The car owner who just posted this item is hoping somebody saw who did it, last night or early this morning; remember that our forum has “private message” capabilities if you want to send information outside the thread.
After another meeting this week to get the envisioned Delridge Produce Co-op further down the road to reality, Galena White shares how it went, including word of a possible produce source, and a search for entertainment experts! Read on for Galena’s full report:Read More
After a week or so of practicing, tonight an invitation-only benefit gala (proceeds to the West Seattle Food Bank) opened the doors at the long-awaited Luna Park ristorante Cafe Revo. We will have photos back shortly; meantime, we have word from Sofia Zadra Goff – “Signora della Casa” (co-owner with chef husband Sean “Chano” Goff) – that they have decided to be open for dinner only this weekend, and will start lunch service on Monday. (Photos added 8:41 pm – below, in the kitchen, that’s Sofia at right, looking proudly over at Sean and his team cooking, while her dad, known as “Nonno,” smiles for the WSB camera.)
Out in the dining area – abuzz with the voices of a full house – we asked “Nonno” exactly what it is he’ll be doing:
Almost every time we report on this, it draws a mini-crowd of people worried about the prospect of city-managed pay parking in The Junction. Here’s your big chance to have a say directly in person: The first “walking tour” of the study zone has just been set. And it’s on a weekend, to maximize your chance of participating. Just RSVP, and then show up. Here’s the announcement we just got from Dante Taylor, who’s working on the West Seattle Junction parking study for the city Transportation Department:
SDOT will conduct a walking tour of the West Seattle Junction next Saturday, February 28 from 12 pm to 2 pm. This is an opportunity for you, community members and me, the project manager, to meet and identify parking concerns in the Junction area. We will walk around parts of the Junction that are within the outreach boundary and make note of any areas where you feel the parking study should focus. I will have maps of the outreach area so that you can take notes. Please note that we may not need the full two hours, but it would be helpful if you were available during this time just in case.
Let’s plan to meet at the Cupcake Royale at the northeast corner of Alaska and California. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
Just got Seattle Public Schools‘ news release about open enrollment starting March 2. It mentions district reps will be at the Delridge Library to take applications March 11, if you’d rather apply in person instead of by mail (or at an out-of-West Seattle location). Read on:Read More
Thanks to Dawn211 for posting a comment on our report about Natureway closing its Junction shop, noting that Funky Jane’s Consignment would be the new tenant. We subsequently got that confirmed by building co-owner Gina Terrana, and today, we stopped in to talk with Funky Jane’s proprietor Angela Nichols (photo above). Hers is one of several businesses that needed to move anyway because the Conner Homes project is taking down the existing buildings at California/Alaska/42nd; since demolition’s not happening immediately, so she’ll be moving to the new location over the summer, she told us. By the way, Angela also had a note about what’s happening in her business right now – winter’s over and it’s time to think spring, so the current focus is on “spring preview.” (Funky Jane’s is at 4706 California now [map] and the new location in a few months is at 4455 California [map].)
On the heels of the solid-waste-pickup discussion during this morning’s storm-aftermath report at the Seattle City Council, we just got a news release from Seattle Public Utilities saying they want to be SURE you know that trash pickup days are changing (for “most” households) and recycling rules are changing too. March 30th is the date, and while that’s been reported before, it’s now only a month away. Read on for the official reminder:Read More
(12/18/08 photo from Chris, taken on Delridge ramp to West Seattle Bridge)
Members of three Seattle City Council committees just got an hourlong update from three city department heads, and one of their own analysts, on more hindsight regarding the December ’08 snowstorm woes, and what’ll be done to improve city response next time. The highlights: Emergency Management director Barb Graff says the storm was overall a “$3.5 million hit” to the city budget (Councilmember Jan Drago said she wished there’d been a report on the private-sector “hit” too), though there’s hope that federal disaster-relief dollars could help cover some of that, if a presidential proclamation is made (word is expected within a week). SDOT director Grace Crunican says the city now has two more snowplows: 29 total, up from 27. The two additions cost $40,000 each.
(12/18/08 photo from Saney, taken at California/Hanford)
With that equipment, and with up to 13 more pieces of equipment available from private contractors – who are now on a retainer that will cost $30,000 (plus actual usage fees) the first year, $15,000 the second, and no additional fee after that – she says the city will be able to commit to keeping 744 “arterial lane-miles” of key streets clear no matter what, for buses and cars to use. (Using West Seattle – where she lives – as an example, Crunican said that would include California, Delridge, and 35th. No specific cross-streets, we will be looking into whether the specifics are in writing somewhere.) More highlights from the discussion, just ahead (we’ll be adding links in the next half-hour or so but wanted to get out the gist of what was said):Read More
(added 1:32 pm, the whale-watching crowd south of Alki Point earlier this afternoon) ORIGINAL 10:28 AM POST: Quick update from Jeff Hogan – those orcas (see previous item) may be heading this way – northbound in Colvos Passage (west side of Vashon) at last report. We’ll update this item when/if there’s more info, and we’ll also post to Twitter (even if you don’t use Twitter, you can see our updates here). 11:15 AM UPDATE: Update from Jeff, now they’ve been spotted off Alki Point. 12:11 PM UPDATE: TV station says it’s streaming online (here’s the link – we’re checking it now). 12:28 PM UPDATE: Looks like they’re now refeeding video shot earlier. 1:03 PM UPDATE: And here’s the direct link to the aerial video now archived on KING5’s site.
A crime report this morning from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli in The Junction, who along with neighbors is hoping this car’s owner will come forward fast:
We had a car prowl overnight on 41st between Alaska and Oregon. In the two years I’ve lived here this is the first one I’ve seen on this block. Side window shattered and there’s stuff all over the passenger seat so it looks like someone went through the glovebox. I called it in to the police but there’s nothing they can really do until the owners call and report it and we’re not sure exactly who owns this car.
(December 2008 photo by Jeff Hogan)
This afternoon, Jeff Hogan from West Seattle-based Killer Whale Tales called to say a sizable group of orcas was reported off Point No Point on the Kitsap Peninsula (map) and possibly heading this way. No sightings reported by sundown but Jeff – who provided us with photos and info about West Seattle’s last major orca sighting in December (photo above) – e-mailed this update tonight:
Turns out up to 20 plus killer whales were at the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry and still heading our way. It’s quite possible that they will be off WS in the morning. My scientific colleagues are very interested in getting out on the water to collect both photos and scat samples, especially if the new baby is with them. If any WSB’ers see them, please contact Orca Network at 1.866.ORCANET or they can call me at 206.660.0835. I will let WSB know what is going on as soon as I know something.
Two babies have been sighted/photographed with Puget Sound orcas recently, in fact – photos are on this page at the Orca Network’s website. (9:50 pm note – we just received the Orca Network’s nightly “sightings” newsletter – you can subscribe here – and it includes several sightings of this group, with the last one reported at 5:10 pm, passing Carkeek Park.)
If you are arrested and jailed, there’s usually a three-day window for you to be charged or released. With the weekend/holiday, today was the deadline for charges against 21-year-old Dion Fillmore, arrested in connection with the murder of his 70-year-old grandmother Lavon Barrette in her Fauntleroy/Dawson apartment building last weekend. We checked with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and spokesperson Dan Donohoe tells us that while Fillmore has not yet been charged in the killing, he remains jailed because he is charged in a separate case, punching a man in the face so hard a cheekbone was broken, last December 15th. Court documents say the attack happened when Fillmore was walking that night along Fauntleroy Way, not far from his grandmother’s apartment, and encountered the victim walking with Fillmore’s uncle. Fillmore’s bail is set at $100,000 and he is due in court March 5th to answer a charge of second-degree assault. Regarding the murder of Ms. Barrette (detailed in court documents Monday), Donohoe says, “A decision regarding homicide charges will be made at a later date.”
According to our fellow neighborhood-news-site operators at MyBallard.com, when the Church of the Nazarene (42nd/Juneau) agreement withSHARE expires at the end of this month, the group’s small shelter for homeless men will move from that West Seattle church to a building in Ballard. See the My Ballard story here. As we noted in original coverage of the shelter’s arrival a year ago, the church has hosted other shelters, so we’ll be checking to see if another one is taking this one’s place.
These maps were mentioned in the WSB report on last night’s Delridge District Council meeting – and now we’ve obtained an electronic copy of the maps so you can take a closer look: Pages 8-10 of this WSDOT map package show how West Seattleites will be able to access downtown, and points beyond, if the current plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s Central Waterfront section with a tunnel is approved. (Got questions? Remember next Tuesday’s “scoping meeting,” WSDOT reps galore, at Madison Middle School, 5:30 pm, which – disclosure – is being advertised on WSB this week to get the word out.)
Remember the strong-arm robbery at the Fauntleroy/Alaska 76 station weekend before last – in which the robber got away with cash and lottery tickets? (Here’s our followup with full details from the police report.) The King County Sheriff’s Office put out a call today for help in identifying a robber with a similar M.O. who’s struck twice in White Center (late January and early February); we posted that announcement on White Center Now but then realized it sounds a lot like the Fauntleroy/Alaska bandit, so we’re mentioning it here too. Checking with investigators to see if that’s the Seattle robbery alluded to in the King County news release; also seeking any available images to post. ADDED 2:26 PM: Image at left is one of several we’ve obtained from KCSO – none is crystal clear but they still may lead to an arrest. This shows the robber hopping the counter in one of the White Center heists. And Sgt. John Urquhart from KCSO confirms it may be the same robber as in the Fauntleroy/Alaska case. Here’s one more – again, small and blurry, but we’re sharing:
That’s Blue 55 playing the Alki Boardwalk last August, one of two Alki summer concerts presented by the Parks Department, and it looks like they’re doing more this year – this announcement just in:
Alki Community Center in West Seattle is planning a series of Music in the Park events for the summer of 2009, and is looking for bands who are interested in playing on dates in July, August, and September 2009.
Bands should play music that families will enjoy. Interested bands should call MaryPat Byington at 206-684-7430 or e-mail her at marypat.byington@seattle.gov by Monday, March 16, 2009.
(photo taken today, added 4:50 pm)
Local neighborhood leaders have been working for months (9/08 WSB report here) to get Morgan Junction’s new park – under construction now and scheduled for dedication at the Morgan Community Festival June 13th – named for the late longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, who lost his cancer fight a year ago. The campaign has run into some roadblocks, including Parks Department policy stipulating at least 3 years between a person’s death and a naming honor like this. But supporters aren’t giving up, and now they are asking for your help: Pete Spalding just sent word that he and several other of the aforementioned leaders, including Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker, Steve Sindiong, and Chas Redmond, are starting a petition drive, hoping to gather signatures to present to West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who has the final say on park names. Download a copy of the petition here, gather some signatures ASAP, and send them to Pete, whose address is on the form. (Also look for the petition at upcoming community meetings – Pete says signature-gathering began at meetings last night including the Delridge District Council.)
Just back from a media-geared boat tour along the South Park stretch of the Duwamish River with BJ Cummings of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, immediately after her group released its report on a year-in-the-making community-created vision of the Duwamish’s future. The “vision” – she was careful to caution, it’s a vision, not yet a plan – covers the West Seattle side of the Duwamish Valley as well, and we have maps, drawings, and video to show you; we’ll be adding them to this report over the next hour-plus (the map is available online now, as a 29MB zip file or as a smaller, zoomable image). This is all coming out now as the EPA works on the next stage of the cleanup of the waterway that’s so polluted, it’s a Superfund site. But there’s hope for its future, and in fact, perhaps this was a good omen for the tour: A California sea lion surfaced alongside the boat; Cummings said recent sea lion sightings on that section of the river are the first in a long time, though no one’s sure why they’ve come back. A water-taxi route along the river, from the foot of the West Seattle Bridge southward, and aerial gondolas (like the relatively new tram in Portland), are part of the plan, which you can inspect firsthand during an event at the Duwamish Tribe‘s new Longhouse this afternoon, 4-6 pm. 1:47 PM UPDATE: Maybe a water taxi like this? Here’s the one used for this morning’s tour, with Captain Howie Dickerman at the helm:
He does his biggest business in dive charters. And here’s the clip from our second pass under the South Park Bridge (which needs to be replaced, and now federal stimulus money is the best hope) – listen to the eerie sound of traffic going over, as we pass under:
Click ahead to see Cummings explain what the report is for, and describe its toplines (as we continue to add to this story):Read More
Thanks to Keith for e-mailing to share the news that the Natureway vitamin/supplement shop cleared out of its Junction storefront over the past few days – we subsequently found the above-shown sign on its door on California north of Oregon. We had noted when Fresh Vitamins opened last August in Westwood Village that it was owned by the same company, and this sign indeed directs customers to visit that shop instead; if you want to stay in The Junction, of course, Super Supplements is at California/Alaska (though that building is to make way in the future for the Conner Homes development, which as first reported here earlier this week has its next Design Review meeting March 12), and as pointed out in comments, GNC has a branch in Jefferson Square. 9:55 PM UPDATE: Following up on a comment posted below this story, we’ve received confirmation tonight that Funky Jane’s Consignment will be the new tenant in the space vacated by Natureway. We tried to contact the store’s owner today but were unsuccessful; we’ll try again tomorrow, to get more details on their plan. (Their current space, like Super Supplements as mentioned above, is in one of the buildings that will be torn down when the Conner project at California/Alaska/42nd is bulit.)
That long scroll of paper was a prop for SDOT reps to explain the forthcoming Fauntleroy Way “rechannelization” (approved last month) to anyone with questions at last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association-presented “neighborhood meeting” last night at Fauntleroy Church. SDOT was just there for questions – no formal presentation – but updates were presented on three other topics, and the theme for two could be described as “organize” – read on:Read More
DUWAMISH CLEANUP REPORT AND OPEN HOUSE: What’s ahead for the waterway along easternmost West Seattle? A new report comes out this morning (we’ll be at the official announcement), and then you’re invited to come find out even more firsthand at the Duwamish Longhouse on West Marginal Way, 4-6 pm, followed by another in the series of cultural events at the Longhouse: films by Sandy and Yasu Osawa focusing on the Longhouse at Evergreen State College, 7 pm.
ANOTHER MOVIE: It’s Environmental Film Night at Camp Long Lodge, showing “Broken Limbs” — the clip above is a 3-plus-minute intro to the movie — focusing on the much-changed apple industry in the Wenatchee area, 7 pm.
ORGANIC PRODUCE FOR DELRIDGE? Tonight’s the next Delridge Produce Co-op organizing meeting, Pearls on Delridge, 6:30 pm.
A state/city briefing on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement/tunnel plan highlighted Wednesday night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting.
Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin was scheduled to speak but didn’t make it to the meeting.
The Viaduct/Tunnel briefing came from Ron Paananen, who’s been a project lead for WSDOT, and Hannah McIntosh from SDOT.
(Photo provided by West Seattle YMCA: Campaign volunteer Benita Buchanan records the
total raised to date at last night’s report meeting)
Right now, the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) is in the middle of its annual push to draw donations to make sure their programs are accessible to all – They did a check-in last night, and Samantha Bowes sends this report:
Last night, West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA Partners With Youth campaign volunteers gathered at the Fauntleroy YMCA to report on their progress toward their fundraising goal. They’ve raised over $96,000 on a goal of $205,000 in donations to keep YMCA programs accessible to kids, teens, and families in West Seattle, South Park, and Vashon
This is half of the overall campaign goal of $410,000 – our Board of Managers is raising the other half, and is at more than $115,000 to date, for a total of $211,000 raised on that $410,000 goal.
175+ volunteers make this effort a success every year – our thanks to them and to the hundreds of local residents who contribute to the campaign.
To learn more about the campaign, volunteer to help, or make a donation, contact Samantha Bowes at sbowes@seattleymca.org or 206-935-6000.
Almost every time we report on this, it draws a mini-crowd of people worried about the prospect of city-managed pay parking in The Junction. Here’s your big chance to have a say directly in person: The first “walking tour” of the study zone has just been set. And it’s on a weekend, to maximize your chance of participating. Just RSVP, and then show up. Here’s the announcement we just got from Dante Taylor, who’s working on the West Seattle Junction parking study for the 
With the weekend/holiday, today was the deadline for charges against 21-year-old Dion Fillmore, 
The King County Sheriff’s Office put out a call today for help in identifying a robber with a similar M.O. who’s struck twice in White Center (late January and early February); we 
A state/city briefing on the 
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