 2:20 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

STEVE BUSHAW MURDER TRIAL BEGINS: We’re at the King County Courthouse courtroom of Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque, where the rescheduled murder trial is starting this afternoon for the two remaining defendants in the February 2009 Junction shooting death of 26-year-old Steve Bushaw (two have already pleaded guilty). A jury has to be chosen before testimony can begin; right now, various motions are being brought up, including the prosecution’s proposal to drop the “conspiracy to commit murder” charge and leave the two defendants, Brandon Chaney and Bryce Huber, charged with first-degree murder/firearm enhancement. We’ll have a separate report on today’s proceedings later. (2:42 pm note – court has already recessed for the day.)

GATEWOOD ARSON: John C. Siegel, charged with arson and domestic violence in the June 28th fire at the Gatewood home he owned with his ex-wife, is scheduled to return to court tomorrow for a case-setting hearing, after pleading guilty last week. He remains in jail, status listed as “bail denied” (though a $1 million bail amount remains on the books for the arson charge).

FAIRMOUNT SPRINGS BURGLARY/ASSAULT: Monty Richardson, arrested two weeks ago and charged with breaking into a neighbor’s house and attacking her, was in court last week to answer the burglary, assault, and unlawful-imprisonment charges against him. He pleaded not guilty and remains in jail, with his bail still $250,000, due back in court for a case-setting hearing on July 25th.

STOLEN CAR/CAR-THEFT-TOOLS CASE: Repeat offender Skyelar Hailey remains in the Regional Justice Center jail in Kent, with bail set at $65,000, in a possession-of-stolen-vehicle/vehicle-theft-tools case we detailed here last month. He too was in court last week to plead guilty, and has a case-setting hearing set this Wednesday.

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Tunnel tussle: Initiative 101 ruling today; Thursday Ref. 1 forum

July 18, 2011 12:36 pm

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| Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news

Two voting-related notes regarding the Highway 99 tunnel: First, according to a news release from the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, King County Superior Court Judge Joan DuBuque has ruled that anti-tunnel Initiative 101 should not be on the fall ballot because it “is beyond the scope of the initiative power because it purports to exercise a power that was directly delegated to the City Council and Mayor.” So, the news release adds, “Unless Judge DuBuque’s decision is appealed and overturned, I-101 in its entirety will not appear on the November ballot. The initiative was designed to prohibit the City of Seattle from using city streets to aid in the construction of a deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a project of the Washington State Department of Transportation.”

What IS going before voters is Seattle Referendum 1, asking them to approve or reject a section of a city ordinance related to Seattle’s role in the 99 tunnel project. The “section” is what remains after a separate court fight. Referendum 1 is on the August 16th ballot, and if you would like to hear from both sides, in one place, before making up your mind, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce presents a public forum, moderated by your WSB editor, this Thursday night, 6 pm, West Seattle High School Theater.

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West Seattle Grand Parade countdown: Meet the Grand Marshals

July 18, 2011 11:01 am

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| West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

Another big weekend ahead, rain or shine – including the West Seattle Grand Parade‘s 2011 edition, presented by American Legion Post 160, Saturday (July 23) at 11 am, from California/Lander to California/Edmunds. We’ll be previewing it all week long, starting this morning with parade organizers’ announcement of two of the special honorees you’ll see toward the start of the parade – the Grand Marshals, Art and Gloria Peters:

(2007 West Seattle Grand Parade photo by Creighton)
Art and Gloria have been parade favorites for close to a decade now – a long-married couple who are U.S. Navy veterans from World War II and the Korean War. We talked to them along the pre-parade sidelines three years ago. Adding three years to what they told us then, they’ve been married for 64 years, and the longevity of their union is what their parade vehicle usually pays homage to, “Art and Gloria, still married” (as seen here). Cheer them on – along with the 70-plus other entries/participants – this Saturday, all along this route, following the West Seattle Rotary Kiddie Parade at 10 am on a shorter route southbound from California/Genesee (all kids invited to join in, more info here).

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Reminder for bicyclists/walkers: New Alaskan Way path now open

July 18, 2011 10:20 am

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| Transportation | West Seattle news

For those who commute via human power between West Seattle and downtown (or beyond): As announced last week, the new Alaskan Way bicycle/pedestrian path opened today. Bob Anderton, who shared the photo, says he saw more than a few bicyclists this morning who didn’t get the word, still using the old detour. WSDOT explains the new route here, and also invites bikers/walkers to stop by and celebrate near the north end of the new trail (S. King Street) – 4-6 pm.

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Arctic offshore-drilling rig headed here; SBX to (temporarily) move

July 18, 2011 7:33 am

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| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

(June 24 WSB photo of SBX, taken from Jack Block Park)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

It’s dominated the Harbor Island view for two months, and while it’s not scheduled to leave Vigor (formerly Todd) Shipyard for another month or so, you will see the SBX (military Sea-Based X-Band missile-detecting radar, aka “that thing that looks like a giant golf/ping-pong ball”) move around a bit this week.

That’s because, according to a marine-industry advisory obtained by WSB, a floating offshore-oil-drilling platform is coming into the shipyard, so SBX must move temporarily while the drilling rig is maneuvered into place. That rig is a story unto itself:

(2010 photo of Kulluk by Flickr member Anyaku2419)
It’s “an Arctic-class drill ship” called the Kulluk, owned by Shell, which is getting it into shape in hopes of obtaining Arctic offshore-drilling permits that, according to reports like this, it’s been trying to get for six years.

The 1983-built Kulluk had been idle for more than a decade, after years of Arctic drilling, before being reactivated; it has most recently been based in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and left there July 1st for the journey here.

According to the advisory about Kulluk’s arrival and SBX’s temporary move, Shell is expected to issue a news release about the Kulluk sometime today. As of very early this morning, marinetraffic.com showed its accompanying tugs – Kulluk itself was not providing a signal – in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and it’s expected in Elliott Bay by Tuesday morning.

Meantime, SBX is expected to move to an anchorage area in west Elliott Bay by early afternoon Tuesday, and to conduct various tests before returning to Vigor sometime Tuesday evening, once the Kulluk is in place. The advisory says the 500-yard security zone around SBX will be maintained wherever it is, so that could make for some varied ferry/Water Taxi routing on Tuesday.

ADDED 11:32 AM: Shell’s statement, received by e-mail:

In anticipation of a 2012 offshore Alaska drilling season, Shell will move the Kulluk drilling unit from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to the shipyard in Seattle, Washington for ongoing maintenance and planned, technical upgrades. The Kulluk is identified as a primary drilling unit in Shell’s 2012 Beaufort Sea Plan of Exploration. Once the upgrades are complete, Dutch Harbor will remain a staging ground for the Kulluk and other Shell vessels as we pursue exploration drilling on our leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

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West Seattle Monday: Urban foraging with Sustainable WS, & more

July 18, 2011 6:30 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(One more pic from the West Seattle Garden Tour – others here – lettuce in the Whirligig Garden)
A few highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

URBAN FORAGING: Sustainable West Seattle‘s monthly community event is outdoors this time around – meet at 7 pm, Lincoln Park‘s north parking lot (Fauntleroy and Monroe), for “Urban Foraging in West Seattle.” Not a lecture! Here’s the SWS description:

Ever wondered which “weeds” were safe to eat? Ready to take eating locally to the next level? Join us for an Urban Foraging Walk with Stewart Wechsler, local plant expert. You’ll be introduced to the growing urban harvesting movement while we tour through beautiful Lincoln Park, learning which plants make a great snack and which plants to avoid. The walk will focus on respectful and safe harvesting. Be sure to arrive on time to ensure you can find the tour group!

WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: Featured here in a recent story, the club meets again today, 2:30 pm, Beveridge Place Pub. Theme ingredient this time around is “eggs.”

THIS WEEK’S WEST SEATTLE IN MOTION DEAL: Signed up for In Motion yet? You commit to driving a little bit less here and there, and you get free bus tickets plus a card that’ll get you new deals each week – this week, it’s a half-price Zipcar membership. Go here to sign up. (WSB is the media sponsor for West Seattle In Motion.)

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‘No more!’ Village Green owner starts foreclosure-support group

July 18, 2011 2:22 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Village Green Perennial Nursery owner Vera Johnson says more than 35 people showed up Sunday for the first meeting of a group she convened to help others going through what she’s experiencing – battling with banks over loan trouble. (We first reported on her story last Tuesday; the Seattle Times [WSB partner] followed up on Friday.) Vera tells WSB that those who showed up were at “all levels of default/foreclosure, some only months/some over 2 years in the quagmire. … We discussed our options, walk away, willing to do a loan mod[ification] or sue the banks for fraud? We plan to meet regularly, and plan to participate in regular protests with Working Washington, Washington CAN, US Uncut. So many people are facing foreclosure and these folks need to get involved with organizations who are already protesting banks.” (Which Vera did on Saturday – she joined a protest by Washington CAN, as reported on our partner site White Center Now.) She says the group will meet regularly, though the next date is not yet set. They plan to start a blog-format website too. And they’ll invite more people to participate: “We will be inviting anyone who wants to stand up and say NO MORE!”