West Seattle, Washington
14 Sunday
Existential philosophy and Christian faith might not sound likely to intersect – but when it comes to Denmark’s renowned 19th-century thinker Søren Kierkegaard, they do. Few know this better than First Lutheran Church of West Seattle pastor Rev. Ron Marshall, who has just published “Kierkegaard for The Church,” and gave us a show-and-tell the other day:
The book would be helpful both “for the educated layperson and pastors,” Rev. Marshall says. This Monday, 9 am-1 pm, he’s hosting an “open conference” about it at his church north of The Junction, open to the public, focused on the book and some of what you can hear him discuss in our video – which concludes with a shorter clip below, elaborating on who the book is for and on the Monday forum (at which you can buy a signed copy of “Kierkegaard for the Church”:
Behind the pastor and author in our clips is the Kierkegaard statue you can see at First Lutheran, by Northwest artist Dr. Rita Marie Kepner, dedicated when the church celebrated the bicentennial of the philosopher/theologian last year (WSB coverage here). As Rev. Marshall mentioned, First Lutheran commemorates him in November every year. Drop in Monday for minutes or hours and check out the statue, the discussion, the book.
Adonis and Aji from RainDagger Productions on Vimeo.
That’s video of brothers Adonis and Aji Piper, 9- and 13-year-old Pathfinder K-8 students, singing and playing a protest song they composed. They spent the final weekday of the week-long midwinter school break by participating in a demonstration and Seattle City Council committee meeting regarding a resolution urging increased scrutiny for a proposal to send more oil-carrying trains through the city. (Read about the resolution here.) Environmental advocates say the scrutiny is vital because trains are carrying more-volatile types of oil now, with literally explosive risks, as evidenced in several recent incidents around the continent. Joel Connelly wrote about the brothers in his coverage on seattlepi.com; today we received a note from the boys’ family, with a link to the video you see above.
Know your nearest Emergency Communication Hub! That map shows the 11 community-volunteer-powered spots in West Seattle that would be activated in case of major disaster – someplace you could go to find out what’s going on when other communication channels are down. And this week, anniversaries remind us that the most likely disaster around here – earthquake – can hit at any time; three years ago today, the Christchurch quake in New Zealand killed almost 200 people; next Friday (February 28th) will be the 13th anniversary of the Nisqually earthquake here in Western Washington, which left hundreds hurt. So while quakes are top of mind again, it’s a great time to get involved with the Hubs – which have now gone citywide – and to get ready for a big citywide drill that’s about three months away.
On May 17, between 9:00 am and noon, community groups and emergency volunteers from throughout Seattle will be participating in a disaster drill to test neighborhood emergency preparedness.
The groups, known as the Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs, will join the City’s Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) ham volunteers to simulate a volcanic explosion and it’s impact on Seattle, especially if the wind blows ash towards Seattle and resulting lahars (mud flows) impact infrastructure. “It’s all about neighbors helping neighbors” said Carl Leon, one of the drill organizers. “We set up neighborhood hubs where people can come to get information and share resources or skills to help those who have been affected.”
The ACS volunteers will practice sending situation reports of conditions in each neighborhood from the Hubs into the City’s Emergency Operations Center. In a real event, that information could be used by City response planners to assess conditions throughout the city and develop response plans.
Participating Hub locations in addition to West Seattle include Broadview, Capitol Hill, Kirke Park, Lake City, Loyal Heights, Magnolia, Maple Leaf, Queen Anne, Rainier Beach, Shilshole. All Hub locations will welcome visitors and people who would like to learn and participate in the Hubs.
For more information about becoming a Hub volunteer, contact Cindi Barker, cbarker@qwest.net, 206-933-6968.
For information about becoming a Ham radio operator or member of ACS, contact Carl Leon at
N7KUW@arrl.net.
And in the meantime, browse westseattlebeprepared.org for information that could someday save your life.
(1st photo in, from Patricia – thanks!)
2:58 PM: Seattle Fire crews are responding to a report of a car hitting a building in the 9000 block of 25th SW, with a “heavy rescue” response.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
3:02 PM: It’s a car into the front window of Pet Pros at Westwood Village, according to texters and address cross-reference. No injuries reported so far. Thanks to Patricia for the top photo.
3:12 PM: Our crew is there and confirms nobody hurt. The car has already been backed away, though the sidewalk there is blocked off for cleanup (thanks to the person who texted the photo above this line).
(Another photo added: Jessie shared the view from across 25th SW – thanks!)
Police are still talking with people to determine whether this was a case of hitting the wrong pedal, a medical problem, or something else.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
3:33 PM: It’s now a cleanup scene – all that broken glass you see above, for examples. Also lots of onlookers, and at least one TV crew. We’re told the store is closed right now (we’ll check back later). In case you were trying to remember (we were), we looked up the date for a somewhat similar incident at the Westwood post office – May of last year.
(Photo courtesy Cathy Thom)
Did you know there’s an extra charge to play a high-school sport – and some sports still have no budget? West Seattle High School second-year head tennis coach Cathy Thom she’s been told she has a budget of -$15. So she is trying to creatively raise some money to cover costs as the season approaches, and she’s launched a crowdfunding page as part of the plan. In an e-mail exchange, we asked Coach Cathy if she might want to illustrate with a photo of “sorry-looking equipment you need to replace,” and she replied:
Well, I need squeegees for the courts, and I’d love to take a picture of them, but some people stole them from the courts, and well, we need tennis balls and racquets — the essentials to running the season, and sorry I don’t have any pictures of items we don’t even have!.. But I’m also hoping to raise money to help kids with the sports fee(s). I can’t believe it costs $100 to play a sport. No wonder kids are opting out and playing video games! So I want to have extra funds available for those who can’t afford the sports fee or who can’t afford the uniforms.
Despite the challenges, two of Cathy’s players made it to state competition last year, and she’s hoping to get more there this year, “with proper equipment, and being able to focus on the kids more than focusing on my budget … My ultimate goal is to get this team to be top of the line. I’ve played college tennis (division 1) and know I’ve got the knowledge to get these kids in line to get tennis scholarships if desired. … I’d like to open up doors for these kids … So far it looks like I need uniforms for incoming players (jackets and shirts), tennis balls, squeegees for the courts when it rains, and some scorecards.” Just go here and use the PayPal “donate” button (if you don’t have a PP account, you can use a credit card).
We’re starting to get questions about registration for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2014. The mega-sale day is exactly 11 weeks from today – the second Saturday in May, as always – which this year arrives on May 10th. If you’re a new arrival, it’s not one big sale, but rather numerous sales of all sizes, all around the peninsula; more than 250 sales each of the past few years. – (Here’s part of our coverage from last year.) The organization that started it closed in 2007 and agreed to let WSB take it over starting in 2008 (more history here), so this will be our seventh year coordinating and publicizing it, the tenth year overall for the event. Registration will open in early April – we’ll announce the date once it’s finalized. Sale hours on May 10th will be 9 am-3 pm as always. Favorite thing we hear afterward is how many people enjoy meeting neighbors, seeing old friends, making face-to-face connections, and that’s priceless.
Thanks to Mark Wangerin for sharing his recent photo of a raccoon spiffed up for what is the wild kingdom’s romantic season as well as ours. Here’s a look ahead to the day, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, but starting with traffic alerts:
HIGHWAY 99, 1ST AVENUE SOUTH: In the stadium zone, some lane/ramp closures you might want to know about this weekend. From WSDOT:
*The South Royal Brougham Way on-ramp to northbound SR 99 will be closed from 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24.
*The right lane of northbound SR 99 will be closed at South Royal Brougham Way from 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24.
*The right lane of southbound First Avenue South will be closed from Railroad Way South to just north of South Royal Brougham Way from 7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, to 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24.
This is all part of work to reconfigure Highway 99 lanes that are south of the elevated viaduct.
SOUTHBOUND I-5 LANE CLOSURES: This weekend, the expansion-joint work on I-5 south of the heart of downtown is happening on the southbound “collector-distributor lanes.” They’re down to one lane, so steer clear.
****But you can have a great weekend WITHOUT needing to leave West Seattle to travel those highways. Highlights:
SOLAR SEMINAR: 9:30 am at the Senior Center, WSB sponsor Sunergize West Seattle is presenting a seminar to explain going solar and its benefits – full details in our calendar listing. (SE corner of California/Oregon)
GRIEF-SUPPORT GROUP: First session 10 am-noon at Grace Church – as explained here. (10323 28th SW)
WINE AND CHOCOLATE: West Seattle’s Two Brothers Winery is one of the stops on today’s Seattle Urban Wineries multi-winery tour – ticket information here. (3902 California SW)
SEATTLE PRIDE BASKETBALL TRYOUTS: Various age groups’ tryouts for Seattle Pride Basketball are today at Seattle Lutheran High School – the full schedule is in our preview. (40th/Genesee)
REMODELING/CUSTOM-HOME-BUILDING WORKSHOP: 2 pm at Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), come learn about remodeling and custom-home-building at a free workshop. Call ASAP to make sure there’s still room! Details including phone number are in our listing. (NE corner of California/Findlay)
VETERAN CENTER OPEN HOUSE: The West Seattle Veteran Center, in the historic American Legion Post 160 building, invites you to an evening open house at 7 pm, with music by Henry at War starting at 8 pm. All ages, free, $5 donation appreciated to help the WSVC work toward its goals; details in our calendar listing. (3618 SW Alaska)
MORE LIVE MUSIC AT … 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 8 pm at The Cask, 9 pm at Skylark Café and Club, 9:30 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor). See the calendar for acts and more details.
CLOSING NIGHT FOR ‘PRIVATE EYES’: 7:30 pm, the final performance of Twelfth Night Productions‘ show, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
Thanks to Trisha Montemayor for sharing another update on Chief Sealth International High School swimmers’ postseason competition: The two-day state championships conclude tonight at King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Trisha’s report on Friday night:
Sealth sent their 200 Medley Relay team to state and finished 22nd. Top 16 in each race move on to finals. Michael Stewart will be swimming in the consolation final of the 50 free, having finished tied for 15th today. Michael also finished 19th in the 100 free, just missing the finals for that. Carlos Morgan Montemayor swam the 100 butterfly and finished tied for 10th but will not swim it (Saturday), to concentrate on swimming the 100 backstroke. He will swim the Championship final, going into it in 2nd place.
Good luck to Carlos and Michael! If you’re interested in seeing the times and other results – go to this page and click any event in the left sidebar to bring up full results in the larger window.
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