The advice that Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn shared with the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network tonight just might prevent a few break-ins – or more than a few. He coached the captains in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design – CPTED (“SEP-ted” as if you were saying “interCEPted”). In addition to concepts you might not have considered before – such as “hostile vegetation” – his presentation busted a few myths, too (is it better to have your blinds up or down? high hedge or not? etc.). More than 45 people crowded the meeting room by the time he began (from almost every neighborhood in West Seattle, according to the round of self-intros that opened the meeting – from Admiral to The Arroyos!). Read on for the highlights:Read More
WEST SEATTLE FABRIC COMPANY: Our community’s one-and-only fabric store is donating 10 percent of its proceeds to Red Cross relief efforts in Japan, daily through Sunday. (Proprietor Monica Skov says this started today.) West Seattle Fabric Company is at 2210 California SW.
VIGIL FOR JAPAN ON MONDAY: Also in the Admiral District, this vigil has just been announced:
Admiral Congregational Church, UCC, will be holding a candlelight vigil for Japan on Monday, March 28, 2011. The vigil will take place in the church sanctuary at 4320 SW Hill Street. The service of prayer, silence and hope will begin at 7:33 p.m., the time of sunset on March 28. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
LA RUSTICA BENEFIT NEXT MONDAY: From the Beach Drive Italian restaurant:
Monday, March 28th, La Rustica will be open for dinner to raise money for The Red Cross Japan Relief fund. We will be serving dinner from 5-9:30 pm. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross Relief effort. No reservations required just first come first serve. We are located at 4100 Beach Drive. Please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions 206.932.3020. We hope to see you there!
HOLY FAMILY BAKE SALES: Every little thing counts. Tomorrow the students of Holy Family School will get to contribute through fundraising bake sales at lunchtime (we found this here).
First, the stolen-car report: James says his car was parked at 35th/Holly last night between 10:30 and midnight, when somebody stole it. It’s a 4-cylinder, 4-door white 1997 Honda Accord with a Thule roof rack, “and it’s been lowered,” he adds. He drives it to deliver pizza; it was locked and has an alarm, he says, but somebody made off with it anyway. Call police if you see it.
With the help of the Seattle and Tacoma Police, our stolen Acura was found and recovered in Tacoma. There was some minor damage to the steering column (from hotwiring) and the radio and vehicle contents were removed. We were able to get it repaired and the car is back in West Seattle.
Crime-prevention note: We’re just back from a big-turnout West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network meeting at the precinct, featuring a presentation on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design – things to do in and around your home to make it more crime-resistant. We’ll have the story up in the 10 pm hour.
Denny International Middle School is sponsoring a Spring Break music camp again this year, for 4th through 8th graders from anywhere in the area, no matter what schools they attend. Here’s the invitation from Denny’s music director Marcus Pimpleton:
The camp is a fun and laid-back way for students to spend the break exploring music with other youth from the West Seattle area. The camp will operate April 18th – 22nd from 9 am -3 pm and be held in the music rooms at Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle. Students spend two hours of each day specializing in an ensemble on their primary instrument (band for the winds and percussionists; orchestra for the strings). They have another 90 minutes each day to explore a secondary interest (jazz band, drumline, guitar, or steel drums). The rest of the time consists of games and lunch. A suggested donation of $120 is requested, but families are welcome to give as much or as little as they can afford. For more information, please contact mjpimpleton@seattleschools.org.The registration form is available via this link.
Service on the West Seattle Water Taxi is cancelled this afternoon because the Rachel Marie [WSB file photo at left] is undergoing repairs. Service will not resume before next Monday, March 28. Passengers should watch for service updates later in the week and over the weekend via the Water Taxi website and subscriber alerts.
… and, of course, here. ADDED 4:05 PM: Linda Thielke with county DOT says the problem was discovered yesterday; the decision for “more extensive repairs” was made today. ADDED 4:18 PM: Matt Reichmann with county DOT answered our question about exactly what’s wrong:
*A small fracture was discovered in the hull of the Rachel Marie below the waterline. The King County Marine Division, in coordination with the Coast Guard, have developed a repair plan to repair the vessel’s aluminum hull plating in way of the fracture. This work will require the Rachel Marie to be put up in dry-dock and be taken out of service through at least the end of this week. …We don’t know when it happened. It was discovered after Monday’s commute and temporary repairs were made for this morning.
We also asked why the Rachel Marie wasn’t being replaced with an Argosy vessel, as it had been for much of the time after last year’s crash; the county says that was investigated but is “not feasible” for this week.
If you happened onto a detour in the last half-hour or so in Highland Park – this is what it was about: WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz happened onto the Engine 11 crew tackling a car fire at 9th/Cloverdale (map).
No injuries reported – and the intersection is open again. Deanie talked to the driver, who said she was headed home to Burien when smoke started appearing under the hood of her car. She got out OK; Engine 11 (based at 16th/Holden) was there fast and had a tricky job trying to unlock the hood – eventually they had to cut the grille work off when flames reignited, Deanie says.
(Photo courtesy WSHS; from left, Latisha Evans, Kirby Davis, and Johnny Le) West Seattle High School principal Ruth Medsker is beaming about her students who are just back from the Washington Restaurant Association‘s ProStart Invitational statewide competition in Spokane last weekend:
West Seattle High School’s culinary team ROCKED Pro Start State this year. Our team of three, won the “BEST ENTREE AWARD” out of seventeen competing teams from across Washington State. This is a proud accomplishment. Students received a $500 scholarship to The Art Institute of Seattle, a Certificate of Achievement and a chef’s knife along with the “BEST ENTREE AWARD” honor.
The WRA has photo galleries up for all the schools in the competition – here’s the Flickr gallery with their WSHS photos:
ADDED 3:32 PM: Teacher Sarah Orton has shared a news release with more information – including what the winners cooked! After the jump … Read More
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
More than 125 people gathered at Chief Sealth International High School Monday night for the opening evening of their World Water Week festival, featuring a resource fair and notable guest speakers focused on a worthy theme – raising awareness of water’s value and the crucial need to provide quality water for people locally and worldwide.
The central event of the evening (pictured above) was a presentation by Robert Glennon, author of “Unquenchable” and a law professor and water-issues expert at the University of Arizona. Sealth’s events for World Water Week are being led by Sealth senior Molly Freed and her social-studies teacher Noah Zeichner (who we’ve talked about previously on WSB; Freed was also on KOUW radio yesterday). Those two, along with others at Sealth who worked tirelessly to make the evening happen, were given praise and kudos by both Glennon and special guest Congressman Jay Inslee for their efforts. We took the photo below just before Glennon’s speech got started:
(From left: Congressman Jay Inslee, Sealth teacher Noah Zeichner, principal John Boyd and student Molly Freed, and speaker Robert Glennon)
We talked with Glennon before his presentation, and he commended Freed for her passion on water issues, saying “I’m here because Molly sent me a letter and asked me. It’s that simple. I don’t get a lot of letters from high school students, so I told her I’d make it happen.” Glennon also praised Seattle for being a progressive community that has “always impressed me” with its forward-thinking regarding water conservation, using less water even as population has risen in recent decades.
(In-depth coverage continues after the jump – including video of the entire auditorium event)Read More
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has announced that the so-called “polite robber,” caught on videotape apologizing while holding up a Roxbury gas station (just outside city limits) in early February, has pleaded guilty. 65-year-old Gregory Paul Hess pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and will be sentenced April 1st. The PAO says the sentencing range would be 51 to 68 months in prison. As we reported previously, Hess gained some fame eight years ago for a series of robberies attributed to the “Transaction Bandit.” After the local heist this past February, police say, Hess confessed; they also say that he reported putting $90 in the bank, from the $200 he stole.
The Rotary Club of West Seattle usually meets for lunch on Tuesdays, but today members got up early for the annual Community Breakfast. Guest speakers included Penny LeGate, award-winning veteran broadcaster, and Ezra Teshome, who is assistant governor for Rotary District 5030(above, from left, Teshome, LeGate, and WS Rotary president Steve Fuller). LeGate talked about the Rotary effort to help eradicate polio, which persists in countries including Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, where it’s difficult to deliver vaccine, and to break through geographic/cultural challenges. The Rotary’s polio-fighting campaign goes back more than a quarter of a century, and gets financial assistance from the Seattle-headquartered Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Teshome talked about his trips taking dozens of Rotarians to Ethiopia each fall to work on the polio-fighting project.
From West Seattleite Irene Stewart, who’s an aging/disability services (ADS) planner with the city:
Every four years, ADS prepares a new Area Plan on Aging for King County, which guides our work. As we prepare to draft a new plan for 2012 through 2015, we need to hear from Seattle and King County residents. We invite residents of all ages to complete an online questionnaire. We especially encourage people who are age 60 or older, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers to respond.
BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: The community is welcome at tonight’s West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network meeting, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), 6:30 pm. Meet the precinct’s new Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon and talk about crime prevention through “environmental design.”
‘PERSONAL SAFETY NETS’: Another brown-bag talk in the “Living Into Life” series helps you develop Personal Safety Nets to support you when you need it. 11:30-1 pm at Alki Arts (2820 Alki SW), register by phone: 206-659-0665.
FAMILY STORY TIME: Bring the family to the Seattle Public Library‘s Delridge Branch (Delridge/Brandon) for story time tonight with Amy, 7 pm.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TRIVIA: Rock music trivia every Tuesday night at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm
LIVE AT SKYLARK: Luke Sayers will bring his one man show in which he spins live organic loops of lush vocal harmony, rich guitar textures, & grooving percussion back to the Skylark Café (3803 Delridge Way SW) tonight @ 10 pm, no cover.
POLITICAL FUNDRAISER: West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen is running for re-election and having a WS fundraiser tonight, 6-8 pm, Puget Ridge Cohousing common building ‐ 7020 18th SW. (RSVP to Colby.a.underwood@gmail.com or call (206) 779‐1494.)
The overfishing crisis was on the menu, and the marquee, for Sustainable West Seattle last night, launching their new periodic film series. The cautionary film based on the book “The End of the Line“ was on screen, and then sustainable-seafood star Chef Hajime Sato, proprietor of Mashiko in The Junction, was onstage. If you don’t want to eat endangered fish, he pointed out, bluefin tuna is far from the only thing to avoid:
This summer will mark two years since he gained fame for not just advocating “sustainable sushi” but dedicating his acclaimed restaurant to it. But, he said, “I’m not telling you to stop eating everything; if we protect certain species, they are coming back.” Another video clip after the jump:Read More
First, the stolen-car report: James says his car was parked at 35th/Holly last night between 10:30 and midnight, when somebody stole it. It’s a 4-cylinder, 4-door white 1997 Honda Accord with a Thule roof rack, “and it’s been lowered,” he adds. He drives it to deliver pizza; it was locked and has an alarm, he says, but somebody made off with it anyway. Call police if you see it.
Service on the West Seattle Water Taxi is cancelled this afternoon because the Rachel Marie [WSB file photo at left] is undergoing repairs. Service will not resume before next Monday, March 28. Passengers should watch for service updates later in the week and over the weekend via the Water Taxi website and subscriber alerts.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has announced that the so-called “polite robber,” 
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