West Seattle, Washington
13 Friday
Spring cleaning? In addition to the events we’ve already mentioned for this weekend – shredding, recycling, drug take-back events all detailed here – we have word of yet another way you can do something useful this weekend with items you no longer use. Hope Lutheran Church is having a donation drive 10 am-2 pm Saturday (April 27) for newly arrived refugees – including furniture as well as other items that help make a house a home:
We are collecting donations of:
*kitchen tables and chairs
*couches
*twin- and full-sized beds
*nice blankets/sheets/towels
*kitchenware/pots and pans/utensils
*microwaves
*TVs/dvd players
*computers with all parts/laptops***All must be in good, usable condition (no major tears or stains, please)
***Will NOT accept clothes or other furniture pieces not on listSee you there! Put on by Hope Lutheran Church and Lutheran Community Services NW Refugee Resettlement Program.
The church is at 4456 42nd SW, northeast corner of 42nd and Oregon.
Another West Seattle school has announced a new principal. From Our Lady of Guadalupe School:
Our Lady of Guadalupe School is delighted to announce that Ms, Donna Ramos has been hired as principal for the upcoming school year. She brings with her more than 20 years as a Catholic school educator, she has taught every grade from Kindergarten through 6th grade and worked on projects with middle-school students, as well as elementary-school Spanish. Her experience reflects her love of social justice, environmental stewardship and the arts, and faithful engagement with the world.
Ms. Ramos is currently the principal of Immaculate Conception & Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a Pre-K-8 School in Everett.
According to the announcement in the OLG church bulletin, she also worked as an assistant principal at a school on Capitol Hill. OLG’s current principal Kristin Dixon is leaving after almost 14 years; she started at the school in fall 1999.
No word yet on any breakthrough in Wednesday morning’s arson at Longfellow Creek P-Patch in Westwood. But after a WSB commenter asked whether anything was needed to help the gardeners recover, we sought out an answer – and got it today from Minh Chau Le of the Department of Neighborhoods, who manages the community garden as part of the P-Patch program.
I was very pleasantly surprised to hear of the offers of help and support that came in, first via the posted comments of your readers and then via Lois Maag from DON, who has been fielding communications about the incident. It was so great to see that the types of community caring that we strive to foster within each P-Patch were coming to us from the greater community as well.
As reported by the Seattle Fire Department, the damages amount to around $500. The Longfellow Creek P-Patch, like every P-Patch throughout the city, is very much a community-driven effort. It currently does not have money or supplies readily on hand to replace the items lost. Should you continue to receive inquires from concerned neighbors who wish to help out in some way, please feel free to share this list of items that would be useful to the P-Patch as it begins the gardening season after having suffered the arson:
· 1 sturdy wheel barrow 3 cubic foot capacity or greater
· 1 Hori hori digging tool
· 2 digging shovels
· 2 digging forks
· Gift certificates in any amount to: Home Depot, TrueValue in the Junction, or McLendon’s Hardware.
The arson reward fund mentioned in the sign in our photo, by the way, does not involve public funds (we got a question about that too) – it’s from an insurance-company-supported foundation. If you have any information about who set this fire, call 800-55-ARSON. And if you have questions or other ideas about helping out, reach Chau via the P-Patch Program.
As Earth Week continues, a local school is celebrating its students’ achievements in a big event last night – thanks to Amy French for sharing the photo and report:
The Explorer West Middle School community congratulates the three groups of students chosen to represent Explorer West at Washington Foundation for the Environment‘s “3rd Annual Great Environmental Issues Slam†last night at The Flagship REI Store. The 6 students (across three teams) had 5 minutes to present their issues to a packed room of audience members who had the chance to vote at the end. The other contestants were all talented, adult speakers from a range of non-profits.
One of the student teams, presenting on “Drastic Plastic,” won the slam and the opportunity to donate $1,000 to the charity of their choice that is working to deal with the issue of plastics in our world’s oceans. Explorer West students will be voting this week to decide which non-profit receives the donation from Washington Foundation for the Environment.
Featured in the top photos is the winning group with EWMS Head of School Evan Hundley and history teacher Tim Owens, who Amy says “was the lead in getting the school involved in the slam.”
Both Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien and a PR agency for the yellow-pages-directory industry have sent reminders today that a deadline is ahead for opting out of the next big round of deliveries – go to this website by May 6th if you want to opt out of the next Dex directory delivery. They say you can also use that site to set your preferences regarding other directories. The city, you might recall, was sued over its attempts to constrain the directory industry (Seattle Times coverage here), but residents still have the right to opt out, and this industry-sponsored site is what both sides are recommending.
(Wednesday morning’s sunrise, with great blue heron; photo by Joya)
Five highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY? Get answers directly from a Social Security Administration rep at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library today, 3:30 pm, at an event co-sponsored by the West Seattle Lions Club; details here. (2306 42nd SW)
DINNER TO BENEFIT WORLD VISION: 4:30-6 pm at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights (WSB sponsor) – free, with donations accepted for World Vision. Call to see if there’s still room; info’s in our calendar listing. (2326 California SW)
DINING OUT FOR LIFE: Dine and/or drink at one of the participating establishments tonight – the DOFL/Seattle site has the same six-venue West Seattle/White Center list we reported earlier this week – and you’ll be supporting Lifelong AIDS Alliance. They’re all signed on for dinner, donating at least 30 percent of proceeds (Skylark’s giving 50 percent!).
FEEDBACK LOUNGE’S SECOND 4TH-ANNIVERSARY PARTY: The celebration continues on the actual anniversary of the night in 2009 when Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) opened its doors. Festivities start at 6 – details in the calendar listing. (6451 California SW)
ORCAS OF THE WORLD: That’s what you’ll find out about with The Whale Trail tonight at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), as Uko Gorter discusses our beloved local whales’ cousins around the globe. Details, including ticket info, here. (5612 California SW)
P.S. Should be a beautiful full moon tonight; Alice Enevoldsen‘s most recent “Skies Over West Seattle“ reminds us of the date, and you can check the moonrise/moonset/sunrise/sunset times anytime on the WSB West Seattle Weather page.
This Sunday, you can go rollerskating at Southgate Rink and not just have a good time, but also do a good deed. West Seattle resident Kathy Himes has organized the event to help her friend Pauline Hunt, a former professional mountain biker who now is living with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They’re raising money for a Habitat for Humanity renovation for the home where Pauline and her family, including her two young daughters, live, so that it will be wheelchair-accessible. It’s a global effort – Pauline is in Canada and her friends around the world, including Kathy, are helping. So come skate 5-7 pm on Sunday, April 28, for $12, covering skate rental and a suggested donation. Kathy says there’ll be raffles too, thanks to donations from generous businesses including Zippy’s Giant Burgers, Full Tilt Ice Cream, and Meander’s Kitchen. (See the event flyer here.)
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
7:10 AM: More warm, bright sunshine today. Perfect for road work, too, and remember that repaving work is scheduled today and tomorrow on California SW, south of The Junction, between Dawson (the west leg, per the No Parking signs) and Findlay. Then this weekend, the Delridge/Thistle intersection has a planned closure, Friday night until Monday morning, as the Delridge repaving project continues – details and detours here.
8:01 AM UPDATE: Thanks to Erica for the tip – there’s a crash on the eastbound bridge just before the 99 exit, currently blocking two lanes, so if you haven’t left yet, wait a while.
8:33 AM UPDATE: The bridge crash has been cleared.
8:45 AM: However – maybe because of diversion from the bridge – commenter Trickycoolj says Highland Park Way hill is backed up.
Hard-fought game Wednesday afternoon at Southwest Athletic Complex, but West Seattle High School clinched the Metro championship with the eventual win over Chief Sealth International HS, reports Greg Slader:
The stands were full as the Wildcats traveled across town to face the Seahawks. Chief Sealth had a 3-2 lead through four innings before Andy Snook (top photo) took the mound to shut them down. West Seattle rallied to tie 3-3 heading into the seventh inning, and then Spencer Elder decided to steal some bases. Sam Hellinger drove him in with a shot into the six hole, 4-3:
A stolen base, a hit and suicide squeeze, as Sam scored to give West Seattle a 5-3 lead. The Seahawks will get another chance on Friday, 3:30 pm @ Hiawatha.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight – first, from Beth, who wanted her neighbors to know about mail thieves at work:
This morning while I was out for a run, I noticed a bunch of mail in some bushes. It turns out it belonged to two of my neighbors. Most of it was fliers but there was one envelope that had been opened and discarded. We live on 37th between Andover and Dakota.
In the Admiral area, someone stole Ignacio‘s bike early Tuesday morning:
Element 42’s lower gated parking garage was cut open, thief pressed the interior button to open the garage door. He cut the bike lock cable with bolt cutters and stole my bike. It looks very similar to this bike. My apartment complex has the video. … It’s not the most expensive bike but it was a lot of money to me. (Police) reviewed the video and got a good look at the guy so I’m hopeful they’ll find a serial bike thief.
We told Ignacio we could add the video if it clearly shows the crime being committed – waiting to hear back.
Added 10:49 pm – here’s the video:
(The thief enters toward the start, then leaves at about 3:25.)
(Back to original report) And in Fauntleroy, Todd reports a car prowl in the 4500 block of SW Hemlock Way:
Sometime early Sunday 4/21 morning, someone went through my car, which I had stupidly left unlocked. They took a gym bag with a pair of shorts and gym shoes. They also took a black “laptop†style bag that is embroidered with “Kinect For Windows†in purple thread. I point this out because I work at Microsoft with the Kinect Team, so I would personally know anyone that had that particular bag. And my bowling shoes were in it, and I really liked them. The crook was apparently not the brightest, as he/she/it didn’t take the CD Box set of Frank Sinatra, which would have been easy cash, and way easier to pawn than size 11 Asic running shoes and bowling shoes. The other two cars in my driveway were locked, and untouched. So, make sure to lock up.
It wasn’t just a cross-town clash at Southwest Athletic Complex today, actually, but a contest between the #1 and #2 softball teams in the Metro Sound Division – Chief Sealth International High School and West Seattle High School, respectively. Sealth (in black) pulled off the win, 3-2.
The two local schools are scheduled to play again later this week, 4 pm Friday at Riverview Park – before that, Sealth hosts Rainier Beach tomorrow at 4 at SWAC, while WSHS has an off-day.
West Seattle High School culinary students will meet a TV chef next month, when Maneet Shauhan comes to campus to judge a cooking contest. Word comes from the Seattle Public Schools website. The event is set for 1:30 pm May 8th, and will feature three ProStart students who “will compete in the 40-minute cooking challenge to create an entree that represents contemporary American cuisine.” Shauhan’s achievements include serving as a judge on the Food Network show “Chopped” and having been the first Indian woman to appear on “Iron Chef.” The announcement says the winning student gets a chance at a trip to a competition in Washington, D.C.
(UPDATED WEDNESDAY NIGHT with full list of Saturday activities added to end of story)
Seattle Parks and Rec Superintendent Christopher Williams returned last night to West Seattle – where he grew up – for the second time in four days, to join in on the first of two Fauntleroy Community Association-presented “Celebrate Lincoln Park” events. In case you weren’t able to be there – it included an hour of presentations about the park’s history, wildlife, and more, and we recorded it all on video. Here’s who you will see/hear:
*FCA president David Haggerty begins with a welcome
*At 3 minutes in, a history presentation from Judy Pickens
*Just after 13 minutes in, volunteer forest steward Sharon Baker from Friends of Lincoln Park
*Just after 22 minutes in, Trileigh Tucker with stories and photos of park wildlife
*39 minutes in, Superintendent Williams
*Then at about the 56-minute mark, Q/A:
As Haggerty noted at the start of his speech, FCA board members now have uniforms of sorts – green aprons, so you’ll spot them during public events such as the popular Fauntleroy Fall Festival – here are Kim Petram and Kathleen Dellplain sporting theirs:
The second “Celebrate Lincoln Park” event happens this Saturday (April 27) at the park – 10:30 am-2:30 pm, with beach naturalists on hand to help you explore a -2.6 low tide, nature tours of other parts of the park, and more, all detailed on the FCA home page.
P.S. You can also help out with the next Fauntleroy Fall Festival by dining at Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) on Tuesday, May 7th – 5 pm till close, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the festival.
ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: FCA is out with the full schedule for Saturday’s event – click ahead!
As the Barton Pump Station Upgrade Project proceeds next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock, a new phase is days away – here’s the explanation from King County:
Starting as early as Monday, April 29, crews will take wastewater flows from underground pipes and move those flows to an above ground bypass – pipes that will run the length of the site directly adjacent to the ferry terminal.
Once completed, the bypass will allow crews to shut down normal pump station operations in order to perform the pump station upgrades. The bypass will connect to a temporary pump station currently under construction. Once the temporary pump station is completed, it will be in use for the duration of the project.
The initial bypass work is expected to take up to two weeks, requiring four days of running two above-ground diesel pumps 24 hours per day.
We’ve mentioned all four of these before, but now that the weekend is in view, we thought a reminder might be in order:
SATURDAY – SHRED EVENT: 10 am-2 pm this Saturday at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW), free shredding of your unneeded paperwork, presented by IHeartWestSeattle.com (which like C & P is a WSB sponsor) – details here.
SATURDAY – DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY: Also 10 am-2 pm this Saturday, with the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) serving as the closest local dropoff spot for medications that are expired or otherwise unneeded – more info here.
SUNDAY – RECYCLE ROUNDUP: 9 am-3 pm, the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee invites you to come to the church parking lot (9140 California SW) to give 1 Green Planet anything unwanted that you see on the official list. (Free, though the Green Committee accepts and appreciates $ donations if you’re so moved.)
AND TODAY … is the last day to register for the 9th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. We call it “person-to-person recycling” – more than 230 sales of all sizes already ready for their spot on the map for Saturday, May 11th, 9 am-3 pm, one wild day of shopping, browsing, and mingling, presented/coordinated again this year by WSB. If you’re planning to be part of it, 11:59 pm tonight is the registration deadline – sign up here!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This fall – probably around October – one big question should be settled for West Seattle’s trailblazing STEM elementary school: Its permanent home.
That’s what the Seattle School Board’s West Seattle rep, Marty McLaren, told us last night at the school’s current home, the former Louisa May Boren Junior High School that sprawls along the 5900 block of Delridge Way SW.
But the school’s staff and families aren’t waiting for that big decision to map out their future. That’s why McLaren was at the school last night, in fact – watching and listening as its community went public with the first draft of a five-year strategic plan, and invited the first round of feedback.
That feedback came in the form of sticky notes added to the huge yellow scroll of paper representing the envisioned timeline, posted along the biggest wall of Boren’s cavernous cafeteria. In our top photo, teacher Craig Parsley stands alongside the timeline during the presentation he led, laying out what were described as “the building blocks of a project-based-learning school.”
All the individual touchpoints along the timeline – and everything from the slide deck that started last night’s presentation – is published on the K-5 STEM PTA website; see it here.
But that doesn’t cover everything seen and heard by the more than 50 people in attendance last night – including hints of future hopes even bigger than a timeline might contain:
(WSB photos added 11:16 am: Sign posted on P-Patch shed)
Seattle Police are investigating a shed fire at Longfellow Creek P-Patch in Westwood this morning after it was determined to be arson. From Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore:
Fire Investigators have determined a shed fire located at a West Seattle P-Patch is an incendiary fire.
At 6:50 a.m., a delivery driver called 911 to report a shed fire located in the park in the 2400 block of SW Thistle Street. Engine 11 arrived to find a smoldering pile of combustibles in a wheelbarrow bucket.
The fire was quickly extinguished. There was also minor scorching to the shed.
The damage estimate is $500. The Seattle Police Department’s Arson Bomb Squad was notified of the fire and will investigate.
Anyone with information that can help solve this case is asked to call the Arson Hotline at 800-55-ARSON.
The garden area where this fire happened is alongside Longfellow Creek, just east of Chief Sealth International High School. According to the P-Patch’s city website, it has more than two dozen garden plots.
(Tuesday morning photo by Myrtle Griffiths)
Another beautiful day! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
MOMMY & ME PAINTING: Mind Unwind in The Admiral District is starting a new once-monthly class – more often if there’s interest! – and the first one is today, 1 pm, painting with your 3-to-5-year-old. Details here. (2206 California SW)
TALK LIVE WITH PROFESSIONAL PADDLERS: Candice Appleby and Danny Ching will answer “questions on racing, training, and all things SUP” during a live closed-circuit broadcast event 6-7 pm tonight at Mountain to Sound Outfitters in The Triangle – and proprietor Greg Whittaker says any question they answer will bring a prize for the person who asked it! More info on the Facebook event page. (3602 SW Alaska)
FEEDBACK TURNS FOUR: Tonight’s the first of multiple 4th-anniversary parties Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) has in store, starting at 6 pm. (6451 California SW)
BELLY-DANCING CLASSES: A six-week session at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center starts tonight at 6 pm – more info here. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Urban wildlife and the proposed Duwamish River cleanup plan are part of tonight’s agenda – 7 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club. (12th/Holden)
POEMS AND STORYTELLING: The monthly event at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) is tonight, 7 pm – including readings and open-mike time. Details here. (5612 California SW)
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Could be the warmest, sunniest day of the week, suggests the forecast – don’t forget your sunglasses!
Road-work reminders are the same as yesterday:
*SW 106th repaving in Arbor Heights is planned – details here
*Highway 99 north of downtown continues overnight closures through Thursday night – details here
And a reminder about the weekend ahead – the Delridge repaving project is scheduled for Delridge/Thistle intersection closure, Friday night until Monday morning – details and detours here.
Not much chance SDOT will move the much-criticized California/Fauntleroy bus bulbs. So said the SDOT rep who came to the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting last week. Ahead, our roundup from the meeting, also including an update on preparations for demolition work on the now-vacant block across from Lowman Beach Park, where a sewer-overflow tank will be built, and other topics:
West Seattle High School‘s varsity baseball team played Franklin on Tuesday afternoon to make up for the game rained out last Friday. Greg Slader shares the photos and recap:
11-2 was the score of the game and is also West Seattle’s record in Metro League play. Three games left in the Season and they have the inside track to Metro Sound Division first place. In today’s makeup game with the Quakers, TK Snow #18 (top photo) pitched 4 & 2/3 innings holding Franklin to two runs on five hits. Spencer Elder made a rare appearance on the mound to close it out. The team hit well, with RBI doubles by Tim Adams, Spencer Elder, Sam Hellinger and Cameron Slader. Next game is Wednesday @ Chief Sealth, 3:30 pm.
That’s Tim Adams #24 catching a fly ball with the WS softball team plays on the other field in the background. (Unfortunately, we don’t have the score on that game, nor do our partners at The Times. But the schedule shows they play Sealth today, too!)
Reports of discolored water have come in via e-mail, via Twitter, and the WSB Forums tonight – mostly in the Genesee area. Residents who checked with Seattle Public Utilities say they were told fire crews were running the hydrants earlier today; via e-mail, Eileen adds, “They suggested not running much hot water right now since it will fill up your hot water tank w/ sediment. Wish I’d known that before running the dishwasher tonight!” If you’re having this problem tonight – or encounter it some other time – check out this online advice from SPU.
Spring sports got another dose of spring sunshine today – the state’s #2-ranked varsity soccer team, the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks, hosted their division rivals Ingraham on this sunny Tuesday, and came away with a 3-1 win.
Our partners at The Seattle Times published the scoring summary here. Sealth’s next game is at home too – 4 pm Friday, hosting Eastside Catholic.
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