day : 09/05/2011 14 results

Ready for Tuesday night tunes, symphony style? We visited the Chief Sealth International High School Auditorium tonight as Rob Duisberg was leading the Westside Symphony through rehearsal for tomorrow night’s concert (second half of a two-Tuesday doubleheader for the groups now collectively known as the West Seattle Community Orchestras). Bach and Beethoven both are on the program – as detailed here; $5 adults, $1 kids are the suggested donation amounts (more gratefully accepted, of course), with concert time 7 pm Tuesday (2600 SW Thistle).

West Seattle schools: Big playoff win for Chief Sealth baseball

May 9, 2011 10:18 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Another postseason win to report from the local high-school sports scene: Chief Sealth International High School’s baseball team beat Bishop Blanchet today, 4-3. Other Chief Sealth teams have post-season games/matches this week too, as detailed on the school’s home page.

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From the WSB Pets page: August the Weimeraner, out there somewhere

May 9, 2011 9:26 pm

| 14 COMMENTS

| Pets | West Seattle news

After almost 3 1/2 years of having a lost/found Pets page on WSB, we’ve noticed that often, lost dogs are reunited with their owners fairly quickly. Then sometimes, there are the elusive ones – with multiple sightings – and the community keeps an eye out, and after a team effort, there’s a reunion. Seems like that might need to happen for August the Weimaraner. Josh sent word late yesterday about August bolting in Gatewood. Since then, there have been multiple sightings, Josh says – most recently, he just e-mailed to say, “August was last seen tonight around 7:30pm around Fauntleroy ferry. Please keep an eye out. He is very scared. Thank you!” If you see August, Josh’s phone number is on the Pets page.

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Neighborhood alert: ‘Curb painting tomorrow’ flyer appears

May 9, 2011 7:06 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| Gatewood | West Seattle news

David B found that on his door in northern Gatewood (near West Seattle Thriftway) when he arrived home this evening and sent the photo, while wondering:

I am wondering if this is legitimate. It seems odd to me since this has no contact info and is not at least sponsored by the city. Have you had anybody report the same thing ?

Not recently. However, if you roam the Web, you will find many references to this sort of thing – some reported as scams, some not, one even described as an “emergency cash generator.” We checked the city business-license database and the state corporations database, and there’s nothing called “Community Sign Painting” in either one. Doesn’t mean this isn’t potentially legitimate – but unless you meet the people and ask to see their license, buyer beware.

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Annual Playwrights Studio presents showcase of new plays at ArtsWest

May 9, 2011 5:24 pm

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| Announcements

A singular opportunity for writers in our area taking place at ArtsWest –

Seattle Playwrights Studio Presents
9^th Annual Playwright’s Festival
Hosted by ArtsWest Playhouse & Gallery
Festival Run: May 28^th – May 29^th, 2011

Seattle Playwrights Studio (SPS), under the aegis of ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, proudly presents its 9^th Annual Showcase of New Plays starting Saturday, May 28^th through Sunday, May 29^th. Each evening of the showcase will feature a different sampling of staged readings written by SPS members and performed by local actors in ArtsWestâ€™s theater. ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery is located in West Seattle at 4711 California Avenue S.W.

Seattle Playwrights Studio provides playwrights the opportunity to hear plays-in-progress read aloud and to receive moderated feedback from fellow writers in a supportive environment. Over the last eleven years, plays developed within SPS have been professionally produced locally, and across the country.

Ticket Information: Tickets are $8; admission includes a wine and food reception after the show and a meet and greet with the playwrights, directors and actors. Performances begin at 7 p.m.; purchase tickets at the door or call the ArtsWest box office at (206) 938-0339. For directions, box office hours, and more information visit www.artswest.org.

Box Office hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 12-7 PM

About ArtsWest: ArtsWest produces artistic events so fiercely compelling that they require conversation, improve the imagination, and promote cultural vibrancy as a core value for the communities of Seattle. ArtsWest is a registered 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

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Denny International Middle School’s latest ‘inspirational’ video

May 9, 2011 4:50 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Remember “Teach Me How to Study,” which brought a round of regional fame to the staff of West Seattle’s own Denny International Middle School? As principal Jeff Clark pointed out at the time, it wasn’t the Denny staff’s first inspirational video and it wouldn’t be their last. And in fact, the inbox has just yielded the link to their latest one – “The Test Goes On,” which the principal explains this way:

Denny International Middle School staff and volunteers made this video as a way to continue to inspire our students to achieve greatness academically. We have the best students in the city-it is fun to connect with them in this way. A special thank you to Gary Lai, Will Braden, Chanda E. Oatis, Artise Burton, Kristina Bellamy-McClain, Erin Jolley, Herman Garcia, Roxana Amaral, and Theila, Roberto, Trish, Andy, and Natalie from City Year.

Go Dolphins!

Don’t miss the West Seattle neighborhood shoutouts in the second half! (P.S. The previous video “Teach Me How to Study” is past 28,000 views on YouTube.)

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Update: Car-motorcycle crash at 35th/Holden sends driver to the hospital

May 9, 2011 3:51 pm

| 35 COMMENTS

| Safety | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news

Thanks to the WSB’ers who have e-mailed and called about a car-motorcycle crash at 35th and Holden, by Fire Station 37, whose Engine 37 was dispatched to check out the people involved. Helen reports ~~the motorcycle rider~~a woman was seen on a stretcher.

3:55 PM: As the photo sent by Fulay shows, the crash actually was north of the fire station, right by the Chevron station. We’re checking to see what we can find out about the rider’s condition and the crash circumstances. This was dispatched as an aid call, not a more-serious medic call, so that would generally suggest NOT-life-threatening injuries.

4:05 PM: Updated information from Seattle Fire, via Lt. Sue Stangl: The motorcycle rider “refused treatment.” The car driver was taken to the hospital as a precaution; she was reportedly complaining of arm pain. Police at the scene tell us they’re still trying to sort out the circumstances of the collision; tow trucks have arrived so the scene should be clear soon. By the way, the 35th SW safety rally is still on for 4 pm this Wednesday, at 35th/Juneau, which is roughly a mile north of today’s crash scene.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car stolen in Gatewood

May 9, 2011 3:03 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Crime | Gatewood | West Seattle news

Eagle-eyed WSB’ers have found stolen cars before – maybe you’ve seen this one. Out of the WSB inbox, from Angele:

My car was stolen between 7 pm Sunday night and 7:30 am Monday morning. It’s a white, 4 door, 1992 Nissan Maxima. Lic. #506SUN. It was stolen from California and Portland [map]. The car was locked, nothing visible on the inside, and the security system was intact. If anyone sees this car, please call 911. Thank you.

SPD is continuing to tweet stolen-car reports at @getyourcarback; here’s the tweet sent this morning for this car.

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West Seattle schools: Madison’s Math Olympiad success

May 9, 2011 2:06 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Congratulations to Madison Middle School “mathletes” who placed in the state Middle School Math Olympiad at Seattle University over the weekend. Coach Kathleen Myers, 6th/7th grade math teacher who’s on the left and shared the photo, reports:

Out of the 5 teams we brought to the competition, 4 placed!

-Our only 8th grade team won the only ribbon at Seattle U in session 2 problem-solving.

-Both of our 7th grade teams won a medal(the highest award) and two ribbons of excellence in the session 1 and session 2 problem-solving.

-One of our 6th grade teams won a ribbon of excellence in the session 1 long-problem-solving event.

At right in the photo is Colleen McClure, described by Kathleen as “a community volunteer extraordinaire” who “has no children at Madison but volunteers for many weeks from Boeing to assist the team.” Congratulations to all!

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Update: Sea-Based X-Band Radar will be in Puget Sound tomorrow

May 9, 2011 12:40 pm

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| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

We first told you last week (Wednesday report here, Friday report here) what should be quite a sight, both as it approaches West Seattle and as it spends the next three months at Vigor Shipyard (ex-Todd) on Harbor Island for work: The 280-foot-high Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), which belongs to the Missile Defense Agency and is usually based in Alaska. We just got word from Pamela Rogers in MDA Public Affairs that it will “enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca later today and begin its transit of Puget Sound to arrive at Vigor Shipyards Seattle (formerly Todd Pacific Shipyards) in Seattle, Washington, late Tuesday night.”

The update adds, “The first view of the SBX for some residents in the Pacific Northwest will likely be when the vessel is just off shore before entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca tonight. It should be visible from Port Angeles Tuesday morning. The vessel can be seen from various points as it makes its way through Puget Sound to Elliott Bay and to Vigor Shipyards Seattle, arriving late Tuesday night.” The MDA reiterates that the radar will NOT operate while it’s here.

2:38 AM TUESDAY: You can follow the SBX’s progress via marinetraffic.com – as of this writing it has just passed Neah Bay on the northwestern tip of our state’s coast, and moved into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Woman in hospital after reported break-in

May 9, 2011 12:03 pm

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| Crime | Fairmount Springs | West Seattle news

A 64-year-old Fairmount Springs woman is in the hospital today with what police describe as “serious injuries,” after an incident reported to them as a break-in. According to Seattle Police media-response unit Det. Mark Jamieson, the description is cautious because investigators are still trying to sort out what actually happened and how the victim was injured – he says they are not at all sure yet what actually took place, nor is there a description of a potential attacker, nor do they know for sure whether the attack was random or involved a stranger. He says all they do know for sure is that police were called to a home in the 5900 block of 41st SW around 4:30 am Sunday, that a woman is in the hospital with serious injuries, and that detectives are still working the case. When any additional information become available, we will add to the story.

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West Seattle Be Prepared: New ‘hub’ joins in successful quake drill

May 9, 2011 10:30 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| How to help | Preparedness | West Seattle news

(First two photos courtesy Karrie Kohlhaas)
A hub is born! The new North Delridge Emergency Communication Hub made its debut as part of the Saturday morning earthquake drill with groups like theirs from around the city. Volunteers gathered at the site – which joins the roster of other “hubs” around West Seattle where communication efforts will be coordinated in case catastrophe takes out the regular channels – at the Delridge P-Patch, to go through role-playing scenarios:

Karrie Kohlhaas described some of those scenarios in a note to her neighborhood mailing list (quoted here with permission):

–Family trapped in basement—138 people needing shelter—gas leak at the 76 station–water has been rationed by the city–looting at the Super 24–no fire fighters able to reach us–pack of dogs forming–lost child–Longfellow Creek flooded–another 6.8 aftershock–need rope and generator–heli-drop of water bottles on the way–another hub needs nurses–do they have a generator to loan to us? How can we get it from them?

If the hubs ever have to swing into real action, that’s the sort of thing they may find themselves dealing with.

Delridge was one of two hubs participating in citywide radio communications during Saturday morning’s drill. The other was one that’s been on the list since the program began three years ago, for the Fairmount neighborhood (south of The Triangle). At that site on the Providence Mount St. Vincent grounds, Chas Redmond was among the volunteers equipped with radio and other tools (pencil and paper played a big role):

(That Fairmount photo and the next one are by Patrick Sand for WSB)
WSBP co-founder Karen Berge tells WSB that the exercise overall “went very well, and that the North Delridge hub team “hit the ground running. … Those of us at the Fairmount hub enjoyed hearing their enthusiasm, as well as their professionalism & resourcefulness.” Karen says Highland Park hub leader Dave Brown worked with the new Delridge hub volunteers and, “To us listening from the Fairmount hub, they all sounded like they knew what they were doing & had done it before.” Just so you get an idea of how this might all work – the scenarios include reports of major problems, which are all noted and tracked – this board at the Fairmount hub showed some of them:

Karen adds, “The improvements to the forms & processes that we’d made since the last drill were effective.” Here’s a diagram she included in her response to our questions about how it went:

She continues, “A key improvement is that we realized at the last drill that it is very important to have the radio operator away from other activities and noise. … This drill was more realistic in that we had considerable issues with radio interference & garbled signals – as we might during a real emergency. Still, we managed to effectively communicate – since many of us regularly participate in periodic drills as well as radio tests each Monday evening, it was easier to ‘fill in the blanks’. Our process also has some redundancy; at times that can seem tedious, but in this situation it was helpful. One key takeaway, from this morning drill in chilly spring weather, was that the ground temperature had an effect over time. By the end of the drill, all of us had very cold feet!” She has more photos from the Fairmount site on the WSBP blog-format update site.

Again, the intention of all this is to make sure that West Seattleites can help take care of each other in case of disaster – since authorities have repeatedly warned that they will be overwhelmed, and it may take days for any sort of official help to arrive. There is plenty of room for more volunteer participation in West Seattle Be Prepared – here’s a place to start. And even if you’re not ready to volunteer yet, know your nearest Communication Hub’s location, and make sure your family/neighbors know about it too. You’re also invited to the next WSBP training/education session, with a focus, again, on earthquakes – it’s coming up one week from tonight.

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West Seattle Monday: Traffic; Toastmasters; NDNC; ‘Little Bee’

May 9, 2011 9:15 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(State ferry M/V Issaquah leaving Fauntleroy, photo by Zargoman from the WSB Flickr group pool)
In the distance on the left side of that photo is Colman Pool, where work starts today on a project that needs to be done before the season starts Memorial Day weekend – here’s the alert we published a few days ago. Also from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

TRAFFIC ALERT: For West Seattle’s many south-end-of-downtown drivers, a reminder that through mid-afternoon Friday, 1st Avenue South is narrowed through part of Pioneer Square and the stadium zone. Details here.

MEET THE TOASTMASTERS: One of our area’s Toastmasters Clubs, the Daystar Dialoguers, invites you to its Guest Day at Daystar Retirement Village, Building 2 (2615 SW Barton), noon to 1 pm. Light lunch afterward. See full announcement here

NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: The monthly NDNC meeting is at Delridge Library (Delridge/Brandon), 6:30 pm, with King County Assessor Lloyd Hara as the special guest, explaining how his department works, plus the latest on market trends.

SEATTLE READS ‘LITTLE BEE’: The West Seattle (Admiral) Library branch (2306 42nd SW) is the location for tonight’s “Seattle Reads ‘Little Bee'” book discussion group, 6:45 pm. Chris Cleave‘s book is the subject of this year’s citywide “Seattle Reads” program.

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Calling all young performers: Twelfth Night casting ‘Oliver!’

May 9, 2011 2:52 am

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| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

This Saturday, West Seattle’s own Twelfth Night Productions has three rounds of auditions for 8-16 year-olds to be part of its summer production of “Oliver!” There’s one session of “general auditions” and two of “optional prepared auditions” – read on for full details in Twelfth Night’s announcement:

Twelfth Night Productions is looking for children to join the cast of their upcoming production, Oliver! Based on Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist, Oliver! Is the musical version of the story of a young orphan boy who leaves the harsh conditions of a 19th century London workhouse and eventually falls into the hands of a crafty criminal named Fagan. Fagan matches Oliver up with a young scallywag called the Artful Dodger who teaches him the art of picking pockets. With music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, Oliver! features beloved classics including “Food, Glorious Food,” “Where Is Love?” “Pick a Pocket or Two,” “I’d Do Anything,” “As Long as He Needs Me,” and “Consider Yourself.” Auditions for younger actors will take place May 14th with auditions for adults to be announced later.

Children’s Audition Information
General auditions for students:
• Students (ages 8-16): May 14th 2011 from 12:30-4:00pm.
• Bring a photograph if you have one available and please come prepared to learn a song, and some choreography.
Optional prepared auditions:
• Students (ages 8-16): May 14th 2011 from 10:00am-12:00pm or 4:15-6:00pm
• Those who wish to present a prepared monologue and song may sign up for a time listed above.

Lots more details after the jump, including rehearsal and performance dates:Read More

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