West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
FAUNTLEROY SCHOOLHOUSE: Finally got word from Seattle Public Schools about the date/time of the official public hearing on the district’s plan to sell the schoolhouse, mentioned at the community meeting 2 weeks ago (WSB coverage here): It’s not on the district website yet, but SPS spokesperson David Tucker tells WSB the hearing is set for 6:30 pm April 29, at the schoolhouse.
RESIDENTIAL PARKING ZONES: As mentioned in our coverage of the impending Junction-area parking review (most recent update here), there’s a chance RPZ’s would be considered for the residential neighborhoods around the business district, which already report major parking crunches because of “park-n-hiders” and construction workers. The city is now officially reviewing RPZ policy and inviting you to fill out this online survey.
COUNTY CHANGES: Did you know there’s a hearing in West Seattle tomorrow night on more than a dozen amendments proposed to the King County Charter? Might sound dry but on the other hand, some of ’em might affect your life (see the list here). We somehow managed not to hear about the hearing till Julie Enevoldsen (thank you!) told us about it this afternoon. 6:30 pm tomorrow, Emerald Room at The Hall at Fauntleroy.
When the e-mail came in, our eyes insisted on reading “coop” as the word that’s short for cooperative. But no, it’s coop as in chicken coop. They’re legal in the city, and Seattle Tilth is now accepting chicken coops in West Seattle (as well as Georgetown and Beacon Hill) as candidates for their City Chickens Coop Tour. The tour’s on July 12 but the deadline to apply is May 1st; e-mail Seattle Tilth “city chickens coordinator” Angelina Shell, angelinashell@seattletilth.org, if you (and your chickens) are interested.
That’s how one parent volunteer describes the feeling now that construction of Gatewood Elementary‘s playground project is getting closer, after 3-plus years of hard work. What you see above was part of that hard work — the well-attended “Kids for Kids” event featuring ivy-munching goats (WSB video coverage here) last October. The next step in the work comes this Wednesday night — a community meeting at 6:30 pm in the Gatewood cafeteria. White says, “The purpose of this meeting is to make final decisions on the new play structure! We are now down to picking individual elements that will make up the toy, colors, extra features, etc. so that we can get our order placed and get this project done!” He also points out that not only has this resulted from endless hours of volunteer work but also from a $90,000 grant from the city Department of Neighborhoods and a $30,000 grant from the county Parks Department. So it’s truly a community project — even if you don’t have a child at Gatewood, the playground is a neighborhood resource/attraction, so you’re welcome to be there Wednesday night and have a say. (See the Gatewood site master plan here.)
The King County Council–Seattle City Council joint meeting on The Viaduct just concluded a moment ago, lasting a little more than 2 hours. As was hinted at the Seattle Council briefing on The Viaduct that we covered downtown one month ago (read our story here), the information presented today was more about related elements such as the Urban Mobility Plan — ways that we will get around either without, or despite, The Viaduct. And it did provide some glimpses into West Seattle’s possible transportation future — near-future (another Viaduct meeting in WS was just announced for next month) and far-future:Read More
This factoid didn’t make it into our original caucus report (see it, and its dozens of followup comments, here) — it was mentioned to us briefly on Saturday that Terry McAuliffe, national Clinton campaign chair, had dropped by the West Seattle High School gathering between 9 and 10 am, before the meeting officially started. We didn’t arrive till just after 10, so missed him. But eagle-eyed Cami MacNamara (editor of the Alki News Beacon) spotted photographic proof in, of all places, this Baltimore Sun political blog post (which focuses on the fact McAuliffe was photographed posing with Obama fans). P.S. Additional caucus photos are also up at the 34th District Democrats’ site; much of the discussion about Saturday’s process has centered on the ability to affect it by getting involved with the group – its next meeting is 7 pm this Wednesday, The Hall at Fauntleroy.
This new P-I story is a good – if scary – preview of the anti-youth-drinking town-hall event tomorrow night at South Seattle Community College, coordinated by Madison Middle School‘s Renae Gaines, who says the event is an “opportunity to come together to learn more about the new research on underage drinking and its impact on both individuals and the community, and to discuss how our community can implement the recommendations in The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to prevent underage alcohol use.” That’s 6 pm tomorrow @ SSCC. (More helpful info here at the Start Talking Before They Start Drinking site.)
Hiawatha Community Center coordinator Ryan Nakanishi asked us to help get out the word that HCC is closed tomorrow through next Sunday for floor-refinishing work. It’ll reopen Monday 4/14. (P.S. While doublechecking on this, we discovered there’s an extended closure for Southwest Pool later this year, June 16-Sept. 29, for “major capital improvements.”)
Out of the inbox this afternoon from M:
Our house just got egged while we were playing a board game near 15th Ave SW & Thistle. We ran outside but didn’t see anyone. I haven’t heard about this kind of thing happening around here recently.
Here’s a map for that location.
If you missed the news earlier this year, WSB is the new sponsor of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. The big day is Saturday 5/10; we’re opening registration this Thursday, 4/10. Check our WSCGSD website for full updates including the list of where you’ll be able to pick up mail-in forms if you don’t want to sign up online.
Thanks to Tammi for the tip – Beveridge Place Pub is closed for a few days while moving next door; according to the BPP website, it will reopen in the new spot 3 pm Thursday.
This is somewhat old news but we missed it somehow till two people pointed it out last night, so we’re posting it in case you missed it too. Just a few months after selling his Admiral store, which is now the Atomic Boys retro-stuff store, Alan Hart — longtime owner of Hart’s Cards and Gifts — has died at age 67. The obituary published at nwsource.com a few days ago notes he “thoroughly enjoyed his 2 months of retirement.” Here’s the online guest book mentioned in the obituary.
Out of the inbox, from Rey:
I park my car in a lot below Bartell in the Admiral District. (Friday) a patrol car came into the lot with their lights flashing. I was actually fixing a rear window of my car and someone reported that someone (me) was breaking into the car. The officer told me they were having problems with thief in this lot. Ironically (the previous Saturday) I went to take my car out and left my truck in its place. When I came back my truck was broken into and my stereo and many of my tools were missing. I thought I would let you know to get out the warning.
We’ve reported a couple incidents in this lot in previous West Seattle Crime Watch reports in recent months.
Just five nights till the April edition of the West Seattle Second Thursday Art Walk, and the full lineup’s out. (See it here.) Every Art Walk for the past few months has made history with something new — a first-ever feature, biggest-ever participant list, etc. — and this one’s no exception: This time, the Art Walk continues to grow beyond The Junction — with five Admiral participants this time! — and the listings on the official flyer/map now geographically group the venues. More on its growth, plus a closer look at a non-business Art Walk regular, ahead:Read More
While more than a thousand 34th Legislative District Democrats caucused inside West Seattle High School, the intrepid WSHS Class of 2008 car wash to raise $ for Grad Night continued outside. Parent Carol Viger tells us they brought in $1,200! Next step in their fundraising — they’re giving out vouchers for shopping at Barnes and Noble next Saturday (4/12); they’ll get part of the proceeds from purchases made by people who turn in the vouchers. (Download the vouchers here.) Next, thanks to Robert Stever for this photo of a traditional Khmer dance performance during the Cambodian New Year Street Festival in White Center today:
In his e-mail, Robert adds: “In the photo, note their hands and toes turned backward. … It was cold outside, but the dancers showed no effect. See the kids in the background ready to be involved.” Last but not least, we couldn’t resist the cute pet photo:
We should have just put it on the Pets page but we’re working later tonight to update that and in the short run, this photo post was just looking for a “kicker.” The e-mail accompanying that photo was headed “Welcome Harley to West Seattle!” and went on to say winningly, “Harley is a 10 week old Black Lab that loves his new neighborhood. He will always stop and say hi for a treat or a good belly rub! Peter Brennan and Sarah Bonzer (who are getting married later this year) are the proud parents of the little guy who won’t be little for long.” Thanks as always for sending photos; e-mail us any time at westseattleblog@yahoo.com.
We’ve never before gone to a political caucus or convention beyond the precinct level (Feb. 9 caucuses this year, WSB coverage here). There’s a first time for everything, and so we are back from a long day at the 34th Legislative District Democratic Caucus at West Seattle High School. If you thought the February caucuses were lively, you haven’t seen anything until you’ve packed into a high-school gym with more than 1,000 people — and “packing in” was a challenge long before everyone entered the WSHS doors:Read More
Less than a week till His Holiness the Dalai Lama visits Seattle; if you want to see his appearances but didn’t/couldn’t get tickets, the Seattle Public Library is organizing the next best thing: Live video webcasts of select events April 11-15 at select library branches, including High Point and West Seattle (Admiral). Here’s the full list of dates and times. In case you’re wondering, though these are described as webcasts, the announcement doesn’t mention whether they will be viewable online outside of the library-branch events; we have a message out to SPL PR to clarify.
That’s Longfellow Creek Farm — a quarter-acre at 2311 SW Myrtle (just off Delridge; map) where Growing Washington is inviting you to a “community-garden restoration work party” noon-4 pm April 19. Help is needed raking leaves, clipping brambles, spreading mulch, weed-whacking, and painting. The goal is to restore the site into a “functioning, food-producing garden,” and volunteers will be first in line for free organic produce — once it’s grown. They’d like you to let them know you’ll be there; register during the next week by using the contact info here.
That’s the listing photo for 4600 37th SW, the SK Food Group building immediately north of the American Legion Hall. The company laid off 90 people last summer; the site is now listed for sale for $5,795,000, with a description that includes “… USDA food production facility and many other potential specialty uses. Redevelopment potential with C1-65`zoning and potential to acquire adjacent properties.” This listing is now added to our clickable map of known development projects and for-sale sites in the Junction/”Triangle” area (find it below on 37th one block north of Alaska):
Still working on a permanent home for this map plus counterparts for other development-laden areas such as greater Alki.
Seattle Public Library managers just announced that eight teams of fourth- and fifth-graders citywide have made it to the finals of the 2008 Global Reading Challenge, an event set for 7 pm April 22 at the downtown library. Among those eight teams are the “Flaming Reader Raiders” of Highland Park Elementary School and the “Concord Cougars” from Concord Elementary. Here’s the full announcement:Read More
Two weeks after we brought you the announcement that April 27 is Opening Day for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi season … the county has just released more details about the kickoff event and the season, including how long it will last. 6:55 PM UPDATE: One more key detail – County West Seattle County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s team points out that the EBWT will remain on a full schedule all the way through the end of the season, unlike last year when it cut back to commute-runs-only in the final weeks. Now, here’s the full text of the King County news release made public this afternoon:Read More
Seen this morning along California SW:
That sign’s for the building going up at the ex-burned-out-Schuck’s site (WSB video coverage of the December demolition here) – now christened Charlestown Shopping and Business Center. A short distance south, the California/Andover gas station is now an ex-Exxon:
And in The Junction, that new banner is hanging outside the laundromat next to Yummy Teriyaki. (Which island? Vashon? Blake?)
Thanks to Patricia for the tip, which we just confirmed by phone – Pioneer Coffee’s Aimonetto, in the ex-Alki Mail/Dispatch location at 2536 Alki, is finally open as of today; they’ll be open till 9 pm tonight, said the cheery person who answered the phone, also noting they open at 5:30 am. (We’ve been tracking the progress here since the business name first surfaced last September.)
That’s 20-year-old Adrianna “Addie” Killam, who grew up in West Seattle — graduating from Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2002, Holy Names Academy in 2006, then heading to Arizona to go to college at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical and Engineering University. Today, she traveled home to Seattle on a plane from Maui – but it was no tourism flight – it was a “medical lift” so that Addie could be admitted to the University of Washington Medical Center for therapy and rehab after a spring-break surfing jaunt left her with a spinal-cord injury. Family friend Maureen Emerson e-mailed WSB to help get the word out about Addie’s injury — which didn’t happen the way you might think after hearing the phrase “surfing injury” — and her fight to recover, which she’s chronicling online:Read More
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