West Seattle Crime Watch: Alki window culprit(s) update; more
From the reports at the Southwest Precinct: Remember the car-window shooting on 61st SW reported by Mark two days ago? 
A day later — yesterday around 3:30 pm — a passerby spotted “two juveniles” on the roof of a house in the same area, 3000 block of 61st SW, with suspected pellet/airsoft handguns. One of them was believed to be a 15-year-old boy who lives in that same house, but nobody was home when police arrived minutes later; no arrest yet but it’s a high-priority case. Now, the rest of the stories, including a drunken teen on the run, and stolen donations at a local school:Read More
More info on March 22-23 shutdown of The Viaduct
The state’s monthly Alaskan Way Viaduct e-mail update just came out (read it here), and it confirms the inspection shutdown previously announced for March 22-23 is planned for 6 am-6 pm each day – 
The Viaduct WILL reopen 6 pm Saturday-6 am Sunday, but the Battery Street Tunnel will stay closed for the entire weekend, 6 am Saturday 3/22 through 6 pm Sunday 3/23. Also, if you’re interested in joining a walking tour for a firsthand look at The Viaduct while it’s closed to traffic, they’re offering tours on the lower deck 9 am-noon on 3/22; no kids, no pets, and you must make a reservation — call 888/AWV-LINE or e-mail viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.
Alki Ave paving next week
This announcement just in from the city Transportation Department:
Next week SDOT paving crews will work on Alki Avenue
Southwest between 1732 Alki Avenue Southwest and Bonair Drive Southwest.
From 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. one lane will be open, shared by northbound
and southbound traffic, assisted by traffic flaggers. Once the asphalt
surface is ground down, until new asphalt is laid, the roadway surface
will be rough and there will be raised castings.
The crews plan to begin on Tuesday, March 11, and complete the project
by Friday, March 14.
That explains all the extra “no parking” signs we saw this afternoon east of the 53rd SW pump-project site — we THOUGHT that was a little too much to be blocking off.
Next new Junction megaproject: Details from developer
Just talked with Alison Conner from Conner Homes, the company that — as we reported last night here and here — is now going forward, again, with plans to redevelop close to half the east side of California and west side of 42nd between Alaska and Edmunds in The Junction. No renderings yet – but she did supply many other details that the bare-bones city online filings don’t get into:Read More
West Seattle Weekend Lineup, “spring forward” edition
OK, so the weekend’s an hour shorter (Daylight-Saving Time kicks in at 2 am Sunday, as in Saturday night), but the WSB list of West Seattle weekend activity options is long, including two live-theater productions, a free yoga class, a free Nia class, the Community Mother/Baby Shower to help families near and far, the return of Seattle Chinese Garden tours, a cat adoptathon, and an Admiral Theater Saturday morning matinee of the first movie your editor ever saw, 39 events ahead:Read More
Alki pump station update: Major work set to start next week
You’ve probably seen the NO PARKING signs now up along Alki Ave (thanks to Angela for sending the photo) for the major project that’s about to start to expand the 53rd SW (underground) Pump Station. So how soon will the major work start in earnest? We just got another update this afternoon (after the first version of this post was published) from Erika Peterson from the county Wastewater Treatment Division; she says excavation work is likely to start next week, and work crews are in and out for “limited activity” between now and then, including some work in the street today. This project is going to last more than a year and a half, so it will be a fixture on Alki for not just this summer, but summer ’09 as well, with traffic effects along the way; you can find lots of details online, including this “what to expect during construction” page with a 24-hour hotline to call. (By the way, the pump-station project at Lowman Beach north of Lincoln Park is scheduled to start work next year.)
West Seattleite’s “Exile Project” opens tonight @ WSHS
This weekend and next weekend, you have two live-theater options in West Seattle. One is ArtsWest‘s continuing “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” (WSB sponsor); the other is “The Exile Project,“ opening tonight at the West Seattle High School Theater. (Shown in the photo above, Wendy Woolery and Gary Reed.) It’s billed as “an original Seattle musical-theater production” about “one man’s efforts to build a life after prison.” It’s produced, choreographed, and co-written by West Seattle’s Holly Eckert (and the music is by another West Seattleite, Amy Denio). We asked Holly if the tone of “The Exile Project” is as heavy as the subject matter could be – her reply: “This is a human story, and human stories are always filled with both light and dark sides. Remember, this man has just been RELEASED from prison, that’s a pretty happy moment for him filled with fantasies about pretty girls and cold beers. He returns to his mother’s house where he finds comfort as a middle-aged man in the arms of his mommy. This is a story that also penetrates this man’s subconscious and as we all know, that terrain is full of irony, satire, wisdom, humor and sadness. This play travels through both light and dark moments to tell a human tale. It’s that diversity of emotional territory that make it entertaining and engaging. Often, as we all know who have walked through it ourselves, tragedy is scattered with satire and humor. If you love a good story, great music, and terrific dancing, you’ll enjoy The Exile Project.” The production has its own website here with tons of information including performance times and ticket info; it plays at WSHS this Friday-Saturday-Sunday and the same three days next weekend.
“Sustainable Storm” gathers at West Seattle Chamber
If your mental image of a Chamber of Commerce resembles something centering on a tight-knit clique of good ol’ boys in leisure suits, boozing and schmoozing in a back room somewhere, you should know that bears no resemblance to what’s going on with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce these days. Just the other day, in fact, West Seattle Chamber executive director Patti Mullen facilitated the latest edition of a semi-regular gathering that was the antithesis of that old stereotype — a casual event reaching toward the traditional goal of a healthy business community in a largely nontraditional way:Read More
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