West Seattle, Washington
15 Saturday
West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham – who also is assistant coach for West Seattle Little League‘s Diamondbacks and Stingers – shares those photos from the Mariners’ Little League Day at Safeco Field today:
(Clockwise from upper left) 1: West Seattle youth honor the flag during the National Anthem.
2: Cheers accompanied West Seattle’s recognition on the megatron.
3: Young baseball players were able to parade on field during before the game.
4: 15 innings didn’t deter West Seattle’s Diamondback Jack from rooting on his team.
5: West Seattle players turn their hats inside out to rally the Mariners batters.
The Mariners beat the A’s in the bottom of the 15th inning, 8-7.
You can find out more about West Seattle Little League at westseattlelittleleague.com (also via Twitter at @wslittleleague).
As at least one group in attendance at today’s Sustainable West Seattle Festival reminded, the preferred philosophy for dealing with coyotes and other urban wildlife is coexistence, not panic or fear. That said, some find it helpful to know what’s seen where. So here’s the report Kathleen sent us last night about a coyote sighting in Admiral:
We are dog-sitting a little terrier and were surprised (Saturday) afternoon with a coyote that ran into the yard. It didn’t harm the dog, as my husband ran after the coyote, who easily cleared a 6 foot fence and ran into the neighbor’s yard. We live at 51st and Pritchard, one block north of Admiral. I wanted you to know because pets left unattended might be at risk.
Previous coyote reports published on WSB (some with photos) are archived here, newest to oldest.
That photo is from Dwight, in the 4300 block of Brace Point (map), who explains:
Our house got rammed by a ’99 Dodge Ram 1500 v8. We live in the middle of the block so it seems rather odd that someone would swerve, take down a 12ft maple and hit the house.
Fence is gone, too.
The tree you see in the photo is supposed to be where the bumper of the truck is, despite looking like it’s planted on the corner of the house.
Checking on injuries; no medic unit was dispatched, which suggests if anyone was hurt in this crash (which happened just before 8 pm), it wasn’t major. We also received photos from Carlos — this one’s a bit blurry but it provides another angle:
ADDED 9:55 PM: We asked Dwight if anyone was hurt:
No one and no critters were hurt. No windows or doors were blown so we’re lucky. We’re very lucky to have had such a large tree on the corner of the lot; otherwise we’d be missing a large chunk of the house. That tree took the brunt of the assault, and the trunk was large enough to help ground the bottom of the truck before it hit the brick.
In what’s becoming a daily update from Seattle-King County Public Health, the latest announcement says 6 more probable cases of swine flu have been reported, bringing the total number of likely cases in the county to 22. Health authorities also have changed their recommendations for how schools should handle news of a case of this flu – read on for the latest details:Read More
We mentioned this briefly in our as-it-happened coverage of the just-concluded Sustainable West Seattle Festival (first report/photos here, a wrapup with more photos/video later) — Skillet Street Food drew a crowd to Seattle Lutheran High School‘s parking lot today (here’s the saga of how they wound up there) – thanks to Jake for the photo above, taken around 11:15; several other reports indicate they ran out of food before 2 pm. So will they be back next week, given that this was billed as a trial run? We just checked with Skillet’s Josh Henderson and Seattle Lutheran’s Bil Hood; Josh says he hopes so but needs to check with SLHS first, and Bil also said they’ll confer tomorrow – so stay tuned for word then. In the meantime, show your favorite West Seattle restaurants some love (three of them are WSB sponsors, we should note – Skylark Club and Cafe, Cafe Revo, and Ama Ama Oyster Bar and Grill), as we plan to do tonight.
Sorry we didn’t see the e-mail on this earlier this morning – till 4 pm at Fauntleroy Church, Dr. Jill Cook is leading an “Ask the Doctor” workshop – at which Little Pilgrim School will be raffling off the quilt we told you about the night we spoke at Fauntleroy Church earlier this spring — there’s still time to drop by and hear about some hot health topics (including The Flu — we’re expecting another county update on that shortly, by the way).
Just got an update from Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen on the fire we covered overnight (original WSB report here) in the 1700 block of 44th SW: She says Seattle Police Arson and Bomb Squad is helping investigate — the cause so far remains “undetermined.” The house was vacant and for sale; damage from the fire totals $430,000 — $400,000 to the house itself, $10,000 to its contents (not much was inside since nobody was living there), $10,000 each in damage to the exterior of the two neighboring houses. No one was hurt in the fire, which broke out around 3 am; our earlier report includes the story of the first person on the scene, neighboring resident Craig, who took the photo you see above.
6:34 PM: Added that shot taken late today, from the rear alley (the same spot from which the photo of the burning house was taken), also showing some of the exterior damage to the house on the left side of the photo. After we mentioned in our earlier story that we couldn’t find the listing, several local Realtors kindly found it and sent it – the address isn’t the same as the one listed in county records – but it’s the same house; it was listed as for sale at $499,000 and said a sale was “pending.” No new updates regarding the fire’s cause.
(scroll down for the latest photos and updates)
(Sustainable West Seattle president Bill Reiswig)
Till 3 pm today, West Seattle Blog headquarters moves to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival in The Junction. Above is a photo sent via Twitter by festival organizers, who’ve already “tweeted” lots of great info and photos (follow SWS at @sustainablews – or check the updates via the Web at twitter.com/sustainablews). We’ll be adding our own soon. Our table is by the east side of the Wells Fargo drive-through (where we were last year), west of the “main stage.” We’ve got the first 200 copies of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map – which doesn’t go live online till tonight or early tomorrow (if you think you’ve seen a map online already, it’s from a previous year, because this one is NOT yet published online). Great weather for a festival, lots of booths, entertainment, panel discussions (we’re on one at noon) – see the schedule, site layout, exhibitors list, all here. More to come!
10:26 AM UPDATE: Congressman Jim McDermott is speaking on the nearby main stage right now. Great weather, lots of people and lots of incredible exhibitors.
A highlight for kids of all ages – costumed characters – including not just one, but two “Bagmonsters” crafted from plastic bags …among other characters:
We’re right across from Camp Long, Longfellow Creek Watershed, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Nature Consortium booths … more of the great groups working to keep West Seattle green, and in many cases make it even greener through their restoration work. By the way, if you pick up a festival program while you’re here, it’s good for reading later – several articles by festival participants including us, talking about the topic that will be the subject of a panel we’re on at noon, “Sustainable Community Through Media” – one of the most important parts of WSB is YOU – without your presence, your collaboration, your ideas, your news tips, your event announcements, your photos, there wouldn’t be much here. Meantime, we’re also monitoring the SWS Twitter feed, from which this photo of the “backyard chickens” booth comes:
Over at the main stage next to us, CoolMom is about to put on a puppet show.
11:50 AM UPDATE: Pete Spalding, president of the West Seattle Food Bank board, just stopped by. (added later, here’s a photo of Pete in the WSFB booth)
He told us Friday night’s Instruments of Change fundraiser WSFB was a smash hit – sold out, more than 200 people, former Mayor Norm Rice gave a great speech, and the “dessert dash” led by County Council Chair Dow Constantine raised $11,000. (Pete adds that WSFB served more people last month than in any other month in its history.) Constantine just spoke here at the festival:
Also here – Mayor Greg Nickels:
12:52 PM UPDATE: Just back from the media panel, with Kery Murakami from Seattle Post Globe (former P-I employees who started up a new news site), Chuck Taylor (formerly of crosscut.com), and Jonathan Lawson of Reclaim the Media. Great discussion – and thanks to the folks who came to listen (Yes Magazine was tweeting it – see highlights at twitter.com/yesmagazine):
Thanks to Jake for that photo of us on the panel – from left, Chuck, Kery, me (WSB editor TR), Jonathan – next photo is our iPhone snap of the audience area:
We thought we’d added this earlier but apparently not – some of what else is happening in The Junction – the Skillet trailer at Seattle Lutheran High School (we’ll be checking after today whether it’ll be back next week – this was on a trial run basis):
They’re there till 2 pm, and there are some menu changes from what’s online – including a pulled pork sandwich instead of the fried spaghetti sandwich. And if you’re walking that way from the heart of The Junction, drop by the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard for the Furry Faces Foundation plant sale to raise money for animal rescue – they’re there till 4 pm.
Now back to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival – here till 3 pm in and around Wells Fargo in The Junction (44th/Alaska, across from the Farmers’ Market) – two stages with panels and performances, lots of great places to learn about living sustainably.
1:51 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Gene, who’s tweeting today for @sustainablews – check out that Twitter feed not only for festival notes, but also some photo links. Meantime, more of our photos – WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here (that’s owner Adam):
And of course, lots of different ways of getting around, sustainably:
The Westenders Scooter Club is one of dozens of exhibitors here. Meantime, we’re almost out of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day maps but the map will be online late tonight/early tomorrow, in printable and clickable forms! And we’ve had many more great conversations – political candidates have stopped by our table including mayoral candidate Michael McGinn and West Seattle-residing City Council candidates Dorsol Plants and David Ginsberg.
3 PM UPDATE: The festival’s ending, though some festivalgoers are still lingering as things wrap up – we have some folk music over at the main stage – festival coordinator Brian Allen‘s running around pointing participants to an afterparty:
Congratulations to Brian and everybody at Sustainable West Seattle for putting on another huge, successful, fun festival. We’ll be jumping back into the news stream. Look for a followup report later tonight with more photos and video from today’s festival. P.S. Stu Hennessey (Alki Bike and Board), another of the Sustainable West Seattle leaders working hard on the festival, stopped by to say they want to say again how much they appreciate the local business support in this area for and during the festival. And speaking of business support, we mentioned earlier that WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here – spotted a couple more of our sponsors along the way – Mural Apartments (just about open, across from Jefferson Square):
And also, Envision Homes:
Some of the people who stopped by to talk with us asked what they can do to support the continued growth of 24/7 community news, information and discussion at WSB – our #1 request, support our sponsors; close behind, keep sharing your news tips, photos, announcements, stories, etc. – you can reach us any time, a variety of ways – all listed here (but most importantly, make sure our number is in your cell-phone list so you can call if you have an urgent sighting or question – 206-293-6302). More photos and video from the festival later!
(photo by Janna Silverstein)
The top deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be full of people instead of cars this morning – the northbound section will be closed to traffic approximately 9-10:30 am, according to WSDOT, for the March of Dimes March for Babies. By the time it’s over, back on this side of the bay, The Junction will be bustling for two reasons:
(photo by JayDee)
Tulips are just part of what you’ll find at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm. Here’s the fresh sheet. And across the street, it’s the second annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival:
That video is from the festival opening by Duwamish Tribe members last year – and this year, the Duwamish will do the honors again. 10 am-3 pm, there will be TONS going on — performances, discussions, demonstrations, involving dozens of organizations and businesses from all over the area, focused on community resilience (here’s the official program). WSB will be there – look for our table near the main stage (here’s the layout) along the east side of Wells Fargo – we’ve got the first 200 copies of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day Map, first come, first served! Then about an hour after the festival, it’s the start of the Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebration at the Admiral Theater:
The event has two main components – a documentary screening at 4 pm (“The Power of Song,” which includes that video clip), a “hootenanny” with performances and singalongs at 7 pm. See our preview here.
(photo by nearby resident Craig, added 4:32 am)
ORIGINAL 3:29 AM REPORT: On our way to check out a “fire in single-family residence” call in the 1700 block of 44th SW (map). Crew on scene just reported on the scanner the fire is “under control.”
3:40 AM UPDATE: As our crew arrives on the scene, Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen has just updated the SFD media line: She says it’s a vacant house that was “fully involved” in flames when crews arrived around 3 pm; they took a “defensive position” as a result. Property records say this is a 101-year-old 3-bedroom house. About the same time we were listening to the media line here, our crew on the scene got an in-person briefing from Vander Houwen — she says the house is for sale (we haven’t found a listing online, though) and confirms nobody was home when the fire started; she also says the houses on both sides were evacuated to be on the safe side, but are not damaged, and nobody is hurt. It’ll be a while before investigators can go in to figure out how it started. We’ll add video to this story in a bit.
4:19 AM UPDATE: In this clip, you see/hear the start of Vander Houwen’s briefing until we veer off onto the firefighters pouring water on the still-smoky house:
The station she mentioned as “just down the street” is Fire Station 29, which indeed is just three blocks southwest. Meantime, we got this note from area resident Craig:
I was the first one on the scene of the house fire in north Admiral. I woke up to the light smell of smoke, and thought, “who’d be having a fire right now?”
I decided I’d best look out the window, and it was a dense fog. In shorts and barefoot, I ran up to the next block and found flames coming out a basement window of a house in the 1700 block.
I can’t tell you how surprised I am at how well people sleep! I made a lot of noise and a neighbor across the street eventually came out and called 911.
The house that burned is an old house that had just been remodeled. They had split the lot and built a tall skinny house on it last year. Both houses have been for sale for a long time.
He also says one of the adjacent houses IS damaged – and he sent the two photos we’re adding at the top and bottom of this story:
We’ll keep checking with SFD till they determine and announce the fire’s cause.
11:36 AM UPDATE: The Fire Department says the cause is undetermined but police are helping investigate. We have started a new story with more information that’s just be released; see it here.
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