West Seattle Blog…

Happening now: Westwood Village Street Fair 2011, till 7 pm

Our video includes part of the dog show that kicked off today’s Westwood Village Street Fair – continuing till 7 pm. It’s dry but still a bit cool, which isn’t stopping the steady stream of visitors, especially families with kids. Next to our booth, a face-painting artist has drawn a line (not TOO long) – with the resulting work on display on kids’ faces everywhere:

And throughout the fair zone (mostly in the parking area between Bed Bath Beyond and Pier 1), there are inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Live music is scheduled to start at 3. Here’s more of who and what else is here – it’s up, up and away on the climbing wall:

Next: Know where your Emergency Communication Hub is, in case of disaster? West Seattle Be Prepared can show you – they’re here too:

From left, that’s Cindi Barker, Karen Berge, and Dave Brown. Here’s the pendant from Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) that’s being raffled off:

3:18 PM: The live music hasn’t started quite yet, but once it does, Hondo II is scheduled to play first, followed by Gunn and the Damage Done (sometime after 4 pm), and then School of Rock.

4:29 PM UPDATE: Second fashion show of the day, before the bands began – here’s part of the show put on by Dress Barn:

The inflatables are scheduled to be here till 6; it’s a bit chillier and drizzlier than it was earlier, so there’s not much of a wait!

Westwood Village Street Fair 2011: Rain or shine, it’s still on!

Even though the only sun in evidence right now is in that makebelieve scene on the back of one of the inflatables, the Westwood Village Street Fair is indeed on, set to start at 11 am. “Train” rides again this year too!

The “amateur dog show” is scheduled to start at 11; live entertainment is scheduled too (we don’t have the full schedule yet but will publish it as soon as we do). Community groups and businesses (us included) will be there with booths and tables. It’s all scheduled to run till 7 pm in the lot between Bed Bath Beyond and Pier 1. See you there!

Groundbreaking tomorrow for Barton Street P-Patch gardens

There’s a fence around the big birch tree to protect it as work is about to begin to turn the big lot at 34th/Barton into West Seattle’s next P-Patch community-gardening area. After months of planning and preparation, the official “groundbreaking” is tomorrow – albeit a low-key one; the landscaping consultant will install “the official web marking post” at 9:30 am. That’s a reference to the final design chosen for the site after 3 community meetings – WSB coverage here – which resembles a web.

(Courtesy Barker Landscape Architects)
You’re invited to come celebrate and to sign up for work parties; sign-up sheets are available 9 am-11 am, and garden plots will be assigned “based on volunteer hours,” so if you want a garden, you’ll have to work for it! The city’s webpage for the project is here; on Facebook, there’s a Barton Street P-Patch group here. The project is funded through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

As Delridge Skatepark work starts, Roxhill Skatespot roars ahead

It hasn’t received as much attention as the now-under-construction Delridge Skatepark – but Roxhill Park (south of Westwood Village) is getting a skateboarding area too, technically a “skatespot” rather than a “skatepark.” $600,000 was set aside by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy, and now the project is full speed ahead – the city is just going out with the “request for qualifications” for design work for Roxhill. (The RFQ – see it here – says it’ll be 5,000 to 8,000 square feet of skating space, with construction to start next spring.) And tomorrow, Mayor McGinn plans to announce a donation for the Roxhill project (which also is to include a renovation for the park’s play area). We’re told it involves the people behind the big-name skateboarding event that’s at KeyArena this weekend.

3:45 PM P.S.: A mayor’s-office advisory confirms it’s a donation of “funding and equipment” to be announced by the Rob Dyrdek Foundation. Dyrdek is a pro skateboarder/promoter; his foundation sponsors the Safe Spot Skate Spot program to help with urban-skatepark projects like this one.

New park, somewhere in Westwood? Speak out on Saturday

In West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood, the Parks and Green Spaces Levy is already paying for a new P-Patch – but there’s also the potential for a new park somewhere in the area. This Saturday at 1 pm, the Westwood Neighborhood Council invites you to Southwest Community Center to talk about that possibility. The levy passed by voters in 2008 includes money for acquiring new park land in “underserved neighborhoods” – and Westwood is one of the neighborhoods identified as “underserved.” Parks’ Chip Nevins will be there – not just to talk, but to listen – so if you have an idea about what might make a good park, and/or where, be there on Saturday.

West Seattle businesses: Green Home Renovations to ex-On Safari

(From left, Jim Klossner, Keith Schiller, Matthew Flaph)
WSB contributor Bill Hutchison just discovered that another new tenant has opened an office in the former On Safari storefront in Westwood, at 9007 35th Ave SW. We reported earlier this month that a collectibles/gifts shop was moving into a third of the space, leaving two other vacancies, and now we know one has been taken by Green Home Renovations, a partner-owned business that began three years ago down in Portland. “Now we’ve set our sights on Seattle,” says president Keith Schiller, with whom Bill spoke along with partners Ryan Brooks and Matthew Flaph. They’re offering window replacement, siding, “living roofs,” and kitchen and bedroom remodeling, as what they call “green solutions” to boost homes’ energy-efficiency (among other factors).

Myth-busting the ‘green stormwater infrastructure’ plan

(County map showing where the “green stormwater infrastructure” is proposed for the area feeding the Barton pump station; go here for larger version)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

There was a bit of myth-buster flavor to the first major community meeting since King County’s December announcement that it wants to solve the Barton Pump Station‘s overflow woes with “green stormwater infrastructure” in a 17-block area of Westwood and Sunrise Heights:

No, there won’t be a raingarden in front of every home in the area.

No, they won’t block you from getting between your street-parked car and your front door.

So – what will they do, and how?

Click to read the rest of Myth-busting the ‘green stormwater infrastructure’ plan…

Saving the Sound with ‘green infrastructure’: Meeting tomorrow

(March 10 WSB photo)
That’s the east side of Westside School in the backdrop of our photo from last month, showing a drilling crew out doing preliminary testing for King County’s “green stormwater infrastructure” project to reduce combined-sewer overflows into Puget Sound – and Westside is where county staffers will be tomorrow night for a community meeting updating the plan. While hundreds of households in Sunrise Heights and Westwood will be directly affected, thousands more may be interested for a variety of reasons, and you don’t have to be part of the project area (map here) to attend. The meeting is set for 6:30-8 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, April 6) at Westside, which is at 7740 34th SW; you can read more about the proposal (which is still under environmental review) on the King County Wastewater Treatment Division website.

‘Barton’s Web’: New West Seattle P-Patch’s almost-final design

(Courtesy Barker Landscape Architects)
That’s the almost-final design for West Seattle’s new Barton Street P-Patch, revealed at Southwest Community Center this afternoon. About 30 people were there for the last of three community design meetings shaping the future of the big parcel at 34th/Barton, once owned by Seattle Public Utilities, long little more than a stretch of lawn, till the Parks and Green Spaces Levy made money available to turn it into a P-Patch.

This design, dubbed “The Web” for obvious reasons, is based on the popular choice among four options shown at the second design meeting, which in turn were crafted from eight concepts roughed out by participants at the first meeting. Its key points include about 50 plots, as well as consideration for having minimal impact on the big birch tree on the site, which is being kept (as we reported 2 weeks ago) because of input from comments made both in person and online (WSB comments were cited as one of the input sources considered) – altogether described as “a community decision.” (To compensate for shade concerns, the largest garden plots have been sited north of the tree.)

Click to read the rest of ‘Barton’s Web’: New West Seattle P-Patch’s almost-final design…

West Seattle businesses: Happy anniversary, Wyatt’s Jewelers!

It’s been a day for balloons, punch, cupcakes, the candy jar, and raffling today at Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village, celebrating its 6th anniversary with a sale starting today. We managed to catch co-owner Kirk Keppler this afternoon during a brief break in a busy day. If you see this before 6 pm, there’s still time to drop by and wish them “Happy Anniversary” – they’re closed Sunday/Monday, but the sale lasts all month, resuming next Tuesday.

Garden notes: Final P-Patch design Sat.; Roxhill needs help Sunday

BARTON STREET P-PATCH, FINAL DESIGN MEETING: Tomorrow (Saturday, April 2nd) is the final community design meeting for the new P-Patch at 34th/Barton, and as organizers say, “It’s not too late to get involved.” Though the big decision about the big birch tree has been made (here’s our most recent story), it’s now time to settle the garden’s look, feel, number of spaces, etc. You’re invited to Southwest Community Center, 1:30-3:30 pm Saturday.

Then on Sunday, not far away at Roxhill Elementary School …

ROXHILL GARDEN WORK PARTY: Joshua Medaris‘s drawing gives a hint at what Roxhill’s garden will look like when it’s done. We covered some early work last summer; now, your help is needed Sunday morning for “phase 1 of the garden renovation – moving the new garden beds over to the original garden area.” Advice from organizers: “Bring clothes that can get dirty, work gloves if you have them, a water bottle, and a friend.” The garden’s on the northwest side of the school, 9430 30th SW. The party is 9 am-noon Sunday; if you have questions, call Ariana Taylor-Stanley at 206-660-8958 or e-mail ariana.taylor-stanley@kingcounty.gov.

Traffic alert: Westwood crash, no serious injuries

Just got to the scene of what originally drew a sizable “rescue” response from Seattle Fire crews but has now scaled back – a car up on the sidewalk at 28th/Trenton. According to scanner traffic from the call to cancel most responding units, “no major injuries.” Major advisory on this – be careful driving this stretch of SW Trenton, northwest of Westwood Village, till the scene is clear.

West Seattle’s Westwood Village reportedly getting a new owner

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.

Barton Street P-Patch decision: The big birch tree stays

(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.

West Seattle schools: ‘Larry Gets Lost’ at Roxhill Elementary

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.”

West Seattle schools: Roxhill’s on a roll

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).

Update: Mayor McGinn’s Westwood walking tour, library Q&A

(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.

Got something to ask the mayor? He’s in West Seattle this Sunday

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.)

P-Patch progress: 4 designs shown at 34th/Barton’s 2nd meeting

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: Click to read the rest of P-Patch progress: 4 designs shown at 34th/Barton’s 2nd meeting…

Birth of a P-Patch: Last chance to have a say on 34th/Barton design

(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.

Helicopter over southeastern West Seattle: Sheriff’s Office case

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.

Big turnout at first design meeting for 34th/Barton P-Patch

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.

Click to read the rest of Big turnout at first design meeting for 34th/Barton P-Patch…

34th/Barton P-Patch: Planning meeting tomorrow; naming issue

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.)