West Seattle, Washington
14 Sunday
That’s the trailer for what West Seattle writer Michael Stusser calls the “digital-detox documentary” he made with fellow West Seattleite Marty Riemer – a short film that’s about to make rounds on the film-festival circuit. It’s part of the work Stusser did for his much-discussed Seattle Weekly story “Sleeping With Siri,” about the tech takeover of our lives. As described on the YouTube page for the trailer you can watch above:
Inspired by a high school’s “Digital Blackout” campaign, where students went without Facebook, e-mail or texting for an entire week, journalist Michael Stusser explores both sides of the technological divide in “Sleeping with Siri.” Jumping first into the digital madness with a Techno-Gorge, Stusser explores every single technological opportunity available, 24 hours a day, Foursquaring at every location, Skyping in the car and Tweeting, Pinning and “Liking” everything in sight. He then dropped out entirely for a second week, with no computer, e-mail or social networks, availing himself of the now lost icons of a by-gone era, including phone booths, land-lines, libraries, paper maps and letter writing.
So far, Stusser says, they’ve made it into festivals including the Big Easy International Film and Music Festival March 22-24 in New Orleans and the American Documentary Film Festival in April in Palm Springs. Will we see it on a big screen in Seattle? Stusser says they’ve applied to SIFF.
(Delridge repaving project, photographed earlier this week by Long Bach Nguyen)
As of minutes ago, the Delridge/Trenton intersection was scheduled to close for the weekend, as the Delridge repaving project continues. This means you’ll be detouring in both directions, as shown on this map:
According to project spokesperson Bob Derry, with whom we spoke when the work started on January 10th, the first phase, Trenton to Henderson, is on target to last about two months as expected. He told WSB today that SDOT is currently projecting that Phase 2 – between Trenton and Thistle – will start in about two weeks, around March 15th. The entire $6.7 million project, repaving a mile and a half of Delridge Way in phases between Roxbury and Orchard and improving the stormwater system beneath much of the road, is expected to last most of the year.
ADDED 7:19 PM: We just got a text asking about noise. This is the official “construction notice” for this weekend’s work with details of what’s happening and when. Looks like the noisiest work may go on till 10 pm.
The weather’s warming, the days are lengthening, and one of our newest WSB sponsors is waiting for you at Seacrest on the West Seattle waterfront. Here’s what 
Marination ma kai proprietors Kamala Saxton and Roz Edison (L-R in the photo) want you to know about their restaurant/bar as they head toward their first spring and summer here:
“There are two things we hear about every single day: our service, and our food. People are a little surprised that a $2.50 taco can be so tasty, and that the gal who served it to them remembers their names from last time. I don’t know how we’re changing lives, but I do know that the world can be a tough place to navigate, and everyone can have a bad day, but when you come to Marination you can count on a friendly face saying nice things and genuinely caring about this one moment in time. It’s the one part of the day where people know they are going to have an overall good experience, even if it’s just for a few minutes. We hear about it a lot. It never gets old. It’s pretty humbling, actually.
“For us and our employees, we choose to keep coming back because no matter how gray and rainy Seattle gets it’s always warm and fuzzy at any one of our locations. And that’s including the truck! We’re a really happy crew, we love being around each other. That love and happiness is definitely reflected in our grub. We’re lucky because we’ve cultivated a really strong clientele of folks who are extremely comfortable telling us directly when our rice is undercooked, or something’s amiss with the pork, and we are all over it immediately. The two things we care about the most in our company are propping up our community through various involvements and donations, and keeping our menu fresh, tasty, and affordable. So I guess if someone asked ‘why you?’ we’d ask if they are down with building a strong community and with eating great food for cheap, and if so, then that’s why. West Seattle is such a strong and awesome neighborhood community. We can’t get enough.”
Find out more about Marination ma kai – including hours (which will change with the seasons) and menu – on the Web, here. Marination is on Facebook, too, and on Twitter. And/or just go to 1660 Harbor Avenue SW (map) and investigate the food, drink, view, and general aloha, firsthand.
We thank Marination ma kai for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
(Photos courtesy Karrie Kohlhaas)
In the months ahead, rain gardens will be part of at least two government-led projects in West Seattle. A private project that’s already in place in North Delridge continues to draw interest – including a school field trip for which Karrie Kohlhaas was the neighborhood liaison today. She shared photos and this report:
This morning, Chief Sealth International High School brought 25 ninth-graders on a tour of the Rain Garden Demonstration Cluster on 25th Ave SW between Brandon and Findlay (10 rain gardens in the front yards of 10 neighbors on 25th).
The students have been learning about storm water and how it impacts the environment and nearby waterways. Students visited Longfellow Creek before walking 25th Avenue to learn about rain gardens for the first time.
I met with students and teachers to explain how a rain garden works and to show them the different types of plants in a rain garden. We talked about why someone might want to plant a rain garden — how it can both absorb excess water in the winter and be a low maintenance landscaping in the summer and most importantly how it filters toxic pollutants before the water makes its way to local waterways like nearby Longfellow Creek.
As expected, some of the students were more interested than others. I told them that this might not be so fascinating right now, but when they have a home one day, they may stop and think about planting a rain garden instead of grass, which is not beneficial to the environment. They are finding out about grass alternatives much earlier than I did. I only discovered rain gardens a couple years ago. I told them they are way ahead of the curve.
Since we installed 10 rain gardens on our block in 2011, we’ve had many visitors. Many gardeners, a local Muslim school, curious West Seattle and Delridge neighbors, and even people who heard about the project on NPR and PBS in other states have made our block part of their visit to Seattle. I’ve enjoyed spreading the word about rain gardens and the benefits to homeowners, the environment, and the community.
If anyone wants to come check out the gardens, they are welcome to walk the block. It’s a great example of neighbors and non-profits working together to improve the community. While here, you can also see the street improvement on our block, where we collaborated with SDOT and Stewardship Partners to augment a drainage solution in the street by adding, yep, more rain gardens as well as native plants in the planting strips up and down the block. This spring will be a great time to come and check it out when everything is blooming and budding.
Here’s a map to the neighborhood.
ADDED SATURDAY: Chief Sealth social-studies teacher Noah Zeichner tells WSB that this was one of 10 “field experiences” taken by ninth-graders on Friday as part of the multidisciplinary WEST Project (Water, Ecology, and Sustainability Team). The destinations also included:
• Renton Water Treatment
• Cedar River Water Shed
• Water 1st
• Seattle Biomed
• Duwamish Boat ride
• Solid Ground
• Rainier Urban Farms and Wetlands
• Urban Gardens with Composting
• Gates Foundation Visitor Center
Local and global water issues continue to be a focus at Sealth, and this year’s World Water Week is coming up – at which time, among many other activities, students will present their projects to students at adjacent Denny International Middle School. More on WWW coming up in another WSB story this weekend – meantime, here’s previous coverage, including a note about this year’s keynote address, to which the community’s invited.
(Styrofoam debris on the beach; photo by Beach Creeps’ Guy Olson)
Since last Saturday, when we first mentioned the Alki Beach Creeps Bicycle Club‘s plan for a South Alki cleanup, the event tomorrow has drawn dozens of volunteers, more than a few local business sponsors donating treats and other support, and even Parks Department assistance with post-cleanup pickup. The Facebook event page for the cleanup has info on the final plan – so in case you’re interested in joining, but not a FB user, here are the key points:
*Optional bike ride to the cleanup starting point: Beach Creeps plan to leave El Chupacabra (2620 Alki SW) “no later than 11:30 am”
*Cleanup noon-3 pm (Saturday, March 2)
*Volunteers meet by the Constellation Park octopus sculpture (63rd SW/Beach Drive). Sign in and get your cleanup supplies (courtesy of Puget SoundKeeper Alliance)
*Treat donors include Pioneer Coffee on Alki and Christos On Alki (pizza)
*Seattle Parks plans to pick up the collected trash and debris (organizers are hoping to get a lot of styrofoam off the beach)
*Afterparty at Pioneer Coffee
If you haven’t been to Constellation Park – here’s a map.
(Part of the 2010 Fairmount Ravine volunteer annual-cleanup crew)
Their 20th annual cleanup in 2012 netted a “vintage” 7-Up bottle – estimated to be half a century old. In 2008, discoveries included a car door. What will turn up in beautiful, mysterious Fairmount Ravine, beneath the Admiral Way bridge, during this year’s cleanup? Be part of the team that finds out – one week from tomorrow, Saturday, March 9th. Devoted neighbors, friends, and visiting volunteers will join forces over the course of two hours – also enjoying treats from Metropolitan Market and Zatz Bagels (both WSB sponsors) – 8:30 am to 10:30 am. From organizers:
Meet at the top of the hill at Fairmount and Forest – directly east of Hiawatha Park.
Please wear gloves, boots and old clothes as we remove garbage and invasive plants.
Here’s our coverage from past years – 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.
(A Canada-goose family afloat, by Flickr member YLev, shared via WSB Flickr group)
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: Public sales begin. Find places, dates, times with the Cookie Locator (just use your zip code).
FIRST FRIDAY: Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s monthly gathering – this time, 5 pm at Maharaja in The Junction. All welcome; they’re also saying farewell to departing member Ryan Larson.
FORECLOSURE VIGIL: West Seattle, White Center, and South Park activists are planning a vigil outside a SP home that’s been foreclosed on, to call attention to the ongoing issue. 725 S. Henderson, 5:30 pm, details here.
CORNER BAR: Highland Park’s monthly extravaganza is tonight! Starts at 6 pm, HP Improvement Club (12th/Holden), details in our calendar listing.
‘BOBCAT BOB’: A C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) favorite, tonight 6-8 pm, 5612 California SW.
FREE ROLLER SKATING! If registering for T-ball or softball at Alki Community Center, you get to skate free during tonight’s regular Friday night skating session, 6:45-8:45 pm. Details here.
TRIBUTE TO ROSEMARY CLOONEY: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW).
… and LOTS more on the calendar!
Zach‘s day got off to an unpleasant start:
This morning at 6:00 am I walked out from my apartment on SW Trenton to where my car was parked on 25th near Westwood and discovered it was stolen. No broken glass on the scene but car was missing none the less. It is a White 1999 Honda Civic with Montana license plates.
Just wanted to get the word out for those living in the area, so if you see any suspicious activity make sure to report!
While Zach’s car theft isn’t on the map yet – it lags several hours – we checked the past week’s worth of theft reports, and here’s the screengrab – eight reported thefts in the past week:
For specific locations, you can check the map here (click on any icon for more info). And SPD continues to tweet reported thefts (minus locations) at @getyourcarback.
P.S. If you’re one of Zach’s fellow Westwood residents – or Arbor Heights, or Roxhill – public safety/crime is part of the agenda for the second meeting of the area’s new community council, next Wednesday, March 6, 6:30 pm at the Southwest Branch Library (35th/Henderson); here’s the Facebook event page.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
7 AM: Good morning. Here are the West Seattle Bridge (above) and 99 (below) cams:
THREE CLOSURES THIS WEEKEND:
*Delridge/Trenton intersection closure starting 7 pm tonight (here’s the weekend Route 120 transit alert for this work)
*Viaduct/99 closed 6 am-5 pm Saturday, plus 6 am-noon Sunday – details here
*Ramp to southbound I-5 from eastbound West Seattle Bridge closed, starting late tonight; part of WSDOT’s Spokane St. Interchange Special Bridge Repair Project
8:30 AM TRAFFIC UPDATE: “Coffee” reports in comments that there’s a bus broken down in the southbound lanes at Delridge/Andover and a “mess” has ensued.
One final round of holiday giving, last night at Holy Rosary School – the Parents Club presented three local nonprofits with checks for donations from last year’s Holy Rosary Tree Lot. More than $2,000 each went to the West Seattle Food Bank (represented by Fran Yeatts) and the Salvation Army’s family shelter Hickman House (represented by Janet Sanders) as well as the West Seattle Helpline. The Tree Lot is an all-volunteer operation that traditionally gives a share of the proceeds to community charities.
Last night’s Parents Club meeting also included a discussion of LEGO Robotics:
The school’s annual auction, this year with the Kentucky Derby as its theme, is coming up April 20th.
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