West Seattle, Washington
25 Wednesday
The bulk of tonight’s joint meeting of the Delridge and Southwest District Councils was devoted to an intensive briefing on where the Alaskan Way Viaduct projects stand now; we’ll be writing that up in the morning, but there are a couple quick notes to pass along tonight: First, the councils’ members voted unanimously to ask the Parks Department to make an exception to its park-naming policy so that a future West Seattle park can be named in honor of the late West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair — possibly the new park in Morgan Junction, where Mr. St. Clair lived prior to his untimely death six months ago. (Official Parks policy currently says that can’t be done till someone’s been gone three years.) Second, Nancy Driver from Fairmount Community Association provided another update at meeting’s end on the West Seattle Gateway cleanup coming up a week from Saturday: Volunteer power is stacking up nicely (thanks to all the WSB’ers who have signed up); what’s most needed now is $ donation to help pay for some tree work. DNDA is serving as the “fiscal agent” for the cleanup effort (which will beautify the “gateway” area along the Fauntleroy end of The Bridge, Walking on Logs to 35th/Fauntleroy. To find out more about how to donate, e-mail Nancy at ndriver@quidnunc.net.
As the city’s “Car-Free Day” on Alki SW (California Way to 63rd SW, as per the above map) gets closer – noon-6 pm this Sunday – we’re posting daily reminders with the newest information. Tonight, a couple of activity updates; Coastal on Alki is planning a skateboarding “mini-ramp in the street” plus raffles and a “street sale.” Several local organizations and businesses are planning to set up tables with information about walking and biking — we just talked with Chas Redmond at the Delridge/Southwest District Councils’ joint meeting at Youngstown Arts Center, and he’ll be there with more (free!) copies of the West Seattle Walking Trails Map. In addition, as mentioned previously, the Cones for Kids Children’s Hospital guild fundraiser is set for 1-4 pm at Alki Bathhouse, and we got word this week that West Seattle-based BabyLegs is offering a gift bag (with a free pair of BabyLegs) to the first 50 people to take part in Cones for Kids. Meantime, as we reported earlier this week, the city is planning one last infoblitz to make sure no one in the affected area misses word that this is happening – tomorrow, a city phone system is scheduled to make calls to residents and businesses, and the “No Parking” signs (restrictions are in effect 10 am-6 pm Sunday) should be going out tomorrow, since SDOT told us they’ll be up with 72 hours’ notice. More infobits in tomorrow’s update, if not sooner; here’s the official city information page. ADDED 10:38 PM: Bill Reiswig from Sustainable West Seattle passed along some more information — info-tabling will be happening noon-5, bicycle-maintenance demonstrations and repair assistance are planned 5-6. Other groups participating include CoolMom.org, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Feet First; we’re told the Rat City Rollergirls are even expected to put in an appearance — this is all planned in the parking strip in front of the bathhouse.
That’s video of the Denny Middle School Marching Band — directed by Marcus Pimpleton. The band was the opening act this morning for the biggest media event of Seattle Public Schools‘ first day of classes, with a guest list including district Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson, Mayor Nickels, West Seattle school-board rep Steve Sundquist, not to mention a sizable contingent of cameras, as you can see in the video. (We brought you a brief update on this shortly after it happened; now, here are full details.) The most important guests of all, the audience — Denny’s brand-new sixth-grade class, which had the school all to themselves today, since the 7th and 8th graders don’t arrive till tomorrow. With two exceptions: Two 8th graders spoke as part of a presentation about a college-scholarship program — read on to see what they had to say:Read More
If you use lower Spokane Street from 1st eastward (usually accessed by West Seattleites getting off the Spokane Street Viaduct at 1st Avenue So.), listen up: The city has just pushed back the start date for that street closure (and the above detour) till week after next, though a parking change WILL kick in next Monday, according to Elaine Yeung:
To enable the contractor to stage and mobilize equipment, there will be no parking beneath the (Spokane Street) viaduct between 2nd and 4th beginning on Monday, September 8th.
The closure will be for utility work that marks the start of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project, which will double the width of the elevated roadway between 99 and I-5, plus change the ramp configuration, over the next three years. Catch up with WSB coverage in this archive (newest to oldest).
That’s a section of the map distributed at yesterday’s media event announcing the county’s plan to add bus service when major Alaskan Way Viaduct construction kicks in (WSB coverage here and here). The electronic copy of that map (showing specific bus routes that are “candidates for service enhancement” countywide) wasn’t available till just now, so we wanted to share it: Here’s the link to the full map. You may notice something we didn’t catch when we saw the printed-out version: the mention of potential RapidRide “early enhancement.” Might that mean West Seattle RapidRide would start sooner than 2011? Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s staff says we’ll know more when County Executive Ron Sims‘ full proposal gets to the council for review.
Update since this morning’s report: We’re at Alki, where a pickup truck pulled up a short time ago with the Statue of Liberty’s new pedestal. It’ll be placed over the metal supports seen at the right side of the photo, and topped with a bronze lantern, before the statue returns tomorrow (all in advance of Saturday’s plaza dedication).
That’s the Denny Middle School marching band playing at the start of Seattle’s biggest back-to-school event — Mayor Nickels and district Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson speaking to a just-concluded assembly of Denny’s brand-new sixth-grade class (the 7th and 8th graders don’t start till tomorrow). Video highlights and more details a bit later – one key point of the assembly was to educate the new middle-schoolers about the “College-Bound Pledge” that could lead to big help with the cost of college, for families who otherwise would have trouble affording it. Denny Principal Jeff Clark says more students are signed up for the pledge at his school than any other school in the district — about 190.
So everybody knows Alki SW is going car-free noon-6 pm this Sunday, right? (We’ll have another update later today, focusing on some of the official activities that are being planned.) You might not have heard as much, yet, about an event that will close a few blocks of California SW to traffic in The Junction later this month — 
the first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show, 8 am-4 pm, Sunday, September 21st. Yes, even in this day and age of $4 gas, reduced parking requirements in new developments, standing-room-only buses, it’s OK to celebrate cars now and then – and here’s the proof! WSB is among the co-sponsors; we just checked in with one of the organizers, Michael Hoffman from Liberty Bell Printing in The Junction, and he says the show has clearance to close California SW in The Junction to traffic that day in these segments: from Edmunds to Alaska, Alaska to Oregon, and Oregon to the post office. 90 cars are already signed up — he notes “this is way above what car shows usually get. Especially a first-time show” — and there’s room for many more. (Got a “pre-1975 beauty”? Here’s the registration form.) We’re expecting another update after organizers meet for their next strategy session later today.
(updated since original publication – now that all artists are welcome, not just West Seattleites)
Earlier this summer, we brought you coverage of the many ways Fauntleroy Church celebrated its 100th birthday, from bell-ringing to beachfront vespers, and now there’s one more big event on the way. From Judy Pickens:
As a gift to the community to cap its centennial celebration, Fauntleroy Church/United Church of Christ is planning an art show and is calling for artists to participate.
The Fauntleroy Art Show will be the weekend of November 7-8. Participants should be prepared to show works (in any medium) that reflect the centennial theme, “Celebrating the Light.” Artists may display work at no cost; artists wishing to sell will contribute 15% of sales to help cover event expenses.
Details and application forms are available at ArtsWest, at the church office (9140 California Ave. SW; 932-5600), or by e-mailing info@fauntleroyucc.org. Applications must be received by October 1 for consideration.
Other Fauntleroy events include the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s monthly meeting a week from tonight, the premiere of the Fauntleroy documentary “The Fauntleroy Story: 100 Years of Community” on 9/24 (we wrote about the sneak preview in late July), and Fauntleroy Fall Festival 10/19; you can find out more about all of the above at fauntleroy.net.
That photo’s just in from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, who advises avoiding California/Genesee, north edge of The Junction, for a while. He said nobody’s seriously hurt but there’s some rubbernecking slowdown and a lot of debris on the road. In addition to the vehicle in this photo, Christopher says, a small black SUV (not shown) was involved in the crash. No word so far on the cause.
As promised, here are more details on the bus plan that county leaders announced today — yards away from the area where the Alaskan Way Viaduct’s South End work is set to start next spring — the project that will trigger extra service to areas including West Seattle:Read More
We’re now 11 days away from West Seattle’s biggest community cleanup in a long time, after months of planning, and if you’re not already signed up, it’s not too late. If you’re just hearing about this now – the West Seattle Gateway Cleanup on Saturday 9/13 is targeting the “gateway” area at the Fauntleroy end of The Bridge, from Walking on Logs to 35th/Fauntleroy — since the date was set in early June; today, we have another update from organizer Nancy Driver of the Fairmount Community Association, who says the cleanup now will extend to 3:30 pm:
The day of the event all volunteers should meet at the parking lot at the former Huling showroom at 4545 Fauntleroy (the location of the future Gateway Center). BlueStar Management has graciously allowed us to use the lot as our staging area. One section will be reserved for parking, however, we are strongly encouraging participants to arrive by foot, bus, bike or to carpool with other volunteers – remember this is a “green” event. We will have tents set up in another area with tables for checking in volunteers, handing out safety vests, dispensing water, coffee and light snacks. The mayor will be speaking under one of the tents.
Another important piece of information is that we have extended the project by a half hour to accommodate the mayor’s schedule. He is due to arrive at 9:00 and we understand he will speak for about 10 minutes around 9:30. Tom Rasmussen, City Councilmember, will also be on hand and may want to say a few words. We will actually start moving the volunteers in the first crew down to the site just before 9:30 – people in the 9:30 crew still need to arrive at least by 9:10 to get checked in. Volunteers in the second crew should arrive by 11:10 so we can be down at the site by 11:30; third crew should arrive at 1:10 in order to get to the cleanup site by 1:30. Volunteers must check in at the staging area first and get a safety vest. Volunteers who appear down at the site without a safety vest will not be allowed on to the cleanup site.
More updates to come! If you have questions or haven’t signed up yet to help but want to, e-mail Nancy at ndriver@quidnunc.net.
The new stoplight at Lanham/Morgan is still in test (blinking) mode, but there’s an update since we reported on the start of testing last week – when we passed by a short time ago, we noticed the barricades are gone and, for the first time in years, Lanham is open for drivers to get onto/off Morgan in High Point, at the intersection with Commons Park and the new Bridge Park retirement complex. (The photo was taken on Lanham, looking south across Morgan.) By the way, as posted at highpointneighborhood.org, the High Point Neighborhood Association‘s quarterly meeting is set for Commons Park a week from Thursday, 6 pm on September 11th.)
We’re in Sodo, where County Executive Ron Sims and West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine have just finished a media briefing about plans to beef up bus service once the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s major construction work kicks in (starting with the South End project beginning next spring). We’ll have full details a bit later; toplines include: this is being paid for by $32 million in state money to “mitigate the construction impacts” – and the routes listed as “candidates for service enhancement” include West Seattle’s 21, 22, 37, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, and 116. (White Center-area routes are listed in this report on partner site White Center Now.) More to come. ADDED 1:33 PM: Here’s the official news release from the county website. Pursuing electronic copies of the collateral (including a countywide map of potentially affected routes) that was handed out at the media event.
As first posted here a week ago, that’s the map from the doorhangers that went out on Alki last week with another alert about this Sunday’s city-organized Car-Free Day, which will close that stretch of Alki SW to all vehicles but the Route 773 shuttle (and local residents who can’t reach their homes any other way) from noon to 6 pm. As mentioned here over the weekend, while there were speed bumps with Car-Free Day #1 on Capitol Hill two weekends ago, general consensus seems to be that Car-Free Day #2 this past Sunday in the Rainier Valley went more smoothly. SDOT’s Rick Sheridan tells WSB today: “There were no cars ticketed or towed during the (Rainier) event. SDOT’s outreach and use of multiple means of communications helped ensure community members were aware of the event and knowledgeable about the parking restrictions.” For Alki, Sheridan says that in addition to the doorhanger distributed last week (see it here ), SDOT also is “visiting businesses in person … and using an automatic phone-dialing system to call people in the area about the event.” (Both of those methods were deployed for last Sunday’s Rainier Valley Car-Free Day; the Alki calls are to be made this Thursday.) He also says the no-parking signs are now scheduled to be “set up a full 72 hours in advance,” which means you should see them Thursday, instead of the previously mentioned Friday – the parking restrictions will be in effect 10 am-6 pm Sunday along Alki SW in the zone shown on the map above (California Way to 63rd SW). We’ll continue posting daily updates (including information on Sunday activities scheduled along Alki during the event); the city’s official Alki Car-Free Day webpage is viewable here.
It’s been gone a while, but CSR wonders if perhaps someone in WSB-land has seen the birthday-gift bonsai (photo at left) stolen from her home earlier this summer. From her e-mail: “On the weekend of July 5th while my husband and I were away, someone entered our fenced-in backyard in the Admiral neighborhood of 48th Ave SW and Lander and stole a 30-year old Chinese Elm bonsai and planter that I had given to my husband for his 70th birthday. The tree, about 2 1/2 feet high, is beautifully shaped and was the focal point upon entering our yard. When we filed a police report, we were told that it is not unknown for unscrupulous gardeners and landscapers to steal plants (even digging them up) and sell them to their customers. We believe that someone who knows the value of bonsai trees saw ours when the gate was open and waited until the time was right to steal it. Bonsai Northwest told our insurance company that stolen bonsai sometimes show up on Craig’s List. I suspect that too much time has gone by for this post to help us recover our stolen bonsai, but I am attaching a photo to alert our community and on the off chance that someone may have bought it from the thief not realizing that it was stolen.” If you’ve got a tip, the SPD non-emergency number is 625-5011.
The photos and report come from proud dad Edgar Riebe:
West Seattle was the site of a young boy’s dream of starting a restaurant. It was a huge success, the food was well-received, and a good time was had by all the “patrons,” including friends and neighbors! The event was today, Sept. 1 @ 10 am.
The Chef
Eston Riebe
6 years old, Lafayette Elementary first-grader
He has loved cooking since he was very little. He really wanted to start a restaurant so the rest of the family jumped in to help.
He designed the menu, and helped cook all of the food. He even took all of the orders and served the food!The Restaurant
The restaurant was a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank, and served breakfast to about 30 hungry people.
Our guests filled a barrel with donations — according to the West Seattle Food Bank, 40% of those who benefit from the food bank are children under the age of 18.
C & P Coffee on California Avenue donated coffee beans, cups and lids for the “food-raiser.” Thanks, C & P!
Click here to see the menu offered to guests; and here’s one more photo, where you see the young restaurateur waiting on guests:
We’ve had two reports today of markings like the ones at left — placeholders for “sharrows” — appearing along California SW (thanks to Scott C and Patt for the tips) in various spots between Alaska and Morgan Junctions. “Sharrows” are meant to remind drivers and bikers that they share the road. They’re already in place on other major routes including Admiral Way and Beach Drive (put in place about this time last year), and the city’s Bicycle Master Plan has them in the works for California SW all the way from College (in North Admiral) to Thistle, along with other streets (here’s the full map of the various bicycle “facilities,” including sharrows and bike lanes, envisioned for West Seattle).
Just got word that County Executive Ron Sims and West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine 
(who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee) are about to announce “a proposed transit plan to add 4,000 more (daily) Metro bus rides during first phase of construction on the Alaskan Way Viaduct,” potentially starting next year (which is when a tangle of other transportation projects starts kicking in too). This comes days after Sims’ proposal of a two-stage 50-cent Metro fare hike in the next several months. They’re promising details at a media event tomorrow; we’ll be there.
Musicians 11 to 77 are invited to join the multi-age groups of Westside Symphonette as it gets ready to start a new season of rehearsals and performances — no audition required! Toni Reineke says you just have to show up. The first rehearsals are two weeks from tomorrow — Tuesday, September 16th, 5:30-6:30 pm for the junior orchestra, 6:45-8:15 pm for the senior orchestra. New location this year — the temporary (till summer 2010) home of Chief Sealth High School, which is the former Boren JHS at 5905 Delridge (map). Questions? E-mail Toni at tonireineke@comcast.net or call her at 206/243-6955.
Two months after the sign went up, the doors are ready to open for the first of two years Chief Sealth High School will spend at the former Boren Junior High on Delridge – and now there’s word that Sealth is inviting the community to a tour and barbecue next Saturday, 11 am-2 pm. Address: 5950 Delridge; here’s a map.
From the Times: Moses “Moe” Beerman, who helped in the creation of West Seattle’s wonderful murals, has died. His memorial is set for Fauntleroy Church on September 29th — which would have been his 88th birthday. The Times story notes that not only did he work on the murals, he also designed the fabled Hi-Yu float featured in the Junction Post Office mural shown above. ADDED 2:47 PM: From Judy Pickens:
As a tribute to Moe Beerman’s artistic talent and humor, Fauntleroy Church is putting together a collection of his cartoons to display at his memorial service and keep up for awhile afterward. Anyone who has a particularly cherished example of his work (card, poster, or ?) and would be willing to have it scanned and reproduced for the show should call the church office at 932-5600 or email info@fauntleroyucc.org by Sept. 19. One or two sentences about the cartoon (occasion, year) would be great, as well.
From the WSB inbox, CB tells the story:Read More
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