West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
If you’re registered to vote, your ballot should have arrived by now – and needs to be postmarked by August 16th, or placed in a drop box by then. Still no drop box in West Seattle or White Center – here’s where you WILL find them. Meanwhile, we have one last segment of video to share from last Thursday night’s West Seattle Candidates’ Forum at South Seattle Community College – City Council candidates:
On stage were, from left, Pos. 1 candidate Michael Taylor-Judd (of West Seattle), Pos. 1 candidate Bobby Forch, moderator Mike Hickey (from SSCC), Pos. 1 candidate Maurice Classen, Pos. 9 candidates Sally Clark (incumbent) and Dian Ferguson. (Pos. 1 incumbent Jean Godden was on hand for the ice-cream social part of the program earlier, but left before the onstage Q/A; Pos. 9 candidate Fathi Karshie was not present at all.) Transportation and transit were a big topic in the West Seattle-specific questioning, as you’ll see/hear in our video. Positions 1 and 9 are the only ones with more than 2 candidates, so those are the only City Council races you’ll see on the primary ballot. (Our previous two WS Candidates’ Forum reports are here [School Board Position 6] and here [County Council District 8].)
Tonight’s final note: The West Seattle Democratic Women have announced their endorsements for the primary. Read on to see the list, as shared by WSDW chair Karen Chilcutt:Read More
Just got word from WSDOT that the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct is open again, as of just before 9 pm; that’s eight hours earlier than they expected to reopen it following a construction closure, and it means both directions are back to regular operation.
(March 2010 ‘Walking on Logs’ photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Volunteers have been doing their best to take care of the West Seattle gateway area along the Fauntleroy Way end of The Bridge for years, particularly the “Walking on Logs” sculpture and its surroundings. They’ve been doing it by scraping together what labor and materials they could get and give. Now, they’ve gotten word of a city matching-funds grant that will help with maintenance as well as an upcoming re-landscaping project. Nancy Driver has been the catalyst for many of the cleanup/restoration efforts as it became clear that longtime volunteer caretaker Earl Cruzen needed help (backstory here). She says they were pleasantly surprised to get news of the $8,163 grant. The budget for re-landscaping is almost that much – $7,900 – but Nancy says they’ve already raised some money, and they’re in line for a share of the West Seattle Garden Tour proceeds, which all means they’ll wind up with some money for ongoing maintenance. She says, “We will do most of the maintenance with volunteers, although we may hire day laborers to weed whack under our supervision on occasion. Our goal is to make the remaining funds last as many years as possible, both to cover maintenance and pay for any plants that may, from time to time, need to be replaced. We’ve already spent part of our funds on purchasing a good string trimmer (weed whacker) which is an absolute necessity for maintaining the site.”
Landscape architect Chuck Warsinske with SBA Landscape Architecture, who has donated his time, has been working with SDOT on the re-landscaping plan; Nancy says the only issue left is whether SDOT will let them add more trees to the site. They’re expecting to do the re-landscaping work this October. Meantime, she says the Landscape Restoration Group will be back out doing “weed-whacking and maintenance” at the site at 9:30 this Tuesday morning. Want to help, or find out more about the restoration group? nldriver@q.com.
Less than two weeks till a brand-new fundraising 5K in West Seattle – Breathe Deep Seattle, the first 5K event benefiting the LUNGevity Foundation, raising money for lung-cancer research. Starting at 9:30 am on Saturday, August 13, participants will run or walk the course through Lincoln Park, both through the forested upper area and along the beachfront lower area. Not signed up yet? Wondering what it’s all about? Organizers have shared a personal story in their latest news release – read on:Read More
Yes, that WAS a juggling unicyclist you saw along the Alki Trail this afternoon – along with a group of other unicyclists, bicyclists, other cyclists, and/or jugglers:
They got together for what they call the “Alki Classic” – biking and barbecuing. They headed out from a spot along Harbor Avenue near the West Seattle Bridge, and planned to follow the shore all the way to Lincoln Park.
ADDED 10:36 PM: Video as the cyclists went by – including Nate, the juggling unicyclist:
Summer break hasn’t kept local schools from making news. Today, 3 updates from Our Lady of Guadalupe School:
FLASHING LIGHTS FOR 35TH SW SCHOOL ZONE: OLG says the Washington Traffic Safety Commission has awarded the school a grant “to purchase lighting which will require drivers to reduce their speed to 20 miles per hour before and after the school day. School-zone flashing beacon lights will soon be installed on 35th Avenue SW between Othello and Willow Streets.” The announcement quotes principal Kristin Dixon: “We are grateful to the City of Seattle for working with us in an effort to keep our children and families safe!”
Meantime, OLG has been officially certified as a Level 1 Washington Green School – as you might have noticed in their award-winning West Seattle Grand Parade entry:
OLG is one of 35 “Level 1” (levels explained here) schools among the 160-plus Washington Green Schools statewide. (They’ve even produced a video about it!) Last but not least, news shared by Tom Fine about a classroom improvement (thanks to Tom for sharing the rendering, too):
OLG (Our Lady of Guadalupe) is in the process of renovation of the 6th grade classroom. The new classroom will house the school’s new Science Lab. This transformation will allow the students to spend more time exploring science and hands-on experiments. The Science Lab is receiving new cabinetry, countertops, lab stations, plumbing and electrical, to provide the students with the tools and environment to expand their learning. This modification to the school is exciting to have the students utilizing the new space from the continuing support by the families of OLG. We are all excited for this new transformation, which will be ready for the new school year.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Four intruder incidents: Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday (last weekend), in the 7000 block of 14th SW, a man awoke from a nap and saw a stranger peering into the bedroom. When confronted, the suspect shut the door, ran out the front of the house, jumped on a mountain bike and rode off southbound. He was white, 22-29, with a heavy build and brown curly or permed hair. He wore basketball shorts. And just after midnight Wednesday, a resident of the 5200 block of 44th SW heard a loud crash, saw a figure in his backyard, and discovered that his back door had been forced open. A similar incident occurred Friday afternoon in the 5400 block of 44th SW, where a man kicked in the door of a residence and fled upon seeing the homeowner. Around 6 p.m. Saturday (last weekend), a woman awoke from a nap in the 6500 block of 35th SW and screamed when she saw three strangers in her bedroom. They jumped out the window and ran northbound. She said one appeared to be 10 years old or so. The other two were 18.
Six more summaries, including an update on last weekend’s Highland Park stabbing, ahead:Read More
(Top, WSB photo; below right, MoCA photo; both from 6/25/11 festival day)
Morgan Community Association leaders and volunteers are finally recovering from their big Morgan Junction Community Festival a month ago (WSB coverage here) – and Kate Gill de la Garza wanted to share a public thanks to the food-and-beverage purveyors who participated by providing the festival’s “Bite of Morgan” freebies. Note she suggests a way YOU can say thanks too!
MoCA would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the nine businesses that
participated in this year’s “Bite of Morgan” – Caffe Ladro, Domino’s Pizza, Pet Elements, Windermere Real Estate, Abbondanza Pizzeria, Zeeks Pizza [photo right], Feedback Lounge, Kokoras Greek Grill and Meander’s Kitchen. This was our largest “Bite” ever, and we could not have done it without the generous donations made by each business owner.If you came to the Festival this year and enjoyed the “Bite,” please stop in to one of these establishments and return the favor by buying dinner or a coffee [etc.]. Please help us demonstrate that community partnership matters by saying thanks to all these great businesses!
In case you don’t know where to find them all, we’ve matched each with an infolink above (in all but one case, their own website or Facebook page).
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Dr. Terrill Harrington was first in line as Damiana Merryweather‘s new Blue Truck Special made its West Seattle debut today in The Triangle – maybe no surprise, since the truck is in his parking lot at 3623 SW Alaska. She’s scheduled to be there till 2, serving “elevated comfort food” – as explained in our preview story by Christopher Boffoli, who says he tried the crispy mortadella “fried bologna” sandwich with orange marmalade, arugula, and dijon, pronouncing it “particularly good.”
The date and location are set for the benefit being organized on behalf of Vera Johnson‘s foreclosure fight to save Village Green Perennial Nursery (as first reported here), and the lineup’s in progress too. Organizer Justin Czapiewski says it’ll be 6-9 pm Tuesday, August 30th, at Big Al Brewing in White Center (9832 14th SW). They’re lining up music – Justin says local faves Rats In The Grass is signed up, for starters. They’ll also show “The American Dream,” and are planning to highlight what Justin describes as “special guest speakers addressing foreclosure prevention techniques and providing resources for home owners to take with them.” And another organizer, Aileen Sison of White Center Business Owners of Sustainable Support, adds that Full Tilt Ice Cream will be there. You can RSVP through Aileen’s Evite, here. P.S. You can contact her with items to donate for a silent auction, or if you’re a musician/singer interested in performing – aileentsison@gmail.com or 206-387-8145.
If you have four or more unpaid parking tickets but you’re not taking the city’s “scofflaw” crackdown seriously yet – note that parking officers are apparently “booting” eligible vehicles found in parks, too. That’s the reminder Rob wanted to share along with the photo above (he also included a photo showing the notice left under the car’s windshield wiper). He spotted it in the north lot at Lincoln Park earlier this week: “I thought it was interesting because the car that patrols and boots cars with unpaid tickets is evidently patrolling the park’s lots too, not just the streets.” The city’s webpage for the “scofflaw” ordinance mentions only “city streets” – though parks, of course, are city facilities, so you might safely assume any parking place on city property/right-of-way is a place you might get caught.
(Photographed at the former Charlestown Street Café by Steve Mohundro; via WSB Flickr group)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today/tonight:
ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT CLOSURE REMINDER: It’s closed SOUTHBOUND and scheduled to reopen early tomorrow morning; if it reopens sooner, we’ll let you know here, as well as Facebook and Twitter.
COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF WEST SEATTLE YARD SALE CONTINUES: “Good stuff” left over from yesterday, so they’ve added a second day, per this WSB Forums post. Till 2 pm, 22nd/Roxbury.
FRESH FRUIT, VEGETABLES, MORE: West Seattle Farmers’ Market, open 10 am-2 pm, The Junction (44th/Alaska).
FOOD TRUCK DEBUT: New food truck Damiana’s Blue Truck Special (profiled here by Christopher Boffoli for WSB) will have its first day in West Seattle today from 11 am until 2 pm, at 3623 SW Alaska in The Triangle.
FIND A FELINE FRIEND, #2: Friends of the Animals Foundation will have volunteers on site at Next to Nature every Sunday in July from 11 am – 3 pm to help you find the perfect rescued feline companion.
TIBBETTS TALKS FOOTBALL: At 11:30 am, Warren Moon guests at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) BBQ luncheon. Free, but donations welcomed; call l the church office at 206 932-7777 if you haven’t already RSVP’d.
LOW TIDE: You won’t see this much beach in daylight hours for a while … down to -2.0 just before noon (here’s the monthly chart).
CHECKED OUT THE TOOL LIBRARY LATELY? West Seattle Tool Library open at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center space (east side of main building) 1 – 5 pm today (and every Sunday).
THE NOT-ITS AT BIG AL’S: Family Fun Day as part of 3rd birthday celebration at Big Al Brewing in White Center, with The Not-Its performing 2-4 pm (more details here).
FIND A FELINE FRIEND, #1: West Seattle’s only animal shelter, Kitty Harbor (3422 Harbor Ave SW), is open on Sundays from 2 – 6 pm.
FIGHTING FORECLOSURE? A legal expert is the guest at the group convened by Village Green Perennial Nursery owner Vera Johnson, 5 pm, Community School of West Seattle, aspreviewed here). 22nd/Roxbury.
Another incredible West Seattle aerial view from Gatewood pilot/photographer Long B. Nguyen – this time, over the Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club‘s “Da Grind” racing event during the low-tide Saturday on Alki (our earlier ground coverage is here). Here’s another view – another low tide today, by the way, -2.0 just before noon.
>Another fun Saturday night in the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), as this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies season continued with the still-funny-after-all-these-years “Airplane!”, preceded by the magic of Louie Foxx. Next week – the animated “Despicable Me“:
The movie’s free; concessions are budget-priced and, like the pre-movie raffles, raise money for local charities. (Tonight’s raffle prizes, for example, included several gift cards – $20 for Elliott Bay Brewing, $20 for Hotwire, $25 for Curious Kidstuff, $50 for Pagliacci – they vary each week – and tickets are only $1, or 3 for $2.) Gates open at 6:30 pm, with preshow entertainment 8-ish – next week, it’s “Bobcat Bob” Rice – the movie at 9-ish (times will shift earlier as the weeks go by);
First West Seattle update from Seafair Torchlight Parade night: WS Hi-Yu Festival rep Veronica Pupava has just been chosen Second Princess – one of the two princesses who join the new Miss Seafair in reigning over the festival. Veronica gets a $1,000 scholarship from the Seafair Commodores. (WSB photo at right is from Veronica’s appearance at the Junior Court coronation two weeks ago.) The new Miss Seafair is Veronica Quintero, entered in the competition as Miss Hispanic Seafair.) Here’s a coronation photo tweeted by KIRO, which is broadcasting the parade live.
(Lead investigators Robin Lindsey & Rachel Mayer train Seal Sitters volunteers; photo by David Hutchinson)
Big times for West Seattle-founded Seal Sitters – notice we say “founded,” because their reach now stretches a lot further. This news comes as Seal Sitters gets ready to add volunteers to the fold, following another training session today; Robin Lindsey shares this update:
Seal Sitters conducted an on-the-beach training session at Alki today for 30 new volunteers. This is the second phase of the two-part training provided in preparation for this year’s harbor seal pupping season, currently under way in Puget Sound. Various situations a volunteer might encounter and appropriate responses were discussed. Most of the volunteers had previously attended our intake and orientation session at Camp Long on July 10th.
Seal Sitters, founded in West Seattle in 2007, has recently expanded to become Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network. We are the primary response team to all marine mammals from Brace Point (south of the Fauntleroy ferry dock) to Kayak Point in Snohomish County (north of Marysville). An additional training session is being scheduled for the 2011 season and new volunteers from all areas are welcome. If you are interested in volunteering, please email sealsitters@me.com. To learn more about the marine mammals of Puget Sound, their marine environment and the stranding network, please visit our website www.sealsitters.org. For what’s happening day-to-day on the beach, visit our blog www.blubberblog.org. If you see a seal pup or other marine mammal on the beach, observe from a distance, keep people and pets away and call the Seal Sitters hotline @ 206-905-7325 (SEAL).
Nobody was hurt, and there was no damage outside a section of the kitchen, but a fire today in the smoker at Uncle Mike’s Superlicious BBQ in White Center has left the restaurant temporarily closed. The story’s on our partner site White Center Now.
After another work party this morning to finish a project started two months ago – protectively painting the backs and sides of mural panels destined for the exterior of shuttered Louisa May Boren Junior High School on Delridge – there’s nothing left to do but wait, according to community advocate Pete Spalding, who shared photos from this morning’s session.
Pete tells WSB, “Now we just have to wait for the school district’s maintenance folks to work it into their schedule to mount them on the building. We are hopeful that it will be soon.” Hopeful, because taggers keep vandalizing Boren – exactly what community leaders feared would happen after the school district decided last year to board up the building’s windows. Seattle Public Schools is holding onto Boren for possible “emergency use”; it hasn’t been officially occupied since Chief Sealth‘s two-year temporary stay concluded one year ago, but it’s widely considered a candidate to be pressed into service in some way as West Seattle deals with elementary-school overcrowding. Just two nights ago at the West Seattle Candidates’ Forum (WSB video coverage here), school-board president Steve Sundquist said he thinks the board eventually will vote to reopen two WS schools, with four-years-closed Fairmount Park Elementary likely to be one of them (as reported previously) – Boren is one of the three other possibilities.
For the next week-plus, the biggest events of Seafair are in the spotlight around our city. Here are a few notes of special West Seattle-and-environs interest:
TORCHLIGHT PARADE TONIGHT: You can get a sneak peek at the floats by going to Seattle Center 2-6 pm this afternoon for the “Taste of Torchlight.” Look for West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival‘s “Sparkling Seattle” float (seen above in last Saturday’s WS Grand Parade). Every year Hi-Yu comes up with a new theme for its float and button, builds it, and takes it to parades around the region – the last neighborhood-specific organization in Seattle to carry on the tradition. In the parade lineup (which you can see here), they’re scheduled to be #70 out of 106 entries. Other entries of local interest: King County Executive Dow Constantine (#10), South Park’s “Legacy of Innovation” float (#93), All-City Band directed by West Seattle’s Marcus Pimpleton (#95). Know a West Seattleite in one of tonight’s group entries? Let us know! Also, Veronica Pupava represents Hi-Yu in the Miss Seafair program – right before the parade, we’ll see if she’s chosen queen or princess. Meantime, some parade logistics: If you have to go downtown, here’s the road-closure plan; if you are staking out a spot, the parade officially starts from Seattle Center at 7:30 pm and proceeds along 4th Avenue southward to the International District, preceded by the Torchlight Run (which is what’s closing the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct at 5:30 pm) – go ASAP! The front line along the curb fills up fast along the entire route.
After tonight, the U.S. Navy takes centerstage in the air (here’s our earlier report about the Blue Angels’ arrival) and at sea:
(Seafair Fleet Week Parade of Ships 2010 photo by David Hutchinson – that’s the USS Port Royal)
FLEET WEEK AND PARADE OF SHIPS: We got our first look at the U.S. Navy Seafair lineup hereon the website of a participating ship. While the Parade of Ships in Elliott Bay – visible from most of West Seattle’s north- and northeast-facing shore – is scheduled for 1:45 pm Wednesday, most will arrive sooner. That Navy page says the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) and guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102) will arrive Tuesday before 2 pm, mooring at Terminal 25 (just north of the West Seattle Bridge) and Pier 66, while guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) will arrive at Terminal 46 at 8 am Wednesday. Also participating, according to references here and here, US Coast Guard cutter Mellon (WHEC 717) and, from the Canadian Navy, HMCS Whitehorse (NCSM 705) and HMCS Nanaimo (NCSM 702). Public tours of ships participating in that part of the program are set for Thursday through Sunday; more on the Seafair site, here.
As previewed in this morning’s “West Seattle Saturday” lineup – the Seattle Outrigger Canoe Club is on (and off!) Alki Beach today for its annual “Da Grind” race day. They’re running two courses, a 12-mile and a 4-mile; the third wave of racing is scheduled to head out around 2:30 pm.
The first wave had already headed out when we stopped by, but we did get a good view of today’s low tide (-2.1 at about quarter past 11):
No outriggers tomorrow, but the tide will be almost as low, -2.0 just before noon tomorrow.
ADDED: April Long shared more photos (thank you!):
Barton Street P-Patch volunteers are on duty on two sides of SW Barton south of 35th SW (map) right now – Top photo, the group we found at the fundraising bake sale outside the Tony’s Market produce stand, where they’re selling treats till 2 pm (including vegan baked goods, a P-Patcher assured a commenter on the WSB Facebook page). Below, another Saturday work party at the P-Patch site on the south side of the street – 2 1/2 months after groundbreaking, still lots of hard work to get the site ready for planting this fall:
Volunteers are having work parties every Saturday and Sunday TFN, and welcome more help. Best way to connect with what they’re up to is to join their Facebook group – go here.
Following up on our preview this week of the “Sustainable Rain” raingarden-building project on the south side of 5902 California SW (map) – the work party is on till 2 pm, and you’re still welcome to drop by. This is part of a regional Sustainable Seattle-organized project. Rain gardens are designed to soak up extra rainwater so it won’t have to go into storm drains and ultimately into bodies of water (picking up surface pollutants along the way) like Puget Sound or the Duwamish River.
(7/29/2011 Twitpic from @ElliottBay_Beer)
ELLIOTT BAY: Back in May, we reported on the early stages of the Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub facade facelift in The Junction – as owner Todd Carden uncovered history out front, including this name:
(WSB photo from May 2011)
WSB commenters sleuthed it out in a big way, and figured out fast who GJ Vayhinger was! Now, the project is done, said EBB as it tweeted the top photo on Friday.
And from White Center:
BIG AL’S BIRTHDAY: Three years since Big Al Brewing opened on 14th SW as part of the White Center renaissance – and this weekend, they’re celebrating, both days, including a “Family Fun Day” tomorrow with popular kindie rockers The Not-Its performing at 2 pm. Full details from the West Seattle-headquartered Washington Beer Blog.
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