West Seattle, Washington
14 Monday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s a week of big events at West Seattle’s city-landmark Admiral Theater. None bigger than tomorrow, when the first-run “Interstellar” premieres with a sneak-peek screening at 8 pm.
Tonight, Admiral manager Dinah Brein and her crew were preparing the film reels for the screening.
It’s an hours-long task, but one that is a reminder of the reason they are getting “Interstellar” before the megaplexes, as reported here last month: The Admiral is one of just a few theaters still screening in 35mm, and that’s one of three film formats in which the producers are releasing the movie two days in advance.
Tuesday will come just three nights after a crowd jammed in for the final monthly “Rocky Horror Picture Show” shadow-cast-enhanced screening:
(Rendering from Design Review meeting in July – new ‘packet’ isn’t available yet)
For only the second time in two and a half months, the Southwest Design Review Board will be convened to consider a project. On November 20th at 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, it will be the fourth SWDRB meeting about 3824 California SW, the ~27-townhouse/live-work project on the site of the long-closed Charlestown Café. The project needed three Early Design Guidance reviews to make it out of that first stage of the two-stage Design Review process; the third one was in July (WSB coverage here). The board hasn’t met since September 4th; it has two regular meeting nights most months of the year, but the meetings are canceled if there are no projects ready to be considered.
P.S. WS Food Bank has a big event next Saturday – a turkey drive in the HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) parking lot at 41st/Alaska, 11 am-2 pm – bring a 10-to-12-pound turkey or $15 cash.
Four biznotes with an opening, two (temporary) closures, and an update:
‘THE GENERAL STORE’ OPENING: This Saturday (November 8th), The General Store-Seattle is opening at ActivSpace (3400 Harbor Ave. SW), with shop hours starting at 10 am and a party at 6 pm. It’s an online AND bricks/mortar endeavor focused on selling local products; its website has a sampling, including food and body-care items.
BAKERY NOUVEAU CLOSED FOR 2 DAYS: A texter thought you might want to know that the legendary Junction bakery is closed until Wednesday. Its Facebook page says BN is doing some maintenance before the busy holiday season fully ramps up. Its Capitol Hill location remains open.
SEASONAL CLOSURE AT TONY’S: The produce market at 35th/Barton in Westwood is shut down for its seasonal break between Halloween and the winter holidays. It’ll reopen for Christmas-tree sales right after Thanksgiving.
WESTSIDE PUBLIC HOUSE: The sports bar moving into the former Terrible Beauty (etc.) spot at California/Edmunds says its liquor license is in hand. David sent this photo of the U-Haul truck outside the past few days as interior work continues:
No opening date announced yet; we first noted the sports-bar plan in September.
2:40 PM: A week and a half after the discovery of shells stopped excavation at the Alaskan Way Viaduct-side pit where the tunneling machine’s damaged cutter head will be pulled out, the digging has resumed. So announced WSDOT this afternoon, saying archaeologists gave the tunnel contractor clearance on Sunday to get going again. According to the announcement, they “believe the shell deposits are the product of commercial shellfish activities carried out by early Seattleites around the turn of the 20th century.” Therefore, they weren’t believed to be “culturally or historically significant,” and work was allowed to resume.
3:37 PM: Any further delay for the timeline? we asked WSDOT spokesperson Laura Newborn. Her reply: “STP has not given WSDOT an updated timeline. As recently as last month, STP said it expected it would get the front end of the machine up and out of the ground sometime in December, and that it still expected repairs to be finished by the end of March.”
The incident occurred near the intersection of 40th Ave SW and SW Juneau St, in the Fairmount Springs neighborhood, likely sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Thursday morning I noticed that the cover on our car (a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette) was torn open in the back.
We initially suspected perhaps vandals cut it open, but upon closer examination we discovered that a vehicle had scraped almost the entire back end of the car, tearing the cover open (there is a lot of missing paint). We thought this was odd since the car was backed up to the curb of the triangular island bounded by 40th, Juneau, and Fauntleroy in a back-in angle parking spot right near the intersection. Looking at the scene in more detail in the daylight we figured out what had happened…
Coho season continues on 2 local creeks:
Thanks to Josh for sharing that quick clip of one of more than 20 salmon he spotted during a visit to Longfellow Creek: “There are a ton of fish near the bonefish bridge, and we recommend people check it out!” (It’s a short distance down the trail from the Dragonfly Pavilion area just south of 26th/Yancy.)
Meantime, from Fauntleroy Creek, Judy Pickens and Dennis Hinton report more than 90 human visitors during their three-hour “open creek” sessions Saturday and Sunday afternoons. No new coho sightings over the weekend, though, so the total remains at 19. But as Judy puts it, visits are worthwhile, fish or no fish, enabling visitors “to experience spawning season very close to home and to learn a lot about salmon and habitat protection.” (Find out ways you can make a difference, here.) Volunteers will continue their watch in Fauntleroy for at least another week.
We photographed the King County Elections ballot-dropoff-van crew at West Seattle Stadium on Saturday; they’re back in town today, and that leads off our calendar-highlights list:
VOTE! Ballot-dropoff vans are back in West Seattle and White Center (Greenbridge), 10 am-5 pm today and 10 am-8 pm tomorrow. No postage needed if you vote this way. Full details in our preview from last week, including ballot-related links. (4432 35th SW and 9720 8th SW)
PRIVACY DISCUSSION AT SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL: It’s been almost two years since WSB readers’ tips helped us break the story of Seattle Police surveillance cameras installed on Alki and elsewhere without public notice or explanation. They have yet to be activated; the City Council-ordered policies on their use have yet to be presented. That’s just one of many privacy-related issues involving city government, and now there’s a move for a broad City of Seattle Privacy Initiative, as explained in this memo, with a discussion during the council briefing meeting that’s just starting (9:30 am) at City Hall downtown, with the privacy item expected around 9:55 am. (Live on Seattle Channel)
TILDEN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 6-8 pm, you’re invited to a “casual open house” at Tilden School (WSB sponsor), which serves grades K-5. (4105 California SW, enter on west side of building)
SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOUNDARIES MEETING: Another West Seattle community meeting about boundary changes starting next school year. 6:30 pm, Alki Elementary School. (3010 59th SW)
WEST SEATTLE HI-YU MEETING: While WS Hi-Yu is a “summer festival” by name, their work is year-round, and they would love to have your help. First step: Check out the monthly meeting, 7 pm tonight, new location – Admiral Congregational Church. Upcoming events include the selection and coronation of next year’s Junior Court. (4320 SW Hill)
NIGHTLIFE! Lots listed on our calendar – go directly there for the venues/times/details.
Two events of note, both tomorrow night, related to the Ebola fight:
If you have a laptop and time to spare volunteering, that flyer explains how you can be a volunteer mapmaker to help first responders dealing with the Ebola crisis. All this, without leaving your home. The event’s at 6 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, November 4th) at the West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library, 2306 42nd SW; if you can’t see the embedded flyer, here’s the PDF version.
Second event is not IN West Seattle, but you’re invited by one of your neighbors, West Seattleite Kristen Tetteh, who works with the Washington Global Health Alliance: At Town Hall downtown (1119 8th), an event at 6:30 tomorrow will “touch on the state of Ebola globally as well as how Seattle is preparing.” Medical, policy, education, and humanitarian reps will address “Ebola Facts and Fiction.” Tickets are $10 and available online.
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:47 AM: It’s the first Monday in November and the first Monday since the end of Daylight Saving Time, so we have a glimmer of light here before 7 am, for now. No problems so far on the routes through/from West Seattle. Dry weather right now, but rain is expected to return later today.
8:10 AM: First problem reported this morning – From a bus, Joe reports, “West Seattle Bridge to SR99 crossover is bad. Stalled car just past the gore on 1st Ave lane side.”
8:28 AM: The rain has arrived, at least where we are (east of Lincoln Park).
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