West Seattle, Washington
14 Tuesday
Coming up this Saturday (May 5th), you’re invited to the Seattle Lutheran High School Football Team Fundraising Dinner for the 2012 season, 5 pm at the SLHS Gym (41st and Genesee). Per the announcement we received: “Guest speakers are both former UW Husky players: Nesby Glasgow, who also played for the Seahawks, and Deacon Demetrius Deke Devers. Emcee and hostess for the evening is Sonya Doswell. Bring a friend or two and enjoy an evening of fellowship and food while supporting the Seattle Lutheran High School Saints.” You can buy your ticket online – here’s the link.
WSDOT has just gone public with that new video showing a reroute of Alaskan Way that kicks in during the second week of May, preparing for Highway 99 tunnel work, and it’s likely to be of particular interest to people who use the downtown ferry terminal as well as pedestrian/bicycle path users. Here’s the detailed explanation.
Just got a note from James, who thought it might not be a bad idea for us to mention the May Day gatherings planned tomorrow, in case of traffic effects. At almost the same moment, an alert came in from Metro, and it’s the most matter-of-fact one we’ve seen, so here you go:
Transit service – and all traffic – in downtown Seattle will likely be delayed during the Tuesday afternoon commute and into the evening due to a May Day march and other activities. Bus riders should be prepared for transit service delays – and possible reroutes. This could affect bus service both on surface streets and possibly the transit tunnel.
One march is planned to leave the Central District at 5 p.m. and travel along South Jackson Street to Fourth Avenue to the Wells Fargo Building on Third Avenue between Madison and Marion streets. There could be additional May Day activities in other locations that could also delay or disrupt traffic and transit.
If possible, people may want to leave work early Tuesday. They should also give themselves extra time to travel through the downtown area. Metro may have to temporarily reroute buses if streets are closed or become blocked.
Metro will be using its Eye on the Metro Commute blog and Twitter account to do its best to keep customers informed about the transit disruptions on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
(SDOT also has an alert, mentioning that 2nd might have to be closed.) We of course will keep you updated here (and via the WSB Facebook page) too. Nothing major is planned in West Seattle tomorrow so far as we have heard.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This week, we’re likely to learn a lot more about what’s envisioned for the 4724 California development on the ex-Petco site in The Junction.
For starters: 10 days after WSB first reported the plan, the “fact sheet” promised by developers is now available- see it here – and the official website’s look and contents have evolved too.
Most significantly, the development/ownership team continues to circulate for conversations with community leaders, as they were doing before we even found out about the proposal. West Seattle business-community members met with the development team last week. This time in addition to the “on the ground” Seattle team members from Urban Evolution (who talked with us for an April 20th followup), the group included Peter Wolff of The Wolff Company, the privately held firm that’s buying the site and funding the development.
The morning after that meeting, he sat down for an interview with WSB, in which he explained, among other things, why he believes his company is “the right firm to do this”:
1:37 PM: More Monday road woes – just got a text about a crash at 8th and Roxbury, and the 911 log shows a 2-unit dispatch. (added) It’s on the westbound side, and Seattle Police have called for extra reinforcement to manage traffic, so avoid the area if you can. We’re en route for a look.
1:52 PM UPDATE: Per the scanner, the crash is actually a hit-and-run, and they’re looking for a driver described as female, in her 30s, 5-foot-5, blue shirt, blue pants. Our crew just arrived and is trying to find out more about that, but also reports that westbound traffic is being diverted onto 7th SW. At least one person is hurt; an ambulance is on scene.
2:13 PM UPDATE: Added a photo. Police tell us that the car in the foreground, with the least damage, is the one whose driver left the scene; the one behind it, with more damage, is the one whose driver was taken to the hospital.
(Sunday photo by WSB editor Tracy Record)
Another successful dropoff event this past weekend – more successful than ever, in fact! Judy Pickens just shared this wrapup of how the Fauntleroy Church‘s Recycle Roundup on Sunday (WSB coverage here) turned out:
The West Seattle peninsula is surely sitting higher in the water today after residents brought a record 16 tons of recyclables to Sunday’s Recycle Roundup hosted by Fauntleroy Church and 1 Green Planet. With that much stuff returning to the resource stream, more cars surely fit in the garage and a few marriages may have been saved!
The crew packed every truck available with 16 tons of almost everything imaginable, from infant car seats to elder scooters, computers to fencing. To thank the church’s green committee for organizing the free event and providing a “Green Ideas” handout, recyclers tossed just over $1,400 in the donation basket.
The church will announce the fall event date soon so that area residents have ample notice to start sorting.
When we stopped by the Southwest Precinct at midmorning Saturday to check on Drug Take-Back Day (WSB coverage here), we saw a steady stream of people bringing in their unwanted/unneeded/expired medication. Big enough turnout, in fact, that according to an update on SPD Blotter, West Seattle’s precinct netted the biggest “take” on Take-Back Day – 238 pounds! Here are the citywide results.
According to a news release just in from Seattle Public Schools, another finalist has withdrawn from the superintendent search – Dr. Sandra Husk of Salem – which leaves José Banda of Anaheim (photo right). The School Board will vote on Wednesday, and, according to the news release, asked its president Michael DeBell to call Banda last night (UPDATED 11:02 AM after the news release, with more context on the 2 withdrawals; also UPDATED 11:13 AM with district clarification that the Banda decision was made before the Husk withdrawal)Read More
(Photo by Sam from Fleurt [WSB sponsor] – windblown flower petals cover a Fauntleroy street!)
From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
DONATE TO YOUR LOCAL FOOD BANKS! Today is the last day of the Feinstein Challenge, two months during which your donation to participating food banks goes further – here’s the story we originally published when the annual “challenge” began last month.
NORTHWEST CENTER DROPOFF NOW 7 DAYS A WEEK: As mentioned last week, the Northwest Center “Big Blue Truck” donation-dropoff spot in The Junction – 44th and Edmunds – is open EVERY day as of today (used to be Fri/Sat/Sun). Our previous story includes a link to the list of what they do and don’t accept.
WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: Today’s theme for the dish you bring – “On a Bun”! 3 pm, Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW).
AFTERSCHOOL CLASSES AT ENRICHMENT ON ALKI: A new series of classes starts today after school – details here.
GET YOUR DANCE ON … with Balorico at Kenyon Hall, 6:30 pm. More on the listing page.
MEMORIAL AT VIETNAMESE CULTURAL CENTER: An annual tradition at West Seattle’s Vietnamese Cultural Center (2236 SW Orchard) is tonight – a vigil to remember the Vietnamese and U.S. soldiers who lost their lives fighting for freedom. The public’s welcome, with a special invitation extended to veterans; tonight at 7 pm. (Details here.)
FAMILY STORY TIME: Tonight at the Seattle Public Library‘s High Point branch (35th/Raymond), 7 pm.
FLAT EARTH SOCIETY DJ SESSION AT WEST 5: It’s a Monday night tradition – 9 pm at West 5, turntable time, described as: “Featuring a lineup of some luminous Seattle record junkies spinning the rarest and fairest vinyl from deep within their respective LP collections. Rare soul, garage, dirty-funk, J Pop, jazz and a smattering of world-stage psychedelia will be spinning at the popular lounge in the heart of West Seattle.” Tonight, it’s Chris Martin from Kinski and AMPBUZZ.
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY COUNTDOWN: 12 days away – 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th. We expect as usual to have the map available a week in advance so you can find out who’s having a sale near you (if you’re not a seller!) and plan your wanderings that day – keep watch here, on the WSCGSD website, on the WSCGSD Facebook page, and on the WSB Facebook page.
(Latest “live” picture looking at eastbound WS Bridge – refresh page for newest image)
TRAFFIC NOTE #1: As announced last week, today’s the day SDOT plans to inspect the west end of the West Seattle Bridge – the Fauntleroy Expressway section, which has been getting an earthquake-safety retrofit since last year – which means “rolling slowdowns” between 8 am and 3 pm. Here again is how they explain it:
The inspection team will establish short-term lane closures of the right-hand lane using truck-mounted traffic warning devices. The inspection will begin near West Seattle and move westbound. The inspection team will make short-term (15 minutes) stops at any given location along the bridge deck. After completing the westbound route the team will then inspect eastbound, toward Downtown Seattle, also along the right hand lane. The entire inspection will be completed by 3:00 p.m.
TRAFFIC NOTE #2, ADDED AT 7:26 AM: Not sure how long this will last, but we just caught word of a truck crash on northbound I-5 at the Ship Canal Bridge that is causing problems through downtown – so if you usually take I-5, be forewarned, it’s slower going right now, and traffic reporters are advising 99 as an alternative, so that may be busier than usual.
8:06 AM UPDATE: WSDOT says the I-5 crash scene is clear now, but the backup will take a while longer to clear since it’s heavy-traffic commute time.
At the end of our last update on the “rechannelization” proposed for a stretch of Delridge Way SW, in connection with changes along Metro Route 120, we mentioned having asked SDOT for clearer graphics, since the ones linked from Metro’s website weren’t optimal. Jeff Bender, who had represented the city at last Tuesday’s open house at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (WSB coverage here), has provided a few that do seem much clearer, which might be helpful if you haven’t commented on the proposal yet. Above, the cross-section; he also provided PDFs that show the entire stretch of the proposed rechannelization from Delridge/Andover to Delridge/Oregon – here they are in simple black/white, or here, as an aerial-photo overlay. Though the reconfiguration discussion has been bundled into the bus-route discussion so far, Bender told us there is a separate SDOT review process under way right now – here’s how to get your comments to them. He did not indicate a deadline, but we’d say “ASAP,” since Metro had set this past Friday for its deadline to receive overall comments on the proposed Route 120 changes, including removal of some stops.
(WSB photo from 2010 fishing event)
The West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club will be back at Seacrest again this spring with an annual tradition – the Kids’ Fishing Pond. We just confirmed with club president Greg Boyd today that the event is set for 8 am-11 am on Saturday, May 12th. (Go early BEFORE West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 9 am-3 pm!) As they do every year, the club will stock a portable pond at Seacrest, providing poles and bait, “first 100 kids or till the fish run out.” Here’s the listing on the Sportsmen’s Club website calendar.
You never know what you are going to find on the beach at low tide. This closeup look at an octopus arm found south of Alki Point a few days ago is courtesy of West Seattle photographer Machel Spence. She even found the upper mandible of its beak – the only hard part of an octopus’s body:
Probably not the same octopus – but two weeks ago, Jana and her kids found an intact octopus on a local beach; we’d been saving those photos – click ahead if you’re interested in seeing one:Read More
Some streets have prefab “Neighborhood Watch” signs. Some are homemade. Then, there’s this:
Alicia shared that photo from 30th/Henderson in Westwood last night, saying it had just “popped up.” (We went over to verify – it’s still there.) Wondering if any specific recent incident had inspired the sign, we checked the city’s “incident response” map; nearest notable crime shown on the map is a burglary attempt early last Tuesday one block east, in which, according to the police report, the victim tried to scare off the suspect, who was reportedly trying to kick their door in, “by yelling for his wife to call the police and get his gun.” The report also says police arrested a suspect nearby.
The future of the ex-Genesee Hill Elementary campus remains a central point of concern for people who live in the area, according to what the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council heard last Thursday during its first general meeting after several months’ hiatus. The meeting’s main point was to hone in on defining the neighborhood’s attributes and how to add to them with an eye to the future. Attributes, according to attendees: Friendliness, small-town feeling despite big-city proximity, exceptional views from the hills and bluffs. What’s needed: More park space where people can gather – the neighborhood has beautiful, forested Schmitz Park, of course, but it doesn’t have any sort of “commons” area. Also suggested – more events like last year’s neighborhood hoedown. About the campus: The community gardens maintained by volunteers on the west side are a point of pride, and despite the fencing that the district’s been putting up, neighbors hope access will remain. (In the longer term, the district is considering asking for money in its upcoming BEX IV levy to build a new Schmitz Park Elementary on the Genesee Hill campus.) To stay in touch with Genesee-Schmitz, keep an eye on the GSNC website.
Our partners at The Seattle Times report that one of the three finalists for Seattle Public Schools superintendent, Steven Enoch, has dropped out. 
He was the only one who’d worked in our state previously. That leaves José Banda of Anaheim (left) and Dr. Sandra Husk of Salem (right). The Times reports that the School Board is scheduled to meet tonight to discuss them; their next open public meeting is Wednesday. (And if you’d like to talk with West Seattle’s board member Marty McLaren about this or another issue, she’s having her next community-conversation meeting at 1:15 pm today at the Admiral library branch.)
ADDED 2:11 PM: The district has sent out an official media advisory announcing that Enoch dropped out.
Steven Enoch, one of three finalists for Seattle Public Schools Superintendent, announced on Saturday night that he is withdrawing his candidacy.
A statement from School Board President Michael DeBell: “We enjoyed getting to know all three of our finalists last week and we are disappointed to learn that Mr. Enoch has withdrawn his candidacy. I want to thank Mr. Enoch for his interest in Seattle Public Schools and his commitment to public education. We know this is a two-way process and we want to find a leader who is a good fit for Seattle, and who believes Seattle is a good fit for them.”
The Seattle School Board meets tonight in closed session to continue discussions. For more information on the search process, please visit bit.ly/SuperintendentSearchSite.
The district included the full text of Enoch’s withdrawal e-mail – read on:Read More
(From the WSB Flickr group pool, red flowering currant at Greg Davis Park, by “old desolate“)
From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
DON’T GET RID OF IT, RECYCLE IT: As noted here earlier this morning, 1 Green Planet‘s trucks are at Fauntleroy Church‘s lot till 3 pm – here’s what you can and can’t drop off for FREE recycling.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm as always – with this week’s highlights listed as “Rhubarb! Green Garlic! Asparagus! Local Wheat! … CommuniTea Kombucha will be sampling in their booth this weekend only!” 44th/Alaska in The Junction.
SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH: Newly renamed La Romanza Bistro Italiano (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, 4521 California SW, will serenade you during brunch, which is served 10:30 am-4 pm on Sundays (menu here).
PLAYDATE FOR K-5 STEM AT BOREN FAMILIES (AND PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES): Noon today outside Fauntleroy Children’s Center (north side of the Schoolhouse at 9131 California SW) – even if you haven’t committed yet (enrollment is still open), come meet other families; here’s the calendar listing.
CATSINO! 2-6 pm today, West Seattle animal advocates invite you to join them at Beveridge Place Pub (6451 California SW) with a fun crowd gathered for a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, and recreational Vegas-style games to help animals via these 4 organizations, as described in the event announcement:
Furry Faces Foundation (helping financially restricted folks with medical and basic care for their pets)
A.A.R.F. (rescues dogs, many of who are in dire straits)
Purrfect Pals (Cat rescue and sanctuary)
Regional Animal Services of King County (King County’s shelter, which takes in all species of animals)
$25 at the door also gets you a drink ticket and a chance at door prizes.
SEAL SITTERS BOOK: Brenda Peterson and Robin Lindsey from West Seattle-based Seal Sitters have co-authored a children’s book about two seals that visited WS, “Leopard and Silkie,” and will be at a 2 pm reading today at Elliott Bay Books (details and map here).
MUSIC AND THEATER: 3-5 pm, Bobby Woods performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 5612 California SW … 3 pm is also the start of today’s matinee of “Exit, Pursued by a Bear” at ArtsWest Playhouse, 4711 California SW (click their name to see their newly revamped website) … And 3 pm is also the start time for all-ages live music at Skylark Café and Club, 3803 Delridge Way SW, with Tuktu and Bobby Heinson.
(Added 11:46 am: The 1 Green Planet team this morning in the early going)
Last time the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee brought 1 Green Planet to West Seattle for a “Recycle Roundup,” the recycling company’s trucks went away with 14 tons of electronics and other items. 9 am-3 pm today, they’re back, and will be set up in the church parking lot (9140 California SW) again awaiting your recyclables. If you haven’t checked it yet, here’s the list of what they will and won’t accept. It’s a free service (though the Green Committee will accept donations if you’re interested in helping them cover their costs).
Thanks to Jennifer Hall for sharing photos of West Seattle High School‘s YMCA Earth Service Corps club (and friends) taking advantage of the Saturday sunshine to get their new raingarden going.
You might remember the boost the project got last month — it won a $1,000 grant from Sustainable West Seattle for rounding up a crowd to learn about fighting the Tox-Ick Monster.
Jazz musicians from Chief Sealth International High School are in the Birthplace of Jazz this weekend, on the road and on a roll, according to this update from their director Marcus Pimpleton:
Congratulations are in order for the students of the Chief Sealth International Jazz Ensemble I on their outstanding performance at the Worldstrides Heritage Jazz Festival in New Orleans, LA this afternoon.
The jazz ensemble received a rating of gold and trumpet player Cameron Nakatani received a Maestro Award for outstanding solo from the three-judge panel that included professors from Arizona State University, Tulane, and Loyola. The students are on the second day of a five-day trip. Tomorrow will include a Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, followed by a full day at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. On Monday, the students will receive a clinic from the jazz-studies professor at Loyola University before heading home Tuesday night.
It was an intergenerational event at The Kenney (WSB sponsor) during Saturday’s annual Kenney Foundation Champagne Brunch/Auction, raising money for the Life Care Fund, helping residents stay on if they outlive their financial resources. Above, you see The Ellis Brothers trio, whose members played jazz, while, for adult guests, the promised champagne awaited:
With late-morning sun spilling through the windows, a tropical mood was enhanced by the leis toted by Dave Salove of Forest Lawn (WSB sponsor), who chairs the foundation’s board:
This was the sixth annual Champagne Brunch, also featuring a silent auction and keynote speaker Nick Del Calzo, whose most recent claim to fame is his his “Medal of Honor” photography. Miss the brunch? You can donate online.
(Visiting teachers with Explorer West Head of School Evan Hundley, right)
You’ve heard of exchange students – how about exchange teachers? More than a dozen of them from the other side of the Pacific have just visited Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor), and Amy French shared photos along with this report:
Earlier this week, Explorer West Middle School hosted 14 Japanese teachers for an unique, educational exchange opportunity as part of the The Japan-U.S. Teacher Exchange Program for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The visiting teachers participated in small-group discussions with Explorer West students and faculty about topics of sustainability and how it is taught at Explorer West.
They also learned about the school’s Outdoor Education Program. For more information about this teacher exchange program, visit www.iie.org/Programs/ESD. To learn more about Explorer West’s Sustainability Program, visit explorer-west.org/sustainability.
We’re making the list and checking it … more than twice … as we count down to the 8th annual 
West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, exactly two weeks away – 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, May 12th. The final total, barring any last-minute cancellations (Wednesday’s the deadline for those), is 250 sales – all sizes! Group sales, block sales, business sales, school sales, multi-family sales, a BIG roster of benefit sales for myriad causes … a sale at a gas station … a sale at a bar … a sale at a P-Patch … sales in all five West Seattle zip codes, and neighborhoods from Alki in the north to the Arroyos in the south. So that you have a week to plan, we will have the map available (in clickable and printable formats as in years past) next Saturday – we’ll publish the links in all our channels when it’s ready, including the official West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day site, the WSCGSD Facebook page (where we invite sellers to post photos/info in the week before sale day), the WSB Facebook page, and of course, here. But most of all, whether you’re selling or shopping, get ready for May 12th (and invite your off-peninsula friends to come shop, not just the sales, but also WS businesses/restaurants while they’re here!).
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