BASKETBALL: West Seattle High School girls to play for 3rd place Saturday after semifinal loss to Gig Harbor

March 2, 2018 10:43 pm

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

Lenzie 3 – with 1 min to go, Gig Harbor 51, West Seattle 44 pic.twitter.com/v5vNXtUE93

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018

(Fourth-quarter 3-pointer by #4 Kelsey Lenzie, who had both of WSHS’s threes tonight)

FIRST REPORT, 10:43 PM: The West Seattle High School girls’ sterling season has one more game to go – but it’ll be for state 3A third place instead of first, after their 55-46 loss to Gig Harbor at the Tacoma Dome minutes ago. Photos and full details of tonight’s game after we get back to HQ; Saturday’s game will be here at 1 pm against Stanwood.

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)

ADDED 1:30 AM: What the Wildcats ran up against on Friday night was a team that managed to play more of the game on its own terms, not West Seattle’s. All season long, the West Seattle girls have mostly run opponents ragged. And when they got the Tides going that way tonight, they gained ground – but not enough to overcome a deficit that piled up early.

#20 Grace Sarver (13 points, 5 rebounds) opened the game with a basket that put West Seattle on top 2-0 – their only lead of the game. The Tides played a slower, wait-for-the-opening type of basketball, and extended the lead to 13-2 before the Wildcats got their next points. The first quarter ended with Gig Harbor leading 16-7.

Though the Tides’ defense didn’t have the up-close intensity of their opponents, they seemed to capitalize on almost every slipup, and even found opportunities in routine West Seattle moves, like long passes – somehow a Gig Harbor player would materialize in the path of the pass and swat it away.

The Tides netted the first four points of the second quarter and things looked a little grim until #32 Meghan Fiso (12 points, 12 rebounds) matched those four points, followed by one of Lenzie’s two 3-pointers, narrowing the gap to 20-14. The Tides’ star performer #10 Brynna Maxwell quickly tossed in one of her own. (Gig Harbor out-tripled West Seattle, 6 to 2, more than accounting for the point-total spread.)

(#11 Jasmine Gayles, 11 points, 4 rebounds)

At this point, WSHS got the game going faster, but GH was outrebounding the Wildcats and just didn’t let them get on a roll. They were still seven points back at halftime, 25-18.

As she had done at the start of the game, Sarver got the first points of the second half, a field goal narrowing the gap to 25-20. They battled to shave that a bit by 5:18 to go in the third, when it was 30-26. And a Fiso basket got the Wildcats to within two at 2:37 left in the third, 32-30. That was as close as they got; Gig Harbor added five points in the next minute-plus. Fiso also had the quarter’s final basket, sending the game into the 4th with Gig Harbor still ahead, 37-32.

END OF 3RD Q: Gig Harbor 37, West Seattle 32. Video: Fiso basket pic.twitter.com/DwaSLTQGmT

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018

The final quarter started with intensified defense from West Seattle, as the girls knew they had to not only start outscoring the Tides to have a chance, but also had to put a lid on them. It looked good for a bit … but the Tides refused to be stifled, and the Wildcats didn’t get any closer than a five-point margin, twice, before the quarter’s midpoint.

Fouls cost West Seattle too, even before the final moments where the trailing team is all but obliged to foul. GH #33 Maddie Willett sank four foul shots in relatively rapid succession.

There was a momentarily thrilling flash of comeback hope around the two-minute mark, when Lenzie’s second 3-pointer cut the lead in half, 47-44. But Gig Harbor got two fast baskets, followed by two foul shots, and led by 9 with less than a minute to go.

A basket by #21 Julianna Horne concluded the WSHS scoring, and then it was over – Gig Harbor heading to the title game vs. Garfield, West Seattle bound for the third-place contest. But keep in mind – tonight’s game was the furthest they’ve gone in their three trips to state over the past four years.

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REMINDER: 3 more days for your ‘early scoping’ comments on West Seattle light rail

March 2, 2018 10:01 pm

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| Transportation | West Seattle news

(Sound Transit’s West Seattle-to-Ballard ‘representative’ map – draft ‘alignment’)

If you haven’t seen the reminder from Sound Transit – or the one in City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s weekly update – let us be the ones to put up the countdown clock: Three days to get your “early scoping” input in about West Seattle light rail, both what you think about the draft plan (“representative alignment”) that’s out there now, and anything you would like to see them consider. Even with 12 years until scheduled launch of West Seattle light rail, as we’ve been reporting, they want to speed things up as much as possible by settling on a “preferred alternative” next year – so this is the time, through Monday (March 5th), to get all your ideas/feedback out there. It’s not the last feedback opportunity, but it’s the widest-ranging one. You can go through the online open house starting here – or cut straight to this page to see a wide variety of ways to give your feedback, including e-mail and postal mail. You can comment on various points of the ST draft-plan map by going here.

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SATURDAY: Shop annual Kids’ Sale to help West Seattle Cooperative Preschools

March 2, 2018 7:22 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle news

That was the scene earlier this evening at the West Seattle VFW Hall in The Triangle, as parent volunteers got ready for tomorrow’s annual Kids’ Sale benefiting West Seattle Cooperative Preschools. The fundraiser sale of baby/kids gear, clothing, toys, furniture, etc., has extra urgency this year – the popular cooperative-preschool program has had to supplement the program funding provided by South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), because of the state higher-education-funding challenges. And that just gets them through the spring – the state-funding picture for next year isn’t even under discussion in Olympia yet. So every dollar raised by the Saturday sale will have extra impact this year for the popular preschool program, which educates parents as well as kids. It’s a consignment sale, so donors are getting a share of the proceeds too, and the dropoffs are what volunteers were arranging when we stopped by tonight. The VFW Hall is at 3601 SW Alaska, and sale hours tomorrow are 9 am to 1 pm; admission is by $1/person donation. More info here!

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Remembering Dr. Dale F. Rudd, 1935-2018

March 2, 2018 5:42 pm

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| Obituaries | West Seattle news

The family of Dr. Dale F. Rudd is sharing this remembrance with the community:

Dr. Dale F. Rudd, 83, professor and research scientist who spent his retirement years in West Seattle:

Many in West Seattle likely remember Dale as the friendly and always upbeat elderly man in the fedora who was a regular walker in the Seaview and Beach Drive neighborhood. He passed on in February after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s, leaving behind his beloved wife, Sandra, and two children, Karen and David.

Dale was born and raised in a Scandinavian-American family in Minneapolis Minnesota. He received his BS with distinction and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he met and married his Sandra, before joining the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. At the University of Wisconsin, he was the Donald C. Slichter Professor of Engineering Research and became internationally known for his influential work in process engineering and computer systems. University of California Vice President and Provost C. Judson King called Rudd’s research “truly pioneering and important.”

Rudd co-wrote numerous university textbooks, including the first textbook in process engineering, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Washington State Academy of Sciences. He won many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Outstanding Educator in America, Byron Bird Award for Excellence in Research Publication and the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award, and was a visiting professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.

Despite his professional accomplishments, his friends and family knew him as a kind, humble man, with a dry sense of humor and always positive view of life, who enjoyed woodworking, canoeing and the outdoors, and spending time with his family and dogs.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

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‘In danger of losing these gains,’ Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship Fund created

March 2, 2018 3:01 pm

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| Environment | Fauntleroy | How to help | West Seattle news

(Photos courtesy Fauntleroy Watershed Council)

By Dennis Hinton
Special to West Seattle Blog

If you value natural areas in West Seattle and want to keep them healthy and safe, you may now make a tax-deductible donation toward ongoing stewardship of two of them: Fauntleroy Creek and Fauntleroy Park.

Initial goal for the new Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship Fund is $30,000.

The Fauntleroy Watershed Council has arranged for EarthCorps, a 501(c)3 international environmental training program headquartered in Seattle, to receive one-time and monthly donations to the fund. Gifts will help pay for work along the creek and in the park that otherwise would not be funded.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since 1989 in restoring natural features of the neighborhood, primarily
with $2 million in public and foundation funding,” said Judy Pickens, a member of the council’s executive committee. “In recent years, grants have become so scarce that we’re in danger of losing these gains.”

Of particular concern is maintaining the safety of areas used as both classroom and lab by the nearly
11,000 students who have visited the creek and park since 1995 to learn about clean water, a healthy
environment, and salmon-friendly habitat.

Pickens noted that governmental priorities have shifted just when the effects of climate change are becoming evident. Peak flows in the creek are now seven times what they were in 2007, putting pressure on weirs designed decades ago for milder conditions. Also, summer droughts have become the norm, threatening vegetation that holds soil and cools the water for salmon and other aquatic life.

The $30,000 would fund permits, design, supplies, and EarthCorps labor to upgrade weirs and vegetation in the lower creek to withstand heavy flows and improve bank stability, spawner access, and student safety over the long term.

“The work that’s now needed is often too hazardous for volunteers or it requires the expertise and equipment of contractors,” explained Peggy Cummings, one of two volunteer forest stewards for the watershed. “This fund gives residents a tangible way to continue to be involved.”

You can donate:

-Online. Go to the donation page at earthcorps.org, select “This gift is in honor or memory of someone,” and write “Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship”

-By postal mail. Write “Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship” on the memo line of your check and mail to Development Office, EarthCorps, 6310 NE 74th St., #201E, Seattle, WA 98115.

-In person. Give your check to any member of the council’s executive committee: Judy Pickens
(judy_pickens@msn.com; 206-938-4203), Peggy Cummings (peggyc@seanet.com; 206-369-4830), or Dennis Hinton (denhinton@msn.com; 206-937-1410).

For a full prospectus, stop by the council’s table at the March 20 Fauntleroy Food Fest or visit www.fauntleroywatershed.org/donate.html, where you’ll also find the 2017 watershed annual report.

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Another ‘town hall’ in West Seattle with Mayor Jenny Durkan – this time, about ‘Students Stopping Gun Violence’

March 2, 2018 1:42 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Mayor Jenny Durkan will be back in West Seattle for another “town hall” meeting less than two weeks after her first one. This one, though, has a very specific theme, as just announced by the mayor’s office:

Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan will host a town hall at Chief Sealth International High School with Seattle and Puget Sound-area students, educators, parents, community leaders and public health officials to discuss reducing gun violence in Seattle and around our country.

“Seattle residents must be safe in their neighborhoods, homes, and schools. Schools are meant for joy and learning – they are not meant for lock downs and mass shootings. Our young people are standing up to reduce gun violence, and we should listen,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan.

The event, “Town Hall on Students Stopping Gun Violence,” will feature questions from students and will be moderated by KING 5’s Natalie Brand and KUOW’s Ross Reynolds. Seattle can join the conversation by tweeting their questions using #SEAGunViolence.

This is planned for 6:30-7:30 pm Thursday (March 8th) in the auditorium at Sealth (2600 SW Thistle).

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen black Audi (update: found)

March 2, 2018 1:39 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

1:39 PM FRIDAY: From Kami:

My husband’s car was stolen yesterday morning from right in front of our house on 38th Avenue SW & SW Andover Street in West Seattle. 2007 black Audi A4 Quattro. There is a dent in the front right bumper.

Call 911 if you see it.

MONDAY UPDATE: Kami says it was found in Shoreline.

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West Seattle Friday: 6 don’t-miss events

March 2, 2018 12:14 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Waterfowl at the White Center bog, photographed by Gill Loring)

Our highlights are a little late today because of this morning’s big news. But they’re all happening tonight anyway, so you have hours to decide, if one (or more) isn’t already in your plan:

DESTINATION DELRIDGE: 6 pm reception, followed by dinner and dancing, at Metropolist in SODO, raising money for the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. More info in our calendar listing – check to see if tickets remain! (2931 1st Ave. S.)

CORNER BAR: 6 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club, it’s the monthly pop-up bar/community celebration. The Jelly Rollers will play a few sets between 7:30 and 11; DJ Dr. Lehl is on hand too; food and drink available for purchase. All ages. (1116 SW Holden)

WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL SWING DANCE/DINNER: 6:30 pm in the West Seattle High School Commons, dine and dance with student musicians and chefs and the West Seattle Big Band, in this annual fun(draiser)! Ticket info in our preview. (3000 California SW)

SOUL JAMBALAYA: As previewed here, tonight’s the night for the 8th annual edition of this musical celebration, featuring student musicians as well as amazing performers with gospel, blues, jazz, funk, and reggae. 7 pm at the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium. Free; donations accepted for student music education. (2600 SW Thistle)

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SHOW: Tom Esch performs at The Skylark tonight, with part of the proceeds going to suicide prevention/mental-health awareness, as explained in our calendar listing. Doors at 7 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

IN THE FINAL FOUR: As we reported last night, the West Seattle High School girls are in the state 3A semifinals!

(Photo from Thursday night’s quarterfinal game, by WSB’s Patrick Sand)

They play Gig Harbor at the Tacoma Dome tonight at 9 pm for a berth in Saturday’s championship game. Want to go cheer them on? Ticket info is on the right side of the bracket page. (2727 E. D St, Tacoma)

WHAT ELSE IS UP? Go here to see.

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‘It is a home. It is YOUR home’: C & P Coffee announces it’s raised the money ‘to purchase and preserve the coffee house’

March 2, 2018 8:56 am

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| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

(Added: WSB photo taken this morning)

8:56 AM: Two months after we first reported that the site of C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) had been put up for sale by its longtime landlord – C & P has just announced that its subsequent push to purchase the property was a success.

(WSB file photo)

From proprietors Cameron and Pete Moores:

Dear West Seattle and Beyond,

It is with the most profound gratitude that we can say we have raised the funds needed to purchase and preserve the coffee house.

Thousands of us stood together to say that community matters, and that a true community space like the coffee house is worth saving. That same spirit and kindness has always made C & P what it is.

All those who gave through the GoFundMe or by other means directly contributed to our effort to save C & P. From the countless friends and Neighbors who gave hundreds to the Fairmount Park student who shyly slid a dollar across the bar; every donation mattered. Please know with pride that we couldn’t have done it without you. We look forward to building friendships and community with you for many years to come.

This effort would not have been possible without the advice and expertise of so many from our community. Although resolute, Cam and I were over our heads many times during this process. Our motto was; “They don’t know the amateurs they’re dealing with!” Although there are too many to thank here, we would like to especially acknowledge our lawyers Eric and Brock, John Babauta and HomeStreet Bank, and our dear friend and broker Roger Steiner of RSVP real estate. Thanks also to our incredible C & P crew for putting up with us during this process. We couldn’t have done it without all of you.

Kindness has always been the cornerstone of C & P. For 15 years we have opened our doors and welcomed a neighborhood in. But it wasn’t until the place was in Jeopardy that Cam and I truly learned what community means. Your kindness and commitment has shown us clearly that the coffee house is more than four walls. It is a place where neighbors meet and strangers become friends. It is a place where music and poetry and art are essential. It is a place where social justice is expected and fought for. It is a warm cozy room on a cold day. It is a home. It is YOUR home.

With much love and gratitude.
Cam and Pete

The crowdfunding campaign that helped enable the purchase was launched less than a week after first word the property was on the market. Days later, the listing showed the owner had accepted another prospective buyer’s offer, but C & P said their lease gave them right of first refusal, and they continued working to muster their own offer. They founded C & P 15 years ago, and along with serving coffee and other beverages, it is an event venue and community center – hosting hundreds of gatherings, performances, fundraisers, and more.

ADDED 10:12 AM: We went over to the shop and got the photo of Cameron that we’ve added above. She says they cannot comment yet on details of the deal.

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