day : 10/10/2009 10 results

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 robbers hold up Tervo’s Mini-Mart

While we were at the scene of the SW Barton crash, police there confirmed a report we’d been checking out shortly before it happened – that Tervo’s Mini-Mart in the Triangle (map) had been robbed a few hours ago. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith says two people, one with a handgun, held up the store. He says nobody was hurt, and nobody’s been arrested yet. No other details so far.

Updates: Car hits pole west of Westwood Village, 1 to hospital

(Photo added 9:54 pm)
ORIGINAL 9:45 PM REPORT: A crash described as car vs. pole — “heavy rescue” on the 911 log – is closing Barton at 30th (just west of Westwood Village – here’s a map), all lanes according to the scanner. The collision has cut power to part of the area, also per the scanner. 9:54 PM UPDATE: Just added a cameraphone photo. Fire/rescue crews are trying to get into the vehicle by cutting its top off – it’s on its side against the pole – we don’t know how many people are inside or what condition they are in. 10:08 PM UPDATE: Commenter Conrad has a different line of sight than our crew and says they’ve gotten the driver into an ambulance. 10:21 PM UPDATE: Our crew confirms one man’s been taken to the hospital; since it was by ambulance rather than SFD medic unit, that usually indicates injuries were not life-threatening. Power’s still out around the intersection. Seattle City Light has arrived. 10:38 PM UPDATE: Barton is partly reopened (and should be fully reopened shortly); the power’s back on; the wreckage will be cleared before long.

11:04 PM UPDATE: Lt. Ron Smith at the Southwest Precinct tells us the driver has a minor injury and that investigators are looking into the possibility of DUI, though, he confirms, the driver did indeed tell police (as Conrad reported in comments) he had swerved to avoid a dog.

West Seattle MaxMobile visit followup: “Baron” finds a home

More dog news: When the Seattle Humane Society‘s big yellow MaxMobile was at West Seattle Thriftway the other day, Michele sent a photo of a German Shepherd named Baron who was there awaiting his “forever home.” Tonight, we got a note confirming he did – Brent wrote in to say thanks for the news about Baron, with the photo above:

Baron (was a name given by the shelter) now going by “Payton” has a new family and a new buddy “Indy,” a 5 year old German Shepherd, and is doing well very well in his new surroundings. Baron is wearing the harness.

Got room to give somebody a new forever home? The MaxMobile calendar shows it’s coming back to West Seattle twice in the next eight days – Pet Pros in Westwood Village next Friday, then Next to Nature in The Junction two days later.

Video: Human, canine volunteers finish up new Westcrest feature

That video shows what you might call a victory howl for the canine volunteers at Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area this morning, as they and human companions finished spreading wood chips at the newly created “special needs” area at West Seattle’s only off-leash park – a section that’s more easily accessible for disabled/elderly users. We first reported earlier this week on Westcrest OLA steward Steve McElhenney‘s effort to make this happen; during this morning’s work party, we asked Steve to tell us more about the volunteer efforts and their result:

If you’re a Westcrest OLA user and want to keep up with other volunteer efforts (among other topics), you can join their Yahoo! mailing list by going here.

Next chance to help library supporters fight more budget cuts

Another City Council-led hearing on the 2010 city budget is coming up this week. It’s not happening in West Seattle, but the fate of many city-operated services hangs in the budget balance – particularly the Seattle Public Library. According to Friends of SPL, there will be dramatic effects at West Seattle libraries, particularly the Delridge, High Point, and WS (Admiral) branches — which would close on Fridays and Sundays, and cut back other hours — as well as nearby South Park. Sarel Rowe from Friends of SPL says they didn’t get the support turnout they were hoping for at the first budget hearing this past week (as they report here), so they are pleading with library supporters to come make brief remarks in support of prioritizing library funding at these two hearings – one just days away:

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14
Northwest African-American Museum
2300 S Massachusetts St. (map)

5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26 at
City Council Chambers
600 4th Avenue (map)

Rowe says, “We need people who will stand up and speak for two minutes in support of the library. One night at a hearing is a small investment if one considers that the risk is closures and reduced hours of our neighborhood branches. E-mails help alot but we must also have support at the hearings if we have any hope of blunting or avoiding these service cuts.” And if you haven’t taken the Friends of SPL survey about library use yet, go here. Meantime, you can dig into details of the 2010 budget proposal by going here.

Eat Local Now! tomorrow night: See who’s exhibiting

Hope we’ll be seeing you tomorrow night at Eat Local Now! – the first year West Seattle is headquarters for this dinner/auction event celebrating the growing (in more ways than one) local-food movement, co-presented by groups including Sustainable West Seattle and CoolMom, featuring a great lineup of local chefs and other food stars, and with co-sponsors including WSB. We got word a couple days ago that tickets were sold out, so if you don’t have yours, it’s unfortunately too late, but organizers asked to share a list of — and acknowledgment for — exhibitors who will be there (including us) — check it out:Read More

West Seattle traffic alerts: The Bridge and Sylvan Way

October 10, 2009 10:34 am
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 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Reminder: SDOT announced two days ago that crews planned to work on The Bridge today, westbound, at the Harbor Avenue exit till about 6 pm, replacing a “crash cushion.” And we have word from Marco via Twitter that Sylvan Way through High Point (map) is closed – not sure if that’s related to the bike-lane work that we reported yesterday, but if you usually use that “through route” between Delridge and 35th (or points inbetween), heads up.

Happening this morning: Pancakes, rummage sale, car washes

October 10, 2009 6:43 am
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 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

Often, the morning preview includes highlights from all dayparts. Today’s got so much going on, we’re just going to start with the morning. First: Pancakes! Alki Lodge #152 presents a pancake breakfast at the Masonic Hall (4736 40th SW), 8 am-11 am, sausage, eggs, pancakes, coffee, OJ, adults $5/kids $4. 9 am is when the Tibbetts United Methodist Church mega-rummage sale kicks off day 2, 3940 41st SW, till 3 pm; and there are four fundraising car washes today – this preview details the 3 for West Seattle’s three high schools; this one is for a Burien car wash (in case you’re headed that way) benefiting a teacher fighting cancer. MUCH more going on, of course – see it all in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

Halloween-themed web-wandering: Online “artists’ studio tour”

October 10, 2009 12:31 am
|    Comments Off on Halloween-themed web-wandering: Online “artists’ studio tour”
 |   Holidays | West Seattle online | WS culture/arts

jackols.jpgWest Seattle artist Karen Lyons shares news of an “online studio tour” in which she’s participating, to celebrate Halloween and to raise money for bat conservation. It’s a fun site to wander if you have at least a few minutes to spare – halloweenstudiotour.com – and you can contact Karen at woosel@wildmail.com if you want to know more.