Michalee-mailed to ask that you keep an eye out for this truck stolen from the 9800 block of 25th SW, just south of the city/county boundary:
Just wanted to report that last night around 4:30 am our 2012 Black Nissan Frontier 4×4 was stolen out of our driveway at 9808 25th ave sw 98118. License plate B88732x. If anyone see this truck they can contact the King County (Sheriff’s Office) or us at 206-310-2661.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
For everyone who’s not taking a four-day (or longer) holiday weekend, here’s the daily traffic/transit watch: Since it’s not an official holiday, today’s bus and boat schedules are back to normal. But tonight’s the start of the weekend-long northbound 99 closure north of downtown – Battery Street Tunnel to Valley St., midnight tonight to no later than 5 am Monday morning. And remember that Monday is the day the Delridge repaving project switches to its next phase.
Thanks to Mike Scharer for sharing photos of the Lake Union 4th of July fireworks as seen from the Admiral Way Bridge over Fairmount Ravine.
If you missed the (sanctioned) show, you have two more chances to see fireworks displays in our area this month: July 17th at Steve Cox Park as part of White Center Jubilee Days, and July 20th off Beach Drive as part of a private event (but the fireworks will be publicly visible.)
Meantime, Mike sent an additional photo taken before Thursday night’s fireworks – showing, if you look very closely, black smoke billowing from the same general area:
Having listened to the scanner throughout the evening, we’re fairly sure that was related to this boat-storage yard fire on Lake Union, not far from Gas Works Park, main viewing area for the fireworks show. SFD says via Twitter that $1.5 million in damage is estimated for 14 boats.
That’s our traditional “everybody, start to finish” West Seattle/Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade video – but this year, #19 for the parade, the turnout wasn’t the only impressive thing about the parade: The diaper drive was, too! New co-coordinator Jackie Clough reports that attendees brought “1,327 diapers and 8 bags of clothes and quilts for WestSide Baby.” She shared this photo from afterward:
Cash donations also totaled enough to reimburse Holy Rosary Parish for the cost of the permits needed for the parade, Jackie says. Before the parade started, we photographed her with Sherri Chun (photo below), longtime coordinator who turned over the reins this year to Jackie and (not pictured)Allyson Schreck.
This year’s parade also drew two mayors – Greg Nickels, North Admiral resident, was expected; here’s his speech (introduced by Jackie), which made note of the situation in Egypt as well as the United States history marked by today’s holiday:
The mayoral surprise was an unexpected appearance by Nickels’ successor, Mike McGinn, who wound up speaking briefly at the Hamilton Viewpoint Park festival that followed the parade. He declared West Seattle to be “unbelievable …” a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting:
Perhaps he was inspired by sights like this:
Or this:
More photos (including the post-parade fun and games), video – and a keepsake found after the parade (is it yours?) – ahead:
A few times these past few weeks, Westwood residents asked about music/drums they’ve heard coming from Southwest Athletic Complex. We eventually learned SWAC is the rehearsal HQ this year for the All-City Band, the green-shirted student musicians who are fixtures in summer parades around this region. And beyond – as evidenced by the photos and update shared by Steve White:
The Seattle All City Band, under the direction of Chief Sealth/Denny music director Marcus Pimpleton, is performing this week on the island of Oahu.
Today, they participated in the Kailua, Oahu, 4th of July Parade (photo above; below is a group shot with the King Kamehameha statue in Honolulu).
Later in the week, the band will be performing at the Polynesian Cultural Center and in a parade along Waikiki Beach in downtown Honolulu.
The band is rehearsing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at SWAC to prepare for the upcoming Seafair parade season.
The band will also be hosting the Seattle All City “Band Jam” at SWAC on Friday, July 26th at 7 pm. This event features many of the music groups that will be performing in the following night’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, but in a concert setting on the football field. The event is free for all; donations to the program gladly accepted.
After leaving the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum, we traveled Alki and Harbor Avenues to see what’s up this 4th of July. Above, at 59th/Alki, we found the AMNO & Co. underwater-robotics team with fundraising refreshments (they’re there until 6 pm) – here’s our recent story about them. Right across the street, perhaps the most unusual food truck we’ve seen at Alki:
Yes, it’s a truck promoting Birds-Eye frozen food. Exactly what we had on our mind on the national barbecuing holiday. From there, more routine sights, including what you’ll always see at Don Armeni and other northeast-facing points by early afternoon on the 4th – people staked out for a fireworks view:
Whatever you do – be safe. We’re hoping for a quiet night. But we’ll be covering breaking news 24/7 as always, so if you see/hear something, 206-293-6302.
12:43 PM: Next big event of the day is at the Log House Museum(61st/Stevens) – its annual 4th of July membership picnic is under way now till 3 pm, with a theme of “celebrating volunteers” this year. We’re on the way for some photos and will add an update when we get there!
1:21 PM:Clay Eals, executive director, is emceeing the picnic program on the museum’s back patio (above), talking to some of the volunteers who are on hand about why they volunteered and why others should join them. Eals noted that this year alone, 35 new volunteers have signed up. There are some not-that-new volunteers here too – 87-year-old Nancy McPhee (with Eals in photo below) joked that she “IS a historical exhibit.”
Veteran volunteer Barbara McGlothern reminisced about the campaign to save the Admiral Theater more than 20 years ago. And president Marcy Johnsen talked about living in the Log House Museum before it was a museum.
Still lots of time to come on over – bring a potluck dish if you have one, but if you don’t, don’t let that stop you, there’s food aplenty to share here! P.S. Your next chance to get involved as a volunteer at the museum/Southwest Seattle Historical Society is an information session on July 13th – details here. And Eals has just announced other big events SWSHS has coming up – look for a separate story on that here a bit later.
10 AM: As usual, we’re tweeting from the parade route. In case you don’t use Twitter, here’s a window to show you those quick updates, including photos and possibly some video (look for links with Instagram addresses) along the way:
11:17 AM: Parade is over and funfest at Hamilton Viewpoint is well under way. Looks like AT&T signal hung up most of our parade pic tweets but we’ll have lots of coverage once back at HQ.
Good morning and Happy Independence Day! Our full lineup of 4th of July-related information is on this special WSB page, but here are a few toplines:
FORECAST FOR THE FOURTH: Cloudy now but supposed to burn off at “midday,” says the National Weather Service, as it has the past few days.
WEST SEATTLE 4TH OF JULY KIDS’ PARADE: The peninsula’s only 4th of July parade starts at 44th and Sunset at 10 am. Everyone’s welcome to join the fun, walking/rolling along a fairly short route to Hamilton Viewpoint Park, where you’ll find old-fashioned games on the green plus concessions, for a fun celebration to start your holiday. Remember the diaper drive at the start of the route this year for WestSide Baby! And if you’re not in the parade or watching it, do avoid the north end of California till it’s over, as traffic will be stopped while paraders cross. We’ll post a traffic alert on WSB and our other channels once they’re all on the other side.
SPEAKING OF WATER: The new Highland Park Spraypark is open daily 11 am-8 pm; the city wading-pool hotline says that since the forecast is for sunshine and 70s later, the pools WILL be open – in our area, on Thursdays, that’ll be Lincoln Park, EC Hughes, and Delridge (hours are on the citywide season schedule). Outdoor Colman Pool will be open (here’s its schedule); indoor Southwest Pool, closed.
LOST OR FOUND PET? While personal fireworks are illegal, many use them anyway, and that leads to more than a few pets getting spooked and running away. If you find or lose a pet, we hope West Seattle’s only dedicated online HQ for such notices can help with a reunion – e-mail info (photo if available but not required) to editor@westseattleblog.com – we will be on duty as always, well into the night.
Family and friends of Mark “Waz” Wasielewski knew that even though he wasn’t around for his 27th annual Make-A-Wish fundraising Invitational Golf Tournament this year – having died suddenly in February at just 51 years old – they had to carry on. And carry on they did, raising $11,278.45, exceeding their expectations, according to Verne Justice, who’s in the photo with Janice Morgan and Make-A-Wish’s Tamsyn Theo. Verne says he and Janice were joined in making the June tournament happen by Jim & Jillian Wasielewski, Eric Dwyer, and John Maynard. “We far exceeded our expectations,” Verne says. “We never really had a goal – just to have some fun and raise some money.” Enough, in fact, “to support not one, but two wishes! In fact, it looks like this year was the most successful year yet!” Their acknowledgments:
Thanks to the friends and family of Mark Wasielewski in making the day a huge success. Also, to the following businesses that supported the Tournament; Pizzeria 22, Seattle Fish, Lee’s Asian, Salty’s, Phoenecia, Elliott Bay Pub, Jak’s Grill, Marination Ma Kai, Szmania’s, Alki Mail, Foster Golf Course, Seattle Logo Pro, Easy Street, Talarico’s, Kamei Restaurant, West Seattle Golf, Ephesus, A Terrible Beauty, Proletariat Pizza, and the Lunchbox Laboratory.
Also, thanks to sponsors; Ray Bowen, Eric Beardemphl, Tim Morgan and Paul Frederickson
Verne adds, “The sun came out the day of the Tournament, everyone was in good spirits; it was a great tribute to Mark.” P.S. You can help Make-A-Wish too – just go here.
A memorial service is planned August 2nd for Susan Fortney, whose family shares this remembrance:
Susan Theresa Fortney, 64, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, on June 22, 2013.
Susie was born in Wallace, Idaho, on April 3, 1949 and moved to West Seattle at the age of 2- she was a lifelong resident of the West Seattle area, attending Cooper Elementary, Boren Middle School, then graduating from Chief Sealth High School in 1968. She continued on to receive an associate’s degree to become a nurse from Skagit Valley Community College.
Susie was a nurse, in heart and profession, at Valley Medical Center for several years, and then went to work for a law firm, working as a office manager until her full-time retirement in 2011.
The latest West Seattle coyote sighting was shared by Diane, and it paints quite the picture:
Today, a coyote was chased by crows through the Delridge P-Patch parking lot along Puget Blvd toward the Longfellow Creek greenbelt. It looked like a very healthy male.
ADDED 9:28 PM: Another one came in right after we published this. From Melissa:
Just had a coyote go trotting down the street here, heading toward 16th. I’m just below Riverview Park on Othello. He moved too fast for me to get a pic, though. Figured I’d pass along a head’s up.
Senior SHA Property Management staff, members of the High Point HOA Board, Trustees from the High Point Neighborhood Association, High Point Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel, and SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon
Please accept our apologies for the outage late today – it was NOT planned, and furthermore, when we occasionally need to take the site down for maintenance, we do our best to make sure it’s only in the very late-night/early-morning hours. Our latest problems are the result of growing pains yet again – every month sets a new record for homes/businesses visiting WSB, and we keep having to adjust the underlying technology to keep up. Right now we’re beginning work (with expert assistance) on leaping way ahead, rather than just keeping up, so once we can make that leap, it should dramatically reduce the risk of sudden crashes like the few we’ve had lately. In addition to checking our social-media channels if WSB is down – primarily Facebook (be sure you “like” facebook.com/westseattleblog, NOT our old “WS Blog” account) and Twitter – we also have revived our old blog-format backup site, so bookmark westseattleblog.wordpress.com) just in case. Thanks again for your patience and ongoing support and collaboration – Tracy Record & Patrick Sand, WSB co-publishers
The third and, we believe, final principal announcement this afternoon for West Seattle’s public schools – this time, news of a replacement, the new principal for Chief Sealth International High School principal:
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Aida Fraser-Hammer as your new principal, effective July 1, 2013. She replaces Chris Kinsey who announced in June that he would not be returning in the fall.
Ms. Fraser-Hammer comes to Chief Sealth International High School from Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington, where she has been an assistant principal since 2004. At Kentwood she worked with staff, students, and families to increase on-time graduation rates and students’ academic achievement. Ms. Fraser-Hammer has an international background, and she is fluent in Spanish.
Today I’m announcing a leadership change at Alki Elementary School for the next school year. Your principal, Ms. Chanda E. Oatis, has been appointed principal at Van Asselt Elementary School effective for the 2013-2014 school year.
Ms. Carmela Dellino, Executive Director for K-12 schools in West Seattle, will lead the process to identify a new principal for Alki. We will move quickly to form a hiring committee, and will keep you informed of the process. We are committed to finding a strong principal who will be a great fit for your community and who can build on Alki’s successes.
I appreciate the outstanding leadership that Ms. Oatis brought to Alki Elementary the past two years which has led to impressive gains in literacy, math and science achievement. And I appreciate the dedication of Alki families and staff to student success and to creating a positive and enriching learning environment at your school.
Please join me in thanking Ms. Oatis for her years at Alki Elementary.
Sincerely,
José Banda
She’s the 6th West Seattle public school principal whose departure has been announced since April (see the list at the end of our earlier Gatewood story).
It’s come up often, especially in the WSB Forums – how to tell whether someone who comes to your door, claiming to be a rep for Comcast, really IS. And even then, we learn in the latest newsletter from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, that’s no guarantee all’s well, especially if you didn’t request the visit. He says a recent incident in West Seattle prompted this:
P.S. In case you – like a commenter – cannot see or access the document we embedded via Scribd, here’s the original PDF, uploaded to our server (it came from SPD via e-mail attachment, otherwise we’d happily point you to their site).
LA ROMANZA ADDS PATIO: A new place to dine outdoors in The Junction – La Romanza Bistro Italiano (WSB sponsor) has opened its patio out back. Proprietor Aimee Pellegrini says it’s open “all of our open and non-raining hours, definitely happy hour, dinner and sunny brunch. We can seat up to 20 on the deck and the entire space may be reserved as well. It’s a great spot for an al-fresco evening with light breezes and western exposure. Happy hour on the deck starts at 4:00 pm!” (P.S. Aimee adds that on West Seattle Summer Fest Eve, July 11th, award-winning Elvis stylist Bret Wiggins will perform two sets in front of La Romanza, starting at 6:30 pm, free, with drinks, “small bites,” and dinner available.)
4TH OF JULY CHICKEN: One of our newest sponsors, Harry’s Chicken Joint just north of Morgan Junction, will be open for takeout only on the 4th of July, 1-5 pm. Call ASAP at 206-938-9000 to reserve your chicken.
WEST SEATTLE FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE UPDATE: The schedule of food trucks visiting all or most weekdays at Delridge/Andover continues to evolve. Our friends at SeattleFoodTruck.com tell us Where Ya At Matt has moved on, but a new gourmet truck called Nosh is headed that way – watch their site for dates.
THE ‘IN CASE YOU MISSED IT’ FILE: While we’re talking food … if you missed our earlier stories, two new restaurants are on their way to The Junction, likely by summer’s end: We reported last week on Pecado Bueno, taking over the ex-Wing Dome space, and we reported a month ago on Quadrato, en route to SW Oregon west of California.
Another West Seattle school is changing principals. Just forwarded by a parent at Gatewood Elementary:
Today I’m announcing a leadership change at Gatewood Elementary that is effective for this coming school year.
After serving as your principal for eight years, Ms. Rhonda Claytor has been appointed principal of Leschi Elementary.
One of the things that the Leschi community is excited about is that Ms. Claytor works collaboratively with staff, families, and community members. Thank you for working with her to create a great learning community at Gatewood.
Ms. Carmela Dellino, Executive Director of K-12 schools for West Seattle, will lead the process to identify a new principal for Gatewood. We will move quickly to form a hiring committee and will keep you informed of the process. We are committed to finding a strong principal who is a great fit for your community, and who will build on your many successes.
Please join me in thanking Ms. Claytor for her years at Gatewood Elementary.
Right about this time tomorrow, hundreds of kids (and accompanying adults) will be walking/rolling along the North Admiral route of the annual 4th of July Kids’ Parade, which starts from 44th/Sunset (map) at 10 am Thursday. New parade co-coordinator Jackie Clough shares the photo from Walking on Logs, where WestSide Baby‘s “Stuff the Bus” reminders are currently sharing space with a parade reminder and patriotic decorations. Jackie also has a reminder for paradegoers:
It would be great to remind folks to please not park on Atlantic Street between Sunset Ave SW and California Ave SW. This is along the parade route and would obstruct the parade (the parade route runs south on Sunset Ave SW, East on Atlantic, crossing California Ave SW, north on Palm, and ending at Hamilton Viewpoint Park).
If you’re not joining or watching the parade, please note that when it gets to California and heads east across the street, vehicle traffic is stopped both ways until everyone has crossed, and that could take up to 15 minutes (by our informal measure in years past). Then remember, it’s a post-parade fun fest of games and concessions on the lawn at Hamilton Viewpoint immediately afterward. The full lineup of who/what/when/where is here. See you there (and as reiterated on the sign – bring diapers for WS Baby if you can)!
(Blue heron photographed by Bill Bacon, shared via the WSB Facebook page)
If you’re not leaving town for the holiday – speaking of which, our 4th of July page is here – three calendar listings to note before today gets too much further down the road:
POP-UP SHOP @ BIRD ON A WIRE: The first in a series of shopping events at Bird on a Wire Espresso (WSB sponsor) dubbed “Clothespin on a Wire,” described as being focused on “local arts, crafts, and foods,” 6-9 pm; details on this Facebook event page. (SW Henderson just west of 35th SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P: Relax and get into the holiday mood with a beverage and live music by Jim Page at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm, details in our calendar listing. (5612 California SW)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Yes, there’s a community meeting tonight – Southwest District Council meets at 6:30 pm at Southwest Teen Life Center. Agenda highlights:
6:40 p.m. West Seattle school capital projects – Joe Wolf, K-12 Planning Coordinator, Capitol Projects and Planning, Seattle Public Schools
7:10 p.m. Surplus substation properties in West Seattle — Dave Barber and Effie Moody, Seattle City Light
7:30 p.m. Night Out – Mark Solomon, Seattle Police Department
All are welcome. (2801 SW Thistle, lower-level meeting room on south side of building)
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Likely to see less traffic today, on the eve of the 4th of July holiday. Let us know how it goes! Meantime, our reminders again – there’s a weekend 99 closure – Battery Street Tunnel to Valley St., Friday night to Monday morning, and there are holiday transit notes on our West Seattle 4th of July page. And if you’re headed out for a five-day weekend (or longer), remember that when you come back, Monday is expected to be the day the Delridge repaving project switches to its next phase.
Susan Theresa Fortney, 64, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, on June 22, 2013.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Aida Fraser-Hammer as your new principal, effective July 1, 2013. She replaces Chris Kinsey who announced in June that he would not be returning in the fall.
Your principal, Ms. Chanda E. Oatis, has been appointed principal at Van Asselt Elementary School effective for the 2013-2014 school year.
After serving as your principal for eight years, Ms. Rhonda Claytor has been appointed principal of Leschi Elementary.
| 4 COMMENTS