West Seattle, Washington
11 Sunday
Three news items from Chief Sealth International High School:
BENEFIT AUCTION NEXT WEEK: The second annual Seahawk Spirit Dinner and Auction is one week from tomorrow night – Thursday, November 18th. The 5:30 pm event will be preceded by guided tours of the school at 4:30 pm. It’ll be highlighted by presentation of the Community Partner Award to: Friends of Sealth (Chief Sealth’s alumni organization) & Sealth’s Latino Community Partners: El Centro de la Raza, Campana Quetzal, Consejo, Sea Mar and South Park Community Center. The dinner/auction is sponsored by Chief Sealth PTSA, Chief Sealth Performing Arts, and Friends of Sealth. Tickets are on sale and auction donations are still being accepted. Information for both is online here, or you can contact Dick Lee at rjlee@seattleschools.org.
GOLF TOURNAMENT: A new fundraiser for Chief Sealth athletics has just been announced – a first-ever golf tournament and dinner, set for Friday, June 3, 2011, at Rainier Golf & Country Club. Information regarding how to participate should become available soon.
FALL SPORTS WRAPUP: As celebrated at the CSIHS sports banquet last night, here are the highlights of the sports season just concluded, courtesy of athletic director Sam Reed:
The Seahawks’ 2010 Fall sports season was a very successful one, in that it saw solid team improvement, outstanding individual achievements and tremendous overall achievement both in the field of play and in the classroom. Overall 175 student-athletes donned helmets, knee pads, shin guards, running shoes or spikes and represented Chief Sealth International in Metro League competition.
Read on to see what they achieved:Read More
In August 2008, the King County Council paid tribute to Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus, and we published this photo with a short item, even noting the only West Seattle link was the fact that then-County Councilmember Dow Constantine is a WS resident. Glad to have the photo so that we too can offer our tribute to the longtime Seattle Mariners announcer, who died today at age 75; here’s a report from our partners at the Seattle Times. On the day the above photo was taken, Mr. Niehaus was quoted as saying, “”Those magic moments of 1995 will return to Safeco Field. I promise you, they will return.” Maybe they will – sadly he won’t be here to see it.
ADDED 7:35 PM: A statement from Mayor McGinn:
‘My oh My’ – Seattle Lost a Friend Today: Seattle has lost a friend. We invited him into our homes and he was with us when we were joyful about the Mariners and when we were sad. Dave Niehaus will be sorely missed. From now on, there will be just two eras of Mariner baseball: the Dave Niehaus era and everything else. We send our condolences to his family and hope they are comforted by the happiness he brought to our lives.
Governor Gregoire also has issued a statement; we’re told 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse shared one of his memories at the start of his group’s meeting tonight in Fauntleroy; and there’s word that people are gathering for an informal vigil outside Safeco Field tonight.
ADDED 9:55 PM: From County Executive Constantine:
King County Executive Dow Constantine tonight joins Mariners nation in mourning the loss of Hall of Fame broadcaster and Mariners icon Dave Niehaus:
“I loved listening to Dave Niehaus from the Mariners’ very first season. His evocative descriptions and obvious love of the game will forever be intertwined with my experience of baseball.
“The timbre and cadence of his calls had a musical quality that will echo in our collective memory for many seasons to come.
“I join all fans in mourning his loss and extending our sympathies to his family.”
Since it’ll be too late for a reminder by the time we publish tomorrow morning’s daily preview, a reminder tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Veterans are welcome to enjoy a free Pancake Breakfast at Merrill Gardens-West Seattle tomorrow morning, 8:30 to 10 am, with a brief program at 9:30 am. 4611 35th SW (map) – please RSVP ASAP to (206) 932-5480.
As you’ll hear in our video, State Rep. and Sen.-elect Sharon Nelson says this is a day she has awaited for 13 years – a day bringing real hope that a section of industrial-company-owned shoreline on her home island, Maury, will be preserved forever.
She, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and dozens of other state and King County leaders, environmental advocates, and Maury/Vashon residents gathered on the Beach Drive shore across from Me-Kwa-Mooks, with the islands visible to the southwest, to formally announce a deal to purchase that mile of shoreline, and 250 adjacent acres of madrone forest. What’s currently been compiled includes $15 million in state money and $19 million in county money – with about $2 million that will have to be raised from other sources to close the deal by year’s end. The land has been the subject of controversy in recent years, with environmental advocates and nearby residents trying to stop it from being mined. The site holds importance for the ecology of all of Puget Sound, say supporters – West Seattleite Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail was at the announcement and told us, “It’s a great day for the whales” – the orcas about whom her group seeks to educate. And for Puget Sound salmon, as underscored by the giant prop brought by the Vashon-based Backbone Campaign:
(You might remember Backbone for the “flash mob” video protest inside West Seattle’s Target store.) According to the county’s announcement, the site is adjacent to the 320-acre Maury Island Marine Park already owned by the county. Opening the news conference, Constantine made a point of saying that the $19 million the county would advance for the $36 million purchase is from the King County Conservation Futures Fund, and that state law says that money can only be used for open-space or resource-land purchases.
The private fundraising work begins now, with various groups involved, and donations being taken at www.cascadeland.org. (Thursday PS: Here’s the official county news release with yet more details.)
Several West Seattle community groups have been lobbying city councilmembers to keep the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and its coordinator Stan Lock, instead of the cuts proposed in Mayor McGinn‘s original budget, and it looks (pending a final council vote) like that will happen. But as noted during last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, ANA leaders went an extra mile and arranged in-person meetings with five councilmembers. ANA president Katy Walum said they explained that the council’s original “keep almost all coordinators citywide but cut them to 80% time” was not acceptable, given what coordinators are counted on to do. Walum noted that research also enabled them to help councilmembers clarify the lease status for the NSC in The Junction. She said they asked about management restructuring to save money (though as observed during this morning’s council budget meeting, it looks like that’s not being mandated). Also on the agenda last night – the newest developments in the Viaduct/Tunnel, the big Metro changes this winter, and more – lots of quick-read info in the toplines after the jump:Read More
That’s Liame, who Service Dog Academy proprietor Mary McNeight says has been trained in a unique area of service-dog work: Diabetic alerts. Mary says a trained diabetic-alert dog might cost up to $25,000; a dog with this training can tell its owner they are going low “20 minutes before a meter can even register it – dogs’ noses are amazing feats of nature that can be easily harnessed to help their human companions take control of their diabetes.” She’s offering a 16-week, $650 class for regular dogs and their owners that “will teach the dogs to alert when blood sugar levels drop below 80, go retrieve sugary drinks to quickly raise blood sugar levels, go get a meter and if the need arises go get the help of a human companion or call 911.” According to Mary, this is the only training of its kind available in the Northwest right now. She trains not only service dogs but regular dogs/puppies at her recently opened training studio north of Morgan Junction; there’s more info on her website about the upcoming diabetic-alert training and who’s eligible.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It started with a simple question published here at WSB last April: Anybody interested in an organic, vegetarian restaurant in the under-construction Link in the West Seattle Triangle?
More than 200 mostly-wildly-enthusiastic responses ensued.
That response was “the tipping point” in Chaco Canyon Organic Café‘s decision to choose West Seattle as its second location, owner Chris Maykut told WSB, as he announced, “We’ve signed the papers,” as we chatted inside his U-District restaurant.
While there, we talked with Chris and his current U-District (and future West Seattle) general manager Sarah Coyle (in our photo, from left, are Chris, Sarah, and chef Lois Blanford) about what’ll be different in West Seattle and why they are so excited about joining this community – read on:
Reminder that the King County Water Taxi is NOT running on Veterans Day tomorrow – no West Seattle runs, no Vashon Island runs, no shuttle buses. Metro is on what they’re calling a “reduced weekday schedule,” and we’ve just clarified a bit of confusion that WSB’er JayDee noted while checking the Metro timetables: Not all routes have canceled trips, and Metro is updating the online list to make sure it’s accurate. Most notably, the timetables for Route 37 tomorrow ARE correct, Metro’s Linda Thielke tells WSB – there are NO canceled trips on the 37, even though the “Holiday Service” list, which she says is being fixed, said there would be. Meantime, another transit note for tomorrow: Sound Transit says its buses/trains are on a regular weekday schedule.
(Artegos Design crew winterizing the Liberty Bell Printing planters this week – photo courtesy Michael Hoffman)
They’ve talked about the future of area streets, and tonight the West Seattle Triangle advisory group is scheduled to look at land use and zoning, 6 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle … The City Council Budget Committee is getting closer to final decisions about potential changes, and the fate of West Seattle’s Southwest District Coordinator and the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction are scheduled for discussion again today, as are Crime Prevention Coordinators (here’s the long agenda; the meeting’ll be live at seattlechannel.org and on cable channel 21 starting at 9:30 am) … 2 councilmembers speak to our area’s biggest political group, the 34th District Democrats, when they meet at 7 tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy — the agenda includes Councilmembers Sally Clark and Sally Bagshaw plus State Sen.-elect Sharon Nelson, State Rep. Eileen Cody, and State Rep.-elect Joe Fitzgibbon … Following up on OrcaFest 2010, tonight The Whale Trail presents an orca research update at the Duwamish Longhouse with NOAA’s Brad Hanson, 7 pm ($5, more here) … Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) has an open house for prospective students and their parents, 6:30-8 pm … As previewed here last night, three West Seattle authors present “Literary Fires” at C & P Coffee, 7 pm … At Chief Sealth International High School, it’s PTSA meeting night in Room 222, with a guest speaker discussing the state of education funding.
Retired Brigadier Gen. Steve Ritchie, legendary as a pilot ace during the Vietnam War, is speaking at two local schools on this day before Veterans Day, and one appearance is open to the public. This morning, he’s at a Seattle Lutheran High School assembly; tonight, Holy Family Parish School invites the community to hear him speak to the Seattle Chapter of the Air Force Association and the Puget Sound Chapter of the United States Air Force Academy Association of Graduates. That appearance is at 7 pm, 9615 20th SW (map), no admission (though school donations accepted), but principal Frank Cantwell requests that you RSVP – fcantwell@hfseattle.org.
When a mysterious “media advisory” rolled in late Tuesday saying King County Executive Dow Constantine will meet the media at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook on Beach Drive this afternoon to “announce agreement on a major new land acquisition that would permanently protect one of King County’s longest stretches of undeveloped Puget Sound shoreline and provide trails and open space,” it seemed clear the announcement would not be about West Seattle shoreline, as nothing around here meets that description and would be for sale. And indeed, our partners at the Seattle Times are now reporting that the announcement has to do with a site visible in the distance from Beach Drive: Maury Island. The Times reports that a deal has been reached for public and private entities to buy a controversial mining site for $36 million. You can read their story here.
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