day : 07/01/2011 11 results

West Seattle food/drink: Opening day’s finally in sight for Locöl

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
When Locöl officially opens for business at noon Monday, it’ll be one week short of January 17th, 2010, the day we first told you about the plan for a neighborhood beer/wine bar at 35th/Kenyon. Tonight, another soft-open test run put Locöl proprietor Kyle Duce and team that much closer to opening day. And what a transformation along the way – here’s what the ex-tanning salon looked like inside, last January:

(January 2010 WSB photo by Mary Sheely)
The view from a similar perspective tonight:

(WSB photos from here are all by Christopher Boffoli)
This is one of several “soft open” nights for Locöl, to make sure all the bugs are worked out. Here’s Kyle, in the plaid shirt, talking with patrons:

Locöl, as reported before, is serving food as well as beer and wine. Covering tonight’s event for WSB was photojournalist Christopher Boffoli; we asked him to find out more about the menu, to add to what was mentioned in our mid-December sneak peek – that information’s after the jump:Read More

Update: Jeremy Peck still missing, new search planned

An update tonight on the search for Jeremy Peck, whose family says he hasn’t been seen since early morning, Christmas Eve, in the Admiral District. In the comment section following our original story. Still no sign of him, according to Cheryl, who is one of the people who originally contacted us about Jeremy; she says they are hoping to gather a lot of people this Sunday morning at 10:30 am at Puerto Vallarta in The Junction (4727 California SW) to fan out and look – the more the better. The photo at left is from official ID; Jeremy is 6’1″, about 177 pounds, light brown hair, brown eyes, goes by “JP.” He was last seen wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a black waist-length coat over a gray hoodie-type sweatshirt. If you have any information about him, you can contact police or John Peck, the uncle who raised him and with whom he was living in Fairmount Springs, at 206-923-0875 or 206-371-6451.

Making school decisions? Fair tomorrow; tours ongoing

One more school note: It’s school-choice season, and West Seattle private and public schools are opening their doors in various ways, literally and figuratively, to share information with you. Tomorrow, for example, Parent Map is presenting a fair at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, 10 am-1 pm. It’s called Preschool Preview but it includes schools going all the way up to high school, and a few nonschool participants too. Here’s the full list; say hi to WSB sponsors Westside School (which is having its own open house tomorrow, 1-3 pm), West Seattle Montessori/WS Academy (with its own open houses 1-3 pm January 22 and 6:30-8 pm February 9), and Bryan Brenner, DDS. It’s also tour time for Seattle Public Schools – the lists are all linked from the bottom of this page on the district’s new-look website (note that the elementaries are split into two “service areas” – Denny and Madison).

3 more portables planned for West Seattle elementary schools

Followup on our two latest reports about West Seattle public schools dealing with big enrollment growth because of the district’s New Student Assignment Plan (Wednesday report here; Thursday report here): The district confirms that more portables are on their way to schools including three elementaries in West Seattle: One double portable each to Gatewood and Lafayette, one single portable to Schmitz Park. According to district spokesperson Teresa Wippel, they’re set for delivery sometime before the start of next school year. (We happened onto this news because the Gatewood portable classrooms need approval from the Landmark Preservation Board, since that school is an official city landmark, and the plan turned up on the agenda for the LPB’s Architectural Review Committee next Friday.)

Delridge Skatepark update: Going to (re-)bid next month

New progress toward starting construction on Delridge Skatepark, which went on hold for a while last fall in a controversy over bidder qualifications, resulting in a decision to have the project re-bid: Seattle Parks‘ project manager, Kelly Davidson, tells WSB this afternoon: “Delridge Skatepark was signed off today by City Contracting. It will be advertised on Tuesday 1/11 and it will bid on Wed 2/2.” If all goes well from there, she says, groundbreaking is likely in March. (The project’s also on the agenda for next Monday’s Skatepark Advisory Committee meeting, 6 pm at Parks HQ downtown.)

West Seattle Weather Watch: Snow talk gets more serious

The National Weather Service has just issued a “Special Weather Statement” talking more seriously about the possibility of snow in the area – this weekend and around midweek. For Sunday morning, they’re suggesting “showery” snow – but then at midweek, there’s “the potential for a widespread heavy snow event somewhere in Western Washington.” You can read the “Special Weather Statement” here. P.S. There’s additional detail in the 3 pm “forecast discussion” from NWS – caps theirs:

THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A WIDESPREAD…HIGH-IMPACT HEAVY SNOW EVENT FOR PARTS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON DURING THE SECOND HALF OF NEXT WEEK…BEGINNING AS EARLY AS WEDNESDAY BUT MORE LIKELY ON THU OR FRI. IT SHOULD BE STRESSED THAT GREAT UNCERTAINTY INHERENTLY REMAINS IN THE DAYS 5-7 FORECAST…BUT THE POTENTIAL CANNOT BE IGNORED.

Rachel Marie returns to West Seattle Water Taxi run on Monday

As reported here on Wednesday, repairs are complete on the King County Water Taxis West Seattle vessel, Rachel Marie (WSB file photo at left), and the U.S. Coast Guard has completed most of its investigation into last September’s crash. With sea trials complete, the county has just announced this afternoon that the Rachel Marie will return to West Seattle-Downtown Seattle service on Monday – which also means a return to Pier 50. The full text of the county’s news release, ahead:Read More

Classroom salmon-to-be arrive at West Seattle schools

(Photo courtesy Heidi Van Brost)
Salmon eggs have arrived at eleven local schools that will each raise 200 fish for Fauntleroy Creek, according to creek steward Judy Pickens. She and Phil Sweetland made the deliveries after getting the eggs from the state’s Soos Creek Hatchery. She says they reassured teachers that the “Salmon in the Classroom” program will continue, though it was cut from the state budget last month, because planning is under way to keep it going through “local resources.” In the photo above, first- and fifth-grade students, with teacher Christine Marshall (left), are shown putting eggs into the aquarium at Pathfinder K-8. The salmon-raising process takes four months, during which, Judy says, “The students will monitor water temperature and chemistry, feed their fish, and keep the tank clean as they learn about salmon habitat and the role of this iconic fish in regional culture, commerce, and environment.”

Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao leaving

Two days after the city’s Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao visited West Seattle to talk with the Southwest District Council, there’s word she’s leaving the job after four years. The mayor’s office just sent the announcement – read it in full after the jump:Read More

West Seattle Friday: From ‘Amahl’ to Alki roller skating

(Jack Block Park entrance, taken by Nakean, shared via the WSB Flickr group pool)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page: It’s opening night for this weekend’s four-performance run of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (tickets available online) … Friday-night skating returns tonight to Alki Community Center (5817 SW Stevens) after a few holiday-season weeks off – $3/person, bring your own skates or borrow them, 6:45-8:45 pm … Grand opening celebration at new 35th/Barton 7-11, free food, drinks, other treats 11 am-1 pm … Cleaning house after the holidays? Northwest Center’s “Big Blue Truck” is in West Seattle Fridays-Sundays, 44th Av SW & SW Edmunds, 9 am – 5 pm. … P.S. If you see this early, another wave of “king tides” is under way, and a 12.5-foot high tide hits West Seattle at 7:26 this morning (next wave is later this month, peaking at 13.3 feet January 22-23).

Viaduct misperceptions tackled: SW District Council report #1

(WSDOT photo via Flickr: Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond signs tunnel contract Thursday)
Even as the Alaskan Way Viaduct Central Waterfront Project marked a milestone – signing the tunnel design-build contract – a team from the AWV front lines debunked some misperceptions in Q/A during an appearance before the Southwest District Council Wednesday night, hours before the signing. First and foremost: No, this does NOT mean the tunnel is “no going back” final, and it does NOT mean construction is about to start, as some may believe. The construction that’s starting now is a separate phase of the project, its Holgate-to-King-Street segment (formerly known as South End Replacement Project). After the jump, the Q/A/myth-debunking on that:Read More