West Seattle Blog… | 2008 – your West Seattle hopes ‘n’ dreams

credmond January 1, 2008 (1:19 am)

okay, for starters a 24-hour diner somewhere in West Seattle. A hobby store or model store; a local music store something like Trading Musician; as much as I love the Admiral theater, a multiplex at Westwood Village; a city government which recognizes we’ve got a transportation problem within the city; a county government which recognizes we’ve got a problem with sub-area equity for transportation; a state legislature which recognizes that Seattle is the economic engine for the entire state and therefore needs special assistance sometimes (conversely I’d settle for a city/county/state government which wasn’t completely disfunctional); a national democratic leadership which listened to their constituents and shut down the war in Iraq and redirected trillions of dollars to the country which really needs some infrastructure help – the United States.

that’s just for starters….

Jan January 1, 2008 (2:30 am)

chas…we really do have to get you that all night diner….

I had to think about this. For my personal hope and dreams…well…abundance…abundance in friends, in love, in health, in resources, in security,in prosperity, in people caring for each other, abundance of respect for one another, for compromise when needed. And..a lot of agreement with Mr. Redmond in his list. Lastly…I want to become my own private bionic woman…I won’t explain here, but…ask me in private, and I might..:)

Happy New Year, WSB…this will be the best yet..

and Happy New Year to everyone on here…friends, friends to be, friends to never be…hehe…let’s all remember that we are our neighborhood, and work together to make it better for all of us…

Wendy Hughes-Jelen January 1, 2008 (7:42 am)

I am awake earlier than all of you since I am in New York City right now. But the wish I wrote on a piece of confetti that was dropped over Times Square last night wished for the lives of our pet animals in America to get better and better. Less abuse, less neglect, better diets, etc. I used to volunteer at the Seattle Animal Shelter then I organized a large Italian greyhound meetup group – the largest in the world right here in the Pacific Northwest. Now I organize The High Point K9 Club to further the social lives of West Seattle’s canine and their people.

Oh, and this is the year of music for me. I start both piano lessons and bell choir practice next week!

Happy New Year everyone! Can’t wait to get home.

Mark January 1, 2008 (7:56 am)

New Year’s Wish List:

1) My first wish is for a convenient market/deli on Alki which is apparently in the process of being granted.

2) Trader Joe’s in the Admiral vicinity of West Seattle, will settle for anywhere in West Seattle except Delridge and Westwood.

3) An Asian restaurant on Alki, preferably Japanese or Cantonese Chinese.

4) More visitation by pup seals on the beach at Alki.

5) Peace on earth, especially on Alki in the summer months!

Karen \\ January 1, 2008 (7:59 am)

I will see our Mayor out filling all the potholes on Alki Avenue this morning and then announcing that the water taxi will run two boats the entire year ’round staring today!

And even if there is not peace in the world that we (in West Seattle)can get along and work to meet new people, be kind and patient with one another and Happy as in Happy New Year!

dapuffin January 1, 2008 (8:18 am)

My 2008 wishes for West Seattle

* More/better Asian restaurants
(and many trips to Mashiko, too!)
* Decent BBQ restaurant
* Movie theater
* Trader Joe’s
* Food delivery options for Arbor Heights area
(honest! we’re not that scary!)
* Peace on Earth (goes without saying)

We were very lucky when we moved to West Seattle in 1994 sight unseen and had the good fortune to land in West Seattle.

***********Wishing a happy 2008 to WSB ***********
***********and to all who read WSBlog! ***********

Katherine January 1, 2008 (9:10 am)

More native plants growing in West Seattle and beyond, specifically plants that provide food or habitat for birds and insects. More non-human diversity in our more and more heavily populated city – or at least, maintain what diversity we have left. Happy new year to all of us, including the ones who chirp and buzz. (Maybe not to the termites.)

WSB January 1, 2008 (9:37 am)

Mark – we interviewed the operator of the Alki Urban Market yesterday and got the full scoop on what it will sell, when it will open, etc. – will be writing that up over the next couple hours. If it’s as good as it sounds, it will probably be mobbed, especially in summer.

Todd in westwood/S.Delridge January 1, 2008 (9:58 am)

Happy N.Y.W.S.B.
1. I hope that the police from Seattle and King Co. can provide a bigger presence in the Westwood/White Center.
2. I wish they will re-pave Roxbury soon.
3. Wishing for someone to close all the pawn/adult ent. and seedy bars in White Center.
4. Wishing for more sunny days at Lincoln Park.
5. Wishing that people will be more patient and happy this year.

Steph January 1, 2008 (10:21 am)

My 2 1/2 year old getting potty trained. Nuff said.

grr January 1, 2008 (10:33 am)

my wish is for my 14 year old dog to hang around for another year :)

coffee geek January 1, 2008 (10:41 am)

Personally: Wish for 2008 to be much like 2007, but just a bit less “eventful”. More mellow, more concerts, save more income! Expand cooking/wine/brewing knowledge and confidence. Happiness and good health for friends and family.
WSB-land and beyond: Happy 2008 to everyone, may this year bring you contentment, good friends, and good times! :)

Mags January 1, 2008 (11:01 am)

I am wishing success for the new restaurants and shops that will be opening this year in West Seattle. I am hoping for more affordable housing (just not those butt ugly townhomes)so that more new and young families can enjoy our good fortune and move here and share our wealth. I also plan on spending more of my hard earned dollars at local merchants. Here, here on the 24 hour diner (maybe it could be in the new Cayce and Gain building or on the Huling property ha ha)and of course, totally in agreement with the Peace on Earth thing. Oh, and can someone help me with WS blog addiction? Thanks for a great year WSB and for keeping us informed of all of the quirky, interesting, crazy and sometimes heartbreaking events that are our WS.

k January 1, 2008 (11:20 am)

happy new year west seattle!!!!! i wish for happiness, health, peace and abundance for all in our fair enclave and beyond! i wish great success for anyone who embarks on starting a business that will make west seattle even better. for myself, i wish for a little less around the waist and a little more in the way of joy!

lina January 1, 2008 (11:45 am)

I second the wish for more native plant habitat in west seattle! also- a special wish for environmental restoration along longfellow creek to continue and that west seattlelites take full pride over the amazing resources and beauty in our parks and open spaces.
i am also hoping for another healthy year full of snuggling in beg and fetching in the yard for my two aging dogs.
year round water taxi would be pretty amazing too. that would make my commute very fun. hope everyone is enjoying the dry morning! i am off to do the yard work i put off all last year.

Jiggers January 1, 2008 (12:58 pm)

That I win the Mega-Milliones so I can get out od town.

acemotel January 1, 2008 (1:57 pm)

if we can ***dream*** this is my list in progress:

10. a subway
9. a new president ASAP
8. a nice place for the homeless to sleep so that guy can move out from under the WS bridge at the 1st avenue exit
7. I would like to see the night sky, in all its glory (no sky glow)
6. I wish that for one day, greed and all its kaleidoscopic manifestations would disappear

Erik January 1, 2008 (2:33 pm)

1. for all the children of the world to hold hands in peace and harmony.
2. to have supreme ultimate power over everyone…

oh wait…that’s a list Steve Martin had on an SNL skit

1. to be able to look down and have an unobstructed view of my uh…feet.
2. get up the nerve to ditch the corporate job and do what I love.
3. to feed my masochistic tendencies – get a girlfriend.
4. meet more of my neighbors and spread what peace I can.

I Heart Jiggers January 1, 2008 (2:38 pm)

I hope that there are no more deaths on Admiral Way, no more speeding cars nearly hitting people legally crossing to catch a bus. Mr. Ward, what is the required death count before we get serious about speed enforcement and traffic control?

And thumbs up to successful potty training!

Sue January 1, 2008 (3:58 pm)

I would, just this once, like to live in my current rental more than a year, without my landlord turning them into townhomes or condos and making me move. Also, that traffic on Fauntleroy will allow me to cross for the bus without getting killed. And I would love to see a suspension bridge from WS to downtown so my bus can get me to work easily after the viaduct falls down.

Kayleigh January 1, 2008 (4:02 pm)

Remember that old Bloom County comic strip where Opus tells Santa: “I’d like my youthful idealism back, please?” That’s what I’d like in the new year: the belief that things will get better. (like that we will get out of Iraq, the housing crunch will ease, we’ll actually do something meaningful about global warming, the Democrats won’t do something boneheaded like nominate Hillary, etc.)

cleat January 1, 2008 (6:48 pm)

Wow…. you all make me glad to live here!!!! Peace, love, prosperity, health, happiness … all pretty broad topics but not one of us couldn’t use a little more of each … Happy 2008 to all in WSB-land!!! cleat

TheVelvetBulldog January 1, 2008 (8:05 pm)

For myself: a new West Seattle pad and some degree of interest in physical activity.
.
For our WS community members in need: An increase in resources and a decrease in struggle.
.
For all of us: Transportation solutions; peaceful communications and interactions with friends and neighbors; an interest and commitment to something outside ourselves, but also a commitment to be good to ourselves; a continued healthy blogosphere!
.
Happy New Year BlogoPeeps!

willow January 1, 2008 (9:50 pm)

grr – I have done it 2 times now, but my wish is for you to let the dog go when it is right for him/her, not when you are ready. Usually, the times do not coincide, and the animal suffers.

JE January 1, 2008 (10:19 pm)

Hopes:

1. Frequent, fast, reliable local transit and connections

2. For SuperSupplements to go away and replaced with a locally-owned, non-chain business with something I’m interested in and can afford

3. Skate parks in each quadrant of WS to encourage healthy exercise for the kids (and for the kids to show they don’t have to be a pain-in-the-neck for the neighbors)

4. Fauntleroy School not to be turned over to a developer for condos or townhomes, but made into a community resource, including the childcare

Dreams:

1. The monorail to be resuscitated

2. Mayor Gridlock to live up to his greenwashed image

3. A game store with attached tea/coffee/pastry space and open game times.

4. For the above-mentioned frequent, fast, reliable transit to serve Arbor Heights

Bonnie January 1, 2008 (11:39 pm)

Trader Joe’s. I’m tired of driving out to Burien or to Capitol Hill. I want a West Seattle TJ’s and I don’t care where in West Seattle it is either.

katydid January 2, 2008 (12:13 am)

I second just about everything posted here so far – As others have already noted, peace and homeless issues are very high up on my list of hopes/dreams for action too.

BTW, what’s wrong with a Trader Joe’s on Delridge or Westwood, for that matter? I don’t live near there, but they could sure use the extra economic boost – right, Mike Dady? (N. Delridge Neighborhood Council)

It’s early on the 2nd, but now I can go to bed happy ‘cuz I’m a BlogoPeep (yay) as opposed to a BlogoPoop!

grr January 2, 2008 (5:48 am)

Willow…I understand completely. In the 12 years I’ve been here, we’ve said goodbye to 4 beloved dogs..from cancer or some other illness. My 14 year old is the only one we’ve had that’s ‘growing old gracefully’. And he’s still full of himself :)

OP January 2, 2008 (9:39 am)

My hopes for 2008:

1. A healthy and happy baby (due in March…our first!)
1a. Gee, the rest all pale in comparison to that, but I’ll give it a shot…

2. Our dog stays healthy and happy for another year
3. That I win my fantasy baseball league
4. That M’s GM Bill Bavasi is fired and hung upside down by his toes from the rafters at The Safe
5. That the people in the trashy house two doors up, move away…finally
6. Something overtly commercialâ€”like Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel, etc.â€”goes in the old Gee/Huling lot, just to annoy anti-commercial/capitalist WS liberals.
7. All public transit projects (think: ST Light Rail, monorail) be exposed for the wastes that they are
8. For Mayor Nitwit be replaced by a business-friendly, tax and pork-cutting, budget-balancing politician (yeah, yeah…pipedream, I know)
9. That ANY Republican (except Ron Paul) is elected President
10. That Algore is exposed for the eco-fraud that he is
11. Continued success for our troops in Iraq (thank you Gen. Patraeus…the real Person of The Year)
12. Continue to be a thorn in the side of the WS liberals (easy enough)
13. For a beautiful summer…
14. For as much peace as possible…

ML January 2, 2008 (12:41 pm)

Wow! I agree with OP on almost all, esp. the Republican and Al Gore part! :-)

Being that I JUST moved to WS, I wish for 2008:
1. To get to know my new neighbors and the businesses in the Admiral area
2. Beautiful sunsets
3. Some pounds lost as I walk my dog up and down Admiral going to Alki and back
4. Trader Joe’s
5. Success to all in WS!

wundrgrrrl January 2, 2008 (1:12 pm)

My top 3 include:
1) Trader Joe’s
2) Sushi on Alki
3) A decent hotel for out of towners!

Jen V. January 2, 2008 (2:24 pm)

1. for OP to move to Bellevue with the rest of the Repubs!

Jen V. January 2, 2008 (2:29 pm)

I keed, I keed- I know it would make OP’s year to get under the skin of this WS liberal. ;)

jissy January 2, 2008 (3:48 pm)

HA! I love reading these and wasn’t going to do any, but you’ve all inspired me to.
1. To NOT experience the terror I’m feeling in this moment of birthing my first child sometime this summer.
2. For my neighbors to get rid of at least 1/2 their cars (yeah, last count was 8 vehicles for only TWO licensed drivers in their household!!!)
3. To stop using so many exclamations points in email!!!!!
4. To be a better wife
5. To figure out how to live on 1 income (yeah, also a pipe-dream).
6. Like TheVelvetBulldog, to have SOME degree of interest in physical activity.
7. To serve more clients.

OP January 2, 2008 (4:40 pm)

wundrgrrl:

Excellent suggestions! Especially the hotel! That trumps my idea on what should be done with the former Gee/Huling lots.

Jen V.:

415,648/67%
189,075/30%

That was how badly Cantdoanythingwell beat McGavick by in 2006 in King County. I can’t find specific voting by city results, but I find it hard to imagine that Bellevue is some sort of GOP oasis. Methinks you’re forgetting enclaves like Madison Park, Leschi (on the water) Blue Ridge, Kirkland, Ravenna, Redmond, rural King County and, yes, the more affluent areas of WS where, yes, we GOPers reside. So basically, we (those evil necons) are everywhere. We’re among you, hiding with our pitchforks in the dark recesses of our affluent mansions, peering out at the world with our beady red eyes blood-encrusted fangs and pale skin, ready to heartlessly suck the blood from the poor, the needy, immigrants and minorities. All while we sit on our piles of money. Oh, and don’t forget the weird hissing sounds we make at Subarus plastered with “Kerry/Edwards” bumper stickers as we pass them on our way into Thriftway to fetch all of the corporate, non-organic products we crave.

I’ve got the liberal stereotype of necons down, yes? ;-)

TheVelvetBulldog January 2, 2008 (4:54 pm)

Geez OP, get outta my back yard, will ya?? ;-)

Kristina January 2, 2008 (5:44 pm)

Some great suggestions here. For me?

1. I hope that I get to stay cancer free, avoiding further chemo, surgeries, radiation, pain, fear, etc. for myself and my family
2. That my family takes the time to enjoy the West Seattle stuff that we love to do but sometimes forget about (hiking in Schmitz Park, beach walks, skipping stones at Lincoln Park, running through Camp Long, following the LongFellow Creek trail, etc.)
3. Trader Joe’s, anywhere in West Seattle
4. A new president, as liberal as I am. (Or at least not another scary president.) PLEASE!
5. World peace, which would involve eradicating hunger, poverty…

Thanks for a chance to think about this stuff, WSB. I can’t say that I really think that a Trader Joe’s is on the same level as world peace, but I’ll take as many things on my list as I can find.

Jan January 2, 2008 (10:10 pm)

Kristina, I’m with you on #1…it will be a wonderful, positive year with cancer behind you…thank you for your efforts towards finding a cure…and I hope others on here will pledge to support you this summer…I know I will…

thank-you..

Bob, aka Billy Military January 2, 2008 (11:28 pm)

My wishes are mostly for as many as possible of the oldest of my scattered family members to avoid the fates of some of us. To live happily for a while, and then get the heck out of this life while it’s still good and make room for a few kindly new souls.

Oh, and by the way, also for OP not to run me over in the street while I hobble across to my Ben Franklin-inspired, evilly socialistic mailbox, all the while roaring along the depravedly socialistic asphalt and pumping his/her fist up and down in the un-capitalist-owned (socialist) air exultantly baying, “Got another one! You useless weak democratic bastards!” in a giant cloud of exhaust and Fatherland-ish hubris.

JohnM January 4, 2008 (11:18 am)

For Jim McDermott to finally get out of Congress (what an embarrassment) so I can celebrate Christmas…..for people to realize West Seattle is not just the Junction and Admiral…..that there be some attention paid to WS streets other than California and be repaired…. that Gee/Huling be razed for a “West Seattle Commons”…..That OP continues to humour the BLOG with fun and rhetoric….