day : 05/10/2008 10 results

West Seattle Hi-Yu: ’08 float finale – ’09 help needed now

October 5, 2008 10:01 pm

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| How to help | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

That’s the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival‘s 2008 float making its last parade appearance of the year, this weekend in Issaquah. The float’s had its ups and downs this year, and we asked Hi-Yu president Tim Winston to let us know when it was time to ask for your help — now’s the time, as he writes in this update about the 2008 float’s finale:

We had a successful day at Issaquah Salmon Days yesterday. The float ran great, thanks to Tim Szender of Quality Auto Electric in Des Moines and Al Glencross of the West Seattle Eagles. Tim replaced the entire ignition system of our 1967 Roadmaster with an electronic system. Al funded the repair.

The day started when we left the old Huling Garage (thank you, Harbor Properties) @ 4:30 am so the float could be ready for judging in Issaquah by 7:30. There was moderate rain for set up and staging; however, it stopped for the 10 am parade. Unfortunately, we had to trailer and cover the float in a steady, drenching rain:

This completes the 2008 parade season, so what’s next? The engine repairs will make it possible to keep the float running for the next 2 years while we raise funds and build a new float platform. With a few repairs to the frame and an upgrade to the sound system, it will be ready for 2009.

However, next year’s parade season depends on obtaining a covered car trailer for the float. Our existing flatbed trailer has become too demanding and dangerous for the volunteers. We are consistently the last crew to leave a parade. Getting the float on the trailer requires a carefully followed procedure for bracing the trailer, driving the float up steep ramps, and securing it. Then the unwieldy tarp must be pulled over the float and secured for freeway-speed winds. This whole process takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours a on sunny day. At midnight and/or in the rain, it can take substantially longer. Our peers with covered vehicle trailers, drive in the float, secure it with a built-in system, shut the door & leave. Unless we happen to have volunteers with trucking or equipment hauling experience, people have to be trained each year. The unpleasant hours that volunteers spend at this reduces the hours that we have available for coordinating community events.

Additionally, when Harbor Properties begins construction on the site where we are currently storing the float, which they have graciously provided for us, we will once again need a storage location. A covered trailer will provide many more storage options in, or close to, West Seattle.

We are planning to buy a new trailer similar to the one that the Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Festival purchased this year. Photo shows the trailer at the Seafair Torchlight Parade:

This 30’ extra-height vehicle trailer will cost about $12,000 and should last at least 20 years. We believe that is an obtainable goal this Fall and Winter, in addition to the annual memberships that we depend on for the festival’s annual scholarships and events.

We are offering both perpetual and annual logo placement on the sides and back of the trailer:

This is very good exposure, since the float travels to about 10 parades throughout the area. Depending on where the trailer is stored, there may be year-around exposure. Anyone who would like information about sponsorship should e-mail me at info@hiyu.com

Thanks,
Tim Winston
President
West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival

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Election countdown: West Seattle happenings this week

October 5, 2008 8:50 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

WEST SEATTLE OBAMA FUNDRAISER: Graham Ford sends word of West Seattleites organizing an evening of “food, comedy and fundraising” for the Democratic presidential campaign, 6-8 pm tomorrow at Talarico’s in The Junction. Talarico’s is donating the pizza; the comedy is by Joe Vespaziani (video). Here’s the flyer with full details.

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Wednesday night, it’s the final pre-election monthly meeting of West Seattle’s biggest political group – 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy. The 34th District Democrats, by the way, have just joined WSB as a sponsor – note the “paid political ad” space on the sidebar – to provide a continuous link to the sample ballot they have created listing their endorsements for the November election. Their WSB ad links directly to that printable sample ballot, or you can see it here.

ATTENTION, WEST SEATTLE REPUBLICANS: We’ve said it before, if you’ve got an event or meeting coming up, let us know and we’d be happy to publish that news too; editor@westseattleblog.com. (Here’s the 34th District GOP webpage.)

REMINDER – WSB HAS AN ELECTION-INFO PAGE: Debate schedules, links to information on the hot races and topics, automatically updated digests of political news and blogs — find it all here.

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Another “Blessing of the Animals,” with a community-festival twist

October 5, 2008 7:31 pm

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| Pets | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion | West Seattle video

Brother Nicholas Kis from the Order of St. Francis in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia blessed dozens of West Seattleites’ pets this afternoon in the West Seattle High School parking lot, at a “Blessing of the Animals“ presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Mostly dogs, just a few cats, one of whom received the first blessing; later, we discovered it had a special meaning:

(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)

When we caught up with Pesky the cat a few minutes later, Pesky’s owner told us that blessing was really like “last rites” — later today, she was taking 14-year-old Pesky to the vet to be euthanized, after a long and painful battle with incurable renal disease. She read about today’s event on WSB and thought it would be an appropriate place to bring Pesky first. Just ahead, more video and photos:Read More

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West Seattle weekend scenes: CROP Walk; price cut; rare arc

October 5, 2008 4:10 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Gas prices | How to help | West Seattle weather | Westwood

Last year, we caught up with the Seattle CROP Walk-ers as they strolled around Alki Point on a gray afternoon; for the ’08 Seattle CROP Walk today, the weather’s the same, but we found them heading east along Alki Beach instead, including the group shown above. The 3-mile walk raised money to fight hunger, with beneficiaries including the West Seattle Food Bank, the White Center Food Bank, and Northwest Harvest. Meantime, this may be a sign you could have a few more pennies in your pocket soon:

That’s the first sighting of $3.40-something gas in West Seattle this fall, found at Gasco (35th/Henderson). We believe it’s the lowest posted West Seattle gas price as of this moment, since the usual lowest-price spot, Arco, was at $3.53 when we drove by a bit earlier. Last but not least in this trio of WS Weekend Scenes, we wanted to share this photo by Steve Heck – click it to open a full-size version:

Steve’s wife Michelle Heck sent the photo with the explanation that it’s a “circumhorizontal arc,” photographed over Alki, looking southwest, Saturday morning.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car break-in, with dental loot

October 5, 2008 1:41 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Jane:

I’m writing to report another car break-in, on the night of Friday, October 3rd, to my Honda Civic. The car was parked in front of the house. The location was 42nd Avenue SW between Brandon and Findlay. I reported the break in to the police.

The items stolen from the car were my teenage son’s backpack, which he left on the back seat, and his orthodontic retainers, stored in the front car compartment. The backpack is black with grey trim and contains papers and books belonging to a West Seattle High School student named Ben. The retainers are clear. If anyone notices these items dumped in their alley or yard, please contact me at lewis_ja@msn.com.

I thought this story could serve as another reminder of the importance of emptying our vehicles of valuable items – especially to teenagers who don’t always get why their parents tell them to leave nothing visible in the car.

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Need your car washed? WSHS Swim Team can help

October 5, 2008 1:27 pm

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| How to help

We got late word that the West Seattle High School Swim Team’s having a fundraising car wash right now – till 4 this afternoon – if you drive toward the school on California, you’ll see signs like the one in our quick pic above. Sure, it’s cloudy, but you have to get the car washed SOMETIME …

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The drill before the storm: They’ll be there when all else fails

October 5, 2008 11:21 am

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| Puget Ridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

Inside Olympic Hall Room 101 at the south end of South Seattle Community College on Puget Ridge, those ham-radio operators and others spent several hours Saturday morning making sure they’re ready for something they hope to never have to do: Relaying emergency help needs, status information, and more to the city Emergency Operations Center when all other means of communication are out of commission. Coincidentally, the test, which was meant to simulate “a major catastrophic winter wind storm,” happened just a few hours before the first hint of fall wind blew through the area. Involved were two trained ham-radio communications teams, all volunteers, from the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) that serves the city’s Office of Emergency Management, and the Seattle Sub-Group of the Western Washington Medical Services Team. From outside Olympic Hall, these portable antennas hinted at what was going on inside:

The radio operators can use antennas like those to transmit directly or to relay the signal via one of four “repeaters” around the area, one of which is in West Seattle. Meantime, some of the gear inside was marked with the scenario for which it was being used; the storm simulation focused on communicating with Seattle Public Utilities regarding two areas of (hypothetical) trouble, the Madison Valley area where flooding killed a woman in the December 2006 pre-windstorm deluge, and the Perkins Lane area of Magnolia, a waterfront strip beset by mudslides over the years:

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that computers are part of the scenario these days too – one team was using battery-powered laptops to feed digital messages into radio equipment (sort of like wireless Internet), and Mark Sheppard from the city was at a computer-equipped command post overseeing the test, explaining where these volunteers would be dispatched to if disaster actually struck:

Spokesperson Dave Mann tells WSB that Seattle ACS members do drills like this about four times a year, to make sure they’re ready … just in case. More than 100 communicators belong to the Seattle ACS but there’s definitely room for more — considering they might have to assist the entire city in a time of trouble; find out more about them at their website (which also details exactly how many people are involved right now and what they’re ready to do) at seattleacs.com.

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Looking ahead to Halloween: Skeleton Theatre

October 5, 2008 10:30 am

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| Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

That’s one of our clips from the 2007 edition of Skeleton Theatre, the intricately staged animatronic Halloween show in a West Seattle yard, mobbed last year – just checked back on their Web site to see what’s in store this year, and it seems they’re plotting “a bigger concept … the 7 animatronic creatures this year (including a parrot) will be on two large pirate ships.” They’re planning shows 6-9 pm Halloween night and the night after.

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West Seattle businesses: How will Viaduct possibilities affect you?

October 5, 2008 8:01 am

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| Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle businesses

Tomorrow’s the deadline for an online survey the state is conducting, asking businesses for their thoughts on how various scenarios for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s Central Waterfront section — with a final decision due by year’s end — might affect their operations. If you’re a business owner, the survey starts here – once you’ve given a bit of info about your business, you provide an e-mail address to which the actual questionnaire link is to be sent.

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Happening today: Farmers’ Market, animal blessing #2, more …

October 5, 2008 6:03 am

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| Fun stuff to do | How to help | Pets | West Seattle Farmers' Market

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Sunday morning means the weekly link to the Ripe ‘n’ Ready fresh sheet listing some of what you can expect to find at WSFM, 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska. Here’s the link.

ANIMAL BLESSING #2: First one happened Saturday at The Mount; today, a big outdoor event at the West Seattle High School parking lot, starting at noon, presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, and featuring the Humane Society MaxMobile with adoptable pets.

MORE: Here’s the direct link to our West Seattle Weekend Lineup Sunday list – with info on today’s other highlights (including Holy Rosary’s annual Alumni Sunday, the Seattle CROP Walk, Ciderpress in Delridge, and a Music Northwest concert).

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