Late-night loveliness

| Seen around town | West Seattle Art Walk | Wildlife | WS culture/arts

First: Two notes about art. There’s an artists’ reception and sale this Thursday night at the Alki Bathhouse 5-8 pm; then, next Thursday night (Valentine’s Day), the West Seattle Art Walk in The Junction makes history with a record 20 venues participating. We just received the flyer; check it out here. (Or read more on the official Art Walk blog.)

Now, the beauty of nature. First photo is by Eilene Hutchinson (thank you!), who spotted this bird – believed to be a Cooper’s Hawk – on a wire over Spud’s:

And this is a shot we caught from Constellation Park at sunset tonight:

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Five West Seattle happenings you should know about

February 5, 2008 9:54 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| How to help

NEED HAIR HELP? THE $ GOES TO COMMUNITY HELP! This Sunday is the annual “Have a Heart Day” at Illusions (WSB sponsor), and the folks there tell us they still have some appointments open during the event noon-5 pm. Here’s how it works: They’re donating their services, at reduced prices; the price you pay goes to help Southwest Youth & Family Services and Pencil Me in for Kids. You can read about Pencil Me In and Have a Heart Day at this page on the Illusions site; read about SWYFS here. Call Illusions @ 938-3675 for an appointment.

DRINK, DINE, AND PAY TRIBUTE TO JOHN HARTLEY: Last spring, we posted about the sudden, much-too-soon death of John Hartley, a larger-than-life, popular local waiter. Now comes word of a project to honor John’s memory — raising $5,000 for a bench at Alki with a plaque bearing one of his favorite sayings, “Sit down and shut up!” Matthew Darling tells us that JaK’s Grill, one of the places where John worked, will be accepting donations during Happy Hour and the rest of the evening next Monday, Feb. 11, 4:30-10 pm (Matthew says the crew will donate part of their tips, too).

DOES YOUR GROUP NEED TO RAISE $? WSB sponsor Garlic Jim’s Pizza is offering a chance for local groups to make some $. Co-owner Ryan Reese says, “I have a really good fundraising opportunity for any local school, church group etc. I can guarantee a cash payment to whichever group chooses to help out a MINIMUM $750/week. This opportunity will be available for at least the next 5-6 weeks maybe even longer. That is a potential of $4,500 in six weeks. A group of 50 people can earn the $750 in under two hours. A group of 25 can earn the money in under four hours and so on.” To find out more, call Garlic Jim’s in The Junction at 937-JIMS (or drop by during business hours — east side of California Ave, midblock between Oregon and Edmunds).

SATURDAY’S NOT JUST CAUCUS DAY: There’s a boatload of events happening around West Seattle on Saturday. Before you caucus – how about helping clean? There are Adopt-a-Street Cleanup campaigns Saturday morning both in The Junction (check the JuNO website for more on how to help – they’re looking for volunteers right now) and the Admiral District (see this Admiral Neighborhood Association group page to get details).

GOT A FRUIT TREE THAT NEEDS PRUNING? Experts will show you how! Check out this announcement:

Do you have one of those apple trees that hasn’t been pruned in years? Or maybe you have a young pear tree that you’d like keep in good “shape”? Now’s the time for pruning those trees. The Community Harvest of West Seattle, in conjunction with Solid Ground, will be offering 2 pruning workshops in West Seattle. These basic workshops will be taught by a certified arborist, and will include lecture, demonstration, and the possibility of some hands-on experience. The workshops are free, but are limited to 18 participants, so please RSVP if you are interested. We are looking for a plum tree or 2 for the demo. We are hoping that attendees will share their new skills with their neighbors.

Dates: Saturday – February 23rd, 10 AM-1 PM – Apple and Pear Trees – Duwamish Cohousing
Saturday – March 8, 10 AM – 1 PM – Plum Trees – Site to be decided

RSVP to Aviva with your contact info – 200-2107 or info@gleanit.org

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Reader report: Robbery at Freshy’s – laptop stolen

February 5, 2008 6:27 pm

| 72 COMMENTS

| Crime | WS breaking news

This just in from Michael:

I *just* witnessed a robbery at Freshy’s coffee on California. Three
young African-American men came in and asked the barista how often
some bus came by. She answered, then they milled around for a minute
acting like they were debating if they were going to wait. Then one
guy grabbed the open laptop of a woman who was sitting near the door
and bolted, along with another one of the guys. The woman screamed and
chased after them. The third fellow stood around saying “What’s going
on?”, but it was clear that he was in on the scam — either trying to
block other people from chasing the perps, or to grab something else
while people were distracted.

The woman came back to the coffee shop a few minutes later saying that
one of the guys had knocked her to the ground very forcefully when she
chased them; she ended up with a big welt on the back of her head.
Meanwhile another patron chased the guys as well and saw them leave in
a red car parked near the high school. The barista called the police
and they’re on the way. The victim said she’s from out of town, making
it that much worse.

This was such a deliberate, organized crime that I’m sure they’re
going to try pull this again. Please tell everyone to be on the
lookout, to protect their laptops and other valuables when they’re
out, and to keep an eye out for people running this kind of scam.

If you haven’t been to Freshy’s and can’t place the location — west side of California, south of the Admiral District, across from Hiawatha.

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Reward info now posted on Pasado’s Safe Haven website

February 5, 2008 4:50 pm

| Comments Off on Reward info now posted on Pasado’s Safe Haven website

| How to help | Pets | West Seattle news

Thanks to OP for that photo of one of the flyers (weatherbeaten as they can get) that’s up alerting people about the poison concerns at two local parks. As previously mentioned, the locally based animal-advocacy group Pasado’s Safe Haven (whose post-Katrina rescue had included Mo, the West Seattle dog that got sick last week) is offering a $5,000 reward, and there are now details on its website, including a flyer you can download to print and post. (P.S. A pet-helping side note: This Saturday and Sunday, 20 cats and 40 kittens will be available for adoption at Kitty Harbor next to ActivSpace on Harbor Ave, 11 am-7 pm both days. KH has found new homes for more than 500 felines in its first four months in West Seattle! 11 am-7 pm both days; call 935-1919 or go here to find out more.)

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West Seattle streetcar? Start thinking up the acronyms now

February 5, 2008 1:04 pm

| 51 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Per the P-I, city councilmembers officially voted this morning to spend money on studying six possible streetcar lines to follow the SLU…etc., including one that potentially would head out our way. (Interesting history culled from a websearch: The county looked into studying a WS streetcar more than two years ago, says this link; and of course The Junction takes its name from the fact two streetcar lines crossed there.)

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Charlestown Cafe fire cause

February 5, 2008 11:52 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Charlestown Cafe | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(Photo courtesy Scott Kratz) We just checked with Helen Fitzpatrick of the Seattle Fire Department re: the cause of the Charlestown Cafe fire; “fire in the deep-fat fryer,” she confirms. As we reported last night, cafe owner Larry Mellum told WSB a few hours after the fire that they’d need “days” to get the restaurant back in shape – we’ll keep checking on how things are going. (Original coverage from last night is here and here, with JetCityOrange‘s fire video here. Just last week, we’d reported promising news about CC’s future.)

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Happening tonight: West Seattle Relay for Life kickoff party

February 5, 2008 11:04 am

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| How to help | West Seattle news

Luminaria like those grace the field at West Seattle Stadium one night every summer as part of the Relay for Life, an overnight event that brings together local people whose lives have been touched by cancer. Tonight, organizers are inviting you to the Relay for Life of West Seattle kickoff party, 6:30-8 pm at Fauntleroy Children’s Center; map here. (The actual Relay for Life happens 6 pm Friday, June 27, through noon Saturday, June 28.) To get more information – even if you can’t make the party tonight – call Karee Boone at 206/674-4105, Melissa Bazala at 206/281-3738, or Diane Redenbaugh at 206/937-2291.

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New boss just announced for the state ferry system

February 5, 2008 10:01 am

| Comments Off on New boss just announced for the state ferry system

| Transportation

(Fauntleroy ferry photo by Matt Durham)
Just announced by WSDOT: David Moseley, a former Federal Way city manager and current executive at the Institute for Community Change, will run Washington State Ferries. (Its previous boss, Mike Anderson, left the job late last year.) Here’s the news release:Read More

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Denny/Sealth meeting: What was seen, what wasn’t heard

February 5, 2008 4:09 am

| 42 COMMENTS

| Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | Westwood

Click To Play

Click for a few seconds of video panning across the full 150-plus crowd at the Chief Sealth High School cafeteria last night for the last district-presented meeting in West Seattle before the School Board makes its decision on the intensely debated Denny/Sealth construction project’s future.

That’s a photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham, showing parent Gail McElligott at the meeting. What was seen – lots of PowerPoint slides – and what wasn’t heard – answers to audience questions – dominated the night. See most of the slides for yourself (since the district didn’t promise they’d be up online any time soon), and more, ahead:Read More

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