day : 09/12/2013 10 results

(WSB photo taken late today: Hockey on a frozen pond in White Center)
We know winter hasn’t even officially started yet – a week and a half until the solstice – yet it doesn’t get much wintrier than these past several days of mostly below-freezing, at times way-below-freezing, air. By this time tomorrow, forecasters say, the temperature will be rising back toward the normal range. So far tonight, the rumblings of possibly a little bit of snow have come true here and there – Admiral District in the 9 pm hour, Westwood a little earlier – but that’s about it, so far. If you see otherwise in the hours ahead, please let us all know with a comment here!

Meet West Seattle Hi-Yu’s newly coronated 2014 Junior Court!

December 9, 2013 9:05 pm

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| West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

Just coronated during West Seattle Hi-Yu‘s holiday party at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church: The new Hi-Yu Junior Court! In our photo, from left, are Queen Bianca Carufel, and Princesses Callie McFadden and Sadie Botuchis. The community group made some changes this year; instead of a mid-summer coronation during the Hiawatha Fun Fest, the application, judging, and coronation were moved to fall. Boys were also invited to apply for the first time, but the seven candidates at tonight’s event were all girls. They were joined by the past Junior Court for this photo, also featuring 2011 Junior Court Queen Taylor Nichols (second from left), who emceed:

Next up – time to choose the Senior Court; applications are due December 20th, and you can find the form on the Hi-Yu website.

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Followup: Explorer West Middle School open tomorrow

December 9, 2013 9:02 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Just got word that the pipe problem is fixed and Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) will be open tomorrow, normal start time. The school says its Tuesday night open house is on, too, last one of the season, 6:30-8 pm.

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Tonight: North Delridge Neighborhood Council, West Seattle Hi-Yu

December 9, 2013 4:26 pm

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| Delridge | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

Missed the chance for a daily preview this morning – so before the evening rush, a quick mention of two events tonight: The North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets at 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), with the agenda including the upcoming opening of DESC’s Cottage Grove Commons and some changes to the NDNC bylaws. Also, West Seattle Hi-Yu has its December meeting, potluck, holiday party, and Junior Court coronation all in one, 7 pm at the St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church Hall (California/Hanford).

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West Seattle development: Five updates, including site sights

December 9, 2013 2:55 pm

| 16 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news

Five development notes today:

OFFICIAL NOTICE FOR 6917 CALIFORNIA MEETING: In case you missed the mention in our coverage of last week’s Morgan Junction development-primer meeting, the city notice is officially out today, confirming December 19th as the date for the citizen-requested Department of Planning and Development meeting to take comments on the 30-apartments, no-off-street-parking building planned at 6917 California SW. The project does not require Design Review, so no public meeting would be happening if not for a petition drive spearheaded by Concerned Morgan Junction Neighbors. The meeting is at 6:30 pm December 19th at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (This Thursday, December 12th, there’s another community-organized meeting, this time with the site’s developer, 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center.) Our photo, by the way, shows the fence that went up around the site within the past few days.

2 FAUNTLEROY WAY TOWNHOUSE PROJECTS: First, with demolition last week, the site’s being cleared for the 5-rowhouse townhouse project at 5457 Fauntleroy (first mentioned here in June):

Further north, another proposal is now in the city system – seven townhouses proposed for a 7,500-square-foot site at 4842 Fauntleroy Way SW (map), to replace a 62-year-old duplex. The site plan shows two townhouses fronting Fauntleroy, five behind, with seven parking spaces lining the alley on the east side of the site.

2801 SW NEVADA LOT SPLIT, TOWNHOUSES: A few more details on this lot-split plan mentioned last week while we were covering the prefab-townhouse installation nearby on SW Genesee: The comment period for 2801 SW Nevada’s lot split (map) ends next Sunday; you can send a comment by following the link atop the notice, which currently covers only the lot split, though a site plan on file with the city outlines four townhouses to replace the 66-year-old duplex that’s there now.

2 NEW SEAVIEW HOMES: Two 94-year-old houses in the 5900 block of 47th SW in Seaview (map) are planned to be demolished and replaced with new homes – the application for 5911 47th SW is here; the application for 5917 47th SW is here.

SIGHTS ON SITES: Two reader-contributed photos – first, Sharonn caught one of the tanks taken out of the ground at the former Shell station on the 4755 Fauntleroy Way development site at Fauntleroy/Alaska:

That’s not the official start of demolition at the site, just the cleanup of the corner.

Finally – the crane that’s been up for half a year over Spruce, aka the ex-Hole, was spotted hoisting bio-break necessities:

Thanks to Leslie for sharing that pic taken from Dream Dinners (WSB sponsor) on the outer east side of Jefferson Square.

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West Seattle Bee Garden: The buzz for what’s in the works

December 9, 2013 12:38 pm

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| Gardening | High Point | West Seattle news

(May 2013 photo by WSB’s Katie Meyer)
So what do you do for an encore after you launch a brand-new educational garden with a parade and festival AND win the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Westsider of the Year award? West Seattle Bee Garden founder Lauren Englund sends word that even bigger things are ahead for the WSBG in the new year – and recaps some of what else happened along the way:

Guess what, the West Seattle Bee Garden (WSBG) crew made a last-minute decision to apply for another Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund grant this year, and was awarded $18,000! Fantastic news!

This year has been great; not only did West Seattle come together and create the space from scratch in less than three months, but eleven field trips took place there, including a spectacular Seattle Public Library reading event which packed the place with eager learners.

The garden has also had a constant stream of visitors from near and far – really need a guestbook!

Also, local companies including Shipwreck Honey and Seattle Bee Works helped out by building the hives and hosting beekeeping classes at the space. Interested in beekeeping? Keep an eye out for more opportunities down the road!

Here are a few changes you can expect to see at the WSBG, and educational opportunities we hope to share beyond our Bee Garden borders:

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West Seattle weather: Burn ban ends; possible ‘light snow’

December 9, 2013 11:26 am

| 14 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

11:26 AM: Two weather notes: First, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has ended the latest King County burn ban, saying, “An increase in wind speeds is expected this evening and possible precipitation later in the day. Pollution is not likely to build to levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups and clearing is expected once a front comes in and wind speeds increase.” Second, the latest version of the National Weather Service’s ongoing “special weather statement” alert still foresees potential “light snow” this afternoon. Let us know if and when you see some – we’re on watch too.

11:55 AM: A bit of VERY light flurrying in North Delridge, tweets MetPatrick.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car theft compounds locker break-in

December 9, 2013 10:14 am

| 10 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

Monica is asking you to be on the lookout for a stolen car – which is linked to a theft report:

Last night, my son was working out at 24 Hour Fitness at Westwood around 10:00. He called us at 10:30 to report that his locker had been broken into and his wallet and keys (and one shoe!) stolen. The thief then stole his car. SPD did arrive and take a report. Please be on the lookout for a 2005 Nissan Altima 4D 2.5, license plate #AIX6123, in the color of light metallic green. My hope is that it has already been ditched somewhere.

As the SPD @getyourcarback auto-theft tweet advises, call 911 if you see it.

SIDE NOTE: That SPD Twitter feed does not mention *where* a car was stolen, not even which part of the city, and the notations that appear on the SPD crime-info map do not link to reports with info about the car, so the only way we can publish details of a stolen vehicle is if we get a reader report, like this one. Not only have those reports led to other readers spotting stolen cars, sometimes a sighting results in even more (update on the suspect in that case is in the works, by the way). We do hope you won’t EVER be hit by crime, but if you are, once it’s been reported to police, consider sharing info here too – editor@westseattleblog.com.

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Update: Explorer West Middle School closed today

December 9, 2013 7:48 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

7:48 AM: Just heard from Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) – the school is CLOSED today because of a broken pipe.

9:45 AM: They hope it’ll be fixed in time to resume classes tomorrow (which is also an Open House night); we’ll update when info is available later.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday on the move

December 9, 2013 6:03 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(More area traffic cams on the WSB Traffic page)
With two major bridge problems last week, we’re hoping for better luck this week. In that spirit, we’re showing both bridge views as the morning begins, since both cameras are working:

ADVISORIES: Half a block of 42nd SW in The Junction is scheduled for daytime closure again this week, just south of SW Alaska, for sewer-line work. Another encore: Again next weekend, 99 will be closed north of downtown, same stretch as this past weekend, between the Battery St. Tunnel and Valley St.

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