West Seattle, Washington
10 Saturday
Saturday afternoon in Yakima, defending state 2B baseball champs Seattle Lutheran High School will play for the title again. In the semifinals tonight, the Saints beat DeSales, 12-7, which means they’ll face the other semifinal winner, Warden, tomorrow at 4 pm. (Last year, SLHS beat Colfax to take the title.)
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
You might already have met this unique fellow during his walks around West Seattle, or at public events including last Sunday’s Summer Streets party on Alki, but we wanted to find out his backstory – so, meet Jeb: He enjoys long walks in Schmitz Park, gallops through the snow, and getting his back scratched. He’s a vegetarian who loves granola and the occasional tortilla chip. He stands 38 inches tall (at the shoulder) and has been known to show a marked preference for blondes.
(“How YOU doin’?” Jeb puts Zoolander’s look to shame)
Some of Jeb’s family members, local artist Mimi Miles and her teenage daughters Celeste and Hope, met us in the big back yard of their home to give us the scoop.
“He’s definitely got attitude,” Hope quips, as Mimi scratched Jeb’s ear, then elaborated on Jeb’s idiosyncrasies: “We’ve had him for 5 1/2 years; he’s 8 years old now. He’s devious. He’s very much a boy. He’s got that thing – he can be really sweet, then he can turn around and be a total brat. Jeb likes for everything to be done the same, he likes routine. He knows I give him his vitamins at 9 o’clock; if it’s five after nine, he starts to whinny – and he knows when the girls are supposed to come home from school.”
After something of a lull, the Seattle Police SPD Blotter has resumed updates on the Aggressive Drivers Response Team, and the latest update published minutes ago has some stats from today – read on:Read More
Starting six weeks from today, West Seattle Summer Fest takes over The Junction for the three hottest days (regardless of the weather!) of summer – July 8, 9, 10. Today, the West Seattle Junction Association has gone public with the official 2011 West Seattle Summer Fest poster. For the design, they turned to one of West Seattle’s most artistically inclined entrepreneurs, Jeff Gilbert of the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) – who routinely designs grabby graphics for his own business’s online and offline promotions. In a news release, WSJA quotes Jeff as saying, “Being asked to design the poster for Summer Fest is the West Seattle equivalent of winning an Academy Award. I’ve been such a huge fan of the festival, every since I was a kid. More so now that I’m old enough to get in the beer garden! It’s an absolute honor to be asked to contribute to the West Seattle community.”
Also as part of the Summer Fest preps, this call for participation:
… we’re gathering performance ideas from the community. Calling all artists, dancers, and performers who’d like to showcase their talents in the heart of the festival. Performers will have a dedicated area (but not a stage) and a sound system. This a great opportunity for school groups, clubs, teams and specialized schools. Email info@westseattlefestival.com to express your interest in performing.
WSB is proud to be among the festival’s co-sponsors again this year! P.S. Trying to remember what last year’s poster looked like? We published it here.
We’ve received a few notes about a police search on California SW between The Junction and Morgan Junction. Scanner traffic indicates there was a report a man had assaulted a woman in an apartment in the 5600 block of California SW and taken off possibly with a BB gun or some kind of rifle in his possession. At one point, police boarded a bus at California/Juneau to check if the suspect was on board. No report of an arrest so far, and we don’t know anything more yet about the condition of the victim or the circumstances of the assault; there’s no medic/aid call on the 911 log for that area.
(Photos by Katie Meyer for WSB)
West Seattle Smoke Company is open for business in The Junction, albeit in “soft open” mode. Thanks to Brian Presser at TouchTech Systems in The Junction for the original tip late yesterday; WSB contributor Katie Meyer was finally able to confirm this afternoon that the store’s open for business. That’s owner Umar Kahn behind the counter, above. Katie reports that he decided to do a “soft open” with the store, he says, despite the cigars having been held up until next week when the tempered glass for the humidor cabinets near the front door arrives. (He joked that he and the other new business owners on that side of the block have all been able to commiserate with each other about contractor delays, licensing/permit turnaround times, etc.) Asked what the hours will be, Umar wrote down his initial plan for us and said that he’ll see how things go for a while and modify hours if need be to what the neighborhood seems to want: Monday-Thursday, 10 am-9 pm; Friday-Saturday, 10 am-10 pm; Sunday, 10 am-6 pm.
Once the tempered glass is installed in the cabinets up front, the custom humidity control can be put into place and the cabinets are expected to store more than 100 boxes of quality cigars from the Dominican Republic and Brazil, among other countries. The West Seattle Smoke Company website says they’ll have a grand opening concurrent with neighboring A Terrible Beauty, whose sign went up this week:
…but no opening date announced THERE yet.
Beach cleanups aren’t just a matter of aesthetics – it could be a matter of life and death for wildlife. That’s why the Alki Community Council and Seal Sitters have a series of volunteer cleanups under way, and David Hutchinson shares photos as well as a report on the latest one, just hours ago:
The second beach clean-up of the season, sponsored by the Alki Community Council and Seal Sitters, took place this morning. Twenty-one volunteers from the Renton High School Choir, led by choir director Lizabeth Diaz, removed litter from the area around the picnic tables in Alki Park, along the beach, and by the fire rings.
These events also provide an educational opportunity for the volunteers. Robin Lindsey, one of the founders of Seal Sitters, briefed the students on local marine mammals and the negative impact of litter and pollutants when they get into the marine environment.
These activities are coordinated through Colleen Hackett of Seattle Parks & Recreation. If you want additional information on how you can become involved, contact Larry Carpenter, of the Alki Community Council, at 206-938-0887.
And of course, it should go without saying .. don’t leave beach trash behind in the first place. Just in case the cans fill up on a long weekend like this, if you’re going to the beach, bring a bag so you can “pack (trash) out” if you need to.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Around 5:30 Tuesday evening, a citizen called 911 to report that someone in a passing car had fired a shot toward a home in the 6500 block of 34th SW. As it turns out, a person on the sidewalk had been the target. (And the target wouldn’t answer any questions.) Officers did, however, have a description of the car, which — along with its driver— turned out to be well-known to gang detectives. It was spotted and pulled over in Rainier Valley later in the week. The 17-year-old driver, a Kent resident, was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of the drive-by shooting.
Eleven more summaries – and it’s a little grittier than usual this time, so beware – after the jump:Read More
Thanks to Jessica and Jenn for sending tips – another film is shooting in West Seattle. If you’ve driven along Admiral Way, you might have noticed the equipment outside the Heartland Café and Shipwreck Tavern this morning. The film is called “Safety Not Guaranteed“; the crew tells us they’ll be here most of the day. According to iMDB, the plot is along the lines of: “Two magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.”
Among its stars – Kristen Bell. Looking around online, we’ve found indications they’ve been filming at other locations in the area this month, including Downtown Seattle and Burien.
(No, not the same bird as yesterday! Warbling vireo, photographed by Trileigh Tucker in Lincoln Park)
Traveling for the holiday weekend? Stay safe, and see you soon! If not – no worries, you have options! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
GARDEN CLUB: West Seattle Garden Club will honor its Past Presidents as they meet at Daystar Retirement Village, (Bldg 1, 2615 SW Barton Street), 10 am – 2 pm. Coffee and registration begin the meeting, followed by business, and lunch. Master Gardener Mick Duggan presents a program about the gardens at El Centro de la Raza, his work and experiences as the gardeners grow vegetables for the Food Bank. Donation $5.
BASEBALL FINAL FOUR: Seattle Lutheran High School plays DeSales in state baseball 2B tournament tonight, Yakima, 7 pm.
SEALTH STUDENT’S SHORT AT SIFF: Chief Sealth International High School student Rachel Townsend’s short “Technicolor Love” will be shown before the Seattle International Film Festival’s screening of The Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater, 4:30 pm.
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P COFFEE: Bob “Bobcat” Rice at 6 pm (C&P, a WSB sponsor, is at 5612 California SW).
LIVE MUSIC AT SKYLARK: 9 pm, The Navins; 10 pm, Valis; 11 pm, Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band, $5 cover (Skylark, a WSB sponsor, is at 3803 Delridge Way SW).
Got an event to announce? E-mail editor@westseattleblog.com – info preferred in plain-text e-mail, not attachments – who/what/when/where/why, plus, links to further info on your website/Facebook page are appreciated, if available, since we include those in listings when we can! Thank you!
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share this morning (and the latest WS Beat roundup is in the works for a bit later) – First, just in from Judy, a Fairmount Springs car theft early today:
I wanted to alert the WSB community of a car theft. Seems like there’s been a rash of these posted recently!
Our car was stolen from in front of our house this morning around 4:30 am. 39th Ave SW and Raymond (one block off Fauntleroy – 5900 block of 39th Ave SW)
1998 white Nissan Maxima
License plate 984VFEAlso a *reminder* to not leave anything in your car. Unfortunately, my husband left his golf clubs, backpack and umpire gear in the vehicle – so this was all taken.
Another thing – I heard them this morning. I thought it was the newspaper delivery person when I heard the rustling- looked at the clock 4:30 am- and decided it wasn’t worth getting up to investigate.
If you see this car, call 911. As for a “rash” of car thefts – we checked the police-report map; 11 noted in West Seattle in the past week (not counting Judy’s, since the map is time-lagged and won’t show a report from this morning till later today), 10 the previous week. No particular hot spot – they’re on the map from Admiral to Arbor Heights, Beach Drive to Highland Park. Meantime, after the jump, a car-prowl-interrupted report from this past Wednesday:Read More
He’s only been on the job six months, but King County Councilmember Joe McDermott is already running again. Last fall, he was elected for the year remaining in what was now-County Executive Dow Constantine’s term, after Jan Drago served a year as an appointee; this time, a full four-year term is at stake. Thursday night, in bowling shoes, McDermott presided over his official campaign-kickoff party at Roxbury Lanes just yards south of West Seattle. Among those in attendance were County Council colleagues Julia Patterson, Larry Phillips, Larry Gossett, and Bob Ferguson, State House Rep. Eileen Cody, elected city officials from Burien and Tukwila, members of the North Highline Unincorporated Council, and community advocates from neighborhoods in the 8th District including White Center, South Park, and Vashon. And from McDermott’s home neighborhood, West Seattle – his parents Terri McDermott and Jim McDermott:
Though all at the party were exhorted to have fun and get some bowling in, there was of course the opportunity for the candidate to offer a short speech first:
McDermott spent almost a decade in the State Legislature before moving to the County Council. The other candidate in this race so far is another West Seattleite, Diana Toledo, whom he also faced in last year’s general election. We covered her kickoff party at the Admiral Theater last week.
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