Halloween’s here: West Seattle highlights
(Jack-o-lanterns designed by Ryan & Abby, carved by Lisa & Abby) The big day/night has arrived. Many Halloween happenings are on our WSB Events page; some biggies include:
MORE BUSINESS TRICK-OR-TREATING: The merchants of the Admiral District are offering treats 3-6 pm today; Westwood Village businesses are welcoming trick-or-treaters 5-7 pm.
GROWNUP FUN: Many WS establishments are partying tonight, including Skylark, where the “Come as You Aren’t” Battle of the Bands sounds like a hoot (full lineup here); and northeast West Seattle will be alive with the sights and sounds of Skeleton Theatre, 6-9 pm.
HIGH POINT HAPS: Check out the full list on the Events page – some great stuff going on in West Seattle’s award-winning development, including a canine costume contest at 7:30.
LATER: We’ll be mentioning some legendary West Seattle haunts, including the most unlikely-sounding one we’ve come across so far. Save your faves for comments on that post!
Ercolini Park: They (you) did it!
Just two days ago, we told you about the fundraising deadline today for matching funds to make Ercolini Park (48th/Alaska; photo above from last summer) a true park when construction work begins shortly — and we have word from Bill Barna that, thanks to one last big donation — $2,800 from Wanda Pommer — they made it! Bill and everyone at Friends of Ercolini Park send out a huge thanks to everyone who helped them reach the goal and says the big thing now is to make good on commitments of volunteer time (also vital in the “matching funds” process); as Bill explains, “It is also important to remember that all the volunteer hours that were pledged have actually been assigned a dollar value. If the volunteers don’t make good on their contributions some of the park features may suffer. So, PLEASE, everyone who committed time … make good on your pledge.”
2 things Water Taxi supporters need to know, now
First one is a simple reminder: The Elliott Bay Water Taxi between West Seattle and downtown is in the final days of its extended 2007 season; after the afternoon/evening commute runs on Friday, it’s docked for the year. Second one, not quite so simple, but even more important:Read More
Tomorrow’s not just Halloween …
… it’s also the fundraising deadline for Friends of Ercolini Park, to help them qualify for city matching funds in their work to create a park for the growing residential neighborhoods west of The Junction. (The land has been set aside — but now it’s time to start putting in the features that will transform it into a park.) The group says work should be starting within a few weeks, and they expect to have “a park to play in by spring!” Read more about the project on the city’s page about it, and to help Friends of Ercolini Park get across the $ finish line, use the “donate” link on the group’s website. (Also coming up, this blog post from an Ercolini relative reminds us, is the deadline for the city to accept name suggestions, though as that writer notes, it’s hard to imagine it could end up being named anything else.)
More information on this morning’s West Seattle house fire
The most recent information recorded on the Seattle Fire Department media info line says the fire that gutted this house on 23rd north of Willow this morning was “a set fire.” No elaboration on that, so far. The Fire Department also says no one was hurt and the family living in the home is now staying with relatives. The total cost of damage done by the fire is estimated at $150,000.
Delridge-area house fire
Big Fire Department contingent at 23rd north of Willow (just west of Delridge) because of a house fire. 9:50 AM UPDATE: Most of the fire crews are leaving now, but the house appears to be a total loss. 11:25 AM UPDATE: Brief P-I blurb says 7 people lived in the house and all got out OK.
UPDATE: As of 1pm there was still a fire crew on the scene. Here’s two pictures that were taken just half an hour ago.
They help the environment; can you help them?
That’s a photo from an EarthCorps event with Denny Middle School students at the Thistle Street section of Longfellow Creek, where they put in more than 200 native plants — all amid the weather craziness of 10/19. EarthCorps invites you to go check out the new plantings just north of the P-Patch — and a frequent WSB contributor @ EarthCorps also hopes you’ll consider their request for a different kind of community help — one that doesn’t involve digging or planting:Read More
Another condo conversion christened
In the tradition of Graham Street Apartments=Strata, etc., yet another California Avenue condo conversion has its fancy new name. The lettering above for West Water has just appeared on all the exterior fancying-up that workers have been doing at the former Watermarke Apartments (6960-6970 California, chronicled here in August and in September) for the past several weeks. West Water’s future website promises these will, of course, be “luxury condominiums.” (Found the complex’s pre-conversion sales price, $13 million, on this site, along with sales data on several other WS buildings we are now researching. EARLY MONDAY ADDENDUM: That brokerage site also has a blog, with what appears to be the behind-the-scenes story of this building’s sale.) Before/after pix (not the same exact angle but close enough) — one month ago, then today:
35th blocked off
35th is blocked off from Myrtle to Webster. Police officers are in the street investigating something; there was a medic call at Fire Station 37 (inside the blocked-off zone) earlier, but no details.
Weekly update: What’s hot @ West Seattle Farmers’ Market
If you take kids to the Farmers’ Market, save extra time tomorrow so they can participate in pumpkin decorating. Or you might want to save extra time anyway, since there’s a lot to love on the weekly “Ripe & Ready” list from the folks who run the markets citywide:Read More
Think anyone will take THIS banner down?
We can’t zoom this taken-on-the-fly photo any closer — but this banner spotted on the Fauntleroy overpass about an hour ago says, “Help 7-year-old Dylan Fight Leukemia!” and gives the name Phil Remlinger and a phone number (206, didn’t catch the rest). Can’t find any obvious corroboration online for Dylan or Phil (closest we have found is a Tacoma first-grader named Dylan who’s fighting leukemia) — if anyone knows more about this, e-mail us. It’s the second one we’ve seen pop up on the much-policed overpass in the past few days (the other one was a birthday wish that was up in the morning, gone by evening):
Making the south end of West Seattle safer
We’ve said it dozens of times and want to say it again today: West Seattle Blog works because of you. The photos, the information, the tips, the rumors, the questions, the comments, the announcements, or even simply reading WSB and using the info to become more involved in community events and concerns … thank you to everyone who contributes in every way. That said, we have a big shoutout today to someone who agreed to cover the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety meeting for WSB last night, when we realized neither WSB editor could go. Here’s his report, full of information that might be of value to you even if that’s not your end of WS, including more on the latest West Seattle crime trends:
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By Evan Baumgardner
WSB contributor
This was my first time attending a Community Safety Meeting. I have to say, it was a real eye-opener for me, and I highly recommend checking one of these out if you haven’t yet. …Read More
Upper Fauntleroy sinkhole progress report
The work to fill the Upper Fauntleroy sinkhole/gully (atop the Thistle hillside stairs, at Thistle/Northrop) is going well, according to an update we just got from Seattle Public Utilities senior engineer Jim Lee; photo above is from less than an hour ago. Jim e-mailed WSB with this update for everyone in the area:
The gully has been mostly filled in, except for the north head of the gully. We are planning on filling it in with Control Density Fill (CDF) and then starting sidewalk repairs. This should occur either today (if we are lucky and the crews can get CDF today) or by Monday (more than likely). Until then, the sidewalk and stairs will be closed. The temporary bridge was removed on Thursday so that crews could clean up all of the sidewalk concrete that had fallen into the gully.
New seal updates: Hurt pup rescued, dead seal found
From West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham:
Today at approximately 9:45 a.m., a seal pup was rescued next to the Don Armeni Boat Launch. The seal pup was suffering from an injured fin and was not mobile. Two parks department employees, along with a seal rescue group (did not acquire its name), corralled the pup into a large dog crate and transported the seal to a facility where it will receive medical attention.
At this point there is no information linking this seal pup’s injury to the fisherman [from last weekend’s reports] or his net. This cannot be ruled out though. …
Yesterday morning (Wednesday), while I was running, the parks department was at the Don Armeni Boat Launch waiting to assist the removal of an adult seal carcass from the landing. That is four seal casualties in less than two weeks.
One of those seal deaths was reported only at WSB.
Sinkhole, made whole
From Amanda, who provided the original WSB report on the water-pipe “sinkhole” that slowed things down on Avalon overnight and into the morning, as well as a morning update — here’s her final photo from above, showing the finishing touches:
Amanda says the water finally came back on too, after about 16 hours. (Utilities crews had to turn it off to stop the gusher that created the hole in the first place.)
Quick reminders: Happening tonight
OPEN HOUSE: West Seattle’s only non-public high school, Seattle Lutheran HS, invites interested families to find out more about SLHS, 6:30-8 tonight, more info here.
DENNY/SEALTH, THE NEXT MEETING: Another community meeting tonight at 6:30, Chief Sealth HS library, as part of the planning process for the Denny/Sealth combined-campus project; more info here.
FIGHTING CRIME: The recent concerns at Westcrest Park are among a variety of topics expected to come up at the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety meeting tonight at 6 o’clock, St. James Place (9421 18th SW).
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