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Environment 1800 results

Bulletin: Alki “Car-Free Day” to be announced next week
July 25, 2008 11:32 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

WSB has learned tonight that the mayor plans to announce next week that there will definitely be a “Car-Free Day” at Alki this summer. This information comes from CoolMom, whose leaders are helping organize part of the event on Alki next week summeroff.jpgat which details will be announced. We were first to report that a day like this was expected to be included in the city’s “Give Your Car The Summer Off” campaign (here’s our report from June 12th), but when last we checked with SDOT, it wasn’t a done deal – till now. We don’t have the exact date, but CoolMom’s been told that it will be for six hours, on a Sunday. One other important note: Apparently it won’t be 100% vehicle-free — a lane reportedly will remain open for the Water Taxi shuttle and for local residents on the stretch of Alki SW whose homes (particularly the condo buildings) cannot be reached any other way. More info on the Alki “Car-Free Day” as we get it. (CoolMom, by the way, is a moms’ group founded to support lifestyles with lower ecological impact; we told you in April about its West Seattle chapter, which meets monthly; contact info is here.) 11:57 PM ADDITION: Since we first published this, we’ve learned the Alki “Car-Free Day” date is expected to be Sunday, September 7th.

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Tonight: 2 movies, outdoor concert, crimefighting meeting
July 24, 2008 1:29 pm
|    Comments Off on Tonight: 2 movies, outdoor concert, crimefighting meeting
 |   Environment | Fun stuff to do | How to help

MOVIE #1: “Peter Pan” outdoors @ High Point Community Center, as part of 6-9 pm “family night” event.

MOVIE #2: Northwest Environmental Education Council presents “Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash” (see the trailer here) @ Camp Long, 7 pm.

OUTDOOR CONCERT: The American Night (Doors tribute; here’s a clip of the group) at Alki Playfield, 6-8 pm.

CRIMEFIGHTING MEETING: The monthly White Center/South Delridge Community Safety meeting is 6-8 pm tonight, St. James Place (9421 18th SW), dinner provided. Among the agenda items, a name for the group (you’ll recall the West Seattle Community Safety Partnership changed its name last month to West Seattle Crime Prevention Council).

All of the above – free! Many more West Seattle events for tonight and way beyond, listed here.

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A local first: Elliott Bay Brewery certified for organic beer
July 23, 2008 6:15 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Call it green beer – without the usual St. Patrick’s Day food-coloring angle. West Seattle-based Elliott Bay Brewery‘s head brewer Doug Hindman sends word that EBB has become the first certified brewer of organic beer in King County. Here’s the news release.

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Wednesday afternoon links and notes
July 23, 2008 2:07 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle people

MERCURY FROM CEMENT PLANTS: They’re not in West Seattle but they (and other Duwamish-area industrial operations) affect the air quality here (and come up in discussions such as this recent WSB comment thread about a “mystery smell”). Today the Times reports an environmental group says the emissions from Lafarge and Ash Grove cement plants include up to 91 pounds of mercury a year. The Times story (at this moment, anyway) doesn’t link to the group’s report, but we found it here.

SHE’S A CHAMP: Think people tend to get weaker with age? 48-year-old Tamela Thomas of West Seattle is among those who can disabuse you of that notion. The Weekly writes about her historic martial-arts win.

MORE TIME TO ORDER ROTARY BLUEBERRIES: Another harvest delay is changing the Rotary Club of West Seattle blueberry pickup date – which means more time to order if you haven’t done so already – now pickups are projected for August 8-9. Raspberries will be here this weekend as scheduled, however. You can order blueberries from the Rotary website till August 5th; notes Rotary member Josh Sutton of the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor), “These sales support our annual Holiday Kids Shopping Spree, where we take about 100 kids to Sears and buy them new clothes, shoes and winter coats each December. And the berries are yummy.”

INTERESTED IN GOING TO INDIA OR FRANCE? This too comes from the Rotarians, but it’s a citywide announcement – “young businesspeople” who are NOT Rotary Club members are invited to apply for an exchange program to spend a month in India or France. Find out all about it here.

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Postmortem on the 45th/Trenton tree: It was there first
July 22, 2008 5:40 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

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We went back a little while ago to check on the 45th/Trenton (map) tree, finally taken down today (WSB coverage from this morning, including links to previous reports, here) after years of conflict with power lines and trimming work related to those lines. Looking at the circumference of its remains, we realized the tree obviously was there long before the power lines – how long, you ask?

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Nearby resident Elise, who provided photos for this morning’s story, sent that one, and the one below, with the report that a neighbor had decided to estimate the tree’s age. On its rings, he marked a timeline:

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Final estimate: About 140 years, dating back to about 1868, only 17 years after the Denny Party got here. One notable West Seattle event in 1868, according to HistoryLink: Doc Maynard sold his 320-acre farm on Alki Point for $450. The first electric service in Seattle was still 18 years away, according to Seattle City Light‘s history webpage.

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Another “demolition”: 45th/Trenton “sad tree” coming down
July 22, 2008 11:22 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

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The Schuck’s/Hancock building (Fauntleroy Place) isn’t all that’s coming down today. Elise sent the shown-above photo of the tree on the southwest corner of 45th/Trenton — known at her house, she says, as “the sad tree” — posted last month for removal (June WSB coverage here) after utility-related tree trimming in the area (May WSB coverage here) left it in somewhat unsustainable shape:

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City Light had told WSB that its owner agreed to have it removed (at city expense), with two “power-line-appropriate” trees to be planted in the spot. From one of our previous stories, Jenny had sent this photo of how what she called the “candelabra tree” once looked:

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Though City Light said the work on this tree was done appropriately, and its demise can instead be blamed on the unfortunate fact it grew under power lines, the utility also told us in May that the trimming on another tree nearby was botched badly enough that the crew that did it was removed from the contract.

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Happening today/tonight, in West Seattle and beyond
July 21, 2008 12:21 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening today/tonight, in West Seattle and beyond
 |   Environment | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle parks

THIS AFTERNOON: City website says the City Council may vote today on whether to send the Parks and Green Spaces Levy to the ballot, after its 2:30 pm Committee of the Whole meeting @ City Hall downtown. TONIGHT: Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Coronation @ Grace Church, 7 pm; Highland Park Action Committee (jail-sites fight and more) @ Highland Park Improvement Club, 7 pm; Sustainable West Seattle, 7:30 pm @ Camp Long. More events in West Seattle (and/or of WS relevance) for the days/weeks/months to come, on the WSB Events calendar page.

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Reader reports: Potential “red tide” @ Lincoln Park
July 19, 2008 3:09 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

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Michale Farrar sent that photo along with one of two WSB reader reports we have received today about this unusual coloration along the northern Lincoln Park shoreline. (Thanks also to Amy for e-mailing about it.) The state Health Department‘s biotoxin page doesn’t include any new “red tide” alerts, nor does its hotline; we’ll let you know if we find out anything from anyone else. UPDATE: In comments, JanS notes a tv story last night about the same thing at Seahurst Park in Burien, and says that report described it as a nontoxic algae bloom.

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Another ferry on the Fauntleroy run goes to biodiesel
July 18, 2008 2:58 pm
|    Comments Off on Another ferry on the Fauntleroy run goes to biodiesel
 |   Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

Washington State Ferries says Klahowya will start using a five-percent-biodiesel fuel tomorrow; the largest-capacity ferry on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, Issaquah, is already using that mix. WSF says the biodiesel comes from tallow (beef fat), not vegetable oil. Side note: You can find out where Issaquah, Klahowya, and other WSF boats are, at any given time, by using the ferry system’s online Vessel Watch feature.

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Diesel-spill investigation at Terminal 5
July 16, 2008 10:49 am
|    Comments Off on Diesel-spill investigation at Terminal 5
 |   Environment | West Seattle news

The state Ecology Department just sent word it’s investigating a diesel spill on the West Seattle side of the port, @ Terminal 5, involving a tug from Harbor Island-based Olympic. No word yet how big, but here’s the full news release:Read More

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Reader report: Another mystery smell
July 15, 2008 8:24 am
|      30 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Neighborhoods

From time to time, someone will e-mail or call about a disturbing/unexplained smell of some type, somewhere. Someone who talked with us at Summer Fest even asked about something he’d noticed repeatedly. We don’t always publish these reports – we’ve referred people directly to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency – but now we’re thinking “crowdsourcing” just might help solve the mystery, so here’s one that just came in from Heather:

I’m not sure whether this is the sort of thing that justifies a request for information from the readers, but this morning there’s a terrible, noxious, plasticky smell over our neighborhood (west side of 35th and Holden) [map], and I wonder if anyone else notices it, and whether anyone knows what it is. This is maybe the third time I’ve noticed this, and it worries me. It reminds me of the smell of pesticides sprayed by crop dusters.

Our first line of advice was to complain to PSCAA so they at least have a record of it. Here’s how to do that.

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What else happened today: Beach Drive cleanup
July 11, 2008 8:48 pm
|    Comments Off on What else happened today: Beach Drive cleanup
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle beaches

Home now from Day 1 of West Seattle Summer Fest – our running updates/photos/video from earlier are here; we’re going to post another wrapup/look-ahead report with more pix a little later – but we’re checking around to be double-sure we didn’t miss anything too big this afternoon, and just found this: Beach Drive Blog reports that volunteers from REI were out cleaning up the Beach Drive shoreline at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint. (You’ve got a couple chances to join volunteer cleanups tomorrow, by the way – two Saturday midday work parties in West Seattle are listed, along with dozens of other happenings, in our WS Weekend Lineup.)

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Update: Fauntleroy ferry-idling signs are on the way
July 10, 2008 6:56 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Neighborhoods | Transportation | West Seattle news

The Fauntleroy Community Association sends word from FCA members Sherry and Ron Richardson that City Council President Richard Conlin liked their suggestion of “please turn off your engine” signs for the Fauntleroy ferry-queueing zone (first reported here a month ago), and asked SDOT to make it so. So we checked with SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan today regarding a timetable, and here’s what we heard back:

SDOT did receive the request from Council President Conlin. Following the mayor’s lead on climate change, SDOT is very supportive of reducing vehicle emissions whenever possible. We recently installed signs reminding drivers to turn off engines while waiting for city bridges along the Ship Canal.

SDOT will install signs along Fauntleroy Way SW, near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. (Though the signs will only be informational as there is no authority provided by the Seattle Municipal Code to force compliance.) We are working on the language and siting for them now, and expect that roadway users should see them within the next month.

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“Flower Houses” tree tussle: Condo association responds
July 10, 2008 4:21 pm
|      36 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

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(photo courtesy Alma Taylor-Smyth, who lives in one of the “flower houses”)
Followup to yesterday’s story about the Alki Ave “Flower Houses” evergreen tree and the neighboring condo owners’ plan to trim it — which is getting attention in citywide media today (two TV stations and one newspaper counted so far) — the condos’ homeowners association has posted this response:

Hi, I’m Wendy, the president of the 1402 Condo Association. I’d like to make a comment in response to the tree trimming controversy. We have never talked about cutting down the tree, topping it off, or trimming it back so that it would die. In fact, we are willing to give up some of our view so that it can grow. We bought our units having been told by Randie that we had unblockable and wireless views, which is no longer the case for the lower units.

Since the tree has grown to this size in the last four years, the arborists have said that the tree could be blown down in a wind storm–on our building, her house, or the cars below. The root system is beginning to buckle the sidewalk, and will eventually pose a problem for the walkers.

Over the last three years, we have offered to move the tree to the back, which is no longer possible, and replace with a different tree, but Randie refused.

Recently, we tried to meet with Randie to discuss and come up with a solution that would work for both of us, and she refused. We have shared our arborist’s report as well as the legal research with her and her attorney, which we did not have to do.

It is our sincere desire to meet with her and find an amicable resolution.
– 1402 Homeowners Association

We have messages out to those who originally contacted us, seeking a response. 6:21 PM UPDATE: We have heard back from Randie Stone:

Here is the first paragraph of a letter that was left on my front door just prior to the Fourth of July weekend:

Dear Randie:

On behalf of the 1402 Alki HOA I’d like to give you the heads up that we will be trimming the limbs and foliage of the two Douglas Fir trees that encroach our property line as early as Monday, July 7, 2008. Although we are not legally required to do so, we are extending the courtesy of advance notice in hopes that we will be able to maintain a friendly, neighborly relationship.

My only goal is to maintain the health and integrity of my tree which was there before the condo was built. The safety of my tree was my only concern.

Please let the record show that I am acting as a private citizen and protecting my rights as a private citizen.

Randie Stone

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Alki “Flower Houses” tree plea: Trying to stop the trim
July 9, 2008 3:57 pm
|      45 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

flowerhousetree.jpg

If you’ve ever passed the “Flower Houses” on Alki Ave, you’d remember them – two of the few houses left among the condos (map). We’ve received multiple notes about a protest campaign brewing over the reported plans of the condos next door to trim the big tree you see in the photo. We first heard about it, and received the above photo, from tenant Alma Taylor-Smyth, who wrote:

My husband, nephew, and I live at 1396 Alki (the left-hand house in the attached photo taken by my nephew, William Harman), and our landlady, Randie Stone, lives at 1400. She is the one who turned the flower houses into the gorgeous landmarks that they are today. We moved in in February, and every day someone local comes up to us to tell us how long they’ve loved the houses and how much they enjoy seeing the beautiful plantings, and someone who isn’t local comes up to ask about the houses and tell us how beautiful they are.

Randie was informed last week by the home owners’ association at 1402 Alki (the condo on the right in the photo) that they would be hiring someone to “trim” the branches of the 2 Douglas fir trees on her property that are on their side of the property line, although they admit that this would be something like 80% of the total branches the trees have!

I cannot imagine anyone with a soul who would think this constitutes an improvement to a spot that brings so many people enjoyment every day. Mind you, the trees were there before the condo was ever built.

I’m not a lawyer, and it does seem like the condo owners have the right to trim branches on their side of the property line (although I don’t see how their right can possibly extend to an action that would almost certainly kill the trees). However, my guess is that if they do go on to trim those branches, a great many people will see what they’ve done and wonder how they could have done such a thing and whether it could have been prevented. What I would love is to find a way to let those people know ahead of time that the condo owners want to cut off all those branches, so that they can let the condo owners know how outrageous an act that would be.

Randie has given so much to this community in providing so much beauty year-round. Is there any way that the community can give back, in the form of helping to convince the condo owners not to denude these trees that contribute to the beauty and serenity of this oasis among the condos?

We also heard from Gayle, who wrote, “The residents at the 1402 Condominiums want to butcher this beautiful tree for the sake of improving their view! They say it’s raising and cracking the sidewalk, but the owner says, ‘Not true! The sidewalk was cracked before the tree grew! Now those butchers intend to whack off half of my tree for their view!’ There are indiscriminate tree killers on the loose on Alki and they must be stopped! Please let Condomanagements.com @ 206 937-4856 know that you are pro-nature and anti-pettiness!”

We just passed the site and the tree hasn’t been trimmed yet; there’s now a big pink sign out front of the “Flower House” urging people who enjoy the tree to hang a ribbon to show their opposition to the reported trimming plan. We have a call out to the management company, where we were told the executive “who’s been dealing with this” is out of town, but we told them we’d be posting about this today, and they said they’ll have somebody else get back to us with a comment. We’ll update when we get that call back. Meantime, here’s a closer look at the tree (sent by Gayle):

treecloseup.jpg

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Fauntleroy gateway cleanup: 2 months away but SIGN UP NOW
July 8, 2008 9:55 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | How to help | Neighborhoods

That was the request when we talked with cleanup organizer Nancy Driver after tonight’s JuNO meeting (more on the main topics, development, later). We’ve told you before about the plan for a huge community cleanup from Walking on Logs to Fauntleroy/35th on September 13th, including the recent details that it’ll be 9 am-3 pm, and volunteers 14 and up can sign up for 2-hour shifts. Nancy explains that she needs signups now because this is a major organizational effort – everything from loaner orange vests to donated treats – and she has to have a rough head count. No obligation if you have to change your plans later, but if you think there’s even a remote chance you’ll be able to help out on September 13th, please e-mail Nancy right now: ndriver@quidnunc.net

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Cart Project update: Pickup time!
July 2, 2008 2:43 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | Westwood

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We told you recently about Feet First‘s Cart Project – offering discounted pull-carts like the one above to people in the Westwood Village area, as part of a pilot project to encourage people to walk to the store instead of driving. They’ve now set the pickup time – you have to live in the pilot-project area, and you should have received a doorhanger that you can bring along (see a copy of it here) – 3:30-7:30 pm today and each day next Monday-Friday, at Westwood Village QFC. You get the $90 cart for $15 if you pledge to walk at least once weekly to do grocery-shopping and agree to two surveys (initial and followup). Got questions? Call 206/652-2310. If you’re outside the pilot-project area, here’s another way to get a discounted pull-cart – as reported here a week and a half ago, Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) was inspired by the Cart Project and decided to offer discounts on their “shopping trolleys” to shoppers who mention it.

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Fauntleroy tree update: Notice posted, comments solicited
June 22, 2008 11:03 pm
|    Comments Off on Fauntleroy tree update: Notice posted, comments solicited
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

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Thanks to Jenny for sending new photos including that one showing the notice posted a few days ago on the 45th/Trenton tree we wrote about last month – marked for removal by agreement with the city, after the latest round of city-contracted trimming to try to create clearance around power lines just didn’t work out (near another tree that was botched in a way that led to one crew’s removal from the city contract). This is what’s currently left of the to-be-removed tree itself:

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Jenny also sent a view we didn’t have before, this tree “in happier times” – she knows it as “the candelabra tree”:

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As the notice says, it’s to be replaced with two “power line-appropriate” trees. The notice also says comments will be accepted by the City Arborist until June 28th (next Saturday) – here’s the phone/e-mail/postal-mail info.

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More on walkable shopping carts: WSB sponsor offers discount
June 21, 2008 8:32 pm
|    Comments Off on More on walkable shopping carts: WSB sponsor offers discount
 |   Environment | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle online

John and Frances Smersh at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in Admiral were inspired enough by news of Feet First‘s Cart Project (reported here yesterday) that they’re offering 25 percent off their stylish “shopping trolleys” — provided you mention The Cart Project when you stop in. Full details (and pix of the carts) are on the Click! blog; their hours/location can be found here.

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Happy “Dump the Pump Day” 2008
June 19, 2008 5:04 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

dumpthepump.jpgEvery day on the calendar has a promotional tie-in … National Chocolate-Covered Pickle Day, Worldwide Sing While Standing On Your Head Day, and on and on … but today’s is worth a note: “Dump the Pump Day” is meant to encourage you to try transit. This year, gas prices could certainly be an impetus – on Dump the Pump Day “Eve” last year (6/20/07), this WSB report showed the 35th/Avalon 7-11 at $2.99 for regular; as of our latest West Seattle-wide weekly survey Sunday night, that grade at that station was $4.33, up $1.34 in a year. We were already planning to use transit today (Water Taxi-ing downtown to cover the city Design Commission presentation on Myrtle Reservoir Park); if you need more convincing, Metro offers suggestions here. And the American Public Transportation Agency offers you the online game Whack-A-Pump.

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Sustainable West Seattle tonight: Tapping into sun power
June 16, 2008 7:22 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle people

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At left, that’s Eric Thomas of Solar Epiphany, one of two solar-power entrepreneurs who are making presentations at tonight’s meeting of Sustainable West Seattle – whose president Bill Reiswig is at right in the photo; we popped over to get a pic before the meeting starts (7:30-9 pm, Camp Long). Perfect synergy with the weather!

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What’s the buzz? The latest West Seattle swarm
June 14, 2008 4:38 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Seen around town | Wildlife

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Finally, photos of a West Seattle bee swarm — Several people have e-mailed/texted/called us in the past few weeks about bee swarms turning up in their neighborhoods, and every time it happens, we roll out, only to find the bees have moved on. This afternoon, though, Christine not only sent us a text and e-mail (thank you!!!!) — she also took photos of the bees that turned up at her house near Riverview Playfield (map). Click each photo for a larger version (the little golden spots in these versions look more like bees when you view the photos that way).

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Here’s what Wikipedia says about bee swarms.

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“Car-free” day on Alki? SDOT says it’s not a done deal
June 13, 2008 10:41 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Transportation | West Seattle news

As mentioned in our Parks Board meeting report, Parks staffers didn’t say anything more last night about the line in their briefing paper saying there could be a “car-free” day on Alki in late summer — they mentioned it in passing as a city Transportation Department proposal. So we asked SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan this morning about the status and what’s next. Here’s the reply that just came in:

“Car Free Days,” where some city streets would be open to bikes and pedestrians, is an idea that Mayor Nickels proposed as part of the campaign to “Give Your Car the Summer Off.” The effort seeks to combat global warming by encouraging more walking, biking, car pooling and taking transit. The closures would be similar to Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays along Lake Washington Boulevard.

Parks and Recreation jumped the gun as no definitive decisions have been made. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is still fine-tuning the concept and needs other departments (fire, police, etc.) to approve it. Outstanding issues remain about mitigating the impacts on nearby streets and finding city resources to support it. The three corridors mentioned are, at this point, only possible locations. As we move further along in the process, we are interested in hearing the public’s perspective on the idea itself and suitable locations. SDOT should have more information to share in the next few weeks.

Rick Sheridan
SDOT

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