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month : 04/2012 332 results

Chow down, lift up: ‘Dining Out for Life’ last night; ‘Dine Out for Hunger’ next Wednesday
April 27, 2012 9:57 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Two notes about local restaurants joining in dine-out fundraisers:

‘DINING OUT FOR LIFE’ POSTSCRIPT: Last night we stopped by Skylark Café and Club, one of four West Seattle/White Center venues that joined in Lifelong AIDS Alliance‘s annual dine-out fundraiser, to say hi to the on-site DO4L ambassadors: Bill Wiesenbach and Lorraine Fournier.

‘DINE OUT FOR HUNGER’ NEXT WEDNESDAY: We’re seeing lots of incoming e-mail reminders about Give Big, the one-day event next Wednesday (May 2nd) to encourage people to donate to participating nonprofits via the Seattle Foundation, which promises a “stretch pool” to provide some matching funds to those nonprofits. One local participant, White Center Food Bank, is going all-out, as noted on partner site White Center Now – including an event Wednesday night called “Dine Out for Hunger”: Proletariat Pizza and Zippy’s Giant Burgers are both donating a cut of dinner proceeds that night to WC Food Bank.

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West Seattle Friday: Sealth soccer; ‘Elvis’; Black Bangs…
April 27, 2012 9:14 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Jason Sutherland

(“Surfing” West Seattle! Photo by J. Patzer Photography, from the WSB Flickr group pool)
A few highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:

COLLEGE AND CAREER INFO FOR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES: You’re invited to an event – including dinner! – at High Point Neighborhood Center (6400 Sylvan Way SW), 4:30-7 pm, to help students and families look ahead to college and careers. Details here.

GOING FOR #12: Chief Sealth International High School‘s undefeated boys-varsity soccer team (now ranked #4 in the state!) goes for hosting Bainbridge tonight at 6. Here’s how athletic director Sam Reed described the matchup via all-school e-mail (republished here with permission):

The Seahawks will host Metro Mountain division leaders and the #2 ranked team in state, the Bainbridge Spartans. Bainbridge played in the WIAA State Championship game last Spring and is currently 8-1-3 on the season. The varsity game will start at 6:00 pm (JV starts at 4:00 pm) and will be played across the street at the Southwest Athletic Complex. Admission is free.

(P.S. Sports schedules for both CSIHS and West Seattle High School are available daily via our calendar.)

SANISLO BENEFIT BASH: As previewed here earlier this week – tonight’s the Sanislo Elementary PTA‘s Annual Fund fun(draiser) at Highland Park Improvement Club, live music and more. 6:30-9 pm. Admission by donation; details here.

‘ELVIS’ AT THE SENIOR CENTER: The West Seattleite who won this year’s Elvis Invitationals (video above), Bret Wiggins, plays the Senior Center of West Seattle tonight, 7:30 pm – details here.

‘EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR’: Playwright Lauren Gunderson describes it as “part I Love Lucy, part Jacobean revenge tragedy, part feminist manifesto, part beautiful ballet, part nature special, and part 80′s power ballad,” according to the website for ArtsWest in The Junction, where its run continues with a 7:30 pm performance tonight (buy tickets online, here).

BLACK BANGS @ FEEDBACK LOUNGE: The Feedback (WSB sponsor) continues its 3rd-birthday festivities with a performance of the Black Bangs – fronted by Feedback GM Bradi Jones – at 9 tonight.

More on the calendar!

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Delridge Day 2012: Want to be a sponsor, vendor, musician?
April 27, 2012 8:19 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Delridge | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(2011 Delridge Day photo by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Saturday, August 18th, is the date set for this year’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council-presented Delridge Day, and though that’s almost four months away, organizers – who put it together at the last minute as something of a rescue operation last year! – are signing up sponsors and vendors NOW, as well as musicians. Here’s an update from Holli Margell:

Last year’s 5th Annual Delridge Day was a true community success. North Delridge Neighborhood Council’s Co-Secretary, Amanda Leonard, stepped up when the previous organizing group’s lack of funds threatened to cancel the festival. The result? A community-wide celebration that included the Delridge Skatepark Grand Opening, over 40 vendors and more than 2,000 attendees. Plans for an even bigger 2012 Delridge Day Festival are currently under way.

The 2012 Delridge Day Festival is planned for August 18th from 11 AM-3 PM at the Delridge [Community Center] Park. This year’s festival will feature two new activities: the first Alki Bike and Board Skate Contest and a music stage. Interested musicians can e-mail Chas Redmond at credmond@mac.com and provide links to their music.

The planning committee is working on securing sponsors and vendors to make this year’s event happen. The sponsorship and vendor fees not only support the festival, but also give back to the community as 15% of all fees are donated to the ARC (Associated Recreational Council), which provides scholarships for Community Center classes at the Delridge Community Center.

Vendor and Sponsor packets are available online at www.ndnc.org/delridgeday – which is also where to keep up with festival plans – or by emailing the planning committee at delridgeday@ndnc.org.

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Be an ivy fighter! Removal work in West Seattle on Saturday
April 27, 2012 7:11 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

You’ve probably heard that ivy, while it may look lovely and rustic climbing on old brick buildings, for example, is an enemy to trees. Steve Richmond explains why, and invites you to a removal project tomorrow:

Did you know English ivy changes leaf shape and goes to seed when it climbs vertically? And while it’s strangling our trees, that birds eat the seed and spread it throughout our forests? Ivy plus blackberry (or any food source: bird feeders, unpicked fruit) also attracts rats – not what we want for a healthy city.

What can you do? Join us this Saturday at Sanislo School wetland to remove ivy. We’re also mulching bare soil to avoid erosion and prevent polluted runoff.

When: Saturday, April 28, 2012 (every 4th Saturday)
Time: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (Join for an hour or all day)
Where: Sanislo School Wetland; 1812 SW Myrtle, Seattle, WA 98106. Meet at front of school.
What to bring: Gloves, hand tiller (we’ll have extra, but write your name on your tools), weather-appropriate gear (rain or cold), hat/eye/sun protection, food/water/bottle, sturdy shoes/boots. Snacks and water provided.

For info: pugetcreekwatershedalliance.org; Steve Richmond (206) 650-9807

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Drug Take-Back Day tomorrow: Southwest Precinct dropoffs
April 27, 2012 7:04 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Health | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

No need to have expired and/or unneeded prescription drugs around the house … they can be dangerous for a variety of reasons – theft, abuse, poisoning, even water pollution if someone mistakenly thinks it’s OK to flush them or throw them down the drain … Whatever you have on hand, there’s an easy way to get rid of it tomorrow via Drug Take-Back Day – drop them off at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster), 10 am-2 pm. Seattle Police precincts around the city are participating, and this update from their SPD Blotter website explains.

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West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network: CPTED refresher
April 26, 2012 11:07 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network: CPTED refresher
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

You’ve heard the basic crime-prevention advice and probably follow it – standard advice such as lock your doors, close your windows, don’t leave anything in your car. But crime prevention goes beyond that. There are other steps you can take to make your property less attractive to criminals, and there’s an entire school of thought/advice called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn is trained in it, and this week, for the third time in 13 months, he gave a CPTED presentation to the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network. Seems like advice you just can’t hear TOO often, so we covered the meeting and his presentation, in case you couldn’t be there.Read More

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West Seattle wildlife: ‘Common’ yet uncommon bird sighting
April 26, 2012 8:44 pm
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Shared by Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who says, “My wife and I came across this Common Loon in Elliott Bay while walking near Salty’s this evening.” (The bird may be deemed “common” by name, but its beauty is anything but!)

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West Seattle schools: 2-fair day for Denny Dolphins
April 26, 2012 8:37 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

According to the Denny International Middle School website, this day started with a Book Fair, and wrapped up with a Science Fair. The photo is from Denny principal Jeff Clark, who reports:

We had amazing projects and a great turn-out at the Denny International Middle School Science Fair tonight. Congratulations, Dolphins! Thank you to our terrific science teachers and volunteers!

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Followup: New fencing up at Genesee Hill campus, as promised
April 26, 2012 8:06 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Genesee Hill | West Seattle news

Thanks to Rob for the photos from the ex-Genesee Hill School campus, where Seattle Public Schools has just fenced off building access – as they had told us two weeks ago that they planned to do in the “near future.”

District spokesperson Tom Redman had told WSB that they planned to fence off the buildings because of increasing crime – graffiti, other vandalism, break-ins – but that garden or field use wouldn’t be affected. Rob says that with the fencing, “The buildings are still accessible from the west side (51st) and the park is only accessible from the south end (Genesee Hill).”

Last month, the district had fenced off field access from SW Genesee, citing vandalism concerns.

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Another traffic alert: West Seattle Bridge ‘rolling slowdowns’
April 26, 2012 5:22 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Also from SDOT – heads-up for “rolling slowdowns” on the West Seattle Bridge next Monday:

The Seattle Department of Transportation will be inspecting the Fauntleroy Expressway bridge deck on April 30th between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The inspection team will establish short-term lane closures of the right hand lane using truck-mounted traffic warning devices. The inspection will begin near West Seattle and move westbound. The inspection team will make short-term (15 minutes) stops at any given location along the bridge deck. After completing the westbound route the team will then inspect eastbound, toward Downtown Seattle, also along the right hand lane. The entire inspection will be completed by 3:00 p.m.

This is part of the Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project; we took an up-close look at some of the earlier work for this story back in January.

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West Seattle student, friends create Eturnalife ‘scarves for a cause’
April 26, 2012 4:07 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(Photo shared by Lauren: Six of the Eturnalife scarves, modeled)
We’re all familiar with bracelets for a cause, pins for a cause … how about a brightly colored eternity scarf for a cause? West Seattle native Lauren Holman e-mailed WSB to share the news about the business she and friends at the UW have created to raise money for nonprofits:

My name is Lauren Holman and I’m a senior majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the UW. I have lived in West Seattle my whole life, attending West Seattle Montessori and living in the same house above Beach Drive for 22 years. As part of my major, I’ve been fortunate enough to take a class on creating a company and myself and three friends decided to start an eternity scarf business through it.

The name of our company is eturnalife, and we are selling seven different colors of eternity scarves. What sets our company apart is that each scarf color corresponds to a cause. When you purchase one, the profits will go to the cause associated with the scarf. Each scarf is $28. Because we are doing this business for a class, we aren’t personally profiting … and we are giving back ALL of the money that is made above cost of producing these scarves. We are aiming to raise as much money as we can for these causes. Here are the colors and the charities associated with them:

Black – American Cancer Society (Cancer Research)
White – Children’s Hospital Seattle
Pink – American Cancer Society (Breast Cancer Research)
Blue – Humane Society
Purple – Autism Speaks
Red – AIDS Prevention
Green – People for Puget Sound (Environmental Conservation).

The scarves are available via the online shop on the Eturnalife website. Lauren and friends’ company is of course on Facebook too.

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West Seattle traffic alert: Paving ahead for Admiral Way hill
April 26, 2012 3:15 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Just in from SDOT:

Next week, weather permitting, from Tuesday, May 1, through Friday, May 4, a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) paving crew will be working on SW Admiral Way between SW City View Street and SW Hanford Street. The crew will be grinding down the street surface, making repairs to the base and then paving SW Admiral Way in the northwest direction – uphill – from the eastside curb to the center line. During the work, which will take place between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day, traffic will be in will be reduced to one lane in each direction until 2:30 p.m., then opened up to two lanes northwest bound (uphill) and one lane southeast bound (downhill).

A lane will be provided for bicyclists. Parking will not be allowed in the work zone. Crosswalks and sidewalks will remain open. The project is part of SDOT’s 2012 Arterial Major Maintenance program.

Here’s a map.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Intruder on video – recognize him?
April 26, 2012 1:28 pm
|      41 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

A Seaview family is reporting a burglary attempt – and they have video showing the person they believe responsible, so they are offering a cash reward for identification of the suspect. Their story ends with a link to the video:

A man entered our fenced yard in the area of 44th Ave SW and SW Findlay St yesterday morning on 4/25 at 2:50am. Our security camera captured him on our deck after he entered our gated and fenced yard from the alley.

Based on the video, he apparently attempted to enter our locked back door to the house, while we were asleep! You’ll see him go off screen to the left where our back door is. We have some stuff on the patio table during spring cleaning.

Read More

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Followup: How to comment on Delridge ‘rechannelization’
April 26, 2012 1:03 pm
|    Comments Off on Followup: How to comment on Delridge ‘rechannelization’
 |   Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

One followup to a report we published Wednesday afternoon: Though the proposal for “rechannelization” – changing lane configuration and parking availability – along part of the northern stretch of Delridge Way SW has been bundled into discussion of other changes along Metro Route 120, SDOT does have a separate comment process. Here’s how SDOT’s Jeff Bender, who was at the Route 120 open house at Youngstown on Tuesday, answered our followup question:

The proposed Delridge rechannelization still needs to be reviewed and approved by SDOT. We worked with Metro to support their open house last Tuesday and to help gather more community input on the proposed rechannelization and other elements of the proposal. SDOT would like to approve a final rechannelization design within about a month so it can be implemented by September.

The City is very interested in comments on all elements of the proposal, and will consider all ideas we receive as the approval process moves forward. Interested parties should feel free to send any comments to me.

He’s at jeff.bender@seattle.gov – we have also asked if they have any renderings that more clearly show the proposed changes, since the only ones we’ve seen (PDF here) are difficult to read.

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Want your own P-Patch garden? Dig into Westcrest!
April 26, 2012 11:35 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news

Ready to garden? The Westcrest P-Patch is about to be built, and ready to build its gardener/volunteer team, too! Here’s the official announcement (along with the finalized design, shown above):

After two community garden design meetings, the Westcrest P-Patch community garden project is planning to start construction next month in Seattle’s Westcrest Park! (Located at 9000 8th Ave. SW) The plan is to create over 200 10′ x 10′ garden plots following the final design which will feature crushed rock and wood chip pathways that interact with existing park features, gathering and storage structures, an out-door “kitchen”, and lots of room for artistic elements and common spaces.

The plots will be open to both Seattle residents as well as residents living in nearby unincorporated King County such as White Center which is two blocks from the south border of the park.

If you are interested in a plot, your probability of getting a spot will correlate to the number of hours you donate to the project. The more you volunteer the higher your chances of getting a plot. The Steering Committee is currently trying to determine what portions of the construction will be performed by contractors and what we, as a community, are willing to take on. If we can keep costs below the $90,000 budget, we can use the surplus funds to enhance the project. There are innumerable ways that you can volunteer in both outreach and construction.

Please contact Phi Huynh if you would like to explore volunteer opportunities.

E-mail: phi.huynh@seattle.gov
Phone: 206-684-4531

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West Seattle restaurants: Meet La Romanza Bistro Italiano
April 26, 2012 10:59 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants | WS beverages

This is a big night for what was the Tuscan Tea Room Bistro (WSB sponsor) in The Junction – a winemaker’s dinner with Siren Song Wines and music by Pearl Django. The event is technically sold out but proprietor Aimee Pellegrini says there’s “limited seating at the bar.” But that’s not the really big news – she’s just renamed her establishment, which is now La Romanza Bistro Italiano, and expanded dinner service to another night! Here’s the announcement:

Kicking off with our sold-out wine dinner (tonight), we have finally, at the urging of our patrons and our good judgement, changed our name from ‘The Tuscan Tea Room’ to ‘La Romanza Bistro Italiano’. We are also expanding our dinner hours to add Wednesday nights. So, we will serve dinner and happy hour Wednesday through Saturday starting next week.

We are very excited about this change but also assure that these are the only changes. We offer our same dinner, lunch, brunch, and afternoon tea menus. We offer our wine list, cocktails and our 70+ fine teas and will soon have them available for purchase through our website as well.

About nine months after we opened we added dinner service as well as expanded lunch, brunch and dinner menus to include live jazz and happy hour. Our new name is more indicative of what we truly offer: a bistro experience with fine Italian cuisine.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Aimee Pellegrini and La Romanza staff

ADDED 2:34 PM: Just discovered Aimee is featured in a cooking video online via the West Seattleite-produced “Brown Lounge” site – it’s a roasted-chicken recipe:

The actual recipe and other info can be found here.

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West Seattle Thursday: Dining Out for Life; Genesee-Schmitz future…
April 26, 2012 10:40 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Thursday: Dining Out for Life; Genesee-Schmitz future…
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Lincoln Park photo by “old desolate” from the WSB Flickr group pool)
Our slightly-later-than-usual daily highlights, from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar (available for direct perusal any time!):

VIADUCT/99 CLOSURE TONIGHT: Again tonight, Highway 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed overnight SOUTHBOUND between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge. 9 pm-5 am.

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN: Daytime meeting today, with the discussion group about to start, followed by lunch (or dessert/coffee), West Seattle Golf Course, details here. For first word on their upcoming events, westseattledemocraticwomen.org.

DINING OUT FOR LIFE: A portion of tonight’s proceeds will be donated to the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. This year’s West Seattle/White Center participants, according to the DO4L website, are Buddha Ruksa, Company, Skylark, and Talarico’s. For the citywide list (which includes some venues participating earlier in the day), go here.

WINE TASTING: Tonight at West Seattle Cellars (WSB sponsor), it’s the Wines of Europe, 5:30-8 pm (6026 California SW).

GENESEE-SCHMITZ LOOKS AHEAD: It’s the first general meeting of the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council in a long time, and it includes a look ahead to the year 2020. What do you want to see in the neighborhood? 6:30 pm, West Side Presbyterian Church. Here’s our preview from last week.

BURLESQUE AT SKYLARK: Also tonight at Skylark Café and Club, 9 pm, it’s the Westside Burlesque Revue.

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235+ sales for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2012
April 26, 2012 8:45 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Community Garage Sale Day | West Seattle news

garagesaledaysmalllog5.jpgRegistration closed overnight for this year’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – coming up Saturday, May 12th! – with more than 235 sales signed up, north to south, east to west, small to big, all over the peninsula! A BIG part of making it a successful day is for us as WSCGSD’s coordinating organization to finish The Map (printable and clickable versions) so that it can be made widely available a week in advance, and the map-creation process starts now.

BUT FIRST: If you signed up, PLEASE check to be sure you have both the official confirmation note from us AND a receipt from PayPal – the form we use does NOT finalize sale listings unless both parts of the process were completed (we realize some might change their minds midway through). We already sent notes to several would-be sellers who didn’t complete the process, and it looks like we have more to send today – but if you don’t respond to our note, we can’t get you on the map. If you have any question about your sale’s status, we’d be happy to check the list to confirm; e-mail us at garagesale@westseattleblog.com. Watch for more updates between now and Sale Day here, on the official site at westseattlegaragesale.com, and on Facebook (the WSCGSD page is here, and we’ll crosspost major updates to the official WSB FB page here).

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Seattle Public Schools superintendent finalists visit: Steven Enoch
April 26, 2012 7:46 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Steven Enoch is the second of the three finalists for Seattle Public Schools superintendent to visit this week; above is the unedited SPS video of one of his three 15-minute (approximately) group media interviews. Enoch is from San Ramon, California. Interview reports: Seattle Times (WSB sponsor) reporter Brian M. Rosenthal, here; Seattle Schools Community Forum writer Melissa Westbrook, here. The Times’ profile of Enoch is here. Today, this phase of the process wraps up with the third finalist, Dr. Sandra Husk, from Salem, Oregon; here’s our Wednesday story with video and links from finalist José Banda’s interview day. To tell the School Board what you think about any of the candidates, e-mail schoolboard@seattleschools.org.

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West Seattle pride! Give a couple hours to rev it up
April 26, 2012 12:53 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

(Photo from last Saturday, courtesy WOLLRG)
It was a valiant crew – but a small crew – that volunteered last Saturday to help transform the area by the “Walking on Logs” sculptures along the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge. Yes, we know it was a ridiculously busy and stunningly sunny day. Lots going on this Saturday too – but maybe this time around you can spare a couple hours to help the “gateway to West Seattle” with a project that’ll pay off for years to come. An updated invite from Nancy Driver and the Walking on Logs Landscape Restoration Group:

Enjoy seeing “Walking on Logs” looking good? Take pride in your community? Then give 2 hours of your time to this community icon, this Saturday.

The Walking on Logs Landscape Restoration Group is looking for volunteers for Saturday, April 28th for two hour shifts between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. We are re-landscaping the area around the Walking on Logs statues with native plants and aspens to create a “Woodland Grove” theme as a backdrop to the statues. Our goal to create more attractive landscaping with less long term maintenance by installing plants suitable for the conditions at the site.

Last weekend we did the prep work, i.e, most of the really hard work. Now we have 75 trees and over 500 shrubs to get into the ground and can use plenty of volunteers. This is a big project that will benefit the entire community. We need the community’s support.

We’ll have gloves on hand as well as water and snacks. We’ll also have shovels and other tools but as we have a limited supply, if you can bring your own shovel, it would be much appreciated. Mud boots are recommended since the site is very wet this time of year.

If you’d like to volunteer, email Ruth at Ruth.Hoover@comcast.net to sign up. Ruth will get you the details on where to park and how to get to the site. Hope to see you there.

This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Funding was also provided by the West Seattle Garden Tour and numerous West Seattle residents.

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Beach Drive murder: Family offers $10,000 reward; widower speaks out
April 25, 2012 8:33 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Beach Drive murder | Crime | West Seattle news

Tonight for the first time since the murder of 51-year-old Greggette Guy along Beach Drive in West Seattle, we are hearing from her widower, Dwight Guy. He spoke on-camera with Q13 FOX News‘s “Washington’s Most Wanted” anchor/reporter David Rose, who sent us word of their followup, plus the news that the family is now offering a $10,000 reward. Q13’s video clips aren’t embeddable, so we can’t show it to you here, but we can point you to this page on their website to see their story with part of the interview; they’re promising more on their next edition of WMW this weekend. Six weeks have now passed since Ms. Guy’s body was found in the water south of Cormorant Cove Park, hours after she parked her car a half-mile south at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint Park, where police have said they believe she was murdered. Dwight Guy tells Q13 FOX in the interview that he reported her missing hours before she was found dead, after realizing that something might be wrong because she hadn’t come home. If you have information about the case, call 800-222-TIPS, or 911. (Our archived coverage of the case is here.)

ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Beach Drive Blog reports that a bench in Ms. Guy’s memory will be installed at Emma Schmitz park next week. MONDAY UPDATE: Turns out the bench that’s being installed is in memory of someone else, and BDB has corrected their story.

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West Seattle schools: More safety $ for Highland Park Elementary
April 25, 2012 7:35 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

That half-minute video clip represents the first time we’ve ever seen a uniformed Seattle Police officer demonstrate jump-rope moves. (Even after 30-plus years in the news business, there still are some firsts!)

But we’re getting ahead of the story.

SPD Community Outreach Officer Tomeka Williams was one of the visitors for a special assembly at Highland Park Elementary this afternoon, teaching about pedestrian safety and helping celebrate a new grant to make it a reality:

Right before the assembly, we photographed HP principal Ben Ostrom with SAFE Kids Seattle‘s Dr. Brian Johnston from Harborview Medical Center (bet you guessed that he’s the guy in the white coat!). The check says $25,000, and that’s being added to a different $75,000 grant. Pedestrian safety is REALLY important there because, among other things, the school has multiple arterials nearby – among them, Barton and Trenton. That’s why, besides jumping rope, Officer Williams offered advice including using the “stare face” to make sure a driver sees you, before you walk into the street:

Safety is part of the HPARK slogan through which the principal led his students:

The safety skills will be practiced with “Walking School Bus” events each Wednesday morning next month.

By the way – though she’s not in our visuals and tried to stay “behind the scenes,” it must be noted that one of the people instrumental in making all this happen is Highland Park Elementary parent Rachael Wright, who’s been working on pedestrian-safety issues surrounding the school, and getting grants to address them, in connection with a wide variety of groups and agencies. Congratulations!

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Comment deadline Friday for Metro Route 120 changes including Delridge ‘rechannelization’
April 25, 2012 5:13 pm
|      34 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

This Friday is Metro‘s deadline for comments on the big changes proposed along Route 120 in Delridge. Last night, they took comments in person – via butcher paper, among other methods – during an open house at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; they also are offering an online survey. Even if you’re not a bus rider, you might want to take a look and offer an opinion, because the plan includes “rechannelization” for a stretch of north Delridge Way SW, with bike/bus lanes plus less parking. Here’s how Metro summarizes potential effects of the changes overall:

Bus riders— If you ride Route 120, you’ll have a faster trip and your bus will probably spend less time waiting at busy traffic signals. If your bus stop is planned for closure, you may have to travel farther to get to or from it. Many of the remaining stops will get new amenities such as bus shelters, landing pads, and/or benches.

Drivers— If you drive, you may experience more delays in your evening commute southbound on Delridge Way SW due to the added southbound bike lane and the elimination of on-street parking.

Bike riders— If you bike, you will benefit from the addition of southbound bike lane along Delridge Way SW between SW Oregon Street and SW Andover Street and a northbound shared bus, bike, and off-peak parking lane. You may need to be more alert as you negotiate the shared bus lane with buses, right-turning vehicles, and parked cars.

Neighbors— If you live or own a business along Delridge Way SW between SW Andover Street and SW Oregon Street, you or your customers will have fewer parking options due to the added bike and bus lanes. Parking will be allowed in the bus lane during non-commute hours. See a diagram showing how parking on Delridge will change.

The Delridge/Andover intersection in particular drew some attention while we were at the open house; Metro reps were being asked if they had observed the area’s jam-packed traffic before suggesting that – including the truck traffic bound to and from the Nucor steel plant. There was also discussion centered on the proposed removal of some stops – here’s the list of stops to be closed in West Seattle/White Center:

Delridge Way SW

Northbound (at SW Oregon St)
Southbound (at SW Oregon St)
Northbound (at SW Edmunds St)
Southbound (at SW Edmunds St)
Northbound (at Puget Blvd SW)
Southbound (at Puget Blvd SW)
Southbound (at SW Orchard St)
Southbound (at SW Holden St)

16th Avenue SW
Southbound (at SW 110th St)

Closing fall 2012

SW Henderson
Westbound (at Delridge Way SW)
26th Ave SW
Northbound (at SW Cambridge St)
Southbound (at SW Cambridge St)
SW Roxbury St
Westbound (at 22nd Ave SW)
Eastbound (at 20th Ave SW)

Some stops are to be moved/added, as well; take a closer look via this map).

As for the rechannelization – the changes are to be made primarily between Andover and Oregon on Delridge, as shown here.

Metro’s website for the proposals says the changes will start as soon as next month (for some of the stop-spacing plans); again, they’ve set Friday as the deadline for comments – use the survey link above, or e-mail haveasay@kingcounty.gov.

P.S. For a neighborhood perspective, North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-chair Amanda Leonard was among the open-house attendees and has published a summary on the NDNC website – see it here.

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