Movie night tomorrow to help local teens’ unusual road trip
Tomorrow night, West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor) invites you to come watch a movie, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” for free, 6 pm in the downstairs social hall, with concessions sold — popcorn, snacks, and Italian sodas — as a fundraiser for a special trip some WSCC teens are taking to Mexico this July. No, it’s not a trip to go lie on the beach; they will be driving from Seattle to Tijuana in rented vans as part of a 19-member group helping Amor Ministries build a home for a family. Above, you see some of the participants; left to right, they are 15-year-old West Seattle High School sophomore Thea N, 14-year-old WSHS freshman Miriam N, 13-year-old Madison Middle School 8th grader Lauren S, 12-year-old Madison 6th grader Darrian T, 15-year-old WSHS sophomore Dominique T, 15-year-old Chief Sealth High School sophomore Ian H. WSB interviewed three of them by e-mail with the help of WSCC’s Norma Hernandez, who says, “We’ve been told to expect the temperature in the hundreds; they’ll be sleeping in tents, with no running water or flushing toilets. The group is payig 100% of the cost of the materials, travel expenses, and tool rentals (manual tools, since no electricity is available).” Here’s what the teens have to say about their trip and other ways they’ve helped people near and far:Read More
Little Prague Bakery, tourist attraction
This came up in the WSB Forums today – and WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham got the photo. He writes: “A tour bus, packed to capacity with members of the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International (CGSI, which is conducting a symposium this weekend in downtown Seattle), visited Little Prague European Bakery at 6045 California Ave SW Friday morning to sample delectable Czech pastries. A Czech pastry’s dough is light and flaky sometimes filled with a fruit preserve or cream. What sets the pastries apart from others is the moderate amount of sugar used, resulting in other flavors reaching the taste buds. Little Prague European Bakery will set up their booth for the West Seattle Farmers Market the last Sunday in April to kick off the Summer Market season.” Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: 4415 SW Stevens, for sale
Tonight, the traditional WSB welcome to another new sponsor – this time, it’s 4415 SW Stevens (map), 
a home that’s up for sale, with an open house 2-4 pm Sunday. The photo’s at left; here’s what its owners want you to know: “The house is a 1929 Tudor, located about a block west of the Admiral PCC. There are quite a few similar looking houses in West Seattle of approximately the same age, but what distinguishes this one is that it has been beautifully restored & completely updated. Our new ad in WSB references that we had the house earthquake-retrofitted, one of several things that make the house safer than many houses of its vintage. The house has new electrical wiring; all knob-and-tube wiring was removed or decommissioned & vintage light fixtures were rewired or are new. The plumbing is updated including new water lines. There is a new gas furnace & updated ductwork. The lower level is fully finished. In other words, this house has no creepy old wiring, plumbing or basement! On the aesthetic side, the house has many beautiful period details; mahogany woodwork, original glass doorknobs, fireplace tile, & hardwood floors have all been refurbished. A primary goal of our remodel was to restore and preserve Old World Charm. We replaced old aluminum windows in the living & dining rooms with period leaded glass windows including a beautiful antique transom window with hand-cut bevels. The house has beautiful tile work & many other charming details. The exterior of the house had yellow aluminum siding for many years. We had it removed & discovered the original cedar siding underneath. We had a master carpenter recreate the traditional doorway arch with hand-cut custom molding. The yard is beautifully landscaped thanks to the previous owner; we have been amazed at the variety of beautiful flowers & plants. We hope that people will stop in at one of our open houses! It’s a beautiful home in a great neighborhood. We’ve enjoyed the convenience of being able to walk to nearby shops, parks & schools.” Here’s the website the owners set up to share more info about their home and open houses, including the one this Sunday, 2-4 pm.
Reader report: “More kids throwing stuff at cars”
Just out of the inbox from Tippy, whose e-mail carried that subject line. We don’t condone anyone hitting their kids (or adults for that matter) but we’re leaving in Tippy’s last line because it’s a rather clear summary of his feelings:
While traveling up Fairmount with my wife and kids around 4:00 p.m. today I was hit by a water balloon just before the intersection of Forest. I had my window open and it missed my head by mere inches. I stopped the car and gave chase. Being young and spry they escaped. I subsequently called the police (which showed up within minutes). I did find a stash of water balloons (black) and a pile of dirt clods and rocks. I also took and handed over to the police one brown shirt that was housing the water balloons. So, if parents are reading this and one of their lovely progeny is missing a brown shirt, whack them upside the head.
Now, if you’re wondering “so what? it was just water balloons,” from our coverage of some of the recent cases of rocks being thrown at cars (and BBs being shot at them) — which could have resulted in serious injury or worse — we recall some of the perpetrators having started their sprees by throwing more benign objects (Christmas lights, in this notorious case), and moving on to the potentially injurious ones. And one more note, coverage coming up just a little later tonight of West Seattle kids doing GOOD things, never fear.
Public-school popularity list – of sorts – goes public
Linked from the P-I education blog this afternoon: A Seattle Public Schools spreadsheet showing how many families listed each school in the district as their “first choice” for next year, and for comparison, the numbers for the previous four years. (Iif you haven’t been through this process before, the “school choice” system in SPS asks you to list and rank the schools you request that your child/ren be admitted to; the process is under review for possible future changes.) Take note that the elementary numbers are for kindergarteners, the middle-school numbers for 6th graders, the high-school numbers for entering 9th graders. West Seattle schools that were listed as “first choice” by more students this year than last, according to this document, are Arbor Heights, Cooper, Gatewood, Lafayette, Roxhill, Schmitz Park, and West Seattle (still listed under its old name, High Point) elementaries; Denny Middle School; and West Seattle High School. (See our Schools page for direct links to all WS schools’ websites.) Among those, the most dramatic jumps were at Denny, with 132 first choices this year, 87 last year; Gatewood, with 61 first choices this year, more than double the 26 from last year; Lafayette at 116, up from 75; and Roxhill, almost doubling, 31 this year after 16 last year. As the P-I also notes, a wide variety of factors play into how parents list choices, so this isn’t a completely clear-cut popularity poll, to be fair. (Here’s the spreadsheet link again; note the third page shows how many kids are currently waitlisted for each school.)
Reader report: Heroic driver on The Bridge
From Meredith, the tale of truck trouble – and a driver who stopped to help:
At 10:30 this morning on the West Seattle Bridge eastbound, a cab/container-bed truck lost a pipe or metal post off the back. I’d say it was about four feet in length. The was no container on the flatbed, just pipes or poles sticking up. The company was Alpine Motors, truck number 17. Behind me I saw a car stop and the driver got out to get the pipe out of the roadway. I tried to flag the truck driver, but he was busy with his hand-held radio, perhaps calling in the incident on his own.
Though I didn’t have my phone with me, I borrowed one once I got to the zoo to call the incident in to the non-emergency line. Thank you to all the cautious motorists who take time to secure loads! This pipe or pole could have been a killer bouncing off the trick and into the roadway. Thanks, too, to the driver who slowed and stopped to get the road cleared for all those behind him.
West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Sunshine edition
Lots of fun indoors and out this weekend – “Sin Fronteras” (left) playing South American music at SSCC, jazz at Cafe Rozella, the kickoff for new “Family Night” get-togethers tonight, a school carnival and Yacht Club open house (you don’t have to have a boat!) also tonight, the Lions’ plant sale tonight and tomorrow, “Healthy Kids Day” tomorrow at the Y, a movie tomorrow night at West Seattle Christian Church for a great cause – and more, 44 events in all, listed ahead:Read More
Write your own headline
We just spotted this in The Junction while distributing Garage Sale Day posters (sign up now!). Destination unknown. Seems oddly synergistic with two of our previous 3 posts.
The fall of Gypsy, famous/secret/underground/traveling restaurant
A story playing out today in Seattle’s foodie world has a West Seattle hook — which we would never have known, if not for WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who not only sent the above photo to illustrate the point of worlds that may exist outside your normal field of view, but also sent his story of the West Seattle link to Gypsy, the “famous/secret/underground/traveling/televised restaurant” that just closed:Read More
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