Road reminders
As noted here, The Viaduct will be closed northbound tomorrow morning, 8-10:30 am, for the St. Patrick’s Day Dash. And next weekend’s the big inspection-closure weekend — currently scheduled to be closed in both directions, 6 am-6 pm Saturday & 6 am-6 pm Sunday, with the Battery Street Tunnel closed continuously 6 am Saturday-6 pm Sunday. Another road note: Looks like the Alki Avenue paving didn’t get finished in the expected window – we drove that stretch earlier today and there’s clearly work yet to be done, but we don’t have an advisory from SDOT on when it will resume and how long it will take, so we’ll check Monday.
High-climbing cleanup in Fairmount Ravine
“Be sure to get a picture of the teenagers!” we were told, shortly after we showed up to check on this morning’s Fairmount Ravine cleanup under the Admiral/Fairmount bridge. Here’s a wider perspective shot to show you how high up they went to help with the cleanup:
And that was just the team under the bridge’s east end – more cleanup volunteers were up under its west end:
We weren’t brave enough to get any closer than street level, where John Lang — who’s lived near the ravine for 19 years — told us about 10 people showed up to help with the annual cleanup, but more work might have to be done next weekend. Neighbors have been doing this every year since 1993, and tend to find unusual items like this car door:
John said they pulled some ivy too – a problem about on the magnitude with the graffiti you see all over the concrete under the bridge, which is a magnet for not only vandalism, but also drinking, resulting in the debris that filled dozens of blue bags today. But the volunteers were in good spirits when we dropped by – and also thankful for free beverages and treats, donated by Tully’s and Metropolitan Market.
Happening right now: Get your car washed, help a team
Not only is sale season (as noted earlier this morning) under way, so is fundraising-car-wash season. Above, you see a quick snap of the Seattle Rainiers 14U team‘s car wash that’s happening till 4 pm today at Complete Auto Repair on the west side of 35th at Holden (map here, but you can’t miss ’em; stretched out over about 2 blocks in both directions are some of the most enthusiastic sign-wavers we’ve ever seen). And the sun’s out just in time!
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: IBuySeattleHomes.com
This morning, we’re sending out the traditional welcome to a sponsor who joined WSB this week — real-estate investor Brent Fosso, a West Seattle resident, of IBuySeattleHomes.com. 
Here’s what Brent wants you to know about himself and his business: “Brent Fosso and family: West Seattle – Here I stay. Being native to Seattle, I grew up in the Ballard area. But in 1984 I purchased my first fixer upper home, and it was right here in West Seattle. I commuted over to West Seattle everyday to work on the place, and it did need a LOT of work. It’s funny thinking about the price nowadays. It was just a few blocks from what is now The Charlestown Cafe. I bought it for $26,000. That was a lot of money back then, but a reasonable price for a fixer. I spent the summer remodeling the home with a new kitchen and bath. I was only 24 years old in 1984 (you can do the math), and I didn’t have any money. So I convinced my landlord to go in partners with me. We used his money and my labor. We sold it on a hot August day to a nice couple. So I decided to move to the part of town I grew to love, and have been here ever since. I kept purchasing fixer-uppers and have watched the Seattle housing market take off, wishing a bit that I had held on to some of those homes I bought for now what seems like so little. But the times keep moving forward. Technology has changed real estate investing quite a bit. My website IBuySeattleHomes.com has been a place for many years now where people can learn more about what kinds of real estate I purchase and how to get in touch with me. Now my wife, two daughters and I have deep roots here. I love West Seattle.” In addition to reaching Brent through his website, you can call him at 206/935-5000. (Want to join Brent and the 20 other West Seattle businesses currently sponsoring WSB? Start here!)
West Seattle Crime Watch: Car-prowl alert
Out of the WSB inbox, from Peter:
I just wanted to inform the WSB and my neighbors that early this morning (around 2:30,) my car alarm went off. We turned it off and must have scared away a possible thief, as my rear “vent” window was broken when I went to leave for work this morning. Nothing in the car was disturbed (radio, car seat base) so it looks like the thief ran off without stealing anything. The car was parked in the lot below our apartment building at 41st and Admiral. This is the second time in 6 years that a vehicle of mine was vandalized without any theft occurring in the lot. The really annoying thing is that the cost of replacing the small vent window was more expensive than replacing a whole windshield. While I generally feel safe in the Admiral District, the alley on Walnut Ave. on the other side of the building is often host to late night drug deals, vandals who have smashed windows to the dentist office located there, and is also a popular spot for teens to hang out under the aforementioned office to smoke pot. I’ve heard Dr. Naden confronting the teens before, but they still hang out vandalizing dumpsters and being a nuisance. It is not a stretch to think that they may have been involved in some way.
Crunch numbers for a good cause – West Seattle history!
From the Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum:
Are you a retired Accountant or CPA? Are you looking for some meaningful work that will benefit you and your community?
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Log House Museum are in need of a volunteer like you to be our Board Treasurer. We need a skilled individual who has the time to maintain the accounts of the Historical Society which operates the Log House Museum, Birthplace of Seattle on Alki. Let’s talk! We have a Board of Trustees, a Museum Director and staff that you would work with to keep us “in balance.†Please contact Marcy Johnsen at 206-909-9366 right away!
Thanks for your vote – WSB won!
We’re here at Skylark for the Metroblogging Seattle party (till 8:30, with luminaries such as Monica Guzman from the P-I’s Big Blog, 
Mona from Kirida, Shawn from Slightly North, plus the Metblogs team, including Alki’s CeRo) … seems we won … thanks for the votes! Also thanks to Jessie at Skylark for mentioning WSB on the menu (somebody pointed this out to us; we haven’t been here in a while) — the Tater Tots (photo left, from the famous “Dishes to die for” discussion) are billed as “As seen on the West Seattle Blog.” 9:42 PM ADDENDUM: One more West Seattle blogging luminary was there too – didn’t see her till after we’d posted – Pam from Nerd’s Eye View. Re: the menus, Jessie told Patrick they are brand-new, so look for the Tater Tot nod next time you’re at Skylark. As for the question about what we won – this year, actual prizes! A night at Hotel Max downtown, a bag of CDs from Sub Pop, potential future tickets to events at Neumo’s and Northwest Film Forum. Plus a repurposed trophy that is from a 1971 event in Burien but we’ll cherish it always. Thanks again to the Metblogs team for putting on a fun bash!
West Seattle Crime Watch: Burglary suspects nabbed
This just in at day’s end from Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen:
Given the recent string of residential burglaries in West Seattle….Just wanted you to know we caught some today … Detectives are gleaning info from them in order to tie them to other burglaries. We have one very pleased victim at our precinct right now identifying his property! We also developed some good leads on the Beach Drive/Alki burglaries (different suspect(s))
No further details yet; we’ll let you know anything else we find out.
A peek into the pits
Perfect caption from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli for these photos looking into the excavations for the two crane-equipped megaprojects under way right now in The Junction:
That’s from Capco Plaza, aka the QFC project, and this one is from Mural, aka the ex-parking lot behind Petco:
Satterlee House development dispute: Owner testifies
Today’s proceedings in the case of Satterlee House (Beach Drive’s “Painted Lady”) owner William Conner vs. the city Landmarks Preservation Board only ran three and a half hours in the morning, but that span included testimony from Conner himself:Read More
“American Idol” finalist to appear at Roxbury Safeway
You know we don’t do much celebrity or semicelebrity news here, but in case somebody out there’s an “American Idol” fan, as soon as we saw this poster at the Roxbury Safeway, we thought we’d better mention it: One of last year’s finalists, Chris Richardson, will be at the store 3:30-5:30 pm next Wednesday (3/19) — sponsored by an ice-cream company. Doesn’t say if he’ll be scooping, signing, singing, or what. (Footnote, looks like Big Blog had this two days ago and since it didn’t include our magic watchphrase “West Seattle,” we missed it.)
West Seattle Crime Watch: 1 more break-in report
Also from Upper Fauntleroy – thanks to Steve for the note:
There was also a burglary reported in the 8800 block of 38th SW, occurred around 9AM Thursday 3/13. Apparently a glass door was broken to gain entry.
A year ago a local locksmith told me it was highly unusual for burglars to break glass to gain entry, seems like that is changing.
We are just back from today’s half-day-only testimony in the Satterlee House case (that writeup to come) and will be checking with the Southwest Precinct shortly for more on what’s going on – stand by for updates.
West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Last weekend of winter
Spring starts in a few days — truly a reason to celebrate with events like Halau Hula ‘O Lono Hawaiian music and dance (photo above) tonight at SSCC, and/or two big church rummage/garage sales today/tomorrow – then there’s the WSB Forum members’ “Handbags for Hunger” bash, the final weekend of two theater productions, video games for grownups at a local library, and more — 43 events ahead:Read More
High Point updates: Building community as well as homes
Lots more than just construction going on in High Point, judging by what we heard at the High Point Neighborhood Association meeting last night @ High Point Library, 
with trustees presiding including HPNA president Andrew Mead: The Commons Park is a big source of excitement right now — the new park at 31st and Graham is now scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend. A P-Patch is in the works for the park, too, and work parties will start in late April; residents are also being invited to design, carve, and paint the columns to be featured in the “amphitheater” area of the park, with workshops starting April 10. Meantime, neighbors are still hoping to campaign for some type of grocery store in the retail space that will be developed along with a 200-unit multifamily building along 35th south of the library; the developer who recently signed to work on the site is Lowe Enterprise. And a new HPNA website is about to be developed, with expert help from neighbors who work in the industry. The last segment of the meeting was scheduled as a Block Watch-organizing presentation, with Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow on hand for that — but first, Community Police Team officer Kevin McDaniel talked about what he’s been focusing on lately, saying, “There’s not a whole lot going on,” aside from a continuing problem with graffiti vandalism. Action’s been taken against one known repeat offender and McDaniel says he’s working to identify others. Interesting aside that came up during his presentation: He’s also keeping an eye out for problems with aggressive dogs. One last aside from the HPNA meeting: We thought it was a little quirky when treasurer Steve Barham mentioned in a discussion of the meeting-refreshments budget that they wouldn’t be buying bottled water any more — till we caught up on city news releases late last night and read about the mayor’s order.
Late-night notes, the almost-Friday edition
HIGH POINT ON TV: Thanks to Marco for the tip – we now know when the PBS show featuring High Point will air – High Point will be featured during “Place Matters,” part of the third episode of the 4-part documentary series “Unnatural Causes,” 11 pm April 16 and 1 pm April 19 on KCTS (channel 9)
WSB ON TV: Your editor here had the privilege of appearing on the Comcast Local Edition “NewsMakers” mini-show for one of the interview segments that air on the Headline News channel. The interviewer is one of my former Q13 FOX co-workers (who you may know from other TV stations too), Tony Ventrella; we spent a grand total of 4 minutes talking about WSB and new media. When I was in TV, 4 minutes was forever for us behind-the-scenes types (sitting in the control room hollering for an anchor or reporter to just wrap up already), but I learned during the “NewsMakers” taping that 4 minutes for the guest feels like the blink of an eye. My 4 minutes will replay 17 times in the next 12 days, including 6:50 am tomorrow (Friday) and 1:50 am Saturday. If anyone really cares about the rest of the schedule, ask and I’ll post it in comments, but I won’t be hurt if you don’t :) Headline News is on Comcast channel 45, by the way.
LAST PITCH FOR VOTES: We mentioned it yesterday and now there are just hours to go in the Metroblogging Seattle “blog tournament,” with WSB in the final three. You can only vote once but if you haven’t already, please consider going here and clicking for WSB. The tournament party is 6:30-8:30 tomorrow (Friday) night at Skylark, and we’ll be there even if Seattle Daily Photo or Accidental Hedonist (who’s featured on our Other Blogs in WS page) comes out on top – join us if you’re out and about!
Satterlee House development fight: Afternoon testimony
The city Landmarks Preservation Board lawyers have called all their witnesses, and now the lawyer for Satterlee House (aka Beach Drive’s “Painted Lady”) owner William Conner is calling his, with testimony continuing before city Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner at 8 am tomorrow and 12:30 pm Tuesday. It’s already gone on for 2 1/2 days (coverage links: testimony from the house’s previous owner/namesake David Satterlee here; first full day, last Monday, wrapup here; this morning’s testimony here) and is attracting a fair level of attention in the historic-preservation and legal communities, since disputes over development involving official city landmarks almost never get to this stage (an appeal argued before the Hearing Examiner). Here’s what happened this afternoon:Read More
Cleanup closes southbound lanes of Delridge’s south section
Thanks to the WSB’er who texted us about this — the other half of the team has just been to the scene and is returning with pix — the southbound lanes of Delridge are closed between Thistle and the Westwood Village turnoff because of some kind of spill involving a Metro bus that started leaking oil in a huge way. Avoid that area for a while. ADDED 9:38 PM: Replaced previous photo of the absorptive stuff put on the street, with video of same, showing just how far it stretched:
Another Crime Watch burglar alert: Upper Fauntleroy attempt
Just out of the inbox, from Joe:
8400 block of 41st Ave.: A black male in a red slicker hopped a fence and pried the screen off a back/side window by our neighbor’s deck facing 42nd Ave. about 10:30am this morning. He was about to break the window with the large rock in his hand when the owner banged on the window and he ran off. Their car was gone at the time and the house may have looked unoccupied. A neighbor saw him vault the front gate and sprint north toward Thistle. Both called police but he was long gone by the time they arrived (semi-quickly… they had to come from Alki).
The Police got two excellent descriptions. In this neck of the woods neighbors are VERY alert and many are home during the day, so this midday boldness (in a bright red slicker, no less) is pretty scary.
Possibly connected: Yesterday, we were canvassed by a young “magazine sales” guy who may have been a friend of the would-be robber who showed up today. I was home at the time and answered the door. He did not present himself well and I asked if he had a Seattle City License as required for door-to-door sales and he did not. I advised him to get lost and he did. All legitimate door-to-door canvassers will have that license and be willing to show it. If they don’t have it call the police… they are likely scouting the neighborhood.
I didn’t. Next time I will.
About the same time this e-mail came in, in fact, we got a message from the Southwest Precinct that they’re asking people to be extra alert about brazen daytime break-ins and attempts like this – we expect some more info from them tomorrow. (Coincidentally, we got this message while at the High Point Neighborhood Association meeting, which we left as they were segueing into a Block Watch organizing gathering. If you don’t have a Block Watch, get one — call crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow at the precinct; his contact info is here.)
beyond what we’re covering here on the WSB main page) — we find 
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