Get a new family portrait: All invited to Arbor Heights fundraiser

March 3, 2012 11:37 pm

| Comments Off on Get a new family portrait: All invited to Arbor Heights fundraiser

| Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

As we continue publishing school-fundraiser announcements, here’s an unusual one for next weekend: Arbor Heights Elementary PTA is presenting a “Family Photo Event,” open to all, not just AH families. 9 am-6 pm next Saturday and Sunday (3/10-3/11) they are scheduling professionally photographed family-portrait sessions for $35, “including one complimentary 8 x 10 print and one low-resolution file.” You can even bring the family pet. Fundraising Committee chair Amanda Nokes says, “We will photograph multiple poses and families will choose their favorites themselves.They are of course welcome to purchase any additional pictures they’d like.” But you need to contact her to book a session – 206-902-6324 or maxnokes@comcast.net. (Get more details via this flyer.)

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West Seattle schools: Chief Sealth gala celebrates principal news, and more

March 3, 2012 10:02 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Tonight during the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA‘s third annual Seahawk Spirit Dinner and Auction at The Hall at Fauntleroy, Sealth principal Chris Kinsey got a big hug from Seattle Public Schools‘ interim superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield. Just yesterday afternoon, she announced his appointment as Sealth’s permanent principal, eight months after he joined the school as its “interim” leader. Tonight, she took the stage to describe him as “great.” (She of course is leaving after the school year to lead the neighboring Highline Public Schools district – where she’ll be reunited with Kinsey’s Sealth predecessor, John Boyd, now an executive director of schools for Highline.)

The big turnout for the event included not only parents and community supporters, but also others from the greater West Seattle education community:

At right, that’s West Seattle High School principal Ruth Medsker, with the district’s executive director of West Seattle schools, Aurora Lora. The event raised money for various Sealth programs – academic, athletic, arts among them. A Sealth senior was part of the onstage program too – Kari Sandell:

Kari’s senior-project video, a slice of life at Sealth, was shown. It’s on YouTube, too:

We’re waiting to hear from PTSA president Amy Daly-Donovan about the night’s fundraising total.

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West Seattle wildlife: Watching like, well, a hawk

March 3, 2012 8:25 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

(Click to see larger image via Flickr)
Thanks to Russell in Arbor Heights for sharing his photo of that Cooper’s hawk. He explains that it “has been scoping out a finch nest in our carport.”

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West Seattle power outage: Almost 300 Admiral homes affected

March 3, 2012 6:02 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with news that the power’s out for a stretch of the Admiral area. The City Light outage map says almost 300 homes are without power but should be back by late evening (the “estimated restoration time” is usually a very general estimate – could be earlier). The boundaries are shown as north of Admiral Way, between 47th SW and 53rd SW. No indication at this point of what caused the outage (no fires/lines-down incidents on the 911 log, etc.) – let us know if you’re seeing Seattle City Light crews (we’re out looking too).

6:22 PM UPDATE: Just saw a truck near 47th/Admiral – our crew is going to see if they can get close enough to find out anything about the outage.

6:34 PM UPDATE: Thanks to Karl de Jong, nearby resident and vice president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, for sharing a photo of that crew. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand talked to them very briefly before they moved on – they said they had fixed a “burned connector.” The SCL map still shows the power out, but one commenter says it came back on at 6:23, and we are seeing streetlights/porch lights on in the area.

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West Seattle restaurants: Fiddlehead Fine Foods & Café now open

March 3, 2012 1:34 pm

| 23 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The paper is off the windows, flowers are on each table, and Fiddlehead Fine Foods and Café is open for business at 4310 SW Oregon in The Junction.

Proprietors Carrie Duncan and Dana Moreland welcomed us to the newly opened space; Dana explained that they’re now open for lunch from 11:30 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. They plan to add breakfast service starting next Tuesday (March 6th), 8 am through 11:30 am (and on weekends, breakfast will be served until 1:30 pm.)

The light, airy space features some unique re-purposed furniture: glass-covered vintage doors as for the smaller tables, and a beautiful solid wood work bench as one of the longer tables.

Menu choices include such staples as grilled cheese, meat loaf or roasted turkey sandwiches, along with tantalizing creations such as an ancho-braised pork sandwich (with carmelized onions); lemon rosemary chicken salad with roasted tomatoes and smokey bleu cheese; and daily selections of house-made fine foods at the counter.

Beverages range from fruit juices, sodas, tea, and sparkling water to select wines, hard ciders, and beer. Baked goods and desserts graced the front counter case – including these chocolate caramel pudding cups:

Fiddlehead also offers a soup of the day.

(We’d reported one week ago that Fiddlehead’s sign was up outside the former Blue Willow Luncheonette space, with a photo and tip courtesy of BJ from Brunette Mix [WSB sponsor] next door; today, a tip from Sam at Fleurt [also a WSB sponsor] a couple doors down revealed the doors were open and lunch was being served)

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Election 2012: West Seattle, White Center Republican caucuses; statewide results coming in

March 3, 2012 10:11 am

| 28 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

(9:15 PM UPDATE: Statewide and countywide results continuing to show up here)

10:11 AM: We’re at West Seattle High School, one of two sites in the 34th Legislative District where Republicans are gathering to participate in their party’s statewide precinct caucuses this morning. 34th Republicans chair Jim Clingan had told us they expected the WSHS Commons to be packed; the tables here, each for a specific precinct, are indeed full, maybe 300 people by our count. Craig Keller, who is leading this meeting, is just starting to speak, to explain the rules; he’s been presiding over sign-ins. The gathering is scheduled to continue till noon.

11:22 AM UPDATE: We stayed at WSHS until all the individual tables were about to get down to business. Keller (above) explained to participants that they had two things to accomplish: Elect delegates to the next level of caucusing (one or two delegates per precinct, depending on each precinct’s “Republican voting strength” in the 2008 election), and participate in the presidential “straw poll.” (Participants would have to pledge that they were Republicans – since we don’t have formal party registration in this state – and that they weren’t participating in any other party’s caucuses.) Results were not to be announced at individual caucus locations; they were to be reported to county and then state headquarters, which is expected to announce them tonight. After WSHS, we headed south to White Center to check out the caucusing location that also included precincts from south West Seattle:

This one was run by Jim Clingan, who told us they’d counted about 200 people. One thing of note: We looked at both locations for evidence of presidential-candidate preference, and the only candidate whose logo we noticed was Ron Paul: Somebody wearing a Ron Paul hoodie at WSHS: a stack of Ron Paul signs outside the doors at Evergreen.

4:16 PM UPDATE: The Paul campaigning – he was the only Republican presidential candidate to come to Seattle – seems to be showing in the early results; he’s a close second to Romney. You can watch statewide results updates on this State GOP website.

9:15 PM UPDATE: Statewide, it’s Romney 37 percent, Paul 26 percent, Santorum 25 percent, with 90 percent of the vote counted. King County is listed as 75 percent counted, also with Romney in first place, Paul in second.

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West Seattle Saturday: Cove Park; caucuses; Longhouse…

March 3, 2012 8:50 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo added 9:31 am – Cove Park dig [see below] begins; separate update later!)

From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

COOKIE SALES, DAY 2: Girl Scouts’ cookie sales continue; the online “cookie locator” shows you where and when.

PLANT ADOPTION: Cove Park “big dig,” come help save plants before Pump Station project moves in, 9 to noon, just north of Fauntleroy ferry dock (9005 Fauntleroy Way SW). Bring your own tools; experienced gardeners will be on hand to help you salvage ground covers, shrubs, perennials, or even a small tree.

PURIM STORYTIME: At Kol HaNeshamah, 6115 SW Hinds, 9:30 am. The PJ Library Storytime at Kol HaNeshamah Congregation. Erik Lawson is guest musician, with PJ Library manager Amy Paquette as storyteller. We will be reading a Purim story.

NEED KNITTING HELP? Knitting class for both beginners and project help, 9:30 – 11:30 at C&P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), with instructor Marguerite Lynch.

REPUBLICAN CAUCUSES: GOP gatherings here and statewide are 10 am-noon. Sign in starting at 9:30. Must be a registered voter. Major site in West Seattle is WS High School (3000 California SW); for southern West Seattle and beyond, at Evergreen Campus (830 SW 116th) in White Center. Details, links, and more in our Friday preview.

WHALE OF A DISPLAY: Remember the Arroyos gray whale from 2010? Its skeleton makes its public debut as an educational exhibit at MaST Center, whose executive director Dr. Kaddee Lawrence is a West Seattleite; here’s our recent preview of the exhibit, 10 am-2 pm, 28203 Redondo Beach Dr. S. in Des Moines.

GRIEFSHARE RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUP: Hosted by Grace Church, for those recovering from the loss of a loved one. 10:00 to 11:30 at 10323 28th Ave. SW. Onetime cost for participating in ongoing series once or multiple times is $15 (for a journal).

LONGHOUSE ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: Duwamish Longhouse‘s 3rd Anniversary Open House, 11 am – 3 pm, free. Celebrate the building of the first longhouse in Seattle in 110 years, the home of Chief Seattle’s Duwamish people; programming includes admission to “Peter Boome: Salish Connections,” screening of “Princess Angeline” at 1 pm, and more, 4705 W. Marginal Way SW.

MOVEMENT COURSE: At Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden), six-week intensive course focusing on somatics/movement imagery/voicework and dance ethnology. It will be open to all walks of life and adults can bring their children if they need to. It will be based on movement exploration through storytelling, dance techniques such as contemporary, modern, butoh and West African (yet, one does not have to be a professional dancer to take the class, any sort of mover or lover of movement is welcome). Saturdays for Six Weeks, starting March 3rd-April 7th 11 am-1 pm. $15 a class. Pre-registration required – contact info: miayogi@gmail.com/206-683-4414.

LOCAL STUDENTS’ EVENT OPENS: “Becoming Us – Thru the Eyes of Immigrants,” 2-3 pm. History House of Greater Seattle, 790 North 34th in Fremont, free. Produced by students from Chief Sealth International High School and St. Christopher’s Academy in West Seattle, documenting how immigration has helped make Seattle the city that it is today.

OCCUPY WEST SEATTLE: The group’s next “General Assembly” meeting is this afternoon, West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 2 pm.

SCHOOL FUNDRAISER: Chief Sealth PTSA auction, The Hall at Fauntleroy, 5 pm

WILDLIFE WALK: Owling in Lincoln Park with naturalist Stewart Wechsler, 5:30 pm, details here.

STORYTELLING AT THE LONGHOUSE: At the Duwamish Longhouse: “Native Oral, Visual & Digital Storytelling for Social Justice,” 6-8 pm, free. Program/Reception, Keeping the Earth Power Coming, Native oral, visual and digital storytelling for Social Justice, hosted by the Inclusion and Justice Committee of Antioch University’s PhD in Leadership and Change Program. Includes stories by local Duwamish youth about the Duwamish River. 4705 W. Marginal Way SW.

FOOD HANDLER PERMIT CLASSES FOR TEENS: Free at Southwest Teen Life Center for ages 13-19, 7 pm, 1st Saturday each month. 2801 SW Thistle.

PARTY AT THE FEEDBACK: Joe Dredd‘s “Meet Your Facebook Friends” Party, 8 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor).

‘ROCKY’: Monthly “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” shadow casting and all, at Admiral Theater, tonight at midnight.

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2 hurt in Fauntleroy flip; church wayfinding sign damaged too

March 3, 2012 3:22 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Photos by WSB editor Tracy Record)
A suddenly ironic sign marked the spot where that car flipped onto a Fauntleroy sidewalk a short time ago, right on the curve from Fauntleroy Way eastbound onto Wildwood (map). 2 people were hurt, minor injuries per the scanner, and we can confirm that the one victim who was placed on a gurney was sitting up as he was wheeled toward a private ambulance. Police were tracing the car’s trajectory:

Though that “no stops” sign survived unscathed, what you see in the lower right corner of that photo is another sign that did not:

That sign has long been a wayfinder pointing people to Fauntleroy UCC Church a few blocks east. No other cars were involved in the crash, but this one had far-ranging effects; police were up on the house’s lawn looking for debris.

ADDED 8:59 AM: Kevin McClintic sent a photo of the sign, taken last fall:

Fauntleroy-residing community volunteer Judy Pickens says that to her recollection, it’s been there since the mid-’90s, with the family who lives there having kindly agreed to “host” the sign.

ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: This is believed to be a case of DUI, according to the SPD time-delayed “incident response” map.

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