day : 09/03/2016 11 results

West Seattle weather: Early-morning flood warning for the shore

March 9, 2016 9:35 pm

| Comments Off on West Seattle weather: Early-morning flood warning for the shore

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

ORIGINAL REPORT, 9:35 PM: If you’re by the water – a “coastal flood warning” is out for the early-morning hours, 2-8 am. The high tide at 5:38 am will be almost 12 and a half feet, and the National Weather Service says the wind, waves, and “unusually low atmospheric pressure” could combine to cause trouble on the shore. “Normally flooding with the tides would be minor … however, winds will whip up waves of 4 to 6 feet around the time of high tide, with water coming over seawalls and impacting structures in lowlying areas near the water. Flooding is expected around the time of high tide.” In this area, the low-pressure “anomaly” could add almost two feet to the tide, for a 14.3 high tide. (Thanks to Lura for pointing this out; her family is “checking sandbags and setting up a pump” just in case.)

ADDED 6:16 AM: A “wind advisory” is in effect now too, until 4 pm. We’re tracking the weather along with traffic this morning, here.

Share This

FOLLOWUP: West Seattle’s first marijuana store now open

March 9, 2016 9:12 pm

| 21 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

(WSB photo: Andrew Cornwall and Jon Sherman photographed at Origins this afternoon)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

West Seattle’s first recreational-marijuana store is now open. And they’re touting another “first.”

We reported two weeks ago that Origins at 1416 SW Roxbury had become the second applicant to receive a license, but that it was on a faster track to opening than the first one, which is planned for a converted Craftsman at 5440 California SW.

And now, Origins is open; we talked today at the shop with co-proprietor Jon Sherman, who contacted us last night to say they’ve been in “soft open” mode since Monday and are planning a grand-opening event this Friday and Saturday.

Share This

Explorer West Middle School student’s prize-winning play to be performed at ACT

March 9, 2016 6:36 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(Explorer West photo: From left, Camille Johnson, David Orace Kelly, Sarah Jenner)

Again this year, an Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) student has won the grand prize in a local theater competition, and will have her play performed by ACT – with the first performance tomorrow night. From EWMS:

The 14th annual festival of award-winning new work from ACT’s 2015 Young Playwrights Program (YPP) has chosen eight talented writers ages 13-18 to join with a professional team of local directors and actors to bring their new plays to life in staged readings.

For the fifth year in a row, Explorer West participated in Seattle’s ACT Theatre’s Young Playwrights Program. Middle and high school students submitted one-act plays, each with the hope that his or her play would be chosen to be produced by ACT Theatre.

There are three categories of awards: Honorable Mention; a play produced by a small theatre company; and the top prize – eight plays selected to be produced and performed by ACT Theatre. In the past four years, four Explorer West Middle School students have been selected for this top honor.

This year Explorer West Middle School placed very well again. Dillon Charles and Denisse Aguilar each received an Honorable Mention for their plays “Kidnapped” and “The Life of Erina” respectively. Camille Johnson’s play “Into the Book” will be produced by Rain City Productions.

Explorer West 7th grader Sarah Jenner’s play “Kidnapped on the SS Star Cruiser” was one of the eight grand prize winners. Her play will be produced and published in a play anthology by ACT, during this year’s ACT Young Playwrights Festival in Seattle.

Sarah Jenner’s play will be presented on Thursday, March 10, at 7:30 pm and Saturday, March 12, at 4:00 pm.

Tickets are $5/$10 and available online here.

Also, EWMS Drama Teacher David Orace Kelly was chosen as Teacher of the Year for ACT’s Young Playwrights Program, recognizing his work both in the program and with the YPP staff to help align and develop playwriting curriculum standards (for both middle and high school) with the Common Core State Standards, The National Theatre Arts Standards, and the Washington State Theatre Arts Standards.

The performances are at ACT Theatre downtown, 700 Union Street.

Share This

FOLLOWUP: Who’s moving in after JF Henry closes in The Junction

March 9, 2016 5:16 pm

| 24 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

When we reported last week that J.F. Henry in The Junction would close, with its owners Tom and Patty Henry leaving the retail business, leasing his building to someone and something new, the new lease wasn’t final yet. Now, it is, and we’ve heard from the new tenant: Tyler McKenzie recently bought the John L. Scott West Seattle real-estate office at 5242 California SW and will be moving it to the current J.F. Henry building at 4445 California SW.

In the photo atop the story, McKenzie and wife Marguerite Carlson are at left, along with the Henrys at right. As designated broker, McKenzie will oversee the company’s operations. His community-involvement history included serving as president of the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association board in 2009-2010. The move is still a few months away, McKenzie tells us, as they have permits and designs to deal with to convert the building’s interior. He summarizes, “We are truly excited by the prospect of occupying such a wonderful venue. Our goal is to create a fabulous environment, not only for our brokers, but clients alike. As they visit, clients will come to enjoy all the benefits of the Junction and its businesses, so this is a win-win all around.”

The building at 4445 California SW was a real-estate office in one of its past incarnations, McKenzie mentions. It has more than enough space for his firm, and room to grow. As for JF Henry’s closing date, we were unable to reach Tom Henry this afternoon, so we’ll have a separate followup on that later.

P.S. As noted in last week’s story, this is one of eight Junction buildings that the new West Seattle Junction Historical Survey considers to have landmark potential, pending further research.

Share This

Two developments related to development: Design Review changes; OPCD director

March 9, 2016 4:25 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle news

Two developments related to development. First, the mayor has nominated a planner from Boulder, Colorado, to lead the city’s Office of Planning and Community Development:

We welcome Sam Assefa, senior urban designer for the City of Boulder, Colorado, to Seattle. #SeattleOPCD pic.twitter.com/0x1SgiA4u3

— Seattle OPCD (@SeattleOPCD) March 9, 2016

OPCD is one of the two entities into which the Department of Planning and Development split. The mayor’s nominee – at the podium in the tweeted photo above – is Sam Assefa, senior urban designer for the city of Boulder, Colorado, who also has worked for the cities of Chicago and San Francisco. Mayor Murray says Assefa would bring “a holistic approach to urban planning that integrates land use, transportation, design and sustainability” and the perspective of an immigrant, having left Ethiopia in his teens, after his father was killed in a coup. He would succeed Diane Sugimura if confirmed by the City Council, and is expected to start work June 1st. Read the full announcement here.

DESIGN REVIEW CHANGES: Also today, the city has opened a month-long comment period for its proposed changes to the Design Review program. If the changes are finalized, they could mean fewer public meetings, as the threshold would be raised for what makes a project eligible for a full review by one of the city’s Design Review Boards. (Right now, for example, the SW board could meet two Thursdays a month – unless there are no projects to review, which is the case this month.) Meantime, board membership would expand – the Southwest board, for example, would have seven members instead of five. From this page, the “presentation” is the best place to review what’s being recommended. If you have something to say, short or long, they’re asking that you use this survey – which is really just one question, asking your feedback. April 8th is the deadline.

Share This

UPDATE: Letters sent to families after Denny IMS incident today

March 9, 2016 2:23 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(UPDATED 4:36 PM with new version of letter, via Denny’s principal)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 2:23 PM: Thanks to the Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School parents who shared a note that has been e-mailed to families about an incident that brought police to Denny this morning – hours before tonight’s student-safety meeting at Sealth:

Today, it was reported to administration that a Denny parent had made concerning comments to a scholar who was not his own child at school.

As a precaution, the Seattle Police Department was contacted. The Police came to school, interviewed those involved and documented the incident. The Seattle Police Department released the parent and we have had a normal school day.

As always, safety is our top priority. We will continue to communicate with you on a regular basis. Thank you for all of your ongoing support.

The letter is signed by Denny principal Jeff Clark and Sealth principal Aida Fraser-Hammer. We checked with the district to find out more; spokesperson Stacy Howard explains that the reported comments were construed as potentially hostile, and came at morning dropoff time, after the parent’s child apparently pointed out and said something about a previous interaction with the other child.

P.S. Tonight’s 7 pm meeting in the school library, as mentioned again here last night, is meant to address issues of student safety off-campus as well as at school, and members of the community are welcome as well as students and families from Sealth and Denny.

ADDED 4:36 PM: Denny principal Clark says this letter is now being sent – it includes additional details:

Today at school we have had some conflict between two 7th grade scholars. As a part of this it was reported to administration that a Denny parent had made concerning comments to a scholar who was not his own child at school. As a pre-caution, the Seattle Police Department was contacted. The Police came to school, interviewed those involved and documented the incident. The Seattle Police Department released the parent. Despite a pro-active intervention to help solve the conflict, the two scholars got into a physical altercation. One of them received medical attention. Multiple steps will be in place to help these two scholars to resolve this conflict and develop the skills to solve problems peacefully.

As always, safety is our top priority. We will continue to communicate with you on a regular basis. Thank you for all of your ongoing support.

Share This

UPDATE: Lottery ticket worth $157 million sold at West Seattle 7-11

March 9, 2016 12:51 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Westwood

(WSB photos)

12:51 PM: Do you have a ticket from last night’s Mega Millions drawing? Check it! We’ve just confirmed that a lottery ticket worth $157 million was sold in West Seattle. A spokesperson for Washington’s Lottery spokesperson that the 35th/Barton 7-11 sold the ticket with last night’s jackpot numbers for Mega Millions. The winner has not yet come forward – spokesperson Ann Marie Ricard tells us that any jackpot past $100 million has to be claimed at Lottery HQ in Olympia. We’ve just talked to the store owner, who says the lottery notified him about the ticket. Winning numbers are: 27-37-54-66-69 plus the Mega Ball 5.

ADDED 1:12 PM: Above, that’s store owner Sunny, who has been the 7-11 franchisee at 35th/Barton since the store opened a little over five years ago. He’s awaiting word on what he gets for selling the winning ticket, which by the way is worth $102 million cash if the winner takes a lump sum.

Meantime, the jackpot winner does have the right to remain anonymous, but the Lottery folks say they’ll let us know if s/he decides otherwise. (Is it you? editor@westseattleblog.com or 206-293-6302 whenever you’re ready to talk!)

9:54 PM: As pointed out in comments, regional media noted that retailers no longer get a share of the jackpot, per a budget measure passed by the Legislature last year, explained here.

Share This

West Seattle’s future ‘safe lot’: Update from SPD

March 9, 2016 10:35 am

| 38 COMMENTS

| Highland Park | West Seattle news

It’s now been almost seven weeks since the mayor’s announcement that two “safe lots” for RV/car residents would be opened within a month – one in Ballard, which did open on exactly that timeline, and one in Highland Park, where the paved lot at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way remains fenced and empty. We have new information, as mentioned by Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith at last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting:

First, regarding who will use the lot, he said the precinct so far has identified nine RVs currently in the area that would be potentially eligible. The Seattle Fire Department has been evaluating the sites and wanted better spacing, he said, which might affect the capacity, though the last number we heard mentioned for the West Seattle lot was a dozen. Last week, the city Human Services Department told us that the timeline for this lot had slowed so they could “address many of the lessons learned in the first lot before we stand up a second one.” The first one, according to Lt. Smith, is hosting fewer vehicles than expected, so far. As for safety and crime prevention in Highland Park, he also said the precinct has its plan ready, whenever the lot opens.

Share This

West Seattle Wednesday: Sealth safety meeting; 34th Dems talk caucus; more…

March 9, 2016 9:30 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Happy midweek! Highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

LOCAL BIZ MEETUP: At noon, take a break, bring your lunch, see who shows up for this week’s meetup at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor). Free! (6040 California SW)

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: 1 pm, Terry’s Matinee Treats on the second floor of the Senior Center of West Seattle, featuring “Mud” with Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon. Here’s the trailer:

Suggested donation $1-$2. (California SW/SW Oregon)

DINE OUT AND HELP WSHS’S TRACK TEAM: 5-10 pm, Pecado Bueno in The Junction is donating All-You-Can-Eat Taco Bar proceeds to the West Seattle High School track team, which is raising money for much-needed new uniforms. $15/person, $10/kids 12 and under. (4523 California SW)

GROUP RUN & FREE ROLLERSIZER CLASS: First, the run leaves West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) at 6:15 pm; then, the free class – bring a yoga mat! Details here. (2743 California SW)

STUDENT SAFETY MEETING: 7 pm, come talk about keeping students safe on and off campus at Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School. In the Sealth library; hosted by CSIHS and its PTSA. (2600 SW Thistle)

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, looking ahead to the March 26th caucuses and reviewing social-equity issues from the almost-over Legislature session. (Added 1:40 pm – details)

7:30 Our main program: Panel discussion, moderated by Attorney and 34th PCO Jamila Johnson.
How Did Good Social Equity Policy Fare in Olympia?

Panel Members:
Rachel Myers, Executive Director, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance/Washington Housing
Alliance Action Fund
Janet Chung, Legal & Legislative Counsel, Legal Voice
Doug Honig, Communications Director, ACLU of Washington

8:10 Elect representatives to the State Democratic Convention to serve on the Credentials, Rules, and
Platform and Resolutions Committees.

8:20 New Business
 Endorsements may be considered
 Appointment of PCOs
 Resolutions

More info here. (9131 California SW)

‘VIOLET’: Second week of ArtsWest‘s newest production, curtain time 7:30 pm for the musical summarized as: “On a cross-country bus trip in search of a minister to heal her scarred face, one woman discovers the true meaning of beauty, courage, and love.” (4711 California SW)

MORE! on our complete calendar.

Share This

Fire call at Gatewood Elementary

March 9, 2016 9:08 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

A little extra playground time for students at Gatewood Elementary this morning – they were out of the building while Seattle Fire crews checked out what turned out to be smoke from a burned-out fluorescent light fixture. (We mentioned the response in our morning traffic watch before going to the school to find out more.) Firefighters tell us there was no damage and no injuries, and they were getting ready to leave as of a few minutes ago.

Share This

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday updates

March 9, 2016 6:29 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)

6:29 AM: Good morning – no incidents so far today on the routes in or from West Seattle.

8:45 AM: Still a normal commute on this side of the city. If you’re seeing SFD units in the Gatewood Elementary area (Myrtle/California), they’re checking out a possible electrical problem but haven’t traced its source yet.

Share This