(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
Seattle Police investigators spent hours at two houses in the 3500 block of SW Rose in Gatewood this afternoon and evening, confirming to WSB’s Christopher Boffoli at the scene that it’s a marijuana investigation.

They also confirmed what we had heard via the scanner earlier, that when they arrived with warrants, one house was occupied and one was not; they made forcible entry into the latter. Neighbors told Christopher they saw one person in handcuffs; police told him “no one will go to jail tonight” but that “both cases will be referred to the prosecutor’s office.”

Scanner traffic indicated that illegal marijuana growing was suspected. We don’t know yet exactly what police found and/or confiscated, but helmeted police, wearing black, arrived at mid-afternoon to serve the search warrant; evidence-gathering followed.

The two houses under investigation are separated by one house that police confirmed is not related or involved. The resident of that house told Christopher he often saw people going between the two houses. Just about all of the neighbors who talked with Christopher said they had smelled marijuana from the houses. We’re not likely to find out more about the raid before Monday.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen in Burien, found in WS

November 1, 2014 7:04 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

Watch out for this stolen 2000 Honda lic AQS9334 taken this morning. Mom wants her baby stroller and car seat back. pic.twitter.com/89j95JdQxT

— Burien Police (@BurienPD) October 10, 2014

That car stolen in Burien three weeks ago (per the above tweet) has apparently just been found in West Seattle. Gretchen e-mailed to tell us a “maroon Honda, license plate AQS9334” had just been towed after police came to the alley near Thistle/17th to check out a report of a possibly stolen vehicle. Often, stolen cars are only driven a short distance before they’re dumped; this one was reported stolen at 4th/156th in Burien, five miles away from Thistle/17th.

P.S. Hope you’ll never need to do this, but if you have a vehicle stolen – bicycle, car, truck, whatever – please let us know so we can report it in WS Crime Watch; we had a “reunion” just last Thursday.

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West Seattle Health Club: Reopening Tuesday, says new manager

November 1, 2014 4:26 pm

| 68 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS Health Club/ex-Athletic Club/ex-Allstar Fitness

Tuesday (November 4th) is now set as the date the former West Seattle (Athletic) Club will reopen as West Seattle Health Club, according to Dan Lehr, who is managing WSHC for property owner John Pietromonaco. He also tells WSB that a “simple placeholder website” is up at westseattlehc.com. Another thing Lehr mentioned that isn’t on that website yet: “I should also have all payroll records as well as membership information sometime Tuesday so we can get a hold of everyone. … Prices will be the same as before and we will extend membership expiration dates for people that have paid-in-full memberships and not bill monthly members for the days we were closed.” If you want to contact them for more information, the “placeholder website” includes an e-mail-contact form.

This is the tenth day the club at 2629 SW Andover has been closed; its former ownership announced the club would close Thursday, October 23, and Friday, October 24, reopening Saturday, October 25th, but instead of reopening, the former ownership turned it over to the property owner to whom they would have had to have paid $1.1 million in back rent and other charges in order to keep it. A message in the name of former owner Sam Adams was sent to a membership mailing list last Wednesday; it included an apology and a denial of the landlord’s allegations of “sabotage” in the moving-out process.

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Brief ‘fire in building’ callout in Morgan Junction

November 1, 2014 3:16 pm

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| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

Big Seattle Fire response checking out a possible “fire in building” in the 6500 block of California SW. More to come.

UPDATE: False alarm, apparently – it closed quickly.

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Happening now: Watch for coho at Fauntleroy Creek

November 1, 2014 1:47 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

19 coho so far this week but none yet today, according to Fauntleroy Creek steward Judy Pickens, who is out today along the otherwise-private reach of the creek, talking with visitors, until 3:30 pm.

To get there, walk down the private driveway that’s off Director, off the northeast end of the creek overlook that’s across Fauntleroy Way (and up the embankment) from the ferry dock, and go around the house to find the path down to the creek. Judy was at the second footbridge when we stopped by.

3:47 PM P.S.: If you didn’t make it there today, you have another chance tomorrow, 12:30 pm-3:30 pm. More than a dozen people already had visited by the time we were there; one visitor was visiting Seattle from Boston!

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West Seattle traffic-alert update: Crash closes Sylvan Way for 7+ hours

November 1, 2014 12:33 pm

| 24 COMMENTS

| High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Thanks to @hommesea for tweeting that photo)
12:33 PM: Thanks to everybody who texted about this. A driver hit a utility pole on Sylvan Way just east of High Point, and the eastbound side of the road is closed, so if you’re trying to get from High Point to Delridge, you’ll have to go another way. The westbound (uphill) side is open. Police tell us nobody was hurt, but Seattle City Light is headed out to figure out if the pole has to be replaced.

P.S. SCL says this has left two customers without power.

1:31 PM UPDATE: In comments, Terri says it’s now closed both ways.

5:40 PM: Still closed at last report and Metro has been rerouting 128. We went by around half an hour ago – the closure is far from the actual crash scene so no way to tell what kind of progress they’re making.

8:30 PM: As Egan reported about 20 minutes ago in comments, it’s now open again. Thanks to everyone for the updates.

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West Seattle weekend scene: Chamber of Commerce volunteers clean up ‘Walking on Logs’ and beyond

November 1, 2014 12:30 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(First two photos courtesy West Seattle Chamber of Commerce)
Many hands make light work, it’s said. And so it went this morning along the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge, as a dozen-plus WS Chamber of Commerce volunteers cleaned up the slope from “Walking on Logs” to the sign with which they’re posing above.

According to Chamber board chair Nancy Woodland (of WestSide Baby), they only needed two hours to get everything picked up and bagged up. This was our photo from about midway through.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
While “Walking on Logs” is on city right-of-way land, the sculpture was installed as part of the West Seattle Murals project two decades ago with the agreement that it and the area around it would be community-maintained. Murals project leader Earl Cruzen did it almost singlehandedly for years, until he was on the brink of 90; four years ago, the Walking on Logs Landscape Restoration Group formed to help, but it’s a big task and they need help too (they were out at the site a month ago).

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West Seattle Saturday: What’s up as November begins

November 1, 2014 7:15 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Barred owl, photographed in West Seattle by Mark Wangerin)
Welcome to November! Lots going on today and tonight in West Seattle, including …

‘FALL BACK’ TONIGHT: We know, we know, the time change is just not what it used to be; almost everything that keeps time makes the change automatically. Still – at least you can look forward to an extra hour of sleep (or of nightlife), because at 2 am “tonight” (aka early Sunday), it’s suddenly 1 am.

Here’s some of what’s happening long before we get to that …

‘WALKING ON LOGS’ CLEANUP: The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce would be happy to have some help 9 am-noon today. Go here to find advice on how to get there and what to bring.

LONI McINTOSH MEMORIAL WALK: 10 am, meet at Alki Bathhouse, wear teal/blue if you can, for a walk in memory of and tribute to the beloved fitness instructor and community member who died two weeks ago; here’s our earlier story. (2701 Alki SW)

BALLOT-DROPOFF VAN: 10 am-5 pm, it’s the first of three days for the King County Elections ballot-dropoff van to be stationed on the West Seattle Stadium driveway, so you can drop off your ballot (no postage required!) for Tuesday’s election. More info in our Friday preview. (4432 35th SW)

SOUTHWEST SEATTLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEEDS YOU! So many different skills are of value at the Log House Museum – check out the monthly volunteer orientation to see what you might be able to offer. 11 am-1 pm. (61st/Stevens)

LEND A HAND AT MORGAN JUNCTION PARK: (updated) 2-4 pm, Friends of Morgan Junction Parks will be working at the main MJ Park and would love your company/help. (6413 California SW)

DUWAMISH LONGHOUSE ART OPENING: Reception noon-4 pm, storytelling/artist talk 2 pm, as Coastal Salish artist and storyteller Roger Fernandes (Lower Elwha S’Klallam) reflects on local native culture & beliefs. Exhibit continues thru December in Duwamish Longhouse Art Gallery; more info here. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)

SALMON-WATCHING: 12:30-3:30 pm, come to Fauntleroy Creek to see if you can spot coho spawners! In the past week, volunteers have counted 19. Here’s the invitation we published last night. (Fauntleroy/Director)

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: To celebrate the “Day of the Dead,” Matador-West Seattle will be offering sugar-skull face painting from 3 pm to 6 pm. 21+ establishment. (4546 California SW)

BOOKS AND BRICKS: 5:30-8 pm, annual fundraising dinner at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church; details here. (California/Hanford)

CHIEF SEALTH IHS DINNER/AUCTION: The high school’s big annual fundraiser is at 5:30 pm tonight, Brockey Center at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – details here. (6000 16th SW)

PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT: 6-9 pm at Straight Blast Gym (WSB sponsor) – OR overnight! Details, including registration link, in our calendar listing. (5050 Delridge Way SW)

SKELETON THEATRE, NIGHT 2: 6-9 pm, it’s your final chance to see the new ~20-minute animatronics-plus-video show titled “Beyond the Pale“ on ST’s outdoor on-the-lawn stage. Here’s our Friday night report with a bit of video. (36th/Hanford)

AMPLIFY: Benefit concert at The Junction Church to help a local family, 8-11 pm; details here, including the lineup of bands. (4157 California SW)

METALWEEN: 9 pm-midnight, bands listed here, at Skylark Café and Club. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

LAST ‘ROCKY HORROR’ AT THE ADMIRAL: After a decade, the monthly shadow-cast “Rocky Horror Picture Show” screenings at Admiral Theater are ending after tonight. 11:59 pm, one last chance to do the “Time Warp,” toss toast, and more. (2343 California SW)

****CALENDAR PAGE ALERT**** For tonight *only*, the WSB calendar page might display incorrect times because of the impending time change, even though they are input correctly; we are hopeful that this software glitch will finally be in our rear-view mirror before Daylight Saving Time’s return in March. Everything above is correct and not subject to the glitch affecting only the actual calendar page and ONLY events for tonight. Please forgive us. Thanks.

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More West Seattle Halloween scenes: Straight Blast Gym; Seaview ‘haunted yard’; WS Corporate Center

November 1, 2014 7:13 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

One last round of West Seattle Halloween scenes:

Straight Blast Gym (WSB sponsor) in North Delridge hosted a trick-or-treat-and-more party – Coach Sonia and friends are in the top photo, and below, some of the cool costumes we spotted while dropping by:

Straight Blast has a “Parents’ Night Out” event tonight, by the way – details here. Meantime, Doug B sent a photo of his “haunted yard” in Seaview:

And earlier in the day, things got spooky at West Seattle Corporate Center (aka “the building with the big flag” at Delridge/Andover):

Hope it was a fun Halloween for all – here are links to our earlier coverage:

*Admiral District trick-or-treating
*Admiral Church trunk-or-treating
*Westwood Village trick-or-treating
*Nightmare on 44th
*Skeleton Theatre

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WSB extra: Last look at what’s now a ghost of a building

November 1, 2014 6:30 am

| 10 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news

(This photo and the next 8 by Mark Cohan)
What could be spookier than a big empty, long-vacant building? One of the biggest ones in West Seattle, the former Huling Chevrolet showroom, is no more on this extended Halloween weekend, as teardown concludes. Mark Cohan, who lives near Fauntleroy/Edmunds, “compiled a sort of photo essay of the old building just a few weeks before it was razed” – and shared the images, including the one above, as one last look. See more ahead (plus a few extra late-in-the-demolition photos of ours):

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