West Seattle, Washington
12 Tuesday
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Kicking off a West Seattle weekend full of open houses, bazaars, and other holiday events – one celebration at a business rich in history, one celebration for a business that’s brand new. First one: Husky Deli, the West Seattle Junction icon. As WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen describes it, “Husky was packed in waves. Very high spirits, lots of West Seattle pride.”
Above, Husky proprietor Jack Miller; next, one of the vendors who were part of tonight’s open house, West Seattle beekeeper Krista Conner, who says she can barely keep her “West Seattle Honey” in stock at Husky:
Husky offered a discount on purchases made during the open house. And despite the chilly night, the ice-cream counter was as popular as ever:
Ice cream, of course, is what really put Husky on the map when the business was started 78 years ago. If you haven’t heard its full history, check out Lori Hinton‘s “West Seattle 101” chapter about Husky Deli, republished here on WSB. Meantime, while Husky bustled with open-house visitors, about a mile south on California SW, a brand-new business celebrated its debut:
Eco Beauty is a new Aveda salon and spa at 6040 California SW. A holiday open house marked its grand opening tonight. With the theme “Nature nurturing you,” owner Christine Darragh (above left) is showing support for environmental concerns; and raised money tonight for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, whose Betsy Moyer (above right) joined her at the open house.
The Menashe Family promised their famous display in the 5600 block of Beach Drive (map) would be on tonight – and on, it is. Here’s a look in HD video:
Tomorrow’s the night you’ll see them featured on a nationally broadcast TLC special (9 pm Saturday, “Invasion of the Christmas Lights 2“).
(WSB photos by Katie Meyer)
Thanks to Shelley and Kristen for e-mailing about this sighting today – crews working for the city on the slope beneath Hamilton Viewpoint. The burlap they’re spreading is striking enough – but what really caught passers-by’s eyes were the mounds of bottles and cans found beneath years worth of blackberry tangle – here’s a closer look:
WSB contributor Katie Meyer talked to the workers while photographing the project zone and the bottle/can mounds. They told her the areas being protected now with burlap will be seeded with grass, and then planted with native bushes and shrubs (Oregon Grape and ferns were mentioned).
As Katie points out, the recovered containers have been sorted into piles for recycling!
The much-awaited Jonny Bostons Sandwich Shop is finally open on the north edge of The Junction (4151 California SW). In our iPhone photo at left, that’s owner Dan‘s son Jon – the Jonny in Jonny Bostons – at the counter with Bev. But before you go rushing over, Dan cautions that this is truly a SOFT OPEN – they don’t even have the fryer going yet, so no fries (probably till Monday) – just burgers, cheesesteaks, sausages, chips, and soda. (You can see the menu via the Jonny Bostons Facebook page.) They’ll be ramping up over the next few days, so if you do go, understand they’re trying to keep things low-key while they get acclimated. (We just happened to notice while driving through The Junction that the paper was off the windows and there appeared to be people inside, so we stopped in to see if it was indeed the long-awaited opening.) As reported in our previous stories here and here, their hours will be Mondays-Saturdays, 11 am-8 pm.
As promised, we followed up with SDOT on the issue raised by commenter “Pha-la-la” following coverage of a crash on the West Seattle Bridge night before last. In short, the crash led to the closure of the westbound bridge, east of 99, for more than an hour, and drivers were diverted onto the “low bridge” – and a backup ensued when that bridge opened for marine traffic. Asked “Pha-la-la” in her/his lengthy comment that seemed to pithily summarize many longrunning West Seattle traffic complaints; before this part of the comment, they had run through the process of getting diverted from the then-closed high bridge, creeping westward:
… Finally, lower West Seattle bridge appears like an oasis on the horizon. But, uh oh, lower bridge is, ding ding ding…opening? Why is lower bridge opening? Hasn’t anyone informed the lower bridge Controller that the upper bridge is kinda closed from I-5 and traffic is being diverted to lower bridge. Give ME the Controller’s phone number and I’ll call him/her. This is how you coordinate traffic. We need to bring the pieces TOGETHER so they work TOGETHER. …
We asked SDOT why an emergency closure of the high bridge wouldn’t put low-bridge openings on hold – especially considering that emergency responders would need one route to be open in case of a major incident (like a structure fire) bringing in resources from across the Duwamish. Spokesperson Marybeth Turner‘s reply:
Unfortunately SDOT does not have a choice of whether or not to open the Spokane Street swing bridge to marine traffic. Federal laws for navigable waters require us to open for vessels regardless of whether or not the West Seattle high level bridge is open. The Fire Department is notified when the bridges are closed to traffic. Sometimes when the high level bridge is closed to general traffic, emergency vehicles can still get across. However, this is not always an option, so emergency responders must plan where to locate their resources and must determine which alternate routes are best to provide supplementary services.
You may recall that, as reported here repeatedly, city leaders have tried to get the federal rules amended at least a bit while Spokane Street Viaduct and Alaskan Way Viaduct construction – and have been turned down every time.
We missed the early-warning tweet, but a note from customer Chris (thank you!) brought word that Bird on a Wire Espresso‘s new second location is open as of this morning in the Heavenly Pastry ex-storefront between Alki Bike and Board (WSB Holiday Shopping Guide sponsor) and Linda’s Flowers and Gifts. So we went over to procure photographic proof, and found Bird proprietor Heidi Herr pulling (as well as calling) the shots. Hours for the new venture, per Heidi: 6 am-2 pm Mondays-Fridays, 7 am-2 pm Saturdays, 8 am-2 pm Sundays. (The original Bird location is still open, 35th/Henderson in Westwood – as Heidi noted when announcing this just two weeks ago, this is an expansion, not a replacement.)
(WSB video and photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
And our third and final report on a Thursday night full of showcases for local student creativity – Winter Jazz Night at Chief Sealth International High School. In the clip above, Jazz Band II, which opened the night, performed “Emergency Stopping Only,” featuring Jesse Torres-Cruz on drums, Jazz Band II was led by Marcus Pimpleton, who, WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen reports, talked onstage about how exciting it is for Sealth to have two Jazz Bands, since as an alum he remembers when there were none. Also performing last night, Jazz Band I, led by Debbie Meyer – sorry we don’t have video of this group too (next concert!), but here’s a photo:
Jazz Band I performed six songs, after Jazz Band II’s five-song set. Thanks to the community members on- and off-campus who share the news about events like this and the others we covered last night; if you have school/community/etc. news/event notices to share, please let us know, any time!
(From the WSB Flickr group, by smohundro)
On the third night of Hanukkah, and with three weeks to go till Christmas Eve, we’ll break out today/tonight’s spotlight events into the holidays/non-holidays divisions:
HOLIDAYS: South Seattle Community College‘s 2-day Holiday Wine Sale starts at noon, details here … Twelfth Night Productions opens “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play” tonight – in a wonderful venue – Kenyon Hall – 7:30 pm (buy tickets here); look for the Chief Sealth International High School Honors Choir with preshow caroling and concessions, raising money for their Carnegie Hall trip … Kol HaNeshamah has a combined Shabbat service/Hanukkah celebration; service 6:30, candlelighting/vegetarian potluck/games and fun at 7:15 pm (6115 SW Hinds) … The always-awaited Husky Deli holiday open house in The Junction is tonight, 6-9 pm, and according to the HD Facebook page, there’s 10 percent off purchases made during the event … Craft Fair tonight at Lafayette Elementary School, with students selling homemade/unique gifts, 6-8:30 pm (California/Lander). … Much more on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, and before your next shopping adventure, see who’s new in the West Seattle Holiday Shopping/Business Guide.
NON-HOLIDAYS: West Seattle parents are invited to a presentation at Pathfinder K-8 tonight with the author of “Birds + Bees + Your Kids – A Guide to Sharing Your Beliefs About Sexuality, Love and Relationships,” 6 pm (free but RSVP requested, lashannaw@gmail.com) … The new Eco Beauty Salon/Spa at 6040 California SW launches with an open house, 5:30-9 pm, with treats and prizes, full details on this Facebook events page … Yes, there’s still Friday night skating at Alki Community Center! 6:45-8:45 pm, $3/person.
The 2nd of 3 events we covered last night celebrating local students’ creativity and talent was a Community Film Fest at Chief Sealth International High School, with five short films screened, each exploring an environmental issue. Over the past four months, Environmental Science/Global Studies students made the films, with research trips including an examination of how the city handles solid waste as well as a Duwamish River tour to see how industrial and urban residential uses affect local waterways. Onstage in our top photo are Global Studies students who produced the film “Heavy Metal,” answering questions onstage afterward. The program was presented in connection with Bridges to Understanding; a rep told us they’re expecting to make the students’ work available online (we’ll follow up when we get word on when/where to find it).
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Thursday night, we covered three events showcasing student creativity – and here’s the first report. Above, that’s Denny International Middle School student Jasmin Fredriksson proudly displaying “Through Our Eyes,” a first-of-its-kind compilation of Denny students’ personal narratives. She wrote “Bow to the 8th Grade,” about a bullying incident. Jasmin told WSB she’d love a career as a writer. We met Jasmin and other young writers during an event at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) celebrating the debut of “Through Our Eyes”:
Language Arts teacher Nehaya Dashti happily reported that it was the first time she could recall students outnumbering parents in the crowd at an event like this.
You can buy a copy of “Through Our Eyes” ($30) by contacting the teacher at 817-602-9378 or nadashti@seattleschools.org.
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