Sure, things can get wild on the beach at Alki. But here’s the true meaning of the word – what you find underwater. Diver/environmental advocate Laura James shares this video, from what she and friends found off 64th/Alki this past weekend. (P.S. Voted for Laura in the Cox Conserves Heroes competition yet? No? Then, go here!)
Over the past several days, we’ve mentioned the Seattle Fire Department setting today as the date for taking Ladder 13 out of service – the truck added to West Seattle more than a year ago to make up for the fact that extra crews from points east couldn’t get to big incidents over here so easily while there was no SODO access to the westbound West Seattle Bridge. That problem’s over now that the new onramp is OK for emergency use. So last night, we covered what turned out to be L13’s final call, a crash a few blocks away; this morning we stopped by the station right before 8 am, when we had heard the truck officially would go out of service. Indeed, the 8 am tone and roll-call announcement sounded over a speaker, and with that, the crew said, they were done. From left in our photo, Ladder 13’s final crew – Mike McDonald, Lt. Jim Dallas, Scott Marcus, Matt Reilly, and Babe Witter.
We’ve been getting messages in the past 15 minutes or so about increased airplane noise/low-flying sightings – and one message says it’s apparently the same situation that happened in mid-May (WSB coverage here), weather quirks causing Sea-Tac and Boeing Field to be in “opposing flows.” Not sure if we’ll be able to verify that tonight, but we’re checking.
When Alex Miller and two other local teens shared the news two weeks ago that they would be competing in the international Marine Advanced Technology Education Remotely Operated Vehicle(MATE ROV) competition, we asked if he would check back in after they returned home. He obliged with this report (and the photo above) – take note of the fundraising they’re planning!
The international MATE ROV competition was put on the weekend of the 23rd in Orlando, and we were very grateful to participate in it. This was a great educational experience for us, because it allowed us to gain a perspective on the maritime=technology industry. For example we had conversations with representatives from many of the industry’s leading companies. Overall, we finished 19th out of 32 teams at our level. We were also one of three primarily middle-school-age teams, the smallest team attending (with only three team members), and the only team not affiliated with a school or organization. In addition to these accomplishments, our CEO (Clara Orndorff) won an award for being helpful towards other teams. We are already considering improvements for next year. To finance these expenditures, we will be holding bake sales throughout the summer at the intersection of 59th Avenue SW and Alki Avenue.
Clara is 15; Alex and their teammate Nicholas Orndorff are 13. Congratulations to them for their achievement!
Today at 3:30pm – I was expecting a delivery so I was listening for the delivery truck. When I heard an engine running outside my house I looked out the window and saw an older green SUV, I think a Chevy Blazer. A woman walked onto my porch and took a package, sticking it under her sweatshirt as she walked back to the SUV. It was just a $10 book. I was so pissed she was stealing this paperback book, I opened the door and yelled at her that it was just a book. (Upon later reflection this might not have been the safest thing to do.) She made up a story about how she was picking up a package for her grandma and, oops, what do you know, this was the wrong address. She returned to the porch, set it down, then got into the passenger side of the car.
I got a partial plate – starts with either 928 or 528, they left headed north on 48th Ave SW close to Andover. I called police and they responded right away, an officer stopped by to verify where I saw the car go next. The woman was probably in her 20’s, early 30’s at the most, wearing a white hoody sweatshirt and light pants. Average height, a little on the heavy side. Caucasian, blonde hair, long in a pony tail. Keep your eye out!!!
Little Rascals Preschool kicks off their inaugural year full of energy, excitement and adventures for the little rascals in your life.
We are thrilled to be able to offer a preschool program where kids can explore, grow and learn right here in West Seattle! West Seattle is a wonderful place to live, and we look forward to enhancing the community by assisting families in the task of providing a strong foundation for the child’s future development and having fun while doing so.
We are looking for Little Rascals in West Seattle who are between 2 ½ and 5 years of age. We are enrolling now – (206) 932-2936, or www.littlerascalsofwestseattle.com.
Again this year, to discourage personal-use fireworks (which are illegal in Seattle), the Parks Department will turn on the lights for a while at synthetic-turf fields, including 3 in West Seattle. The announcement’s ahead:Read More
You might remember that video from 2009 – WSDOT’s version of how a big quake could bring down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the downtown Seattle seawall. The Viaduct’s fate has since been settled, but the seawall’s has not …till now. Months after that video went public, not long after taking office in early 2010, Mayor McGinn proposed a $241 million property-tax levy to pay most of the cost of replacing the Elliott Bay seawall (we covered the announcement downtown). That proposal died. Now a new one is expected to go to Seattle voters in November – a $290 million bond measure that got preliminary City Council approval today (here’s the news release), with final approval expected next week. That’s not the full cost – the news release says the city’s already set aside $30 million, and the county would chip in $30 million more. One more number: If your house is worth $360,000, the city says the new seawall will cost you $59 a year. If the current schedule proceeds, it would be done by 2016 – when the tunnel’s supposed to be done, too.
The August 7th election is five weeks from tomorrow – including not only the primary, but also two local levies (Seattle libraries and the King County youth justice/family law center) and we have just learned that, for those who would rather not put their ballots in the mail, there WILL be some ballot-dropoff service in West Seattle for the first time since 2009.
We checked with King County Elections after hearing that Burien had received a new dropbox and wondering if West Seattle and/or White Center would get one too. Kim Van Ekstrom‘s reply: No, BUT: “A new temporary service for returning your ballot will be added for the 2012 fall elections. We will employ 3 vans that will park in temporary locations. The vans will be parked and staffed by people accepting ballots at the following locations, on the following dates and times: Friday, Saturday, and Monday prior to Election Day 10 am – 5 pm, and on Election Day, 7 am – 8 pm.” West Seattle Stadium is one of the three dropoff-van locations.
If you’re interested in where else you will find either accessible-voting service or ballot dropoffs around King County, here’s an advance look at all of that information, which Van Ekstrom says will be updated soon on the Elections website:Read More
(West Seattle Hi-Yu photo from 2011-12 Junior Court coronation)
Girls who will be 8-12 by the start of September are invited to apply right now for this year’s West Seattle Hi-Yu Junior Court coronation – to serve as the Junior Court Queen and Princesses from this fall through next summer, right after the reign of current royalty (above, Princess Elena, Queen Thea, and Princess Amanda). Here’s the announcement we received from Hi-Yu this morning:
The Hi-Yu Summer Festival is in full swing and the float will be in the West Seattle American Legion parade on Saturday, July 21st, 11 am, PLUS traveling to the following communities soon: Burien – July 4th, Chinatown-July 22nd, and Torchlight-July 28th, to name just a few.
Also, it’s that time of year to look for NEW JUNIOR COURT ROYALTY FOR 2013. The current court of royalty will be crowning new girls on Friday, July 20th at the Hiawatha Fun Fest at 1:00 pm.
For an application, click here, print it, fill it out and mail it in BEFORE Tuesday, JULY 17th. ALL INSTRUCTIONS ARE ON THE APPLICATION.
TRY OUT TO BE PART OF HI-YU ROYALTY, HAVE FUN MAKING NEW FRIENDS and PROUDLY REPRESENT YOUR COMMUNITY – WEST SEATTLE!!!
The application form isn’t just an application, but includes lots of information about what’s expected of Hi-Yu Royalty during the year – event appearances and other involvement – as well as Junior Court members’ perks. (Our coverage of last year’s coronation event, with video, is here.)
(Photo by Trileigh Tucker, who muses about birds, and more, here)
Working this week? The midweek holiday will lead to a lot of odd schedules. Still some activities to share, so here are the calendar highlights for today/tonight:
TRAFFIC ALERT: The westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will close 10 pm tonight till 5 am Tuesday (as noted in our list of this week’s closures). Reminder – the 1st Avenue onramp to the westbound SSV is now available to emergency vehicles if they need it, so don’t be startled if you happen to see that in action; the city doesn’t expect it’ll be ready for everybody else till the whole project’s done around summer’s end.
MONDAY ARTISTS: If you’re a watercolorist – even a beginning one – you’re invited to check out Monday Artists, a group that meets Mondays, 9:30 am-noon, at Island View Apartments across from West Seattle High School (3000 block California SW). Details here.
SALAD DAY: The West Seattle Cooking Club invites you to bring a salad to share, while enjoying others’ creations, at their weekly meeting, 3 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW).
DANCE! New series starts with Balorico at Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW) – details here.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 4TH OF JULY … this year’s holiday-info page is up.
The August 7th election is five weeks from tomorrow – including not only the primary, but also two local levies (
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