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Pickup truck hits house, tree in Fauntleroy
May 3, 2009 9:38 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

That photo is from Dwight, in the 4300 block of Brace Point (map), who explains:

Our house got rammed by a ’99 Dodge Ram 1500 v8. We live in the middle of the block so it seems rather odd that someone would swerve, take down a 12ft maple and hit the house.

Fence is gone, too.

The tree you see in the photo is supposed to be where the bumper of the truck is, despite looking like it’s planted on the corner of the house.

Checking on injuries; no medic unit was dispatched, which suggests if anyone was hurt in this crash (which happened just before 8 pm), it wasn’t major. We also received photos from Carlos — this one’s a bit blurry but it provides another angle:

ADDED 9:55 PM: We asked Dwight if anyone was hurt:

No one and no critters were hurt. No windows or doors were blown so we’re lucky. We’re very lucky to have had such a large tree on the corner of the lot; otherwise we’d be missing a large chunk of the house. That tree took the brunt of the assault, and the trunk was large enough to help ground the bottom of the truck before it hit the brick.

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Skillet in West Seattle, week 2 and early outlook for week 3
May 3, 2009 4:17 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

We mentioned this briefly in our as-it-happened coverage of the just-concluded Sustainable West Seattle Festival (first report/photos here, a wrapup with more photos/video later) — Skillet Street Food drew a crowd to Seattle Lutheran High School‘s parking lot today (here’s the saga of how they wound up there) – thanks to Jake for the photo above, taken around 11:15; several other reports indicate they ran out of food before 2 pm. So will they be back next week, given that this was billed as a trial run? We just checked with Skillet’s Josh Henderson and Seattle Lutheran’s Bil Hood; Josh says he hopes so but needs to check with SLHS first, and Bil also said they’ll confer tomorrow – so stay tuned for word then. In the meantime, show your favorite West Seattle restaurants some love (three of them are WSB sponsors, we should note – Skylark Club and Cafe, Cafe Revo, and Ama Ama Oyster Bar and Grill), as we plan to do tonight.

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Also happening now: “Ask the Doctor” at Fauntleroy Church
May 3, 2009 3:14 pm
|    Comments Off on Also happening now: “Ask the Doctor” at Fauntleroy Church
 |   West Seattle news

Sorry we didn’t see the e-mail on this earlier this morning – till 4 pm at Fauntleroy Church, Dr. Jill Cook is leading an “Ask the Doctor” workshop – at which Little Pilgrim School will be raffling off the quilt we told you about the night we spoke at Fauntleroy Church earlier this spring — there’s still time to drop by and hear about some hot health topics (including The Flu — we’re expecting another county update on that shortly, by the way).

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Update: Police helping investigate Admiral house fire
May 3, 2009 11:32 am
|    Comments Off on Update: Police helping investigate Admiral house fire
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Just got an update from Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen on the fire we covered overnight (original WSB report here) in the 1700 block of 44th SW: She says Seattle Police Arson and Bomb Squad is helping investigate — the cause so far remains “undetermined.” The house was vacant and for sale; damage from the fire totals $430,000 — $400,000 to the house itself, $10,000 to its contents (not much was inside since nobody was living there), $10,000 each in damage to the exterior of the two neighboring houses. No one was hurt in the fire, which broke out around 3 am; our earlier report includes the story of the first person on the scene, neighboring resident Craig, who took the photo you see above.

6:34 PM: Added that shot taken late today, from the rear alley (the same spot from which the photo of the burning house was taken), also showing some of the exterior damage to the house on the left side of the photo. After we mentioned in our earlier story that we couldn’t find the listing, several local Realtors kindly found it and sent it – the address isn’t the same as the one listed in county records – but it’s the same house; it was listed as for sale at $499,000 and said a sale was “pending.” No new updates regarding the fire’s cause.

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Sustainable West Seattle Festival: Reporting live, till 3 pm
May 3, 2009 9:53 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(scroll down for the latest photos and updates)

(Sustainable West Seattle president Bill Reiswig)
Till 3 pm today, West Seattle Blog headquarters moves to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival in The Junction. Above is a photo sent via Twitter by festival organizers, who’ve already “tweeted” lots of great info and photos (follow SWS at @sustainablews – or check the updates via the Web at twitter.com/sustainablews). We’ll be adding our own soon. Our table is by the east side of the Wells Fargo drive-through (where we were last year), west of the “main stage.” We’ve got the first 200 copies of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map – which doesn’t go live online till tonight or early tomorrow (if you think you’ve seen a map online already, it’s from a previous year, because this one is NOT yet published online). Great weather for a festival, lots of booths, entertainment, panel discussions (we’re on one at noon) – see the schedule, site layout, exhibitors list, all here. More to come!

10:26 AM UPDATE: Congressman Jim McDermott is speaking on the nearby main stage right now. Great weather, lots of people and lots of incredible exhibitors.

A highlight for kids of all ages – costumed characters – including not just one, but two “Bagmonsters” crafted from plastic bags …among other characters:

We’re right across from Camp Long, Longfellow Creek Watershed, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Nature Consortium booths … more of the great groups working to keep West Seattle green, and in many cases make it even greener through their restoration work. By the way, if you pick up a festival program while you’re here, it’s good for reading later – several articles by festival participants including us, talking about the topic that will be the subject of a panel we’re on at noon, “Sustainable Community Through Media” – one of the most important parts of WSB is YOU – without your presence, your collaboration, your ideas, your news tips, your event announcements, your photos, there wouldn’t be much here. Meantime, we’re also monitoring the SWS Twitter feed, from which this photo of the “backyard chickens” booth comes:

Over at the main stage next to us, CoolMom is about to put on a puppet show.

11:50 AM UPDATE: Pete Spalding, president of the West Seattle Food Bank board, just stopped by. (added later, here’s a photo of Pete in the WSFB booth)

He told us Friday night’s Instruments of Change fundraiser WSFB was a smash hit – sold out, more than 200 people, former Mayor Norm Rice gave a great speech, and the “dessert dash” led by County Council Chair Dow Constantine raised $11,000. (Pete adds that WSFB served more people last month than in any other month in its history.) Constantine just spoke here at the festival:

Also here – Mayor Greg Nickels:

12:52 PM UPDATE: Just back from the media panel, with Kery Murakami from Seattle Post Globe (former P-I employees who started up a new news site), Chuck Taylor (formerly of crosscut.com), and Jonathan Lawson of Reclaim the Media. Great discussion – and thanks to the folks who came to listen (Yes Magazine was tweeting it – see highlights at twitter.com/yesmagazine):

Thanks to Jake for that photo of us on the panel – from left, Chuck, Kery, me (WSB editor TR), Jonathan – next photo is our iPhone snap of the audience area:

We thought we’d added this earlier but apparently not – some of what else is happening in The Junction – the Skillet trailer at Seattle Lutheran High School (we’ll be checking after today whether it’ll be back next week – this was on a trial run basis):

They’re there till 2 pm, and there are some menu changes from what’s online – including a pulled pork sandwich instead of the fried spaghetti sandwich. And if you’re walking that way from the heart of The Junction, drop by the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard for the Furry Faces Foundation plant sale to raise money for animal rescue – they’re there till 4 pm.

Now back to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival – here till 3 pm in and around Wells Fargo in The Junction (44th/Alaska, across from the Farmers’ Market) – two stages with panels and performances, lots of great places to learn about living sustainably.

1:51 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Gene, who’s tweeting today for @sustainablews – check out that Twitter feed not only for festival notes, but also some photo links. Meantime, more of our photos – WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here (that’s owner Adam):

And of course, lots of different ways of getting around, sustainably:

The Westenders Scooter Club is one of dozens of exhibitors here. Meantime, we’re almost out of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day maps but the map will be online late tonight/early tomorrow, in printable and clickable forms! And we’ve had many more great conversations – political candidates have stopped by our table including mayoral candidate Michael McGinn and West Seattle-residing City Council candidates Dorsol Plants and David Ginsberg.

3 PM UPDATE: The festival’s ending, though some festivalgoers are still lingering as things wrap up – we have some folk music over at the main stage – festival coordinator Brian Allen‘s running around pointing participants to an afterparty:

Congratulations to Brian and everybody at Sustainable West Seattle for putting on another huge, successful, fun festival. We’ll be jumping back into the news stream. Look for a followup report later tonight with more photos and video from today’s festival. P.S. Stu Hennessey (Alki Bike and Board), another of the Sustainable West Seattle leaders working hard on the festival, stopped by to say they want to say again how much they appreciate the local business support in this area for and during the festival. And speaking of business support, we mentioned earlier that WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here – spotted a couple more of our sponsors along the way – Mural Apartments (just about open, across from Jefferson Square):

And also, Envision Homes:

Some of the people who stopped by to talk with us asked what they can do to support the continued growth of 24/7 community news, information and discussion at WSB – our #1 request, support our sponsors; close behind, keep sharing your news tips, photos, announcements, stories, etc. – you can reach us any time, a variety of ways – all listed here (but most importantly, make sure our number is in your cell-phone list so you can call if you have an urgent sighting or question – 206-293-6302). More photos and video from the festival later!

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Update: Vacant house burns in North Admiral
May 3, 2009 3:29 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(photo by nearby resident Craig, added 4:32 am)
ORIGINAL 3:29 AM REPORT: On our way to check out a “fire in single-family residence” call in the 1700 block of 44th SW (map). Crew on scene just reported on the scanner the fire is “under control.”

3:40 AM UPDATE: As our crew arrives on the scene, Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen has just updated the SFD media line: She says it’s a vacant house that was “fully involved” in flames when crews arrived around 3 pm; they took a “defensive position” as a result. Property records say this is a 101-year-old 3-bedroom house. About the same time we were listening to the media line here, our crew on the scene got an in-person briefing from Vander Houwen — she says the house is for sale (we haven’t found a listing online, though) and confirms nobody was home when the fire started; she also says the houses on both sides were evacuated to be on the safe side, but are not damaged, and nobody is hurt. It’ll be a while before investigators can go in to figure out how it started. We’ll add video to this story in a bit.

4:19 AM UPDATE: In this clip, you see/hear the start of Vander Houwen’s briefing until we veer off onto the firefighters pouring water on the still-smoky house:

The station she mentioned as “just down the street” is Fire Station 29, which indeed is just three blocks southwest. Meantime, we got this note from area resident Craig:

I was the first one on the scene of the house fire in north Admiral. I woke up to the light smell of smoke, and thought, “who’d be having a fire right now?”

I decided I’d best look out the window, and it was a dense fog. In shorts and barefoot, I ran up to the next block and found flames coming out a basement window of a house in the 1700 block.

I can’t tell you how surprised I am at how well people sleep! I made a lot of noise and a neighbor across the street eventually came out and called 911.

The house that burned is an old house that had just been remodeled. They had split the lot and built a tall skinny house on it last year. Both houses have been for sale for a long time.

He also says one of the adjacent houses IS damaged – and he sent the two photos we’re adding at the top and bottom of this story:

We’ll keep checking with SFD till they determine and announce the fire’s cause.

11:36 AM UPDATE: The Fire Department says the cause is undetermined but police are helping investigate. We have started a new story with more information that’s just be released; see it here.

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What should Parks do with Manning/Admiral site? Your turn
May 2, 2009 10:01 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

As reported here in March, that city-owned parcel at Manning and Admiral just north of The Bridge, known for its big sequoia, is no longer proposed to be sold off as surplus property – City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen helped facilitate a deal for the Parks Department to take it over. As he mentioned when first announcing that, a public meeting will provide your big chance to have a say in what happens to it and what you’d like to see done with it – and that meeting is set for next Tuesday, 7 pm, Hiawatha Community Center. The city originally bought the 14,400-square-foot site as bridge right-of-way in 1961.

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Heard the rumbling? B-17 flies over West Seattle (and beyond)
May 2, 2009 6:08 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle video

WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli took an amazing flight today and is sharing that video as well as photos and a story – he says you might have heard the rumbling since the plane was flying over this area too:

Photos and story by Christopher Boffoli

The large vintage plane you might see over the skies of West Seattle this weekend is a newly restored World War II era B-17 “Flying Fortress” named the Liberty Belle. The bomber will be making flights through the weekend from Boeing Field and can be seen up close behind the Museum of Flight.

These Boeing-designed planes were best known for their bombing runs from England to Germany throughout the War and were famous for their ability to withstand damage from both enemy fighters and from flak guns on the ground and yet continue to fly. Still, the bombing runs were incredibly dangerous. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, exactly 8,007 were lost in combat and almost 25,000 airmen died.

Casualty figures were extremely high during the first few years of the War, until the Allies eventually were able to design longer-range fighter escorts to protect the planes from the Luftwaffe. By studying B-17s that crash-landed, the Germans were able to learn how to exploit the weaknesses of the aircraft. But the sheer number of successful bombing missions by Flying Fortresses had a devastating effect on the German war machine.

The crews of the B-17s were able to defend themselves with .50 caliber machine guns mounted at several positions on the aircraft, including a tail gunner and a man in a turret on the belly of the fuselage. The planes were not pressurized and the long flights could be very loud and cold. The airmen wore electric flight suits to keep warm in temperature that could reach 50 below. Some crew members were killed when their oxygen tanks froze at high elevation. The name Flying Fortress was apparently coined by a Seattle Times reporter in the early 40’s. The moniker caught on and Boeing eventually copyrighted it.

The B-17 in town this weekend, the Liberty Belle, was built in 1945 in Burbank, California under contract by the Vega Aircraft Corporation, a part of Lockheed. Because it was completed at the end of the War, this B-17 never saw combat. It was initially sold for scrap but was rescued by a collector who then sold it to engine maker Pratt & Whitney which used it for many years to test engines. It was eventually sold to private collectors, changing hands a number of times over the years. While on display at an air museum in the 1970’s it was damaged by a tornado. The current owner spent more than $5 million meticulously restoring the B-17 to flight condition. Fewer than a dozen B-17s are still airworthy.

Much of the aircraft is in original condition, through some modern avionics and navigation equipment has been added. The Liberty Belle was actually flown to England last year, following the same route and landing at the airfields used by the B-17’s during the War.

The story of Christopher’s flight, ahead:Read More

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Skillet Street Food in West Seattle: At Seattle Lutheran tomorrow
May 2, 2009 11:39 am
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

UPDATE – If you’re looking at this on Sunday, we’ve got a short update in our Sustainable West Seattle Festival running coverage – see that here

Update on the Skillet saga: Bil Hood at Seattle Lutheran High School just told WSB that the school will let Skillet Street Food try their parking lot (on the northeast edge of The Junction, 41st and Genesee; map) tomorrow, and Skillet’s agreed. If you’re just joining this saga now – Skillet takes its Airstream trailer to neighborhoods around the city to cook, sell and serve semi-gourmet food, and announced a few weeks back that it wanted to come to West Seattle for a few hours on Sundays. A parking spot near the West Seattle Farmers’ Market was announced, then rescinded. Skillet wound up making its West Seattle debut in the courtyard near Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) last Sunday, with what proprietor Josh Henderson described as its most successful opening day ever; then on Thursday, Hotwire’s Lora Lewis announced that her landlord had rescinded permission for Skillet to be there. SLHS then made contact with Skillet, and they’ve agreed to give it a try tomorrow. One important note from SLHS: You won’t be able to park IN the lot – so walk up as a side trip from your Sunday visit to the rest of The Junction, where the Sustainable West Seattle Festival will be under way 10 am-3 pm tomorrow in addition to the Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm.

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Updates: Police search for suspect(s) after shooting on Alki
May 1, 2009 7:43 pm
|      163 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(scroll down for newest information and photos)

(top photo by David Hutchinson, middle was via cameraphone by Patrick Sand, third is a screengrab from Seacrest-area webcam showing medic unit there for shooting victim)
ORIGINAL 7:43 PM REPORT: We know for sure that there’s a major police response on Alki, an assault with weapons call on fire/medics, and there’s a lot of talk about the Pepperdock. Roads also are being blocked off. According to the scanner, police are looking for a suspect described as a black male, late teens, close-cropped hair, black T-shirt, with a black handgun, last seen running “southbound through Whale Tail Park,” possibly with at least one other person – didn’t catch that description. No word yet whether anyone has actually been hit/hurt by gunfire. We’ve got someone on the way there, while we’re also monitoring the scanner and e-mail/phone/etc. info here at WSB HQ. Police are reported to be talking to “multiple witnesses” – one has told police, according to the scanner, that three black males ran through the south end of Whale Tail (near the “Big Toy” play structure) after the shooting, two reported to be wearing “red wife-beater tank tops” and one “carrying one,” reportedly then getting into a “black SUV.”

7:53 PM UPDATE: A Twitter report says the shooting victim is actually at Seacrest – which explains why the fire/medic call is to 1600 Harbor, while the police search is up at the beach.

8:05 PM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick Sand is now at Alki – he is seeing K-9 officers searching in the Alki Elementary playground area – also, officers are diverting traffic southward, from the 60th/Admiral area. We also have a Twitter report that traffic headed toward Alki on Harbor Avenue is being diverted southbound onto Fairmount at Salty’s.

8:17 PM UPDATE: Added another photo atop this report, this time, showing police cars blocking Alki Ave near 59th. No word yet of any arrests. No word yet on the shooting victim’s condition, either, but the medic unit that was at Seacrest has headed off for Harborview Medical Center.

8:25 PM UPDATE: Via scanner – police are reopening Alki Ave to traffic, because they are “done processing the scene.” (A moment later, that was confirmed by police at the scene, who apparently will share some more information soon about exactly what happened.)

8:33 PM UPDATE: Alki’s David Hutchinson just sent more scene photos:

A Seattle Police media officer is on his way to the scene to brief media (us included), so we should have some new details when he arrives.

9:17 PM UPDATE: Officer Jeff Kappel has just briefed the media and Patrick called in with details: The victim, male in late teens, was outside Pepperdock with friends when someone opened fire from behind, shooting multiple times. No apparent argument or clash before the gunfire. Victim managed to make it across the street to the grassy area by the beach, friends then loaded him into a car and headed north on Alki Ave, police intercepted the car by Seacrest, which is where they then got him into a medic unit and took him to Harborview, where he’s being treated for what’s described as life-threatening injuries. Also: A second car was following the one with the shooting victim and friends; it has at least one bullet hole in it, so was impounded. All the people with the victim have been taken downtown for questioning as witnesses. K-9 search of immediate neighborhood didn’t turn up anything. But investigators will be at Alki “all night.” (We have the police briefing on video and will upload it as soon as Patrick gets back to HQ.)

9:49 PM UPDATE: Listening to the media-line recording that has since been updated, the circumstance has changed slightly — the person who opened fire was outside the Pepperdock but the victim was across the street, on the beach side. Police say that “homicide and gang detectives” will be at the scene investigating for some time to come. Still no information on the victim’s condition aside from the earlier report of “life-threatening injuries.”

10:30 PM UPDATE: The police summary is now on SPDBlotter – read it here. And here’s the entire, unedited four and a half minute briefing given at the scene by Detective Jeff Kappel from the media unit:

(video not available due to blip.tv shutdown)

5:15 AM SATURDAY: No new updates from police regarding the victim’s condition or any arrests. We did get a note from a witness describing what he saw and wanted to share that:

A friend and I were walking East/North on Harbor toward Slices, passing just in front of the mexican & thai restaurants (just west of Pepperdock) when the shots were fired (my friend heard 6 – 8, I heard more… like 10). My friend and I ducked behind the small trees there while some folks eating on the patio started heckling us for being spooked over some “fireworks.” As my friend and I got to the cross street, I saw what looked like two kids running south on the street (I’m 25… so they seriously looked like “kids”). There was a bit of confusion in the area as most people naively assumed fireworks was the cause of the disturbance, but as we crossed the street toward Slices, people were still looking back at the scene. Across the street in the grassy area, an african american male was down with his friends surrounding him. The boys looked thuggish (if anything could be said for the gang energy on Alki). These boys loaded their friend into the back of their black chevy impala (license plate 706 **K), and flipped a U-turn on harbor ave and screeched away. As you know, sunny friday’s are not conducive to speedy exits. They nearly ran over a family crossing the street while they tore off down the street. I saw a few of their friends run off down another street, but they could have just been running toward their car. The police arrived a few minutes later.

i spoke with an employee at Slices and she saw the shooter. She desribed him as a “kid” and thought it was a cap gun because he was firing “wildly” and it didn’t look like he was aiming at any thing as he was “shooting wildly” and “laughing.” What a scary scene.

11:15 AM SATURDAY: The latest official police “update” as of a few minutes ago was, “no new updates.” Just in case you were wondering. (5:37 pm note – we’ve been checking but still no updates)

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2 West Seattle state legislators end session with perfect records
May 1, 2009 1:42 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

… as in, no missed votes. According to this list drawn up by Washington Votes, Reps. Eileen Cody and Sharon Nelson were on hand for every single vote this session; our area’s State Sen. Joe McDermott missed two. That still puts him toward the bottom of the list for missed votes (note legislators from other areas with triple-digit miss rates!).

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Wondering where your bus is? Metro unveils “new online tools”
May 1, 2009 10:16 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(December 2008 photo)
Where’s my bus? Will it ever show up? Those were two of the most frequent questions commuters had during the December snow woes, which resulted in hundreds of people sharing information via WSB comment threads. The county promised to work on better ways to get bus riders information about what’s really happening out there – and just unveiled “new online tools” today – here’s the announcement:Read More

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Also about to open in Morgan Junction: Pilates Westside
May 1, 2009 9:43 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Health | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

You’ve heard all about Feedback Lounge (which opened last Saturday) and Zeeks Pizza (which opens at 4 pm today). But the Morgan Junction business boom isn’t just about eating and drinking. A new fitness business is on the way too, in the 6521 California SW (map) space occupied by Aaron’s Bicycle Repair before it moved a few doors south. We first told you, briefly, about Pilates Westside 4 weeks ago; since then, we’ve had a chance to chat with proprietors Jodie Stolz and Jack Lanham, scheduled to move into their new space starting today, and officially opening Monday:Read More

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Happening today: Fallen Officers’ Memorial at Forest Lawn
May 1, 2009 7:49 am
|    Comments Off on Happening today: Fallen Officers’ Memorial at Forest Lawn
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Reminder – at noon today (here’s our report from a week ago), you’re invited to Forest Lawn in High Point for the dedication of a site intended to become the first freestanding memorial to Seattle Police who lost their lives in the line of duty. (Here’s a map to Forest Lawn.)

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Washington State Ferries fares go up Friday
April 30, 2009 10:08 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

Catching a ferry from Fauntleroy (or someplace else)? Prepare to pay more starting tomorrow (Friday 5/1), the start of “peak season” for Washington State Ferries. One example: Full fare for car/driver from Fauntleroy to Vashon is $14.80 tonight, but it goes up to $18.50 tomorrow. Check fares here. (And if you’re going further than Vashon, take note – Friday also is when the Hood Canal Bridge starts a six-week shutdown.)

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Earth Month finale: JFK HS, EarthCorps in Lincoln Park today
April 30, 2009 8:39 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

With Earth Month in its final hours, we have two stories to share with you tonight, starting with this one: Hundreds of volunteers swarmed Lincoln Park today in a huge EarthCorps-led event. Ron Richardson covered it for WSB:

By Ron Richardson
Special to West Seattle Blog

In a project coordinated by Liz White of EarthCorps and teacher Jenny Farrell of Burien’s John F. Kennedy High School (from right in photo above), the entire JFK sophomore class set out today to work on ridding Lincoln Park of invasive plants such as ivy and blackberry bushes.

(A sampling of young leaders of the Lincoln Park cleanup. They represent EarthCorps, AmeriCorps, Kennedy High leaders and volunteers from around the world)
White explained that the mission of the organization is to “create healthy habitats, empower young leaders, and build communities around local environmental services.”

This is not the first time the EarthCorps program has worked at Lincoln Park.

Read More

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Art installation ahead for Camp Long – and you can help make it
April 30, 2009 5:17 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS culture/arts

The Mater Matrix Mother website has been documenting artist Mandy Greer‘s creation of a crocheted art installation – she’s been visiting West Seattle libraries, too, and will be at the Sustainable West Seattle Festival this Sunday, as well as at Delridge Day coming up May 30th. Now there’s word her work her installation has found a future home, Camp Long’s Polliwog Pond – read the update just sent by Camp Long’s Sheila Brown:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Protecting yourself
April 30, 2009 5:10 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

The Southwest Precinct Public Safety Newsletter is out, and it includes burglary and scam prevention tips – read on:Read More

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West Seattle business news: Eagle Electric now with Mr. Sparky
April 30, 2009 4:56 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

From WSB sponsor Eagle Electric – a West Seattle-based business run by a 5-generation West Seattle family – word of some big news. Here’s the official announcement of a big change:

Local Electrician Brands Business with Mister Sparky Name
Eagle Electric of Seattle LLC expands business into
Mister Sparky America’s On-Time Electrician franchise

David and Wendy Lind are ready to grow their business, now that they have transformed their residential electrical service division into a Mister Sparky America’s On-Time Electrician franchise serving the Seattle area.
“Being a part of the Mister Sparky family provides national brand awareness, superior training programs and customer service approaches that will benefit my customers and my business,” David Lind said.

More on the change, ahead:Read More

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Update: Delridge playground breakthrough, and how you can help
April 30, 2009 4:23 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news

Yesterday, we brought you North Delridge Neighborhood Council co-vice chair Betsy Hoffmeister‘s report on a proposal that could bring a major improvement to the Delridge Community Center playground for a dramatically reduced cost – if the city would go along with an innovative proposal to get it done. Today, good news from Betsy – one important approval is in – but help is still needed — here’s what she just wrote about what’s happening and how you can pitch in:

We have a commitment from our AMAZING community neighbor, McLaughlin Brothers Construction, to prepare the site at Delridge Community Center for building a new playground – for FREE. This means we could get a new playground at Delridge Community Center on July 17. That’s only 10 weeks away!! Most amazing of all, we got approval from the Parks Department to allow the pro bono work in this special circumstance. One of the least-served communities in the West Seattle Peninsula could get a brand new playground with a less than $11,000 commitment from the community.

Here’s how it works:

a) The Community Center wrote a proposal to KaBOOM! This proposal included a promise of $7,500 in earnest money towards the purchase of playground equipment. With a yard sale, raffle, donations from neighbors from North Delridge, Nucor Steel, BECU, MacMillan Piper, Wick Homes, Cyclops Restaurant, and the Community School of West Seattle, we have raised $6680. The Community Center has come up with some cash of their own, too. So we were able to promise the $7500.

b) KaBOOM! loved the proposal. KaBOOM! then did two screening interviews.

c) The Community Center wrote a Small and Simple proposal to the City for funding for the site preparation. That decision doesn’t come down until mid-May, and KaBOOM! needs to know whether we can get the site prepared way before then, so we hustled out and found our fairy godparents, Paul and Sally of McLaughlin Brother’s Construction (seriously, if you need a hole dug or a driveway made, these folks are the ones for you! Support your neighbors!) So, we hustled REALLY hard and got the City to agree to this pro bono work. You’d be amazed at how much red tape is involved in allowing someone to do something for the City for free.

d) KaBOOM! will now go to its top-secret corporate partner and say “We think the Delridge Community Center is an excellent fit for your corporate dollars, and we think you should build a playground there.” The sponsor will ultimately make that decision.

e) When the corporate sponsor says “YES we want to build a playground at Delridge,” KaBOOM! representatives will come to the Community Center on May 12 to meet with children and their parents about their wishes for the new play space, and other improvements to make to the area as in gardens, painting a mural on the wading pool, planting fruit trees, and anything else that will beautify and improve the area. These are called “side projects.” We also rush and get the soil tested for lead and arsenic. If your business does this and you are on the approved list for the Parks Department, consider donating your services!

f) The designers come up with three proposed designs. After the Parks Department swiftly approves the designs, the community at large, but most especially the kids in the day care, preschool, before and after school, and neighborhood kids, gets to choose its favorite design.

g) McLaughlin Brothers prepares the site. We bake them lots of cookies.

h) We plan a huge party, including food, music, entertainment, and fun, and gather 70 volunteers. On July 17, over 100 volunteers from the corporate sponsor swoop in and we all get to build the playground, plant the trees, paint the wading pool, and have fun together!!

The wish list at this point includes:
1) Laminated sign at the playground saying “here’s what’s coming and here’s how to help.”

2) $4,000 to cover any miscellaneous expenses we haven’t foreseen like renting a Dumpster or putting up safety fencing. Please, keep those pledges coming. Remember, these are PLEDGES. NDNC doesn’t cash the checks until we get the grant from KaBOOM!

3) A city-approved soil testing company to donate their services.

4) Volunteer musicians and performers for the celebration day.

5) Lots of comments on the Blog to show KaBOOM how excited we are.

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West Seattle food news: Skillet gets the boot again
April 30, 2009 2:04 pm
|      76 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

After three busy hours last Sunday in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard – a backup location after Diamond Parking told Skillet Street Food they couldn’t park next to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market after all – Skillet has been told they can’t come back for an encore. This is according to Hotwire’s Lora Lewis, who tells WSB that while the property owner gave permission for last week’s Skillet appearance, they have now canceled that permission. Whether Skillet will be anywhere in West Seattle this Sunday, therefore, is up in the air. We are making calls to see what else we can find out.

UPDATE 3:02 PM: Just talked to Josh from Skillet, who says, “We’ll be somewhere in West Seattle on Sunday, we just don’t know where yet.”

5:47 PM UPDATE: Regarding the West Seattle Junction Association‘s role in whether Skillet will be able to find a Junction home, we called Susan Melrose at WSJA to ask their position. Here’s her reply:

It’s great to see so much interest in the shiny silver Skillet! This is all very new to the Junction Association and we’re still figuring out a few things. There are factors which include that we’re a Business Improvement Area where each merchant is taxed and how does a mobile business fit into that model; the Junction Association has an agreement with the Farmers Market which addresses selling prepared foods; and also where might the best spot be? We are still waiting to get clarification from the City. Our mission is to make a fun, attractive and clean shopping district with free parking for West Seattle and once we get more information, we’ll figure out how Skillet can fit in.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Junction Key Bank robbed
April 30, 2009 11:45 am
|      37 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

(surveillance camera photo from FBI, added 12:36 pm)

(photo added 12:01 pm)
ORIGINAL 11:45 AM REPORT: Happened within the past half-hour. Officer Mark Jamieson of Seattle Police says the call to police said the robber was described as male, white, maybe 40s, 5-8 to 5-11, thin build, with a beard, wearing a purple sweatshirt and brown knit cap. No one hurt; no word of whether he showed a weapon. A search is still under way in the area. More from the scene shortly.

12:11 PM UPDATE: Police are searching on the northeast side of The Junction as well, which explains the reports that Holy Rosary School is “in lockdown,” per trustable source in comments. Tilden School north of The Junction also reports being in lockdown as well, as does Hope Lutheran.

12:33 PM UPDATE: Just received the official news release from the Seattle FBI office:

The Key Bank at 4701 California Ave SW in West Seattle was robbed today at 11:12 am by a white male, 35-45 years of age, 5’8″-6′ tall, thin build, full beard and mustache, dirty appearance, wearing a purple knit cap and a purple hooded sweatshirt. He entered the bank through the east doors, approached the teller and presented a demand note. He did not display a weapon or imply that he had one. He was given money and he left the bank through the west doors and was last seen running northbound up the alley past Wells Fargo Bank.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 206 622-0460.

The FBI also sent photos – added one atop this report; here’s the other one:

Meantime, as noted in comments, the school lockdowns are ending.

4:49 PM UPDATE: Just checked with Seattle Police. No arrest so far.

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More West Seattle repaving: 16th SW work finally set
April 30, 2009 11:43 am
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Puget Ridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

16thrut.jpg

(WSB photo from fall 2008)>
What just might be the most teeth-rattling stretch of road in West Seattle, on 16th SW north of South Seattle Community College, is now back on the SDOT schedule for repaving. This was supposed to happen last year – then, as reported here in November, it was put on hold. But now it’s officially set for repaving and widening between Findlay and Brandon (map) this summer – this SDOT webpage has details, including:

Work includes:

* pavement removal and replacement
* drainage improvements
* curb ramp construction
* sidewalk repaving

Construction work is scheduled to begin in mid June and continue for approximately six weeks.

Note that the city’s page also says that while southbound traffic will continue during the project, northbound traffic will be detoured “via Dumar Way SW/SW Orchard St and Delridge Way SW.”

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