West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
(WSB photo from June 2014 Field Day)
By proclamation of the governor, it’s Amateur Radio Week in our state – and it will wrap up this weekend with a big event that you’re invited to visit, Field Day on the south end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. The West Seattle Amateur Radio Club is one of the groups that’ll be participating. Here’s the official announcement:
Members of the Puget Sound Repeater Group (PSRG) and the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS) will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise, June 27 – 28, 2015 South Seattle College (behind Olympic Hall) in West Seattle. Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of Amateur Radio. This event is open to the public and all are encouraged to attend.
For over 100 years, Amateur Radio — sometimes called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet.
It’s still almost three months out, but summertime roars by, so you might want to start planning now to participate in the 2015 West Seattle Car Show, which, as announced here earlier this month, will be at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – 10 am-3 pm on Sunday, September 13th, with load-in at 8 am and awards at 3. Co-presenters Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks (also both WSB sponsors), with the help of Webcami, have the application form up now at westseattlecarshow.com (the rest of the website will be launched soon), so you can download it and send it in before the summer gets busy.
Signups just started for popular free classes at the Seattle Chinese Garden on Puget Ridge – the next session of the Community Chinese Corner:
Experienced Chinese teachers and student assistants lead these fun classes for all ages. Learning activities include talking about food, playing cards, and painting. Co-sponsored by the Seattle Chinese Garden and the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington. The sessions are free, but donations are welcome. Go here for more information.
The classes will be held alternate Tuesdays, March 24-June 30, 4:30-6 pm in the Chan Center at the garden, which is just north of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). You can register online by going here. (2012 photo by Pollyanna Wang)
That’s poet/author Lawrence (Larry) Matsuda, reading his work at the Wing Luke Museum in 2011. This Thursday, he will keynote a special event at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – and the announcement includes an invitation for you:
On Thursday, Feb. 12, South Seattle College will host a Japanese American Day of Remembrance event featuring keynote speaker Lawrence Matsuda.
A noted author, Matsuda will hold two speaking sessions in the Olympic Hall Auditorium (OLY 120) at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
This annual event commemorates the anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorizing the evacuation and incarceration of 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast; most of whom were U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. The order, known as Executive Order 9066, was signed on Feb. 19, 1942. In Washington State alone, nearly 13,000 people of Japanese descent were sent to detention centers, including Seattleites who were sent to Camp Minidoka near Hunt, Idaho.
Matsuda was born in an Idaho internment camp and spent the first three years of his life there. His latest book, “Glimpses of a Forever Foreigner,” is a collection of poetry that was inspired by the experience of those 120,000.
During both sessions, Matsuda – who earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Washington – will share personal narratives from Minidoka survivors and pilgrims, and perform excerpts from “Glimpses of a Forever Foreigner.” Additionally, signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.
This event is free and open to the community.
Olympic Hall is at the south end of the SSC campus, which is at 6000 16th SW.
Here’s the photo op we mentioned earlier – South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) students and staff gathered this morning to show their Seahawk-fan spirit! That’s our photo above; the college says its own “official” version will be on the SSC Facebook page later this afternoon. While there, our photographer put 2-year-old Mia on the WSB Instagram feed:
ADDED 2:26 PM: More photos:
We’re continuing to collect West Seattle Seahawk-spirit notes – including where to watch on Sunday – here.
(Photos/video courtesy South Seattle College)
A student’s inspiring story keynoted tonight’s recordsetting “Gifts from the Earth” fundraiser at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). Above, David Yama spoke to the sold-out crowd of 300. Here’s the full recap by SSC’s communications director Kevin Maloney:
South Seattle College announced tonight that the annual Gifts from the Earth fundraising event raised nearly $215,000, a new record in its 12-year history. Proceeds from the event benefit South’s Foundation in its mission to support South students and programs with scholarships, internships, emergency funding, tutoring, and more.
“Gifts from the Earth is an inspiring event where philanthropists and our sponsors come together for the common goal of supporting South students in their pursuit of a higher education and a fulfilling career,” South Seattle College President Gary Oertli said. “Their support has an enormous impact on our students’ ability to realize their dreams.”
South’s supporters started their night with a silent auction accompanied by appetizers and wines crafted by South’s Culinary Arts, Pastry and Baking Arts, and Northwest Wine Academy students and alumni. Next, the sold-out event moved to the Jerry M. Brockey Center, where guests enjoyed a multi-course meal created by 15 celebrity Northwest chefs (including South alumni). Students from the college’s culinary, wine and Hospitality Management B.A.S. programs helped the chefs prep, cook and serve.
A highlight of the evening came after dinner and a live auction, when South student David Michael Patrick Yama shared his story of emerging from poverty to succeeding in college with the help of a Foundation scholarship:
“I sought out a Foundation scholarship because I needed more money, but money was the smallest thing it gave me,” said Yama, who hopes to obtain a doctorate in biomedical engineering. “The greatest thing it gave to me was validation. Validation that I belong here, that I could succeed in school.”
Gifts from the Earth is made possible by the support of the following sponsors: Food Services of America (title sponsor), Boeing, Union Bank, Rebar and Associates, McGranahan Architects, GM Nameplate, QBSI, Interbay Food Company, WSECU, Vigor Industrial, The Gene Colin and Susan Janus Charitable Fund, Pedersen’s and Ferguson Construction.
(Watch SSC’s Facebook page for a photo gallery next week.) The college is headquartered on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge.
More than two dozen Puget Ridge neighbors of all ages hit the streets this morning for a community cleanup. Thanks to Amy Hallmon for sharing photos.
Something cool happening in YOUR ‘hood? Please let us know so we can share the news peninsula-wide!
(Added: WSB photo of SSCC parking lot by ravine where the girls were found)
1:56 PM: Police are looking for two girls, ages 4 and 10, in eastern West Seattle, and their family has asked us to get the word out too. The older girl has brown hair, wearing pink sweats and a pink orange jacket; younger girl has blonde hair, wearing a bright orange or blue (reversible) jacket and bright pink pants. They left their house without permission more than an hour ago and might be in the greenbelt behind Sanislo Elementary, their family says. If you see them, please call 911.
3:01 PM: Per scanner – just found, near South Seattle College.
3:26 PM: We have also confirmed with police in the area, that they are OK and safe. Medics were called to check them out just to be sure.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
Culinary students at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) were working on this gingerbread house well into Tuesday evening – after having already put more than 100 hours of work into it – with instructors including Christopher Harris (left). This morning, college spokesperson Kevin Maloney says, it’s scheduled to be picked up for delivery to Costco‘s corporate offices, where it will be on display in the travel area.
ADDED: Here’s the SSC report with full details on the gingerbread project.
Nobody’s hurt, according to police, but a three-car crash at 16th/Myrtle is causing some traffic trouble – as you probably know, that’s on the road to/from South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and not far from Sanislo Elementary. If you don’t absolutely HAVE to head that way, you might consider waiting a while. Tow crews are on the way.
A new distinction for the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Arboretum will be celebrated tomorrow, and you’re invited. SSC shared the photo above and this announcement:
On Saturday, October 11, the Coenosium Rock Garden feature at South Seattle College’s Arboretum will be inaugurated as an American Conifer Society (ACS) Reference Garden, with a dedication ceremony running from 1-3:30 p.m.
The celebration starts with welcome messages from Seattle Colleges Chancellor Dr. Jill Wakefield and Van Bobbitt, lead faculty member of South’s Landscape Horticulture program. To follow, special recognition will be given to individuals who helped make the Coenosium Rock Garden possible. The feature is known as one of the largest dwarf conifer collections in the United States. The inauguration will wrap up with remarks from David Olszyk, president of the ACS Western Region, followed by refreshments and tours of the Coenosium Rock Garden.
South’s 5-acre arboretum, established by the South Seattle College Foundation in 1978, functions as a living laboratory and outdoor classroom for the college’s Landscape Horticulture students. Professional horticulturists, hobby gardeners and other college programs are often found exploring the free garden sanctuary as well.
(WSB photo, taken this afternoon)
Fall quarter starts tomorrow at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). According to the official announcement, changes for fall include a new Bachelor’s Degree program, Sustainable Building Science Technology, a “90-credit degree program (that) offers industry professionals a pathway to becoming a skilled Building Science Professional. The program emphasizes upper-division coursework that focuses on the complexities of building science, energy codes, building codes and facility management.” Also: What were known as the International Programs at SSC are now under the umbrella of the renamed Center for International Education, which moved to a new space on campus over the summer, housing services ranging “from aiding international students … to Study Abroad programs and international staff/faculty exchange opportunities.”
P.S. Registration for SSC classes is still open, even with school starting tomorrow – here’s the info on that.
A big police response on Puget Ridge late last night had a lot of people wondering what was going on; we’ve just obtained the police report with details. A man and woman were arrested for investigation of burglary at a house in the 5200 block of 18th SW (map) where, the report says, they used to live. The landlord’s son told police the former tenants were evicted two weeks ago and did not have permission to be in the house.
Police were called around 11 pm when the landlord found out the in-house security system had detected intruders. Its live video feed was obstructed (later, police discovered the camera on the floor), but two voices were heard. Both alleged intruders were inside when police arrived and came out when ordered to. They told police they had gone back into the house – which they claimed was unlocked – looking for mail they were expecting, though, when asked by an officer where the mail should have been, they said it would have been in the mailbox across the street from the house. Meantime, police discovered one of the suspects was the subject of two arrest warrants, for theft and assault, and they found drug paraphernalia in the house and in possession of one suspect, so the man and woman were arrested and booked into the King County Jail.
Here’s a reason for you to come visit one of West Seattle’s semi-hidden treasures – the Seattle Chinese Garden Kite Festival continues until 6 pm.
We just left the garden; it’s breezy and beautiful. It’s just past the horticulture zone on the northernmost end of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge.
Admission is free; bring your own kite or buy one at the garden – also, as noted on the SCG home page, you can enjoy “kite flying demonstrations, displays, and kite painting.”
This weekend, planes and helicopters hold the spotlight. Next Saturday, a simpler, nature-powered form of flight will be celebrated here in West Seattle, during the Seattle Chinese Garden Kite Festival. In case you haven’t seen it in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar yet, here’s the invitation:
Come fly a kite at the Garden’s ridge-top site! Bring your own or buy one at the festival for a fun afternoon with family or friends. Activities for all ages include kite flying demonstrations, displays, and kite painting. Put your own creative stamp on one you paint yourself — materials provided. The festival also includes music and dance performances, Chinese painting demonstrations — and a dim sum booth by Hong Kong Café.
Admission is free. The Chinese Garden is on the north edge of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, on Puget Ridge at 6000 16th SW.
“This is not your grandfather’s amateur radio service,” points out the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club, inviting you to stop by Field Day on the south side of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus any time before 10 am tomorrow. What’s Field Day, you ask?
Every June hams across the country take their radios outside and run them free of the electric grid. Joining with members of the Auxillary Communications Service (amateurs who work with Seattle Department of Emergency Management) and the Puget Sound Repeater Group, West Seattle Amateur Radio Club members will operate radios and communicate with other hams around the world from West Seattle. We operate using power we generate including solar panels and batteries. We build our stations in the 24 hours prior to the event
Yes, you’ll see that big antenna in our top photo – with which they’ve even been talking to the International Space Station – but then there’s smaller equipment:
(The water bottles, we were told, are just for counterbalance.) The club explains further:
As a group, some of us just built our own software defined radios. The only analog part of these radios is the antenna connection. We are deploying a wide area microwave network and in doing so are learning mesh networking and how to offer services across our homebrewed internet. Knowlege like that will make hooking your printer up a snap next time. We routinely use digital modes that allow effective communication using 1/1000th the power needed just a decade ago. While some of us still employ large antenna arrays for worldwide communication, it is now possible to work the world with a very modest station.
We peeked in the main tent, and found Jeff:
Anyone you find will be happy to talk with you (as well as with whomever they’re transmitting to and receiving from). Outside, talking to Curt, we were reminded that amateur-radio operators are deeply involved in emergency preparedness – and in other tasks that need close communications coordination – even on the sidelines at the West Seattle Grand Parade (watch for them July 19th).
On West Seattle’s Puget Ridge, this house demolition happening now is big news – it’s the long-awaited removal of the house on the future site of Puget Ridge Edible Park (18th/Brandon). Thanks to Stu Hennessey for the photo and word that demolition has begun. PREP has been in the works for years – here’s our March 2011 report about volunteers working on the plan after the city agreed to buy the 3/4-acre site with Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund money. As noted on the project page, the vision for PREP is “to create an urban community farm which is a neighborhood meeting place, a community food garden and a test site for environmentally conscientious sustainability.” We’ll be following up on where the park-development plan goes from here, now that the site’s being cleared.
Big event under way all weekend at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – the annual Communications Academy for volunteer emergency communicators, though, as evidenced by what we spotted outside, you’ll find lots of professionals there too. They include today’s keynoter Bill Schrier, the West Seattleite who is the former Seattle city IT boss and now works in the state’s CIO office – he tweeted from the event:
I'm about to speak to Comm Academy 2014 in Seattle about #FirstNet and @WAOneNet – great turnout here! pic.twitter.com/hzihI4WXjQ
— Bill Schrier (@billschrier) March 22, 2014
Community college isn’t just for 2-year degrees any more, so a new name is in the works for West Seattle-headquartered South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) – it will become South Seattle College. That’s part of a district-wide change, as this announcement explains:
At its meeting March 13, 2014, the Seattle Community Colleges District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to change the name of the District to Seattle Colleges and to change the names of the colleges to North Seattle College, Seattle Central College, and South Seattle College.
The decision came after a year-long exploration of national and statewide trends; opinion surveys of students, employees and community partners; and consultation with business and civic leaders and representatives from Seattle Public Schools.
All three of the District’s colleges offer bachelor’s degrees now.
The 4800 block of 21st SW on Puget Ridge (map) is open again now that Seattle Fire units have cleared that crash scene. The driver of the car that hit the tree (which is atop a sloping stretch of West Duwamish Greenbelt open-space) was taken to Harborview Medical Center; her injuries were not major, according to emergency-radio information. A tow truck just arrived as we were leaving the scene, so the car will be gone soon too.
9 PM: In the kitchen before tonight’s “Gifts from the Earth” gala at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor), that’s SSCC alum Bruce Cougan from Harry’s Chicken Joint (also a WSB sponsor) at right, with cook Joe. (They were, of course, frying chicken.) Bruce is one of six SSCC alums on the roster of 15 chefs cooking for the fundraising celebration of SSCC’s award-winning culinary, wine, and hospitality programs.
Once again this year, tickets for “Gifts from the Earth” were sold out well in advance of the event. In addition to the food and wine, and a silent auction, a live auction was planned, including a new “Fund a Dream” feature during which guests were scheduled to hear from student Candis Outson, second from right in our next photo:
She was planning to explain how her scholarship at SSCC helped put her on the path to make dreams come true – as encouragement to guests to pledge to the fund that will help make more scholarships available. She also is one of the SSCC students on the cooking team tonight, and is shown in our photo with Brandon LaVielle (left) and Evan Garrard (right) from Emerald Cove Catering, and Shannon Higgins (second from left). The gala is still under way as we publish this; we’ll update later when we hear how much was raised.
10:32 PM UPDATE: SSCC has just announced that Gifts from the Earth raised a record $210,000. More than a quarter of that, $58,000, came from the “Fund a Dream” pledges, the school says.
For the first time ever, South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) is sending a team to the national Aerospace Maintenance Competition,coming up in Las Vegas this March. The team’s members are all women, points out CrystalRose Hudelson, who thinks it’s particularly exciting as interest in STEM studies and professions grows among women and girls:
Hudelson spoke with us at the team’s first meeting on Thursday. She is vice president and founder of the SSCC chapter of the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance; her teammates are Jennifer Lesher, Melissa Wang, Sarah McKenna, and Agnes Choung, and their coach is SSCC instructor Mary Hadley – Hudelson says they’re all donating their time and energy to make this happen. The school’s two-year Aviation Maintenance Technology program has more than a half-century of history – read about it here – and it’s hoped this will attract more female students, who currently comprise four percent of the project’s 200+ enrollment.
The Vegas competition, by the way, isn’t just for students – it includes professional categories too, and features 16 scheduled events, each allotting up to 20 minutes for completion. We’ll check back with the SSCC team as the competition draws closer!
**SERIES LOCATION/TITLE HAVE CHANGED – SEE UPDATED STORY**
We’ve mentioned this in side notes in book-related stories in recent days, but finally have a chance now to share the full announcement! The Southwest Seattle Historical Society, South Seattle Community College‘s Northwest Wine Academy, and Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village are co-sponsoring a series of events with local authors and award-winning wines. For those who like to plan ahead, the entire 9-month schedule is out. The series, “Words, Wine, and West Seattle,” is planned for the first Friday of each of the next nine months, October 4th through June 6th, 4-6 pm at the NWA on the north side of the SSCC campus, admission free (donations accepted for SWSHS and/or NWA).
Above, from left, are the first three West Seattle authors you’ll see in the series:
*Stephanie Guerra, Friday, October 4th
*Peter Stekel, Friday, November 1st
*Nicole Hardy, Friday, December 6th
See the full lineup on the SWSHS website – or in the scrollable flyer below:
Words, Wine, and West Seattle: The lineup
NWA is on the north side of the SSCC campus, 6000 16th SW.
| Comments Off on THIS WEEKEND: Learn about amateur radio during ‘Field Day’ on South Seattle College campus