West Seattle, Washington
16 Thursday
THREE SEALS FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY: No holiday for the Seal Sitters. On their Blubberblog website, you can read about today’s three pup sightings, all in the Jack Block Park vicinity – a pup dubbed Shamrock who appeared to be making a first-time visit; the return of rehabiiltated pup Ruby; and a third pup who’s nameless so far.
CHEMICAL BAN TO GET PUBLIC HEARING THIS WEEK: Tuesday afternoon, HB 1294 gets a public hearing in the State Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee. This bill would ban two toxic flame-retardant chemicals that get into the food chain and are stored in the fat of marine life – especially our area’s seal pups – as well as humans. As noted in this Blubberblog report explaining the need for a ban, it recently passed the State House. You can e-mail your thoughts to our area’s Sen. Sharon Nelson by using this form.
SLIPPING-AND-SLIDING ‘SURFING’ SEAL-PUP CLIP: Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey called our attention to this clip, which you might already have seen, since it’s passed a million views on YouTube:
Ethan Janson set up the surfboard platform off Three Tree Point in Burien. As Robin’s Blubberblog post notes, and as Alki residents and visitors have seen firsthand, platforms are a boon to seals of all sizes, so they can rest without coming ashore and having to deal with other animals (humans included). Follow the link to find out more about building your own – she writes that Alki’s own Guy Smith, builder of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft, was a later consultant to the video-maker!
Graffiti vandalism – whether gang-related (most isn’t) or not – is a perennial problem. What’s being done about it? What should you do if you see it? One more reminder is just in from the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council – that’s their spotlight topic this Tuesday night:
Most people don’t know that the Seattle Police Department has a detective solely devoted to graffiti crimes. Detective Christopher Young will discuss all aspects of graffiti crimes including the reporting of graffiti, how to identify gang graffiti, the prosecution of graffiti crimes, ways to deter graffiti, and how graffiti is often correlated with more serious crimes.
Everyone’s welcome – 7 pm Tuesday (March 19th), Southwest Precinct meeting room (right off the parking lot, enter from SW Webster just west of Delridge). As always, police will discuss recent crime trends, and there’s time for attendees to bring up their neighborhood concerns too.
A Terrible Beauty and The Celtic Swell were on the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums schedule for St. Patrick’s Day; as you can see in our video, we caught up with them arriving at ATB, where they were the center of attention:
The corps includes retired firefighters as well as current members of the SFD ranks:
In addition to the two scheduled stops, we’ve learned they also had a third performance in West Seattle today, at the hours-to-go Alki Tavern (thanks to Bruce for that tip on that; separate report on the tavern’s final night, coming up).
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
A brand-new West Seattle St. Patrick’s Day event debuted this weekend – the first-ever pets/people costume contest at The Celtic Swell on Alki. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there to catch some of the contenders on camera. Above, that’s Zoey; next, the Lynns and their boxer:
Pub owners Gareth and Joleen Hughes‘ Siberian Huskies Finnegan, left, and Foley were of course on hand and wearing some green:
Eleven more scenes of green, after the jump:
(Photos courtesy club volunteer coach Anne Higuera)
Robotics continue to grow in popularity at local schools – including the new LEGO Robotics Club that K-5 STEM at Boren launched just two months ago, with 50 students already participating. The photos are from a field trip this past Thursday to the UW Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, where grad students, writes club parent volunteer Christy Monge, “showed off robotic fish and some other projects that involve flight.
“The STEM students were invited downstairs to the tank where the robotic fish are tested, and were able to pilot the fish around the pool. … They also monitored the robot’s progress on a laptop computer below and tried out some of the tools and equipment, feeling right at home.”
Six teams from K-5 STEM are also getting ready to compete in the big FIRST Robotics Expo event at CenturyLink Field Event Center on March 30th.
With two weeks until Easter (March 31) and one until Passover (starts March 25), we’re working on our annual spring-holiday guide right now, so this is your invitation/reminder to send information about your event, service, etc., if you haven’t already – from egg hunts to seders and beyond. Getting the basics (what, when, where, who, weblink) via e-mail is our preference – editor@westseattleblog.com – just put the information in plain text in the body of your e-mail (no need for attachments, flyers, posters, etc.) and send it … thank you! Soon as it’s ready, you’ll see it in the line of tabs under the sunset photo atop our site; each of those tabs takes you to an inside section.
Thanks to Sheryl Guyon for sharing the photo of stalwart cookie-sellers from Troop 40766 – pointing out that today is the last sales day for 2013 Girl Scout Cookies. They’re outside KeyBank in The Junction until 2 pm. Using the Cookie Locator, we found the full list of today’s West Seattle sellers and locations here, going all the way till 8 tonight at some locations. (Sheryl also points out: “Thin Mints are excellent frozen!”)
As festive as Seattle’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (WSB coverage here) was, just imagine being part of a parade *in* Ireland – as were West Seattleite Brad Burzynski and family: Jules, Bella, and Sophia. Brad shared photos from this morning, and a report
Started our day with a traditional Irish breakfast of bacon, sausage, fried mushrooms, blood sausage, egg, toast and (since it’s a special day) Bailey’s Irish Cream in our coffee. We marched in the People’s Parade representing West Seattle. Before we came we all got sweatshirts from our local Irish pub – A Terrible Beauty. Although the day started out snowing and raining, by the time the parade started, the weather dried up a bit and we had an awesome time. We heard people speaking Italian, German, Russian, and many other languages like Canadian. We saw flags from all over the world. This has been a great week and we are glad we could send a little bit of Dublin back home to our dear West Seattle.
The People’s Parade is explained here – a first-time offering in Dublin, as part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and a weeklong celebration reaching out to visitors from around the world as well as locals.
(Photo by Nick Adams for WSB: Kathryn Shane-Kumler, looking through shamrock-colored glasses at Celtic Swell costume contest – gallery later)
Five highlights among your many options for today/tonight (St. Patrick’s Day-themed AND otherwise) on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
GO GREEN AT WORK PARTIES: 9 am (but you can show up late – get directions from the Fauntleroy/Rose kiosk) with the Friends of Lincoln Park (listing here); 10 am, mulching trees along 34th SW with the Tree Ambassadors (listing here); Seattle Chinese Garden on Puget Ridge, 10 am (details here).
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Greenery galore EVERY Sunday at 44th/Alaska in The Junction, 10 am-2 pm – check out the vendors’ list on the market’s website.
SEATTLE FIREFIGHTERS PIPES AND DRUMS: The corps splits into two “clans” for simultaneous 2 pm performances at West Seattle’s Irish restaurant/pubs, The Celtic Swell on Alki and A Terrible Beauty in The Junction.
CHOIR CONCERT X 2: The South Seattle Community College Choir invites you to their free concert today – with two performances this afternoon/evening to make sure everyone gets a chance to hear/see them, 3 and 5 pm, at Olympic Hall on the south end of campus (6000 16th SW).
KARAOKE FUNDRAISER TO FIGHT BREAST CANCER: At Skylark Café and Club, St. Patrick’s Day karaoke with West Seattle’s breast-cancer warriors Team Tracy, 4 pm – details here.
(Click image for larger view; photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
Hours after Comet PanSTARRS made another appearance in the western sky (photo here and more to come), the Northern Lights were visible from West Seattle. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams says this image is from Alki Beach at 3:12 am. Depending on cloud conditions, the aurora might be visible again tonight – it’s from a coronal mass ejection on Friday. Skies Over West Seattle correspondent Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info recommends spaceweather.com for updates.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: If there’s a significant break in the clouds, Alice plans to be out at the south end of Lincoln Park beach around 7:45 tonight for aurora and comet watching. You can also watch her Twitter account for updates.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 7:01 AM: Overnight crashes often involve cars hitting trees. This morning, we have a report of things happening the other way around – on Beach Drive north of Lowman Beach Park, Mark reports (while sharing the photo above), a tree has fallen onto a parked car. Police have been called. We’ll head downhill to check it out too, given the potential traffic problem if it’s not out of the way soon.
8 AM UPDATE: Beach Drive northbound is blocked just north of the three-way intersection by Lowman while crews work to remove the tree – this photo is from WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand:
No injuries reported.
Three notes tonight on the Seattle Police surveillance-camera system that is being installed now and that the department hopes to activate this spring:
COUNCIL VOTE MONDAY ON SURVEILLANCE-SYSTEM OVERSIGHT: This Monday during the Seattle City Council‘s regular 2 pm meeting, they are scheduled to vote on the proposal to give the council a role in overseeing city-owned/operated surveillance systems from hereon out. It is not a vote specifically on the 30-camera system that Seattle Police wants to use in connection with a federally funded “wireless mesh” communications system, but rather a vote on a bill setting policies regarding surveillance systems. As reported in as-it-happened coverage here, the council’s Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee discussed the bill on March 6, including amendments. Civil-liberties activist/writer Phil Mocek has compared an earlier version of the bill to the amended version that the council will consider Monday – showing and writing about the differences on his website here, including a side-by-side comparison. Along with other points, he notes that it speaks to concerns about communication – this system, you’ll recall, was being installed without any word to the public:
Instead of a description of the nature and extent of outreach performed, the bill now requires (in paragraph ‘H’) plans for public outreach for each community in which the surveillance equipment is intended to be used, including opportunity for public meetings, opportunity for comment periods, and written agency responses to public comments.
You can read the full bill here. The Monday afternoon council meetings do begin with a public-comment period; they’re in council chambers on the second floor of City Hall downtown.
PUBLIC-DISCLOSURE REQUEST: In late January (shortly after we first reported on the cameas), Mocek initiated public-disclosure actions seeking various types of documentation related to this system, and the resulting public release of documents is under way. Some have been made available on the website through which he filed the request, and others are in progress. Another local advocate, Andrew Pilloud, also filed for public release of documents and gave us the heads-up today that some are now available – he has written about it on his website, here. He says his concerns include the fact the city could vastly expand the camera network (as discussed in an online article we found in our early reporting on the system): “If the city was offered another grant, there is no technical reason not to add a camera to every other mesh node in the city for 180 in total.” He also says the cameras have capacities beyond what SPD originally sought – this came up briefly in Q/A at last Tuesday’s Alki Bathhouse meeting (WSB coverage, with video, here).
‘TAKE DOWN THE CAMERAS’ ONLINE PETITION: As mentioned previously in WSB comments and the WSB Forums, an online petition is circulating to ask the city to cancel the camera system. (At least twice in meetings we’ve covered, SPD leadership has said that could be done without affecting the “wireless-mesh” communications network.) The petition is here. It was created by Avrian Sellick, who tells WSB this is not only for those who are against the cameras: “The petition is also for those who are deeply concerned with the SPD’s handling of the public relations aspect of these cameras. … I really just want to give those people who are concerned about these cameras an organized avenue to communicate with the city and SPD.”
Side note: SPD plans another meeting about the surveillance cameras this Tuesday in Belltown, and has said there will be others, though no further dates have been announced. It’s at 7 pm Tuesday (March 19), Belltown Community Center.
After sailing their landlubbing vessel Moby Duck right behind the West Seattle High School Marching Band in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown (as shown in our parade coverage), the Seafair Pirates brought it to this side of the bay for a visit to the Alki Tavern. Thanks to Don Brubeck for catching the scene as the Pirates reboarded and prepared to sail away before sunset. Tomorrow, as announced in January, is the tavern’s final day; the farewell festivities this past week have included a memorabilia auction Wednesday night (photos here) and the final Taco Thursday, motorcycle lineup and all (photos here). The site including the tavern and neighboring parcels has been sold and is expected to be redeveloped, though no formal proposal is filed with the city so far.
ADDED 9:32 PM: WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was inside the tavern with the Pirates:
(added) … and outside:
(Pirates Lance English, left, and Shane Faucher)
Six more scenes of revelry – ahead:
(Photo by Paul, added 9:45 pm)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 7:38 PM: Last night, Comet PanSTARRS was briefly visible in a gap between the clouds – and that might be the case again tonight, reports Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info fame and author of “Skies Over West Seattle” updates on WSB – so she’s planning to be on the south end of Lincoln Park at 8 pm. We’ll update if there’s a sighting! (And if you can’t join Alice at the park, the graphic in her March SOWS report shows you where to look.)
9:48 PM UPDATE: Sightings reported! First photo in is courtesy of Paul – added atop this story.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: Two photos from Alice’s husband Jason Gift Enevoldsen:
Jason reports that Alice couldn’t get to the beach so he led the comet-viewing there instead:
I took a couple scopes and some binoculars and set up at the south end of the beach again. There was soon a small crowd and we all enjoyed the significantly-improved views tonight – fewer clouds and steadier air (despite the wind). … Many of us were even able to make out the comet without optical aid. The effect was very similar to the second photo below near the top-center, sort of like a tiny speck of dust stuck to your glasses – difficult to see at first and fuzzy, but once you’ve spotted it, it was hard to ignore. I think we probably had about 15-20 people total who stopped by, all ages, and took a chance to view it. We had fun while it lasted; the clouds came in quickly around 8:45 pm, only about 10 minutes before the comet would have set behind the mountains anyway.
What about Sunday night? We’ll see how things look when sunset approaches!
SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: If there’s a significant break in the clouds, Alice plans to be out at the south end of Lincoln Park beach around 7:45 tonight for comet- and Northern Lights-watching. You can also watch her Twitter account for updates.
Despite 22 years in Seattle, a lifelong love of parade, and a bit of Irish blood in the household, we’d never managed to make it downtown for the Seattle St. Patrick’s Day Parade until today. But when we heard two local bands would be marching, as well as other West Seattle participants, we couldn’t resist. Above, the West Seattle High School Marching Band – which was near the end of the parade lineup and right in front of the Seafair Pirates‘ cannon-detonating Moby Duck, so the students’ ears might be ringing a bit this afternoon. Next, the Denny International Middle School Marching Band:
Other West Seattleite sightings – the Seattle Police horses, who are based at Westcrest Park in Highland Park:
They were with a large SPD delegation – which also included the summertime-favorite Motorcycle Drill Team at the start of the parade, and, later, two SWAT vehicles:
Along with parade marchers, vehicles of all types were in the parade – even the West Coast Entertainment touring Segways from The Admiral District:
Other West Seattle sightings – County Councilmember Joe McDermott (waving) walked with the dignitaries toward the start of the parade:
Seafair Pirate Rusty Harper:
And the Comerford School of Irish Dance, which has classes at the VFW Hall in The Triangle, was there:
Who’d we miss? We did record the entire parade on video but at least where we were, a couple blocks north of the start, it was so stop-and-go that the video would require a lot of editing for continuous motion, but we can find other West Seattleites for a shout-out! We’ll probably add a few more photos later anyway. The parade, by the way, is sponsored by the Irish Heritage Club of Seattle.
Eight weeks from today – on Saturday, May 11th – it’s the ninth annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, 
coordinated/presented again this year by WSB. Whether you’ll be selling or shopping, it’s always a great day to meet your neighbors and engage in what we like to think of as person-to-person recycling – not one big sale, but hundreds of sales all over the peninsula, big, small, and inbetween (you can browse past years’ coverage at westseattlegaragesale.com to see the highlights). Registration is NOT open yet – we plan to start on April 1st, and we’ll announce it here as well as in our other channels – the official WSCGSD website, the WSCGSD Facebook page (as well as the WSB FB page), and the WSB Twitter feed.. Don’t worry about missing your chance to register your sale, because we keep registration open for a couple weeks to make sure everybody gets the word. Sale day, again, is Saturday, May 11th, 9 am-3 pm – stay tuned for signup time!
(EDITOR’s NOTE: Embedded video window removed because of technical problem – please follow the first link in the story to see the video)
West Seattle’s own “Diver Laura” James shares the link to that report from PBS NewsHour earlier this week. Her work documenting underwater Puget Sound sights both beautiful and disturbing is featured along with something you might not have heard about the use of raingardens to intercept runoff pollution: The fact that techniques are being studied to find out more about how they work and how long they work. (Despite the labeling from PBS, the video clip is mostly about runoff, not raingardens.) Laura is now leading the tox-ick.org program to educate people about reducing runoff, not only via stormwater interception but in so many other ways, and she’ll again be part of the team when local advocates join The Whale Trail‘s next presentation, coming up March 28th (look for more details on that from TWT later this weekend).
The house at 20th SW/SW Cloverdale hit by gunfire last Saturday night was shot at again last night, according to police. From SPD Blotter:
The Gang Unit is investigating the second shooting in a week at a West Seattle home. This morning at approximately 1:32 am, officers were dispatched to a drive-by shooting at a house in the 2000 block of SW Cloverdale St. Upon arrival, they located damage from small caliber rounds in the outer wall of the house.
One bullet fragment was removed from the wall and placed into evidence. The only two people home at the time of the shooting were the parents of the family. There is no suspect information and there were no witnesses to the shooting. The residents of the house claim they have no idea as to why anyone would target their home. This is the second drive-by shooting at this house in a week.
Everyone at the scene tonight denied any gang affiliation, but the stairs leading to the front door were tagged with gang graffiti. There were no reported injuries. The Gang Unit responded and processed the scene.
Besides the two incidents involving that house, there’s been at least one other confirmed gunfire case in West Seattle this past week – as we reported last Monday morning, casings were found near 10th SW and SW Elmgrove after people heard shots. No injuries have been reported in any of these incidents.
Four weeks till spring break for Seattle Public Schools and others that follow their schedule – and it’ll feature a weeklong Sounders FC youth camp based at Delridge Playfield. The organization e-mailed us to help get the word out, as well as news of their three summer-camp weeks. Spring-break camp is April 15-19; summer camps are July 15-19, August 5-9, and August 26-30, described as “week-long training courses that are designed for the beginner to intermediate level player ages 4 – 15 years old,” with half-day/full-day programs. Details and registration info are on the Sounders’ website.
(Bald eagle amid the greenery; photo by Alki Pete, shared via WSB Flickr group)
A weekend full of greenery – in so many ways – begins. From (mostly) the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FREE FAMILY BOOTCAMP: 8 am at Jack Block Park with Jill – details here.
SOCCER! Up early? West Seattle Sunday Soccer also plays Saturday pickup games around 8 am at Delridge Playfield (4458 Delridge Way SW).
SEATTLE TILTH SPRING EDIBLE PLANT SALE: Not in West Seattle but not far – it’s at the Pacific Market Center garage in SODO/Georgetown, 9 am-3 pm. Details here.
RECESS MONKEY! They’re performing at High Point Community Center in West Seattle this morning as part of the Fabulous Family Fun series – details here.
CELTIC SWELL ST. PATRICK’S DAY WEEKEND: Music at noon and the pet-costume contest 2-4 pm (here’s our preview from when it was announced) – just part of the Alki establishment’s big slate you can see here.
LOCAL BANDS IN ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE: Not in West Seattle, but the WSHS and Denny IMS Marching Bands are scheduled to join in, as is the Tony Comerford School of Irish Dance (which has classes in West Seattle) – the Seattle St. Patrick’s Day Parade, traveling northward on 4th Avenue South from Jefferson, 12:30 pm, map and details here, participants’ list here.
‘CIRQUE DU PATHFINDER’ AUCTION: 5 pm at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor)’s Brockey Center, the sold-out benefit for Pathfinder K-8 is happening tonight – here’s our preview story.
SHOREWOOD AUCTION: 5 pm at the school (10300 28th SW), tonight’s gala event – details here.
CORNED BEEF WITH THE EAGLES: It’s a St. Patrick’s Day weekend tradition and a benefit to fight MS – dinner with the West Seattle Eagles in The Junction, 5:30 pm, details here.
‘NEXT FALL’ AT ARTSWEST: It’s the first weekend for the Seattle premiere run of this Tony-nominated play continues tonight at 7:30 pm at ArtsWest in The Junction (4711 California SW). And it’s already gleaned a positive review from The Seattle Times (WSB partner).
NORTHWEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: Performing at 8 pm at West Seattle’s Holy Rosary Church, the NWSO’s “Spotlight on the Orchestra” includes “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla,” from Das Rheingold, one of the four operas that comprise Richard Wagner’s “The Ring of the Nibelungen” cycle. More info here; ticket info here.
‘CROSSING DELANCEY’: 8 pm at Kenyon Hall; this show is a special benefit for West Seattle synagogue Kol HaNeshamah. Ticket info here.
BREAST CANCER FUNDRAISER, NIGHT 2: Again tonight, the slate at the Benbow Room in The Admiral District (4210 SW Admiral Way) is an all-female lineup with half the proceeds going to fight breast cancer, including local favorites Daughters of the Dead Sea. Music starts at 9 pm.
BEARD BROTHERS AT THE FEEDBACK: An amazing array of classic rock is promised for tonight’s show by the Beard Brothers at Feedback Lounge (6451 California SW; WSB sponsor), 9:30 pm.
Lots more on the calendar – for today/tonight and beyond …
(Click picture for a larger image showing Comet PanSTARRS; photo by Jason Ayres Gift Enevoldsen)
10:29 PM: As also seen on her site Alice’s Astro Info, that photo shared by Alice Enevoldsen shows Comet PanSTARRS as it could be seen for a few minutes from West Seattle earlier this evening. Alice’s monthly “Skies Over West Seattle” report here on WSB shows its projected trajectory across the western sky this month – but of course the catch is that there has to be at least a patch of clear evening sky in the right place so it can be seen, and tonight, that happened.
4:05 PM: Alice and Jason processed an even-clearer image – see it here.
Another school benefit this weekend! Tomorrow night, it’s Pathfinder K-8‘s turn, with months of planning and volunteer work all coming together in one big event, as Ginny Woo explains:
“Cirque du Pathfinder Auction: An Evening of Love, Chaos, and Community” will take place Saturday evening, starting at 5:00 at the Jerry Brockey Center at SSCC. The money raised that night will go directly to supporting the students through our programs at our alternative public school, Pathfinder K-8, where children are engaged in expeditionary learning. Pathfinder educates students to become passionate, lifelong learners, respecting themselves, others and the environment.
In addition to wonderful donations from our families and West Seattle businesses and supporters, we will be auctioning off “Clan Art” made by the students at Pathfinder. Each classroom is named after an animal and referred to as a “clan.” These original works of art are a beautiful reminder of the collaboration and dedication the students, parents, and teachers at Pathfinder K-8 have to the arts, the environment, and each other. Mary Lane is our Auction Chair and a Pathfinder parent.
Ginny included photos; since we so often feature bird images on WSB, we’re sharing the one above. P.S. Auction tickets are sold out!
Another followup as the Delridge-repaving project moves from Phase 1 to Phase 2: SDOT announced today that the new southbound detour around the shifted work zone (Thistle to Trenton) is expected to take effect Wednesday (March 20th). We published a revised detour map in this story two nights ago.
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