West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
No, this great blue heron isn’t all riled up into a grumpy blue heron. Alki photographer David Hutchinson explains the bird was just “shak(ing) the water off after a morning fishing expedition in Constellation Park.”
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
WestSide Baby‘s experiment in moving the annual Benefit Tea outside West Seattle/White Center, to enable more to attend (and theoretically, to donate), paid off in a big way:
WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland made that announcement onstage at the Hilton Seattle Airport Conference Center with emcee Ian Lindsay at the end of this afternoon’s event. The preliminary tally of almost $175,000 was 40 percent higher than their goal.
It was facilitated in no small part by a round of raise-the-paddle donations:
They ranged from one teagoer’s pledge of $10,000, to many promising $311 – a number suggested by an anonymous donor who promised to match up to $10,000 worth of individual $311 donations – to smaller sums.
Each one of those is important, declared guest speaker Kathy LeMay, a “philanthropic expert” who said she had come from an upbringing more in a position to need donations than to give them.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, beyond ongoing WSB breaking-news (etc.) coverage:
*Faced with a locked restroom door at a Westwood Village store, an anxious customer knocked and asked the person inside to hurry. After some time, the door opened. The occupant grabbed the knocker’s sunglasses and punched him in the face with a closed fist. The victim punched back, and the suspect exited the building. He was described as white, aged 50-64, about 6’2”, slim, with brown hair. He wore a brown baseball cap, brown shirt, and brown pants.
*Friday afternoon, a cyclist was riding his custom bicycle through the Alaska Junction and was hailed by a man who got off a bus. When the rider stopped, the man punched him in the face, knocked him off the bike, hopped aboard, and rode north in the alley toward SW Oregon St. The suspect is described as white, aged 30-49, 6’5” with fair complexion and blonde or strawberry short hair. He wore a red sweater and blue pants. The bike is worth about $1,600.
Six more summaries, ahead:Read More
EDITOR’S NOTE: We work with student reporters from the UW News Lab from time to time, as do many publications around Western Washington. One student journalist suggested a closer look at West Seattle’s only vintage-video-games (and more) store, and here’s the result.
Story and video by John Jinneman
University of Washington News Lab
Special to West Seattle Blog
The store’s actual opening in mid-January came in wintry weather. But on the bright and sunny first weekend of February, Pink Gorilla Games held its West Seattle grand opening event, full of excitement.
On both days visitors were treated to snacks while they made purchases or hung out and played games. Customers could also get raffle tickets by joining Pink Gorilla’s Facebook page or buying merchandise.
After closing on Sunday, Feb. 5, they contacted winners – with the grand prize, a $100 gift card.
“The community really appreciates us, and that’s what really helps,” said Paublo Smith, co-owner and operator of Pink Gorilla Games West Seattle branch.
Story and photo by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The baristas at Bird On A Wire Espresso probably know Allen Galli better than the average Seattleite, but this actor and West Seattle resident is getting national attention for his role as “Sancho Panza” in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s current production of “Don Quixote,” which wraps with a 7 pm performance tonight.
The attention is due to this production’s unique concept and staging by international dance superstar Alexei Ratmansky. What’s unique about this ballet is that two of the main characters: Don Quixote, played by Tom Skerritt, and Galli’s Sancho Panza, don’t dance. Or speak. Allen Galli does however, get thrown into the air.
This has the potential to affect traffic, so we’re publishing an advance alert: Multiple announcements, including an advisory e-mailed directly to us and other media, say a rally is planned at 9 am tomorrow in the Spokane Street Bridge Fishing Area just north of the “low bridge.” Organizers say the rally will involve and show support for hundreds of independent Port of Seattle truck drivers who are reported to be off the job because of safety and financial concerns. (Here’s recent coverage from the Seattle Times [WSB partner] and from KING 5.) More information about the rally and the ongoing situation can also be found via the website for Puget Sound Sage, which sent the latest media advisory (here’s the full text).
Maybe, like Ryan‘s car, this vehicle also will be found by a WSB’er. Just received from Tim:
Wanted to report that our 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport was stolen sometime last night, at SW Kenyon and 7th Ave SW. It’s maroon-colored, license plate 095-WMK; my wife has some work papers in the back that we’d like back asap. If you have any information or if you’ve seen the Jeep, please alert the SPD at 206-625-5011.
Don’t hesitate to call 911 about a stolen car if that number doesn’t work – it’s part of the standard boilerplate on the SPD stolen-vehicle Twitter feed (which has not tweeted this vehicle yet which *just* tweeted this, concurrent with an announcement over the police-radio airwaves, five minutes after we first published this).
ADDED: Per comments – found, in Burien.
The sign at Luna Park Café pays tribute to Jim Sweeney, as do those posting to the guestbook following his obituary in the Times and comments following our report here. Today, a final farewell to the longtime West Seattle businessman and community supporter, with a 2 pm Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe followed by a reception at The Hall at Fauntleroy. Also from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
KICKIN’ IT: West Seattle Sunday Soccer, 7:30 am at Delridge Playfield (more info on Facebook)
SUNDAY MORNING TAI-CHI: Lao-Shi Caylen Storm teaches a class at 9 am, $1, at Seattle Wushu Center, 5659 California SW.
A FARMERS’ MARKET YOU’LL LOVE: Look for Valentine treats at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market in The Junction, 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm. Market managers suggest: “Sparkling wine, rose otto caramels, rose petal jelly, sweet sockeye jerky, spot prawns, chocolate sauce, chocolate cookies, butter, tulips, bittersweet ladysmith cheese, frozen raspberries and cherries & NY steaks!”
LITTLE PILGRIM OPEN HOUSE: Little Pilgrim School Open House, 11 am-1 pm, 9140 California Ave. SW. From the announcement: “Tour the classrooms, meet the teachers, ask questions and pick up enrollment information and registration forms.”
TEA TIME: If you don’t have tickets, it’s too late, as they’re not available at the door, but a reminder for those who do: WestSide Baby‘s annual Benefit Tea is at 2 pm, new location this year (the Hilton by Sea-Tac).
DUBSEA BIKES: Free minor bike repairs at this pop-up clinic, 2-4 pm at White Center Food Bank, details here.
BRAZILIAN MUSIC AT C & P: Choro Tocando performs, 3-5 pm, at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor; 5612 California SW).
FINAL PERFORMANCE: 3 pm today is the last performance of “All Through the Night” at ArtsWest in The Junction.
EXPLORE FAUNTLEROY PARK: Dusk to Dark Fauntleroy Park exploration, 5 pm with naturalist Stewart Wechsler, details here.
AUTHOR AT WSUU: “Compassion Alive in You”, Rev. Robert Taylor, author of new book “A New Way to Be Human,” is guest lecturer at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 7141 California SW, 10:30 am.
SOUP’S ON: This week, instead of meeting on Monday as usual, the West Seattle Cooking Club is getting together today at 4 pm at Big Al Brewing in White Center, for a “soup-off.”
(Photos courtesy Jeff Clark)
It was the most star-studded slate of music in West Seattle this weekend – and it was a hit, reports Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark:
The Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School Soul Jambalaya Concert was a big success! The students and special guests provided an amazing evening filled with the rich sounds of Jazz, Gospel, Blues, and Reggae. Another fantastic event made possible thanks to the dedication of Mr. Marcus Pimpleton!
Above, jazz musicians from Denny; next, their counterparts from Sealth:
Next, reggae veteran Clinton Fearon (whose upcoming gigs are listed here):
And here’s Septimus:
The Total Experience Gospel Choir performed as well. While the show was free, donations were accepted for the student music programs, which have some high-profile events ahead, as you can see on their online calendar.
It has come up so often in WSB comments related to our coverage of who’s seeking liquor-selling licenses for when privatization kicks in, that we feel obliged to mention we just spotted this: Browsing the latest liquor-license applications overnight, we noticed something that does not seem to have been reported elsewhere – the chain BevMo! (Beverages and More) has revealed its first King County location, by applying for a license. According to the Washington State Liquor Control Board‘s list of local license applications, BevMo is planning a location in the Southcenter area, 17197 Southcenter Parkway (map). They currently operate in California and Arizona only, but their arrival here was a source of speculation in this recent story from our partners at the Seattle Times. (As for prospective hard-liquor sellers in West Seattle, so far, as we reported here and here, six supermarkets are the first to apply. That list is bound to grow, since privatization doesn’t take effect till June 1st.)
From WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand: Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity basketball team closed out its season Saturday night at Nathan Hale, losing 55-49. It was a quick game that saw lots of error-free ball from both sides, with only a scant few fouls called until the last minute of the game. The Seahawks came from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to pull the game within four by the start of the fourth quarter. And things got even closer:
Then, with a little over six minutes left in the game, Sealth senior Pepe Hernandez tied the game up on a free throw. Three times during the game, he and teammate Bronte Corbray turned the game into a track meet that had both teams doing wind sprints up and down the court. During those exchanges, Sealth came out on the long end of the deal as they controlled the rebounding. That gap eventually closed to one point in the last minute of the game, but Sealth’s repeated fouling of Hale sophomore Gadisa Margarsa put the game away. He was six-for-six at the free-throw line during the last 30 seconds. Julijs Pruzinskis was Hale’s leading scorer with 14 points, Margarsa was next with 13. Sealth was led by Hernandez with 21 points and Corbray with 11.
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