West Seattle, Washington

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month : 12/2007 297 results

Final WSB Top 7 of ’07: Biggest West Seattle stories of the year
December 31, 2007 9:21 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle news

hourglass-horn.jpgOn Saturday we listed our Top 7 WSB ’07 video picks; on Sunday, the Top 7 most-discussed WSB posts of the year. Finally tonight, with hours to go till 2008, the more traditional list – top West Seattle stories of the year. Let us know if you think something else should have made the Top 7. Here goes:

#7 — 4132 CALIFORNIA FIRE: This August inferno was the biggest West Seattle fire of the year, and it was arson; no arrests reported to this day, but reconstruction of the project is now well under way.

#6 — CALIFORNIA/ADMIRAL REPAVING: From March through July, city crews repaved major stretches of two of West Seattle’s most significant arterials. (Ah, if only Fauntleroy and Alki, among others, could get the same love.)

#5 — NEW JUNCTION FOOD: What a year it’s been, from Garlic Jim‘s to Shoofly to Ama Ama to Shadow Land, with Spring Hill up next.

#4 — ALKI STATUE OF LIBERTY RETURNS, BUT THE SAGA’S NOT OVER: A big year for this West Seattle icon: The plaza project hit the radar in July; the recast statue returned to its original pedestal on September 11th; the plaza fundraising has two more weeks to go. Bound to be a major story again in ’08.

And one last Casey Kasem turn … the countdown continues:Read More

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Last look at the last day of ’07
December 31, 2007 8:07 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle weather

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Thanks to Marco in High Point for e-mailing this photo of Lincoln Park in today’s glorious sunshine.

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West Seattle crime watch: From the latest police reports
December 31, 2007 5:00 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Two main headlines from the latest stack of reports at the Southwest Precinct: handcuffs_2.jpgAn alert neighbor helped police nab three burglary suspects, and somebody targeted two cars driving along Delridge. First, the cars: Both incidents happened Friday night while the drivers were heading northbound in the 4500 block of Delridge. First, a 34-year-old woman driving a Nissan Quest told police that around 7:25 pm that night, her passenger-side window suddenly shattered; then, a 43-year-old man driving a Mercedes heard something hit his passenger-side door around 7:30 pm, and when he stopped, he noticed a small hole made by what looked to have been a BB pellet. Nobody hurt in either case, and no arrests reported so far. (In case you were wondering, that is 3 miles north of where bicyclist Peter McKay was shot with pellets on Delridge last month.) Now, the rest of the reports, starting with the burglary arrests:Read More

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After 40 years at Lien Animal Clinic, Dr. King says “so long”
December 31, 2007 3:33 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Pets | West Seattle people | West Seattle video

WSB dropped in for a quick soundbite as the retirement celebration began this morning for Lien Animal Clinic‘s Dr. Larry King. We asked what he’s going to do now:

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The clinic, of course, will keep going strong. Read more about it and its staff at the Lien website.

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41st/42nd/Alaska megaproject watch: Crane time
December 31, 2007 12:01 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

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Thanks to everyone who e-mailed to say the crane equipment has arrived at the QFC/Office Depot megaproject site in The Junction. WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli took the above photos from the 9th floor of Alaska House (the ex-Huling/Gee land and Fire Station 32 are in the background). Christopher also reports that there’s a traffic alert in connection with this: “41st St SW is closed between Alaska and Oregon. 42nd SW is open but electricians are working on the west side of the site and have the sidewalk closed.” Another of his photos:

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More info from Christopher: “It looks like they’ve poured a large footing in the very bottom and middle of the building site to which they are attaching a crane in sections. It looks like this large, yellow crane will be a fixture on the West Seattle skyline for the foreseeable future. Workers erecting the crane told me that it will be 140 feet high when completed.” Three more photos ahead from different perspectives:Read More

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West Seattle crime watch: Car vandalism
December 31, 2007 11:45 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Out of the inbox:

My husband just went out this morning to find a car that was parked in front of our house on Charlestown egged (near 53rd). It must have happened sometime yesterday or, I’m guessing, last night. I know you guys have covered vandalism and stuff like this in the past, so I thought I’d pass the information along to you and see if others have experienced the same thing. It seems kind of random, as we don’t have kids and pretty much keep to ourselves. The car was a rental and had California plates.

As always, a reminder to everyone – don’t hesitate to call police when you see or hear something suspicious, and of course when you believe a crime has been (or is being) committed. In addition to 911, there’s a non-emergency line at 206/625-5011.

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Welcoming the newest WSB sponsor: Allstate’s Phillip Plenkovich
December 31, 2007 11:30 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle people

In today’s traditional WSB sponsor welcome, we’re letting you know about the Allstate Insurance agency in Morgan Junction where you’ll find (left to right in our photo) Phillip Plenkovich allstate.jpgand Andrew Mead. Phillip is a West Seattle native who attended Arbor Heights Elementary, Denny Middle School, Chief Sealth High School, and the University of Washington. His community involvement includes the West Seattle Rotary Club and coaching youth basketball at the West Seattle YMCA. His specialties include auto, home, and life insurance. Andrew helps clients with life-insurance and disability coverage; he and his wife Sharon moved in August 2006 from Maple Leaf in North Seattle to High Point here in West Seattle, where he’s working to build community as the president of the new High Point Neighborhood Association. Thanks to Phillip and Andrew for supporting WSB; if you are interested in finding out how to join them, check out our Advertise page (which also lists the current sponsor lineup) – we’ve got new opportunities coming up in the new year!

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Happening in West Seattle today & tonight (with a p.s.)
December 31, 2007 9:20 am
|    Comments Off on Happening in West Seattle today & tonight (with a p.s.)
 |   Holidays | West Seattle people

THIS MORNING: As Katherine noted in the WSB Open Discussion forum, Lien Animal Clinic is inviting the community to drop by till noon today and offer “happy retirement” wishes to Dr. Larry King.

TONIGHT: The New Year’s Eve happenings list on the WSB Holidays page is probably about as long as it’s going to get, unless you’ve got something to add. “Science Friction” at Youngstown Arts Center, and watching the Space Needle fireworks from any vantage point on the West Seattle shore, are among the highlights. (And we’re still working on the New Year’s Day coffee list; what we have so far is on that page too.)

SIDE NOTE: Times Square fans might appreciate some of the New York pix that Wendy Hughes-Jelen from High Point has been posting on her blog while traveling.

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Reader reports: Return of the ruminants
December 31, 2007 7:51 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle news

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It’s the first goat sighting in West Seattle since Kids for Kids @ Gatewood Elementary in October (our report with video here) — we received two tips about goats at work now in north West Seattle, including this from Eric Bell of fridgefoto.biz, who also sent the photos above and below:

While on one of my regular walkabouts (Sunday) afternoon, I happened upon an increasingly familiar Seattle occurrence… a herd of goats ridding a hillside of unwanted foliage. These free-range ruminants. aptly named goattrimmers.com, were clearing brush from a couple of overgrown properties on Ferry Avenue, a sidewalk-deprived backroad that connects the Admiral District to Harbor Avenue. After conversing with the “shepherd” – who actually wore a floppy hat and carried some sort of shepherd-like device, I discovered his gang of goats will be around for about a week. This was literally a traffic-stopping event, while taking photos (and shooting some video), at least five cars pulled over to witness this pastoral event.

Our other tip came from “Garybert & Garybert’s Lady,” who e-mailed:

In travels (Sunday) am spotted ruminants ruminating on the hillside northside of Ferry by Victoria SW. Goat herder advised they would be there another week and then move across the street to another hillside. Just look for the bright orange (and electrified fence).

In case you’re not familiar with that area, here’s a map.

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Second WSB Top 7 of ’07: Most-discussed posts
December 30, 2007 11:42 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle online

Some weeks back, we carved out a little section in the right sidebar to spotlight current “most-discussed posts,” since our publishing volume hourglass-horn.jpgtends to push things off the main page within a few days. Toward that end, our second of three WSB “Top 7 of ’07” roundup counts down the posts that drew the most comments – with a couple exclusions: We’re leaving out our “unveiling” post from earlier this month, which drew 90-plus comments from (mostly) well-wishers, and we’re leaving out reader-recommendation posts (original RRR archive here; new RRR forum here), which by their nature are meant to draw comments (including the all-time recordsetter so far, “West Seattle Dishes to Die For,” at 161 comments). So here goes:

#7: With 58 comments, “For the First Time Since Spanky’s Went Out …” in which we discussed the appearance of a new sign at Morgan Junction’s Short Stop, touting “Adult DVD,” which was pointed out in an e-mail tip.

#6: With 62 comments, “Admiral Acceleration Agitation,” inspired by e-mails questioning the 30 mph speed limit on Admiral Way.

#5: With 65 comments, “Wheels Up,” which began with e-mail from WSB regular “The House” regarding a note left under his windshield.

#4: With 70 comments, “Mars Hill Money Trouble,” regarding a revelation from the only megachurch with a West Seattle branch.

And now, as we invoke Casey Kasem yet again, the top 3:Read More

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Seal pup season’s not over yet, after all
December 30, 2007 6:17 pm
|    Comments Off on Seal pup season’s not over yet, after all
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

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Thanks to “H” for sending photos (taken from a distance, with a long lens, he wants you to know) of a seal pup he says drew a crowd in the 2200 block of Alki this afternoon. (Perhaps in honor of seal-pup mania making our first West Seattle Top 7 of ’07 list?)

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More ways to waste less
December 30, 2007 3:14 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Environment

Inspired by the waste-saving tip that Chris sent to WSB regarding canceling phone-book deliveries if you don’t want/need them (read about it here), someone else from WSB-land (who wanted to be anonymous) forwarded two recycling tips: First, if you have CDs or DVDs to get rid of, you can recycle them by mailing them – in any quantity — to the CD Recycling Center of America. It launched earlier this year; read about it here, and get the how-to specifics on their FAQ page here. Here’s the second forwarded tip, regarding holiday cards (this eHow page appears to be the original source):

Instead of throwing out your old holiday cards, consider donating them to charitable groups that will create new cards – or turn them into new cards yourself.

Things You’ll Need

* Gift Tags
* Ribbons
* Blank Cards
* Electronic Greeting Cards
* Holiday Greeting Cards
* Hole Punchers

Step One
Send holiday cards to St. Jude’s Ranch, a nonprofit home for youths that collects old holiday cards for reuse. Either cut off the backs of the cards or leave them intact. Children at St. Jude’s earn money by creating new holiday cards from the old.

Step Two
Mail the cards UPS “ground” or “bound printed matter” to St. Jude’s Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, NV 89006.

Step Three
Cut off the backs of old holiday cards that do not have writing behind the front and use them as postcards.

Step Four
Create your own card by cutting and pasting parts of old cards onto a new blank card. You can find packages of blank cards at most arts and crafts stores.

Step Five
Use old holiday cards as gift tags by cutting them into square or rectangular shapes and punching holes in the corners for string or ribbon.

Step Six
Make placemats out of holiday cards instead of buying new ones. Cut out pictures or shapes from the old cards, place them between two pieces of contact paper and press together.

Step Seven
Save holiday cards for arts and crafts throughout the year if you have children.

One last recycling note for now – if you’re ready to recycle your Christmas tree, here’s the info we shared the day after Christmas.

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2 West Seattle Farmers’ Market sightings
December 30, 2007 12:28 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Farmers' Market

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It was in the “fresh sheet” we posted last night but we didn’t believe it till we saw it with our own eyes … winter tulips. The grower, from Alm Hill Gardens in Whatcom County, says he’ll be there next week too. Also, since there’s a relatively cozy group of vendors at this point in the winter, the southern edge of the lot is open to parking:

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Remember, NEXT week the Farmers’ Market moves to 11 am-2 pm Sunday hours through February.

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Reader report: Submarine sighting
December 30, 2007 9:46 am
|      36 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea

Shannon in Fauntleroy reports she was “watching the Olympics pop in and out of the clouds” when her photo caught something else in the distance – a submarine being escorted by the Coast Guard. With the big sub base at Bangor in Kitsap County, you know subs are out there, but they’re not often seen.

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You asked for it, you got it: “Previewable” comments
December 30, 2007 7:33 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle online

New upgrade – before you post a WSB comment, you can preview it. Give it a spin next time you’ve got something to say (or test-drive it on this post). Just remember to click “post” once you’re happy with the way your comment looks – “preview” alone won’t put it on the site. (And in previous “new feature” notes, remember RRRs now live here.)

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Late-night followup: 59th/Admiral shooting, where the case stands
December 29, 2007 11:49 pm
|    Comments Off on Late-night followup: 59th/Admiral shooting, where the case stands
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Continuing our new series of late-night followups whenever there’s not “new” news to report at this hour: We have continued to watch arrow.jpgthe case of the Alki teenager charged with second-degree murder in West Seattle’s third (and we hope final) killing of the year, the shooting in a car at 59th/Admiral on October 13 (as shown in WSB scene photo at right). In our last update on November 1st, we reported to you that a judge had granted the bail-reduction request for the suspect, from $500,000 to $200,000. (We stopped including the suspect’s name in our reports, as explained October 29th, because a key part of his defense is the contention that he was a victim of sexual abuse, molested for years by the man he allegedly shot.) Since that update, there have been several developments:Read More

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Saturday night notes
December 29, 2007 7:39 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle video

-Blustery out there now, but the forecast for New Year’s Eve and Day looks great (though cold); the Polar Bear Swim at Alki will be interesting!

-Speaking of wind — ever been on a kayak in choppy seas? Found this video clip shot off Alki Point yesterday, featuring swells resembling the open ocean.

-Back to the matter of New Year’s — we’ve added more businesses’ holiday hours to the WSB Holidays page (and more to come). Perhaps most notably, in case you were wondering, both state liquor stores on California (Morgan and Alaska Junctions) are open till 7 pm New Year’s Eve.

-And yes, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is still going strong each and every Sunday — after tomorrow, though, it switches to 11 am-2 pm hours for January and February. Here’s this week’s “fresh sheet” provided by citywide Farmers’ Market organizers:Read More

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First WSB “Top 7 of ’07”: Video highlights
December 29, 2007 5:04 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle video

It’s just not late December without a slew of reviews of the year that’s about to end. hourglass-horn.jpgSo we’ll join the parade again this year — in three daily installments, starting today with our picks for Top 7 West Seattle video moments of ’07. Since the WSB video era only began on 9/11/07 (thanks to the generosity of Pledge Day donors), we only have 3 1/2 months of video clips from which to choose, but it’s been a busy fall, so this is a decent list. The links in the headline/date go to the WSB posts containing the video clips, not straight to the clips themselves, so you’ll get the full context if you missed any of these original reports. Now the countdown:

#7 — WINDSTORM WINDSURFER, 10/18/07: A windstorm that caused trouble for many gave this adventurer a chance for thrills.

#6 — WEST WATER SPOTLIGHTS, 11/14/07: West Seattle’s most hyper-marketed condo conversion didn’t stop at billboards, bus boards, sandwich boards, or broadcast commercials — it even sent spotlights into the WS sky for a few noteworthy nights.

#5 — BABY SEAL MANIA AT ALKI, 9/17/07: Throughout late summer and fall, the Seal Sitters kept watch as baby harbor seals hauled out along the West Seattle shore. Their watch spanned both joy and tragedy. WSB videotaped one of the crowd-pleasing pups.

#4 — MARS HILL IMMERSION BAPTISMS AT ALKI, 9/14/07: Hallelujahpalooza, we and others dubbed it. The only megachurch with a West Seattle branch brought a band as well as members from around the city to cheer (and pray for) those baptized in the chilly water of Puget Sound.

And now the top 3 (we feel like Casey Kasem):Read More

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More on DNDA’s new affordable-housing project
December 29, 2007 1:04 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news

After the $2.4 million grant for Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association‘s Strength of Place Village project was announced earlier this week (WSB report here), we asked DNDA executive director Derek Birnie for more details. Today, we have them, starting with this early design view of the future complex:

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He also provided WSB with a detailed press release. While this project will be in White Center (map), it’s noteworthy for West Seattle not just because that community continues to grow and change and may eventually be part of our city, but also because DNDA is based in WS (where it’s already been at the heart of transformational projects such as the Youngstown Arts Center and West Seattle Community Resource Center). Here are the Strength of Place Village details:Read More

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Looking back: 2 history notes to start the weekend
December 29, 2007 8:41 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle history

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First — WSB contributing photographer Matt Durham says he discovered that sign greeting “visitors to a home at the corner of SW Forest and Fairmount SW. The neighbor in the background (who wished to remain nameless) believes the cart was from a family business that was once on California Ave SW. According to a Google search, Abe’s Place was located at 2310 California Ave SW and served ‘American Turkish’ cuisine.” (Prints of Matt’s photos are available at his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)

Second note – Fauntleroy’s Judy Pickens sends word of her book chronicling the history of Fauntleroy Church, as it celebrates its centennial:Read More

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2 public meetings set for West Seattle parks-to-be
December 28, 2007 10:16 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

The Seattle Parks Department has just set two public meetings in West Seattle next month for two parks-in-progress, the one on the former Fauntleroy Auto/monorail-station site north of the new Beveridge Place Pub, and the one next to the Myrtle Street Reservoir. According to the Parks Department’s announcement, both projects have just entered the design phase. First, the Morgan Junction meeting will be at 7 pm January 15 at The Kenney; from the announcement forwarded by Board of Park Commissioners vice chair (and Alki Community Council president) Jackie Ramels:

Project objective: Develop the recently-acquired property on California Ave SW north of Beveridge Place into a park or plaza. At this meeting, the community will have the opportunity to review preliminary site plans and to provide feedback to the design team. Landscape architects Hough Bec & Baird (HBB) started design work for the site in Dec 2007 and are currently preparing conceptual site designs based on themes the community expressed in spring 2007. The themes to be explored include the creation of a gathering space or plaza for the community and family activities that will feature hardscape, natural vegetation edges, seating, and a shelter structure.

The meeting about the Myrtle park will be at 7 pm January 22 at High Point Community Center. From the Parks Department announcement:

The site will be converted to usable open space for family-oriented activities once the reservoir is lidded. At this meeting, the community will have the opportunity to review preliminary site plans and to provide feedback to the design team. Landscape architects Nakano Associates started design work for the site in December 2007. They are currently preparing conceptual site designs based on themes the community expressed in spring 2007. These themes include a desire to emphasize the site as a viewpoint and to maximize greenspace. The community has also expressed both interest and concern about potentially locating a skateboard facility on the site, which was identified as a potential skatepark site in the Citywide Skatepark Plan. Other site features to be considered include ADA-accessible pathways, play equipment, and general landscaping.

Both of these parks-in-progress have been the subject of public meetings before, but the last ones were more than a few months ago, so these will be opportunities for new information and input on these parks’ creation. We’re adding both meetings to the WSB Events page, so you can find them later.

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Another Westwood fire
December 28, 2007 7:59 pm
|    Comments Off on Another Westwood fire
 |   West Seattle fires | Westwood | WS breaking news

WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli is at the scene of a fire callout at 9231 32nd. He says it’s a small fire blamed on a candle that got knocked over. Photo to come. (P.S. The Fire Department has released information about the fire we covered this morning at 9000 20th SW, and we’ve added it to the top of our original report.) 8:18 PM UPDATE: Here’s one of the photos Christopher sent back. The call is closed now; no injuries, no noteworthy damage.

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More Harbor Ave changes ahead
December 28, 2007 7:51 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

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Three Harbor Ave notes tonight: First, property in the 3200-3300 block potentially earmarked for an apartment building called the “Aqua Bella” (rendering above from the real-estate listing’s flyer) is now up for sale, $6.4 million dollars. Second, a hearing is set before the city hearing examiner January 15 for a proposal to divide 1 parcel of land in the 2300 block into 7. And third, a rumor that’s been going around for at least five months seems to have gained a grain of potential reality — a Salty’s hotel — right now, of course, West Seattle has only one motel/hotel, the former Travelodge that is now “Seattle West Inn and Suites” (as we reported here in July). Tonight’s article mentions the Alki hotel proposal too, but as an informed observer notes to WSB, Alki zoning is NC-1, which wouldn’t allow a hotel, while Harbor Ave is NC-2, which would.

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