Thanks to BJ, proprietor of Brunette Mix (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, for sharing the photo of her new neighbors from Fiddlehead Fine Foods and Café, putting up their sign today. We had noticed just yesterday that one of their doors was topped with a rendering of their namesake fern:

Fiddlehead is the coming-soon breakfast/lunch café that’s taken over the former Blue Willow Catering/Luncheonette spot at 4310 SW Oregon, just steps west of California SW. We’re still working to get key Fiddlehead details such as target opening date, and we’ll report ’em when we get ’em. Blue Willow, you might recall, moved out four months ago, saying it would continue its catering operations from a commercial kitchen elsewhere.

Share This

Just in case you wondered: Highland Park fire call

February 25, 2012 7:50 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Highland Park | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

The big fire response to the 8100 block of 15th SW this past half-hour was for a problem that turned out NOT to be a fire – we went to the scene just to verify, and fire crews told us it was a smoldering electrical wire. They’re canceling the rest of the units now.

Share This

Election 2012: One week till Republican caucuses

February 25, 2012 7:04 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Since the Republican presidential-nomination race seems far from settled, expect a lot of national-media attention on our state in the coming week, with the party’s precinct caucuses set for one week from today – 10 am to noon, Saturday, March 3. To get your Republican caucus location online, you have to use the “caucus locator” lookup; we tried a sampling of precinct numbers (using this map) and so far it looks like north West Seattle goes to West Seattle High School, south West Seattle to the Evergreen Campus in White Center (let us know if your precinct comes up with someplace different). Though in 2008, both parties caucused on the same day, this year they’re more than a month apart; Democratic precinct caucuses are on April 15th, ~~also 10 am-noon~~, location list and times to come. And in case you’ve forgotten, there’s no presidential primary; it was called off to save an estimated $10 million.

Share This

West Seattle Weather Watch: Ice from the sky; celestial show

February 25, 2012 3:06 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(ADDED SUNDAY: Another photo of the sky show; scroll down!)

3:06 PM: No snow so far, and the wind advisory has been called off, but a bit of wild weather just moved through – an ice-pellet shower, which we caught on video in case the experts want to offer the proper ID (we still haven’t sorted out hail vs. sleet vs. graupel, etc.). According to the newest forecast, there’s still a chance of snow showers between now and Monday.

6:24 PM NOTE: The sky show mentioned in our morning preview – the moon and Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter – is clearly visible right now in the twilight sky – look west, and up. (Here’s info from Space.com.)

6:43 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Melissa for the photo. Jupiter is in the far upper left; Venus is below the moon.

SUNDAY MORNING ADDITION: Thanks to David Hutchinson for the view from Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza!

Share This

West Seattle weekend scene: Girl Scout Cookies’ arrival

February 25, 2012 1:34 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Today was the day for the annual one-morning ritual at the Alaska Marine Lines loading dock on West Marginal Way SW – minivans and SUVs lining up along the bays where only semi-trucks usually roam. The cargo – this year’s West Seattle quota of Girl Scout Cookies:

That’s Sarah, one of the Scouts who pitched in to get the boxes of cookies to the troop leaders/parents whose pickups were paced across the span of a few morning hours. Some boxes are destined for fulfillment of preorders; others will be stacked at tables outside (mostly) grocery stores when open public sales start next Friday (March 2nd). To find out which troops are selling cookies where, and when, you an use the online Cookie Locator.

Share This

West Seattle wildlife: The Alki ‘shrimp’ that wasn’t

February 25, 2012 10:03 am

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Click for larger view)
Another peek at a world that’s all around us, yet so small it’s all but out of sight: Photographer Machel Spence explains her image:

I just had to share this because it’s pretty darn amazing! It’s a phantom shrimp I happened to come across down by the water; they are also called skeleton shrimps … this one was fairly small (1/2 an inch) but they can get up to 2 inches. She has a brood pouch too, which I personally have never actually seen with my own eyes (just in books). In the past, I have come across large colonies of these but they move around so much, they can be hard to photograph, but this beautiful girl just stayed completely still (pretty awesome moment!) It was on a piece of eelgrass down at Alki. They are not actually shrimps but amphipods.

(More info about them can be found here.)

Share This

West Seattle Saturday: Breakfast; businesses; barleywine…

February 25, 2012 6:43 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Click for larger view: Aerial photo by Long B. Nguyen, looking over West Seattle in early February )
Happy Saturday! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

NICKELSVILLE FUNDRAISER PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 8 am-11 am at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene, 42nd and Juneau. By donation (which two donors have said they’ll match to $500, meaning first $500 will be tripled). Here’s the announcement in the WSB Forums.

AT THE TOOL LIBRARY: Click-Together Cork Flooring, “work in progress” event at West Seattle Tool Library, 9 am-5 pm. Details and RSVP here.

PUGET CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION: On the grounds of Sanislo Elementary, 10 am-1 pm, volunteers appreciated! Details in this WSB preview.

ME-KWA-MOOKS WORK PARTY: 10 am-2 pm, EarthCorps‘ volunteer work party at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park. This is a Green Seattle Partnership project.

WEST SEATTLE PARTICIPANTS AT SEATTLE HOME SHOW: Seattle Home Show‘s 2nd-to-last day, 10 am-8 pm, at CenturyLink Field Event Center. Participants include WSB sponsors Ventana Construction, Potter Construction, and NCompass Cottage Company.

SUPPORT GROUP: Grace Church hosts a 13-week GriefShare recovery support group starting today for those that have lost a loved one by death. Saturday mornings, 10 am-11:30 am, 10323 28th SW, you can join at any time, onetime cost $15 (for a journal).

TOT SHABBAT: Presented by West Seattle Torah Learning Center, 10:30 am till noon. From the announcement: “Calling all tots! Join us for singing stories and lots of fun with Morah Miriam. Followed by TLC kiddush lunch for everyone!” E-mail for location info, gitifredman@gmail.com

STORY TIME and every Saturday: 11 am at Westwood Village Barnes and Noble, with treats for the kids, all ages welcome.

IN TANDEM MIDWIFERY, GRAND OPENING: This new and one-of-a-kind practice at 4517 California Ave SW (upstairs, in the breezeway), is having a grand-opening open house noon-4 pm. (Here’s our feature on In Tandem.)

VISIT THE VIETNAMESE CULTURAL CENTER: Open to the public noon-3 pm every Saturday, 2236 SW Orchard (north of Home Depot; past WSB coverage here).

JAN’S BEAUTY SUPPLY, BRIEF CLOSURE: Starting at 1:30 pm, this Junction business is closing through Monday for some work, as previewed here.

OCCUPY WEST SEATTLE: Its next General Assembly is at 2 pm today at Café Rozella.

MEMORIAL FOR FORMER CHIEF SEALTH PRINCIPAL: Per the obituary published on WSB Friday, the service is 2 pm today for Shuzo Chris Kato at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church.

ON A ROLL: Roller derby at Southgate Roller Rink in White Center! Seattle Derby Brats vs. I-5 Rollergirls – details here and also in this Facebook invite. Doors open 5:30 pm.

9TH ANNUAL BARLEYWINE BACCHANAL: Weeklong event starts today at Beveridge Place Pub. From BPP: “Join us for Seattle’s oldest week-long barleywine festival! We’ll have 24 rotating taps all dedicated to the world’s biggest, strongest, brews. From Bellingham to Boulder and Beyond, these beers are sure to knock your socks off! Specific Days with Specific Vertical tastings of multiple vintages.”

SHOW IN THE SKY: If there’s a break in the clouds, this planetary show might be visible again.

P.S. – WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY APPROACHES: Coordinated/presented by WSB again this year, West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day is coming up May 12 – eleven weeks from today. We’ll be announcing registration info in a few weeks.

Share This

Chief Sealth’s new football coach: ‘If we do the right thing … the victories will come’

February 25, 2012 6:26 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

By Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Just before heading out for the midwinter break that concludes this weekend, Chief Sealth International High School football players were served a sizable helping of food for thought.

It came in a closed-door meeting with their new coach, Luther Carr III (right), last Friday afternoon. Immediately afterward, we got a chance to talk with the coach whose appointment was announced two days earlier, three months after athletic director Sam Reed announced the search for a new coach, following years of losing seasons.

The day of his first Sealth team meeting – Friday, February 17th — was Coach Carr’s first day on the job.

Share This