Both games just ended – at the Southeast Athletic Complex, it was Rainier Beach 21, West Seattle HS 14 (now in a three-way tie for the division lead with RB and Nathan Hale); at the Southwest Athletic Complex, it was Franklin 20, Chief Sealth HS 6. Next Friday night – it’s the WSHS-Sealth crosstown faceoff for Westside’s homecoming game. We’ve got some video from the Sealth game (including the cheerleaders’ halftime zombie dance) and more notes to come. ADDED 10:17 PM: Two video clips – top, Sealth’s lone touchdown – halftime score was 20-0; Sealth defense kept Franklin off the board in the second half; Sealth offense got the touchdown in the 4th quarter. Next clip, the Sealth cheerleaders doing the “Thriller” zombie walk at halftime:

Still more to come – including notes from the WSHS game. P.S. Next week’s WSHS-Sealth game is in the running for KIRO’s Game of the Week – go here to vote. (Meantime, one more local school still to play this weekend – Seattle Lutheran plays at Naselle tomorrow afternoon.) ADDED 11:34 PM: Read on for our WSHS game notes:Read More

West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Fauntleroy Fall Festival edition

October 16, 2009 5:03 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Fauntleroy Fall Festival edition

| Fun stuff to do | WS culture/arts | WS Weekend Lineup

Sunday’s the big day – celebrate fall – the weather certainly is reminding us that it’s here – 2-6 pm Sunday in the heart of Fauntleroy! But first, work to help our greenspaces and watersheds at tomorrow’s Duwamish Alive! volunteer day, and then there’s tomorrow night’s Harvest Dinner/Auction to benefit the White Center Food Bank – wait, did we mention the performing pigs tomorrow morning at High Point Community Center? And if you’re ready to drive a bit, you can take the Remodeled Homes Tour either day this weekend to see the home for which Weitzel Construction (WSB sponsor) won an award! More than 50 events/activities in all in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club:Read More

Share This

Sylvan Way road work: Why the bike lane on bumpy road?

October 16, 2009 3:34 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| High Point | Transportation | West Seattle news

When SDOT confirmed the extended Fauntleroy Way bike-lane work one week ago, you may recall they also mentioned Sylvan Way. Just got this from Stacy, who’s concerned about the Sylvan work:

I wanted to share with you correspondence I received from SDOT regarding the road work on SW Sylvan Way. I sent SDOT an e-mail regarding my concerns about the recent work on Sylvan Way SW.

While I am very excited that they’ve added a long overdue bike lane and much needed re-striping (especially with bad weather approaching), I expressed my disappointment that this work was completed on a street which desperately needs resurfacing and/or at a minimum urgent pothole repairs – which I believe are dangerous to both bicyclists and motorists. I also found it interesting that in light of the lack of funds, most of this work was completed last Sunday, which has to cost SDOT an arm and a leg (have they never heard of time and a half on Sunday)?

As Mr. Hathaway pointed out, I plan on contacting the pothole hotline until the problem is addressed. With the increased number of condominiums and homes in the area, I can’t be the only person who uses this street on a daily basis. Hopefully more community members will also call this hotline.
*********
(reply that Stacy received from SDOT)

Thank you for contacting the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) regarding the bike facilities being laid down on Sylvan Way SW from Delridge Way SW to 35th Ave SW & SW Morgan St.

SDOT recognizes that portions of Sylvan Way SW are in poor condition. Let me provide some background on how Seattle prioritizes its paving needs, and then directly address where Sylvan Way SW stands in the queue.

On November 7th, 2006, voters passed the Bridge the Gap Levy (BTG), which provides new funding to address Seattle’s basic transportation maintenance needs. BTG is designed to address a backlog that has over $300 million in deferred street maintenance. These are streets like Sylvan Way SW and others nearby, where the road conditions indicates a need, but no funds have been available for years to provide re-pavement.

Unfortunately, it has taken a long time to accumulate this maintenance backlog, and it will take some time to work it off. SDOT cannot meet all the needs immediately, so work is prioritized. We recognize Sylvan Way SW as a need; however, it is prioritized below other major arterials which have higher traffic volumes. In 2009, SDOT has rehabilitated First Avenue South, Second Avenue South and Fourth Avenue South, as well as Fauntleroy Way SW. Major corridors on the list from 2008 include Boren Avenue, 15th Avenue West, and First Avenue South. To make sure we get the most benefit out of the funds available, we focus on repairing the busiest streets first, taking into account condition, cost, transit, volume of traffic, and several other criteria. Our goal is to deliver the greatest area of improvement to the highest number of users.

Even though Sylvan Way SW is not in optimal condition, it is an important connection and there is still a benefit to cyclists by providing the facilities. Installing bicycle lanes and sharrows on Sylvan Way SW is part of a larger effort to implement the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan which was adopted in the fall of 2007. The plan calls for installing over 400 miles of new bicycle facilities. There are many bicyclists who prefer to use Sylvan Way SW since it provides a very direct east/west connection. These new bike lanes & sharrows will benefit these bicyclists.

If you are a cyclist considering the use of Sylvan Way SW, we recognize that there are many different types of bicyclists with varying skill and comfort levels. If you do not feel comfortable riding on Sylvan Way SW, there are alternative routes. You may want to look at our bicycling guide map which can be found on our web site at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaps.htm.

In the mean time, SDOT will continue to make spot repairs along Sylvan Way SW as requested and identified. You can request pothole repairs to specific locations by calling the SDOT hotline 206-684-ROAD (7623) or visiting www.seattle.gov/transportation.

Sincerely,

James Hathaway, Manager
Street Maintenance Division
Seattle Department of Transportation

Share This

Sold Home Décor Furniture Consignment: New WSB sponsor

October 16, 2009 1:53 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

This afternoon we’re welcoming our newest sponsor, Sold Home Décor Furniture Consignment, which just opened a retail store in West Seattle. Here’s what Sold Home Décor proprietor Maria Groen would like you to know about her business: Sold Home Décor Furniture Consignment is a budget- and planet-friendly way to shop. Customers get great pieces for their home at low prices, along with the satisfaction of being part of the recycling movement. We really live our motto, “Reuse, recycle, redesign.” Maria says, “My clients love the quality and variety of home furnishings. Buyers come back for the prices, and people consigning their furniture with me love the convenience and way that I market to customers.” You can find out how the consignment process works – and what’s in the Sold Home Décor store right now – by checking out the Sold Home Décor website. Sold Home Décor Furniture Consignment is at 9003 35th SW, across the street from the Southwest Branch Library, open noon-6 Wednesdays-Friday, noon-5 Saturdays, 1-4 pm Sundays. Thanks to Sold Home Décor Furniture Consignment for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; the sponsor team, with info on joining, is all here!

Share This

West Seattle Candidates’ Forum, report #2: Details, video

October 16, 2009 12:28 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | West Seattle video

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As Seattle’s most populous peninsula, West Seattle has transportation challenges that are widely known.

Right?

Not necessarily widely known by all the candidates who showed up at the West Seattle Candidates’ Forum at Youngstown Arts Center last night, co-sponsored by the Delridge Neighborhoods and Southwest District Councils (whose members represent most of the major community groups/organizations around the peninsula).

As noted in our first “toplines” report last night, neither candidate for mayor showed up (explained as “due to a series of events”), so the forum was focused on the four council races, from which six of the eight candidates appeared.

Share This

Followups: 35th SW tree trimming today; Junction bus stop back

October 16, 2009 10:40 am

| 9 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Reminder that what we now know (thanks to the SDOT news release) to be Seattle’s largest collection of European Hornbeam trees is getting trimmed today along 35th SW between Roxbury and Raymond, till about mid-afternoon, thanks to private arborists donating their services. (We took that photo a short time ago.) That means the outside lane is closed wherever crews are working. Meantime, another sighting – the bus stop in front of the new QFC in The Junction is finally officially back!

Thanks to Celeste for spotting it yesterday and tipping us overnight. It was gone for months during construction of Capco Plaza.

Share This

Too close for comfort? Liquor store location raises concern

October 16, 2009 9:18 am

| 67 COMMENTS

| Health | Safety | West Seattle news

View Larger Map

When the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership meets next Tuesday, one of the agenda items centers on the planned new location of a liquor store in Westwood Village (as first reported here a month ago, it’s intended to replace the one that closed in Morgan Junction last year). Donn DeVore of the Westwood Neighborhood Council is concerned about the location’s proximity to Sealth/Denny playfields and the Southwest Athletic Complex, just across SW Trenton from the back of the store, which is supposed to take over part of the Famous Footwear space on the north side of the shopping center – in Google Street View above, you can see the southern stairs from the SWAC field at left, the back of the liquor store’s future home at right. (Coincidentally, info about the Healthy Youth Partnership, which focuses primarily on underage drinking, is to be handed out at SWAC tonight before/during the Sealth homecoming game.) Tuesday night’s meeting is at Madison Middle School, 6 pm.

Share This

Door-to-door alerts, of sorts: Suspicious sightings, + soliciting

October 16, 2009 9:00 am

| 16 COMMENTS

| Door-to-door alert | West Seattle news

Two alerts (and two quick mentions) to share this morning – not necessarily sellers, though (ADDED 3:13 PM – a solicitor report) – read on:Read More

Share This

Chief Sealth homecoming game tonight: Meet the captain

October 16, 2009 6:48 am

| 18 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

(Chief Sealth’s Daniel Davis explains why the team’s Oregon trip last week [Clatskanie 21, Sealth 14] was fun)
By Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publisher

When Chief Sealth High School varsity-football captain Daniel Davis was a freshman, he thought the best way to go about the first week of football practice was to not say much and get the lay of the land.

That changed a couple of days into that week, when he and another player decided to throw the ball around. Near the end of practice, Daniel launched a pass to a friend that covered almost 40 yards. “Coach ran over to me, ” he said, “and asked, ‘Freshman, did you throw that ball?'” After he said he did, the coach asked, without hesitating, “You want to play quarterback?”

15 years old at the time, Davis found it to be a pretty daunting question. But after talking to cousins who had played not only high school but college ball, he decided to give it a try. At his very first game as the freshman starting quarterback he remembers his first series as being nothing to write home about, but the next time he got the ball he found a receiver on the sideline and managed to put together an 80-yard pass play that led to a touchdown. Near the end of that same game he threw another touchdown pass to his friend and fellow freshman, Greg Wilson.

He’s never looked back … though his high-school accomplishments overall are worth reviewing and celebrating!Read More

Share This

West Seattle Eagles’ first Oktoberfest; Catsino; more events

October 16, 2009 6:09 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Eagles’ first Oktoberfest; Catsino; more events

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Quick notes on 6 more upcoming West Seattle events just announced: The West Seattle Eagles have just announced their first-ever Oktoberfest, coming up on October 24th, including beer/brats/sauerkraut, flag football, and kid/adult Ms. Oktoberfest costume contests … The West Seattle High School Radio Players open “Invasion from Mars, featuring The Shadow” on October 29th … Also that night, Alki Idol starts a new competition season at Bamboo … Keller Williams Realty in The Junction is having a chili cookoff and carved-pumpkin contest at noon October 30th … Furry Faces Foundation is presenting its 2nd annual Catsino at Beveridge Place Pub 2-6 pm Nov. 14 (flyer), followed by the Morgan Junction Pet Adoption Stroll the next day (flyer) … More details on these events and TONS of others are on the WSB Events Calendar page.

Share This

Alki Community Council: Homestead update; plane talk; Liberty

October 16, 2009 3:20 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| Alki Homestead | Alki Statue of Liberty | West Seattle news

From Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting: Three major topics – a followup to the Alki Homestead proposal presentation that anchored the last meeting; a report on how an airline’s proposal to change flight patterns would affect the area; and accountability for Statue of Liberty Plaza now that the Plaza Project Committee has phased itself out. Read on for details on all three:Read More

Share This

New school-attendance boundaries: West Seattle Q&A meeting #1

October 16, 2009 12:48 am

| Comments Off on New school-attendance boundaries: West Seattle Q&A meeting #1

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

By Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Thursday night’s West Seattle Q/A session for Seattle Public Schools‘ proposed school-attendance boundaries was the first of two chances for families to publicly air any concerns, problems and issues they might have with the proposal (the second chance is at Denny International Middle School tonight, 6:30 pm)

Following up on the big news from Monday night’s meeting at Schmitz Park Elementary with School Board rep Steve Sundquist — the West Seattle map error (now officially acknowledged here) — the hot issue at Thursday night’s meeting surrounded the factors that are influencing the boundaries within the district.

Share This