West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
ILLUSIONS’ 35TH ANNIVERSARY TOMORROW: Tuesday is a big day at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) – the culmination of Illusions’ celebration of 35 years in business! You are invited to stop by any time between 10 am and 6 pm; one hallmark of the celebration is a raffle raising money for a charity that’s near and dear to the hearts of Illusions’ Sue Lindblom and her team – Pencil Me In For Kids. Illusions is at 5619 California SW.
Now to a brand-new business:
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS STORE NOW OPEN: The paint store built behind the Delridge/Orchard ARCO station is now open for business. Corporate PR hadn’t answered our recent inquiries about when the store would open, but we noticed the big NOW OPEN sign in the window last night and went back today to verify. You can find their hours and other info on the corporate website.
CELEBRATE NATIONAL RUNNING DAY WITH WS RUNNER: Lori McConnell from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) sends word that Wednesday is National Running Day, and that coincides with this event on the WSR calendar:
We have an Asics-sponsored Pub Run that night at 6:30 pm. We will meet at the store; folks can try out Asics shoes for the run, and we end at Spiro’s Pizza for a carb reload in the form of beer and pizza … or anything else on the menu. The run will be 3 miles. All paces are welcome. There are raffle prizes as well from Asics.
WS Runner is on the northwest corner of California/Charlestown, second floor.
(April 2012 photo)
It’s volunteer work that will be seen and appreciated by thousands. This Saturday morning, Nancy Driver says, cleanup help is needed for the landscaping by the Walking on Logs sculpture installation along the Fauntleroy end of the bridge – any and all helps is appreciated, though Nancy notes those who have used the area for promotional purposes might be particularly interested in helping:
The Walking on Logs Landscape Group is looking for volunteers to help with a clean up of the Walking on Logs site on Saturday, June 8th from 9:00 am to noon. We will be weed whacking, weeding, and taking out the small trees that didn’t make it through the winter. Volunteers should wear good shoes (parts of the site are muddy) and bring their own gloves, although we will have some gloves on site. Water will be provided. Please contact Nancy at nldriver@q.com for details on where to meet for entry to the site.
If you love the Walking on Logs statues and love seeing them dressed up, please consider giving a few hours of your time to upkeep of the site. We’d particularly appreciate seeing volunteers from the various groups that make use of the site. Thanks.
If you’re interested, here’s some background on volunteer efforts to help maintain the site.
Lots of questions tonight about what looks like reddish-brown muck in the water along West Seattle shores – and some who saw it are sharing photos, too; the one above is from Cheryl via the WSB Facebook page. No, it’s not “red tide” (which as the state notes seldom looks “red” at all) – it’s another round of noctiluca, the non-toxic single-celled organisms that “bloom” when conditions are just right, and this year it’s already the second major wave – we mentioned it back in May, as well as last year, and the year before.
One more news item about Madison Middle School: Mayor McGinn will be visiting after school tomorrow, to join in a media briefing about “new health services” for students around the city. That’s according to a brief announcement we received this afternoon, which says he’ll be joined by representatives of Neighborcare Health (which runs some school-based clinics in West Seattle) and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic.
4:10 PM: Madison Middle School will have a new principal next year, according to this letter from current principal Henterson Carlisle to Madison families, just shared with us by a parent:
Writing this letter is bittersweet. I want to let you know I will not be returning to Madison Middle School next year as your principal. My work here at Madison has been both a privilege and an honor. The progress we have made as a school, academically and as an inclusive community, is work that I am fortunate to have led.
As your principal, it has been my job — along with our staff — to create a safe, academically challenging and socially fulfilling learning environment for each of your children. With your support Madison has become just that — a safe, challenging learning environment. I am at a time in my life and educational career that I am ready for the next challenge. Madison has afforded me the opportunity to grow as a leader and a person. I feel this is the right time, and I believe that Madison is poised to take the next step on its continued journey to be one of the best middle schools in Seattle.
My position as principal will continue in full force until June 30. I will continue my dedication and focus as your school leader for the remainder of the year.
Carmela Dellino, Executive Director of Schools for the West Seattle region, and Superintendent José Banda will soon announce details about your next principal. I look forward to ensuring a smooth transition for the 2013-14 school year.
This is just to let you know of my plans in a timely manner. However, I am sure we will be talking about this in all of our upcoming meetings and as I see each of you at school. Fortunately, having such a strong, committed staff, your children will continue to be in good hands.
Thanks to each one of you for giving me the opportunity to be your school leader. Watching your children grow, learn and blossom each and every day has been a gift. I will miss the work tremendously.
This is the fourth school year that Carlisle has led Madison; he became interim principal for 2009-2010, then got the permanent appointment toward the end of that school year.
ADDED 4:10 PM: Minutes later, a separate message to parents announced an interim principal:
I am pleased that we are able to appoint longtime educator Dr. Robert Gary, Jr. as the new Interim Principal for Madison Middle School, starting on July 1. Dr. Gary comes to Madison from the District’s Interagency Academy and Skills Center, where he has served as co-principal during the 2012-13 school year.
It’s been almost a year since the first time Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon circulated a notification of level-3 sex offenders moving into local neighborhoods. Today, he’s sent a new notification about two now living in West Seattle:
Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions – this year’s lineup for West Seattle Outdoor Movies is just in! From Lora Swift of Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), here’s what’s planned for six consecutive Saturday nights in The Junction:
July 20: Goldfinger (1964; vintage trailer above) – Rated PG
July 27: Devil Wears Prada (2006) – Rated PG-13
August 3: The Muppets w/ short of Wallace & Gromit (2011) – Rated PG (with a free community barbecue, sponsored by WSCC)
August 10: Avengers (2012) – Rated PG-13
August 17: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) – Rated PG
August 24: This Is Spinal Tap (1983) – Rated R
The movies are all shown on the “big screen” wall in the courtyard adjacent to Hotwire (4410 California SW). Doors usually open a couple hours before the movies start (dusk, which gets a bit earlier each week). Admission is free, but bring $ for concessions and raffles, both of which benefit local nonprofits. And bring your own chair/blanket to sit on!
We’ve received a few questions about a reported kidnapping attempt in unincorporated King County, with a mom telling deputies she wrestled her 3-year-old away from a stranger last night in her own backyard. We spoke with the King County Sheriff’s Office about the case earlier today, and the story’s on our partner site White Center Now.
Just in case you saw or heard it – there was briefly a big fire response that’s now being scaled way back, after firefighters were told the homeowners were having woodstove trouble. The address was originally in the 7000 block of 47th SW but has been changed to Seaview Terrace (map).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
With new development projects going up, more people moving in, our changing community is a perennially intense discussion topic, whether you’re talking with friends over coffee or commenting here on WSB.
What we don’t talk about nearly as often are the ongoing changes in the West Seattle business community, and how they affect your quality of life.
Right now, local business owners from Admiral to The Junction to Morgan Junction, north to south, east to west, are launching an effort to get the conversation going – and to get you involved – before waves of change sweep away so much that it’s too late to talk, to plan, to collaborate.
(Dennis Hinton checking on smolt trap; photo by Connie Hinton)
Remember that record-setting count of Fauntleroy Creek spawners last fall? That couldn’t have happened without help. And the spring season brings a lot of help to the creek too, as reported in this wrapup shared by Judy Pickens:
Fauntleroy Creek was teeming with life this spring as students released fry and as smolts headed for saltwater.
Between April 30 and May 22, volunteers with the Fauntleroy Watershed Council hosted 18 salmon-release field trips from 15 schools, plus a group of South Koreans visiting Fauntleroy Church. A total of 626 students released an estimated 1,932 coho fry into the creek, where they will spend the next year growing into smolts.
Volunteers checked two soft traps in the creek every day between mid March and May 31 and documented 141 smolts leaving for Puget Sound. The 4″-5″ fish will feed near the shore in Fauntleroy Cove until they’re big enough to take on the open water.
Key volunteers who made these activities possible were Judy Pickens, Dennis Hinton, Pete Draughon, Steev Ward, and Jack Lawless.
Want to know more about Fauntleroy Creek and its watershed? Go here.
(A migratory black-throated gray warbler, photographed in Lincoln Park by Trileigh Tucker)
Three highlights for tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
OVERFLOW OPTIONS: 4:30-6:30 pm at City Hall downtown, you’re invited to an open house with more information about the options Seattle Public Utilities is exploring for reducing pollution in local waterways from combined-sewer overflows. More details in our Sunday preview, including how to offer your opinion if you can’t make it to this event. (4th/5th/Cherry/James)
DELRIDGE GROCERY: “The store opening is now a year away and we need volunteer support more than ever!” says the team putting together a cooperative grocery store to open on Delridge next year. 6:30 pm tonight at Delridge Library, it’s your next chance to offer that support. From the meeting announcement:
On the agenda:
– Background/update on Delridge Grocery
– Website
– Potential community partnership/volunteer opportunities
– Accounting/finances
– Member/owner pledges
– T-shirts and buttons
– Intro to co-ops material
– Future tabling events
(5423 Delridge Way SW)
REAL CHANGE: 6:30 pm, you’re invited to the High Point Library to discuss the Real Change News vendor program with the people who run it. The preview we published here last week led to energetic discussion, and tonight’s the night you can hear from, and speak with, Real Change reps in person. (35th/Raymond)
P.S. You can find nightlife listings, and more, by going directly to the calendar.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
First weekday of the new month. One traffic alert – 55th SW is scheduled to be closed between Lander and Alki for water-main work, as per the Seattle Public Utilities announcement we recently published.
You know Seattle Public Library branches are places to go for books, videos, computers, more … but don’t forget the art! It was a big reason why Gatewood Elementary 4th graders hiked up SW Morgan Street to get to the High Point Branch last Thursday. Teacher Darren Radu, who shared the photos, says local ceramic artist Steve Gardner talked with them there:
The artist, says Darren, “is the creative genius behind the beautiful artwork that adorns the High Point library exterior. He provided insight to his creative process and retold the ‘Sky Legends’ from Somali, Mexican, Native American, Asian, and Greek cultures that inspired his work. The kids were extremely impressed with both the art and the stories, and made a number of connections to their studies of myths and legends this year. We’re grateful to Steve for taking the time to meet with us and share his expertise.”
While at the library, he adds, they also talked with librarian Nathalie about summer reading. “The kids wanted to pass along a message – they hope that the West Seattle community spends the summer appreciating both great art AND great books!”
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