day : 10/07/2013 13 results

West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB) is almost here – and our countdown continues with more miscellany:

CLOSING THE STREETS: In the heart of The Junction, the no-parking signs take effect at 4 pm Thursday; California between Genesee and Edmunds and Alaska between 44th and 42nd will be closed by 6 pm and will stay that way until cleanup is over late Sunday night.

SUMMER FEST EVE/ART WALK ON THURSDAY: Along with Bret Wiggins‘ Elvis stylings outside La Romanza Bistro (WSB sponsor), The Bubbleman outside Elliott Bay Brewery, Yada Yada Blues Band outside West 5, there’ll be music at Click! Design That Fits, too – 44th and Morgan, with Alex, Maya and Conor, playing 6-8 pm. (And browse the Art Walk highlights – not only The Junction – on the official website.)

GOT LITTLE ONES? Once again this year, Donna Ryan will open her City Mouse Studio and Store (4218 SW Alaska, just east of Cupcake Royale, as “a space for parents of little ones to nurse, feed, change, relax, and break from the heat.” And on the south end of the festival zone, the Early Days moms’ support group plans a changing/feeding area in the Nurturing Expressions (WSB sponsor) booth, which should be by Northwest Art and Frame, between Edmunds and Oregon on California.

SIDEWALK SALES: There’ll be plenty! A couple notes –
*JF Henry & Co. starts 8 am Thursday.
*Easy Street Records‘ sale during Summer Fest goes like this:

Used CDs – $1/ea
Used DVDs – $3/ea OR 4 / $10
Used Vinyl – $1/ea OR 12 / $10

BENEFIT SALE: Nyla at Cherry Consignment, at 4142 California SW just north of the festival zone, will have this going on Saturday:

The Ruby Room is having its annual Dresses for Divas sale this Saturday, July 13, 2013 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m, at Cherry Consignment. Come buy a $10 party dress and support The Ruby Room send a low-income teen to her school dance in style.

PIZZERIA 22 HEADS SOUTH: Once again this year, Cary Kemp will be at Summer Fest – with “wood-fired pizzas all weekend long at our booth: Margherita, Pepperoni, and the Primavera.”

SEATTLE MOBILE RETAIL TOUR: Second stop for these six mobile retailers, with West Seattleites among them – full details on their Facebook page; they’ll be in the 7-11 parking lot at Edmunds/Erskine/California throughout the festival.

More to share Thursday morning – and it’s not too late to let us know what your business/organization/etc. is up to during West Seattle Summer Fest! E-mail editor@westseattleblog.com ASAP. We also want to know for our continuous live coverage, anchored again from the Information Booth at California/Alaska – see you there! Basic links to EVERYTHING Summer Fest are in our previous preview.

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West Seattle Little League All-Stars: 1 team in action tonight; 2 championship teams await state play

July 10, 2013 7:09 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Exciting times for the West Seattle Little League All-Star teams in tournament play. Right now at Pac West in Burien, the WSLL 10-11 All-Stars are playing South Highline Nationals for a chance to advance to the District 7 semi-final game. Two other WSLL teams already have won their District 7 tournaments and are getting ready for state play:

Above, the 9-10 All-Stars; next, the 11-12 All-Stars:

Laurie Rasmussen shares the overview:

Both the 11-12 All Star team and the 9-10 All Star team won their respective divisions on Saturday to move on to the state competition beginning on July 13th. We are so proud of the boys of summer. Before the games began Saturday, with the 9-10 year old team on field one and the 11-12 year old team on field 2, the 11-12 year old team came over to field one to wish the younger team good luck.

Chris Frost from the 11-12 year old team told starting pitcher Nate Rasmussen, “Nate, I believe in you and know you can do it.” Rasmussen said it was very inspirational for him to hear those words from a player they all admire. It was a very special scene and had parents in tears with the sportsmanship of our WSLL boys.

For details on both of those championship wins, read on:

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Design Review: 4755 Fauntleroy Way and 4745 40th SW tomorrow; details from recent 3210 California SW review

July 10, 2013 5:04 pm

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| Development | West Seattle news

Tomorrow night – steps away from West Seattle Summer Fest Eve/West Seattle Art Walk entertainment and exploration – serious business will be under way on the second floor of the Senior Center of West Seattle: Two neighboring projects on the east edge of The Junction will return to the Southwest Design Review Board for its next doubleheader meeting. We’re previewing them briefly here along with our final, belated recap from the most recent SWDRB meeting. First, the Thursday projects:

4745 40th SW: As the meeting begins at 6:30 pm tomorrow, the board will see this ~150-apartment project for a second round of “Early Design Guidance.”

Here’s the official “packet” with the information and renderings submitted to the city pre-review, accompanied by explanations of how the architects believe they have responded to the board’s comments from the first review in May (WSB coverage here).

4755 FAUNTLEROY WAY SW: At 8 pm tomorrow, the board will see this ~370-apartment, grocery-and-drug-store project – biggest mixed-use project ever in West Seattle – for the fourth and possibly final time.

Here’s the “packet.” This project also has been going before the citywide Design Commission as part of the process of getting its “alley vacation” approved; our report on its most recent meeting is here. And there’s been a new development since even that meeting – a campaign branded as “Getting It Right for West Seattle” has appeared, focusing on this development. We are still researching it; an organizational announcement it’s circulating is signed by Elena Perez, who works as a community organizer for UFCW 21, which has mustered a delegation for just about every public meeting related to the project, whose grocery tenant is non-union Whole Foods. The stated goal of “Getting It Right” is a Community Benefits Agreement (here’s background from a different project). We expect to hear from the new group at tomorrow night’s meeting.

Meantime, ahead – one last round of notes from the most recent SWDRB meeting, which included the second “Early Design Guidance” session for the Admiral area’s biggest project ever, 3210 California SW:

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West Seattle coyote sighting: Delridge P-Patch visitor on cam

July 10, 2013 3:11 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Coyotes | Delridge | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The photo and coyote-sighting report are from Diane:

This morning once again, there was a raucous squawking of crows in the Delridge P-Patch. When we looked around, we saw a coyote run through the garden and walk into the picket-fenced yard alongside Cottage Grove Park.

We were harvesting peas from the Giving Garden plots. We’ve already harvested and donated over 250 pounds of produce to White Center Food Bank this growing season.

Congratulations to the gardeners on their generous gifts! Meantime, what the crows did is more or less what you are advised to do when you see a coyote, for your sake and theirs – scare it away. As always, we share this informational link with specific advice.

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Roxbury safety, Metro concern, more @ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights council

July 10, 2013 1:53 pm

| Comments Off on Roxbury safety, Metro concern, more @ Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights council

| Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | Westwood

Last night was a busy night for community-group meetings. We made it to Fauntleroy (story here) and Admiral (story to come), but for coverage of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Council, we point you to this thorough summary just published on the WWRHAH website by council secretary Joe Szilagyi. Topics included how to advocate for a safer SW Roxbury, one Arbor Heights neighborhood’s push for a traffic circle (here’s their online petition), and asking the city to help the county stave off those potential Metro cuts. Watch WWRHAH’s website and Facebook group for TBA info on the August meeting.

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Motorcycles, Car2Go, wildlife & more: Fauntleroy Community Association toplines

July 10, 2013 1:00 pm

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| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

Motorcycle noise, car-share parking, and Lincoln Park were among the topics discussed at last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting. Toplines ahead:

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IRS investigation in West Seattle: Agents at Admiral Pub

July 10, 2013 12:03 pm

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| West Seattle news

Multiple WSB readers sent word of Internal Revenue Service agents at Admiral Pub this morning, seen there as early as 7:30 am. Here’s what we have found out so far: A WSB crew has gone there twice to try to get information – the first time, we saw one man with IRS-CI on his jacket. He said he couldn’t comment but added he believed the pub would open as usual today. No vehicles or agents were visible outside at the time, but after another reader reported seeing agents carrying out boxes around 11 am, our crew went back; the agents were gone by the time we got there. Local U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson Emily Langlie tells WSB only that this is “an ongoing matter” and that there will be no further comment. The person who answered the pub’s phone also would not comment except to say they will indeed be open today.

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Was your stolen stuff in the back of that stolen pickup found in West Seattle? Check out the photos

July 10, 2013 10:24 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

After we reported Sunday on the stolen pickup spotted by WSB reader James, whose 911 call led to two arrests (one in his photo above), police reported finding the truck full of stolen items. And they have just published an SPD Blotter update with 70 photos of some of the items, in hopes of getting them back to their owners. Here’s just one of the photos, showing some of the items, which range from camera equipment to jewelry to books and more:

Too many photos for us to republish the other 60-plus here – so please go directly to SPDB to have a look.

Meantime, both suspects, a 20-year-old man and 33-year-old woman, remain in the King County Jail, as noted in our Monday followup, and we’ll have another update later when the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announces its decision on new charges against them. Both already had prior warrants out for their arrest.

5:18 PM UPDATE: King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ian Goodhew tells WSB charges were filed against either suspect today because they did not receive the case from police as a “rush file.” That means the $20,000 bail set for each has been dropped – the law sets a deadline for releasing suspects if they are not charged. However, each suspect still has unresolved warrants, and that means her bail is now at $15,000, his at $10,000, according to their current statuses on the jail register; we will be watching to see if that changes. Goodhew says, “We are following up with SPD and asking them to get us the cases ASAP so we can evaluate and file if possible.”

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Highland Park Spraypark update: Closed again for repairs

July 10, 2013 9:46 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Just got word from Seattle Parks that Highland Park Spraypark will not open today. They have had parts on order to fix a problem that has shut it down at least twice since its official opening a week and a half ago, and in the meantime, a “temporary solution” stopped working, so it’s closed until the parts are installed. The parts have arrived and the installers will be at the spraypark tomorrow morning; whenever they’re done, the spraypark will open, but they don’t know how long that will take. Parks spokesperson Joelle Hammerstad says the problem is a malfunctioning “electronic filter control valve (with) a leak in the pressure line.”

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday on the move

July 10, 2013 6:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Wednesday! One early reminder to share today – tomorrow (Thursday) night at 6 pm is when the roads in the heart of The Junction close for West Seattle Summer Fest setup; California from Genesee to Edmunds, and Alaska from 44th to 42nd. There will be bus reroutes too – check your route here.

1:11 PM UPDATE: Thanks to tipster P for word of a big crash on northbound I-5 just north of the West Seattle exit. Blocking lanes, says WSDOT via Twitter – so avoid I-5 for a while if you’re heading north.

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Celebration of life this Friday for John Picinich, 1936-2013

July 10, 2013 4:53 am

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| Obituaries | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Relatives and friends will gather this Friday afternoon to celebrate the life of John Picinich. Here’s the remembrance shared by his family:

John Antonio Picinich, 76, passed into eternity on Friday, July 5, in Susak, Croatia. He was born in Susak, Croatia, on September 14, 1936, to the late Antonio and Gaudenzia Picinich. John was a longtime resident of and business owner in West Seattle. He is survived by his wife of 3 years, Debra Kohler of FL; previous wife Rita Michelotti, of West Seattle, and his children, Marina (Matt) Bovenkamp, Gina (Steve) Evans, Nello (Michelle) Picinich; 10 grandchildren (Micah, Ariana, Rebekah & Siena Bovenkamp; Rachel & Hannah Fox; Benjamin, Landon, Maia & Amelia Picinich), and siblings Tony Picinich and Karmela Kurilic.

John was a loving father and husband. He enjoyed his work and had a passion for boating. He loved his homeland of Susak. He was a friend to all and loved by many. His charismatic personality will be missed.

An open-house celebration of his life will be held on Friday, July 12, from 3-5 pm at Hope Lutheran Church, 4456 42nd Ave SW.

(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

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Followup: Alki site test run for Seal Sitters ‘Sentinels’ sculpture

July 10, 2013 4:07 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(Photos by David Hutchinson)
Quite a sight Tuesday morning east of Alki Bathhouse – a test run of sorts for the still-in-progress sculpture that Seal Sitters is bringing to the boardwalk’s east end:

Seal Sitters is happy to announce that Turnstone Construction has completed the site preparation work of our Year of the Seal: Sentinels of the Sound sculpture project. The day began with the placement of a number of large rocks at the site. These rocks are modeled on the Blakeley Formation, which can be seen at low tide at Constellation Park south of Alki Point and on Bainbridge Island.

Georgia Gerber (at left-center in photo above with Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey) arrived with her almost-completed sculpture of a harbor seal mother and pup to assist with the final adjustment of these rocks. The sculpture was then returned to her studio on Whidbey Island for the finishing touches. It will be installed at the site in mid-late August. Turnstone employees then completed work on the simulated beach scene by early (Tuesday) afternoon. They will be back (today) for final cleanup and removal of the construction fence.

Seal Sitters wants to thank Turnstone Construction for an excellent job

Speaking of art, Seal Sitters has launched an art and essay contest for K-5-age kids – read about it on the group’s Blubberblog site.

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Video: King County Executive talks recap, letdown @ West Seattle Rotary

July 10, 2013 3:49 am

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| Rotary Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news

The speech that King County Executive Dow Constantine gave at the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s weekly lunch Tuesday was really two speeches. For the first 11 minutes, it was largely a recap of achievements in his first full term, as he approaches a re-election bid, without a major, campaigning-all-out opponent. For the seven minutes after that, he turned to the disappointment of being left by the Legislature without a means to avoid cuts in Metro service when two temporary funding sources run out next year without – at this point – replacement. Constantine talked about the rise in West Seattle bus ridership “going down the drain because the State Legislature just walked away without doing anything about transportation.” But, he said, a regional coalition will “continue to push (for a transportation-funding solution) because we don’t have an alternative.” A transportation-funding package made it out of the State House before the Legislature’s second special session ended last month, but it hit a dead end in the State Senate.

ROTARY NOTES: The West Seattle club’s new president Len Burton-Hardin (right) is in his first month of presiding, after an installation banquet two weeks ago. In a message to club members, he declared that the theme he has chosen for his year is “Celebrating Us,” in honor of Rotarians’ ongoing community efforts including the holiday-season Children’s Shopping Spree. The club also participated in the recent West Seattle Relay for Life cancer-fighting fundraiser and is gearing up to present another edition of the Kiddie Parade preceding the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 20th (details here).