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“Cookies do good work”: West Seattle Scouts’ Bronze Star project
February 23, 2009 7:47 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(Members of Troop 2092 outside Rainier House, with some of what they donated)
Over the weekend, we showed you West Seattle Girl Scouts getting ready for their annual cookie sales, and some WSB’ers joked about the calories. Local Girl Scout mom Tracie Luthi e-mailed WSB to make sure everyone knows cookies are about a lot more than indulgence and calories – the sales are the main fundraiser for local troops, and they do some amazing things with the money, including this one that Tracie tells us about:

West Seattle Girl Scout Troop 2092 has been working on their Bronze Star award, which is the highest award a Junior troop can earn. These Fifth and Sixth graders chose furnishing an apartment at the new Rainier House as their project. The Rainier House is housing through the Downtown Emergency Service Center, which helps vulnerable mentally ill homeless people transition to apartment living.

The apartments are opening this week on Rainier Ave. I believe there is an opening ceremony (today) for the building as a whole, and on Tuesday 50 new residents move in. The troop set up the apartment (Sunday) afternoon with items they purchased with their proceeds from last year’s cookie sales. Cookies do good work!

You can read more about Rainier House in this Times article published today; as reported in our cookie-arrival story Saturday, cookie sales start this Friday (if you want to buy some and have trouble finding them, this webpage can help). Plus, you’ll hear a bit more about what local Girl Scouts are up to, after we cover a “World Thinking Day” event tomorrow night during which the Scouts will be taking action to help improve the health of people half a world away.

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New food-bank garden needs someone who has a way with worms
February 21, 2009 8:00 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | How to help | White Center

White Center Food Bank director Rick Jump is thrilled to have received that container to be turned into a worm-compost box for WCFB’s new “edible garden” – now he just needs a worm-savvy volunteer to help the box fulfill its destiny! He showed us the box when we stopped by this afternoon toward the end of a work party, during which Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle volunteers removed ornamental plantings from a long, narrow strip in front of the WCFB building, and started turning the space into the “edible garden”:

That’s Aviva from CHoSS – she brought kale and collard plants from her own garden to get into the newly tilled ground outside WCFB (which serves part of West Seattle, as well as White Center). The rich soil you see is partly thanks to compost donated by Cedar Grove, but that worm box we mentioned will have a big role in the future too – do you know how to set up and manage a box where worms will turn clippings and scraps into garden-ready compost? If so, please contact Rick at WCFB – rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org or 206.762.2848.

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West Seattle’s Girl Scout Cookies have arrived – all 60,000 boxes
February 21, 2009 2:34 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Those West Seattle Girl Scouts (and some adult volunteers too) spent their Saturday morning working inside a big loading-dock building at Alaska Marine Lines on West Marginal Way, getting ready for their organization’s tastiest event of the year: Girl Scout Cookie sales! This morning, nearly 3,000 cases of cookies arrived, totaling about 60,000 boxes, approximately one for every person in West Seattle; they had to be sorted for troops to pick up, in stacks like this:

The cookies delivered and sold here are made by Little Brownie Bakers in Kentucky, one of only two GS Cookie bakeries in the nation. 25 West Seattle troops will be selling cookies, with the official kickoff date February 27th (next Friday), and sales continuing through March 15. What’s new this year, you ask? Dulce De Leche (think caramel; read about all 8 available cookie varieties here). Cookie prices? $4/box. If you don’t encounter a Girl Scout selling cookies outside your nearest store, or some other way, send a note here and they’ll have someone contact you. And you won’t be surprised to hear you can become a “fan” of Girl Scout Cookies on Facebook. P.S. Tomorrow is Girl Scouts'[ “World Thinking Day,” and while covering the cookie arrival this morning, we got word of a big project the West Seattle girls are working on – stay tuned for more on that.

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Fighting leukemia, x 2: Climb the Columbia; poker for biker
February 21, 2009 12:59 am
|    Comments Off on Fighting leukemia, x 2: Climb the Columbia; poker for biker
 |   How to help | West Seattle people

In the past few days, we’ve heard about two Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraisers that we want to share with you – organizers of both are looking for pledges to help West Seattleites succeed in two upcoming events: First, from MJ Benavente at Snap Fitness (WSB sponsor) in The Junction –

Snap Fitness is sponsoring a team for “The Big Climb” at the Columbia Tower on March 22nd. It’s a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and we are trying to raise pledge money for our team members. Anyone interested in supporting the Snap Fitness climbers can contact the club directly at 206.299.1597, or via e-mail at seattlewest@snapfitness.com

The Big Climb is the regional LLS chapter’s biggest fundraiser, according to this webpage. And as for what it’s like to climb all the way to the top of Seattle’s tallest building – this video from a stairclimb participant who posted his achievement on YouTube in 2007 gives a hint:

Now, the other LLS fundraiser – this note came in from Mandy:

I am doing the Seattle to Portland ride this year and am training with Team in Training. As a part of this team, I need to fundraise $2800 which goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. To raise part of this money, there will be a poker tournament at the Admiral Pub on Friday, March 13th. It is free to play, and thegame that night is Omaha Hold’em. People do not need to know how to play–it is just for fun! Starts at 7:00 pm. If people want to play poker, they need to call the pub at 933.9500 to sign up. There is already a list started.

I will also be selling raffle tickets and the prizes are generously donated from local businesses. People are encouraged to come to the pub that night (even if they don’t play poker) to join in on the raffle, have dinner, play darts, and I will also be making delicious baked goods to sell for the cause.

Also–I am still looking for gift certificates from local businesses to enter into the raffle. This is an excellent way for local businesses to get their names out there and gain new customers!

If people are interested in donating to this cause on my page, they can donate
securely at: pages.teamintraining.org/wa/stp09/mwilliaeho

Businesses can contact me at this e-mail address if they are interested in donating a gift certificate.

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Delridge Produce Co-op update: More pitch in; still room for you
February 20, 2009 10:28 pm
|    Comments Off on Delridge Produce Co-op update: More pitch in; still room for you
 |   Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

After another meeting this week to get the envisioned Delridge Produce Co-op further down the road to reality, Galena White shares how it went, including word of a possible produce source, and a search for entertainment experts! Read on for Galena’s full report:Read More

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Morgan Junction Park name campaign: Time for you to help
February 19, 2009 12:35 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(photo taken today, added 4:50 pm)
Local neighborhood leaders have been working for months (9/08 WSB report here) to get Morgan Junction’s new park – under construction now and scheduled for dedication at the Morgan Community Festival June 13th – named for the late longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, who lost his cancer fight a year ago. The campaign has run into some roadblocks, including Parks Department policy stipulating at least 3 years between a person’s death and a naming honor like this. But supporters aren’t giving up, and now they are asking for your help: Pete Spalding just sent word that he and several other of the aforementioned leaders, including Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker, Steve Sindiong, and Chas Redmond, are starting a petition drive, hoping to gather signatures to present to West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who has the final say on park names. Download a copy of the petition here, gather some signatures ASAP, and send them to Pete, whose address is on the form. (Also look for the petition at upcoming community meetings – Pete says signature-gathering began at meetings last night including the Delridge District Council.)

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West Seattle YMCA fundraising drive: Halfway home
February 18, 2009 10:52 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle YMCA fundraising drive: Halfway home
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

(Photo provided by West Seattle YMCA: Campaign volunteer Benita Buchanan records the
total raised to date at last night’s report meeting)
Right now, the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) is in the middle of its annual push to draw donations to make sure their programs are accessible to all – They did a check-in last night, and Samantha Bowes sends this report:

Last night, West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA Partners With Youth campaign volunteers gathered at the Fauntleroy YMCA to report on their progress toward their fundraising goal. They’ve raised over $96,000 on a goal of $205,000 in donations to keep YMCA programs accessible to kids, teens, and families in West Seattle, South Park, and Vashon

This is half of the overall campaign goal of $410,000 – our Board of Managers is raising the other half, and is at more than $115,000 to date, for a total of $211,000 raised on that $410,000 goal.

175+ volunteers make this effort a success every year – our thanks to them and to the hundreds of local residents who contribute to the campaign.

To learn more about the campaign, volunteer to help, or make a donation, contact Samantha Bowes at sbowes@seattleymca.org or 206-935-6000.

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A place to play: Come take a new look at Cottage Grove
February 18, 2009 9:31 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

It’s an often-used quote attributed to the late music legend John Lennon: Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans. This manifests in ways large and small – just ask North Delridge resident Betsy Hoffmeister, who’s spent the past year spearheading an effort to create a place at Cottage Grove Park (above) for the littlest kids in her neighborhood to play (here’s our first report from 2/22/08). We reported two weeks ago that the plan was evolving, and now Betsy is inviting you to help:

Are you interested in building a play space appropriate for the youngest children in Delridge at 26th Ave SW and SW Brandon St? If so, please attend a site review meeting with the Department of Parks and the Department of Neighborhoods on Thursday, February 19 at 11 a.m. If the weather is really bad, we will meet at the Neighborhood Service Center next door to the library on Delridge Way. Some background:

It’s been exactly a year since a group of parents in the Delridge neighborhood of Cottage Grove brought up the idea of building a tot lot at the site of the Cottage Grove Park on 26th Ave SW and Brandon. The City recently put in a new playground there, and we neighbors find it really difficult to use. The equipment is intended for older children, but the kids in our neighborhood don’t seem to play on it. There is absolutely nothing for toddlers to do, so families with mixed groups of kids tend to go to the other playgrounds in other communities. We held a series of discussions and public meetings to come up with an idea and decided on building an additional playground on the site, to contain a double bay swingset for tots and older kids, a small climber, and some spring toys. Lots of neighbors and businesses chipped in, we brought this to the City, and were awarded a Small and Simple Grant to pursue the project but with lots of preconditions.

One of the preconditions was for a landscape architect to draw a site design. A lovely volunteer architect drew up a site plan and ushered it through the City’s multi-step review process.

The result of the review process was a bit of a shock. The Parks Department folks decided that with all the concrete retaining wall, building drainage, moving irrigation pipes, moving trees, and other hardware stuff, the project is likely to cost on the order of $200,000. Yeah, I know, that’s a little nuts, considering that the equipment itself is less than $20,000!

Their suggestion was to come back and ask the neighborhood – rather than building a new playground, what could we do with the playground we already have to improve it? In the very near future, we will have a big old public meeting to discuss this. I have finally met one single family who loves this playground and we want to hear what they love about it, but we also want to hear from folks who don’t love it, what they’d like to change.

In the meantime, we went ahead and applied for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant to try to get the money we’d need to build out, but that is only up to $50,000 matching. The meeting on Thursday is to look at the site, discuss options, and talk about preparing the full proposal to the city. We need some warm bodies, with or without children, to come along and demonstrate the difficulties of using this play equipment and talk about what we would like to see done. Please come out and help. Contact me, Betsy, at betsy at hoffmeisters dot com for more information.

Cottage Grove Park is at 5206 26th SW; here’s a map.

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Mayor’s call to action: Where to find volunteer opportunities
February 17, 2009 5:35 pm
|    Comments Off on Mayor’s call to action: Where to find volunteer opportunities
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

In his State of the City address today (full text here), Mayor Nickels put out the call for 10,000 more people to volunteer. We know you’re probably volunteering already. But in case you’re not – the city’s partnering with United Way of King County to round up that help, and here’s the start link on the United Way site. (Side note: WSB often reports on ways you can help, and all those stories can be found, newest to oldest, in our “How to Help” archive; we’re always ready to get the word out about more volunteer opportunities, so contact us anytime!)

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Remember the time capsule? There’s still … time!
February 16, 2009 11:10 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Alki Statue of Liberty | How to help | West Seattle history

nov1308snw.pngRemember last November 13th? The day people all over Seattle were invited to save a memento of the day and contribute it to a time capsule that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is putting together? Turns out – there’s still time to get your contribution in, according to Andrea Mercado, who called us this weekend statue.jpgwith the reminder. (Jogged our memory too, since we had failed to print out the 11/13/08 WSB entries we intended to contribute!) So if you set something aside and just forgot to send it in – a photo from that day, art you created, a program or agenda from an event you sponsored or attended, or anything else signifying “how life was lived in Seattle 11/13/08” – e-mail digital contributions (photos etc.) to loghousemuseum@yahoo.com , or, for postal mail, find the SWSHS address here. The time capsule will be going into the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza when additional bricks are installed later this year, and they’d love to have more to put into it – just get it in by the end of this month. (Photo courtesy David Hutchinson)

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Happening today: Farmers’ Market, WSB Forum potluck, more
February 15, 2009 7:06 am
|    Comments Off on Happening today: Farmers’ Market, WSB Forum potluck, more
 |   How to help | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle online

All from the Sunday section of the WSB West Seattle Weekend Lineup:

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, as always. The fresh sheet wasn’t published this week – but you’re bound to find a tasty surprise.

HEALTHY HEART DAY: There’s one more thing you can do in The Junction today to be kind to your heart (besides buying fresh produce at the Farmers’ Market) — Pharmaca (WSB sponsor) is celebrating Healthy Heart Day, 11 am-3 pm, with free cholesterol screenings, raffles, and more (details here; also, take along this WSB coupon to get $10 off a $50 purchase).

MORE DOG DONATIONS: The folks at Muttley Crew Cuts have some more bake-sale goodies today, raising money to help the North Sound puppy-mill rescue effort. (The Saturday sale raised more than $1,000, according to Muttley Crew co-owner Kelly; Bernadette from The Wash Dog also was raising money on Saturday, half the proceeds from self-serve dog washes, more than $700!)

WSB FORUM POTLUCK AND DONATION DRIVE: Furry Faces Foundation, which also is helping the puppy-mill rescue effort, is one of two nonprofits for which WSB Forum members are inviting donations during a potluck get-together today (the other is Seattle Education Access). Everybody’s welcome! 1-5 pm at Big Al Brewing in White Center; read more here.

MUSIC FESTIVAL TO HELP KIDS: This afternoon, 2:30 pm at Grace Church, it’s the concert and fundraiser (for Baphumelele, a South African children’s home) organized by Seattle Lutheran student Lauren Vanderpool as her senior project. Full details and a map await you here.

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Happening tomorrow: Enjoy local music, help orphaned children
February 14, 2009 3:34 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening tomorrow: Enjoy local music, help orphaned children
 |   How to help | West Seattle schools | WS culture/arts

That’s Khayelitshe, South Africa, home to the Baphumelele Children’s Home, which helps kids whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow afternoon, you’re invited to a Children’s Music Festival — the senior project of Seattle Lutheran High School senior Lauren Vanderpool (left) — to benefit the children getting assistance from Baphumelele Home. It’s at 2:30 pm Sunday, Grace Church (10323 28th SW; here’s a map), and a free-will offering will be taken at the door. Lauren writes, “Children and teens from Seattle Lutheran and around Seattle are sharing their musical talents in a variety of ways. … There are over 14,000 orphaned children in the small village of Khayelitshe. Baphumelele is a haven for these children whose lives are affected by AIDS. Right now the women of Baphumelele are in the process of building several more ‘Cluster Homes’ so the children have a warm place to sleep, and a health clinic (they have a doctor and two nurses who visit twice a week). Baphumelele is run by local women from the Khayelitshe village. The children of South Africa need our help and support.” You can find out more at www.baphumelele.org.za — and by going to the Children’s Music Festival tomorrow afternoon at Grace Church.

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West Seattle weekend scenes: Need sweet Valentine treats?
February 14, 2009 11:02 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | Pets | West Seattle businesses

From left, John, Kelly, and Lauren are the family who unleashed Muttley Crew Cuts on West Seattle – and as we mentioned earlier this morning, they’re having a bake sale today to raise money for the North Sound puppy-mill rescuees/rescuers. You can’t miss the bake-sale tent outside their shop on the west side of California south of Hanford (map) – that’s what caught our eye and led us to pull over for a quick photo on the way back to WSB HQ from another story. (Inside, 50 percent of the proceeds from today’s bath-only canine clients go to the same cause, and The Wash Dog in Morgan Junction is doing the same for self-serve dog washes.) They’re there till 7 (bake sale too, for as long as the ample supply of treats last!). ADDED 10 PM: Kelly e-mailed to say the bake sale alone brought in $1,000 today! And that doesn’t even include the 50% of “bath dog” proceeds they were planning to donate. She adds, “We had a wonderful day and thank everyone that came out and supported us. We will be here tomorrow starting at 10 am to groom cats; I will have the left-over goodies here if anyone wants to stop by and donate. Please no dogs tomorrow, it’s hard enough grooming cats :) We are all going home and going to bed!!!!”

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Happy Valentine’s Day, West Seattle! Today’s highlights
February 14, 2009 6:21 am
|    Comments Off on Happy Valentine’s Day, West Seattle! Today’s highlights
 |   How to help | Pets | WS beverages | WS culture/arts

HELP PUPPY-MILL RESCUEES BY GETTING YOUR DOG/S CLEAN: Self-serve dog washes at The Wash Dog and “bath-only dogs” at Muttley Crew Cuts both will send 50 percent of today’s proceeds to help the puppy-mill rescuees/rescuers in the North Sound. For The Wash Dog, hours are 8 am-7 pm; for Muttley Crew, hours are 9 am-7 pm, and you need to call for an appointment — 932-6888 — they’re having a bake sale with hot coffee and cocoa too.

HELP STUDENTS BY GETTING YOUR CAR CLEAN: 10 am-3 pm at West Seattle High School, student fundraiser car wash, suggested donation $10.

FREE STRAWBERRY WHITE MOCHA: Go to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) and mention you heard about the free drink at West Seattle Blog – they’re open 7 am-7 pm.

FREE EXERCISE: 9 am at Youngstown Arts Center, the NiaDivas (WSB sponsors) invite you to start Valentine’s Day by doing something good for your heart (and the rest of you) – in a free “Welcome to Nia” introductory class.

FREE MUSIC: Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for all the places you can enjoy free music today and tonight – one late add, Henta and Marias performing 3-5 this afternoon at Pearls on Delridge.

Those are just a few of today’s biggies — the full list is here.

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Delridge Produce Co-Op is off the launch pad!
February 13, 2009 9:24 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

We told you about this growing effort – last night was the first open meeting to discuss how to make it happen, and Galena White has posted a report on the co-op website – including:

We all agreed that a working mission statement could be, “Bring inexpensive organic produce to Delridge.” We’d like to see a storefront as soon as possible, but we know that we need lots more people to get involved to make that happen. Most of us liked the idea of a Mobile Market, with the exception of Jen, who has experience in that area and says that: while a Mobile Market could be useful, in the long term she thinks that a storefront would work better. We were all interested in the prospect of a cafe attached to a storefront that would use the fresh ingredients at their peak of ripeness, because Delridge lacks a healthy restaurant.

As Galena mentions in the full report, there’s still plenty of time to get involved – next meeting’s next week.

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Out with the grasses, in with the food: A hunger-fighting garden
February 12, 2009 9:39 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news | White Center

We’ve also posted this at partner site White Center Now, but thought you might be interested too, as the White Center Food Bank also serves part of West Seattle. From Aviva at Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle:

Community Harvest of SW Seattle in partnership with the White Center Food Bank will be removing some grasses and other ornamentals to make room for a food garden. This demonstration garden, designed by a SSCC horticulture student, will have sections for traditional Asian greens, square foot gardening, northwest berries, and containers. The intention of this garden is to inspire and educate on the possibilities for growing food, even in limited spaces.

Seattleworks volunteers will be digging up existing landscaping on February 21st, and we would like to offer some of these lovely grasses and bushes in exchange for compost (or $$ to buy compost!) All donations of time or money will be happily accepted and will go toward this project and other projects which encourage food growing amongst low-income residents of West Seattle and White Center.

Contact: info@gleanit.org

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WestSide Baby makes history with Valentine Tea sellout
February 12, 2009 1:53 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The final tally’s in for the WestSide Baby fundraising tea last weekend – a sellout crowd for the first time ever – and executive director Nancy Woodland sends along the official announcement:

WestSide Baby’s Annual Tea fundraiser generated a sell-out crowd of more than 460 attendees and raised nearly $70,000 to help South King County families in need.

The Annual Tea was held on Sunday, February 8, at the Brockey Center on South Seattle’s Community College campus. Each year, table captains provide their own tea service so their guests can enjoy afternoon refreshments and socializing. The event focused on the impact WestSide Baby has in supporting more than 12,000 local children in 2008 and guests made financial contributions to support programs. “The guests who gathered for the Tea recognized the obviously increasing importance of supporting children in need our community. This response is critical to our mission because 96% of our financial support comes from individuals and small businesses,” said Nancy Woodland, Executive Director.

This year, twenty-one local business Sponsors covered the costs of the event while an additional nine offered gifts for give-aways. “The generous spirit of local small businesses is astounding during economic times like these. Business support like this is critical to pulling off an event of this magnitude without directing other funds away from immediate community needs for items such as diapers and clothing.” Woodland said. Since opening in 2001, WestSide Baby has distributed over $6 million worth of clothing, toys, baby gear, and other items.

The sponsors are listed on this page of the WestSide Baby website; meantime, you can help WestSide Baby too – its website will show you how.

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Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes’ challenge: Fill the box; get your own!
February 11, 2009 7:49 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Carol Madaio, operations manager of Fauntleroy-based Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering, wanted to let you know about the food drive happening at her company. She hopes it will result in overflow donations for the empty box above – and inspiration for other West Seattle companies too:

We start our week every Monday morning with an all-office meeting to go over the upcoming week. Rob Garner, our General Manager opens the meeting by reading from a book called “Every Monday Matters – 52 ways to make a difference” by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza. The book provides “52 creative but doable activities and gives 52 down to earth ways to make a difference”. Through this book, Rob, along with Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering owners David Haggerty and David Meckstroth have been challenging us all to make a difference separately and collectively.

Last week’s topic – “Ever been hungry for a week?” which included the fact that 35.1 million people have limited access to enough food and that 12.4 million of those are children hit us hard. You see, that is what we do, we feed people and in the process there is always food for us to eat too. We smell delicious food all day and enjoy a family meal at lunch every day. And while our Executive Chef frequently brings appropriate leftovers to neighborhood shelters we wanted to do more.

The idea came for us to have an office food drive where instead of the usual treats at our next Monday meeting we would all bring in cans of food which would be donated to the West Seattle Food Bank. Soon the idea grew to a company food drive. We would like to put this challenge out to the rest of the West Seattle businesses to do the same this week.

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Music, food, and fun, to benefit the Chief Sealth music program
February 11, 2009 2:04 pm
|    Comments Off on Music, food, and fun, to benefit the Chief Sealth music program
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle schools

We added this to the WSB West Seattle Events calendar a few days ago, but in case you haven’t seen it yet – this Valentine’s Eve event is just a couple nights away – the official announcement about an event 6-10 pm this Friday nigh, benefiting the Chief Sealth High School music program:

Come join us for a night of entertainment, big band music, performed by the Chief Sealth Jazz and Combo band and the West Seattle Big Band. The evening includes a spaghetti dinner, and a live auction. Adults $15; Student with ASB $10; Children $7 (ages 5-12). Location: Chief Sealth High School at the Boren Building, 5950 Delridge Way Southwest, Seattle. For more information or to order tickets please call (206) 321-9003

Fundraiser season is in full swing, so make sure we have info on yours – if it’s not in our Events calendar, please e-mail us the who/what/when/where/why so we can add it! editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

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Happening today/tonight: Chocolate! Politics! Relay! Trails! Idol!
February 11, 2009 6:03 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help

Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

CHOCOLATE – “IT DOES THE BODY GOOD”: Really! At 2 pm, Emily Gonzalez, ND, will explain, at Pharmaca (WSB sponsor) in The Junction.

POLITICS: The 34th District Democrats get together tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 7 pm, with three city councilmembers among the guests.

RELAY: 6:30 pm at Salty’s, you’re invited to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Seattle Kickoff Party – looking ahead to the summertime event that combines fun with raising anti-cancer money and awareness. (More at westseattlerelay.org)

TRAILS: Tonight’s your night to help make Fauntleroy more walkable – and help design public art, as well as helping choose sites for wayfinding kiosks. It’s a community meeting with the West Seattle Trails Alliance, 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church.

IDOL: Junction Idol continues at Rocksport tonight, 9 pm – find out more here. Here’s the winner from last week, Julie:

ADDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Also happening tonight – opening night for West Seattle Montessori‘s (WSB sponsor) production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” 7 pm, West Seattle High School Theater, tickets $6. If you don’t see this in time – it’s playing tomorrow (Thursday) night too!

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Monday afternoon notes: From annexation vote to float followup
February 9, 2009 3:23 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | How to help | Pigeon Point | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news | White Center

COUNCIL SAYS “NO” TO ANNEXATION AGREEMENT: We’re working on continuing coverage for this at partner site White Center Now, but it’s worth a note here: The Seattle City Council has just voted 8 to 1 to *not* endorse the recent agreement reached with Burien and two fire districts, setting a framework for the potential annexation process over the next few years; the agreement basically gave Burien first rights of refusal on the southern half of the North Highline unincorporated area, and Seattle first rights on the north half (including most of White Center). We’re continuing to add details from the council discussion to the WCN report here. (5:14 pm note: Added a comment from Seattle mayoral spokesperson Alex Fryer, saying, “The MOU with Burien took some time, but we had an agreement that made sense for all the parties. With the City Council decision today, we’re done with the issue for this year.”)

HAPPENING TONIGHT: Last reminders about three events of note, all on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: The Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meets at Cooper Elementary, 7 pm; the Denny Site Redevelopment Design Team meets at the Denny Middle School Library, also 7 pm; and the ARK Park benefit concert (raising money for a privately funded new park on land owned by Arbor Heights Community Church) is happening at Roosevelt High School, also at 7.

“HAVE A HEART” FINAL TALLY: Heather at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) tells us yesterday’s event (WSB coverage here) brought in more than $1,700 for West Seattle Helpline and Pencil Me in for Kids.

HI-YU FLOAT HOME SEARCH: West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival president Tim Winston reports that the float has a reprieve (following this item over the weekend) but it’s not forever:

Harbor Properties has once more been gracious and extended our storage of the float through February. However, their project will need us to be out after that.

Regarding use of other currently empty buildings – they are looking for contacts, so even if you don’t know for sure whether something might be available, if you have a contact and can provide that info to Hi-Yu, please call Tim at 206-938-2088.

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Another P-Patch confirmed for West Seattle! How to help it grow
February 9, 2009 2:09 pm
|    Comments Off on Another P-Patch confirmed for West Seattle! How to help it grow
 |   Gardening | How to help | West Seattle news

wsccgarden.jpg

(July 2008 WSB photo of Psomizo Garden, west of new P-Patch location)
Just last week, reporting on the Southwest District Council‘s latest meeting, we mentioned that city Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao remarked on the popularity of the P-Patch community-garden program and its long waiting lists. Good news today – a site donated by West Seattle Christian Church in The Junction has won official approval to become a P-Patch (here are the current WS P-Patches), and Aaron Hernandez (shown above, tending the nearby donated-food Psomizo Garden last summer with his daughter) is looking for people to be on the Steering Committee. If you’re interested, contact Aaron at 206-280-5015 or wscc.grounds@hotmail.com – the garden plot is on the north side of church grounds, on Genesee between 41st and 42nd (map).

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Happening now: Have a Heart Day at Illusions Hair Design
February 8, 2009 2:47 pm
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 |   How to help | West Seattle businesses

That’s Fauntleroy Church office manager Jackie Gould in the chair, with stylist Rita Golden, at Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor). Till 5 pm, it’s Illusions’ annual “Have a Heart Day,” with stylists donating their time and all proceeds going to Pencil Me In for Kids and West Seattle Helpline. Even if you didn’t make an appointment to be part of it, the Illusions team is taking donations for those two organizations (follow the links to read about them), and if you drop by before 5, those’ll go into the day’s tally. (Another reason to drop by – an art exhibit – they’re showing photos by Marybeth Coghill through the end of the month.)

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