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‘Style Swap’ this Saturday, to help girls half a world away
March 29, 2011 9:41 pm
|    Comments Off on ‘Style Swap’ this Saturday, to help girls half a world away
 |   Fauntleroy | How to help | West Seattle news

From Wendy Weeks – a reason to go through your closet before Saturday. That’s the day she’s hosting a “Style Swap Benefit,” 11:30 am-2 pm Saturday (April 2nd), at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW):

Empowering women in developing countries is one way that we can directly make a change on a global level. On April 2nd, you have the opportunity to contribute toward change. How does this work? Attend our Style Swap and bring your favorite out-of-size clothes. Contribute 20 dollars to participate and you will help fund the scholarship of a high-school girl at a school in Malawi.

By participating in this charitable act, you and 49 other women will sponsor a student for her entire high-school experience. All monies collected will go directly to the scholarship fund of a girl to be selected by the school. But wait, there is more!

There is a side benefit for you as well! You can purge your closet of those clothes that you love but will never get in again and in return you may find some gems to bring home!

Just bring your clean and well-cared-for items (tops, bottoms, shoes, purses, scarves, jackets, etc…) to the swap between 11:30 am and 12:00 pm and at 12:00 you can start looking for your new best outfit! We can even arrange to pick-up your items ahead of time either from a north or south end Seattle location. Call before March 30th for information concerning an advanced clothing pick-up or drop-off.

So contribute 20 bucks, clean out your closet and find some new treasures! All clothing not swapped that day will go to charity. Light refreshments will be served. A complete description of the school and how this non- profit works will be available on the day of the event.

You can call Wendy at 206-769-1049.

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Fauntleroy Community Association serves up its annual Food Fest
March 17, 2011 3:01 am
|    Comments Off on Fauntleroy Community Association serves up its annual Food Fest
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

It’s part party, part neighborhood meeting, and a great chance for Fauntleroy neighbors to see each other and learn more about what and who’s in the neighborhood. The annual Fauntleroy Community Association Food Fest membership meeting/drive and restaurant sampler is in the books for another year, bringing neighbors into The Hall at Fauntleroy this past Tuesday night. Ahead, a few photos – and a few words from FCA’s re-elected president:Read More

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Fauntleroy fire video shows danger firefighters faced
March 15, 2011 5:04 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

That video shared by Joel is from the early moments of Monday morning’s big fire in the 9600 block of 48th SW in Fauntleroy. Here’s our original coverage; as we reported throughout the day, the two-story house burned for hours – and this video may help to explain why. By mid-afternoon, Seattle Fire reported that the cause would never be officially known, as it was just unsafe for investigators to go inside – our photo from late in the day underscores that:

SFD also has written about this incident on the Fire Lines website. Though, again, no cause determination is expected, neighbors who had spoken to the residents told us they noticed flames shooting from a baseboard heater when they first glimpsed the fire. They and their three dogs all made it out safely, we were told, and despite the intensity of the fire, no injuries of any kind were reported.

ADDED 11:23 AM: Another view of the fire, shot nearby – Paul shared his video – this one gives you perspective of where the home is, in relation to others:

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Video: Fauntleroy house fire cause will remain officially ‘unknown’
March 14, 2011 8:10 am
|      41 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(Video/photos by Patrick Sand for WSB; clip substituted at 9:26 am for earlier photos)
8:10 AM: On our way to a fire in single-family residence call in the 9600 block of 48th SW (map).

8:19 AM: There are flames, according to the scanner, and part of the building is in danger of collapse, so firefighters are being kept away from that side. Our crew is just arriving – there’s a significant amount of smoke, even from a distance. Flames are still visible. We’re being told by neighbors that the house is almost a century old.

8:28 AM: Just added photos. Our crew is just feet from the house but the smoke is so thick, you can’t see the flames – it’s still burning – via cameraphone. No report of any injuries but too soon to tell for sure.

8:41 AM: Firefighters still actively fighting – some flames visible on 1st floor (it’s a 2-story house). Looks like a Seattle Fire Department public-information officer has arrived on scene, which means we should have more specifics soon from the fire crews. Meantime, scanner traffic (8:45 am) indicates that an “occupant” from the house is “at a neighbor’s house.”

(OUR AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE CONTINUES POST-JUMP)Read More

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Fauntleroy Community Assoc.: Tuesday event; ‘Whale Trail’ signs
March 13, 2011 6:01 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

If you live in Fauntleroy, Tuesday’s the big night to support your local neighborhood council, the Fauntleroy Community Association. During the monthly FCA board meeting this past week, final preparations were made for the annual membership meeting/membership drive event coming up at 6 pm Tuesday night at The Hall at Fauntleroy, described by FCA as “… sample food from six local eateries, learn about local issues and programs, chat with neighbors, and pay to start or renew FCA membership. Election of FCA officers and directors will happen toward the end of the evening.”

Also at their meeting, the FCA board also heard a presentation about The Whale Trail:

From left in our photo, that’s FCA president Bruce Butterfield, Evangeline Simmons and Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail, and FCA’s Kathleen Dellplain. Donna, who lives in West Seattle, talked about tracing her whale advocacy back 20 years, with one highlight being the drive to save Springer the orphan orca. She brought examples of signs similar to the ones that are going up soon in West Seattle as part of The Whale Trail – thanks to a City of Seattle grant – where you can watch for marine mammals:

The West Seattle signs will be at Alki Bathhouse, Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint, Me Kwa Mooks, and Point Williams in Lincoln Park (site of Colman Pool). Donna says the signs include bar codes that you can “read” with smartphones, to go directly to The Whale Trail’s website. (The Whale Trail recently sponsored the Duwamish Longhouse presentation about orca research involving special dogs – you can see our coverage here.)

The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets the second Tuesday of each month, 7 pm, at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse – but again, the annual membership meeting/drive is NEXT Tuesday [March 15], 6 pm, at The Hall at Fauntleroy inside the old schoolhouse.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Another stolen car to watch for
March 8, 2011 2:05 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

From Devin, a car theft in Fauntleroy:

I wanted to report that our car was stolen on Sunday evening, sometime between 10:30 pm and 6 am Monday. It was parked on the street in front of our house on Vashon View SW [map]. We have filed a police report. The car is a 1996 Acura Integra. It’s dark red with a spoiler on the trunk.

WSBers have spotted stolen cars before, but since we don’t get reports directly from police (their special Twitter feed doesn’t identify the theft location), please keep sending in the info if car theft happens to you. By the way, this is the only category of major crime that rose in Seattle last year compared to 2009, according to 2010 crime stats released today by Seattle Police. We were at HQ for the announcement and are putting together a West Seattle-focused story you’ll see here later.

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Video: ‘Very well-organized’ Thistle Street Stairs cleanup
March 5, 2011 10:59 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | How to help | West Seattle news

10:59 AM: Thanks to Jake Jaramillo for the photo of the in-progress cleanup of the Thistle Street Stairs near Lincoln Park (stretching from 46th/Thistle up to Northrop/Thistle). Jake says there’s still time to go pitch in – “It’s very well-organized. They can put to work anyone who cares to join!”

3:23 PM: Added that clip produced by Wes Sauer of Cider Press Media, narrated by P.J. Glassey. We checked out the cleanup toward the end and indeed, it seemed all involved had a great time (and cleared away multiple bags of overgrowth, including some that was clogging a small drainage ditch alongside the stairs).

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Remembering Ron Richardson: Standing-room-only memorial
February 22, 2011 10:45 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

About 250 people filled the biggest room at The Hall at Fauntleroy this afternoon to celebrate the life of Ron Richardson, the historian/retired teacher/political activist (and so much more) whose cancer battle ended earlier this month at age 75.

“Continue on,” he had exhorted his daughter Carrie Lynn Richardson in a recent note, she recalled. Continue on, life did – with every chair filled, and dozens standing around the edges of the room, even as snow fell intermittently outside, and orcas swam by just off the Fauntleroy shore. Ron’s son Dan Richardson looked out over the crowd from the front of the room as the memorial began, and marveled, “Unbelievable.”

The man known for honoring the fact that everyone had a story to tell was paid tribute with a multitude of stories, from not only family members, but also from former colleagues from his years as a schoolteacher and sports coach, and from his former fellow board member at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Judy Bentley, who observed of Ron’s involvement with so many of its endeavors, from preservation campaigns to walking tours: “He just kept showing up.”

Ron’s own history yielded tales of all manner of achievements, from his multiple road trips during his son and daughter’s childhood – Carrie Lynn said she had been to all 48 continental states by the time she was 15, before she ever took a plane trip – to his 1970s work to get a school built in the jungles of Ecuador.

Speaking again at the end of the memorial’s formal program, her brother Dan recalled their father as a “hero” for keeping a positive attitude during his 16-month fight against the disease that ended his life. It was clearly not just a chin-up positive attitude, but one even with humor, as a Steve Goodman recording was played before those in attendance were invited to share food and stories with each other (and in composition books around the room), the classic “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request.”

Then there was an unspoken tribute few might have noticed – revealed by the presence of this car in the parking lot behind The Hall:

We heard Spc. Dickison’s story from Ron the first time we met him, almost three years ago. The famous sign in his front yard (which we had first noticed a year earlier), charting the tolls of the ongoing war in the Middle East, picked up a new number, in honor of Pfc. Dickison, after his mother knocked on the front door one day. After meeting him, we published Ron’s story about that in May 2008.

To that point, a eulogizer today noted that Ron’s many qualities included embodiment of Joseph Campbell’s exhortation to “Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.” Those who gathered to remember him today, amid that particular sorrow, were invited to participate joyfully in the celebration as well.

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Fauntleroy tree ‘encroachment’: Reminder to check before cutting
February 21, 2011 9:45 pm
|      29 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Walking through Fauntleroy Park one day last fall, Steve Hodson was surprised to hear the sound of chainsaws. Walking toward the south ridge of the park, he came upon a tree-cutting company taking down trees and dropping the debris on a recently restored hillside, crushing the new vegetation.

Hodson, who has been a park steward for many years, pointed out to the tree-cutters that they were dropping debris on a newly restored site.

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Update: $500K bail for West Seattle murder suspect; new details
February 17, 2011 2:47 pm
|      47 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

2:47 PM: We’re at the King County Jail, where a jailhouse-courtroom judge has just ordered bail set at $500,000 for the 19-year-old who is suspected in the murder of 60-year-old entertainer Hokum W. Jeebs (aka Robert Stabile) at his Fauntleroy home early yesterday. The suspect’s lawyer waived his client’s presence, which is their prerogative this early in the case. The prosecution asked for $1 million bail, saying the suspect had just moved here from New York four weeks ago and had a criminal history (as we reported earlier – assault and burglary cases back east) and would be a danger to the community. She also said he may have mental-health issues. The judge ordered half that sum. We are not using the suspect’s name at this point as he has not been charged; the deadline for charges is tomorrow afternoon. More to come.

4:22 PM UPDATE: The probable-cause documents are just in. They indicate the suspect IS the man seen climbing out of a nearby ravine as reported by a WSB commenter hours after the murder. Transcription ahead:Read More

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Update: Police looking for killer after stabbing in Fauntleroy
February 16, 2011 12:20 am
|      45 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

(This story will stay atop the home page TFN – please scroll beneath it for other, newer stories. Latest update, 5:24 pm, working to find out whether a suspect booked into jail for investigation of homicde is linked to this case)

(Police car in Endolyne business district, as part of search/containment following nearby stabbing)
12:20 AM: Police are on the way – and you may hear a helicopter soon too – to a reported stabbing in the 9300 block of 44th SW (map).

12:28 AM UPDATE: We have a crew on the way. What we’ve heard from scanner so far: Victim is a man about 60 years old. Multiple stab wounds, CPR under way.

(Photos and video added from here, all by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:57 AM UPDATE: Search continues, with K-9, but no suspect found so far. WSB’s Christopher Boffoli is there; he’s been told the victim is believed to be around 65. Scanner indicates no suspect description available so far but the suspect “may be injured.” (If you think you see or hear anything or anyone suspicious anywhere near there, call 911 immediately.)

1:16 AM UPDATE: SeattleCrime.com cites Seattle Fire sources as saying the victim has died. We can tell you that the aid unit in which he was getting CPR never left for the hospital – then, a few minutes ago, left without lights/sirens.

1:35 AM UPDATE: Media have been allowed to leave their vehicles. A briefing is expected shortly. We’ll have details as soon as they’re available.

(iPhone video added – briefing, unedited)
2:02 AM UPDATE: Here’s what Christopher says the media was told: SPD Captain Greg Schmidt briefed reporters, confirming that the victim, in his early 60s, is dead. The 911 call came from the victim’s wife, who was in another room of the house and heard her husband talking with someone, then arguing; when she went out, she found her husband stabbed, apparently in the chest, though SPD cannot confirm number of wounds. The man could not give police any information about the attacker; the wife didn’t see him and didn’t recognize the voice, but it’s believed he was “known” to the victim. This is West Seattle’s first homicide in almost five months; the previous ones were on two successive days, September 22nd and 23rd of last year – first the man killed in Roxhill Park, then the quadruple murder-suicide shootings in southeastern West Seattle.

5:31 AM UPDATE: Still no arrest reported.

8:35 AM UPDATE: Same status; police have posted a short item on SPD Blotter, without new details, except that it mentions a single stab wound to the chest, and asks that anyone with information on the case contact them. Photos added above and below – crime tape across the front of the property, and unmarked (except for the letters/numbers in the back window) Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) vans on the street.

12:23 PM UPDATE: We’ve just checked with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, and they have NOT yet released the victim’s identity. If they DO confirm it – which doesn’t appear to have happened yet, according to the person with whom we spoke – and finish required notifications, the public announcement would likely be late this afternoon.

1:32 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Det. Mark Jamieson from the SPD Media Unit to ask if anyone’s been arrested or is being questioned. “Nobody in custody,” he replies, and no other news to report as “very active” investigation continues.

5:23 PM UPDATE: The King County Jail Register lists a suspect as having been booked into jail this afternoon just before 3 pm for investigation of homicide. We are working to confirm whether this is indeed a suspect in the Fauntleroy case.

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Film crew coming to Fauntleroy starting this weekend
February 9, 2011 11:02 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

A film crew is coming to Fauntleroy, starting this Saturday. As a few WSB’ers have mentioned in e-mail, notices have been distributed to nearby homes, and “No Parking” signs are up; we also have spoken with location manager Dave Drummond, who shares this information:

The independent feature film “After the Ghost” will be filming scenes at a residence in Fauntleroy, a short distance north of the ferry terminal. Filming will occur on February 12-16 and Feb 19-21, both during the day and sometimes at night. The production is coordinating with the Fauntleroy Community Association and all nearby residents regarding parking, noise, and other potential impact to the area. Traffic on Fauntleroy Way should not be significantly impacted during daytime and peak hours. Minor traffic delays may be experienced late at night in that area, as Seattle Police will be conducting intermittent traffic holds for some scenes.

“After the Ghost” will be directed by Seattle’s Skip Moody and is being produced and shot entirely in Western Washington. For more information about the production or the impact to the Fauntleroy area, please contact Location Manager Dave Drummond at dave@drummondmedia.com

“After the Ghost” is described online as a “present-day supernatural drama”; you can find out more about it here.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen car found; home broken into
February 5, 2011 11:13 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Arbor Heights | Crime | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

This morning’s West Seattle Crime Watch update starts with good news before we get to a new crime report. Last time around, we included Shay‘s report about her stolen car. She e-mailed last night to say a WSB’er found it!

Because of you, we got our stolen car back SO MUCH FASTER than I ever imagined. One of your faithful readers read about our incident today, called us, and we found our vehicle! There was damage and my skateboard was stolen, but we can’t be more appreciative of the service you provide for our community. When you have your property violated by strangers, it’s very reassuring to know that there are a whole lot more strangers that actually care.

There was rope left in our trunk and the back bumper looked as though it pulled something along (maybe someone ON my skateboard?). If anyone SAW an old Accord pulling anything (Thursday) night, please let us know.

Now, the burglary report – it happened yesterday afternoon in Arbor Heights, 9800 block of 42nd SW (map):

They kicked in the back door between 12:45 pm and 3:00 pm. They stole our Mac desktop, iPad, and iPod touch, plus my jewelry. The police came and we filed a report. If anyone knows anything please let us or the police know.

Thanks again to everyone whose watchfulness helps catch suspects or at least find stolen property. P.S. Got a Block Watch? Be sure it’s linked up with the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network – currently conducting a survey, too.

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Fauntleroy Community Association: Looking back, looking ahead
January 12, 2011 4:23 am
|    Comments Off on Fauntleroy Community Association: Looking back, looking ahead
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

Tuesday night’s snow started a little too late to affect the evening’s slate of community-group meetings. At the old Fauntleroy schoolhouse, the Fauntleroy Community Association looked back and looked ahead. More after the jump:Read More

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Followup: Fauntleroy dogs’ 2nd police encounter leaves 1 dog dead
January 4, 2011 1:33 pm
|      63 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

We promised a followup on a story first reported here last week – police shooting one of two loose dogs in Fauntleroy. The original report has generated 60 comments, including two from someone claiming to be the dogs’ owner, writing that one of the dogs later died (not the one that was shot). We have since confirmed that with police, who have provided other details of the incident, which unfolded in two encounters with officers over the course of New Year’s Eve morning/afternoon/evening – read on: (FRIDAY UPDATE: Photo at right, sent by dogs’ owner)Read More

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‘Lunging’ dog shot by police officer in Fauntleroy
December 31, 2010 6:19 pm
|      98 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Tonight we have details from police about an incident in Fauntleroy this morning (thanks to the two WSB’ers who e-mailed us to ask about it): Police were called about trouble involving two dogs, and shot one of them, according to Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith. He says officers were called to the 9600 block of 48th SW (map) just before 7:30 this morning. The caller said two “aggressive pit bull dogs not known to (the) complainant” were on the porch. According to Lt. Smith, here’s what happened when officers arrived:

The dogs quickly approached a responding officer who was standing on the street. The officer backed away and attempted to place a garbage can as a barrier between him and the dogs, but one of the dogs lunged at him. The officer discharged his duty handgun, striking the dog in the face/head area. The dog fell back, rolled on the ground, then both dogs fled northbound on 48th Av SW. Officers were unable to locate either dog.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Mudslide BEFORE the deluge
December 10, 2010 1:21 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Good thing this isn’t along a particularly busy road – it’s on dead-end Maplewood Place, south of Fauntleroy, in the downhill lane – but it’s a reminder that the ground is already saturated even before this weekend’s expected heavy rain arrives. The city had a landslide-awareness workshop in West Seattle just last weekend, in fact. Right now, all of Western Washington is on alert for a flood watch in effect Saturday afternoon through Monday afternoon, with suggestions that even here in the “lowlands,” we could get two inches or so of rain. (P.S. If a slide does happen, here’s the city’s list of who to call/what to do.)

ADDED 3:01 PM: Not long after we finished this and ran out to an interview, Seattle Public Utilities sent its own advisory about the looming storm, including this information of note:

In preparation for the storm, SPU has assigned extra field operations workers to report to work Saturday and Sunday, and has staged flood control equipment at various locations around the city. The Utility is also delivering about 500 pre-packed sandbags to the Meadowbrook and Delridge Community Center (250 at each), today.

SPU is reminding the public to play it safe by staying out of low-lying areas during times of heavy rains. If your basement is prone to flooding, please stay out of the basement until the risk of flooding has passed.

The public’s help is also requested in keeping Seattle’s 78,000 street drains – the city’s first line of defense against storms – free of debris. Cleaning a blocked street drain is simple: using a rake, just scrape the debris from the drain and place it in your yard waste cart.

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Traffic alert: Crash on Fauntleroy at Kenyon
December 2, 2010 5:23 pm
|    Comments Off on Traffic alert: Crash on Fauntleroy at Kenyon
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Big callout for a crash on Fauntleroy Way alongside Lincoln Park. Northbound traffic – as in, coming away from the ferry terminal – is being diverted onto SW Kenyon. We’re told it involved a car pulling in front of a bus, but nobody was hurt; what was an “automobile rescue” call has already been downgraded and closed since it turned out not to be as bad as it apparently initially sounded. 6:26 PM UPDATE: Added photo of the vehicle hit by the bus. Jeff, who was on the bus (a Sound Transit 560), confirmed nobody was hurt.

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Happening now: Fauntleroy Art Show and Holiday Gift Faire
November 19, 2010 6:37 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening now: Fauntleroy Art Show and Holiday Gift Faire
 |   Fauntleroy | Holidays | West Seattle news

Need a nice warm hat for the cold snap ahead? That’s part of what you’ll find at Fauntleroy Church till 8 pm tonight, 11 am-4 pm tomorrow, and 11 am-1 pm on Sunday, during this year’s expanded Fine Art Show and Holiday Gift Faire. The arts/crafts show sale includes 15 artists “displaying and selling work in a variety of media and prices, including fused glass, photo collage, felt, watercolor, and cast stone,” according to the church, which is at 9140 California SW (map).

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Happening now: CoolMom Toy Swap ‘n’ Sale in West Seattle
November 13, 2010 10:32 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

Still two and a half hours to bring your tote bag(s) to the Fauntleroy Church fellowship hall and stock up on gently used toys as the annual CoolMom Toy Swap ‘n’ Sale continues – they’re spotlighting some items that are too big for your tote bag, too – toddler-size cars on the stage in the background, and baby/child furniture in the foreground:

Fauntleroy Church is across from the historic schoolhouse, at 9140 California SW – that’s not a continuation of the long stretch of California, but rather a bend in the road if you are either heading up Wildwood south of the ferry dock, or heading down Barton west of 35th. The sale continues till 1 pm, with proceeds benefiting WestSide Baby as well as CoolMom. Never know who might just jump into your tote bag!

12:57 PM: Got a text that in the waning moments, everything is half price.

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Sewage storage at Lincoln Park? Fauntleroy group’s next step
November 9, 2010 10:35 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | Fauntleroy | Utilities | West Seattle news

From tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting: Topic A remains the recently surfaced suggestion that the south parking lot of Lincoln Park might be the best place for a storage facility to reduce combined-sewer overflows (CSO) from the Murray Pump Station at Lowman Beach. As noted in previous coverage, the idea came from a citizens’ advisory group made up mostly of people who live outside Fauntleroy, which already is in line to get a CSO-reduction project for the area feeding the Barton Pump Station next to the ferry dock. Tonight, FCA members decided they’ll seek to meet with King County Wastewater Treatment Division‘s Linda Sullivan to talk about their ongoing concerns, many of which were expressed at last week’s community meeting about the proposal (WSB coverage here, including video of the entire meeting). They also want to talk about what might be done to mitigate the effects if the site is chosen. The comment deadline is November 15th, and King County – according to what spokesperson Annie Kolb-Nelson told us a few days ago – expects to decide on its “preferred alternatives” for Murray and Barton in mid-December, so there’s some urgency. Main issues for the FCA regarding the parking lot: Where would people park during construction? How would local businesses be affected? (For more information on the CSO proposals, go here for the Murray process, and here for the Barton process.) One other item of business tonight: March 15, 2011, is the date chosen for the FCA’s annual Food Fest membership-drive event.

The FCA meets the second Tuesday of each month, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy (in the schoolhouse).

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Video: Big turnout for Fauntleroy briefing on new overflow proposal
November 2, 2010 7:02 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

A crowd estimated at more than 100 people came to The Hall at Fauntleroy on Monday night for King County’s briefing on the latest development in the quest to reduce Combined Sewer Overflows from the Murray Pump Station at Lowman Beach. First – we put the entire meeting on video, with the first hour (the county’s presentation) in the top clip, the second hour (attendee discussion) in this next one:

Toplines: The newest option under consideration was chosen by the Citizens’ Advisory Group convened at the behest of Murray “basin” residents concerned about all three of the original potential options, especially one that would dig up the park to bury a big holding tank to reduce overflows. But the option preferred by the group after a summer of work – which at one point had 17 options under consideration (here’s their final report) – is not technically in the Murray basin area; it would involve most of the storage going under Lincoln Park’s south parking lot, which is in Fauntleroy (where a separate pump station, Barton, does not have an overflow-reduction plan chosen yet).

Many Fauntleroy residents who spoke at the meeting voiced concerns about traffic trouble if this latest proposal was chosen by King County – not just from the loss of the parking lot during years of construction, but also because it could overlap with other projects in the area. There also was widespread concern that the group settled on this option without input from area residents; Fauntleroy had one representative on the advisory group, Vlad Oustimovitch, who had voiced those same concerns while the group was making its decision a month ago. Advisory group member Donna Sandstrom said last night that they had tried to be as fair as possible.

One attendee wondered about the status of possibly using private property near Lowman Beach for the storage, which was envisioned in one of the first three options the county had brought forward last spring; area property owners who were at the meeting indicated they had no intention of voluntarily selling.

What’s next? The county has the final say on choosing one potential option for further study, and is not bound by the advisory group’s preference. It’s still taking public comments, so if you have something to say, they want to hear from you by November 15th – here’s how.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Sunday salmon-drumming canceled
October 23, 2010 10:09 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

(Video from November 2009, when last year’s first returning coho were sighted in the creek)
The forecast for tomorrow still looks soggy and blustery, and that’s led Fauntleroy Creek steward Judy Pickens to make this call:

The forecast for late Sunday afternoon is such that we are wise to cancel the annual salmon drumming on Fauntleroy Creek, scheduled for 5 PM at the fish-ladder viewpoint. Parents with young children will keep them home in the face of rain and wind, and we don’t want any instruments getting wet.

Thanks to all who had planned to come and participate in this seasonal ritual. The salmon watch will start on Monday, and we can only hope that the spawners will come in on their own this year!

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