West Seattle, Washington
31 Saturday
When Mike e-mailed to share the news about West Side Music Academy “Girl Band” students performing tonight at a special all-ages Easy Street After Hours in The Junction (here’s our preview), we knew we’d want to share a bit of the show – so here you go – Pop Rox at Easy Street: Danielle Howard, Annie Murphy, Olivia Norberg, Maryellen Fleming, Oly Mosely and Erica Schwartz.
This isn’t on the list of citywide road-closing events – and it’s not in West Seattle – but Admiral resident Dennis Ross suggested more of West Seattle’s 50+ residents might want to know about it, so here’s info he shared about a half-marathon walk around Lake Union this Sunday, part of Seattle Parks’ Sound Steps program, the Northwest Senior Games and Seafair:
Sunday, June 28th — 7:00 am arrival and registration, — 7:30 am walk
Event information: — 13.1 mile walk looping twice around Lake Union. Event includes water/snack stations, live music along the way, prizes and special athletic T-shirts (while supplies last). Invite your family and friends to walk with you or to cheer you on.
Contact Mari Becker — (206)-684-4554 or e-mail sound.steps@seattle.gov
Location: Start/Finish Gas Works Park on the north side of Lake Union, 2101 N. Northlake Way (map)
Sound Steps is a Seattle Parks and Recreation walking program for adults age 50+. The Sound Steps program includes ongoing weekly walking groups and special events for active older adults.
Northwest Senior Games represents five cities in King County that specialize in recreation and community services for adults 50+.
Thanks to Cindy McComish for that photo from Colman Pool at Lincoln Park, where the Seattle Open swim meet continues through tomorrow (replacing the regular public swimming schedule). Cindy writes, “Congratulations to all the swimmers who work hard to qualify to be in this meet. Come watch youth from western Washington go fast!” (She’s parent to a West Seattle YMCA [WSB sponsor] Dolphin swimmer.)
Driving through White Center this afternoon, we noticed fireworks stands like that one set up in a few spots. In unincorporated King County and the few other places where personal fireworks are still legal, they go on sale at noon Sunday, but you’re only allowed to use them 9 am-midnight on July 4th (except for Normandy Park, where the use period is the same as the sales period). Here’s the full King County list of fireworks rules – note they are banned in Seattle and in Burien, which is relevant to part of White Center, since that means a change if the “North Highline South Annexation” proposal passes in the August 18th election. And if somehow you haven’t heard, reminder, NO Elliott Bay fireworks on the Fourth, since Ivar’s canceled them; if you’re still trying to decide where to go instead, here’s the full statewide list of fireworks shows.
It’s on our latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup – but we got extra details courtesy of Mike – good thing tonight’s Easy Street After Hours is “all ages” because the lineup includes 9- and 10-year-old musicians! The West Side Music Academy Girl Band is from a class that’s described on the WSMA website this way:
This class is designed for the experienced girl rocker who likes a challenge. This 5 day class includes playing several instruments, working with peers, rehearsing songs, and preparing for a real rock show at the end of the week. SO FUN!
So come cheer them on, during the 9 pm “Easy Street After Hours” show tonight (also with Exploding High Fives and Black Swedes, $5 cover). 5:29 PM P.S. – Mike adds that the WSMA band performing tonight is called Pop Rox and its members are 9-12 years old: “This is the culmination of the last five days of hard rocking by Danielle Howard, Annie Murphy, Olivia Norberg, Maryellen Fleming, Oly Mosely and Erica Schwartz.”
That’s one of four benches that are being installed this afternoon in front of the new loft-townhouse development at 1716 California SW (map). The benches, and the open-space easement they represent, will be at the heart of a celebration tomorrow morning, because of the neighborhood success story they represent, something we’ve told you a bit about before: In March of last year, we wrote about nearby residents’ concerns about whether the development would honor open-space easement requirements linked to a onetime Seattle City Light substation site on the property. Over the ensuing months, a plan was worked out, and we got final word recently from author/historian Clay Eals, who lives nearby; we didn’t shoot a closeup of the inscription on the benches, but he shared the text:
OPEN SPACE FOR ALL
Enjoy these benches for a brief respite. Thanks to the City of Seattle and to the owner of the project that replaced the City Light substation on this site, this 100-foot frontage strip is an easement for public use from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through May 2026.
This open space is privately owned and maintained. Please pick up any stray items when you leave. Palm Avenue neighbors thank you!
As our 3/08 report noted, City Councilmembers got involved too, and one of them – Councilmember Jean Godden (described by Eals as “our champion to insure that a public easement was included in the sale documents”) – is expected to speak at tomorrow morning’s official unveiling of the benches. You’re welcome too – 10 am, out front at 1716 California SW, across from Park West.
That’s one of our photos from last year’s “Field Day” with ham-radio operators set up in the field on the south side of the South Seattle Community College campus on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge. They’ve always been open to having you stop by and see what their exercise is all about each year – but this time around, they’re ENCOURAGING you to visit – Jeff Cacy explains why:
Ham Radio operators will be operating a radio station from the field just south of South Seattle Community College. The event runs from 11:00 am Saturday to 11:00 am Sunday. You can’t miss us – we are in the big tent in the field by the south parking lot.
We need your help to stop by and participate in our simulated emergency. This event is put on by the Auxiliary Communication Service of the City of Seattle and we will be operating our radios from solar panels, batteries and generators.
If you are in any way interested in emergency preparedness (and you should be here in earthquake and winter-storm country) or in radio communication, please stop by. We will be operating all night, so there is no reason to let your schedule or mistaken need for sleep stop you.
This special event is called Field Day. It happens each year in June and is in the form of a contest where we see how many stations we can talk to in 24 hours. Thousands of similar stations all around the country have moved radios and batteries out in the field and erected various forms of antennas for the event. We will have a digital station, voice and satellite communications, plus some others as more people bring out their radios. You might be talking through a satellite as we will have a mobile satellite station set up as well – it all depends on the passes of the low-earth orbiting satellites we use, but there are dozens to choose from.
One of the parts of the contest is have people like you come by and try out our radios – we will coach you through and all you need is to put on some headphones and squeeze a microphone to talk to another station anywhere in the US or Canada. We need at least 20 people to stop by and participate to get some bonus points in the contest. We also need some public officials to stop by, so if you know of any in West Seattle, we sure hope to see them (I can think of several…).
Any ham radio operators who might not have been active in a while are also encouraged to stop by anytime in the 24 hour period.
Call Curt Black – 206 755-4541 for more information or more encouragement. You are allowed to feed the operators, so feel free to bring some life support, but please no alcohol since we are on South Seattle Community College property.
Hope to see everyone there!
Just spotted while driving through The Junction.
It’s a West Seattle summer tradition – the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s annual berry sale – and it starts today with strawberries. Even if you haven’t placed an advance order, you should be able to buy some on the spot (we’re told they “ordered extras”) – look for the truck in the south parking lot of Admiral Safeway, 2-6 pm today and 9 am-3 pm Saturday. (If you’ve placed an advance order, be sure to pick it up no later than 2 pm Saturday.) You can also order raspberries and blueberries (July pickup dates) through the Rotary Club’s website right now.
Daunted by that list of road closures elsewhere in the city (including The Viaduct on Saturday)? No worries – no need to leave West Seattle this weekend, with a slate of activities including the Westwood Village Street Fair on Saturday (come see us at the WSB table!) and the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10th anniversary celebration on Sunday (including WSB sponsor Square 1 Books‘ tent sale at The Market and free berry sundaes!), lots of indoor and outdoor live music (including an all-ages Easy Street After Hours tonight) … more than 40 events ahead in the full West Seattle Weekend Lineup, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club:Read More
It’s home to so much West Seattle history – cared for with the help of volunteers and donations – all in a historic-by-itself log house on Alki. Now the Log House Museum has announced it’s been awarded some vital assistance in caring for its collection – read on for the news release:Read More
Though our big street-closing festival is still two weeks away (West Seattle Summer Fest, July 10-11-12), much of the rest of the city has so much going on this weekend, we’re sharing the official SDOT advisory. Top of the list of what might affect you will be the Saturday Alaskan Way Viaduct closures for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon – this advisory amends the hours a bit – see what else is up; read on:Read More
Playing Talarico’s tonight, a West Seattle musician who’s battled his way back from a serious injury.
By Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Trevor Ras knows a little something about perseverance.
Three years ago, this West Seattle resident and musician went out surfing in Huntington Beach, Calif., and twenty-four hours later landed in the hospital with a fractured vertebrae. “When I got out of the hospital five days later,” Ras said, “everything had changed for me at that point. I was in pain everywhere. The next six months, that was the real test.”
His life up until that fateful day?
Just published at White Center Now, our roundup from Thursday night’s South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting. The headlines: Crime’s not the same on both sides of the line; White Center’s getting a walking map; and the group bids one of its leaders goodbye. Story and photos here.
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