West Seattle, Washington
24 Saturday
Remember Kellen Gearon, the West Seattle High School senior who launched a drive to collect donations for foster kids via Treehouse? He’s working on a new fundraiser – but first, words of thanks about his Treehouse project: “Thank you to everyone who so generously donated to my Drive for Foster Kids. It was a huge success. With all the community support I received I was able to collect over two large containers of clothes and items and $225 in cash donations. Treehouse will be able to better serve foster kids because of this.”
Now, he’s sent word of a chance to get a deal while helping out the WSHS baseball team, which he’s on. Once again this year, WSHS gets to play at Safeco Field – but needs to sell 1,000 tickets for an upcoming M’s game (it’s a team fundraiser too). So they’re offering $10 view seats for the May 5th 7:10 pm game against Texas. Here’s the official flyer. Kellen’s selling tickets through Menashe and Sons Jewelers in The Junction (4532 California SW) – or call 206-932-4272 and ask for Kim Gearon (Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 am-5:30 pm).
As for the Wildcats’ big game at the Safe, it’s at 4 pm Saturday, April 30th, against the Highline Pirates – and admission will be free.
If you’ve driven by the city-landmark former Fire Station 37 and noticed a new sign, here’s what it’s about: The city Finance Department is recommending the City Council approve plans to sell the building at 35th and Othello, since the city has no further use for it. It was vacated when Engine 37 and its team moved into their new, larger station a few blocks south last October. This recommendation triggers a 30-day comment period before the Council moves ahead with the process of putting the site on the market. But this process actually started nine months ago (here’s our report from July), so there’s already a fair amount of information on what the city expects might happen. Ahead, how to comment, as well as what sort of interest the city has already received:Read More
(Added: “Shipwrecked” photo by Michael Brunk, courtesy ArtsWest)
If you follow the regional theater scene, you have likely heard that the Intiman Playhouse has canceled the rest of its season, though it hopes for a comeback. West Seattle’s ArtsWest Playhouse is reaching out to ticketholders left in the lurch, offering them a chance to swap their Intiman tickets for admission to the next ArtsWest production, “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment,” which opens a week from Wednesday. Read on for the announcement:Read More
The date is now set for the pothole-fighting “spot paving” work along Sylvan Way we told you about earlier this month. The traffic advisory is just in from SDOT:
SDOT paving crews will lay a new surface of asphalt this week in the eastbound lane in the 2400 block of Sylvan Way SW (at the curve by Home Depot).
On Thursday, April 21, the crews will grind off the old surface, and on Friday, April 22 they will lay new asphalt. One lane will remain open in each direction. Traffic flaggers will assist traffic.
This repair work is needed due to an ongoing pothole problem at this location.
West Seattle Academy (at West Seattle Montessori, 11215 15th Ave SW), is hosting a special plant and baked goods sale in honor of Mother’s Day, and everyone is invited! Here is more information from Tara Requa, Lead Teacher at the school.
We hope you can make it to our 2nd annual Plant Sale to be held on Saturday May 7th, from 9 am-3 pm! The community is invited! The theme is “Who’s Your Mama!?” a playful celebration of the next day’s holiday — Mother’s Day.
Please join us for a fun Mother’s Day plant and gift sale including fresh flowers, plants, fruit and vegetables, beautiful bird houses, decorated vases filled with colorful bouquets and a Garden Fresh Bake Sale. The movie “Secret Garden” will be playing for kids with popcorn for sale!
We are also hosting a guest speaker. Amy Pennington is a food enthusiast and creator/owner of GOGO Green Garden, an edible gardening business that builds, plants and tends edible gardens for city folk in their backyards. In 2009 Amy launched UrbanGardenShare.org, a garden website that pairs city gardeners with unused garden space via an online matching program. Amy has been featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio an in national and international publications including Sunset magazine and the Toronto Star. She is a regular contributing writer to Edible Seattle, a bimonthly food-focused magazine highlighting the culinary bounty of the Puget Sound region, and a guest contributor on the weekly radio program In the kitchen with Tom and Thierry. Amy is local and lives in Seattle. She has written two books: Urban Pantry and Apartment Gardening. She is generously donating all proceeds to our Greenhouse! She will be speaking and signing books from 2 – 3pm at our Plant Sale.
For more information regarding this event contact Tara Requa, West Seattle Academy, Lead Teacher, at 206-935-0427.
(Seen April 2010 at 35th/Webster, shared by MAS)
There have been safety concerns for years along the central stretch of 35th Avenue SW – symbolized by the sign in our file photo – and they resurfaced following last Wednesday night’s 35th/Juneau motorcycle-car collision, which killed a motorcyclist identified by his family in WSB comments as Andrew Seffernick (who would’ve been turning 25 tomorrow).
If you share those concerns – or are worried about other West Seattle streets – it just so happens that, coincidentally, a key SDOT traffic-safety manager is the guest at tomorrow night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting. West Seattle resident Jim Curtin is community-traffic liaison for SDOT. We had checked with Curtin late last week, after the deadly crash, to ask if anything happened to currently be in the works for that stretch. He pointed out that Seattle Police will investigate the crash to see what factored into that, but in the meantime: “No changes are currently planned for this location [35th/Juneau] at this time. We can, however, recommend additional enforcement in this area and will look at SPD’s findings to see if any changes are warranted.” It should be noted, though, that those findings may not be out for months, given how long major investigations often take. Tomorrow night’s WSCPC meeting is at the Southwest Precinct (the meeting room is right off the parking lot alongside SW Webster, east of Delridge), 7 pm, all welcome (and you can bring neighborhood-crime questions for SWP police, too). Till then, you can also read up on SDOT’s neighborhood-traffic program, by going here.
(Fence photo added 12:55 pm)
With a few speed bumps along the way, it’s a day some wondered if they’d ever see – but it’s truly almost here. No formal groundbreaking ceremony is planned, but Delridge Skatepark construction is about to begin. Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board just shared the news that the fence is up. (We’re heading out for a photo.) We had checked a few days ago with Seattle Parks project manager Kelly Davidson, who told us that since the official “notice to proceed” kicked in last week, preparations were in motion – including “utility locates,” as well as an on-site meeting with Parks’ arborist. “It just takes a few steps before they really start tearing things up out there,” Davidson told us. The park will be built by West Seattle-based Grindline, the skatepark specialists who also designed it:
Their winning bid was $483,000. Construction is expected to last about four months, with the skatepark opening in late summer.
Thanks to everybody who answered the first call for suggestions for this summer’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies (a six-Saturday series in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor]). Organizers are getting ready to sit down and look ahead, so they asked if we would put out one more call, in case you missed the first one. Since the movies are a free, all-ages event, they need to be somewhat family-friendly, but that does not mean they have to be kid-geared or even G-rated. Here’s the direct link to the comment area with the suggestions that came in earlier this month; here’s the movie list from last year – the biggest crowd was for the kickoff movie, “Mamma Mia!” You can make a suggestion via comments here or via the Outdoor Movies Facebook page – thanks for your help! (August 2010 photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Think you’re off to a tough job this morning? So are some of the littlest birds in our urban forest – Trileigh Tucker shares the photo and this explanation:
All over Lincoln Park, chickadees have found holes in decaying trees that make perfect places to raise their babies. We have both Black-capped Chickadees and Chestnut-backed Chickadees here in the park. This is a busy time of year for the little parents as they scramble to feed their young; both parents fly back and forth from their nest holes to nearby shrubbery looking for seeds and small bugs. This photo is of a Black-capped Chickadee cleaning its nest this morning, trying to keep up with the housework while its mate looks for food!
Now, on to the daily preview: This is a momentous day for at least three reasons: Federal tax-deadline day (e-file by midnight or get the envelope postmarked by this evening – ); Passover starts at sunset; it’s Spring Break for Seattle Public Schools. A few more highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
REMEMBERING CHEF JOSEPH BREWER: The community is invited to his memorial at Lincoln Park picnic shelter 3, 4-7 pm (full details here, as announced over the weekend)
PREPAREDNESS TRAINING: Earthquake safety/readiness and more, 6 pm tonight at Southwest Precinct, led by city expert Debbie Goetz, presented by West Seattle Be Prepared and West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network, as previewed here.
SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE TALKS PERMACULTURE: Biochar, Puget Ridge Edible Park, and the Community Orchard of West Seattle are all on the agenda as Sustainable West Seattle‘s April community event digs into permaculture. 7 pm at Camp Long Lodge – and you’re welcome to join the pre-forum potluck at 6:30.
LOW TIDES: As we write this, a big bright moon is on its way to setting, which reminds us that means tidal extremes – some good beachwalking low tides start today; here’s the chart.
SING IT!: Karaoke with Kelli tonight, at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), 9 pm
When we dropped by Delridge Community Center at noontime Saturday, our quick pic captured only a glimpse of the volunteer power behind Delridge Green Up. Last night, Holli Margell from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council e-mailed WSB to share these photos and warm words for those who pitched in (including “early team” arrivals in the top photo, with Nancy Folsom in front wielding Adopt-A-Street supplies):
A huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers who helped make Delridge Green Up a success!
We enjoyed chocolate cookies from Jennifer Knutson, fruit from Kirsten Smith, hot beverages from Amanda Leonard and Holli Margell.
Our volunteers spruced up Delridge Park by picking up trash, weeding and mulching, and our Adopt A-Street Team cleaned up Delridge Way.
Karrie Kohlhaas refreshed our Welcome to Delridge Sign, which was completed with help from Amanda Leonard – Thanks to Pete Spalding for the paint!
Tasha Mosher and her daughter Ilah show off some “treasures” found while picking up trash to our youngest weeding volunteer, Cooper Margell.
Patrick Baer finished up the mulched bed. Our weeds pile almost equaled the mulch pile.
Though NDNC’s next meeting isn’t until next month, you can connect with Delridge-area leaders this week – as the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meets at 7 Wednesday night, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (the stately brick building in the background of the last photo above).
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