That video is getting West Seattle a bit of national attention tonight in the ongoing controversy over Target‘s donation to a group backing a Minnesota candidate with a history of opposing gay rights (folding in the “corporate personhood” controversy too). The musical protest took place in the Westwood Village Target store on Saturday, apparently around 11 am; we didn’t hear about it till afterward, and weren’t able at the time to confirm it, but you can tell by watching even just a few seconds of that video that it was shot inside the local store. Thanks to Amy for sending the link tonight. (The Target boycott had been discussed a week earlier in the WSB Forums.) ADDED 10:30 PM: Doing a bit more research on this – the credits attribute it in part to Agit-Pop, which bills itself as a “subvertising agency”. Going to try to see if anyone there will reveal why they chose the West Seattle Target, as opposed to the hundreds and hundreds of others in the U.S. 11:13 PM NOTE: As commenters point out, Agit-Pop has a Seattle office and the co-credited organization Backbone Campaign is Vashon-based, so the WS choice isn’t such a mystery.
ADDED 11:50 AM TUESDAY: Just heard back from Bill Moyer at Backbone, who explains, “Performers were participants in our Localize this! Artful Action Camp. This was the final and the location was chosen because of its proximity.” The Backbone website has the schedule for last week’s camp – you’ll see that Saturday’s schedule included “Flashmob Field Trip.”
Now that last weekend is in the rear-view mirror, a quick look ahead to some of the big events up next weekend:
PICNIC AT THE PRECINCT: Saturday 1-4 pm, it’s the annual street party on SW Webster alongside the Southwest Precinct. Meet your local crimefighters, and many of your West Seattle neighbors whose community organizations do the hard work to help make WS an even-more-awesome place. There’s usually treats, entertainment, high-tech and low-tech police equipment (from bomb robots to horses) on display.
‘THE BIG BONANZA’ IN THE JUNCTION: It’s the second year for this end-of-summer blowout sale around The Junction, with more than 40 merchants participating – 10 am till 5 pm on Saturday, deals galore, and some bonus fun (high-noon water showdown, giveaway drawing, and more). Participants are listed here – and there’s coupons too (find those here – you’ll also be able to pick up preprinted coupons at the Bonanza Central HQ in front of KeyBank that day).
ARTS-IN-NATURE FESTIVAL: Both Saturday *and* Sunday, Camp Long bursts with sounds, sights, movement, and myriad other displays of raw creative energy and joy during this annual festival presented by the West Seattle-based Nature Consortium. Highlights include a special benefit concert with Chris Ballew performing songs from his renowned band Presidents of the United States of America (separate from his festival performance as the also-fabled kids-music mastermind Caspar Babypants). The full festival schedule starts here.
Just noticed something you’ve probably noticed already if you’ve looked to the west or south – despite the bright sunshine, you can’t see the Olympics or Mount Rainier. If you suspected smoke from wildfires including the one that’s been visible at sunset the past two nights – you’re right. This just in from the state Ecology Department:
Smoke from several wildfires burning in Washington and British Columbia is spreading throughout the state.
That trend is expected to continue for a few days. Some clearing of hazy skies is expected later this week, possibly by Wednesday.
“Smoke from a wildfire can travel rapidly, affecting air quality hundreds of miles downwind from the fire’s location,” said Stu Clark, Air Quality Program manager for the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). “Smoke pollutes the air you breathe and harms your health, especially if you have existing health conditions.”
The announcement, including advice for people sensitive to pollution, continues after the jump:Read More
The White Center business district is jumping with new eateries – we told you about the Saturday grand opening of 3.14 Bakery and Coffee, and now there’s word that Uncle Mike’s BBQ, 9640 16th SW, has set next Monday as its official opening day. (It’s fed some folks in “soft open” mode already.) More details to come later on partner site White Center Now (thanks to WCN/WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz for the photo and info).
Five West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon … First, from Patricia, 2 stolen kayaks to watch for:
Our two Easy Rider Kayaks were stolen last night off our car along with the racks and locks. We live on 46th Ave SW between Lander and Stevens. Would like people to keep an eye for them. One is hot pink with yellow trim and the other is white with blue trim. They are 16 foot Eskimos.
We also have a couple other break-in and theft reports from the past few days – including one in which the burglar(s) made off with items large and small, including … an ice-cream bar … and another one in which an item left behind might have been loot from an EARLIER burglary. Read on:Read More
RIVERSIDE HISTORY WALK FEATURING FRANK ZUVELA and JUDY BENTLEY
Tour Scheduled for Saturday August 28, 2010 – 10am
First generation Riverside resident Frank Zuvela will lead an interpretive walk through local history. Walk the old neighborhood of Riverside on the northwest side of the Duwamish River, below Pigeon Point and over the hill from Delridge. Settlement origins go back to the people of the Duwamish tribe, which were later settled by Croatian immigrants in the early 1900’s. They formed a multi-ethnic neighborhood of European immigrants where Duwamish camps and longhouses had once been. As the Duwamish River was straightened and dredged, the residential community of Riverside co-existed with manufacturing and shipbuilding. The tour is sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and one of the most popular walks… an easy pace is set, with frequent stops and tales from Riverside of the past sixty years. Seattle poet and writer Richard Hugo wrote of his fascination with this community of fishermen in The Real West Marginal Way.
Donation requested… or free attendance with a new museum membership!
Meet in front of Global Diving on W. Marginal Place, the northern end of 17th.
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For more information about the this and upcoming events, please visit www.loghousemuseum.info
New information today about the chase and crash (WSB coverage here) that first caused quite the spectacle through Highland Park (and points southward), then closed SW Roxbury at 8th SW for more than four hours Sunday afternoon/evening. We spoke with King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jim Laing, who shared details from the preliminary report: It started when deputies tried to pull over a vehicle at 156th and 1st S, and instead of stopping, it took off. = apparently, Sgt. Laing says, because the driver not only had a $10,000 warrant out for his arrest (related to a protection order), but also because he was under the influence of drugs (both of which, according to the report, he confessed when finally arrested). After a pursuit that led all the way into Highland Park and then back south, a deputy tried the so-called “PIT Maneuver“ to stop the car – and it worked. Along the way, though, according to Sgt. Laing, three patrol cars had front-end damage, and three citizens’ cars were hit, with minor damage – the early version of the report didn’t say where that happened (though one of them has added a comment following our original story). The only person hurt was the suspect, taken to Harborview Medical Center with minor injuries. Sgt. Laing adds a postscript: There was a second person in the car but as all this was unfolding, that person wanted out – so they hit the driver repeatedly, till he slowed down so the passenger could get out of the car.
3 months earlier than expected, the first major component of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project is officially open to drivers, now that a morning media tour and ceremony are over. The 1st vehicles were project trucks, at 10:17 am, applauded by the SDOT onlookers; the first “unofficial” driver came just a few minutes later:
The $42 million ramp starts with one lane at the top, though it’s wide enough for two once the entire SSVWP is done, according to project manager Stuart Goldsmith; by the time you get to the bottom, there are three lanes – one left turn (south), one to go straight or turn right, one turning right. More to come! (P.S. Apropos to the fact some refer to it as the “Costco” ramp since it provides a direct route from The Bridge, a Costco rep was in the crowd to watch.) ADDED 11:47 AM: Prior to our complete followup later with more details and a look ahead – a few images from the “media tour” pre-opening, all by Christopher Boffoli:
That’s the view from the top of the ramp, looking back at West Seattle (obviously those barrels are gone now). Next, the view looking down toward 4th Avenue:
And the crew putting finishing touches on the traffic signals, up till the last moment:
In addition to City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Sally Clark, plus County Councilmember Jan Drago and SDOT boss Peter Hahn, WSDOT’s leader for the entire Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project, Ron Paananen, was there to help cut the ribbon and say a few words about the role this plays in “viaduct replacement” – with an extra path downtown for West Seattle drivers. We talked to CM Rasmussen about that too.
(The “south portal” section of the Viaduct/99 project itself also has an offramp in the stadium vicinity, just before the entrance to what WSDOT still refers to as “the proposed deep-bore tunnel.”)
(WSB photo from May ‘media tour’ of Spokane Street Viaduct’s new 4th Avenue South offramp)
In a few hours, you’ll have a new option for getting off the Spokane Street Viaduct – the West Seattle Bridge section between 99 and I-5 – its new eastbound offramp at 4th Avenue South. The photo above is from the “media tour” of the then-almost=done offramp, back in May; it shows your options at the end of the ramp – left, to go southbound (toward Costco etc.) on 4th; center, to turn right/northbound or head into City Light’s facility across the street; right, right turn only, toward downtown. A made-for-media event, complete with another tour, is set for 9:15 this morning, and when that’s done, it’ll be open to traffic – we’ll keep you up to date. … That’s not even the only “media tour” of the day – this afternoon, we get a sneak peek at the work the visiting artisans are doing at the Seattle Chinese Garden on the South Seattle Community College campus (our partners at the Seattle Times have published their preview story this morning) … Two events at Southwest Library Branch today – Baby Story Time at 11:30 and Afternoon Book Group at 2 pm … Sustainable West Seattle‘s annual potluck is at Lincoln Park at 7 pm (more details on SWS website) … and don’t forget to VOTE! It’s your last full day/night to do so; tomorrow at 8 pm, the vote-counting begins. Here’s all the info you should need to make sure you get your vote in.
Just after sunset Sunday, smoke from the Mt. Hopper forest fire curved gently over the southern Olympics – a shadow of its show the night before. Still, it was almost a symbolic sight after another record-setting-heat day in our area – 96 degrees was the high at Sea-Tac Airport, according to this update from the Seattle Times (WSB partner), which also reports that meteorologists do not expect tomorrow’s record to fall – 98 degrees, in 1967 – tomorrow’s more likely to be in the low 90s. And after that, it’ll start moving back toward normal, according to the newest forecast.
Our two Easy Rider Kayaks were stolen last night off our car along with the racks and locks. We live on 46th Ave SW between Lander and Stevens. Would like people to keep an eye for them. One is hot pink with yellow trim and the other is white with blue trim. They are 16 foot Eskimos.
then closed SW Roxbury at 8th SW for more than four hours Sunday afternoon/evening. We spoke with King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jim Laing, who shared details from the preliminary report: It started when deputies tried to pull over a vehicle at 156th and 1st S, and instead of stopping, it took off. = apparently, Sgt. Laing says, because the driver not only had a $10,000 warrant out for his arrest (related to a protection order), but also because he was under the influence of drugs (both of which, according to the report, he confessed when finally arrested). After a pursuit that led all the way into Highland Park and then back south, a deputy tried the so-called 
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