year : 2011 4273 results

West Seattle Hi-Yu picks 2012 float theme: ‘Secret Garden’

For the second consecutive year, Riley Fredericks has the winning idea for the next West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival traveling parade float. Last year, while she was still a reigning Junior Court Princess, Riley’s “Sparkling Seattle” idea won the vote at the December Hi-Yu meeting – and last night, her proposal for the theme “Secret Garden” did the same. That’s Riley above with the concept model she brought to the Hi-Yu meeting/holiday potluck at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church Hall; here’s a closer look at the model:

Other suggestions included “Sunlight Seattle” from current Junior Court Queen Thea, “The West Seattle Beach Party,” “Picnic in the Park,” and “Through the Emerald Looking Glass.” Next step: Riley’s concept will be turned into the official float design, and there’ll be a community-wide button-design contest too. Meantime, Hi-Yu’s new Senior Court royalty joined her Junior Court counterparts (Queen Thea, Princess Elena, Princess Amanda) at the meeting:

Kayli Schulz is a Holy Names student, looking ahead to studying biology in college, and takes lessons at Kathy’s School of Dance in The Junction. Hi-Yu, which has a new president – James Kline – plans more extensive outreach this year to businesses and the rest of the West Seattle community; WS is the last community in the city to have a traveling float, which represents our area all around the region, including the big Seafair Torchlight Parade every summer (by the way, the West Seattle Grand Parade date is set for next year – you’ll see Hi-Yu there too – mark your calendar for July 21, 2012). Hi-Yu’s online presence has changed, too; for now, find them at facebook.com/WSHiYu.

Latest speeding-ticket roundup: West Marginal (Free)way?

This morning, Seattle Police are out with another of their periodic reports on what the Aggressive Drivers Response Team is up to. More West Seattle enforcement this time – including multiple citations for 50+ mph on West Marginal Way SW. See the latest list here.

ADDED 7:08 PM: And yet another round posted on SPD Blotter tonight – though it’s not all West Seattle this time, it does include a few local school zones.

West Seattle Tuesday: WSCO/Endolyne concert; Madison bookfair; bubbly holiday tasting; more

Check out student musicians James, Kelli, and Emma from Madison Middle School performing “The Time of Your Life” during their Bookfair kickoff last Friday! Thanks to librarian Stacia Bell for pointing it out. It’s continuing through this Friday and it’s atop today’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar

MADISON MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK FAIR: The official announcement:

Madison Middle School is hosting its first Book Fair of the year at Barnes & Noble in Westwood Village until December 9th. If you would like to support Madison Middle School students and the purchase of new books for their library, you can shop at any Barnes & Noble store or online at bn.com/bookfairs between now and this Friday, December 9th, and a percentage of everything you buy — books, movies, CDs, Nooks, lattes in the cafe–will benefit Madison students. Just be sure you mention Madison Middle School’s book fair at the register and use the bookfair voucher code 10619799 when shopping online. You can also email the Bookfair code to family and friends across the country and they can benefit Madison with their purchases as well. Thank you for supporting reading at Madison Middle School!

Speaking of reading … and music …

AT THE LIBRARIES: From the Seattle Public Library calendar of events – Toddler Story Time at the West Seattle Branch, 10:30 am; Baby Story Time at the Southwest Branch, 11:30 am; Citizenship Class at the Southwest Branch, 6 pm; Family Story Time at the Delridge Branch, 7 pm.

HOLIDAY CONCERT: They’re the local music organization so big, its annual holiday concert happens in two installments! Tonight, the second concert by West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Debut and Intermediate orchestras, also featuring Endolyne Children’s Choir (as seen last Saturday night at the West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting), 6:30 pm in the auditorium at Chief Sealth International High School – details here; $5 suggested donation.

CHAMPAGNE TASTING: Super Deli Mart (35th/Barton) is presenting a holiday Champagne/sparkling wine tasting tonight, 6-8 pm: The announcement says its lineup includes: Louis Roederer Cristal, Dom Perignon, Vue Clicquot, Moet & Chandon Imperial, Louis Roederer Brut Premier, GH Mumm, Taittinger, Alma Negra & 8 others, and that they’ll offer orange juice for mimosa fans.

NIGHTLIFE: Open mike at Skylark Café and Club hosted by Tekla and Brian, all-acoustic, 7 pm … Rock music/pop culture trivia at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm … The Starlight showcase at Shadowland (home to the All-Stars who rocked the Junction Tree Lighting), 9 pm. (Always happy to mention live entertainment – but you have to let us know about it – editor@westseattleblog.com – if your venue has a calendar of events that is regularly updated, that works too; send us the link)

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS AND INFORMATION: We’re continuing to update our all-season page – which includes lists of Christmas-tree lots, bright holiday lights to see, tree lightings ahead, Christmas Ship schedule, and a lot more (including solstice, Hanukkah, and New Year’s info as we get/find it) – it’s on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page.

West Seattle holiday help: Girl Scouts’ night of giving

Dozens of West Seattle girls joined forces tonight for an evening of friendship and generosity. The report – and photos – are courtesy of Rosina Geary, Troop 40890 leader:

Six West Seattle BROWNIE Girl Scout Troops got together tonight for their 3rd Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. Approximately 80 Girl Scouts (2nd and 3rd graders) gathered together to celebrate the holidays, exchange cookies, and get to know one another.

These Scouts had a great time celebrating the holidays tonight. At the same time, they hope to pass this good holiday cheer to the homeless and hungry members of our community. Here is what they did —

*Each Scout donated canned foods, which will be delivered to the West Seattle Food Bank.

*Each Scout also donated 1 dozen cookies (that’s 80 dozen cookies!). These will be given to:

*The Union Gospel Mission – An organization that provides emergency care and long-term recovery services to hurting and homeless people in Seattle.

*PSKS (Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets) – An organization that provides support and services to Seattle area homeless youth and young adults.

The WSBeat: Bird rage; alleged ‘cable guy’; turkey lament

By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog

From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – catching up this time with reports made available after the Thanksgiving holiday:

*Recently, a citizen called 911 to report seeing a man shoot a seagull with a BB gun in the 6500 block of 34th SW. When asked why he shot the bird, the suspect said, “I’m tired of having bird poop on my car.” Officers found the bird, which had fallen from a power line after the attack. It was bleeding heavily and its wing was barely attached to its body. The Burien emergency veterinary hospital agreed to treat the bird. The suspect told officers he had been shooting at birds from his home for “a long, long time.” His BB gun was confiscated.

Ahead, six more summaries, from a reported luring attempt to a call that went beyond a door-to-door alert:Read More

In case you wondered: Police training @ Genesee Hill campus

December 5, 2011 8:15 pm
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 |   Genesee Hill | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Seattle Police use the closed Genesee Hill Elementary campus for training now and then, and neighbors are well aware of that, but something about the police tape around the school tonight led several people to ask us what was going on. (One caller said they hadn’t received the usual neighborhood notice.) We’ve confirmed with SPD, it IS training, and shouldn’t go any longer than 11 pm.

West Seattle Christmas lights: All aglow in Fauntlee Hills

We’re featuring at least one light display a night – and tonight is thanks to suggestions on Twitter and Facebook. It’s at 41st/Concord in Fauntlee Hills (map), a neighborhood where you’ll find more than a few other lavishly lit homes. We’re adding it to the list on the WSB Holidays page; got someplace to suggest light-lovers look? Share the location – thanks!

West Seattle Triangle rezoning: One more chance to comment

December 5, 2011 4:32 pm
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 |   Development | West Seattle news

When the City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment voted unanimously last week in favor of West Seattle Triangle rezoning (WSB coverage here), they approved a few amendments to the previous proposal. Before the full package moves on to the full Council for a final vote, they’re inviting you to comment on those amendments, and a two-week countdown starts today. Here’s the official notice, explaining the amendments and requesting comment, as issued by the city today.

Admiral Theater chooses ‘Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie’

The word’s in from Dinah Brein at the historic Admiral Theater – this year’s free Christmas movie is … the one in the trailer clip atop this story … “A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie’! 7 pm Tuesday, December 20th. Here’s the official announcement:

The Admiral Theater, the Admiral Business Association and The Admiral Blockbuster present ‘It’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie’ -Tuesday, December 20.

What would life amongst the Muppets have been without their unofficial leader Kermit the Frog? This holiday confection, not only spoofs the Yuletide classic , It’s a Wonderful Life, but also takes satirical aim at such pop cultural phenomena as Moulin Rouge and Fear Factor.

The plot is set in motion when evil banker Rachel Bitterman (Joan Cusack) forecloses on the Muppets’ famous variety theater, with the intention of building a gaudy nightclub. But Bitterman’s machinations take a back seat when apprentice guardian angel, Daniel (David Arquette), shows Kermit what conditions would have been had he never existed. Oh yeah, Whoppie Goldberg is cast as God!

Join Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and a star studded cast in this heartwarming holiday classic that will bring joy to the world this Christmas at the Admiral Theater!

For the fourth consecutive year admission is free, but we ask that everyone bring donations for the Humane Society and the Seattle Animal Shelter including crates, high-end dog food, collar’s leashes, blankets, etc. This time of year, the shelters run low on these much needed supplies.

The movie starts promptly at 7 PM. Beer & wine will be available for the adults, upstairs in the Crow’s Nest Lounge.

First closure dates set for Fauntleroy Expressway seismic work

(NEW INFO FOR MONDAY NIGHT 12/12 – Closure will start 10:30 pm because of football.)

New information this afternoon in a road project we’ve been tracking for months: The earthquake-safety upgrade of the Fauntleroy Expressway section of the southwest end of the West Seattle Bridge. The city has just announced the dates/times when it will be closed so the contractor can lift sections of the bridge to install seismic-safety features. From SDOT:

The first closures of the Fauntleroy Expressway are scheduled to occur December 12, 13 & 14. Each night the Fauntleroy Expressway will be closed at 9:00 p.m. and reopened the next morning at 5:00 a.m. These closures mark the beginning of a series of night and early morning closures that will take place through June of 2012.

In numerous community-group briefings we’ve covered leading up to this, the detour plan has generated some questions. Here’s the one-sheet explaining it all. The project actually has been under way for a few months, but the first phase has mostly involved reinforcing columns under the bridge, and has not involved traffic effects. Meantime, SDOT says it’ll announce additional closure dates as they are set; project consultant Josh Stepherson had said at community meetings that once the contractor goes through the first round of bridge-lifting, they’ll have a better idea of how the subsequent ones will go.

Seacrest Boathouse contract-controversy followup: Marination revealed as ‘new operator,’ and more

(File photos of Seacrest and Marination, both by Christopher Boffoli)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Multiple developments today on the story we reported yesterday, picking up on a report by our partners at the Seattle Times that the city-owned Seacrest Boathouse‘s longtime operator, owner of Alki Crab and Fish, lost the contract to run the site:

We’ve just confirmed with Seattle Parks that the operators of the popular food truck Marination Mobile, which has been visiting West Seattle weekly for more than a year, are the people to whom the city intends to award the contract. There’s also an online petition circulating to “save Alki Crab and Fish,” as first reported in comments on our Sunday story – and (added) one in support of Marination.

First – From Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter, in response to our inquiry this morning:

Alki Crab and Fish finished second to Marination by a score of almost 45 points. Going beyond the normal evaluation process, Parks staff had oral interviews with the top two candidates and that did not change the outcome.

We had actually sent a note to Marination last night after various things we’d heard led us to suspect they might be the winning proposer; we have not yet received a reply. However, Parks has included both the grading from the evaluation and Marination’s proposal – while we read through it to summarize, you can see the document here (PDF).

Second – The online petition is here. Diver/photographer Laura James created it early this morning. As of right now, more than 240 people have signed it. Parks says they are expecting a written protest from Alki Crab and Fish’s owner by the end of today; the formal procedure calls for that to go to Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams, who would have the final say (pending City Council approval early next year). The pro-Marination petition (also from WSB comments) was created in early afternoon, here.

ADDED 1:03 PM: Regarding the fate of Alki Kayak Tours, which has been a subcontractor at Seacrest, renting watercraft, skates, and bikes, and leading tours (with some of those services called for by Parks) – Parks spokesperson Potter acknowledges AKT owner Greg Whittaker “expressed concern that he would lose out as a result of the evaluation of the proposals Parks received … Parks staff have talked with (him) and advised him that renting boats for recreational fishing and general boating activities will continue to be an integral part of the operation at Seacrest moving forward, and that once the protest is resolved, the newly selected operator, assuming that decision stands, is interested in subleasing that side of the operation and that he is welcome to engage in that discussion about that possibility.”

ADDED 1:53 PM: Key points of Marination’s proposal, and some background for those who aren’t familiar with their operation (and ADDED 3:33 PM, more reaction including theirs plus the current contract-holder):Read More

Alzheimer’s Association offers West Seattle caregivers’ meetings

December 5, 2011 11:10 am
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 |   Announcements

Once a month, for those dealing with memory loss – so the next one would be December 17th, as of this writing:

Caring for someone with memory loss? Alzheimer’s Association caregiver support groups provide a place for caregivers to learn and gain support from others caring for a person with memory loss. Support groups also serve as an opportunity for participants to receive information on care management, available services, and current research and treatment options.

A free support group for unpaid care partners, family members and friends of individuals with memory loss is held the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10:00-11:30 am, at Providence Mount St Vincent, Northwest Room, 4851 35th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126. Contact facilitator Kristine Kumangai at 206.937.3701 ext. 28345 for details.

Seafair says the Blue Angels will be back at least two more years

(August 2011 photo by David Hutchinson)
Love ’em or hate ’em, you can see/hear them from here – and they’re not going away. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are coming back to Seafair for at least two more summers. Just announced:Read More

West Seattle Monday: Partial Viaduct closure, bag ban, Hi-Yu, more

In case the sun doesn’t appear again today – there’s a memory from Sunday, courtesy of Darren Pilon. (Thank you!) Meantime, before we get on with the rest of the day’s news, here are some of the scheduled highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

SOUTHBOUND VIADUCT CLOSURE OVERNIGHT TONIGHT: 10 pm-5 am, but two southbound onramps – at Columbia and Elliott – are scheduled to close at 9 pm, and there will also be “rolling slowdowns” for the northbound lanes overnight. Details in our preview from last week.

LIFE’S JOURNEYS: 1-2:30 pm at West Seattle Senior Center. From organizers: “This group will explore the territory we find ourselves in when involved in a significant transition. Are you in a changing time – relationships, housing, health, mobility, losses, retirement, etc? Are you looking for ways to make new connections?” Facilitated by Laurie Becharas, Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, and D’vorah Kost, Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Cost: $20/month donation; no one turned away for inability to pay.

LIKE TO COOK? West Seattle Cooking Club! Today’s theme: Wrapped. Bring a dish and join in. 2:30 pm, Beveridge Place Pub.

BAN THE BAG? Support or oppose a plastic grocery-bag ban in Seattle? Tonight, all interested are invited to the public hearing at Seattle City Council chambers downtown, 5:30 pm (signups at 5 pm).

ART LENDING LIBRARY: It doesn’t open often – so tonight’s a rare chance! From 6 to 8:30 pm on the second floor of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge). Look for entrance signs at the side door off the main north lot (if you’ve found yourself in the downstairs Youngstown hallway you’ve gone too far). There is parking in the main north parking lot and also on the street. If you would like to become a new member, this is the time to do it. The process is easy and you can check out a piece of art at the same event.

WEST SEATTLE HI-YU: General meeting, 6:30 pm at St. John’s the Baptist Episcopal Church, 3050 California SW (enter through the SE doors). Bring ideas/drawings for a 2012 Hi-Yu float theme. It’s also the Holiday Potluck; bring something to share

LECTURE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD: The We Are Family Community Lecture Series presents Terry Goetz, early childhood specialist, 7 pm at Admiral Congregational Church, 4320 SW Hill St. From the announcement: “Find out why providing a rich, multi-sensory world for infants, toddlers and preschoolers supports optimal brain development. … The lecture will appeal to caregivers, teachers and parents who want to be actively engaged in a child’s development during the first five years of life.” $10; refreshments and child care available.

HIP-HOP MONDAYS At Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW), Studio Santina is teaching Hip Hop and Funk dancing for kids and adults. Visit studiosantina.com for class times; to register, call (206) 369-7197.

LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY INFO? Christmas lights, Christmas tree sales, and upcoming events … all on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page.

2 kids under 3? Little Peppers this winter in West Seattle

Just announced:

PEPS is offering a Little Peppers class this winter in West Seattle!

Little Peppers is designed for families with two children under age three. Parents meet, share, and learn about the joys and challenges of parenting two young children. Groups are led by a professional facilitator. Each session includes sharing your parenting highs and lows from the week, songs and play time for the children, breaks for socializing and a group discussion on a subject directly related to the adventure of parenting. Little Peppers will meet at the West Seattle Bright Horizons– 4530 38th Ave SW, on Thursdays 10:00-11:30 AM, January 12 March 22.

For more information and to register, go to http://www.peps.org/register-for-peps/little-peppers-faqs

Arbor Heights fire briefing set for City Council committee Wed.

Just never know what you’ll find in a Seattle City Council committee agenda. Reading through the ones available early today for meetings coming up this week, we discovered that the council’s Public Safety and Education Committee, chaired by Councilmember Tim Burgess, is scheduled for an “Arbor Heights Fire Briefing” when it meets at 9:30 am this Wednesday, last item on the agenda. The scheduled briefers are Seattle Fire Department Chief Gregory Dean and Seattle Public Utilities director Ray Hoffman. This goes back to the August 27th fire that destroyed a home on 41st SW (WSB coverage here); hydrant problems hampered firefighters’ ability to make a quick full attack on the flames. The hydrants and water system are SPU’s responsibility; we have followed up with them several times since the fire. Two days afterward, they promised an “after-action review”; two weeks later, we had information about hydrant testing; then there was a promise of larger hydrants where water-main sizes permitted, and we updated the status of that work last month. (And in a side note, an SFD investigator discussed the fire at length during October’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting.)

Wednesday’s council-committee meeting is at City Hall downtown and will be live on the Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online.

West Seattle restaurants: Porterhouse has apparently closed

After 2 years in business at 2329 California SW, it appears the restaurant/bar Porterhouse is closed. Over the past week-plus, several WSB’ers e-mailed to say they had been told by restaurant staff that Porterhouse would shut down its West Seattle restaurant/pub after Saturday night, but management/ownership did not confirm this when we asked. However, all signs point to the closure having indeed happened. For one, it was dark on Sunday during what would have been operating hours (no note on the door when we went by, though); for two, its West Seattle website at westcoastales.com switched Saturday night to an error page; for three, its West Seattle Facebook page no longer exists. No one answered the phone Sunday during what would have been prime dinnertime.

Porterhouse opened in August 2009, eleven months after Blackbird Bistro closed in that same space. Last July, it closed briefly for an “extreme makeover” and reopened with a new menu focused on burgers. The original Porterhouse in the Skagit County town of Mount Vernon appears to still be open. As for the West Seattle space’s fate – looks like it’s up for sale. (Addendum: Confirmed later Monday, when a “BUSINESS FOR SALE” sign went up in the window.)

West Seattle Crime Watch: Keep watch for vandals

The screengrab at right from the city’s police-call map tells the tale: The spray-paint can is the city map’s icon for property-damage reports; the map is not real-time, so the icons represent mostly incidents reported last night or this morning. Though details on those reports aren’t available, so we don’t know details of the “property damage,” the icon locations correspond with what we’ve heard anecdotally through a variety of channels – a spate of vandalism incidents against cars. First word we had was this morning, when a WSB’er who asked to be anonymous reported, “This morning coming back from coffee at 6 am i noticed a truck with its street side window broken out. The truck was on SW Hill St between 42 and 44th streets. And a few minutes ago I found half a blue rubber glove hanging on a trailer lock handle and a fresh thumb print in the dirt on the trailer door lock. This happened near Hill St and Sunset.” We got two other reports as well – read on:Read More

West Seattle salmon: Fauntleroy Creek season, by the numbers

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks so much to Fauntleroy Creek volunteer Dennis Hinton for sharing earlier updates as well as this wrap-up on the annual coho watch at the creek, restored a decade ago. Since no fish returned last year, this year’s returns were cause for celebration.

By Dennis Hinton
Special to West Seattle Blog

The first three coho spawners to come into Fauntleroy Creek this year were spotted by volunteer Jack Lawless and friends on Saturday morning, Nov. 19.

The last two spawners were seen by watcher Anne Samenfink on Saturday morning, Nov. 26. They were the first fish that Anne has seen in 10 years of watching.

All told, eight creek volunteers spotted 14 coho during the season, compared to zero last year.

Watchers also noted:
*Three spawning pairs (location of their redds marked)
*Three coho carcasses (examined by volunteer biologist Steev Ward)
*20 Alki Cooperative Preschool kids, plus chaperones, seeing two spawners on their Nov. 21 field trip.
*About 100 people checking out spawning activity from the fish-ladder viewpoint (SW Director and upper Fauntleroy Way SW, across from the ferry terminal). Note: The viewpoint is a treat to visit anytime but is especially interesting during spawning season (Halloween to Thanksgiving).

Local volunteers joined the county-wide Salmon Watch program in 2000. Since then, watchers have tallied 479 spawners (chart after the jump):Read More

West Seattle holidays: Sharing the lights; Santa at CAPERS

Did you take advantage of the dry, clear day to put up lights? A LOT of lights? The Burns Family at 3216 SW 114th has 20,000 lights up and invites you to come have a look – they shared the photo along with that invitation. “We have been decorating our home for about 20 years starting with a few strings of lights in 1991,” they explain. Here’s a map to the area; the lights are on 5-10 pm nightly through New Year’s Eve. If *you* have a whole lot of lights – or know someone/someplace that does – we’d love to feature them again this year, and will add them to the “Christmas Lights” section on the WSB West Seattle Holiday Events and Info page too; e-mail editor@westseattleblog.com (photo not mandatory, we can come take one if need be!).

Another holiday scene to share in addition to all the others we’ve photographed/reported on this weekend:

This weekend, CAPERS in The Junction not only had its annual Holiday Open House, the shop also played host, as promised, to the popular Santa Claus who used to have Westwood at the top of his list, so to speak. He was there for “DIY photos” – you bring your camera – the past two afternoons; above, he posed today with Frances and Teagan. He’ll be back at CAPERS 3-7 pm next Friday and 1-5 pm next Saturday and Sunday (next Sunday, December 11th, is a huge day for CAPERS because they’re also hosting Caspar Babypants at 11 am!). And he’s planning a Holy Rosary visit 9 am-noon next Saturday (December 10th). Of course, Santa is everywhere; the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays charity-fundraiser Santa photos were a hit today too, with quite the line when we visited for our first pic.

West Seattle holidays: First Lutheran Church’s St. Nicholas Faire fundraiser

Till 7 pm, First Lutheran Church of West Seattle‘s basement is aglow in white Christmas lights and good cheer for a combination gift-basket silent auction and wine-tasting event, the 3rd annual St. Nicholas Faire. There’s an admission charge, with funds raised benefiting West Seattle Helpline and West Seattle Food Bank. (We found board members from the former – the church’s pastor Rev. Ron Marshall – and the latter – Pete Spalding – on hand.) The 110-plus gift baskets were put together by Larraine King, who organized the event, with a bit of help:

The baskets have themes from cookies to toys to cuisine and beyond, even this beach “basket”:

The wine is courtesy of Rev. Marshall’s winemaking brother Rich Marshall of award-winning Maryhill Winery:

If you missed this and this weekend’s other bazaars/fairs, and giving opportunities, no worries – more next weekend – keep an eye on the WSB West Seattle Holiday Events and Info page!

Log House Museum decks the halls, prepares for totem-pole project

December 4, 2011 4:44 pm
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 |   Holidays | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

The house that’s home to West Seattle history, the Log House Museum, is a lot more Christmasy tonight after a volunteer decorating party this afternoon. When we stopped by, volunteer Pete was helping with the lights outside:

Inside, the gift shop – which is now on the museum’s first floor, instead of in the annex out back – is having a holiday sale. And we talked with museum/Southwest Seattle Historical Society leaders about perhaps the biggest project ahead in the New Year, restoration and upright display of the totem pole that’s been stored at the museum:

That’s the one that used to be at the Admiral Way Viewpoint. Artech, which restored the Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole after its theft and return two years ago, will do the work on this one too. Funding will come in large part from a grant made by the National Society of Colonial Dames of the State of Washington. (added) WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli photographed it in 2004, while it was still in its old spot:

You can stop by the Log House Museum at 61st/Stevens any Thursday-Sunday, noon-4 pm, to see the exhibits and find out more about everything new they’re doing with everything old!

Update: 1st round of West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Santa photos raises $1,500 for local nonprofits

While Santa Claus got ready to see his next visitor, volunteer Lauren from WestSide Baby offered a bright-as-Christmas-tree-lights smile. WS Baby is one of the local charities benefiting from the $15 donation for West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Santa photos happening till 3 pm (and again 11 am-3 pm next Sunday, December 11th) at photographer Donna Ryan‘s City Mouse Studio and Store (4218 SW Alaska). Also stop by the H-Holidays booth at California/Alaska for extra holiday cheer – and enter the Junction’s $3,500 Holiday Raffle while you’re going from shop to shop (here’s the list of participants – look for a wrapped entry box like the one in this story).

ADDED MONDAY: The Junction reports $1,500 was raised for local nonprofits with Sunday’s Santa photos!