West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
When you go to The Junction for West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday/Saturday/Sunday, check out what’s new at the southeast corner of California/Alaska: Visual artists from nearby Twilight Gallery have just given the vacant building a facelift:
Twilight co-proprietor Tracy Cilona explains that the work of visual artists Kristina Griffith and Larry Cyr “is part of an ongoing outreach between Twilight Gallery and Equity (Residential) to bring a creative vibrancy to that location, that enhances our community, our local businesses and features our many talented, local artists.” Tracy says the goal was to get the first round of art in place before Summer Fest, and tonight that goal was met:
She adds, “Stay tuned for more collaborations from Twilight Gallery. We have some great, creative ideas brewing to bring more local art to our unique neighborhood to keep our local businesses flourishing while we are in this transition.” (Unrelated to the art – you’re probably wondering when the two-building project at the corner is supposed to start, but after previously announced dates came and went, nothing’s been said publicly for months.)
P.S. Twilight is in charge of the Art Dive at Summer Fest again this year – look for the collection of artists/vendors and their handmade wares under the tent on California north of Oregon!
West Seattle entrepreneurs Fran Dunaway and Naomi Gonzalez and their Tomboy Exchange clothing comprised a hometown hit tonight at Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor):
The occasion – a local launch party previewing the clothing collection we first told you about five months ago, back when Naomi and Fran had a crowdfunding campaign going. They met their goal and now their American-designed, American-made clothing, reflecting a timeless tomboy spirit, has arrived:
The Tomboy Exchange collection is available via an online boutique, where you can pre-order now.
Among the many big events happening this weekend is the region’s most storied bicycle ride – Seattle to Portland, or STP for short. For those not going, West Seattle Bike Connections has set up its own STP ride right here on the peninsula this Sunday:
That’s SW Seattle Street in North Admiral southward to SW Portland Street in Gatewood, then heading back north to The Junction and West Seattle Summer Fest, where a post-ride discussion is planned at the GreenLife stage, touching on current issues including the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update.. WSBC president Don Brubeck says they’ve “recruited Stu Hennessey and Marge Evans to be ride leaders, and made it a joint ride with West Seattle Spokespeople and Cascade Bicycle Club.” It’ll be a family-friendly, 9.5-mile, easy-pace ride – meet at Hamilton Viewpoint Park at 9:45 am Sunday. Full details on the WSBC site, including some caveats – and reasons to join the ride!
As promised, we’re following the case that broke here yesterday afternoon – a stolen truck spotted in the parking lot behind West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) by a WSB reader, who called police, leading to two arrests and the discovery of stolen property and two guns inside the truck.
Both suspects, the 20-year-old man found inside the truck and the 33-year-old woman he was waiting for, appeared for bail hearings at King County Jail today. Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe says bail was set at $20,000 for each. But since both suspects already had arrest warrants out for them, the total bail amounts are higher – $30,000 for him, just over $35,000 for her. They’re both due back in court Wednesday, by which time we will know the status of possible charges in this case.
We’re working to write up more details from the new court documents as well as from both suspects’ backgrounds, and will add to this story shortly.
ADDED 6 PM: The probable-cause documents tell the story along the lines reported here Sunday, with a few additional details:
When you come to The Junction for West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday, visit the Info Booth, not just to say hi to us and the folks there with us, but also to get a brand-new cling showing your West Seattle pride with the slogan above. It’s part of the “why independent local businesses matter” conversation we’ve been talking about here for weeks now. It’s explained as follows by Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association – but it’s about MORE than The Junction; businesses and community members from all over the peninsula are collaborating:
West Seattle businesses are uniting for, West Seattle – WE HAVE THAT!
Watch this summer for the campaign to unfold…
§ We’ll be TALKING about the importance of local businesses and the role they play in our community.
§ We’ll be ENGAGING our community to explore how we can strengthen our partnership.
§ And we’ll be APPEALING to the neighborhood to shop at local businesses to help West Seattle thrive.Our local business flavor is a big part of what we love about our ‘hood. West Seattle is awesome because whether you’re talking about cool shops, the best ice cream, stellar parks, people who care, the walk-all-ways intersection, or the best sunsets in Seattle, we can all say, West Seattle – WE HAVE THAT! Show your neighborhood pride by finding and displaying a We Have That sticker at the West Seattle Summer Fest info booth.
This effort is a partnership between West Seattle businesses, the West Seattle Junction Association, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
During Summer Fest, you’ll find the info booth right in the heart of The Junction at California/Alaska. And year-round, you’ll find your independent local businesses all over the peninsula – provided community support continues. (That goes for us, too, and we’re saying thank you for YOUR support, right here and right now.)
The Charlestown water tower’s public property, and a fine place to hang out, says Seattle Public Utilities, but not to the point of putting up sports equipment. Here’s the warning they are posting today:
Seattle Public Utilities warning about basketball hoops at Charlestown water tower
(If you can’t see the document we embedded with Scribd, click here to open/download the original PDF from our server.) SPU spokesperson Ingrid Goodwin says they hope word of this will get to the basketball hoops’ owner/s in time.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
Work is under way east of the Alki Bathhouse to get the site ready for the harbor seal mom-and-pup sculpture that artist Georgia Gerber is creating for Seal Sitters, whose David Hutchinson tells us that asphalt removal was finished this morning. He says the “rocks” that will be part of the installation will be placed there by Turnstone Construction tomorrow, and the artist will bring her unfinished sculpture to help with the placement. It’ll be taken back to the studio for completion afterward; site prep will be done within a week and a half, and the fence will come down then. Sculpture installation is expected by late August, with a dedication event scheduled for September 8th, according to the project’s infopage on the Seal Sitters website.
You’ve seen movies film at Alki Beach. But this might be the first time a movie has sought publicity via a cleanup at Alki Beach. Just got word that you’re invited to a beach cleanup this Thursday morning (July 11th), 8-10 am (meet at Alki Bathhouse), one of eight cleanups (along with 5 in California plus Honolulu and Vancouver) tied into the release of “Pacific Rim.” If you’re one of the first 100 people to show up to volunteer, they’re promising prizes including two tickets to see the movie. More details on the official flyer.
This time of year – if the sunrise light is just right – downtown skyscrapers’ shadows can be seen against West Seattle, as Martha Sidlo noticed last Wednesday (thanks for sharing the photo!). No sun yet today but we have hopes for later – here’s what’s coming up for today/tonight:
VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Not registered yet? Today’s your last chance to sign up in time for participation in next month’s primary. King County Elections‘ voter-registration page has all the info/links you need.
HIGH POINT SAFETY MEETING: 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center, local leaders and law-enforcement reps will meet with community members to discuss safety concerns and solutions. Details in our preview from last week. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
TOMBOY EXCHANGE LAUNCH: This West Seattleite-created clothing line (featured here earlier this year) is throwing a launch party at Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor) at Seacrest tonight, 6:30 pm – details in our calendar listing. (1660 Harbor Avenue SW)
EVENING BOOK GROUPS: Two meet at local libraries tonight, both at 6:45 pm. At Southwest Library (35th/Henderson), “The Song of the Lark” by Willa Cather is this month’s book; at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW), “Mornings on Horseback” by David McCullough is this month’s book.
Skateboarders of all ages are invited to get ready to compete at this year’s Delridge Day festival! Just announced:
Delridge Day and Alki Bike & Board are teaming up this year to bring you the second annual skateboard competition! The event will take place Saturday, August 17th from 11:00 am-4:00 pm at Delridge Community Park. Alki Bike & Board is the main sponsor for this event and is putting in time and effort along with the Delridge Day committee to be sure this event will be a fun success!
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:49 AM: It’s back-to-work Monday after what was for many a long holiday weekend. Of note today: The Delridge Way repaving project shifts to Phase 4, Holden to Orchard, with no detour necessary this time because that stretch of Delridge is wide enough for one lane to be kept open each way while work proceeds.
ADDED 9:04 AM: If you drive to or through the Eastside, take note of what’s planned next weekend, per WSDOT:
Beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, July 12, until 5 a.m. Monday, July 15, all northbound lanes of I-405 will close through downtown Bellevue for concrete panel replacement, while the SR 520 floating bridge will close for its annual inspection, and culvert installation.
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