month : 03/2009 366 results

These photos and mini-report were sent by a WSB’er who wants to be anonymous (but isn’t a salesperson, we verified – just wanted to share the news about this acquisition):

West Seattle resident Floy C. recently leaped into the future with the purchase of a Miles Electric Vehicle, becoming at age 80 an early adopter of the new wave of road-legal electric cars. Her new Miles, courtesy of MC Electric Vehicles (on Dearborn, down by Goodwill) has a range of 40 miles, a top speed of 35 mph, and plenty of cargo space – as demonstrated by her adventures transporting groceries, lumber for a new stairwell, and various household supplies.

The car is pure electric, not a hybrid, so burns no fuel – instead of fueling off a gas pump, it fuels off a standard power outlet – with a “full tank” costing about two dollars – a REALLY green car perfect for local errands and commuting, or for anyone who doesn’t need freeway speeds.

List price is about $19K, according to this page on the Miles website. Here’s what Floy’s new car looks like inside:

Share This

Yet another banner day, this time for West Seattle Junction parking

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

More of the West Seattle Junction Association‘s new banners went up today – including banners marking the 4 “free parking” lots that WSJA members pay regular fees to maintain, so customers can park free. (As shown above, these banners are replacing old, well-worn ones.) After our report the other day about other new banners going up around The Junction, some commenters wondered aloud about the new tag line “The Junction: Downtown West Seattle.” It’s been phased in since its first introduction during the promotion for Hometown Holidays before Christmas, but Susan Melrose of the Junction Association elaborates, “It’s part of a rebranding initiative, underscoring the general enlivening and sprucing up of The Junction, but the tagline also touches on the history of The Junction as the natural center of, and gathering place for, West Seattle.” Three of the parking-lot banners were scheduled to go up today. (The lots are privately owned and therefore are not part of the city-led study that is under way to determine whether restrictions, signage, or even pay stations are in order for the city parking around The Junction; for more on that parking study, check out our coverage archives.)

Share This

West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Earth Hour, and the other 53 hours

March 27, 2009 5:43 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Earth Hour, and the other 53 hours

| Fun stuff to do | WS culture/arts | WS Weekend Lineup

54 hours remain in the weekend as we publish this – Earth Hour is one of them, Saturday night at 8:30 – after Saturday events including the Delridge Produce Cooperative community potluck celebration, a free SOMA Bodywork demonstration by WSB sponsor Amanda Coleman, the groundbreaking for ARK Park in Arbor Heights, and tonight’s full of fun too – including “The Underpants” (WSB sponsor) and world music/dance at Kenyon Hall — all among 40-plus events in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More

Share This

Spanning the generations: Big award for The Mount

March 27, 2009 4:32 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

That’s a snapshot from the Intergenerational Learning Center at Providence Mount St. Vincent in the Fairmount neighborhood of West Seattle – a one-of-a-kind early-learning program, which, according to an announcement just forwarded by Arlene Carter from The Mount, has just won a major award – read on for the details:Read More

Share This

School-money crisis: Budget ax falling at individual schools

March 27, 2009 2:51 pm

| 20 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Principals in Seattle Public Schools have to turn in their budgets today for next school year. And it’s not likely that any of them will provide a rosy picture, since the district is dealing with an eight-digit shortfall. Just one example: Chief Sealth High School principal John Boyd called a meeting this week to let Sealth families know what was ahead for their school, since his budget falls $634,000 short of what is needed, as he put it in a conversation with us this afternoon, “to fully staff the building the way it’s staffed now.” We are working to find out what’s happening at other West Seattle public schools, but for starters, read on to see what else we heard from Boyd – and the PTSA’s separate call for a show of statewide concern:Read More

Share This

New WSB sponsor: Twelfth Night presents “The Underpants”

March 27, 2009 2:14 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Fun stuff to do | WS culture/arts

Maybe you could use a little comic relief after this week (or after any week, really). Toward that end, we welcome a new sponsor, Twelfth Night Productions‘ latest play, “The Underpants,” opening tonight at Youngstown Arts Center. Here’s the official news release announcing the show:

Never underestimate the power of a glimpse of lingerie. Twelfth Night Productions (TNP) is proud to announce its next offering, “The Underpants.”

Adapted by Steve Martin from Carl Sternheim‘s 1910 comedy Die Hose,” this hilarious comedy dives into issues of sex, feminism and politics. The story begins when young housewife Louise has a mishap with her underpants – they fall to her ankles, resting there for a few moments in public. The sight of her underpants unearths passion in those who witnessed it and concern from her boring, government-employed husband. “The Underpants” is a witty and hilarious look at marriage, gender roles, celebrity and class. This production is for mature audiences only.

TNP is a non-profit performing arts organization located at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. This production features several artists from the West Seattle community as well as the greater Seattle area.

“The Underpants” runs in a special limited engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, the former historic Cooper School, in West Seattle. Show times are: March 27th and 28th, April 3rd and 4th at 7:30PM, with matinees at 3 PM on March 29th and April 5th. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com), and at the Youngstown Theater on performance days. “The Underpants” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

Twelfth Night Productions (www.twelfthnightproductions.org) is a non-profit arts organization and anchor tenant at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (www.youngstownarts.org). Established by educators in West Seattle over twenty years ago, Twelfth Night has been active in charitable and neighborhood improvement projects such as The Compass Center and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. The organization has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities, and offers theater training and mentorship to all members of the community, free of charge. Recent productions have included Once Upon a Mattress, True West, Fiddler on the Roof, The Dining Room, The Foreigner, Oklahoma!, DeathTrap, Crazy for You, and Bullshot Crummond.

Thanks to Twelfth Night Productions’ “The Underpants” for sponsoring local news, information, and discussion here on WSB; our current sponsor team is listed here.

Share This

Happening now: Alki Homestead post-fire cleanup, repairs

March 27, 2009 11:28 am

| 23 COMMENTS

| Alki Homestead | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Meet Marcus, Josiah, and Taylor Tunison, brothers who went to high school at West Seattle’s own Seattle Lutheran, volunteering their time right now to help clean up the historic Alki Homestead‘s fire-ravaged interior. In a WSB comment thread earlier this week about concern for the Homestead’s future, 2 months after the fire, owner Tom Lin said this:

I found a contractor who can come on Friday to build a temporary roof. If anyone is really interested in helping out, be at Homestead 9 am on Friday. He will start the work at that time.

This morning, four people did that – three of them, the young brothers you see above. A professional work crew is also there:

That worker subsequently invited us inside to see what’s happening – the cords in this photo, next to the huge stone fireplace, lead up through an opening in the roof, which workers are trying to get covered:

The most striking image of the morning remains that of the three young brothers who just showed up to help:

Lin wondered – where is everyone else? He says that contrary to perception, the insurance company he’s working with has been “great” – and finally just this week gave him a green light to do some cleanup, even though the insurance company itself technically now owns the “contents,” including fire-damaged items that the young volunteers are helping bring out. We will check back later in the day to see how this is going; Lin had to leave the site for a while for an appointment at the restaurant he says he is taking over so that his Homestead employees will have work — “Ten people are going to get a job from that,” he called out to us, as he walked to his car. (He is not yet publicly naming the restaurant.) If you want to help with the cleanup happening right now, the Homestead is on 61st just south of Alki Ave (map).

Share This

Viaduct inspection results: “Small amount of settlement”

March 27, 2009 10:39 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

… but WSDOT says the Alaskan Way Viaduct remains safe. Here’s the full news release just sent out about the results of last weekend’s inspections:Read More

Share This

John’s Corner Deli robbery update: The latest from police

March 27, 2009 9:33 am

| 15 COMMENTS

| Crime | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news

The first question on everyone’s mind this morning was obviously – has anyone been caught yet, in connection with the robbery last night at John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster (original WSB coverage here)? We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit. The answer: No, no one in custody. Beyond that, two things: First, the media unit has just filed its summary of the situation on SPDBlotter, moments ago (see it here)- it mentions three details we didn’t have before: First, police say the robbers grabbed the entire cash register; second, they apparently got away in a vehicle, from a spot half a block away where the track followed by K-9 officers came to an end; third, the robbers were believed to be in their 30s. As for how the clerk is doing, we know he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, but information on his condition is not publicly available right now. Police are not saying whether the store got the incident on surveillance video but promise that if there are images to release to help in the search, we will get them so that they can be publicized. 10:14 AM UPDATE: We just went to the store to see if we could find out how the victim is doing. The shop is open again for business; the woman we spoke with didn’t want to say much more than, “My brother … is fine” and that they will be “OK.”

Share This

West Seattle school note: Last day before spring break, for many

March 27, 2009 7:02 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle schools

Quick reminder – today’s the last day before the week-long spring break for Seattle Public Schools, some West Seattle private schools, and Highline Public Schools (Vashon schools aren’t out until week AFTER next). Many local community centers offer special break-week activities; check the brochure here.

Share This

Update: John’s Corner Deli robbed, clerk hurt, robbers on loose

March 26, 2009 10:03 pm

| 140 COMMENTS

| Crime | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

ORIGINAL 10:03 PM REPORT: The city’s 9-1-1 logs show a police and fire callout to the 7500 block of 35th to investigate an assault with weapons call. Text messages we’ve received say the search is working its way down Myrtle and some of the other side streets off that block of 35th. A helicopter is in the air over that area. Details will follow as we get them.

10:34 PM UPDATE: Police are still combing the area for two robbers who grabbed the cash till at John’s Corner Deli at 7500 35th SW. Police say two males wearing ski masks entered the store, one carrying a knife and the other carrying a firearm. A struggle ensued; a worker at the store received injuries which have not yet been disclosed.

Here’s a shot of what the floor inside looked like as seen from across the street.

1:29 AM UPDATE: The most recent update from police says the robbers are still on the loose and that the clerk suffered “facial injuries.” The descriptions of the robbers aren’t very detailed, but here’s exactly what police said in that update: One Hispanic male with a face mask and a shotgun; one “unknown race” male, mask, with a knife. If you have ANY information, call 911.

Share This

Door-to-door alerts: 2 solicitor reports

March 26, 2009 7:11 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Door-to-door alert

For those who track door-to-door sightings – both e-mailers say they have no proof these aren’t legitimate, but they wanted to share word of the sightings – read on if you’re interested:Read More

Share This

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 items from SPDBlotter

March 26, 2009 5:51 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just in case you haven’t already seen these items on the WSB Crime Watch page, which instantly picks up whatever Seattle Police publish to their SPDBlotter site: First, early this morning at a Roxhill-area home (the address is not mentioned), police went to a house whose resident reported the second break-in in two weeks; the alleged burglar was found in another house nearby, and police say they found “property” from both burglaries. Full SPDBlotter writeup here.

Then, late this morning, police went to a house in the 3800 block of 19th SW (map) to check out a report of people in what was supposed to be a vacant building; while talking to people they found inside, according to the police report, they were “charged” by a pit bull. One officer shot and wounded the dog. Full SPDBlotter writeup on that one here. (We also have received a note from a nearby resident who says police activity continued at the house through the afternoon.)

Share This

Accident at 32nd and Henderson

March 26, 2009 3:19 pm

| 21 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

Fire crews and paramedics responded to a call at 32nd SW and Henderson just after 2:30 this afternoon. Witnesses at the scene said the silver car was traveling down 32nd when it struck the black SUV in the intersection. Paramedics transported the drivers for treatment of minor injuries.

Share This

West Seattle scene: New banners up in The Junction

March 26, 2009 2:20 pm

| 22 COMMENTS

| Seen around town | West Seattle news

Followup to our recent report that new banners had been designed to replace the undeniably worn ones hanging around The Junction – the new ones are now up along 42nd and 44th (the latter is where we took the photo above).

Share This

New online traffic/traveling info-map from the city

March 26, 2009 1:40 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle online

SDOT just announced a new web feature with color-coded traffic info, live-camera links, and transit info all in one place: seattle.gov/travelers. Read on for the full announcement:Read More

Share This

Police aren’t the only ones with canine assistance: Meet Henny

March 26, 2009 12:20 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Special guests today at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in West Seattle — Fire Captain Steve Baer and fire dog Henny, a four-year-old Lab. Capt. Baer says that Henny is one of only two arson-investigation dogs in our entire state; she started her “career” as a seeing-eye dog, but was “too distracted” so she moved on to fire-dog training; she lives with the Baer family. OLG preschool and kindergarten students got to pet her after Capt. Baer’s presentation about their work. (For a little more info, here’s an announcement from when Henny joined the Seattle Fire Department three years ago.)

Share This

From land-use land: Harbor Ave, Delridge projects approved

March 26, 2009 11:04 am

| Comments Off on From land-use land: Harbor Ave, Delridge projects approved

| Development | West Seattle news

From the latest Land Use Information Bulletin just sent out by the city:

*A land-use permit has just been approved for 2328 Harbor Ave, a waterfront multi-building project, called West Bay (the drawing above is also on a sign at the site), where Berg Scaffolding is now. The decision, and information on how to comment, can be found here.

*The subdivision plan for a six-unit residential project at 5020 Delridge (map) also has been approved; more on the decision, and how to comment, can be seen here.

Share This

A request from Alki Homestead’s owner, to help thank firefighters

March 26, 2009 10:11 am

| 20 COMMENTS

| Alki Homestead | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(January 16 photo taken at Homestead fire scene by David Hutchinson)
A new update this morning from Alki Homestead owner Tom Lin – who wants help in showing gratitude to the firefighters who responded the morning the historic restaurant caught fire:

Alki Homestead-Volunteers Wanted

I have been swamped with work since the fire and it would be great if someone with the connection can help with the following tasks.

The day of the fire, I remember there were about 10 fire trucks from 3 or 4 fire stations putting out the fire. It is very important to show how grateful we are for what they have done and how quickly they responded. I thought it would be nice to install a X Box or Wii in every station. It must be pretty boring to sit in the station at times and a good computer game could ease the boredom.

1. We need to find out if that is permitted to install the games in the stations.
2. We need to find out which stations these firemen came from.
3. We need volunteers to install these games.
4. If we can’t install the games, suggestions as to what can we do to show our appreciation.

I will provide the systems and games.

Tom’s e-mail is alkihomestead@yahoo.com.

Share This

Update; One person taken to hospital after 35th/Avalon crash

March 26, 2009 7:47 am

| 18 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is just back from a crash at 35th/Avalon; he says a car and pickup truck collided – witnesses told him the car may have run a red light before hitting the truck, whose driver was taken to Harborview Medical Center. This is one of the two West Seattle intersections with red-light cameras. (Check the latest conditions at that intersection in the cam on our Traffic page.) 8:16 AM UPDATE: The crash scene has been cleared.

Share This

Today/tonight: WSDW lunch; crime prevention; Water Taxi

March 26, 2009 7:43 am

| Comments Off on Today/tonight: WSDW lunch; crime prevention; Water Taxi

| Crime | King County Water Taxi | West Seattle politics

From the WSB Events calendar:

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN LUNCHEON: 11:30 am at the West Seattle Golf Course. Guest speakers include 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse and West Seattle’s School Board rep Steve Sundquist; registration starts Registration will begin at 11:15 A.M. with the lunch/program beginning at 11:30 A.M. Cost is $10 for members; $12 for non-members. But call for reservations first: (206) 935-3216.

PARKS BOARD VOTE ON WATER TAXI DOCK: 7 pm at Parks Department HQ downtown (map). Tonight’s agenda includes a vote on whether to recommend that Parks support the plan to expand the dock at Seacrest so that the (newly renamed) King County Water Taxi can start year-round operations next year.

SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map). Tonight’s agenda includes the continued discussion of a possible “alcohol impact zone” on both sides of the city/county line.

Share This

The beauty of books: Donations from, and for, local students

March 25, 2009 10:13 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

First, the donations FROM students. Above are Erika and Julia Guerette, posing with boxes of books explained in this official announcement about their achievement:

Want to read the classic West Side Story? Or last year’s hit Twilight? How about a John Grisham novel or one of the books from the children’s series Arthur? If so, you find these and 400 more books in five boxes headed to Alaska, thanks to the generosity of students and staff from Holy Names Academy and Our Lady of Guadalupe School. For the fourth year now, Julia (right in photo) and Erika Guerette (left) have been collecting books from schoolmates and sending them north to villages smaller than their schools. Many of the villages have a population of less than 200 people and are located in the remote parts of the state along the famed Iditarod Trail. Julia and Erika’s goal is simple. Books open doors that lead out of the rugged isolation kids their age face in the rural Alaskan villages where teen suicide is higher than the national average. Julia is a freshman at Holy Names Academy and Erika is an eighth grader at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. She’ll be joining her sister at Holy Names next year. The 2009 book drive put their running book count for the past four years close to 2,000 books.

Now, on to donations you can make for a local preschool – by buying books for yourself!

That’s a photo from last night’s story time at Barnes and Noble-Westwood Village, in honor of the Arbor Heights Co-op Preschool< BookFair, which continues one more day – buy anything through tomorrow at any B&N and mention this code: 497941.

Share This

West Seattle sweeps Parks & Rec Youth Basketball Championships!

March 25, 2009 9:03 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Speedy Demons: Standing left to right: Coach Sonya Elliott, Julia Nark, Kelsey Klapperich, Anna Carlson-Ziegver, Abby Tuthill, and Coach Jason Elliott. Kneeling left to right: Charli Elliott, Ali Campagnaro, Sami MacKenzie, Annalisa Ursino, and Sarah Cooper. Not pictured: Allyson Ylvisaker

Knights: Standing left to right: Coach Todd Stordahl, Alex MacKenzie, Michael Sasonoff, Parker Diller, Diego Rangel, Mike Dennehy, Carter Mensing, Coach John MacKenzie, and Kevin Stordahl. Kneeling left to right: Casey Lenzie, AJ Lingg, Dylan Jergens, Emmett Abdian, and Joey Meucci
The “sweep” headline comes from John MacKenzie, along with the photos you see above, and the story about the newly crowned champs:

The Girls U-12 Silver division Hiawatha Speedy Demons and the Boys U-12 Silver division Alki Knights brought home back to back championships at Miller Community Center last Sunday.

The Speedy Demons played at 11 AM against a tough and determined Yesler team but came out ahead with a gritty 21-18 victory to finish the season undefeated. The hard-fought battle included 2 players from Hiawatha fouling out in the 4th quarter.

The boys followed at 12:30 PM and finished off a pesky Meadowbrook team with a 6-0 run late in the 4th quarter giving them a 40-33 victory. Vashon Island gave Alki their only 2 defeats of the season but Alki got revenge by beating them in the semi-finals to advance to the championship game.

Both teams used incredible teamwork and perseverance. Each player understood their role and made a valuable contribution to their victory. All the hard work and practice paid off for the 2 West Seattle teams.

Congratulations to both teams!

Share This