day : 24/01/2014 9 results

4 school-music notes: Super String Saturday; Denny-Sealth concerts; Soul Jambalaya; Madison swing dance

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

Four school-music notes to share:

SUPER STRING SATURDAY IS HOURS AWAY: 10 am-1 pm Saturday at Chief Sealth International High School, it’s Super String Saturday with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra – start by enjoying their performance, then marvel at musical mentoring with local student musicians getting special coaching and joining the SYSO musicians onstage, and along the way, get a chance to expose younger children to string instruments, while meeting music educators and performers. More info in our preview. It’s all free – just show up! (2600 SW Thistle)

DENNY & SEALTH MUSICIANS SHINE: Just last night, the Sealth auditorium filled with the sound of student musicians’ hard work:

The photo was shared by Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark, who along with Sealth principal Aida Fraser-Hammer wrote:

We are so proud of our scholars at Denny and Sealth and the fantastic music they have performed over four concerts in the last month. Our combined holiday concert, our jazz bands, our four orchestras and our four bands have all been outstanding! (Thursday night), 251 scholars performed in our final concert, our Winter Symphonic Band Concert. Congratulations to all of our musicians! Mr. Pimpleton and Mr. White have done an amazing job! Thank you to all who support the thriving music programs at Denny and Sealth — Go, Dolphins and Seahawks!

SOUL JAMBALAYA: An event supporting the programs at Sealth and Denny has just been announced:

“Soul Jambalaya” is a fabulous concert celebrating Black History Month and the rich heritage of gospel, blues, jazz, and funk music. Student and professional musicians will gather together at Chief Sealth International High School Auditorium on Saturday, February 8, 2014 @ 7:00 pm to perform arrangements from all of these musical genres. Featured artists include the Total Experience Gospel Choir, Westside Blues, Figgins and Halbert Jazz and our very own Denny International Middle School Jazz.

Admission is free – donations will be accepted to benefit the schools’ music scholarship programs.

Also just announced:

WEST SEATTLE BIG BAND TO BOOST MADISON BENEFIT: A night of dancing and music for all:

Swing into Spring to the sounds of the amazing WEST SEATTLE BIG BAND! Free swing-dance lessons start at 6 pm. Peruse the food stands, bake sale, and raffle options while the Madison Middle School music students wow you with their musical talent. Then kick up your heels with the West Seattle Big Band!! Great fun for the whole family!

Friday, February 7th, 2014, from 6:00-9:00 pm in Madison Middle School Commons. Admission $10 per person at the door; students and children under 18 free! All proceeds benefit Madison Music Boosters.

Madison is at 45th/Spokane.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Damaging burglar(s), and more

January 24, 2014 8:33 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

In West Seattle Crime Watch tonight, a burglary attempt that did a lot of damage, plus a stolen car, and an update on an arrest reported here last night.

BIG DAMAGE BY WOULD-BE BURGLARS: From a Highland Park resident who wants to be anonymous:

I left to go grocery shopping at around 11:05-11:00am (Thursday) and got a call from my alarm company at 11:27 am that my house alarm was going off. In the short time that I was gone, the thieves had removed the window screens from ALL of my back windows to try to open them. When that failed, they broke the back window of my garage and used my lawn furniture to crawl into the garage. Once in my garage, they used my tools to break off and destroy the door knob and lock assembly of the door leading into the house and attempted to smash through the deadbolt which thankfully held long enough for the alarm system to trigger and the resulting siren scared them away. Although nothing (so far that I can tell) was taken. I am left with large costly repairs to 2 doors / 2 locks / 1 window. The neighbors (across the street from me) reported seeing two Hispanic men in their late teens/early 20’s casing their own house around this same time. They must have seen me leave the house in order to have done so much damage is so short of a time. Please remind your readers that these thieves and others are skilled and work quickly and have been prolific in our part of Seattle. Please be very aware of your surrounding area and suspicious people and cars that look out of place. It is worthwhile to do a security review of your house to make it as difficult for the thieves to break in. I will be strengthening my home security after this incident even more.

STOLEN ACCORD: Reported in a comment on another story:

Had my Honda four-door stolen from the back alley off 44th and Spokane. Heard something about 2 AM last night, did not get up, had a bad cold, so I went back to sleep. Whole backseat full of plumbing tools in buckets and power tools to do side job. All my essays and observation journals for school due next week. Kinda devastating. … ’93 gray gold four-door Honda Accord LX, small dimpled dent left front fender, small dimpled dent left rear trunk. See it, please call Seattle Police; report has been filed.

RYAN COX UPDATE: Last night, we reported that repeat offender Ryan Cox was arrested on a warrant, two days after he was the subject of a discussion at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. Online records show the warrant had been issued days before the meeting, second one related to his probation following a guilty plea for an assault case in December. Tonight, Cox is out of jail after a hearing this morning; he was released on personal recognizance, according to the Municipal Court docket. We won’t be able to find out more about the status of his case until Monday, when the deputy city attorney handling the case is back in the office.

WEST SEATTLE BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: Their first meeting of 2014 is next Tuesday (January 28th), 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster). You don’t have to be a Block Watch Captain – or even in a Block Watch – to attend.

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Eviction hearing next month for West Seattle Athletic Club, which also has filed a separate lawsuit of its own

January 24, 2014 4:06 pm

| 64 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS Health Club/ex-Athletic Club/ex-Allstar Fitness

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Routine checks of court files have turned up two new legal actions involving the West Seattle Athletic Club (which took over the former Allstar Fitness location in North Delridge last year) – one in which it’s the defendant, another in which it’s the plaintiff.

First: The club’s landlord H-P Properties has filed an “unlawful detainer” complaint, and what court documents describe as an “eviction hearing” is set for February 11th.

As explained here, this means basically refusal of an order to vacate. According to the court documents, the landlord is owed $386,000 in “back rent and other charges,” including this month; the documents include the lease, which says that after two rent-less months last spring, owner Sam Adams is supposed to be paying $100,000 rent per month right now. The complaint, filed a week and a half ago, includes a copy of a three-day “pay or vacate” notice that was originally dated December 20th.

The complaint is not only against Adams, his company Hollystone Holdings, and the West Seattle Athletic Club, but also names a company called Barratt Leasing. That company, in turn, is being sued by Adams, according to a separate action filed this month, which names Adams as a plaintiff as well as six athletic clubs, including the one in West Seattle. They are suing Barratt Leasing and Allstate Financial Group for breach of contract, accounting, and rescission.

The court documents say Allstate Financial “offers billing services to owners of athletic clubs” and that it was under contract with these clubs, but alleges that Allstate:

“… has failed to make timely and accurate periodic payments to Plaintiffs. On numerous occasions the periodic payments from Allstate Financial to Plaintiffs were late, less than called for under the terms of the agreements between the parties, not wire transferred, made on out-of-state checks that would not clear for several days, or drawn on accounts with insufficient funds. Many Allstate Financial checks to Plaintiffs would be cancelled by Allstate Financial after being deposited by Plaintiffs, which in turn would cause Plaintiffs’ checks to landlords, vendors, and employees to bounce. As a direct and proximate cause of Allstate Financial’s failure to make timely and accurate periodic payments, Plaintiffs were unable to pay required lease, payroll, insurance and utility expenses.

Other allegations made by Adams and his clubs are that Allstate “convinced (them) to enter into subleases for the inclusion of wellness clinics in four clubs” but has not been paying rent for those spaces and currently owes more than $120,000.

As for Barratt, which “is affiliated with and operates in connection with” Allstate, here’s another excerpt from the documents in the lawsuit filed by Adams’ company:

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Alki Ukulele: Welcoming a new West Seattle Blog sponsor

January 24, 2014 3:29 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)

Interested in music lessons – ukulele, guitar, bass? Music teacher Masa Kobayashi and his Alki Ukulele studio have just joined the WSB sponsor team. Here’s what he would like you to know:

He has 20 years’ experience playing and 10 years of experience teaching. Masa says, “My students are getting constant improvement with me – most of them actually have become active gigging musicians.” He’s proud that his students have been inspired by the fact he too is an active musician with gigs – something they thought wasn’t possible for them to become, before they started taking lessons.

As explained on his website at AlkiUkulele.com, Masa has experience with many musical styles from punk, rock, metal, funk and jazz, to Balkan and African music. For guitar and ukulele, he teaches rhythm and soloing, finger-picking, two-handed tapping, chord soloing, and more. For bass, lessons include various finger-picking styles, soloing and old school/Victor Wooten-style slapping, two-handed tapping, and chord soloing.

The Alki Ukulele studio really is near the beach, and the best way to contact Masa to inquire about lessons is by e-mail – alkiukulele@gmail.com.

We thank Alki Ukulele for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; see our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

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Still talking about Richard Sherman? So are Schmitz Park Elementary fifth-graders

January 24, 2014 1:42 pm

| 16 COMMENTS

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

(Photo tweeted by Richard Sherman – new fan-gear shirt he’s selling)
If you think you’ve heard every viewpoint imaginable about the famous Richard Sherman TV moment right after the Seahawks‘ NFC championship win last Sunday – here’s one more: Schmitz Park Elementary fifth-grade teacher Chris McCall e-mailed us and a couple of citywide news organizations, explaining, “I asked my students to sound off on their blogs about Sherman’s tirade. Their comments are unedited, but interesting. So, I thought I might try to get a few published by sending them to you.” We’ve already had more than a few (presumed) grownups speak out about this, so why not hear from younger fans? Read on for the (unedited, as sent) fifth-graders’ thoughts:

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‘Nothing decided yet’: Ideas for Mayor’s Neighborhood Summit @ Highland Park Action Committee

January 24, 2014 10:52 am

| Comments Off on ‘Nothing decided yet’: Ideas for Mayor’s Neighborhood Summit @ Highland Park Action Committee

| Highland Park | West Seattle news

Seattle’s new mayor has promised a “neighborhood summit” within his first 100 days in office. No date is set yet, not even a format, but the person who’s organizing it came to the Highland Park Action Committee‘s January meeting to talk about possibilities. That leads off our report from the meeting Wednesday night:

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If you see human trafficking, will you recognize it? West Seattle Democratic Women launch campaign Saturday

January 24, 2014 9:31 am

| Comments Off on If you see human trafficking, will you recognize it? West Seattle Democratic Women launch campaign Saturday

| How to help | West Seattle news

Tomorrow, you can help the West Seattle Democratic Women launch a campaign that’s not about politics – it’s about lives:

Throughout 2014 and beyond, the West Seattle Democratic Women will be sponsoring Human Trafficking Awareness meetings hosted by various local organizations and groups throughout Greater West Seattle. At these meetings, attendees will learn how to recognize the problem and what to do when they see it!

On Saturday, January 25th, 2014, at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library, 9010 35th Av SW, from 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm. WSDW will be having its “KICKOFF” meeting with presentations from

*Robert Beiser, Ex. Director, Seattle Against Slavery,
*Brian Taylor, King County Sheriff’s Department Detective & “Dignity Award” winner for his work helping vulnerable and exploited kids,
*Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, noted State Legislator on the subject, along with the viewing of “Chosen”, a film on how easy it is to have children drawn into these circumstances.

There will be light refreshments. Buses #21 & C Line support the Library’s address. Everyone is welcome! No reservations are needed!

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West Seattle Friday: From gardeners to rock ‘n’ roll ukulele players

January 24, 2014 9:00 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Crows just never seem to care how much size advantage eagles and other raptors have over them – they try to convince them to get lost, just the same. Brian Baum photographed this scene on a Beach Drive rooftop earlier this month. Keep an eye on our calendar for bird walks ahead (including one tomorrow) – but right now, we’re highlighting other potential pursuits for today/tonight:

WEST SEATTLE GARDEN CLUB: Be there for all or part of the 10 am-2 pm meeting – which includes storytelling, brown-bag lunch time (dessert provided), and this time around, a program celebrating Eleanor Roosevelt – all detailed here. Daystar Retirement Village. (2615 SW Barton)

HIGH-SCHOOL SPORTS: Swim meet at 3:30 pm at Southwest Pool, West Seattle High School hosting Bainbridge. (2801 SW Thistle) … In basketball, tonight’s home games are at Chief Sealth International High School, vs. visiting Rainier Beach. Girls JV 3:15 pm, boys JV 4:45, girls varsity 6:15, boys varsity 8 pm. (2600 SW Thistle)

PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT: Check with Alki Community Center ASAP to see if there’s any room left for tonight, 6-9 pm – and if not, sign up in advance for next month’s edition. Details in our calendar listing. (5817 SW Stevens)

ALSO AT ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER – SKATING! Friday night roller skating at Alki CC, 6:45-8:45 pm. (5817 SW Stevens)

PERRY MAYBROWN AT C & P: Solo singer-songwriter Perry Maybrown serenades you at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

‘THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED’: First weekend for the new production at ArtsWest in The Junction, curtain time 7:30 pm. (4711 California SW)

CASTAWAYS CD RELEASE SHOW: “Seattle’s loudest ukulele band,” The Castaways, is out with its first full-length record, and playing the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) tonight to celebrate. No, it’s not tropical-style ukulele music – it’s rock ‘n’ roll. More in our calendar listing.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday updates, road-work alerts

January 24, 2014 5:58 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

We start again this morning with two views of the bridge.

For more cameras, including Viaduct views, see the WSB Traffic page. We have road-work alerts, too – 42nd SW in The Junction will be closed for utility work south of SW Alaska starting around 7 am; this weekend, there are lane closures on northbound I-5 again starting 9:30 pm tonight, as detailed here.

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