That’s the overgrown and undermaintained “Gateway to West Seattle,” along the Fauntleroy end of The Bridge. Just a month is left now till the September 13th event that pretty much needs to be the volunteer effort of the century to get this cleaned up — all the way from Walking on Logs to 35th/Fauntleroy — and all you have to do is commit two hours to be part of it – but organizers REALLY need to hear from you NOW. Here’s the latest from Nancy Driver, who’s not only coordinating volunteer help but also the massive preparation work that’s going into maximizing what those volunteers will be able to do that day (with free coffee! snacks! warm feeling of having accomplished something!) as well as soliciting sponsors for some of the costs the city doesn’t cover (like blackberry-munching goats!):

Stan Lock and I met this morning with the City of Seattle’s Clean & Green Interdepartmental team and did a reconnaissance of the cleanup area. The plan is that the City (SDOT) will be trimming up the bottoms of the trees so that Wa. Dept of Corrections can get in and clear out underbrush under the trees. The City will also be blocking off the lane of traffic adjacent to the clean up site for the 6 hours of the cleanup. Additionally, the City is providing three trucks to haul off green debris and bagged litter, as well as providing rakes and garbage bags.

The City is firmly behind the project and has made a substantial commitment to the project but it’s a huge area to clean up and they can’t provide all the resources to do everything that needs to be done to do a complete cleanup. The community needs to show its support, not only through volunteering the day of the project but by donating funding to get the additional needed work done. There’s probably a half acre or more of blackberries to contend with so we hope to raise money to get in a herd of goats for two to three days to clean out the blackberries. This will cost $825 per day. We are also hoping to raise money to have a tree company come in and finish trimming up the trees and take out any trees that need to be removed. There is substantial tree work that needs to be done and based on the estimates received, this will cost around $10,000 to $12,000. We hope that West Seattle merchants and companies developing properties in West Seattle will step forward to cover the costs for this work. Of course, we would welcome donations from individuals too.

Beyond the actual cleanup, we also need local groups and businesses to step up and “adopt” a portion of the gateway area. The City wants to know that once we get this area cleaned up, it will be maintained. Adopting a portion of the area would mean a commitment similar to one you’d have with the “Adopt a Street” program.

We need to pull together 200 or more volunteers for the cleanup day to donate 2 hours of their time. We will need groups of volunteers of 60 to 70 at two-hour intervals starting at 9 am. Volunteers will be asked to do some hand weeding, rake up green debris and pick up and bag litter. Tools and safety vests will be provided by the City, and gloves have been donated by the West Seattle Garden Tour Committee. Diva Espresso is providing coffee and we are talking to other merchants to chip in with some light snacks.

Some of the groups that have committed to pulling together teams of volunteers are: Mars Hill Church, Karen Lavalle/Windermere Realty, West Seattle Garden Tour, Democrats Work, and Harbor Properties.

Because this is such a big undertaking, we have to be well organized on the day of the cleanup to get everything done. This means we need to line up as many volunteers as possible prior to the cleanup (the earlier the better) so that we can have more or less equal numbers of volunteers showing up for the 9 am group, the 11 am group and the 1 pm group.

Anyone interested in volunteering, helping pull together volunteers, or helping with fundraising should contact me at ndriver@quidnunc.net.

Thanks to all who have already volunteered.
Nancy Driver/Fairmount Community Association

“Bag the bag tax” group puts up a website

August 12, 2008 10:26 pm

| 31 COMMENTS

| Bag fee battle | Environment | West Seattle news

Though it’s not West Seattle-specific, we’re going to keep close tabs on the bag-fee-referendum drive because it’s clear a lot of people are passionate about it – on both sides. So here’s the latest: Jan Gee of Washington Food Industry, the grocer-advocacy organization that’s gathering signatures to cancel the bag fee/foam ban, points out that their website has gone live at StopTheSeattleBagTax.com. Gee also confirms what we had suspected – this was the first place where the petition drive was reported; they didn’t announce it publicly before signature gatherers like the one we met just started fanning out over the weekend. If you come across anyone organizing a “defend the bag fee” effort, let us know; meantime, one of the fee’s main backers is in West Seattle tomorrow night — City Council president Richard Conlin will be a guest at the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, 7 pm at The Hall @ Fauntleroy. (Also on the agenda, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson, who’s in a tough re-election campaign looking ahead to next Tuesday’s statewide primary.)

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If The Junction seems a little quieter than usual …

August 12, 2008 9:42 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle people

Kelly Guenther sends this photo from what he describes as the annual Junction Merchants’ Boat Cruise, apparently docked in Bremerton. We recognize some well-known faces … how ’bout you?

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West Seattle development: Design Review updates

August 12, 2008 6:40 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Development | West Seattle news

Two notes regarding proposed projects that the Southwest Design Review Board will consider in public meetings coming up this month and next: First, a change — The 9/11 date we first mentioned last week for the Admiral Safeway (photo above; the rendering for the new proposal is to be released at a community meeting sometime in the next few weeks) rebuild project has just been moved to 9/25, per the city’s Design Review-Upcoming page; on that night, after the Safeway project at 6:30 pm, it’s the next review for the Harbor Properties project at 38th/Alaska, both meetings at the Southwest Precinct. Meantime, here’s what’s on design reviewers’ agenda this Thursday night:

On Thursday, two major projects are on the Southwest Design Review Board agenda – the newest design for Fauntleroy Place (above, the most recent publicly released rendering) at 8 pm; the 35th/Graham High Point mixed-use project at 6:30 pm, both meetings at High Point Community Center. Chip Marshall from Lowe Enterprises, which is developing the HP project, gave WSB a tiny bit of a sneak peek today regarding the commercial part of the project:

At this point the commercial is only in the very rudimentary planning stages. It will be along 35th and a portion of Graham street with a public plaza space in-between at the junction of the two streets.

Of course we are at the mercy of what end users will want to locate there, but we believe that given its location on a busy street as well as being the gateway to High Point that it should be attractive to a number of potential tenants.

We have had a meeting with High Point residents and they expressed interest in a coffee shop, some form of food related business that could also serve as a community meeting place, a restaurant as well as possible live work spaces, all of which we are open to.

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Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Westside Dermatology

August 12, 2008 5:01 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle online

(Left to right: Westside Dermatology’s Abbey Reyes, Dr. Kelli Arntzen, Amy Nelson PA-C, Stacey Lynema, and Jon Davis)
This afternoon, the traditional WSB sponsor welcome goes out to Westside Dermatology, located in The Junction on 44th SW. When we welcome a sponsor, they get the chance to tell you about themselves, and here’s what Westside Dermatology has to say: “Last September several WSB readers recommended Westside Dermatology’s Dr. Kelli Arntzen in the reader recommendations section for someone suffering from psoriasis. To this day new patients to Westside Dermatology keep mentioning the WSB as how they heard of the clinic. Having lived in West Seattle for over 18 years, Dr. Arntzen appreciates how the blog has provided a sense of community and a source of information to West Seattle. She founded Westside Dermatology in 2004, and has since added Amy Nelson PA-C and James Collyer, MD to the practice. Along with General Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, they provide cosmetic services like Botox, fillers (Restylane and Juvederm), and laser treatments (laser hair removal, IPL photo rejuvenation, laser vein and spot treatment). They also have a full-time aesthetician, Jennifer Hogan, who specializes in helping patients develop a daily skin care regimen with dermatology-grade skin care products like Dermalogica, SkinCeuticals, and Revale. Jennifer also provides medical facials and chemical peels. They recently became one of the very few clinics in Seattle offering the Aluma Skin Renewal System, a radio frequency device that tightens skin and reduces wrinkles in a nearly painless, no downtime procedure. Appointments can be made by calling 206-937-8954. For more information, visit their website at www.Westside-Derm.com.” Thanks to Westside Dermatology for supporting 24/7 West Seattle news, information, and discussion by sponsoring WSB; all our sponsors are listed on the WSB Advertise page, along with information on how you can join them. (Reader Recommendations, by the way, now have a section all their own in the WSB Forums; you can find it here.)

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West Seattle Crime Watch: From the police-report files

August 12, 2008 3:29 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle Crime Watch: From the police-report files

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

We’re still combing through the past week or so of reports filed and approved at the Southwest Precinct – read on for the noteworthy cases we’ve seen so far:Read More

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New teen baseball team coming up to bat in West Seattle

August 12, 2008 12:52 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Introducing – the Puget Sound Stars Baseball Club (13U)! We heard from Brian Chase, who says, “My son just finished with West Seattle Little League and some of us decided to start a Sandy Koufax Select 13U Baseball Team here in West Seattle. We have many WSLL & Bronco kids on the team but have a few spots open for the 2009 season.” If you know a player who might want to go for one of those spots, tryouts are a week from tomorrow, 6-8 pm 8/20 — for more details including location, e-mail Brian by clicking here.

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Honked off by West Seattle train noise? New group wants you

August 12, 2008 10:48 am

| 59 COMMENTS

| Neighborhoods | Pigeon Point | West Seattle news

From Admiral to Pigeon Point, some West Seattle residents say train noise is getting worse, and – as first discussed in this WSB Forums thread – they are ready to figure out how to put some limits on it. Not to stop the trains — as Liz Hardy explains, “Many people are affected by this noise because we have found that the bulk of the train traffic is at night and early morning. While we all understand that this is an industrial area and we do not expect (or want) the train traffic to stop, this is also a residential area and something needs to be done to mitigate the effect that the train noise is having on the surrounding neighborhoods.” As the West Seattle Train Noise Action Committee, they are now working to establish a federal “quiet zone” (explained here) in the area around the Port and Harbor Island. They’re hoping you can come to their first meeting, even though it’s downtown – they’ve booked West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, plus SDOT and Port of Seattle reps too – is Monday, at City Hall downtown for various reasons, and they are hoping for a big turnout – if you are concerned about train noise, be there: 5:30 pm Monday 8/18, Sam Smith Conference Room on the 2nd floor at City Hall (600 4th Ave.; here’s a map).

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Signing up for a hot class? Parks registration starts today

August 12, 2008 10:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle parks

If you’re interested in classes/courses/lessons offered at local parks, community centers, Camp Long Environmental Learning Center, and/or Southwest Pool (after it reopens Nov. 1) — you should know, signups start at noon today. You can do it online (and browse what’s available) here.

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One simple way to help make it safer to walk in Seattle

August 12, 2008 7:06 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | Safety

About 500 green survey forms for the city’s Pedestrian Master Plan are in circulation in West Seattle – but only about 100 have been returned. Now’s the time: If you got one, fill it out and send it in; it won’t cost you a cent, since it’s already addressed and stamped. As West Seattle walking advocate Chas Redmond says, “West Seattle has a lot of issues with sidewalks and connections and no-crosswalk streets so it really behooves residents to fill the questionnaire out and simply drop it in a mailbox – post-paid and addressed already.” If you didn’t get one, you can still help; an online version of the survey is linked from this page.

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