month : 06/2007 191 results

… to this: “Thou shalt not blaze through a four-way stop without giving all due respect to everyone else at/in the intersection.”

Got crime? Do this!

Lots of WS worries lately – from Westwood vandalism to Gatewood burglaries to break-ins further north. If you have neighborhood crime concerns, you are invited to voice them tonight at the West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting, 7 pm @ the SW Precinct. On a related subject, a WSB reader e-mailed us asking for help with a hit-and-run that crunched his car; click ahead to read his note:Read More

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More on the WS Bridge death

June 19, 2007 11:08 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| WS miscellaneous

A new comment on our original item about the Saturday night WS Bridge suicide is worth home-page exposure. As we wrote in the original item — we all need to talk more about preventing suicide, which kills more people in our area each year than murder. And to the point raised in this case, King County’s website points out that LGBT youth are at especially high risk. Here’s the comment in full (late afternoon update, we have removed the name at the request of someone who voiced confidentiality concerns, until and unless we hear otherwise):

(posted by “The Gay Curmudgeon”)

The young man was a volunteer at Lambert House, “a center for Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning youth and their allies”

If only we were more accepting of our youth, if only we could do more
to tell them we care, if only we could do more to protect them from
diseases like HIV, if only…

FROM: Ken Shulman, Lambert House Executive Director
TO: Lambert House Volunteers

Dear Lambert House Volunteers:

I am deeply saddened to tell you that [name deleted for now by WSB], a long-time Lambert House youth, committed suicide on Saturday night by jumping off of the West Seattle Bridge. [name], who was 21, first came to Lambert House when he was 15. He considered Lambert House to be very important to him and for other LGBTQ youth.

[name] gave an HIV-prevention education presentation to the Lambert
House Boys Group two weeks ago based on his personal experience becoming infected with HIV. It was [name]’s hope that he could educate other gay males to avoid becoming infected. On his physician’s advice, [name] started HIV anti-retroviral medication last Saturday. He reported having immediate side-effects including a rash and severe nightmares.

On Saturday, June 30, at 4:00 p.m. at Lambert House, [name]’s friends,
including Lambert House graduates, current youth, and others, will hold
an all-ages memorial celebration of [name]’s life. Any Lambert House
youth and anyone who knew [name] is welcome to attend.

I cannot express how saddened I am by this loss.

-Ken

~The Gay Curmudgeon

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Coffee for a cause

June 19, 2007 10:57 am

| Comments Off on Coffee for a cause

| West Seattle online | WS beverages

As Rhonda reminds us at Beach Drive Blog, part of the money you spend at Tully’s today goes toward the J.P. Patches statue that will help raise money for Children’s Hospital. (Two Tully’s in WS: Alki and Morgan Junction.)

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Support your local authors

June 19, 2007 6:30 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| WS culture/arts

We’ve noted before that WS is awash in authors. Here are updates on two:

–Eilis Flynn notes that her latest book, Festival of Stars, is partly set in WS.

–Clay Eals has gotten a lot of press for his Steve Goodman biography, Facing the Music. This Saturday, 1 pm @ the outdoor courtyard of the Log House Museum, he tops the bill for what the museum calls a “combination music/reading event.” (P.S. One of Eals’ other credits: editing the definitive WS history book — through its 1987 publication — West Side Story.)

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WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #6

June 18, 2007 11:22 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| WS miscellaneous

Tonight’s reason why you need to be there Saturday: WS is in the tsunami zone.

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Progress for the other WS megaproject

June 18, 2007 5:58 pm

| 27 COMMENTS

| Development | Triangle | West Seattle businesses | WS miscellaneous

Four days after the 41st/42nd/Alaska megaproject (with QFC) cleared a city hurdle, the Fauntleroy Place megaproject just a couple blocks to the east (with Whole Foods) has cleared one too. The company in charge of the project, Blue Star Management, says city council members unanimously approved the “alley vacation” today, and explains the alley’s future: “The alley running north to south from SW Oregon Street to SW Alaska Street between 40th Ave SW and 39th Ave SW will be relocated into an L-shaped alley, running from SW Oregon Street south and then exiting west at about three-quarters block on to 40th Ave SW, instead of continuing toward SW Alaska Street.” Blue Star reiterates that it hopes to start construction early next year; below is the latest rendering of what Fauntleroy Place is supposed to look like.

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TONIGHT: “Sustainable West Seattle” meets

June 18, 2007 4:11 pm

| Comments Off on TONIGHT: “Sustainable West Seattle” meets

| Environment | Transportation | West Seattle people

6-8 pm @ Southwest Library – all are welcome at the next meeting of SWS, which describes itself as “a newly-formed group of West Seattle citizens who want to make a difference locally, working within our neighborhood to become more self-reliant while using fewer natural resources.”

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Bulletin: Ovio reportedly closing

June 18, 2007 12:28 pm

| 35 COMMENTS

| West Seattle restaurants | WS breaking news

E-mail just forwarded to us. Working to confirm (8:30 PM UPDATE: it’s now posted on the Ovio website).

Dear Friends & Fans of Ovio Bistro,

They say all good things must come to an end, and so it is with sadness that we must tell you that after nearly 5 years in West Seattle, Ovio Bistro will be closing at the end of June.

It was a very difficult decision to make, but one that we feel will be best for our family at this time.

As you know, we have worked very hard and put a lot into this restaurant…we have no managers and one of us is here all the time, but our sons are older and involved in school and sports, and it is heartbreaking to not be there for them.

We have been fortunate to work with amazing people – our staff has been incredible from the beginning. The original Ovio would never have been so successful without Chef Eddie Montoya, Tony LaVelle, Michael Tinsley, Janae Hawkins, EBO Ottens and Lisa Lovering.

Others joined us at the old location – Darcey Wijsenbeek, Emily Garner, Ben Adlin, Rickey Story, Mike Bond, Bubba Schultz – and quickly became part of the Ovio family. When we decided to expand and relocate, our old staff found our new staff by inviting their friends to join the party – and Dennis McMahon, Will Green, Julie Johnson, Evan Beilke, Michael Nelson, and Will Waterstraat came to stay. The new Ovio was built on the hard work of everyone, literally! We demolished, we rebuilt and we opened with a bang! It was an incredible experience to be a part of. We have been lucky to add talented people along the way – Chef Brenda Rodriguez has been invaluable in putting Ovio back on the culinary map. Alongside her in the kitchen, we have been fortunate to have Angela Emery and Ben Pickett, and Michelle Manning. They have all done amazing things for Ovio.

We were also blessed to have so many wonderful regular customers – and you know who you are! You have been through the highs and lows of Ovio and you still come back, week after week. You have gotten to know all of us and introduced us to your families and friends. You have shared special occasions and private moments with us. You dealt with the devastation of Eddie’s death alongside us. We can never thank you enough.

We know that this is sad and shocking news to everyone, but hope that you will be supportive of us through the end. We would love to see EVERYONE in the next two weeks, and we especially look forward to a big party on Saturday, June 30th. Please join us. We will miss you all very much and can never thank you enough for being part of our Ovio family these past 5 years.

Much love,

Shing and Ellie Chin

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Three traffic alerts

June 18, 2007 12:21 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Transportation

First – flagging on Alki today, because of some utility work across from Duke’s:

Second – checked out the Morgan/Sylvan shutdown; on the west, as our photo shows, it’s closed just a block east of 35th; on the other side, it’s not closed till the cemetery.

Third – posters are popping up all around WS to heighten the alert about the I-5 Project From Hell coming up in August. We even got a ping from a WSDOT person recently asking if we’d discussed it here; they promise all sorts of online resources to help people cope, but note that it’s going to hit us pretty hard since it’ll be happening right where we all pour out onto I-5.

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WS Gas Price Watch: Latest low

June 18, 2007 11:53 am

| Comments Off on WS Gas Price Watch: Latest low

| Gas prices | Transportation

Delridge Arco is back in the low-price lead (photo below), with a bonus mystery price:

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A death in WS, almost unnoticed

June 18, 2007 8:59 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| WS miscellaneous

This escaped our usual web-combing for WS-related news: near the bottom of this “digest” from Sunday’s Times, a brief note about an apparent WS Bridge suicide on Saturday night. (Suicide gets very little media coverage because of an apparent belief that talking about it will cause more of it. This unforgettable 2004 Seattle Weekly story tackles the issue more eloquently than anything we’ve ever seen.) But back to the subject of what happened on The Bridge Saturday night … it was pointed out to us by one of the writers linked from our Other Blogs in WS page, who went on to say:

I saw the young man walking up the bridge on Saturday night seven minutes before he jumped. I went up the Delridge on-ramp at about 8:08 pm, saw him well up the ramp, wondered about him, figured he was on his way to a car, and then went on to my own thoughts. I didn’t notice as I got on the bridge that there was no car. He jumped about 8:15 pm according to the Seattle Times. He was young-looking, lean and well dressed.

Last night, I drove under the bridge and looked up and down and tried to come to terms with what he did and what I might have done.I was thinking that a lot of West Seattleites must have seen this man. Perhaps we could piece together a timetable of when we saw him and offer some details to his survivors of his last movements.

One more note from us: The Seattle Crisis Hotline is 206-461-3222. A great list of support resources is here.

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Swimmers, rejoice

June 18, 2007 7:15 am

| Comments Off on Swimmers, rejoice

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

Today’s the first weekday of the season for Colman Pool, which is now open noon-7 pm every day till early September (full schedule here).

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You can’t get there from here

June 17, 2007 9:52 pm

| Comments Off on You can’t get there from here

| Transportation | Utilities

Don’t forget — as of tomorrow morning, a major east-west West Seattle route is scheduled to close, and stay closed, for three months. All along 35th (and elsewhere), the signs were in place and waiting as of late today (albeit facing backward, till morning):

The route, if you’re not already aware, is Morgan/Sylvan between 35th and Delridge. The designated detour/alternative is Holden. If you find yourself needing to call someone with questions, there’s a “construction information hotline” in this city news release about the project.

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Another WS school-board candidate makes his pitch

June 17, 2007 8:53 pm

| Comments Off on Another WS school-board candidate makes his pitch

| West Seattle politics | West Seattle schools

First Dan Dempsey; now Edwin Fruit, another of the 5 candidates for the WS-centered open school board seat in the Aug. 21 primary, takes his “guest blogger” turn at Educating Mom.

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Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #7

June 17, 2007 7:57 pm

| Comments Off on Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #7

| WS miscellaneous

Counting down the reasons why you should spend a few hours next Saturday @ the West Seattle Emergency Preparedness event: #7, ’cause to paraphrase what your parents always told you, an ounce of preparedness is worth a pound of … etc.

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3 scenes from a non-sunny Sunday

June 17, 2007 6:19 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Seen around town | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle businesses

Late-afternoon outdoor wedding just west of the Alki Bathhouse:

Mid-afternoon, still low-enough tide to see this inscription on the water side of the Alki bulkhead/staircases … we know what 1851 refers to; was 1925 when these were put in? (have to go dig out our West Side Story)

Early afternoon, ample free parking behind Junction businesses on the east side of Cali, even as the lots on the west side overflowed (with drivers circling in frustration):

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Beach Drive will soon be a little less green

June 17, 2007 12:08 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| Development | Environment

Five months after we posted about a landowner’s application for a permit to chop down more than a dozen trees (and surrounding greenery) on a steep slope over Beach Drive — below a house on Atlas — the decision’s in.

It says in part “this … will result in adverse impacts to the environment,” but since those “impacts” are “not expected to be significant,” the greenery removal gets the green light. (The decision mentions one public comment of concern was received, focusing on slide risks in the area; appeals are also possible on decisions like these, and the city site explains how.)

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Beer bash with WS suds stars

June 17, 2007 12:57 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | WS beverages

West Seattle’s growing Schooner Exact Brewing Co. is spending the weekend at the Washington Brewers’ Festival in Kenmore (you’re invited to go see ’em today) and telling the tale on its blog.

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What to look for at the Farmers’ Market tomorrow

June 16, 2007 10:06 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle Farmers' Market

By the time we got home from the Farmers’ Market last Sunday, it was too late to mention this in time for anyone to act on it. But now with 12 hours to go till the market opens, it’s worth mentioning — SPECTACULAR STRAWBERRIES. At least three booths offered them last Sunday, some as low as $3/pint, ripe Skagit County strawberries, nothing like the plasticky supermarket ones from California. Yum! (Also for strawberry fans, as linked in our weekend roundup, Metro Market sells strawberry shortcake for $3, noon-5 pm tomorrow.)

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Chief Sealth HS, past/present/future

June 16, 2007 7:56 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Denny-Sealth | West Seattle schools | Westwood

Its immediate past — the 100-plus Class of ’07 grads who gathered at SW Athletic Complex across the street this afternoon to celebrate the successful end of their pre-college educational careers:

Present/future, change is ahead for Sealth and its neighborhood.Ã‚ As we have mentioned previously, it is working to boost its academic image (which may factor into its underenrollment) by offering the International Baccalaureate program, one of only two high schools in Seattle Public Schools — only 14 in the entire state — with IB. And its future holds a big construction project (page 4 in this doc; approved by voters last February), in tandem with nearby Denny Middle School, set to start immediately after next school year. The Westwood Neighborhood Council has questions and concerns (as do people at both schools; see page 3 of this) and is hosting a community meeting one week from Wednesday (June 27) to talk about the project.

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A tail of lost love

June 16, 2007 12:25 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Pets | West Seattle online

Is it really the dog they’re looking for, or perhaps its owner? Check it out at BDB.

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Viaduct on foot

June 16, 2007 12:04 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

Back from RFTC. Intermittent sun, good crowd. But walking on The Viaduct now feels the way it felt to attend baseball games in The Kingdome in 1999 … end-of-an-era’ish. Here for posterity is the cobblestone/aggregate viaduct surface underfoot: