West Seattle, Washington
07 Sunday
Activity at the former Sharon’s Westwood Florist shop at 35th/Kenyon, including that sign, caught the attention of WSB’ers Catherine, Jissy, and Felicia, who e-mailed to ask about it. The answer turned up in a recent state liquor-license-application filing, with a “beer/wine specialty shop” license sought for The Tap Station. Among the applicants: Names we recognized from the team behind Locöl, in its third year next door. So we contacted Kyle Duce to ask about the plan for the neighboring store; he says it’ll offer more than beer and wine:
I have teamed up with my Chef/GM of Locöl- Charlie Worden – and will be creating a TO-GO “Tap Station”- a wine/beer/retail Shop that will have 8 local wines on tap and 8 local beers on tap. These will be available by growler fill or in any vessel and will be charged accordingly by the ounce. Tap Station will also have a bottle/can beer selection as well as bottled wine.
As far as the retail side, we plan on having (pre-packaged/local) grab and go food items for household use, camping, picnics, etc… Tabby Cat Pickling Company and Doolie’s Hot Sauce, to name a few. We are in the works of having a house olive oil and balsamic fill station that will allow you to fill for home use and be charged by the ounce. We plan on using this separate location as an educational space on all the bounties the NW has to offer. I wanted to create a space that would compliment Locöl and offer a quick in-and-out experience for people cruising home for a BBQ or a spot that the neighborhood could come in and get educated on all the things we love about the NW.
I look forward to bringing all these ideas together in a beautiful rustic space that will be inviting to the neighborhood and offer the same level of passionate, unpretentious service and neighborhood focus that we founded Locöl on!
How soon, you ask? Duce says they’re “looking at opening in the next couple months.”
4:30 PM: Don’t know yet if it’ll be solved quickly or not so quickly, but heads-up since we’re going into pm commute time – a WSB team member heading north on California toward Morgan Junction says the California/Fauntleroy intersection signal lights seem to be having trouble. Headed off to check.
5:45 PM: Apparently not so quickly – word via Twitter is, it’s still not working properly. Avoid the intersection TFN.
7:19 PM: Just went through – signal working, city crew still working on the cabinet.
(WSB photo from Saturday morning)
Two days after two West Seattle women found a fellow runner unconscious, badly hurt, along the road through Fairmount Ravine, three updates, including an event planned to show support for the victim and for residents who have long been concerned about safety in that area:
THE VICTIM: The 54-year-old victim remains in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center, where she has been since Saturday; Harborview says she is in serious condition. As we first reported that morning, she was found on Fairmount Avenue, near the underside of the Admiral Way Bridge, around 7 am. Police suspect she was hit by a vehicle, or someone in or on a vehicle, but one thing known for sure – whomever did it, just left her there.
THE INVESTIGATION: We checked with SPD a short time ago; nothing new to announce, they tell us, but they want to renew this call:
Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect, or if you saw any vehicle in that area between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. [Saturday 6/8] please call Detective Korner at (206) 684-8927. Anonymous tips are welcome.
You also can call 911 with any information.
THE RUN: The two Good Samaritans who found the victim have organized a community gathering and run for this Saturday morning to show support. Here’s the announcement from Athena Frederick and Julie Ambrose:
In light of the horrific event on Saturday, June 8th, we are hosting a Run to REFLECT….
We will meet at the bottom of Fairmount (on the Alki Beach side near Salty’s) starting at 6:30 am. Please bring some type of reflective gear, object, caution cone, etc. to donate (you may be able to retrieve it after Saturday, but not guaranteed). We will be placing these reflective items along the side of the road going up through Fairmount. Please feel free to bring them even earlier than 6:30am. Businesses that would like to donate any reflective type gear, please contact us. We are doing this to raise awareness over the weekend for drivers to SLOW DOWN on that stretch of road.
Starting at 7 am, we will run a 5K on Alki to show our support of the 54-year-old woman and her family. Please invite friends, family and join us to either “light up Fairmount” OR for the 5K run or walk. Hope to see you there and my thoughts & prayers go out to the victim and her family!!
Here’s the Facebook event page, which you can use to contact them if you’re a business interested in donating the items mentioned above, or if you have questions, or just to RSVP (though that’s not required).
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Another short-lived fire call this morning is wrapping up right now in the 8600 block of 13th SW (map). The incident commander tells us a propane barbecue appears to be to blame for a small fire that damaged the back of the house. No injuries reported.
1:18 PM UPDATE: From SFD’s Kyle Moore:
The cause is a BBQ left on all night. It ignited the deck and the side of the house but the flames did not get into the home. The damage estimate is $30,000. The homeowner was home and tried to fight the fire with a garden hose after calling 911.
(Added 12:14 pm: Video of this morning’s council “briefing” meeting)
FIRST REPORT, 10:29 AM: Seven City Councilmembers are sending Mayor McGinn a letter asking him to close the “Nickelsville” encampment by September 1st. News of this first emerged this morning during discussion at the first of the two regular Monday meetings of the full council. We have just obtained a copy of the letter, which is signed by all councilmembers except Nick Licata and Mike O’Brien. It asks the city’s Human Services department to come up with a plan to “provide immediate targeted outreach and engagement services” to those living at the encampment, “along with immediate provision of shelter, housing, and other services,” to prepare for closing the encampment. This comes two days before Nickelsville is scheduled to be discussed at the Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee, which Licata chairs. We’ve asked for reaction from the mayor; his office hasn’t seen the letter yet. (We’ll add the letter here shortly.)
10:40 AM UPDATE: Here’s the letter:
2:21 PM UPDATE: We asked for a comment from the Highland Park Action Committee, which asked the city to close the encampment – which moved back to West Seattle two years ago – before summer:
We appreciate the council finally recognizing that the illegal encampment known as Nickelsville is not a good model for how our City should be treating our homeless. While we wish we had seen this letter and strong leadership over two years ago, we applaud that someone in our City government is finally seeing that this encampment has an unsustainable vision. We encourage the Mayor to respond quickly, preferable with a sooner move-out date in an effort to honor the community’s request. We would also like to see the Human Services department pay regular visits to our greenbelt throughout the summer to offer the same outreach, services, and provisions to the people living there.
3:22 PM UPDATE: And now a statement from the mayor, saying that unless a council majority changes its mind, he will expect the camp to be cleared by 9/1 and will evict anyone still there:
appreciate the work of Councilmembers Licata and O’Brien for working on expanding legal options for encampments, which built upon the work of an advisory task force I assembled in my first year in office. For some time we have delayed enforcement of the law against encampments on industrial lands while the City Council examined these proposals to provide more opportunities for legal encampments in the City of Seattle. In light of the City Council’s clear statement of intent that they will not expand encampments further, and that they expect Nickelsville to clear the property by September 1, motivated in part by the desire to sell this property to Food Lifeline, I have no further basis to not enforce the law.
We will provide additional services, including extended winter shelter hours through the summer. Absent a change in direction by the City Council, by September 1 we expect the property to be vacated and we will follow the City Council’s direction to evict those who remain.
Just in case you heard/saw the big response – the initial call in the 8800 block of 20th SW (map) was for a possible house fire, but crews got there and discovered what Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore describes as a “rubbish fire” that was put out quickly.
1:21 PM UPDATE: Moore says the fire “was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials. The smoking materials ignited nearby combustibles and the porch. The damage estimate is less than $1,000. No one was home at the time of the fire.”
(Steller’s Jay, photographed in May by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here are three highlights for tonight:
OPEN HOUSE/FOOD BANK BENEFIT: The Westhaven Apartments invite community members to come by 5-8 pm for an open-house event including food, drink, karaoke by the pool, giveaways, and more, with more than a dozen local businesses participating. No admission – bring non-perishable food donations for the West Seattle Food Bank. (2201 SW Holden)
NDNC MEETS IN THE PARK: In summer months when the weather’s nice, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council holds its meetings outdoors – so tonight, you’ll find them at Greg Davis Park at 6:30 pm. The agenda will focus on opportunities for neighborhood connections. (26th/Brandon)
EVENING BOOK GROUPS: This month’s evening book group at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW) is reading Ursula K. LeGuin‘s “The Left Hand of Darkness” and meets tonight at 6:45 pm. That’s also meeting time for the evening book group at Southwest Library (35th/Raymond), where this month’s book is “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford.
More on the calendar!
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Monday! It’s the last week of school for most local students. For bus riders, it’s the first weekday since the Metro and Sound Transit “service changes” went into effect on Saturday – here’s a reminder of what they involve.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of the WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled in the past several weeks by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” It’s actually two rounds of WSBeat, due to various delays in getting the first one published; we start with the most recent round:
*A 30-year-old Kent resident grabbed a flag from a Fauntleroy area yard, marched through the streets and down to the ferry landing, where she managed to disrupt the 5:00, 5:40, and 6:00 p.m. sailings. She explained that someone was after her and going to kill her. She was arrested for pedestrian interference. A search turned up a packet of meth. She was transported to Harborview for a mental evaluation.
*In other flag news, a Westwood-area resident reports that someone stole a gay-pride flag from her yard on the 25th.
*Magazine sales crews were in the area on the 25th, and several Admiral-area residents experienced some uncomfortable encounters, accusing one man of “verbal aggression.” Officers found both the suspect and his “boss” and notified them that they needed city permits in order to sell door-to-door. The officer also told the salesman that he needed to change his sales skills. (Note that a prominent “No Soliciting” sign is one of your best deterrents to these incidents, according to law enforcement.) One of the sales crew members is also suspected in the theft of mobile phones, an Ipod and a wallet from a home in the Morgan Junction area. She was seen on surveillance video trying to use one of the stolen credit cards at a local grocery. She is a black female, 25-30 years old, and wears a gray hooded jacket and a pink knit beret-style hat. She remains at large.
That little video clip made mostly on Alki this weekend is part of a local show of support for families caught up in a bureaucratic crisis in Bosnia. We heard about it from Boris Popovic, who describes himself as a longtime Seattle resident previously from Bosnia, and shared the clip. In a nutshell, there’s a Bosnian government impasse over new rules for issuing official ID numbers – JMBG (the acronym you see in the clip) – and babies born in the months since this impasse began can’t get ID documents, which even kept one family from taking their baby out of Bosnia for an urgently needed operation.
This all reached a head with a blockade of the parliament building in Sarajevo – this New York Times story explains it all. So around the world, Bosnian expatriates and others who support them are making videos and photos, like Boris and his friends, usually featuring that acronym JMBG. We asked Boris how people could show support, and he replied: “Pictures of non-Bosnians with the initials would be priceless, as people don’t expect it (“Another American for JMBG” could be the caption they make). They could post them at one of the many FB pages being born as we speak. Here is one I think that has done a very nice job growing and keeping folks together and keeping what they do practical:
https://www.facebook.com/Ja.BiH.JMBG“
West Seattle’s newest soccer team is playing its first game of the season right now at Delridge Playfield. AC Seattle is part of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), with many of its players visiting from Italy (we put out the call last spring for home-stay families to host them). They’re playing the Spokane Shine tonight, and “shine” was the word for the early-evening sunshine as spectators took their “seats” on the slope over the field:
AC Seattle got off to a lead fast.
They’re doing play-by-play on Twitter, and as we get ready to hit “publish” on this story, AC-Seattle is leading Spokane 4-0. We’ll update when the game’s over; your next chance to see the team play is 7 pm Thursday (June 13) at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), vs. Emerald City FC.
10:08 PM UPDATE: And that was the final score – AC Seattle 4, Spokane Shine 0.
P.S. The goalWA.net website has been covering AC Seattle as they got ready for the season, and published this sweet story Friday about some help from a young West Seattleite.
Seattle Districts Now, the group backing an initiative to have most Seattle City Councilmembers elected by district, say they have enough signatures to make the ballot. 
They just issued a media alert saying they’ll be at the City Clerk’s Office on Tuesday with more than 45,000 signatures, 50 percent above the 30,000 required. If that meets the verification test, the proposal would be on the November ballot. As explained on the SDN website, they want seven councilmembers elected by district – West Seattle would be one of those districts (here’s the map) – and two at-large; right now all nine are elected at large. An elect-by-district proposal that went to voters as a city-charter amendment 10 years ago was rejected, 54 percent no, 46 percent yes.
(Click image for larger view)
Meet the West Seattle Little League‘s champion teams, who received their trophies at the end-of-season barbecue celebration at Bar-S Playfield today: At left, the players and coaches from the Majors Division champion Orioles; at right, players and coaches from the Minors Division champion Dodgers. Thanks to Porter Hammer and Laurie Rasmussen for the photo; they also have shared information about and photos from the two teams’ respective big wins:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
We’ve heard it before – yet people appreciate hearing it again:
What happens when you call 911? What can you do to make your call most effective?
The West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network devoted its most recent meeting to the topic – with answers to those questions and many more, as well as other insights.
Special guests from the Seattle Police Department 911 Call Center (WSB file photo at right) were Communications Section Operations Lieutenant Dave Proudfoot, and 911 Center training coordinator Rob Montague.
Lt. Proudfoot acknowledged, “We’re customer-service-oriented but it’s not the same as in the restaurant business.” He said he’s aware that sometimes operators are terse, almost too efficient, and that’s by design:
2:31 PM: Seattle City Light is still trying to find out what caused a power outage affecting more than three dozen homes along Arroyo Beach Drive right now. The SCL outage map shows 40 “customers” affected; one customer usually equals a home or business, but that’s an all-residential area. While the map estimates restoration time as midnight, keep in mind that until they know what caused it, that’s just a guess and it could be fixed much sooner.
4:57 PM: City Light map says the number of homes affected is down to a dozen.
Back in March, we wrote about AC Seattle, a new women’s soccer team including athletes visiting for the summer from Italy. Somehow time got away from us – and their first game is almost here, we are reminded by e-mail that arrived a short time ago. 7:45 tonight, AC Seattle makes its WPSL debut against the Spokane Shine. (Read more about AC Seattle here.) Coached by Antonio Cincotta, AC Seattle invites fans to the game at Delridge Playfield (Delridge/Alaska); the team also plays Thursday night, vs. Emerald City FC at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle). P.S. We’re checking on ticket info – prices, etc. – and will add it when we get a reply.
Mayor McGinn breakfasted at West Seattle’s Chelan Café today with a small group of community activists, including Pete Spalding, who shares the photo. Spalding, whose current involvement includes the Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council, Delridge Neighborhoods District Council, and citywide Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, explaining that he and Chas Redmond (in the top photo) initiated the invitation. Redmond’s current involvement includes the City Neighborhood Council and Morgan Community Association. Also at the table were Mat McBride, chair of the DNDC; Dorsol Plants and Michael Taylor-Judd, both currently involved with the North Delridge Neighborhood Council (and both former candidates for City Council), while Plants is with Spalding on the levy Oversight Committee; and Marty Westerman from the Fauntleroy Community Association. (The participants may well be involved with other groups – this is just what we know from our recent community coverage.) Spalding says, “We discussed a wide range of West Seattle issues during the two hours.” Any specific announcements or revelations? we asked him via followup e-mail. “We spent a lot of time talking about peninsula-wide transportation issues, a number of issues around the Department of Neighborhoods, and our desire to see the city spend more time, effort, and money on West Seattle issues.”
(From left: Ian Bell, Gevin Wood, Nathan Williams)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Ever wonder what a film producer actually does?
Longtime West Seattle resident and filmmaker Gevin Booth would be happy to tell you. He is producing the movie “The Servant” here in Seattle and in Eastern Washington. And his work got under way long before the actual filming begins.
Among other duties, Booth explains, the producer is in charge of “getting the money, putting the pieces together so the director’s creative vision can happen, finding the cast, crew, locations, catering and looking at costume design. I’m creating an environment where the director can focus on the actors, cameras, and scene, and doesn’t have to worry about lunch arriving at noon.”
Booth adds that he and co-producer Ian Bell are “juggling 12 plates constantly, making sure nothing breaks.” All this juggling is for “The Servant,” a feature film written by local filmmaker Nathan Williams, described by Booth as “thought-provoking cinema. It’s interesting, entertaining and contemplative with philosophical implications.” And, he says, with “political, religious, and supernatural themes, but is actually none of those things.”
It’s a cloudy Sunday morning, and though it’s June, summer warmth seems far away. So Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Swift has cooked up an idea: Instead of a scone or muffin accompanying your latté, how about … fresh s’mores? Not just a pre-assembled treat that resembles one, but a real, honest-to-goodness, roasted-over-the-campfire s’more. Hotwire is offering you 4 s’mores “for your roasting pleasure, served up with your personal fire pit,” $5.50. Check ’em out and cook ’em up at 4410 California SW (just south of SW Genesee).
(Fauntleroy ferry dock, photographed by Flickr member alextutu1981, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Happy Sunday! Today’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm today and every Sunday in The Junction. (44th and Alaska)
LAST DAY FOR JUNCTION BAKERY AND CAFE: As reported here yesterday, they announced via signboard that they’re closing after today, and would love to say goodbye in person, till 5 pm. (4541 California SW)
TIDEWALKING: Today’s low tide isn’t super-low-low, but low enough for Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists to be out answering questions and otherwise assisting visitors, 11 am-1:30 pm at Constellation and Lincoln Parks.
COLMAN POOL: The saltwater outdoor pool on the shore at Lincoln Park is open for its final pre-season weekend, noon-7 pm – broken up into these sessions. The full 7-day-a-week summer season begins next Saturday.
BENEFIT CAR WASH: Seattle Lutheran High School‘s cheerleaders are raising money by washing cars this afternoon at West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor), starting at noon (35th/Webster)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Noon-4 pm Thursdays-Sundays, you can stop by the museum to learn about and enjoy West Seattle history. (61st/Stevens)
OPEN HOUSE AT ‘THE TRIPLETS’: Shopping for a new home? Tour three in the same block, at the first open house for the remodeled “Triplets,” as previewed here. (8800 block of 24th SW)
ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE: 1-4 pm Saturdays and Sundays, through the end of August, you are welcome to tour this century-old West Seattle treasure. (just north of Beach Drive/Alki SW)
WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: Today’s ingredient is rice – make something with it and bring it to the meeting at Beveridge Place Pub, 3 pm. (6413 California SW)
HANDBELL CONCERT: “Spring Ring” at 4 pm, handbell choirs in concert at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) – details in our calendar listing. (3940 41st SW)
This morning, the first-ever VloggerFair – a gathering of v(ideo bl)oggers, not a conference! insisted organizers including Chris Pirillo (above right, with vloggers Judy and Benji) – wraps up at West Seattle’s Terminal 5. Yes, at the port, not at a convention center somewhere. Terminal 5’s that big building you see from the westbound bridge, parallel with Nucor, lined with numbered truck bays. All day Saturday, it was full of camera-wielding vloggers and vlogging fans, instead of freight. If you were there, even just to observe, you probably wound up in somebody’s clip. See for yourself on this overview video (we spotted ourselves way in the background at about 1:30) by Kirsten Collison:
The vlogging world has its own celebrities, and some are in attendance:
Six months ago, we reported on a first-of-its-kind plan for remodeling and reselling three vintage West Seattle homes instead of tearing them down. Now, the Westwood Village-vicinity homes dubbed “The Triplets” are done and listed for sale, with their first public open house today (Sunday). We stopped by for a sneak preview Saturday. Here are two of them:
All three are in the 8800 block of 24th SW – from north to south along the east side of the block, Clara, Zelda, and Louise, as named by Green Canopy Homes, which “re-envisioned” them with financing from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission‘s Sustainable Energy Trust Lending Program. It’s all about energy efficiency – but “The Triplets” have been updated in far more than that aspect, from the entries…
Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing photos from tonight’s The Whale Trail presentation at The Hall at Fauntleroy. She reports 100 people turned out to hear from Erich Hoyt, who TWT founder Donna Sandstrom says she was thrilled to host, because: “Almost everything I know about orcas, I first learned from reading Erich’s book, ‘Orca: The Whale Called Killer,’ way back in the early ’80s.”
Note the 23-foot inflatable orca in the background – a special touch for this event. Previous Whale Trail-presented speakers have included local orca expert Mark Sears, Keep an eye on TWT’s website for future events.
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