Tonight our partners at the Seattle Times report that the mayor’s made his choice for the site of a permanent homeless camp, and it’s not either of the West Seattle sites that were on the list revealed last month. The Times quotes Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith as saying the choice is the former Sunny Jim peanut-butter plant site on Airport Way (map) that was gutted in a September fire; the site’s been owned by the city since the early ’90s.
Tea time tonight for Aimee Pellegrini and daughter Nina on the eve of tomorrow’s official Grand Opening for Aimee’s Tuscan Tea Room and Romanza Floral in The Junction (4521 California SW). Dropping in for a few photos during the special preview, we also got to see more of the fully remodeled space:
That’s of course from the tea room side – and here, the floral side:
The tea/coffee bar opens at 8 tomorrow, the dining room (where lunch and all-day “afternoon tea” will be served) at 10:30. (As noted in our June report with first word of Tuscan/Romanza’s Junction plans, Aimee is one of the founders of West Seattle’s La Rustica Italian Restaurant.)
ADDED 1:26 AM: Thanks to Cozbi Hultz of ZZPhotography & Design for sharing a couple more scenes from pre-grand-opening night – like this view of some of the food!
Thanks to Claire for pointing out this story on the Seattle Fire Department‘s Fire Line site: You’ll see fire crews at 2206 California SW (map) over the next four days. They’ll be setting and fighting fires to train more than a dozen recruits: “There will be sixteen fires ignited over the course of the week. Each day the fires will grow more intense and provide more challenging situations for the recruits.” According to the city website, live/work units and townhomes are planned for the site (after what is described there as “deconstruction”).
Thanks to our friends at KING 5 for sharing their tale of Cosmo, the West Seattle dog who dined on donations … $300 cash, three times as much in checks. Read about it here, and/or view the video above.
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Big news from the north end of theSouth Seattle Community College campus on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge – a milestone for the Seattle Chinese Garden! The visiting Chinese artisans will be returning to China on Wednesday after spending three months on site completing the “Knowing the Spring Courtyard.” Here’s its formal entrance:
The artisans originally weren’t expected to be finished for a few more weeks, but their work is done ahead of schedule, and they say it’ll be exciting to go home and see their families. They lived on site in trailers, which will be relocated to an upper hill now, to make room for a larger visitor’s information trailer. Here’s the interior of the courtyard:
And here’s the south entrance to the courtyard.
A central sculpture in the interior courtyard is located in the southwest corner. The rocks were brought over from China, guided in with cranes and intricately placed by the artisans.
WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen, who took these photographs today, reports she learned, all that’s left to do is some grading on the grounds, move some trailers around, and complete some landscaping. er.This first phase of the garden is set to be complete by 12/31 in time for it’s soft opening and will be open to the public 12-4, Wednesday-Sunday thereafter.
You might have missed this tidbit of news, since we rolled it up along with a semi-update on the future West Seattle Trader Joe’s: The former Redline Music and Sports on 35th south of Avalon will become The Bridge. As noted in our brief mention Friday, we sent out an inquiry to its proprietor. And we’ve now heard back from Rita Dixson, who says she and her business partner hope to open in mid-December, depending on how renovations go:
Trevor and I are both longtime West Seattle residents and are relishing the opportunity to breathe new life into an underutilized West Seattle feature.
I’m currently working at Talarico’s. Taking over the old Redline building gives us both an opportunity to put our own (hopefully) unique stamp on the nightlife industry.
Some key features of the Redline will remain, such as on-site parking and a large outdoor patio. We aim to add a satellite bar and fire pit in the summer months. Inside we are looking to to create an intimate, welcoming environment with an emphasis on good drinks and good, simple food.
We’ve received more than a few notices about holiday giving campaigns – a roundup with some of the newest ones is in the works, in fact – but we don’t know the definitive answer to this question from Gayle, so we’re putting it out in hopes that, if there *is* such a campaign, you’ll share the info:
In the spirit of helping folks locally, I wonder if you are aware of any West Seattle ‘adopt a family’ programs for the holidays? I’ve contacted the WS food bank about it but thought I’d check with you as well.
I think it’s such a great way to make a difference in these difficult economic times and can also be a meaningful way to teach children the spirit of giving.
Let us know – in the comment section, preferably – if you know of one!
Before rainy season really kicks in, the city has advice for people on “landslide-prone” property – steps you can take immediately, as well as a free landslide-awareness workshop here in West Seattle in a few weeks (in addition to one in North Seattle). Read on for the city’s full announcement:Read More
Festive green balloons mark the now-open door to High Point Mini Market, the small grocery that has just opened at 3413 SW Graham (map), next to Hans’ VW Repair. Its sign announces halal meat and spices – halal means slaughtered/processed in accordance with Islamic dietary laws (explained here) – and it’s also offering a selection of other foods, as you’ll see on the shelves inside:
The store’s hours are 9 am-9 pm daily for starters, according to its cards; they’re at 206-932-4003.
Big announcement from Westside School (WSB sponsor) today – as they had hoped would be possible once they moved into the former EC Hughes site in Sunrise Heights (here’s our coverage of the dedication 2 months ago), they’re expanding to add middle-school grades. It’ll be an incremental expansion – Westside will add 6th grade in fall 2011, then 7th grade in fall 2012, and as of fall 2013 will be fully preschool through 8th grade. The school says it’ll be organizing Middle School as a unique “rigorous, high-school-preparatory curriculum,” not just adding classes; we’re scheduled to talk with Head of School Jo Ann Yockey momentarily to find out more, and will add to this report later.
ADDED 2:11 PM: More details, as promised! For starters, there’ll be there is now a new section on the Westside website with middle-school details. As for what we learned in a conversation with Jo Ann Yockey, read on:Read More
Out of the WSB inbox, from a Fairmount Springs resident who doesn’t want to be identified:
I … wanted to let the community know that yesterday, Sunday, 11/7/10, at about 1:45 pm, two youths drove by our home on the 5900 block of Fauntleroy Way [map] and shot a bb gun at our front window, putting a hole through both panes. A neighbor walking by with her young son and was startled by the sudden POP! She noticed the culprits were driving a gray sedan but was unable to get the license plate number. The police have been notified and a case # was assigned. Please comment here if you have any helpful information or if you hear of any similar unfortunate incidents. Thanks very much, and be safe.
The city’s My Neighborhood map, which catalogs many police responses within a few hours, does confirm a case categorized as “property damage” in that block yesterday afternoon; because the classification is so general, it’s impossible to tell at this point whether there were other similar, recent cases, but we’re checking with police – West Seattle has had past cases of serial BB-gun shooters, with people being hit and hurt.
First community-group meeting of the week is tonight, North Delridge Neighborhood Council at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge; map), short meeting starting later than usual (7 pm), agenda includes voting for the new NDNC co-secretaries … Senior Center of West Seattle (map) launches a new class today: “Breathe Well to Live Well,” 1 pm … Weekly events include Family Story Time at High Point Library (map) with children’s librarian Amy, 7 pm, and bingo night at Alki UCC (6112 SW Hinds; map), 6:30 pm … LOOKING AHEAD: If you’re interested in remodeling or custom-home construction, Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) presents a free workshop at 6 pm tomorrow (Tuesday), 5458 California SW (map), RSVP to 206-932-3009.
With just seven weeks to go till Christmas, we have an update on the Charlestown lights-synched-to-music show, officially the Helmstetler Family Christmas Spectacular: The family friend who created the show, Jim Winder, says its new website, at westseattlelights.com, is now up and running, so a banner’s up at the house too – and they’ve been working to install the display as well:
On Friday, a crew from KING 5’s Evening Magazine came over to cover the installation process; no exact date is set yet for the feature to be on TV, but the date IS set for the Opening Night Ceremony: 7 pm Saturday, November 27th. Zach Lystedt will be the special guest who turns on the lights. He’s a high-school student who survived a sports injury and now campaigns for safety:
Big announcement from 
| 14 COMMENTS