West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
Polar bear loose in The Junction! Well, not so loose, really – Sustainable West Seattle unleashed the bear as a reminder of its first-ever Sustainable West Seattle Festival next Sunday, 10 am-3 pm in the Wells Fargo parking lot @ 44th/Alaska (here’s the WSB in-depth preview from earlier this week). Other less-furry members of SWS were working the crowd at the nearby West Seattle Farmers’ Market, including Gary Lichtenstein, who’s the person you can e-mail (energy@sustainablewestseattle.org) to find out how to help at next weekend’s festival (they’re still looking for more volunteer assistance). Two more West Seattle weekend scenes ahead — sports and scenery:Read More
First, an “after” photo of the Ercolini Park playground-building work this weekend (here’s our report from Day 1) — thanks to William Leaming for sending this Day 2 pic:
Also — a school playground project that could use some help: Back on MLK Day, we showed you Seattle Works (and others) in action at West Seattle Elementary in High Point; next big step there is a one-day work party to build the new preschool playground, 9 am-2 pm May 17, and they need some person-power — no special skills required; e-mail wsesbuild@yahoo.com or call 206/252-9464. (We also just learned Seattle Works will be in action another May weekend at Pathfinder K-8; more on that here tomorrow.)
Found out about this one because they’ve just posted job listings in our West Seattle Jobs Offered section in the WSB Forums: Snap Fitness, on its way to Jefferson Square. Looks like a US/Canada chain – corporate website here.
Just in from Pam of Nerd’s Eye View:
We were walking back from the Farmers Market today and saw a swarm of bees in the hedge along California in front of the church at Cali and Othello, right here in Gatewood. I figured if anyone knew of a West Seattle beekeeper, this would be the place to find them – the keeper, not the bees.
The bees are placid enough. I don’t know much about bees, but they showed no interest in us and look to be of the fuzzy honey making variety, not the waspy kind that built a nest in our friends’ house.
Beekeepers, go get ’em. Those allergic might want to walk on the East side of Cali at Othello in Gatewood.
Bzzzz.
Anybody have expertise in this? Leave ’em … bee? (P.S. If the woodpecker reference in the headline seems out of context, look here.)
We’re mentioning this because someone just texted us about it and it’s a route many people use to or from West Seattle: Major crash in South Park, 5th S and S Cloverdale (map), described as “multiple casualty incident” on the 911 log. Avoid the area for a good long while.
Yes, there was even clowning around at the Elliott Bay Water Taxi’s opening-day celebration at Seacrest earlier this afternoon – there you see the guest clown creating not a balloon animal, but a balloon flower, in about 20 seconds. We showed you the Water Taxi’s first arrival earlier this morning; ahead, more of this afternoon’s festivities, including the crowd, the shuttle, the band, the speech (and remember, rides are free all day long):Read More
That’s your first look at Myrtle, the Shar-Pei that won the “Most Beautiful Pet” contest at the West Seattle Junction Association’s first-ever Pet Fest about an hour ago. We have a lot more to show you from the contest, including video, a little bit later, but wanted to post this as a reminder that Pet Fest continues till 4 pm in the Wells Fargo lot at the NE corner of 44th/Alaska. (Don’t miss the pet-adoption area featuring Homeward Pet, run by West Seattleite Steve Siadek, who regularly contributes adoption candidates to the WSB Pets page.) ADDED EARLY MONDAY: Still working on a longer compilation of video from the contest, but here’s a clip of Myrtle with the runner-up, another Shar-Pei, named Buddy (his owner Michelle says he’s 1 1/2; Myrtle’s owner Ryan says she’s a rescuee and about 8):
We got that photo from Seacrest less than an hour ago as the Elliott Bay Water Taxi headed over from Pier 55 on its first official run of the season. Upon arrival, a loudspeaker announcement from the crew thanked their inaugural group of passengers — five in all (you can hear the announcement in this clip:
As mentioned earlier, the kickoff ceremony, emceed by West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine and featuring music by West Seattle’s Bronwyn Edwards Cryer, is happening noon-2 pm. Water Taxi rides are free all day (here’s the schedule), and remember the free shuttle is now back in business too (here’s its schedule) – taking it will be a really good idea today, given the limited parking at and around Seacrest. The Water Taxi’s season is set to continue all the way through Halloween this year, with the full 7-day schedule all the way till the end.
Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for more local events today; here are 3 highlights:
FIRST DAY FOR THE ELLIOTT BAY WATER TAXI: The big celebration is noon-2 pm; rides are free all day; the first sighting of the Water Taxi at Seacrest should be around 8:40, going by the Sunday schedule.
FIRST-EVER “PET FEST” IN THE JUNCTION: 10 am-4 pm in the Wells Fargo parking lot, NE corner of 44th/Alaska. More info here, more on the newly added “Most Beautiful Pet” contest at noon (we’ll be showcasing the winner!) on the Next to Nature site here (or in this previous WSB post).
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: As always, we bring you the weekly “fresh sheet” for what you’ll find on the SE corner of 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm – plus word of some special events (and a giveaway) today:Read More
If this was widely reported in Seattle media, we missed it; just happened onto the story at the Vashon Beachcomber site – the baby born last fall (as reported here) to the orca family group known as J-Pod, one of three resident pods in Puget Sound (often seen in West Seattle/Vashon waters) apparently didn’t survive. (Looks like it was reported earlier this month by this Kitsap Sun blog, too, based on this Center for Whale Research report – with pictures – of J-Pod appearing in the San Juans this month.)
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