West Seattle, Washington
22 Sunday
From the inbox:
I came across two commercial type lawn mowers ‘stashed’ in a remote area off the beaten path area below Highland Park in a spot they shouldn’t be. My concern is they might be stolen from some commercial landscaper or gardener and that’s how they make their living. I have the two brand names on the mowers for proof if someone is missing their equipment. These do not belong where I found them.. that’s for sure!
A police report has been filed, and we’re awaiting the number.
Thanks to Justin for the photo from the first meeting of the new West Seattle Linux User Group. When we heard about the group, since it’s new, we invited them to send an announcement for the news section as well as a calendar listing:
The West Seattle LUG (Linux User Group) is a new group of people from the community who meet biweekly to discuss Linux, Open Source software, and technology. Anyone who has an interest in learning more about or discussing technology is welcome to join. Meetings are coordinated through their Meetup page and are generally held on Saturday mornings upstairs at the Fauntleroy YMCA. Common discussion topics are security, privacy, networking, building software, and sharing knowledge.
You can contact any of the members through Meetup.com: meetup.com/wsealug, GitHub: github.com/wsealug or feel free to join us on Slack: wsealug-slack-signup.herokuapp.com
The group’s next meeting is tomorrow morning (July 8th), 9 am.
(2014 photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
One more reminder that this weekend’s biggest West Seattle event happens tomorrow – the Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki Beach. Thousands show up every year to greet the Pirates, whose website says they’ll land around 2 pm – be forewarned, the time can vary, likely to be earlier; last year, for example, it was closer to 1 pm. The festivities last all day, pre- and post-landing, including music (starting at 11 am), inflatable rides for kids, craft and food vendors, and more, 10 am-6 pm, mostly in the Alki Bathhouse vicinity (60th SW/Alki SW). No street closures but the beach zone will be jammed, so we suggest alternative transportation, or else get there really early if you want to find parking anywhere in the vicinity.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The saga of 3078 SW Avalon Way is not over yet.
Five years ago, the first Southwest Design Review Board meeting for the 100+-apartment proposal packed the Senior Center second story with a room full of neighbors. Their concerns eventually resulted in an appeal that overturned the board’s final decision, and set up a fourth meeting last night, the first of two projects on the board’s agenda (we’ll report separately on the other).
The review drew only a single-digit turnout – not because of apathy or resignation, one neighbor contended – but because the city scheduled it during a holiday week when many people were traveling.
They have another chance to show up, because last night’s decision was to require one more meeting, as the current board members felt they were not provided enough information to make a final decision on the project.
The three board members present were chair Matt Zinski, Don Caffrey, and newly appointed member Crystal Loya. City planner Holly Godard was there for the Department of Construction and Inspections.
None of them were there when the project was reviewed for the first time in September 2012 (WSB coverage here); Godard was not the original planner, either. Even the architect has changed.
The project’s second review was in 2013, and its third in 2014. That would have been the final review except for the neighbors winning their appeal with a ruling in December 2014 (WSB coverage here), and that’s what led to this fourth meeting. Components of the appeal included whether the board had been appropriately apprised of what it had authority over – the building’s height, in particular. Godard read a lengthy summary of the appeal results to the board at the beginning of last night’s meeting, specifically guidelines involving height, bulk, and scale, and how those aspects of the project fit into its surroundings (a key point of contention for residents in the single-family neighborhood immediately north of the project as well as some neighbors in multi-family buildings).
What happened from there followed the framework of a standard design-review meeting, but because of its origins, the first part was relatively sparse, and that is part of why the board requested a return:
Thanks to Darrell for the photo and report:
The West Seattle Little League 10 /11 year old All-Star Team went undefeated in winning the District 7 championship Wednesday night. The team is off to the state tournament in Vancouver, Washington. Please wish them luck in their first game, which is Saturday at noon.
The team is made up of coaches Mike Fahey, Sean Ealey, and Brian Sherrick. Players are Miles G, Tristan B, Caden F, Robbie F, Matthew H, Bobby T, Parker E, Blake T, Matthew H, Joe S, Will S, Simon V and Wyatt G.
It’s almost here – West Seattle Summer Fest 2017 starts one week from today. Lora Swift, executive director of the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association, just sent word of a new feature – but there’s a catch – you need to sign up, in person, THIS weekend to get a chance to be part of this NEXT weekend:
We’re planning a pie eating contest during Summer Fest sponsored by A la Mode Pies. People can sign up at A la Mode now through the weekend. Winners will be picked on Monday, July 10th. There are two contests, Saturday and Sunday, 3 pm. We’ll be setting up (during the festival) at the corner by Key Bank.
10 people per contest
-Saturday, adults
-Sunday, kids 8-12 years oldWinners will receive free pie classes and swag.
A la Mode Pies is right in what will be part of next weekend’s festival zone – 4225 SW Alaska, open until 11 tonight, 9 am-11 pm on Saturday, and 9 am-10 pm Sunday. Much more Summer Fest preview info (including Summer Fest Eve) to come!
Falafel Salam‘s sit-down restaurant in The Junction officially opens tonight, confirms proprietor Shimi Kahn. We checked with him after a tip from Amy, and he told us, “We did a very soft opening yesterday and our temporary hours are 4 – 9 Tuesday to Sunday. Once we get all the new positions staffed and trained, we will be adding lunch and then brunch.” If you’re just catching up, Falafel Salam has taken over and renovated the former Yummy Teriyaki space at 4746 California SW; we published an extensive preview June 20th, including, of course, the Falafelsaurus, who is already awaiting customers in the new spot:
ORIGINAL REPORT, 10:27 AM: From Lynda:
We live on the corner of 51st and Hudson and had 10 patio chairs taken about 20 minutes ago.
My young son and I spent an hour this morning scrubbing down 12 plastic patio chairs on our sidewalk. A friend is having a birthday party this afternoon and they wanted to borrow our chairs. Well, we scrubbed them up nicely and set them out to dry. We went inside for breakfast and when we came back out, less than 15 minutes later, all of the chairs, except for 2, were gone. They were stacked nicely right next to my husband’s truck, there was no ‘free’ sign and no obvious indication that they were there for the taking.
I would like to think of this as an honest mistake and that whoever took the chairs did so, by thinking they were there for free. Perhaps by posting this on the blog, whoever took them would be so kind as to bring them back NO QUESTIONS ASKED. I know it’s a stretch but the blog has been very rewarding and wonderful to us over the years. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
UPDATE, 11:21 AM: When we replied to Lynda to let her know we had published this, she said it actually happened a month ago and apparently the e-mail was stuck in her account’s outbox, just going out today for reasons unknown. (It carried today’s date, so we had no way of knowing. We do sometimes see e-mail come through with dates days or weeks earlier, and when that happens, we check with the sender to verify.) The chairs never were returned, though, so if you know someone who thought they got a great stack of free chairs a month ago …
(Northern flicker at sunset on Alki Point, photographed by Gary Jones)
Here’s what’s ahead for today/tonight as we move toward the post-holiday weekend:
COLMAN POOL CLOSED … to the public, for the second of three days of swim meets. (Tomorrow, and July 14-15, too.)
WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARK OPEN: Highland Park spraypark is open 11 am-8 pm; Lincoln Park wading pool is open 11 am-8 pm; EC Hughes wading pool is open noon-7 pm, Hiawatha wading pool is open noon-6:30 pm. (Find addresses here)
WORDS, WRITERS, WEST SEATTLE: 5-7 pm at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented author series will feature Jeff and Sonja Anderson and their book on “Mount Rainier’s Historic Inns and Lodges.” Here’s their video invitation, courtesy of SWSHS:
Free drop-in event – details in our calendar listing. (2600 SW Barton)
CORNER BAR TURNS 5: Highland Park Improvement Club‘s pop-up monthly bar-and-more is celebrating its fifth anniversary tonight, starting at 6. DJ Dr. Lehl will spin, and The Drew Medak Trio will play live jazz. Food truck! New swag! All ages until 9 pm. (1116 SW Holden)
WALK TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE SALISH SEA: As previewed here on Thursday, this advocacy walk is planning a rally at the Duwamish Longhouse around 6:30 pm, when walkers arrive from downtown. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
ALAN EHRLICH: Live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
OUTDOOR MOVIE: Park West invites you to an outdoor showing of “La La Land” tonight. Doors open at 8 pm. Free. Refreshments provided. BYO lawn chair(s). RSVP info in our calendar listing. (1703 California SW)
HONKY TONK, OUTLAW COUNTRY, AND BLUEGRASS: 9 pm at Parliament Tavern, that’s what three bands will play for you. $5 cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
OF COURSE, THERE’S MORE … on our complete-calendar page.
As reported here on Thursday, the city is giving you two extra weeks to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA)’s Mandatory Housing Affordability rezoning proposals. The deadline is now August 7th. And another community group has announced a meeting about it. From the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council:
You’re invited to join WWRHAH on July 19th, from 6-7:30 pm at the Southwest Library, upstairs meeting room, 9010 35th Ave SW, to discuss in broad terms and as a community, the DEIS and how the neighborhood groups could respond as a coalition of voices in on behalf of the Westwood-Highland Park Residential Urban Village.
Westwood-Highland Park (map on page 2 of this document) is one of four urban villages in West Seattle. The HALA MHA rezoning proposals cover all multifamily and commercial property, whether in an urban village or not, and also single-family properties inside UV boundaries, which in some cases are proposed for expansion. The city has an online map you can use to see what the DEIS’s two rezoning options propose in your neighborhood (or any other part of the city that interests you).
A big initial response is now being downsized for a reported brush fire near Southwest Teen Life Center/SW Pool at 28th SW/SW Thistle. The fire report is concurrent with a fireworks report to which police were dispatched. It’s the third brush fire reported in West Seattle in about an hour – firefighters also have responded to reports in High Point and South Admiral.
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