day : 18/08/2010 10 results

These aren’t happening IN West Seattle, but the recruiting notice for volunteers to help with two drills is shared by WSB’er LyndaB, and given our peninsula’s leadership role as a hotbed of disaster preparedness, somebody out there just might want to help. And the volunteers for the first one can be as young as 14 – high-school students, that means community-service credit! Read on:Read More

Presidential postscript: West Seattleite met with President Obama

August 18, 2010 9:19 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

So it turns out there was a major West Seattle connection to yesterday’s presidential visit beyond The Big Booms. From the “we’re embarrassed we didn’t know this earlier” department, a longtime WSB’er e-mailed tonight to point out that Gillian Allen-White, the Grand Central Bakery co-owner who hosted President Obama’s mini-business roundtable in Pioneer Square yesterday, is a West Seattleite – co-president of the Sanislo Elementary School PTA, in fact. She is at the president’s left in the WhiteHouse.gov video above, and there’s a photo on SeattleTimes.com (WSB partner) tonight, with a story by food writer Nancy Leson, who followed up with Allen-White to get the lowdown on what the president ordered for lunch while there.

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Open house Thursday for new early-education program

August 18, 2010 7:23 pm

| Comments Off on Open house Thursday for new early-education program

| High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Meet Roxanne Brown. She’ll be teaching a brand-new early-education program in West Seattle starting next month, and you can check it out during an open house tomorrow (Thursday) night. The program’s called Small Scholars Academy and classes will be at High Point Community Center. Roxanne’s been teaching for five years, with two of those years in a Head Start program, and she says Small Scholars is meant to offer child-led experiences where kids can learn based on what they’re interested in – say, the kids want to talk about dinosaurs, and it’s time for language skills, you might bring in alphabet letters associated with dinosaurs. Play, Roxanne explains, can also lead to educational experiences. They’re registering kids 3-5 now for these options – Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays ($230 a month), Tuesdays/Thursdays ($185), or five days a week ($315/month), morning (9:30 am-1 pm) or afternoon (2-5:30 pm), kids must be potty-trained. Tomorrow night’s open house is 5-7 pm at High Point CC (6920 34th SW); classes start September 13th.

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Primary Election 2010: Newest results just published

August 18, 2010 4:33 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| 34th District State House 2 | King Co. Council District 8 | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

King County Elections got 95,000 more ballots in the mail today – the highest single-day delivery, which they say is unusual because that usually happens Election Day – and expected to include at least 40,000 in the second run of primary results. Those results were just made public – see them here. The order hasn’t changed in our area’s biggest race, 34th District State Representative Position 2, but Mike Heavey‘s margin over second-place Joe Fitzgibbon narrowed to 21 votes. Complete look at that race, after the jump:Read More

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Update: California reopens after crash involving police car

August 18, 2010 2:11 pm

| 50 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police | WS breaking news

(NOTE: As of just before 5 pm, California SW has reopened)

ORIGINAL 2:11 PM REPORT: Just getting word of this crash near California/Brandon (in front of Papa John’s – here’s a map), involving a police car. We’re told a car was pulling out of a driveway when it collided with a cruiser en route to an incident, apparently with lights and siren. We’re told the officer is hurt. No word yet how badly. (Photo added 2:18 pm) Christopher Boffoli and Patrick Sand are both there for WSB and we’ll add details as we get them.

2:36 PM UPDATE: A few more details – The officer involved in the crash had been heading to a call about a “disturbance” at California and Dakota north of The Junction. Investigators are headed to the crash scene to sort out other details. The driver of the other car was apparently not hurt – looks shaken up as much as anything; officers have been talking with him. California is closed **TFN** from Rite-Aid at the north to Brandon on the south. The injured officer is being checked out.

2:54 PM UPDATE: Buses are being rerouted too. We’ve gotten this e-mail alert about the 22:

Rt 22 is temporarily rerouted on California Ave SW near SW Brandon St, due to a blockage.
Use stops north of Sw Edmunds St or south of SW Morgan St.

Looking up the others. (54, 128, ST 560 affected too) Also, SPD Blotter has published a very short update on the crash:

On August 18th at approximately 1:52 p.m. an officer in a fully-marked police car was responding to an emergency call with lights and siren activated. Just north of SW Brandon Street on California Avenue SW the officer collided with a beige Ford sedan and subsequently struck a tree near the side of the road. The driver and only occupant of the beige Ford sedan, a male in his 70′s, was evaluated at the scene but was not injured and did not require transportation. The officer was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives are responding to the scene. The circumstances surrounding the collision are currently under active investigation.

Scanner traffic indicated that the emergency call involved a parking-enforcement officer who may have been pepper-sprayed by someone – we are checking on that.

3:20 PM: Added that photo from Christopher, which shows the other car that was involved.

4:23 PM: Christopher checked again a few minutes ago – still closed. We’ll continue checking periodically.

4:59 PM: Thanks to Pop from the Thaitan Restaurant, who says the road reopened a few minutes ago. Belinda, via Facebook, says buses are going by too.

ADDED 6:34 PM: Thanks to Garfield High School student Gabriel S. for sharing that photo – again, the officer who was hurt was described as having “non-life-threatening” injuries, but we’re still trying to find out more on how he’s doing.

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West Seattle restaurant news: Junction Wing Dome sign goes up

August 18, 2010 2:09 pm

| 29 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Thanks to Brian Presser at TouchTech Systems in The Junction for sharing that photo – the sign’s going up for the new Wing Dome next to CAPERS, almost eleven months after we brought you first word the company was looking at West Seattle. We have a message out to see if an opening date’s been set yet; last time we checked in with the Wing Dome folks, they were hoping it would be this month.

5:04 PM UPDATE: Colleen O’Leary with Wing Dome’s parent company Consolidated Restaurants says they’re just clearing the permit phase and they should have word of an opening date soon.

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Chief Sealth principal awaits move: ‘Champing at the bit’

August 18, 2010 12:57 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

With the Chief Sealth International High School renovations close to completion – and the first day of school just three weeks away – the project-management team at DKA Architecture just sent along a new aerial. (Ever wonder about unmarked choppers/planes in the area from time to time? Keep in mind, some are taking photos like these!) It shows the Chief Sealth campus from the south side along Thistle, looking northward. Note the paved parking areas, among other touches. We talked to Sealth principal John Boyd a short time ago to find out how soon his staff will be moving in; as the quote in our headline indicates, they’re eager. Right now, Boyd says, they’re awaiting the results of fire/safety inspections. If those go well, the contents of administrative offices and classrooms – what Sealth teachers have already boxed up – will be moved over the weekend, with the hopes that administrators can come in Monday and Tuesday to start getting settled, with teachers following on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We’re anxious, we want to get over there, but we want everything to be done (right) – and we’re still operable at Boren” till then, Boyd tells WSB, adding, “The facilities are beautiful.” The upgrades have been under way for two years, and the new Denny International Middle School is being built on the same site, though its completion/move aren’t scheduled till next year. (More project background can be found here.) ADDED 1:12 PM: Also just got a new photo taken at the site today and shared by DKA, described as “the installation of the new water feature in the CS Galleria entrance”:

More new outside/inside photos here.

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3 weeks till school: West Seattle Helpline backpack drive revs up

August 18, 2010 12:06 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news

(Photo from last year’s backpack giveaway, courtesy West Seattle Helpline)
Three weeks from today, it’s the first day of the new school year for most Seattle Public Schools campuses – with many private schools starting then (if not sooner) too. And that’s why West Seattle Helpline< is revving up its annual backpack drive right now. They’re collecting not only backpacks to give away to students who need them, but also school-age clothing to give away with the backpacks. To find out how/where to donate clothing, just call the Helpline at 206.932.4357; you can drop off backpacks not only at Helpline HQ but also at CAPERS in The Junction.

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The Andover School: Welcoming a new West Seattle Blog sponsor

August 18, 2010 10:28 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

We’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor today, and as is customary, new sponsors are invited to share information about their business: The Andover School was established in 2009 after founder Kari Cassidy-Diercks had difficulty finding availability for her children in a West Seattle preschool. With a background in operations and marketing, she teamed with childhood educator and preschool director Kelli Palsha to create a high-quality, unique, artistic and academic curriculum. The Andover School in West Seattle is located between the Alaska and Morgan Junctions. It is a year-round preschool experience for ages 2 through pre-K, which Kelli says is based on the ideals of organic and holistic learning. Kari says they incorporate standard letter education with dramatic play, cooking classes with etiquette, and creativity while offering a strong emphasis on Kindergarten preparedness, especially in the afternoon program. She adds, “The Andover School aspires to help children grow their pre-academic and social skills in play-based learning. Social and emotional learning is emphasized, as this is the foundation for all other learning. Children are encouraged to feel empowered to put their own ideas into action, whether making a rocket ship out of cardboard, inventing a new game, or painting with their toes to learn to count, and The Andover School truly believes in the adage ‘learning through a sense of wonder’.” The dramatic play area is fully decorated in a completely different theme each month to stimulate play and learning.

The Andover School has expanded to a second location on Mercer Island that will open in September. With the graduation of students to Kindergarten, and with the opening of the new Mercer Island location, several AFTERNOON-only positions have just become available. The afternoon program is particularly designed to accommodate the preparation for Kindergarten with an emphasis on letter recognition and writing, math, and advanced cognitive processing. For more information about their half-day programs (9 am – 12:15 pm / 12:45 pm – 4 pm), drop them a line at faculty@theandoverschool.com or phone 425-772-5970.

We thank The Andover School for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.

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West Seattle Wednesday: ‘Upzone’ hearings downtown, and more

August 18, 2010 8:01 am

| 25 COMMENTS

| California Ave upzoning | West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Today’s the day for what could be all-day proceedings regarding the proposed zoning change in the 3200 block of California SW, which would allow more height and larger commercial spaces in future buildings. As noted when we covered related proceedings last week, it’s happening in the city Hearing Examiner‘s chambers (40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown) and will begin with the public hearing on the proposal, which the city Department of Planning and Development has recommended the City Council approve; the day’s schedule also includes the hearing on an appeal filed against the DPD’s ruling of “environmental nonsignificance” for the proposal. … Otherwise, regular weekly Wednesday events are on the calendar, including produce sales at the High Point Market Garden, 32nd/Juneau, 4-7 pm, and trivia at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), 6:45 pm, followed by open-mike time at 9 pm.

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