By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After shovels went into the ground at today’s celebration of the future Delridge Grocery Co-op store, a little rosemary plant followed.

With it, high hopes for the next stage of a decade-long journey toward opening a small food store in Delridge were planted too. Among those who voiced them, Brent Curtis of the DGC board:

The brief ceremony was part of a three-hour event outside and inside the store-to-be, a 2,200-square-foot space at 5444 Delridge Way SW, beneath the 60+-apartment supportive-housing complex Cottage Grove Commons. The complex is owned and operated by DESC, which promised the space to the co-op long ago; its executive director Dan Malone was among those at today’s celebration, along with City Councilmember Lisa Herbold and council candidate Phil Tavel.

But this was not an event for dignitaries’ speechifying. It was for the co-op and its community.

It has grown to about 500 member-owners, even before the store is built and opened, but there’s room for much more. Tables at today’s event invited signups for roles from financial planning to public relations to coffee-conversation organizing. The wooden spoons offered to members might be seen as an invitation to stir things up.

As longtime board member Ranette Iding explained in our conversation earlier this week, there is a lot of shaping to do.

As architect Parie Hines of LD Arch Design (WSB sponsor) explained to those who stopped by her table, the interior design (added above) has many potential moving parts, depending on what the community wants.

In a sign that it was time to get back to work, an hour after the planting ceremony, co-op members who had hung around gathered for their annual meeting. This was the first one held in the store space, which previously had only opened for a public peek four years ago during then-Mayor Ed Murray‘s Delridge “Find It, Fix It” walk.

The meeting addressed “what’s next”:

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1 WEEK TO GO: Ready for Highway 99 tunnel tolling?

November 2, 2019 5:17 pm

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| Highway 99 tunnel | Transportation | West Seattle news

One week from today, seven months of toll-free Highway 99 tunnel travel will end. The tolls vary by daypart – here’s the chart:

Those are the rates you’ll pay if you have a Good To Go! pass and account. If you have an account but no sticker, it’s a quarter more. If you have neither, you’ll get a bill in the mail (your plate is read at tunnel’s end) and it’ll be $2 more. If you don’t have a GTG sticker yet, WSDOT is still offering them free.

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CHANGE OF SEASONS: Send us your West Seattle holiday events!

November 2, 2019 3:24 pm

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| Holidays | West Seattle news

That scene at Delridge Home Depot earlier this week just seemed to say it all – out with Halloween, in with Christmas. In that spirit, we invite you to send us your holiday season events – now through New Year’s, anything seasonal. Our calendar already has several – bazaar season starts next weekend – and now it’s time to start building our annual West Seattle Holiday Guide. Organizations, businesses, schools, neighborhoods, performers, faith centers … whatever you have planned, if the community’s welcome, we want to hear about it. Listings are free. Please send the W’s – what/when/who/where/weblink – as text in your email to westseattleblog@gmail.com, the earlier the better, but of course we’ll be updating all season long. Thank you!

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WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: What you need to know now that it’s slide season

November 2, 2019 12:10 pm

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| Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(WSB photo, Alki slide in 2013)

Though our current run of dry weather might lull you into complacency, now that it’s November, it’s landslide season – and West Seattle is often a trouble spot, with so many slopes. Here’s a seasonal reminder from the city:

Did you know that most landslides occur between the months of November and March? As snow melts and rainfall continues to increase throughout the winter, the threat of landslides will continue to rise.

Landslide season is approaching, so the City of Seattle is urging residents to take preventive measures to protect themselves and their property from possible landslides.

Most landslides are caused by water (e.g. rainfall, uncontrolled stormwater) or human activity that increases the weight at the top of the slope or reduces the stability at the bottom of the slope.

With 20,000 Seattle properties (mostly residential) in landslide-prone areas, Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) encourages property owners to take preventive measures to protect themselves from landslides by:

Checking downspouts; making sure they are functioning/routed to a safe location
Maintaining drainage systems by clearing away leaves and debris
Inspecting sloped areas for indications of soil movement and erosion
Shutting off irrigation systems and inspecting them seasonally
Keeping fill and yard waste off slopes
Knowing when to seek professional help for hillside projects

Visit our Emergency Management website to understand if you’re at risk and how to be prepared.

Helpful tools include:

Landslide tutorial
Interactive GIS Map
Landslide Prone Area Map
Do’s & Don’ts

If a landslide damages your property and you have an immediate concern for your safety, leave the premises and call 9-1-1. Seattle property owners with structures that may be affected or endangered by a landslide should also contact SDCI at 206-615-0808 so that a building inspector can respond and perform an initial assessment of the structure.

Visit the USGS website to view the current conditions of the USGS rainfall threshold for landslides.

Early next year we will be providing presentations on landslide awareness during our annual Seattle Home Fair in north and south Seattle. More information will be shared in the coming months.

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PLAYOFFS: Metro League semifinals tonight for WSHS girls’ soccer

November 2, 2019 10:44 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Along with other options for tonight, you can see a soccer playoff match right here in West Seattle. The WSHS girls play Seattle Prep in the Metro League semifinals at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), 7 pm. The winner not only goes to the championship game but also is guaranteed a spot at the state tournament. Both teams are 12-3; the Wildcats, coached by Andres Lara Rodriguez, are undefeated in league play.

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13 for your first West Seattle Saturday of November

November 2, 2019 6:07 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Surf Scoters, photographed by Mark Wangerin)

Welcome to the weekend! Some of what’s happening today/tonight:

GREEN SEATTLE DAY: The work parties are all full, but in case you see them and wonder, three West Seattle parks are among 17 citywide where volunteers are working today: Lincoln Park, Westcrest Park, and Pigeon Point.

AMATEUR RADIO LICENSING CLASS: 9 am-5 pm at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – full details here. (6000 16th SW)

TILDEN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Interested families are invited to visit this independent elementary school on the north edge of The Junction, 10 am-noon. Enter Tilden School (WSB sponsor) via the west side of the building. (4105 California SW)

HOLY ROSARY SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 10 am-1 pm open house at this P-8 Catholic school. (4142 42nd SW)

DELRIDGE GROCERY GROUNDBREAKING: 11 am, be there as the Delridge Grocery Co-op celebrates the ceremonial start of the build-out for its long-awaited store, followed by its annual member meeting – with community involvement encouraged! More info in our preview. (5444 Delridge Way SW)

HISTORICAL SOCIETY CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH GALA: 11 am at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s annual fundraising gala spotlights local music history, with a program highlighted by a live interview with Easy Street Records proprietor Matt Vaughan. (1936 Harbor SW)

DEATHSPLORATION RESOURCE & ART FAIR: 11 am-5 pm at Camp Long, as part of Deathsploration Month:

Discover cool art, organizations, local businesses, and how the death and dying community is living in Western Washington. Local organizations, artists, businesses post up at Camp Long for the day, creating space for you to discover, engage, learn and play. This event will feature prizes, freebies, and amazing humans.

Dance party and bonfire follow! (5200 35th SW)

BALLARD SEDENTARY SOUSA BAND: Birthday bash – with cake! – at Kenyon Hall, 3 pm. Ticket info here. (7904 35th SW)

KENYA FUNDRAISER: Enjoy Kenyan food and support education, 5-7 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. (3050 California SW)

INTERNATIONAL FOLK: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, Joe Jencks and Wes Weddell in concert. Ticket info here. (7904 35th SW)

‘NIGHTFALL ORPHANAGE’ FINALE: Last night for the 7:30-10:30 pm “garage haunt” show in an Alki yard.