If you saw a woman with short white hair, perhaps a notebook too, roaming the 3200 block of California purposefully over the weekend – that just might have been City of Seattle Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner.
She’s the most powerful city official you’ve (probably) never heard of, and she announced at the end of last Wednesday’s combined hearing on that block’s three-years-in-progress “upzoning” request that she would make a site visit before writing a report on the request and ruling on a related appeal, “probably (visiting) on the weekend.” (Whether last weekend or next, we won’t know till her report.)
“But if you see me,” she warned, “do NOT approach me.”
Though you are not asked to rise when she enters her chambers on the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown, Tanner’s role is similar to that of a judge. She listens to sworn testimony, sometimes to public comment, in hearings on matters that may sound mundane from a distance, unless you are the one whose livelihood and/or property will be directly affected by the ruling – as is the case for most of those involved in this case, both the neighbors along the blocks immediately behind the block proposed for a zoning change, and those who own the dozens of parcels that would be eligible for higher buildings and larger commercial spaces if the zoning is changed.
On Wednesday of last week, the rezone proposal occupied the Hearing Examiner’s docket for the entire day, which began with most of the 30 or so seats in her chambers filled – mostly with the aforementioned neighbors, wearing lime-green ribbons – and ended seven hours later with most of the seats empty.
MARINATION MOBILE LOCATION UPDATE: As reported here earlier this summer, the 35th/Graham location that’s been home to the Marination Mobile food truck on Saturdays is about to get dug up for a cleanup, and they have to move. Kamala from Marination Mobile just e-mailed us to say that they WILL be at the same site this Saturday, 11-2 as usual – and then they’re hoping they will be across SW Graham at Hans VW Repair‘s lot on subsequent Saturdays. “WE LOVE WEST SEATTLE!” she adds.
HEARTLAND CAFE CHANGES:Heartland Café‘s proprietor Jay Wergin shared this photo with news of an expansion:
Wergin says the bar space has expanded “to include natural light and gaming. … This is a soft opening to what will eventually be a full-service bar offering live entertainment, draft beers, pull tabs, sports on multiple TVs, and a great gathering place.” It’s got pool and darts, as you see in the photo – but no worries, The Benbow Room is still “plenty dark and pirate-ship-like,” he reassures its fans. And it’s now open Mondays 3 pm-2 am; they’re offering a $1 discount on any drink to restaurant-industry employees on both Sunday and Monday nights.
INTERNATIONAL BACON DAY COMING TO THE SWINERY: If you don’t frequent the WSB Forums, you may have missed our mention there on Tuesday of the news release sent by The Swinery – they’re planning to throw quite the party in honor of International Bacon Day (we checked, there really is such a thing) on Saturday, September 4th. Here’s the announcement, promising, among other things, free bacon-chocolate-chip cookies.
YOSHIO’S TERIYAKI CLOSES: This is a couple weeks old but we hadn’t noted it before, so in case you wondered, yes, Yoshio’s Teriyaki on the northeast corner of Delridge and Andover is out of business. We pulled over today for a closer look at the note on the door, and that’s what it says. It had been for sale for more than a year; we reported on the listing in February of last year.
As mentioned here about this time last night, Chief Sealth International High School got the go-ahead for teachers and other staffers to move in – and today, they did just that. Above, unpacking was still under way in the Proyecto Saberroom, where we found teachers including Delfino Munoz around mid-afternoon. And the Southwest Precinct had just sent over its second tour-group-in-blue:
Speaking of colors, they play a role in the Sealth scheme – just look down the hallway:
With two weeks to go till the first day of classes – and 13 days to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 am Sept. 7 – there’s still plenty of work under way, inside and out, but it’s clearly the home stretch – here’s a view from the front steps down toward the new Galleria:
Your first official chance to get a peek inside is just a week away – next Wednesday night, as a fundraiser for the Friends of Sealth scholarship fund, you can be part of a behind-the-scenes tour – reservations required, and you can make yours online at the new Friends of Sealth website. One month from today, a community open house will include tours, too – 10 am Sept. 25th.
ORIGINAL 5:20 PM REPORT: Police and fire are heading to a reported crash involving a Metro bus and SUV at Delridge and Myrtle (just north of the Home Depot/Arco/Shell intersection). No word yet if anyone is hurt, but given the location and the fact it’s evening commute time, we’re posting this as a heads-up. 5:30 PM UPDATE: 2 more fire units are being sent – seven people are reported to have minor injuries. Per the scanner, police are closing northbound Delridge at Orchard.
(Photo added 6:27 pm, originally posted to our Twitter account @westseattleblog) 5:55 PM UPDATE: We are here, road just reopened both ways. Will add photo shortly. SUV was towed; bus drove a short way north and is still in outside SB lane with a supervisor vehicle in front of it. (And yes, that was a TV chopper over the scene for a while – channel 7.)
This afternoon we’re welcoming one of our newest sponsors, Envy on Alkiskin boutique. In the WSB sponsor-welcome tradition, here’s what they want you to know about Envy on Alki: With personalized service from owner and aesthetician Trudy Muller, Envy on Alki has become Alki’s premier skin boutique, featuring services for both women and men, ranging from face and body waxing to facial treatments, peels, and enhancement services, such as, brow and lash tinting. As a native of West Seattle, Trudy is active in her community and currently working with others in her Alki neighborhood to raise money for breast cancer and prepare for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure with Team Tracy (the3day.org/goto/Trudy.Muller). Clients not only come from the West Seattle area but also travel from all over Washington for the personal touch and services provided by this quaint boutique. Should you find yourself needing to be pampered, or to provide a unique experience to share with others for any occasion – whether a celebration, a gift to your bridesmaids, or just a night out on the town – Envy on Alki also provides private parties. Appointments are highly recommended (which we suggest you make in advance) to ensure your much-deserved quality time with Trudy. If by chance Trudy is available for a walk-in client, you might catch her at her most shining moment, should you need a quick brow or bikini wax. Don’t underestimate this little boutique located in the heart of Alki at 2613 58th Ave. SW (map), because what you’ll find is a quaint boutique marbled with lots of character and tons of personality!
We thank Envy on Alki for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
On the fourth day of temporary Admiral Safeway-lessness in north West Seattle, we’ve received a few updates from Sara Corn at Safeway’s regional headquarters. First and foremost, they’re announcing the launch of the project-info website they had promised earlier – see it here. That’s also where you’ll see a construction webcam once demolition begins (update: she projects end of September), as well as everything from a floor plan for the new store to information about its quest to become West Seattle’s first LEED-certified supermarket.
In hopes that Admiral shoppers will use the Jefferson Square store till the new one here is up and running, Corn also shared these notes:
-Jefferson Square Safeway will continue the “Senior Coffee” hour that Admiral has hosted for years. This is a social hour on Tuesday, 10 am-11 am. Safeway provides the coffee and the seniors bring treats to share.
-3 of our career checkers have transferred to Jefferson Square for the duration of the construction:
· Barb Fuda – 40 years with Admiral Safeway
· Chris Murray – 37 years with Admiral Safeway
· Sheryl Bogie – 27 years with Admiral Safeway
26 additional Admiral Safeway employees have also transferred to the Jefferson Square Safeway.
– Our fuel station is still open and offering the 10 cent discount for store purchases of $50 or more;
– The pharmacy is open in a trailer on the Admiral site;
– Jefferson Square Safeway now has free underground parking available for our customers.
She also mentioned that local Safeways have fundraisers ahead, including J-Square Safeway hosting a Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser at Roxbury Lanes tomorrow, 6-9 pm, $10 for unlimited bowling and shoes, and starting its annual Christmas Ham Drive for West Seattle Food Bankright after Thanksgiving.
If you saw our “tour new Fire Station 37” story in the first few hours after we published it, you haven’t seen the postscript – one day after our tour, artist Pete Beeman – commissioned three years ago to create a sculpture for the site, under the city’s 1% for Art program – installed his work outside the station, along 35th SW. (Thanks yet again to Michael Oxman for sending a photo last night – we went back for our own a little while ago.) There’s little information about the sculpture online, so we e-mailed Beeman today to ask about its name, its inspiration, and even – as asked by a commenter – whether it has moving parts. He replied:
It is called “Lifter.” It has a crank at the bottom, which raises and lowers the polished arms.
There are a few concrete references to fire fighting equipment in the piece. The tower borrows its form from the “jaws of life” tool FFs use to open crunched car doors; the 5-sided nut shape around each shaft is borrowed from the 5-sided nut on fire hydrants.
Below is something I wrote about it when I was proposing the project. It is an abstract project, and I hope that people will bring their own visual vocabulary to it, project their own references onto it, but below are a few of the images that it kicks up for me.
“At times the sculpture looks a bit like a tree or an umbrella, metaphors for the sheltering, protective role the Fire Fighters play in a community. Other times it seems to be a bird form, a metaphor for the rising soaring hope that Fire Fighters provide a community in a crisis, whether it is helping maintain fire and health safety in daily life, or dealing with health and fire crises. It is heavy and mechanical, like much of the equipment standard to fire fighting, the moving tubes similar to a (unreachable) ladder at one point in their cycle. Finally, the image of the phoenix rising from the ashes of a fire comes to mind in its rising form, as its tubes are cranked all the way up. This is a perfect image or metaphor for the firefighters work, it is their work that breaks the crisis and allows people to recover, to move on.”
Though the posters and postcards all say August 21st was the last West Seattle Outdoor Movies show of the summer – it was NOT! Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora wants to rocket out the reminder that there’s actually one more to go: Since “Star Trek” (trailer above) was rained out on 8/7, it’s rescheduled for THIS Saturday night, August 28th , in the Hotwire courtyard (4410 California SW)! Featured sponsors for the night: Martha L. Davis, Highline Therapy Services, and West Seattle Music Studio. The movie’s at dusk and admission is free; bring your own blanket/chair, and a few dollars so you can buy tickets for raffle prizes, which always benefit local nonprofits, as do the concession sales. The forecast for Saturday so far is “cloudy”; if movie night arrives and it looks iffy, you can check the West Seattle Outdoor Movies Facebook page (here) and Twitter account (here) for status updates.
Most neighborhood councils/associations skipped August meetings. But there’s one on the calendar tonight: Highland Park Action Committee. Chair Dan Mullins sent an announcement noting that while there’s nothing huge on the agenda, it’s the perfect time to bring up something new (or unresolved) for discussion. 7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club building at 12th/Trenton.
Two weeks till the first day of school, and another local campus gets a bit of a facelift – Arbor Heights Elementary‘s playground-painting project is almost done, after two volunteer work sessions in the past four days.
Thanks to John for sharing the photos:
John wanted to share some acknowledgments:
I would also like to say thank you to BEAN, 99.9 The Rock, 100.7 The Wolf, 103.7 The Mountain, 107.7 The End. They worked their bottoms off. THANK YOU to everyone who helped!! Parents, Staff, Everyone! A HUGE THANK YOU to Amy, David, Jihyun, Rossyln, Molly, Gina, Hema, and Chris!!!!
That photo’s just out of the WSB inbox from JB, along with this report:
Someone just dumped a truckload of demolition and yard debris partially in the alley and also across SW Trenton near Delridge Way (map). I cleared the road enough to make it passable and then snapped some pictures. … The event occurred around 11:15 pm. I reported this to Seattle police. Looks like the truck that dumped the debris was headed south. Have there been any reports or incidents like this elsewhere in the area? Any help in identifying the culprits is appreciated.
ADDED 8:58 AM: JB had sent a second photo – so we’re adding it:
With personalized service from owner and aesthetician Trudy Muller, Envy on Alki has become Alki’s premier skin boutique, featuring services for both women and men, ranging from face and body waxing to facial treatments, peels, and enhancement services, such as, brow and lash tinting. As a native of West Seattle, Trudy is active in her community and currently working with others in her Alki neighborhood to raise money for breast cancer and prepare for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure with Team Tracy (
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