West Seattle, Washington
25 Saturday
Now you know the holiday season is really here — West Seattle’s most famous nonprofit Christmas tree lot just opened at noon today, in the parking lot south of Admiral Safeway as usual. We stopped by for video as the volunteers were finishing final preparations late this morning — first clip, some of those volunteers hard at work pre-opening:
Here’s Scott Willhite talking about some of what’s new at the lot this year, plus where the tree $ goes:
The Holy Rosary lot has its own website with more info. (By next weekend, by the way, we’ll be surveying all WS tree-sellers for our annual price-check.)
Thanks to WSB reader Venkat for the tip that Bamboo Bar & Grill on Alki is mighty dark tonight — because of a big orange notice posted out front from the Washington Liquor Control Board: Liquor license suspended. We went by for a closer look; too dark for us to make out the exact dates on the notice – looked fairly short term — but we could read that the suspension was for “furnishing alcohol to minors.” We can’t find a press release about the suspension on the Liquor Control Board website, but did see info there that Bamboo was fined $350 for the same thing in May, then fined $1500 for the same thing in October. SUNDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Looks like the suspension’s over; Bamboo’s open again.
Thanks to Tanaya for pointing this out in a new comment on our “West Water, the video” post: The massively marketed condo conversion on California Ave south of Morgan Junction is already offering units for rent. Maybe that’s par for the course with big conversions? Interesting, whatever the case.
Mosaic Homes never responded to our request for comment on this WSB report that the West Ridge Apartments‘ conversion to Gables condos is on hold if not completely canceled. However, we have been checking their website weekly, and as of today, the “coming soon” page that mentioned Gables is suddenly blank.
New update at fauntleroy.net: Almost 100 spawners counted at Fauntleroy Creek so far!
So a particular chain retailer at Westwood Village had this incredible laptop deal. Got there when they opened at 6 am … 100 people in line, plotting near-military strategy for bargain reconnaissance. We retreated. Friendlier crowd at the one Junction store that opened its doors at 5 am, the rubber-stamping store Friends and Company, where we caught up with proprietor Doris Goulet and her early-bird shoppers during the first half-hour:
One week from Saturday, one of West Seattle’s biggest events of the holiday season will start — Hometown Holidays in The Junction. We brought you details in this report last weekend; you can also read the full Hometown Holidays press release at the end of this post. First, here’s your chance to be part of it — we received this from Erica Karlovits, president of JuNO (Junction Neighborhood Association):
For folks living in the Junction and interested in getting involved with JuNO, we have a great opportunity for involvement:
Hometown Holidays is coming . . . The Junction comes to life on the first Saturday in December. Events include the Dickens Carolers, the Annual Tree Lighting, Santa photos for you and for your pet, and great deals in local shops. Plus events at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market!
Volunteers are needed to staff the refreshment and information table during the Hometown Holidays event on December 1 and 2. JuNO has agreed to take on this responsibility and is inviting anyone that is interested in joining to contact wsjuno@yahoo.com – This is a great opportunity to support your community, meet neighbors and take part in a great event.
Please let me know if you are interesting in meeting your JuNO neighbors and volunteering at this event.
Thank you!
Erica Karlovits
Junction Neighborhood Organization
For even more details on Hometown Holidays plans, here’s the West Seattle Junction Association‘s full press release:Read More
WSB reader Patrick e-mailed that photo today with this eyewitness report: “Yesterday about 6 police cars pulled up at Chief Sealth when students were let out; they questioned 2 students for about 15 minutes, looked in the bushes where they were questioned, and let them leave.” We don’t have information on what that was about — but it reminds us, you might not have heard about the survey released just before City Hall shut down for the 4-day holiday weekend: It’s the “biennial survey of attitudes toward police” in the Neighborhood Policing and Crime Survey Report. Here’s the page where you can find a link to the complete report as well as various summaries. We browsed it to look for West Seattle specifics; not many of those to be had, but we were quite interested in page 13 of the report, where traffic offenses and graffiti/vandalism — both discussed extensively, repeatedly, here at WSB — were identified as the crime problems noticed most frequently by citizens. On a related topic, WSB reader LyndaB passed along word that everyone is invited to the Police Chief’s Citywide Advisory Council meeting on December 11th (6:30 pm, West Precinct, which is actually downtown) to get details on the Neighborhood Policing Staffing Plan that the police department will start implementing in January.
So many years, we have found ourselves driving around in search of someplace to get espresso, early, before we start crafting the homemade stuffing and all that. So in hopes of saving you a similar gas-wasting experience, here’s what we have so far, in alphabetical order, for tomorrow’s West Seattle standalone-coffee-shop hours, from a combination of in-person visits and phone calls:
Alki Bakery, closed
Bakery Nouveau, closed
Bird on a Wire, open 8 am-1 pm
Bubbles on Alki & on Delridge, closed
Caffe Ladro, open till 2 pm
Capers, closed
Coffee to a Tea with Sugar, closed
Cupcake Royale, open 8 am-2 pm
Diva, open till 1
Easy Street, 9 am-1 pm
Freshy’s, open 8 am-1 pm
Hotwire, closed
Java Bean, open 7 am-2 pm
Original Bakery, closed (Friday too)
Red Cup, closed
Revolution, closed
Sleepless (DRIVE-THRU), 7 am-2 pm
Starbucks (all WS locations), open normal start time (drive-thru is earliest @ 4:30 am) thru 4 pm
Tully’s Alki, 7 am-4 pm
Tully’s Morgan Junction, 6:30 am-2 pm
Uptown Delridge, open 6 am-3 pm
Uptown Junction, open 6 am-4 pm
We weren’t able to get through to C & P or Cafe Rozella – anyone who knows, let us know; we’ll have to run by later and see if signs are on the door. 9:30 PM ADDENDUM: No clues to be had on the Rozella doors; a comment on this post says C & P is open in the morning, though. THURSDAY MORNING ADDENDUM: Added Diva; went by to check, they’re open till 1.
We mentioned earlier in the week that Mayor Nickels was going to wander over to his neighborhood supermarket, Metropolitan Market in Admiral, to help promote MM’s new reusable bags. He made good on his promise this morning and helped bag a few groceries – our WSB videographer was there to get the proof:
This also gives us an excuse to mention the West Seattle supermarket hours for Thanksgiving Day again: Metropolitan Market is open till 2 pm, Thriftway till 4 pm, QFC till 6 pm, the Safeways are open regular (24) hours, PCC is closed. ADDED 7:30 PM: Another clip from the Metro Market event, with the mayor joined by Terry Halverson, CEO of the Metropolitan Market chain (which is HQ’ed in West Seattle):Read More
We were lucky to grow up with some opportunities to travel, around the U.S. as well as to a few other countries. Nothing too fancy, but still — as you know if you have been able to travel — it changes your perspective on your own slice of the world, in so many ways, that carry on throughout your life and enhance your ability to “think global/act local,” among other benefits. With that preface, here’s a chance to help some West Seattle teenagers gain that perspective as they prepare for the journey into adulthood: At West Seattle High School, the Travel Club is looking for partners and supporters to help make sure everyone who wants to join a 10-day student trip to Italy and Greece next spring can go. A nicely written press release appeared in the WSB inbox – so we’re sharing that, and the information that follows it about how you can help, including fundraising events that are just a few weeks away:Read More
Two weeks ago, we told you about local library advocates’ call to let city councilmembers know the new budget needed to give libraries a better deal. This morning, two days after councilmembers approved a budget (which we reported here), Sarel Rowe from Friends of Southwest Branch Library, one of those advocates, sends everyone these words of thanks:
The City Council passed a $2 million increase for The Seattle Public Library materials budget in 2008. In addition they passed funding guidance requesting a baseline for future materials budget proposals of $1.5 million more than that included in the proposed 2008 budget. Your readers were instrumental in this progress. Thanks to you we can all celebrate renewed materials vitality at our branch Libraries.
For more info, Sarel points us to the Friends of the Seattle Public Library site. And you can celebrate by checking out any of West Seattle’s four branches: Southwest, Delridge, High Point, and West Seattle (Admiral). (They’ll be closed on Thursday and Friday for the holiday, though.)
When we broke the news last night about Amazon‘s new grocery-delivery service adding three West Seattle zip codes — 98116, 98126, and 98136 — to its delivery area, the question of course came quickly from West Seattleites outside those zips: What about 98106 (Delridge) and 98146 (Arbor Heights etc.)? We checked back with Vincent at Amazon, who could only tell us:
At this instant we’re considering 98106 & 98146, but unfortunately we don’t have any set timeframe. (and if we do expand, you’ll be the first to know about it ;) ).
Background: A group of property owners led by well-known real-estate/property management partners Roger Cayce and Mike Gain are asking the city to “upzone” both sides of California Ave. between Hanford and Hinds (and a bit south of Hinds; city map screengrabbed above) from NC1-30 to NC2-40, as preparation for future redevelopment. The first details emerged at last week’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting; here’s our detailed report. Then, last Friday, the city set November 29 as the date for the first full public meeting on this. And tonight, we know that meeting will be at 6:30 pm in the library at West Seattle High School. Representatives for both the city and the property owners will be at the 11/29 meeting, and public comment will be important, for and from anyone interested/concerned in the plan. Here are a few other details of note:Read More
One year ago, we first wrote about the stretch shown above — 4515 41st and environs, on the east edge of The Junction. Neighbors were concerned at the time about a development proposal for a 7-story apartment/condo building on the 4515 41st parcel, and neighboring lots, that at one point even featured a “park & pool” plan. That had changed by the time the project finished going through the Design Review Board process, but neighbors’ concerns over the size of the proposed project remained. Now, WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli (who also took the photo above) reports, the original developers appear to be getting out — 4515 41st is on the market again. Two years ago, county records say, it sold for $925,000; now it’s offered for $1,500,000, with listing pages (such as this one) describing it as a “(f)antastic townhome or multi-unit site right in the heart of the West Seattle Junction.”
Several people have e-mailed WSB to ask about this – wondered about it ourselves – and finally we have the answer: The ex-Bikes & Brew (etc.) spot in The Junction, just west of Easy Street, will be the new West Seattle home of Twilight Artist Collective — here’s what Erin Crawford tells us about Twilight:Read More
WSB reader Julia called this to our attention. We have not been able to do a lot of research on it but wanted to let you know about it before it’s too late, in case you are interested in having a say: Nucor Steel is upgrading one of its cranes, to boost production, and because that could increase emissions of carbon monoxide and a variety of other components (details in this notice), Nucor has to get permits from the state Ecology Department and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. Both are recommending approval; the deadline for public comment is tomorrow (the notice was apparently posted almost a month ago; as a result of this, we’ve learned about a new place to check for important public notices!), although it appears from the second part of a posting on this site that one piece of the project is open for comment until 12/12. Both these notices say a public hearing will be held only if there is “significant public interest” — contacts to express said interest can be found on the links.
Five weeks till Christmas and the elves already have brought trees to certain corners of West Seattle. 
Spotted on an early-morning reconnaissance run: Trees at Tony’s (35th/Barton), True-Value in The Junction, and Rite-Aid on California. We also saw a sign on Harbor Ave pointing past a gate into a promised tree lot (will investigate more closely later), and of course the wildly popular Holy Rosary Tree Lot opens south of Admiral Safeway at noon Saturday. And if you want to cut your own – here’s the Pacific Northwest Tree Association guide to Washington U-Cut locations.
Police are looking for a man who jumped a jogger late yesterday: reports here and here. She got away OK; he unfortunately got away too and was described in the tv report as “25 to 35, about 5-7, light brown hair, possibly balding … wearing a white, oversized sweatshirt with a pattern on it, and gray sweatpants.” The attack location is described only as “a trail in the south end.”
We signed ourselves up to be notified when Amazon‘s new grocery-delivery service came to our zip code – haven’t gotten a note that way yet, but the official WSB inbox just yielded this:
My name is Vincent and I’m a PM on the Amazon Fresh team. We’re part of the Amazon.com family, and we’re the Seattle area’s newest online grocery. We recently launched in July, only delivering to Mercer Island, but we’ve been expanding our coverage areas and now we just began delivery to West Seattle! I was wondering if your readers would be interested in the following news:
Beginning today, residents living in zip codes 98136, 98126, and 98116 can enjoy our pre-dawn delivery service: Place an order online as late as midnight, and we can deliver next morning as early as 6AM  free.*(minimum $25 order) This even includes Thanksgiving Day!
All you have to do is to browse to AmazonFresh.com and enter the address where you’d like to have your deliveries. Visit us and browse our selection of over 20,000 specialty and everyday itemsâ€â€get your milk, fresh fruit, and much more.
Much as we personally prefer to shop in our local West Seattle grocery stores and will continue to do so, we may place a test order just to report back on what happens. 8:45 PM UPDATE: Well, we tried. But then we hit the explanation of “pre-dawn delivery” – sometime before 6 am, the order is left by your door. Just not comfortable with that; not that we don’t trust our neighbors, but there’s a lot of wildlife around here. They would have had a field day with the turkey. Some interesting pricing in there, though, especially for produce and fresh herbs.
Just out of the inbox, from Meg:
Just wanted to let you know that my truck window was smashed outside my house (Marine View Dr SW, Arbor Heights), last Monday night. Our street has experienced a fairly regular stream of crime over the last year or so, so maybe someone else will benefit by seeing a note on the blog. (The installation of motion sensor security lights and alert neighbors are always welcome.)
The $900 million-plus city budget for next year got unanimous approval from the City Council a few hours ago. That includes the Pedestrian Safety Initiative that councilmembers publicized with this event along Delridge just last week. Regarding specifics of interest to us in West Seattle — for starters, one note of interest from a newsletter sent by West Seattle-resident Councilmember Tom Rasmussen after the vote — he says the budget that was passed includes “Rental Assistance – Added $350,000 for emergency rental assistance and homeless prevention to include renters being evicted due to the conversion of their apartments to condominiums.” Brian Hawksford from Councilmember Rasmussen’s office also confirms that the $50,000 for a new pedestal for the Alki Statue of Liberty (as announced at the 9/11/07 unveiling) is in the budget that won final approval, and he says Rasmussen got $ added to the budget to help bring two areas of the city, including ours, up to parity with the rest of the city regarding Parks Department programs for the physically and developmentally disabled. 5 PM ADDENDUM: Dueling press releases are out from the Mayor and Council — here’s his (noting his disappointment that they killed the 311 emergency-infoline proposal), and here’s theirs.
This just in, minutes after our update about holiday grocery-store hours: According to this press release, Metropolitan Market is debuting “REbag,” a reusable shopping bag — you can get one free if you spend at least $50 — and plans a big launch event at the Admiral store Wednesday morning featuring nearby-dwelling Mayor Nickels.
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