West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
The biggest spring-sports success story so far in West Seattle this year is the Chief Sealth International High School boys’ varsity soccer team. They are undefeated after another win this afternoon, on the road against division rival Nathan Hale, 4-0. That puts their record at 7-0-1, and even before today’s big win, the Seattle Times ranked them 9th in the state. Their next scheduled game is Friday afternoon at home – 4 pm, hosting Rainier Beach at Southwest Athletic Complex (across SW Thistle from CSIHS).
About 5 months into construction, we have a few updates from the developers of Youngstown Flats – the almost-200-unit building going up at 26th/Dakota in North Delridge, the biggest project under construction in West Seattle right now. For one, their design for turning the “right of way” across 26th (newest version here) into a parklet of sorts won Seattle Design Commission approval, required because they need a Street Use Permit from the city. For two, the sculpture above has been chosen for installation along 26th near the building’s main-lobby entrance (it’s “Continuity” by Jan Hoy), and another RFP for more art is going out. Last but not least, if you’re interested in more info before they open in a year or so, the project finally has an official website.
Another first-of-its-kind event is on the West Seattle calendar this month – the first Delridge Unsung Heroes awards banquet on April 20th. Outreach co-chair Holli Margell has an update:
We were so impressed with the all of the 27 nominees to the “Delridge Unsung Heroes Banquet” that we’ve decided to change the format to a celebratory banquet. Instead of recognizing just the top 8, we’ll invite all 27 nominees to gather together for recognition and celebration.
One Outstanding Unsung Hero will be our nominee to the 2013 National Jefferson Awards. Every neighborhood within the Delridge District is represented, and this event will provide a unique opportunity for bringing the district together.
We know there are many who would like to help us celebrate these Unsung Heroes. One way we still need help is with providing the banquet portion of the event. We’re still accepting sponsorships. If you’d like to be a sponsor, please contact Mike Shilley at michael.j.shilley@q.com. We wish to thank everyone for sending in nominations!
This wasn’t in our morning roundup but in case it’s a subject about which you’re passionate – a reminder that the Seattle City Council‘s public hearing on the proposed Seattle Public Library levy is tonight, City Hall downtown, 5:30 pm (they’re taking signups starting at 5). Lots more info here. If finalized, the levy to raise $17 million a year would go to voters this August. If you can’t make it to the hearing, you’ll be able to watch it live via Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online.
West Seattle-based Transitional Resources recently put out the call for restaurants to join in its first Food for Art benefit: You dine, a portion of the proceeds goes to TR. Today, we have word that seven local restaurants have answered the call, and on Thursday, April 12th – in conjunction with that night’s West Seattle Art Walk night – they’ll partner with you, to help Transitional Resources, which shares this announcement:
Seven West Seattle restaurants will donate a generous percentage of proceeds to Transitional Resources’ art-therapy program on the evening of Thursday, April 12 as part of the first annual Food for Art event. Representatives from Transitional Resources will be at each restaurant, selling $5 raffle tickets for prizes donated by local artists and businesses, including event sponsor Ola Salon. All raffle proceeds will benefit the art therapy program at Transitional Resources, a West Seattle-based non-profit mental-health center serving people living with severe and persistent mental illness.
Food for Art diners are encouraged to let their servers know they support Food for Art. Details about each restaurant’s Food for Art promotion follows:
CIRCA will offer two Food For Art specials, donating 50% of the proceeds from those sales. Promotion runs 5-10 p.m. (2605 California SW)
FRESH BISTRO will donate 10% of proceeds from sales off their regular menu (not their Restaurant Week promotional menu) and strongly encourages reservations. Promotion runs 5-10 p.m. (4725 42nd SW)
HIGHSTRIKE GRILL will donate 25% of proceeds from all restaurant sales. Promotion runs 7-10 p.m. (4505 39th SW)
LOCOL BARLEY & VINE will donate 25% of proceeds from all restaurant sales. Promotion runs 6-10 p.m. (7902 35th SW)
LUNA PARK CAFE will donate 25% of proceeds from all restaurant sales. Promotion runs 6-10 p.m. (2918 SW Avalon Way)
WEST 5 will donate 25% of proceeds from all restaurant sales. Promotion runs 6-10 p.m. (4539 California SW)
ZATZ A BETTER BAGEL will donate 15% of proceeds from all restaurant sales. Promotion runs 6-9 p.m. (2348 California SW)
Transitional Resources’ commends these local restaurants for their philanthropic engagement. By contributing to Transitional Resources’ art therapy program, these businesses are helping men and women have access to a creative catalyst for healing. The process involved in expressing one’s self artistically can help people resolve issues, as well as develop and manage their behaviors and feelings, reduce stress, and improve awareness. Art therapy is one of many programs offered at Transitional Resources, which provides respectful, optimistic, and highly personalized care to those most in need.
Just received a reminder about Washington State Ferries‘ plan to raise fares in May. The new fares are listed in this brochure (PDF). Read on for the news release in its entirety:Read More
We really DID open registration as promised yesterday for the 8th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day – but by the time we were ready, there was so much news to report here, we could only get the early word out in other channels – the WSCGSD website and the Facebook pages for WSCGSD (here) and WSB (here). NOW – we have a breaking-news-less moment to make the announcement here too!
The big day for sales all over West Seattle (more than 200, in recent years) is 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12, 2012. Here’s the link to the registration form (registration is online-only). Again this year, to further reduce paper use – it was a big hit last year – if you are OK with getting your “packet” via e-mail instead of postal mail (general info including the sign template and how to donate leftovers through Northwest Center if you choose), please click “yes” on the form.
New this year: We have been asked every year about West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day sponsorships. This year, we’re going to give it a try – 3 sponsorship spots. If your business is interested, please contact WSB co-publisher/business-development director Patrick Sand, patrick@wsbsales.com.
Backstory ahead, if you’re new or need a refresher: Read More
Thanks to Doug B for sharing photos of the submarine seen off West Seattle shores early today (see another, larger image on his Flickr page). Meantime, from the new-look-new-features WSB West Seattle Events calendar, some of what’s up today (follow the link to the calendar page for even more happenings for today/tonight):
ROAD WORK TRAFFIC ALERTS: Once again tonight, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to be closed 10 pm-5 am (Wednesday night too), and that means drivers cannot exit to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5 or Beacon Hill. The city rundown of the closure(s) is here. … And this is the day that SDOT is starting to repave a block-plus of California SW from Hudson to Dawson – we just checked with Marybeth Turner from SDOT and she confirms (from the scene!) that the work has begun.
CYCLE UNIVERSITY’S NEW LOCATION: Per the announcement published here last month, they’re scheduled to open their bigger new digs on Harbor Avenue SW (just south of ActivSpace) today. Here are their hours. (3418 Harbor Avenue SW)
PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP: Monthly meeting at Providence Mount St. Vincent, 2:30 pm – our calendar listing has more info. (4831 California SW)
PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: You’re invited to come tour West Seattle Christian Preschool on the northeast edge of The Junction and meet the staff. 5-7 pm. (4425 41st SW)
WINE TASTING: Special Tuesday tasting, 6-7:30 pm, at Bin 41 in The Junction, with James Cahill of Soter Vineyards in Oregon. (4707 California SW)
MERGE ARBOR HEIGHTS/ROXHILL ELEMENTARIES? It’s one possibility the district is floating as the BEX IV levy planning moves to a more intense stage, and school-community members want to talk about it publicly before the official BEX IV feedback meeting later this week. So tonight at 7, there’s a community meeting – “ALL community members welcome,” as one parent put it in a reminder note to us this morning – in the AH cafeteria. Here’s the original announcement we published a few days ago. (3701 SW 104th)
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL PTSA MEETING: 7 pm tonight in the school library. More info on the WSHS PTSA website. (3000 California SW)
You can call it an announcement in two acts – last Friday, ArtsWest artistic director Christopher Zinovitch sent a news release with the 2012-2013 season lineup (we published it here), and then on Monday night, he and the ArtsWest team, including new managing director Line Sandsmark, invited fans and friends into the theater for a live hourlong preview with some drama, some music, some laughter and more. Which fit the mood, as Zinovitch reminded the packed house, “Our shows are not black and white, they are shades of gray – and full of color.” We captured the hour on video – meet the new managing director at 6 minutes in, and start hearing from Zinovitch at 12 minutes in. He admired the turnout and exclaimed, “We are on a roll here!” (Almost 300 actors auditioned for the season, he said, and you’ll see some of them in the video.)
(Photo by Long B. Nguyen)
What you see in that recent aerial view is part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt – the largest contiguous forest in Seattle, and the focus of the restoration work done by the Nature Consortium. The West Seattle-based nonprofit is celebrating the other kind of greenery, too – almost $40,000 raised by Sunday’s annual benefit brunch at The Hall at Fauntleroy, double last year’s total, according to NC founder and executive director Nancy Whitlock:
Other big numbers could be found in the NC’s annual report, circulated at the brunch – 2,295 youth served with art classes last year, 3,651 volunteers helping plant 7,155 native trees and shrubs. “It’s pretty astounding even to me, how much is accomplished,” marveled Whitlock. She spoke of her organization “growing up,” coming out of its adolescence – next year is its 15th anniversary. The terms were apropos, given that Nature Consortium works with youth, including the two groups that performed at the brunch – Natural Voices sang “The Greatest Love of All”:
There was also a feisty dance performance by younger kids from Rainier Vista; though Nature Consortium is headquartered in West Seattle, it works elsewhere in the city, too. This year, a bit of a disappointment for fans of all ages of the NC’s signature Arts in Nature Festival – it’s going on a one-year hiatus to regroup for a big 15th anniversary blowout next year, and beyond. But the boost from Sunday’s brunch is bound to help power them in that direction. You can donate to the NC’s work online any time; you can also plug into their frequent forest-restoration work parties by going here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After two community meetings in the past five days, residents of Sunrise Heights and Westwood know exactly which planting strips the county is eyeing for potential “bioswales” to keep rainwater from causing combined sewer overflows (CSO) at Barton Pump Station, miles downhill – specific spots along the 31 blocks identified in early March.
They also know how the county hopes to keep them from “ponding” during all but the heaviest rains – through a complex underground “underdrain” system.
But some remain skeptical that the “green stormwater infrastructure” project will not be Ballard Roadside Raingardens, The Sequel, though the project manager insists it won’t.
The ghost of that problem-plagueed city project has long loomed over this county plan, despite reassurances, promises, and explanations of how the two situations differ. There were more of those Wednesday night at the first gathering inside Westside School (the second meeting was Saturday at High Point Community Center), even as project manager Mary Wohleb tried to keep Ballard from being the proverbial elephant in the room.
We’ve spent the past 2 1/2 hours in Burien City Council chambers on behalf of partner site White Center Now – covering a big story: November has just been set as the date for White Center (and environs) residents to vote on whether to be annexed by Burien. We chronicled the meeting on WCN – as you can read here.
Back in February, West Seattle Helpline put out the call for a new home for its Clothesline clothing bank. It’s found a new home, executive director Tara Byrne says – in the Admiral District, close to West Seattle High School, more accessible to bus lines, more conducive to expanded hours. However, there’s a bit of a downside, as explained in this excerpt from a donation-seeking letter they’re circulating:
In West Seattle we have the only clothing bank that offers 3 free outfits, a pair of shoes, and a coat to each family member in need. Our Clothesline is on track this year for giving out $68,000 worth of clothing to families in need in West Seattle so that they do not have to decide between groceries or coats for the children.
As excited as we are about helping our neighbors, the West Seattle Helpline needs some help from you. We found out last month that our rent-free space will soon no longer be an option for our Clothesline program. The good news? We found an excellent location to better serve our neighbors in West Seattle and we have amazing clothing on the racks for families. The bad news? Rent is no longer free.
Our goal is to raise $6,600 to cover rent for the next year at our new Clothesline space. How can you help?
$20 keeps the Clothesline open for 1 day …
$138 keeps the Clothesline open for 1 week …
$275 keeps the Clothesline open for 2 weeks …
$550 keeps the Clothesline open for 1 month …
You can donate through their website at wshelpline.org (see the button on the right sidebar) – where you will also find ticket information soon about Helpline’s big “Taste of West Seattle” fundraiser, coming up May 17th.
A memorial is planned April 13 for Lou Tice, founder of the Harbor Avenue SW-headquartered Pacific Institute, which announced his death today:
The Pacific Institute is saddened to report the passing of its Chairman and co-Founder, Lou Tice Sunday evening, April 1st, after a brief illness. Surrounded by his wife, Diane, and loving family and friends, Lou spent his final days challenging those around him to carry on with his life’s work – educating and empowering individuals all around the globe to an ever-greater commitment toward making “a better world.”
A memorial service celebrating the life of Lou Tice is scheduled for Friday, April 13th, at 10:00 am at St. Edward’s Catholic Church, 4212 S. Mead St., in Seattle.
After two drafts, Metro says it is done with the final proposal for changing bus service this fall in connection with the launch of RapidRide C Line service in West Seattle. What we’re publishing here is their official news release; we’ll be reviewing the actual proposal (see the links on the right side of this page) in the hours ahead to look for more details:
In recent months, we’ve heard from nearly 10,000 transit customers about our proposals to restructure bus service to be more productive and meet the needs of more people. That public input has helped shape the final September 2012 plan being submitted to the Metropolitan King County Council next week. This plan is aimed at being equitable, fair, and balanced regionally using the limited resources available.
Most of the final recommendations support the launch of the RapidRide C and D lines that will connect downtown Seattle to Ballard and West Seattle starting on Sept. 29. For that reason, the changes primarily affect service in Seattle and adjacent communities. Some of the revisions, such as the recommended changes to the routes 10, 11, 12, 123, and 125 will also improve the flow of buses through downtown Seattle, which will produce significant efficiencies for Metro’s overall system.
Not all of the changes originally proposed for this September will be part of the final plan. Some are being postponed for now, but could happen in the future. Several ideas needed further review and analysis.
(SFD units on Beach Drive – the building involved is not shown; it’s on the water side)
4:25 PM: Within minutes of the call, crews reported “tapped fire” and started dismissing some of the units that had been sent – so not a big fire, but we’ll be there soon to find out more.
4:38 PM UPDATE: Still working to find out what that small fire actually was, but one thing we can tell you: Until the remaining fire crews clear, Beach Drive is all but impassable at the scene, near Andover, about a block south of Cormorant Cove.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
4:58 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the scene have learned this started as a car fire in the garage beneath the building (which is on the water side). It was already being extinguished as fire crews arrived; some smoke got into the building above, which is being ventilated. No injuries. The car’s owner told WSB’s Christopher Boffoli she was driving it earlier today and everything seemed fine. Investigators will be checking to see how the fire started. Traffic is still blocked at that section of Beach Drive, including a southbound Route 37 bus, with most of its passengers electing to get off rather than wait.
Just as he was about to go to trial – with jury selection to start within a day or so – Duane Starkenburg has struck a deal in both cases against him. He is the Gatewood man charged a year ago with attacking women joggers and then charged last fall in a years-old child rape case (he has been in jail since his arrest in that case). The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says that Starkenburg has pleaded guilty in connection with both cases:
(He) pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault Second Degree and one count of Assault Third Degree with Sexual Motivation for assaulting three women joggers in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park in 2010 and 2011. In each assault, Starkenburg would grab a female jogger and plant his face into the victim’s buttocks.
He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of Child Molestation Second Degree for sexually assaulting a girl who was 9 or 10 years old, an incident that occurred approximately ten years ago and was recently reported. The total sentence range is 103 to 130 months in prison. Prosecutors will recommend 116 months when Starkenburg is sentenced on April 13 before Judge Sharon Armstrong at the King County Courthouse, 2:30 p.m. in courtroom E-847.
(That would be 4 months short of 10 years.) The original charges against Starkenburg were: In the Lincoln Park attacks, two counts of indecent liberties and one count of attempted indecent liberties; in the other case, child rape. That case was to be tried at some point after the completion of the trial that was to start this week in the jogger-attacks case.
(Photo from February 2011 hearing by Mike Siegel/Seattle Times, republished with permission)
(January 2012 photo by Robin Lindsey)
Just in from Robin Lindsey of West Seattle-based Seal Sitters:
I am so sad to report that West Seattle’s rehabbed seal pup “Satellite” Sandy was found dead yesterday, entangled in fishing line near the Edmonds fishing pier.
This just serves to remind us of the many dangers that seal pups and other marine mammals face with fishing line, lures and nets. Pups are attracted to fishing piers and docks because those structures create a climate where tiny fish thrive – the very fish that make up a good portion of a seal pup’s diet. When fishermen dump bait at boat launches and fishing piers it only compounds the dangers for pups – and frustrations of fishermen when pups and adults steal bait from their lures. With discarded lines and lures abundant around popular fishing spots (such as Colman Pool at Lincoln Park), we can all help by picking up any debris on the beaches and in the water. The waters of Washington are littered with derelict fishing gear and nets and it is estimated a minimum of 50,000 animals die yearly.
Had Sandy not been fitted with the id and satellite tags, her death would most likely never have been reported. We are encouraging divers to document any animals they find entangled in fishing gear – do NOT try to remove the animal or the gear itself. Dead or alive, it is against Federal law to touch a marine mammal without authorization. Additionally, removing net and fishing gear is extremely dangerous. Please e-mail photos and lat/long to Seal Sitters and we will forward to the appropriate person for entry into a database. I have added some links of interest regarding marine debris and derelict fishing gear removal in my post (on Blubberblog).
It was just two months ago when Robin reported that Sandy had been released and was being tracked.
If you watch KING 5 Morning News, you’ll recognize anchor Mark Wright at left, traffic reporter Tracy Taylor (in red) in the middle, and reporter Jake Whittenberg at right – they’re visiting Admiral Safeway right now, for a fun(draising) bagging battle on behalf of Special Olympics and Easter Seals, part of the company’s monthlong disabilities awareness/fundraising campaign.
10:56 AM UPDATE: Look who won!
Erica and i won firsr place in the Celebrity bagging challenge! Thanks to @safeway, easter seals and special olympics twitter.com/King5TracyT/st…
— King5TracyT (@King5TracyT) April 2, 2012
Tracy’s partner in victory was Erika Swanson from Bear Creek Safeway on the Eastside. We have photos of them – and the other competing duos – after the jump:
Alki Impressions… from Laura James on Vimeo.
If you work off-peninsula and get homesick sometime today – or just need a brief break for beauty – check out Laura James‘ lovely video montage of West Seattle beauty, shot this past weekend. (Yes, that’s “Diver Laura,” but this is all above water.) Meantime, we start the day with highlights from the spruced-up WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
ROAD WORK TRAFFIC ALERTS: Late-night/early-morning drivers, note that the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed 10 pm-5 am tonight (and the following two nights), which also means you won’t be able to get to the West Seattle Bridge from I-5. The city explains it all, here.
SAFEWAY KICKS OFF MONTHLONG FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN: This morning at 10 am at Admiral Safeway, according to company spokesperson Sara Osborne, three members of the KING 5 Morning News team – Mark Wright, Tracy Taylor, and Jake Whittenberg – will each “team up with a Special Olympics athlete/Safeway employee to see who can bag groceries the quickest and most carefully, and each team will walk away with money to donate to local Easter Seals and Special Olympics programs.” (2622 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: Got recipes involving olives? Make one (or more) and take it to the West Seattle Cooking Club meeting at 3 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW).
HEARTLAND TURNS 2: Five nights of special events marking the Heartland Café/Benbow Room second anniversary wrap up tonight with a 21+ event that even includes free fried chicken 6-8 pm – details here.
FAMILY STORY TIME: 7 pm tonight, with the children’s librarian at the Seattle Public Library‘s High Point branch (35th/Raymond) – details here.
TEAM TRACY KARAOKE AUCTION: Fundraiser for the fabled 3-Day Walk breast-cancer-fighting team at Skylark Café and Club. Bid on singers – the highest bidder picks the song. Bidding starts at 7, singing starts at 9 with Karaoke Kelli.
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY REGISTRATION: Scheduled to start today – watch for the announcement (and link) this afternoon or evening, soon as we’re sure all systems are go. The 8th annual lots-of-garage-sales-all-over-the-peninsula extravaganza is 9 am-3 pm May 12th.
10:26 PM: Another crash potentially affecting West Seattle-bound drivers: It’s on southbound Highway 99, reported as parallel with Lander but not showing on that camera – rescue crews are getting on 99 by heading the “wrong way” up a ramp near the stadiums. The scanner says there’s “ongoing CPR” at the scene, so this might not clear for a while.
10:37 PM UPDATE: Per scanner – southbound 99 is completely closed by this, and they’ve blocked off onramps as well (including Denny/Aurora and Columbia downtown). They’re also trying to figure out what to do with cars that were already on 99 since as one voice on the radio said, “We’re going to be closed here for a while” – they may be trying to turn them around and get them off 99 via what would have been an onramp. We got a Twitter update from one stuck driver:
@westseattleblog stuck in complete stoppage on SB Viaduct. Saw guy WALKING NB in SB left lane, rolly suitcase in tow. All engines off. Sigh.
— Wendi Dunlap (@litlnemo) April 2, 2012
The seriously injured person is described as a motorcyclist in her 40s who is being rushed to Harborview Medical Center right now.
11 PM UPDATE: The “wrong way off the onramp” operation to clear vehicles off The Viaduct has indeed happened. And in comments, Karl clarifies the location, saying it’s parallel with Weller, on the lower deck of what’s left of the double-deck structure.
2:39 PM UPDATE: Watching the webcam for southbound 99 at Lander, we’re seeing occasional headlights, so it looks like the highway reopened.
8:10 AM UPDATE: Seattle Police have published a summary on SPD Blotter. Investigators believe the 48-year-old rider “failed to negotiate a curve” at the Viaduct’s south end and hit a concrete barrier.
2:56 PM: LA, in comments, says the motorcyclist was a friend of hers and did not survive. We had not yet confirmed that before her comment, but everything we were hearing indicated that too.
Heard this on the scanner and then received a note from a victim – someone driving along 59th SW in Alki fired what’s believed to be a pellet gun at homes/cars. 
The note we received wanted to give a heads-up to others, and says: “I was just sitting in my living room and a bullet came through my living room window. I went outside and my neighbor’s car window was smashed out or shot out; my wife saw a orange-ish 4-door car drive away.” Haven’t heard any word of arrests or stops so far but we’ll be following up.
10:29 PM UPDATE: Added a photo of the living-room window, taken by the victim, who says the hole seemed too big for a “pellet.”
Thanks to Ilona Berzups for the photo of the drillship Noble Discoverer arriving in Elliott Bay this afternoon. It was bound for Vigor Shipyards on Harbor Island, according to this marine-traffic-chronicling website. Follow that link for more background on the North Slope oil drilling planned for the Noble Discoverer; as is the case with the drillship Kulluk — Shell’s other sea rig, which has been at Vigor since July — the ND has been advancing through the permit process. Unlike the Kulluk’s arrival, we didn’t get word of this one in advance – one month ago, it was reported to be heading to the Arctic – so we’ll be checking with Vigor tomorrow.
(Added: Photo by Long B. Nguyen, taken Sunday afternoon)
ADDED 8:53 PM: Looking for more background and context on where the situation stands now, we found this March Seattle-datelined story by a Los Angeles Times reporter.
UPDATED 11:38 AM MONDAY: We contacted Shell for more information on both this drillship’s arrival and the Kulluk’s status, and heard back from Curtis Smith:
As you mentioned, the Noble Discoverer has joined Shell’s second primary drilling rig, the Kulluk, at the Vigor shipyard. Both vessels will be deployed to Alaska for Shell’s planned 2012 offshore drilling program. The departure date is not set, but since they are both expected to be on-site in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, respectively, they will likely depart Seattle sometime in June.
While in Seattle, the Discoverer will undergo final modifications to its emissions systems and receive minor winterization upgrades in preparations for its departure to Alaska. The Kulluk will leave at roughly the same time. As you are probably aware, Shell is investing hundreds of millions into both vessels to further reduce their environmental footprint once in the Arctic.
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