West Seattle, Washington
08 Thursday
When Seattle Public Schools sounded the alarm about its budget crunch at the end of February, the district mentioned it would hold an informational community meeting on March 20th. Today SPS sent an advisory with details:
Seattle Public Schools is hosting an online event for families and community members to learn more about the SPS budget.
The district is facing a significant projected budget deficit and is working for a stable financial future that ensures funding for the highest priorities.
Who: Seattle Public Schools leaders
What: Online event providing details about district budget planning strategies and answers to frequently asked questions.
American Sign Language, Amharic, Cantonese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese interpreters will be available. After the event, a recording will be posted to the Funding our Future webpage.
When: Monday, March 20, 2023; 6 p.m.
Where: Join Zoom Webinar
Online with passcode: 997311
Or
By phone: 253-205-0468
Webinar ID: 844 5720 4378
Passcode: 997311The meeting will also be streamed live on the SPSTV YouTube channel.
The School Board has to pass a balanced budget by early July.
6:13 PM: Thanks for the tip about gunfire early this morning at Westwood Village. SPD usually publishes report summaries for confirmed gunfire incidents but hasn’t so far today, so we didn’t hear about this 5 am incident until a tip a short time ago. According to the archived police-radio audio, employees in the Westwood Starbucks store reported seeing a woman with a gun who appeared to be firing it into a car outside. Police arrived and found the car, detained two people, and reported finding shell casings. No injuries reported so far as we’re hearing – and the absence of any SFD “scenes of violence” dispatch would seem to verify that – but we’re following up with SPD and SFD about that as well as whether either or both of the detained people were subsequently arrested.
8:52 PM: SPD tells us this was apparently domestic-violence-related and one person was arrested.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING: SPD has just released this report summary of the incident:
At 0515 hours, the victim was at her job at Westwood Village located at 2600 SW Barton St. While she was in her car, her boyfriend (suspect) showed up and accused her of cheating. During the argument, the suspect got angry and pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the victim. The victim stated that she was in fear, and the suspect said that he will pop her while pressing the firearm into her chest. The victim was armed with her own firearm. The victim stated that the suspect grabbed her by the throat and began choking her. The victim stated that the suspect went to retrieve her gun from his pocket, and she shot two rounds in the air to stop him. The victim stated that a few minutes later the police showed up and the suspect gave her back the gun. Officers arrived and detained both while investigating the incident. After investigating the incident, the suspect was placed in custody for DV/Assault 2 and DV Felony Harassment. Two firearms and two fired cartridge casings were photographed and recovered from the incident.
Meet Asa Kestner, who’s been playing tennis since he was barely kindergarten age, according to his dad James Kestner, who wants to share the news about the big opportunity Asa’s in the middle of right now:
Asa Kestner, a 7th grader at Madison Middle School, was selected to be a member of the ball crew at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA. The BNP Paribas Open is one of the biggest professional tennis tournaments in the world. The tournament runs from March 6-19, 2023. The event features the top male and female players from across the globe.
To join the ball crew, Asa had to complete both online and in-person training. After finishing the online course, Asa attended two training sessions in Edmonds in December and January before being assessed as tournament ready. Asa loves tennis and is excited for the opportunity to be on the court with some of the top players in the world.
Matches from the BNP Paribas Open are being broadcast daily by The Tennis Channel.
Right now, James says, his son is scheduled to work matches through Wednesday (March 15th), though there’s a chance that could extend into the tournament’s final days. He adds, “Being on the ball crew allows him to witness firsthand the many roles people play in hosting a tournament of this scale, from the players, their coaches, and trainers, to the umpires and other officials running the show. Some of his fellow ball crew teammates are current college-level players, so he’s had the opportunity to learn from them about playing college tennis, too.” Though Asa plays at courts around West Seattle, his dad says he’s been taking lessons at the Boeing Employees Tennis Club in Kent, where the family has a membership.
With another six weeks to go for the State Legislature, our area’s three legislators are planning an online town hall Tuesday (March 14th) for updates and Q&A.
State Senator Joe Nguyen and State Representatives Joe Fitzgibbon and Emily Alvarado represent the 34th Legislative District, which includes West Seattle. They’ll be online live at 6:30 pm Tuesday, on YouTube via the WA Senate Democrats and WA House Democrats channels, as well as on their social-media pages. You can send questions in advance now – use this form. (Want to know what each legislator has sponsored so far this year? Use this search.)
A one-of-a-kind event happens Saturday night at historic Kenyon Hall – the century-old silent movie telling the “Snow White” fairy tale, accompanied live by a Vashon Island musician’s 21st-century harp and viola score. Here’s what it’s all about:
Everyone knows Disney’s classic animated film “Snow White,” but few are aware that that a teenage Walt Disney growing up in Kansas City saw the original silent movie of the fairy tale, and it was this 1916 silent that inspired him to blaze a path in filmmaking and make his own version in 1937.
Like all silent films, Snow White was made on flammable nitrate film stock, and for many years, it was rumored to have been destroyed in a vault fire. But a single theatrical print was discovered in the Netherlands in 1992, and a heroic restoration was performed by the George Eastman House film archive.
Now the whimsical silent fantasy returns to the silver screen, and West Seattle film lovers can see the long-lost Snow White with live musical accompaniment. Harpist-composer Leslie McMichael’s magical score brings the silent film alive at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 11 at Kenyon Hall, 7904 35th Avenue SW.
Vashon Island harpist McMichael will perform live on the concert harp for the 63-minute film, and her original score also features her sister Barbara McMichael on viola.
Northwest Film Forum commissioned McMichael to compose a new score for Snow White in 2016, and the 100-year-old film, and McMichael’s live music premiered at opening night of Children’s Film Festival Seattle that year. Since then, the old film and new live score have toured across the country accompanying screenings of the historic film.
How did McMichael approach the project of scoring the film? The harpist says that her DVD remote and digital timer were two modern tools that she relied on to compose a soundtrack that seamlessly fits the onscreen action. After watching the 63-minute film and writing longhand notes about every scene and character, she developed musical themes to reflect the moods in the storyline. Certain motifs reappear in her score whenever a character appears – sweet Snow White has specific music, as does the Witch, the Huntsman, the Prince, and, of course, the Seven Dwarves!
McMichael adds, “It’s thrilling to play live and pair the visuals of film with my music. With every performance, we get to use our instruments to underscore the expressive acting so typical of the silent era – very fun!”
For advance tickets to the Snow White film screening with live harp and viola accompaniment, go here. General admission is $15, $10/seniors and students, and children under 6 are free.
(WSB file photo)
Earlier this week, when we published the Seattle Parks update on the Hiawatha Playfield turf project, some asked for an update on the biggest project at Hiawatha – the community center “stabilization” project. In this case, the saying “no news is good news” might apply. We reported in December that the city planned to move ahead despite not having word at the time on a half-million federal grant. City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office now tells us they learned that Parks has since been awarded the grant and is still on the timeline they gave us in December – expecting to open bidding shortly and start work in May. (We have a followup inquiry out with project management to see if there’s a date when they plan to send the project out to bid, as it’s not on the city’s bidding website yet.) The upgrades include earthquake-resistance work, which is why the city sought what’s formally known as a Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant – in the 2019 funding cycle, according to what Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor told us in December. She also said the work is expected to last 14 months, so even if the May start really does happen, that makes Hiawatha a construction zone continuing into summer 2024. The circa-1911 community center has been closed since the heart of the pandemic. P.S. Along with the long closure, the price tag for the project has grown – the city website now says almost $4 million, though just last year Parks told us the half-million-dollar grant represented about a quarter of the budget (which that would have put at $2 million).
(Latest ‘live’ image from SDOT camera at Admiral Junction)
Almost the weekend! Here are West Seattle highlights for the rest of your Friday:
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: In-person cookie sales continue – use this lookup to find times and locations of “booths” near you!
SCRABBLE CLUB: Come play 12:30-1:30 pm at Margie’s Café in the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon).
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Tasting room on the north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus is open 1-6 pm Fridays (and Saturdays).
CAKE POP-UP: Lovely and Dapper Desserts is at Till Dawn (5048 California SW), 3-7 pm.
FREE INDOOR PLAYSPACE: Toddler Gym weekday afternoons at the Salvation Army Center (9050 16th SW), ages 2-6, 3:30-5 pm.
AFTER-SCHOOL MAGIC LEAGUE: Weekly 4-6 pm event for 12+, $5 per player – learn about and play “Magic: the Gathering” at Meeples Games (3727 California SW)
(added) CAMPAIGN KICKOFF: 6-7:30 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), meet Phil Tavel at his official City Council candidacy kickoff.
AT EASY STREET: Free, all-ages in-store performance by Oranj Goodman, 7 pm. (4559 California SW)
SOUND BATH: For the Full Worm Moon, 7:30 pm at Move2Center (3618 SW Alaska), $35, with Maari Falsetto.
AT THE SKYLARK: 8 pm live music, with Pent Up!, Kitty Junk, i-90 Fiasco. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Something to add to our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Thursday morning, we shared the invitation from Louisa Boren STEM K-8 for you to visit during “Community Week.” One more note from the school this morning- they’re planting more trees in a nearby wetland and raising money for 5th and 8th graders to go to camp, through tree sponsorships!
(WSB photo: STEM students at Delridge Wetland in 2018, celebrating steward Willard Brown)
Throughout their years at Louisa Boren K-8, students have been active stewards of the Longfellow Creek Watershed. With support from the DNDA and Seattle Parks, students have been the primary stewards of the Delridge Wetland Project, and have planted hundreds of native plants and trees along Longfellow Creek, and within the Delridge and Myrtle Greenspace. They have consistently raised salmon within the Salmon in Schools program and created habitat within the schools own Native Plant and Pollinator gardens. For over a decade Boren students have made their mark improving natural areas surrounding the school.
This week 5th graders are adding more trees to the watershed and are looking for your help in the form of tree sponsorship. Funds raised from this event will cover a portion of outdoor education camp tuition with any remaining funds going directly into purchasing more native trees and plants for the watershed. Please use this link for donations. Thanks for supporting student learning and stewardship.
6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Friday, March 10th.
WEATHER & TIME
The forecast for today: Cloudy, rain at times, breezy. High in the 40s. Sunrise 6:32 am, sunset 6:07 pm. We “spring forward” an hour at 2 am Saturday night/Sunday morningm when Daylight Saving Time begins.
TRANSIT TODAY
Water Taxi – Regular schedule.
Metro – Regular schedule, but trip cancellations remain possible, so check notification channels such as @kcmetroalerts. Looking ahead: March 18th service change info is out now – here are the West Seattle plans.
Washington State Ferries‘ Triangle Route continues on the 2-boat schedule; check here for alerts/updates and see Vessel Watch for boats’ locations.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Henderson), cameras are also up at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Orchard, and Delridge/Oregon.
High Bridge – the camera at the top:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
Low Bridge – looking east to west (unless SDOT turns the camera):
1st Ave. S. Bridge – another route across the river:
Highway 99: – the northbound side at Lander.
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed to see if the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if needed) – 206-293-6302.
| 32 COMMENTS