day : 05/06/2016 11 results

MONDAY: Barton improvements, Find It/Fix It Walk on WWRHAH agenda

June 5, 2016 11:19 pm

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| Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from October 3, 2015)

Remember that scene in Delridge last October, when Mayor Murray brought an army of city department heads for the first-ever Find It Fix It Community Walk in West Seattle? The next one, in the Roxhill area, is approaching, and it’ll be one of the major topics at Monday night’s meeting of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council. Specifically, according to the WWRHAH agenda, a city rep will be on hand to “discuss how (community members) can be partners and stakeholders” for the July 25th event. Another major topic: Improvements planned for the SW Barton crossing between the Longfellow Creek Trail/RapidRide stop and Westwood Village across the street. And some discussion time is set aside for the “future of neighborhood districts” report (same one at the heart of this WSB report published a few hours ago). WWRHAH meets at the Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson), upstairs meeting room, 6:15 pm, all welcome.

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‘Just another budget cut’? Local advocates take aim at city’s review of neighborhood-district system

June 5, 2016 8:41 pm

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| Delridge District Council | Neighborhoods | Southwest District Council | West Seattle news

(Left, map of 13 Seattle “neighborhood districts”; right, map of 7 Seattle City Council districts. Both from seattle.gov)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

When the city Department of Neighborhoods cut its staff of neighborhood-district coordinators 5+ years ago, neighborhood advocates were upset, to say the least.

Before the cuts, the city had one coordinator for each of the 13 neighborhood districts, including the two that comprise West Seattle – Delridge and Southwest.

It would be OK, city leaders assured local community leaders – while cutting three of those 13 jobs, they were restructuring the remaining coordinators into teams by region, with this area part of the South Region, to be served by three.

But in the years since – without any further announcements – it’s dropped to 8 coordinators for the 13 districts, and the regional structure has eroded, like a bluff falling into the sea as it’s battered by waves.

Now a potential tsunami is on the way – a formal review, stemming from City Council marching orders last year, looking at whether the 13-neighborhood-district system should realign with the new 7-district City Council map – and whether the district coordinators’ work as community-to-city liaisons should change.
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West Seattle weekend scene: Low-low tide @ Fauntleroy ferry dock

June 5, 2016 7:33 pm

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| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

Thanks to Joel Schoenberg for the photo from today’s low-low tide:

This is the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock right at the lowest point of today’s low tide. The pilings are completely out of the water. The other side of the dock where the ferries meet the dock was much deeper, of course. The ferry employees said that the biggest problem is actually that there isn’t enough water for the propellers to provide enough thrust, especially the reverse thrust needed while docking. So slowing down while docking becomes difficult and they risk slamming into the pilings instead of gently docking. Luckily our ferry fleet can float in just 12 feet of water.

If you can get outside at midday, it’ll be -3.2 feet – same as today – again tomorrow, at 12:24 pm.

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Celebration of life June 18th for Mark E. Moore

June 5, 2016 6:24 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Obituaries | West Seattle news

Family and friends will gather on June 18th to celebrate the life of Mark Moore, 62. Here’s the remembrance that’s being shared with the community:

Mark Edward Moore, 62, of Seattle, passed away on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 with his loving wife, daughter, and son at his side.

Mark was born on August 3, 1953, to Elna and Dean Moore. He was the youngest of the couple’s four children.

He was a graduate of West Seattle High School and in 1979 married his wife, Susan Geary. Mark and Susan had two children: daughter Danielle, who was born in 1980, and son Kelsey, who followed in 1982.

For over 2 decades, Mark worked for Kings Command Food Inc., where he held multiple positions. Mark was a sports enthusiast. He was a die-hard Seattle sports fan and loved to watch the Seahawks, Mariners, and Sonics play. And on sunny weekends, you could often find him playing 18 holes at Foster Golf Course.

He was preceded in death by his father Dean and his sister Susan.

He is survived by his wife Susan Moore, daughter Danielle Ellis, son Kelsey Moore, mother Elna Brown, brother Douglas Moore, sister Cheryl O’Brien, and granddaughter Holly Ellis. Mark was a loving husband, father, son, and friend, and will be greatly missed.

Please join us to celebrate Mark’s life on Saturday, June 18th, between 1 pm and 4 pm at the White Center Eagles, located at 10452 15th Ave SW.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

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West Seattle weekend scene: KEXP Hood-to-Hood encore

June 5, 2016 5:35 pm

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| Delridge | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

In our photo, broadcasting live this afternoon from the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center parking lot, are KEXP’s Becky (at laptop), Evie, and DJ Quilty 3000. It’s the second year in a row that West Seattle has been home to KEXP’s Hood to Hood victory party – the prize for the neighborhood whose residents raise the most money during a special fundraising drive for the radio station. The afternoon included live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, and vendors, but though the Youngstown party wraps at 6 pm, the Hood to Hood revelry isn’t over – a live-music showcase starts at The Skylark at 6:30 pm, hosted by West Seattle-residing KEXP DJ Troy Nelson, who then moves to Shadowland in The Junction for a DJ set during the Hood to Hood afterparty at 9.

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PHOTOS: Baby Orca Birthday Bash @ Alki Bathhouse

June 5, 2016 3:49 pm

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| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | Wildlife

3:49 PM: The orca baby boom of the past year and a half is getting a proper celebration right now at Alki Bathhouse – with birthday cakes! Ella’s Cakes has just been announced as first-place winner, followed by Hot Cakes and BAKED. The Baby Orca Birthday Bash is on until 5 – get down here for more fun including Orca Bingo with The Whale Trail! June is Orca Awareness Month, so you can keep celebrating beyond today – and learning, too, which is a big part of what this event is about:

That’s just one educational point – without salmon, the Southern Resident Killer Whales won’t survive.

9:45 PM: A few more photos – first, our West Seattle-based orca advocates, Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail:

And Jeff Hogan from Killer Whale Tales:

Outside the bathhouse, Mike the inflatable orca, aka J29:

For more on Orca Awareness Month – go here.

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TRAFFIC ALERT: Car fire at 1st/Olson

June 5, 2016 3:04 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

Thanks to Kylee Schmuck for sending that photo of the car that caught fire at the east end of the Roxbury corridor a little while ago – 1st and Olson (map), according to the Seattle Fire dispatch. No word of any injuries but Seattle Police have been dispatched to handle traffic in the aftermath of the fire, so avoid the area for a while if you can.

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YOU CAN HELP: Why one West Seattle woman is running today

June 5, 2016 12:34 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news

(Kate, mom Denise, and son Alex, an Alki Elementary student, atop the Columbia Tower last winter)

One local woman out running today is on a quest – you may already have seen Kate Calamatta out along the Alki Trail if she kept to her original plan:

I’m a West Seattle resident originally from the UK. In March this year my Mum had a very serious road traffic accident in the South of England. I was running along Alki when I got the news. 24 hours later I was by her bedside at Southampton Neuro ICU in the UK. She was in a bad way and it was touch and go for the first few week. After nearly two weeks she began to awake from her coma and begin her long journey of rehabilitation. Now she’s in a specialist unit for traumatic brain injury. Progress is being made but it is a slow and hard fight. There’s no doubting she will be impaired for life.

After the accident my Mum was airlifted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to Southampton. Had this service not been available there’s no way she would have survived. The Air Ambulance is a charity and not funded by the UK govt.

I have been running for only 8 months and after Mum’s accident I decided to do something substantial to raise money for the people who saved her life. So, (today) I will be running a half marathon that will begin at Queen Anne and end at my home in West Seattle.

So, if anyone sees (or saw) me, a hunkered down, slow, exhausted looking runner, jogging along Alki, please give me a cheer and some positive vibes! I’ll be easily recognizable by my slow pace, red face, black leggings, grey vest and a black headband! Also, if anyone is moved to do so, please look at my fundraising page:
I know this is a foreign charity for most of the people in WS but it is a very worthwhile cause that makes a real difference.

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Highland Park Spraypark: Working today!

June 5, 2016 11:47 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Just in case you were wondering – after a breakdown yesterday, the Highland Park Spraypark is back up and running today, in time for what’s expected to be an even hotter afternoon/evening than yesterday. We just went over to check firsthand, and that’s what we found. (We won’t be able to find out from Seattle Parks what caused yesterday’s problem until tomorrow.)

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West Seattle Sunday: Low-low tide, Hood-to-Hood, Baby Orca Bash, much more…

June 5, 2016 7:29 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Low-tide photos by Jamie Kinney)

Good morning – here’s what you need to know for your West Seattle Sunday:

TRAFFIC ALERTS: This morning, SDOT is scheduled to continue installing the new “zone” signs to help emergency crews know where to find incidents on the West Seattle Bridge, and warns that could cause “rolling slowdowns.” Then tonight, the next closure of the west end of the bridge is scheduled, 9 pm-5 am, for the ongoing Fauntleroy Expressway earthquake-safety cushion re-replacement project.

Now, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: 10 am-2 pm, Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are out again at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park.

Go explore the shore – carefully! – during this low-low tide, all the way out to -3.2 feet at 11:39 am.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in The Junction. Special feature today – 11 am-12:30 am, demonstration by Britt’s Pickles on making pickles and Moroccan carrots. (California SW between SW Alaska and SW Oregon)

FURRY FACES FOUNDATION PLANT SALE: 11 am-4 pm, it’s the second day of a fabulous plant sale to help Furry Faces‘ animal-advocacy work – details in our calendar listing. (3809 46th SW)

TATTOOS TO BENEFIT BULLDOGS: Alaska Street Tattoo Parlour in The Junction is raising money today for Bulldog Haven NW – sign up for a spot starting at 11 am – cash only. (4310 SW Alaska)

CARE FOR KIDS DONATION DRIVE: As previewed here on Saturday, noon-6 pm, you can drop off donations of personal-care products to launch Care for Kids, helping local schoolkids whose families might have a tough time affording them. (1701 SW Austin)

HOOD-TO-HOOD VICTORY CELEBRATION: West Seattle fans of KEXP won the neighborhood-vs.-neighborhood fundraising competition again last year, and today’s the promised celebration, starting with a live noon-6 pm broadcast from Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, and then afterparties at other venues – see the lineup in our calendar listing. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Noon-4 pm, visit the home of West Seattle’s history. (61st SW/SW Stevens)

COLMAN POOL: Three swim sessions between noon and 7 pm on this second and final day of the second pre-season weekend for the pool on the shore at Lincoln Park – see the schedule here. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)

ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE TOURS: 1-4 pm, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary invites you to come tour the historic lighthouse at Alki Point – be there by 3:40 pm to get access for the final tour of the day. (Alki SW/Beach Drive SW)

BABY ORCA BIRTHDAY BASH: 2-5 pm at the Alki Bathhouse, it’s a celebration of the calves born to the Southern Resident Killer Whales, with fun and education for all ages – free! Details in our preview. (61st SW/Alki SW)

SEATTLE METROPOLITAN SINGERS: Catch them in concert at 3 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. (3050 California SW)

BRIAN BUTLER: “Modern and original songs” plus “classic blues” at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)

MORE! on our complete calendar.

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UPDATE: Fire behind house on 35th SW south of Myrtle

June 5, 2016 4:09 am

| 16 COMMENTS

| Sunrise Heights | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(Added 4:59 am: Photo sent by neighbor)

FIRST REPORT, 4:09 AM: A full Seattle Fire Department response is starting to arrive at an address near 35th and Myrtle, and reporting that they see flames. They’re blocking all lanes of 35th at the scene.

(WSB photo)

4:16 AM: The fire is described as tapped/”knocked down” but there’s some concern about wires.

4:27 AM: Our crew is on scene and reports that while the address on the 911 log is that of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this fire was in a ~~shed~~ detached structure behind the house on 35th immediately *south* of the church. SFD’s investigator is on the way to try to find out what caused it. No injuries reported.

4:53 AM: SFD is still on scene mopping up. We’ll check back at the scene when it’s more fully light out.

4:59 AM: Top photo added, showing the burned structure engulfed in flames, taken by nearby resident who says, “Very thankful to neighbor who woke us up.”

5:35 AM: We just checked back at the scene. 35th SW is open again. SFD has a crew still on scene protecting against flareups, including putting more foam on a tree to which the flames were spreading before the fire was out.