By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“We all knew it was coming down to this anyway, so let’s give them a dual (endorsement) and take it to the streets.”

So said former 34th District Democrats chair Ivan Weiss – with current chair Marcee Stone-Vekich declaring it “the quote of the night” – just before the group took its third vote on an endorsement in the first-ever City Council District 1 race, resulting in dual endorsement of Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold (L-R photos above).

The voting had started with five of the race’s nine official candidates nominated for potential endorsement on the first ballot. No one ended up with 60 percent or more – Herbold received 63 votes, Braddock 60 votes, Chas Redmond 18 votes, Brianna Thomas 9 votes, Phillip Tavel 6 votes.

That sent the top two vote-getters to a second ballot, the results of which were Braddock 77, Herbold 70. And that set up the motion and the vote for a dual endorsement.

The other big vote was an endorsement in the West Seattle/South Park Seattle School Board race, which has three candidates, two of which were nominated for potential endorsement – incumbent Marty McLaren and challenger Leslie Harris. The results:

For School Board position 6, @34dems endorse Leslie Harris overwhelmingly 123 votes, McLaren 12 pic.twitter.com/Ypmy6Q54YZ

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 21, 2015

Harris declared herself “speechless.”

10:16 PM: The meeting has just wrapped up – endorsement votes for the two at-large City Council seats were delayed because the candidates were coming from earlier meetings to the north. Both of those races also resulted in dual endorsements – for Position 8, Tim Burgess and Jon Grant; for Position 9, Bill Bradburd and Lorena Gonzalez.

ADDED 7:51 AM MONDAY: Here’s our video (and embedded above) of the heart of the meeting – the hour and a half that involved the two aforementioned votes, among other business, and that started with the endorsement of King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who is unopposed.

Added: Video from the Position 8/9 City Council speeches.

And ahead – play-by-play from the meeting, through the final District 1 results:

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New movie ‘Tomorrowland’ co-created by West Seattle native Jeff Jensen

May 20, 2015 7:33 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS culture/arts

Planning to see the about-to-open movie “Tomorrowland“? You’ll be watching the work of a West Seattle native.

It’s co-written and executive-produced by Jeff Jensen, who grew up in West Seattle and went to Hope Lutheran School and Seattle Lutheran High School.

(Photo of Jeff Jensen, courtesy Mike Jensen)
That news is courtesy of Jeff’s proud brother Mike Jensen, who got to join his brother at the recent world premiere of “Tomorrowland” at the home of the film’s namesake, Disneyland. (The movie, starring George Clooney, is NOT about that part or any part of Disneyland, however.)

You might know Jeff Jensen already for his writing – which most recently has included what he called a “distant prequel” to the movie, “Before Tomorrowland.” He’s particularly well-known for what he’s written about the TV series “Lost.”

You will be able to watch this movie co-written by a West Seattleite without leaving West Seattle – it’ll be at The Admiral Theater starting Friday. (Jeff Jensen pointed that out on his Twitter feed.)

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HAPPENING NOW: Walk the SW Roxbury project zone with SDOT

May 20, 2015 5:30 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

5:30 PM: For the next 2 1/4 hours, SDOT’s project team will walk the SW Roxbury project zone – as was done with 35th SW last Saturday – with anyone who shows up to ask questions, voice concerns, or just look and listen. Here’s the schedule:

5:30 pm – 4th/Roxbury
5:50 pm – 8th/Roxbury
6:15 pm – Delridge/16th/Roxbury
6:45 pm – 26th/Roxbury
7:15 pm – 30th/Roxbury
7:45 pm – 35th/Roxbury

You can join anywhere along the way. We’re off to see what happens as it starts, and we’ll be back with an update.

6:03 PM: We met up with SDOT’s James Le at the 8th/Roxbury meetup point. He was alone. He told us one person did show up at the 4th/Roxbury starting point – but not to talk about the Roxbury project; that person wanted to know what was the leading option so far for 35th. (Project manager Jim Curtin had said during Saturday’s walking tour there that Option A was “looking good. Curtin is scheduled to join the Roxbury tour around 17th/Roxbury, about 15 minutes from now, said Le.)

10:03 PM: Here’s a photo from 30th/Roxbury, where we checked back on the tour. By that point, Curtin told us, they’d tallied about a dozen participants along the way, including those at this stop:

From left, Eric Iwamoto of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council (and co-chair of the Southwest District Council), Chris Stripinis, who is the transportation point person for WWRHAH, Richard Miller from the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, Le and Curtin from SDOT. Work on the project is expected to start in mid-August.

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West Seattle churches: New pastor announced for Holy Rosary

May 20, 2015 4:08 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

Thanks to the Holy Rosary parishioner who forwarded us the announcement made by the Archdiocese: A new pastor has been chosen to succeed Father John Madigan, who is departing after a decade. Father Matthew Oakland will come to Holy Rosary from St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Camas and Our Lady Star of the Sea Mission in Stevenson, both east of Vancouver, Washington. He is scheduled to start here on July 1st (here’s how he told his parishioners of his departure). Holy Rosary plans a farewell party for Father Madigan in its school gym on Sunday, June 28th, starting after 10:30 am Mass and continuing until 3:30 pm.

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West Seattle Memorial Day: Where to find American Legion poppies this weekend; traditional Forest Lawn service on Monday

May 20, 2015 3:19 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news

Word of two Memorial Day traditions, from American Legion Post 160:

First, the post and Auxiliary Unit 160 will distribute Memorial Day poppies 8 am-4 pm both Saturday and Sunday at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) at California/Fauntleroy/Morgan. The poppies “honor the dead and help the living,” reminds the Post 160 announcement, which adds that the poppies “are made by hospitalized veterans in V.A. hospitals or nursing homes … All money received during the distribution of these poppies is returned to the veterans through service programs of the American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliary. When you see someone offering a poppy, know that your donation helps veterans and wearing the poppy shows your support for those veterans.”

Then at 2 pm Monday, Post 160 presents the annual Memorial Day ceremony/service with, and at, Forest Lawn Cemetery & Funeral Home (WSB sponsor), which is in High Point at 6701 30th SW. All are welcome.

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UPDATE: SolTerra planning 125-unit, LEED Platinum building ‘Perch’ at 1250 Alki Avenue SW

May 20, 2015 12:25 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

ORIGINAL 12:25 PM REPORT: In a routine check of the city’s online files, we’ve found the first new triple-digit-unit development proposal in a while. This one’s on Duwamish Head, a 120-unit proposal planned for seven parcels, five of which currently hold single-family homes.

The project address is 1250 Alki Avenue SW [map] but the early-stage “concept” shows it stretches to 1262 Alki SW.

An unusual point: This is on the drawing board as a mixed-use building, with retail space included. That area of Alki Avenue has long been strictly residential. The early-stage information also mentions underground parking, and describes the building as 120 units and 4 to 6 stories, while also saying it’ll have to go through Design Review (no date yet). However, the “conceptual site plan” on file outlines:

+/- 125 RESIDENTIAL UNITS
MIX OF STUDIO, 1BR, 2BR & 3BR TBD
PERCENTAGE OF AFFORDABLE UNITS TBD
15′-0″ GROUND FLOOR RETAIL AND SUPPORT STORY (5) 10′-0″ FLOOR-TO-FLOOR RESIDENTIAL STORIES 6 TOTAL STORIES, 65′-0″ TOTAL HEIGHT

Documents show the property as in the midrise zone, which the city says allows “limited commercial uses.”

The development team is listed as Seattle-based SolTerra and Portland-based Design for Occupancy Architecture. County property records show that Solterra bought the property from three separate owners in February and March, for a total of more than $5.3 million. It’s described on its website as a six-year-old firm that began “as a residential solar, living wall and green roofing company.”

2:11 PM UPDATE: We’ve just spoken with Melissa Milburn at SolTerra to get more information.

No rendering yet, she says, because design is in the very early stages. But SolTerra, she explained, is just starting to build sustainability-focused apartment projects – all designed to be certified as LEED Platinum, including “living roofs” and solar arrays. She says the company is “changing the way development works by hiring architects and contractors and all the Pieces under one company … everybody works together and you can build more efficiently.” Then, she explained, SolTerra will continue to own and manage the buildings.

This one, they’re planning to call Perch – “the idea is, to find your perch – to provide unique views to the tenants.” The sustainability features, she says, will help keep the units more “cost-effective and affordable.” The design features, she says, will ensure it’s a distinctive building that’s “not a box.” (The underground parking will meet the Alki code, she said – 1.5 spaces required per unit.)

As for the retail – Milburn said it’ll be “small.” A little store? Coffee shop? Restaurant? We asked. Something like that, she agreed.

Depending on how the permit process goes from here, they aren’t expecting to start construction until early 2016. While they already have a couple buildings in Portland, she said, they’re growing into the metro area here – where their Seattle offices are in SODO, near the West Seattle Bridge – by breaking ground on a building in Newcastle next month, and then one on Capitol Hill.

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FOLLOWUP: Final results of Amanda Kay Helmick’s City Council District 1 signature effort – 9 names short

May 20, 2015 10:53 am

| 21 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Last Friday we reported on the conclusion of King County’s election-filing week, with one matter left unsettled: City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) candidate Amanda Kay Helmick had been determined to get on the ballot via 1,200 petition signatures rather than a $1,200 filing fee, and was told that despite a 100-plus-signature pad, she was still short of the required number of qualified signatures. After several days of doublechecking and other research, Helmick has just announced the official end of her campaign:

Exactly 7 months after announcing her candidacy for Seattle City Council in District 1, Amanda Kay Helmick has ended her grassroots campaign. Her steadfast choice to gather signatures in lieu of the filing fee was successful in getting 1318 people to sign for her, but fell 9 signatures short.

“I am disappointed in the process and outcome. The last several days of comparing the King County Elections list to the petitions, and speaking to individual signers, has been alarming. Invalid voters on the list had no idea their right to vote is in question. There is room for obvious improvements, and I hope King County Elections is working diligently to rectify the situation. I want to thank everyone who signed and helped me in my bid for inclusion on the ballot. Ultimately, the support I needed was not there.”

Amanda will continue to fight for District 1. She is co-chair of the Westwood/Roxhill/Arbor Heights Community Council, co-chair of the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, Delridge Rep to the City Neighborhood Council, and Budget Committee Chair of the City Neighborhood Council. She looks forward to working with the newly elected District 1 Councilmember.

This means the nine candidates who are on the King County list comprise the official, final field for the August 4th primary – this is the order in which they will appear on the ballot, per the county’s drawing:

Lisa Herbold
Jody Rushmer
Chas Redmond
Shannon Braddock
Karl Wirsing
Brianna Thomas
Phillip Tavel
Pavel Goberman
Arturo Robles

They all appeared at a candidates’ forum in Fauntleroy on Monday night (WSB coverage with video is here) and at least two more forums are coming up – May 27th in South Park and June 8th in Pigeon Point.

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UPDATE: Fire response in 9000 block 16th SW

May 20, 2015 10:31 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

10:31 AM: Seattle Fire is just arriving at a residential building in the 9000 block of 16th SW [map] and reporting “light smoke.”

10:34 AM: It’s described as a “smoldering fire” that’s already tapped, so not major, and many units are being canceled. We have a crew on the way to check in person.

10:38 AM: Our crew says the SFD units have ALL left – but now we’re hearing a dispatch for police to “remove transients” from the same location.

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West Seattle Wednesday: SW Roxbury walk; Delridge District Council; 34th Democrats; 34th Republicans; port town hall; more …

May 20, 2015 10:26 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Thanks to John Hinkey for that image of the post-sunset moonset last night. (You can find sunset, sunrise, moonset, and moonrise times any time on the WSB West Seattle Weather page, by the way.) MUCH happening between now and tonight’s sunset:

CO-WORKING MEETUP: Noon-1 pm at West Seattle’s only co-working center, WS Office Junction (WSB sponsor) – get out of your home/coffee-shop office, even just for an hour! (6040 California SW)

LOW TIDE: 1:06 pm today, -2.2 feet.

GET HELP GETTING READY FOR COLLEGE: Need application help/advice, or … ? Get it via a workshop today at 4 pm at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)

SW ROXBURY WALKING TOUR: Questions/concerns/comments about the SDOT plan for SW Roxbury, unveiled last month? Join a walking tour tonight, for as long as you like – a few minutes, a few blocks, the entire length, or … 5:30-7:45 pm, with these times/places listed by SDOT:

5:30 pm – 4th/Roxbury
5:50 pm – 8th/Roxbury
6:15 pm – Delridge/16th/Roxbury
6:45 pm – 26th/Roxbury
7:15 pm – 30th/Roxbury
7:45 pm – 35th/Roxbury

CHIEF SEALTH IHS PTSA: Last meeting of the year for the PTSA at Chief Sealth International High School, 7 pm: “We will be electing new officers and voting on our budget for next year, as well as hearing reports from Principal Fraser-Hammer and the new IB Coordinator Teresa Cairns.” (2600 SW Thistle)

WORDSWEST: As previewed here earlier this week, best-selling West Seattle author Lyanda Lynn Haupt is the headliner for this month’s edition of the WordsWest Literary Series at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor). Her specialty: Urban wildlife. (5612 California SW)

DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, with the agenda including an update from Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis and tree-trimming information from city reps, as well as planning for the upcoming candidates’ forum. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS’ ENDORSEMENT MEETING: Our area’s largest political group meets tonight to make its endorsements in various races/ballot measures. 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy; more info here. (9131 California SW)

34TH DISTRICT REPUBLICANS’ MEETING: The group’s meeting in West Seattle this time, 7 pm at American Legion Post 160 HQ, with King County Assessor candidate John Wilson on the agenda. (3618 SW Alaska)

SPRING CONCERT: 7 pm, Schmitz Park and Lafayette Elementaries’ spring concert at Madison Middle School – more info here. (45th/Spokane)

PORT ALLIANCE TOWN HALL: The Port of Seattle presents a town-hall meeting about its new alliance with the Port of Tacoma, 7 pm at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – more info here. (6737 Corson Ave. S.)

EVEN WITH ALL THIS, THERE’S MORE for today, tonight, and beyond, on our calendar!

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