(Thanks to Babs for the motorcade photo)
We’ve gotten a couple messages about a motorcade in the Alki area. We’re told it’s for the president of Bulgaria, who has indeed been visiting Seattle. Earlier today, first-year President Rosen Prevneliev was on Capitol Hill. While in the area, he’s also met with Bill Gates. He’s in the area to drum up U.S. interest in Bulgarian business and is also visiting the “other” U.S. tech hub, Silicon Valley.

And from Larry:

I had two packages stolen from our front door stoop on the same day. Both were supposedly delivered on May 10th from two different companies. I live on 31st between near Thistle Street.

Providence Mount St. Vincent is looking for Artists to display their work in our McAllister Hall Art Gallery.

The art gallery at Providence Mount St. Vincent displays local art on a monthly basis featuring a different artist each month. The main goal of this program is to provide enjoyment and artistic culture for our residents, since many of them are no longer physically able to visit art galleries. We offer artist the ability to sell her or his art with the request that 20 percent be donated to our Foundation. The gallery is located on the second floor entrance on the west side of the building–a high traffic area within the Mount. The art is viewed by residents, staff, families of residents, volunteers, and visitors. We insure the art while it’s on display to protect it from any possible damage and offer a reception in the artist’s honor.

The months of June, August, October, November and December are currently open in 2012. Please contact Anna Cronin at anna.cronin@providence.org or 206.938.6242 for more information.

(Tuesday evening photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
One year after a new plan was circulated for Oregon 42 - the mixed-use building at 42nd SW/SW Oregon in The Junction that’s been in the works for four and a half years – construction is about to begin. We confirmed that this morning with Mike Mahoney from ConAm, the San Diego company that is developing the 131-unit building; we called for an update after getting word that the construction fence had gone up around the site (photo above).

It’s a four-lot site; three houses will be demolished, probably starting next week, according to Mahoney. The fourth lot formerly held the house that was moved to another site in an operation that created something of a spectacle in summer 2010. (The site also made news here in March when one of the remaining houses was used for SWAT-team training.) Here’s one of the Oregon 42 renderings circulated last year, when the number of apartments was increased and the amount of retail decreased (now 3,000 square feet):

(That’s Hope Lutheran at the lower left, Capco Plaza – QFC & Altamira – at upper right.) Mahoney says the plan hasn’t changed since the revised version was made public last year. But now they’re ready to proceed. Once demolition begins, he says, “that’s really going to kick off the full construction – we will move right into excavation and shoring work.” He expects the construction crane to go up in about two months, and the project to be complete after about 16 months of work – which would mean fall of next year. SD Deacon is the general contractor; Junction-based Nicholson Kovalchick Architects joined the project before last year’s round of publicized changes, but was not involved when the project was first proposed back in 2008. This project, by the way, is among those in West Seattle granted the city’s Multi-Family Tax Exemption (see the agreement, finalized by the City Council last year, here), for agreeing that 20 percent of the units will have what the city deems “affordable rents” accessible to people slightly below the median income.

Two other major apartment projects are under construction in West Seattle right now – Youngstown Flats in North Delridge, and Harbor/Urban’s 62-unit Nova in The Triangle – and others are on the drawing board, including two within just a few blocks, the Equity Residential project at California/Alaska, and 4724 California, which has its first Design Review Board meeting one week from tomorrow.

Community Notice

We have been advised by the Museum of Flight that upcoming flight events may create noisy conditions for communities surrounding Boeing Field, such as the neighborhoods of Georgetown, Beacon Hill, Magnolia, West Seattle; and portions of Renton and Tukwila:

Beginning on May 21 and lasting through Memorial Day weekend, the Museum of Flight is hosting B-17 Bomber tours and rides on the Seattle-born Aluminum Overcast; and a range of vintage military aircraft sponsored by the Cascade War Birds Fly In.

Residents should be aware that these aircraft are sanctioned by permits from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and are intended for the enjoyment of pilots, fans of aviation history, and the general public.
KCIA is an open-access airport and is not authorized to restrict any aircraft 24/7. To file a noise complaint, please contact 206-205-5242; or online at KCIANoise@kingcounty.gov.

(WSB file photo of Hiawatha’s wading pool)
Thanks to Sarah for the tip: The city has just published this summer’s wading-pool schedule, and there are some changes for West Seattle. You might recall that the city had looked for sponsors to help pick up the cost, and according to the new schedule, two wading pools get an extra day of operation each, thanks to sponsorships – Admiral Safeway, according to Parks, is making it possible for the Hiawatha pool to be open on Saturdays, while the Hiawatha Advisory Council is making it possible for the Delridge pool to be open on Sundays – both of those pools will be open 4 days a week, while Lincoln Park remains the only West Seattle wading pool open 7 days a week, and it will be the earliest to open, scheduled for June 23rd. See the full schedule here (PDF). We’re checking on one thing – Highland Park – which is being converted to a spray park – is listed on the schedule as “opening in 2013,” but at the most recent project meeting, Seattle Parks had said they hoped to get it open before this season ends. We’ll add whatever we find out.

(Butterflies are here! Photographed in West Seattle by Machel Spence)
From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:

EARLY DISMISSAL DAY: Seattle Public Schools are out two hours early today.

HIGH-SCHOOL POSTSEASON GAMES: The Chief Sealth International High School soccer team’s first state playoff game is today vs. Shorewood HS at Shoreline Stadium (18560 1st Ave NE). In the district softball tournament, Sealth plays Liberty at 2 pm at Lower Woodland Park (Green Lake Way and N. 50th); West Seattle High School plays Mount Si, also at 2 pm at Lower Woodland.

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING: The final vote on hiring José Banda as superintendent is on tonight’s agenda, as is the revised proposal for changing next year’s transportation plan – one that the district says will mean little if any change in bell times, unlike the one that was withdrawn after its appearance, with no public input, sparked concern (see the new one here). The meeting’s at 6 pm, district HQ in SODO (2445 3rd Avenue S.). **added** We also have learned that the public-comment section will include speakers on behalf of Middle College High School, the public high school based at South Seattle Community College, which is facing a move to a new location, as was confirmed during last week’s BEX IV levy work session covered here.

PATHFINDER K-8 PLAYGROUND ADDITION KICKOFF: The community’s invited to this dinner meeting to talk about transforming the school playground, as explained here. 6 pm, Pathfinder cafeteria (1901 SW Genesee).

WINE AND WISDOM: The monthly “mingle” sponsored by Savvy Seattle Women is at 6 tonight, Prudential Northwest Realty offices in Jefferson Square.

DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: Tonight’s meeting (7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW) includes a county presentation about the bioswales/raingardens proposed in parts of Sunrise Heights and Westwood to reduce combined-sewer overflows at the Barton Pump Station by the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

‘BYE BYE BIRDIE’: The second week of West Seattle High School‘s spring musical continues, 7:30 pm. Ticketing info and more on the Westside Drama website.

More on the calendar!

(Click to see full-size map, as PDF)
ORIGINAL 11:56 PM TUESDAY REPORT: 200 homes in Highland Park will only get trash pickup every two weeks, for six months, starting in July. You might have heard about the city’s “One Less Truck” pilot program, to see if every-other-week pickup will work (explained here); tonight, we learned that part of West Seattle will be in the program. Carl Woestwin of Seattle Public Utilities made the announcement during the WS Crime Prevention Council meeting tonight (though trash pickup has nothing to do with the group’s usual scope). The area affected is bounded by SW Barton on the north, SW Roxbury to the south, 15th SW to the west, and 11th SW to the east.

Woestwin says homes from single-family through fourplexes in the area will be required to participate, and will get a $100 stipend for their trouble. All the affected homes have been notified via letters and/or flyers, he said. They can choose to get larger trash containers, or try to see if they can make it work, and that’s what the experiment is for. Woestwin said that the city estimates changing to every-other-week pickup could save $6 million citywide. This part of Highland Park is the only test area in West Seattle and one of only four citywide; a community meeting is planned in early June (he wasn’t sure of the date – we’ll seek confirmation Wednesday) and then SPU will come back to the neighborhood in September “to find out how they’re going.”

ADDED 11:25 AM: We followed up this morning with SPU, whose Brett Stav provided some information, including the FAQ they have put together (apparently, though, it is not on their website, because, he says, “We’re trying to keep the study as scientific as possible and avoid confusing our non-participating customers, so we haven’t broadly advertised this project outside of the participating neighborhoods”) and the rate card for participants – read on:

First, the rates. Here’s the rate card (PDF) that has been mailed to the participating households, according to Stav. Note that if a participant already have one of the smallest trash containers, the rate reduction during the six-month experiment is small – a one-dollar reduction from the $17 monthly rate for “microcan” users” – but those with the largest container, 96 gallons, will see their monthly rates more than halved (from $84 to $39).

Second, here’s the FAQ:

What is this “One Less Truck Project” that the Seattle City Council is considering?

The Seattle City Council has asked Seattle Public Utilities to conduct a six-month study of the effects of every-other-week garbage collection among 800 single-family homes in Seattle.

What are the benefits of every-other-week garbage collection?

Seattle Public Utilities estimates that citywide every-other-week garbage collection will reduce waste sent to the landfill, increase recycling, reduce noise, air and traffic pollution, and save $6.4 million on Seattle’s annual garbage system collection costs.

When will this project begin?

The six-month project will start on July 1, 2012, and end on December 31, 2012.

Where will this project take place? How will these areas be chosen?

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will choose approximately 800 households in four areas of the city that closely reflect Seattle’s overall demographic population. SPU staff chose pilot areas with several considerations in mind, including geography, age, income, race and garbage-service level that best reflect the city’s overall makeup. By making the pilot program representative of diverse Seattle residents, SPU will be able to accurately observe what would happen if the entire city switched to every-other-week garbage collection.

One Less Truck Project areas include:
30th Ave NE to 35th Ave NE/NE 85th St. to NE 90th St.
31st Ave S to 34th Ave S/S Dearborn to S Day
Rainier Ave to 45th S/S Clover to S Kenyon 11th Ave SW to 15th SW/SW Barton to SW Roxbury

Can I opt-in to the every-other-week garbage program?

No. In order to keep the results of the program as scientific as possible, volunteers cannot be accepted.

Is leaving garbage out for two weeks sanitary?

The King County Public Health Department has approved every-other-week garbage collection. Other cities that have implemented every-other-week garbage service, including Olympia and Renton, have not found any measureable increases in odors or pests. Now that food waste is allowed in weekly curbside food and yard collection, there aren’t a lot of things left in the garbage that would cause odors.

When will the City of Seattle switch to citywide every-other-week garbage collection?

The results of this every-other-week garbage program will be used to help city officials decide whether to launch citywide every-other-week garbage collection, possibly as early as 2015.

Again, this ONLY is affecting a 200-household area in Highland Park during the July-to-January test – the only area in West Seattle that’s part of the pilot project – but its results will be reviewed, along with three similarly sized areas elsewhere in the city, to determine whether to try it citywide.

For the second consecutive Tuesday, the West Seattle Community Orchestras invited the community to the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium, to hear their musicians’ spring concerts; tonight was the 50+-member West Seattle Symphony Orchestra‘s turn. Our 7-minute video clip captures the highlight of the night, the world premiere of conductor Rob Duisberg‘s “Fantasies and Fugues.” The program also included classics – from composers including Beethoven, Copland, Haydn, and Stravinsky.

Otherwise, Lt. Davis reported, burglaries and car prowls are “down to an acceptable low right now”; in response to an attendee’s question, he said there is still no new information to release in the Beach Drive murder of Greggette Guy two months ago. The group also heard from Heather Turner of Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims; she briefly described the many resources they offer – find them all here.

(King County rendering from March community meeting in Sunrise Heights)
Wednesday night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council includes an update on one of the most vigorously debated public-works projects planned for West Seattle, the Barton Pump Station basin combined-sewer-overflow-control project – “bioswales” (raingardens) in planting strips along multiple streets in the Sunrise Heights/Westwood area, to reduce the water going into the system and downhill to the pump station. The presentation, including project manager Mary Wohleb, is scheduled for around 7:20 pm during the DNDC meeting, which begins at 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW). The county’s most recent community presentations were in March; here’s our coverage.

At Steve Cox Memorial Field in White Center tonight, West Seattle High School and Liberty HS faced off for a berth in the state tournament – and WSHS came out on top, 2-1.

Here’s the box score from our partners at the Seattle Times.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Wildcats play Timberline at 10 am at Bannerwood Parkin Bellevue this Saturday.

If this warm weather puts you in the mood for outdoor swimming, wondering when Colman Pool on the Lincoln Park shoreline will be open – here’s another reminder that it’ll be late this year, June 30th. The renovation work has been under way for 4 months now, and we just got two new photos today from Jim Edwards (thank you!), so we checked in with Seattle Parks project manager Garrett Farrell, to see where the project is at. He tells WSB that the last of the pool-wall sections were to be put in place today, and “we have already started pour-back of the pool decks, which will go much faster than the walls.” Now, it gets tricky, according to Farrell, as they work on “installing the pool-water piping in the tunnel that runs around the pool deck and connects to the walls as we work to pour the lid over the top of it, a few pieces at a time.”

Crews are also working to remove the existing plaster, he said, while prepping “every square
inch of the interior shell for a much needed new plaster liner.” That’s still a lot of work, he said, but they are on track for the expected opening date of June 30th. (To plan ahead, you can check out the schedule here.)

Till 7 pm, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly ‘After-Hours’ mixer is happening at Dream Dinners (longtime WSB sponsor), on 41st just south of Alaska (east side of Jefferson Square‘s main building, fronting on 41st). From left, we photographed Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby – which has its big Shake, Rattle & Roll cocktail-party event this Friday night (ticket info here) and the Stuff the Bus diaper drive on July 22nd – with Dream Dinners proprietor Leslie Thomson and Rob Shiras from PC Mobile Help. Dream Dinners facilitates home cooking while taking away some of the time-consuming tasks like shopping and prepping – they have monthly menus, you choose what sounds good and assemble dinners in three- or six-serving sizes to take home and keep till you’re ready to cook them. After-Hours events rotate among various locations, offering Chamber members a chance to learn more about one of their fellow local businesses – in recent months, hosts have included Easy Street Records and Global Diving and Salvage.

(WSB photo from 2011 Alki Art Fair)
*Alki Art Fair – Volunteer-run since city cutbacks made city-staff resources unavailable. $20,000 grant. (This year’s fair is July 28-29.)

*Castle Park at Roxhill Park – To enhance the city Parks and Green Spaces Levy-funded playground project, $20,000 extra for “a climbing and physical challenge course.” (After getting the city announcement, we checked with project manager Kelly Davidson, who says that the playground/skatepark plans just went to the general contractor yesterday and are in a review period. The playground itself is still on target for a public build, probably in September.)

*West Seattle Community Fruit Harvest – City Fruit gets $6,295 to “organize the harvest of fruit from residential fruit trees to distribute to partner organizations like food banks, women’s shelters, and senior centers within Delridge and West Seattle.”