West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
So suggested Sealth teacher Delfino Munoz toward the end of tonight’s Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting to update the project status; he was followed by West Seattle’s new school-board rep Steve Sundquist saying the board’s trying to get a legal opinion on whether they do indeed have the power to cancel the plan – if they wanted to. Bottom line, now more than ever is your time to speak out, if you have a strong opinion on the proposal either way; WNC president Steve Fischer provided lots of resources tonight on how to do that. Here’s our detailed report (updated 11:59 pm):Read More
West Seattle-based Schooner Exact Brewing Co. is celebrating its first award — at last weekend’s 3rd annual Winter Beer Festival, their “Hoppy Holidays” brew got 3rd place in the People’s Choice competition. If you want to try this award-winner, Marcus and company @ Schooner Exact say it’ll be available later this week at Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction (which by the way appears to be making great headway on the new location next door; we’ll be checking with them soon for an official update).
Hope that’s not YOUR car. Sarah Davies spotted it and sent the photo along with this – we share it as an alert to anyone else who parks in the area:
I passed this car on my walk home today around 4 pm in the 2100 block of California Ave SW. Looks like someone smashed the passenger window and grabbed the stereo (along with any valuables) in broad daylight.
Sarah hadn’t reported it as of our e-mail exchange but we urged her to call police, which is also our reminder to you if you see anything suspicious (or overtly criminal, of course). Keep their non-emergency number handy: (206) 625-5011.
West Seattle’s own South Seattle Community College just dedicated its expanded Automotive Collision Repair training facility – with $1.7 million in improvements, including new painting and paint-prep facilities. We weren’t able to attend the dedication but asked SSCC’s Michael May for pix and he kindly obliged. Some of the work will involve cool restored classic cars like the ones shown above; more pix ahead:Read More
It was really exciting about an hour ago – got a note from Todd that a backhoe had shown up at the burned-out ex-Schuck’s (California/Charlestown) — we stopped what we were doing, grabbed the cameras and raced (well, as fast as legally possible) down because this is one demolition we don’t want to miss — unfortunately, as we, and Todd, subsequently found out, looks like the backhoe is just scooping up the debris cleared from inside the building last week. (We’re going to check again in a bit just in case.) Thanks to Todd for the tip and the photo.
The view this morning from the alley behind 4116 California, where the old green rentals are coming down to make way for apartments and retail (we mentioned the demolition permit just two days ago).
Leave a few minutes early if you come from the Fauntleroy end of The Bridge – there’s a four-car fender-bender blocking the left lane on the eastbound side, roughly parallel with Delridge. Note the solid block of headlights in the background of this west-facing bridgecam (8:35 AM UPDATE: the city has shifted the camera angle, and it’s now simply showing the backup, still looking west):
Here’s the backup on Fauntleroy (camera pointing east):
8:18 AM SIDE NOTE: We just heard the first radio traffic report about the Bridge problem on our news station of choice — one hour after it happened. As with other matters of WS-specific interest, we will do our best to monitor traffic trouble for you during rush hours, and we also appreciate your help — if you see a problem on a route into, out of, or within West Seattle, you can call or text us at 206-293-6302 (2062936302@vmobl.com) and one of us will post as soon as possible to get the word out.
A few weeks after we first told you about the West Seattle High School Travel Club working to raise $ to make sure no one’s left behind when they journey to Italy & Greece next year (original report here) — there’s word of progress. First, the club reports last weekend’s rummage sale raised more than $2,000; second, your next chance to help is coming up on Saturday night, when three West Seattle restaurants will donate part of their proceeds to the Travel Club quest — Beato, Puerto Vallarta, and Kokoras Greek Grill.
Out of the inbox, from Robyn, who wanted to share a warning for other dog owners:
I went to the Alki bonfire/Christmas ships event Saturday night, December 8. I’m a long-time Alki resident and have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels who are family members and function as service dogs. For 9 years my dogs have greeted visitors to Alki from all over the world, spreading peace and love and community. On Saturday night a woman greeted my dogs, and then came back under cover of the music and tried to steal my eldest dog. My dogs were leashed and standing quietly beside me. This woman, who smelled of alcohol, first grabbed my dog’s leash and demanded I give her my dog, then grabbed the leash with both hands and started yanking. I was with a friend, who helped me protect both my dogs and fend off the thief. A warning to West Seattleites—all small dogs need to be protected, even when they are right beside you. Do not leave small dogs and children unprotected for even a minute. Do not tie your small dogs up at coffee shops or grocery stores, particularly gregarious breeds like Cavaliers! Alki residents—be vigilant, wacko criminals are everywhere!
Robin’s note to WSB also expressed concern that she didn’t see any police at the event; she acknowledges that friends have since urged her to report what happened, and we would echo that for everyone who experiences a crime or attempted crime – be sure to call 911 — even if you don’t think something can be done about it, or if you are sure the culprit(s) are long gone, police need to have a record to track what’s happening in the community, to assign resources and follow trends.
We mentioned last week this was coming (that post, with project background, is here) …
The parking lot behind Petco is now closed for construction of Mural, but note, however, that the alley is NOT blocked off (notice the car parked behind Curious Kidstuff in the background of the photo). Other free parking options besides the one on the big banner in the pic include one lot we suspect many people overlook – the one on 42nd south of Oregon, behind the businesses on the eastern side of California.
We first told you in October (detailed report here) about Spring Hill, the development planned for the area shown above, in the 5000 block of California, just south of The Junction (map). The developer is BlueStar Management, same firm behind Fauntleroy Place, future home to Whole Foods, 170 apartments, etc. Now, a date is set for the Southwest Design Review Board to give “early design guidance” on the project — January 10. According to the city project page, the scope of Spring Hill (no known relation to the future restaurant) has grown a little since our original post – it’s now described as six stories, 90 apartments, 4,000 sf of retail, 100 parking spaces.
So suggests the fifth bullet point in this entry on “Pastors’ Prayers,” one of the many official Mars Hill Church blogs. Quoting here:
Multiple pastors request prayers for our financial state. With the deep deficit, it is a test for all the staff to choose Jesus over anxiety when ministry funds are cut short and the possibility of lay-offs and additional budget cuts is on the horizon. Please pray for repentance by those who are disobeying God in their giving …
Now, before the Mars Hill critics fire up their typing fingers to snark, we also did want to note there is a sad West Seattle-related item in the same long Mars Hill blog entry: Jeanne Clem, wife of Bill Clem, the pastor who led Doxa in the building that became MH-West Seattle, is described as “slipping away” in her battle with cancer. (She is interviewed starting about 3 minutes into this recent Mars Hill video clip we found on YouTube.) TUESDAY MORNING ADDENDUM: Thanks to Adam on Alki, who points out in the comments below that Mars Hill has gone back and edited out the “disobeying God in their giving” line. We briefly cursed ourselves for not getting a screen grab, then remembered the miracle of Google caching, where it had already been captured. So just in case you didn’t believe us (full cached version here):
Several people have e-mailed us about those light poles that have popped up on strategic spots along West Seattle arterials — two round lights and a solar panel — wondering what they are for. We hadn’t gotten around to checking with SDOT or WSDOT yet but Ty has saved us the trouble (thank you!) — he says at least one of them now has a sign saying “ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT CLOSED WHEN FLASHING.” Great idea! (Will they add a second sign beneath saying “so don’t bother leaving West Seattle right now, k?”)
It’s the hottest topic on WSB since the now-legendary “West Seattle Dishes to Die For” — 85 comments and new ones every day — so we’re thinking you might be interested in the next chance for an in-person discussion of the upzoning proposal on California between Hanford and Hinds (and a little further south, on the west side of the street, as shown on the city map @ left): Tomorrow night, you’re invited to the monthly meeting of the Admiral Neighborhood Association, 7 pm tomorrow at Admiral Congregational Church (California/Hill, map here). The ANA’s last meeting brought the first word of full details on this proposal, so who knows what you’ll hear if you drop by tomorrow night!
Or maybe even your mom’s. Back when we moved here in the early ’90s, really not THAT long ago, we lamented that we would have liked to do more shopping in The Junction, but everything seemed to close so early — “rolling up the sidewalks,” as the small-town saying goes. 
Not these days, and here’s the latest proof: Coinciding with this Thursday night’s West Seattle Art Walk in The Junction is “Wrap It Up,” with participating stores open well into the night for holiday-shopping fun. And it’s not just The Junction that will be jumping — on the north side of West Seattle, we’ve heard from more shops planning to be open late on Thursday, including WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits and Shanti in the Admiral District, and along Avalon, Murphy’s Furniture Studio has an event planned Thursday night for late-night shopping while raising money for GambiaHELP. All in all, Thursday’s a good night to spend your $ where you live. Here’s the “Wrap It Up” flyer listing Junction participants, by the way:Read More
A new development three weeks after we first wrote about Nucor‘s application for permits to upgrade a crane. When we first heard about it, thanks to an eagle-eyed WSB reader, time for public comment was already running out, and a note on the public posting said a hearing would be scheduled only if there was “significant public interest.” Looks like somebody subsequently expressed that level of interest; Trissa just e-mailed WSB (thank you!) with word that a public hearing is now set for January 9 @ Alki Community Center (more details here), plus a note that the time for public comment has been extended to January 14 (more on that here). We’ll add both dates shortly to our ever-growing West Seattle-wide Events page.
Excerpted from what Mark just wrote in the comments below our original report on the small fire that closed California for a while Sunday morning:
I was visiting with several residents at the Admiral Plaza Condominium … At one point I was a resident there and am familiar with many of the neighbors. Apparently a less than competent owner on the courtyard level fell asleep with a cigarette in hand. It was his next-door neighbor, an RN who just happened to be home on a Sunday, that detected smoke odor and pounded on his door. After what seemed like an eternity he answered, disheveled; smoke was apparent and she immediately called the fire department. … The victim sought shelter with the assistance of the Red Cross in a W. Seattle motel. … It was by God's grace and Maggie the RN's quick thinking that prevented what might have been a disaster. Most of the damage appeared to be limited to his one-bedroom unit.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency just implemented a burn ban throughout King County (and Pierce and Snohomish) – so no fires unless that’s your only way of staying warm. Here’s what the burn ban means, and why it was called.
What a night last night turned out to be — not just because of the Christmas Ship, but also because “West Seattle Art Attack” and accompanying elves (explanation and background here if you need it) struck again. Here are a few of the pix that arrived with the WSAA communique:
Quick reminder that the county Public Health Department‘s free flu-shot clinic in West Seattle is happening today: 10 am-2 pm, Delridge Community Center.
From Chris (thank you!):
I visited the gas station/convenience store at 35th and Barton earlier today, and the front wall of the store had been smashed in. The owner said it was a car sometime in the night, probably stolen. The store was open and he had a crew there making repairs, so I guess the business won’t be interrupted, but it must be costing him quite a lot of money.
We’ll go over to have a look in the morning.
This time of year, ours is one of only two Farmers’ Markets still running in the whole city – we’re lucky! And it’s continuing on into the winter (in January it will switch to a slightly shorter schedule, 11 am-2 pm, but right now, it’s still 10 am-2 pm). Here’s the latest “fresh sheet” from the Farmers’ Market organizers:Read More
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