West Seattle, Washington
25 Monday
Family, friends and customers are mourning Mark Hegge, who ran the Sunrise Heights Chevron station at 35th/Holden [map]. According to the notice posted at the station (photo), he “passed away unexpectedly” yesterday, at age 52. A celebration of Mr. Hegge’s life is set for 11 am Tuesday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, with viewing 1-8 pm Monday at Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home in The Junction. (Thanks to those who called and tweeted to make sure we knew about this.)
In late January, we broke the news that Mayor McGinn wanted to pursue a White Center (and environs) annexation vote this fall. Tonight, that plan has changed. This afternoon, the city’s budget boss unveiled the financial analysis that councilmembers had asked to see before considering whether to support the call for a vote – and Beth Goldberg announced, while presenting the analysis today, that the costs would be too high for the budget-crunched city to seek a vote any sooner than fall 2011. Meantime, Burien may fast-track the area instead; more details at partner site White Center Now.
Thanks to Chas Redmond for sharing his iPhone photo of the last sunset of winter, viewed from Alki; spring shows up at 10:32 am our time tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service forecast says it’ll be a nice day (good thing, given all the outdoor excitement, from Alki Street Scramble to Delridge Playground spruce-up and beyond) – but by this time tomorrow, the clouds might be back. As for a quick recap of our winter that wasn’t very wintry:
*Icy temperatures for a while in early December (who could forget the frozen fountains? yes, this was before the solstice, but December is unofficially winter)
*Wind trouble in mid-January
*Snow showers in early March
*And last Tuesday’s windburst/power outage
Plus, lots of rainbows! Browse our West Seattle weather coverage archives (newest to oldest).
Thanks to Madison Middle School‘s Jeanne Merritt for sharing a report and photos from last night’s big event:
Madison Middle School celebrated its annual Literacy Night on Thursday. Students and their families were treated to free pizza in the Commons, then sat down to play games that build literacy skills such as Scrabble. Some visitors were busy making beautiful bookmarks.
In the library there was an open mike for students to read stories and poems they had written — Madison’s own Reader’s Theater.
Also in the library online literacy activities were available.
Books were of course a key ingredient of the evening. A representative from a local bookstore was present, plus hundreds of donated books were available for exchange or free. Hundreds of student-written books were displayed and visitors genuinely enjoyed reading them.
Seventh graders had written ABC biographies of people in U.S. history. Eighth-grade Washington State History students wrote travelogues of an imaginary trip around Washington. They had to include what went in their suitcases, expenses, mileage, photos, information about places they visited, etc. Other eighth-graders had created their own journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Sixth-graders displayed comparative religion essays.
All in all the evening was a very fun celebration of literacy.
School news always welcome – either with information and photos you provide, or tips on events we can cover – here are all the ways to reach WSB!
What’s a “spa day” without chocolate? Luckily the moms of West Side MOPS didn’t have to answer that question. Once again this year, a chocolate fountain was part of the tasty lineup of treats during their group’s annual Spa Day, a members-only celebration. The group – open to mothers of small children from infancy through preschooler age – is based at West Side Presbyterian Church, whose distinctively framed hall was the scene of this morning’s fun and relaxation:
Thanks to donations of services and items from local businesses, at least 40 MOPS moms got to enjoy Spa Day absolutely free. The offerings included massage, eyebrown waxing, energy-drink sampling, makeup consultation, skin care, nail-painting, crafts, even photos by Fauntleroy-based Gail Ann Photography:
And stylists from Forsythe Studio in The Junction are a MOPS Spa Day fixture, this year offering trims and style/color consultation:
West Side MOPS meets twice monthly, fall through spring, with child care provided for the little ones, and registration will be coming up for next year – you can find out more on the West Side MOPS website.
(Tuesday photo by Bruce Trotter)
That’s the word from Chris Arkills in King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s office. We checked in with him as part of a series of followups to last week’s intense South Park community meetings (WSB coverage here and here) on the county’s plan to close the deteriorating South Park Bridge as of June 30. He says the Executive “has tasked a budget office team with developing a concrete funding proposal,” that a “stakeholders’ group of interested parties” is forming “to help lobby for funding,” and also that meetings with multiple agencies affected by the bridge situation (including the fire and police departments) will start next week. Wednesday night, we talked briefly with City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who had gone to South Park last week to offer help; as reported here, she told us she’s exploring an idea to see if boats downstream from the SP Bridge could be moved upstream temporarily so that it could refrain from opening and closing, and remain in service for vehicles and pedestrians. Meantime, for those interested in the bridge situation, a Facebook page (citizen-run, not government) has been set up – find it here.
After a fab Friday night (check out the All-Access Showcase at Youngstown Arts Center starting at 6 tonight), many great ways to celebrate spring (which arrives at 10:32 am our time Saturday) – there’s a plant sale, a meeting about the potential West Seattle Community Orchard, two spring cleanups (Delridge on Saturday and Highland Park on Sunday) … West Seattle Hi-Yu‘s Tea and Silent Auction is Saturday … this weekend we also have WSB sponsors with special events, both on Sunday: Free yoga at SoundYoga and a gold-buying event at Northwest Gold Exchange/938.GOLD, and ArtsWest is into the second weekend of “Sunlight” … From tonight through Sunday, more than SIXTY! events/activities on our list, sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club, where you’ll find FREE live music and rockin’ food:Read More
If you see that work by John Osgood, “Flowers for You,” anywhere but the exhibition space in Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor), report it to police – because it’s stolen, according to Twilight Artist Collective, which just sent word of the theft. They’ve also written about it on their website. It’s been missing for eight days now, so they decided to get the word out more widely.
Meantime, one other Crime Watch note this afternoon – from Kelly:
Just wanted to let everyone know we had a car break-in (Tuesday) night in Arbor Heights, 42nd and 102nd [map]. Never had a problem in the past 5 years until now. They rooted around in the car for valuables but we don’t own any valuables! Ha! We think it occurred after 11:30 pm.
The announcement posted by the Fauntleroy Creek overlook (across the street and up the embankment from the ferry dock) trumpets the happy news: Home hatch! Creek steward Judy Pickens mentioned this the other day and now we have details – volunteers who recently surveyed the creek spotted up to 200 coho fry resulting from last fall’s spawning (18 spawners were seen). As the flyer notes, they’ll have company soon: Local schoolchildren will release about 2,000 more baby coho into the creek this spring. This is a good time of year to visit the overlook, before all the bushes and trees grow their leaves back:
Big event in Fauntleroy next week, by the way – area residents are invited to the annual Fauntleroy Community Association Membership Meeting and Food Fest, during which they can either join FCA or renew their membership (all memberships expire at this same time each year). 6-8 pm Tuesday at The Hall at Fauntleroy; more details at fauntleroy.net.
Just last night, we reported on another lane restriction on the Spokane Street Viaduct (the section of The Bridge between Highway 99 and I-5) that at the time was noted as starting “soon” – reducing the eastbound 1st Avenue South exit to one lane – and now there’s word it starts Monday. Here’s the official announcement just sent by SDOT:Read More
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A meeting is planned tomorrow for the next step in organizing a new West Seattle cooperative preschool to open at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center beginning this fall. From organizer Benni Sack:
We have a preliminary commitment for space at Youngstown beginning in August, 2010, and now it is time to figure out who is interested in participating in this new coop!
Here is what the preliminary parameters might be for an endeavor like this:
– Your toddler will be at least 24 months by August, 2010, and no older than 4.5 years old by August 2010
– You are interested in volunteering in the coop on a regular basis (the volunteer positions and duration of them will be decided by the coop board)
– You are potentially interested in belonging to the coop board, which will need to meet online and in-person on a regular basis to bring together the particulars of the coopHere are the meeting particulars:
Saturday, March 20th, 2010 @ 10:00 a.m.
Mosaic Community Coffeehouse – in the demitasse room (kids playroom), 4401 2nd Avenue Northeast (map)They have coffee, tea, and pastries there which can be purchased by donation (it’s a community, not for profit coffeehouse). I will bring some extra treats as well. PLEASE BRING YOUR LITTLE! We can have a play date!
This will be an informal meet and greet to try to ascertain the level of interest and participation from the community. Please RSVP to blackbirdrosie1973@gmail.com. If you can’t make it but would still be interested in participating, please contact me by e-mail and let me know your level of interest. Board members are encouraged! We have a lot of fun stuff to get done this spring and summer to get ready!
She says the meeting’s being held at this particular coffeehouse because it has that kids’ playroom.
Though the wind stayed away from many other parts of West Seattle, it blew strongly enough off Alki for these adventurers to get in some good runs – Christopher Boffoli was there to capture it on video.
The historic lodge at Camp Long is closed right now for renovation work. Separate from that project, the Parks Department is trying to map the unique park’s future, and both of West Seattle’s district councils have now heard presentations this month aimed at getting your thoughts, including one at Wednesday night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council. Is it OK for Camp Long to become home to a “challenge course” in partnership with a well-known organization? What about other private partnerships? Read on for more – plus other major items from Wednesday night’s meeting, including community announcements and Councilmember Sally Bagshaw‘s appearance:Read More
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