West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Can you spare an hour a week – a small amount of time that can make a big difference? Invest in Youth is signing up volunteers now:
Your investment of one hour a week can lead to a lifetime of dividends for a child…
Invest in Youth is a Seattle-based non-profit organization that provides free tutoring to local elementary students across the city, including two West Seattle elementary schools (Roxhill and the new Fairmount Park). Our program is unique in that we don’t charge families or schools to provide our quality tutoring services. We are able to do this because of the support of our volunteers who commit to tutoring a 3rd through 5th grade student once a week. Will you join us this fall?
The program is pretty straightforward:
7:02 PM: Onstage on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center for another hour, that’s Funky 2 Death, the final band to play the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series. Nice night, music’s free – take a chair, your dinner, your family – it’s on until 8 pm. As a series sponsor, we share in saying thanks to everyone who’s attended, performed, volunteered, and otherwise been part of it this year!
P.S. ANA, of course, does more than present concerts. It’s the community council for the Admiral area and you can check out its next meeting at 7 pm Tuesday, September 9th, at The Sanctuary at Admiral (right across from the north side of Hiawatha, 42nd/Lander).
ADDED 8:17 PM: A few more photos – first, a reminder that kids are welcome at the Hiawatha concerts. Including babies. King County Executive Dow Constantine and wife Shirley Carlson were there tonight with three-and-a-half-month-old daughter Sabrina:
Back to the band:
Oops, our photographer was spotted:
If you enjoyed Funky 2 Death and want to see them again – catch the band Fridays at the Seamonster Lounge in Wallingford.
The full schedule of community-group meetings gets going again next month, and the first one has a high-profile guest: New SDOT director (pending confirmation) Scott Kubly is booked for Q/A at the Southwest District Council meeting next Wednesday (September 3rd). All are welcome to the 6:30 pm meeting at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon in The Junction);
Avoid Fauntleroy/Edmunds for a while. The northbound side is blocked by emergency response for a two-car crash right in front of the pawn shop. No major injuries; an ambulance has arrived for one person.
Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office: Bail is set at $500,000 for the 25-year-old man accused of stealing an SUV from outside Seamart in Highland Park, with a 10-month-old baby girl in the back seat, abandoning it (and her) in White Center. As added to our coverage last night after he was booked into jail, he also has warrants in connection with three domestic-violence-related cases, one of which also involved taking a vehicle; court documents list his address as less than a block away from the scene of yesterday’s crime. The documents include a short police narrative of how it unfolded; adding that in a moment.
ADDED: Transcribed from the “probable cause” section of the document:
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Update from the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency: The crowdlending campaign to raise money for remaining work at the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse has just passed its $500,000 goal! This is for the second phase of repair work, involving roof, painting, gutter/downspouts, and earthquake-resistance retrofitting. As reported here last month, the campaign launched in connection with Semble hit the halfway mark within its first week; by the start of this week, it was three-quarters of the way to goal; and today, it passed the half-million mark. FCSA hopes to get the work done before fall rainy season arrives.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of our periodic feature The WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” Or on the bridge, or the beach, or …
*A Fauntleroy resident went out to his planting strip to harvest his organic pear crop and was dismayed to discover that all of the ripe fruit had been taken. He estimates that at least 50 pounds of fruit — worth $200 — was missing. A nearby citizen said she saw a man and woman in a white van picking the fruit. The van is registered to a Georgetown address.
Three more summaries ahead, including the case that began with a naked man and a tree:
Fall is approaching, and that means fundraising-gala season. So again this year, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society gathered board members and longtime backers at The Pacific Institute across from Seacrest Park for a preview of this year’s Gala Champagne Brunch. At last night’s gathering, SWSHS executive director Clay Eals announced that the gala, 11:30 am November 8th at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), will feature two special spotlights.
As Eals mentions in our brief clip, one relates to the gala’s theme, celebrating the renovated Admiral Way totem pole unveiled in June at SWSHS’s Log House Museum:
The totem pole was carved from a log cut in Schmitz Park, one of the West Seattle treasures donated by the Schmitz family, whose Vicki and Dietrich Schmitz will discuss the family’s unique historical legacy.
Also in the spotlight at the SWSHS gala brunch: A panel spotlighting West Seattleites’ roles in the world-renowned Northwest music scene – “Why West Seattle?” Marty Riemer and Jodi Brothers will host panelists including Chris Ballew, Tim Bierman, Gary Crow, Megan Jasper, Nicole Vandenberg, and Matt Vaughan. Here’s Marty’s video invitation:
Postal-mail invitations are going out soon, but even if you don’t get one, you’re very much welcome at the event (sponsors, by the way, include WSB). Reservations will be available via the SWSHS website in about a week. If you reserve your seat by October 8th, you’ll get a $10 discount – we’ll publish an update as soon as we get word the page is live.
One of the school buses out testing routes again today -this one is outside reopening-&-expanded Fairmount Park Elem. pic.twitter.com/V7RLG7MbyH
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 28, 2014
(Added: WSB photo tweeted during Fairmount Park visit early today – full story later!)
With less than a week until school starts for most local students, it’s prime time for pre-back-to-school events, and several are in our highlights for today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
K-5 STEM OPEN HOUSE FOR NEW STUDENTS: Two start times for an open house welcoming new students to K-5 STEM – 4 pm for 1st-5th graders who are new to the school, 5 pm for incoming kindergarteners. Details in our previously published announcement. (5950 Delridge Way SW)
PATHFINDER BACK-TO-SCHOOL BARBECUE: 5-7 pm, neighbors welcome as well as Pathfinder K-8 families; here’s the previously published announcement. (1901 SW Genesee)
GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY 3-IN-1 EVENT: This year’s Meet and Greet, Volunteer Fair, and Ice Cream Social for Gatewood Elementary are combined into one event tonight, with three staggered starting times by grade, starting at 5:30 pm – details in our previously published announcement. (4320 SW Myrtle)
Dolphin staff's 1st day back. Focusing on technology and 21st century skills. @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/mwZ560yvv9
— Patricia J Rangel (@dennydolphinap) August 27, 2014
(Photos tweeted by Denny assistant principal Patricia Rangel on Wednesday)
NEW-FAMILY ORIENTATION AT DENNY: **Updated time** 6:30-8 pm at Denny International Middle School. (2601 SW Kenyon)
ROXHILL BACK-TO-SCHOOL BARBECUE: As previewed here Wednesday, 6-8 pm, families are invited to Roxhill Elementary to get ready for the new school year. School supplies will be available to those who need them – but first come, first served, so don’t be late. (30th/Roxbury)
COMMUNITY KAYAK TOUR ON THE DUWAMISH: 6 pm, see anbd learn about the river with the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition and Alki Kayak Tours, departing this time from Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park. See our calendar listing for details. (7900 10th Avenue S.)
LITTLE PILGRIM PARENT ORIENTATION: Starting at 7 pm, parents/guardians are welcome to Room 2 at Little Pilgrim School in Fauntleroy: “Current morning or afternoon openings are for children 3 or 4 years old. Come see the school spaces, meet the teachers, pick up enrollment materials, ask questions …” (9140 California SW)
SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA’S 2014 FINALE: Funky 2 Death performs tonight at 6:30 pm on the lawn east of Hiawatha Community Center for the sixth and final of this summer’s six concerts presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association. Free! (2700 block of Walnut)
JON AUER AT C & P COFFEE: 7 pm – see our calendar listing for RSVP details, so you can check if there’s still room. *10:49 am update: Still room – $21, cash only, at the door.* (5612 California SW)
MORE MUSIC/NIGHTLIFE … see the listings by going directly to our calendar!
P.S. Any school events for tonight that aren’t listed above? Please let us know ASAP! (Or for other days ahead, too, if you don’t see them on our calendar – thank you!)
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
With summer’s last big weekend on the way, and major road-work projects now in the past, traffic just might ease a bit today; we’ll see how it goes. Just one reminder from here – again today, school buses will be trying out their routes.
Police are looking for the driver who walked away from a car that crashed into parked cars at Delridge and Juneau (map) this past hour. Left behind: An injured passenger, who’s been taken to the hospital. Tipster Sage says traffic is being directed around the wreckage on the southbound side of Delridge.
(Top photo by Laura James; other photos by Rachel Chaimson)
On Wednesday morning, the divers at Seacrest weren’t all human: As previewed here, “Diver Laura” James and friends went in with ROVs, to check on the sick-sea-star situation, among other missions. Laura sent a report and photos:
The day started by picking up the trash can that had been knocked over the night before:
Pretty gross. (Thanks to the kind gentleman who offered me a wet-wipe afterward.) Now on to the ROV’s :) They show up in BIG yellow boxes – seen here with National Geographic Young Explorer Erika Bergman, who is currently working on the OpenExplorer platform, and OpenROV summer intern Christine Spiten from Norway:
The event was well documented by myself and another West Seattle shooter, Micah O’Keiley, and his snazzy camera (he’s helping me do a promo video for Diver Laura and Kids program stuff, for which I am AMAZINGLY grateful).
Video up in the next day or so. They are very cute – this one even has a shark fin!
Then it was time for me to get in the water with the little critters:
They were waiting impatiently:
Good dive! Vis was a bit murky, and the baby mottled stars that were abundant a few weeks ago are now sparse. There is wasting disease ongoing, with arms from moderately-sized mottled stars lying around at regular intervals.
All too soon it was time to pack up and head home:
As noted in Wednesday’s daily preview, Laura is working on her own OpenROV, and promises advance notice of explorations, so you can check it out in person.
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