West Seattle, Washington

15 Monday

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month : 08/2009 375 results

City councilmembers campaign against state crimefighting cuts
August 26, 2009 9:59 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen calls this to our attention – and yours: The elimination — scheduled to take effect today — of four particular positions in the state Department of Corrections has him and his colleagues worried about the effect on local crime/safety. If you think that department only works with the state prison system, think again: For just one example, there are DOC officers who partner with local police, hitting the street to track down wanted criminals with arrest warrants. (So many times, when we receive “what are police doing on my street?” questions, the answer turns out to be “warrant service.”) In this specific case, according to a letter signed by the Seattle City Council as well as Interim Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr and leaders of other cities around the county (plus other law-enforcement agencies, while none of the four positions to be cut in the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative is West Seattle-specific, the cuts do include one position assigned to the King County Sheriff’s Office and created specifically after the murder in White Center of KCSO Deputy Steve Cox (whose killer was under DOC supervision at the time). Here’s an excerpt of the letter:

The cuts would adversely impact our region’s ability to capture wanted felons, to monitor offenders in our communities on DOC-supervised release, and to provide hands-on personal assistance to DOC-supervised individuals who require housing, detoxification services, medical care, social services, and crisis intervention and support in order to stay out of trouble and risk reoffending.

Many DOC-supervised individuals engage in stranger-on-stranger violence to maintain their drug and alcohol addictions; they significantly contribute to social disorder in more densely populated areas due to aggressive panhandling and anti-social behavior associated with mental illness and chemical dependency. As a result, residents are rightly worried about their personal safety. They seek our help to protect them.

Read the full letter here; read more about state DOC budget-cut implementation here. Councilmember Rasmussen says he and Councilmember Tim Burgess, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, developed the letter and believe, “For the sake of the safety of our communities whether they are Bellevue, Shoreline, Seattle or White Center, we need these positions to be able to capture suspects and to ensure that offenders are being effectively supervised by the Department of Corrections.” We are checking with the governor’s office to get reaction to the city leaders’ letter and to see if there is any chance the positions will be restored. If you want to share a comment with the governor (on this issue or anything else), here’s how. 12:55 PM UPDATE: A spokesperson for the governor says she’s been out of town and they’re not sure if she’s seen the letter yet but they’re checking.

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Traffic alert: South Park Bridge to be closed all day Saturday
August 26, 2009 9:08 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   South Park | West Seattle traffic alerts


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Just in from the King County Department of Transportation:

The King County Road Services Division will close the South Park Bridge over the Duwamish River on 14th/16th Avenue South this Saturday, Aug. 29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for repairs. The bridge will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic over the bridge and to large marine vessels on the water.

The repairs involve drawbridge alignment – more details here.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: 3 cars targeted, family keepsake gone
August 26, 2009 8:27 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

The latest West Seattle Crime Watch reports we’ve received involve three cars, three neighborhoods around the peninsula, from Admiral all the way south almost to White Center — one broken into, one tagged, and one stolen while its owner was moving, with a precious family keepsake now gone – read on for details (and prevention info, too):Read More

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West Seattle scenes: Whole lot of practice; plus – still summer!
August 26, 2009 12:45 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle scenes: Whole lot of practice; plus – still summer!
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

In a parking lot by Jack Block Park Tuesday afternoon, Kevin McClintic happened onto Seattle Fire Department‘s West Seattle-based Ladder 11 practicing a couple of mesmerizing maneuvers with its 100-foot-long centerpiece:

Thanks to Kevin for sharing the photos. This also gives us an excuse to mention a semi-related Daily Weekly item you may not have seen – The Weekly’s West Seattle-residing managing editor Mike Seely reported last week that a ladder truck is in Station 11‘s future too. One other West Seattle scene to share:

Mike caught Tuesday night’s glorious sunset – which we’ll use to segue to the newest forecast, which says we’re going back into the 80s; summer’s not giving up without a fight.

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West Seattle neighborhoods: Your next chances to get involved
August 25, 2009 10:53 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle neighborhoods: Your next chances to get involved
 |   Crime | Delridge | High Point | West Seattle news | White Center

Many West Seattle neighborhood/community groups skip August meetings because it’s such a busy time for vacations, back-to-school prep, you name it, but now they’re about to rev up again. Here’s some of what’s coming up:


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HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Tomorrow night, 7 pm, HPAC meets at the Highland Park Improvement Club building (address/map – Google Street View above). On the agenda, from the preview sent out by HPAC chair Dan Mullins today, “a presentation from a local youth group that has been cleaning up Westcrest Park and the greenbelt, AND, former HPAC Chair and Seattle City Council candidate, Dorsol Plants will tell us about his election campaign experience and answer your questions …” This is also the only regular neighborhood-group meeting with a business spotlight (Cafe Rozella this month) AND a raffle.

ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: This Thursday is the grand finale in its first-ever series of six Summer Concerts at Hiawatha – and they’re meant to be a neighborhood-building opportunity as well as good old-fashioned outdoor fun. Come enjoy the West Seattle Big Band, free, at 6:30 pm Thursday, east lawn of Hiawatha Community Center, meet the ANA reps who’ll be on hand (and then join them at the regular September meeting, 7 pm 9/9 in the basement meeting room at Admiral Church).

NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Next regular meeting is Wednesday 9/2 (6:30 pm, Delridge Library) but we’re reminding you again about the Ice Cream Social THIS Thursday, all neighbors invited, with games as well as treats (here’s the invite). 6:30 pm Thursday, Cottage Grove Park (address/map).

SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: Crime and safety news for southeastern West Seattle and beyond, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map), 6 pm Thursday (free dinner).

Looking a couple weeks into the future, this meeting was just announced today:

HIGH POINT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION’S QUARTERLY MEETING: 6 pm September 10th, Commons Park Amphitheater. Topic, according to Jennifer Cobb – how to be a good neighbor(hood), by getting involved, pitching in, etc. Refreshments! RSVP via Facebook.

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Close call for West Seattle driver in hit-run crash tonight
August 25, 2009 9:23 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Luckily, nobody is hurt. But it was a close call for the driver of that car — she got sideswiped earlier this evening at California/Charlestown (map). WSB’er Diane called to let us know as others summoned police. The driver says she was heading north on California when a silver 4-door BMW, maybe a year or two old, sideswiped her while turning left onto eastbound Charlestown, from southbound California, before she was out of the intersection. Witnesses say the driver stopped briefly a half-block or so away, looked at his car – which would have front-end damage – then got back in and kept driving. The Seattle Municipal Code is very clear (as you can see here) about a driver’s duty to stop after a crash. 11:11 PM: Check the comments – where Larry says a similar-sounding car hit his in the same time frame.

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Multi-national ship delegation to pass West Seattle shores
August 25, 2009 8:33 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news

The Russian Border Guard Vessel Vorovskiy is one of the ships you can expect to see off West Seattle shores tomorrow as Coast Guard ships from several Pacific Rim nations arrive for to continue the Pacific Unity exercise. According to a media advisory tonight from U.S. Coast Guard District 13, “Japan, Russia, Canada and the United States are sending vessels to take part” in the exercise, while “China and South Korea will be participating as observers. Specifically, the partner nations will be coordinating simulated search and rescue, aids to navigation, law enforcement and security operations during the three-day event.” Arrivals are expected on the downtown waterfront around 2:30 pm, so watch for them earlier in the afternoon; others heading this way include the Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft Siyay, shown here in Coast Guard video from the Port Angeles area, where the exercise also has been under way:

The USCG has lots more info online, including links to other video clips, reachable from this special page.

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West Seattle business notes: Brickyard; Cherry; A Child Becomes
August 25, 2009 6:15 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

BRICKYARD BBQ: Word was forwarded to us that the new barbecue joint at 2310 California SW (map) will open Friday instead of tomorrow, because of “late last-minute finishing touches.”

Meantime, a new business is open further south on California:

CHERRY CONSIGNMENT: Thanks to Jennifer for that photo and word that Cherry Consignment is open at 4142 California SW (map). The space was formerly home to Designer Labels; Cherry Consignment opened under brand-new ownership, and its website notes that the store is dealing in both women’s and men’s clothing, 11 am-6 pm Mondays-Saturdays. (Added 11:09 pm – a note from proprietor Nyla Bittermann with more info:)

We look forward to establishing ourselves as a Women’s/Men’s consignment store that caters to women and men of all shapes, sizes and lifestyles. We plan to provide those “hard to find items”: plus size, maternity and men’s business attire, in addition to women’s clothing.

We are SO excited to be new business owners in West Seattle. My husband grew up in WS, I have been here almost 20 years and we are raising 3 kids in this amazing community we call home!

We are currently in transformation with a new name, new signs, website in the works and a coat of fresh paint. In our two weeks of business we have met wonderful people who have welcomed us with open arms and we look forward to getting to know even more of our WS neighbors.

She says a grand-opening event is planned for September 1st (next Monday).

A CHILD BECOMES : Teaching assistant Hope from A Child Becomes Preschool e-mailed to share the news that the school has moved – it’s now based at Admiral Church (California and Hill; map) – and has opened a new Pre-K class that still has openings, Tues/Thurs/Fri, 11:45-2:45.

New business? Moved? Expanded? Special event? Let us know (all our contact info’s here); businesses also are welcome to post sales/special deals in the WSB Forums’ Freebies, Deals, Sales section, and job openings in the West Seattle Jobs Offered section, both free.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 incidents along Fauntleroy Way
August 25, 2009 5:35 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Triangle | West Seattle news

One, a business break-in attempt – the other targeted a car (whose owner is puzzled why the thief/thieves took what they did) – read on for both reports (one includes a photo):Read More

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Port says “Nickelsville” encampment must go by end of September
August 25, 2009 2:04 pm
|      33 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Followup to last week’s update from a spokesperson for the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville”: The Port of Seattle has just published a statement saying it’s rejecting the encampment’s request for an “extended stay” at Terminal 107 Park in eastern West Seattle, and will post new trespassing notices this week, expecting the camp to clear out by the end of September. We’re checking with encampment organizers for their reaction/next steps; they moved to the site a month ago.

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Happening now: West Seattle photographer’s freebie for jobseekers
August 25, 2009 1:34 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
That’s West Seattle photographer Rasmus Rasmussen in the foreground, Kelly Cline in the background. They’re at C & P Coffee till 6 pm tonight, or till they’ve photographed 120 jobseekers taking advantage of the “free headshot” offer (announced two weeks ago). We just checked in with Kelly via Twitter and she says it’s been a “slow-but-steady trickle” since this began at 11 am; she adds, “Happy people and gracious hosts. Very awesome feel-good vibes all around.” 4:12 PM: Diane just called, saying she’s just back from the photo setup and they haven’t maxed out yet, so they’ll definitely be there till 6. 10:27 PM: Here’s tonight’s Channel 13 TV story on the event.

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Back-to-school concerns? Meet your school board rep tomorrow
August 25, 2009 12:01 pm
|    Comments Off on Back-to-school concerns? Meet your school board rep tomorrow
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Seattle Public Schools are back in session two weeks from tomorrow, and if you’ve got concerns/issues to discuss with your School Board rep, Steve Sundquist has issued an open invitation to his next coffee chat, 9 am tomorrow at Uptown Espresso in The Junction (California/Edmunds/Erskine). From the announcement:

This is an opportunity to share what’s happening in education here in West Seattle, with students from West Seattle and across the district. I hope you can join me, and spread the word with the people in your community. If you cannot make it, feel free as always to contact me with your concerns at (206) 252-0040 or steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org

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Delridge Skatepark construction funding takes another turn
August 25, 2009 10:12 am
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Funding for the future Delridge Skatepark has taken as many twists and turns as a virtuoso performance by one of the talented skaters who will use it someday. First it was going to be in this year’s city budget – then that changed at the last minute. Then, half a million dollars was found after bids on other work – including Hiawatha Playfield renovations – came in much lower than planned, and another $250,000 was moved from what once was to be a “skate spot” at the future Myrtle Reservoir park (which is currently behind schedule for non-Parks reasons). Now, we have news from last night’s Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting that the funding situation has taken another turn: Committee member (and Pigeon Point resident) Pete Spalding tells WSB:

The monies that the Parks Department had originally earmarked for this project vanished last month. This was once again attributed to the ongoing financial issues the City of Seattle is facing. The folks at Parks are committed to trying to make sure that the Delridge skatepark gets built. At last night’s Parks & Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting a proposal was brought forward to use 500k in surplus Opportunity Fund dollars from the Pro Parks levy to fund this portion of the Delridge skatepark. There was lots of discussion of the pros and cons of making this transfer but eventually a motion was made and after more discussion the motion did pass. Now this has to be turned in to legislation that will go to the City Council for approval later this year. The folks in our community that support this project need to send e-mails, write letters and/or make telephone calls to all 9 of our City Council members encouraging them to support this legislation when it comes before them for a vote.

(Pro Parks is the levy that preceded Parks and Green Spaces.) We have messages out to other city sources to get more details on this situation, and will add that information as we get it. Meantime, here’s the contact information for City Councilmembers – West Seattle-residing Tom Rasmussen chairs the Parks Committee but since all members are elected “at large,” no one represents this area in particular, and it’s vital to express your opinion to all of them. 1:52 PM UPDATE: A bit more information: According to Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter, the $500,000 “vanished” because the city Finance Department said no to moving it to the Delridge Skatepark budget. (We’re still looking for the reason WHY the Finance Department said no; meantime, note that this was NOT money that the Levy Committee had a say over, in the first place – it didn’t come from the levy; it came from other projects, including Hiawatha, that came in with under-budget bids. Potter says last night’s committee vote to use remaining Pro Parks Opportunity Fund money “makes the budget whole” and faces the following Council action: “This money will be included in the 4th quarter supplemental budget legislation and adopted with the budget in November.” Meantime, the council Parks Committee will vote next month on the $250,000 move – so if you’re contacting councilmembers with an opinion, you’ll want to let them know what you think about that too, since it’s not a done deal yet.

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Neighborhood-plan survey: More than 1000 from West Seattle!
August 25, 2009 8:12 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

After extending the deadline for the once-in-a-decade survey to help update neighborhood plans around the city, the Seattle Planning Commission has posted that final tally of how many surveys it received per neighborhood. Yes, technically, Ballard/Crown Hill finished first, BUT as noted before, that area has just one plan, while West Seattle is broken into five neighborhood-plan areas, so if you add them up — Admiral, Delridge, Highland Park/Westwood, Morgan Junction, West Seattle Junction — the peninsula finished first, with 1,076 total. Watch for word of followups this fall, including meetings to discuss how the survey information (and input from last month’s meeting at Youngstown Arts Center) will be used to update those plans. Never seen your (or the nearest) neighborhood plan? You can find the plans for those five areas — developed a decade ago — in the right sidebar here.

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2 Tuesday reminders: Free head shots; African Children’s Choir
August 24, 2009 11:57 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

FREE HEAD SHOTS: We brought you first word two weeks ago of West Seattle photographer Rasmus Rasmussen‘s idea to help local jobseekers, and it’s since gotten attention from a couple of citywide media outlets, so it might be a hot ticket: 11 am tomorrow (Tuesday), first-come first-served, free head shots for jobseekers, C and P Coffee (5612 California SW; map). Here’s his own original post about it, and his followup about the publicity. (Early Tuesday update: Rasmus just announced via Twitter he’ll photograph up to 120 people, up from 100.)

FREE CONCERT: It’s been almost a month since we got the news that West Seattle Christian Church would play host to the African Children’s Choir for a free concert (donations accepted) – and now it’s almost here – Tuesday, 7 pm, in the WSCC activity center (east side of 42nd, south of Genesee; map). Here’s our original preview, including a clip of the world-renowned group.

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Door-to-door alert: Be careful who you let into your building
August 24, 2009 10:52 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Door-to-door alert | West Seattle news

As a side note to the recent West Seattle door-to-door alerts regarding magazine sellers who may or may not be legit, Ann shares a warning about solicitors in what are supposed to be secure buildings – read on:Read More

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Another opening date set: Proletariat Pizza in White Center
August 24, 2009 7:42 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle restaurants | White Center

Full Tilt Ice Cream proprietor Justin Cline first mentioned this in the WSB Forums but now we have confirmation: The new pizza place in the 16th SW business district of White Center, barely a block over the line from West Seattle, plans to open September 11th. Stefanie Albaeck and her husband Mike are opening Proletariat Pizza in the former bakery space across the street from Full Tilt. We interviewed them shortly after the first report of their plans last May, as published by our partner site White Center Now. Some have wondered about the name; Stefanie told us in May, with a smile, “It’s definitely a reflection of the neighborhood, the people we’re serving, and the people we are.” She and her husband, by the way, are West Seattleites – they moved to Highland Park six years ago. They told us they weren’t planning for their pizza to be any particular “style” – fresh ingredients, homemade recipes. More as their opening date gets closer.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car-theft-attempt arrest; break-in
August 24, 2009 6:21 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Two more reports to share – first, the break-in; a quick report from Shelley in Gatewood, just a few blocks from the one in the “broad daylight” report from earlier – she says a neighbor on Thistle near 37th SW (map) was broken into today – no other details yet. Meantime, David reports this from further southeast:

3:15 am last Friday two fellahs tried to steal a neighbor’s car. They got about fifty feet before being confronted by some interested neighbors. One perp fled and the other, who advanced menacingly on the neighbors but was talked out of anything rash, was arrested by SPD who arrived en masse a few minutes later. Owner and somewhat mangled car were reunited a short time later – all things considered, a happy ending. Since one of the neighbors fears retribution, as she was also a victim of the “multiple burglaries solved” robber, the exact address should not be referred to but it happened west of Westwood Village. Since happy endings are rare in crimes, I thought to report this.

Great point – as we were discussing with Southwest Precinct leadership last week while working on the “multiple burglaries” story to which David alludes, it IS important to get out the word about arrests as well as about the crimes themselves.

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Election 2009: New results update – two trends continue
August 24, 2009 4:56 pm
|    Comments Off on Election 2009: New results update – two trends continue
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

The election results won’t be final until a week from Wednesday, so daily counts are still coming out, and checkbox.jpgtoday’s total has Mike McGinn still on top of the Seattle mayoral race, almost a thousand votes ahead of Joe Mallahan, with incumbent Mayor Nickels (who conceded last Friday) two thousand votes behind Mallahan, in third. Here are those results; politics-watchers also had been noticing something we pointed out last week, the narrowing gap between the top two in the King County Executive race – Susan Hutchison now has 33% and Dow Constantine has 27% (full results here). As of the final Election Night count, it was 37% Hutchison, 22% Constantine. The county Elections Department estimates about 6,000 ballots remain to be counted.

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West Seattle real estate: Broker reports $4.5 million deal
August 24, 2009 2:02 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle real estate: Broker reports $4.5 million deal
 |   West Seattle housing | West Seattle news


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McQuaid Real Estate reported via Twitter today that it’s closed a $4.5 million deal on a 36-unit multifamily building in West Seattle. According to the company’s publicly viewable Facebook info, it’s the Admiralty House at 1520 California SW (Google Street View above), which McQuaid had listed for $4.9 million (here’s the flyer). Its current online listings include La Playa Vista on Alki for $1.8 million.

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Not to rush summer away, but … Christmas Ship schedule’s out
August 24, 2009 12:51 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fun stuff to do | Holidays

Some people like to plan ahead. Way ahead. The WSB Events calendar, in fact, has a few 2010 entries already. And with Christmas Eve “just” four months from today … we happen to have received the Christmas Ship schedule from Argosy Cruises, and thought we’d share the West Seattle dates – four stops during the second weekend in December. (Our video above is from the only visit we made it to last year – December 14, 2008 at Seacrest – hours before The Snow moved in.)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, (2009), FIRST SAILING
CHOIR: Northwest Girlchoir – Vivace
Depart: Pier 55 4:00pm, Return: 6:00pm
4:20-4:40 Pier 66
5:15-5:35 Seacrest Marina*

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, SECOND SAILING
CHOIR: Canterbury Belles
Depart: Pier 55 8:00pm, Return: 10:20pm
8:50-9:10 Lowman Beach*
9:40-10:00 Alki Beach*

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13
CHOIR: Soundwave
Depart: Pier 55 5:00pm, Return: 7:50pm
6:00-6:20 Winslow Waterfront Beach
7:10-7:30 Don Armeni*

The asterisk means a beach bonfire is planned. And as usual, they sell tickets for passengers to be on the boats, if you’d rather enjoy it that way instead of from shore – more info here, including the full regional schedule.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Broad-daylight break-in
August 24, 2009 10:53 am
|      32 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Gatewood | West Seattle news

From Michael in Gatewood:

Would like to spread the word on this one. On the 3900 block of Southern [map] our neighbor’s home was burglarized. Burglar used an ax to go through a secured back door in the middle of the day, Friday, August 21. Seattle Police were dispatched and came to house. No one hurt. No one saw or heard a thing, unfortunately. What concerns us is the violent nature of this break-in.

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Two reminders for West Seattle swimmers
August 24, 2009 7:06 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

First, a reminder that West Seattle’s only city-run indoor pool, Southwest Pool, is now closed for three weeks of drain-safety work, scheduled to reopen September 14th. Second, this is the final week of 7-day operations at Colman Pool (photo at right) this summer; after this Sunday, it’s closed except for one last late-season weekend, Saturday-Monday 9/5-9-7. Here’s the schedule.

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