day : 27/06/2013 11 results

11:03 PM: Thanks to Tony in Seaview for sending word that this yacht, just launched by Duwamish River-headquartered Delta Marine, was in West Seattle waters. Others have subsequently reported it’s been out there for hours. Tony shared two links – this one, and this one under its former name. We’re looking around for additional details.

ADDED 11:20 PM: Still out there, says MarineTraffic.com. Here’s more background, in 2011 and 2012 news releases, and here are its specs – 215 feet long, seven staterooms (including the owner’s stateroom), 10 crew staterooms plus captain’s quarters.

P.S. Can’t help but wonder if it might have started out as this (sighted on a barge off Alki a year and a half ago). Anyone with a keener eye than ours care to opine?

P.P.S. Just discovered some closer-up photos on Beach Drive Blog.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: A commenter mentioned seeing it on the Duwamish River this morning. Just got this photo from Jenny:

Who owns it, you ask? A mystery so far, though there’s been at least one guess in the comment section.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Sunset before sun’s return

June 27, 2013 9:28 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Thanks to Michael Copeland for the view from North Admiral – as the weather started to transition from our rainy week to the promise of clearer skies ahead.

ADDED: From Alki via Twitter, Angela‘s view:

Many of tonight’s shots included a ferry – like this one from MM:

And this, from Tom Marx:

As the colors intensified, Annika Bowden took this photo:

From Greg, over Weather Watch Park (Beach Drive):

And Lynn Hall shared views from the Luna/Anchor Park area:

Thanks again to EVERYONE who sent photos to share!

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West Seattle-grown produce: High Point Farm Stand opens July 10th

June 27, 2013 7:00 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Gardening | West Seattle news

Just announced by the city today: The P-Patch Community Garden Program’s High Point Market Garden Farm Stand opens July 10th, for weekly Wednesday sales, 4-7 pm, through October 9th. It’s at 32nd Avenue SW and SW Juneau, right next to the small “farm” where the organic produce is grown. Here’s the flyer with additional details.

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Life as an independent small local shopkeeper: ‘The Lindas’ tell it like it is

June 27, 2013 3:11 pm

| 30 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

(Photographed at Clementine: Owner Linda Walsh, left, with Carmilia’s owner Linda Sabee, right)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Linda Sabee felt “rattled” when it happened.

Linda Walsh says, “It shook me to the core.”

They were referring to the closure two months ago of the West Seattle Junction boutique Sweetie.

“This is serious,” Sabee remembers thinking.

She and Walsh also own and operate Junction boutiques – Carmilia’s and Clementine, respectively.

We sat down with “The Lindas” one recent morning to talk about the life of a shop owner, beyond the overview we published earlier this month, talking about small businesses’ contributions to the community, and to its character. Theirs is not the story of “what it’s like for boutique owners,” but rather, what it’s like for small independent local retailers of all types right now.

Here is where, to paraphrase, the fabric hits the road.

Carmilia’s has been in The Junction going on 11 years. “People come in the store and say, ‘You’ve been here 11 years, you’re doing fine.” But that’s no guarantee she’ll be there another 11 years – or even another 11 months – without “continued daily, weekly, monthly support from people in the community. It’s not a business plan that works if you have many days in a row when not many people come in and buy something.”

They have not initiated this conversation, you should know, to sing the blues.

They just want to make sure you know they can’t sing without you – and that it’s not just a song about them; it’s about the role small independent local businesses play in the community ecosystem, beyond an exchange of money for goods.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Arbor Heights burglary

June 27, 2013 1:39 pm

| 39 COMMENTS

| Arbor Heights | Crime | West Seattle news

Jen sends word of a midday break-in at her home in the 10400 block of 35th SW – she says she was gone between 11:15 am and 12:15 pm, and somebody kicked in the door, stealing a computer and jewelry boxes. If you saw anything suspicious, she says, please call police (who a reader says are currently in that general area).

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Update: Highland Park Spraypark will open tomorrow!

June 27, 2013 1:02 pm

| 15 COMMENTS

| Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(Seattle Parks photo from spraypark testing earlier this month)
Less than an hour after we last checked with the Seattle Parks project manager for the new Highland Park Spraypark, Kelly Goold, he’s written back with big news: They JUST got approval from King County Public Health, and the spraypark opens tomorrow – just in time for the heat wave! It’s at 11th and Cloverdale (map).

2:11 PM UPDATE: Just checked on the hours: 11 am-8 pm. An official community celebration is expected later this summer, probably August, when a nearby art project is complete. The spraypark has been four years in the making. We had first word in July 2009 that the old wading pool would be converted. Then in early 2010, Carolyn Stauffer (now co-chair of Highland Park Action Committee) circulated a proposal to seek more Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund dollars to add to the functionality and sustainability of the spraypark. It eventually won approval; community meetings began in May 2011, and the spraypark was built this year.

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West Seattle Thursday: Design Review for 3210 California & 4400 Alaska; air quality; DESC project; more

June 27, 2013 11:48 am

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

That photo shared via the WSB Flickr group is by Dennis Cheasebro, who explains that it’s a phantom orchid found in Lincoln Park: “This orchid is rare and getting rarer, preferring deep, moist forests, and it’s extraordinary to find it here in the city. … If you see it, please let it be.” You can see wider views . On to the highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Thursdays-Sundays, it’s open to visitors, noon-4 pm. (61st/Stevens)

WADING POOL NOTE: *If* we had sunshine and 70-plus temps, this would have been opening day for Delridge Playfield’s wading pool. So probably tomorrow if the forecast is true! Here’s the ongoing wading-pool schedule (including the hotline you can always call to check on the city’s plan).

ADVENTURE RACE: Tonight, starting from Alki, 5 pm. Read about it (and how to be part of it) here.

WSDW HOSTS RON SIMS: The former county executive is the special guest at tonight’s meeting of the West Seattle Democratic Women, 6 pm @ West Seattle Golf Course – details here. (4470 35th SW)

AIR QUALITY MEETING: The Port of Seattle is airing a Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy update in a meeting at 6 pm tonight, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

DESIGN REVIEW DOUBLEHEADER: With the current apartment-development boom, most Southwest Design Review Board meetings are back to two projects, twice monthly. Tonight’s meetings are at the Senior Center of West Seattle (upstairs) and begin at 6:30 pm with the second Early Design Guidance session for the ~150-apartment project at 3210 California SW (here’s the official info/renderings “packet”; here’s our recent update on changes in the proposal). Then at 8 pm, the board is scheduled to move on to its first look at 4400 SW Alaska, a 37-apartment plan first reported here a month ago; here’s the official packet. Both meetings will include a public-comment period. (California/Oregon).

DESC DELRIDGE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Though it’s not listed on the committee’s official webpage, an announcement on the North Delridge e-mail group says there is a meeting tonight for community concerns/information about the under-construction homeless-housing complex that will also include the new Delridge Grocery. Meeting’s at 6:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

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Need tools? West Seattle Tool Library expanding hours, days

June 27, 2013 10:25 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle news

Just in from Sustainable West Seattle‘s Kate Kaemerle – the WS Tool Library is adding more hours for summer:

As of July 1st, WSTL is adding hours on Tuesdays from 5-8 pm. They are also adjusting their hours on Thursday and weekends to serve more member requests for tools and workshop use.

“We’re expanding our hours to keep up with demand for our tools,” said WSTL Manager Micah Summers. “Our new hours should help accommodate more people and increase the convenience of checking tools in and out.”

The new West Seattle Tool Library summer schedule begins July 1st:

Tuesday 5-8 pm (new day)
Thursday 5-8 pm (new hours)
Saturday 11 am – 4 pm (new hours)
Sunday 11 am -4 pm (new hours)

The West Seattle Tool Library is a non-profit, community service, offering access to a collection of over 1,500 tools. With more than 1,000 members, the tool library has helped build orchards, playgrounds, greenhouses and supported thousands of home, yard and neighborhood projects.

The West Seattle Tool Library is located at:

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW

The West Seattle Tool Library is a project of Sustainable West Seattle and was made possible by a neighborhood grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and is powered by the LocalTools.com lending-library-management system.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Heat-wave heads-up

June 27, 2013 10:03 am

| 16 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Just in case you haven’t already heard – and even though it might be hard to believe on another day of summer rain – the National Weather Service says hot weather really is on the way. This morning, they issued a Special Weather Statement – read it here – with word that by next Tuesday or so, temperatures could go into the 90s. So if nothing else, this is early warning to get the fan(s) out of the basement, among other preparations.

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West Seattle summer: 2nd busy session for Chief Sealth camp

June 27, 2013 9:17 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Chief Sealth Basketball and Life Skills Camp is in its second weeklong session of the summer, and Sealth coach Colin Slingsby shared photos while reporting that each of the first two weeks has hosted more than 130 campers. It’s not just about basketball, he reminds us:

More than 30 camp staff members consisting of current and former Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School students underwent hours of training to staff the camp and coach campers on basketball fundamentals, life skills, and academic success strategies.

Each day, campers take part in a classroom session where they hear from high school and college student coach speakers, and study under a curriculum rooted in learning social skills and academic success strategies. One of the longest standing and most recognized community-based programs at Sealth International High School (16 years running), the camp continues its success in bringing together youth in the community for a positive and fun learning environment and the chance to grow and compete on the court! This summer features two more sessions in August which still have space available- Camp Session #3 (August 12th-16th) and the brand-new Advanced Concepts Session (August 19th-23rd).

Registration information and other details are in this online brochure.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: 1 week till 4th of July

June 27, 2013 6:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
And the commute begins. Today we’re starting by looking ahead – not just by noting that we’re a week away from the 4th of July, but also, some dates we noticed on the latest edition of the weekly traffic preview:

DELRIDGE REPAVING, PHASE 4: That preview says Monday, July 8th, is the current target date for moving on to Phase 4 of the Delridge Way Repaving Project – the section between Holden and Orchard.

HIGHWAY 99 CLOSURE NORTH OF BATTERY STREET TUNNEL: The weekend after the holiday – Friday night 7/5 through Monday morning 7/8 – will see Highway 99 closed both ways between Valley Street and the Battery St. Tunnel for lane-shifting.

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