day : 07/12/2011 14 results

THe next round of closures for the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project will NOT include any part of the SSV itself, but the surface streets that are involved in the closures might affect you, so we’re publishing this alert sent tonight by SDOT:Read More

West Seattle Tool Library wins Sustainable Seattle award

December 7, 2011 9:54 pm

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| Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle news

(WSB photo by Tracy Record)
It’s been almost two years since our first report that Sustainable West Seattle was starting a tool library. It’s been going strong for a year and a half now, drawing users, generating buzz (Popular Mechanics!), and tonight, winning a big award. Sustainable Seattle, celebrating its annual fundraising gala and awards dinner at the Duwamish Longhouse, honored the West Seattle Tool Library for Sustainability in Innovation in a Social Environment. Accepting the award were (from left) Micah Summers and Patrick Dunn. Haven’t been to the tool library ever – or, lately? It’s open Thursday nights, so you can drop by tomorrow, 6-9 pm (it’ll be another session of Ask the Expert, too, till 8). It’s on the northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW.

P.S. Here’s who else was nominated for the Sustainable Seattle awards.

THURSDAY P.P.S. Click ahead for full list of winners, just received:Read More

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Followup: Mega-cranes finally coming ashore at Terminal 18

December 7, 2011 9:35 pm

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| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

More than a week after their arrival in Elliott Bay (here’s our story from November 28), the three extra-jumbo new cranes that SSA is adding at the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 18 are finally being unloaded. Justin McDonald shared the photo on Facebook; we’re republishing it here with his permission. This one, he wrote, is the first one coming off. Last week, our friends at KING 5 took a closer look in this story (with video)

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West Seattle Christmas lights: Old-school Santa, reindeer, sleigh

December 7, 2011 7:04 pm

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| West Seattle Christmas lights | West Seattle news

We’re spotlighting decorated homes (or apartments/condos/businesses/etc. if you have any tips to share!) every night this holiday season. Tonight, it’s not the lights at this house so much as the old-school Santa, reindeer, and sleigh in the front yard. Not inflatable, not plastic, something sturdier. We just spotted this while driving around so we don’t know whose home it is, but it’s worth a visit, on 39th north of Andover (map). We’re listing all the spotlighted displays in the “Christmas Lights” section of the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, and while we’re going out scouting, we also welcome suggestions – we can certainly feature more than one per night!

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Two West Seattle Soccer Club teams in state semifinals

December 7, 2011 5:41 pm

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| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Congratulations to the girls’ GU-15 West Seattle Crush and boys’ BU-11 West Seattle Crush soccer teams from the West Seattle Soccer Club – they’re both in the state semifinals, the Washington Youth Soccer Recreational Cup, this weekend. The boys play the South Whidbey Islanders at 9 am Saturday on Starfire Sports Complex field #9 in Tukwila, and go to the finals at 2 pm if they win; the girls play the Sun Devils at 10;30 am Sunday on Valley Ridge Field #2 in Seatac, with the finals at 3:30 pm at Starfire field #4 if they win. Full schedule here; good luck!

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DESC in Delridge: Site purchase closes; Design Review tomorrow

December 7, 2011 4:05 pm

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| DESC Delridge project | West Seattle news

Two updates this afternoon on the plan for Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) to build a 75-apartment building in the 5400 block of Delridge to house currently homeless people:

SITE PURCHASE FINALIZED: DESC had said they expected to close the deal to buy the site on December 1st, and agency executive Nicole Macri confirmed to WSB today that it has indeed happened. She also says DESC is continuing to talk with area residents about establishing an “advisory committee of neighborhood stakeholders,” adding, “An ad-hoc committee of the NDNC has come together to begin identifying neighborhood constituency groups and prospective members to fill seats on the committee.” She says the group could start meeting in January. (Creation of the committee was discussed in an informal neighborhood meeting we covered two weeks ago.)

DESIGN REVIEW MEETING TOMORROW: The size and scope of the project requires it to go through the city’s Design Review process, so tomorrow is the first of at least two meetings in which it will go before the Southwest Design Review Board, a city-convened panel of volunteers (“meet” them here). As noted here last month, you can pre-review the “packet” for the meeting, including the options for the building’s “mass” and shape. If you’ve never been to a Design Review meeting before, and/or are still catching up on this project, there’s a wide array of information made available by hard-working citizen volunteers in Delridge – here are documents regarding the process; here’s info about the handy “Community Guide to Design Review”; and if you can just read one bundle of background, this post on the recently revamped North Delridge Neighborhood Council site summarizes last week’s “Design Review 101” briefing, and the design review/permit-seeking process.

Tomorrow night’s meeting is at 6:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, public welcome, even if you don’t intend to speak. Meantime, our archive of project coverage dating back to first public word in June can be found here. If the timeline DESC distributed last month holds, construction would start in about a year.

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Downtown traffic alert: Concert at KeyArena tonight

December 7, 2011 3:10 pm

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| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle traffic alerts

SDOT sent this out as an alert, so in case you commute through the area – given that we heard multiple reports it was tough going to get there earlier today, maybe this will save you some trouble on the way home:

Today’s Deck the Hall Ball, a sold-out concert at the Key Arena, could impact the afternoon commute. Some 8,000 fans of Mumford and Sons, Death Cab for Cutie and Foster the People, will begin arriving for the concert by mid-afternoon and likely produce heavier traffic than usual between I-5 and the Seattle Center and on surrounding streets in the vicinity. The 107.7 The End’s event, which begins at 4 p.m. wraps up at 11 p.m., will add to the late evening traffic in the area as well.

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West Seattle holidays: Christmas ship, gingerbread, solstice

December 7, 2011 2:51 pm

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| Holidays | How to help | West Seattle news

Three holiday updates this afternoon:

(December 2010 Alki photo by David Hutchinson)
When the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship and entourage visit Alki this Saturday – one of three stops that night, plus another one on Monday – it’ll be greeted by a roaming “cast of characters representing the Biblical event from the first Christmas,” from Hope Lutheran, according to Mary Welch, who says they also will perform for the crowd at the Alki Bathhouse art studio. As noted on the WSB West Seattle Holiday Events/Info page, the Christmas ship’s schedule this Saturday is 5:15-5:35 pm at Seacrest, 8:50-9:10 at Lowman Beach, 9:40-10 pm at Alki. On Monday, it comes to Don Armeni, 8:40-9 pm.

Coming up this Sunday night – it’s the gingerbreadiest event of this holiday season:

That’s one of our photos from last year’s gingerbread-building competition at West Seattle Christian Church. We recently put out their call for participants, and now WSCC pastor Dan Jacobs says they have 40 teams signed up – they’re inviting you to come be a spectator! 5 pm this Sunday (December 11th) in the WSCC Activity Center along 42nd SW between Genesee and Oregon. Raffle entries and other donations benefit WSCC’s wellbuilding program.

(December 2010 photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Last but not least … a winter-solstice event confirmed: From West Seattle’s own NASA Solar System Ambassador, Alice Enevoldsen:

In light of the Lunar Eclipse this weekend time for the seasonal sunset watch!!

When: December 21, 2011 at 4:05 pm (so come at 3:30 pm)
Actual sunset is supposed to be at 4:20, but at the summer solstice we noticed that the Sun set about 10 minutes earlier than the USNO says it does, so I’ve moved the time of our sunset watch up so we don’t miss it. I added another 5 minutes for the tall trees of Lincoln Park blocking our view. In Autumn the timing seemed to line up correctly – what will it do this time?
Where: Solstice Park – all the way up the hill from the tennis courts (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)
Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.

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West Seattle businesses: New owners for Stella Ruffington’s

December 7, 2011 11:59 am

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| Pets | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Just got word that a Morgan Junction business has new owners: Stella Ruffington’s Doggy Playcare. The buyers own a training/boarding facility on Camano Island, and say they “have wanted to enter the Seattle market for quite some time.” Read on for the announcement they sent:Read More

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2 tolling notes: 1st meeting ahead for 99 committee; 520 date

December 7, 2011 11:13 am

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| Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news

Just minutes apart, WSDOT sent two news releases that relate to tolling. The first one is perhaps of the most interest here – the committee that’s going to discuss tolling for the future Highway 99 tunnel, and how to reduce the likelihood it will lead to “diversion” (people using other roads instead), has its first meeting set for tomorrow. The second one – Tolling on the 520 bridge across Lake Washington is now set for December 29th. For full details, here’s the 520-toll-date news release; read on for text of the news release about the 99 tunnel tolling committee:Read More

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Video: Arbor Heights fire briefing @ City Council committee

December 7, 2011 10:20 am

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| Arbor Heights | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(UPDATED EDITOR’S NOTE, 12:11 PM: The archived meeting video is now available, so that’s what you’ll see if you click “play” below. We are working on the wrapup story with new information from the hearing and from followup questions afterward.)

10:20 AM: Click “play” to get the live feed from City Hall, as the City Council’s Public Safety and Education Committee is briefed on the August 27th Arbor Heights house fire near 41st/102nd, and what’s been done, and what is still to come, to fix the water-supply problems it exposed –

We have been following this story since the fire itself, including these stories:
*August 27: The fire (accidental; gutted a house and injured a firefighter)
*August 28: Fire’s cause
*August 29: ‘After-action review’ promised
*Sept. 9: Three followups
*Sept. 15: Hydrant upgrades promised
*November 4th: Hydrant upgrades almost complete
*December 5th: City Council committee briefing planned

Last night, we reviewed the documents available online for this briefing, including something new and major: A plan to upgrade water mains. Here’s our story; we will write a new one with added information after today’s briefing, and we will also make a note here when the briefing is over.

11:02 AM: It’s over. Nothing major beyond what we summarized from last night, though some additional summarizing did emerge – when the water-main upgrades are over in a year-plus, all of Arbor Heights will be within 1000 feet of an 8-inch water main, which is the minimum standard these days, and 87 percent will be within 500 feet. The review of the August fire showed that 2,000 feet of hose had to be rolled out to get to an 8-inch water main supply. More to come!

12:12 PM: The archived video is already available – so we have substituted it above. Followup story still in the works.

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West Seattle holidays: Trevor Ras Holiday Show and Food Drive on Sunday at C&P

December 7, 2011 9:06 am

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| Announcements

Just announced for this Sunday:

West Seattle Artists and Businesses Team Up to Benefit the West Seattle Food Bank: The Trevor Ras Holiday Show & Food Drive has something for young and old.

Sunday, December 11 from 3-5pm
C & P Coffee
All Ages, free w/ recommended donation
5612 California Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98136 | 206.933.3125

The holidays can be a rough time of the year for many in the community as they struggle to put food on the table and provide the essentials for their families.

So come all ye West Seattleites to C&P Coffee Sunday afternoon, December 11th from 3-5pm for the Trevor Ras Holiday Show & Food Drive. With cookies and treats, giveaways for donations, and a mix of upbeat holiday sing-alongs and acoustic music, the event will be a great time for young and old, all for a great cause.

Sponsored by West Seattle’s own Skin Care by Casey, admission is free with a recommended donation of one item from the West Seattle Food Bank’s “Wish List.” At the top of the list: canned proteins, baby food, diapers, baby formula and tuna. And if you need a little incentive:

– Anyone who brings in 4 items on the “Wish List” will receive a voucher worth $15 at Skin Care by Casey and a free copy of Trevor Ras latest CD, Blue Sky.

– Anyone who brings in a package of diapers (especially the larger sizes), will receive one free drink courtesy of C and P Coffee.

The event’s organizers, Trevor and Casey Rasmussen are a West Seattle couple, who came up with the idea to help this fall. “We wanted to find a way to help out our community, even if we impact just one family. With West Seattle’s help, we may be able to make a larger impact.”

For more information about the West Seattle Food Bank visit www.westseattlefoodbank.org or the event’s Facebook page. The West Seattle Food Bank’s “Wish List” includes:

***Canned Proteins (various forms)***
***Tuna***
***Diapers***
***Baby Food***
***Baby Formula***
Canned Beans
Beans (dry)
Canned Fruit
Canned Soup
Canned Vegetables
Cereal
Pasta
Peanut Butter
Rice
Pastries
Snack Foods
Bread
Juice
Pet Food
Soap, Toiletry items

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West Seattle Wednesday: HPAC, + dancing, skating, tree lighting

December 7, 2011 8:25 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

The early bird gets the … flounder? Thanks to Bill Bacon for the photo! Here are today’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events and Holidays calendars:

WINE TASTING: 5:30-9 pm at The Cask (2350 California SW in the Admiral District) with Locati Cellars (details here)

DANCE TIME!: With live music by Lauren Petrie, at the Senior Center of West Seattle. 6 pm – 8:30 pm. Theme: Pearl Harbor Holiday Dance. $5-$7 donation, BYOB; reservations requested, 206-932-4044.

TREE LIGHTING/TOY DRIVE: Christmas celebration at Mars Hill Church-West Seattle (7551 35th SW), and the community is invited, 6:30 pm (indoor tree lighting at 7): “Usher in the holiday season through lights, color and music. There will be seasonal treats, classic carols and the Mars Hill West Seattle Students will be running “Santa’s Workshop”: a Christmas craft area for the kids. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be joining us and kids can …get pictures with Santa! We will also be collecting toys to bless local children and families.” More info on this Facebook event page.

NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING: Tonight is the combined November/December meeting of the Highland Park Action Committee (which otherwise usually meets on 4th Wednesdays), 7 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden), with the Nickelsville encampment on the agenda again this month (here’s our coverage of the last meeting).

‘EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD’: ArtsWest presents the Seattle premiere of “Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)” by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald and John K. Alvarez. 7:30 pm; ticket info here.

PRIDE SKATE: Tonight’s the monthly Pride Skate at Southgate Roller Rink in White Center, 9-11 pm – this time, the theme is “The ’80s.”

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Memorial service January 21 for Cheryl Colehour, 1966-2011

December 7, 2011 3:45 am

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| Obituaries | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The family of West Seattleite Cheryl Colehour, who died a week ago at just 45, shares this remembrance, and news of her memorial service:

On November 30, 2011, West Seattle and the rest of the world lost Cheryl Colehour. She fought hard for the preceding 13 months against breast cancer, which ultimately metastasized to her liver.

Cheryl was a beautiful, talented, loving, fierce woman. Her strength and grace were exceeded only by her loving nature.

Cheryl was born and raised in Bellevue, attended college at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, and spent her adult years in Seattle – Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, and ultimately in West Seattle for the last 12 years. Cheryl studied film and video in college and parlayed those skills into a career as an Instructional Designer. She was a skilled fiber artist as well, often gifting friends and family with her exquisite knitting and sewing projects.

Cheryl is survived by her husband Tom Humphreys and their two children, Clara Humphreys (10) and August Humphreys (3); her father and stepmother, Jeff and Beth Colehour; her sister, Julie Colehour (Mitchell), husband Don and children Jessica and Jeremy; her sister, Janelle Urfer, husband Scott and children Owen and Emma. She is preceded in death by her mother Vernal Colehour (Harkness).

Cheryl was unfortunate to have inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation, which creates an astronomical risk for cancer of the breast and ovaries. Her mother and grandmother succumbed to these cancers as well. Her aunt is a breast-cancer survivor. Cheryl was always willing to participate in whatever studies she could to increase medical understanding of these conditions. In that spirit, if you are moved to contribute in her memory, please consider the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance or The University of Washington Medical Center or Gilda’s Club Seattle.

A memorial will be held for Cheryl on January 21st, 2012, at 1:00 pm, Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 7141 California Ave SW. We will re-announce the memorial at a closer date as well.