West Seattle, Washington

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month : 08/2009 375 results

Video: New tunnel simulation clips from WSDOT
August 10, 2009 11:35 am
|      34 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

The City Council just postponed a briefing it had been scheduled to receive this morning on the “Central Waterfront Concept” for the Alaskan Way Viaduct corridor – aka, the bored tunnel. But there’s new information on the project today: WSDOT has finally gone public with videos that were previewed to “working group” members earlier this summer. The one above takes you through the tunnel; this one, what the waterfront would look like after The Viaduct comes down (currently expected around 2016):

WSDOT discusses the simulations in more detail here. Meantime, the “working groups” are on summer hiatus, but scheduled to meet again in fall to review the latest proposals for not only the tunnel itself but also the transportation systems/networks/grids at both ends. (Here are links to graphics showing what they’ve been looking at so far.)

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Restricted Parking Zone changes: “Draft rule” released
August 10, 2009 11:25 am
|    Comments Off on Restricted Parking Zone changes: “Draft rule” released
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

While West Seattle only has one RPZ – Restricted (formerly “residential”) Parking Zone – right now, potential changes in the rules have attracted attention here because other areas are interested in RPZs, particularly residential neighborhoods in The Junction. After a long round of hearings and meetings, the city has now released its “draft Director’s Rule” on RPZs, triggering a month-long public-comment period. See the 20-page proposal here; see the contact info for comments here. In the “draft rule,” page 14 is where you will find the proposed criteria for establishing a new RPZ, including these points:

An RPZ may also be initiated as part of a comprehensive neighborhood parking plan. For example, in 2005-2009, SDOT established 10 new or expanded RPZs with extensive community engagement as part of broader on-street parking management plans. …

The Director may establish a new or expand an existing RPZ when 75 percent of the curb space
parking on 10 contiguous blocks (20 block faces) is generally occupied, and when over 35
percent of those vehicles are used by non-residents. If these conditions are not met, SDOT will
formally notify the person(s) requesting the RPZ that it did not qualify. Even if these criteria are
not met, the Director has authority to establish an RPZ when the parking problem would be
ameliorated and the public interest would be served by creation of an RPZ. …

(The first is noteworthy for The Junction, since its “comprehensive neighborhood parking plan” review is still in progress.) September 8 is the comment deadline; contact info is on this page.

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Saturday night fire blamed on “spontaneous combustion”
August 10, 2009 10:27 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

Just called SFD to get an update on the Saturday night fire at a house in the 3000 block of SW Manning (map), noticed by many not because it was a big fire — the flames and smoke did not last long — but because of the location on a slope between the south end of Admiral Way and the east end of the West Seattle Bridge. Spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says it was accidental — a paint tarp with primer on it “spontaneously combusted” in the basement (as noted in our original report, neighbors had mentioned ongoing remodeling work at the house). SFD estimates the damage totaled $55,000. (Saturday night photo by Tony Bradley)

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“Nickelsville” camp controversy bound for court this week
August 10, 2009 5:04 am
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

The spokesperson for the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” — ensconced at Terminal 107 Park in West Seattle (July 24 photo at left by Christopher Boffoli) for two weeks now, after a month and a half at another WS site — sent out a media update last night with several new developments. Key among them: What they say is a new tactic, authorities serving what they describe as “eviction papers” to individual campers, ordering them to appear in King County Superior Court. Read on for the full update:Read More

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Happy 100th, Holy Rosary: Sunday’s block party/car show
August 9, 2009 11:56 pm
|    Comments Off on Happy 100th, Holy Rosary: Sunday’s block party/car show
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

Perfect timing for sunshine’s return, as hundreds of people picnicked on closed-for-the-occasion 42nd SW between Holy Rosary Church and School, in honor of the parish’s centennial. A special nod to history lined the streets – classic cars, some attended by people dressed in fashions from when the cars were new:

Had to take a closer look at this beauty:

Centennial-celebration events continue on into the fall (all listed here), culminating in two special Masses on October 11th, with Seattle’s Archbishop Alex Brunett expected to take part, and a time-capsule opening too. (And before then, it’s Holy Rosary School’s annual WestFest, itself celebrating a big anniversary this year – the 20th – that’s coming up September 18-19.)

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West Seattleites in Seattle Opera’s cast as “The Ring” opens
August 9, 2009 11:02 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Thanks to Lynn Ogdon for the photo and this info:

After months of rehearsals, tonight is the opening night for Seattle Opera’s The Ring (Der Ring des Nibelungen). We have five West Seattleites in The Ring as Nibelungen. They are L-R (front) Shana Heavey, Chloe Simmons & (back) Lisel Perrine, Nathan Perrine & Jacob Simmons.

“The Ring” continues through August 30; more info at the Seattle Opera website.

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Phoenecia owner Hussein Khazaal dies, restaurant closed TFN
August 9, 2009 4:52 pm
|      92 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

That photo is above a note on the door of the popular restaurant Phoenecia at Alki, telling this sad story: Owner Hussein Khazaal has died unexpectedly, and the restaurant is closed until further notice. This is a transcription of the unsigned note from his family – it is dated August 8th (yesterday):

To our customers:

This morning, West Seattle lost one of its finest residents.

Hussein Khazaal, my father and best friend, passed away in his sleep of natural causes.

While this loss is devastating to our family, we know how much he meant to the community as well.

Words cannot express the sorrow in our hearts in losing someone to whom we were so close. He was far too young to die but we are grateful he went peacefully.

Dad lived for his family, which included his patrons. The restaurant along, with his wife, children and grandchildren, were everything to him.

Anyone who ever had the pleasure of knowing him can vouch for me when I say, he never had a selfish moment in his life. You, our dearest customers, were what made him happy. The looks on your faces as he took you to paradise with his culinary masterpieces brought him great pride and joy. We thank you for indulging him and letting him “prepare something special” for you.

We are not sure where we will go from here. There is a possibility we will reopen Phoenecia. We are confident we can prepare the food; we are just not sure how we have it in us to run the business he built without him by our side or if we can provide the same magical atmosphere our beloved Hussein did. Our decision will take time, thought and discussion.

Regardless of the fate of Phoenecia, we know Hussein will live on. Whenever one person performs an act of kindness to another, Hussein lives on. Wherever there is generosity, Hussein lives on. Wherever there is beauty in the simplest of things, Hussein lives on.

A memorial will be held within the week. We have not yet determined the location. However, if you would like to attend, you may e-mail me at wkhazaal@hotmail.com and I will send you information regarding the time and place.

Lastly, if you are wondering if there is anything you can do for us … there is. If you have any warm thoughts or stories you would like to share with us about Hussein or Phoenecia, please e-mail them to me at wkhazaal@hotmail.com. Your words will be of great comfort to our family.

We will be in touch soon regarding our decision as to the fate of Phoenecia.

Till then we thank you so much for your patronage over the years, as did Hussein. We consider you part of our family. Thank you.

Just this summer, Seattle Metropolitan magazine hailed his restaurant as one of the Best of 2009. Mr. Khazaal first opened in The Junction in the ’70s, and also operated in Queen Anne before bringing Phoenecia back to West Seattle at its current Alki location.

He was 63 years old. (Thanks to those who called and e-mailed this afternoon to let us know about Mr. Khazaal’s death.) MONDAY NOTE: Here’s our followup story with funeral/memorial information.

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Looking for work? Local photographer’s offer to jobseekers
August 9, 2009 4:32 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

West Seattle photographer Rasmus Rasmussen had an idea – and after a few weeks of planning, he’s set the time and place to make it reality: He’s offering free professional headshots to jobseekers, and he’s set up the photo session for 11 am Tuesday, August 25, at C and P Coffee. First-come, first-served, the first 100 people, age 18+. Read all about it on his website, here.

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Duwamish River Festival: From fun, to Superfund
August 9, 2009 3:01 pm
|    Comments Off on Duwamish River Festival: From fun, to Superfund
 |   Environment | South Park

We got to Saturday’s 5th annual Duwamish River Festival at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park just in time for the informal kids’ parade, featuring crafts young festivalgoers made from reused items:

This annual event is unique in its emphasis on education/outreach, along with kids’ activities, musical performances and other classic festival fun. A heavy-hitting lineup of government agencies, environmental groups and nonprofit educational organizations manned the booths – including the one where we found Kris from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which designated the Lower Duwamish a “Superfund” site in 2001, next to a display mapping key spots in the toxic timeline of the river’s industrial history:

The EPA has its own website full of Duwamish-cleanup information – find it here. The wheels of government-run cleanups turn slowly – take one hop to this page, and you’ll see another “draft” report due next year, and then a proposal in 2011. As for the history of all this – an even longer list of links is on the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition‘s site. Beyond the cleanup information, several booths offered resources and advice for dealing with everyday toxics, including the Vietnamese Healthy Nail Salon Project, run by the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (whose festival-booth staff told us they’ve worked with some West Seattle salons, but didn’t have a list handy). Another hot topic this year: Transportation – both what’s in the works (the Alaskan Way Viaduct project had a booth) and what people wish was in the works:

That hand belongs to Sustainable West Seattle‘s Chas Redmond, showing the stickers used to create that evolving display at festivals all spring and summer long (including SWS’s own festival back in May) – participants were told each sticker represents $500 million, so if they had that money to spend on an aspect of local transportation, what would they do with it? “Transit” was the most crowded section. (He and others are working to organize a Transit Riders Union of Metropolitan Puget Sound group to work more closely on transit advocacy.) The festival folded up as scheduled at 4 pm, but the Duwamish restoration work goes on, as does the work of restoring more shoreline sections to enable more recreational use – like this small park spot just a block west of the festival, nestled between industrial sites:

You can also get out on the river during a Community Kayak Tour, organized by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Alki Kayak Tours and the Seattle Aquarium Society, during one of three upcoming Monday nights: 8/17, 8/31 or 9/14. More info here.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Solve a gorilla-napping
August 9, 2009 11:50 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news

That “artist’s rendition” of a unique piece of stolen property just arrived in the WSB inbox from Gina, along with this explanation — and plea:

*6 Foot Tall Animatronic Gorilla Stolen from Youngstown Garage Sale 8/8/09: help us bring him home!*

During our garage sale (4408 Delridge Way SW) on Saturday, two men in a red Chevy King Cab pick-up truck license plate B67(—-) stole a 6 foot tall shaggy brown gorilla from our parking lot. Two lovely but unidentified ladies followed the crooks who took off southbound on W Marginal Way. We’ve contacted the police but they’re not able to help much because we don’t have the ladies’ contact information. If you know anything about or saw a red pick-up truck with a 6’ tall gorilla in it or know two ladies who stopped by the garage sale in a green Subaru hatchback, give me a call. Help bring the Gorilla home and slap 2 crooks for stealing in our neighborhood!

Gina’s # is 355-1170, though we would suggest first calling police. (The garage sale referred to, if you didn’t see the story yesterday, was at Youngstown Arts Center, with some of the proceeds going to the nonprofit Service Board.) ADDED SUNDAY EVENING: Gina says the gorilla “suit” was used as a costume in the Fremont Solstice Parade, and dug up this photo:

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Neighborhood-plan survey deadline near: Rally to beat Ballard!
August 9, 2009 11:05 am
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

A week and a half ago, West Seattle neighborhoods had a heartening turnout at a once-in-a-decade meeting to talk about the “neighborhood plans” for the five WS areas that created them in the late ’90s: Admiral, Delridge, Highland Park/Westwood Village, Morgan Junction and The Junction. However, just getting people to the meeting was only part of the process. A followup meeting will happen this fall – but the city needs to hear from hundreds (even better, thousands!) more residents regarding growth and planning in their neighborhoods and what they hope to see over the NEXT decade or so. You can do that by taking an online survey. The graph above shows how response is going from the neighborhoods around the city that have had these update meetings. As you can see, Ballard has had the most responses … but they didn’t even have to turn in 200 to get way out in front, so with more than 35,000 households on our peninsula, we should be able to muster a larger response. Not that there’s a prize – although there’s certainly value in having a say in your neighborhood’s future. And the city Planning Commission makes it clear: Even if the neighborhood where you live doesn’t have a plan, fill one out for the one you regularly visit (that means in West Seattle almost all of us qualify for The Junction). Example – we live in Fauntleroy, but it doesn’t have a plan, so we’re doing the one for Morgan Junction, the nearest business district, where we spend a lot of time. The deadline is DAYS AWAY (the actual site says “Tues 8/12” but Tuesday is the 11th so we’re checking on the real deadline) – so please take a few minutes now – it really will make a difference.

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Today: Farmers’ Market; Scouts’ car wash; Holy Rosary party
August 9, 2009 7:02 am
|    Comments Off on Today: Farmers’ Market; Scouts’ car wash; Holy Rosary party
 |   West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: So much summer fruit is at its peak, and that’s some of what you’ll find at the Farmers’ Market today, 10 am-2 pm; here’s the “Ripe ‘n’ Ready” list.

CUB SCOUTS’ CAR WASH: Scouts don’t just go for woodsy, outdoorsy activities – you’ll also find them washing cars sometimes, like noon-3 pm today at Alki Auto Repair, where Cub Scout Pack 799 from the Arbor Heights area is having its annual car wash. What’s it cost? Donations, says assistant cubmaster Craig Harrold (who shared that photo from the “Crossover” event that’s held at Camp Long to “close the Cub Scout year,” he explains).

HOLY ROSARY CENTENNIAL BLOCK PARTY: 100 candles on the birthday cake for yet another West Seattle church, and today’s block party (42nd SW will be closed alongside the church/school) is the next big event for Holy Rosary‘s 100th birthday celebration. 1-4 pm, with picnicking, treats and – according to online discussions of the event – classic cars evoking the parish’s bygone days.

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West Seattle Outdoor Movies on the Wall, week 4: Foiled!
August 9, 2009 2:35 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies

Yet another excellent turnout at West Seattle Junction Outdoor Movies on the Wall — a courtyard full of fine folks who weren’t going to let a little unseasonable weather keep them away from summer-type fun. Despite a full day of relentless clouds that appeared to have rain potential, not a drop fell during “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” Saturday night. If it had drizzled, though, most would have been prepared — lots of hats, since we had a tin-foil-hat-making contest in honor of the movie’s alien theme (the five-note singathon was skipped because your editor here, scheduled to lead it, had to rush off to the SW Manning fire instead). Above, some of the hat-making entrants; at right, the winner. The grand-prize package included free bowling at West Seattle Bowl, a WSB T-shirt, and classic movie candy; preshow music included, appropriately, selections from “Dark Side of the Moon.” Lots more photos in this Flickr slideshow:

Next week, second to last Movies on the Wall of the summer (ALREADY?) — “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl“:

Same place – courtyard by Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) — gates open next Saturday night at7, showtime at dusk.

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Update: House fire on SW Manning, nobody hurt
August 8, 2009 8:31 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Photo by Tony Bradley)
ORIGINAL 8:31 PM REPORT: We have arrived in the area of a house fire call on SW Manning. It is alongside the bridge by Luna Park businesses. (map) More shortly. 8:39 PM UPDATE: It’s a house up the Manning hill north of the bridge. No sign of flames or smoke now but still an active scene. We are hearing here at the scene that one room caught fire, extinguished quickly, no injuries reported so far. 8:57 PM UPDATE: We are still on the scene. Incident commanders tell us they don’t know yet how it started. A neighbor who was first to see the smoke tells us the homeowner has been remodeling but wasn’t home when this started. An animal control worker has just safely caught a dog that ran off during the fire chaos. (iPhone pic added 9:25, dog in foreground as it ran past us toward the officer)

Several witnesses tell us the fire was primarily in the back of the house. The neighbor who first saw the smoke told us he ran up to bang on the doors and windows and make sure nobody was inside. He says the homeowner’s been working on largely do-it-yourself remodeling for a long time. The street’s narrowness and steepness made it a tough squeeze for all the crews that responded – some had to park down the hill in a dirt clearing along the street that runs between Admiral/Manning and Avalon – and a few more waited down by the Luna Park businesses in case they were needed.

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3 West Seattle YMCA winners: Softball squad; biker; swim team
August 8, 2009 7:47 pm
|    Comments Off on 3 West Seattle YMCA winners: Softball squad; biker; swim team
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

First – West Seattle Family YMCA sports director Matt Schlede sent that championship photo with news of who won a big game on Thursday night:

My Oh My beat the Bad News Y’rs 15-6 to win the West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA Adult Co-ed Softball Championship. My Oh My, who finished the season 7-1, was led by the strong bat and aggressive base-running of Jamie Schaefer, and solid outfield play of Drew Andrews.

Next – the Y’s Josh Sutton shares word that aquatics director Mac Snow just finished his cross-country bicycling odyssey – Seattle-to-Portland, but not the two-state STP, rather a coast-to-coast version. He chronicled it on this website, from which we pull the stats from his just-completed trip

21 days of biking:
2 days off in Chicago
3,395 total miles
Most miles 225, Austin MN to Madison WI
Least miles 105, multiple days

Speaking of Y aquatics, we are belatedly publishing these words of congratulation shared by Cindy McComish for another group of athletes who recently completed out-of-state travels:

7 swimmers and 1 assistant coach under the leadership of head coach Rod Rombauer have returned home after swimming in the National YMCA Long Course Swim Meet held in College Park, Maryland. The Dolphin National Team traveled to the meet on the campus of the University of Maryland by plane via Baltimore and stayed for 8 days and 8 nights. This year’s summer travel team represented 5 Seattle/Burien schools and the entire roster for the team (the starters, juniors, seniors, high school and national groups) is over 100 swimmers. Congratulations to this hard working national team and their coaches for their competitive spirit and for doing a great job of representing West Seattle.

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Looks like liftoff for “Close Encounters” at Movies on the Wall
August 8, 2009 7:04 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies

That’s one of our tinfoil hats … foil provided to moviegoers so don’t worry about bringing your own. So far no indication they’ll have to double as rain hats – cloudy all day but staying dry (knock wood) so we are preceding with plans for “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” at tonight’s West Seattle Junction Outdoor Movies on the Wall in the courtyard by Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). Gates just opened so you’re welcome to come stake out your spot – no admission charge but bring your own chair/blanket. Preshow fun (show off that hat AND join us in the five-note singalong) scheduled for 8:30, movie at dusk, concessions and raffle tickets on sale to benefit local nonprofits. See you there.

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West Seattle scenes: Beer (in the) garden; ice-cream open house
August 8, 2009 2:58 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Gardening | Pets | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Sure, you need a sweater, but otherwise there are music and beverages to keep you warm at West Seattle Nursery till 5 pm today. It’s a fundraiser for Furry Faces Foundation, with Beveridge Place Pub‘s Gary Sink pouring:

We also have a photo to share from an outdoor celebration in the Roxhill area night before last:

(Thursday photo courtesy Lutheran Alliance To Create Housing)
Paul Hogle and other board members from The Lutheran Alliance To Create Housing (LATCH) served ice cream during an open house/ice-cream social at Longfellow and Westwood Courts. LATCH, with 36 member congregations, oversees more than 200 apartments around the city, including these West Seattle properties.

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West Seattle bank robber may have struck again in North Seattle
August 8, 2009 1:19 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

We’ve been reporting all this on Twitter because the citywide media hasn’t jumped in yet, but now the potential West Seattle connection is stronger so we’re mentioning it here too: Two armed robberies in the past hour-plus in the North End, and per scanner traffic, witnesses say the second one appears to be the same guy who held up KeyBank in The Junction last Wednesday:

It’s also been noted via the scanner that in the West Seattle case the robber and a possible accomplice were believed to be in an early ’90s police-style white Chevrolet Caprice with a chrome/silver spotlight. We haven’t yet gotten the location of the second robbery today, but the first one was at a Bank of America in Wedgwood, and the second one is also being handled by North End units – in that one, the description was closest: Black man, 40s, round glasses, heavy set. These are both still active investigations in North Seattle; we’ll add more here later when additional information’s available. (There’s also talk of a possible link to an incident elsewhere in the city yesterday – checking into that.) 3:11 PM UPDATE: While the possible WS link is not mentioned, the two robberies are now discussed briefly on the SPDBlotter site. The 2 locations from today were just about 2 miles apart (map).

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Also happening today: P-Patch work, free car wash, more sales
August 8, 2009 12:08 pm
|    Comments Off on Also happening today: P-Patch work, free car wash, more sales
 |   Gardening | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

More stories at MacArthur Pea Patch
Powered by Whrrl

P-PATCH PROJECT: Originally found that via Facebook, and Joni says it’s OK to share with you — she’s updating progress (Whrrl allows you to keep adding photos) on another day of volunteer work at the new MacArthur P-Patch in High Point. Just click to see what’s happening. (A celebration of the new garden is set for 5-7 pm this Friday – more info here.)

FREE CAR WASH: Also via Facebook, Nancy sent word that hubby Kevin has organized a free car wash in the parking lot at Ginomai, southwest corner of 42nd/Genesee. Scheduled to be there till 2 pm. (Just a stone’s throw from tonight’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies on the Wall site!)

TWO RETAIL EVENTS: Ann at smallclothes (which recently moved to 3215 California SW) says today’s the last day of their summer sale – “everything in the shop is 20% off including all resale items, Imp Wear and SKR shoes.” And Coastal on Alki is having a “Happy Hour” event 2-5pm with 20% off Smith and Nikita items – plus DJ Sean Majors. Don’t let the weather ruin the summer mood; fall is still six weeks away. (By the calendar, anyway.)

GARDENING AND BEER: They’re together again at West Seattle Nursery, 1-5 pm today, benefiting the animal advocates at Furry Faces Foundation.

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Update: What the police/fire response at Don Armeni was about
August 8, 2009 11:16 am
|    Comments Off on Update: What the police/fire response at Don Armeni was about
 |   West Seattle news

ORIGINAL 11:16 AM REPORT: We’re en route to this [“assault with weapons” call] – also monitoring the scanner, and so far it seems to involve a van and a knife, other circumstances hard to sort out from the radio traffic, but we’ll let you know what we find out at the scene. 11:28 AM UPDATE: From information at the scene and on the scanner – bystanders noticed a man (late 20s/30) in a van who appeared to be injuring himself; they called for help, and he is being taken to Harborview Medical Center. No one else apparently involved, no crime, authorities are clearing out.

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Saturday morning link roundup, on the road and on the water
August 8, 2009 9:31 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle online

IN A FLASH: It’s been discussed here on WSB multiple times; now channel 4 has crossed the bridge to do a story about the frequently flashing 35th/Thistle (map) red-light camera. (Most interesting factoid in there — this camera is reported to average 2.5 tickets/day.)

TRANSPORTATION (DEPARTMENT) TALES: This relatively new city website is providing updates on SDOT projects at a fairly busy clip. Most recent West Seattle update – a look at this past week’s work to repair sections of the Duwamish Trail.

FAREWELL, FERRIES: Two of the four steel-electric ferries the state took out of service and sold for scrap started their final journey last night, under tow. Since they were briefly in Elliott Bay, you might have seen them; if not, here’s a Seattle Times photo. Until concerns about their seaworthiness arose, a steel-electric was usually the third boat on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run. Quinault and Nisqually were the two towed last night; the other two, Klickitat and Illahee, will be towed away later this month.

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Today/tonight: “Encounters,” “Frog & Toad,” “Music Man,” sale…
August 8, 2009 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: “Encounters,” “Frog & Toad,” “Music Man,” sale…
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

“CLOSE ENCOUNTERS” AT MOVIES ON THE WALL: Come make a protective tin-foil hat and sing along to the famous five notes during the preshow nuttiness, then watch the classic movie on the big screen at dusk, courtyard next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). See you there. If you’re looking for indoor entertainment …

“A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD, KIDS”: Thanks to Matt Durham from mattdurhamphotography.com for those shots (including, in the closeup photo, West Seattleites Cameron Lee and Levi Starkweather) from ArtsWest‘s production, with 3 pm matinees and 7:30 pm evening shows finishing the run today and tomorrow. Also onstage tonight, with stars of all ages:

“THE MUSIC MAN”: It’s night two of the classic musical as presented by Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor). 7:30 pm, West Seattle High School Theater.

duwamishsunrise.jpg

(August 2008 photo by John LaSpina)
DUWAMISH RIVER FESTIVAL: Celebrate West Seattle’s “other” body of water while also learning what’s being done to restore its health. The festival’s in the park on the river bank in South Park, 7900 10th Ave. S. (map), noon-4 pm – the tentative schedule of performers/events is here.

BIG SALE BENEFITING THE SERVICE BOARD: Check it out at tSB’s home base at Youngstown Arts Center, 8 am-2 pm. Full details here.

Lots more happening – all listed in the latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Saturday showers? Or not?
August 7, 2009 10:44 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Weather Watch: Saturday showers? Or not?
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies | West Seattle weather

(Thursday night sunset from Alki, photographed and shared by Mike Boyle)
Since we’re sponsoring tomorrow night’s edition of West Seattle Outdoor Movies on the Wall — “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” — we’re keeping a really close watch on the forecast, since this week only, there’s no backup indoor location. So far, while it definitely sounds like a sweater night, the National Weather Service probably wouldn’t put much odds on a rainout. From the newest twice-daily Forecast Discussion, issued about an hour ago:

SYNOPSIS…EXPECT A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TO BRING A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE TO MAINLY THE COAST ON SATURDAY. A STRONGER SYSTEM WILL BRING A BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION TO THE REGION ON MONDAY.

.SHORT TERM…
A WEAK…UPPER TROF WAS APPROACHING THE COAST FROM THE W. THE CDFNT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL LIKELY FALL APART BEFORE REACHING THE WA COAST. THUS THE BEST CHANCE OF ANY PRECIP…ALBEIT LIGHT… WILL BE ON THE COAST…AND MOST LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON. ELSEWHERE…ANTICIPATE CLOUDY SKIES ON SATURDAY WITH DAYTIME TEMPS REMAINING WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.

As always, tomorrow night’s movie is scheduled for dusk on the big “screen” (white wall) in the courtyard by Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) — gates open at 7 – free, but bring a few $ for concessions and raffles, all benefiting local nonprofits. And if it DOES turn showery at any point during the day, keep an eye on WSB and/or Twitter (twitter.com/westseattleblog) and/or Facebook (facebook.com/westseattleblog), whichever is most convenient for you, because we will post updates about the movie’s status in all three places. Meantime – hope to see you there!

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