West Seattle, Washington
15 Sunday
(L-R: SW Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen and Blockwatch Captains Network leaders Deb Greer, Deanie Schwarz, Karen Berge at Oct. 14th awards ceremony)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: 2 weeks after receiving a Community Builder Award from the Seattle Neighborhood Group, the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network meets again – Community Police Team Officer Jon Kiehn will be the guest; agenda highlights here. Check WSBCN out on Facebook here, on the Web here, and at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) at 6:30 pm … Toddler Open Gym is a new Tuesday morning feature (9 am-11 am) at Limber Yoga in The Junction … Classic-film fan? Merrill Gardens at West Seattle (WSB sponsor; 4611 35th SW) screens “The Maltese Falcon” in the on-site theater at 1 pm, free … Sweet Pea Cottage Preschool for the Arts has its grand-opening celebration tonight, as previewed here last weekend, 5:30-7 pm at the new WSUU church (7141 California SW) … Still Life Painting at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm, bring your own materials, all skill levels welcome … Rock trivia at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) has a bonus tonight (the calendar explains) … Want to tell the City Council something in person regarding the city budget? Tonight’s your last chance – the public hearing’s at City Hall downtown, 5:30 pm (signups at 5) … And even more, on the calendar!
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe Johnson brought her “community coffee” conversation tour to West Seattle Elementary School Monday night. The number of community members who attended was almost matched by the number of district staffers on hand, but those who came brought up some challenging issues – primarily class size and closed schools. Most of the discussion centered on elementary-level class sizes; if classes hold 28 or more, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson said, it’s up to the school’s principal to work with teachers and find solutions. School population in general is an issue as well; crowded elementary schools in West Seattle were mentioned, particularly Schmitz Park Elementary, which is now over 400 students – some parents asked when the district would open closed schools to relieve some of the crowding. The superintendent said her staff is currently reviewing the latest enrollment numbers (keep in mind, this is the first year of the new Student Assignment Plan). While schools have been reopened in other parts of the city, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson didn’t commit to doing that in West Seattle (which currently has two closed and not-in-use elementary buildings, Fairmount Park and Genesee Hill). Other topics included the school levy that’s on next week’s ballot and the district’s response to criticisms contained in a state-conducted audit (she noted they’re addressed on the district website). The superintendent has two more “coffee chats” elsewhere in the city (full list here), but if you want to discuss West Seattle SPS issues sooner, local school board rep Steve Sundquist has his next community chat 11 am Wednesday at Delridge Library.
And the pumpkins keep rolling in … Last night we published some of the pumpkin photos shared by WSB’ers (see them here), plus one in a pre-Halloween update earlier today, and now, tonight’s official showcase: The top trio is from Sara, Lisa and Terra; these next three were shared by Shelley:
Anthony and Kelly Perez shared the next pumpkin pair:
And Lisa L sent this photo taken after a carving party last weekend:
We’ll be showing more between now and Halloween – so keep ’em coming! Meanwhile, in case you missed it earlier – the Southwest Precinct is interested in showing off West Seattle kids’ pumpkins – so if you’ve got a jack-o-lantern to share there, check out the info here (last part of the story).
The night started with a full house, and then some, at Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill, full of people supporting one (or more) of the 15 projects that made the list of finalists for Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund money – and a few that didn’t (the committee is free to change the list before making its final recommendations). Listening to the pitches: The levy’s Oversight Committee, citizen volunteers including three West Seattleites: Bruce Bentley, Pete Spalding of Pigeon Point, who as vice chairman is running the hearing (he’s in the white hat), and Cindi Barker of Morgan Junction:
The first West Seattle representatives to speak as part of the hearing included five speakers supporting Puget Ridge Edible Park – part of a delegation that appeared to number about a dozen – seeking a little over half a million dollars to acquire a “homestead” property in northeastern West Seattle, telling the committee about the neighborhood’s involvement and determination. One of the strong community voices for PREP, Stu Hennessey, talked about its ties to the watershed for Puget Creek and the Duwamish River, and how it would cleanse water bound for those waterways, also promising, “We will be producing a lot of food on this land.” Also noted: The project’s proximity to South Seattle Community College, which is starting a permaculture program, and would use PREP as a “demonstration park” for students and other community members. (video added later) Steve Richmond also talked about an envisioned partnership for PREP:
Later in the hearing, the committee heard from Carolyn Stauffer of Highland Park, on behalf of the HP Spray Park proposal that she spearheaded: (video added later)
As she told the committee – with an entourage of supporters surrounding her – this is already a “named project” for Parks and Green Spaces Levy money, but as a bare-bones spray feature (replacing the existing HP wading pool) – if the half-million-dollar request is granted, not only will the park be more fun, but it will save more than 2 million gallons of water per year. (She is one of two people who have spoken about it so far.)
The committee also has heard from passionate supporters of projects around the city – perhaps the biggest contingent represented Friends of Lewis Park on Beacon Hill, all armed with little yellow signs; one group advocated for Jimi Hendrix Park, while others talked about a project proposed for the neighborhood of the iconic Fremont Troll.
If you weren’t able to make it to this hearing (which looks to have at least another half-hour to go – we have some video to add when we get back to HQ), you can still comment on the projects until November 17th; the committee is scheduled to make its final recommendations to Parks leadership on December 6.
7:19 PM: Another alert we’ve just received – here’s what Metro says about it:
Routes 21, 22, 54, 55, 56, 120 & 125 are delayed 15 – 25 mins due to southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct closure.
According to an SDOT alert, a crash is to blame, and there’s a “hanging guardrail,” which will take hours to fix – and is restricting northbound lanes too. 7:56 PM UPDATE: Here’s the full text from SDOT:
Due to damage caused by a vehicular collision on northbound SR99 in the vicinity of S Massachusetts St, southbound traffic on the Alaskan Way Viaduct is blocked and northbound traffic is restricted. Seattle Department of Transportation crews are en route to the scene to undertake repairs, which are estimated to take four or more hours at this point. Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes north and south.
The vehicular collision created an oil spill and also caused a guardrail from a northbound lane of the viaduct to hang over the lower, southbound lanes. This hazard has forced the closure of southbound lanes until the hanging rail can be removed and the missing segment of rail can be replaced.
9:41 PM: The Viaduct is now fully open again.
Just take this as a general alert about The Bridge, and everywhere else – there have been multiple crashes so far today and another one is working right now – Scott C sent first word; it’s parallel with Nucor, on the eastbound side. Hard to tell how bad and how long till it’s cleared, but we’re heading over to have a look. 3:57 PM UPDATE: Scott C says in comments that it’s affecting westbound traffic too. 4:52 PM UPDATE: We looked at that spot on the bridge, and the Fauntleroy entrance, and neither appears impeded, so it appears this has cleared.
(September 27 photo, shared by Ross)
As first reported here earlier this year, the West Seattle Water Taxi will indeed continue on into fall and winter – and today, full details have just come out about the new weekday-commute-hours-only schedule to start one week from today – the complete announcement is after the jump:Read More
ArtsWest in The Junction says “Evil Dead: The Musical” is such a hot ticket, it’s adding seven more shows, extending the run through 11/20:
The schedule for the 23 remaining shows is as follows:
· Wednesday 10/27 thru Saturday 10/30 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 10/30 at 11:00 PM; Sunday 10/31 at 5:00 PM; Monday 11/1 at 7:30 PM
· Wednesday 11/3 thru Saturday 11/06 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/6 at 11:00PM; Sunday 11/7 at 3:00 PM
· Wednesday 11/10 thru Saturday 11/13 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/13 at 11:00PM
· Wednesday 11/ 17 thru Saturday 11/20 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/20 at 11:00 PM
Tickets are on sale by phone 206-938-0339, at the box office, or online at artswest.org.
We’re watching the latest meeting of the City Council Budget Committee right now – they’re taking a closer look at Parks and Recreation budget items, and potential changes in the mayor’s original proposal. One that’s just come up is a new plan to study the possibility of paid parking at about half a dozen city parks – including, a city staffer told the council, possibly Lincoln Park. Specifics weren’t mentioned, but they envisioned possibly $1/hour for parking, which, if put into place at “6 or 7 parks” under consideration, could bring in almost $1 million/year. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen noted that this idea has come up before and was not received well by the public, so he urged plenty of “public outreach” before that idea moved much further. (Note: There’s an explanatory paragraph in this document; the study wouldn’t be finished till middle of next year.) Also at this hearing, it’s been mentioned that they intend to put back 3 Parks apprenticeship jobs that were targeted for cuts. We’re still monitoring the hearing and will add anything else that comes up; you can watch it live here.
The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle is continuing a pre-holiday food drive at its next two weekly meetings, but you don’t have to attend the meetings to donate. You can drop off nonperishable food at Be’s Restaurant in The Junction (4509 California SW) any time it’s open – or during the Kiwanis Club’s meetings there 7-8 am on Wednesday, October 27, or Wednesday, November 3rd – that’s also the date that West Seattle Food Bank executive director Fran Yeatts will be the featured speaker, with an update on the food bank’s current and future plans and needs. You’re welcome to attend the meeting ($8 breakfast) even if you’re not a member – call 206-938-8032 to RSVP.
HALLOWEEN EVENTS: We’ve added a few more to the WSB West Seattle Halloween page (let us know if there’s something you’re still not seeing there), and there’s also an update for the Admiral Treats and Treasures map for this Friday’s trick-or-treating – get the latest version here (it’s on the page, too); plus, Skylark Club and Café (WSB sponsor) has updated the lineup for its always-huge Come As You Aren’t event this Saturday night. And there’s pumpkin news:
PUMPKINS ON PARADE: We’ve already received a passle of pumpkin photos since putting out the call last night – that’s one of them, courtesy of Barry (get it? Pumpkin Pi?) – keep ’em coming! Meantime, Seattle Police precincts including Southwest Precinct will be showing off some pumpkins that’ll be carved at a special police-led in the East Precinct, and we’re told the precincts will all have candy, too, for kids who stop by Tuesday night and beyond. (We’re checking on exact hours.) 3:48 PM UPDATE: Here’s the SW Precinct plan, shared by Lt. Ron Rasmussen:
At the Southwest Precinct, we have been working to obtain artwork from the Schools in West Seattle to display in the windows at our precinct. We will also gladly display any carved or decorated pumpkins that are brought to us at the Precinct by the public and especially kids in the community who want to share their creativity and artistic talent with us and the rest of West Seattle. We generally have a desk officer present from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. Monday through Friday to accept any pumpkin donations.
If you missed the food/alcohol permit training at Alki Masonic Hall on Sunday – we got one call from someone who said the place appeared locked up – Rick Dusatko has an apology for you – it was downstairs in the dining hall but they didn’t put a sign on the (locked) front door. So they’re bringing in trainers for a makeup class this Saturday:
A makeup Food Handlers Permit class will be held this Saturday, October 30, at
9:30 am, with the alcohol class at 10:30 am, at Alki Masonic Temple, 4736 40th Av. SW, IN THE DOWNSTAIRS DINING HALL ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BUILDING DOWN THE RAMP AND STAIRS. The first set of blue doors, just to your left at the bottom of the stairs A sign will be posted on the front doors to direct you downstairs. FOOD AT 9:30 AM, ALCOHOL AT 10:30 AM. My apologies to everyone who missed the food handlers permit class last Sunday at Alki Temple. I am an IDIOT! I forgot to put a sign directing you downstairs, I thought it was in the announcement. You were six steps away, Sorry.Our next regularly scheduled Food Handlers permit class will be on Sunday, November 28, 2010, at 10:00 am, with the alcohol class at 11:00 am, same place – Alki Temple 4736 40th Ave SW, downstairs in the dining hall SE corner of the building, down the ramp and stairs, first set of blue doors left at the bottom of the stairs.
10:46 AM: Our power just went out. Checking on the extent.
10:51 AM UPDATE: We’ll make this an overall storm update – also just received a text about trouble on the West Seattle Bridge, nothing on 911, though. Meantime, via Twitter and text, we hear power’s out in High Point – flickered in Fauntlee Hills and Fairmount Park area but didn’t go out. This is not on the new Seattle City Light outage tracker yet – we’ll see how long it takes to show up. We’ve also got someone driving around to see who’s out where – on California SW through Gatewood, it appears to be back around SW Holden; we’re checking 35th next.
11:06 AM UPDATE: We called City Light to be sure someone had reported this, since it’s still not on the outage tracker. The customer-service rep says it’s out in “patches” – 108 customers (each home/business is one “customer”) in this area. Most other areas checking in via comments here, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail, say there were widespread “flickers” but the power stayed on for them.
11:23 AM UPDATE: The City Light outage tracker is showing this now (no cause or “estimated restoration time” yet). And this seems to be the only WS pocket right now, that same 108-customer count.
11:57 AM UPDATE: There are now two “pockets” listed by City Light in the West Seattle area, with more than 200 customers affected – besides this one, there’s a stretch immediately east of central Lincoln Park.
12 PM UPDATE: Our power just returned. But the windblown rain has just intensified …
Just back from Roxhill Elementary School, where the Monday morning assembly included a special celebration for librarian Pat Bliquez, who – as reported here a week and a half ago – is a Golden Apple Award winner. Our video above includes a special tribute led by principal Carmela Dellino and head teacher Christopher Robert – plus a song from the students. The formal award presentation for Bliquez is yet to come – the Golden Apple Awards are presented by KCTS. Meantime, this morning’s assembly also celebrated ongoing Walk to School Month, with a special guest:
“Giant Chicken” (who, we have it on good authority, is actually a high-ranking member of the Roxhill team, but we’ll never tell) also demonstrated other safe walking tips like looking both ways. This Friday, the school plans special walking-home activities – even kids who take the buses will participate; the buses will be at a nearby park, so students will get some exercise walking over to board them.
One week from today, some big changes in the fees/fines for Seattle Public Library – including the fact that if you owe $25 or more, you’ll be hearing from a collection agency – that goes for child/teen accounts too. Full details ahead:Read More
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, three notes for tonight: As noted again here over the weekend, two West Seattle projects in the final running for Opportunity Fund money from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy need a show of support tonight at the citywide public hearing. It’s on Capitol Hill, but this is the only hearing of its kind before a decision’s made how this round of funding will be spent. 7 pm (speaker signups at 6), Miller Community Center (here’s a map)… Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson returns to the peninsula for a “coffee chat” at West Seattle Elementary, 6-7 pm, part of a citywide tour … At Holy Rosary School Hall (4152 42nd SW) tonight at 6:30 pm, the author of a new children’s book called “The Pesky Peanut” (about peanut allergies), Katie Corl, appears at a “Book Talk” presented by West Seattle Family Zone. More on the calendar!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tonight’s formal dedication of the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation‘s new Gatewood church was both a solemn occasion and a joyful celebration.
Its opening moments included that procession featuring dozens of clergy members from UU churches around the region (and from West Seattle congregations of other faiths) streaming into the sanctuary (above); its closing moments included the congregation’s children scampering into the sanctuary:
Their appearance echoed one that had kickstarted the campaign that brought the church – which met at the Masonic Hall in The Junction for two decades – into this new home, the former Gatewood Baptist/Seattle International Church (7141 California SW). The congregation moved in last month (here’s our coverage of their ribboncutting ceremony), less than 5 months after taking possession, but tonight brought the formalities and even the president of the UU denomination – our coverage, with more video, continues after the jump:Read More
Jennifer Cargal from Friends of Dakota Place Park said this afternoon’s work party at the park was on, no matter what the weather did – and she wasn’t kidding. Despite the intermittent rain and wind, “hardy volunteers prevail(ed),” as she headlined the note in which she shared these two photos and this report:
Despite the weather, we had a dozen or so hardy volunteers who came to weed, plant and prune at Dakota Place Park Sunday afternoon. Through rain, wind and even a little sun, we accomplished a lot and even had some fun.
Dakota Place Park was dedicated a year ago. One final phase has been on the drawing board a while – completion of the old substation building’s conversion into auxiliary space for Hiawatha Community Center programs.
When you don’t know where else to turn, West Seattle Helpline is a place to go – to figure out how to get the help you need. And they don’t just offer connections; they also run a clothing bank, among other programs. But you can’t help others without reaching out for some help to make that happen – and the fall fundraiser for West Seattle Helpline is one way for you to make sure their work can continue. It’s set for 6 pm Thursday, November 4th, at Salty’s on Alki, with dinner, music, a silent auction, and a few words from the former Helpline board member who is now King County Executive, West Seattle’s own Dow Constantine. Tickets are $75 and they’d like to have your RSVP by next Saturday: wshelpline@gmail.org or 206.932.2746. (Here’s the official flyer.)
After noticing so many people out buying pumpkins today, we put out the call via Facebook this afternoon: It’s been fun to spotlight West Seattle jack-o-lantern pix in recent years, so send us yours! And we’ve received several already. Here are three. Top, Stephanie shares “Pac-Kin”; next, Sarah, Dan, and Wrigley sent their trio of “freshly carved West Seattle pumpkins”:
Via Facebook, Joleen shared a photo from her visit (with a friend she says is also from WS) to last week’s Keene, New Hampshire, pumpkin festival – the bottom two jack o’lanterns are theirs:
Also from the after-dark files, David Rosen from SlickPix Photography shares the one he made for his Halloween party:
Counting Halloween, we have seven nights ahead for pumpkin-showcasing – share yours any of these ways!
A few quick high-school-sports notes: First, the score from the last of this weekend’s three varsity-football games involving local teams: In Fife, Seattle Lutheran High School lost 47-37. However, in confirming the score, SLHS’s Bil Hood also noted “… our soccer team is looking strong [9-1-1 so far], and Matt Haggerty took 4th at the Cross Country league meet.” Meantime, congratulations to West Seattle High School‘s volleyball team – athletic director George Foster mentioned during the Huling Bowl on Friday night that the team has won its division (they’re 11-4 overall). Got another success story to share? Let us know!
(Photo added 5:17 pm, courtesy Jerry from JetCityOrange.com)
A few minutes ago, the National Weather Service sent out a “short-term forecast” alert:
A LINE (of) SHOWERS IS MOVING THROUGH THE PUGET SOUND REGION. SOME LIGHTNING AND THUNDER IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE SHOWERS DURING THE NEXT HOUR. BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE POSSIBLE AS WELL.
Overall, the latest forecast predicts gusts up to 24 miles per hour, but 40-mph gusts are possible tomorrow.
Several people have reported that the West Marginal Way SW/Highland Park Way SW intersection is closed this morning. The new Seattle City Light outage-tracker map indicates a 4-customer outage in that area, attributed to “car vs. pole,” and one WSB Forums member reports power problems in the middle of the night (we noted a flicker via Twitter around 2 am, but the outage tracker didn’t show anything immediately afterward). We’re on our way to check out the scene. 11:25 AM: HP Way is blocked off at the bottom of the hill and City Light trucks are in action about a block uphill. 12:56 PM: We went by a short time ago, still closed, City Light still at work. Photo added. 3:42 PM: Though we went back around 2, only to see the road still closed, the City Light tracker has since cleared the outage. Don’t know for sure if that means the road has reopened too – but we’ll go back again to check when we can, if we don’t get confirmation sooner. Meantime, via Facebook, Brian says he was one of the first on the scene of the crash that caused this, around 1:42 am.
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