day : 13/10/2013 11 results

(Click image for larger view)
Thanks to Dustin T. Smith for sharing his sunset view of the Olympic Mountains and the centennial-celebrating Alki Point Lighthouse. (If you’re interested in the technical points of the image, Dustin posted notes on the photo page he shared via the WSB Flickr group.) Looks like more sunset views ahead this week, with a rainless forecast stretching days ahead.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Long-gone bike back; salon break-in

October 13, 2013 10:39 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

We start our weekend-ending West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with a semi-happy ending. From Adam:

I just wanted to let you know that a bicycle that was stolen from me a year ago has been recovered. It is thrashed, but it is back. I just went to identify it at the station today. They say they are cracking down on the bicycle thefts and identifying more and more. They found mine in a stash that an arrested burglar told them about. The police are taking notice. Just wanted to let you know about a successful recovery. I thought I’d never see it again a couple months after it was nabbed. This is kind of awesome. $900 bike, a tune-up and some new parts are better than dishing out another $900.

Remember that SPD is tweeting info on bicycles it recovers – check @getyourbikeback.

Now, two reader reports received this weekend. From Jackie:

On Friday morning, the staff at Images hair salon arrived at work to find the police waiting there. Someone had smashed the front door, entered the salon then (burglarized) and ransacked it. According to the officer, they have a good idea who did it, so we are hopeful the fingerprints they found will put this person in jail.

The salon is in the 5000 block of California SW, south of The Junction. Next, from Rachel:

Thought I’d share for other Highland Park residents that my car was broken into Wednesday night and my GPS was stolen. I thought my husband had just gone looking for something in the car because our items were shuffled around, but the doors were locked in the morning when I got up to take my kids to the zoo. My husband just noticed today that the GPS was missing. No broken windows, just a thief courteous enough to lock the doors when they were finished.

P.S. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting is this Tuesday – and as always, you are welcome to bring neighborhood concerns/questions to police leadership for Q/A during the meeting, which also is scheduled to feature guest speakers, as noted on the WSCPC website. 7 pm Tuesday (October 15th) at the Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster.

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Green fun scheduled for next Sunday’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival

October 13, 2013 7:29 pm

| Comments Off on Green fun scheduled for next Sunday’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival

| West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(Chickens and fans at last year’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival; 2012 WSB photo by Nick Adams)
Just one week until this year’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival – 2 pm-5:30 pm Sunday, October 20th, in and around the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, The Hall at Fauntleroy, Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor), and Fauntleroy Church. Judy Pickens shares a partial preview:

In addition to the festival’s customary line-up of free things to do, this year’s event will have a record number of environment-related activities, including

*Chickens and other backyard farm animals with the Seattle Farm Co-Op
*Sweet talk about bees with the Puget Sound Beekeepers
*Fly tying with Pete and his amazing array of supplies
*Salmon-hat decorating with the Fauntleroy Watershed Council
*A preview of the Kilbourne ravine project with Fauntleroy’s forest stewards
*Critter study with those fun-loving naturalists from Camp Long
*An up-close look at the Barton pump station upgrade with King County Wastewater Treatment Division

Here are more photos from last year’s festival; here’s a map to the festival location. See more festival previews on the FFF Facebook page.

ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: The music lineup is out now; from the FFF Facebook page:

• Church lot: Lauren Petrie (keyboard—2 p.m.), Pickled Okra (bluegrass—3 p.m.), 5 Buck Band (rock ‘n roll—4:30 p.m.)

• West side of schoolhouse: Jump Jazz (2:30 p.m.), Polka Service (4 p.m.)

• Fellowship Hall: Y Zumba (2 p.m.), Dance Seattle (classical—4 p.m.)

• Church sanctuary: Endolyne Children’s Choir (2 p.m. practice, 2:30 performance),

• Hall at Fauntleroy: Epic Jam Session (teens—2–5 p.m.)

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“West Seattle: We Have That!” – but will we always?

October 13, 2013 3:23 pm

| 61 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this year, WSB started a series of stories about independent local businesses and why they matter more to a community like ours than you might realize. Then, the “West Seattle: We Have That” campaign launched at midsummer. Starting today, WSB will continue publishing the series – and inviting you into the conversation. Many of the reports, starting with this one, will be underwritten by the West Seattle Junction Association, but not as ads – it’s their contribution to an issue of importance from Alki to Westwood, Fauntleroy to Highland Park, and all over WS.

By Keith Creighton
Special to West Seattle Blog

Demolition is under way on the southeast corner of Alaska Avenue, California Avenue SW, and 42nd Avenue SW, on properties that were once anchor points of the West Seattle Junction. While the buildings have been empty for more than a year and life has continued as normal, many of us have taken comfort in knowing interesting restaurants and shops will return to the corner someday.

But what if they didn’t return?

Two-dozen other boutiques still line The Junction. For some West Seattleites, these stores are rich with treasures: Home décor to fashion, shoes, eyewear, music, wine, and beer, pet supplies and more. Store regulars know the shop owners and clerks by name and enjoy the personalized service only stores like these can provide.

For a greater percentage of area residents, West Seattle shop windows are just eye candy, gazed upon as we stroll the avenue and duck into our favorite restaurants. Window shopping is a difficult task to monetize, so the futures of many of these stores might be passing them by as well.

Do you “Buy Local” in West Seattle – not just The Junction, but other areas as well?

Please share your story in the comments section below, including: If you prefer to shop at malls or online, would you miss West Seattle’s locally owned stores if they went away?

The discussion isn’t merely about supporting a few dozen retailers. It’s about preserving the way of life that sets West Seattle apart from other corners of King County.

To spark retail support from Alki to Endolyne and beyond, the West Seattle Junction Association launched “West Seattle: We Have That” in partnership with a coalition of local retailers and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

“Independent retailers and businesses need to feel the love and patronage of the community to keep their doors open and make West Seattle feel like West Seattle,” says Susan Melrose, director of the Junction Association. “This campaign sheds light on the robust selection of affordable goods and services that can be found every day on this side of the bridge.”

In the coming weeks, these reports will take a closer look at the impact locally owned stores have on West Seattle’s financial future, real estate values, environment, schools and non-profits and our overall quality of life. And if you think you know everything West Seattle businesses have to offer – you might see cause to think twice. So stay tuned, and let us know what you think.

Keith Creighton is a West Seattle-based writer.

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Happening now: First-ever West Seattle Wedding Showcase

October 13, 2013 2:02 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

The doors are open at Dakota Place Park‘s historic building and local vendors are set up for the first West Seattle Wedding Showcase, on until 4 pm today. Admission’s free – check out the building, the park, and local sources for everything from your cake to your flowers. Just north of The Junction, at California/Dakota.

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Easy Street double bill Monday starts with The Head & The Heart

October 13, 2013 1:00 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Double reason to be at Easy Street Records in The Junction tomorrow – they’ve just confirmed hot band The Head & The Heart will be live in-store at 6 pm – free, but ESR says you’re only guaranteed to get in if you’re among those buying the band’s new album “Let’s Be Still” starting at noon Monday at the store (wristbands will be handed out). That precedes the 9 pm release party for Pearl Jam‘s “Lightning Bolt,” and between the two events, they’ll be cooking up their newly famous chicken wings (a semi-new Thursday night tradition). More details on all of the above – including special extras for the PJ release party – on the ESR website.

MONDAY P.S. From the West Seattle Food Bank: “Bring 2 non-perishable food items for the food bank and be entered into a raffle for tickets to the 12/6 Pearl Jam sold-out KeyArena concert!”

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West Seattle coyotes: Four reader reports this weekend

October 13, 2013 12:20 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Four sightings reported in the past (almost) 24 hours:

*Just called in this morning, “big male coyote at 50th and Graham.” [map]

And three in eastern West Seattle:

*Jonel e-mailed late last night: “Just saw a coyote running down the sidewalk on SW Webster between 16th and 14th. [map] He ran when he saw humans.”

*Jeff saw one “standing in our driveway” around 1 pm Saturday, “6000 block of 17th SW. [map] Ran away when our dog started barking.”

And Kellie reported that her son saw what might have bene the same one on Saturday afternoon while “walking on 17th from the path by Duwamish Housing, up the Graham stairs towards 16th and SSCC.” [map]

Scaring them away is best for them and you, so they are conditioned to keep a healthy distance from humans (and their pets), as advised by state wildlife authorities (if you’ve never followed that link we usually include with coyote reports, it’s got lots of other good advice too).

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West Seattle Sunday: Quick check of calendar highlights!

October 13, 2013 9:40 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Thanks to Mark Wangerin for today’s featured photo! He says it’s a Surfbird, adding: “They have returned to Alki now in reliable-to-see flocks of 25 or so. Black Turnstones can be seen with them.”

For today’s highlights, check out our calendar here – click the “plus” sign on the right side of individual listings to get full details on events including:

*Alki UCC Blessing of the Animals service at 10 am
*West Seattle Wedding Showcase at Dakota Place Park, 1-4 pm
*City Fruit cider press at West Seattle Nursery, 1-4 pm
*Ladies’ Musical Club concert at West Seattle Library, 3 pm
*Two Brothers Winery release event at Belli Capelli, 3-6 pm
*Booze, Balls, and Bingo benefit at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 5 pm

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PACK YOUR BAG! Day 12: Wade back into water storage

October 13, 2013 9:23 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| Preparedness | West Seattle news

Get a chance to catch up on your day-to-day “Go Bag”/disaster-preparedness-kit building on Saturday? No? Today’s another chance to at least get started – and if you’re all caught up, congratulations! Remember we’re doing this with the help of West Seattle Be Prepared, in honor of Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month, because much as we hope The Big One never happens, it COULD happen at any time. (Not to mention other types of disasters …)

Motivation of the day: Saturday’s earthquakes around the globe included a 6.4-magnitude shaker off the coast of Greece. Check out this view on the US Geological Service website showing where people felt it. The USGS calls this feature “Did You Feel It” (DIFY) and anyone can report in about any quake, which helps with data collection.

Now, what to do today for your growing “Go Bag” – Cindi from WSBP writes:

We will continue the water stashing today. If you set aside 2 gallons earlier, today you will add 3 more gallons. For those who are using liter soda bottles and had to break out calculators, I just went online and the answer is today you will fill 11 liters. And a double check for everyone, the goal will be 7 gallons or 27 liters. A reminder for how to clean those bottles – see the cleaning and labeling guide here.

Those 27 liter soda bottles will take up a huge amount of space. Rumor has it that if you ask soda delivery drivers nicely, they will sometimes let you have the plastic carriers that they use, and then you can stack several carriers on top of each other. Let us know if the rumor is true!

For a refresher course (including the conversation in the discussion section), go back to Day 5. And to catch up with other days, scroll through our newest-to-oldest archive of preparedness-related coverage.

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Update: One killed, one hurt in West Marginal Way crash

October 13, 2013 12:45 am

| 41 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(UPDATED late Sunday morning with new information from police)

12:45 AM: Police and fire are on the scene of a crash in the 4800 block of West Marginal Way SW and sounds from the scanner as if one person is dead at the scene. More to come.

12:54 AM UPDATE: Seattle Fire verifies via Twitter that one person is dead and another seriously hurt. This is reported to involve a vehicle hitting a tree at high speed.

1:45 AM UPDATE: Just back from checking the scene. West Marginal Way SW is closed in that area, as you’d expect, in the heart of the industrial zone on one side, greenbelt on the other. The car is small and reddish, and officers at the scene were referring to it as a Ford Focus.

3:30 AM UPDATE: Road’s still closed. We’re hoping for more information on the crash later this morning. Meantime, while the 911 log put the location as the 4800 block, comparing maps to the location we saw while out there, we would say it’s more in the early 5000s.

10:41 AM UPDATE: Just in from SPD Blotter:

On 10/13/13, just shortly after midnight, a vehicle was S/B on W. Marginal Wy in the 4800 block, at (according to a witness) a very high rate of speed.

The driver lost control and struck a tree, causing the vehicle to roll over several times. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger was taken to Harborview Medical Center by Seattle Fire Dept in critical condition. The collision was witnessed by a tow truck driver, who stated the vehicle was going over 100 MPH.

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High-school football: Seattle Lutheran vs. La Conner

October 13, 2013 12:33 am

| Comments Off on High-school football: Seattle Lutheran vs. La Conner

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

At West Seattle Stadium on Saturday night, Seattle Lutheran hosted La Conner, which returned home with the win, 48-0. Injuries had the Saints missing some of their veteran players for this game, and while they had some big defensive moments, scoring proved elusive. Next Saturday, Seattle Lutheran goes to Orcas Island for a 1:30 pm game.

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