West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
(2009 West Seattle Junction Car Show photo courtesy Michael Hoffman)
As this weekend wraps up – we look ahead to what’s still in store for late summer – and one big event is getting closer: Three weeks from today – between 8 am and 4 pm on Sunday, September 19th — California SW closes in the heart of The Junction so the streets can fill with people, music and (parked) cars for the third annual West Seattle Junction Car Show (with WSB among the sponsors). Organizer Michael Hoffman from Liberty Bell Printing told us earlier this summer they’re expecting to hit the full quota of 300 cars – application info’s here.
Thank you to all those who contacted us with word of a big police presence, including officers with weapons drawn, near the intersection of 19th Avenue SW & SW Brandon. Officers at the scene told us that it looked like a bigger situation than it actually was.
They say that a patrol officer identified a car that had been reported stolen. When he attempted to speak with the five people standing around in the driveway near the car they acted aggressively. So he called in backup, which responded quickly and helped to detain the suspects for questioning at the scene. The officers were still conducting their investigation when we left, but they say that apparently both the license plates and the car they were attached to were reported stolen. They also said that three of the people questioned will probably be released.
Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
On the eve of the first day of school for 2010-11, Our Lady of Guadalupe drew a crowd this afternoon to celebrate the kickoff of its major fundraising campaign to build a new Gathering Hall/Gym on parish property at 35th and Myrtle.
And it began with big news – OLG’s Father Jack Walmesley (above) announced to the crowd gathered outside that they had already raised $1.25 million toward their $4 million goal, thanks to a major benefactor: Former parishioner and West Seattle resident Mike Hession, who left $1 million to the parish in his will to be used toward the new building (you can see a rendering here).
Designed by Richard Glasman of M/G Architecture, the new building will be a community center, gym, full kitchen and meeting spaces that will be open to the community. Father Jack says the intention of the building is to be a community resource to assist social-action groups and functions; he mentioned Family Promise of Seattle, which helps homeless families find resources (but is currently going through a tough time itself, as first reported here).
Father Jack adds: “This is a step toward reaching the full potential for ourselves and our community. It’s fun to watch people utilize their talents—this is happening because of (their) talents.”
The fundraising campaign will last through Christmas, with the intention of beginning construction in June of 2011. There’s more info online here.
There was plenty of summer color today, amidst a whisper of autumn, as vendors brought out some cool handicrafts for the final Highland Park Sunday Market of 2010. Organizer Tiffany Silver-Brace was there with her daughter Ava and a table full of wonderful textiles:
Here’s Gina McCauley with her hand-crafted, felted wool Snooter Doots:
Jennifer Bay and Brian Scott were on hand from the super-talented team at Clone Press:
The folks from Party Dogs had their gourmet turkey and fennel dog treats. But the fresh onion bread they baked (for people) looked scrumptious too:
Just like what we spotted in South Park yesterday, artisan pickled vegetables seem to be popping up everywhere this season, like these from Bootleg Canning Company:
The mobile food truck from Street Treats also made an appearance, as did the sun.
(Photos, Video and Story by Christopher Boffoli)
There may not have been any sunshine, but it was perfect weather for runners this morning for the Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run. Shari Sewell, Director of Northwest Hope and Healing, tells us that 1,160 participants registered for the race this year. She said that, though the number is about 10% less than average, they actually still managed to raise more money: in excess of $45,000.
The runners left the mark at 9am, just west of the Alki bath house, for a 5 kilometer (or roughly 3.1 mile) course east along Alki and then back to the finish line at the same point where they started.
Here’s a short video clip of the start of the race:
Bellingham’s Sean Messiter was the first of the men to finish with a time of 16 minutes and 23 seconds:
For the women, Nancy Ellis of Tacoma led the way in at 18 minutes and 42 seconds:
Complete race results are posted online here.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli)
We mentioned this as a postscript to the morning preview – today’s the day for the date-never-published Isle of Vashon vintage-motorcycle rally – then Christopher Boffoli headed over to Fauntleroy and caught some of the motorcyclists ready to head over via ferry:.
More photos later if we receive some from the events on Vashon (here’s how to share!).
Adding a couple of reader-submitted images. These are from “Todd”:
And thanks to “Scott”for the cameraphone image of this canine motorcycle enthusiast:
Daryl and Donna e-mailed to ask that we publish news of Helen Finnell‘s passing, explaining, “Helen was a resident of West Seattle from approximately 1948-2003 and volunteered for a number of years at both the West Seattle Senior Center and Food Bank.” Her memorial and burial are set for this Tuesday. Read ahead for the full announcement:Read More
One more reminder for today: The week-plus Seattle Public Library shutdown starts tomorrow. The only branch open in West Seattle on Sundays is the Southwest Branch at 35th/Henderson – if you need to visit a library today, they’re open 1-5 pm.
Reminder that Alki Avenue SW is closed this morning, approximately 8 am-11 am, for the Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run benefiting Northwest Hope and Healing. The race leaves Alki Bathhouse at 9 am. … Other highlights: The final edition of Highland Park Sunday Market @ 12th/Holden, 11 am-3 pm … West Seattle Farmers’ Market @ The Junction, 10 am-2 pm … A community celebration kicking off fundraising for Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s expansion project is set for noon (more info at olgfuture.org) … Go enjoy an Ice Cream Social at Village Green Perennial Nursery this afternoon, 2-4 pm, Full Tilt Ice Cream and Squirrel Butter music …Tthe Knit Night Celebration with Seattle Yarn (as mentioned in our recent story about their online expansion) and Artistic Framers, including a barbecue, starts at 5 pm (full details here) … More in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup!
ADDED 8:10 AM: If you happen to see a sizable number of motorcycles at/around the Fauntleroy ferry dock – we are told that today is the date for the Isle of Vashon vintage-motorcycle rally on the island – we can’t find info online but apparently that’s because it’s not published, on purpose. If you get a pic, please share!
Original post 10:04 PM: We’re getting preliminary word of an incident at the intersection of 35th & SW Barton that appears to involve a fatality. We have someone on the scene and will be updating with more information as it develops.
10:31 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police now tell us that around 9:30 tonight passersby reported a man on the ground near the bus stop at the northeast corner of 35th & Barton. Paramedics responded to the location and made attempts to revive him but they were unsuccessful. Police are still there waiting for investigators to process the scene. They said the man did not appear to be homeless and, though a quantity of alcohol was found with the body, it was too soon to make any determination as to what role drugs or alcohol may have played in the man’s death.
The weather was perfect tonight for Star Trek, the final movie of this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies. That’s Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Lewis who modeled a chicken-themed bag from which she drew tonight’s winning raffle tickets before the movie unspooled:
After the raffle prizes (which included baked goods, music lessons and other gift certificates) were distributed, Lora told the crowd that this year’s raffles raised more than $1,000 for local non-profits; including West Seattle Helpline, WestSide Baby, The Nature Consortium and Family Promise of Seattle.
(Photos and Story by Christopher Boffoli)
It seemed as though every street in South Park was having a garage or yard sale this afternoon. Hundreds of people were out selling their wares on a picture-perfect August day. And in true neighborhood fashion it was a festive, eclectic mix of not only household goods but also food, live music and curbside massage, as part of the community-wide South Park on Sale!
Organizer, Deborah Semer (above) explained that she conceived of the simultaneous garage/alley/yard sales to help South Park in the wake of the closure of its bridge, which many South Park residents regarded as a lifeline to the rest of the City. She said her goal today was about helping to encourage people to keep coming to South Park and exploring all it has to offer.
Out in front of Semer’s house we spoke with friends Tabitha Thomas-Gadzuk and Catherine Barrows who recently launched new food business TabbyCat Pickling Co. and who were selling their products, including a zucchini relish (below left), grown with vegetables from their farm in Kent:
We also found West Seattle resident Karina Macklin in South Park today offering massages for $1 a minute. The customer she was working on only managed to moan in approval:
And here’s Nathan Coleman presiding over his tables of merchandise:
In addition to the yard sales, Semer said visitors could also expect to see a Zumba flash mob, pirates, the Dead Babies Bicycle Club, mural artist Kenji Fullmer and musicians like Gnarlene, who was performing on his front lawn:
and Tukso Okey who we found playing several different instruments on the bank of the Duwamish river, with the South Park bridge as a backdrop:
This evening’s events include a free outdoor showing of the Pixar film “Up” at the South Park Outdoor Cinema (in the parking lot of Napoli Pizza at 8600 14th Avenue South). Some South Park restaurants are offering special movie night dinner specials too!
10:43 pm: Adding a bit of video from Tukso Okey’s performance in South Park this afternoon.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Best-selling West Seattle author Terry Brooks, a big name in the fantasy-fiction literature world, drew a crowd of more than 60 fans for his annual appearance to read and sign books at Barnes and Noble in Westwood Village today.
Brooks is promoting his latest book, Legends of Shannara: Bearers of the Black Staff. From his website:
Terry has finished writing both books in the Legends of Shannara duology, which take place five hundred years after the events in The Gypsy Morph. Bearers of the Black Staff, Book One, will be published August 24, 2010!
The book follows on the success of his previous novel, A Princess of Landover (which was “a continuation of the Landover series after the events in Witches’ Brew,” according to his website).
Brooks’ appearance at B&N is an annual tradition that his fans clearly appreciate, and is one of the few local events that we’ve covered five consecutive years since WSB’s launch in 2005. (Read our coverage of his 2009 appearance here). According to B&N assistant manager Sonja, who has also organized Brooks’ readings in recent years, today’s crowd is “one of the biggest we’ve had” for the author, who is “one of the few authors we do these events for. He’s local, and shops here all the time!”
Brooks read excerpts of his work, shared stories, and treated his fans to a free bookmark with a list of his suggested reading order for his various books, which he joked have been “written out of order and confusing to everyone — but this should help.”
In addition to working on some continuations of his previous books, he promised fans “something new” in the next few years — “I’m getting burned out on Shannara and need to put some time into something different.”
When asked about the possibility of film adaptations of his work in the future, Brooks lamented the stop-and-go nature of past negotiations he’s been through. “Everyone talks a good game, but nothing happens,” he sighed. He joked that “my kids always say ‘look what happened to Tolkien!'” in reference to the famous Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose works made theatrical millions long after his passing in 1973.
Brooks thanked those in attendance for their dedication, and sat down afterward to sign books and meet with his fans.
Dirty automobile? You still have 90 minutes to take advantage of this, from WSB’er Trina:
Shorewood Christian School 10th and 11th graders are holding a carwash from 12:00-5:00 at Roxbury Lanes north parking lot. All proceeds will help the students fund an educational trip to Washington DC later this year. There is not a set price, we will be washing cars for donations.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli)
Original report 11:42 am: Just checking on reports of a car fire in the westbound lanes of the West Seattle bridge. We’ll post more details as we have them.
Update 12:11 pm: SFD has the fire out. Westbound lanes of the bridge are now open, though moving slowly as the right lane is restricted at the West Seattle end of the bridge (just before the intersection of 35th) while police wait for removal of the burned vehicle. It appears the fire was in a commercial van which burned completely. There are no reports of injuries.
Update 2:46 pm: Thanks to those who e-mailed us earlier this afternoon to report that traffic was again moving smoothly. Also, thanks to WSB’er Chris for the cameraphone video of smoke billowing from the van:
If you delayed a trip to Costco this morning, after hearing that they had a power outage, we have just confirmed that the power is back on and it is business as usual.
We also checked in with the folks at the Marination Mobile as they were setting up at 35th & Graham (from which they’ll soon be moving across the street). They tell us that they are in the running to compete on the second season of the Food Network TV show The Great Food Truck Race. They’re asking their West Seattle fans to vote for them here, starting tomorrow.
Lots of West Seattle folks involved in presenting and sponsoring Eat Local Now! again this year – and it’s just a little more than one month away. Again this year, a Local Food Hero will be honored during the gala, which is set for Sept. 30th at SODO Park (a venue owned by West Seattle-based Herban Feast). Read on to see how to nominate someone for this honor:Read More
Some of the highlights for today/tonight:
ROLLING COMMUNITY MEETING: Think community meetings require plopping yourself in a chair and sitting there for a few hours? Not this one! It’s a “rolling” meeting – rendezvous at 10 am at Delridge Neighborhood Development Association HQ at Delridge and Brandon, and carpool along to various spots where wayfinding kiosks are planned. More info here.
YARD SALE SEASON ROLLS ON: First of all, check the WSB Forums‘ Freebies/Deals/Sales section for sales posted by your West Seattle neighbors and friends – looks like some good ones! And if you’d like to hop from sale to sale in relatively close confines, South Park is having a community yard sale day – organizers think there’ll be more than the few dozen they’ve mapped – get the list of locations here.
WALKING TOUR: Riverside Walking Tour presented by Southwest Seattle Historical Society starts at 10 am – for more details, read this!
SEATTLE PARKS’ BIG DAY OF PLAY: – This Seattle Parks and Recreation extravaganza is happening at Magnuson Park but free shuttles are offered from sites including Delridge Community Center and Southwest Community Center in West Seattle – info here.
WEST SEATTLE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR’S ANNUAL READING: Terry Brooks, a big name among fantasy-fiction fans, makes his annual appearance to read and sign books at Westwood Village Barnes and Noble, 2 pm (more at TerryBrooks.net).
FINAL 2010 SHOWTIME FOR WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES: Rescheduled night for what was supposed to be the Aug. 7 presentation of Summer Outdoor Movies in The Junction (Hotwire/Dr. Wolff courtyard) – “Star Trek” (2009 version) screens at dusk. Movie’s free; bring your own chair/blanket; bring a few $ for fundraiser raffle tickets/concessions, too!
And that’s just some of what’s up today/tonight – see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for more!
Got a 3- through 12-year-old interested in playing outdoor soccer this fall? There’s stiil time to sign up with the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) – this Sunday’s the deadline. According to the Y’s sports director Matt Schlede, practices start the week of September 13, the first games are September 25, and the season ends November 6, with all games played Saturdays at Lincoln Park – one practice and one game per week during the 7-game schedule. Here’s the page you can use to find out more, and to register.
(Photos and Video by Christopher Boffoli)
The Providence Mount St. Vincent outdoor-concert series is a wrap for this year – after The Haggis Brothers‘ performance at The Mount tonight. A few people in the audience were bundled up against the breezy late-summer evening. But the band’s Bluegrass and Western Swing music (and a barbecue dinner) definitely warmed up the crowd.
This is one of two major outdoor-music series in West Seattle – the other, the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha (co-sponsored by WSB), concludes next Thursday, with the hometown favorite West Seattle Big Band playing on the east lawn of Hiawatha Community Center at 6:30 pm. (In the meantime, there’s a bonus concert – The Board of Education, half of a crowd-delighting Hiawatha double bill Tuesday before last, will perform at Alki Playfield Tuesday night at 6.)
Just so you know when to start watching for “school zone” lights, students crossing streets, and other signs that school’s in session – some West Seattle schools start as early as next Monday! Here’s the list we have so far – if we’re missing yours, please leave a comment or e-mail us and we’ll add it:
AUGUST 30 (next Monday): Holy Rosary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Family
AUGUST 31 (next Tuesday): West Seattle Elementary
SEPTEMBER 7: Seattle Lutheran High School, Hope Lutheran School, Tilden School
SEPTEMBER 8: Seattle Public Schools (except WS Elementary, see 8/31), Shorewood Christian School, Westside School, Explorer West Middle School. Photo above is courtesy David Bergler from Westside, which is moving into a new campus; he reports:
(In the photo,) Ava & Helen Simmons put the finishing touches on a mural of the EC Hughes building. The students of Westside School created a number of beautiful murals for the walls of their new school. The first day of classes will be held on Wednesday, September 8th. Westside School will be having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, September 7th at 4:00. Westside School currently has an enrollment of 235 students from preschool through fifth grade.
Second note – SPS sent a news release late today about teachers visiting several district schools from China this year, including some in West Seattle – read on for the full announcement:Read More
RYAN COX: He’s the 32-year-old man who was twice arrested for graffiti vandalism in West Seattle, with charges then dismissed because he was incompetent to stand trial – and now the same thing has happened a third time. After his arrest earlier this month (WSB coverage here), for graffiti vandalism and knife possession, he was scheduled to return to court next Monday after a Western State Hospital evaluation – but instead, the case was moved up, and we learned after the fact that he had been in the city’s Mental Health Court yesterday afternoon. Once again, he was found incompetent to stand trial, and unlikely to be “restored” to competency in the short period of time allotted if it is not a major crime; once again, the charges were dismissed, and he’s been sent back to Western State Hospital for a different evaluation. According to deputy city attorney Jennifer Grant, who is handling this case, Western State and state lawyers have till next Tuesday evening to decide whether to seek to have Cox committed – a process which both previous times has led to a decision against commitment, which put him back on the street. The twist here is that as in the previous cases, neither we nor even the city will be formally notified of the results – because of medical-privacy laws. The only thing different this time, Grant says, is that because he was arrested before this case and pleaded guilty to a charge for which he is still on probation – if at any point he is found competent, that case could reopen.
STEPHEN KIRK: He is the 50-year-old man arrested and charged in connection with three so-called smash-and-grab break-ins – only charged in three Burien cases so far, but suspected in more than 30, including some in West Seattle. He was scheduled for arraignment – the hearing at which a suspect answers the charges – yesterday, but it was postponed till Monday. We should find out then if he will face additional charges. Though Kirk’s bail was reduced to $25,000 two weeks ago, he has remained behind bars.
Thanks to West Seattle-based journalist Gregg Hersholt for the tip – the awnings have gone up at the future Highstrike Grill, in the restaurant space at West Seattle Bowl (where Terrace West closed a month and a half ago). While snapping the photo, we dropped in to check with WS Bowl owner Andrew Carl, who says they’re hoping to be open by mid-September – the kitchen equipment is coming in next week, and more signage is on the way. He also says there’ll be a website up soon with info including the Highstrike Grill menu.
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