West Seattle, Washington
01 Friday
Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) in North Delridge has just announced details of its 3rd anniversary celebration, and the band in the recent clip above, The Apple War, is part of it:
Skylark Celebrates Three Years In Business With Four Local Acts:
Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady-Owned Rock ClubOn June 5, the party commences at 8 pm with throat-singing, tabla-playing DJ Baba James, continues with the downtempo Deepsleep Narcotics Company, kicks it up a notch with westside country-punk heroes The Stevedore, and culminates with indie rock awesomeness The Apple War. The traditional third wedding anniversary gift is “leather,” but we don’t recommend wearing it to this show. You’ll overheat.
Skylark Cafe & Club is quite happy to announce its third year beating the odds. “Bad news affecting the industry is everywhere these days and people are definitely adjusting their lifestyles,” says Jessie SK, owner and booking agent. “We’ve never charged a cover, and now we’re adding a $5 lunch menu and a few domestic draft beers to help lower your tab this summer.”
Highlights of the past year have been…
• Playing some of our favorite local acts on the air with Megan Seling at 107.7 The End’s Locals Only
• Hooking up turntables to the sound system and launching Spin Your Wax on Tuesday evenings
• The amazing 2008 Halloween party with Apple War, We Wrote The Book On Connectors, H Is For Hellgate and more local bands battling to win the Golden Cowbell:
• Getting this sweet review on notfortourists.com
New stuff we are excited about…
• Partnering with Shoofly Pie Company to bring you a variety of freshly baked desserts
• Offering bands multi-track recordings of their set (!) in partnership with The Brewery
• Redesigned website at www.skylarkcafe.com
Some things never change…
• Free, live, original local and touring musical acts Thursday through Sunday, all ages shows on Sunday evenings
• Family-friendly homemade lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch for great prices
• Full menu until midnight Tuesday through Saturday
• Yummy cocktails with premium wells, discounted daily from 3 to 6pm
• Open turntables, open mic, karaoke and weekly chances to win cash money for trivia
If you haven’t been there yet, Skylark is on the north end of Delridge, just south of The Bridge (click and pan this Google Street View and you can see exactly where):
From tonight’s Sustainable West Seattle meeting: 
Featured speaker Paul Fischburg, founder of Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, looked back and looked ahead. WSB had only been around a year when we published this short blurb in late 2006 about his departure from DNDA after 11 years; he now works as a senior policy advisor in the city’s Office of Policy and Management. Fischburg recalled what happened at a retreat involving the mayor’s staff — including OPM — when the first forecasts of an economic downturn came in. The city’s chief economist pointed out at the time, Fischburg said, that while income hadn’t grown in a few years, corporate and personal debt had. In Fischburg’s view, “overconsumption” resulted from people trying to fill their lives with things instead of real relationships with people. His visit to Sustainable West Seattle tonight is part of his ongoing effort to work with groups reaching out to engage people. And that’s exactly what followed, for the rest of the meeting, with SWS attendees discussing how to create opportunities for interaction not only as a group at meetings, but also as individuals. A project list was created with activity ideas such as potlucks and edible-garden planting, to create chances for members to get to know each other better outside of meetings. One more SWS note from tonight: The group’s revamped website now offers podcasts, starting with highlights from the Sustainable West Seattle Festival two weeks ago; you’ll find the links on the left side of the SWS main page, and the podcast from tonight’s meeting is promised “shortly.”
Aviva from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle shares that photo of Walking on Logs, decorated in anticipation of this Saturday’s Edible Garden Fair. She also sent along the latest news about what’s in store for fairgoers:
The West Seattle Edible Garden Fair is coming up next weekend – Saturday, May 23rd, 9:30-4:00 at South Seattle Community College. This day of classes and panels is a great place for food gardeners to learn something new and get inspired. The lineup of talks includes: (see below – choose some which would appeal to your readers) The full printable schedule with descriptions: www.gleanit.org/Sched.pdf.
Ahead – more on what’s at the EG Fair – including a chance for you to bring in and “recycle” old garden items – and highlights from the list of local experts you can meet and hear from:Read More
The photo at left is from a recent Green Seattle Partnership-affiliated work party at Lincoln Park, exactly the kind of work party that Green Seattle’s Joanna Nelson evangelized at tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee, saying “If everyone in Seattle volunteered (in forest restoration) once every five years, we’d be done.” She talked about the organization’s hopes of having “all the forested areas in Seattle in restoration by 2025” — bringing back conifers, which live for hundreds of years, instead of the relatively short-lived trees like alder and maple that sprung up after the native conifers were cleared. But it’s all about volunteer help, she stressed. HPAC is having a Westcrest Park “mini-summit” at next month’s meeting, according to HPAC chair Dan Mullins, who is proposing that a committee be formed to oversee restoration work at that park, which is part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt; Nelson mentioned a small pilot project expected to start soon. (As she also noted, restoration work is done elsewhere in the WDG by the Nature Consortium.) Green Seattle is one of three environmentally oriented organizations appearing at tonight’s HPAC meeting; more coverage to come. (P.S. Green Seattle’s website has a list of work parties happening here and elsewhere in the city, and we include West Seattle events in the WS Weekend Lineup every Friday.)
We’re at the Highland Park Improvement Club, where the Highland Park Action Committee is hosting three speakers focused on environmental issues/concerns during its monthly meeting. The first up, Jim Nolan from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, is taking questions on the Lafarge cement plant nearby and its effects on area air, and he says an announcement should be forthcoming about an agreement between Lafarge and the EPA regarding all the company’s plants nationwide and a major reduction in emissions, with a new system that will have to be up and running by next April. More details of Nolan’s presentation — which also addressed other local air-pollution concerns — later; he also noted that you can check current air-quality conditions any time at the PSCAA website (here’s the link).
Less than two months now till West Seattle Summer Fest, the street festival in The Junction. We’ve already reported on the big-name headliner for Night 1, Mudhoney – but now, the rest of the music slate is “nearly complete,” and booker Jason Fitzgerald — who enthuses, “This is by far the best lineup yet!” — is sharing the news on who will be playing during the festival’s three-day run July 10-12:
Mudhoney (www.myspace.com/mudhoney)
Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands (www.myspace.com/markpickerelandhisprayinghands)
The Magic Mirrors (www.myspace.com/themagicmirrors)
The Dimes (www.myspace.com/thedimes)
McTuff (www.myspace.com/mctuffmusic)
70 Proof (1970’s guitar rock cover songs performed by Andrew McKeag & Jason Finn of The Presidents, Mike Musburger of The Posies, Kurt Bloch from The Fastbacks, Ben London from Alcohol Funnycar and special guests!)
Thee Sgt Major III (www.myspace.com/sgtmajortheband)
Super Sonic Soul Pimps (www.myspace.com/intellijamus)
Black Panties (www.myspace.com/blackpantiesrock)
The Tripwires (www.myspace.com/thetripwires)
Team Gina (www.myspace.com/teamgina)
Derby (www.myspace.com/derbyrock)
We Are Golden (www.myspace.com/wearegoldenmusic)
The Lonely Forest (www.myspace.com/thelonelyforest)
Kim Virant (www.myspace.com/kimvirant)
Trombone Cake (www.myspace.com/trombonecake2007)
Kristen Ward (www.myspace.com/kristenwardmusic)
Capping Day (www.myspace.com/cappingday)
Green Pajamas (www.myspace.com/greenpajamas)
Carrie Clark & The Lonesome Lovers (www.myspace.com/carrieclark)
Strange Jerome (www.myspace.com/strangejerome)
Mighty Shiny (www.myspace.com/mightyshiny)
Half Light (www.myspace.com/halflightseattle)
Olympic Sound Collective (www.myspace.com/olympicsoundcollective)
Hurricane Chaser (www.myspace.com/hurricanechasermusic)
Swamp Soul (www.swampsoulband.com/music.html)
Gunbunny (www.myspace.com/wearegunbunny)
Pillow Army (www.myspace.com/pillowarmy)
Ranger & The Re-Arrangers (www.myspace.com/rangerandtherearrangers)
The Toucans (www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1559701-toucans-steel-drum-band)
Supermassive (www. supermassivemusic.com)
Fitzgerald adds, “The dates and times for these performances will be published later. And, as always, it’s all FREE!”
Update on our earlier report about Jack Block Park‘s weekend shutdown, blamed on power problems: Peter McGraw with the Port of Seattle tells WSB that maintenance crews have traced the trouble to a blown transformer. Most areas of the park – except the restrooms – will reopen tomorrow morning, he says, until some point tomorrow afternoon (possibly around 3 pm) when they’ll be closed again so transformer-repair work can be done.
The King County Council has just voted unanimously (by acclamation, in a voice vote) to appoint Kurt Triplett (photo left; bio here) as interim King County Executive, serving until after this November’s election (in which he is not running for the job). He’s technically already got that job, having been elevated to it when Ron Sims left for his new federal job; he served for six years as Sims’ chief of staff. The other finalist was former Seattle mayor Charles Royer. Before this afternoon’s vote, several councilmembers said a major argument for keeping Tripllet is that continuity and stability are vital right now, since the county and region are going through “tough times,” as Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer put it, saying “we have to be united in the financial crisis that this county faces.” Right after the vote, Triplett entered the council chambers, hugged councilmembers, and began his speech by saying “I’m speechless”; he’s expected to take the oath of office tomorrow.
Lots of bike riders in WSB-land, we’ve learned, so we’re sharing another announcement from the city – this time, seeking members for the mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Board:Read More
As we mentioned this morning, a briefing on the city’s “tree audit” was on the Seattle City Council agenda today. Here’s the council’s announcement on what happened and what’s next – starting with another discussion this Friday:Read More
This report is from a WSBer who asked to be anonymous. She saw a man vandalizing a Junction wall with hate graffiti this morning and says she also heard him utter an anti-gay slur; she’s reported it to the police but in light of the recent reports of anti-gay graffiti vandalism elsewhere in West Seattle, she wanted to share the information with you too in case it’s someone you see or have seen – read on:Read More
It would usually be a great place to enjoy the West Seattle sunshine – but this weekend, much of Jack Block Park on the Harbor Avenue waterfront was closed, according to several notes we received from WSBers wondering why. Jack Block Park is operated by the Port of Seattle; here’s what we found out by calling Peter McGraw, media officer for the port: “We have some blown fuses – an electricity problem we found out about on Friday, affecting the restroom areas and some walkways, so we had to shut them down for public safety, affecting about two thirds of the park.” He says crews were working over the weekend to try to fix the electrical problem and are back out at the park today; he’s expecting a status report in early afternoon – we’ll let you know when that new info is available.
(Delridge Playfield wading pool, photographed last year)
Recalling last summer’s West Seattle wading-pool controversy, we’ve been checking with Seattle Parks and Recreation from time to time, inquiring about this year’s plan for the city-run wading pools. Last week, we were told news was imminent. Never did get an announcement, but the 2009 schedule has now turned up on the Parks website — without fanfare or announcements, even though it includes some rather dramatic news we don’t recall hearing before: 11 of the city’s 25 wading pools will not open at all this year, while 8 others will open later than usual, explained by the city in the schedule document as follows:
… because of the need to complete federally required safety improvements required by the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The Act, enacted by Congress and signed into law in December 2008, requires that all owners of pools and spas install specified new drain covers and second anti-entrapment systems to protect swimmers from possible injury or death caused by getting caught in pool drains. Because of the nationwide demand for the drain covers and anti-entrapment systems and the skilled labor required to install them, there are delays in the work all over the country.
As a result, here’s the plan for West Seattle’s wading pools (although the city cautions that this schedule could slide depending on how the work goes):
*Lincoln Park will open at the start of the season, June 20 (11 am-8 pm daily)
*Delridge Playfield will open July 8 (noon-7 pm daily)
*Hiawatha Playfield will open July 20 (noon-7 pm daily)
*E.C. Hughes Playground will open July 27 (noon-7 pm daily)
*Highland Park will not open this year at all
Note that all four of the West Seattle wading pools that will be open this year are scheduled to be open seven days a week – last year’s controversy involved the fact that only Lincoln Park and Hiawatha, both in western West Seattle, were open on Sundays, while Delridge, Hughes and Highland Park were closed Sundays; three weeks after we first reported on a community campaign to convince Parks to open Delridge on Sundays, the department agreed to do it for the rest of the year. Back to this year: This document has full details on the wading-pool situation citywide. Also note, Southwest Pool is open this summer, unlike last year when it was undergoing renovations; and Colman Pool, the saltwater outdoor swimming facility on the Lincoln Park shore, is scheduled to start its season this Saturday.
Bright and early last Friday morning, more than two dozen people gathered in Fauntleroy to hear six West Seattle-area community leaders discuss how their local organizations/service agencies are handling the economy and its effects on the people they serve. The occasion: the annual Community Panel organized by the board of the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor). Though panel members agreed that job losses and other problems are bringing them more clients, who in turn are coping with more anxiety, they also expressed general optimism. Read on for the main points each made, and the understanding that emerged before the event ended:Read More
Editor’s note: 3 months till our state’s primary – and while that sounds like a long time, we’ve got many more candidates to introduce you to, so — after kicking off with two County Executive candidate interviews (Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips) earlier this spring — we’re continuing the profiles now, with veteran West Seattle journalist Jack Mayne on the WSB politics-reporting team — starting with his story about one of the West Seattleites running for City Council, David Ginsberg:
(David Ginsberg at left, photographed after becoming the 34th District Democrats’ 2nd vice chair in January; note that the group has not yet made its endorsement in City Council races)
By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle’s David Ginsberg has been phased out of his technology job with Washington Mutual and now wants to displace Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin as the Position 2 councilmember.
Why three-term incumbent Conlin, when there are open seats?
“I understand this is the toughest seat I could have chosen,” Ginsberg said during a recent interview at Coffee to a Tea with Sugar in The Junction.
Two tipsters report traffic trouble along Fauntleroy in the Fairmount Park area because of a two-car crash – if you have to drive, take an alternate route. Thanks to Ray for the photo. 7:23 PM UPDATE: The scene is clear and traffic is back to normal.
Bumping this up in case you hadn’t already seen the link from SPDBlotter on the WSB Crime Watch page: This explains a couple notes we received about this time Saturday, regarding police chasing suspects in upper Alki. SPDBlotter reports:
Southwest Precinct officers were at 58th Avenue Southwest and Alki Avenue Southwest when they observed a stolen vehicle occupied by three suspects. When the officers approached (in heavy traffic) to attempt to arrest them, the suspects fled on foot. Following several foot pursuits and yard-to-yard searches, two of the three suspects were located and arrested.
Police say one suspect is an adult male, the other a juvenile male, and both were booked for investigation of auto theft. (We mentioned the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting in earlier CW updates today; we should also mention that police leadership will be at the Alki Community Council meeting Thursday — 7 pm, Alki Community Center — for updates in the aftermath of the May 1st shooting, and more on plans for summer police presence at the beach.)
Ray sent photos and info as “an FYI” about his car getting prowled in the 5900 block of 38th SW (map). He notes it’s a car he hadn’t moved in a while. As we mentioned in today’s earlier Crime Watch report: West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, 7 pm Tuesday, Southwest Precinct, Delridge/Webster (map).
That video shows the start of this morning’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus 5K fundraising walk at Alki – third year for this event, and organizer Laurie Gray told us the hundreds of walkers raised about $40,000. Before the walk began, participants were told that researchers are making progress in the fight against lupus, an auto-immune disorder (explained here), by identifying specific genes linked to it. (Lupus is gender-linked, as well; 90 percent of patients are female.) This is one of more than a dozen Walk with Us to Cure Lupus events around the country (others are listed here); local businesses supported the event too, including WSB sponsor M3 Bodyworks, which had massage stations set up inside Alki Bathhouse:
From left, that’s Jen Barth, Michael Mandell and Liam Buell (he’s one of M3’s newest therapists, who are the inspiration for the “New Therapists Special” currently being promoted in M3’s WSB ad). Seattle Lutheran High School band members were on hand to help pump up the walkers, and Pioneer Coffee provided their signature beverage. Next 5K event on Alki: The first-ever West Seattle 5K to raise money for local schools; organizers are advertising on WSB for the rest of the month to help get the word out — it’s the kickoff event to the May 31 “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event (sequel to last September’s Car-Free Day, though the name has changed this year); you can register for the West Seattle 5K here.
From the Triangle district (4700 block of 36th; map), Mike sent that photo, wondering if anyone has more information about how their car window wound up in that condition. He says it happened between 12:30 am, when he and his wife went to bed, and 2:30 am, when a police officer woke them up; he says they didn’t hear this happen because their windows were closed to shut out noise from “revelers at the VFW” and wonders if it was related. It’s been reported to police, so there’s a case number if you call with info (206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number). By the way, it’s time for us to start reminding you that the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets this Tuesday, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (map), first meeting since high-profile cases including the May 1st Alki shooting and April 30th Junction bank robbery. WSCPC meetings are the biggest monthly opportunity to bring your concerns about crime/safety directly to local police leadership, since they’re always there both to brief the group and to answer attendees’ questions.
Special T-shirts are part of the festivities through 1 pm today as Our Lady of Guadalupe welcomes one and all to an open house at its new Pastoral Center (that’s Father Jack Walmesley at right).
Seattle Archbishop Alex Brunett helped dedicate it two weeks ago (photo here). Inside the new center: 6,800 square feet of accessible meeting rooms, offices and storage. You can tour it today and enjoy refreshments too; OLG notes that this is just the start of its campus master plan – next phase, a Pastoral Life Center/Gym. Here’s a map to OLG’s location at 35th/Myrtle (on the highest hill in Seattle!).
Six weeks after two city councilmembers joined a Delridge delegation on a tour of problem properties – long-vacant houses used by squatters, or otherwise threatening neighborhood health and safety (WSB coverage is here and here) – we have two updates. First, 4117 Delridge (map) – where we got the above video clip during the April 3 tour, with North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s Mike Dady talking about the frustration that site has caused him for years – now has a demolition permit, issued just yesterday. (We saw a work crew at the site earlier today, though no backhoe in sight.) The permit says demolition will resolve a DPD case. Meanwhile, one of the councilmembers who joined in the tour, Sally Clark, mentioned her action plan in her monthly newsletter that’s just been e-mailed out:
… As a result of the neighborhood’s advocacy we will be looking at a change in the land use code to allow quicker demolition of a single family house. Right now you can’t demolish unless you have a plan and permit to rebuild. This concept makes sense in protecting housing stock and should be retained for multi-family areas. In single-family zones the requirement prevents owners who want to do the right thing from removing derelict homes. It’s not a perfect solution. I would rather see these houses reclaimed and lived in, but for some neighbors the wait for the perfect solution has already been too long. Watch for PLUNC to take up this idea this summer. If you’d like more information or have feedback about the idea of allowing demolition of single-family homes without a new building permit in hand, please contact me.
Here’s Councilmember Clark’s contact info; PLUNC is the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee that she chairs — track its meetings and agendas here. Councilmember Tim Burgess was on the tour too and promised at the time to pursue a proposal to make property owners more accountable, though it hasn’t come up yet before the Public Safety (etc.) committee he chairs.
There’s a lot more to being a good landlord/property manager than collecting the rent checks. With that in mind, Seattle Neighborhood Group joined WSB as a sponsor to get the word out about its one-day workshop for landlords/property managers – coming up this Wednesday in West Seattle. Here are the details:
Property manager or landlord? Searching for practical tips on managing your rental property? On May 20, an affordable, effective workshop is scheduled in West Seattle.
Topics include:
· Screen applications legally and effectively
· Create strong, enforceable rental agreements
· Attract and retain reliable tenants
· Prevent unwanted activity
· Motivate residents to report problems to you before they escalate
· Enhance physical spaces to make them safer & more secure for people who use them
· Recognize signs of drug and criminal activity
· Work with police and other resources to address trespass andillegal activity
· Recent changes in landlord/tenant law
· Crisis resolution, notices and evictions
The workshop is scheduled 8-4:30 Wednesday May 20 in West Seattle, at 2300 SW Webster (at Delridge Way SW), in the community room of the Southwest Precinct. At 8 AM, participants begin signing-in and pick up materials and a continental breakfast. At 8:30 AM, the workshop will start. Cost for the day is $25, including manual. Lunch: BYO or in the neighborhood. The workshop will end at 4:30 PM. Participants will receive certificate of completion. To pre-register, go to: www.sngi.org/landlord_register.html (through PayPal). For more information, contact SNG. E-mail lois@sngi.org or call 206-323-9666 / 206-323-3150.
The online brochure for this workshop can be seen here.
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