West Seattle, Washington
20 Tuesday
In case you’re experiencing it too, reader Brian, who contacted Seattle Public Utilities about brown water in the 4800 block of Fauntleroy Way SW, says he’s been told it’s the result of SPU line-flushing in the area this morning. SPU always advises calling 206-386-1800 if your water is discolored – there are several potential causes, and sometimes they won’t know until they start hearing from customers. Brian says SPU told him to “use water as little as possible for the next few hours to not further agitate the trust. It should take 3 to 8 hours to clear up.”
(Saturday photo from Upper Alki, by Don Brubeck)
Here’s what you need to know for this late-winter Sunday:
MORNING TRAFFIC ALERT: The Battery Street Tunnel is closed both ways, along with parts of Highway 99 north of it, now through 11:15 am for the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K, as previewed here.
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: Now an hour earlier, 9 am at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point. (34th SW/SW Myrtle)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in the street in the heart of The Junction. See what’s fresh as spring gets closer! (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)
MAXMOBILE AT THE MARKET: According to the Seattle Humane calendar, the big yellow MaxMobile will have adoptable pets at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market today. Usually parks at the north end of the market.(California/Oregon)
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SALES: Multiple locations around West Seattle feature Girl Scouts selling cookies as early as 9 am – go here and enter your zip code.
CAMP SECOND CHANCE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: 2 pm, community room at Arrowhead Gardens. All welcome at monthly meeting of community members who get briefed on, and discuss, encampment updates and issues. (9200 2nd SW)
SOUNDERS FC HOME OPENER: Not in West Seattle but if you’re headed downtown in the afternoon – for something besides the match – be aware this is happening at CenturyLink Field, 2 pm. (800 Occidental Ave. S.)
CORREO AEREO: Live Latin American music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)
‘HIR’ MATINEE: First matinee for the new production at ArtsWest, 3 pm curtain. (4711 California SW)
OSCARS VIEWING PARTIES: 6th annual party at OutWest Barthe b (5401 California SW), red carpet at 3:30 pm, show at 5, with “ballots and prizes for Oscars trivia, best-dressed bar attendees, most winners guessed” plus champagne … The LumberYard Bar (9619 16th SW, White Center), starting at 4 pm … Prost West Seattle (3407 California SW) is having one starting at 5 pm, promising “Oscar Bingo, silly prizes, and popcorn during the show” … Anywhere else? Comment, or e-mail us, and we’ll add!
AT KENYON HALL: 7:30 pm, acoustic-guitar masters Mark Goldenberg and Eric Skye are in concert at Kenyon Hall.
(Photo provided with concert announcement)
Read more about them – including ticket info – in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)
PREVIEW THE WEEK AHEAD … via our complete calendar!
Thanks to James Bratsanos for the view of tonight’s sunset, following an almost-springlike day. Spring is close – two weeks from Tuesday; it starts when the vernal equinox arrives at 9:15 am (our time) on March 20th. Even closer is Daylight Saving Time, which is one week away – 2 am Sunday, March 11th, we “spring forward” an hour.
(We appreciate photos, whatever the season, cool views as well as breaking news – editor@westseattleblog.com or texted to our hotline, 206-293-6302 – thank you!)
8:39 PM: Our routine check of the King County Jail roster tonight shows the current list of inmates includes Merle Buchanan, who’s been wanted for weeks in connection with the double murder in White Center two months ago. The King County Sheriff’s Office announced on January 25th that they were looking for him, almost three weeks after the shooting deaths. He was booked on Friday afternoon, according to the jail register, with bail set at $1.1 million – including $100,000 for a domestic-violence-related warrant. Court records show he is not yet charged in the shooting deaths.
11:18 PM: We asked KCSO’s public-information officer Sgt. Ryan Abbott for more details. He says Buchanan turned himself in to Seattle Police. He is expecting more information on Monday, which is also when we’ll be checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to follow the case through the courts.
5:59 PM: Seattle Fire has a “full response” going to a possible house fire in Westwood, in the 8400 block of 25th SW.
6:04 PM: First units to arrive are seeing light smoke. But the call is being downgraded, with just a few units to remain.
6:07 PM: SFD confirms that the fire is out and was small. Though it was dispatched as a “single-family residence” fire, they say it turned out to be an apartment.
If you are headed out of West Seattle tomorrow morning, remember that – as we’ve been mentioning in our weekday morning traffic coverage – the Battery Street Tunnel and part of Highway 99 north of it will be closed for several hours because of the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K. The BSTunnel will be closed both ways between 6 am and 11:15 am; north of it, NB lanes will be closed to North 45th Street until 11:15 am, and SB lanes will be closed from N. 38th southward until 10:25 am. See other downtown closures here.
(WSB photo: With the trophy, right after the game)
FIRST REPORT, 2:28 PM: The West Seattle High School girls’ basketball season has just ended with a triumph – they’re coming home with the trophy for third place in the state 3A championship tournament, after a 64-58 win over Stanwood at the Tacoma Dome. What a season it was – they won every regular-season game aside from three at an out-of-state holiday tournament, and they won the SeaKing district title for the second consecutive year. Photos and details of today’s game after we get back to HQ.
THE REST OF THE STORY, 7:06 PM: The Wildcats had made it into the final four at state for the first time, and they were clearly determined to stay there. When they took to the court at the Tacoma Dome this afternoon against the Stanwood Spartans, it was for third place vs. fifth place. So defeat was not an option.
The victory was a combination of various factors – not the least of which was a tour de force by #11 Jasmine Gayles, who led all players with 33 points, triple what she had done sixteen hours earlier in their loss to Gig Harbor.
Speaking of triple, that was another factor – seven 3-pointers for West Seattle today, compared to just two on Friday night. #4 Kelsey Lenzie again had two, plus Gayles had three in her pile of points, #21 Julianna Horne had one, and #22 Jayla Wilson contributed one as well.
Wilson was one of the reserves who got significant playing time in today’s game – not in the classic “put in the backups toward the end” move, but instead, head coach Darnell Taylor had an almost-all-reserve squad on the court toward the end of the first quarter. #23 Braeden Swanson snagged two steals during her 7 minutes on the court:
So let’s get to the rest of how it unfolded:
Stanwood was first on the scoreboard; the Wildcats tied it quickly with Gayles’ first field goal, which she followed with her first 3-pointer two minutes later.
The Spartans were not an easy opponent. They outrebounded West Seattle in the early going, and while the Wildcats held a lead for much of the first quarter, Stanwood went on a run and pulled ahead 14-12 by the end of the 1st quarter.
By two minutes into the second quarter, most of the starters were back on the floor. Gayles tied things up with a basket seconds later; Stanwood answered with a three; then a basket by #20 Grace Sarver (5 points today) cut the Spartans’ lead to one.
But Stanwood was controlling the game for a while at that point, and pulled out to an 8-point lead with 2:08 until halftime. Horne trimmed it with a three.
And this is where Wilson got her three:
HALFTIME: Stanwood 31, West Seattle 30. Video: Wilson three-pointer. #hardwoodclassic #westseattle pic.twitter.com/OU0qp5HHwF
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018
And by halftime, the Wildcats were only one point back, 31-30.
They emerged into the second half in roaring style, scoring first and reclaiming the lead with a basket by #32 Meghan Fiso (second-leading WSHS scorer with 12 and top rebounder with 7), who followed it up with another one shortly thereafter.
She and her teammates shot well in the second half, with 52 percent accuracy, after a chillier 35 percent in the first half. They held the lead for the rest of the quarter and then some, fighting harder to keep possession when it was in jeopardy – one sequence at 2:52 to go in the third was especially memorable, with WSHS hanging on despite players taking a fall and frantically rolling the ball toward teammates. The quarter ended with WSHS ahead by five, 49-44.
Stanwood got a fast basket at the start of the quarter; Wilson responded with one of her own. Then a Stanwood three; then a Lenzie three, and at 5:35 the Wildcats were still up five points, 54-49. But then things got a little dicey, and the Spartans briefly took the lead, 55-54. Then Gayles continued her heroics, with the next three West Seattle baskets all hers, and Westside never looked back, up six points, 64-58, when time ran out. Here’s how the game ended:
FINAL: West Seattle 64, Stanwood 58, Wildcats take 3A third place! #hardwoodclassic pic.twitter.com/VQ3A8vBNMr
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018
After that, the trophy ceremony, and photo-op time:
None of the West Seattle starters are seniors – so head coach Taylor and assistant coaches Karyn Golgart and Tommy Wiltzen have a promising 2018-2019 season to anticipate.
–Tracy Record (words) and Patrick Sand (pictures), WSB co-publishers
It’s sunny, it’s almost warm, and thoughts turn to spring … which brings us another chance to mention that West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2018 is coming up!
The big sale day – hundreds of sales of all sizes, all around the peninsula – is Saturday, May 12th, exactly 10 weeks from today.
We always open registration in early April, so we’re just a month away from that, too – watch here and westseattlegaragesale.com for the announcement as soon as it’s signup time.
This will be the 14th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, coordinated by WSB since the fourth one in 2008 – looking forward to another fun day of person-to-person recycling around the peninsula.
Congratulations to the Chief Sealth International High School Mock Trial team! A team member’s parent, Richard Staudt, sends us word of their accomplishment (and shared the photos, too):
Just wanted to let you know that (Thursday) night, for the first time, the Mock Trial team representing Chief Sealth International High School qualified for the State championship tournament.
You can find more information about the Mock Trial program, sponsored by the YMCA and the Washington State Courts (here). … The caliber of competition here in Washington is very high. Chief Sealth team will be going up against, amongst others, teams from Franklin High School and from Seattle Prep, who have each won National Championships in prior years (2000 and 2014).
The state competition is set for March 23rd-25th at the Thurston County courthouse complex in Olympia.
(Red-Breasted Mergansers, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Welcome to the first Saturday in March! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and archives, here are highlights of what’s up:
KID-STUFF SALE: As previewed here last night, the big annual West Seattle Cooperative Preschools-benefiting Kids Sale is 9 am-1 pm at the VFW Hall in The Triangle. Clothing, gear, furniture, toys, more – here’s some of what they were sorting when we stopped by last night:
More info here. (3602 SW Alaska)
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: First weekend of the annual sale! Multiple locations around West Seattle where you’ll find Girl Scouts and cookies starting at 10 am – go here and enter your zip code.
BECOME A CITIZEN SCIENTIST: The Pacific Northwest Mahonia Evaluation Project’s next work party at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) is 10 am-noon today – find out here how to join in. (6000 16th SW)
FREE TAX HELP: No appointment needed – drop-in help at West Seattle Food Bank, three days a week including 10 am-2 pm Saturdays through April 19th. Our calendar listing explains what you should bring. (35th SW/SW Morgan)
BASKETBALL: The West Seattle High School girls’ state-tournament finale is at 1 pm at the Tacoma Dome, playing for 3A third place vs. Stanwood. Ticket info is on the right side of the brackets page. (2727 E D St, Tacoma)
TRYOUTS: Metro Elite basketball tryouts with Coach Tony Pryor, 5 and 6 pm at the Seattle Lutheran High School gym. (4100 SW Genesee)
WOMEN’S CLOTHING EXCHANGE: 5-8 pm at Admiral Pub – you’re invited even if you don’t have anything to swap. Details in our calendar listing. (2306 California SW)
WES SPEIGHT: Singer-songwriter at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
AT KENYON HALL: Guitars for Vets Benefit Concert at 7 pm, benefiting program providing guitar lessons to veterans with PTSD. Performances by Cabin Fever, Roo & the Few, Abby K, Canote Brothers, Honeyville Rascals, Bruce Blood Band, Burgundy Pearl, and 3 Play Ricochet. Tickets $20. (7904 35th SW)
SOUTH SOUND TUG & BARGE: 8-11 pm at West Seattle Brewing in The Triangle, no cover. (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW)
FLASHBACK: “Sounds of the 60’s: Beatles, Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Rolling Stones, Moody Blues and so many more. Bringing love, peace & music to Great American Diner & Bar.” 8-10:30 pm, no cover, no minimum. (4752 California SW)
THERE’S MORE! on our complete calendar.
Lenzie 3 – with 1 min to go, Gig Harbor 51, West Seattle 44 pic.twitter.com/v5vNXtUE93
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018
(Fourth-quarter 3-pointer by #4 Kelsey Lenzie, who had both of WSHS’s threes tonight)
FIRST REPORT, 10:43 PM: The West Seattle High School girls’ sterling season has one more game to go – but it’ll be for state 3A third place instead of first, after their 55-46 loss to Gig Harbor at the Tacoma Dome minutes ago. Photos and full details of tonight’s game after we get back to HQ; Saturday’s game will be here at 1 pm against Stanwood.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
ADDED 1:30 AM: What the Wildcats ran up against on Friday night was a team that managed to play more of the game on its own terms, not West Seattle’s. All season long, the West Seattle girls have mostly run opponents ragged. And when they got the Tides going that way tonight, they gained ground – but not enough to overcome a deficit that piled up early.
#20 Grace Sarver (13 points, 5 rebounds) opened the game with a basket that put West Seattle on top 2-0 – their only lead of the game. The Tides played a slower, wait-for-the-opening type of basketball, and extended the lead to 13-2 before the Wildcats got their next points. The first quarter ended with Gig Harbor leading 16-7.
Though the Tides’ defense didn’t have the up-close intensity of their opponents, they seemed to capitalize on almost every slipup, and even found opportunities in routine West Seattle moves, like long passes – somehow a Gig Harbor player would materialize in the path of the pass and swat it away.
The Tides netted the first four points of the second quarter and things looked a little grim until #32 Meghan Fiso (12 points, 12 rebounds) matched those four points, followed by one of Lenzie’s two 3-pointers, narrowing the gap to 20-14. The Tides’ star performer #10 Brynna Maxwell quickly tossed in one of her own. (Gig Harbor out-tripled West Seattle, 6 to 2, more than accounting for the point-total spread.)
(#11 Jasmine Gayles, 11 points, 4 rebounds)
At this point, WSHS got the game going faster, but GH was outrebounding the Wildcats and just didn’t let them get on a roll. They were still seven points back at halftime, 25-18.
As she had done at the start of the game, Sarver got the first points of the second half, a field goal narrowing the gap to 25-20. They battled to shave that a bit by 5:18 to go in the third, when it was 30-26. And a Fiso basket got the Wildcats to within two at 2:37 left in the third, 32-30. That was as close as they got; Gig Harbor added five points in the next minute-plus. Fiso also had the quarter’s final basket, sending the game into the 4th with Gig Harbor still ahead, 37-32.
END OF 3RD Q: Gig Harbor 37, West Seattle 32. Video: Fiso basket pic.twitter.com/DwaSLTQGmT
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 3, 2018
The final quarter started with intensified defense from West Seattle, as the girls knew they had to not only start outscoring the Tides to have a chance, but also had to put a lid on them. It looked good for a bit … but the Tides refused to be stifled, and the Wildcats didn’t get any closer than a five-point margin, twice, before the quarter’s midpoint.
Fouls cost West Seattle too, even before the final moments where the trailing team is all but obliged to foul. GH #33 Maddie Willett sank four foul shots in relatively rapid succession.
There was a momentarily thrilling flash of comeback hope around the two-minute mark, when Lenzie’s second 3-pointer cut the lead in half, 47-44. But Gig Harbor got two fast baskets, followed by two foul shots, and led by 9 with less than a minute to go.
A basket by #21 Julianna Horne concluded the WSHS scoring, and then it was over – Gig Harbor heading to the title game vs. Garfield, West Seattle bound for the third-place contest. But keep in mind – tonight’s game was the furthest they’ve gone in their three trips to state over the past four years.
(Sound Transit’s West Seattle-to-Ballard ‘representative’ map – draft ‘alignment’)
If you haven’t seen the reminder from Sound Transit – or the one in City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s weekly update – let us be the ones to put up the countdown clock: Three days to get your “early scoping” input in about West Seattle light rail, both what you think about the draft plan (“representative alignment”) that’s out there now, and anything you would like to see them consider. Even with 12 years until scheduled launch of West Seattle light rail, as we’ve been reporting, they want to speed things up as much as possible by settling on a “preferred alternative” next year – so this is the time, through Monday (March 5th), to get all your ideas/feedback out there. It’s not the last feedback opportunity, but it’s the widest-ranging one. You can go through the online open house starting here – or cut straight to this page to see a wide variety of ways to give your feedback, including e-mail and postal mail. You can comment on various points of the ST draft-plan map by going here.
That was the scene earlier this evening at the West Seattle VFW Hall in The Triangle, as parent volunteers got ready for tomorrow’s annual Kids’ Sale benefiting West Seattle Cooperative Preschools. The fundraiser sale of baby/kids gear, clothing, toys, furniture, etc., has extra urgency this year – the popular cooperative-preschool program has had to supplement the program funding provided by South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), because of the state higher-education-funding challenges. And that just gets them through the spring – the state-funding picture for next year isn’t even under discussion in Olympia yet. So every dollar raised by the Saturday sale will have extra impact this year for the popular preschool program, which educates parents as well as kids. It’s a consignment sale, so donors are getting a share of the proceeds too, and the dropoffs are what volunteers were arranging when we stopped by tonight. The VFW Hall is at 3601 SW Alaska, and sale hours tomorrow are 9 am to 1 pm; admission is by $1/person donation. More info here!
The family of Dr. Dale F. Rudd is sharing this remembrance with the community:
Dr. Dale F. Rudd, 83, professor and research scientist who spent his retirement years in West Seattle:
Many in West Seattle likely remember Dale as the friendly and always upbeat elderly man in the fedora who was a regular walker in the Seaview and Beach Drive neighborhood. He passed on in February after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s, leaving behind his beloved wife, Sandra, and two children, Karen and David.
Dale was born and raised in a Scandinavian-American family in Minneapolis Minnesota. He received his BS with distinction and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He taught at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he met and married his Sandra, before joining the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. At the University of Wisconsin, he was the Donald C. Slichter Professor of Engineering Research and became internationally known for his influential work in process engineering and computer systems. University of California Vice President and Provost C. Judson King called Rudd’s research “truly pioneering and important.”
Rudd co-wrote numerous university textbooks, including the first textbook in process engineering, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the Washington State Academy of Sciences. He won many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Outstanding Educator in America, Byron Bird Award for Excellence in Research Publication and the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award, and was a visiting professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.
Despite his professional accomplishments, his friends and family knew him as a kind, humble man, with a dry sense of humor and always positive view of life, who enjoyed woodworking, canoeing and the outdoors, and spending time with his family and dogs.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(Photos courtesy Fauntleroy Watershed Council)
By Dennis Hinton
Special to West Seattle Blog
If you value natural areas in West Seattle and want to keep them healthy and safe, you may now make a tax-deductible donation toward ongoing stewardship of two of them: Fauntleroy Creek and Fauntleroy Park.
Initial goal for the new Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship Fund is $30,000.
The Fauntleroy Watershed Council has arranged for EarthCorps, a 501(c)3 international environmental training program headquartered in Seattle, to receive one-time and monthly donations to the fund. Gifts will help pay for work along the creek and in the park that otherwise would not be funded.
“We’ve made a lot of progress since 1989 in restoring natural features of the neighborhood, primarily
with $2 million in public and foundation funding,” said Judy Pickens, a member of the council’s executive committee. “In recent years, grants have become so scarce that we’re in danger of losing these gains.”
Of particular concern is maintaining the safety of areas used as both classroom and lab by the nearly
11,000 students who have visited the creek and park since 1995 to learn about clean water, a healthy
environment, and salmon-friendly habitat.
Pickens noted that governmental priorities have shifted just when the effects of climate change are becoming evident. Peak flows in the creek are now seven times what they were in 2007, putting pressure on weirs designed decades ago for milder conditions. Also, summer droughts have become the norm, threatening vegetation that holds soil and cools the water for salmon and other aquatic life.
The $30,000 would fund permits, design, supplies, and EarthCorps labor to upgrade weirs and vegetation in the lower creek to withstand heavy flows and improve bank stability, spawner access, and student safety over the long term.
“The work that’s now needed is often too hazardous for volunteers or it requires the expertise and equipment of contractors,” explained Peggy Cummings, one of two volunteer forest stewards for the watershed. “This fund gives residents a tangible way to continue to be involved.”
You can donate:
-Online. Go to the donation page at earthcorps.org, select “This gift is in honor or memory of someone,” and write “Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship”
-By postal mail. Write “Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship” on the memo line of your check and mail to Development Office, EarthCorps, 6310 NE 74th St., #201E, Seattle, WA 98115.
-In person. Give your check to any member of the council’s executive committee: Judy Pickens
(judy_pickens@msn.com; 206-938-4203), Peggy Cummings (peggyc@seanet.com; 206-369-4830), or Dennis Hinton (denhinton@msn.com; 206-937-1410).
For a full prospectus, stop by the council’s table at the March 20 Fauntleroy Food Fest or visit www.fauntleroywatershed.org/donate.html, where you’ll also find the 2017 watershed annual report.
Mayor Jenny Durkan will be back in West Seattle for another “town hall” meeting less than two weeks after her first one. This one, though, has a very specific theme, as just announced by the mayor’s office:
Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan will host a town hall at Chief Sealth International High School with Seattle and Puget Sound-area students, educators, parents, community leaders and public health officials to discuss reducing gun violence in Seattle and around our country.
“Seattle residents must be safe in their neighborhoods, homes, and schools. Schools are meant for joy and learning – they are not meant for lock downs and mass shootings. Our young people are standing up to reduce gun violence, and we should listen,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan.
The event, “Town Hall on Students Stopping Gun Violence,” will feature questions from students and will be moderated by KING 5’s Natalie Brand and KUOW’s Ross Reynolds. Seattle can join the conversation by tweeting their questions using #SEAGunViolence.
This is planned for 6:30-7:30 pm Thursday (March 8th) in the auditorium at Sealth (2600 SW Thistle).
1:39 PM FRIDAY: From Kami:
My husband’s car was stolen yesterday morning from right in front of our house on 38th Avenue SW & SW Andover Street in West Seattle. 2007 black Audi A4 Quattro. There is a dent in the front right bumper.
Call 911 if you see it.
MONDAY UPDATE: Kami says it was found in Shoreline.
(Waterfowl at the White Center bog, photographed by Gill Loring)
Our highlights are a little late today because of this morning’s big news. But they’re all happening tonight anyway, so you have hours to decide, if one (or more) isn’t already in your plan:
DESTINATION DELRIDGE: 6 pm reception, followed by dinner and dancing, at Metropolist in SODO, raising money for the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. More info in our calendar listing – check to see if tickets remain! (2931 1st Ave. S.)
CORNER BAR: 6 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club, it’s the monthly pop-up bar/community celebration. The Jelly Rollers will play a few sets between 7:30 and 11; DJ Dr. Lehl is on hand too; food and drink available for purchase. All ages. (1116 SW Holden)
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL SWING DANCE/DINNER: 6:30 pm in the West Seattle High School Commons, dine and dance with student musicians and chefs and the West Seattle Big Band, in this annual fun(draiser)! Ticket info in our preview. (3000 California SW)
SOUL JAMBALAYA: As previewed here, tonight’s the night for the 8th annual edition of this musical celebration, featuring student musicians as well as amazing performers with gospel, blues, jazz, funk, and reggae. 7 pm at the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium. Free; donations accepted for student music education. (2600 SW Thistle)
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SHOW: Tom Esch performs at The Skylark tonight, with part of the proceeds going to suicide prevention/mental-health awareness, as explained in our calendar listing. Doors at 7 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
IN THE FINAL FOUR: As we reported last night, the West Seattle High School girls are in the state 3A semifinals!
(Photo from Thursday night’s quarterfinal game, by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
They play Gig Harbor at the Tacoma Dome tonight at 9 pm for a berth in Saturday’s championship game. Want to go cheer them on? Ticket info is on the right side of the bracket page. (2727 E. D St, Tacoma)
WHAT ELSE IS UP? Go here to see.
(Added: WSB photo taken this morning)
8:56 AM: Two months after we first reported that the site of C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) had been put up for sale by its longtime landlord – C & P has just announced that its subsequent push to purchase the property was a success.
(WSB file photo)
From proprietors Cameron and Pete Moores:
Dear West Seattle and Beyond,
It is with the most profound gratitude that we can say we have raised the funds needed to purchase and preserve the coffee house.
Thousands of us stood together to say that community matters, and that a true community space like the coffee house is worth saving. That same spirit and kindness has always made C & P what it is.
All those who gave through the GoFundMe or by other means directly contributed to our effort to save C & P. From the countless friends and Neighbors who gave hundreds to the Fairmount Park student who shyly slid a dollar across the bar; every donation mattered. Please know with pride that we couldn’t have done it without you. We look forward to building friendships and community with you for many years to come.
This effort would not have been possible without the advice and expertise of so many from our community. Although resolute, Cam and I were over our heads many times during this process. Our motto was; “They don’t know the amateurs they’re dealing with!” Although there are too many to thank here, we would like to especially acknowledge our lawyers Eric and Brock, John Babauta and HomeStreet Bank, and our dear friend and broker Roger Steiner of RSVP real estate. Thanks also to our incredible C & P crew for putting up with us during this process. We couldn’t have done it without all of you.
Kindness has always been the cornerstone of C & P. For 15 years we have opened our doors and welcomed a neighborhood in. But it wasn’t until the place was in Jeopardy that Cam and I truly learned what community means. Your kindness and commitment has shown us clearly that the coffee house is more than four walls. It is a place where neighbors meet and strangers become friends. It is a place where music and poetry and art are essential. It is a place where social justice is expected and fought for. It is a warm cozy room on a cold day. It is a home. It is YOUR home.
With much love and gratitude.
Cam and Pete
The crowdfunding campaign that helped enable the purchase was launched less than a week after first word the property was on the market. Days later, the listing showed the owner had accepted another prospective buyer’s offer, but C & P said their lease gave them right of first refusal, and they continued working to muster their own offer. They founded C & P 15 years ago, and along with serving coffee and other beverages, it is an event venue and community center – hosting hundreds of gatherings, performances, fundraisers, and more.
ADDED 10:12 AM: We went over to the shop and got the photo of Cameron that we’ve added above. She says they cannot comment yet on details of the deal.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7 AM: Good morning! No incidents reported in or from West Seattle so far this Friday.
WEEKEND REMINDER – 99 CLOSURE SUNDAY MORNING: The Battery Street Tunnel and part of Highway 99 north of it will be closed for several hours Sunday morning during the Hot Chocolate Run.
7:30 AM: Crash reported at 25th/Barton.
7:38 AM: Transit alert – the 8 am Route 116 from Fauntleroy “will not operate” today.
8:59 AM: If you are headed into downtown, protesters are blocking 4th Avenue at James.
9:58 AM: The “no new youth jail” protest is continuing and that’s also affecting traffic on I-5 and I-90, per SDOT/WSDOT. A reader stuck in downtown traffic sent this photo:
The Seattle Times reports on the reason for the demonstration.
11:02 AM: Per SPD via Twitter and scanner, the protesters left 4th/James and headed north on 4th, currently approaching the Westlake area.
2:44 PM: As of less than half an hour ago, SPD tweeted that the demonstrators had moved out of the road at 5th and Stewart and all downtown streets should be reopening.
9:24 PM: We and many others reported earlier this week on the uproar over 6617, the public-records-access bill approved overwhelmingly and mega-quickly by state legislators. Gov. Inslee was urged to veto it, despite it being seemingly veto-proof – and he just did, saying that he did so by request of legislators. Among those signing letters requesting the veto, two local reps who voted for the bill.
9:55 PM: The governor’s veto message is here; the House Democrats’ letter (signed by 34th District Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon) is here. The heart of it, from the latter letter, is a promise to “start again” with a collaborative “public process” over the next 9 months to “make recommendations to the 2019 Legislature.”
Another Gayles basket, 42-33 WSHS with 3 mins to go pic.twitter.com/dg3NI9oFqV
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 2, 2018
(WSB video: Fourth-quarter basket by tonight’s top WSHS scorer, #11 Jasmine Gayles)
FIRST REPORT, 8:38 PM: The West Seattle High School girls just won their first game in this year’s state 3A basketball-championship tournament at the Tacoma Dome – 46 to 40 over Seattle Prep – and that means they play in the semifinals here Friday night at 9 pm, vs. the winner of the Bethel-Gig Harbor game that starts here shortly. Photos, more video, and details after we get back to HQ.
THE REST OF THE STORY, 11:59 PM: Gig Harbor won, so that’s who West Seattle will face on Friday night. But before we consider that further – here’s how tonight’s Wildcats win unfolded. One thing about them – they aren’t a team built around one standout; they have three stars shining amid a galaxy of talented teammates. On any given night this year, it’s been #11 Jasmine Gayles, #32 Meghan Fiso, and/or #20 Grace Sarver piling on the points and/or pulling down the rebounds. Tonight, Gayles was atop the stats.
But that was after Fiso scored West Seattle’s first 8 points, two of them on 3-pointers, including this one:
10-4 West Seattle lead midway thru 1st quarter. Fiso has 8 of those points including this pic.twitter.com/ZviH8BKWnG
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 2, 2018
Gayles contributed the next six, and WSHS was out to a 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats had beaten the Panthers in both their previous two meetings of the season, and they didn’t seem terribly bothered by them now.
Foul shots by #4 Kelsey Lenzie padded that lead out to 10 points as the second quarter began. But then, the Prep players gained their footing, and cut the West Seattle lead to two points by mid-quarter. A few minutes later, they regained the lead, 19-18, though Sarver took it away with a three at 1:20 left in the half, after #34 Anissa Babitu pulled a steal.
The problem at that point was that they were being outrebounded. Prep managed to add three points before the buzzer sounded for halftime, and the Panthers held a 22-21 edge.
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the first minute of the second half, thanks to a Fiso field goal. The teams traded the lead for a few minutes, and then this Gayles basket put West Seattle ahead for good:
27-26 West Seattle midwsy thru 3rd Q on this Gayles basket pic.twitter.com/DPtoJuvALg
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) March 2, 2018
Last West Seattle scoring of the third quarter was a basket by #21 Julianna Horne, extending the lead to 36-28.
A Prep three-pointer made a dent in that – but that still sent the Wildcats into the final quarter with a 36-31 advantage, and they seemed clearly in control. #5 Rilcy Newsome was in the game with two minutes to go and kept the momentum high, including a basket and some key rebounds:
Things got momentarily nerve-wracking when Prep got within four points at just under a minute to go – which in basketball can be an eternity. They of course had no choice but to gamble on fouls to try for possession, and the gamble cost them two more points from WSHS foul shots … and that’s where the game ended, West Seattle 46, Seattle Prep 40, smiles all around, including head coach Darnell Taylor:
If you’re interested in cheering them on at the Tacoma Dome at 9 pm Friday, ticket info is on the right side of the brackets page.
P.S. This is the second year in a row that WSHS has had a team in the semifinals – last year, the West Seattle boys took third place at state.
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