West Seattle, Washington

23 Tuesday

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month : 10/2009 405 results

High school sports: Big game tonight for WSHS girls’ soccer
October 28, 2009 1:01 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Thanks to Sandy for sending word via Facebook – West Seattle High School‘s girls varsity soccer team is playing Nathan Hale tonight “to see who will be the Metro Sound Division champ.” You can cheer them on at 7 pm at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle).

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Dia de los Muertos in West Seattle: Community tribute at Red Cup
October 28, 2009 11:26 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

That display atop the fireplace inside Red Cup Espresso in The Junction (4451 California SW) is in honor of Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – which is coming up this weekend, and anyone who wants to pay tribute to someone they’ve lost is welcome to add to it. We heard about it from Evonne, whose daughter is on the Red Cup staff; she says it started with a tribute to Angelia Paulsen, the Red Cup founder killed in a car crash in early 2008, and grew from there: “It is set up so that anyone can put up a picture or memento of a loved one who has died. Articles will be returned to their owners – might be a good idea to put their names on the back so they can be returned. The exhibit will, hopefully, become a community art project celebrating the lives of those that have touched others in many ways.” If you are not familiar with the Dia de los Muertos tradition, here’s a primer. ADDED 11:55 AM: Thanks to “k” for noting in comments that a Day of the Dead commemoration is also coming up at Seattle Yarn (5633 California SW); it’s happening Saturday and here are details.

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Warning: Seattle City Light says phone scammers are at it again
October 28, 2009 10:18 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Utilities

Seattle City Light has had to warn about this kind of scam before, and now they’re issuing a new alert: Telephone scammers “appear to be targeting customers with Asian surnames,” claiming to be utility-bill collectors and demanding credit-card numbers. Read on for the full warning:Read More

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Hiawatha Playfield update: Getting back on track
October 28, 2009 8:01 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

2 weeks ago, the Parks Department disclosed the turf put down during the renovations at Hiawatha Playfield had to be replaced because it was found to be defective. The replacement is now well under way; Tim McMonigle from the West Seattle Soccer Club got the above photo on Tuesday and reports:

After getting replacement turf for the defective product, they have the majority of the turf down. They are still rolling it out, and then need to spread the rubber pellets.

As you can see in the foreground of the first picture, they are moving bundles of sod and putting it in various areas outside the field. It’s looking good, and hopefully will be done for our league games in December.

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Today/tonight: Short school; Kenney 100th; HPAC; “Dow Chow”
October 28, 2009 6:03 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: Short school; Kenney 100th; HPAC; “Dow Chow”
 |   Highland Park | The Kenney | West Seattle history | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants | West Seattle schools

EARLY DISMISSAL DAY FOR MANY SCHOOLS: It’s officially an “early dismissal day” for Seattle Public Schools, with many independent schools following suit, while some tweak the schedule to suit what needs to be done (at Chief Sealth High School, for example, no classes – it’s parent/teacher conference time).

(August 2009 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
THE KENNEY’S 100TH: Big celebration today at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way) – marking the 100th anniversary of its grand opening. Here’s the invite:

In honor of Samuel and Jessie Kenney, please join us as we celebrate 100 years of The Kenney’s Grand Opening!

4:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m., Community Rooms at The Kenney

It will be an open house with a short program at 4:15 p.m. in the Community Rooms. If you are unable to make it for the program, please stop by later for a glass of wine and some food.

The Calvary Lutheran Choir will also be performing songs from the early 1900s and will be dressed in clothing from that time period.

A chocolate fountain and champagne bar in the Historic Seaview Building, along with a historical timeline and Samuel and Jessie Kenney (volunteers dressed up), will also be in attendance.

HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: 7 pm tonight, Highland Park Improvement Club building – the agenda note from HPAC chair Dan Mullins:

This month we will have 2 speakers and a twist on Nicole’s Local Business Spotlight that will surprise you.

Our first Speaker will be Susanne Friedman from Seattle Parks Dept. to give us an update on the progress and future plans for Westcrest Park. Our second speaker will be Amy Shaflik from Treehouse to let us know about the great work they are doing for foster children in our community. And Nicole’s Spotlight will be very different and fun and I predict that you will want to get involved.

Please come and meet your neighbors, enjoy a little potluck dinner and help make our neighborhood a great place to live!

“DOW CHOW”: No, this has nothing to do with a certain candidate. In this case, “Dow” stands for “Dow Jones Industrial Average.” 5-11 pm tonight, Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) is raising money for Arts Corps with a fun contest that’s paired with special discounts. First – the discounts: Whatever the Dow closes at today, no menu price will be higher – for example, yesterday it closed at 9882, so the most expensive menu item would have been $9.88. Now, the guessing: Guess tonight what the Dow will close at TOMORROW – $1 per guess – and the person who comes closest will win the closing number worth of meals at Chow Foods (parent company of Endolyne Joe’s) restaurants – if it closes at 9900, you get $9,900 worth. Read more about the contest, promotion and fundraiser here – then go to Endolyne Joe’s between 5 and 11 tonight (maybe right after visiting the not-far-away Kenney!).

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Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: Sally Bagshaw
October 28, 2009 3:19 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

checkbox.jpgThis morning we conclude our city-candidate closeups; we took a look at them all before the primary election, and with voting under way now for next Tuesday’s general election, we’re checking back in with the finalists in five city races – mayor and council. We’ve already looked at mayor (Mike McGinn here, Joe Mallahan here), City Council Position 6 (Nick Licata here, Jessie Israel here) and City Council Position 8 (Mike O’Brien here and Robert Rosencrantz here); then it was Council Position 2 (Richard Conlin here and David Ginsberg here), and we’re concluding now with Position 4.

By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Sally Bagshaw has a long experience working in the public sector, including time as head of the civil division of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, but this is her first run for Seattle elected office.

“The very first thing I am going to do (if elected) is to keep my mouth shut and my ears open so that I know what is going on and I learn what is happening, that I know how the Council operates.”

She, like most candidates, feels the area’s transportation problems are legion.

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Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: David Bloom
October 28, 2009 3:04 am
|    Comments Off on Election 2009, City Council Position 4 closeup: David Bloom
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

checkbox.jpgThis morning we conclude our city-candidate closeups; we took a look at them all before the primary election, and with voting under way now for next Tuesday’s general election, we’re checking back in with the finalists in five city races – mayor and council. We’ve already looked at mayor (Mike McGinn here, Joe Mallahan here), City Council Position 6 (Nick Licata here, Jessie Israel here) and City Council Position 8 (Mike O’Brien here and Robert Rosencrantz here); then it was Council Position 2 (Richard Conlin here and David Ginsberg here), and we’re concluding now with Position 4.

By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

City Council Position 4 candidate David Bloom thinks the transit system serving Seattle is in pretty rough shape and would like to see the council pressure the county-run agency to stop being downtown centric and adopt more cross-town service.

“(The City Council) does not run Metro, but we certainly can have strong influence over decisions that are made,” says Bloom, a minister and longtime social-justice activist. “We have bus lines in the city that are running at capacity all the time.”

Bloom sees a problem in Metro’s current method of allocating new bus routes under a 40, 40, 20 system, or 40 percent of buses for east King County, 40 percent for south King County and 20 percent for Seattle. That formula was put in place in the 1990s when the eastern and southern suburbs were growing rapidly and Seattle was not. Now, of course, Seattle is growing at a rate some would say outstrips the Eastside and southern suburbs.

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Countdown to West Seattle Halloween 2009
October 28, 2009 1:43 am
|    Comments Off on Countdown to West Seattle Halloween 2009
 |   Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

Just a few nights till Halloween – and the fun really gets into gear tonight at 6 pm, with pumpkin-carving and a monster-movie double feature at Freshy’s Coffee. That’s one of many events on the WSB Halloween page. There are of course the events ON Halloween – such as the one where you might find characters such as those at left; the guy in the horns, second from right, is one of our fellow Seattle neighborhood newsies, Jordan from Wallingford’s own Wallyhood, who will be over here on the peninsula Saturday night as mastermind of “Hive Mind Halloween XV: Things That Go Bump in the Night” (that’s his wife in the pic sporting the then-bump who has since debuted as Baby Z). HMH starts at 9 pm Saturday at Youngstown Arts Center, costumes REQUIRED, 21+, $20 at the door, all proceeds benefit Youngstown and Room to Read, which builds schools and libraries in countries including Nepal and Cambodia, providing scholarships for girls there too. The Halloween page also includes the trick-or-treating lowdown – Admiral on Friday (check the map with the list of participants), The Junction and Westwood on Saturday, with lots of other players too. (And remember you get an extra hour for revelry Saturday night, since Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 am Sunday, when we’ll “fall back” an hour.)

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West Seattle Weather Watch: The sky’s high-rise
October 27, 2009 10:30 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Weather Watch: The sky’s high-rise
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Babs shares that photo, taken from her Avalon Way deck, with the caption, “24 hours of crazy weather ends like this.” Crazy indeed. Tonight’s forecast suggests we have about 24 hours till the rain returns.

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High school sports: What’s next for Seattle Lutheran teams
October 27, 2009 6:16 pm
|    Comments Off on High school sports: What’s next for Seattle Lutheran teams
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Update from Seattle Lutheran High School‘s Bil Hood:

The Seattle Lutheran Saints Girls Soccer Team ended their regular season yesterday with a perfect conference record, securing first place in the Sea-Tac B League. This assures them a place in the State Tournament November 20-21 in Sumner.

The Saints Cross Country Team travels to American Lake this Saturday to compete in Tri-Districts.

Finally, the Seattle Lutheran Football Team has two games to go in the regular season. Friday, October 30 and Thursday November 5. Both games are at West Seattle Stadium. If the Saints can win both games they will be headed into post-season competition.

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Got a proposal for parks levy “Opportunity Fund”? Read this
October 27, 2009 5:04 pm
|    Comments Off on Got a proposal for parks levy “Opportunity Fund”? Read this
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

As promised by the Parks Department, the “draft criteria” for projects seeking a share of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund have just been published on the Parks website; see them here. (The Opportunity Fund is $15 million set aside for citizen-proposed projects that weren’t specified in the levy.) We were at last night’s Levy Oversight Committee meeting as the draft criteria were reviewed and approved; two members of the public spoke before the vote, including Jeannie Hale from the Seattle Community Council Federation, who voiced concern about an emphasis on projects being within “urban village” boundaries – something Parks managers say could help close an ongoing gap between current parks/open space needs and realities in those areas. Next step is a public hearing on the draft criteria, 7 pm Nov. 9 before the oversight committee at Parks HQ downtown.

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What next for neighborhood planning? Pivotal meeting tonight
October 27, 2009 3:53 pm
|    Comments Off on What next for neighborhood planning? Pivotal meeting tonight
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

That’s City Councilmember Sally Clark (Avalon Glassworks glass pumpkin in the foreground) at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce office last Thursday, when we sat in on the monthly “Lunch with LEO” (local elected official) brownbag at which she guested. Clark chairs the council’s Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee; a related issue we asked her about is coming to a head tonight, and while the meeting is not in West Seattle, it’s open to the public and those with an interest in neighborhood planning will want to attend.

This all links to the big event at Youngstown last July, in which more than 100 people from five West Seattle “neighborhood plan areas” showed up to talk about what’s changed since the Neighborhood Plans were approved a decade ago, and what should happen next. (The followup to that meeting is coming up Nov. 5 at Mercer Middle School on Beacon Hill, and it’s important to be there too.) The big questions now include, what happens with the neighborhood plan update process; will the city budget ehough money next year to continue proceeding with some plan updates each year; and whether a few updates per year is fast enough. That issue is so far up in the air, there’s a question about whether the citywide Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee will even continue to exist – Councilmember Clark told us on Thursday that if it doesn’t, perhaps there could be a citizen committee as an adjunct to the Seattle Planning Commission paying attention to planning issues.

So tonight, the Advisory Committee has a special meeting to discuss its future, and to clarify city government’s commitment to the process. (Thanks to West Seattle NPAC rep Sharonn Meeks for the tip.) The meeting starts at 6:15 pm at City Hall downtown (Bertha Knight Landes Room) and a public-comment period is scheduled close to the end, around 8:10 pm.

EARLY WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Meeks says the committee voted to continue its work; now the question remains how the funding will fare in the budgeting process.

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Update: Lincoln Park cyclocross bike race canceled
October 27, 2009 1:53 pm
|      147 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS & Sports

The Parks Department confirms that this Saturday’s planned cyclocross race at Lincoln Park is now canceled. We got first hint of this last night when CC’d in an e-mail exchange from a West Seattle resident to Parks, in which the resident wrote, in part:

Several years ago, a cyclo-cross race at Lincoln Park caused major damage to native shrubs, grasses and trails. At that time, a large number of complaints led to (I thought) a ban on this kind of race in our Parks, and a revocation of a permit for a future race.

However, I just learned that the Parks Department has issued a permit (or so the organizer claims) for a similar race in Lincoln Park for this Saturday. …

The attached map (and photo!) shows clearly that this Cyclocross race will cut through the forest, on social trails, and given the previous damage, and the stated intent of this race, will cause irreparable harm to the native vegetation and shrubs.

I ask you, as a resident and frequent user of Lincoln Park, to please cancel this inappropriate permit, and prevent the damage from being done (as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure).

In a reply shortly thereafter, Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter replied to the original writer:

… Parks has taken a look at the event coming up this weekend, and we have decided to move it to another, more appropriate venue. Our staff will evaluate its success there, and make a decision about whether and where to permit future such events.

We checked back with Parks today, to see what that venue might be, and spokesperson Joelle Ligon just replied, “The cyclocross folks have cancelled all together. There will not be an event this weekend.” We will be contacting the race organizers too – they had also posted in the WSB Forums recently to get the word out about park-access changes in connection with the then-scheduled event. ADDED 2 PM: A little more information from Parks’ Ligon, answering our question about why this all played out at the last minute:

About four years ago, there was a cyclocross event at Lincoln Park. At that point, the community let us know that they did not like having cyclocross there. We made a commitment to not hold cyclocross at Lincoln again. When our files went electronic about two years ago, the prohibition on cyclocross at Lincoln did get translated into the new system; hence, permitting staff were not aware that they should not have permitted the event at all.

We just heard from the cyclocross organization, and they have let us know that they intend to hold their event on Nov. 15 at Lower Woodland Park. We will waive their permit fee for the Nov. 15 event, and we have refunded the Lincoln permit fee.

3:35 PM UPDATE: As Zac announced in comments, the race promoters’ website now has a long explanation of what’s transpired from their standpoint, and what’s next — read it in its entirety here. WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The race will be held at Lakewood Park in White Center instead – as announced on Twitter by MFG Cyclocross, and confirmed by this post on the King County Parks news site.

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Comcast digital/HD changes in West Seattle, starting today
October 27, 2009 11:29 am
|      86 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

Three months ago, Comcast‘s Shauna Causey (a West Seattleite) sent word of upgrades on the way – here’s the story we published then. She just e-mailed word that they’re taking effect starting today – “In West Seattle: Comcast is converting channels 30 and above to a digital format today. We’re launching the HD channels in West Seattle on Nov. 24.” It’s part of what Comcast calls “The World of More,” explained here.

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Traffic alert: Crash blocks southbound Delridge in 6800 block
October 27, 2009 11:08 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news

Described on the scanner as one driver hitting two parked cars. Driver is not seriously hurt, but southbound traffic in the 6800 block of Delridge (map) is blocked “significantly.”

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Election 2009: One week left to vote
October 27, 2009 10:52 am
|    Comments Off on Election 2009: One week left to vote
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

checkbox.jpgOne week from tonight, 8 pm, the voting’s over and the vote-counting begins. Remember there’s an alternative to mailing your ballot – drop boxes (here’s the list, including Delridge Neighborhood Service Center and White Center Library). Also be sure NOT to miss some important issues on the ballot – the King County Elections home page explains why you might accidentally overlook at least one. (WSB city-candidate closeups continue with the last pair, Council Position 4, tonight.)

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Update: 1 teen stabbed, 1 in custody in 4500 block Delridge
October 27, 2009 8:55 am
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL 8:55 AM REPORT: The stabbing happened in the 4500 block of Delridge. Scanner says the victim is a 17-year-old boy who’s about to be taken to Harborview. We have one person on the scene and another on the way, details as we get them. 9:10 AM UPDATE: Police tell us on the scene that this began as “a fight between two juveniles” – one is hurt, one is in custody. 10:06 AM UPDATE: We have confirmed that this happened at Southwest Youth and Family Services. We waited at the scene to talk with SWYFS executive director Steve Daschle. He says it happened in one of the classrooms at SWYFS – both boys attend classes in one of the programs there. One other student and teacher were present when it happened. Right now, Daschle says, the students are debriefing with counselors and staff; they are working to convey to them all that it’s a safe place to be. He says there is no indication this was gang-related or anything more than a disagreement between the two involved. SWYFS happens to be the lead agency in our area working on the city’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative; Daschle acknowledges an incident like this is a setback, but promises they will work even harder toward their goals. 10:40 AM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Mark Jamieson in SPD media unit – he says the victim was stabbed in the back and leg but the wounds were described as “not life-threatening.” Weapon was a “kitchen knife” and was recovered at the scene. Christopher’s video shows the sizable emergency response – which cleared fast once the situation was resolved:

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Alaskan Way Viaduct fake-quake video: How much it cost, etc.
October 27, 2009 2:41 am
|      38 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

This morning, seattletimes.com (WSB partner) follows up on the WSDOT Viaduct-earthquake-simulation video release with a few more tidbits, including the price tag – which many asked about in comments here and elsewhere after the video started making the rounds Sunday night: $80,000. The Times story also questions why the video turned up “first” on a KING5 newscast – though it does not mention what we pointed out here Sunday night: WSDOT actually published the video to YouTube on Friday (which you can verify through Google Video Search, as well as the datestamp on the video’s YT page).

The Times and Publicola both note that the “public disclosure request” WSDOT cited as reason for the 2-year-old video’s release was filed by tunnel opponent Elizabeth Campbell of Magnolia – who says she didn’t see the video she’d sought till it went public Sunday night.

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West Seattle Volunteer Recognition: Time for round 2!
October 27, 2009 1:45 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Volunteer Recognition: Time for round 2!
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Last July, when the first six West Seattle Volunteer Recognition recipients were honored, organizers promised another round of recognition opportunities would be forthcoming – and here it is. This morning we’re opening nominations for Round 2 of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition, co-sponsored by the Southwest and Delridge District Councils. The first one was a little free-form, to see how it went – so this time, there’s a little more structure. We’ll honor:

*2 individual volunteers from community/neighborhood-related group efforts
*2 individual volunteers from youth-related efforts
*2 individual volunteers from environment-related efforts
*1 group award

“Volunteer” means unpaid work, done for a nonprofit-type organization, facility, campaign (etc.), primarily serving West Seattle. And when you send your nomination – please remember that what you write is all the judges have to go on, so don’t hold back on describing the great work your nominee has done! The plan is to honor the recipients at the West Seattle Community Tree Lighting in December, always well-attended, to make sure they get a hearty round of applause from the community that benefits from their hard work. So how do you nominate someone? You’re just a click away – here’s the online form.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: No, hail was NOT in the forecast
October 26, 2009 10:42 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(Photo by Gatewood’s own New York Vinnie, added 11:14 pm)
There was a mention of a thunderstorm – but no hail. Crazy out there! Send pix if it gets to ground-covering status where you are …

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West Seattle Crime Watch followup: Stolen bike found
October 26, 2009 10:13 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Just received this note from Warren, referring to the stolen-bike report in this Crime Watch item published here last night:

We live on the 5600 block of 37th ave sw. One of our cars was prowled this past Friday night and whomever looked through our car left a BMX behind. I thought it was some kids that were looking for quick stuff to boost from cars and got scared off and left their bike. My neighbor noticed the above post so I just returned the bike to a very happy owner!

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High school football postseason: What’s next for West Seattle HS
October 26, 2009 8:40 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Since West Seattle High School finished the season in a three-way tie for division lead with Rainier Beach and Nathan Hale, the three teams had to play tiebreaking minigames tonight at Memorial Stadium. Those games are now over. WSHS beat RB in the first one, lost to Hale in the second one, and the end result is, its next game is Friday, 5 pm, vs. Seattle Prep at Memorial Stadium. We tweeted the WSHS games at @wsblive (you can see highlights there till we add them here); there’s also a quick roundup at seattletimes.com (WSB partner). ADDED EARLY TUESDAY: WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand‘s notes from covering the tiebreaker matches:Read More

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West Seattle biz news: Sisters to bring pho, nail care to Alki
October 26, 2009 5:22 pm
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

By Mary Sheely
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Nhung Tran loves the beach.

“I really would like to spend the rest of my life on a beach location. So would she,” she says, indicating her sister Thu (on the left in our photo).

Now the women will get the chance – at least during working hours. Nhung and Thu Tran are partners in two new businesses set to open in the coming weeks on Alki Beach.

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