West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle wildlife: Fauntleroy Creek coho tally rises

Alki Cooperative Preschool paid a visit to Fauntleroy Creek this afternoon, with volunteers including Judy Pickens and Dennis Hinton (that’s him in the hat) helping the kids and their chaperones get a peek at one of the five coho-salmon spawners that have now been seen at the creek in the past several days. We couldn’t get a clear enough look for a photo, but Dennis shared this one of a male and female spawning pair spotted earlier:

Last year, volunteer salmon-watchers didn’t see any spawners at all, so this year is already a success in comparison. 2009 saw 18, the year before that only 2; since the Fauntleroy Watershed Council started keeping track in 2000, the record remains 167 in 2001. (P.S. You can watch for the fish by going to the Fauntleroy Creek overlook at upper Fauntleroy Way and SW Director, directly across the street – and up the embankment – from the Fauntleroy ferry terminal entrance. It’s one of those “hidden gems”!)

West Seattle wildlife: Double coyote sighting in Fauntleroy

From Sean:

Just saw 2 very healthy looking coyotes at Fauntleroy Place SW and 45th Ave SW just east of Lincoln Park [map]. Not too fearful of cars, those two. Saw them right at 950 pm.

We usually end coyote-sighting reports with this infolink that includes advice on what to do if you see one. And we point you to our coyote-sighting archive (newest-to-oldest, some with photos). Tonight, a bit of coyote trivia, too: In Louisiana, we just learned via Google, they have been designated “outlaw quadrupeds.”

Video: Singing, drumming, haiku to bring Fauntleroy salmon home

Making up for blustery weather that canceled the event last year, late-afternoon sunshine graced this year’s edition of the Fauntleroy Creek gathering to call the salmon home. Above right, creek steward Judy Pickens confers with young salmon fans just before the start of the event, which she has organized for more than a decade. We counted at least 75 people of all ages at the overlook by the time the drumming, singing, and poetry began. Our video clip starts with Kevin Finney leading a round of the latter, call-and-response style, and continues with Bronwyn Edwards Cryer leading the singalong of “Habitat” (to the tune of the oldies classic “Lollipop”):

Will Fauntleroy Creek see coho spawners this year? Volunteers will start officially watching for them right after Halloween, and will continue for most of November. This past spring, Pickens and husband Phil Sweetland helped local schools with raising and releasing almost 2,000 coho fry; they plan to continue those efforts even though (as reported here last spring) the state has cut funding.

Drum and/or sing tomorrow to call Fauntleroy salmon home

(WSB photo from 2008 calling-the-salmon-home event)
It is almost time for Fauntleroy Creek‘s volunteer salmon-watchers to start their annual lookout for coho spawners returning home. But first, it’s a tradition for people of all ages to gather to drum and sing, to call the salmon home. You are welcome to join – drums not required, but if you have one, or something makeshift, bring it! – at 5 pm tomorrow, at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook, across the street (and up the embankment) from the ferry terminal (here’s a map). Find more info – as well as details on how to volunteer for salmon-watching next month – at fauntleroy.net.

‘Family Matters’ workshop in Fauntleroy to shed light on suicide

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have had this story in queue for publication since October 11th. We mention that because, less than 24 hours after we received it from Judy, a young man killed himself at Fauntleroy’s Cove Park; mourners gathered there for a tribute last weekend, and their loss is yet another reminder this topic must stop being taboo.

(A young walker in Seattle’s “Out of the Darkness” walk in September. Photo courtesy Danna McGill)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog

One of the most untalked-about topics scheduled to be talked about during “Family Matters” week at Fauntleroy Church – which begins today – is suicide. “Understanding Suicide,” a workshop on prevention and coping, is scheduled for 5 PM Sunday.

It will be led by Danna McGill, who chairs the state chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). She knows about suicide as both organizer and survivor. Joining her will be two others with somewhat different perspectives on suicide loss.

When Danna’s best friend died by suicide a couple of years ago, she was stunned. If only she had had a little education, she reasoned, she would have seen it coming. She decided to participate in an AFSP “Out of the Darkness” fund-raising walk in Seattle and immediately knew she had found her tribe.

Click to read the rest of ‘Family Matters’ workshop in Fauntleroy to shed light on suicide…

Photos: Fauntleroy Fall Festival 2011 takes the cake!

ORIGINAL 2:53 PM REPORT: Remember the invitation to decorate a cake for the Fauntleroy Fall Festival? Here are some of the entrants. The Cake Walk is at 3:30, if you haven’t made it to the festival yet – Fauntleroy Church, Y, and Schoolhouse, 9100 block of California SW, with a guard to get you back and forth safely:

In the church parking lot – activities including pumpkin-painting

Be sure to check out what’s behind the schoolhouse – including the ponies!

And meet some of the folks whose volunteer efforts keep the wheels turning – like board members from the Fauntleroy Community Association:

And West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival leadership:

More photos to come, post-festival! The event schedule at fauntleroy.net – the festival is on right now, till 5:30 pm.

MORE PHOTOS ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT! Just ahead – Click to read the rest of Photos: Fauntleroy Fall Festival 2011 takes the cake!…

Sunday: Cakes, ponies, pumpkins, goats! Fauntleroy festival

After months of planning, the final round of readiness started this morning in the heart of Fauntleroy, where we spotted this megacanopy at midday. Its site in the Fauntleroy Church/YMCA parking lot is only part of the venue for Sunday afternoon’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival (2-5:30 pm), which also sprawls across the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse grounds across the street (front and back) in the 9100 block of California SW (map). The full schedule of events/activities – where, when, what – is here – including (elaborating on our headline) a cake walk/cake-decorating contest (explained here – not too late to enter!), pumpkin-painting for kids, pony rides, and even a goat demonstration. Much more, as you’ll see on the activities list. See you there!

Decorate a cake for Sunday’s Fall Festival! and other Fauntleroy Community Association notes

Sunday’s the Fauntleroy Fall Festival – and that was one major topic of Tuesday night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting. Kim Petram was there with a reminder about a contest you’ll need to plan for in advance: Everyone’s welcome to enter the cake-decorating contest! Any kind of cake, Kim says, any shape, just bake it, decorate it, bring it down and maybe you’ll win a prize. They’re planning categories for competitors from kids to pros. The festival runs 2-5:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church/YMCA/Schoolhouse, but you can bring your cake entry over as early as noon. Entering or not, you’ll want to be there for the cake walk! Full details on this flyer. More festival details ahead, and other FCA business: Click to read the rest of Decorate a cake for Sunday’s Fall Festival! and other Fauntleroy Community Association notes…

Get your jack-o-lantern on! Pumpkin sale & carving demo

Two notes for pumpkin fans:

PUMPKIN SALE: Saturday, 10 am till 2 pm (or till the pumpkins are all gone, if sooner), the Lincoln Park P-Patch is selling the pumpkins just harvested there last weekend, with proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank. Details in this WSB Forums announcement.

PUMPKIN CARVING DEMONSTRATION: Need some jack-o-lantern skills? Just in:

The Genesee Schmitz Neighborhood Council is hosting professional pumpkin carver Pam Leno from 1 to 4 pm at Ercolini Park (48th & Alaska) this Sunday (rain or shine!).

There will be demonstrations for decorating your pumpkin this year! We ask everyone to bring your own pumpkin and tools to decorate with. Markers will be provided for the smaller children. The GSNC will be providing free cider and hot coffee.

West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Murder trial date set

One of the half-dozen-plus ongoing criminal cases on which we check periodically is that of Angelo Felice, charged with the stabbing murder last February of the Fauntleroy man best known by his vaudeville name, Hokum W. Jeebs. Felice was back in court today; a trial date was tentatively set for January 17th, provided everything is in order at the “omnibus” check-in hearing that will precede it, on December 30th. We last reported on this case in March; what’s happened since then is the fairly standard pattern of check-in hearings, postponements, and also in this case some motions and documents that are “sealed,” regarding expert witnesses for the defense. Felice has been in jail, held in lieu of $1 million bail, since last February 16th, the day after the killing, when he was picked up while walking in Highland Park, hours after being seen climbing out of a ravine near Jeebs’s home.

Also from Fauntleroy: Detailed schedule for Sunday’s festival

Same place where recyclables were dropped off yesterday, you’ll find part of the fun this Sunday, at the annual Fauntleroy Fall Festival. It actually spans the entire Fauntleroy hub – Fauntleroy Church/YMCA and, across the street, the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse Community Center (be sure to wander to the west side, “behind” the schoolhouse, too). 2-5:30 pm on Sunday (October 16) with live music, dance, pony rides, pumpkin-painting, more than two dozen OTHER things to do! We’ve just received the full list of activities and performances, and when/where on the festival grounds you’ll find them – see it here.

If you recycled in Fauntleroy on Sunday, you made history

Maybe “fall cleaning” is more popular than “spring cleaning”! An update just in from Judy Pickens:

West Seattle is surely riding higher in the water today after yesterday’s free Recycle Roundup sponsored by 1 Green Planet and Fauntleroy Church. Residents off loaded a record 14 tons of stuff, from water heaters and console TVs to computer monitors and floor lamps. All is even now being responsibly recycled locally for return to the resource stream. Watch for the church’s green committee to host another roundup in the spring.

If you can’t wait till spring, check out the South Transfer Station – and related links if you have items they don’t take. (WSB photo taken during Sunday’s event)

Happening now: Don’t toss it, recycle it in Fauntleroy

That classic TV console was one of the items dropped off in the early going for today’s Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church. We asked people on WSB’s Facebook page for caption ideas; among the suggestions so far, Stephanie suggested, “1970 called and wants its TV back.” Here again is the list of what they’ll take (for free, unlike some other e-and-other-things recyclers that request a fee).

9140 California SW, dropoffs till 3 pm.

Are your recyclables ready? Dropoff event Sunday in Fauntleroy

(WSB photo from April 2011)
The trucks from 1 Green Planet return tomorrow to the Fauntleroy Church parking lot at 9140 California SW (map), 9 am-3 pm, and you are invited to bring your recyclables – as long as they are items on this (long!) list of what will be accepted. Just drive up and drop off, free! (P.S. One week from tomorrow, that same lot will be abuzz with activity for the annual Fauntleroy Fall Festival, as will the schoolhouse across the street, so make a calendar note for the festival, too.)

Councilmembers preview the future of Fauntleroy’s Cove Park

First of two updates from this morning’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting:

That’s what Cove Park just north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock is projected to look like after the Barton Pump Station expansion. This was a hot topic at this month’s meeting of the Fauntleroy Community Association, which has been working with government agencies a long time to make sure the station project doesn’t completely ravage the park and its distinctive art. The council committee had asked for a presentation on where the post-project park design stood. In addition to what they saw – here’s a PDF with the graphics – the plans also are detailed in the latest edition of the FCA newsletter, where Mardi Clements writes that the centerpiece will be a “stunning display of multiple new pieces of salmon-themed art created by noted sculptor Tom Jay …” They will include a “Salmon Bench” shown to the committee today:

The FCA newsletter article says the bench will be “cast bronze depicting a coho digging a redd in ‘the river of time.’ She will be installed with her tail touching a faux concrete rock carved with petroglyphs inspired by images of salmon from around the world.” Cove Park’s existing raven, canoe, and story rocks are to be returned to the park after the pump station project, which will be under construction for about two years, expected to start next summer (here’s the county information about it).

One point of contention for Fauntleroy community advocates remains the fencing between the project and homes on the beach; they wanted fencing that was more of a visual screen, but the team briefing the committee today said they’re going with the Design Commission recommendation of a more-see-through fence. SDOT has jurisdiction because this park is on a “street end”; it’s not a Seattle Parks site. No vote was taken today, it was just a briefing, but agreements related to the pump station project eventually will come before the council.

Fauntleroy notes: Art Show deadline; festival-fundraiser thanks

Two notes today from Fauntleroy, related to big events ahead:

FINE ART AND HOLIDAY GIFT FAIR DEADLINE THIS THURSDAY: That’s West Seattle batik artist Ruth Leonard at left in the photo, and she’s been a crowd-pleaser at the fair since its beginnings in 2008. Want to show/sell your stuff this year? The fair isn’t till November 18-20 but volunteer organizers need time to review applications and put together a great event – so they’re asking you to please send yours by the deadline this Thursday (September 30th). You’ll find more details, and the application, at fauntleroyucc.org.

FALL FESTIVAL – THANKS AND REMINDER: One week ago, fundraising flapjack-flipping was under way at The Hall at Fauntleroy, and there was plenty of it, according to this acknowledgment out of the WSB inbox: “A big THANK YOU to everyone who turned out last Saturday (Sept. 17) to enjoy a pancake breakfast in support of the Fauntleroy Fall Festival. The event netted nearly $525, putting the festival on solid financial ground to start planning for the 10th anniversary celebration in 2012!” But first, this year’s edition is only weeks away – 2-5:30 pm on October 16th.

Happening now: Fauntleroy Church’s annual 2nd-Time Sale

Today’s biggest rummage-saling opportunity in West Seattle: The 16th annual 2nd-Time Sale at Fauntleroy UCC Church (9140 California SW), continuing till 3 pm. Big turnout in the early going. Donated items include a pile of pillows we’re told are courtesy of a West Seattleite who does decor aboard yachts!

P.S. If you’re looking for more rummage/yard/garage sales, check the (free!) listings in the WSB Forums’ Freebies/Deals/Sales section.

West Seattle power-outage update: ‘Equipment failure’

(Updated screen grab of City Light outage map – click here for a “live” look)
ORIGINAL 4:17 PM REPORT: Just got a note from Eddie, who says they “heard a big explosion … south of Fauntleroy ferry dock,” and are without power. The City Light map says 165 customers in that area are without power, and the cause is listed as “equipment failure,” with hopes of getting the power back by 7 pm. More as we get it.

4:25 PM UPDATE: Now up to 335 customers affected. We’re headed for the Fauntleroy/Endolyne business district to make sure they’re OK. (Update – they are, power IS on in the business district; the map above is from City Light’s website, and suggests the outage area starts just south of there, and is mostly west of 45th/Marine View Drive.)

6:21 PM UPDATE: The City Light map reverted to 165 customers (homes/businesses, though we believe this is all residential) so we’re going with that. It also has changed the restoration estimate to 2 am. And we’re hearing there is a Comcast outage in the area as well.

6:47 AM UPDATE: Still not fixed, according to the SCL map, which is back to the 335-customer estimate, and listing early-afternoon restoration. We’ll be checking directly with the utility’s media team as soon as they’re reachable this morning.

West Seattle scene: SW Youth and Family Services fundraiser

Southwest Youth and Family Services is a West Seattle-based nonprofit that does a lot of hard work, fairly quietly … but once a year, it’s time to have fun. In our photo are State Sen. Sharon Nelson and SWYFS executive director Steve Daschle, snapped at The Hall at Fauntleroy Friday night, during the agency’s annual gala dinner/auction. Not just the standard auction fare – check this array from Seattle’s popular Pop Cap Games:

The night also featured a dessert dash for treats from the quite-dashworthy Bakery Nouveau:

As explained on the SWYFS website, their main areas of emphasis are counseling, education, and family support (high-school classes are even taught on site, for high-risk students trying to get back into the groove).

Fauntleroy YMCA closed today, expected to reopen tomorrow

Note from Samantha Bowes at the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor):

The Fauntleroy YMCA (9140 California Ave SW) will be closed for the rest of the day today due to a major water issue; we anticipate being able to open on time tomorrow morning. Fauntleroy members are welcome to use our West Seattle facility (4515 36th Ave SW) in the meantime.

Seattle City Light Fauntleroy work: Another potentially noisy night

Some residents near the Fauntleroy ferry dock say the overnight electrical work by Seattle City Light has been keeping them sleepless, to the breaking point. The utility first issued a warning early this month; then last week, neighbors said it got really loud, as noted here – one commenter called it “the most obscenely loud jackhammer ever.” SCL’s Scott Thomsen responded by saying the jackhammering is done. But there’s word from City Light that tonight might be noisy again, so neighbors are bracing themselves. One is even putting out an open call for a lawyer who they could consult; Chuck Sawyer (ecccsawyer [at] q.com). He and others say they are concerned not even so much about this work, which is scheduled to run another two weeks, but a precedent it might set for other future work in the area, including the Barton Pump Station adjacent to the dock.

ADDED 3:27 PM: Chuck’s video with the jackhammering from last week.

Overnight construction under way by Fauntleroy ferry

A few residents near the Fauntleroy ferry dock have e-mailed/called, wondering about late night/early morning construction work that’s under way this week. We doublechecked; it’s part of the electrical upgrades mentioned here a week and a half ago, for the nearby Barton pump station (prelude to this), for construction of a RapidRide bus stop, and for an electric-vehicle-charging station. The official Seattle City Light notice (see it here) did warn that the work hours would shift to 7 pm-4 am this week when the project moved to the immediate vicinity of the ferry terminal, to avoid conflicts with traffic during the busiest hours for ferry use. The project is scheduled to last at least two more weeks.

Traffic alert: City Light work near Fauntleroy ferry terminal

Just in from Seattle City Light – electrical work in the Fauntleroy ferry terminal area starting Monday – details ahead: Click to read the rest of Traffic alert: City Light work near Fauntleroy ferry terminal…