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West Seattle’s Westwood Village reportedly getting a new owner
March 29, 2011 6:43 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | Westwood

According to the Daily Journal of Commerce (if you subscribe, here’s the link), West Seattle’s Westwood Village shopping center is about to get a new owner. The DJC says Bentall Kennedy is buying Westwood Village from Wesbild for $78 million but isn’t planning major changes (the article mentions parking-lot upgrades, and painting). The DJC says Wesbild also just sold Burien Town Square, to a different buyer, for $14 million. The current WV website says Wesbild has owned the center for more than 20 years.

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Barton Street P-Patch decision: The big birch tree stays
March 18, 2011 9:46 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | West Seattle news | Westwood

(WSB photo taken last month)
It was a major point of discussion during the first two design meetings for the new P-Patch at 34th SW and SW Barton in Westwood (here’s WSB coverage from Feb. 13 and March 2), and it even came up during Mayor McGinn‘s walking-tour visit two weeks ago: Should the big birch tree that’s on the lot now stay, or should it go? Kate Farley sends word tonight that the decision has been made:

A special session was called for the steering committee of the Barton P-Patch to gather more information on how the gardeners can live compatibly with the birch tree, which will remain on site. Several local arborists donated their time and expertise to form a panel discussion. Included were Mark Harman of Stonehedge Tree Experts, Sean Dugan of Tree Solutions, Joe Markovich from SDOT, and Kyle Henegar, who is with the Washington Park Arboretum. Cass Turnbull from Plant Amnesty and John Hushagen of Seattle Tree Preservation were not able to attend.

The discussion was centered on how to protect the tree, and at the end of the meeting there was agreement that the controversial root barrier should not be installed. As Kyle Henegar said at the end of the meeting, “It just doesn’t get any better than this…these are some of the top tree people in Seattle.” Several ideas for protecting the tree were suggested and will be explored as we go along in the design process, so stay tuned.

The 34th/Barton site, previously Seattle Public Utilities land that wasn’t needed by that department any more, is being turned into a P-Patch courtesy of money from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy that voters approved in 2008. The third and final open community meeting before the garden is built, with a final proposed design to be presented, is scheduled for 1:30 pm Saturday, April 2nd – two weeks from tomorrow – at Southwest Community Center.

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West Seattle schools: ‘Larry Gets Lost’ at Roxhill Elementary
March 12, 2011 5:11 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle schools: ‘Larry Gets Lost’ at Roxhill Elementary
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | Westwood

Recognize that dog? That’s Larry from “Larry Gets Lost,” scampering around Roxhill Elementary School in West Seattle. The drawing is the result of a recent Roxhill visit from an author/illustrator who works on the “Larry Gets Lost” series, John Skewes, who attended high school on Vashon with Roxhill’s bilingual-instruction assistant Judith Kimmel-Ramirez – seen here introducing him to students:

While visiting Roxhill, Skewes worked with first through fifth graders on illustration techniques and “graciously gave his time to inspire students to think about a career as an illustrator,” as Roxhill’s head teacher Christopher Robert put it.

You can see the “thank you” drawing from Roxhill’s students by going here. The popular series includes “Larry Gets Lost in Seattle,” with part of the proceeds benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank, according to the LGL website. The next book in the series doesn’t stray too far from here – it’ll be “Larry Gets Lost in Portland.”

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West Seattle schools: Roxhill’s on a roll
March 9, 2011 4:11 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | Westwood

When Mayor McGinn visited West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood last Sunday (WSB coverage here), Roxhill Elementary got a shoutout from Maggie Anderson, who works on some of the programs there. She wanted him to know it’s a school that’s working hard to keep growing and improving, and also needs some community TLC. This afternoon, we have some Roxhill news – head teacher Christopher Robert says students were treated to an artistic-cycling assembly at day’s end. His photo shows the guests, Corinna, Stefan and Lukas from the Radsport Cyclists, whose sport combines cycling and ballet. Plus – Roxhill is planning the school’s first-ever fundraising gala for May 12th (at Twist in Belltown); and they’ve just jumped onto Facebook (“like” Roxhill here) and Twitter (@roxhillsea).

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Update: Mayor McGinn’s Westwood walking tour, library Q&A
March 6, 2011 1:36 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | Westwood

(Mayor at 34th/Barton P-Patch site, last stop before walking to SW Library)
1:36 PM: Just wrapped up the mini-walking tour of Westwood, and Mayor McGinn is speaking at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson) – though it was billed as an event till 2 pm, he says he’s got till 2:30 pm, so if you’re interested, you have time to get here. The walking tour coordinated by soon-to-retire Delridge District Coordinator Ron Angeles went through Roxhill Park, including the bog (photo added, with neighborhood volunteer Mary Quackenbush explaining its history):

Then on to Barton, where SDOT‘s Jim Curtin and Christine Alar briefed the mayor on pedestrian improvements and the future RapidRide stop across from Westwood Village (photo added):

Then it was on to the 34th/Barton P-Patch site (where the tree controversy even came up, as you’ll hear in this clip):

(Our coverage of the P-Patch design meetings is here and here.)

1:48 PM: In his opening remarks, the mayor has a lot to say about the forthcoming Families and Education Levy – not just what it does, but stressing that the money doesn’t go to Seattle Public Schools, but to the city, which contracts with various providers (the district among them), since there has been concern that the SPS financial-mismanagement scandal might affect the levy’s chances of passing: “I’m saying all that because with all this news about the school district, I’d be concerned too … This money comes to the city … and we’re very transparent and open about it.”

2:05 PM: More tough issues have come up – a woman saying she’s the daughter of a police officer killed in the line of duty says she was offended by “John T. Williams Day” being declared in memory of the woodcarver shot by an officer; then the tunnel comes up, with the first questioner/commenter supporting McGinn’s position, and critiquing media as “biased.” We are recording video of the entire Q/A presentation, by the way, and will post it as part of the story after we’re back at HQ.

2:28 PM: The issue of White Center (etc.) annexation has come up, too, in response to a question from Delridge District Council chair Mat McBride. McGinn’s answer: “I’m torn”; he went on to say he is still leaning toward the sentiment that it’s just too expensive for the city. [The event ended a few minutes later and we’re putting together more information/photos/video to add to this story.]

VIDEO: First, unedited half-hour of the Q/A, which eventually amassed an audience of 40-plus:

The rest of it (37 minutes long), picking up exactly where the preceding clip left off:

ADDED 7:02 PM: A couple more interesting notes from the walking tour that preceded the library Q&A: While the group walked the paths in Roxhill Park, West Seattle Crime Prevention Council president Richard Miller talked with the mayor about safety concerns there, including last year’s murder (the suspect in that, by the way, has another court hearing coming up later this month). Here’s our photo of Miller with deputy mayor Darryl Smith (and in the background, longtime Westwood activist Pablo Lambinicio):

On the north edge of the park, along Barton, while discussing some of the improvements including the parking restrictions that eliminated the “used-car lot,” SDOT’s Jim Curtin told the mayor that the city’s Bicycle Master Plan eventually calls for bike lanes on both sides of Barton; the mayor, having just heard about safety concerns on that stretch of the road, suggested those lanes’ presence alone will have a traffic-calming effect.

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Got something to ask the mayor? He’s in West Seattle this Sunday
March 4, 2011 2:49 pm
|    Comments Off on Got something to ask the mayor? He’s in West Seattle this Sunday
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | Westwood

This was mentioned briefly at the Delridge District Council meeting two weeks ago, but we haven’t seen details till today – Mayor McGinn will be in Westwood this Sunday. The invitation just forwarded by a WSB’er says he’s at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson) for community Q/A, 1:30-2 pm Sunday. And literally a minute after we published this, the mayor’s office confirmed the visit starts at 12:30 pm at Roxhill Park. (Last weekend, we caught up with him during an unpublicized visit to White Center, which the city is considering annexing along with the rest of the remaining unincorporated North Highline area.)

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P-Patch progress: 4 designs shown at 34th/Barton’s 2nd meeting
March 2, 2011 11:56 am
|      31 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | West Seattle news | Westwood

Of the four potential designs shown at last night’s second community design meeting for the new 34th/Barton P-Patch, that one won an informal vote, double the support of the second-most popular. Another informal poll indicated support for preserving the big birch tree that’s on the sprawling site (a hot topic of discussion at the first meeting, as noted in our report from last month). After the jump – the three other designs, plus toplines from last night’s meeting:Read More

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Birth of a P-Patch: Last chance to have a say on 34th/Barton design
February 28, 2011 12:50 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | West Seattle news | Westwood

(WSB photo from February 13th)
Tomorrow (Tuesday) night is the second and final community meeting for the design of the new 34th/Barton P-Patch – the public meeting after that will unveil the design that results – so the volunteers who are working on the project are hoping to see you tomorrow night, regardless of whether you were at meeting #1 (which drew a sizable turnout, as we reported two weeks ago). 6:30 pm tomorrow, Southwest Community Center.

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Helicopter over southeastern West Seattle: Sheriff’s Office case
February 23, 2011 2:19 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Helicopter | West Seattle news | Westwood

2:19 AM: We’re hearing a chopper in the distance, and via Facebook/e-mail, we have a few other reports, from Westwood to Highland Park. Checking on it. (If you are seeing ground police activity anywhere in that area, let us know – sometimes that’s the main clue.)

4:39 AM NOTE: The helicopter left shortly after we published this. As for what it was doing – no reply yet from police, but whenever we do finally get info later this morning, we’ll add it to this …

11:38 AM NOTE: Heard back this morning from Lt. Ron Rasmussen at the Southwest Precinct, who couldn’t find any evidence it was related to an SPD case. So now we’re checking with King County Sheriff’s Office, to whom the lone law-enforcement chopper in the area (Guardian One) belongs, in case it was a county case that just happened to spill over here.

4:23 PM NOTE: We finally got a bit of information, but not much. King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart says it was a KCSO case – but he hasn’t been able to rustle up the information on anything beyond, an arrest was being made. Not a big deal, he insists.

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Big turnout at first design meeting for 34th/Barton P-Patch
February 13, 2011 5:17 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news | Westwood

Should it stay or should it go? The fate of the big birch tree shown above is one of the issues that came up as about 50 people joined in the first design meeting for the new 34th/Barton P-Patch, Saturday afternoon at Southwest Community Center.

Landscape architect John Barker, who’s leading the design work, told attendees that an arborist checked out the tree with him earlier in the day, and proclaimed it to be perhaps the healthiest European paper-birch tree she had seen in the city. On the other hand, materials prepared for the meeting show it casts a significant shadow, so the design process will have to determine whether that’s an impediment to maximizing the site, or perhaps a feature for cool shade on warm summer days. Toward the start of the meeting, a show of hands was requested, and the “keep the tree” hand-raisers significantly outnumbered those supporting “take out the tree” – which is the only tree of any kind on the site. Barker estimated that it would cost about the same to keep it or get rid of it.

But the tree’s future was just one topic, albeit one that took up a fair amount of time.

Read More

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34th/Barton P-Patch: Planning meeting tomorrow; naming issue
February 11, 2011 10:28 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | West Seattle news | Westwood

There’s so much going on tomorrow around West Seattle, organizers of the planning meeting for the new 34th/Barton P-Patch want to make sure their big event doesn’t get lost in the shuffle: They hope everyone interested in the new community garden can join them for the first community design meeting, 1:30-3:30 pm Saturday at Southwest Community Center (map).

Meantime, you might recall that some wondered about possibly naming the new P-Patch after the late Tony Genzale, longtime owner of the Tony’s Market produce stand across the street; WSB’er Mike has been checking into that and reports that city staffers have told him that naming the P-Patch in honor of a person would be a possibility, but would require getting a feel for what the community thinks, among other factors. Mike says, “It is my hope that ‘Tony’s P-Patch’ would be special and heartwarming. He was a great guy!” (P.S. If you missed the news, Tony’s Market reopened this week, with Tony’s son Joey in charge – here’s our story.)

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West Seattle Target remodeling, will include full grocery store
January 10, 2011 12:46 pm
|      52 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | Westwood

Westwood Village will soon have two grocery stores. Target confirms to WSB that they are converting the Westwood store to include a full grocery operation. Regional manager Randy Kraum says construction is scheduled to start in early March and continue for about three months, but the store will NOT close at any point during the work – starting in April, he says, you’ll “see some changes on the sales floor (that) might be a little disruptive,” but the store will stay open. The store has added more food items in recent years, but this will be a full grocery store, including meat and produce.

Why do this when there’s already a supermarket (QFC) steps away in Westwood Village? Kraum says the company is making the conversion with most of its stores – after converting more than 300 last year, they’re converting 400 more nationwide this year, and another 400 or so next year. Since this is being done within the store’s existing footprint – nothing to be added on – we asked if some current merchandise would be discontinued; answer – the men’s-clothing offerings will shrink a bit. The project staging is planned for the back of the store, so the front parking area used by most customers won’t be affected. If it all remains on schedule, a “grand reopening” celebration is planned June 5th. According to notations on the project’s city webpage, this is a $1 million remodel.

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West Seattle businesses: Game Stop to Westwood Village
January 6, 2011 4:54 pm
|      25 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | Westwood

The former Hollywood Video/Game Crazy location at Westwood Village (which closed in July) will soon be home to Game Stop. As noted in the WSB Forums, the DPD page for the site mentions Game Stop, and WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz subsequently confirmed with the 15th/Roxbury Game Stop manager, AJ Hans, that the Westwood location is to be open by summertime. Hans says they haven’t been told whether the Roxbury shop will stay open once the Westwood shop is up and running. Meantime, Westwood Village manager Stuart Crandall tells WSB there’s a second tenant planned for part of the space, but they’re not ready to discuss it publicly because a deal isn’t entirely finalized yet.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: More information from Westwood Village’s Crandall – “The Hollywood Video space is being divided into three spaces. We have potential tenants for two of the three spaces, but will have a 3000-square-foot end cap vacancy remaining to lease after the two tenants have taken possession.”

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West Seattle business news: New 7-11 now open
December 30, 2010 7:39 pm
|      33 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Westwood

Corporate headquarters told us the new 7-11 store/gas station at 35th/Barton in Westwood would be open December 31st “or sooner.” Turned out to be “sooner”; it opened today. Thanks to MargL for the first report, in the WSB Forums. This is West Seattle’s sixth eighth 7-11; it replaces an Exxon station/mini-mart that shut down 14 months ago.

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West Seattle storms: Tree vs. house; Admiral mud; rainbow
December 14, 2010 8:47 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather | Westwood

It seemed inevitable in the heart of the crazy early-morning storm burst (here’s our original coverage) that trees had come down somewhere – and here’s our first report. Just received the photo from Jacque and Zack in Westwood, who e-mailed, “We had part of a tree come down onto our neighbor’s house after the windstorm. We’re on the phone with insurance and scouting the forums to get recommendations for arborists.” (If you have anyone to recommend, please post a comment!) Also just got word from Tiffany of slide activity spotted alongside Admiral: “Heading 1/2 to 2/3 the way down Admiral Way you’ll see up the hill, looks like recent slide activity and even fresh dirt over the wall and bulges of mud at the top!!!”

ADDED 9:18 AM: The stormy weather has its beautiful moments too –

Taken within the hour, before everything clouded up again, by someone in Gatewood who asked to be anonymous. (Looks like the “pot of gold” would be on Blake Island for this one …) Thanks!

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Sneak peek into Santa’s Westwood Village home (and what to bring)
November 18, 2010 11:47 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | How to help | West Seattle news | Westwood

Westwood Village manager Stuart Crandall (right) and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board president Jerome Cohen cut the ribbon tonight to officially open Santa’s House at WV. It’s not formally open to the public for Santa photos till a week from Saturday, but this is the traditional sneak peek and ribboncutting that happens during an early holiday-season Chamber get-together. The hours are set for noon-4 pm Saturdays and Sundays, November 27-December 19, and remember to bring donations – food for food banks will get you a free photo – White Center Food Bank‘s Audrey Zemke talked about how important that is:

They’re also again collecting diapers (sizes 3-6 preferred!) for WestSide Baby, whose executive director Nancy Woodland talked about how you can help:

WV manager Crandall says they had 5,800 Santa visits last year. Santa’s House is in the breezeway east of Bed Bath Beyond (across from 24-Hour Fitness). The schedule will be added momentarily to our West Seattle Holidays page!

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SPD Mounted Unit @ Westwood: Last time we’ll see this?
November 13, 2010 5:44 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police | Westwood

Thanks to West Seattle writer (and world-traveling volunteer!) Lori Hinton for sharing this photo taken this afternoon at the Westwood Village Bank of America. We’ve seen teams from the West Seattle-headquartered Seattle Police Mounted Patrol at Westwood before – Becky shared a photo last February; a year earlier, we caught a photo at Westwood’s then-WaMu. SPD has told us they bring the horses to areas like this to get used to working in traffic. But now, as reported here more than a month ago, the Mounted Patrol is slated to be disbanded as part of the new budget – and while not all the fine print is finalized, we haven’t seen/heard anything indicating the mayor’s original proposal will change.

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Illegal dumping, the sequel: Now, a discarded dishwasher
November 12, 2010 11:27 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Westwood

Val shared that photo of what just materialized in a Westwood alley:

Attached is a picture of some more illegal dumping in the alley between Cloverdale and Trenton between 34th Ave SW and 35th Ave SW [map]. Only a dishwasher this time. GE was willing to give me the name attached to the serial number but it had never been registered with them. A report is being filed with the City.

Here’s the appropriate Seattle Municipal Code chapter, in case you’re curious. And if you need to report illegal dumping, there’s a hotline and an online report form – both available here.

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West Seattle youth sports: Football playoffs here tomorrow!
November 5, 2010 12:46 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Westwood | WS & Sports

Just out of the WSB inbox from Lou Kristopher:

I am a coach with the West Seattle SWAC youth football organization. This Saturday (11/6) SWAC will host the first round of playoffs for the Puget Sound Junior Football League at our field. This is particularly exciting because your SWAC has two teams (our Pee Wee and Bantam teams) playing that day representing the future of football in West Seattle. The Pee Wee game starts at 9 am and the Bantam game starts at 4 pm. All football lovers in West Seattle are highly encouraged to come have fun watching youth football, support, and cheer for your local youth during the first game in our playoff run. For more information please check our website at www.swaccougars.org.

They play at Southwest Athletic Complex (across from Chief Sealth International High School) – here’s a map.

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2 updates from 35th/Barton: Future 7-11 progress; Tony’s hiatus
November 2, 2010 11:34 am
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | Westwood

TONY’S PRODUCE: Now closed for its annual fall hiatus before reopening with Christmas trees. Meantime, across the street to the south:

EX-EXXON, FUTURE 7-11 WORK REVS UP: Thanks to Kevin for the latest tip about activity at the former Exxon station that’s slated to become West Seattle’s next 7-11. Went by to check; a demolition crew is definitely at work this morning (though the permit does not indicate the existing building will be demolished – just remodeled), and there are two other signs that the store is now on the fast track: First one actually involves signs – a permit issued for one illuminated pole sign and five wall signs reading 7-11. Second one explains why the “seeking franchisee” shingle has come down – according to a liquor-license application last week, the store-in-progress now has a franchisor. By the way, it was exactly one year ago today that we first reported the Exxon station/minimart had closed.

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Happening now: Westwood Village trick-or-treating
October 31, 2010 5:30 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news | Westwood

Till 7 pm, you can join this year’s final round of business-area trick-or-treating fun at Westwood Village. We wandered over during the first hour for a look at both the littlest trick-or-treaters …

… and the most-macabre treat-hander-out’ers (this next scene was from Fresh Vitamins):

Look who wound up in Westwood, perhaps taking a wrong turn on his way back to Springfield:

Also welcoming trick-or-treaters this afternoon were White Center businesses; photos are up on partner site White Center Now.

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2 bazaars calling for vendors: Southwest CC and Highland Park IC
October 26, 2010 12:33 pm
|    Comments Off on 2 bazaars calling for vendors: Southwest CC and Highland Park IC
 |   Highland Park | Holidays | West Seattle news | Westwood

(Knit cactus sold by BriAnna at last year’s Southwest CC holiday bazaar)
Two more holiday bazaars are now putting out the call for vendors: First, Southwest Community Center‘s bazaar is set for 10 am-4 pm on Saturday, November 13th. Table space is $15 if you sign up in advance; call 206-684-7438. Second, a holiday bazaar is planned for November 27th at the Highland Park Improvement Club. The table/booth fee for this one is $20; save a spot by e-mailing Tiffany at highlandparksundaymarket@gmail.com. (As for planning your shopping – we’re adding the bazaar dates to the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page as we get them.)

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West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 hurt in stabbing
October 20, 2010 12:39 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | Westwood

Right now police are searching in Westwood for someone suspected of stabbing two people – the injuries so far are not believed to be major – according to the scanner, one in the hand, one in the lower arm. It happened in the 9200 block of 31st SW (map). 12:46 AM: Scanner now indicates one person’s in custody and a knife has been recovered.

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