West Seattle, Washington

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day : 26/10/2014 6 results

More coho at Fauntleroy Creek as neighbors drum to welcome them
October 26, 2014 9:27 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
As neighbors drummed and sang tonight in the annual gathering to welcome Fauntleroy Creek‘s coho spawners, steward Judy Pickens (above) had an update: Five seen so far. Definitely within earshot of tonight’s welcoming party!

Last year, the coho were a no-show, but the year before, it was a record run. Some of tonight’s participants at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook across from the ferry dock made decorations in honor of the salmon’s return.

Jamie Shilling led the songs and chants once again:

This time of year is one of two key peak periods of attention for Fauntleroy Creek; the other is springtime, when hundreds of schoolchildren visit to release classroom-raised salmon fry. Meantime, with Judy’s help, we’ll continue updating this year’s coho watch; you are welcome to watch down by the creek (off SW Director just east of the overlook) when volunteer watchers are on duty in the days ahead.

P.S. Clean water is vital to the salmon’s health. Reducing runoff – which ends up in creeks and Puget Sound – is a big step you can take. It’s not too difficult; try these seven simple steps featured at tox-ick.org.

P.P.S. See this year’s first two arriving spawners here.

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West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, report #2: The $3,200 chili!
October 26, 2014 8:22 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

Two more reports to share, following up on our “as-it-happened” report from today’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival. First: The WS Food Bank’s words of thanks for the Chili Challenge results:

The West Seattle Food Bank would like to thank the WS Junction Assoc., the nine participating neighborhood restaurants and all the tasters at the annual WS Harvest Festival. Congratulations to Deano Lucas at Deano’s for being the 2014 Chili Master winner. We raised $1580 and then Deano matched it with a $1600 check! WOW! A huge thank you to Deano and everyone! It was so much fun and some fabulous chili!

Corianton Hale shared this photo of the nine contenders:

Those who donated $10 for a flight of tastes got to vote. WSFB says Elliott Bay Brewery and Shadowland tied for second, followed by Terra Cole Butchery. Also particpating (which meant making and donating a BIG batch of chili): Easy Street Café, Husky Deli, Quadrato, The Swinery, West 5. Still to come: A photo gallery with more of today’s sights.

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West Seattle windstorm aftermath: City Light says ‘most’ back on
October 26, 2014 5:09 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

5:09 PM: Are you still without power? Seattle City Light says in an update for media around its service area that it’s “restored power to all but 803 customers who lost power during (the) windstorm. The customers who remain without power are likely connected to smaller side lines. These lines involve fewer buildings and are often the hardest to repair. We estimate that crews will restore these connections late tonight or early into Monday morning. If your home is not connected, please call 206-684-3000 so that we can restore power.” At the peak of the outages, more than 52,000 homes/businesses in City Light’s service area were reported without electricity; an exact West Seattle count was pretty much impossible because of how the SCL map displays outages, but, starting with the 120-home outage along Beach Drive reported before 8 pm, we calculated more than 10,000 in WS were among those who lost electricity at one point or another.

7:50 PM: Commenters checking in from Gatewood say they’ve been without power going on 24 hours now. The official map shows multiple spots still out around West Seattle as part of the 600 homes/businesses still out service-area-wide. Most outages are blamed on trees hitting wires.

10:43 PM: Updates from comments – Seola is back, Glenridge/Gatewood still out. It’s not on the map, either. A new outage is – not in our area, and not related to the storm, SCL says – more than 3,000 customers in Tukwila/Boulevard Park.

11:50 PM: Thanks for the continued updates in comments. Glenridge/Gatewood is back on, but now there’s a new outage reported, west of Westwood Village. Not on the map so no idea of the extent, but if you’re affected, be sure to call City Light- outage hotline 206-684-7400 – even if you think someone else has reported it.

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As-it-happened coverage: West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival 2014
October 26, 2014 10:28 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(LOOKING FOR POWER OUTAGE/STORM CLEANUP UPDATES? HERE’S OUR COVERAGE)

(Mini-pumpkin toss at the Potter Construction [WSB sponsor] booth)
10:28 AM: We’re in The Junction, where the Harvest Festival is on! Bundle up if you’re coming down – it’s chilly. But everyone’s in good spirits. Activity booths and Farmers’ Market vendors are lining the streets (California between Oregon and Edmunds, Alaska between 42nd and 44th).

Info:

*11 am, chili competition flights on sale, while they last
*11:30 am, costume parade
*noon-2 pm, business trick-or-treating
*Until the streets reopen: Bus reroutes

Festival’s on until 2 pm, and it goes fast, so come on over!

11:23 AM UPDATE: We’ve seen some showers, but hey, it’s fall. Diver Laura is here with us now and brought plankton, iPhone microscope, and even an ROV.

Come see, and pick up a free WSB ice scraper.

Look for the banner in our booth on Alaska just east of California.

Meantime, the chili competition is on across California from us by KeyBank, until 1 pm (or while the chili – $10, nine tastes, benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank – lasts).

And the costume parade is about to start – with the West Seattle High School Marching Band leading the way.

11:46 AM: The parade’s just wrapping up. Here’s the start:


Just a few of the adorably costumed kids:

Trick-or-treating is up next, starting at Junction businesses at noon. That, plus the activities and Farmers’ Market continue until 2.

12:52 PM UPDATE: One more hour of festival fun! We’re continuing to admire creative costumes:

And we’ve seen two candidates – WSB policy is to photograph candidates who visit the booth when we’re at festivals, and first one to stop by today is newly declared City Council District 1 candidate Amanda Kay Helmick:

She’s gathering signatures to get on the ballot for next year’s first-ever by-district council elections. Also visiting – judge candidate Phillip Tavel, and family:

He’s a West Seattleite who’s on the November 4th ballot for King County District Court.

1:28 PM UPDATE: Chili competition vote results are in – Deano’s wins! (And the WS Food Bank wins, from the proceeds of the chili donated by nine businesses, and paid by voters/partakers.) Instagram video of the big announcement:

Meantime, half an hour to enjoy activities and to stop by here for a look at what Diver Laura’s iPhone microscope is showing, and for kids to trick or treat. We’ll wind up adding many more photos after we get back – more than we can process in the field before it’s time to wrap up. It’s been great to see so many people out despite the chilly, breezy weather (and despite the fact the Seahawks game).

1:54 PM: The rain’s returning and we’re packing up. Thanks to everybody who came to the festival!

P.S. Adding this for future reference – roads reopened just after quarter past 4.

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West Seattle post-windstorm Sunday: Junction Harvest Festival, Thriller-thon, salmon drumming, lots more…
October 26, 2014 8:28 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(LOOKING FOR POWER OUTAGE/STORM CLEANUP UPDATES? HERE’S OUR COVERAGE)

As the live camera above looking north on California from Alaska shows, setup is under way for the third annual West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival (co-sponsored by WSB) – which tops our list of what’s up today (besides post-windstorm cleanup/power restoration, which we’re covering separately):

WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION HARVEST FESTIVAL: 10 am-2 pm in the heart of The Junction, where California is closed between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska is closed between 44st and 42nd. Here are the basics:

*10 am-2 pm, free “harvest activities” at booths throughout the festival zone – details in last night’s preview
*10 am-2 pm, Farmers’ Market out in the middle of California SW
*11 am-1 pm, chili competition, 9 flights for $10 to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank (by KeyBank)
*11:30 am, costume parade led by WSHS Marching Band, starting from Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska)
*noon-2 pm, trick-or-treating at Junction businesses (no earlybirds!)

Our booth is on the east side of California/Alaska – “Diver Laura” is scheduled to join us with iPhone microscope plankton-viewing, and for the grownups, we’re giving away the only tchotchkes we’ve ever offered (last seen at the WS Car Show two years ago), ice scrapers, while they last. See you there!

Also from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Halloween Guide today:

POP-UP PUMPKIN PATCH: 10 am-1 pm, Delridge Grocery‘s Pop-up Pumpkin Patch! Buy your “edible and decorative Halloween pumpkins from your friendly neighborhood co-op. Free coffee, cider, and treats will be offered. They’ll also take payments for member-owner shares at the event.” Same site as DG’s summer farmstand, south of the library. (5435 Delridge Way SW)

GEAR SWAP, DAY 2: 11 am-3 pm, it’s the second day of the annual Mountain to Sound Outfitters-presented gear swap at VFW Hall across the street. Details in our calendar listing. (3601 SW Alaska)

THRILLER-THON: 1-3 pm, Thriller-thon at West Seattle Christian Church Activity Center, benefiting Transitional Resources! (4400 42nd SW)

NERF WARS: 2-4 pm, special event for kids at Straight Blast Gym of Seattle (WSB sponsor) – details in our calendar listing, including how to sign up; check ASAP to see if there’s still room! (5050 Delridge Way SW)

NEW SOUNDS NORTHWEST: Concert at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, 3 pm – details in our calendar listing. (4105 California SW)

ANIMAL REIKI DEMONSTRATION: 3 pm at Mud Bay in The Admiral District – details in our calendar listing. (2611 California SW)

‘DOGFIGHT’: 3 pm at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), it’s your next chance to see the musical “Dogfight,” described as “the romantic and heartbreaking story of three young Marines in 1963” before their deployment to Vietnam. Directed by AW’s new artistic director Mathew Wright. Tickets available online. (4711 California SW)

DRUMMING TO CALL THE SALMON HOME: The first coho are already arriving in Fauntleroy Creek, as shown here Saturday. At 5 pm tonight – provided it’s not raining – join the annual gathering at the overlook to encourage them to keep coming home. Details in our calendar listing. (Fauntleroy/Director, up the embankment across from the ferry dock)

EVEN MORE … on our calendar!

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West Seattle windstorm: Sunday power outage, cleanup updates
October 26, 2014 7:18 am
|      46 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(Added: WSB photo, trees blocking sidewalk, southbound Fauntleroy by The Kenney)
7:18 AM: As dawn breaks, hundreds of West Seattleites (including us) are among the 14,000 listed by Seattle City Light as still without power.

We’ll be updating that and cleanup – of trees and debris – as the day unfolds. Thanks to everyone who shared updates from their neighborhoods during as-it-happened coverage last night, and please let us know what you’re dealing with today. The forecast indicates the worst of the weather is past. Meantime, for those wondering, the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival is still on as scheduled, 10 am-2 pm. We’ll have the daily “what’s happening” list up by 8:30 am, and it leads the way.

8:14 AM UPDATE: If you’re without power and/or cable/internet service, please be sure you’ve reported it (again, if necessary) – things are still in flux; we’ve noticed the City Light map jumped from 14,000 out to 18,000 out in the past hour or so (service-area-wide) – and please note that even if there is an estimate listed for restoration, it’s just a guesstimate, and SCL will be the first to tell you that; ours, for example, originally was guesstimated at 2 am-ish, and now that’s pushed back to 2 pm-ish. If you’re looking to watch the Seahawks game – most affected by the outage are residential, not business, so there’s LOTS of places to watch. WSB sponsor Feedback Lounge, for one.

8:35 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter, Comcast acknowledges outages and says they’re deploying generators “where it will help.”

10:13 AM UPDATE: Be careful when you’re out there – trees are still blocking roads and sidewalks, like the ones that came down in front of The Kenney (WSB sponsor) – we added a photo atop this story – in the 7100 block of Fauntleroy. The wind did other damage – this photo is via Twitter:

That building’s been undergoing renovations.

11:14 AM: City Light still lists 2,100 without power in its service area. Parts of Gatewood and Upper Fauntleroy (including our HQ) are among the last big pockets in West Seattle. And while the wind has mostly passed – the rain hasn’t (big shower right now while the Harvest Festival continues in The Junction).

12:13 PM: Important reminder from Stephanie:

REMINDER!!! When the lights are out you must treat like a 4-way stop. People are blowing through the light out at 35th and Webster on 35th. I fear an accident (although I guess the fire station is super close).

Also, we heard earlier today from Samantha in the 6000 block of 46th SW, looking to get some help dismantling a big tree that came down.

If you have a chainsaw, she said, you can have some of the firewood, and lunch. Caveat: It’s been a while since we first heard from her and our mention of this was delayed but if you’re in the neighborhood, maybe go check!

1:37 PM: Samantha posted an update in comments – the tree’s been cut up but there’s still some firewood to be had. Meantime, branches are still falling from trees – look what this dashcam caught:

We hear power is back in a few more neighborhoods including ours – we’ll be heading home from the Harvest Festival shortly and will report back. City Light tweeted earlier that some in the service area might not be back until early tomorrow.

2:40 PM: Back from the Harvest Festival and can verify that the map is accurate as least so far as our neighborhood goes.

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