month : 12/2013 307 results

South Park Bridge update from above, with months to go

(Click image for larger view)
What’s expected to be among the biggest stories in 2014 is the opening of the new South Park Bridge, almost four years after King County shut down the old one out of safety concerns. West Seattle photographer/pilot Long B. Nguyen has just sent three new views of the bridge project, looking toward the east/southeast. The bridge’s control towers, which are wrapped in these views, are the focus of the county’s December update.

(Click image for larger view)
If you’re viewing this from the WSB home page, click ahead for another, even-more-all-encompassing view (and some backstory):

Read More

West Seattle Sunday: Shop, toss, talk, listen, cook, walk…

December 29, 2013 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Sunday: Shop, toss, talk, listen, cook, walk…
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Saturday photo from Beach Drive looking toward Lincoln Park, by JayDee)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, options for your final Sunday of 2013:

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Yes, even between Christmas and New Year’s, the market is on! 10 am-2 pm. (44th/Alaska)

WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: Drop in and join the game, 11 am at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point. (31st/Myrtle)

TALK TO THE TRANSPORTATION COALITION: Last scheduled date in the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s “listening tour” is noon-2 pm at the Delridge Uptown Espresso. (3845 Delridge Way SW)

FOLK-ROCK: The Mondegreens perform at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) 3-5 pm today. (5612 California SW)

WRAP WITH WSCC: “Wrapped” is the theme for today’s West Seattle Cooking Club meeting – make something wrapped and bring it to share at Beveridge Place Pub at 3 pm. (6413 California SW)

NIGHTTIME LOW-TIDE BEACH WALK: Join a Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalist and explore Constellation Park south of Alki Point at 7:30 pm (about an hour before the -1.5-foot low tide).

West Seattle music: Tuesdays to become blues-days at Feedback Lounge with ‘Blues to Do’

In the New Year, you’ll be able to get the blues weekly at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction. Co-proprietor Jeff Gilbert says it’s a plan that’s been in the works for months, and you can enjoy the shows even when you can’t make it to the Feedback to see them live: “The cool part is the shows are going to be recorded live for TV and the music streamed as it happens on the Internet.” Here’s the official announcement:

BLUES TO DO LIVE is coming to the Feedback Lounge, recording for TV and streaming live on the internet, every Tuesday night, 8 pm, beginning January 7.

BLUES TO DO LIVE is being booked and hosted by Marlee Walker, Queen of Seattle Blues for the last three decades, and a West Seattle/Morgan Junction resident.

BLUES TO DO, a hugely popular brand, is a quarterly magazine, TV show on cable, and is broadcast live on the internet. Blues To Do has a 30-year legacy, starting back in 1984 at KPLU for a multiple award winning nine years and quickly growing from a two hour Sunday night show to a three night weekend blues block.

Marlee hosted a radio show on The Mountain called “The Blues Kitchen,” which lasted just under two years, and was recognized with a “Keeping The Blues Alive Award” in 2000 from The Blues Foundation in Memphis. Soon after she was invited to host “Preachin’ The Blues” at KCMU, which became KEXP, with the Blues To Do calendar being a weekly feature there for another eight years and more awards.

Here is the January 2014 BLUES TO DO LIVE lineup…

January 7th
POLLY O’KEARY & THE RHYTHM METHOD with special guest SEATTLE SLIM
An amazing power trio featuring one of the hottest rhythm sections in Polly O’Keary and Tommy Cook, both of whom were backing up Too Slim as The Taildraggers.

January 14th
ELNAH JORDAN & FRIENDS: CELEBRATING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Elnah gathers amazing musicians around her and always puts on a dazzling show that includes blues, gospels, jazz and more. This night will see dynamic voices from the Seattle music scene and will be a very special celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 21st
RIPPIN CHICKEN
This dynamic West Seattle trio features Delvon Lamarr, who plays the classic Hammond organ done with a contemporary Seattle twist. The band also features guitar legend Ben Bloom and drum master Olli Klomp.

January 28th
ROD COOK & TOAST
Guitarist Rod Cook, one of Seattle’s best kept secrets, plays with both precision and soul, either alone or with Toast, his top notch trio of 20 years. Toast features musician excellence in rhythm from Marty Vadalabene or Chris Leighton on drums and the gifted John Bayless on bass – all award-winning players.

Look for these shows, which are being recorded live for TV, to include interviews and a Blues CD of the Week offered every week.

Blues To Do-TV airs Fridays at 7 pm on ch. 23/77 on Comcast in King Co./Seattle, or ch. 23 on Broadstripe, and repeats Saturdays at midnight / Tuesdays at 2 pm. This will also stream at those times at seattlecommunitymedia.org. See past shows at bluestodo.com

The Feedback is at 6451 California SW.

West Seattle development: Next review for 18-house proposal

While we report most often on apartment, townhouse, and rowhouse projects, single-family-home development is on the rise in West Seattle too. Checking the permit files for what’s new in the system, we noticed that a proposal to build 18 single-family homes on an acre and a half of eastern West Seattle land is resuming its journey through the city permit system, after being dormant for a year or so.

New city signage is now up on both sides of the site, which carries the official address 2646 SW Holden (map) but stretches between Holden and Webster, just west of the Navos campus. The sign above is on the Holden side, where the site’s only structure – a boarded-up 90-year-old house – would be demolished. Here’s the Webster side:

As the signs and the online information point out, the proposal for a subdivision called Madrona Glen would involve the removal of 10 “exceptional trees.” It went through the Streamlined Design Review process exactly one year ago (here’s the city planner’s report on how that went) and a land-use-permit application has now been filed. The 18 three-story homes (each with a 2-car garage) would be accessed via a central drive opening onto Holden – here’s the general outline shown on the city signage:

Documentation says that 20,000 square feet of the site would be kept as a “non-disturbance area” – basically, a greenbelt – along the east property line and its northern “panhandle” on a dead-end section of Webster.

TO COMMENT: A formal notice for comment on the environmental review should be forthcoming on the Land Use Information Bulletin, including a deadline, but in the meantime, you can comment to PRC@seattle.gov and reference project #3013915.

P.S. You’ll note the city signage accompanies “for sale” signs on both sides. We haven’t found a formal publicly accessible listing, so we don’t yet know the status on that; county records show the site changed hands just last year. Its zoning is mixed, part single-family 5000 (square feet), part Lowrise-1; the latter section of the site was proposed for townhouse development back in 2006.

West Seattle scene: Looks like Santa didn’t go back to the North Pole immediately

You didn’t think Santa Claus went right back to the North Pole as soon as Christmas deliveries were done, did you? Al shares these scenes from the West Seattle Golf Course on Thursday – the day after Christmas.

Keep an eye out for the Easter Bunny next.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car found stripped; stolen bag’s contents sought

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning, one of which came with this photo:

That car was stolen from Moe, who writes:

I am one of the 14 West Seattle citizens on the auto theft list for Christmas week. My locked 2000 Honda CRV was stolen from the street sometime Christmas Eve, then found by the police in the Sodo district the afternoon of Christmas Day. It had been ‘chop-shopped,’ stripped and destroyed. I offer this picture of its condition as an ‘owner beware and alert.’

If you haven’t seen it, the “auto-theft list” to which Moe refers was in our previous Crime Watch roundup, here. P.S. Only one auto theft has been reported since we captured that list about a day and a half ago, Friday morning at 26th/Andover (map).

One other report today – if you find a tossed-aside bag with papers inside, or maybe just the papers, they might belong to Leah, who writes, “Stolen work bag from van in Admiral area on Friday. Luckily computer wasn’t in but important work papers were.” (On followup, she describes it as a “black laptop bag.”)

Remembering West Seattle native Joy J. McLean Newman

The family of the late Joy J. McLean Newman shares this remembrance:

Joy J. McLean Newman – wonderful Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Friend, West Seattle native – left us on December 18, 2013.

Joy started her working career as a mail messenger at Boeing, where she met the love of her life, Harry. Not long after their marriage, they moved to Diablo, where Harry worked as an operator for City Light. Upon their return to the greater Seattle area, Joy worked as a “taco bender” for Taco Time, a real estate agent, for the Postal Service, and as a COLA surveyor. She was a longtime Teamster, retiring from Laidlaw bus company as a driver for special-needs children. Joy loved the outdoors and bird watching.

Joy is survived by her husband of 58 years, Harry; children Carolyn (Kate), Alec (Margot), and Annette (Bill); sister Sylvia, brother Stuart, grandsons Maclean and Dan, granddaughters Julia and Lilli, step-granddaughters Sarah, Rachel, and Emily; nephews Nathan, Martin, and Charles. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of her favorite charities – CARE, Mercy Corps, or a charity of your choice.

Joy’s last message was one we could all use in our lives: Forgiveness.

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

West Seattle Saturday: What’s happening today/tonight

December 28, 2013 6:30 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Saturday: What’s happening today/tonight
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Yellow-rumped warbler, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
It’s that quiet time between major winter holidays, but we’ve still found a few calendar highlights for today/tonight:

BLOOD DRIVE: Supplies run low during the holidays, so if you can donate blood, Puget Sound Blood Center hopes you will stop by the Bloodmobile at 42nd/Alaska 9 am-3 pm today (but not during the 11:30 am-12:30 pm break).

BONUS FAMILY SWIM: City-operated Southwest Pool has added extra public swims for the holidays, and one of them is today – 10:30 am-noon, an added “family swim” session. (2801 SW Thistle)

NOT TOO LATE FOR POST-CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS-LIGHTS VIEWING: Can’t guarantee everyone is still turning theirs on, but the big displays do go on until 2014 arrives – including the Menashe family lights (5605 Beach Drive SW) and the music-synched West Seattle Lights – bring food donations! and check the schedule here (39th/Charlestown). P.S. Here’s our West Seattle-wide map.

AUSSIE ROOTS MUSIC … with Blake Noble, solo performance at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8:30 tonight. (6451 California SW)

LATE-NIGHT MUSIC: Lavender Lucy (with special guests) and Cynthia Alexander, 11 pm at Skylark Café and Club. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

MORE NIGHTLIFE LISTINGS … on our calendar!

West Seattle New Year’s Eve: Highland Park Improvement Club finalizes Not-So-Silent-Night Parade, Corner Bar plan

Continuing our previews of ways you can celebrate New Year’s Eve without leaving West Seattle:

(December 31, 2012, WSB photo by Nick Adams)
Highland Park Improvement Club has finalized the schedule for its New Year’s Eve extravaganza. Once again this year, the Not-So-Silent-Night parade through the nearby neighborhood will kick it off – all ages welcome. Gather with noisemakers, flashlights, etc., in the HPIC parking lot at 12th and Holden starting at 6 pm. The parade – fifth annual, by our count – heads out at 6:30 or “when everyone’s ready.” After half an hour or so, it’s back to the HPIC parking lot for the don’t-miss Sage Comet fire performance around 7; then inside for the special New Year’s Eve edition of HPIC’s popular pop-up Corner Bar, otherwise a “first Friday” fixture. 8-10 pm, Choroloco plays Brazilian jazz; DJs Rich and Evan take over from 10 pm “until 2014.” You don’t have to be a Highland Park’er to join the party – they welcome one and all.

One person taken to hospital after 35th/Thistle crash

Four cars were involved in a crash on SW Thistle at 35th SW earlier this evening, but you would have only counted three at the scene; police say they found a fourth driver a few blocks away at 37th and Cloverdale. We’re told one person was taken to the hospital “for observation.” Officers were still sorting out what happened; the scene is now cleared.

Plea bargain for drunk driver who hit, injured 2 in South Delridge

(WSB photo from June 23rd)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Six months after drunkenly running a stop sign and T-boning a car at 17th/Cambridge, seriously injuring two people, and running away, 26-year-old Kalameu (aka Kalameli) Paulo is awaiting sentencing after a plea bargain. One of the two people she hit, 29-year-old Logan Wicker, on his way home from work at Skylark when Paulo hit his car, spent weeks in the hospital before moving to a rehabilitation facility.

According to King County Superior Court documents, Paulo pleaded guilty last week to the two vehicular-assault charges (incorporating DUI) against her, while the third charge, felony hit-and-run, was dropped. She was in jail for less than three weeks after her arrest; her request for lower bail was granted on condition she participate in the “day reporting” program CCAP (explained here), and documents indicate that will continue until her sentencing in five weeks. Her blood-alcohol level is reported to have been .16 when measured after the crash, twice the legal-drunkenness threshold level. Her criminal record is described as consisting of a theft case in Renton and two cases six years ago in Las Vegas, theft and prostitution. Police said she had only lived in Western Washington (she lists a Seatac address) for five months at the time of the crash.

The recommended sentence detailed in the plea-agreement documents is 14 months (for each count, but served concurrently), followed by 18 months of probation (technically “community custody”) with stipulations including staying out of bars and liquor stores, and only driving with an interlock device that won’t work if her blood-alcohol level is above .02. Superior Court Judge Julie Spector is scheduled to preside at Paulo’s sentencing at the downtown courthouse January 31st.

There’s been no public update on Logan Wicker since August, and we have never had a public update on his passenger, reported to have suffered a serious head injury. But we’re trying to find out, and will add anything we get.

Video: West Seattle woman and friends deliver thanks to US Postal Service workers

It’s usually the U.S. Postal Service workers who do the delivering – but today, the tables were turned as Liz Latham delivered pizza and a musical mini-flash mob singing words of gratitude to workers at the West Seattle Junction Post Office:

She shared word of her plan this morning; at noontime, we went to the Post Office to see what happened. And there was Liz – pizzas, singers, and all!

She wanted to credit fellow West Seattleite and former Mayor Greg Nickels for inspiration, after he posted a public “thank you” to postal workers via Facebook, for their work “delivering those last, last-minute gifts right through Christmas Eve.” (He told Liz he’d pitch in to help cover the pizza cost, too.) And there’s no question they’ve been busy; USPS spokesperson is quoted in this national story as saying that volume was up 19 percent this holiday season over last year.

WSHS alum Sam Hellinger chosen State Player of the Year

(Photo by Greg Slader)
Just sent to us to share with you – another big honor for a local sports standout, whose proud relative writes:

Earlier this month, Sam Hellinger of West Seattle became the first player from West Seattle High School to ever be awarded the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association’s State Player of the Year.

Hellinger, who helped West Seattle get to the 3A State championship game for the first time in its history and who was drafted in the 39th round by the Seattle Mariners in the 2013 June Amateur Draft, was earlier named 3A Player of the Year, Metro League MVP, and was the first West Seattle player ever named to the Seattle Times All-Area Team.

Sam currently attends and plays for the College of San Mateo in the Bay Area (California).

Congratulations to Sam!

West Seattle Friday: Six highlights for today/tonight

Wonderful sunrise today – thanks to those who shared photos! The one above is courtesy of Don Brubeck, taken along the Alki Trail. A few notes, including highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide:

‘FLASH MOB’ FOR USPS WORKERS: As announced here earlier this morning, you’re invited to show up for a show of appreciation at the Junction Post Office at noon today – old-school “flash mob” style (no, you don’t have to dance, but you can sing a few lines!). (4412 California SW)

POST-HOLIDAY ‘GARAGE SALE’: WSB sponsor Junction TrueValue continues its big post-Christmas sale, including storewide closeouts and big discounts on Christmas decorations/lights to stock up in advance of next year. Look for updates on the JTV Facebook page. (44th/Edmunds)

SCHOOL OPENING: A new preschool called Alki Beach Academy celebrates its opening at 5 pm, with Caspar Babypants on hand to perform. (2414 SW Andover)

LIVE MUSIC AT C & P COFFEE: Roy H. Kauffman performs original songs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

WSHS BASKETBALL ON THE ROAD: We’ve heard that some West Seattleites read WSB while out of town to keep up with what’s up – so we’re mentioning that if you happen to be visiting the Wenatchee area, you can root for West Seattle High School in the Wenatchee Holiday Classic, one game each today and tomorrow. Tonight: 7 pm at Wenatchee High School.

SNOW LOVERS’ HOLIDAY PARTY: 8 pm at nearby Pershing Hall, join Mountain to Sound Outfitters for a holiday party geared to everybody who loves snow and snow sports; admission by donation to benefit the Northwest Avalanche Center. Details in our calendar listing. (3618 SW Alaska)

LIVE MUSIC AT SKYLARK CAFE & CLUB: The Feelgood Band of the Year and Snaketopus, 9 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

Not working (offpeninsula) today? Post Office ‘flash mob’ at noon!

Free at noon? In West Seattle or able to get back here? Liz Latham invites you to be part of this gesture of gratitude at the Junction post office:

Attention, West Seattleites!!!!

I have just organized a flash mob and you are all invited to the West Seattle Post office where at noon today we will thank our postal workers and give them pizza for all their hard work and efforts this holiday season. We are going to sing the song FOR YOU ARE JOLLY GOOD POSTAL WORKERS to the Tune of for He’s a Jolly Good Fellow. Here’s the lyrics:

NOTE: WE ARE GOING TO SING THIS TWO TIMES IN A ROW AT LEAST…

For You are jolly good postal workers,
for you are jolly good postal workers,
for you are jolly good postal workers
we thank you for all you have done,
we thank you for all you have done,
we thank you for all you have done,
for you are jolly good postal workers,
we thank you for all you have done!

Then we end it by shouting the words, “Thank you West Seattle Postal workers for all you have done!

LYRICS COURTESY OF LIZ LATHAM, SEATTLE CLEANING SERVICE and LizardProductions.com

PIZZA FROM LIZ LATHAM, FORMER SEATTLE MAYOR GREG NICKELS AND THE CITIZENS OF WEST SEATTLE

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Final Friday of 2013

December 27, 2013 6:07 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Final Friday of 2013
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Here’s hoping for another low-key commute. A reminder again today about Metro running at a lower service level until after New Year’s Day – again today, it’s the “reduced weekday/no UW” schedule.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Auto theft; tree theft; mail theft, and advice for preventing it

In West Seattle Crime Watch – a check of the crime map shows car thefts are the trend of the week, with 15 reported between December 20th and 26th (yesterday), including seven reported on just one day, December 21st (though two of those seven apparently happened some days earlier). Full list ahead, plus the numbers on burglars and car prowls, but first – two reader reports, one with a photo:

Barry explains:

Sadly, someone didn’t get the memo about the season. A nice silver mountain dwarf pine was unceremoniously yanked from our property on Christmas Eve on SW Frontenac Street. The plant was eventually to be donated to a local park, so everyone kind of lost out. We left a sign in the hole as a guilty inducement, as even the Grinch was shown to have a heart in the end. We don’t hold out much hope for these clowns, however.

Meantime, from the 5400 block of Fauntleroy Way, Kristin reports:

I got home late at night on 12/24 after being out of town for several days. I saw my mailbox was full, along with the two right next to mine that belong to my neighbors (we live in a house that is split into three different units). All three mailboxes were full at 11:45pm on 12/24. I forgot to take my mail inside that night, and when I went to get it before work on the morning of 12/25 at 6:15, all three mailboxes were empty.

When I returned home from work on 12/25 at 8:30 pm, mail was strewn about the front porch. Mine was opened, and there’s no way that four days worth of mail is what was returned. They returned the ads/coupons and personal Christmas cards. There weren’t any of the typical credit card offers or bills that usually come.

All in all, my mail was stolen and my neighbors suffered the same ordeal.

After that original note, by the way, she contacted her landlord to ask for locked mailboxes. He lives about a mile away from her – and, Kristin wrote, “said he would consider it as his mail was stolen a week ago.” If you haven’t already heard SPD’s mail-theft prevention advice, it’s included in this info published by the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network.

Now – click ahead for the date/place list elaborating on the auto-theft map:

Read More

West Seattle holidays: Celebrate New Year’s Eve/Day on foot

December 26, 2013 9:49 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle holidays: Celebrate New Year’s Eve/Day on foot
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news

With less than a week remaining in 2013, our holiday-info focus turns to New Year’s Eve and Day. We’ll be adding more info to that final section of the WSB Holiday Guide, but tonight, from a listing already there, we’re spotlighting the one activity that covers both days!From Emerald City Wanderers:

Walk with us to celebrate the end of 2013 and the start of 2014! It’s a fun and healthy way to enjoy New Year’s Eve and Day, walking with family, friends and other kindred spirits. We’ll have 5- and 10-kilometer walks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, different routes each day. And there’ll be hot soup to chase away any chills. Walks start on New Year’s Eve anytime between 4 and 7 PM, and on New Year’s Day between 9 AM and 12 noon, at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in West Seattle. No fee for the walks, which are noncompetitive.

The New Year’s Eve 5-kilometer route winds through the holiday lights in the Admiral neighborhood, and features beautiful views of the City. The 10-kilometer route heads down to Alki and features the lights on and around Puget Sound, Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle. Flashlights will be helpful.

On New Year’s Day, the 5- and 10-kilometer routes take walkers through the Alaska Junction. 5K walkers wander back to the start through quiet neighborhoods. 10K walkers walk along the Puget Sound shoreline, through a number of parks and shoreline features. This event is hosted by the Emerald City Wanderers and St John the Baptist Episcopal Church, and is sanctioned by the American Volkssport Association. Information about volkssports will be available.

St. John’s is just south of West Seattle High School, at California/Hanford.

P.S. New Year’s events to add to the guide? Please e-mail us – editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!

Up for holiday volunteering? White Center Food Bank needs you

New Year’s Eve (next Tuesday, December 31st), the White Center Food Bank needs volunteers who can lift boxes/crates of food. If you can help, e-mail audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or call 206-762-2848.

Update: Emergency response in Highland Park

5:52 PM: An assault-with-weapons response rushed to the 1500 block of Holden. A man is reported to be there with a ‘knife wound to the buttocks’ that is believed to have happened somewhere else. More to come.

6:01 PM: Now radio traffic suggests it wasn’t a stabbing after all.

6:22 PM: No police/fire left at the scene by the time we got there.

West Seattle development: New projects; updates; microhousing marketing…

Six West Seattle development notes/updates today:

3239 CALIFORNIA SW (map): A demolition application is pending for this commercial structure because of a development plan that’s been making its way through the system since spring. The site is part of the block that was upzoned in 2010 to NC2-40 and is across the street from the proposed 3210 California SW. Documents on file with the city include a proposed subdivision of the site into three lots; a site plan filed in spring proposed 2 live-work units fronting California with four single-family homes behind them, but the newest site plan just shows 4 single-family homes, two fronting California, two behind, height listed as 40′. The proposals are filed under three addresses – in addition to 3239 California SW, there’s also 3237B California SW and 3239B California SW.

4147 CALIFORNIA SW (map): Applications have just been filed this week proposing to demolish two single-family homes at this site, building a mixed-use building – described as one residential unit over 3,900 square feet of commercial space, fronting California – and a new single-family home behind it. It has not been formally announced yet, so watch for that, at which time a comment deadline likely will be set.

6536 24TH SW (map): An application was filed last week to split two parcels into eight at this site between 24th and 23rd north of Willow. Other documents in the city files indicate plans to build eight homes, with at least 16 parking spaces, next year, if approved. Documents also note there is a “small wetland” on the site, so there is additional environmental documentation on file.

7313 BAINBRIDGE PLACE (map): While construction is already well under way at this three-house project north of Lincoln Park – we reported on the site clearing 2 1/2 months ago – the plan to split it into three lots has just been approved. The notice in today’s Land Use Information Bulletin includes links for reading the full decision and finding out how to appeal it.

DESIGN REVIEW REMINDERS: Today’s LUIB also includes the formal notice of the next Southwest Design Review Board meeting for 3078 SW Avalon Way (8 pm January 16 at the Senior Center of West Seattle, as reported here three weeks ago; we’ve also noted that five other Design Review meetings are coming up in January/February).

MARKETING MICROHOUSING: You might have noticed the banner up in front of the first microhousing project to be completed in West Seattle, 4546-4548 Delridge Way SW (map).

That’s across from Southwest Youth and Family Services and Delridge Playfield, first mentioned here in fall 2012 when “boarding house” applications turned up in city files. It’s now being marketed – we found this recent listing with interior photos and a $750 pricetag. The two-building complex is officially Footprint Delridge, part of a new microhousing brand (same one that’s planning to develop 5949 California SW in Morgan Junction) – here’s the Footprint marketing website; the Delridge-specific page is here.

West Seattle wildlife: Cormorants’ fish fight

The photo (click for a larger view) is by Katheryne Martinez, who shared it on the WSB Facebook page, asking for help identifying what kind of fish the cormorants were fighting over. We seem to have a winning answer, “sculpin” – though opinions varied from there – but we wanted to share the photo here too. Katheryne caught the cormorants on camera near Don Armeni Boat Ramp.

West Seattle weather: Burn ban over

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has lifted the burn ban as of 11 am, after 18 hours, noting, “Conditions can change quickly this time of year.”