day : 06/08/2007 7 results

It was about 15 minutes before the end of tonight’s school-board candidates forum on the lawn at Pathfinder K-8 when our internet-attuned ears really perked up.

First, Dan Dempsey (photo left), one of 4 contenders for the West Seattle-centered District 6 seat that Irene Stewart is giving up, declared he has multiple blogs on his campaign website, but isn’t getting much feedback yet. (Reviewing his site, it appears he’s put up more discussion boards than blogs, but nice gesture anyway!)

Then, answering the same audience question about ways the board could improve communication with the public, District 1 candidate Peter Maier (photo right) offered his observation that the official Seattle Public Schools website just isn’t particularly easy to use — tough to access documents, etc.

Understatement of the night, from our quarters (and not just us; a fair amount of those in attendance laughed knowingly). But as she rose next to answer the same communication question, District 2 incumbent Darlene Flynn (photo left) was clearly not amused, retorting sharply, “That website didn’t even HAVE documents on it four years ago.”

Not surprisingly, given the rocky year the school board has had, Flynn and the other incumbent in attendance, Sally Soriano (photo right), spent a lot of their time defending and detailing what they believe to be their key first-term accomplishments. But that was really a small part of a fascinating evening that probably helped clarify a lot of August 21 (and beyond) decisions … much more after the click:Read More

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Freeway Fright ’07: More wi-fi whereabouts

August 6, 2007 10:29 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Freeway Fright '07 | Transportation | West Seattle online

We are working on a list of who’s got wi-fi access around WS, besides the obvious (coffeehouses), for anyone who really can take the advice of West Seattle’s Most Famous Politician and telecommute to avoid the I-5-related trauma expected during FF ’07. The latest addition, if you weren’t aware: Public library branches. West Seattle has four of ’em: Southwest, High Point, Delridge, and of course, WS (north of Metro Market).

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Latest city update on Admiral closures

August 6, 2007 5:13 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Transportation

According to this afternoon’s e-mail update from the city Transportation Department, the paving closures on Admiral aren’t scheduled to start till Thursday night. Click ahead for the full text of that e-mail update (including a warning for neighbors about possible side effects inside their homes):Read More

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Alki Statue of Liberty: Bathhouse move won’t stop Sept. meeting

August 6, 2007 2:33 pm

| Comments Off on Alki Statue of Liberty: Bathhouse move won’t stop Sept. meeting

| Alki Statue of Liberty

Following up on the weekend bulletin about a new plan to move the recast Statue of Liberty into the Alki Bathhouse, we checked today with Pamela Kliment, the city Parks Department’s project manager. She says the exact timetable for this interim move depends on what she finds out from the foundry that’s housing the statue; she also says the September 13th public meeting about the statue’s future is still on, because “since that location [the Bathhouse] is temporary, there is more work to do.” We also have heard from the staff of Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (a WS resident), who’s working on helping make this happen, and they too await more information before a date can be set for the statue’s Bathhouse arrival.

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School updates

August 6, 2007 11:20 am

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| West Seattle schools

-Believe it or not, less than a month till the first day of school (9/5) for most local kids. (SPS ’07-’08 calendar here.)

-Congratulations to the Community School of West Seattle, which, after a dinner/auction last month and other fundraising efforts, now has enough money to buy its building (photo at left) at 22nd & Roxbury, which was being eyed by a developer.

-Last reminder about the school board candidates’ forum (free ice cream!) on the lawn at Pathfinder K-8 tonight, all welcome, bring a picnic.

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Alki brawl caught on tape

August 6, 2007 10:08 am

| 25 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

We’ve been watching for this link since seeing it on the late news last night. Now it’s online — videotaped fight at Alki, and worried neighbors.

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Ercolini Park: A sign & a party

August 6, 2007 7:51 am

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| How to help | West Seattle parks

It’s on the same type of frame as a “for sale” sign, but this sign (right) at the Ercolini Park site on Alaska west of The Junction can be best described as “for info.” Right now, it’s stocked with flyers for a block party alongside the park site during Night Out tomorrow (6-9 pm, along 48th SW between Alaska and Oregon); park organizer Bill Barna says they’ll be accepting donations during the party as they finish up their last round of fundraising following a city matching-funds grant. (Speaking of Night Out, if your neighborhood is having a party and you don’t mind telling us about it in case any neighbors haven’t heard, leave a comment here or e-mail us; city organizers say they can’t give us an area-wide list. Also we’re hoping to post Night Out pix afterward, so even if you don’t tell us about your party in advance, take a pic and send it to us!)