day : 23/03/2010 11 results

Two door-to-door alerts tonight – again, soliciting is not against the law and those who are reported may be perfectly legit, but those reporting the sightings wanted to be on the safe side and share the info – read on:Read More

West Seattle professor Richard Curtis to launch U.S. Senate run

March 23, 2010 10:39 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Noontime tomorrow at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, West Seattle-residing philosophy professor Dr. Richard Curtis meets the media to launch his run for U.S. Senate – the latest local resident jumping into a political bid this year. But he says it’s not politics as usual – he’s running against incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Patty Murray as an independent, and since it’s our state’s first U.S. Senate race under the “Top Two” primary system, his news release notes, “Everything about elections has changed. There is no ‘spoiler’ issue as this will be a head-to-head race about ideas. The two major parties will not be able to drag out their tired, old ‘lesser evil’ arguments. The people can freely vote their values knowing that the top two vote-getters will go on to the general election.” More on Dr. Curtis’s campaign after his news conference tomorrow. (Thanks to Michael for the tip.) ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: At Youngstown, we asked the candidate about the major difference(s) between him and incumbent Sen. Murray:

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Full house for Fauntleroy Community Association’s Food Fest

March 23, 2010 9:36 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

More than 100 people ate, drank, talked and celebrated their neighborhood tonight at the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s annual meeting, aka Food Fest. There was a bit of business:

That’s Bruce Butterfield, who in addition to announcing raffle prizes, was re-elected as FCA president; other FCA officers were re-elected too. And he gave a quick shoutout to some of the neighborhood successes – leading a cheer for the recent completion of the purchase deal for Fauntleroy Community Services Association to own and operate the building that’s home to The Hall, the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (WSB coverage here). That’s good news for many, including Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes Catering, which runs The Hall:

Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes was one of the food providers tonight – others included The Original Bakery, The Kenney, Endolyne Joe’s, Bird on a Wire Espresso, and Giannoni’s Pizza. And inbetween bites, attendees got a chance to get informed, too,

Judy Pickens, whose volunteer work includes a lot of love and care for Fauntleroy Creek and its watershed, was offering information to help keep local water clean – simple action you can take like stenciling drains to raise awareness of their connection to open waters. And other local organizations were on hand, like the Morgan Community Association, whose past president Steve Sindiong is behind Judy in the photo above, and all the way from The Junction, ArtsWest (WSB sponsor):

Alan Harrison, who presided over a gala night last week unveiling next season’s lineup (WSB coverage here), says season-ticket sales are going well – you can get yours here. But the main point of the Fauntleroy event was to renew memberships and add new ones; if you live in the Fauntleroy area but couldn’t be there to sign up or renew, there’s info online. And as Butterfield reminded the crowd, everyone’s welcome to FCA board meetings, second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm, at The Hall.

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South Park Bridge update: “Pressure solves problems”

March 23, 2010 5:07 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| Alaskan Way Viaduct | South Park | Transportation

We’re at the South Portal Working Group meeting looking at what’s ahead for the Alaskan Way Viaduct – an ongoing process – and one group member, Marty Oppenheimer from South Park, brought up the issue of the South Park Bridge‘s impending June 30th closure. For those following the issue – of interest to many in south West Seattle and White Center, too – there were a few interesting replies from various city, state and port reps who are here. Ron Paananen from WSDOT noted the situation is “starting to get the attention of people in Olympia.” Ron Judd, also from WSDOT, said Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond asked him to “sit down with various folks to see if there’s a way in which we could provide some sort of assistance or help in solving this problem” – especially regarding putting together a “competitive” package to seek money for the bridge project. He added, “Pressure solves problems – and pressure is beginning to build.” Mike Merritt from the Port said, “We’re all engaged – we need to find a path that the project hasn’t had in the past.” He noted there’s a “big meeting” regarding the South Park Bridge situation tomorrow with multiple agencies/jurisdictions involved; we’re checking to find out more about that. Meantime, we’ll have a full report later on the main subject of this working-group meeting: What it’ll be like as Viaduct/South End construction is staged over the next five years – what closes when, who detours where and when, what’s getting built when, etc. Lots and lots of changes, twists and turns – we’ll try to help you make some sense of it.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Dentist’s sign destroyed by vandal(s)

March 23, 2010 3:37 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

We’ve had a couple reports of vandalism in Crime Watch the past few days (see the WSCW page for links) – and another one this morning. We took the photos above after Dr. Bill Raleigh (WSB sponsor) e-mailed us to report, “We are sad to say the handcrafted sign out in front of our office was destroyed over the weekend. Being right on the corner of California and Genesee [map] and in a well-lit area didn’t help – the vandals broke the sign in half, leaving pieces strewn over our grass.”

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State announces hours for new West Seattle liquor store

March 23, 2010 1:59 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Westwood | WS beverages

The state Liquor Control Board just sent out a news release to announce what Westwood Village management had revealed last week – the new liquor store on the northeast side of the center opens this Friday. But there’s also some new info – its operating hours: 11 am-7 pm Mondays-Thursdays, 10 am-8 pm Fridays and Saturdays. (No Sundays, for those who asked.) This replaces the Morgan Junction liquor store that closed a year and a half ago.

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New at North Delridge’s Nucor plant: Stars and Stripes in steel

March 23, 2010 1:42 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Delridge | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Maybe you’ve noticed this while driving The Bridge back to West Seattle? Scott C tipped us to it the other day – and now, we have a photo from West Seattle Nucor plant engineer Craig Anderson, showing what he explains is “the new 10′ x 20′ American Flag we installed on the East End of our bag house that is visible from the westbound lanes of the West Seattle Bridge. The flag is one way we support our troops with American Pride. The flag was designed and fabricated out of 100% recycled steel by Nucor and is illuminated at night so it is visible for all to enjoy.”

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Former West Seattle soccer coach sought on molesting charges

March 23, 2010 11:49 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Our partners at the Seattle Times just broke this story: Police are looking for a man who coached a West Seattle youth-soccer team until last November, now that he has been charged with child molesting and other crimes. 38-year-old Francisco “Javier” Valdivia-Enriquez, who coached Deportivio Moctezuma, is accused of molesting nine teenage boys, according to the Times. He reportedly has not been seen since late November and is believed to be out of the country. More when we get the charging documents. ADDED 12:37 PM: We have received and read the paperwork – read on for a summary:Read More

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West Seattle sea scene: USS Nimitz, heading back out

March 23, 2010 11:03 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Thanks to the person who called a little while earlier to say the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) was heading back out of Puget Sound, visible from West Seattle shores. We sent quick word via Twitter and Facebook and rushed down in hopes of a photo – it was too far away when we arrived, but Kyle Braget got the image you see above. After a short visit, Nimitz is heading back south to its current homeport, San Diego (with crew members’ families on board for a “Tiger Cruise”), but will be back here for a longer stay starting in December, when the nuclear-powered carrier returns to Bremerton for maintenance. ADDED 11:16 AM: Two photos from Gary Jones – the second one, explained as being among those watching the Nimitz leave!

ADDED 1:11 PM: Christopher Boffoli shot a bit of video – with a beautiful cloud formation in the frame toward the end:

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Reporting line-cutters, & other Washington State Ferries changes

March 23, 2010 9:43 am

| 15 COMMENTS

| Fauntleroy | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Fauntleroy ferry dock, photographed last week)
Two notes in an announcement from Washington State Ferries – first, this Sunday marks the start of the spring schedule, which means Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth is back to three boats; second, on that same day, WSF joins the State Patrol’s tipline service, so you can report line-cutters by calling a special hotline. Read on for the official news release with details of both:Read More

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West Seattle Tuesday: The look ahead at what’s going on

March 23, 2010 7:16 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Tuesday: The look ahead at what’s going on

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(1st of 2 photos from David Hutchinson – know what this is? See photo #2 at the end of this preview)
REMEMBERING MARK HEGGE: Services are at 11 am Our Lady of Guadalupe for well-known service-station owner Mark Hegge, who died last Thursday.

WEST SEATTLE ROTARY BRIEFED ON HAITI: At noon today at Salty’s on Alki, the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s luncheon program is about “Establishing Sustainable Prosthetic Services for Amputees in Haiti.” Winfried Danke, executive director of the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, discusses the current situation in Haiti and plans for long-term solutions. The public is welcome; buffet lunch is $20 per person.

WALKING ON LOGS: 5:30 tonight at High Point Library is the meeting you’re asked to attend, to help figure out how the community can pitch in to help maintain the area around Walking on Logs on the southwest fork of The Bridge. More details in our original announcement.

FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP MEETING/FOOD FEST: If you live in Fauntleroy, come be part of your community association – renew your membership, or join now. The Fauntleroy Food Fest and FCA Annual Meeting starts at 6 PM at The Hall at Fauntleroy.

“CLIMB FOR A CURE” FUNDRAISER: 6-9 pm at Talarico’s , David Town‘s fundraiser for a Mount Rainier climb to fight breast cancer. Tons of auction items donated locally – details in this WSB Forums post

TEEN TRIP: Tonight at 7 at the West Seattle High School library, an informational meeting for this summer’s trip to Japan through the YMCA Teen Leadership Institute. Local teens in grades 8-12 can apply; full details in the WSB Events calendar.

LATEST ON THE VIADUCT (AND RELATED PROJECTS): The next meeting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group is 4-5:30 pm today at the Puget Sound Regional Council Board Room in Pioneer Square, 1011 Western.

NEED CENSUS FORM HELP? Special Census 2010 information sessions, open to the community, continue today at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – full details here.