West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
That’s Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor) with Sustainable West Seattle president Bill Reiswig and daughter Linnea at tonight’s SWS Money-Free Shopping Spree holiday party at Camp Long — where handmade/sustainably produced gifts were exchanged as were gift certificates for experiences/services:
Guest speakers included West Seattle Chamber of Commerce executive director Patti Mullen, who reminded everybody that “shopping local” means “shopping sustainably” because the more local businesses survive and thrive, the less we’ll all have to cross the bridge to find … anything!
Also discussed: The “Celebrate Local” pledge (still time for you to take it!) – the deals offered by King County Waste-Free Holidays are part of that campaign. Sustainable West Seattle usually meets the third Monday of each month; you’ll find SWS online at sustainablewestseattle.org.
Westside Symphonette director Toni Reineke let us sneak in to the orchestras’ rehearsal tonight at the West Seattle High School theater as they prepared for tomorrow night’s Holiday Concert. The “Jingle Bell Rock” rendition above — with the combined junior and senior groups — is just one of many holiday singalongs you’ll get to enjoy, so bring your caroling chops (and your Messiah score if you have one, since “Hallelujah Chorus” is on the program too!). The lineup has got a few non-holiday selections as well; conducted by Nse Ekpo, the Junior Orchestra practiced Larry Clark‘s “Engines of Resistance” while we were there, and WSB Junior Member of the Team, Torin, got the whole thing on cinema-verite walking video:
Admission to tomorrow night’s concert — 7 pm at WSHS — is free, but donations are appreciated, as Westside Symphonette is self-supporting. Musicians of all ages are always welcome to join the Westside Symphonette – contact Toni Reineke at tonireineke@comcast.net or 206-243-6955. Meantime, the next week-plus is prime time for holiday concerts, and you’ll find them all listed on the WSB Holidays page (if you know of one that’s NOT there, please forgive us for missing it, and e-mail us to let us know!).
We’re breaking this at our partner site White Center Now: After weeks of mediation, Burien City Manager Mike Martin has announced that Burien, Seattle, and two fire districts have agreed on important points to pave the way for potential annexations of the White Center/North Highline area. Details here as his council briefing (under way right now in Burien) continues – one big part of the deal relating directly to West Seattle is that a King County fire station has been carved out of the original Burien annexation proposal zone, because Seattle said it was important for the continued protection of Arbor Heights.
Back when we visited the Duwamish River Festival in South Park last August (here’s our story), we mentioned an informational booth about upcoming Superfund cleanups on the eastern edge of West Seattle. We put our name on a list of interested parties, in hopes that would keep us in the pipeline for getting information to you. A followup flyer (identical to this) arrived in the mail (the EPA sent versions to 8,000 people in West/South Seattle) recently saying the Environmental Protection Agency is “developing a community involvement plan” for those cleanups – one of which is at the site known as Lockheed West Seattle (tons of official EPA info linked from this page). As a followup, an EPA rep called to invite us to come down and answer some questions (apparently we checked the “wouldn’t mind being interviewed” box on something somewhere) – and we did that this morning. Here’s what we learned – and how you can get involved:Read More
You may have noticed some trouble with Google and its products today – and it doesn’t just affect Google directly, it has the potential to affect much more, as so many sites (ours included) incorporate some Google features – for example, Google has the gold-standard statistics program (Google Analytics), and that code to count visitors is part of every page of our site and millions of others. We have tried taking the Google search box off the sidebar for the short run but that hasn’t helped much. We know it’s not just us – here for example is what the Twitter-verse is saying. Here’s hoping the problem’s solved soon.
Got a “media advisory” from Seattle Public Utilities today, with a reminder that the foam-packaging ban passed by the City Council with the plastic-bag ban is taking effect January 1st (the bag ban is on hold pending a citywide vote next year) – and food-service businesses are invited to a “trade fair” this Wednesday, to meet with “sellers of compostable food-service ware” – if you’re interested, read on:Read More
(West Seattle Cheetahs after a big win: Very back row left to right: Coach MacKenzie and Ali Campagnaro. Back row left to right: Anne Jorgenson, Tatum Dahl, Charli Ann Elliott, Sam Tanzer, Laura Jetland, Julia Nark, Abby Tuthill, Sami MacKenzie, and Annalisa Ursino. Front row left to right: Maddy Winter, Nicole Roed, Kelsey Klapperich, Gabby Rivera, and Danielle Nielsen. Not pictured: Julia Denison
Just before Thanksgiving, we reported on the West Seattle Cheetahs girls’ soccer team heading for the state playoffs (here’s that story). They played in Burlington this past weekend – and we’ve just received an update from John McKenzie that they have now advanced to the state championship game next weekend! Here’s his report:
After winning the District 3 Presidents Cup on Sunday, November 23rd, the Cheetahs traveled to the Skagit River Soccer Complex in Burlington for the state semi-finals in the GU-12 division. The team was well-prepared and rolled through their group play with a 3-game sweep, winning 3-0 in game 1, 3-1 in game 2, and 1-0 in game 3. The sweep gave the Cheetahs the number 1 seed in their group. They went on to win their semi-final match 3-0 and will now play in the state championship game Sunday, December 14, at 9:15 AM at Starfire Soccer Complex in Tukwila.
“It was tough playing 4 games in 2 days, but the well-conditioned girls rose to the challenge. They are a tireless bunch and they all know their roles on the team and none of them have ego or attitude issues,” said Coach MacKenzie. “We could tell the other teams were getting tired and we never let up.”
Congratulations again to the Cheetahs, and good luck in the title game! (Their opponent: The Tracyton Tornadoes from Kitsap County. The game’s open to the public; tickets $5, kids under 11 free, $5 parking at the soccer complex.)
Over the weekend, we introduced the first-ever WSB Coupons, with freebies, discounts, and other special offers from a dozen WSB sponsors — including one of our newest sponsors, Stor-More Self-Storage, whose big sign is hard to miss when you travel on or near Avalon, just south of the Luna Park business district. Stor-More‘s West Seattle facility on Yancy east of Avalon (map) is home to not only a sizable amount of storage, but also mailbox services, all under new resident management. Here’s what Stor-More wants you to know about their West Seattle facility: “Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 from Stor-More Self Storage in West Seattle, where you are welcomed as a Neighbor by singing snowmen this month! You will love the Shop Local Community Table with ads from local businesses. Stor-More offers several different-sized storage units 
for all of your storage needs. Every unit has an individual gate code, and there are on-site Resident Managers, which is the industry standard for quality properties. Mailboxes are available with 24-hour access. The Store, open 7 days a week, is filled with moving and packing supplies, as well as seasonal items including gift ideas. Tenants are delighted this month to find a 99-Cent Stocking-Stuffer Wall! Stor-More is a member of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Stop by and meet the Managers, Brian and Talani (native Washingtonians; photos at left) and the Assistant Manager, TJ. 
Tell them West Seattle Blog sent you! Stor-More Self Storage – 2850 SW Yancy St., Seattle, WA 98126 – (206) 933-8200.” If that address looks familiar – Stor-More has long been the official WSB mailbox provider, and since we visit daily, we can verify that the holiday touches are festive indeed. Thanks to Stor-More Self-Storage for supporting 24/7 West Seattle news, information, and discussion here on WSB; check out their coupon (and 11 others) by going here; and if you’d like to find out how to join the WSB sponsor team – and see the latest lineup – here’s the place to start.
This was sent to us by a parent at one of the schools currently caught up in the Seattle Public Schools closure/changes process, AKA “capacity management” (all WSB coverage archived here; we are working on a mammoth recap of “where it stands/what’s next” since today is a rare meetingless day after 2 weeks of nonstop events and discussions related to all this). It’s written by West Seattle-area teacher Jesse Hagopian: “I’m Changing the School’s Name to Chrysler.” Follow that link to read the whole thing; in part, he writes:
… if “letting GM go is a terrible idea”—as General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Rick Wagoner recently warned Congress in his plea for a bailout of his failing company—then letting our schools fail in the wake of free-falling state budgets would be catastrophic.
There’s a lot more we could say, but you have said it better, in so many comments on our reports during this school-closure round alone. By the way, we wanted to mention again – many have been saying, can’t we all just work together on a plan for West Seattle schools, rather than sniping at each other – and there is a citizens’ group meeting later this week with exactly that goal in mind: 6:30 Thursday at West Seattle Elementary in High Point – read about it here. ADDED 1:54 PM: The transcription of Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson‘s Seattle Times online Q/A from this morning is available online now – she answers several questions regarding the West Seattle schools now being discussed in this process (Arbor Heights, Cooper, Pathfinder) but no new revelations – here’s the transcript.
Another forecast update – The National Weather Service still is calling for possible snow Friday night and Saturday (hey! that’s Christmas Ship night at Seacrest, Lowman, and Alki!) but whether or not that happens, there’s definitely VERY cold air on the way – Sunday highs may barely get to freezing.
Thanks to Marco for sending word, and that picture, of a bus stop closure TFN on northbound 35th just south of Avalon (as the sign says, buses will pick you up 20 feet south of there). Shortly after getting his note, we went to check out the area, and discovered that construction congestion because of Avalon Center is REALLY intense today – a lineup of cement mixers in the center lane on Avalon stretching eastward from 35th, eastbound lane on Avalon and northbound lane on 35th blocked off at the corner, good idea to avoid that area if you can:
Avalon Center is a mixed-use building (ground-floor retail, about 60 apartments, per city permits) that’s been under construction for almost a year at the southeast corner of 35th/Avalon (here’s our update from 11 months ago). Here’s the architect’s project page showing drawings of what it’s supposed to look like.
We’ve been telling you about West Seattle businesses with holiday food drives and giving trees (and if you’ve got one that’s not on our Holidays page, please e-mail to let us know!) – today, there’s an added freebie for donations in one drive: Cupcake Royale is marking the company’s fifth birthday, and if you bring a nonperishable food item there today, you get a free cupcake. (That offer is TODAY ONLY, though the food drive at CR, benefiting West Seattle Food Bank, continues till just before Christmas.)
Gas prices continue to drop — the national average is its lowest in five years, according to weekend reports — but they’re falling more slowly; two West Seattle stations actually have the same prices as they did during our last survey a week ago. As for everybody else, varying drops. In the list you’ll see ahead, the first number is regular, as posted on the stations’ streetfront signs; second number is premium (where posted)Read More
Thanks to Huzefa Mogri for sharing that overview of the scene inside West Seattle Christian Church‘s (WSB sponsor) new multiuse facility, opened unofficially for a dessert-theater performance Sunday night, with Taproot Theatre staging “It’s a Wonderful Improv Life” – zaniness ensued, as this photo suggests:
More on the new facility soon; Taproot, by the way, performs the same show at its Greenwood theater the next two Friday nights – info’s on their website.
| 3 COMMENTS