A well-known West Seattle business is dealing with tragedy tonight. The Swinery was closed today, with a note on the door (photo here) saying the store was “closed today (Saturday) due to a family emergency …” That turned out to be a death in the store’s family … its owner, Chef Joseph Brewer: Tonight, Swinery manager Amie Collier confirmed Mr. Brewer’s death to WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who reported last year on the changes that eventually led to Mr. Brewer taking over the popular store. We do not know the circumstances of his death; Collier did not wish to comment further. The note on the store’s door this afternoon (we saw it after going to The Swinery to check on a telephoned tip about this) said they plan to be open tomorrow (Sunday). Here’s Mr. Brewer’s biography from The Swinery’s website. (2010 photo at right by Christopher Boffoli)
Her community-advocacy work was intense and serious – yet Delridge community activist Vivian McLean was also known for her whimsy.
After almost two hours of tributes – from politicians, from neighbors, from family – her memorial this afternoon at Delridge Community Center, 16 days after her death at age 90, ended with a round of “The Hokey-Pokey” (video*).
Though our view didn’t include every single member of the standing-room-only crowd, participation looked universal. That would have included King County Executive Dow Constantine, former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, City Council President Richard Conlin, City Councilmembers Jean Godden, Nick Licata, and Tom Rasmussen, County Councilmember Joe McDermott, and Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith. And neighborhood luminaries too numerous to name (Steve Daschle of Southwest Youth and Family Services emceed). Even Jim Diers, the former Department of Neighborhoods director renowned for his evangelization of “Neighbor Power!” was on hand; Diers is the one who urged mourners, “Let’s keep her spirit alive.”
Just got word tonight that West Seattle’s own kid-rock superstar Caspar Babypants has another hometown gig coming up: In honor of the first anniversary of City Mouse Studio and Store (WSB sponsor), CB will play two “mini-concerts” at City Mouse (4218 SW Alaska in The Junction) on Friday, May 6th. That day, there’ll also be a sale (select items up to 30 percent off) and a raffle (every purchase brings a chance at winning a $200 merchandise gift certificate). City Mouse also is announcing the impending launch of their online store (citymousestore.com will go live May 1st), with a 20 percent discount on first-time orders all month long (you’ll be able to skip shipping costs if you order online and pick up at the West Seattle store!). The in-store concerts, by the way, will be free.
(Photo courtesy WS YMCA sports director Matt Schlede)
Tomorrow’s the last day to sign up for West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) Youth T-Ball/Baseball’s next season. The program is for kids ages 3-10, with one practice during the week and one game on Saturdays (except for the 3-year-olds, who don’t play games). Practices start the week of April 25; games, the week of May 7th, with the season running through June 25th. There are four leagues: 3-year-old T-ball, 4/5 T-ball, 6/7 coach pitch, 8-10 coach pitch. They play at fields all over the area. You can register at the Triangle or Fauntleroy Y locations, or, here’s the link to register online (Y sports summer-camp info can be found there too).
Next weekend, the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club opens its 2011 season at WS Golf Course – and Pat asked us to share this invitation:
Women have been golfing since the 16th century, when Mary Queen of Scots first coined the term “caddy” and played the famous St. Andrews course shortly after the death of her husband, Lord Darnley. Yes, they say well-behaved women rarely make history.
Women have been golfing with the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club (WSWGC) since the 1940s, and many lasting friendships have been formed over the years as a result of the camaraderie of golf. Several social events occur during the year, but the main objective of the WSWGC is to provide a friendly atmosphere in which to learn about golf, to play golf, and the chance for some fun competition.
Annual dues are $70.00 plus a $5.00 initiation fee for new members. Dues pay for your GHIN number and handicap, reserved tee-times on Tuesdays and Saturdays, weekly competition fees, most WSWGC tournament fees and operating expenses, as well as providing a great opportunity to meet and play golf with other women golfers.
Please join us for our Season Opening “Swing into Spring” Social on Sunday, April 17th, 2 PM at the West Seattle Golf Course. An $8 entry fee will provide you with yummy appetizers, a collector logo golf ball and information about the Club as well as a chance to win some fun prizes including a free weekday round of golf at West Seattle Golf Course! RSVP by 4/13 to Kay Whelan at mkwhelan@comcast.net – Interested in membership? Send inquiry to Ruthi Winter at 68gator@comcast.net.
Hope to meet you on the first tee at West Seattle Golf Course!
2:26 PM: If you’ve seen the fire/police crews and/or heard the sirens – they’re headed for an “automobile rescue” call in the 7000 block of 16th SW (map). We’ll be there shortly.
2:34 PM: Adding a photo. Two people have been extricated by fire crews from a badly smashed-up car. We don’t know how serious their injuries are. There also is a pickup truck (toward the right side of the photo) that has hit a tree. Avoid this area, obviously, TFN.
2:42 PM: Scanner traffic indicates a report that one vehicle crossed the line before the collision. The victims from the car were taken to the hospital by private ambulance, which suggests the injuries may not be life-threatening. WSB contributor Katie Meyer says scanner traffic seems to confirm that; the people in the car were described as a male driver and female passenger, both adults, both on the way to Harborview Medical Center.
2:51 PM: Authorities on the scene tell WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand that the car with the two victims hit the pickup truck – which was already on the side of the street with damage from an earlier crash. This crash badly managed the car (additional photo here; note the top was cut off by fire crews) but did not cause much additional damage to the pickup. At this point, it does NOT look like the major investigation team is coming out, which indicates the road should be clear once wreckage is cleared up.
West Seattle Tool Library director Patrick Dunn welcomed the well-wishers and manager Micah Summers wielded the scissors as the Tool Library’s new location officially opened for business – as in, borrowing – this morning. The Tool Library moved from one “ridge” to another – from its original location at South Seattle Community College on Puget Ridge, toYoungstown Cultural Arts Center on Delridge. One major feature of the new space – an area for workshops and tool-use lessons:
This morning, that space was home to a regular Tool Library feature, a Saturday morning “Ask The Expert” session with local sustainability specialists. And a cheery whiteboard in the new space lays out the rules for Tool Library users old and new:
The Tool Library will celebrate its first anniversary this June. And they’re still accepting donations – as we mentioned earlier today, if you see this before 3 pm and take one to the Sustainable West Seattle tent at the West Seattle Nursery open house, you get $5 off a WSN purchase. Regular hours at the Tool Library remain 9 am-2 pm Saturdays, 1-5 pm Sundays (so if you haven’t been to the new location yet, you can check it out tomorrow!).
It’s one big outdoor party till 3 pm at West Seattle Nursery, as their 28th annual Open House continues. Above, that’s WSN general manager Marcia Bruno stopping by the Sustainable West Seattle tent just outside the nursery’s California SW entrance, as she circulated with treats. If you bring a tool to donate to the newly relocated West Seattle Tool Library, you get a coupon for $5 off a WSN purchase – within 15 minutes of the open house’s start, they already had a donation! Steps away, Scratch and Peck Feeds‘ Dennis sported a memorable hat:
And he in turn was steps away from Don Driftmier‘s Magna Cüm Latte espresso stand … free drinks!
Free seminars too (chickens were the theme for the first seminar of the day, led by Bonnie, who was wearing the rest of the chicken suit). Two more years, by the way, and WS Nursery will be celebrating its thirtieth anniversary.
That, we are told, is the Rolls-Royce of tricycles – a Kettler Air Navigator. When we stopped by the Lincoln Park Cooperative Preschool benefit multifamily sale a little while ago, it was still up for grabs, at a third the price. Volunteers including (from left) Jennifer, Tami, and Katie are ready to help point you to whatever you’re looking for:
Lots of clothes, too.
The sale’s on till 3 pm at Seaview United Methodist Church (where the preschool classes have long been held) – 47th and Graham (look for the signs on Graham pointing you to the entrance.
Fauntleroy Church‘s “Sweet, Sweet Music” series filled the church sanctuary last night with sweet, sweet voices – including those of the Chief Sealth International High School Honor Choir, now just two weeks away from their performance at Carnegie Hall (thanks in part to community fundraising for which they shared this recent thank-you note). Choir members produced part of last night’s program, not only including full-group songs like the one in our clip above, but also instrumental and solo/small-group numbers.
That’s one of our photos from last weekend, when West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival packed The Hall at Fauntleroy for its annual spring tea (WSB coverage here). Hi-Yu’s Deena Mahn tells WSB that the life-size Justin Bieber cutout netted $135 as a live auction item! But that wasn’t the main point of Deena’s note – she wanted to publicly thank everyone who helped with the fundraiser. The acknowledgments, and total take, after the jump:Read More
Interested in seeing (and shopping at!) a permanent produce stand in Delridge? Here’s a simple way to help Delridge Produce Cooperative reach that goal. DPC’s Galena White shares the news about bags they’re selling to raise money:
Delridge Produce Cooperative has recently incorporated, and we’re closer to opening a permanent produce stand in the Delridge Neighborhood. We are a community-owned organization, without large private investors. In order to sell inexpensive, locally-grown, pesticide-free produce, we have to raise money!
Our ‘Grow’ bags were so popular at our ‘Mobile Market’ that we decided to offer them for sale. Each bag holds more than a regular plastic grocery bag, is reusable and washable, and stuffs into one of its own corners to form a cute little strawberry. We’re all volunteers, so 100% of the proceeds from these $6 bags go toward Delridge Produce Cooperative’s effort to open a produce stand on Delridge. Please visit one of the locations listed below and look for one of our baskets to help us bring healthy food to our neighborhood!
Proletariat Pizza
Again and A Gain Consignment
Phở Aroma
Blue Mist Hair Salon
Super 24
Delridge Deli Mart
Pearls
Yarrow Spa
(Photo by Lisa Stencel, from West Seattle shores during Friday’s sunshine)
Some of what’s on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
SALES:Lincoln Park Cooperative Preschool‘s annual toys/kids’ gear and clothing consignment sale and bake sale, 8 am-3 pm, Seaview United Methodist Church (4620 SW Graham) … West Seattle Eagles Garage Sale, 10 am-4 pm, selling hot dogs and hamburgers all day too (4426 California SW).
GRAND REOPENING: You’re officially invited to visit the West Seattle Tool Library in its new location at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, starting at 9 am (with ceremony at 11 am and “Ask the Expert for the DIY” drop-in consultations under way 10 am-1 pm)
OPEN HOUSE: It’s the 28th annual Spring Open House at West Seattle Nursery today, 11 am-3 pm, free espresso, hors d’oeuvres, and gardening seminars.
TALK ABOUT SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Informal discussion with Steve Sundquist, Seattle School Board president, High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond St), 11 am -12:30 pm.
SCHOOL FUNDRAISER: Schmitz Park Elementary dinner auction and “tiki bid lounge,” Brockey Center at SSCC, 5 pm (full details here)
PET FAIR: It’s the first-ever Bark for South Park Pet Fair, 14th S. and S. Dallas, 11 am-4 pm. Some West Seattleites participating too – details here
As Disaster Preparedness Month continues, we’ve talked about what you personally can do to be ready, and — if needed — to help. (Here’s our coverage of Thursday night’s West Seattle Be Prepared session, including video of the entire 1 1/2-hour presentation.) This morning, the focus goes wider, as the city hosts a Community Preparedness Summit at the Office of Emergency Management downtown, with WSBP and several other groups from around Seattle participating. As previewed by WSBP leaders, the summit will focus on a four-level “preparedness pyramid” – from you and your family, to city services. All are welcome if you want to find out where you fit in and how you can help. It’s from 9-noon at 105 Fifth Avenue South (corner of Washington; here’s a map).
CONGRATULATIONS TO ARBOR HEIGHTS’ ALISA WEAVER! Thanks to several proud Arbor Heights Elementary community members who e-mailed with the news that kindergarten teacher Alisa Weaver got surprise visitors today from STAR 101.5 Radio, declaring her the station’s Teacher of the Week. The station’s announcement says she was nominated by a student. (Another student’s parent, among our tipsters, says “she very much deserves it!”) Prizes included a $100 check and an entry into a drawing for a new car.
ALKI ELEMENTARY’S KIDS HELPING KIDS: Check out what this club is up to – or down to:
Stevie Kramer is a kindergarten teacher and Kids Helping Kids Club coach at Alki. She shared the photo and explains:
On Tuesday, students in the KHK club came to school barefoot as a part of the TOMS organization annual event “One Day Without Shoes.” Students participated to raise awareness for kids that don’t have a choice, that go without shoes every day. This event was just one of many that students have participated in all year including bake sales, book drives, and creating an awareness video about child labor and poverty. They will be having a book sale during the Alki Arts and Culture Night this coming Thursday, April 14, from 5:30-7 pm, with all proceeds supporting the building of a school in Ecuador the club has adopted through the Free the Children organization.
A well-known West Seattle business is dealing with tragedy tonight. 
Her community-advocacy work was intense and serious – yet Delridge community activist Vivian McLean was also known for her whimsy.
Women have been golfing with the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club (WSWGC) since the 1940s, and many lasting friendships have been formed over the years as a result of the camaraderie of golf. Several social events occur during the year, but the main objective of the WSWGC is to provide a friendly atmosphere in which to learn about golf, to play golf, and the chance for some fun competition. 
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