Three months after the purchase of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse and some of its surrounding land officially became final, the community celebration is just four days away – 6:30 pm Thursday (June 3) – and we have more details of how it will unfold. Kim Sheridan from schoolhouse-headquartered Fauntleroy Children’s Center says it will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring its founder Dr. Jack Pierce as well as Fauntleroy Community Service Agency – the nonprofit purchasing entity- board president Kevin Wooley, and Fauntleroy Community Association president Bruce Butterfield. The West Seattle Big Band is scheduled to perform 7-8 pm. And Kim says they’ve got RSVPs from city/state reps including State Sen. Joe McDermott and Rep. Eileen Cody, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao, and former Mayor Greg Nickels (who has just returned from the East Coast). As noted in our first announcement of the event, schoolhouse-based Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering – which won the vote at the recent Taste of West Seattle – will provide treats. (Here’s the Facebook invite, if you’d like to track this event that way.) P.S. There just might be some other special “guests” nearby – a team of goats is due at the schoolhouse, possibly by midweek, to munch away weeds and invasives. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Kim Dinsmoor from Seattle Civic Dance Theatre, also headquartered at the schoolhouse, sent a note to make sure you know you’re invited to come downstairs on the building’s north side to see performers preparing for their next production, “The Tea Party” (they’re performing it at 2 pm next Sunday, June 6, at Highline Performing Arts Center).
For almost two decades of Sunday mornings, Seattle Times readers had the chance to take a humor break courtesy of columnist Steve Johnston. He’s now a resident of West Seattle – at Park West Skilled Nursing Center, because of health challenges – but has just achieved a milestone, three years after leaving the Times: He’s a published author. Johnston’s family has helped put together a collection of his 1988-2007 columns under the title “Tales of the Truly Unpleasant.” You can read more about it in this Times story; there’s also more info, including how to buy the book, at its official website.(Cover art used with permission)
(Photo taken on Saturday at Alki by David Rosen from SlickPix Photography)
Today’s low tide won’t be as low as the past few days, but it’s still a minus tide, and Seattle Aquarium (WSB sponsor) volunteer beach naturalists will be out at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park to offer information and guidance, noon-3:30 pm. Also at midday, it’s the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm @ 44th/Alaska; note that the Farmers’ Market info table is selling reusable produce bags, $3 each – use less plastic! Then at 3 pm, it’s the second of two “Zen Tales” shows at ArtsWest – family friendly, they promise – by UMO Ensemble. More options? Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
Just a few hours after Seattle Lutheran High Schoolwon the state championship in 2B baseball, the jubilant players were welcomed home just after 10:30 tonight – our first clip shows the honks, whoops and cheers as their bus rolled up outside the gym, where they, their coaches, and a spirited group of family and friends celebrated. They beat Colfax 10-6 in a late-afternoon game in Yakima. ADDED 12:51 AM: As the players joined well-wishers and coaches inside the SLHS gym, they first gathered for “one last prayer as a team,” before another burst of exuberance:
And a few words from the coaching/athletics team (Steve Meehan speaking, with – from left – Dan Imori, William Clowney, Mike Hay):
Bil Hood of SLHS tells WSB that two players also won individual sportsmanship awards over the past two days – Jordan Webb on Friday, Mike Register on Saturday. This is the school’s first baseball championship and its first state championship in 12 years – they have a boys’ soccer championship from 1990, boys and girls cross-country championships in 1992, and boys track in 1998.
From our regional-news partners at the Seattle Times: West Seattle High School‘s boys’ track team took second in the state championships with 53 points, two behind defending state champ North Central. WSHS won the 400-meter relay, and Markeem Adams won the 100-meter race. (Detailed results here.)
Several people have e-mailed to ask about a case that two TV stations are reporting: A 15-year-old says he was beaten up early Tuesday in Highland Park by attackers with a racist motive, near a staircase at 14th/Holden (map). This first appeared last night on Q13 (here’s their story). They reported that the boy was walking home at 2 am Tuesday when someone asked him for a light; he walked toward the person, and was jumped; the reports say the victim said his attackers told them they were beating him because he’s white. We have no independent information on this so far – police reports aren’t available over the weekend, this incident didn’t appear on the SPD Blotter log of noteworthy cases – so the best we can do, until we get more info (and we do have requests out), is point you to the TV stories: Q13 here, KOMO here.
(Photo added 8:11 pm, sent by Bil Hood of SLHS)
Congratulations to the Seattle Lutheran High School Saints baseball team – within the past half hour, according to the @seattlelutheran Twitter feed, the team won the 2B state championship, beating Colfax 10-6. The game was played in Yakima. More details later!
By early afternoon, the team at Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Cemetery (WSB sponsor) had finished the job that volunteer Scouts had helped with the day before – placing about 1,300 flags atop the graves of veterans buried there. Tonight and tomorrow night, starting at 6, a bagpiper will play; we’ll add video of that later. (added 8:41 pm – here’s bagpiper Tyrone Heade)
People who stop by this weekend to honor someone’s memory also will find a hospitality table with coffee/tea, plus maps if they have trouble finding a specific gravesite, and Monday at 2 pm, the annual West Seattle Memorial Day Service, co-presented by American Legion Post 160, will be held near the flagpole on the cemetery’s south-central side.
2:52 PM ORIGINAL REPORT: From the state Department of Ecology, word of an oil spill in the Duwamish River:
The Washington Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the source of an oil spill on the Duwamish River about one half mile north of the South Park Bridge.
A sheen and diesel odor were reported to Ecology at 8:30 a.m. today and spill responders found an unknown amount of recoverable diesel oil in an inlet on private property at 7400 Eighth Ave. S. next to Boeing property.
A cleanup contractor called by Ecology and the Coast Guard has arrived at the scene and will begin work on recovering the diesel oil this afternoon. Further information will be released when it becomes available.
4:12 PM UPDATE: New information from Dan Partridge of Ecology:
There is no cleanup contractor working on site. A contractor hired by the Coast Guard arrived earlier and was about to begin work when the tide shifted. The diesel spill that was thought to be recoverable no longer was recoverable with the shifting of the tide so the contractor has left the site. There’s 100-by-3 foot sheen visible on the water but it’s expected to dissipate with the shifting of the tide. We still have not determined the source of the spill but Ecology will continue to investigate.
5:36 PM: Ecology estimates the spill at no more than 25 gallons. We went looking for, but didn’t find, any publicly visible sign of it.
Memorial Day weekend means barbecues, clouds or no clouds. They’re grilling at Southwest Community Center right now, as Southwest Family Fest continues till 5 pm. And for another taste of summer – how about palm trees:
A little quiet when we dropped in – c’mon, it’s guaranteed indoor fun if the little ones are bouncing off the walls, bring them down to bounce off the inflatables instead. Outside, some of the car-showcase participants left early, but we caught a few on cam:
Southwest Community Center is at 2801 SW Thistle (map). The festival’s presented by the Late-Night Teen Programs but it’s for all ages.
The Art Lending Library will be open for one night. Come check it out! Thursday, June 10th. 6 pm to 9 pm.
Reminder: The Library is based on a first come first serve basis. The earlier you arrive the more choices you will have. Also, all artwork that is checked out will be delivered at a later date by the Librarians.
Haven’t heard of the Art Lending Library before? It’s explained here; the concept first debuted two years ago during Delridge Day (which is coming up a week from today as part of the ReFRESH Southwest festival; the Art Lending Library opening isn’t till five days after that, though).
2 reports to share (and a few more are in queue for another report later today): As noted on Twitter during a busy early Friday morning – an Alki resident reported that his car was broken into by someone who then tried to run him over. The victim posted a few details in a comment thread on another Crime Watch story, and we invited him to send more info. It happened around 12:30 am Friday in the Stevens Crest Apartments parking garage (61st/Stevens). He describes the culprits as a black male driving a gray Chevy Malibu, license plate 855-S**, and white male “who was in my car at the time I found them – approximately 5’10”-6′, wearing a white T-shirt, black baseball cap with white pinstriping. Most notable feature were his eyebrows for some reason – they were rather thick. Tattoos (gray and black scale, no colors) on his arms.” He says he confronted the two, and they “tried to run me over in the … garage.” Here’s what he says they stole:
2 Tama Tom drums 12 and 13 inch.
5 Zildjian Cymbals (in a DW bag)
1 Pork Pie metal snare drum
DW Stick bag with multiple sets of sticks
A Camelback bag (backpack) with gym clothes
iPod Video (Black)
Mackie 16 ch Mixing Console
Mixed monitor cables and Guitar cords
Meantime, there’s a long report from Westwood from someone who watched a suspicious pair Friday afternoon – read on:Read More
Want to grow your own food but don’t know where to start?
We can help!
Garden Helpers is a new program from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. Experienced gardeners, trained by Seattle Tilth, can provide you with free, in-person advice to design, install, or maintain your own vegetable garden. Whether you have a backyard garden, P-Patch, or container garden, Garden Helpers are mentors who can help you get started on a garden, choose the right plants, and answer all of your questions about growing your own vegetables.
If you live in West Seattle or White Center and would like help from a Garden Helpers volunteer, call us at (206) 762-0604 or send us an e-mail at info@gleanit.org. For more information, here are the Garden Helpers Frequently Asked Questions>. This program is funded by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
The West Seattle Weekend Lineup, published last night, has indoor options as well as outdoor, if you just don’t feel like getting a little soggy. But the forecast suggests it might lighten from “showery” to “cloudy” later, so all hope of umbrellalessness is not lost. The annual Family Fest and Car Showcase at Southwest Community Center will run 11 am-5 pm, including a free swim at adjacent Southwest Pool 1-2 pm, and if you like the warm water/brisk air effect, Day 1 at Colman Pool (starting with lap swims at noon) is the place to be. Then tonight, two special entertainment options – final performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” by student actors and musicians at West Seattle High School Theater, and the first of two “Zen Tales” performances by UMO Ensemble at ArtsWest. Also – next door in White Center, there’s an ice-cream social/hip-hop show at Full Tilt, noon-5 pm, with posters promising free scoops (see it on the FT website).
She was joined by the mother of a Somali boy who was beaten days later, in the April 29 incident that happened hours before hundreds filled a room at Neighborhood Center for a community safety conversation. At that meeting (WSB coverage here), police and Housing Authority leaders heard many of the same concerns brought forward today.
But this time, it was a much smaller forum. The two women were part of a group of about 30, led by the High Point Somali Residents Council (HPSRC).Read More
As promised, Seattle Lutheran High School sent updates on Twitter all day on how their athletes were faring in big games/meets – and the biggest news of all, the Saints baseball team beat Mossyrock 14-7, advancing to the finals tomorrow. They’ll play Colfax at 4 pm in Yakima. In other sports, the softball team lost its first game of the day but rebounded for a win later and is still alive in the state tournament, and two runners are off to their finals too – check here for all the tweets.
Memorial Day is a time to remember those you’ve lost. The place in West Seattle where that happens every day is Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn, the only full-service facility in West Seattle, with a chapel, crematorium, columbarium (above) and mausoleum, as well as a cemetery. We’re welcoming them today as the newest WSB sponsor. Forest Lawn can also make arrangements for other types of final tributes – they can even make arrangements with Argosy Cruises if you want to scatter a loved one’s ashes at sea. General Manager Dave Salove says Forest Lawn is a place to welcome people and engage them in the complete process of arranging an appropriate and memorable celebration of a loved one’s life. Their site stretches across both sides of the winding road between the High Point neighborhood and the West Duwamish Greenbelt (map); on the south side are the buildings, on the north side the sprawling open greenery of the cemetery, site to not only private moments, but also the annual community Easter Sunrise Service and Memorial Day Service(coming up at 2 pm this Monday, as usual in conjunction with American Legion Post 160).
Since Forest Lawn is part of a nationwide company, they also can help you with arrangements in other cities – just call them to see if they have a facility in the area where you need to have the funeral. Here at home, Forest Lawn belongs to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and Dave is on the West Seattle Food Bank board, the Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, and The Kenney Foundation. You can reach Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn by phone at 206-932-0050, or online.
Weather permitting, they plan bagpipe music at 6 pm tonight and Saturday, as part of Memorial Day weekend. We thank Forest Lawn for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
That’s Heavenly Pastry‘s Allison Barnes with a basket of her already-legendary pretzels – which they sold at farmers’ markets, among other places, before opening their own retail store at 2604 California SW as of noon today (as previewed here). Again, it’s a “soft opening,” which means they’re not revved up to full production yet – but you will find scones and cookies today as well as those pretzels:
Allison says Heavenly Pastry will be open till 7 tonight, 10 am-7 pm tomorrow, 7 am-3 pm Sunday, then closed Mondays and Tuesdays – which will be their usual days off – before reopening 7 am-7 pm Wednesday.
CONTRACT AWARDED FOR MYRTLE RESERVOIR PARK: Construction is finally about to start on Myrtle Reservoir Park, now that the contract’s been awarded to Seattle-based Ohno Construction. Project manager Virginia Hassinger tells WSB the contract is for $470,000 pre-tax. A pre-construction meeting is set for June 7th, and after that, she says, they “will get going as soon as possible once the contract is fully executed.” (The official Parks webpage shows the park design.) Hassinger says Ohno is well-regarded for work done on Magnuson Park‘s sports fields and wetlands.
JUNCTION PLAZA PARK PLANTING PARTY DATE CHANGE: Friends of Junction Plaza Park has pushed the community planting party back a week to June 12th, since the current rainy weather put a bit of a crimp in the concrete pour at the construction site (42nd/Alaska). Those who’ve volunteered for the planting party should be getting an e-mail update from organizers. The park dedication is still on for June 29th.
Dozens of student artists from West Seattle’s high schools are showing their work in the ArtsWest gallery through tomorrow (noon-7 pm daily), including Chief Sealth International High School student Arnoldo Alvarado, one of the artists on hand for a special reception there last night, as was Matthew Wood from Seattle Lutheran High School:
The reception also included an announcement of the art-show winners:
1st place Silbee Sanchez, West Seattle High School, Grade 11, European Vacation, tempera and acrylic on canvas.
Tied in 2nd place Kelly Le Phung, Seattle Lutheran High School (grade 12), Vitamin C, linoleum print; and Meru Simone, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), My Inner Fish, gouache and colored pencil on paper.
Tied in 3rd place Marlys Mandaville, Chief Sealth High School (grade 11), Self Portrait, gouache on paper; and Peka Grayson, West Seattle High School (grade 12), Fruit by the Foot, acrylic
Donors for the prize money included Joan and Wilbur Springer, shown in the photo below with (at left) ArtsWest executive director Alan Harrison:
Again, you still have time to see the winning work and all the entries on display at ArtsWest (4711 California SW) today and tomorrow, noon-7 pm.
Sometime in the next week,Seattle Parks (and other departments) will announce what midyear cuts they have to make this summer as the result of mayoral mandates on the budget – but there were no hints during briefings at last night’s Parks Board meeting downtown. In fact, while previous Parks statements had indicated the cuts would be announced on or around June 1st, acting deputy superintendent Eric Friedl told the board the news might not come till the following week. In his meeting-opening briefing, filling in for acting superintendent Christopher Williams, Friedl promised that even though this is a “furlough weekend” for Parks, and there’s no trash pickup today, the “seasonal schedule” mentioned after the trash debacle a few weeks ago kicks in Saturday, so you should NOT see a repeat at Alki – or any other city park – this weekend. Read on for other toplines from the Parks Board meeting, which started with a relatively sizable crowd – about 30 people:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
What looks like vandalism on the south side of the new Junction flower shop Fleurt is actually from an early-morning car crash. First we heard from Jack, who says that around 6 am, he saw a car up on the curb at California/Oregon (map) with “front body damage” and five police cars at the scene; then Ellen e-mailed wondering if the smashed shelves and planters she saw outside Fleurt were the work of vandals. Christopher Boffoli just checked it out for WSB – his photo is above; he says there’s no major damage to the structure itself. Fleurt wasn’t open yet when he went by, but an SPD card in the door says the crash happened about 5:50 am. We’re checking with police on the driver’s status; 911 logs don’t show a medic response, and Jack said it looked as if a search was under way when he went by. 1:44 PM UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James confirms that the car was stolen, no driver in sight when police arrived; someone saw a person run from the scene but hadn’t actually seen that person driving the car. He adds, “The vehicle was returned to the owner, who did not know that the vehicle had been stolen.”
ORIGINAL 9:40 AM REPORT: We’re continuing to receive questions about this, so just in case you were wondering too: We’ve just received new information from police regarding the incident that backed up traffic on the eastbound bridge around 7:30 am; some who e-mailed us reported seeing a “scooter” at the scene. Police had trouble finding information during our first call but Seattle Police Media Unit Officer Renee Witt has since located a report that says a “man driving a moped” was hurt in a possible hit-run crash. No word yet on his condition (we have a message out to the Fire Department, which would know if the injuries were life-threatening) or whether the other driver was found. 12:01 PM UPDATE: We’ve heard from enough witnesses to describe the 2-wheeler as a scooter, so we have changed the headline, and even more importantly, Seattle Fire spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen tells WSB the rider was not seriously hurt and did not have to be taken to the hospital.
Three months after the purchase of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse and some of its surrounding land 
For almost two decades of Sunday mornings, 
2 reports to share (and a few more are in queue for another report later today): 
Aviva at 
even make arrangements with 
(coming up at 2 pm this Monday, as usual in conjunction with American Legion Post 160).
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