Followup: Click! Design That Fits now open in The Junction
Just after 5 pm tonight, John Smersh pulled away the last of the brown paper covering the windows and doors, finishing the transformation of the former Friends and Company storefront at 4540 California SW into the new West Seattle Junction home of Click! Design That Fits (longtime WSB sponsor). John and wife/co-proprietor Frances Smersh were determined to open today, even if only for two hours, for “sentimental” reasons – October 1st is the date they opened their original store in Admiral, in 2004. Tonight, by 5:30, the browsers had begun to wander in:
The space will fill up a bit more between now and their official October 16th grand opening – but for now, you can stop in this weekend, try sitting in a Fatboy chair – beyond beanbag! – check out the jewelry and “home accents.” They’re online at clickdesignthatfits.com and on Facebook here.
Fighting hunger: 3 West Seattle ways, in the next 2 days
#1 – Prudential Northwest Realty agents are collecting nonperishable food at three West Seattle supermarkets 10 am-2 pm tomorrow (Saturday) – PCC and Metropolitan Market (both WSB sponsors) and West Seattle Thriftway.
#2 – SoundYoga (WSB sponsor) is having its 2nd annual FUNdraiser walk for West Seattle Food Bank 1-4 pm tomorrow, from Jack Block Park to Alki Lighthouse and back, about 3 miles each way per SY’s announcement. $10 suggested donation (plus bring baby food, pet food, or condiments), kids and dogs welcome. info@soundyoga.com if you want to pre-register.
#3 – The annual Seattle CROP Hunger Walk is this Sunday, leaving from Alki UCC (6112 SW Hinds), register at 1 pm, walk starts at 1:30 pm. It’s a flat route, 3 miles round trip.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Pharmacy robber sentenced
We are at the King County Courthouse downtown, where Judge Carol Schapira presided over sentencings this afternoon, including that of 24-year-old Tyler Ljubich, found guilty in August of robbing West Seattle’s Westside Pharmacy during its post-closure inventory a year ago (here’s our original story). The prosecutor recommended the high end of the “standard sentencing range,” 41 to 54 months in prison, pointing out that witnesses testified Ljubich had a gun, though none was found, and that 
he had previously served prison time for shooting at a parked car in 2007 (as detailed in our earlier coverage); the defense requested the low end, saying that Ljubich had strong family support in the community (his father and two aunts were in the courtroom – the defense lawyer told the judge his mother died a few months ago) and was conducting himself well in jail, including taking classes. Judge Schapira went with the defense’s recommendation and sentenced Ljubich (the photo at right is from his previous prison term) to “the low end” of the range – he also will get credit for the year he has been in jail since his arrest, which happened in an incident that made news when he ran from police and wound up on the Schmitz Park Elementary campus.
Walk & Talk Therapy with Geri Dube: Welcome, new WSB sponsor
Today we welcome a new WSB sponsor, Geri Dube, who offers a Walk and Talk counseling practice along Alki. Geri is a licensed psychotherapist 
who specializes in helping people tackling relationship issues, weight management, depression, and/or general stress. She believes that walking helps people tap into their own creative ways to deal with these matters, while at the same time getting exercise and connecting with nature and community. Geri says many clients have told her they have fond memories of insightful and even life-changing conversations they’ve had while walking with a friend. That’s why she believes that incorporating a walk into a session helps people get unstuck and move toward finding answers to questions and problems. Realizing the difficulties of finding babysitters and the usual need to multi-task, Geri invites new parents to walk with their baby strollers, and encourages pet lovers to bring “Fido” along, for outdoor sessions. She sees clients at her West Seattle home office as well, and would like to assure prospective clients that she is open as to how they would like to meet, whether indoors or out. She is covered by most insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee scale if necessary. Walk and Talk counseling, however, is not covered, so Geri provides 30-minute sessions when requested. Walk and Talk Therapy is an out-of-the-box approach that helps people find their own way through the difficult times, get unstuck and move forward. Geri has been written up in Fitness Magazine, Health Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, amongst other publications. She has been in practice almost 20 years on the Eastside prior to moving to West Seattle. For an appointment, call Geri at 425-358-0083; visit her website at gericounsels.org.
We thank Geri Dube for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
Update: Bicycle-car collision south of The Junction
(Photo courtesy Mary from Service Dog Academy, substituted at 2:12 pm for our previous photo)
After a relatively brief closure, California has just reopened south of The Junction after a car hit a bicyclist by Rite-Aid. The bicycle rider was taken to the hospital. Police were talking with the man driving the car (which isn’t shown in our photos); no details at this point about circumstances of the crash, nor the bicyclist’s condition – they were transported by medic unit, which tends to indicate the injuries were not minor.
West Seattle Whale Watch: Orca sightings!
(Photo from Beach Drive Blog, used with permission)
ORIGINAL 7:56 AM REPORT: Just got a text about orcas “between West Seattle and Vashon” – and a tweet in the past half-hour about orcas off Me-Kwa-Mooks. So if you’re along south West Seattle shores, keep an eye out! This is the prime sighting season. 8:25 AM UPDATE: Rhonda notes in comments that she has pix at Beach Drive Blog. Maggie is on the Vashon-Seattle water taxi and reports via FB that the crew says the orcas have been in the area all morning. We’re on a beach south of Fauntleroy and no luck yet. 9:41 AM: Jeff Hogan from Killer Whale Tales showed up at our vantage point; we saw one orca thanks to his much-better binoculars. Much closer to Vashon than to the West Seattle side, though, but he got a call suggesting some of them are heading back north from Vashon. Jeff told us he’s just back from three weeks on a research boat in the San Juans – some of his reports are up on the KWT website, with photos. (KWT, which brings whale education to local schools, among other things, also has a benefit coming up – details here.) 10:36 AM UPDATE: We came back to HQ to recharge – but heading out again, as Jeff just called to say they’re now visible from Lowman Beach.
(Photo added 11:14 am, whale-watching from Lowman)
Also keep checking comments – we’ve got a Me-Kwa-Mooks sighting too. Thanks to everybody who’s sharing updates!!! 12:09 PM: Latest word – northward, in the Alki vicinity, plus we received a text from someone seeing them on the Bremerton-Seattle ferry run.
Seattle Public Schools promise to parents: ‘Gains this year’
The speeches were short, the community-mingle-and-chat time long, during the fifth and final Seattle Public Schools regional “Welcome Back” meeting last night at Chief Sealth International High School. Above, Sealth principal John Boyd (left) is with Gatewood Elementary principal Rhonda Claytor, Mohamed Roble from the district’s Family and Community Engagement team, and head teacher Chris from Roxhill Elementary. Boyd and Claytor were two of 11 principals announced as in attendance from West Seattle schools; those who weren’t, had events under way at their schools.
Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson was there, sharing a story she said she’d told at the previous meetings – about her kindergartener daughter wanting to choose her teacher, and hearing from Superintendent Mom that she couldn’t, but whomever she got would be “excellent.” She touched very briefly on several hot topics – saying that districtwide “curriculum alignment” was not the same as standardization, that the district has invested in its teachers through the recently approved contract, and that testing is vital – “it’s how we give formative data back to teachers about students.”
Her second-in-command, Chief Academic Officer Dr. Susan Enfield, spoke briefly, promising parents, “We will see gains [in student achievement] this year.” She also discussed the reorganization of the “executive directors” reporting to her and in turn directly supervising principals. Instead of being each assigned to manage a type of school, like elementary or middle or high school, they are now assigned regionally for “more tailored engagement with the community”; Aurora Lora, who’s in charge of West Seattle, spoke briefly, mentioning a “professional development” session earlier in the week in which she and the region’s principals gathered at Denny International Middle School. And there were other district leaders, such as Family/Community Engagement manager Bernardo Ruiz:
He told us that SPS families will see information sent home soon about what’s available for support through his department – with one major event coming up soon: a Family Academy and Early Learners’ Resource Fair, 10 am-2 pm October 16th at South Shore School (4800 South Henderson), featuring free workshops. The superintendent, meantime, is scheduled to return to West Seattle for another community event, one of her “coffee chats,” 6-7 pm October 25th at West Seattle Elementary.
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