West Seattle, Washington
13 Monday
First update from tonight’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting (another to come): NDNC co-vice-chair Betsy Hoffmeister announced that they’ve secured commitments for all the volunteer help needed on Friday, July 17th, 
the day the new Delridge Community Center playground will be built – but other types of help are still needed: For one, they need more food to keep all those volunteers fed, and/or money to buy food. For two, they need tents – “awning-style tents,” Betsy explained, mostly to be used to shelter a child-care area that’ll be set up on the tennis courts, since they’re expecting some of the participants that day to bring their kids. “Everybody in the community needs to bring their tents, or else we’re going to be roasty-toasty,” she said cheerily tonight. And one last loose end: There will be a fundraising raffle, with tickets sold at the upcoming West Seattle Summer Fest, to raise a few hundred dollars needed to cover some remaining expenses. (The playground itself is costing very little thanks to donations including the umbrella organization KaBoom!, which builds playgrounds nationwide, and the Bank of America Foundation.) 
Betsy also shared an update on what’s happened to the old equipment (May photo at right) taken from the playground site (as reported last weekend, the site’s been cleared) – aside from the merry-go-round, which is in storage until it’s decided whether a grant might be pursued to get safety upgrades so it could be reinstalled, the other equipment was taken to the town of Cathlamet on the Columbia River (map), where Betsy says it was greeted with great enthusiasm. “I feel like we have a sister city there,” she said. If you can help with the food, tent and/or money needs for the July 17th playground installation, e-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com – and in addition to that day, also mark July 23rd on your calendar, when the new playground will be officially celebrated.
We’re on the 40th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower downtown (the city’s second tallest building!), where the city Landmarks Preservation Board meets twice a month and has just heard the presentation for The Sanctuary at Admiral, the former Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist, at 42nd/Lander (map), seeking city landmark status. (See the presentation here; see current photos of the facility in this Vintage Seattle report.) Owner Dahli Bennett, who originally bought the building for use as a private residence and then converted it into an events venue, attended the meeting and answered board questions. No one spoke during the public-comment period; board members primarily asked questions about changes made to the building, even Mollie Tremaine, an Admiral resident, who says she’d support its nomination under the criteria of “identifiable feature of the neighborhood” but not on significance of the building itself. Ultimately, the board voted in favor of nominating the building for consideration as a possible city landmark. Next, they will have to decide, at their August 5th meeting, whether to officially designate it as such. (Here’s the list of what’s already designated as a landmark in our area.)
One year ago this month, Ercolini Park celebrated its dedication, the culmination of a lot of hard work, volunteer hours, donations of money and material, and it’s now a popular place for so many residents west of The Junction who had no neighborhood park before. And now – the work of tagging vandals at the Ercolini Park playground is sparking neighborhood outrage. David Cagen sent us photos; we have blurred most of the tagging but felt it important to at least show the extent of what they did:
The white spray-paint pattern resembles that used in the obscene words/drawings with which homes within a mile were vandalized recently (WSB coverage here); we have a call out to police to ask if there’s any link or any progress in the case. Meantime, David, who was among the many who worked on the park, writes the three letters in the tags started with W (we’re not including the whole thing) and adds:
… has anyone seen this pattern? The neighbors are on the lookout and are going to shoot some pictures of the next repeat performance. My guess is, defacing little kids’ play areas isn’t worth getting into that much trouble. The park is nobody’s but the kids, so to see it look like crap is not fun. If anyone has leads, let us know.
We followed up by asking David if the neighborhood needs help cleaning this up; he believes they will:
My guess is the city doesn’t have budget nor the time to clean this up. The plastic parts are pretty easy, they can be scrubbed, and the kids sliding have already worn off a lot. The poles and the merry-go-round are tougher and I don’t know the proper way to remove the markings without mucking up the existing paints.
(click to see larger, zoomable PDF version)
If you missed it at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market last Sunday – that’s the eye-catching official poster for the West Seattle Junction Summer Outdoor Movies on the Wall series, which kicks off in just two and a half weeks. And the head movie maven herself, Lora Lewis from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), 
sent along a photo of barista Kerry (photo) – who is going to be the bachelorette in the pre-movie festivities for the kickoff showing of “The Princess Bride” (Saturday night, July 18). What Lora’s looking for now is three bachelors to come forward for the “Find a True Prince Dating Game” – send your pic/contact info to lora@hotwirecoffee.com. See the full movie slate on the official Movies on the Wall site (WSB is among the series co-sponsors; we’ll be leading you in the five-note singalong before “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in August!)
We recorded that video six months ago, as lawyer Scott Wheat spoke at the dedication of the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle, talking about the tribe’s fight for legal survival. That fight is not yet won; it’s being pursued on two fronts: a lawsuit, and Congressional legislation (for which Duwamish chair Cecile Hansen is invited to travel to D.C. in two weeks to testify). And it all requires $, even though the tribe is getting a lot of pro-bono help. To help with that, the tribe invites you to the longhouse for a fundraising salmon bake noon-4 pm this Friday (with a hot-dog option too). Read on for details, and the latest on the recognition fight, described as at a “life or death moment”:Read More
…As in, less (fewer) restrictions could mean more variety in housing units. Or, so said the architects from whom City Councilmember Sally Clark 
and her Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee heard at Youngstown Arts Center Tuesday night. A fair share of the two-dozen-plus audience members came from a class at the UW, according to a shoutout from Clark as the meeting wrapped up, but those on hand also included two West Seattle architects who have spoken out on the subject before: Brandon Nicholson, who recently completed a city consultancy contract to work on part of the Multi-Family Code Update – that’s the zoning section that includes townhouses – and David Foster, a former chair of the Southwest Design Review Board (of which Nicholson is a current member, though he’s been on hiatus while on the city contract). No votes were taken, no decisions were made, but it’s another stretch of the road toward a change. Read on for details:Read More
First Wednesday night of the month is the regular meeting night for two West Seattle community organizations. 
One, the Southwest District Council, does NOT meet tonight, but the other does: If you live or work in the North Delridge area, join the North Delridge Neighborhood Council at 6:30 tonight at the Delridge Library. This group has a LOT going on, including the Delridge Community Center playground-in-a-day project on July 17th (a few dozen volunteers still needed at last report – have you signed up yet? E-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com ASAP!).
This morning, SPDBlotter reports on an incident we heard play out via the scanner overnight without having all the details till now: It started in West Seattle, when officers detected a stolen car and followed it onto The Viaduct; the vehicle didn’t stop until the driver crashed it in the Woodland Park area. Along the way, radio communication between officers in various areas kept the vehicle in view. Police say that after it hit a tree and signs in the north end, the suspect – who turned out to be a juvenile – bolted, and tried to break into a nearby home before getting caught with the help of a K-9 team. Here are the details on SPDBlotter. ADDED AT 10:04 AM: Two details that aren’t in that report – we checked with SPD media unit Officer Mark Jamieson to verify the West Seattle location where this started — 7100 block of 35th. He also provided the suspect’s exact age: 17.
As the city Landmarks Preservation Board gets ready to hear the landmark nomination for The Sanctuary at Admiral this afternoon (3:30 pm, 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown, agenda here), it’s also set the date to hear the nomination for the Seaview and Sunrise Buildings at The Kenney. As this newly published public notice says, that hearing will be in two weeks – 3:30 pm July 15th at the Muni Tower; you can see the nomination document here. (The board’s proceedings are open to the public.)
Story and photos by Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
There were princesses everywhere, just as would be expected, at last night’s White Rose Ceremony and Reception in Fauntleroy, part of the 75th annual West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival festivities.
Dressed in jewel-hued gowns, dining on cake, the current courts met the new Senior Court candidates and offered them a little entertainment, during a women-only event to celebrate Hi-Yu royalty past and present.
In the crowd were a dozen or more past Hi-Yu royalty, including Pam Storz, a princess in 1978, and Ella (then Vogelpohl) Engelking, who was Miss Congeniality in 1973.
(mid-June photo by Revel Smith)
The homeless camp that calls itself “Nickelsville” will mark one month back in West Seattle on Monday (here’s our June 6 report about its arrival) – if it’s still there. Spokesperson Revel Smith just sent this announcement saying they’ve been told to clear out of the 2nd SW/Highland Park Way site by then:
Yesterday, Ron Judd, Sr. Advisor to Governor Gregoire, told Nickelsville it must move by Monday July 6th. [Today] Nickelsville Representatives will appear downtown at end of the Women in Black Vigil [noon, 5th/Cherry] for homeless who’ve recently died. At that time they will present a letter requesting more time from Governor Gregoire. …
At the end of the vigil, Nickelodeons will provide a formal written request to the Governor asking for more time to stay at the current West Seattle site … while they seek a permanent location.No new permanent site has been made available at this time. “We’re asking the Governor, ‘Please give us a chance to find a permanent site.”
The site the camp took over on June 6, after moving from a church parking lot elsewhere in the city, is state-owned land, just east of the city-owned site where “Nickelsville” first set up for about a week last fall (punctuated by a police sweep).
At the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s annual installation banquet tonight at The Kenney, Steve Fuller was honored as Rotarian of the Year. Josh Sutton from the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) sent the photo and info, explaining that Steve is “our most recent International Chair. Over the past two years, Steve has led our club’s efforts in supporting demining in Cambodia, fresh water wells in Vietnam, building the great Baikal Trail, put in solar refrigerator, generator & wiring at the East African Center in Takaungu, Kenya. He was pretty surprised! Outgoing president Carol Coram presented” the award. (By the way, the Rotarians have two more rounds of berry sales this summer – orders are being accepted now; check their website for info.) P.S. Also congratulations to Amy Lee Derenthal from The Kenney, installed last night as the new Rotary president.
Good news from Sherri Chun – the people represented in that photo from just before last year’s Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade, West Seattle’s ONLY Independence Day parade, will be back for this year’s edition on Saturday! Sherri just e-mailed to say that Mayor Nickels and the Hi-Yu Junior Court have confirmed. And she’s putting out the call for something specific:
We are anticipating nice weather – I am seeking volunteers to bring water balloons for the annual water balloon toss. Please e-mail me if you’re willing to bring 20 filled water balloons. sherri.chun@att.net. You can drop them at my house the day before, or I can come get them. Get out your red, white and blue, and we’ll see you there!
Every kid in West Seattle is invited to be part of the parade – be at 44th and Sunset (map), 10 am Saturday (that’s a half-hour earlier than previous years). And if you can, please bring a dollar donation per child – as Sherri explained two weeks ago, the fund that pays for the parade permit (and fun activities afterward at Hamilton Viewpoint) is running low and they’ll have donation boxes out to collect money to make sure the parade happens again next year, and beyond.
Thanks to Lisa for sharing that photo with the news that the West Seattle All-Stars, from the West Seattle Association of Pee-Wee Baseball, won the Maltby Invitational Baseball Tournament last weekend – taking the title in the U-10 bracket, with the leadership of head coach Manny Flores. Congratulations! (Got good news to share? Lots of ways to get it to WSB, any time!) ADDED WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Some upcoming Pee Wee Baseball info from league president Eric Olson:
Our 10U team is hosting the 2009 West Seattle Mustang Tune Up on July 10th – 12th.
Twelve of the best 10U teams from around the region will be at this tournament. This tournament gets them ready for the Pony Sectional tournament which is the first step in the process of making it to the Pony 10U World Series later this summer.The West Seattle Niners will be hosting the 2009 West Seattle Junior Mustang Shootout on July 17th – 19th. Again, 12 of the region’s best 9U teams will be in attendance.
Both tournaments are held at the West Seattle Pee Wee Fields at Lower Riverview. The address is 1200 SW Myrtle St. Tournament schedules can be found at www.westseattlepeewee.com.
Just made public: The long-range plan for Washington State Ferries, which says the system is $3.3 billion short of what it needs for the next 22 years. Here’s the link; read on for the news release – we’ll be analyzing it for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ramifications:Read More
Whether it’s here in the news section or in the WSB Forums, food never fails to cook up a lively discussion. With that in mind, and his own interest in the subject, WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli has been taking a behind-the-scenes look at some local restaurants, including the Luna Park business district’s 4-months-old Café Revò (WSB sponsor), and with a holiday weekend ahead, we wanted to share the video he put together – as well as the article that begins below. Before we get to that: Knowing we would be running this, we also checked with Café Revò’s Sofia Zadra Goff to see what’s in store for the 4th of July – she says they’ll be open at 11 am as usual, breakfast and frittata menu till 3, then dinner; planning to stay open till 11 unless it gets “really slow.” She says they’re suggesting also to customers that “people can come get food to go from Cafe Revo to take to the beach or picnic, or buy their favorite wines from us for their 4th of July events since we have our retail wine license.” Now, as a companion to the video story above, here’s Christopher’s report in text:
By Christopher Boffoli
WSB contributing journalist
The longer I live in the Pacific Northwest, the more it reinforces the extent to which I count myself fortunate to be living in one of the most interesting regions for food in the country. Still, as an East Coaster of Southern Italian descent, it is not always so easy to find many of the familiar foods and flavors of my childhood. The Italians and their “soul food” are here. Somewhere. You just have to work harder to find them. Their presence is not as well-defined as, say, the Nordic or Asian communities in Seattle. For every bright star like Salumi or Via Tribunali, it seems there are many more watered-down red-sauce joints that pass themselves off as Italian but are just a copy of something that wasn’t very authentic to begin with.
Around this time yesterday, a huge Seattle Fire Department response rushed to the 4100 block of 48th SW for what turned out to be a basement fire, nobody hurt. We just checked with SFD spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick to get the cause: She says a waterbed heating pad ignited, catching the mattress and then the frame on fire. Damage total: $70,000. (On the WSB Facebook page, a relative of the family mentioned that while the fire damage itself wasn’t so much, there’s a lot of water damage and many keepsakes were lost.) Photo by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli
If you drive Thistle between California and Delridge, you’ve probably noticed that banner outside Peace Lutheran Church. We first reported June 6 about the Tour de Revs heading this way — three Lutheran ministers on one special bicycle, pedaling around the country to fight global hunger — and now we’ve got an update on the street party/barbecue that Peace Lutheran is planning for their visit 6-8 pm Thursday — Kristie says everyone’s invited to a barbecue, and to ride with the “Revs” afterward:
We’ve officially been granted the permit for this all-invited Block Party featuring the three cycling Revs on the bamboo bike designed by well-known eco-bike maker Craig Calfee … Bring a donation for the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks and something to share. Picnic fare available. Ride with the Revs and hear about their cross-country journey! 6-8 pm, ride following.
Peace Lutheran is at 39th/Thistle (map). You can read all about the Tour de Revs (and see their unique three-person bicycle) at their website – including this section with frequent updates.
That house in the 8600 block of 9th SW in Highland Park – a few houses north of SW Trenton – was the scene of a big made-for-media announcement this morning that brought out a swarm of TV and radio crews as well as your friendly neighborhood local online news source. Congressmember Jay Inslee (whose district is mostly to the north and west of Seattle), State Rep. Bob Hasegawa (from the 11th District south of West Seattle/White Center) and leaders/workers from the Laborers International Union of North America were there to announce the first home in the Northwest to be weatherized as part of LIUNA’s program involving federal “stimulus funding.”
The home that’s being weatherized first belongs to Carolyn Ostrom, who’s in the UFCW T-shirt in that photo, standing with a group including Rep. Inslee (right), Rep. Hasegawa (left), and LiUNA’s regional vice president Mano Frey (center), who’s based in Alaska. Within his first minute and a half of remarks, as you’ll hear in our video, Rep. Inslee tied this event into the energy bill passed in the U.S. House last week and bringing troops home from Middle East wars:
The union’s big talking point today was a training program to credential workers for weatherization jobs, and some of the trainees were in the crowd watching the announcement:
Inside the house, the weatherization work was under way:
And the homeowner said she’s looking forward to the results:
Now the big question: How to apply for either the training or the weatherization. We circled back with contacts and, for the training, were pointed here; for the weatherization, check with the Moontown Foundation (we still have a few inquiries out and will add anything more we learn).
If you didn’t see it Saturday — either via WSB or via being stuck in it in person — Creighton sent that photo of the eastbound bridge backup during the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s shutdown for the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon (compounded by other road changes/closures). SDOT did send out lots of advance warning, as noted here and elsewhere, but on Saturday, numerous WSBers reported that the “Viaduct Closed” warning lights in West Seattle and on The Bridge weren’t on. Marybeth Turner from SDOT acknowledges it was human error, not a mechanical problem:
SDOT’s procedure for using the warning lights that alert motorists that the Viaduct is closed is clear: in coordination with the Seattle Police Department, if the Viaduct is closed, the lights should be on. This weekend, the policy was not followed. We have re-acquainted and re-focused key staff on our procedure.
Something similar happened last October. The lights were installed in late 2007. ADDED 12:51 PM: So if it DOES happen again, whether a human or mechanical failure, is there a hotline to call? we asked. Turner’s reply:
People may call (206) 386-1218 and report the lights are not functioning. There is someone on hand to answer this phone 24-hours a day.
That’s the same number you’d call about emergency road problems “after hours.”
We’ve collected event listings, fireworks/travel/transportation/etc. information and other holiday notes on one page as in years past. See the 4th of July page here – and please let us know if you see something missing or have a holiday-related question it doesn’t answer. Thanks!
Will Seattle’s future townhouses transcend the dominant design critiqued in that city photo/graphic? City Councilmember Sally Clark hopes so. Tonight — almost one full year after she, Mayor Nickels and West Seattle architect Brandon Nicholson stood together at the Capitol Hill announcement (July 2008 WSB coverage here) of the proposal to change the Multi-Family Code, particularly as it affects townhouse design, the committee Clark chairs brings the topic to West Seattle. At 6 pm at Youngstown Arts Center, her Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee convenes a “review and discussion of issues surrounding townhouses and other low-rise housing.” Those issues are detailed in this 12-page memo, if you have time for a little advance studying – after which, if you have something to say, tonight’s agenda has room for it, with a full hour set aside for public comment. (And if you want to check on the status of the entire Multi-Family Code proposal, that’s all here.)
Before you see it in the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 18, you should know the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival float “How Sweet It Is” has been racking up awards elsewhere on the summertime community-parade circuit around Western Washington: Tim and Carol Winston from Hi-Yu just shared these photos from last weekend’s Port Orchard Fathoms O’Fun Parade, where it won the award displayed here by current Hi-Yu Queen Margo Femiano:
(The weekend before, the float won an award in the Marysville Strawberry Festival parade.) Margo’s close to the end of her reign, as are the rest of the Senior and Junior Court – here are two of the latter, Queen Zoe and Princess Elyse:
That brings us to two more items of Hi-Yu news: First, applications are still being taken for this year’s Junior Court. July 14 is the deadline; interviews and coronation are July 17. Download the official application form here. And you can meet current Junior and Senior Court members, as well as the Senior Court candidates tonight at the Hi-Yu White Rose Reception – a women-only event, Fauntleroy Church, 7 pm.
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