day : 24/03/2008 9 results

So vowed Puget Sound Key and Lock owner Michael Dein when we talked with him briefly during the WSB Forum members’ gathering tonight at Beveridge Place Pub to plan a fundraiser. That’s him at left:

He says they’re going to hang a banner outside the store marking their promise to return, though it may take a couple months – he says the building owner promises to rebuild the interior, but they need to replace a lot of equipment and other supplies that “melted” in the fire, and as we first reported hours after the Friday morning arson, they have no fire insurance. That’s why WSB’ers are organizing a benefit – below, a different angle of part of the group – that’s “JoB” second from right (forgive us for not gathering everyone’s names; we had to rush off to check out the outage that someone had just texted us about) – the group was about a dozen strong when we stopped by:

JoB reports:

The consensus of the meeting is that we will have a combination raffle/social event sometime mid-April. The time and date will be determined by space availability … Our first choice is a tournament at West Seattle Bowl… But we will have to see what we can make work.

Next meeting is 10 am Saturday at Uptown Espresso, and even if you weren’t there tonight, you’re invited to pitch in and help. (Follow the discussion here.) Meantime, the Seattle Police Arson and Bomb Squad is still working to solve the firebombing; we talked with police spokesperson Mark Jamieson this evening and he had nothing new to report, just reiterating that the case is “a priority” and police want to hear from anyone with tips (call 911 or the arson hotline @ 800/55-ARSON).

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West Seattle scenes, Monday night edition

March 24, 2008 11:16 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Seen around town | Seen at sea

Above, from WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham: Elijah Hajduk (age 5) and his dad Jonathan are towed by their dog Momo on a custom longboard at Alki. Below: Mac caught the fireboat Chief Seattle doing maneuvers off Salty’s:

And here’s a pic sent by “X,” who happened onto it while out geocaching on Alki with his wife:

“X” elaborates further: “On our walk back home along Alki, we heard a motorcycle rev up and then make a crazy sound. A poor lad had the misfortune of loosing control of his prized possession. We watched the bike slam under a truck. The driver flopped, bounced and slid. When we ran over to check on him, we were relieved to find him without any serious injuries, however, his motorcycle didn’t look so good.”

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Another way to feed hungry people in West Seattle

March 24, 2008 9:30 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| How to help

WSB’ers have opened their hearts and wallets for the local food banks, which certainly need help year-round — now, here’s another way you can keep somebody from going to bed hungry — Donna sends this (we mentioned the church shelter in question last month):

I’d like to let everyone know about a situation in our community that gives us an opportunity to serve some folks in need.

From February 2008 until mid-February 2009, West Seattle Church of the Nazarene is hosting a SHARE-run shelter for 20 homeless men each evening. Guests are on-site from 7 pm to 7 am, 7 nights a week.

Many of the shelter guests work and have little more than a roll for breakfast and a cup of soup for dinner at night. They need adequate nourishment in order to work, address their housing and health needs, and regain self-sufficiency.

Please consider providing meals for these folks, and please let your family and friends, church, local business, school, gym, etc., know about the need for help in providing breakfasts and dinners at the shelter during this year. Once, once in awhile, or a regular commitmentâ€”all offers are gratefully appreciated.

Please see our very humble website (westseattlemeals.airset.com) for more information and for open dates on the calendar. (They’re ALL open right now!) Folks who want to provide a meal should then contact me with:
Â· the date(s)
Â· plans for delivery
Â· any questions
Â· phone number and email address

Thank you for your generosity and willingness to help others at a difficult time in their lives.

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Power outage in parts of east West Seattle

March 24, 2008 7:45 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Utilities | Westwood | WS breaking news

Thanks to those who e-mailed and texted us about an outage in parts of east West Seattle – the City Light recording says the boundaries are Brandon to 97th, 8th to 26th, with more than 800 homes/businesses affected, no word on the cause. Heading out to find out more. 7:55 PM UPDATE: One e-mail and one comment says at least some of the power’s back on – we still have a team member driving the area to see if anyone’s still out. 8:40 PM UPDATE: Found a City Light crew (photo left) patroling Delridge but no signs of lingering outage.

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Reminder: Meeting tonight to plan benefit for arson victims

March 24, 2008 5:29 pm

| Comments Off on Reminder: Meeting tonight to plan benefit for arson victims

| Crime | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

Three days after the arson that did $90,000 damage to Puget Sound Key and Lock (Friday photo above) and adjacent businesses, no word yet of any big breaks in the case (just checked with Seattle police), but tonight WSB Forum members are gathering – 7 pm, Beveridge Place Pub – to plan a benefit for the arson victims, primarily the locksmith business owner, Michael Dein, who had no fire insurance, as we reported hours after the fire. WSB’ers have already proven they can do great things – and lots of ideas and people-power are needed. Even if you can’t be there in person, a reminder – an account is set up and donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank branch, account #5358011681. 7:50 PM UPDATE: Dropped into BPP very briefly to get pix and check on the gathering – about a dozen people were there and they had a plan outlined within minutes – Michael Dein was there too and told WSB he’s definitely rebuilding and reopening, and heartened by the outpouring of support. Full report on this later after we hear the final outcome of the meeting.

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Q from Councilmember Rasmussen: Viaduct-closure effects?

March 24, 2008 2:53 pm

| 49 COMMENTS

| Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

So how did the weekend closure of The Viaduct affect you? City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, a fellow West Seattleite, wants to know — as he works with the city Transportation Department to make sure WS is a priority with all the transportation planning that’s under way now. Among other things, he’s wondering – did you find yourself in one of the backups that happened even with all the advance warning? Did you get enough advance warning – and/or enough warning while it was happening (the warning lights, signs, etc.)? What alternate routes did you find yourself using? Did you have to change your plans or drop plans because of the shutdown? Anything else you want to say about it — don’t hold anything back! Post comments here.

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Still keeping vigil

March 24, 2008 11:37 am

| 37 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

After the reported U.S. death toll in Iraq reached 4,000, we checked to see if the residents of this house across from Lincoln Park (previously noted here and here) were still keeping vigil — they are, with the U.S. injury toll as a second number.

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From the “teens doing positive things” file

March 24, 2008 10:17 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle people | West Seattle video

Not all public-school students in West Seattle go to Seattle Public Schools. More than 100 attend school on Vashon, which is closer than the in-city school commutes some local families make. Among them is Max Westerman, who says the student commuters have to wait a long time to get a ferry back to WS after school; instead of just griping about it, he started a petition to ask Washington State Ferries for a 2:50 pm Vashon-Fauntleroy sailing, similar to one offered during the recent 2-boat schedule:

Click To Play

(We talked with Max last week when he brought his petition drive to Fauntleroy Food Fest.)

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School vacation week – for some

March 24, 2008 6:53 am

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| West Seattle schools

Some West Seattle private schools have this week off – Our Lady of Guadalupe and Holy Rosary, for example – but Seattle Public Schools‘ spring break isn’t till next week.

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