West Seattle, Washington
14 Saturday
On Thursday night, while the Alki Statue of Liberty meeting was under way at the Bathhouse, a SW Design Review Board meeting was under way at the Precinct, and several WS schools had events — a quiet but important demonstration was under way in West Seattle waters: Members of the Surfrider Foundation, People for Puget Sound, and others paddled out from Seacrest to remind us all that the state needs a better oil-spill prevention plan, specifically one that protects the ultimate gateway to Puget Sound — the Strait of Juan de Fuca — with a year-round rescue tug @ Neah Bay. Since we knew we’d be otherwise occupied, we asked the Surfrider folks to send pix; here’s one from water level (the banner has the SF name & logo).
Right now, rescue tugs are only stationed at the state’s northwestern tip for the winter. (The next one is scheduled to be in place October 1st-March 15th. That time frame wouldn’t have covered the disastrous Tenyo Maru incident in July 1991, which as this link reminds us took 15 years to recover from.) Here’s more on where the push for a year-round tug stands now.
Congratulations to new Alki News-Beacon editor Cami MacNamara on publication of her first edition – you can check it out online here. Cami is also webmaster for AlkiNews.com, where you can always find a link to the latest Beacon as well as other info from the Alki Community Council, which is preparing for its regular bimonthly meeting next Thursday (have you joined yet?).
The website for Ama-Ama, the restaurant taking over the ex-Ovio spot in The Junction, still promises an October opening, and now they’re advertising for help: one ad seeks a shucker, the other one casts a net for “all positions.”
As we mentioned in our detailed report about last night’s Parks Department-organized meeting on the proposed plaza — the remaining time for public comment appears to be short. The official person to send your thoughts to is project manager Pamela Kliment at Parks; but unofficial discussion will continue online at sites including WSB and the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project blog. Those following the discussion might be interested in a new anti-plaza letter to Parks, cc’d to us and others, from former Alki community leader Cindi Laws:Read More
One police officer informally guesstimated the crowd for tonight’s Mars Hill Alki baptism-fest at around 750.
Loud but peaceful so far as we could tell, perhaps at least partly thanks to all the guys in black T-shirts stenciled MARS HILL SECURITY. We’re adding video clips at the bottom of this post, but first a few more stills, starting with Mars Hill’s controversial leader Mark Driscoll, who declared this to be the biggest mass baptism in Seattle history (he said 200 people had signed up to get baptized, then welcomed anyone else who wanted to, to join in).
Other church leaders on hand included West Seattle campus pastor Adam Sinnett, caught by our photographer with towel in hand as he prepared to head for the water.
The event even featured a band, which proclaimed itself (and the crowd) there “to praise, and party.” Our photographer didn’t see any of the threatened protesters, unless you count the kid seen hooting out the window of a passing car and flashing devil-horn hand signs. 9:10 PM UPDATE: Three more photos, these taken and e-mailed to us by Elspeth Jones (thank you SO much!):
9:56 PM UPDATE: Video of the actual in-water event, starting with the baptism of a child.
10:35 PM UPDATE: Adding this clip of Mark Driscoll talking about those about to be baptized, as they stood in front of the stage. Church leaders, by the way, say this is their 11th summer baptism event – the first one drew 3 to be baptized, 40 to watch.
11:57 PM UPDATE: Last addition, a clip showing what it was like in the throng during the event — some baptizees getting congratulated, and a Mars Hill guy trying to keep order as others waited to take part.
P.S. — Thanks again to the WSB Pledge Day contributors who made it possible for us to get the video camera; we pledge to keep working on better video quality (this was only our second video-recorded event since the camera was delivered a few days ago).
Just confirmed by King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office: The Elliott Bay Water Taxi won’t end its season September 30th as scheduled, but will continue with weekday commute runs, plus runs on two Seahawks home-game Sundays (10/14 and 10/21), through Friday, November 2nd. The shuttle will be extended too. Here’s the weekday schedule for the extended season; scroll down below it to click ahead to the full text of the official announcement.
That’s really all we could say when we saw what was going on at Alki during a brief stop before our below-documented search for breakfast. Just west of The Statue, crews are setting up what appeared to be stage, scaffolding, bleachers, etc., for tonight’s Mars Hill mass baptism. Two photos are below (wide shot, then closer in); up on the street, several parking spaces are blocked off, likely for the promised shuttle buses. To steal a ’60s term, this is gonna be “a scene.”
We had to go to four places before we found someplace without a big line to get in. Great news for the WS restaurant business, at least. Our final choice was still busy but found a table for us — Endolyne Joe’s in Fauntleroy. Hadn’t been there in a while, even though we live somewhat close by. 
Their new featured Prairie Menu has just kicked in, but we went with some old faves, including the Sour Cream Cloud Cakes (the blueberry “syrup” on the side is more like jam). One intriguing discovery for snoops like us: The freestanding rustic wooden tables where we sat, near the bar, have little drawers (pull shown in the photo at right); open one and you’ll find a collection of business cards and other little items previous patrons purposely left behind.
Sadly, it’s true — this is the last full weekend of true summer. (The autumnal equinox happens early Sunday morning 9/23.) No shortage of things to do, however — such as, join EarthCorps and others to spruce up Me-Kwa-Mooks, cheer on the Northwest Hope and Healing half-marathoners and 5Kers, celebrate West Seattle authors … 31 events ahead.Read More
Now that the recast Alki Statue of Liberty is watching over the waterfront, the time concern has fallen away from the debate over a new plaza at her feet, so a different concern emerged from several audience members at tonight’s Parks Department-organized meeting: Is the plaza plan too fancy for humble Alki Beach?
Listening to how the questions and comments were phrased, we couldn’t help taking the question a step further, especially after the word “gentrification” popped up twice — are some of us ambivalent about the evolution of WS beyond its simple, small-townish core?
Thanks to Jerry @ JetCityOrange for sending pix of the crosswalk work by Lafayette Elementary:
The pattern is made of a heat-transfer type of plastic called DuraTherm, according to this Herald article from last month; read more about DuraTherm crosswalks here.
Think our crosswalks need more of this treatment? That’s probably something you can bring up at next Wednesday’s WS open house about how to spend millions of voter-approved city $. And steps away from this street work, a Lafayette note: School families are wrapping up Phase 1 of their playground renovation project with a volunteer planting party this Saturday. Congratulations!
Our full report will take a couple hours (wait till you hear about The Dots). 
In the meantime, here are a few headlines:
–Paul & Libby Carr’s group changed its name today to the Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project.
-The full plaza/pedestal project would cost $156K; $90K of that remains to be raised.
-If that $ is raised by the end of the year, and other aspects of the project stick to a tight timeline distributed at tonight’s meeting, the SSLPP says the plaza could be done and dedicated next Fourth of July.
-If you have an opinion on new pedestal vs. new plaza and pedestal vs. neither, now’s the time to tell the Parks Department what you think, because the public comment window might close fast.
… and there’s plenty of time to go Art Walk-ing, before and/or after the Alki Statue of Liberty meeting: The folks at Divina remind us that they are participating in the Art Walk tonight and featuring live Brazilian music, with Kiko Freitas 6-8 pm and Eduardo Mendonca 8-10 pm.
OK, so driving on them isn’t always a dream, but an engineering group says the WS bridges are among our area’s most amazing creations of the past half-century.
We e-mailed Cafe Rozella owner Ricardo Guarnero to ask about a blurb in the newest City of Seattle Neighborhoods Newsletter saying that he was thinking about moving the coffee/culture hotspot. Ricardo responded quickly to say, no, he’s not moving, because: “We like the spot we have and are committed to the White Center community, which we treasure.” (Technically, Cafe Rozella is on the border, if you consider there to be one, between West Seattle and White Center — it’s within the city limits.) He also wants everyone to know: “We have just published the Rozella Review, a journal of writings and poems by White Center residents and would-be WC residents. The reaction has been very positive. If anyone wants to take a look at one or even buy one ($10) they can drop by the cafe.” If you can’t get to Cafe Rozella sooner (or even if you can), tomorrow night is a fantastic time to drop by. CR has live music every Friday night but tomorrow night, when Jovino Santos Neto performs at 7 pm, CR is also part of the monthly Music Nights in White Center event; read more here about who’s performing where at other nearby venues.
The monthly West Seattle Art Walk in The Junction is 6-9 pm tonight; organizers have posted the flyer (with map and list of participating businesses, buildings, and artists) online here. The folks at Ginomai also wrote us to make sure you know they have a “great free parking lot” at their place on the north end of the Art Walk route (42nd/Genesee); for this month’s Art Walk, they are featuring five artists from the Senior Center in the Ginomai community room.
Also tonight — from the WS waterfront, you might notice a big contingent of paddlers heading out from Alki Kayak Tours at Seacrest around 6:30. The Surfrider Foundation, People for Puget Sound, and others are heading out in kayaks and on boards to call attention to their push for federal $ for what they say is a necessary component of oil-spill prevention in Puget Sound — a full-time rescue tug stationed at Neah Bay, to cover the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. (The WS waters we enjoy here, ultimately come from there. A near-catastrophe happened there in 1991 and can happen again.)
Rhonda @ Beach Drive Blog notes Sunfish has posted a sign that it will be closed till October 11th. Just down the block, incidentally, the proposed restaurant/residence building at 2810 Alki Ave gets an early look tonight from the Southwest Design Review Board (meeting 6:30 pm @ the Southwest Precinct).
One night after the statue’s unveiling, a chance to pause — briefly — and look ahead to what’s next. First step, tomorrow night’s meeting (7 pm, Alki Bathhouse) described in the official city press release as a chance for “attendees to participate in the decision-making process that will lead to the community’s desired outcome for the statue.” But that’s not all; first, we pause for one more good look at the new statue (shown with West Seattle resident Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and Kevin Keating from the Bronze Works in Tacoma, where the statue was recast last year; photo courtesy Rasmussen staffer Brian Hawksford):
While decisions are made about the “new” statue’s surroundings, the “old” one is slated to take up residence at the Log House Museum; we’ve got messages out in hopes of finding out when. (Thursday update – the museum has canceled its 9/22 fundraiser but is now focusing on a 10th anniversary fundraiser at Salty’s on November 3rd.) Meanwhile, Mayor Nickels will soon send his 2008 budget plan to the City Council, including $50,000 proposed for the plaza project; a public hearing on the budget already is set for October 10th. And plaza backers are now officially taking donations. But our favorite next step is the simple fact that everyone can now stroll Alki without having to face the empty base. Even those who don’t understand all the fuss.
Did a double-take driving through Morgan Junction this evening — after almost four months, Cal-Mor Circle is out from under the renovation-masking yellow and white mesh (described most famously by the Schooner Exact folks as reminiscent of a frothy mug of beer). Before photo left, after photo (tonight) right.
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We mentioned last month that Starbucks is taking over the Infinity Espresso spot at the northwestern corner of Jefferson Square, but hadn’t heard when Infinity would be closing. Now we know, per this e-mail:
CLOSING TOMORROW AFTER 10 YEARS!!!! the new building owners didn’t
renew our lease and they kicked us out and let starbucks in!!!!! We are selling
everything so people are welcome to come in and make an offer!
The Infinity folks say they’ll be open 8-6 tomorrow. Friday and Saturday, people will be at the store, but they’ll just be packing up and moving out, so if you want to “come in and make an offer,” tomorrow’s the day.
–Taco Del Mar in Westwood Village has opened.
-Also in Westwood Village, Pet Pros — one of the 6 pet stores WS now has, counting the newly opened All the Best Pet Care on Alki — says it’s having a grand-opening sale 9/28-9/30.ÂÂ
-Another business is celebrating a grand opening: We just heard from TouchTech Systems, which has moved into the former West Seattle Helpline spot (they’re now in the WS Community Resource Center) in The Junction (along the corridor at 4517 Cali). Company president Brian Presser, a WS resident, describes TouchTech Systems as:
We are a small local company that provides multimedia marketing and communication solutions for the internet (such as websites) as well as interactive kiosks for a multitude of uses. We sell and provide service for essentially all Apple computer equipment and are a reseller of most major hardware and software brands including Xerox, HP, Adobe and Microsoft.
Continuing today’s unplanned “in other blogs” theme … beware the F-bombs if you are sensitive, but that said, if you drive the WS bridge, you might identify with this driver’s fury.
Rhonda at Beach Drive Blog caught a sign of frustration at 4233 Beach Drive — the future teardown next to Schmitz Viewpoint that we mentioned 8/30. Looks like the neighbors filed a complaint in addition to posting that sign. The city site shows permits were granted 8/27 to demolish the old house and build two new single-family homes there, plus a DPD decision dated 8/30; the permit applications were filed 15 months earlier; property records show several transactions for the site since it was sold in March of last year by someone who’d owned it for a decade. (Its owner appears linked to a homebuilding company with addresses in Bothell and Lynnwood.) With all that recent administrative action, likely means the bulldozers are on the way, but in the meantime, the complaint certainly means that city inspectors are too. The city explains rules about vacant buildings on page 9 of this DPD newsletter.
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