West Seattle, Washington
12 Wednesday
The coronation just ended at West Seattle High School’s theater – big crowd – lively production – and the new Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu is Georgia Mitchell (center). Princesses are Veronica Pupava (left) and Kelly Nealson.
ADDED 11:50 PM: Video as the Queen announcement was made at the end of the 2 1/2-hour event – the voices off-camera are first, previous Queen Margo Femiano, and then emcee Elisa Jaffe from KOMO TV – as you’ll hear/see, the new queen had quite the cheering section:
Other candidates competing tonight were Kelsey Bills and Julia Hodges. Yet more to be added, including touching tributes to JB Webster, the Hi-Yu volunteer, Seafair Commodore and West Seattle real-estate agent whose sudden death shocked the community earlier this year. ADDED 3:51 AM: Read on for the rest of the story, including more video clips:Read More
Today’s the deadline that the homeless encampment calling itself “Nickelsville” — on the eastern edge of West Seattle — had been given to vacate. They had said they didn’t plan to do so without a permanent site to which they could move. Now the state has just issued a news release suggesting they’ll be evicted if they don’t leave:
The Washington State Department of Transportation today posted
a 72-hour notice to residents of a south Seattle homeless encampment
that they need to vacate a nearly 4-acre state-owned property at 2nd
Avenue Northwest and West Marginal Way in Seattle.The encampment moved onto the WSDOT-owned property June 6. For the past
six weeks, the state has worked closely with King County, the City of
Seattle and both the Church Council of Greater Seattle and the Lutheran
Public Policy office of Washington State to develop a long-term solution
for the members of the encampment.Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary, negotiated a
two-week extension with the Church Council of Greater Seattle for the
camp to leave the site by July 20, which organizers failed to abide by.The City of Seattle notified
WSDOT Monday, July
20, that the state, by allowing the encampment to continue at the site,
is in violation of city health and safety codes. As a result of the
violation, the encampment can no longer stay on WSDOT property.“The state negotiated an ample timeframe for a more permanent solution
for the residents of the encampment, and we even extended the deadline
to give church council leaders more time,” said Paula Hammond. “While we
are sensitive to the issues relative to homelessness in our state, WSDOT
is not equipped to manage homeless encampments. We are governed by state
law on the use of our property, as well as city zoning requirements.”While an agreement on a more permanent encampment is being negotiated, a
local church has offered its property as a temporary place to stay while
a long-term solution is developed.During the last six weeks, staff at DSHS has coordinated outreach
efforts, and has visited the encampment on several occasions to assist
food banks, and offer help with employment placement and health care.The site has been posted for a 72-hour notice to vacate
. Social services are on site to help members move. Washington
State Patrol will become involved after Thursday evening if people
insist on remaining on the site.
ADDED 10 PM: Here’s the Nickelsville spokesperson’s version of the latest development:
Per the State of Washington, Nickelsville has 3 days (72 hours) until they must vacate their current location.
Governor Gregoire’s Senior Adviser, Ron Judd, visited the Nickelsville encampment at approximately 7 pm tonight. At that time he provided written and posted notice from State Secretary of Transportation, Paula Hammond, which permits Nickelsville 72 hours until they must vacate the site.
2 hours prior, at approximately 5pm, the City of Seattle visited the site and posted a notice directed to The State of Washington. That notice said the site must be cleared by 5pm on Tuesday 7/21, but appears to be nullified per the recent visit by Judd.
Public calls and emails continue into Gregoire’s office asking for an extension while Nickelsville and its supporters actively search for a permanent site. Nickelsville’s residents express gratitude for the 3 days notice, but are committed to staying at the current location unless an adequate permanent site becomes available. They call on friends, supporters and the public to stand-by-them at this time.
After breaking the news about a prospective Whole Foods site buyer not pursuing the purchase, and then a restaurant closure, while looking into a couple of other reportedly stalled developments, it seemed like time to break things up by checking with a developer whose project IS proceeding and in fact is almost done: Leon Capelouto, longtime Junction entrepreneur who is building Capco Plaza/Altamira Apartments along SW Alaska between 41st and 42nd. We talked with him in his nearby office this afternoon.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A stone’s throw from the stalled project site dubbed “Hole Foods,” there’s a Junction development with a very different story to tell: Capco Plaza, the new home of QFC and Office Depot in The Junction, sharing its building with Altamira Luxury Apartments, is within a few months of opening for business.
In his office over nearby Matador, Leon Capelouto says he’s “very busy” with “hundreds of items” that need to be addressed before the building is done. He admits he’s very “hands on” – that’s part of his answer when we asked how he managed to keep this project on track when so many others of that scale have run into trouble. (Of course, financing is important too, he allows.)
The space where QFC will open a new store on the east side of his building has already been “turned over to the tenant,” Capelouto says – meaning the Kroger-owned store chain is now putting in its finishing touches. When we talked with a QFC spokesperson for our last update one month ago today, the company expected to open the store in “early fall,” ahead of schedule. Capelouto expects that is still the likelihood (we have a call out to QFC to doublecheck) – he showed us an e-mail exchange involving their scheduling of two Seattle Seahawks organization favorites, the Sea Gals and Blue Thunder drum line, for an event on October 10th that might be an official opening celebration after an earlier soft opening.
So what else is confirmed for the rest of the building?Read More
With ballots going in the mail in less than two weeks, it’s time to start thinking hard about who you’re going to vote for in the primary election. Four Seattle City Council seats are on the ballot and we’re reminding you that candidates from all four are expected at the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce-sponsored candidates’ forum tomorrow, 5:30-7 pm at ArtsWest in The Junction, moderated by C.R. Douglas. We’re continuing our series of close-up reports too (find them in the WSB Politics archive and look for the next one late tonight), but there’s no substitute for seeing and hearing them in person to help clarify your decision. If you can come early, you’re welcome to mingle 5-5:30 pm and talk to candidates one-on-one.
Catherine‘s a little worried about the people who showed up on her doorstep in Highland Park today and wonders if anyone has words of reassurance – or warning:Read More
(photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Following up on our report last night that Ama Ama is closing after this Saturday, Seattle Times food writer Nancy Leson has just published a story with quotes from proprietors at two other Junction restaurants — Spring Hill and Fresh Bistro. Both tell Nancy they’re doing OK. As for what’s next in the Ama Ama spot, we spoke with building owner Leon Capelouto earlier this afternoon; he says his understanding is that they’re trying to sell the business, and he says their lease has not expired, though he would not comment on how much longer it runs. We still have a request out to Ama Ama’s owners for comment. They are closed on Mondays but posted earlier today on their Facebook page: “Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for your kind words, e-mails and phone calls!…we want our last week to be a party, so come on in so we can say goodbye in person …”
(“teaser trailer” for “Star Trek: Phoenix”)
One caller told us they thought it was something related to “Star Wars” … then today it morphed into “Star Trek” … thanks to DL Byron from Bike Hugger for sharing a note that circulated to area residents: The “movie crew” in Schmitz Park over the weekend was working on “Star Trek: Phoenix,” an online-only, all-volunteer production described on its website (stphoenix.com) as “boldly stepping into the final frontier of ‘Star Trek’ Internet fan films.” Its “pilot” is being shot in HD and will be distributed free online when it’s done; the website also says this is the largest film production under way in the Northwest right now, with an all-volunteer cast and crew of more than 125 people.
(photos by Tony Bradley, added 3:10 pm)
Thanks to Tony Bradley for calling with an update – the “4 Red” etc. callout on the 911 log right now to SW Holly/12th SW (map) is a brush fire north of Riverview Playfield, and it’s tough work for firefighters because conditions are so dry (and if the forecast holds true, not getting any better). 3:01 PM UPDATE: Just talked with Dana Vander Houwen at SFD – she says the fire, which is out now, covered a 200′ x 200′ area and the extra crews were called in for some hard-to-reach spots. Investigators are still trying to find out how it started. Tony has sent us photos and more info as well.
Tony’s additional info to come. ADDED 3:55 PM: Here’s that info and two more photos – read on (also, a 5:08 pm update from SFD):Read More
The White Center Food Bank, which also serves West Seattle south of SW Myrtle, just launched a “blog” section on its website. To kick it off in style, they’re looking for name suggestions – send one in and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a $25 Farmers’ Market gift certificate. Read all about it here.
Today we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, Wallflower Custom Framing, located on the ground floor of the brand-new Mural building in The Junction. 
Here’s what they’d like you to know: Wallflower offers professional custom picture framing and creative design expertise, as well as providing a gallery setting for original art and photography, showcasing local artists. Courtney, Wallflower’s owner (left), brings nearly ten years of picture framing and management experience, and employs local artist Kelly Rae Cunningham to curate the art shows for the gallery space, known as the Shooting Gallery. At Wallflower, customers can learn about the benefits of preservation picture framing and can be comfortably involved in the design process. It can be accomplished outside of normal business hours by appointment, too! Show your annual membership with an organization that directly supports the arts or local artists at the time of purchase and get 10% off your custom framing project. The frame choices are broad in style and affordability. For those more adventurous types, Wallflower carries hand-crafted mouldings that are created especially for your piece down to the finish, from lines such as C&J, A-Street Frames, Mercier, and ecoCareT from Nurre Caxton, made from wood harvested from managed forests and finished with organic, water-based stains. Wallflower offers custom framing with a kick! Find them online at wallflowercustomframing.com, in person at 4735 42nd SW, by phone at 206.938.6332. Thanks to Wallflower Custom Framing for sponsoring 24/7 West Seattle news, information and discussion; the full sponsor team is listed here along with info on how to join!
(photo added 12:33 pm – Denny-Sealth construction view from the north side, along SW Kenyon)
Two reminders: The 16th SW road-rebuilding work north of South Seattle Community College is scheduled to get into full swing next week, but SDOT has warned that preparation work this week (such as equipment arrival) may result in delays. Also, the Chief Sealth High School-Denny Middle School project has moved into a new stage; work is under way on the foundation, utilities and retaining walls for the new Denny, and crews are starting installations of electrical/mechanical upgrades at Chief Sealth, as well as asphalt removal at the site’s north driveway. Work at the high school is scheduled to be done in time for classes to resume there in fall of 2010; the new Denny is to be completed in 2011.
(West Seattle Grand Parade 2009 Hi-Yu Float photo by Christopher Boffoli)
WEST SEATTLE HI-YU SENIOR COURT CORONATION: Who will ride on the Hi-Yu float in next year’s parades (among other commitments and privileges)? Tonight, the new West Seattle Hi-Yu Senior Court is chosen in an event with entertainment, excitement and suspense — 7 pm, West Seattle High School Theater. Tickets are available at the door ($10 adults/$5 students and all children 12/under). KOMO TV’s Elisa Jaffe emcees. (Here’s our coverage of last Friday’s Junior Court Coronation.)
SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE: 7 pm at Camp Long; main presentation tonight, the group’s website says, will be: “Robert Burns of Envision Homes … giving an informative nuts and bolts presentation about budget conscious and low-maintenance rainwater catchment and green roofs.”
SOUTH PARK MEETING: Seattle Police plan to meet with South Park community members at 7 tonight to talk about the Sunday morning attack that killed one woman and seriously wounded another. South Park Community Center (map).
LOW TIDE: Good tidewalking conditions the next four days – with a minus 3.0 at 10 am today – then a little lower tomorrow and Wednesday – here’s the chart.
Jennifer e-mailed to report what she saw and to ask if anyone else noticed:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 11:37 pm)
Thanks to everybody who’s just sent us word of Ama Ama Oyster Bar and Grill‘s closure announcement. Last day: July 25th. It’s posted on the Ama Ama Facebook page, and this is what was sent to the Ama Ama mailing list:
Well, we are very sad to announce that Ama Ama will be closing its doors for good on Saturday, July 25th. Economic conditions, being what they are, have reluctantly forced our hand.
Thank you to all of our customers, from West Seattle and beyond, we truly enjoyed serving you and hope you enjoyed your time spent at Ama Ama. To all of our employees, both current and former, we thank you very much for your hard work and dedication. We are lucky to have had the chance to know and work with you all. Special thanks to our Chef, Jared Wentworth, whose menus are both creative and fantastically well executed. We are very proud he has been a part of our restaurant – we are now several pounds heavier because of him – but we will try not to hold that against him!
We hope you will come by in the coming week, have some oysters, a few drinks, say goodbye to the staff and fill up on Jared’s incredible food one last time. Thanks again, for your support and encouragement. We will miss coming to work at Ama Ama and miss seeing our West Seattle neighbors!
Rob Coburn
Paige Crandall
Co-Owners Ama Ama
Ama Ama opened in October 2007. Before that, Ovio Bistro had been there (following its move from the location further north on California where Beato closed last year); previous incarnations included Guppy’s and a national-chain pizza parlor.
Much of the main south stretch of California SW, from south of Morgan Junction up toward the Gatewood/Fauntleroy border at SW Thistle (map), not only has received bicycle-awareness “sharrows” in the past week-plus, but now also of this weekend has a bicycle lane, mostly in the southbound/uphill direction. (The bike lane ends at SW Ida [map], which is also where the Route 22 bus turns.) Striping crews have been working night and weekend hours in the past several days — they first moved the center line a few feet east, where it’s now marked by reflective yellow “turtles” (so many of which had come off during last winter’s snow/ice/sanding), and then the bike lane appeared. The West Seattle section of the citywide Bicycle Master Plan (see it here) does not call for a bike lane in this area – bike lanes are marked by broken dark-blue lines, sharrows by light turquoise, and this stretch is marked only with the latter (here’s a screen grab; link to the full plan is here):
We’ll be checking with SDOT tomorrow about the appearance of the bike lane and if bike lanes are on the drawing board anywhere else in West Seattle that’s not included in the Master Plan. (In the plan, the stretch of Fauntleroy that’s getting a bike lane as part of the “rechannelization” following the current road-rebuilding/repaving work is coded in the plan as “more study needed.”)
WSB’er “Datamuse” sends along this solicitor sighting:Read More
That’s WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland announcing the results of today’s “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive (with WSB among this year’s co-sponsors) just moments ago at West Seattle Farmers’ Market – she’d spent the first half of the four-hour event at the newly added Burien Chevrolet location (which brought in more than 10,000 of those nearly 30,000 diapers). You can still donate to WestSide Baby any time – diapers and/or money – see westsidebaby.org for info. ADDED 3:33 PM: The total beats last year, which had about 25,000 by 2 pm (WSB 2008 coverage here). And here’s a photo we took inside the West Seattle bus right as today’s drive ended at 2 pm:
The work’s not over for WestSide Baby volunteers – now they get to sort through all those diapers! ADDED 10:12 PM: KC passes along one more tidbit regarding ongoing donations to WestSide Baby:
Did you know that you can drop off partial packs of diapers/training pants to WestSide Baby? It’s true! So go through your closets, the old diaper bag, the car, and get the spares that your kids no longer need. Check at grandma’s house and even in your purse/backpack, too– you can find old spares all over! WestSide Baby will happily take the leftover diapers/training pants.
Look for the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) VW Bug and the brightly lettered sign outside the West Seattle Eagles parking lot near the Junction post office – the car wash to raise money for Pencil Me In For Kids is happening till 2 pm:
PMIFK gets school supplies for kids whose families have trouble affording them – and even though it’s the heat of mid-July, back-to-school time in September is practically right around the corner. By 12:30 pm, they’d already washed 15 cars! (1:27 pm note – they’re also updating via Twitter, with pix – 21 cars as of about 1:10 pm!) Also this afternoon: Furry Faces Foundation‘s end-of-summer plant sale to raise money for animal rescue – 3809 46th SW (map) – see this WSB Forums item for full details – it’s continuing till 5 pm, blowout prices.
Just revisited the “Stuff the Bus” HQ at West Seattle Farmers’ Market. That’s WestSide Baby board member Sandra with young volunteer Sabrina, in the bus around 11:30 am. LOTS of room for more diapers. They’re also collecting, as mentioned earlier, at local grocery stores – Jefferson Square, Roxbury, Admiral Safeways and West Seattle Thriftway, and those will all count into the total – one of those store locations had brought over 800 diapers just before we got to The Bus. There’s also a bake sale at The Bus (gorgeous little cupcakes):
And if you donate, you get to honk the bus’s horn – which appeals to the young helpers in particular. This continues till 2 pm. (Just heard from WestSide Baby’s executive director Nancy Woodland, who’s in Burien for the first-ever Stuff the Bus site there, at Burien Chevrolet, where she says almost 5,000 diapers had arrived by 11:45.)
(photo added 12:30 pm)
The West Seattle Garden Tour continues till 5 pm, lots of time to make it to all eight gardens, ticket info here. Also if you’re looking for lunch, received this from Patty at Blue Willow Catering in The Junction:
Blue Willow Luncheonette is open for business today in honored of the West Seattle Garden Tour. We are on the map as a rest stop, we are also serving our full lunch menu and some breakfast type specials from 11-2:30.
They’re on SW Oregon across from the entrance to the parking lot behind Chase/the liquor store/etc. 12:29 PM UPDATE: Making the rounds of some of the gardens – at the Hailey Family Garden in Admiral, you’ll find beverage sales on behalf of WestSide Baby and today’s “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive:
Also a reminder that the West Seattle Garden Tour proceeds themselves benefit nonprofits, such as the Junction Plaza Park construction fundraising:
The Haileys’ garden is also where you can see the stone bench that’s one of today’s raffle prizes for WSGT attendees (in the background is Shon Robinson, the designer who’s part of this garden’s team):
We’re off to a couple other locations and will add more photos later. The West Seattle Garden Tour continues till 5 pm. ADDED 1:21 PM: More than one of the featured gardens is in Gatewood’s gorgeous Orchard Street Ravine area – we dropped by the one that belongs to West Seattle Internet proprietor Bill Hibler:
This is the “Chez Hugh …” garden featured on the WSGT website – beautiful art glass, too:
Not too late for tickets – West Seattle Nursery and Metropolitan Market are the places to go.
3:47 PM UPDATE: Police have added a little more information about the case via their SPDBlotter site – both victims were asleep at the time of the attack; the one who was killed was 37, the one who escaped is 40.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 10:41 AM: We covered this incident overnight on Twitter, where we often post about out-of-West Seattle news because nobody else is up covering news at that hour: Someone broke into a home in South Park and stabbed two women, killing one. (Here’s a map to where it happened.) Now the Southwest Precinct (which handles South Park as well as West Seattle) is asking that information about the attack be posted far and wide – so we’re publishing the “informational bulletin” just forwarded by Sgt. Jeff Durden:
At about 0300 hours, an unknown suspect entered a residence in the 700 block of S. Rose Street. The two occupants were attacked, and one has since died from injuries sustained in the attack. The second victim is undergoing medical treatment at an area hospital for her injuries.
The suspect is described as:
• black male,
• late 20’s to early 30’s in age
• He is approximately 5’-9” to 6’-0” tall,
• with a thin muscular build.
• The suspect has a thin moustache,
• “nappy” hair.The suspect is still at large. The Seattle Police Homicide Unit is investigating this incident, and asks that citizens call the homicide unit at (206) 684-5550 with any information, or King County Crime Stoppers at (206) 343-2020 or send a text to “crimes” (274637).
Citizens are asked to call 911 to report any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods, and to contact the Seattle Police Department Crime Prevention Unit at (206) 684-7724 for additional information on personal safety. During warm weather, citizens are reminded of the necessity to secure all doors and windows in their homes.
The public is invited to a community meeting at the South Park Community Center, 8319 8th Avenue South, on Monday, July 20, at 7:00 pm.
Interim Chief John Diaz
That’s Luke and he was the very first person to donate diapers to the annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive that officially began moments ago at the big bus parked alongside the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. WestSide Baby is hoping to collect tens of thousands of diapers today to help families all around the area. We’ll be publishing updates along the way. “Stuff the Bus” continues till 2 pm. Here’s the “before” shot from just before Luke’s donation:
10:21 AM UPDATE: Just got a note from WestSide Baby’s Nancy Woodland – they’re also doing this in Burien today and got 2,500 diapers in the first 15 minutes. If you have friends/relatives in Burien, tell them to get down to Burien Chevrolet and bring diapers! Here’s full “Stuff the Bus” info for both locations.
10:46 AM UPDATE: We’re reminded that other locations in West Seattle also are collecting donations as part of “Stuff the Bus.” You can take diapers to C and P Coffee and get a free coffee drink in exchange. And we’ve heard diapers are being collected outside at least one Safeway (working to verify which one).
10:57 AM UPDATE: It’s Jefferson Square Safeway. And another reminder from a Facebook friend (find us on FB at facebook.com/westseattleblog) – You can donate money to WestSide Baby online at any time so they can buy diapers and other items. One donation that’ll be made today is $128 raised at the raffle during last night’s well-attended Outdoor Movies on the Wall, according to Lora from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) – any time you go to Movies on the Wall this summer, please bring a few $ (though the movies are free) because there’s always a great raffle, with proceeds benefiting local nonprofits. More on “Stuff the Bus” shortly – we’re on our way back to the Farmers’ Market to see how Hour 1 has gone. (Updates on Twitter too – twitter.com/westseattleblog)
11:03 AM UPDATE: Clarification on the sizes most needed – 4, 5, 6 and 4T, as per the Stuff the Bus ad we’ve been running as a co-sponsor of today’s drive.
We’ve already mentioned it’s the day to “Stuff the Bus” for WestSide Baby – 10 am-2 pm at the Farmers’ Market (we’ll be there for “live” updates). Also – the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival is in day two:
Thanks to Dina Johnson for sharing photos from today’s Day 1 – that’s Shamandura with her 8-year-old granddaughter Princess Tori – here’s West Seattle dancer Mirabai:
The festival continues at Hiawatha from 10 am to 9 pm today. (ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT – Two Hiawatha scenes from Sunday – also both courtesy of Dina Johnson – first one is Lisa Yasmine, West Seattle bellydancer, and Katia Sahar completing their duet … second one, knights in semi-shining armor)
GARDEN TOUR: Today’s also the day for the West Seattle Garden Tour – 9 am to 5 pm, self-guided tour of eight residential gardens, with admission price including Ciscoe Morris‘ noon lecture at The Kenney. Ticket info here.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Looking for a deal while you’re there dropping off diapers for “Stuff the Bus,” or vice versa? Here’s today’s fresh sheet.
| 6 COMMENTS