West Seattle, Washington
01 Sunday
This year’s latest proof that “crime takes no holiday”: Burcu e-mailed late last night with word of a Christmas Eve crash (photos added 2:02 pm):
There was a hit and run late 12/24 (in the 4400 block of) 45th Ave SW. Two cars were hit by a Ford truck which we could see from the remains. We didn’t leave the house all day (Christmas) until 9 pm. There were 2 Priuses parked back to back … the left side of the back one was badly damaged and the back side of the car parked at the front was badly damaged. … Ford truck remains on the floor is all we have. There wasn’t any note left on any of the cars. The police is here writing reports now but if anyone has heard/seen please notify us at btunca@gmail.com. This is extremely rude, heartless and I can’t find words to describe how I exactly feel. What a gift on Christmas!
For anyone and everyone whose holiday presents included an “e-reader,” the Seattle Public Library‘s Southwest Branch in West Seattle (35th/Henderson) is offering special clinics each of the next four afternoons, 1-3 pm. (Yes, the libraries ARE open today!)
(Christmas Day view of the downtown skyline from West Seattle, by Emily Austin)
Since Christmas happened on a Sunday this year, today’s the official holiday, which means some closures and changes. Here’s what’s different as a result:
TRANSPORTATION: Metro is on a Sunday schedule today (and a “reduced weekday schedule” the next 4 weekdays); no West Seattle or Vashon Water Taxi service; Sound Transit is on a Sunday schedule (but no Sounder trains).
PARKING: We don’t have city pay stations/meters in West Seattle, but if you’re going downtown or elsewhere with Seattle street parking that has them, it’s a “parking holiday” – no charge today.
POST OFFICE/MAIL DELIVERY: Today is a postal holiday.
BANKS: Closed.
GOVERNMENT OFFICES/FACILITIES: Most are closed, with this exception …
SEATTLE LIBRARIES ARE OPEN: Seattle Public Library branches are scheduled to be open regular Monday hours today.
LIQUOR STORES: Junction store (42nd/Alaska) is open, according to this list.
SOLID-WASTE PICKUP: The City of Seattle is on a regular schedule this week, and for the next two weeks, you can include Christmas trees (rules explained here).
Thanks to Debra Salazar Herbst for sharing the view from south of Alki Point before sunset today – and David Hutchinson for a closer view of what we believe is the same kayaker:
The waves came as the day’s second high tide approached – but today’s afternoon high tide wasn’t as high as the morning high tides coming in the next two days (here’s the chart). Tomorrow (6:41 am) and Tuesday (7:16 am) bring the highest of this season’s so-called “king tides” – both 12.8 feet. Obviously that’s before it gets light, but the day after that, you might get a good look at a tide almost that high, 12.7 feet at 7:51 am on Wednesday. P.S. If you photograph any of these really-high tides, the state Department of Ecology would love to see your photos (and so would we!).
ADDED TUESDAY: We did go out early this morning to see what the “king tide” looked like – a little dark for anything really spectacular but if you regularly visit Seacrest, for example, you can tell in our photo (taken just after 7 am) that the tide was quite high:
If you’re thinking about going out for dinner and/or drinks, here’s who either told us they’d be open or posted it somewhere visible online…
FEEDBACK LOUNGE (WSB sponsor), 4 pm-2 am (both food and drink)
THE THAITAN, open with full menu and delivery till 9 pm
A TERRIBLE BEAUTY, special dinner menu, till 11 pm (menu here)
BEVERIDGE PLACE PUB: Open 6 pm-2 am
THE BRIDGE: Opens at 4 pm – lounge only
SHADOWLAND: Open
TUG INN: 8 pm-2 am, “Karaoke Christmas and Ugly Sweater Contest”
YEN WOR, 9 pm-2 am. Lounge only. Karaoke at 9.
(added) OUTWEST BAR (open per Facebook comment)
We’re sure there are at least a few more, so if you know of any, please add a comment. Thanks! (If you’re looking for grocery-store info, here’s the short version – the QFCs just closed, the Safeways are open till 5, then no supermarkets are open in this area till 5 tomorrow morning.)
11:04 AM: Wind’s kicked up in a big way this past half-hour or so, at least here in Upper Fauntleroy, which is particularly worrisome on a holiday – will the power go out while the turkey/ham/whatever is baking, etc. – but so far, no special weather advisories, just a forecast that says “breezy, 15-25 mph.” At 11 am, though, the Weather Service recorded a 43 mph gust at Alki Point. We’ll update if the forecast/state of advisory-less-ness changes.
11:39 AM UPDATE: Outages now – mostly Shorewood/White Center/North Burien, with a bit of South Park affected, according to the City Light map. We also have some Comcast trouble reported.
NOON UPDATE: And NOW the Weather Service has issued an advisory – till 3 pm, gusts up to 50 mph (read it here). Also just added a bit of video, maybe most of interest if you are reading this from out of town – the wind tousling (to put it mildly) the tree across the street from us.
12:40 PM UPDATE: Things have been a lot quieter for the past 20-plus minutes, though the storm has headed northward (past West Seattle) and left thousands of people without power there too (currently more than 11,000 around City Light’s service area). There’s word of a tree down on 16th north of South Seattle Community College – so you may have to detour in that area for a while.
1:47 PM: Metro sent word that Route 125 is routed off 16th SW between Dawson and Myrtle, apparently because of the aforementioned tree.
2:41 PM: There’s one outage listed in West Seattle now, 13 homes/businesses in the 55th/56th/Alki Avenue area. That’s one of more than 40 around City Light’s service area, with almost 17,000 homes/businesses still out of power. In Lincoln Park, tree branches are down – thanks to Anne for the photo.
3:15 PM: The wind advisory has expired; the forecast for tonight and beyond is quieter (then again, today’s wind wasn’t originally in the forecast, so we won’t get complacent!). Meantime, the tree on 16th isn’t cleared yet, Cecilia says in the comment section:
Just went to check out where the downed tree on 16th is. The road is blocked at the curve where 16th turns into Dawson. I talked to the officer stationed there and he said there is a live power line down at 17th and Dawson but the intersection is free at 18th and Dawson for detours and no ETA on when it will be cleared.
Not an all-inclusive list, but another combination of what we found online plus what we received after publishing an open invitation to share info:
HOTWIRE ONLINE COFFEEHOUSE (WSB sponsor) open 8 am-2 pm
RED CUP ESPRESSO 8 am-noon
DIVA ESPRESSO 8 am-1 pm.
TULLY’S ON ALKI open till 3 pm
CHACO CANYON CAFE open till 10:30 am for coffee and tea (no food or juices)
FRESHY’S COFFEE opening at 8:30 am, open till 2-ish
CAFFE DELIA (in the Proletariat Pizza storefront in White Center) open 9 am-1 pm
CAFFE LADRO open till noon
(added) UPTOWN ESPRESSO/JUNCTION is open (noticed while driving by)
(added) STARBUCKS/ADMIRAL is open, per comment below
Anybody else you’ve found that’s open today? Post a comment and we’ll add to the list.
LOOKING FOR AN OPEN GROCERY STORE? There are five, all in this list we published previously.
LOOKING FOR RESTAURANTS? See the Holidays page.
(UPDATED with Stella back home – see below)
ORIGINAL 1:50 AM REPORT: The dog on the left is Stella – and her people are without her this Christmas morning, after burglar/s stole her (and more) on Christmas Eve. Chris sent this report late Saturday night:
My in-laws in West Seattle, on 31st Avenue and SW Holden St, [map] in the High Point neighborhood were robbed tonight. Their names are Mark and Jodi … and they are some of the kindest people I know. They were gone for most of the afternoon and evening delivering presents to their family around the Puget Sound area.
The thieves took all their Christmas gifts, family heirloom Christmas decorations, their electronics (TV, computer, etc).
But the BIGGEST loss, is their dog. Stella, a 3 year old female spayed Boxer (usually with a pink rope-style collar) was stolen by these heartless thieves. If you can help us to find her, it would mean the world to us all. I attached a photo of Stella, she’s on the left in the picture.
Gifts and electronics can be replaced, and heirlooms are only to remind us of the memories we already have. Their wonderful, kind, dog however is not replaceable. We’re all completely heartbroken that she was taken; my in-laws loved her like a child, and my own puppy (on the right in the photo) loved her so much.
Chris says they hope getting the word out might bring Stella home. We’ve added her to the WSB Pets page, too.
10:22 AM UPDATE: Good news! Just in from Chris:
Just to update: apparently Stella came home this morning. Not sure if she was just accidentally released by the burglars or if they let her go. Still traumatic to have the robbery have occurred, but with the only items missing being Christmas presents, I know we’ll have a much better Christmas. I’m seeing her return as the best present we could have gotten, under the circumstances. Family and friends (including the 4-footed variety) is what the holidays are really about.
Apparently she just showed up at the door – not hurt, Chris says, but “very scared.”
Merry Christmas! We’re suddenly running out of holiday time to show you the great displays people have sent tips about, so this time around we have three, all in the greater Admiral area – two from tips, one that we spotted near a tipped location. Above, the red-and-green-lit skyline is in the yard that every Halloween is transformed into the stage for the amazing animatronics of Skeleton Theatre, 36th/Hanford (thanks to the person who texted us about it today). Not even a full block south, we found this home, where the lights (adorning its side as well as its front) are even grander than our photo suggests:
And then a mile west, we checked out a cute sight – a candy cane in lights, on and in a tree in the 2700 block of 48th SW:
All three are now added to this year’s WSB West Seattle Christmas Lights map.
If you’ve already heard “Jingle Bells,” “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” and “Little Drummer Boy” so many times you are afraid you won’t get them out of your head before Valentine’s Day … here’s something a little different. Two weeks ago, Fauntleroy Church music director Bronwyn Edwards‘ cantata “Wonder” premiered at the church. We didn’t get a chance to check out the performance – but someone recorded much of it on video and published clips to YouTube. One clip is above; if you click on the lower right to get to its page on YouTube, you’ll find a few others. (As noted on her website, Edwards has spent the holiday season playing piano at Sea-Tac Airport!)
West Seattle Nursery sent word earlier tonight that its leftover trees were free for the taking outside its gates at California/Brandon – and we noticed several still there when we drove by about 15 minutes ago, just in case you are trying to find one.
From Judy Cashman, one of the carolers who serenaded The Junction these past two Saturdays:
Hello to our wonderful West Seattle neighbors – so generous in the many ways we pitch in and help! And to the Best folks at the Food Banks who are so needed! I guess we realize that there but for the grace of God go I!
Today we sang carols on a corner in the Junction, and made over $500 all going to our West Seattle and White Center Food Banks, This in addition to the $500 we made last weekend for the Food Banks – all proceeds going to our WS neighbors! :-)
Thanks to all who helped out – you who gave, and sang along, and encouraged and cheered with smiles and waves, horn honks and donations of treats even!
Special thanks to Anna and Mike on guitar, and to the SSCC community choir folks who helped “We 3 Carolers” sing – we couldn’t have done it without you!
I especially want to thank my husband Tim, guitarist and leader of the Band – we have met the most wonderful people thanks to your music!
Love to you all, Judy
Please note, this is NOT a list of the only shops still open – it IS a list made from a combination of businesses’ responses to the open invitations we published here on WSB/Web and WSB/Facebook to share info about Christmas Eve/Day hours, and online info we were able to find for others. Shop local today and year-round! These are hours for TODAY (Christmas Eve) unless otherwise noted. Please click the links to check their websites for addresses and other contact info – we’re running out of time to go out and finish OUR shopping so no time to add all that too. If you have info for a store not on this list, let us know ASAP and we’ll do our best to add it – meantime, grocery stores are listed here; and for other things, our Holidays page has LOTS more info, including restaurants/bars/coffee (whose standalone list will be up later.):
AARON’S BICYCLE SHOP till 6 pm
AGAIN AND A GAIN till 5 pm
ALKI ARTS till 7 pm
ALKI MAIL AND DISPATCH till 2 pm
ATOMIC BOYS till 3 pm – coupon here
AVALON GLASSWORKS till 2 pm
BEER JUNCTION till 3 pm
CAPERS till 4 pm
CITY MOUSE STUDIO AND STORE till 4 pm
CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS (WSB sponsor) till 5 pm
JUNCTION TRUEVALUE HARDWARE till 4 pm
McLENDON HARDWARE till 6 pm
MOUNTAIN TO SOUND OUTFITTERS till 4 pm
NORTHWEST ART AND FRAME till 5 pm
NURTURING EXPRESSIONS (WSB sponsor) till 2 pm
PHARMACA INTEGRATIVE PHARMACY (WSB sponsor) till 6 pm – coupon here
SNEAKERY till 5 pm
TWILIGHT ARTIST COLLECTIVE till 4 pm
WEST SEATTLE CELLARS
We have some service providers with Christmas hours too –
M3 BODYWORKS (WSB sponsor) massage therapy till 9 pm Christmas Eve, noon-9 pm Christmas Day – coupon here
HEAD TO TOE DAY SPA (WSB sponsor) till 3 pm
COCO & CO. till 3 pm
Check to see if any other stores you’re shopping have deals in the WSB Holiday Shopping Guide, or on the year-round WSB Coupons page.
From the West Seattle Eagles, who are mourning their Madam President, Linda Crank:
In Loving Memory of Linda Crank.
Please join us for a memorial service to honor Linda Crank, a friend, sister, colleague, and active volunteer in her community.
The service will be held at the West Seattle Eagles Hall on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 2:00 pm. The service will conclude with a potluck affair.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the charities that Linda supported: Stan Murray Kidney Fund or Breast Cancer.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Suzanne Gutierrez directly by phone (206.890.2461) or e-mail at k.suzannegutierrez@gmail.com
Fraternal Order of Eagles
West Seattle
Aerie/Auxiliary 2643
4426 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116
www.westseattleeagles.org
(WSB photo of donation bin @ Helmstetler lights location, November 2011)
Though most holiday-geared donation drives are wrapped up before Christmas Eve, here are two things you can do tonight to help local food banks:
BENEFIT SHOW FOR WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK: Ann just sent word of a benefit tonight at the Shipwreck Tavern “featuring several bands including Death’s 3 Daughters, Maurice and His Thing, Ian Prebo, and Lasla. Starts at 8 pm, no cover charge but bring food or cash donations for the food bank. Shipwreck is located at 4210 SW Admiral Way.”
BRING WEST SEATTLE FOOD BANK DONATIONS TO THE HELMSTETLER FAMILY SPECTACULAR: They’ve been collecting all season, including a donation bin right in front of the music-synched-lights-adorned house at 3908 SW Charlestown, and tonight/tomorrow night you’ll be offered free cocoa if you stop by. Here’s our original story on that.
(Photo courtesy Alki UCC)
Alki United Church of Christ sent that photo along with an announcement of its “semi-spontaneous all-church Christmas pageant” 10 am tomorrow at 6115 SW Hinds: “Come as you are, or come dressed as an angel, shepherd or magi. Or grab something from the church costume racks when you arrive (though kids get first dibs!).” That’s one of the announcements we received after posting requests for church info; we also combed the Web, and here’s the result – a list of services tonight/tomorrow at West Seattle churches. For some of these churches, we have even more information on the WSB Holidays page, but here are the basics, in alphabetical order:
ADMIRAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (California/Hill):
Christmas Eve candlelight worship service with carols, 9 pm
Christmas Day, 10:30 am
ALKI UCC CHURCH (6112 SW Hinds):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm “designed for families with young children,” 10 pm candlelight service
Christmas Day: 10 am (as mentioned above)
ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY CHURCH (41st/102nd):
Christmas Day: 10 am
BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH-WEST SEATTLE (meets at High Point Community Center, 6920 34th SW; WSB sponsor)
Christmas Eve “family celebration”: 4 PM
EASTRIDGE CHURCH-WEST SEATTLE (39th/Oregon):
Christmas Eve: 5:30 pm
Christmas Day: 11 am
FAUNTLEROY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (9140 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 4 pm children’s service, 7 pm all ages, 11 pm Communion service
Christmas Day: 10 am
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST SEATTLE (4105 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 11 pm, Liturgy of Lessons, Carols, and Holy Eucharist
Christmas Day: 10:30 am, Festival Liturgy and Holy Eucharist in the nave
HILLCREST PRESBYTERIAN (10404 34th SW):
Christmas Day – 11 am
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH (20th/Roxbury):
Christmas Eve: Mass at 5 (English), 6:30 (Spanish), 9 pm (Tagalog)
Christmas Day: 8 & 11 am (English), 9:30 & 12:30 (Spanish), 6 pm (Tagalog)
HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC CHURCH: (42nd/Genesee)
Christmas Eve: 4 pm, 7.30 pm, 10 pm
Christmas Day: 8 and 9.30 am
HOPE LUTHERAN CHURCH (42nd/Oregon):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm family service, 7 pm contemporary, 11 pm candlelight Communion
Christmas Day: 10:30 am
LIFE CHURCH (35th/Cloverdale):
Christmas Eve: 6:30 pm
MARS HILL CHURCH-WEST SEATTLE (7551 35th SW):
Christmas Day: 10:30 am
NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH (3210 SW 106th):
Christmas Day: 10:30 am
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH (35th/Myrtle):
Christmas Eve: 4 pm Family Mass, 10 pm Mass with choir
Christmas Day: 10 am morning Mass
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH (39th/Thistle):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm family, 10 pm candlelight
Christmas Day: 10:30 am
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (3050 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm Children’s Pageant/Eucharist, 10 pm Festival Eucharist
Christmas Day: 10 am Holy Eucharist
TIBBETTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (3940 41st SW; WSB sponsor):
Celtic Christmas Eve Service at 8 pm: Poems and carols from Ireland, Scotland and Wales. “The bagpipes will be playing, the candles glowing and the Christ Child will be carried through the congregation during the Christmas Hail.”
Christmas Day: 10 am
WEST SEATTLE BAPTIST CHURCH (4157 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 6:30 pm candle-lighting service
WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (42nd between Oregon and Genesee):
Christmas Eve: 6 pm in the activity center
Christmas Day: 9 am
WEST SEATTLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: (3601 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm family-friendly, 11 pm Communion
Christmas Day: 11 am
WESTSIDE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION (7141 California SW):
Christmas Eve: 5 pm “family-friendly” service including “Christmas in the Barn” pageant (you can participate if you choose) and candy-cane communion; 8 pm reception; 9 pm candlelight service
Christmas Day: 10:30 am
(Your church missing? That means no one e-mailed us AND we couldn’t find info online – but we’ll be happy to add it; please e-mail address, time/s, link if available, ASAP, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Last Saturday afternoon at Westwood Village, two women had been waiting for a particular parking spot when a fellow driver decided he wanted the same space. One got out of the car and stood in front of the space so that her friend could claim it. Not appreciating this, the other driver drove forward and bumped her three times in the back of the legs before parking nearby. He walked off without saying a word to the women.
Seven more summaries ahead:Read More
As we did on Friday with Christmas Eve/Day West Seattle grocery-store hours, we’re working right now to break out some key information into standalone lists for the home page – but in the meantime, the WSB West Seattle Holidays page contains info from church-service times to restaurant, coffee, and shopping hours, plus a few standalone events (including the Furry Faces/AARF “Wrap It Up” gift-wrapping event 2-7 pm at Beveridge Place Pub). And of course WSB is 24/7/365 … so in addition to holiday info, if news happens, you’ll find it here, and your news tips/photos/etc. are welcome as always.
Random acts of holidayness! Thanks to Timothy for sharing video of the carolers who turned up in his neighborhood (Fairmount Park area) Friday night. (P.S. Not related to this that we know of, but from the WSB Holidays page, there are two scheduled caroling appearances in West Seattle today – 11 am-2 pm at California/Alaska in The Junction, and at Westwood Village, 11:30 am-1:30 pm.)
Whimsical is the word that came to mind when we checked these out, on the recommendation of Thad – so much, we needed to take photos from two angles.
The house is on the west side of 32nd SW, south of SW Cloverdale – and that stretch of 32nd has several other nice displays. We’ve of course added it to the WSB West Seattle Christmas Lights map. Still a few more to check out before Christmas!
Four weeks ago, we got word from Joan about a toy drive with a collection box at Husky Deli, to benefit kids in South Park. Tonight, Joan shares the news that “we did really well,” with local donations resulting in more than 250 presents, distributed at a party attended by more than 450 kids and 350 adults (that’s where the photos are from).
Joan wanted to publicly say “thanks” to everybody who helped out.
5:15 PM: Thanks to everyone who has texted about this – we heard the sirens from a mile south. There’s a major police search in the Seaview area. We have a crew there, and we’re still working to confirm details.
5:33 PM UPDATE: Police at the scene, which is near 45th/Findlay (map), tell us this was called in as a burglary in progress – possibly with people in the house when it happened. They’re searching the area, with K-9 help, for two suspects. We also learned from a nearby resident that police had been called earlier in the afternoon about people who appeared to be trying doors in the area.
As reported in recent WSB Crime Watch updates, police have been making progress in catching suspects in what until recently had been an rash of break-ins; just yesterday, according to Southwest Precinct Capt. Steve Paulsen, they arrested a suspect after a burglary in Fauntleroy.
7:45 PM UPDATE: Neighbor Kristina provides more information in a comment, from which this is excerpted:
This happened next door to my house. My neighbor’s wife had just left in the car to run errands with their two small children, and my neighbor had just come out of the shower and was getting dressed when a man came up behind him and started strangling him. He was able to get away, came to my house, and we called 911. Terrifying for all of us, but everyone was safe in the end (fortunately my neighbor is a strong man). The burglar had kicked in a back door to get in. One theory is that the burglar had watched the wife and kids leave, and thought that the house was empty, but didn’t know that the husband was home.
8:27 PM UPDATE: And more new information, from Capt. Paulsen: “(On) further investigation of the occupied burglary (it) was determined to be a family matter. We are following up on the deceptive reporting given the amount of resources used/responded.”
On the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, we are still collecting info on restaurant/bar/coffee hours for this weekend, as well as any and all local retailers open Christmas Eve for last-minute shoppers – but ONE category of information is now complete: Grocery-store hours, which are as follows:
METROPOLITAN MARKET (WSB sponsor): Closing 6 pm Christmas Eve; closed on Christmas Day
PCC NATURAL MARKETS (WSB sponsor): Closing 7 pm Christmas Eve; closed on Christmas Day
QFC/JUNCTION: Closing 6 pm Christmas Eve; open 8 am-4 pm Christmas Day
QFC/WESTWOOD: Closing 6 pm Christmas Eve; open 7 am-4 pm Christmas Day
SAFEWAY (all three): Closing 7 pm Christmas Eve; open 8 am-5 pm Christmas Day
WEST SEATTLE THRIFTWAY: Closing at 9 pm Christmas Eve; closed Christmas Day
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