month : 08/2013 315 results

West Seattle Thursday: Art Walk; Hiawatha concert; ‘Little Critters’

(River otter – yes, the ones you see in and near Puget Sound are *river* otters – photographed by Mark Wangerin)
The fog will lift, the forecasters say – so envision a sunny summer evening as you look ahead to tonight’s art and music – but first, if you have a wee one at home this morning:

LITTLE CRITTERS: Your little ones get to learn about – and then meet! – a small animal TBA, 11:30 am at High Point Library. (35th/Raymond)

WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: 6-9 pm, all over the peninsula! You can preview some of tonight’s artists by going to the official WSAW website. See the map/venue list here, with participants including WSB sponsors Click! Design That Fits, Firefly Café and Creperie, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, Wallflower Custom Framing.

WINE AND MUSIC: Tonight’s also the nightly Wine Club event, with music by Choro Tocando, at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm. (5612 California SW)

SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA: 6:30 pm, Impossible Bird is live, free, on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center – see our preview from last night. (2700 block Walnut Avenue)

LIGHTHOUSE HISTORY: The celebration of the Alki Point Lighthouse‘s centennial continues with tonight’s presentation at the Log House Museum by US Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer Will Winter, 6:30 pm – details in our listing and recent preview. (61st/Stevens)

And to the south …

RATCITY ARTCITY: White Center’s monthly art celebration, 6-9 pm, focusing tonight on live performance (and other types of art) – go here to see who’s doing what where!

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates

August 8, 2013 7:03 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
So far, nothing out of the ordinary on West Seattle’s outbound routes. As always, we’ll add updates here if that changes.

EARLY WARNING: If you missed the announcement last night, SDOT has sent early warning that a key connector between Highland Park/Puget Ridge and Delridge will be closed for five weekdays starting August 19th – details here.

Thursday night tunes: Impossible Bird @ Summer Concerts at Hiawatha

That’s Impossible Bird, the duo you’ll hear at this week’s free Summer Concerts at Hiawatha show – 6:30 pm Thursday on the lawn east of the community center, along Walnut Avenue SW south of SW Lander. This is the third of this year’s six concerts, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association and sponsored by local businesses and organizations including WSB. Haven’t been? BYO chair(s) and/or blanket(s), come stake out a spot on the lawn, bring dinner if you feel like it – it’s a casual event, not a “sit down and sit still” type of atmosphere; usually people of all ages are dancing, chatting, visiting the sponsor tables along the edge of the lawn … come late and leave early, come early and leave late. The weather promises to be perfect once more. See the full season lineup here.

West Seattle road work: Orchard/Dumar closure later this month

The ongoing Delridge Way Repaving Project will lead to a five-day road closure later this month, according to the SDOT alert sent out tonight:

The Seattle Department of Transportation will close a segment of SW Orchard and Dumar Way SW, which runs between Delridge Way SW and SW Austin Street, from 7:00 a.m. Monday, August 19, until 6:00 p.m. Friday, August 23, to conduct roadway restoration work and make utility upgrades. Local access will be maintained.

Traffic intending to travel west on Dumar Way SW from 16th Avenue SW will be directed to use the following detour (please see attached map):

· South on 16th Avenue SW
· West on SW Henderson
· North on Delridge Way SW

Traffic intending to travel east on SW Orchard to Dumar Way SW from Delridge Way SW will be directed to use the following detour:

· South on Delridge Way SW
· East on SW Henderson Street
· North on 16th Avenue SW

Lane restrictions currently in effect on Delridge Way SW as part of SDOT’s Delridge Way SW Paving Project (between SW Holden and SW Orchard streets) will remain in place until early October. Northbound and southbound traffic will be maintained.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Street-robberies followup; one linked to citywide spree

Tonight’s West Seattle Crime Watch is a followup – we finally have details on the two street robberies mentioned in Monday’s report. Seattle Police public-affairs unit Det. Renée Witt says neither case has resulted in arrests so far, and they don’t know if they’re related – detectives are investigating but here are the basics of the two incidents we asked about:

Thursday night (8/1) – The victim (a South Seattle Community College [WSB sponsor] student, according to a safety bulletin from the college) was walking home when four or five people confronted him in the 5200 block of 16th SW, pushing him to the ground and taking his iPhone as well as $160 in cash. Det. Witt says the victim described the robbers as black males, one in a red shirt, one armed with a handgun, but could not provide any further description. The victim, she said, did not want medical attention.

Early Saturday (8/3) – This actually happened at 30th and Myrtle, Det. Witt explained – the 34th/Willow address on the report is apparently the home of a friend of the victim, to which he went to report the robbery. The report says the victim was walking when confronted by three people who demanded all his money; he refused, and one struck his face with a handgun, knocking him to the ground. The robbers – described only as black men about 18 to 22 years old, one wearing a green shirt – took the victim’s wallet and iPhone. After he got to a friend’s home, she called police, though, the report says, the victim “did not want to report the incident because he didn’t think anything would happen to the suspects.”

ADDED 10:54 PM: As noted in comments, SPD now says via this SPD Blotter update that it’s looking for a group of robbers who have struck around the city, and one of the aforementioned incidents is believed to be part of their rampage – the one on 16th SW last Thursday night. While the Saturday incident on 30th is NOT mentioned, SPD mentions an additional West Seattle incident – saying that on Saturday, “just after noon, one of the suspects ran up to a 13-year-old girl and stole an iPhone out of her hands near 60th Ave SW and Alki Ave SW.” That incident was not on our radar, as it’s not shown as a robbery on the crime-report map, it’s listed as “theft-other.”

Election 2013: Second round of primary-election results

King County Elections has released its second round of primary-election results – which look a lot like the first round, though in the races for mayor and Council Position 2, the distance between first and second place tightened a bit.

SEATTLE MAYOR – Results are here.
Murray 30%
McGinn 28%
Steinbrueck 16%
Harrell 15%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 2 – Results are here
Conlin 49%
Sawant 34%
Carver 17%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 8 – Results are here
O’Brien 58%
Shen 35%
Ishii 7%

KING COUNTY PARKS LEVY – Results are here
Yes 69%
No 31%

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE – Results are here
Constantine 76%
Lobdell 12%
Goodspaceguy 7%

SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION, POS. 3 – Results are here
Bowman 66%
Wolfe 18%
Pilloud 15%

A plain-text file of all races is here. Next update is expected in the 4 pm hour tomorrow.

West Seattle traffic alert: 8th/Roxbury light out

A two-car crash this past hour did serious damage to the signal equipment at 8th and Roxbury – as shown in our photo – and the light is not working as a result. That means it’ll be slow going in that intersection for a while; a police officer is on site to direct traffic. No one was hurt in the crash.

West Seattle restaurant followup: Fatburger for ex-bistro space

Two days after closing Bada Bistro at 61st/Alki, its now-former owners confirm that Fatburger plans to take over the space. Fatburger is a Los Angeles-based chain, founded more than 60 years ago, which made its first inroads into the Seattle metro area with outlets on the Eastside; so far as we can tell, this would be its first location inside the Seattle city limits. The Fatburger website’s “new locations” page mentions that Alki Beach is “opening August/September 2013.” Its closest current locations include Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond, and Federal Way. Fatburger’s arrival will make the 2700 block of Alki Avenue something of a hub of food/beverage chains – with Starbucks across the alley, and Subway soon to open in half of the three-years-empty space at 2758 Alki (as first reported here in May; a sign has just gone up this week). We’re hoping to reach the local franchisees for more information, and to find out if the plan includes the parent company’s wings sideline, as suggested by a liquor-license filing from earlier this year.

West Seattle Wednesday: Calendar highlights for today/tonight

Beautiful scenes of fog on the water this morning – thanks to Brian for sharing the image above and Susana for sending the image below:

Meantime, this is shaping up as another very busy news day, so here’s a very quick look at highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (where as always you will find even more listings for the day/night – and weeks/months – ahead):

EARLY DAYS SUPPORT GROUP: Featured at last Saturday’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies (WSB coverage here) – it’s the weekly drop-in meeting of this support group for parents with babies up to a year old. Noon-2 pm at Nurturing Expressions (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. (4746 44th SW, Suite 201)

BENEFIT LEMONADE/COOKIE STAND: Amanda shares this message from the Community School of West Seattle (but note the school is NOT the site of the sale – the address is below):

Our wonderful friend Ian in the Blake classroom is having a lemonade and cookie stand. All the proceeds raised go to help Boyer Children’s Clinic where Ian has spent a LOT of time! PLEASE stop by and support his efforts, I am sure the lemonade will be delicious

3-5 pm today, 9250 14th SW.

LAFAYETTE KINDERGARTENERS’ PLAY DATE: Going into kindergarten at Lafayette Elementary this year? Join today’s play date at the Lafayette playground, 4:30-6:30 pm.

COOKBOOK LAUNCH PARTY: As featured on WSB last week, Chef Erin Coopey‘s new “Kitchen Pantry Cookbook” launches with a party at PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) tonight, 5-7 pm. (California/Stevens)

SEATTLE BICYCLE ADVISORY BOARD: Of particular interest given that there was another collision today in the East Marginal area. 6-8 pm in the lower-level meeting room (L-280) at City Hall downtown. Tonight’s SBAB agenda includes updates on capital projects and the Bicycle Master Plan Update, and can be seen here.

CLOTHESPIN ON A WIRE: Pop-up shop tonight at Bird on a Wire Espresso, 6-9 pm. Details in the listing. (35th/Henderson)

ARBOR HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY MEETING: Get the latest on the new Arbor Heights Elementary during a community meeting at 7 pm tonight at the current AHES. (37th and 104th)

KELLY CONDRON CONCERT: Grace Church is hosting Kelly Condron in concert tonight (Wed. Aug.7) at 7pm. The church says, “Kelly has been the opening act for many top notch Christian music groups. This is her only tour stop in Washington. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.” (10323 28th Ave. SW)

‘ONCE UPON A MATTRESS’: Opening night for the ArtsWest conservatory production, 7:30 pm, details in our calendar listing. (4711 California SW)

West Seattle sports: Last call for Sealth basketball camp

(Photo courtesy Coach Colin Slingsby, seen with campers this past June)
The camp at Chief Sealth International High School is actually more than a basketball camp – it teaches “life skills” too – and head coach Colin Slingsby sends word that room remains in two sessions later this month:

Sealth Basketball and Life Skills Camp kicks off Session 3 next week after two highly attended and successful sessions back in June, where we hosted more than 250 campers. There are still spaces available for next week’s session (8/12-8/16) grades 2-9, and the new Advanced Concepts session (8/19-8/23), which is for campers in grades 6-9. Contact Coach Slingsby at caslingsby@seattleschools.org or 206-854-8142 for last minute registration instructions.

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday updates, including bridge crash, E. Marginal bicycle collision

(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:11 AM: The morning commute is off to a quiet start. No road work or closure advisories for today, except for an alert that the Mariners play a day game, which means that the southbound 99 ramp to Atlantic will be closed for about an hour in the late afternoon to try to help traffic keep flowing.

Looking way ahead – the weekend of August 16-19, there will be two closures of note for our area, including an all-weekend closure of the northbound I-5 ramp to the West Seattle Bridge – scroll to the SODO section of the weekly Construction Lookahead.

7:46 AM UPDATE: There’s a crash on the eastbound bridge – thanks to Jay for the tip in comments. Also, there is a crash at East Marginal and Spokane – east of the low bridge – described on the scanner as “bicycle vs. bicycle.” Fire has been called out for possible injury/ies on that one but not for the bridge crash, which has closed the middle lane, per SDOT via Twitter.

7:55 AM UPDATE: Per scanner, the two bicycles collided head-on. One rider is “up and walking around” with minor injuries, while the other one, a 30-year-old man, will be taken to the hospital.

8:01 AM UPDATE: Also per scanner, southbound East Marginal is closed at Spokane because of the aforementioned collision.

8:17 AM UPDATE: That scene is open to traffic, and we have just heard that the high-bridge car-crash scene is clearing too. No injuries reported in that one.

8:54 AM UPDATE: If you’re using Highland Park Way as an alternative – you might run into trouble there too; SFD has responded to an aid call for an incident at HP Way and W. Marginal Way SW describing as a bicyclist falling. No medic unit dispatched, though, so the injuries sound non-major, so far.

5:53 PM: Bridge update:

Election 2013: First primary results in Seattle Mayor race – Murray #1, McGinn #2 – and more

8:14 PM: King County Elections expects to be out with election results any time now. They will publish the first ballot count tonight – then another update around 4:30 tomorrow afternoon, and more updates daily (or near-daily) from there.

8:18 PM: The numbers are in, and we have updated below:

SEATTLE MAYOR – Results are here.
Murray 30%
McGinn 27%
Steinbrueck 16%
Harrell 15%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 2 – Results are here
Conlin 49%
Sawant 33%

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 8 – Results are here
O’Brien 57%
Shen 35%

KING COUNTY PARKS LEVY – Results are here
Yes 67%
No 31%

KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE – Results are here
Constantine 76%
Lobdell 12%

A plain-text file of all races is here.

Photos: West Seattle (and vicinity) block parties during record-setting Night Out

6:00 PM: Seattle Police say more Night Out block parties are registered for tonight than the city’s ever seen before – 1,427, a five percent increase from last year. We’re on our way to check out some of them.

We’d also love a photo from yours – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks – updates to come!

6:21 PM: We’re starting in White Center, which is throwing a party in the downtown business district.

Several businesses have outdoor tables set up, Center Studio (WSB sponsor) has an outdoor workout going (photo above), and there’s a $2 food walk – here are Matt and Delia from Caffé Delia serving up Proletariat Pizza:

Speaking of pizza – West Seattle’s Pagliacci Pizza tells us they’re making surprise visits to block parties again this year too. Meantime, next – we head back north into Highland Park!

6:48 PM: That’s the group at Mary‘s block party on 17th SW in Highland Park. VERY bright sunshine tonight, as one young participant was all too aware of! From there, we headed into Westwood:

WWRHAH Community Council president Amanda Helmick invited us to stop by the party on 23rd SW – she’s at left in our photo with Joni Buckner (whose Head-to-Toe Day Spa in the Admiral District is a WSB sponsor). Amanda noted that they invited 22nd, 24th, and 25th SW neighbors too! Next WWRHAH meeting is a week from tonight, by the way. On to Arbor Heights:

7:06 PM: On 34th SW in AH, Block Watch captain JoDean Edelheit is proud of a great turnout tonight for their block party (above) – which is what we’re finding just about everywhere so far, good turnouts on a perfect night to be outside.

Also from 34th SW in Arbor Heights, where police stopped by (SPD and SFD were in circulation around the city), Christi shared this photo:

7:29 PM: Thanks to Marcia for sending that photo from Ocean View – which also had visitors from the Southwest Precinct. Our most recent stops, meantime, included two in Fauntleroy – neighbors of all ages are having a grand time by Fauntleroy Community Association board member Gary Dawson‘s house off upper Fauntleroy Way by the ferry dock:

A few blocks south of the ferry dock, Marty Westerman (left) and Gordon Wiehler, also from the FCA board, ponder the meatballs:

Thanks to everyone who is e-mailing us photos, too – we’re adding them from the mobile newsroom. Here’s one – from Genesee, at 40th and Andover, Jonathan French shared this photo:

He says the musical entertainment is being supplied by local home inspector Don Hartman and band.

7:59 PM: Only one hour to go! Thanks to Midge for the bouncy-house photo from 42nd SW in Fairmount Springs:

Midge says Pagliacci made one of their random surprise deliveries to their party! Meantime, from Rutan Place west of The Junction, John shares a group photo:

8:39 PM: Had to stop down to get the election links together, but we’ve continued to visit parties and we’re getting lots more photos in – we’ll keep adding past 9 pm. Another of our Highland Park stops was by invitation of Christie, who’s with husband Mike in our photo below:

Mike made “genuine Louisiana ribs” – that’s an exact quote – for the block party:

From 36th/Brandon/Findlay, Jenny shares this summer-evening scene:

Kathleen sends the next photo from SW Grayson, reporting, “We are rockin’ it in N. Admiral!”

8:57 PM: Minutes to go in the official window for Night Out, though some parties wrap up earlier, some last longer. One of the biggest ones we visited – in the Hansen View neighborhood, home to West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network leaders Karen Berge and Deb Greer:

In their neighborhood, we also found Buddy the dog …

Also at the party, Chris Dormaier from Sound Yoga (WSB sponsor), photographed with Tim Law:

Block Watches work, you’ll hear Deb and Karen and other leaders say, because of all the neighbors – and that’s really what Night Out is about:

If you don’t have a Block Watch but are interested in starting one, watch for the WSBWCN meetings – and check out this page on the SPD website. Still more party scenes to come – we’re back at HQ now.

10:03 PM: The first person to send us an invitation to her neighborhood’s Block Party this year was Nicole, from 52nd and Charlestown:

Nicole’s chicken played a big part in the Night Out event’s centerpiece, which you might call “chicken poop bingo”:

Half the proceeds were going to the West Seattle Food Bank. Meantime, the neighborhood you might describe as Upper Luna Park had a playful Night Out too, with water balloons:

Thanks to Erik for the photo. Meantime, from 16th and Trenton, Steve reports, “We had an awesome night with neighbors including those from up the street at Station 11 who came by with their truck for all the kids to explore. Perfect evening for it.” Here’s the photographic proof:

41st and Graham got a Seattle Fire Department visit too – thanks to Jenny for the photo:

From Gatewood, Tony‘s block party at California and Portland:

Frequent WSB contributor Long Bach Nguyen just sent a photo from that same party:

Music at 46th and Dakota – Cheryl says The Spyrographs were playing (and will be at Summer Concerts at The Mount [WSB sponsor]) two weeks from Friday, on August 23rd:

From North Admiral, Karyn tweeted her block-party scene:

Getting back to Gatewood, Mark Ahlness reports, “A great gathering at 39th SW and SW Elmgrove. Wonderful food and conversations with neighborhood regulars and many newcomers! In the picture, Grace welcomes everybody and gets things organized!”

From the 7100 block of 44th, Dan reports, “25 people out for the block party. Met a ton of great neighbors that we didn’t really know before.”

Meantime, our final stop of the night was at another Gatewood gathering – Paula had invited us to visit her neighbors’ gathering on SW Rose between 35th and 37th:

ADDED EARLY WEDNESDAY: More party photos received overnight – one from 12th SW between Barton and Henderson, where the party included breakdancing and live music: “Hosted by Danny and Marie Figgins in Highland Park! We love Night Out and hanging making new friends!”

Diane says her Night Out party in the Belvedere neighborhood brought together five blocks!

Edward photographed the neighbors in the 6700 block of 41st SW, where it’s a tradition to display “flags from countries, states neighbors are from”:

AND ANOTHER: Carrie Ann reports from the 42nd/Dakota-Andover block party: “This is a photo of our neighbor, Brad, a wonderful fiddle player and singer. One of the best parts of our annual block party is that, every year, we’re treated to a musical serenading by many of our extremely talented neighbors”:

Carrie Ann continues: “We even managed to lure in passersby who saw how much fun we were having, and invited them to join us in singing, dancing, and marshmallow roasting. I highly encourage everyone to reach out to their neighbors on this night, because you’ll learn so much and create priceless memories!”

P.S. Next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of Night Out!

New West Seattle business: Second Gear Sports in Morgan Junction

Another new business is on the way to Morgan Junction. The space that opened when Aaron’s Bicycle Repair moved to White Center is being split in two, and one of the spaces will become Second Gear Sports, which bills itself as “West Seattle’s first sports/recreation consignment store … offering “high-quality, gently used sports/recreation gear.” West Seattle resident Mark Bremen is the owner; they’re hoping for a soft open around September 1st, and a grand opening later in the month. The official address will be 6529 California SW. In addition to consignment drop-offs at the storefront, they’re working on other logistics for “acquisitions” – stand by for an update on that.

Seattle Public Schools announces Israel Vela as new SW executive director

Three weeks after we reported that former Roxhill Elementary principal Carmela Dellino was leaving her position as the district’s executive director of Schools after a year, her successor has just been announced by Seattle Public Schools superintendent José Banda:

I am pleased to announce that Mr. Israel Vela has been appointed Executive Director of Schools for the Southwest region.

Mr. Vela will support the principals and schools in the southwest region of the city with responsibilities that include coaching principals, coordinating professional development for principals and teachers, strengthening our systems for monitoring and using student data, and conducting frequent learning walks in the schools – all in service of ensuring a world-class, 21st century education for every child in every classroom in the Southwest region.

Mr. Vela comes to Seattle from the Kent School District, where he has held leadership roles for the past 13 years.

Read More

Update: Suspect arrested after stolen pickup hits two vehicles, including Seattle Police car

(SCROLL DOWN for latest update – adding the first car reported to have been hit by the stolen truck)

10:37 AM: A Seattle Police car was hit and seriously damaged in the Morgan Junction area – and police are looking for the pickup truck driver who did it – he might be on the run in Gatewood. The truck is described as a ’98 gray Chevy pickup with landscaping equipment. According to scanner traffic, the officer driving the damaged car is not hurt. More to come.

(Added photo – tweeted by Robert)
10:45 AM: Co-publisher Patrick Sand was in the area when this happened. Police at the scene tell him that an officer checked the plate on the truck as it headed westbound on Fauntleroy and discovered it was stolen. They tried to pull it over and that’s when it hit the patrol car and took off, headed eventually into Gatewood, where they are still searching. The truck itself has been found.

10:49 AM: Suspect is in custody in Gatewood. Just added our photo of damaged SPD car in Morgan Junction. Engine 37 has been dispatched because the suspect, described as 23 years old, is complaining of an injury.

11:04 AM: At least one TV helicopter is in the area trying to get some visuals on this.

11:18 AM: Traffic is blocked southbound on California at the crash scene south of Fauntleroy until the damaged police car is towed. The suspect is reported to be facing potential charges of assaulting an officer as well as hit-run. We also confirmed directly with police at the arrest scene that, as we’d heard via radio communication earlier, the officer whose car was hit was not hurt.

11:35 AM: We’ve learned the truck was reported stolen from the Admiral/Alki area and apparently hit a car there before continuing on to the Morgan Junction area where the incident with police happened.

11:43 AM: SPD Blotter has just posted its summary, saying the car hit in Upper Alki contained someone who had reported the theft to 911.

12:26 PM: That’s the car hit in Upper Alki. We talked with its owner and the owner of the stolen truck. They told us that the truck’s owner was doing work at Cactus on Alki, packing up to leave, stepped away from the truck for just a moment – and that’s when the thief jumped in and took off. The Audi’s driver was a Cactus employee who saw it happen and followed the truck while calling 911; he says the thief noticed he was being followed and pulled the same maneuver that was used to hit the SPD car later – put the truck into reverse and deliberately back into the vehicle behind him.

West Seattle Tuesday: Election Day (vote by 8 pm!); Night Out; more

(Rene, Tracy, and Sarah, photographed Monday at the Greenbridge ballot van location)
Vote today! Hang out with your neighbors tonight! Just two of the highlights from our calendar and elsewhere:

ELECTION DAY: Get your ballot in the mail by day’s end, OR to a dropbox or drop-off van by 8 pm. As we’ve been noting here for a while, there are drop-off vans in West Seattle AND White Center this time around:
West Seattle Stadium driveway (4432 35th SW)
Greenbridge Library (9720 8th SW)
-Nearest dropboxes are downtown and in Burien; full countywide list here
In addition to helping decide which two of the nine Seattle Mayor candidates will make it to the November election, the ballot also includes two Seattle City Council races and a levy to raise money for King County Parks. We should get one run of results tonight around 8:15 pm, and then additional counts each afternoon until everything’s tallied. We’ll publish results here as soon as they’re in.

COLMAN POOL REOPENS: We checked with Seattle Parks, and yes, they completed the pump repairs that closed the pool yesterday – so it will reopen on schedule today at noon.

NIGHT OUT: It’s block party night all over the nation – it’s not too late to sign up your (non-arterial) block for a street party during the event 6-9 pm! Just go to the SPD website. And send a photo from your block party so we can include it in our coverage! editor@westseattleblog.com

WHITE CENTER BUSINESS DISTRICT PARTY: If you’re not having a block party, check out what’s happening in downtown White Center – including a free outdoor Zumba class at 6 pm courtesy of Center Studio (WSB sponsor), and a $2 food walk (see the map in our preview).

MORE LIVE MUSIC AT EASY STREET: Second night in a row for a live in-store performance at Easy Street Records! Tonight, it’s The Maldives and Ken Stringfellow, who just released a split 7″ – see them tonight at 7. (California/Alaska)

More on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar!

West Seattle schools: New library partnership for Roxhill, Sanislo

With four weeks to go (already?) until the new school year, the Seattle Public Library has announced that two elementary schools in West Seattle will get an extra literacy boost via a new partnership:

Students at Seattle’s Sanislo and Roxhill elementary schools will benefit from expanded literacy programs and library resources this school year, thanks to a partnership with The Seattle Public Library.

The one-year pilot project is funded by a $91,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Through the grant, titled, “Sharing Our Stories: A School and Public Library Partnership Project,” The Seattle Public Library will:

Read More

Followup: Emaciated seal pup ‘Sparkle’ rescued, taken to PAWS

(Photo by David Hutchinson; courtesy Seal Sitters)
Over the weekend, we published yet another reminder from Seal Sitters that too much human attention can endanger seal pups now appearing around the Sound, like the newborn pup nicknamed “Sparkle” turned up on a platform off west Alki on Saturday. It was determined Monday, in consultation with state wildlife authorities, that Sparkle’s life was at risk because mom wasn’t coming back, so she was rescued from the private beach near the platform and taken to PAWS. Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey explains:

The emaciated newborn is almost certainly a victim of human interference, as the barrage of boater harassment of seals on the raft was virtually non-stop all weekend.

We warn people over and over that a mom will abandon her pup if there is too much disruption from people and dogs. And studies have shown that stress takes a terrible toll on young pups – these animals need to be given the space to rest in peace.

We hope this pup will survive at PAWS, but it will be a tenuous and lengthy rehab. If she makes it through to be released back to the wild, she will never have the advantage of mom’s teachings to help her thrive or even know how to integrate into harbor seal society. This is the sad reality of human interference. Rehab does not guarantee her survival post release. A pup’s best chance to beat the 50% mortality odds is to be raised those first 4-6 precious weeks with mom.

More photos and details are on Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog.

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates

August 6, 2013 7:10 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the west-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Nothing unusual on the routes out of West Seattle so far today. Two reminders: SDOT is scheduled to be working all day, as late as 7 pm, on westbound Roxbury, closing one lane between 15th/16th SW; tonight, the Battery Street Tunnel has an overnight closure – 10 pm to 5 am on the southbound side, midnight to 5 am (or starting two hours after the M’s game if that runs later than 10) on the northbound side.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 street holdups; break-in; more

We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with two incidents we’re still working to find out more about – two gunpoint street robberies in the past four nights. We requested the details from Seattle Police today but did not receive them; reports with narratives are unfortunately not usually available online for up to a week, if at all. Anyway, what little we do know: The most recent one happened at 34th and Myrtle early Saturday, just after midnight, and neighbors saw police searching the area; the one before that was late Thursday night in the 5200 block of 16th SW, and we know a few details because a safety bulletin was subsequently circulated over the weekend by South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – someone with ties to the school forwarded it to us. It noted that the robbery happened off-campus: “A student was reportedly robbed at gunpoint by four individuals at approximately 11:30 pm on Thursday, August 1. The student was uninjured but shaken up; the robbers reportedly stole the student’s iPhone and approximately $150 in cash.” Again, we are still trying to get the detailed reports on these two street holdups and will publish more information in Crime Watch when we get it.

Ahead, a burglary today, and a suspicious person spotted Sunday night:

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Here come the pinks! And a fishing-from-kayaks benefit, too

August 5, 2013 8:02 pm
|    Comments Off on Here come the pinks! And a fishing-from-kayaks benefit, too
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

As noted here last week, the every-other-year run of pink salmon is under way. The classic photo of pink-salmon fishing seems to involve people in waders on the beach at Lincoln Park – but an upcoming fishing tournament just will bring an entirely different view: Fishing from kayaks. Greg Whittaker at Alki Kayak Tours says the Northwest Kayak Anglers are presenting the “Humpy Kayak Classic” on August 17th, with its check-in station at Jack Block Park. It’s a benefit for Heroes On The Water Northwest; “Humpy” is a nickname for pink salmon, but if no one catches any that day, organizers will allow “a legally caught coho.” More details about, and rules for, the tournament can be found here – including how to register and how to pay. They’re asking for sign-ups by August 12th.

West Seattle restaurants: Bada Bistro closes on Alki

Another change in the Alki business district: As the sign on the door says, Bada Bistro has closed after less than five months at 61st and Alki. The restaurant/bar was a rebranding of what Sharon and John Bang, owners of Alki Café across the street, originally opened in spring 2011 as Beachside Café, in the space that had been Alki Bakery until its abrupt closure in November 2010. As for the new owners mentioned in the note as expected to open their doors next month – the outgoing owners, who say the decision to close Bada Bistro was “hard,” aren’t ready to comment just yet. They do say they will continue to own and operate Alki Café.