West Seattle, Washington
26 Friday
Three school notes from soon-to-be-co-located Sealth and Denny:
BACKPACK DRIVE: The Chief Sealth International HIgh School PTSA is seeking donations to help them buy 40 backpacks for students who need them. They’re matching donations and ask you to chip in by going here.
WORLD WATER WEEK, TWO DAYS TO GO: After Monday’s big event (WSB coverage here), the World Water Week “local ideas festival” has continued with activities for students and staff at Sealth. Social-studies teacher Noah Zeichner, whose Aspen Ideas Festival trip with student Molly Freed led to WWW’s creation, shares photos and updates:
Students sold WWW T-shirts and water bottles again during last night’s Futures Night at Sealth. Today, storyteller/water activist Peter Donaldson spoke to an all-school assembly:
Tomorrow, Sealth students learn about world water scarcity and how it relates to their lives; Friday is the Walk for Water.
DENNY STUDENTS AND ALVIN AILEY DANCE THEATER: When you hear “Alvin Ailey,” you likely think “modern dance” – but this unique program that Denny International Middle School students are enjoying this week has to do with a lot more than movement:
At Southwest Community Center, about 60 Denny students are participating in a workshop this week with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater reps, specifically exploring Ailey’s “Revelations” (in honor of its 50th anniversary). And it’s not just about movement, we’re told – in fact, the students were seated for a lesson when we were allowed in for photos. They are using “Revelations” as an “inspirational framework for an in-depth study of language arts, social studies and dance.” The Ailey troupe members are in town to perform this Friday-Sunday at the 5th Avenue Theater downtown.
We’re at the monthly Highland Park Action Committee meeting, where local residents have just received an update about the West Seattle Reservoir-covering park project. Virginia Hassinger from Seattle Parks says construction will not start this year. Hassinger notes that the park’s design-development detail isn’t even fully finalized yet. And when asked about the possible P-Patch/community garden on the park site, Hassinger explained that’s not currently funded – the neighborhood would have to get together and seek funding, for example, to make it happen.
But one of the reasons it’s taking a while has a silver lining – Hassinger says some city changes since the inception of the project mean the nearby neighborhood will get some long-requested sidewalk work: The south side of SW Cloverdale between 8th and 9th will get a 6-foot concrete sidewalk, says SDOT‘s Douglas Cox, explaining that the estimated cost of nearly $100,000 (for 275 feet of sidewalk) will be funded by some Bridging the Gap money (the park project itself is being paid for out of Parks and Green Spaces Levy money). Attendees are saying there are still a few other improvements desperately needed for traffic/pedestrian safety in the area, and they’re being urged to fight for that by contacting city leaders. More from the meeting, coming up later. One more P.S. HPAC’s Dan Mullins brought up some pothole problems in the area, and Cox reminded everyone they can call 206-684-ROAD, or report them online here.
(Photo substituted at 5:22 pm for previous cameraphone picture, same angle)
4:24 PM: According to the Seattle Fire Department via Twitter, a “toddler and adult female” were hit by a car at California/Lander. We are on our way to the scene; two medic units were called out. That’s the Hiawatha/Admiral Safeway/Lafayette/Admiral Junction corner. Police are controlling traffic in the area and north to Admiral Way as well – avoid the area.
4:31 PM UPDATE: Medics on scanner say the toddler is a 22-month-old boy, was hit by car going maybe 10-15 mph, was thrown into the air, but is conscious and crying, will be taken to Harborview Medical Center. We don’t know the woman’s age but she is also being taken to Harborview.
4:42 PM UPDATE: We have just spoken to police and fire. The injuries to the woman and toddler are NOT believed to be life-threatening. The driver did stop and has been talking with police. Traffic is now being allowed slowly through the area.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The need for a state law to regulate medical-marijuana dispensaries is “a public safety issue, not a civil-liberties issue.”
That’s what Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes told WSB this afternoon, as we sought a followup conversation regarding three recent events: First, the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council discussed dispensaries last week, after a fleeting report that one might move into a Delridge Way storefront; then, a West Seattle dispensary was targeted by armed robbers last Saturday night; and third, a committee chaired by West Seattle State Rep. Eileen Cody is considering the bill, SB 5073, that would create the regulation Seattle and other city leaders are hoping for. (The online legislative record doesn’t reflect this so far, but Holmes said his understanding was that the committee voted narrowly in favor of the bill today, with amendments he was waiting to hear about.)
We contacted Holmes because a policy expert from his office, John Schochet, had spoken at last week’s district-council meeting, declaring that dispensaries are “technically not legal” and saying that if the state doesn’t take action, Seattle will have to do something.
What would that something be? we asked Holmes today. The only thing he could be clear on is that inaction wouldn’t be an option – though it’s what’s being (not) done right now.
“We need to do something. Right now these are felony operations,” Holmes said, and “allowing them to continue proliferating” – he estimates there are 30 in Seattle – is not in anyone’s best interest.
Yet moving to shut them all down isn’t in anyone’s best interest either, he contends, since that would take a massive amount of law-enforcement time and jail space.
Just got word of a new city “public safety survey,” and we are going through it even as we type this. First thing we noticed – not all West Seattle neighborhoods are listed in the first question about where you live (Morgan Junction and Gatewood are missing), so choose whatever’s closest. Otherwise, if you are concerned at all about crime and safety – and even if you feel your neighborhood is the safest place anywhere – there are a lot of good meaty questions to answer, about both your perception of crime/safety where you live, and your perception of Seattle police. The survey is here: seattle.gov/publicsafetysurvey – for an explanation, click ahead:Read More
On this third full day of spring 2011, the season has unquestionably arrived. Bright sunshine, relatively warm temperatures (60!) and a modestly low tide (-1.2) are combining for a definite winter-is-over feeling right now. Our photo was taken looking east from Luna (Anchor) Park on Harbor Avenue a short time ago.
We’re all invited to the 15th Annual Chief Sealth Baseball Spaghetti Dinner & Auction
Friday, April 1, 2011 at 5:30pm
Casual/Festive Attire
Chief Sealth International High School in the Galleria
2600 SW Thistle Street
Seattle, WA 98106Please join 250+ of our supporters, parents/guardians, teachers, staff, alumni, and West Seattle community members in supporting the Chief Sealth Baseball program by attending the 15th Annual Chief Sealth Baseball Spaghetti Dinner & Auction. The evening includes a silent auction, dinner, dessert auction, and live auction.
This special event provides critical revenue to help fund the school and summer baseball programs.
You can help today! Visit the auction website.
– Purchase a ticket – just $10 per person!
– Make a cash donation – can’t attend, but want to help? Make a cash donation with your credit card
– Donate an auction item – it’s fast and easy to donate onlineAuction website: https://csptsa.ejoinme.org/Sealthbaseballauction
For more information, contact Beth Britt, 2011 Baseball Auction Chair by email at bethbritt@comcast.net or by phone (206) 854-4589
We received a note from Bobby Forch who is running for city council. He is doing a meet and greet Thursday evening.
My name is Bobby Forch and I am running for city council. I have recently started doing meet and greets across the City of Seattle and this week’s is in West Seattle. I plan to visit every neighborhood throughout the campaign to talk about issues with voters. It is this Thursday March 24th at 7pm at the Beveridge Place Pub 6413 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98136.
It is just a drop-by type of event and people are welcome to come any time from 7 pm to about 8 pm.
Best,
Bobby Forch
We received this announcement from Dr. Toni Reineke, Artistic Director of West Seattle Community Orchestras, who says, “We’ve got a great concert coming up next week, and you’re invited! It’s for a great cause at a very teeny price!”
West Seattle Community Orchestra’s (WSCO) Symphonette and Beginning Strings are busily preparing for an outstanding musical opportunity for several school communities. On March 29, the Symphonette and Strings will perform a community outreach concert at 7 pm at Concord International School in South Park to benefit the music programs of Concord and Arbor Heights Elementary. Musical selections will include several of Disney’s most popular tunes from “Mary Poppins” as well as youth orchestra standards. Suggested donation, $1.
Each year, WSCO performs an outreach concert for the community, hosted by one elementary school and generally benefitting two schools’ music programs as part of its mission to support local music education. WSCO also provides tuition-free membership in one of three orchestras for any interested student; more information on this program is available at our
As an intergenerational orchestra, many of the performing musicians at the March 29th concert are students, with our youngest performer at age 7, up through more seasoned adult players who double their roles – musicians and mentors.
Concord International School is located at 723 S. Concord St. in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle.
If you have any questions Toni Reineke can be reached at (206)-243-6955 or toni@wscorchestras.org
As reported Tuesday on partner site White Center Now, Union Gospel Mission‘s “Search and Rescue Van” is coming to West Seattle and White Center tonight for the first time, hoping to find homeless people who sleep outdoors, to offer them various types of help. Today, as April pointed out on the new WSB Facebook page, UGM is looking for information on where they should go – if you have a suggestion, go here to tell them.
We just received this announcement from Futura Health Screening (WSB Sponsor). They are offering free vascular health screenings at the West Seattle Health Fair on March 29.
If you are over 50, have high blood pressure, are a past or current smoker, or have high cholesterol, then you are at risk for vascular disease, such as stroke, aneurysms and peripheral arterial disease (leg artery blockage).
From 10 am to 1 pm on March 29, Futura Health Screening [WSB Sponsor] will be offering free peripheral arterial disease (PAD) screening at the West Seattle Senior Center Health Fair, located at 4217 SW Oregon St. in West Seattle.
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is one of the most common yet least diagnosed forms of vascular disease. If left untreated, PAD can lead to surgery and in severe cases, can lead to amputation. It can also be an indication of serious disease elsewhere in the body. According to the American Heart Association, about eight million people have PAD and these individuals are four to five times more likely to die of heart attacks and strokes as those without the disease.
If you cannot attend the free PAD screening event, screenings are available every Wednesday morning in West Seattle and every Tuesday morning in Kirkland. Futura Health Screening offers low-cost, painless, and accurate ultrasound screenings to check for blockages in the arteries and aortic aneurysms.
Screening exams include carotid artery ultrasound to detect stroke-causing plaque, abdominal aortic ultrasound to detect an aneurysm, and ankle brachial index (ABI) to detect peripheral arterial disease in the legs. Screenings are $45 each or $125 for all three.
Carotid artery disease occurs when fatty deposits, or plaque , build up along the walls of the carotid arteries. The carotid arteries run along either side of the neck and deliver blood from the heart to the brain and head. The buildup of plaque in these arteries blocks the blood supply to the brain and increases risk of stroke.
An abdominal aortic aneurysm, also known as AAA (pronounced “triple A”), is a swelling or bulge that weakens the walls of the aorta. A rupture to the aorta has an 80 percent fatality rate and the vast majority of people with aneurysms are never diagnosed until they experience a fatal rupture. If an aneurysm is detected and treated electively the risk of its fatality is much lower.
Futura Health Screening is the first and only ICAVL accredited non-invasive vascular screening program in Washington State. Futura Health Screening is a division of Pacific Vascular, Inc., the largest provider of vascular ultrasound testing in the Northwest.
To schedule your screening, call (425) 398-7797 or (866) 486-4882. You can also take a personal risk assessment at futurahealthscreening.com.
(Screengrab from Admiral Safeway construction webcam – click to go to the “live webcam” page)
This morning, the City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment unanimously approved two items giving permission for a change in the Admiral Safeway project – as first reported here in January, the building east of the new store itself will be almost entirely apartments, instead of part apartments, part flex-work office spaces – Safeway said the developer for that part of the project was unable to get financing for the office space, but could get financing for residential units. (They also at the time offered a packet of graphics and information comparing the original proposal with the changed one.)
City council staff told the committee members (chair Sally Clark, Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess) that they had received five written comments about the change – three in support, two voicing concerns such as increased traffic and effects on parking. The councilmembers were told at today’s hearing that the change to apartments actually should reduce the traffic/parking effects, since residential needs will not overlap with nearby retail needs the way flex-work units would have done. “So what’s the down side” of the change? asked Councilmember Bagshaw. Council staffer Michael Jenkins noted that community members had considered the flex-work units “desirable” (here’s our original report when the idea first came up), though he also went on to say that this change might be viewed positively by residents across 42nd SW, who now will face apartments instead of offices.
One other point of contention was acknowledged by Councilmember Clark – that while this was described as a “minor amendment” to the development agreement the Council previously had approved (their involvement was related to aspects including “contract rezoning” for part of the site as well as “vacation” of public right-of-way, an “alley” that went through the site), at least one member of the public objected to that (she specifically named longtime neighborhood advocate Dennis Ross, who attended the hearing but did not speak – no one came to the mike during today’s “public comment” time at the meeting’s start). The matter of whether the change was “minor” or not was not up before the committee for deciding, she observed, and they approved the two-part change (see the fine print in links on the agenda) unanimously. (We’ll update when the date for full-council consideration is set.) To a reported public comment expressing concern that Safeway hadn’t revealed the change sooner, Clark opined that indeed, they always prefer to see developers communicate with the community sooner rather than later. Construction on the project proceeds at a relatively fast pace, with the new Safeway scheduled to open this summer.
Three notes this morning from the West Seattle High School PTSA: First, its monthly meeting is tonight, 7 pm, WSHS library. As the announcement puts it, the meeting is “a fantastic way to stay informed about what’s going on around the school.” Second, the WSHS PTSA also has announced a new website, meant to be “more user-friendly (with improved) navigation and content)” – find it at wshsptsa.org. One of the events you’ll find on the site is the PTSA-presented West Seattle 5K, coming up May 22nd (with WSB among the co-sponsors). If you haven’t already registered, you’re invited to a registration party this Sunday at West Seattle Runner (California/Charlestown), noon-4 pm – promising food, festivities, and prizes.
(The west side of the “massing” for the “preferred scheme” for the new development, from the packet)
We’ve been reporting on Harbor Properties‘ proposal for another development in The Triangle, just as they get ready to open Link. Here’s our latest report on the project, named Nova, proposed for what’s currently a parking lot immediately north of the Seattle West Suites motel. Nova’s “early design guidance” meeting – first meeting in many months for the Southwest Design Review Board – is tomorrow; the “packet” for the meeting is online today, with copious quantities of information about the proposal and the surrounding area. You can review it here. Caveat that this is NOT a plan for what the building would eventually look like; “early design guidance” is meant to bring forward at least three options for how a development might be “massed” and arranged on its site, dealing with its size and shape. The three options in the packet for tomorrow’s meeting include “Option A” with 63 units and one live-work unit, “Option B” with 65 units and four live-work units, and “Option C,” which is identified as the developer’s “preferred scheme,” with 62 units and one “community space.” Public comment is welcome at tomorrow night’s hearing, which is set for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon). This is the first of what would be at least two Design Review meetings on the project – once it passes “early design guidance,” there would be at least one meeting to review a more fully fleshed-out plan for how it would look and what it would include.
(Alki eagle pair, photographed by Russ Walker)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today/tonight:
HPAC NAME CHANGE?: Highland Park Action Committee meets, 7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden). Agenda includes results of a survey on possibly changing the group’s name and a vote by attendees; also, updates on the Westcrest Park project and nearby sidewalk work. HPAC notes that children are welcome (there’s room in the meeting area to roam, and activities planned).
ADMIRAL SAFEWAY CHANGE: This morning, the change in the project’s southeastern corner, with more apartments instead of flex-work units, is scheduled to go before City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment, City Hall downtown, 9 am (agenda here)
POSITIVE DISCIPLINE: 7 pm, Fauntleroy Church and Little Pilgrim School host a Positive Discipline Workshop in the church’s Fellowship Hall for adults who are looking for long-term skills that will encourage children to “think for themselves, become more responsible and have a greater respect for themselves and for others.” More information at (206) 932-5600 and lorrie@fauntleroyucc.org.
FREE JOB-SEARCH WORKSHOP: South Seattle Community College’s WorkSource Center hosts another workshop, 4:30-6 pm, “Effective Networking for Employment.”
REMINDER, WEST SEATTLE WATER TAXI OUT OF SERVICE: Here’s our report from yesterday; the county does not expect it back until Monday at the earliest.
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