day : 23/09/2009 11 results

Historical Society: After the time capsule, on to Halloween ghosts

September 23, 2009 11:25 pm

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| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

By Lesley Holdcroft
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Andrea Mercado is glowing after the success of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society time capsule project. “This is not for us; it’s for them – the people who are coming after us. It’s really for the kids who were there.” (Like Loren and Clara Peterson, with Mercado in the photo at left from last Saturday’s time-capsule-filling.)

As director of the Log House Museum, Mercado spent a good deal of time with children to complete this project, and several kids helped load up the items to be revealed in 50 years’ time (WSB Saturday coverage here and here).

“The first thing that went into the time capsule was a 7 year-old’s ‘Hello!’ as he spoke the word into the container,” Mercado says. “It was his greeting to the future.”

Next up for the Historical Society: the annual autumn gala. This year – for the first time – the Society presents “Ghosts of the Westside.”

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Tomorrow morning: WSHS Foundation Back-to-School breakfast

September 23, 2009 10:12 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

It’ll be too late to mention this in our customary early-morning “day ahead” preview, so in case you’ve forgotten – tomorrow’s the West Seattle High School Foundation Back-to-School Breakfast, with an all-star cast including WSHS alum astronaut Capt. Gregory Johnson (left), who spoke at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time-capsule celebration last Saturday and at the Museum of Flight tonight. Breakfast starts at 7:30 am, with the program beginning at 8; get a sneak peek at special school decorations in this story on the new website written by assistant principal Jenni MacDonald.

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“Nickelsville” update: Showdown ahead?

September 23, 2009 8:41 pm

| 31 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

(File photo of “Nickelsville” by Christopher Boffoli)
If you’ve wondered what’s up with “Nickelsville,” as the homeless encampment now headquartered at West Seattle’s Terminal 107 Park has been calling itself, we just happened onto a new communique on its website, dated today:

September 22, 2009 – yesterday – was our first full year! Friday will be the anniversary of the day the Nickelsville 25 took their stand and (thanks to them) the rest of us successfully moved to state land.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH, WE WILL BE CELEBRATING WITH NICKELSVILLE’S 1st BIRTHDAY PARTY! IT’S AT 3 PM AT NICKELSVILLE AND WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AND THE REST OF OUR OLD AND NEW FRIENDS.

On hand will be hamburgers, hot dogs, Leslie’s Nickelsville Birthday Cake, Peggy’s 18 Minute Video of the Highs and Lows of Nickelsville’s first year, music from our many friends and etc.

To speed the cooking of the hamburgers, we are looking for a big new grill that can handle our firewood. After a year, one of our two major grills bit the dust last week.

This is the extent of the good news.

The bad news is that the Port still wants to sweep us next Wednesday – September 30th. While we are grateful for Port Commissioners Tarleton and Creighton for meeting with us last week, no permanent location has been found for us to move to.

Without a permanent location, Nickelsville will not move.

If you believe homeless people should have a place like Nickelsville in Seattle, this is your week to take a stand. You are needed September 30th. Please check in at the Camp any time after first light next Wednesday. For that week (September 30th) only, the Nickelsville Central Committee Meeting (always at 9 AM) will be meeting at Nickelsville. You are invited.

The more our friends are standing with us, the better the chance for a good resolution.

Finally, SHARE’s bus ticket crisis will come to a head the evening of Monday, September 28th. They desperately need drivers to help them reach the homes the local politicians whose sidewalks they will be sleeping in front of until this problem is solved. (Thank you to the 14 drivers who’ve already volunteered to help! Vans and trucks are particularly needed!)

Please give SHARE a call at (206) 448-7889 or (206) 956-0334 if you can help.

We’ll check with the port tomorrow for its official comment.

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West Seattle (and beyond) scenes: From the bird to the bridge

September 23, 2009 6:41 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Seen around town | West Seattle news

Spotted pecking and scratching in the shrubbery outside High Point Library right after mayoral candidate Mike McGinn‘s town hall (covered here) – that chicken.

Spotted by Walking On Logs at the Fauntleroy end of The Bridge – decorations we assume have to do with the last two nights’ big concerts:

And thanks to Jackie (plus an unidentified cell-phone-photo sender) for noting the Ivar’s “undersea billboard” pulled from the water off Alki last month is now ashore and above lower Spokane Street just west of 4th:

Ivar’s has added more videos to its ongoing saga of the purported billboard discovery.

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Happening now: Mike McGinn “town hall” at High Point Library

September 23, 2009 4:31 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

We’re at High Point Library, where mayoral candidate Mike McGinn has just arrived for his first West Seattle “town hall” meeting. He’s also expected at the Highland Park Action Committee candidate forum at 7 pm tonight (opponent Joe Mallahan had not RSVP’d for that as of last report). He just opened by saying he’s not here to give a speech but to listen and answer questions. We’ll add some notes based on what he says – and what he’s asked. About two dozen people are here.

4:45 PM UPDATE: Pete Spalding from Pigeon Point asked the first question – what would McGinn do to help small businesses survive and thrive? McGinn said he supports raising the B&O tax exemption and making it easier to get permits – also doing more outreach, particularly to small businesspeople from what he described as “other cultures” who might have a hard time understanding the process.

(Post-forum note – After the jump, you can read the rest of our as-it-happened coverage)Read More

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Almost time for Fauntleroy Creek salmon watch – 2 ways to help

September 23, 2009 2:37 pm

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| Environment | Fauntleroy | How to help | West Seattle news

It’s hard to see the creek for the trees – but it’s there – that’s the view from the Fauntleroy Creek overlook across from the ferry terminal, looking down toward the water. We have two updates to share from Fauntleroy’s Judy Pickens – first, the spawners may be getting closer, and that means they need people to sign up to keep watch on the creek:

2009 SALMON WATCH INVITES VOLUNTEERS

Reports of large coho being caught off of Bellingham are encouraging that our coho may have survived warm ocean conditions to return to Puget Sound and Fauntleroy Creek. We’ll know more in a few weeks when fishers off of Colman Pool report what they’re catching.

In anticipation, we’re starting to organize the annual salmon watch, whereby volunteers tally spawners and record their condition. Watchers schedule half-hour shifts immediately after high tide. You’ll be trained during your first shift and can come as little or as much as your calendar permits. The watch will start Oct. 26 and go until Thanksgiving.

For questions or to get on the list, contact Judy Pickens at 938-4203 or judy_pickens@msn.com.

Judy also sends word of the drum event that will precede the creek watch – here’s one of our photos from last year, showing Jamie Shilling, who Judy writes will help lead again this year:

CALLING ALL DRUMMERS!

The annual drumming to call in spawners to Fauntleroy Creek will be at the fish-ladder viewpoint (SW Director and upper Fauntleroy Way SW) on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 PM. Jamie Shilling will lead the singing and drumming, and Randy Sleight will lend his storytelling skills. Bring any kind of drum you have or can devise and join your neighbors in this spirited event for all ages.

Here’s a map to the creek overlook. P.S. One week before Salmon Watch and drumming, it’s the Fauntleroy Fall Festival – 2-6 pm October 18th – with activities including pony rides, arts and crafts, performances, games, dunk tanks, food, on both sides of the “bend in the road” where you’ll find Fauntleroy Church, YMCA, The Hall at Fauntleroy.

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Bookish in West Seattle: Author reading last night, 1 tomorrow

September 23, 2009 12:10 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS culture/arts

That’s Seattle-based author Robert Spector at CAPERS in The Junction last night, talking about his book “The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving.” It’s got extra West Seattle significance because several local businesses are mentioned, including Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), Easy Street Records, Husky Deli and Zamboanga. (Spector’s speaking at Town Hall downtown tonight.)

Meantime, a local author who’s gaining new national attention for her latest work will be at High Point Library tomorrow night: We talked with Gatewood’s Lyanda Lynn Haupt in July about her book “Crow Planet” (story here), which has since been reviewed by the New York Times (read that here). She speaks at HP Library (map) at 6:30 pm tomorrow; her appearance is sponsored by Junction independent bookstore Square One Books (WSB sponsor). (You can also read Haupt’s more-frequent writing at her website The Tangled Nest.)

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Keeping West Seattle waters clean: 2 meetings about CSOs

September 23, 2009 11:02 am

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| Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Just in from the county (you can read more about CSOs here):

Two meetings, sponsored by King County Wastewater Treatment Division, will be held in West Seattle dealing with the the CSO Beach Projects. CSOs or combined sewer overflows occur in older parts of the city during heavy rain events when storm water enters the sewer system. King County is working to reduce the number of occurrences and the amount of CSO volume. Please come to the open house to learn more about the problem and King County’s approach to achieving CSO control in your neighborhood.

Open House for the Morgan Neighborhood
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
6:30-8:30 pm
Kenney Retirement Center, 7125 Fauntleroy Ave SW

Open House for the Fauntleroy Neighborhood
Thursday, October 8, 2009
6:30-8:30 pm
Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Ave SW

Please contact Martha Tuttle @206-684-1207 or martha.tuttle@kingcounty.gov for any questions.

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2 3 door-to-door alerts: Meat and meet

September 23, 2009 10:08 am

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| Door-to-door alert

~~Two~~ Three door-to-door alerts to share this morning (2 involving what appears to be the same team) – read on:Read More

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Potter Construction: New West Seattle Blog sponsor – welcome!

September 23, 2009 9:05 am

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| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

This morning we’re welcoming one of our newest sponsors, Potter Construction. New sponsors are offered the chance to tell you about their business (at right, that’s Gary Potter), and here’s what they would like you to know: Potter Construction has been West Seattle’s trusted source for design/build and home remodeling since 1979. Our long list of satisfied Westside customers can vouch that we live up to our motto of “building peace of mind into every project.” We also have a strong connection to the local community and are involved in a number of local organizations from West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Rotary to the West Seattle Club and the West Seattle YMCA. We’re all about working, living and giving locally! A lot of our clients first hear about Potter through word of mouth from our past clients or meet us at home and remodeling shows. They like the fact that we are local, we do great work and we have been doing business in West Seattle for 30 years. They also appreciate the importance we place on communication and follow-up — for every major project, we set up a recurring weekly meeting so everything is on the table and any questions can be answered. We hold their hands and walk them through the process so they can set realistic expectations and be educated from the start. One of the most common comments we hear from clients is that our attention to detail, thoroughness and finished work are top notch. We always show up when we say we will, and clean up well before we leave each night. Potter Construction is online at potterconstruction.com; call 206-935-9696, or e-mail here. Thanks to Potter Construction for sponsoring 24/7 independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news here on WSB – the full sponsor team is here, with info on how to join!

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Today/tonight: School chat, astronaut speech, candidates in HP

September 23, 2009 6:03 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

SCHOOL CHAT: This morning, for the first time since the start of the new school year, West Seattle’s school-board rep Steve Sundquist invites anyone and everyone interested in talking about education to join him at Uptown Espresso in The Junction (map), 9 am, for a coffee-hour chat.

ASTRONAUT SPEECH: Continuing his local appearances, West Seattle-raised astronaut Capt. Gregory Johnson speaks tonight at Museum of Flight (7 pm; map).

CANDIDATES IN HIGHLAND PARK: Many of the people who want your vote for Seattle Mayor, City Council and Port Commission will appear before the Highland Park Action Committee at 7 pm tonight, HP Improvement Club building (map).

CANDIDATE IN HIGH POINT: Before participating in that forum, mayoral hopeful Mike McGinn plans a “town hall” get-together at High Point Library (map), 4:30 pm.

CHEESE! Metropolitan Market launches a special two-week cheese celebration today; full details here.

That’s not all – more events tonight (including Cub Scout recruiting at OLG, 7 pm), on the WSB West Seattle-wide Events calendar.

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