Washington State Ferries says it’s making some changes in a month regarding how fares are collected, including: No more checks. Read on for details of the WSF announcement:Read More
It might seem “no duh” to some but since this scammer targeted particularly vulnerable people, the elderly, it’s important to get the word out any way possible: The folks at Merrill Gardens on 35th gave us a flyer about a scam alert they’re distributing to residents, and asked if we would share it with you too – read on:Read More
Thanks to Chas Redmond for sharing the view (from Gatewood) of the Port of Tacoma‘s 4 new cranes, heading southbound on Puget Sound past West Seattle a few hours ago. You can read about the cranes at the port website.
(West Seattle Pharmaca Team: Jessica, Dava, Angela, Matthew, Joanna, Meranda, Brian) Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy — which took over the old Morton‘s spot in The Junction last spring — has been on the WSB sponsor team since early in the month but we just got the staff together for a photo so we could introduce them to you along with sharing information they’d like you to have regarding what they’re all about: Pharmacabecame the first integrative pharmacy in the U.S. back in 2000. This model brings a full-service pharmacy and complementary treatment options together under one roof so customers can enjoy the best of both worlds. Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy is changing the way people think about their health by offering traditional pharmacy services and alternative remedies under one roof. Stores feature the best in natural products, certified staff members, safe cosmetics, fair-trade gifts and more. Band-Aids never kept such good company! Integrative medicine is now embraced by 75% of medical schools, including such prestigious names as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Yale, and the Mayo Clinic. From acupuncture to aromatherapy, these institutions are exploring methods of treatment beyond standard western medicine. Pharmaca customers get a choice when it comes to their health care. For example, they offer several ways to stay healthy during the flu season:
*Flu shots can be scheduled for those who want to receive immunization
*Preventive supplements like Echinacea come with free advice from our expert staff
*Prescription medications are available if your doctor recommends treatment
Expect total care when you come to Pharmaca. Your body—not to mention your mind and spirit—will thank you for it. Pharmaca is in West Seattle at 4707 California Avenue SW (map; at the Alaska Junction, next to the Farmers’ Market lot; formerly Morton’s Pharmacy), 206.932.4225. Hours are Monday–Friday 9 am-7 pm, Saturday 9 am-6 pm, Sunday 10 am-6 pm. (Online, you can find a list of the special in-store events they have coming up.) We welcome Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy to the WSB sponsor lineup, listed here along with info on how to join the team.
ORIGINAL 11:42 AM REPORT: If you’ve noticed police and yellow tape in the 1900 block of Harbor SW (map), here’s what’s happening: A body was found in the water. We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit and that’s all they can tell us right now – firefighters briefly answered a medic-response call to the area just before 11 am but it was clear they weren’t needed as the person (no description) was “DOA,” Jamieson says, adding that police are “actively investigating.” 12:42 PM UPDATE: To give you an idea of where this is, we added the photo above – it’s the industrial area between Salty’s and Jack Block Park. 1:16 PM UPDATE: Just checked with Officer Renee Witt at SPD, who tells us there was ID on the body indicating it’s that of a 38-year-old Seattle man. Too soon to tell how he died – that information will come from the County Medical Examiner. Officer Witt says the man’s body actually was found half in the water, half out, under a pier in the area, about 100 yards south of Salty’s. The first report came from a cell phone, apparently from someone walking in the area, she says. TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The daily update from the ME’s office confirms this was a case of suicide, cause of death listed as drowning. WSB policy is to not publish names (although in some of our past reports, family/friends have chose to disclose ID in comments) but public records for the name on the ME list suggests he lived in West Seattle.
Thanks to Chris for the tip about that BIG broken window (tarped over in the second photo) at the ex-Huling/Gee sites on the south side of SW Alaska, east of Fauntleroy Way. Police were leaving as we got there, so we’re checking with the precinct about whether this involved a break-in or “just” a break, and will add that info when we get it. (Not only was the crew from Ladder 11 helping clean up and secure the scene, two of them subsequently spotted us in a mortifying bit of car trouble across the street minutes later – got stuck on an unnoticed curb while trying to make a fast getaway — and saved us with a push. Thanks, guys!)
Just out of the inbox: “SDOT plans to close the lefthand, eastbound lane tomorrow (Tuesday January 27) from 12:00 noon to 2 p.m. During this closure a broken water line to a fire hydrant will be inspected.” A couple more bridge notes from Seattle City Light, by the way – they are still working on the street lights and SCL’s Mike Eagan tells WSB the ones on the Spokane Street Viaduct stretch (east of 99) should be done “within a week or two,” while burned-out Alaskan Way Viaduct lights will be fixed “during the next scheduled closure.”
The Times writes this morning about that wind-power invention by West SeattleiteChad Maglaque; he entered it in Google’s Project 10 to the 100th, which will publish word tomorrow of the 100 finalists (from among 100,000+ entries) who made it to a public vote. 1:55 PM UPDATE: Thanks for the tip from Todd – Google has just announced it’s delaying the announcement of the 100 finalists till March; read the announcement here.
(WSB photo from August 2008)
Five months ago, we brought you first word of a proposal to create ARK Park on land owned by Arbor Heights Community Church. This morning, we have word of the first fundraiser for the project, which organizers told us last summer would be built entirely with church/community contributions. Co-organizer Loretta Kimball tells WSB her son Chad Kimball is headlining on the fundraiser – an evening of Broadway music, 7 pm February 9th at Roosevelt High School, including some of his castmates from “Memphis” (which opens this week at the 5th Avenue Theater). $15/person gets you the benefit concert plus a reception afterward. Here’s the official flyer, on the playground project’s website. Now, to North Admiral:
Meantime, in North Admiral, the first of three design workshops for California Place Park is now a week away. When it was announced recently that the workshops would be held at Alki Community Center, some voiced concern about the distance; now, there’s word from the community group spearheading the project that they’ll coordinate rides to the workshops so no one is stuck without a way to get there:
Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral (FANNA) will be coordinating rides for neighbors to each of the community design workshops for California Place Park. We will match people up who have extra room with those who need a ride. For those who plan to attend the meeting and have an extra seat or for those in need of ride to the workshops, please e-mail info@californiaplacepark.org or call Kellee Jones at 206-684-7052. Requests for rides must be received by end of day Sunday, February 1st.
The three design workshops will allow the community to explore various ideas and design options for California Place. Karen Kiest, Landscape Architects, will lead these meetings. We are looking for ways to increase community use of the park by people of all ages, and create a naturalized and safe area for the neighborhood to enjoy now and for generations to come. As an option, a supervised area for childcare will be provided during each meeting. Please bring your ideas, your neighbors and your community spirit!
Meeting Location and Dates:
Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
Tuesday, 2/3, 7 – 8:30 PM
Saturday, 3/7, 10:30 – 12 Noon
Thursday, 4/16, 7 – 8:30 PM
For more information about the improvements proposed at California Place please visit our website: www.californiaplacepark.org
On West Seattle’s Puget Ridge, South Seattle Community College‘s own celebrated wines were at centerstage, along with offerings from other famous Washington wineries, during the fundraising food-and-wine gala “Gifts From the Earth” on Saturday night. We dropped by to survey the scene at SSCC’s Brockey Center in the early going — including the team ready to show off the college’s famed culinary program too:
For all who attended, beautifully laid-out tables awaited:
“Gifts from the Earth” is an annual fundraiser for the SSCC Foundation. Meantime — earlier tonight, we mentioned West 5‘s first-ever movie screening. Before the lights went down, we stopped in (good-sized crowd!) to ask moviemaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin about the venue where “Gearhead” screened tonight:
He’s working to get “Gearhead” distributed and is also in postproduction on “Double Down Live” (working title).
You’ll see more kids/teens out and about tomorrow, because it’s the second consecutive Monday off for local public-school students — the so-called “day between semesters.”
Toni Reineke from West Seattle’s community orchestra, Westside Symphonette, tells WSB the last call for recruitment was a success — with new brass players joining (thanks!) — so she’s looking for players in three more areas of specialty: Bassoon, oboe, harp. Interested? Next rehearsal is Tuesday at Chief Sealth/Boren (map); call Toni at 206-243-6955 or e-mail tonireineke@comcast.net to find out more.
One more reminder: 8 pm tonight, you’re invited to the first-ever movie screening at West 5 in The Junction — an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin (who lives in West Seattle when not in L.A.): “Gearhead: 4 Days on the Road with Billy F. Gibbons” (of ZZ Top fame). Find out more about the film at its MySpace site.
We launched this in the WSB Forums last week (here’s the official announcement) and want to make sure everybody gets a chance to make suggestions, so we’re posting it here on the main page too. Big happy crowds enjoyed Movies on the Wall in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard last summer (here’s the report on the one we sponsored), after the movies were chosen from a list that included suggestions from WSBers – and this year, we’re proud to be one of the sponsors for a new Winter Movies on the Wall series, with dates set for three Saturday nights in March — March 4, 11, 18 — at the new West Seattle Christian Church activity center (opening soon). So what movies would YOU like to see on those three nights in March? Please post a comment here and/or at the series’ official site. Deadline for suggestions is end of this month; you can see some of the suggestions already made here.
Taken a short time ago just after hundreds of anti-school-closure marchers left TT Minor, with full police escort (since they’re marching in the street), headed for Garfield. (We have video in the other direction, to add a bit later [5:28 pm, here it is])
There’s a Cooper contingent in the crowd too – we spotted at least one “Save Cooper” sign. ADDED 3:01 PM: The marchers have just arrived at Garfield – here’s the sign-bearing Cooper reps including Jonah Von Spreecken and Brittany Abbott, who has twin sons at the school:
(added 4:33 pm – closer look at the Cooper reps in this video clip – note the fast-n-furious snow)
(added 11:59 pm – Brittany shared this photo of her sons at the pre-march rally)
(back to 3:01 pm update) And on the right side of this next photo, with the pink sign, is West Seattle-based district watchdog Chris Jackins, who has repeatedly asked the school board to cancel all closure plans:
All the while, snow continued to fall – there’s a little bit sticking on the ground here in the Central District. We’re heading back to HQ to add video. The marchers’ chants included, “School closures/No thanks/Bail out schools/Not the banks.” They’ll be rallying inside the Garfield Community Center for the next few hours. Ongoing coverage at CentralDistrictNews.com. ADDED 8:42 PM: Thanks to Scott at CDNews for sharing his video of Cooper parent/employee Shelly Williams‘s emotional speech at the rally that preceded the march:
While covering the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s meeting earlier this month, we heard that installation had just been finished for the bus-shelter art created by community members during the last Fauntleroy Fall Festival (FFF coverage here). Today we received a photo from Jason Sutherland (thank you!), who says, “Anybody who participated should take a walk to see if their work is nearby. We lucked out in that a few of the ones we painted were at the shelter closest to our house.” (If you don’t recognize it on sight, that’s the shelter across the street from the ferry terminal.)
Sunday morning means time for the Ripe ‘n’ Ready “fresh sheet” as the West Seattle Farmers’ Market continues on year-round – this week’s list of what’s new (and not-so-new) includes “the return of fresh mushrooms.” Find the West Seattle Farmers’ Market at 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm.
In the middle of a rare sunny winter afternoon, a dozen people came to Delridge Library today for one last pre-closure-vote round of Q/A with West Seattle’s school board member Steve Sundquist. And while the phrase in the headline – “This is tough” — came from him, it could have come from anyone in the room, or from any of the thousands of people at the schools around the city that have been mentioned at one point or another in the closure proceedings that started last fall. The timetable has been tough too – with the “preliminary recommendations” announced just before Thanksgiving, hearings and meetings peppered throughout the holiday season, then the “final recommendations” coming out right after school resumed post-winter break. Now, the vote is less than a week away, and no more formal hearings or meetings remain before that vote, so gatherings like this one are the last opportunities for a glimpse into which way board members might go:Read More
A post in the WSB Forums asked what TV-news trucks were doing outside Salty’s tonight; as listed on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup and Events calendar, friends and family of Amanda Knox – the former Arbor Heights resident now on trial in Italy in a much-discussed murder case – were holding another fundraiser for her defense costs. The report above, from our ex-employer at Channel 13, is the first one we’ve found online. (Another fundraiser was held in November at Holy Rosary.) ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: KING’s clip isn’t embeddable but here’s a direct link.
(video added 11:09 pm)
Flakes are falling. The forecast called for flurries, as mentioned earlier, so it’s not SUPPOSED to amount to much … 11:13 PM UPDATE: Uh-oh, famous forecaster Cliff Mass has published an update on his website suggesting it MIGHT be a bit more. 1:10 AM UPDATE: Seems a little more serious than flurries out there. Car tops are white. Hmm.
these days. Just posted last night – an update on 
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