West Seattle, Washington
11 Wednesday
Mayor McGinn has jumped into the endless bikers-vs.-cars safety squabble tonight, writing that he will take on not only specific safety issues, but attitudes: “My office will be convening a summit of community leaders, experts and elected officials to determine how best we can encourage an attitude of responsibility and empathy on the roads, and make it safer for all users.” Meantime, Cascade Bicycle Club invites everyone who’s interested to attend its media briefing tomorrow on the same topic (mentioned in this Tuesday night WSB story). It’s in North Seattle, but the two politicians who are speaking happen to be from West Seattle (City Council Transportation Committee chair Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, speaking as County Board of Health chair), 9:30 am (location and other details here).
(Click image for full-size view)
The final decision is in, says SDOT – SW Alaska will indeed be “rechannelized” between California and Fauntleroy, adding transit lanes to parts of the stretch, a westbound bike lane on one section, and removing some parking. It’s mostly the same proposal that was circulated, though without a standalone public meeting, earlier this year (here’s our most recent story, from July.) According to a letter just sent to area “stakeholders” announcing the decision, the only notable change is that parking on SW Alaska in front of Capco Plaza (home to QFC, liquor store, future Petco) will NOT be removed. Read on for the letter from SDOT’s Jonathan Dong:Read More
As this week’s big announcement reminded us all – use your city-run community centers, or risk losing ’em. You’ve already heard about this weekend’s biggest community-center events in West Seattle (Delridge Day and Hiawatha’s Centennial) – but there’s more:
DELRIDGE DANCING: Every month, there’s a ballroom-dancing event at Delridge Community Center, and we just got the announcement that it’s coming up again this Friday afternoon, 1:30-3:30 pm. Billy writes, “As always, you will enjoy and dance to the beautiful music of Lauren Petrie. And get a chance to win a surprise prize.”
(March 2011 photo from PhinneyWood.com, used with permission)
REPTILE MAN AT HIGH POINT: Saturday morning at 10:30 am, High Point Community Center plays host to the famed Reptile Man. If you buy tickets at HPCC ahead of time, it’s $3/person; on Saturday, $5/person ($15 max per family) at the door.
(Click the photo to see a larger size)
A followup on the freshly repainted Roxhill Elementary “R” – done with donated labor and materials, as reported here last week – this time, with a big thank-you photo from students and staff, and words of appreciation, shared by head teacher Christopher Robert:
A huge thanks goes out to Al Keim and his brother, Tom, of Keim Construction Company. They began the process over a year ago to obtain the proper permits that the district requires for this kind of work. They spent three long days over the Labor Day weekend and worked tirelessly to paint the “R” and the building. Not only that, they gave the windows in the cafeteria a much needed washing. Al Keim donated his time and the cost of all materials and paint! We at Roxhill cannot thank him and his brother enough. Thanks also go to Rodda Paint and Berg Scaffold for their donations of paint and the scaffold used by the painters. We are so appreciative.
Traffic is slow going on SW Alaska between 35th and 36th SW in The Triangle right now, in front of The Grove/West Seattle Inn, because of a crash involving at least two cars. No major injuries reported – a private ambulance is there to transport one person – but it’s blocking the westbound lanes.
The Denny International Middle School students in our photo will be coming back home this afternoon on school buses provided by Seattle Public Schools – after neighborhood residents won a hard-fought victory to get that transportation. More than 60 Denny students who live in the High Point area are technically in the school’s “walk zone” – at its northern edge – but, as discussed at a community forum with SPS officials last year, were provided with public-transit passes. But as their families and neighborhood leaders explained to the district, that still didn’t work for getting them to school on a timely basis. Tom Bishop from the SPS transportation department says he investigated, and he even discovered that Metro wouldn’t get them there in time. He and Denny principal Jeff Clark worked together, he said, and discovered that two school buses headed for Denny had extra capacity, so starting today, those buses are making stops in High Point. At one of the two stops, near the HP Neighborhood Center, they even had a mini-celebration to welcome the bus (as shown in our photo), but there was a glitch: That bus didn’t show up; it went to the wrong spot, waited several minutes, found nobody, and moved on. Bishop told WSB they’ve straightened things out and both buses will be bringing the students home this afternoon, picking them up tomorrow, etc. Overall, he says, one week after the start of school, they are still working out some of the bugs in the newly overhauled transportation plan (which has fewer buses, each making more runs, in hopes of saving money).
WestSide Baby has accepted car seats for recycling before – but usually, just the ones in good enough shape to reuse. Starting this Saturday, they will accept ALL used car seats – 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, bring yours to their donation HQ in White Center, 10032 15th SW (map) – so if you have one, in any condition, in the basement, the attic, the closet, the garage, bring it over! For the new campaign Re-Ride: Car Seat Reuse and Recycling for Local Children in Need, WS Baby is now partnering with recyclers Total Reclaim to enable acceptance of any and all car seats (if yours can’t be reused, they request a $5 minimum donation to help cover the cost of recycling its materials). WS Baby says they are only able to fill about HALF the requests they currently get for car seats, so widening the recycling program will hopefully help them fill more. P.S. If you can help them dismantle car seats in preparation for recycling, please contact Shana Allen at shana@westsidebaby.org or 206-767-1662.
10:22 AM: Thanks to Nathan for that photo of Seattle City Light workers digging near 45th/Roxbury (map). City Light’s Scott Thomsen tells WSB that’s where crews first found trouble while trying to trace the source of an outage that’s kept hundreds without power since yesterday afternoon. He explains, “When the calls first came in, crews found a blown fuse and limiter near Roxbury and SW 45th. Those are devices that are designed to protect the transformer and they did their job. It took a while to determine why they blew. Ultimately, crews determined that the problem was a failed underground cable. We have identified where the failure took place and crews are working right now to dig up the failed section and replace it. Estimate for restoration of service is about 2 pm.”
11:52 AM UPDATE: Nathan reports his power’s back on (and the SCL map no longer shows any outage in the area). He says neighbors wonder if the problem had any relation to the underground work in the area these past few months; we have asked SCL that question and will update when we get the answer.
1:13 PM UPDATE: From SCL’s Thomsen: “I have confirmed that this section of cable was one of those tested during our cable injection project for Brace Point. It was deemed unsuitable for injection because it had deteriorated too badly. As a result, it was scheduled for replacement, but failed before that work started.” (The “injection” relates to the “underground work” link in the 11:52 am update – some of the recent work in the area had involved boosting aging cables with silicone injections, and scheduling replacements for those that were too far gone.)
(Added 11:29 am: Part of the stretch to be “spot paved,” looking south on the northbound side)
New information from SDOT today about the “spot paving” planned just south of The Junction, as first reported here last month. It’s scheduled to be done next week:
Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to grind and pave in the block of California Avenue SW between Erskine Way SW and SW Hudson Street on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 20 and 21, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. One lane of traffic will remain open for each direction and bicycles will merge with general traffic. There will be a police officer at the intersection of California & Erskine/Edmunds to assist traffic. All sidewalks and crosswalks will remain open.
Before you ask – as noted in our August story, SDOT says it wishes it could repave California SW further south, too, but doesn’t currently have the money.
Lots going on today/tonight! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
HOME-DIALYSIS TOUR: A motor home with a home-dialysis setup will visit West Seattle Kidney Center in North Delridge 2-6 pm today (and tomorrow), and its owner, dialysis patient Jim Smith, will be available to talk with visitors – as he dialyzes. More info in our preview, published yesterday.
BIOJUNCTION SPORTS THERAPY OPEN HOUSE: We first told you back in May about BioJunction coming to Charlestown Center (home to WSB sponsor West Seattle Runner, among other businesses). Now it’s open, and inviting you to an open house this afternoon/evening, 3-9 pm (NW corner of Charlestown/California).
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARM STAND: Haven’t been there yet? Time’s running out! Weekly farm stand, 4-7 pm, 32nd Ave SW and SW Juneau, selling fresh produce right next to where it’s grown.
LAST COMMUNITY DUWAMISH TOUR OF THE SEASON: Tonight’s the last scheduled 2011 Summer Community Kayak Tour of the season by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. RSVP to Alki Kayak Tours (206) 953-0237 (and check the start time). More info here. Tour meets at Terminal 107 Port Park (4700 West Marginal Way SW)
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT CAMP FIRE: Fall information session for students/families interested in Camp Fire USA, only info session scheduled on the peninsula, West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
COOLMOM MEETING – WITH AN INCENTIVE! This fall, West Seattle’s CoolMom group has a big project – Think Outside the Car – and Terri Glaberson will be talking about it at tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, NOT the usual location – it’s at Red Cup Espresso. Meeting attendees get a bonus incentive: 20 percent coupon for online purchases from West Seattle-founded ReUsies.
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS TALK $60 CAR TABS, AND MORE: Our area’s biggest political group meets at 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, with a program including a forum (speakers both pro and con) on this fall’s $60 car-tab fee vote, to raise money for transportation projects in Seattle. The newly proposed redistricting maps will be on display too. See the full agenda here.
SECOND WEEK FOR ‘AMY’S VIEW’: The first production of the 2011-12 season, “Amy’s View,” continues at ArtsWest Playhouse in The Junction, 7:30 pm Wednesdays-Saturdays, 3 pm Sundays through October 1st.
There’s someone new – and yet also not new – in charge of athletics this year at West Seattle High School. Assistant principal Michael Kelly provides your official introduction:
It is my pleasure to introduce Kim Depew as Interim Athletic Director at West Seattle High School. Kim has been teaching at West Seattle High School for the past fourteen years in the Science and Math Departments. Kim is an active member of the West Seattle faculty serving as Key Club Advisor, Seattle Education Association Representative, and as a class advisor.
Kim’s career includes being a varsity coach for volleyball and softball. As head softball coach for the Wildcats she has taken the team to the district playoffs. In the community Kim founded the Thunder Select Fastpitch Team. Kim is familiar with the duties of athletic directing as she was Interim Athletic Director in 2007.
The November 8th general election is eight weeks away – and your ballot will be in the mail, headed your way, in just five weeks. The date is now set for what’s likely to be West Seattle’s biggest candidates’ forum of the season. At last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, Karl de Jong and Sylvia Rolle announced that the new local group VIEWS (Visualize Increased Engagement – West Seattle) will again gather together as many of the local candidates as possible for one big forum, 6 pm October 26th at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. More than 100 people were at VIEWS’ pre-primary forum at South Seattle Community College in July (WSB coverage here, here and here). This is one of at least two forums planned before November 8th; as reported here last week, local PTAs/PTSAs are putting together a School Board candidates’ forum for October 18th at Madison Middle School.
Two reader reports this morning – one, a car break-in; second, an uncomfortable encounter with someone the reader says seemed “shady” – both ahead:Read More
A memorial service is planned September 24th for Brian Zombro, whose sister Kara shares this tribute:
Brian Zombro died unexpectedly on September 4, 2011 at the age of 30. Brian was a lifelong West Seattle resident who was a son, brother, and a great friend. He will be missed by many.
Brian was born on June 17, 1981. He attended Schmitz Park Elementary, Madison Middle School, and West Seattle High School. He was also a proud member of Boy Scout Troop 282. He was a skilled carpenter and electrician and a gifted musician and artist.
With his outgoing personality and ability to make everyone around him feel accepted, Brian was well known around West Seattle. Anyone who met him would know his big smile, easy laugh, and willingness to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.
Brian is survived by his mother Janet, father Jim (Nancy), sisters Kara (Louis) Erickson and Leah, maternal grandmother Betty (Andy) Nielson, his cat Blue (arguably his favorite family member) and his best friend and honorary brother Tony Hamilton. He is remembered and loved by numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins and close friends he considered family. He is preceded in death by maternal grandfather Stan Miller and paternal grandparents Ann and Walter Zombro.
Brian will be interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery as his final resting place. The family will be hosting a public memorial on September 24, 2011 at 3pm at The Georgetown Stables at 980 South Nebraska Street. For further information, please contact Kara Erickson at klzombro@yahoo.com.
“They shall not grow old as we who are left to grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn… In our hearts and in our minds, their devotion and acts will always be remembered. To us, they have found immortality.”
More than missing the sun on this cloudy day just past, tonight we’re missing the moon – so many nights in a row of watching it this past week-plus, as it set, glowing-coal red, behind Vashon, then as it rose golden in the sky, almost full, then finally full, from the Olympics. So here are two views from this week’s full moon: Above, Booker‘s view from The Junction last night; below, Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) shares the view from over the Duwamish on Sunday night:
If you too are a sky-watcher – note that our experimental WSB Weather page has moonrise/moonset/sunrise/sunset times. (Our reader survey last spring included many requests for expanded weather information, so we’re tinkering with this before serious fall/winter weather hits. You can also reach the page by clicking the temperature icon on the sidebar, under the bridge cam.)
Two updates on safety near Arbor Heights Elementary School:
First: Thanks to the parent volunteer who shared that photo of the new group of AH crossing guards, sworn in by teacher Margaret Boitano at this week’s all-school assembly. We’re told that almost half of this year’s fifth-grade class trained last spring and are serving as crossing guards now – so keep an eye out for them if you’re driving in the area before/after school. (Safety news from other schools? Let us know!)
Second: Arbor Heights is featured in the latest roundup of Seattle Police Aggressive Drivers Response Team patrols – with four speeders and a “no proof of insurance” citation listed in the SPD Blotter writeup (which includes the latest ADRT efforts from other parts of West Seattle, including the bridge and W. Marginal Way SW).
In hopes of strengthening Admiral District businesses by bringing them together, just as the Safeway redevelopment brought a new dynamic to the area, the Admiral Neighborhood Association shared a letter and survey with more than 120 businesses this past summer (as reported here). The survey results are now compiled, and ANA, along with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, invites Admiral business owners/merchants to a special meeting to both look at the results and talk about future possibilities. The formal invitation is here; it’s at 4 pm next Monday, September 19th, at the Porterhouse; again, it’s just for Admiral business owners/merchants, who are asked to RSVP to info@admiralneighborhood.org.
On the ground floor of Brandon Court, just north of the Delridge Library, the former DNDA offices are vacant – since they consolidated operations at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – and now there’s a proposal for the city to clear out of the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center next door.
We first reported this yesterday, when Mayor McGinn, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, and acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams came to High Point to unveil their vision for how city-run community centers will operate next year. As part of that plan, the Delridge NSC – the only one left in West Seattle, after the Junction NSC closed in June – would close and move into the Southwest Community Center in Westwood. There were no Department of Neighborhoods reps available at the High Point media briefing to elaborate; the Delridge closure wasn’t even confirmed until more than an hour after our followup question at the briefing. But today, DON director Bernie Matsuno sent a followup note to Delridge Neighborhoods District Council chair Mat McBride and Southwest District Council co-chairs Susan Melrose and Tony Fragada. Through McBride, it was shared with us to publish publicly:
Yesterday morning, the Mayor and Councilmember Bagshaw held a press conference announcing recommendations for community center operations in the City’s 2012 budget. Among the recommendations presented, there was discussion on how community centers could be used in different ways, specifically noting the Southwest Community Center. In essence, it was proposed that the upstairs area of the Southwest Community Center serve as the home of the Neighborhood Service Center (NSC) serving West Seattle residents.
As you know, DON, as well as all other city departments, was asked to take budget reductions for 2012. Because of our economic reality, the Mayor wanted to look at how the City can do business differently while still preserving city services. By using an existing city-owned facility (in this case, the community center) for an NSC instead of renting a space, it makes the City more efficient and accessible, while saving the City money. And the assistance and support that our Neighborhood Service Center provides to West Seattle residents will remain intact at this new location.
However, opening this new location will mean the closure of the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center. While this proposed new location is further south, no reduction in Customer Service Representatives will occur. It will also not affect our Neighborhood District Coordinators; Steve, Yun and Ed will continue to support the West Seattle community.
I know this is yet another change for West Seattle, but this recommended model will save money while preserving services and is part of a longer-term vision of using city facilities to provide multiple services and activities for our community members. The Mayor will share the details in his proposed 2012 budget to be presented on September 26.
The community-center proposal also will be discussed when the City Council’s Parks Committee meets at 9 am September 15th (at City Hall downtown), and when the city Parks Board meets at 7 pm September 22nd (at Parks HQ downtown).
(Updated screen grab of City Light outage map – click here for a “live” look)
ORIGINAL 4:17 PM REPORT: Just got a note from Eddie, who says they “heard a big explosion … south of Fauntleroy ferry dock,” and are without power. The City Light map says 165 customers in that area are without power, and the cause is listed as “equipment failure,” with hopes of getting the power back by 7 pm. More as we get it.
4:25 PM UPDATE: Now up to 335 customers affected. We’re headed for the Fauntleroy/Endolyne business district to make sure they’re OK. (Update – they are, power IS on in the business district; the map above is from City Light’s website, and suggests the outage area starts just south of there, and is mostly west of 45th/Marine View Drive.)
6:21 PM UPDATE: The City Light map reverted to 165 customers (homes/businesses, though we believe this is all residential) so we’re going with that. It also has changed the restoration estimate to 2 am. And we’re hearing there is a Comcast outage in the area as well.
6:47 AM UPDATE: Still not fixed, according to the SCL map, which is back to the 335-customer estimate, and listing early-afternoon restoration. We’ll be checking directly with the utility’s media team as soon as they’re reachable this morning.
(Photo courtesy Flash Media Services)
That’s Jim Smith, who lives in Indianola, on the Kitsap Peninsula, but is stopping here in West Seattle – not too far from home – tomorrow and Thursday, during his national road trip to “educate the public about home dialysis,” according to a media advisory we received today. Jim is a Northwest Kidney Centers patient, and he’ll be visiting the West Seattle Kidney Center at 4045 Delridge Way SW in his motor home, equipped with a home hemodialysis unit from NxStage. Spokesperson Cynthia Flash explains that you’ll be welcome to talk with him “while he dialyzes himself in the comfort of his motor home. Home hemodialysis allows patients to decide when and where to dialyze, and also allows them to dialyze more often during the week, which is better for their long-term health than the typical three-per-week schedule for patients going to dialysis centers.”
She says this technology isn’t new, but stil isn’t widely used, either, but can allow dialysis patients more freedom: “Jim is able to travel the world with his mobile dialysis machine. He went on a week-long Caribbean cruise with his wife Claire last year and he’s also traveled with the machine to Bermuda, Jamaica and Canada. Jim has even outfitted his motorcycle with a trailer to haul the dialysis machine!” She says Type II diabetes and high blood pressure led to Jim’s kidney failure four years ago, and he has been a dialysis patient since then. You are invited to visit him in the motor home outside the Kidney Center 2-6 pm both days, tomorrow and Thursday.
(A moment in early Hiawatha history: Kids at play in 1912)
So many big events around West Seattle this Saturday! We’ve talked about the Delridge Day/Delridge Skatepark Grand Opening festivities and Holy Rosary’s WestFest (which starts Friday night; here are the newest details) – and there’s one more festival-grade celebration: the Hiawatha Community Center/Park Centennial. You’ve probably seen the posters and signs for various events 11 am-5 pm; we just checked in with Seattle Parks to get a more-specific schedule, in case you want to do some early weekend-planning:
11 am: 5k walk/run, Olmsted Presentation, Pickleball Tournament
Noon: Class Demos, Olmsted Park Tour
12:30 pm: 3 on 3 Tournament
2 pm: Mayor McGinn will welcome the crowd; community members speak; barbecue starts; face-painting; jumpy toys; Balloon Buffoon
2:45 pm & 3:45 pm; Live music
We know Trevor Ras and Boomerang Summer are on the bill (they sent their own announcement today. So while you’re enjoying all the West Seattle festivities on Saturday, stop by and wish Hiawatha a happy birthday, too. Might even be as much fun as this:
(Another moment in early Hiawatha history: Skookum Club Stunt Night, 1913)
(“Before” photo from the city webpage for the sidewalk project)
A project announced in March, at a Highland Park Action Committee meeting is about to become reality: One block of new sidewalk, on the south side of SW Cloverdale, between 8th and 9th SW. SDOT‘s Doug Cox, who briefed HPAC six months ago, says today that work will start “in about two weeks.” The neighborhood has long been requesting this as a safety improvement for getting to nearby Westcrest Park, and now that more park space is being developed there in connection with the West Seattle Reservoir-covering project, $100,000 is being spent from the Bridging the Gap levy fund. Here’s the official construction-alert flyer (which says the work should be done by late October), and here’s an engineering document, for those who are interested in the most intricate details.
Developers of the revived/resold 26th/Dakota project came to last night’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting at Dragonfly Pavilion with a few big updates.
(From left, NDNC’s Kirsten Smith, Michael Taylor-Judd, Diane Vincent, developer Maria Barrientos, NDNC’s Amanda Leonard)
Maria Barrientos from Barrientos LLC said construction would start on the project (whose revival was first reported here a month ago) in a matter of days. (Also present was a rep from primary developer Legacy Partners, but Barrientos led the discussion.) And she revealed the 190-apartment building (designed years ago as condos, but then the market changed) now has a name: Cooper at Youngstown. (It’s close to the historic Cooper School, which in turn is now home to Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.) This morning, as we were writing this story, a news release announcing the impending construction arrived. Read on for more of what Barrientos had to say last night, plus that news release:Read More
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