West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(April photo of SPD surveillance camera installed at Admiral Way Viewpoint)
When last we checked with Mayor McGinn‘s office regarding the status of his decisionmaking on whether to give Seattle Police approval to activate the surveillance cameras installed from Fauntleroy to Alki to Admiral and beyond, they told us the ball was in SPD’s court, expecting the department to schedule “additional public meetings” (that quote’s in our March 31st update). Tonight, SPD has finally announced one more meeting: This Friday night, 7 pm, in Ballard. The announcement was made via SPD Blotter just after 8 pm tonight:
Got questions about the Port Security Grant? Missed our meetings in West Seattle and Belltown? Planning a staycation this Memorial Day weekend?
Well then, this opportunity is for you!
Tell us in person. We’ll be at the Golden Gardens Bathhouse, 8498 Seaview Pl. NW, Friday, May 24th at 7 p.m.
Can’t make it? Not a problem. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can send your thoughts to us electronically. Drop us an email at cameraquestions@seattle.gov
The first two meetings were March 12 on Alki (WSB coverage here) and March 19 in Belltown. Missed the backstory? The “port-security grant” refers to a communication system including dozens of Seattle Police-managed surveillance cameras, funded by a federal grant originally described as being for port security, but since framed in a broader public-safety context. WSB readers were first to notice cameras being installed unannounced, which led to the news being broken here, if you go all the way back to the first story (January 29) in our archive.
Looking for someone to go walking with? Three West Seattle women invite you to join them this Friday for the first of what they hope will be weekly walks – at least for a month, and then they’ll see how things have been going. The invitation is simple:
Walk with us! This Friday [May 24], 8:00 am, meet at south goalpost at Hiawatha soccer field. Walk for 20 minutes with us and bring your dog, friends – anyone welcome! Walk longer with some of us, or less …. it is all fine!
Questions? Call Carol at 206-938-4204. No RSVP needed, though – just show up. Hiawatha is at 2700 California SW.
Tonight, another followup on the recent discussions of “low-flow” – 500 gallons per minute – fire hydrants that remain in parts of West Seattle and whether people living by those hydrants – particularly a few concentrations in Arbor Heights – are at higher risk. Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore asked us to share this:
For the past few years, the Seattle Fire Department has been working in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities to achieve greater fire protection in Arbor Heights. Since 2011, SPU has updated the water mains, added fire hydrants, and has installed red rings to clearly identify low-flow hydrants. These additional measures assist the Seattle Fire Department with our fire-suppression tactics and also provide an increased level of safety and fire protection to the residents in Arbor Heights.
Each Seattle Fire Engine carries 500 gallons of water, enough to extinguish an entire room fire. Also every fire engine is equipped with 1000 feet of hose line. This is enough hose to reach the 1000 gallons-per-minute (gpm) hydrants which SPU has placed within 1000 feet of all residences in the city.
Concern surfaced after SPU announced it’s working this month to place reflective red rings on the remaining “low-flow” hydrants; we first published the map above on Monday showing their locations – click the image to get a larger PDF of the full citywide map.
Today we welcome a new WSB sponsor, Massage Envy, now open in Westwood Village, with a grand-opening celebration this Saturday. Here’s what Massage Envy‘s West Seattle owner Jennifer McCollum (in red in the photo below) wants you to know:
Our Massage Envy staff is amazing. We have 15 talented massage therapists, each trained in multiple modalities. In addition to being licensed health-care professionals in Washington, each passed a 3-part interview which included a practical massage with myself and my experienced Clinic Administrator, Amanda. They were evaluated on 6 criteria and had to score well in all six categories to come aboard. We had to turn away several applicants and get a lot of massage to select these wonderful, gifted people. It was tough. My neck and shoulder have never felt so relaxed.
I’ve worked in health care for the last 15 years, in a variety of settings. I’ve never seen therapy apply to such a variety of issues. It was a natural fit to open a business designed to make people feel good right away. The more you have massage, the better you feel. It’s as healthy as working out, but instead of sweating, you lie down. Our American lifestyle is pretty stressful. Americans don’t have any pause rituals like afternoon tea or siestas. Pausing is essential to a healthy balanced life.
Massage Envy invented the concept of a gym-type membership for massage. The response has been huge because people always leave feeling great and want to have more of that well-being feeling. Regular massage is addictive and we have a great program that makes it affordable and convenient. Parking and public transport are plentiful; we’re open 7 days a week, 8 am-10 pm Mondays-Fridays, 8 am-6 pm Saturdays, 10 am-6 pm Sundays. It’s pretty easy to fit it into a busy schedule. As the local owner, I spent a year vetting the Massage Envy brand to gain a comfort level with the brand for professionalism, convenience, and value. I visited over 50 Massage Envys around the US in several states. I talked to a lot of therapists about what made their job rewarding (or not) and took note. The consistency and quality of massage is strikingly good. I found a manager talented in delivering on customer service and systems that work for our staff. She has several years’ experience in the wellness industry. Because of my history as a health-care provider, spending long hours in the operating room, it’s important to me that my employees have state of the art equipment that preserves their bodies. We take care of our clients, we take care of ourselves and we take care of each other. It’s hugely rewarding to all of us to make people feel so good, run a better race, wake up less stiff, move with ease and less pain, go to sleep soundly, recover from surgery — I could go on and on and usually do if you give me half a chance. I believe in massage. If you are the type of person who likes massage, please come and give us a try – 2513 SW Trenton, on the north side of Westwood Village, 206-456-3400.
And this Saturday (May 25th), it’s the grand opening, with a ribbon-cutting at 11 am, followed by complimentary chair massages, healthy treats, and a water bar until 1 pm.
We thank Massage Envy-West Seattle 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.
The date’s been set – June 27 (technically tentative until the formal notice comes out) – for the second Early Design Guidance review of 3210 California SW. The five-story, 180-apartment, 180-parking-space project‘s first session before the Southwest Design Review Board was on April 12th (WSB coverage here; official city report here), and board members asked the development team to give it another try. Neighbors’ concerns include the project’s length – “200 feet longer than a downtown block,” as they described it – and height, with a single-family-zoned neighborhood right behind it to the east. The June 27th meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, site of most Design Review meetings these days, California/Oregon in The Junction.
(April 2011 photo by Long Bach Nguyen, over Alki Lighthouse)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Every year, you get just a few chances for a close-up look at one of West Seattle’s true gems – the Alki Point Lighthouse.
This year, those chances start June 1st, when weekend afternoon tours resume. But that first day comes with something extra – a celebration of the lighthouse’s centennial.
US Coast Guard Auxiliary member and area resident Will Winter talked about it at last Thursday’s Alki Community Council meeting. (He’s at right in the photo below, taken by Liesbet T. and published here as the tour season wrapped up in 2011:)
The USCG Auxiliary volunteers staff the lighthouse for tours, and that’s why Winter joined.
He presented an overview of its history, as well as mentioning the low-key celebration that’s ahead, planned in conjunction with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which has a “complementary celebration” on deck that day:
550 people, almost 50 local food/beverage purveyors, and … drum roll … more than $30,000 raised for West Seattle Helpline at last Thursday’s Taste of West Seattle! So reports Helpline executive director Tara Luckie, now that the final count is in:
That’s 23% more than last year. We want to give a big thanks to the many establishments who participated and to the ticket purchasers who made this event a success. The West Seattle Helpline looks forward to helping many families get back on their feet after facing an emergency in West Seattle with these funds.
You of course don’t have to wait for the next special event to help the Helpline … you can donate online any time.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
The alert we received on Monday warned us not to tip off Sanislo Elementary librarian Craig Seasholes (right) that CenturyLink rep Sue Anderson (left) would be visiting the school with a surprise for him – a big $5,000 check as part of the CL/Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Teachers & Technology grant program. He’s one of 22 teachers to get one of the grants this year, and we’re told it’ll go toward iPads with educational apps and e-books. (Big spring for Mr. Seasholes and the Sanislo Library – you’ll recall they hosted Caroline Kennedy last month.)
(WSB photo of proposed rowhouse site, April 2013)
“Rowhouses” are a hot development trend right now, under construction and/or on the drawing boards for at least half a dozen West Seattle sites. Three weeks ago, we reported on a petition drive launched by neighbors of a proposal for four three-story rowhouses at 2414 55th SW in Alki. They had learned that, although the project did not hit the threshold for a mandatory public meeting of any kind (such as Design Review), if they gathered at least 50 signatures requesting one, the city would consider it. Neighbor Marie McKinsey says she heard back from the city Monday afternoon:
This is from Tami Garrett, the DPD planner in charge of this project: “DPD will facilitate a public meeting. The purpose of this meeting will be for Staff to provide an overview of the proposed project and for the public to provide comments about the proposal in person. The meeting date, location and time hasn’t been confirmed yet. It’s my understanding that the parties of record will be sent written notice of the date, time and location. Neighbors within close proximity of the proposal site, petition signers, and public commenters are considered part of this group.
McKinsey says Garrett also indicated it could take a month or more to schedule that meeting. (The neighbors’ reasons for requesting one were detailed in our previous story.)
(Ducklings at Lincoln Park; photo by Patrick McCaffrey)
Even if you’re not much for meetings, there are two tonight that might give you reason to reconsider. They’re on our list of highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BLOOD DRIVE: Puget Sound Blood Center‘s Bloodmobile is at Chief Sealth International High School till 2 pm (closed 10:30-11:30 am) – walk-ins usually welcome if you are interested in donating. (2600 SW Thistle)
BABY STORY TIME: 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library – parents/caregivers, bring your 4-to-12-month-old(s)! (2306 42nd SW)
BENEFIT DINNER @ SENIOR CENTER: “Pay what you can” turkey dinner tonight at 5:30 at the Senior Center of West Seattle, to help raise money to repair the front door. (California and Oregon)
MEMORIAL WALK: Just got word while writing this; there’s a 5:30 pm walk in memory of Surinderpaul Basra, hit and killed last week at 1st and Findlay in Georgetown:
A family and community were torn apart by a horrific collision on Tuesday, May 14 as Surinderpaul Basra crossed at the intersection of First Avenue South and South Findlay Street right after she left after work at Essential Bakery. It’s the sort of tragedy we hear about all too often.
Please join us Tuesday, May 21st at 5:30 p.m. in front of Essential Bakery, 5601 1st Avenue South in Georgetown. We will walk where Surinderpaul Basra walked to pay our respects to her family and friends, and we will walk to send the message that we want safer streets for everyone in Seattle. These tragedies don’t need to keep happening.
More information here and here.
SEATTLE PARKS’ FUTURE – YOUR TURN TO SPEAK UP: 7 pm tonight in the renovated historic building at Dakota Place Park, it’s the biggest West Seattle meeting about the roadmap for Seattle Parks‘ future, the Legacy Plan. Have a favorite park? Something you’d like to see fixed up or changed? Or added to the system? That’s just some of what you’re welcome to talk about. (California and Dakota)
BURGLARY DETECTIVE @ CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct meeting room, SPD burglary Det. Jill Vanskike talks with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. You’ll also hear about area crime trends, and get a chance to bring up neighborhood concerns. (SW Webster, just west of Delridge Way)
BELLY DANCING: The monthly Alauda freeform-belly-dancing showcase at Skylark Café and Club is tonight, 7:30 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
7:19 AM: After a rainy night, the most recent alert for this morning is no surprise – KING 5 traffic reporter Tracy Taylor tweets that there’s “one lane blocked each direction on Highway 99 near Battery Street Tunnel due to standing water.”
8:16 AM: Thanks to the person who texted that all lanes are back open by the tunnel.
8:41 AM: Thanks to Mary for e-mailing to report a tree blocking 18th SW just south of Holden, causing some abrupt braking on Holden. She says a tree service has arrived but looks like cleanup might take a while.
9:18 AM: At Morgan Junction, the bus sightings usually involve Metro. But this morning, there’s a head-turner, photographed by Ben:
So far, the only information we’ve tracked down is that Thai Me Up is here all the way from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and seems to be on tour for American Craft Beer Week.
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