West Seattle, Washington
14 Sunday
ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:50 PM: In our interview with newly appointed Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Wilske – published here Monday – he said he planned to attend as many community meetings as possible in the weeks and months ahead to learn about our area. The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council has just announced that he will be at their meeting next Tuesday (February 18th). Their previously scheduled guest, Seattle Municipal Court Presiding Judge C. Kimi Kondo, remains on the agenda too, talking about the city’s Mental Health Court. All are welcome at Tuesday’s WSCPC meeting, 7 pm at the precinct (Delridge/Webster).
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: Just received an agenda that says Capt. Wilske also will be at the February 19th Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting (7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW).
ADDED FRIDAY: See comments below – he’ll be at this month’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting too.
Students at two local schools have been immersed in filmmaking recently:
ALKI ELEMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL: Thanks to teacher Terry Kegel for sharing the trailer for Alki Elementary School‘s 5th annual Kindergarten Film Festival tomorrow night. Terry says the films are “original stories written by Kindergarteners and edited by 5th graders” and “will premiere at the Admiral Theater on Thursday, February 13th. Doors open at 6:15 pm; movie starts at 6:30 pm. Priority seating for Alki Kindergarten families, but the greater community is invited to help celebrate and inspire the next generation of storytellers.” (Historic Admiral Theater is at 2343 California SW.)
A few miles south at at Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor):
‘CLASS DISMISSED’ FILMED AT EXPLORER WEST: We visited the campus Tuesday afternoon during the second and final day of camera work for a short, silent film titled “Class Dismissed.” As explained on the EWMS website, filmmaker/musician Sammy Applegate is making it to go with music she composed, all toward a master’s degree in film scoring via the Seattle Film Institute.
It’s also expected to be submitted to film festivals. The plot is summarized on the EWMS site as “a short love story about a young boy mustering the courage to ask his dream girl out to the school dance.”
Four West Seattle restaurant notes:
CASSIS OPENS NEXT WEEK: The new French restaurant on Alki will open at 2820 Alki Avenue SW one week from today, on February 19th, according to proprietor Jef Fike. Here’s the opening menu Fike shared for our most recent update two months ago. In case you’ve missed previous coverage, this is a reincarnation of the well-regarded restaurant he ran on Capitol Hill a decade ago. See behind-the-scenes photos on the Cassis Facebook page.
ON THE OTHER END OF ALKI: Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor) at Seacrest plans to launch a series of summer events including luaus and barbecues, according to this All You Can Eat report at SeattleTimes.com (WSB partner), which says that’s part of what well-known regional chef Angie Roberts will help develop, now that she’s joined the “Marination empire.” (Added: Here’s the news release.)
TERRA COLE BUTCHERY & FINE FOODS’ MENU CHANGE: One of The Junction’s newest food venues recently launched its winter menu of sandwiches and sausages – see it here. Trace Wilson from TCBFF says, “We’re gonna keep changing menus every quarter or thereabouts just so we can stay fresh and seasonal with what’s good! Popular favorites (i.e. the pastrami, the pulled pork, the slaw & the smoked potato salad) will continue to hang around forever, but we’ll mix it up enough to keep it interesting.”
SAIGON BOAT CAFE OPEN: Just a note if you haven’t been to Alki lately – the King County Health Department did clear Saigon Boat Café to reopen on January 31st, three and a half weeks after closing it for violations.
(WSB file photo of the east-west alley that the development wants, along with a north-south section)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One key approval still needed if the 4755 Fauntleroy SW (map) project, aka The Whittaker and “the Whole Foods project,” is to go forward is the one that became an issue in last year’s mayoral campaign: The “alley vacation” request, in which the developers are seeking approval to buy part of the alleys on the site, which are city-owned right of way. A date is finally set for the City Council review of the request to begin – March 11th, 9:30 am, the first hearing before the council’s Transportation Committee, chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.
Though the date technically is still tentative, Councilmember Rasmussen tells WSB they expect SDOT to get all the necessary documentation in by then.
While it’s a joy to still have parent(s) around even as you approach elderhood … it can be a challenge to have tough conversations with them about changes that might be needed as the years go by. Tomorrow (Thursday) night at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), you can get some help as you prepare for those conversations with parents and/or grandparents – is it time to give up the car? Is the house getting to be “too much”? Is their health deteriorating and help needed for day-to-day life? A free seminar on “Having the Conversation” is planned for 6 pm tomorrow at The Kenney, with Moraine Byrne, who has 20+ years of experience “guiding and counseling families on how to have a meaningful and respectful conversation with aging parents,” as the official event announcement describes it. No charge, but an RSVP is appreciated – call 206-937-2800, or RSVP online here. Walk-ins will be welcome tomorrow, too, but they’d love advance notice if you’re planning to go. The Kenney is at 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW (map).
More news on the way … but in case you don’t have a westward view, we didn’t want these photos of the Olympic Mountains, out this morning in all their sunlit glory, to go to waste. Thanks to Alia Ali for sharing the top view from Fauntleroy; the view below was caught from Duwamish Head by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand.
We’ll confess we can’t name the peaks in Alia’s photo, but we do know the WSB photo shows The Brothers, 6842 feet elevation on the south, 6650 on the north. And check out West Seattle photographer Long B. Nguyen‘s Olympics gallery!
FIRST REPORT, 11:30 AM: Reported to the police this morning and via West Seattle Crime Watch now – a dark green Acura Integra “that’s lowered and has tinted windows and has a decal that goes across the top of the entire back windshield that says ‘Cascade Honda Crew’.” It was stolen from Fauntleroy Way east of Morgan Junction. If you see it, call 911, as advised in the @getyourcarback tweet (which includes the plate number).
ADDED 3:20 PM: In comments, AE reports another stolen car, a teal 1995 Honda Civic taken in High Point – plate number’s also in an SPD tweet.
(Added: Reader video shared via e-mail – it rotates to correct angle quickly)
8:53 AM: Fire crews are rushing to the 1300 block of Alki Avenue SW (map), where a garage fire is reported. First crews on scene say it’s the garage for a home, and they’re seeing smoke. Note that the initial response is likely blocking traffic both ways – they’re calling for police to help with that – so you’ll want to avoid that stretch of the beachfront boulevard.
9 AM: Our crew is en route; via scanner, crews at the scene say the fire’s under control and they’re checking to be certain it didn’t spread.
9:10 AM: The fire is “tapped” – which basically means out. Our crew has arrived and is told nobody was home when it happened; we’ve confirmed, no injuries. Damage and cause are still being assessed. The 1300 block of Alki is still closed to traffic because of fire units.
9:31 AM: Fire crews say the garage contained “miscellaneous” items and that damage is estimated at $5,000.
(Thanks to Ryan O’Keven in Admiral for the “snowbird” image from last weekend’s wintriness)
Happy midweek! Highlights from today’s listings on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
COLLEGE PREP HELP: Need some assistance navigating applications and everything else that goes into getting ready for college? Find some help 4-5 pm at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)
FAIRMOUNT PARK ELEMENTARY INFO NIGHT: Considering or planning on sending your child(ren) to the reopening, expanding Fairmount Park Elementary? Since it’s still under construction …
… tonight’s Info Night (details here) is at Alki Elementary, 6 pm.
PATHFINDER MIDDLE-SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 6:30 tonight, it’s an open house at Pathfinder K-8 geared toward families with incoming 6th-8th graders. No reservation required. (1901 SW Genesee)
HARBOR SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE, SPECIAL INVITE TO WEST SEATTLEITES: Harbor School on Vashon Island (WSB sponsor), 4th-8th grades, has a 7 pm open house tonight, extending a special invitation to West Seattleites, as described in our calendar listing. (15920 Vashon Highway SW)
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Big agenda tonight, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy. From chair Marcee Stone-Vekich:
7:20 Program — Update from Seattle City Councilmembers
Speakers: Sally Clark, Mike O’Brien and Tom Rasmussen
Topics: $15 minimum wage, micro-housing, and transportation7:50—Questions from Membership
8:00 — Keep King County Moving
Speakers: King County Executive Dow Constantine & April Putney of Transportation Choices Coalition
· Presentation of Possible April Ballot Measure re Transportation District
· Consideration of Endorsement
(9131 California SW)
EARTHRISE CHAMBER CHOIR REHEARSALS BEGIN: Interested in joining the choir? Check out tonight’s rehearsal, starting at 7 pm – details in our calendar listing – at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation. (7141 California SW)
‘THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED‘: Another week of performances at ArtsWest starts tonight, 7:30 pm. (4711 California SW)
(More cameras, and other info, on the WSB Traffic page)
West Seattle doesn’t seem to be particularly hard-hit, but around the city, there are some spot power outages after a stormy night. On City Light’s map, there’s one spot around 41st/Southern in Gatewood, blamed on a tree. The National Weather Service has a “short-term forecast” in effect warning of gusts up to 45 mph in the hours ahead.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Work continues at 30th/Roxbury, as part of pedestrian-safety upgrades, and that means traffic restrictions, especially on the westbound side.
WEEKEND ALERT: Remember the northbound I-5 lane closures last month? Now it’s southbound I-5’s turn, and if you will be heading this way through downtown any time between Friday night and Monday morning, you should know about this.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The city has announced a multi-year traffic-safety project for 35th SW, along its entire stretch in West Seattle, Fauntleroy Way to SW Roxbury.
7:33 AM: City Light is working near the aforementioned 41st/Southern outage:
Neither street is an arterial, so the only traffic effects are in the neighborhood.
Thanks to “Diver Laura” James doing some above-ground photography tonight after she spotted stormwater “going the wrong way” from a drain cover under the West Seattle Bridge (above) and along Harbor Avenue:
As you’ll see on this King County webpage, the rain is also overwhelming the system in a few spots – as we write this, four red triangles mark four combined-sewer overflows on the Duwamish, and if you look at the yellow spots, those mark earlier overflows. No CSOs are shown right now on the Puget Sound side of the system, though.
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