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Post-Easter ‘recycling’: West Seattle egg collection for fertilizer
March 28, 2012 7:58 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Gardening | West Seattle news

If you’re boiling eggs to decorate for Easter, and expecting to throw them away or put them in your food-waste recycling cart – here’s an alternative: Paul West of Gardening with Urban Nitrogen wants to collect them! He says he’s doing this “as a pilot project to develop local fertilizer alternatives to replace the exotic organic fertilizers that are typically used in urban gardens” and if you will donate to his experiment, he’ll arrange to pick up your Easter eggs from your front porch (West Seattle only) the morning of April 9th, provided they’re set out by 8 am. Then he’ll grind them into garden fertilizer and report to Sustainable West Seattle by the end of the growing season. The point he’s trying to draw attention to:

Urban food wastes such as eggs, milk, beans, and other high protein, low-fat foods are great sources of nitrogen. These typically end up at the Cedar Grove Composting facility where they get mixed with low-fertility wastes. Meanwhile, urban gardeners buy organic fertilizers (blood meal, fish emulsion, sea kelp, rock phosphate) from far-away places to grow their vegetables. This project fosters food security and local resource development.

West says he needs more than 1,000 eggs to make this work. To arrange to contribute, e-mail him at peedublyou@gmail.com.

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Video: 3rd meeting for DESC Delridge Advisory Committee
March 28, 2012 1:55 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   DESC Delridge project | West Seattle news

A wide-ranging agenda Tuesday night for the third meeting of the Advisory Committee formed as a means of addressing community concerns regarding DESC‘s planned Delridge Supportive Housing project. (Our coverage of the first meeting is here, the second meeting here.) Above, our unedited video of the entire 2-hour meeting (makes better audio than video – we apologize for awkward angles on a few public commenters because of where they stood to speak in relation to where our photographer was positioned).

Toplines, ahead:Read More

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Global Reading Challenge citywide finals: Alki makes the Top 2
March 27, 2012 8:26 pm
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(Cheering capacity crowd just before the competition began)
“These are not the Hunger Games,” quipped Mary Palmer, emceeing tonight’s Global Reading Challenge citywide finals at the Seattle Public Library‘s Central Library downtown. “Nobody’s going to die tonight.” And, she added semi-sternly, if anyone came for the thrill of “winning,” they’re not in the right place either – as the kids repeated after her, they’re all already “WINNERS!”

(Arbor Heights team at top left, Alki in black in the middle, Roxhill is the far-right team in blue)
And that, they were – though in the end, only two of the ten competing teams scored high enough to move on to the final round of competition, a video-linked competition next month against Canadian students. And one is from West Seattle – George’s Magician’s Treasures, from Alki Elementary! (added – photo courtesy Kathleen)

GMT and the team from Adams both scored 120 points. (added) Here’s our video of the announcement of all teams’ scores (including WS’s other 2 contenders, from Roxhill and Arbor Heights) – in the last minute or so, you’ll see how Alki celebrated:

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Attention, night owls: Brief Comcast outage likely overnight
March 27, 2012 6:24 pm
|      27 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle online

After finding out from this WSB Forums post that Comcast had issued a warning of an overnight internet-service outage tonight (actually early tomorrow), we checked to see how widespread it would be. Here’s the reply from Comcast’s Steve Kipp:

We will be doing maintenance on the vast majority of our service area in West Seattle. The work will take place between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. We anticipate that service will be interrupted for about 5 minutes. The time of the interruption will vary depending on when we do the maintenance work on the equipment serving that neighborhood.

All of the work will take place at our headend facility in Burien and won’t involve construction crews working out in the individual neighborhoods.

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Not just a new location: The Beer Junction’s new features
March 27, 2012 4:00 pm
|      44 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS beverages

Sometime in the next few days, wander past The Beer Junction‘s new location at 4511 California SW (first reported here last July), and you just might find the store in “soft open” mode. Proprietor Morgan Herzog will reopen with new features, not just a new storefront. Some are small – like the shopping carts on the left side of our top photo – some are large, like the added bar:

And then there are the familiar features, like Pliny the Oscar:

What about the beer, you ask? (And the other beverages?) 1,250 types of beer fill the refrigerated cases along the store’s walls – here’s the north side:

1,250 is not only double what Morgan opened his former location (across from Jefferson Square, on the site of <strong>Equity Residential‘s future mixed-use project), that’s also about 200 more than he had in stock when he closed that store earlier this month to finish the move. He’s also stocking 100 hard ciders, 50 meads, and 90 wines, plus assorted merchandise including T-shirts and mugs. Hours will be the same as the old location for starters, including Monday closures.

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Memorial this Sunday for lifelong West Seattleite Diane Laxton
March 27, 2012 2:46 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Obituaries | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The West Seattle Eagles‘ Aerie is where a Celebration of Life will be held for member Diane Laxton this Sunday (April 1) at 3 pm. WSE Madam Vice President Amy McGrath shares this remembrance of Ms. Laxton:

Diane Amalea Laxton, born May 18, 1957 in West Seattle, Washington, passed away peacefully March 23, 2012, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Diane was born and raised in West Seattle, attending Gatewood Elementary, Madison Middle School and graduating from West Seattle High, class of 75. After graduation, Diane held numerous jobs, most notably at Pemco Insurance, where she spent thirty-two years. Recently, Diane was employed at Butter London.

Diane’s most challenging, yet rewarding role, was caring for others. Over the years, Diane cared for her grandfather, spent twelve years caring for her two nephews, and would be at a friend’s side in a moment’s notice. Compassionate, gracious, loving, warm hearted and generous are just a few adjectives that exemplified who Diane was.

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2 days till North Delridge community crime-fighting meeting
March 27, 2012 1:49 pm
|    Comments Off on 2 days till North Delridge community crime-fighting meeting
 |   Delridge | Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Two days till a special meeting to help North Delridge residents find out about crime trends and how to mobilize to protect themselves and their families. We first reported on the meeting plan on March 7th, the night Southwest Precinct operations Lt. Pierre Davis announced it at the SW District Council meeting. We checked back with precinct leadership for more details; Capt. Steve Paulsen explains that the focus is on Delridge and its neighboring streets, from the West Seattle Bridge to reopening-this-fall Boren School. Capt. Paulsen and Lt. Davis will provide crime information, and will introduce community members to the Community Police Team Officer for their area, Jon Kiehn, and precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon. Everyone in North Delridge is welcome at the meeting, 7 pm Thursday (March 29th) in the precinct’s community room, along SW Webster just west of Delridge Way SW.

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Transition ahead for Westside School: Next head of school visits
March 27, 2012 11:28 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

During the 9 years that Jo Ann Yockey has been head of school at Westside School (WSB sponsor), enrollment has doubled, from 130 to 268, and a middle-school program has launched, among other achievements. Now, Yockey is moving on to a new challenge, with a new job starting in July at Abiqua in Salem, Oregon. Her successor, Kate Mulligan, chosen by Westside’s board earlier this year, was at the Sunrise Heights campus this morning, visiting from her current job at Hualalai Academy, a K-12 school in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. We stopped by the school as Mulligan, at left in our top photo with Yockey, was finishing a school-community meet-and-greet. It’s a big week at Westside for other reasons – one of which you can glimpse toward the right side of the photo, a sign about the 23rd annual auction coming up Saturday. Even if you’re not going – you can bid in the online auction, continuing through Thursday night – the listing/bidding site is here.

Also happening at Westside, as we found out from communication/development director Jana Barber, who showed us around, new raised beds for an edible garden:

Barber says a grant from the Medina Foundation is helping fund the garden, where the students will grow food to donate to the West Seattle and White Center food banks, and they’re already raising seedlings in classrooms for short-season crops they hope to be able to harvest before this school year ends in June. Also growing inside the Westside building – this year’s baby salmon:

Westside second-graders raise salmon ever year, and these baby fish will be released into Fauntleroy Creek this spring.

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Scouting for Food followup: Look how much West Seattleites gave!
March 27, 2012 9:56 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Regina shares the photos, along with this message: “Thank you, West Seattle, for helping feed our neighbors – from Troop 282 and Pack 793.” Those are two of the local Scouting groups who collected food donations during Scouting for Food, door-to-door and at dropoff spots, last Saturday, and while we don’t have a poundage total, you can tell from the photos that people gave generously:

Remember that until the end of April, donations to the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank, both of which serve WS, count for extra, because of the Feinstein Challenge – you can follow the links to their respective websites (click on their names in this story – all blue text in WSB stories leads to a weblink) to find out how to give, in multiple ways.

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West Seattle Tuesday: DESC committee; Blockwatch Captains; Global Reading Challenge finals…
March 27, 2012 7:49 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Danny McMillin‘s ’10-shot combo’ of an eagle taking off from Alki; larger view on Flickr)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

CLOSURES AGAIN TONIGHT: As part of the ongoing Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, the 1st Avenue South offramp will be closed from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge, and the 1st/Spokane intersection will be closed too, both 9 pm tonight till 5 am Wednesday.

DELRIDGE SUPPORTIVE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE: The group reviewing issues related to the DESC Delridge Supportive Housing project meets again, 6:30 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW)- the agenda (see it here) includes a presentation by the Delridge Produce Cooperative, a prospective tenant for the building’s commercial space, as well as time for public comment.

WEST SEATTLE BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS NETWORK: The group’s agenda tonight – see it here – is centered on planning Block Watch Captains’ Appreciation Day. 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).

WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY ORCHESTRAS’ ANNUAL OUTREACH CONCERT: From the WSCO announcement:

The West Seattle Community Orchestras’ Debut and Intermediate Orchestras will perform at 6:30 pm at Highland Park Elementary thanks to a 4Culture grant from King County. … Highland Park’s own music teacher and WSCO Debut Orchestra conductor Daniel Hershmann -Rossi will lead his group through four pieces including Offenbach’s Can Can and Handel’s Sarabande. Toni Reineke, Ph.D., Intermediate Orchestra conductor, along with assistant conductor Anton Coleman, will lead their group through Smith’s Rites of Tamburo, Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, along with several other pieces. Concert is free to all; donations gladly accepted at the door to support Highland Park’s music program; a bake sale sponsored by the Highland Park PTA also benefits school programs.

3 WEST SEATTLE TEAMS IN READING CHALLENGE FINALS: Tonight’s a huge night for Global Reading Challenge teams from Alki (George’s Magician’s Treasures), Arbor Heights (Da Peeps), and Roxhill (Stoehr’s Superstars) – citywide competition with seven other teams at the downtown Central Library, 7 pm. Good luck, all!

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Update: Man dies after intensive rescue effort off Lincoln Park
March 26, 2012 9:52 pm
|      60 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(1st two photos by Patrick Sand for WSB)
ORIGINAL 9:52 PM REPORT: Rescue crews are converging on the Fauntleroy ferry dock after what was reported, according to scanner traffic, as a possible person in the water, reported to have fallen out of a dinghy. Our crew’s on the way; updates when we find out more.

10 PM UPDATE: The location where the person is believed to be in the water is actually off the south Lincoln Park beach, so that’s where rescuers are converging now.

They are still on the ferry dock too – with a fire-truck ladder extended (thanks to Maggie for pointing out it’s visible on the webcam):

10:10 PM UPDATE: Rescuers are headquartered by the first picnic shelter on the south stretch of Lincoln Park beach, where divers have been suiting up. Our crews on the scene say the Coast Guard has done a flyover and divers are about to go in.

(Photos from hereon out by Christopher Boffoli for WSB, except dinghy photo)
10:16 PM UPDATE: The ferry that was coming in has stopped a few hundred yards offshore.

(added) According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams at the scene, here’s what they believe happened: Two men in two small vessels were going back out to a sailboat anchored offshore. One apparently fell out. He’s believed to be in his mid-20s.

10:35 PM UPDATE: Divers are still in the water – but no rescue yet. No word of an active sighting, either. Adding a photo showing the light from the SFD ladder in the background (substituted later, actual ladder photo).

10:46 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore is on scene. He says there were actually three men taking supplies out to the sailboat, when it was discovered one was missing. (added – photo of one of the dinghies/rafts)

Divers are still searching but if they are not able to find the missing person soon, Moore says the operation will officially change to “recovery” mode.

10:49 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the beach say the victim is reported to have been found and is receiving CPR, has been taken to med unit. Moore says he’s been told the man is still alive and getting “cold water resuscitation.” He is reported to have been not very far offshore – 20 feet maybe.

10:56 PM UPDATE: Back here at HQ, we’re hearing scanner traffic about rescued man – believed to have been in the water an hour. CPR and “slow rewarming” under way as they prepare to rush him to Harborview Medical Center.

11:16 PM UPDATE: SFD’s Moore says the man was found about 25 yards offshore. Don’t know when we’ll find out if resuscitation efforts were successful, but of course we will update the story whenever there is info.

You may recall, this is the second time in five weeks that rescue divers have handled a call off West Seattle shores – last month, diver Tareq Saade died off Seacrest; his body was recovered about eight hours later.

ADDED 11:46 PM: Here is WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli‘s video of Moore’s media briefing right after the man was rescued:

6:38 AM UPDATE: Multiple citywide news orgs are reporting that the man didn’t make it. We don’t have independent confirmation so far, but the odds did seem very much against the possibility of surviving that much time underwater.

8:08 AM UPDATE: We also have spoken with Harborview Medical Center, where a spokesperson confirms the man died.

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No sex offenders in Delridge Supportive Housing project, says DESC
March 26, 2012 8:17 pm
|      33 COMMENTS
 |   DESC Delridge project | West Seattle news

One longrunning point of contention related to the 66-unit DESC Delridge Supportive Housing project is finally settled.

Not long after DESC went public last June with news of its proposal to build the project to house formerly homeless people, many living with challenges such as mental illness and/or substance abuse, the question was asked: Will sex offenders be among the residents? As we reported on June 27th, DESC executive director Bill Hobson said they would not be allowed in the building’s population “if that’s what the neighborhood wants.” The request had not been formally made by any group representing the population, however, and the issue’s status came up in a mail-group discussion over the past week. That discussion concluded with Vonetta Mangaoang of the Delridge Alliance, a member of the project’s Advisory Committee, reporting late today:

Just this morning, Bill Hobson, in response to my request to have the issue of sex offender exclusion placed on tomorrow’s neighborhood advisory committee agenda, resolved the issue by simply stating that DESC will exclude sex offenders from their Delridge supportive housing facility. His quick and decisive action hopefully resolves neighbors’ concerns.

Thank you to each of you who pointed out the importance of this issue. I encourage neighbors to continue to actively communicate with your neighborhood representatives on DESC’s community advisory committee (e-mail alliance@ndnc.org).

That committee meets again tomorrow night, 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; the agenda is here.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Alki gunfire suspect update; school vandalism; pastries pilfered
March 26, 2012 4:39 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon. First, an update from the Alki gunfire incident we covered early Sunday:

(Sunday morning photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
If you missed our story – nobody was hurt, but police arrested a 26-year-old Central District man who they say fired at another man in the alley behind Cactus (they say the suspect was thrown out of Bamboo earlier). After getting a clear description of his vehicle, officers pulled him over shortly afterward, on Harbor Avenue near Salty’s. He’s been in jail since about 3:30 Sunday morning – no charges yet, but he’s listed as “bail denied,” and we’re checking with prosecutors on his status and will add any additional info here. 5:05 PM UPDATE: His bail was set this afternoon at $100,000; deadline for filing charges is Wednesday. The court documents say police found a shell casing as well as a bullet at the scene, both .45 caliber, as was the handgun found in the suspect’s possession.

Meantime, we received a reader report of vandalism at a school playground:

Thanks to Carrie for sending that photo from the playground at Lafayette Elementary, West Seattle’s most populous grade school. We’ve blurred the graffiti – which was a phrase suggesting drug use, rather than a “tag” – as per our usual policy. We checked with Lafayette and are told they’ve reported it to administration, as they’re required to, but that “spot painting” is likely in order too. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for graffiti vandals, since police say their best chance is to get a call so quick they can catch them in the act.

Last but not least:

Stopping by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) late this morning, we remarked that the pastry case was so empty, it must have been a busy morning. No, the baristas informed us, the “pastry bandit” was to blame. Investigating further with Hotwire proprietor Lora Swift, we found out they’ve had their pastry/donut deliveries stolen three times in the past week or so, and a table was taken from the Hotwire patio too. Other businesses with doorstep deliveries, be forewarned.

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Almost-West Seattle scene: Inside Elliott Bay’s Lake City pub
March 26, 2012 4:09 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

When Kerry from Elliott Bay Brewing Company sent a reminder that EBB was opening its new Public House in Lake City today, we asked for a photo, since we’re not expecting to be up that way any time soon. And here it is! “Our first lunch!” notes Kerry. Find info about the new location here.

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Thinking about a park project? Opportunity Fund, round 2
March 26, 2012 2:24 pm
|    Comments Off on Thinking about a park project? Opportunity Fund, round 2
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

When Seattle voters said “yes” to the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in 2008, part of the money was for creation of the Opportunity Fund, to pay for projects proposed by citizens and community organizations. In West Seattle, for example, an Opportunity Fund grant is pivotal to the plan to transform the Highland Park wading pool into a spraypark, under a plan first proposed by Carolyn Stauffer (even before she became co-chair of Highland Park Action Committee). If you’re interested in trying for a share of the second round – the process is about to begin, and workshops have just been scheduled to help would-be grant seekers figure out how to make it happen. We just found the list on the city website; “technical assistance” for would-be proposal letter-writers is at 6 pm April 25th at West Seattle Golf Course, while another workshop for applications is set for 6 pm June 27th at High Point Community Center. Project proposers will pitch the levy Oversight Committee this fall (by the way, that group’s next meeting is tonight at 7 at Parks HQ downtown).

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Poetry spanning generations: Gatewood students visit The Kenney
March 26, 2012 12:59 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Gatewood | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Thanks to Michelle Riggen-Ransom for the photo taken at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), where she helped chaperone two 3rd-grade classes from nearby Gatewood Elementary this morning as they read their poetry to residents:

The poems were great, ranging in topics from soccer, writing, nature and the elusive Seattle sun. Third-grade teacher Amy Griffin did an amazing job organizing the event – the kids were very well-behaved and The Kenney residents were all smiles during and after the performance.

After the reading, children presented hand-written, original poems to their new friends. Attached is a photo I took of some of the kids, with teacher Ms.Griffin on the left. And here’s a quote from The Kenney’s Activities Director Amy Seebeck that she just sent over to Ms. Griffin: “Just wanted to thank you so much for coming today. Our residents absolutely loved having the kids here. Also wanted to extend a special thanks to those who went to our memory care unit. That was so special for them. You made our day!”

Very proud of our third-graders and a big thank you to Amy Griffin for putting together this lovely event!

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Soon to be seen off West Seattle shores: Cruise-ship changes
March 26, 2012 12:26 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Water-watcher alert: You might have seen this recent story about Disney Cruise Lines bringing a ship to Seattle this year. Today, the Port of Seattle just announced some additions for next year. Oceania Cruises’ Regatta will sail from Pier 66 downtown in 2013, and Celebrity Cruises’ Solstice will sail from Magnolia’s Terminal 91. Neither has sailed from Seattle before; Solstice, according to the port announcement, “will be one of the largest cruise ships to berth in Seattle, with an overall length of 1041 feet and a capacity of 2850 passengers.” This year’s cruise season runs May 6th-September 30th, with Holland America’s Oosterdam the first one in and last one out, and 202 stops are scheduled over the spring and summer; the schedule is online – download the PDF here, linked from the port’s new cruise-related website here.

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West Seattle Women’s Golf Club tees up an invitation
March 26, 2012 11:17 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

The sun is trying mightily to get the upper hand on this morning’s clouds. Might just make you think about … golf. This morning, the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club is helping you daydream with its annual call for new members – Ruthi Winter shares the photo and the invitation to join them:

Women have been golfing with the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club (WSWGC) for decades and many lasting friendships have been formed over the years as a result of the camaraderie of golf. Several social events occur during the year, but the main objective of the WSWGC is to provide a friendly atmosphere in which to learn about golf, to play golf, and the chance for some fun competition.

Annual dues are $70.00 plus a $5.00 initiation fee for new members. Dues pay for your GHIN number and handicap, reserved tee-times on
Tuesdays and Saturdays, weekly competition fees, most WSWGC tournament fees and operating expenses, as well as providing a great opportunity to meet and play golf with other women golfers. Please join us for our Season Opening “Spring Kick Off” Social on
Sunday, April 29, at the West Seattle Golf Course. RSVP to Kay Whelan at mkwhelan@comcast.net – Here are some of (the other) events on our calendar:
May 22nd – Spring Field Day
June 19th – Field Day
July 24th – Tournament
Aug 13, 14 – Club Championship
Sept 18 – Fall Field Day

Interested in membership? Send inquiry to Ruthi Winter at ruthi.winter@gmail.com – Hope to see you at the West Seattle Golf Course!

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West Seattle Monday: Cooking; cards; closures; plus, a drill
March 26, 2012 9:04 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(On the beach at Cove Park, by Karen/”old desolate” via WSB Flickr group pool)
From the remodeled WSB West Seattle Events calendar:

VIADUCT’S OPEN AGAIN: As noted earlier this morning, the weekend inspection/maintenance closure ended on schedule (half an hour early, to be precise). Remember that another weekend closure is coming up in early April, from Friday night 4/6 through Monday morning 4/9, so work can be done to reinforce the structure in advance of work on the 99 tunnel.

CLOSURES TONIGHT: As part of the ongoing Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, the 1st Avenue South offramp will be closed from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge, and the 1st/Spokane intersection will be closed too, both 9 pm tonight till 5 am Tuesday.

REMINDER, SOUTHWEST POOL IS CLOSED: Details in our Sunday story. The pool reopens April 16th, and will celebrate an official “grand opening” with special events on April 17th.

ELLIOTT BAY OPENS LAKE CITY LOCATION: 11 am today, 12537 Lake City Way NE, the West Seattle-founded company opens its third location (#2 is in Burien). Want a peek, even if you’re not going to be up that way any time soon? The West Seattle-headquartered Washington Beer Blog has a preview.

RESCUE DRILL THAT YOU MIGHT SEE FROM HERE: We mentioned it last week, and if everything’s still on schedule, today’s the day, noon’s the time, Blakely Rock off south Bainbridge is the place, and you just might see this all from West Seattle shores. Details in the listing page on our calendar.

WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: This time around, the West Seattle Cooking Club meets at Big Al Brewing in White Center – with “pub food” as the theme. 4 pm.

FREE POKER & KARAOKE AT SKYLARK: Doubleheader on Monday nights – free poker at 6:30 pm, Karaoke with Kelli at 9 pm – more details are linked from the Skylark Café and Club events calendar (3803 Delridge Way SW).

FLAT EARTH SOCIETY AT WEST 5: It’s a Monday night tradition at West 5 in The Junction, with guest DJs “spinning the rarest and fairest vinyl from deep within their respective LP collections.” Tonight at 9, it’s an all-jazz set by former KTUH disc jockey Dick Walker.

ONE WEEK TILL WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY REGISTRATION: It’s that one day of the year when West Seattle turns into Garage Sale Paradise. We didn’t invent it but this is our fifth year running it and we are excited as always – May 12th is sale day, sales around West Seattle big and small, depending on who decides to join in! Watch for more details here and at westseattlegaragesale.com as this week unfolds – registration starts next Monday, April 2nd (no exact time yet, gotta make sure all online systems are go).

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Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 open again
March 26, 2012 6:34 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle news

The weekend closure of the Visduct did end on schedule; the state says it reopened around 4:30 this morning.

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Followup: Closer look at old ‘orchard house’ on Puget Ridge
March 25, 2012 9:24 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Puget Ridge | West Seattle history | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news


(Click image for larger view)
Tonight, another look at an old Puget Ridge farmhouse that apparently sparked a fair amount of curiosity and imagination last weekend, after we published a photo Mike Gerber took during the St. Patrick’s Day snow showers. He sent three more photos this weekend and explained:

A surprising number of people asked for some additional information on the old house in the photo you ran last Saturday. Here’s a better angle of it. As for it being the oldest orchard house in Seattle, there’s very little in the historical record about this particular section of West Seattle and so it’s difficult to date it.

The area was covered in enormous old growth forest prior to the 1870’s, and the very valuable and spectacular trees were cut and turned into a hodgepodge of small farms and orchards and over the next 20 years. The construction is consistent with that era and it would seem logical that the trees growing closest to Elliott Bay would be the first to go.

I also met a wonderful and very credible old guy a number of years ago who had lived next to the orchard at one time. He said the house had been built in the 1880s, but that it had been vacant since the Depression.

During the construction of our home we came across four piles of very old lumber that turned out to be the collapsed remnants of small shacks, probably where orchard workers once lived. Under one of them we found two perfectly persevered ‘skat’ playing cards that were made in Germany in the early 1900s, where many of the workers came from.

Skat is considered the national game there and is played everywhere.

It would be interesting to know if any other readers have anything to add to the history of this relatively little-known area.

The location is described in the comment section following last weekend’s story.

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Reader reports: Scooter stolen; suspicious visitor at the door
March 25, 2012 8:43 pm
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Door-to-door alert | West Seattle news

2 reports of note tonight – one definitely a crime, the second one, hard to tell:

SCOOTER STOLEN: Sonia reported this one on the WSB Facebook wall. She and her daughter were at Lincoln Park late today when someone made off with her daughter’s scooter: “It was a Barbie scooter. My daughter was playing on the logs and I was taking pictures of her. We were by the construction area (Colman Pool).” If you find one abandoned somewhere, contact police, and tell them you know whose it might be.

CENSUS WORKER? OR WOULD-BE BURGLAR? Tanya had a visitor at her door along Fauntleroy in the Morgan Junction area, asking about her neighbors:Read More

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West Seattle wildlife: Sick raccoon caught in Fauntleroy
March 25, 2012 4:19 pm
|      40 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

The reader report and photos are from Rebecca in the Fauntleroy Cove area:

Early this afternoon, I discovered a raccoon wandering around the property; it was daytime and I thought it strange that a raccoon would be out and about.

After watching him for a minute I realized he was either very sick or dying. Turns out he had distemper, which is highly contagious and can kill off an entire colony of raccoons, not to mention infect dogs and humans.

I called Seattle Animal Control and they were on the scene in about 20 minutes, quickly caught the little guy, and took him off in a cage. If he isn’t too badly infected, he will receive treatment; otherwise he’ll be euthanized.

We are fortunate to have a diverse population of wildlife in West Seattle and it’s important to keep an eye out for abnormalities that could be a threat to them, us or our pets.

Distemper signs to look for: Conjunctivitis in the eyes, mucous discharge covering the eyes. Wandering around in circles, disoriented, falling down, slower than normal movement. For more information check out Distemper in Raccoons. The number for Animal Control: 206-386-7387

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