West Seattle wildlife: Sure sign of spring – goslings!
This is the fifth spring that Alki photographer David Hutchinson has kindly shared his wonderful Canada geese images with WSB. This one, taken today along Harbor Avenue SW, arrived tonight, with the observation “Despite the cold blustery weather, spring must be just around the corner”; we checked back in the archives, and we’ve been lucky enough to have his gosling (and grownups) photos going all the way back to 2008 … scroll through this newest-to-oldest archive to see them (with a few other wildlife photos along the way).
Followup: Preschoolers participate in Easter-egg-recycling project
The scene from the Arbor Heights Cooperative Preschool class of “Teacher Karen” may look like your everyday “kids dyeing Easter eggs” class – but there’s more than meets the eye. It starts with the story published here last week about Paul West and his request for people to give them their hard-boiled Easter eggs post-Easter so he could turn them into fertilizer for an “urban nitrogen project. That resonated with Karen, who explained via e-mail:
I have been wanting to dye eggs with my preschool class but I don’t want to “waste” the eggs, although they will not be edible after a day in a class full of three-year-olds. Then I read your story about Paul and gardening with urban nitrogen. I contacted Paul and talked to him about it. He very generously donated 5 dozen eggs to our class, and our class agreed to return at least double that many after we’d colored them.
So this morning, she invited us to drop by her classroom as the kids worked studiously on the task at hand.
P.S. If you’re interested in donating Easter eggs to the fertilizer project, Paul explains it on his website.
Day 3 of registration for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!
More than 20 sales of all sizes are already signed up for this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – the eighth annual edition (and the fifth one coordinated by us here at WSB), coming up 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th. It’s become more than a shopping-frenzy kind of day – it’s become, with more than 200 sales all over the peninsula each of the past two WSCGSD’s meaning that most areas have a sale within walking distance (if you’re not hosting one yourself), a chance to get out and meet more of your neighbors. And it’s also a chance for yard-saling fans from around the region to come enjoy and explore West Seattle (including lunch and refreshment stops at local businesses). Plus, of course, it’s ultimately person-to-person recycling! If you’re considering being a seller this year, don’t procrastinate … sign up now. If you’re not sure, you do have time to make up your mind – registration will continue for three more weeks. It’s an all-online process – here’s the form!
Checking back on the ‘old Petco space’ – inside & outside
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
It’s been two months since we first reported on the mysterious happenings inside the former Petco storefront at 4732 California SW – and now, the brand-new window-painting work has brought a new round of questions.
So we stopped by to see what’s up with Jason Rudolph, who told us back in February about his plans for the space – running his Sound Advertising Group and restoring some legendary animatronic characters.
First – Jason tells us he’ll open the space during the April West Seattle Art Walk next week – 6-9 pm Thursday, April 12th – to showcase work by Jason Sinclair Astorquia and host some live music by Willow & The Embers, so you’ll get to take a look inside for yourself.
While the restoration of the “Rock-afire Explosion” animatronic characters set up at the front of the space continues; Jason adds that most of his staff has moved their workstations from the company offices on 44th SW into this new space.
Painting over the windows with a mural – with just a few intentionally see-through spots – gives the the employees more privacy:
Once finished, the mural will be a colorful creative, original work hand-painted by Japhy Witte, known as “the Sign Savant.”
Petco vacated the space last November to move into its new spot in Capco Plaza at 41st/Alaska.
Viaduct crash kills West Seattle musician, therapist Lisa Mills
Family and friends around West Seattle and beyond are mourning 48-year-old Lisa Mills, the motorcycle rider killed in the crash that closed southbound Highway 99 for hours last Sunday night. 
We are reporting her name now that the county Medical Examiner has finally formally released it. Ms. Mills, who lived in Sunrise Heights with her wife, was well-known as lead singer of Swamp Mama Johnson, a Northwest-based band that was popular in the ’90s (see a 1997 clip here).
She worked as a hypnotherapist and life coach, with her own business, Heliotrope Hypnosis Services. A friend shared the photo at left, showing Ms. Mills with her dog Ruby, who until Ruby’s recent death assisted her in volunteer therapy work, according to her website. Another friend of Ms. Mills tells us she also was studying to become a mixologist, adding, “Lisa lived life to the fullest and loved riding her motorcycle with her friends.” The preliminary report from Seattle Police says investigators think she “failed to negotiate a curve” at the Viaduct’s south end.
We have no information yet on a celebration of life or memorial fund, but have asked friends who contacted us to please let us know if and when those details become available, so that we can share it with the WSB community. (This mention on a news site in Bellingham, where Swamp Mama Johnson often played, says memorials will likely be held there and in Seattle.)
Merge Arbor Heights/Roxhill? Principals say it surprised them too
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The principals of Arbor Heights and Roxhill Elementary Schools say the emergence of a proposal to merge the two into a rebuilt AH was as much a “big surprise” to them as it was to their schools’ communities.
That’s part of what they told a gathering of more than 50 people last night at a quickly organized community meeting, less than a week after the merger proposal debuted in the package of possibilities that district staff is circulating (as reported here) as the first round of community meetings begins about what should be in next February’s 4th edition of the every-six-years BEX (“Building Excellence”) levy.
The meeting, led by AH principal Christy Collins, with Roxhill principal Carmela Dellino speaking from the audience, unfolded while the first of those meetings played out across the city at Eckstein Middle School (West Seattle’s school-board director Marty McLaren had sent her regrets to AH and Roxhill, saying she had to be at that meeting instead of theirs). West Seattle’s version of the levy-input meeting is set for 6:30 pm Thursday at Denny International Middle School, and the meeting materials are now on the district website, if you’d like a preview – PowerPoint overview here and “the 3 options” here (which includes the merger proposal).
In addition to answering questions, the two principals sought to explain their side of how this idea might have sprung up, and Collins explained in a show-and-tell why it’s imperative that a new building replacing the 64-year-old AH becomes part of the levy, some way, some how.
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West Seattle Wednesday: ‘Walking Day’; SW District Council; more
An anonymous Fauntleroy photographer shares one more image from the Tuesday evening storm (and rainbows afterward – did you see our roundup of WSB’ers’ photos?) … since the National Weather Service says we could see thunderstorms later today, too. The weather may not keep a schedule, but some events do, and here are the highlights from the recently revitalized WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
ROAD WORK TRAFFIC ALERTS: Same ones as Tuesday: First, again tonight, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 10 pm-5 am, so you won’t be able to exit to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill during that time. Here’s the SDOT alert.. … Also, work will continue on the repaving of a block-plus of California SW from Hudson to Dawson, south of The Junction.
2 WEST SEATTLE WALKS FOR NATIONAL WALKING DAY: If you’d like to join with others in walking along Alki in honor of National Walking Day, one group is scheduled to meet at Statue of Liberty Plaza at 10 am, while another plans to meet at the Bathhouse at 5:30 pm. Details here. (2701 Alki Avenue SW)
BABY PEPPERS: A new session of this support group for parents with babies 5-12 months old (slightly older than those in PEPS) starts at 10:30 this morning at Bright Horizons-West Seattle. More details, including the registration link, here. (4530 38th SW)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Per the agenda we’ve added to the calendar-listing page, presentations about the downtown Waterfront/Seawall project and Community Power Works energy assessments/incentives program (WSB sponsor) will bring special guests to tonight’s monthly meeting of reps from community groups and organizations around western West Seattle. 7 pm at South Seattle Community College‘s board room (6000 16th SW).
Benefit beverage news: Hi-Yu Brü preview; WestSide Baby cocktail-party addition
Two notes about thirst-quenching events that are also charity benefits:
EVENT #1: Check out the all-star crew we photographed Tuesday night at Company Bar in White Center, previewing Hi-Yu Brü before it goes out to the masses this Friday night! Proprietors of establishments participating in the release of the next West Seattle/White Center benefit beer gathered tonight with friends at Company for a tasting of sorts. As of 6 pm this Friday, Company is one of the places – along with Shadowland, Feedback Lounge, West 5, The Feedback Lounge, Mission, Big Al Brewing (which makes Hi-Yu Brü), The Bridge, Locöl, and Beveridge Place Pub. Also in the photo, by the way – front and center, in the gray-green shirt, that’s Tian Richardson, who came up with the winning name.
EVENT #2: At Tian’s left in the dark shirt is The Feedback’s Matt Johnson, who figures prominently in this next announcement about a separate benefit event coming up next month: Feedback Lounge has signed on as cocktail sponsor for WestSide Baby‘s upcoming “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” cocktail party benefit at The Hall at Fauntleroy on May 18th. (We’re told Matt himself will be there as guest master mixologist.) Tickets are available now; read on for the announcement of what’s new with the party plan:Read More
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