West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Thanksgiving countdown edition

The weekend before Thanksgiving is a great time to give - or to receive, if you are in need - tomorrow morning there’s a turkey/grocery giveaway at Eastridge, and local food banks are gearing up for the holiday - if you are able to give, both the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank continue facing high demand, and if you can’t make it during the hours they’re open, look for special benefits, like the Beer Church Turkey Bowl (co-sponsored by WSB) tomorrow night - bring WS Food Bank donations, 6 pm at West Seattle Bowl. One more chance to give - the bloodmobile’s at Mars Hill in West Seattle on Sunday, all welcome - the holidays are a time when the blood supply gets dangerously low. Meantime, other weekend events include the Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) sale and other business open houses, two puppet shows, Family Science Night, the first big holiday pancake breakfast (presented by the West Seattle Lions); final two performances of “The Diviners” by Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor), native storytelling and hiphop at the Duwamish Longhouse, a free business seminar … More than 50 events/activities in all, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club: Click to read the rest of West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Thanksgiving countdown edition…

H1N1 flu update from King County Public Health: Fewer cases

If you’ve been worried about H1N1 flu - a bit of good news from King County Public Health - the number of cases is on the decline. KCPH just sent a news release with the newest info - read on: Click to read the rest of H1N1 flu update from King County Public Health: Fewer cases…

3 West Seattle sales: Square 1 Books, SSCC wine, Fauntleroy art

The West Seattle Weekend Lineup is in the works, but first, from the WSB Events calendar (where you’ll find a long list of things happening today and beyond), three sales starting/happening today/tonight: First, day 1 of the 2-day anniversary sale at West Seattle’s independent book store Square 1 Books in Jefferson Square - 15% off everything. The doors just opened and Square 1’s open till 6 pm; sale continues tomorrow, 10 am-5:30 pm. Second, South Seattle Community College’s increasingly renowned wine program invites you to the Pre-Thanksgiving Wine Tasting and Sale this afternoon/evening - 4-8 pm - here are full details on the wines they’re featuring (note: both Square 1 Books and SSCC are WSB sponsors). Finally, the Fauntleroy Art Show and Sale opens at 6:30 tonight at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW; more details on Facebook).

Also from Alki: Statue of Liberty bricks, plaques on sale again

One more note from the Alki Community Council, following last night’s meeting (here’s our wrapup of other items): In time for holiday shopping … there’s another chance to buy bricks or a plaque at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, to support its maintenance fund. The announcement is shared by David Hutchinson:

As you may know, the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project disbanded as of the September 19th Time Capsule Celebration. Seattle Parks and Recreation has recently concluded an agreement with the Alki Community Council allowing the Council to sponsor the sale of additional engraved bricks and Tribute Plaques. The ACC will also be the organization working with the community to coordinate the future maintenance of the Plaza with Parks.

We are happy to announce the sale of a limited quantity of engraved bricks and Tribute Plaques. The Alki Community Council is currently working on getting a 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Code designation. At the present time however, any donations will not be tax deductible. All bricks sold will be 4 x 8 inches. A “family or individual” brick will be priced at $100, while a “business or organization” brick will cost $250. These are the same prices as in the first two sales. You can download a brick order form, a brick sale FAQ, and a catalog of standardized symbols that can be engraved on your brick by going to www.sealady.org . Funds raised by this sale will be turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation to supplement the existing maintenance fund and used to support approved ACC-sponsored events that benefit the Plaza.

For information on ordering bricks or any related questions, please contact Eilene Hutchinson at:
206-933-8352
libertyplaza@msn.com

For information on the available Tribute Plaques, please contact Libby Carr at:
206-938-8721
libby@carrbiz.com

If you are interested in more information on the Alki Community Council and its activities, please contact secretary Paul Carr at:
paul@carrbiz.com

4435 35th SW makes it through Design Review 1st round on 1st try

That’s one alternative for 4435 35th SW (map) - the proposed 100+-unit residential/12,000-sf commercial project on the Redline-and-south site - shown for the first time at Thursday night’s Southwest Design Review Board meeting, but not in the online packet. It’s the one that won the most attention - as an option that would feature a little more than 100 condos, over two stories of commercial frontage. More on the meeting ahead: Click to read the rest of 4435 35th SW makes it through Design Review 1st round on 1st try…

Admiral Theater holiday contest: Choose the (free) movie!

The Admiral Theater invites you to help choose a free movie for the holidays. Dinah from The Admiral sends the pitch:

We would love to host a free holiday movie for our neighbors and want your suggestions! Last year we showed, the perennial favorite, A Christmas Story. Please suggest something you can’t see on TV i.e. (It’s a Wonderful Life). Maybe it’s a charming foreign Christmas film or maybe it’s Naughty Santa. The only thing we can’t do is play something that’s currently out in
the theaters. You can either e-mail me at dinah@admiralentertainment.com, or fill out a slip and put it in our Christmas box at the theater and let me know what you’d like to see on our big screen! Admission is free but we ask that you bring some needed donations for our food banks! We will announce the film the first week of December and we will show the film on Saturday, December 19th at noon!

Next time you go to the movies at The Admiral, also look for their candy contest - a suggestion box of sorts where you can suggest a type of candy you’d like to see make a comeback.

Alki Community Council: Officer elections, and kiosk talk

From tonight’s Alki Community Council meeting: Officer elections, with 3 returnees and one new: Jule Sugarman, Randie Stone and Paul Carr are returning as president, vice president and secretary, respectively; since Larry Carpenter chose to step down from the treasurer position, Terry Zerngast was elected to take over. ACC is also looking for a new board member to replace Laura Sue Hoover. Another new name: Glynnis Vaughan has been hired to take over the Alki News Beacon, succeeding Cami MacNamara; next edition, said Sugarman, should be out in January (he’s accepting story suggestions). The ACC also heard from Chas Redmond regarding the upcoming Alki wayfinding kiosks and stanchions (signposts) that are in the works along with Admiral, which has a meeting at 4 pm tomorrow, as noted here earlier:

(If you’re wondering about the decor, the group had to meet in an Alki Community Center room more often used for kids’ programs, since the center’s community spaghetti dinner was in its bigger space.) As is the case in Admiral, and Fauntleroy before that, there’ll be meetings to zero in on location and content for the wayfinding structures, part of West Seattle Trails (seen the updated map yet?). One more Alki note - another work party for the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project demonstration garden at Seacrest is coming up this Saturday, 9 am-1 pm, all volunteers welcome, meet behind the Alki Kayak Tours shack at 9. (No ACC meeting in December, by the way - next one’ll be January 21st.)

WS Chamber at Westwood Village: Sneak peek at Santa’s new HQ

West Seattle Chamber of Commerce members and guests were at Westwood Village tonight as WSCC president/CEO Patti Mullen and WWV manager Stuart Crandall cut the ribbon for Santa’s new digs in the original Wyatt’s Jewelers [WSB sponsor] storefront across the breezeway from 24 Hour Fitness during the chamber’s After-Hours event tonight. Santa listened to holiday wishes, too - including the ones shared by Rick Jump from White Center Food Bank and Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby:

Rick asked for enough food to feed the 1,000 people his agency (which serves part of WS too) will see in the next week; Nancy asked for enough diapers to make life pleasant for the hundreds of little ones whose families get help through her agency. (WC Food Bank REALLY needs turkeys, by the way - their website has info on how to donate - they’ll be there on Saturday this week too; while WestSide Baby has specifics on its site too.) As for the rest of the event - Wyatt’s proprietors Joni and Kirk Keppler opened their new storefront in the heart of the center (by Chico’s, north of Barnes & Noble) to visitors:

Other Westwood Village merchants participated too (with treats from eateries Giannoni’s Pizza, Eats Market Cafe and Sub Shop), as the shopping center gets ready for the holidays. Back to Santa, we’ve got his schedule on the new WSB West Seattle Holidays page; he’s all about doing good in the community - photos are free with a food donation, there’s a Giving Tree for the Salvation Army, a place to drop off diapers (preferably sizes 3-6) for WestSide Baby, and gift wrapping is free but anything you donate will go to local nonprofits. More Chamber info, by the way (disclosure - WSB is among the many local businesses that are members), at wschamber.com.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Face-to-face with burglars

Betsy reports a burglary on 26th SW in North Delridge - and says she came face-to-face with one of the burglars when she arrived at her neighboring home around 1 pm — “a slender, dark-skinned African American man between the ages of 17-24 walking out of my neighbor’s house carrying a large bag.” She continues:

I confronted the perp who said he was “visiting a friend.” Another young man came out of the neighbor’s yard carrying a bag, saw me, and turned around and ran out the back. The young man I saw looked like he was of east or north African descent - high cheekbones, very slender build, dark complexion. I was on the phone with police instantly. The neighbor got home while I was still calling in the crime and he saw his house had been ransacked, trashed, and all his valuables stolen. Including his rent money as he has been working overtime to pay the rent. They were broken into a week ago but someone was home; they noticed someone casing the house a few days ago, and we saw someone prowling the house YESTERDAY but the police said they could do nothing because no crime was committed. The cars of interest are a RED SUV and a RED/MAROON midsized sedan.

ADDED 8:41 PM: Betsy has included more description information in comments. Meantime, we have had another break-in report - sent by two of the victim’s neighbors, and mentioned in comments - on 47th near Andover (map).

Happening now: High Point Community Center early Thanksgiving

Thanks to Wendy Hughes-Jelen for sending photos from the High Point Community Thanksgiving Dinner that’s happening right now at HP Community Center, till 8 pm. Everybody welcome! (And there are other community feasts coming up - including two on Thanksgiving Day - check the new WSB West Seattle Holidays page.)

Who’s accountable for what? New Seattle Council assignments

The Seattle City Council just announced who’ll be in charge of which committee once its two new members, Sally Bagshaw and Mike O’Brien, are sworn in after the holidays. One change of particular note to West Seattleites - WS-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is moving from the Parks Committee chair role to lead the Transportation Committee (whose former chair, Jan Drago, ran for mayor instead of council re-election); Bagshaw will be the new Parks chair. A few committees are changing names/focuses too - read on for the full council announcement about those changes, and who’s running what: Click to read the rest of Who’s accountable for what? New Seattle Council assignments…

Help solve a hit-and-run: Reward offered in White Center case

We’ve been covering this story since night before last on partner site White Center Now, when several people sent tips about the crash and resulting traffic trouble - but now investigators are casting a wider net in trying to solve the hit and run (16th/106th) that sent a developmentally disabled man to the hospital, where deputies say he remains in critical condition. If you have any leads on a vehicle that might fit the description above, a $1,000 reward is offered, and 911 will take your tip.

West Seattle Food Bank holiday updates: How to help & get help

Just out of the WSB inbox, this update from West Seattle Food Bank executive director Fran Yeatts:

The West Seattle Food Bank will be changing hours during the week of Thanksgiving.

We will be distributing our holiday food on Monday, 11/23 for seniors from 9:30 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. and for the general public from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, 11/24 for the general public from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Any donations specific to the Thanksgiving holiday can be delivered on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. or Monday, 11/23 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. We will also be here to accept donations from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 11/24 and Wednesday 11/25.

We will be closed at 3:00 on Wednesday 11/25, and all day Thursday, 11/26 and Friday, 11/26. We will resume our normal hours on Monday, 11/30.

Thank you West Seattle for your generous support!

We’ve got a followup question out asking if there’s anything in particular they need; the WS Food Bank is at 35th/Morgan (map). Meantime, remember the White Center Food Bank serves part of West Seattle too - it’s got donation information here.

One week till Thanksgiving: West Seattle Holidays page now up

Thank you to everyone who has shared news so far of holiday events around West Seattle - we’ve put it all together in Version 1.0 of the WSB West Seattle Holidays page. Events start with the Canape Chef Services (WSB sponsor) cooking class tonight, continue through Thanksgiving (including the Eastridge Christian Assembly turkey giveaway on Saturday), and we’ll add New Year’s when those events roll in. Keep in mind, these are just the holiday events we’ve found out about so far - PLEASE send word of whatever you’ve heard of, too, and we’ll keep adding - thanks!

Next round of wayfinding kiosks: Help plan Admiral!

First came Fauntleroy - next, Admiral and Alki are on deck for the West Seattle Trails Wayfinding and Kiosks project, which includes a $100,000 city grant. The first meeting to plan Admiral kiosks (similar to the one shown in a Feet First website photo at left, the pilot kiosk on Delridge) is scheduled for tomorrow - here’s the announcement from Chas Redmond:

The first of several planning meetings to help determine the location, content, and art for wayfinding kiosks to be installed in the Admiral neighborhood area will take place this Friday, November 20, at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

This meeting and others to follow will allow residents and other interested individuals to help define and create the content and art for two six-foot high, three-feet wide wayfinding kiosks which will be part of a West Seattle-wide wayfinding system.

The system already has three kiosks in various stages of development in the Fauntleroy area. The two Admiral kiosks will also be joined by three Alki-area kiosks. These five kiosks are part of the West Seattle Trails Wayfinding and Kiosk project which previously produced the West Seattle Trails map.

That map has been updated by the way - take a look here.

Shining Stars Gala in West Seattle this week, and why it’s needed

This Saturday at The Hall at Fauntleroy, it’s a brand-new event - the “Shining Stars Gala” for the Washington chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Uncomfortable subject - but if you’ve been following our coverage a while, you’ve heard us say it’s one that gets swept under the rug too often. In fact, the annual report from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office is out today, and while suicides are down - the rate is still more than double the homicide rate, though you’d never know because of a misguided taboo on news coverage of suicides: 210 suicides in King County last year, 85 homicides. It’s a higher number than even traffic deaths at 163. (See the ME’s full report here.) Back to the Shining Stars Gala: It’s the AFSP chapter’s first annual auction benefit, 7:30 Saturday, with hors d’oeuvres, silent & live auctions, dessert and entertainment. There’s ticket info online.

West Seattle wildlife: Fauntleroy Creek intruder

While salmon-watchers along Fauntleroy Creek watch for the next arrival of live fish - the ones who’ve visited so far are doing what come naturally - including dying. But while visiting the creek this morning, we learned from Dave McCoy of Emerald Water Anglers that the one you see above wasn’t a coho after all - but a blackmouth chinook. “Hatchery fish trying to get up here and mix it up with the wild ones,” he explained. We caught up with him, Denny Hinton and Judy Pickens while a class from the Providence Mount St. Vincent Intergenerational Center was getting a lesson about salmon - including the chinook carcass - and then a presentation from Judy (in the background):

Denny and Dave then headed off to check out a report of fish near the creek mouth on Fauntleroy Cove.
(Added Judy in e-mail after we first published this story: “Fauntleroy is a coho creek, so having this type of chinook (king) come in is a first. Instead of migrating to the ocean, blackmouth stay in Puget Sound all year and their black gum line is the reason for their name. This fish was under five pounds - small for the species - and it had no adipose fin, indicating that it originated in a hatchery.” She says the carcass “was returned to the creek where its nutrients will benefit the next generation” and adds an update on this year’s watch: “After several days of no fish, this year’s salmon watchers went home, having documented a total of 18 fish. But more were spotted this morning near the mouth and, with especially high tides through the weekend, spawning season may not be over!”) Great day to be out by the creek, despite the fairly heavy rain - and nearby streets are resembling creeks, like upper Fauntleroy Way north of the salmon overlook:

By the way, the wind advisory is still up, till midnight, and the forecast suggests it may kick up again before then.

Updates: New restaurant name; Admiral Safeway permit filings

NEW RESTAURANT’S NAME: When we reported last week on the plan for what’s going into the former Ama Ama space at California/Edmunds, the proprietors weren’t sure about a name. Looks like they’ve found one: The liquor-license permit application lists the name as Table 35 Restaurant and Lounge. Now, to the Admiral District:

SAFEWAY PERMIT FILINGS: From today’s city Land Use Information Bulletin: The only two West Seattle items are both related to the Admiral Safeway project, and both include a formal chance for you to comment. First, the application for the land-use permit for the commercial building along California north of the store (rendering above), which Safeway wants to build first so its pharmacy can stay in operation while the store is closed for construction; links are here (including how to comment). Second, permit applications for the store/apartments/flex-work project itself, including a rezoning request that will require City Council approval (links are here). As we reported last weekend, the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting for the Admiral Safeway project is tentatively scheduled for 8 pm December 17th, Youngstown Arts Center.

Today/tonight: Design Review, Alki dinner & council, more

As reported a week ago, that’s an early sketch of the proposal for 4435 35th SW, which will be presented to the Southwest Design Review Board for the first time at 6:30 tonight, Senior Center of West Seattle. Also today/tonight: West Seattle Democratic Women meet at 11:30, West Seattle Golf Course (call ASAP for reservations - info here); two events at Alki Community Center - the center Advisory Council’s community spaghetti dinner at 6 (bring a canned-food donation) and the Alki Community Council’s annual meeting (with officer elections) at 7 pm (then head over to Bamboo for Alki Idol) at 9:30; and you can celebrate Thanksgiving a week early at High Point Community Center - turkey dinner, prizes, contests, starting at 6. That’s not everything that’s happening - see the rest on the WSB Events calendar!

SPD Officer Britt Sweeney tells her story for the first time

Less than three weeks after the Halloween night shooting that shook the city and took Officer Timothy Brenton’s life, his partner Officer Britt Sweeney is telling her story. That video clip is from Wednesday night’s Q13 FOX newscast; Sweeney talked with anchor David Rose during a taping of the station’s “Washington’s Most Wanted” show. She told the station she’s still hoping to get back to work as soon as possible.

Update: School board approves attendance maps, with few tweaks

The Seattle School Board has finally voted late tonight on the attendance maps that are a key component of the new Student Assignment Plan, and for West Seattle, it went along the path that local board rep Steve Sundquist had outlined at his meeting this morning (WSB coverage here) — no major map changes for West Seattle, just a couple of tweaks, but he reiterated that he wants to look into possible “rule changes” including making Gatewood, West Seattle and Sanislo Elementaries “dual feeder” schools whose families could choose to follow the north (WSHS/Madison MS) or south (Chief Sealth/Denny IMS) track. The maps ultimately passed unanimously; we expect word late tonight or early tomorrow on when the maps will reflect tonight’s amendments. 12:27 AM UPDATE: Word from the district is that the maps will be updated “by next week.” They’ve just issued the official news release detailing tonight’s vote and other action - read on: Click to read the rest of Update: School board approves attendance maps, with few tweaks…

West Seattle Crime Watch: Car keyed; robbery suspects charged

First, a quick CW report from Nicole:

I read the West Seattle Crime (Watch) frequently since our home was burglarized back in August. Wanted to report that our SUV was vandalized night of November 16 — someone keyed along the entire length of the car. It was parked on the street on 41 between Dakota and Andover. This just continues the disturbing trend of property theft and damage that our neighborhood is experiencing.

Second, a quick followup on last Thursday’s arrest of four teenagers who are believed to be linked to West Seattle/White Center convenience-store robberies as well as the Rainier Valley robbery after which they were arrested. All are now charged - only in connection with that robbery, so far - the three 16-year-olds are charged as adults, the 13-year-old as a juvenile. We will continue to watch the case to see what happens as they move through the system, including whether they are charged in the locak holdups.

Can you help Rob avoid a rabies shot?

Out of the WSB inbox - a request for help, from Rob:

I was hoping that you could help me in our search for the owner of a dog that was on leash outside Prost on California Ave on Monday, November 16th at around 5:45 pm. At about this time, I was bitten on the face by this dog and ended up in the emergency room with severe lacerations to my upper and lower lips.

It is required that hospitals report all dog bites to King County Health, who called me this morning and told me that if I wasn’t able to locate the dog and the owner, they would recommend that I get a rabies vaccination. The treatment would be painful and I would like to avoid this if at all possible. I need to find the owner to obtain some information that would allow me to avoid any more pain.

Rob’s story continues - read on: Click to read the rest of Can you help Rob avoid a rabies shot?…

Seats for sale! Chief Sealth renovation “recycling”

If you ever went to a play, a concert or an assembly in the Chief Sealth High School auditorium - you’ll remember these seats. They’re being replaced as part of the renovation project that’s in its home stretch. Second Use Building Materials shared the photo with news that it salvaged the 600 (or so) seats for reuse, and that they’re now for sale - you can even just buy one (here’s a sample page from the Second Use website). Says the announcement from Second Use, “These seats are great for adding a bit of flair or history to home design projects, business settings, or even classrooms.” For information about the material or the salvage project, you can contact Patrick Burningham at 206-510-8272 or Patrick@seconduse.com.

West Seattle Weather Watch: No, not a sign of things to come

The snowplow we saw at 35th/Morgan today must just have been SDOT on more test runs, because there is nothing even resembling snow in our forecast any time soon. Another round of wind is on the way, though, with an official wind advisory in effect till 1 am; the current forecast isn’t calling for anything above 40 mph.

Last call for West Seattle Volunteer Recognition nominees!

Thanks to everyone who has nominated someone (some have nominated more than one!) for the next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition, sponsored by the Delridge District Council (which meets tonight! 7 pm at Youngstown), Southwest District Council and WSB. Today’s the deadline - so we’re issuing one more call for you to throw a name into the ring, one of those many, many West Seattleites who works so hard for nothing more than maybe the occasional “thank you” in exchange. Give ‘em the chance to get big public kudos and a hearty round of applause at the West Seattle Community Tree Lighting in The Junction on December 5th. Online nomination form is here; more details here.

Update: “Derelict housing” bill passes City Council committee

(Photo from April tour of problem spots in the Delridge neighborhood)
We reported here yesterday on two measures going to Seattle City Council committees this week, both providing potential tools for problems like the ones viewed on the North Delridge tour joined by those committee’s chairs last April. The proposals have both been approved by those committees - today’s action on the “derelict housing” bill was reported by Councilmember Sally Clark herself, in comments on yesterday’s story:

PLUNC just approved the derelict housing legislation. It will go to the Full Council (Dec. 7). The North Delridge tour was a great motivator. It gave us great examples of where the policy change could make a difference. Thanks!

During the April tour, many participants were surprised to hear that city rules kept many rundown structures from being demolished before there was a plan to replace them; it was suggested that an empty lot might be safer. City leaders explained there had been a fear at one point that the city’s “affordable housing” stock might be depleted too rapidly if that sort of demolition had been allowed to run rampant. Meantime, here’s a news release sent by council staff about both votes - read on: Click to read the rest of Update: “Derelict housing” bill passes City Council committee…

Before school-map vote, West Seattle board member unveils plan

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With hours to go until the Seattle School Board votes on attendance-area maps as part of its new neighborhood-based Student Assignment Plan, West Seattle’s board rep laid his cards on the table during a meeting this morning at Delridge Library.

Steve Sundquist told the 20 people who turned out to make their cases that he is not inclined to propose major map changes to remedy potential problems — but he does have a few ideas on other ways to fix them. (There was one small map quirk he addressed at the start of the meeting, involving four homes “on a cliff” at the far south end of California SW, saying he thought he’d have an amendment ready to fix that.)

Click to read the rest of Before school-map vote, West Seattle board member unveils plan…

Triangle tour: Councilmember Rasmussen joins Fairmount neighbors

With almost $40,000 in the city budget to work on planning for what many consider the gateway to West Seattle, the Triangle area, leaders of the nearby Fairmount Community Association continue to work to make sure key players get a firsthand look at the area as it stands now. Four weeks after showing city planner Robert Scully around the area, Fairmount reps (from left in top photo) Nancy Driver, Joan Jeffrey and Sharonn Meeks hosted City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen this morning. He’s been involved in many of the discussions to date, but acknowledged during the half-hour tour that you get a different perspective while walking around. One corridor pointed out, the street that many walk from the homes around Providence Mount St. Vincent to the east, all the way down to the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) in the background of the photo:

Go all the way down 37th to Fauntleroy, and you’ll meet Seung, who recently opened 37th Shoe Repair:

Rasmussen took interest in the recent commercial developments opening in the area, which also includes Cycle U in a former Huling building on the Triangle’s west edge, and the SW Alaska storefront where Alki Kayak Tours is about to open Mountain to Sound Outfitters:

Fairmount’s concern is to make sure there’s an open public process involved with drawing up a vision for The Triangle before too much more piecemeal development happens; they’d like to see an independent urban designer involved, while the city currently is only funding staff time. Rasmussen also advised reaching out to as many local businesses as possible - from the large, like Alki Lumber, to the small, like the new shoe-repair shop, and observed so many spots along the Triangle’s streets that could be brightened with a little landscaping here, a little removal of broken pavement there. We’ll keep tracking the process.

Madison Middle School chosen “School of Distinction” again

From Nina Chambers at Madison Middle School - they want to make sure everyone’s heard about this honor they received this fall:

Madison Middle School scores 2 years running as School of Distinction! Madison Middle School is one of “10 [district] schools … recognized by PDK-WA , in collaboration with the Center for Educational Effectiveness, for sustained improvement as measured by seven years of WASL test scores. Specifically, they are among the top 5 percent of schools making the greatest improvements in student achievement on the WASL,” writes Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson (Classroom Connection, Nov 17, 2009.)

Madison was awarded School of Distinction by OSPI in 2007-2008, and is a 2008-2009 Great School awardee (”Great Schools — Great Teachers — Great Leaders”) as the award title changed & sponsorship was assumed by Center for Educational Effectiveness/PDK this past year. We are proud of Madison Middle School’s students, teachers & their record of academic excellence! Go Bulldogs!

Junction traffic camera goes up - but won’t be on for a while

Six months after news of three new traffic cameras on the way to West Seattle (here’s our May story), installation is under way - but don’t expect to see the images immediately. We took the photo at left while driving through The Junction on Monday; Marybeth Turner with SDOT confirmed late yesterday that the contractor, Signal Electric, was installing a pole and camera. She added, “The contractor expects to complete the installation of this camera this week. We expect the camera will go live in March 2010. Cameras are not being turned on one at a time — the contractor will complete the various elements in the expanded system, test and coordinate them, and will turn them on all at once.” That expanded system also is scheduled to include a camera at 42nd/Alaska and one near the Fauntleroy ferry dock. Current cameras citywide are linked here (we’re still checking on when the West Seattle Bridge cameras will be working again).