day : 15/10/2010 13 results

(Roxhill librarian Pat Bliquez, visiting China in 2007, photo from school website)
Roxhill Elementary School principal Carmela Dellino sends word of a big honor for a member of her team:

Roxhill Elementary is proud to announce that our librarian, Pat Bliquez, has been selected as one of the seven 19th Annual Golden Apple Award winners for Excellence in Teaching in Washington State!
http://kcts9.org/kids/golden-apple-awards

This year almost 200 educators from across the state were nominated for this award. This award was the idea of the Golden Apple founder Martin J. (Mike) Koldyke, who felt that excellent teachers did not receive adequate recognition for their contributions to building a stronger, better-educated society. Pat will be officially recognized during January at the Awards Banquet, but we will be honoring her at Roxhill later this month. …

Pat is 1000% dedicated to all students’ success. She is acutely aware of how to help Roxhill students become the best global citizens that they can become. She imbeds this instruction into her daily lessons for every grade level. She includes – truly and authentically – includes our self-contained Autism students, our Head Start students, our developmental preschool students, our transitional kindergarten students, as well as our general education students into this kind of learning.

She has devoted millions of hours (I can tell you that is NO exaggeration) to helping the lives and learning of students. Ms. Bliquez believes AND LIVES on a daily basis the importance that every student can excel at a very high level. She reaches those students who struggle academically and those who academically far exceed their peers. She brings in a global perspective to her lessons. Our students learn about Chinese characters and culture, the Holocaust, about slavery through the text of Elijah, Home of the Brave, and a myriad of other social justice topics.

And it doesn’t stop there. They say that a library is supposed to be the hub of a school. Our librarian IS the hub of our school. Learning centers around her work and efforts. She is the cog in the wheel. She goes out of her way to support every single teacher, support staff and the principal so that learning can be engaging, enriching, intentional and meaningful. Roxhill would not be the same without her.

She knows how to challenge thinking; push her own thinking; and help all of us grow (students and staff) as thinkers.

I could talk about the endless hours, the endless summer hours, the being the first to get here and sometimes the last to leave, but perhaps what resounds in my heart the most is the profound impact she makes on the intellectual, emotional, social and personal lives of every educator and student at Roxhill.

She IS the Golden Apple Award.

The principal says Roxhill head teacher Christopher Robert – himself a past Golden Apple recipient – nominated Pat Bliquez for the award. Congratulations to her and to Roxhill!

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High-school football: Chief Sealth homecoming loss to Hale

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

The game’s over at Southwest Athletic Complex – Nathan Hale 52, Chief Sealth International High School 34. More to come, including touchdown video plus the band’s halftime performance on the field. ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: That’s all after the jump:Read More

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High-school football: West Seattle High School beats Ingraham

October 15, 2010 9:20 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

One of tonight’s two games is over: West Seattle High School beat Ingraham at Northwest Athletic Complex, 28-0. ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: Game notes and a video clip, after the jump:Read More

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Spokane Street Viaduct: Sat. night closure; progress photos

October 15, 2010 7:17 pm

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| Spokane St. Viaduct project | West Seattle news

(Photos courtesy Seattle Department of Transportation)
That’s one of the photos SDOT shared this week when we asked if they had any new construction-progress photos from the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. We have a few more – but first, SDOT has just finalized plans for this weekend closure as part of the ongoing construction:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will close the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct Saturday night, Oct 16, for work required on the viaduct widening project. (The Spokane Street Viaduct is the raised structure that connects the West Seattle Bridge to I-5.) Crews will work from 10 p.m. Saturday until 5 a.m. Sunday. During this work, southbound I-5 traffic will be directed to the South Forest Street exit to access surface streets. Northbound I-5 traffic and westbound traffic from South Columbian Way will be detoured to surface streets at Sixth Avenue South.

Note that this does NOT overlap with the Alaskan Way Viaduct closures this weekend, which are scheduled for 6 am-6 pm Saturday and Sunday. Meantime, three more views courtesy of SDOT:

As for the project’s overall status, according to SDOT’s Marybeth Turner: “The project remains on schedule for completion by spring 2012, with the new First Avenue on/off ramp complete by the fall of 2011.” Previous WSB coverage, dating back to the announcement of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project in spring 2008, is archived here (newest to oldest).

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West Seattle seals: Two updates, and a presentation tonight

October 15, 2010 5:41 pm

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| West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Photo taken by Brian Fenske on Wednesday while kayaking off Alki)
It’s still the heart of seal-pup season on West Seattle shores, and we have a few notes today. First, Robin Lindsey of Seal Sitters has good news: Storm, the pup rescued from Lincoln Park on Labor Day, is doing well at PAWS, and Robin’s published an update on the Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog – with video of Storm at PAWS – see it here. Robin also notes that PAWS is funded entirely by public donations, so if you’d like to chip in for their work, she has information on how to do so – Storm needs to gain weight before they’ll consider her healthy enough to release back into the wild. 2nd note: We’d received a note this week from Keith, who found a dead pup near Cormorant Cove and sent photos. So far, Robin says, there’s no indication of anything unusual about that death, so we’re not publishing a photo; sadly, she says, pup deaths aren’t unusual – only about half of them make it. She did photograph and document this one, she says, for NOAA to monitor, as they do with all others – so if you see a pup, alive or not, please let Seal Sitters know. Meantime, late notice if you see this shortly after we publish this, but Seal Sitters and NOAA are part of a presentation about West Seattle’s marine wildlife, tonight at Camp Long Lodge at 7 pm.

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Some SDOT signs to show travel times starting Monday

October 15, 2010 4:12 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Just announced by the city – as of Monday, some of its “dynamic messaging signs” around the city, including Fauntleroy/38th and 35th/Snoqualmie, will show travel times, like the ones you’ve probably noticed on freeways like I-5 for a while now. Here’s the official announcement. SDOT says the sign on Admiral Way will have travel times by the end of the month, and by next March, they’ll be on three Highway 99 signs as well as East Marginal Way. Starting Monday they’re promising expanded info online, too.

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‘We’ve done it!” New South Park Bridge $ officially announced

October 15, 2010 3:12 pm

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| South Park | West Seattle news

We’re in South Park, where the official announcement of the $34 million federal TIGER II grant completing the pledged funding for a new South Park Bridge has just concluded. King County Executive Dow Constantine was joined by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who spoke first:

Also there: U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, King County Councilmembers Jan Drago and Larry Phillips, Mayor Mike McGinn, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, State Sen. Joe McDermott, Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton, and South Park business owners and community leaders including Dagmar Cronn of the SP Neighborhood Association, who co-chaired the New South Park Bridge Coalition:

The new bridge will go out to bid “as soon as possible,” said Constantine, adding that “a few approvals” are needed, but expressing confidence that all the pledged funding from various levels of government will come through. The bridge should open in May 2013, the county says, though South Park community activist Bill Owens told WSB he’s hoping that can be accelerated; he also said he’s thrilled. a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2010/October/15southpark.aspx”>Here, meantime, is the full news release.

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No more Alki Art Fair? Latest details on Seattle Parks budget cuts

October 15, 2010 1:52 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(WSB photo from this year’s Alki Art Fair)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“Pretty dramatic stuff.”

That’s how Seattle Parks Board vice chair Neal Adams of West Seattle described the briefing that Seattle Parks finance director Carol Everson gave last night to the board – a city-convened citizens’ advisory group – on the cuts and changes to Parks operations contained in the budget Mayor McGinn proposed late last month, six months after Everson delivered a dire warning to the board (WSB coverage here) of what was to come

As part of the briefing, Parks staffers provided the board with a document that they say will be frequently updated through the budget-vetting process – which the City Council is in the middle of now – featuring specifics on the budget’s potential effects. Covering the meeting last night, that’s when we heard for the first time that one of the casualties would be the popular annual midsummer Alki Art Fair, as part of the proposal to cut Alki Community Center operating hours to a bare minimum.

Read on for what else we’ve learned about Alki Community Center as well as other Parks programs:Read More

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Crime Watch: Not West Seattle cases, but 2 reasons to take a look

October 15, 2010 1:10 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

These aren’t West Seattle cases – but there are calls to be on the lookout region-wide, so we’re sharing them here, one with a photo, one with a sketch. First is the recent attack on a jogger in Seward Park, with new information about the attacker, and second is a just-announced case of alleged “cyberstalking” that may have victims all over Western Washington (if not beyond) – read on:Read More

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South Park Bridge news this afternoon: $34 million for new bridge

October 15, 2010 11:14 am

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| South Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

(King County rendering of design for future South Park Bridge)
11:14 AM: Just got word that King County Executive Dow Constantine and U.S. Senator Patty Murray promise a big announcement at the South Park Bridge at 2:30 this afternoon. This is about when news was supposed to come in about whether a federal grant via TIGER II would be available for all or part of the rest of the money needed to build a new bridge. 11:23 AM: $34 million grant, per sources cited by seattlepi.com. 11:37 AM: More evidence that TIGER II announcements are coming out – found this East Coast story about a bridge-replacement project there getting $. And more here. 11:50 AM: The Seattle Times (WSB partner) is on the story too. 12:37 PM: News advisory from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott‘s office says he’ll be there too. It’s been three and a half months since the old bridge was shut down for safety concerns. The county has called the replacement project “shovel-ready” but says it would still take about 2 years to build once all the money’s in. 1:20 PM UPDATE: The Times story is updated with confirmation of the $34 million, from Sen. Murray’s office.

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Weekend traffic reminder: Alaskan Way Viaduct closures

October 15, 2010 9:49 am

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| Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle news

Reminder – the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s semi-annual checkup is this weekend, so it’s scheduled to be closed 6 am-6 pm both Saturday and Sunday. (They tend to finish and reopen early on Sundays – if that happens, we’ll have updates here as well as via Facebook and Twitter.) This is the first inspection closure since the new 4th Avenue offramp opened, so you don’t have to go all the way to I-5 to get off The Bridge eastbound.

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October’s West Seattle Art Walk: Driftwood, zombies, candy …

October 15, 2010 9:42 am

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| West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(First 6 photos in this story are by Ellen Cedergreen [Alki, ArtsWest, The Kenney])
Steps from the beach, Alki Bathhouse celebrated the exhibit “Beach Structures” last night during the October edition of the West Seattle Art Walk, 41 venues this time around, and we made it to eight of them last night. At the Bathhouse, David W. Simpson is the artist:

He’s also known for cyanotype prints (the image behind him is a print of the same structure), and he’s teaching a class in that medium at the Bathhouse Studio on October 30th, 10:30 am, call 206-684-7430 to register. Another of last night’s most unusual shows, WTF?! Guys and Dolls and Zombies at ArtsWest – here’s artist Kate Vrijmoet attacked by her zombie children tonight in front of her giant zombie paintings:

Click ahead for another unusual sight at ArtsWest – plus more stops around the Art Walk map:

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West Seattle Friday: Sealth homecoming; sandbags; skating …

October 15, 2010 7:51 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today/tonight: Homecoming game for Chief Sealth International High School, with a barbecue on campus at 5:30 pm followed by the game vs. Nathan Hale at Southwest Athletic Complex, 7 pm … West Seattle High School plays Ingraham tonight at Northwest Athletic Complex, also at 7 … Live in a flood-prone zone? Today and tomorrow, you can get up to 25 sandbags, courtesy of Seattle Public Utilities, at Delridge Community Center (map), 8 am-4 pm each day, but be sure you or someone with you can lift/carry/load them (40 pounds each) … The Monday Artists are having a show today and tomorrow, 10 am-4 pm, Island View Community Room, 3033 California SW (map) … Concerned about city budget cuts? Here’s a chance to show your love for Alki Community Center – Friday Night Skating, $3/person, 6:45-8:45 pm. … And at Kenyon Hall tonight, a vocals/piano show described as a “program of show stoppers … the best of Bernstein, Purcell, Rossini, Loesser, Weill, Kern, Berlin, Herman, Porter, and more,” 7:30 pm, kenyonhall.org.