The Dusty 45s take Hiawatha concert crowd for a spin
(First photo by Jason Grotelueschen; others by Patrick Sand)
Fiery finale for The Dusty 45s tonight, concluding a hot night – despite clouds and a bit of breeze – in the second week of this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha!
Lots of fun for the little ones – even free facepainting (which will be offered again later in the series):
And the band played on:
Guitars on the sidelines, too, courtesy of Frank Gross and West Seattle’s own Thunder Road Guitars (WSB sponsor):
Once again this week, Merrill Gardens (also a WSB sponsor) brought coloring books for young artists:
Next Thursday night, it’s the duo Impossible Bird – 6:30 pm Thursday, August 8th, on the east lawn at Hiawatha (along Walnut Avenue, south of SW Lander, north of the east side of West Seattle High School).
Apologies yet again
We are in the “you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs” technical mode – that’s no excuse, but there’s really nothing else we can say about being offline for a few hours. Some people had trouble seeing the site earlier in the day too – and that has to do with the nature of the problem, which involved the ultimate destination you’re pointed to when you ask your computer or phone to take you here. As of right now, everything’s pointed to the correct place. It’s been a fairly quiet day, so you haven’t missed much, but again, we’re sorry – even on slow days, we work hard to have interesting information here, updated at least every few hours, so we’re behind now and we’ll be catching up on a few things overnight as a result. – Tracy & Patrick, WSB co-publishers
Landmark nomination to be considered for Arbor Heights Elementary
Keep in mind, this is basically a required, routine action, triggered by impending demolition/rebuild – as is similar consideration for Genesee Hill. Nonetheless, public notification is mandatory, and here it is, as just sent by the Department of Neighborhoods, which includes the Landmarks Board:
The Landmarks Preservation Board will consider landmark nomination for Arbor Heights Elementary School at 3701 SW 104th St. The meeting will be on Wednesday, September 4 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor in Room 4060.
The public is invited to attend the meeting and make comments.
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New rules for school fundraisers: District’s explanation
Seattle Public Schools has new rules about school fundraisers, and they’ve stirred up some concern today. The citywide PTSA Council mentioned them briefly in a newsletter that went out this week:
Starting in the Fall 2013, Seattle Public Schools will take a 10% cut, up to $1000, for the use of school grounds if the fundraising activity takes place during school hours (read: Walk-A-Thons, etc). (We’re trying to think of it as a “use fee” for the space).
That was in turn forwarded to WSB by several outraged parents. So we asked SPS spokesperson Teresa Wippel about the rule change. She explains:
To comply with state law, Seattle Public Schools developed new procedures for school-based fundraising. If fundraisers occur during the school day and involve students (for example, a walkathon or readathon), we are required to ensure that students receive a portion of the proceeds. We worked with PTSA leadership during the past school year to create these procedures, which are aimed at making sure that our students retain a portion of the proceeds for events that they participate in. As a result, if a PTSA fundraiser is an activity that is co-sponsored with ASB, 10 percent – up to $1,500 – goes to the school’s ASB fund. Of course, the ASB fund may be used for many of the things the PTSA supports, such as field trips and sporting and social events.
If the activity is carried out in accordance with all three items listed below, it is a PTSA event; thus the PTSA retains all proceeds:
A) outside of regular school time (after school, evening or weekend)
B) the PTSA does the event planning, organizing, money-handling
C) the event is advertised as a PTSA fundraiser (i.e. Adams PTSA, Ballard Athletics Booster Club).
We also asked when this was approved by the School Board. Answer: It wasn’t – it’s an administrative action. Meantime, a commenter on Seattle Schools Community Forum pointed out that something similar came around three years ago – and was overturned shortly after coming to light.
Junction crash victim identified: Larry Keller, 1950-2013
That’s Larry Keller, the 62-year-old man killed in The Junction last Friday morning when his motorcycle collided with an SUV. Police have not yet released findings in the investigation. But Mr. Keller’s family wanted to thank the community for its condolences, and to “reach out to the driver of the SUV and let him know that we are grieving for him as well as my brother.” That driver was not seriously hurt. Meantime, near the California/Oregon crash site, there is a simple tribute to Mr. Keller:
His sister Lori told us about her brother: Lawrence John Keller was born September 8th, 1950, and grew up in West Seattle, graduating from WSHS. He was a real “people person,” Lori says, known for his loud, contagious laugh. He was a motorcycle and muscle-car enthusiast – the motorcycle he’s on in the photo above is not the one he was riding at the time of Friday’s crash; it was one of several that he owned, including vintage models. He worked in construction and general labor for most of his life. He is survived by sister Lorene Sutherland of Kent and nieces Misty E. Roberts of Issaquah and Camille E. Sutherland of Kent. Memorial plans are not yet finalized.
West Seattle STEM PTA proposes ‘two viable alternatives’: Fairmount Park, or K-8 at Boren
As West Seattle’s public STEM elementary school approaches the start of its second year, Seattle Public Schools is preparing to make decisions including a permanent home for that school. Two months ago, SPS went public with a preliminary proposal to house STEM in the current Schmitz Park Elementary, once it’s vacated in 2016, when the new Genesee Hill school is ready. This week, the STEM PTA announced two counterproposals, in advance of a round of meetings starting with one that the PTA’s executive board is convening next week: Move STEM to the Fairmount Park building when it reopens, expanded, in 2014, or keep it at Boren and expand it to K-8. The proposals are detailed in this letter, which PTA president Robin Graham shared with WSB on request after circulating it within the school community:
West Seattle STEM proposal
(If you can’t see the embedded document, get the PDF version here.) The K-8 idea has percolated for a while; yesterday, even before the STEM PTA went public with its letter, there were related discussions in this thread on the Seattle Schools Community Forum website. The district’s website has information here about what’s officially called the Enrollment Planning/Growth Boundaries process – including a community meeting planned at West Seattle High School on September 25th, before decisions are finalized later this fall.
UPDATE: As noted in comments, the meeting on Monday is now at Boren, NOT SW Library, so that more participation can be accommodated.
West Seattle Thursday: Dusty 45s at Hiawatha; free Shakespeare…
Just in case the clouds really do persist through the day and into the evening – there’s a color splash from last night’s sunset, thanks to Lynn on Alki. Now, a look ahead to the rest of the first of August:
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: Today at 11, bring preschool-age kids to the Southwest Branch Library for story time! (35th/Henderson)
COMMUNITY ORCHARD OF WEST SEATTLE: Every Thursday this summer, 5-7 pm, drop by for a work party and/or tour at COWS, on the north side of the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) campus – details in the calendar listing.
THE DUSTY 45s AT HIAWATHA: Week 2 of the Admiral Neighborhood Association-presented Summer Concerts at Hiawatha; tonight, the stars are The Dusty 45s – free, 6:30 pm, east lawn of Hiawatha Community Center (Walnut Avenue side, south of SW Lander), with dinner available (bring $ if interested) via the annual benefit barbecue raising money for scholarships to Hiawatha programs. P.S. If the weather gets worse instead of better, the concert could be moved into the gym – check WSB late in the day for updates.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: Greenstage presents “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” free, 7 pm at Lincoln Park. (Where in the park, you ask? From the GS website: “Our performance space is located in a meadow just SW the sports fields and tennis courts.”)
LOTS OF NIGHTLIFE – with tonight’s listings on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar including Duos Lounge, Skylark Café and Club, The Cask, Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), OutWest Bar, Terrible Beauty, and The Benbow Room.
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