West Seattle, Washington
12 Wednesday
You may have heard that the Interbay Whole Foods project is now back on track, as officially announced today. Our fellow neighborhood-news-site operators at MagnoliaVoice.com covered the announcement and were kind enough to ask WF about its West Seattle status on our behalf. John Clougher, Pacific Northwest regional manager for Whole Foods, replied: “As far as West Seattle, we are on track and deeply committed to that project. It is a solid commitment and we can’t wait to get going. There is no opening date yet but it usually takes 5-7 months after the construction of the shell is complete and delivered to Whole Foods.” (We’ve had messages out to local developers BlueStar for a few days to find out when construction will be gearing up again at the Fauntleroy Place site, and will let you know when we hear from them.) ADDED 2:11 PM: MagnoliaVoice.com‘s full story on today’s Interbay announcement is now up; see it here.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Terry:
I was ticketed for $162.00 for having my dogs off a leash at Hamilton Viewpoint Park (map) this AM. I and many other West Seattle residents have been taking our dogs there for years. We all seem to use the hilly south end of the park as not to disturb anyone. I have never experienced people leaving dog waste there, and often leave with a handful of broken beer bottle glass and trash from the night before. In any case, the animal control explained dogs can’t be off a leash in a public park in Seattle. The only signs in the park ask for dogs to be kept out of the flower beds.
Not word yet if underage drinking parties are still “a go.”
The only official “off-leash area” in West Seattle is at Westcrest Park (map).
(looking toward the SW Thistle stairs to Lincoln Park, west of California SW)
At least up here, and at least it waited till the commute was mostly over. SDOT sent a short blurb to assure you they’re on patrol:
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has trucks standing by at various locations around the city including the West Seattle Bridge and the tops of hills, in case they are needed. Last night crews applied deicer to the high level West Seattle Bridge, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and the Aurora Bridge.
Is it snowing where you are? 9:10 AM UPDATE: Via Facebook (where you can “friend” us as WS Blog), Becky reports that she’s seen one of those city trucks standing by at Westwood Village. While the ground is lightly covered up here at “higher elevations,” the road’s still bare/wet. Forecasters continue to all-but-promise it will turn to rain within a few hours. Here’s the bridge cam (refresh the page for the latest image; you can also see it any time on the WSB Traffic page):
9:45 AM UPDATE: We’re out driving around. Not much at all on the ground/roofs down at sea level, through Morgan Junction and Fairmount Springs. The “snow” itself is more like sleet. 11:33 AM UPDATE: En route back from downtown and it’s rain now … we can definitely declare fleeting snow panic over!
The folks at 8 Limbs Yoga (WSB sponsor) are banding together to help popular teacher Denise Carrico (photo at left), who can’t teach – and therefore, can’t work – for a month because she “fell while hiking and broke both her leg and her arm,” says 8 Limbs’ Anne Phyfe Palmer. To help get Denise through this time of crisis, 8 Limbs is offering two benefit classes this Saturday – here are the details:
Please join yoga teacher Greg Owen on Saturday, January 31st for either of his morning classes:
9:00 am LEVEL II FLOW
10:30 am LEVEL IHere’s how Denise will benefit:
Drop-ins ($16) will go directly to Denise.
If you are an 8 Limbs class card holder, consider paying drop-in for this class, otherwise $5 will be donated by 8 Limbs for each class card holder. 8 Limbs will donate $5 for each member who attends.
Additional donations are encouraged. Please pay cash or write checks directly to Denise Carrico.
Donations of any amount can be made by check at any time at the 8 Limbs front desk.
Thank you!
8 Limbs is in The Junction, right over JaK’s Grill (map), enter from the alley behind the building; find lots more information online at 8limbsyoga.com.
That’s the Highland Park Action Committee‘s new chair Dan Mullins, presiding for the first time at HPAC’s first meeting of the year tonight. (New vice chair Nicole Mazza and treasurer Shawn Mazza couldn’t attend, but you can see them in this photo on the HPAC website; as we reported following the last HPAC meeting, the previous officers decided not to run again — former chair Dorsol Plants is about to kick off his City Council campaign – website in the works here.) Dan’s first report as chair revolved around plans to have a brainstorming session for the community to looking into getting city matching grants for various projects – such as replanting parking strips, doing cleanup in the greenbelt, maybe a kiosk in the Highland Park Improvement Club parking lot to distribute info about HPAC, the HPIC building, and the neighborhood. He also mentioned that Habitat for Humanity is doing a build-a-thon in September and they’re looking for people to sit on a steering committee (more info to come on that). On the hottest HP topic of the past year, Becca Fong says THIS FRIDAY is the deadline for comments on the potential environmental impacts of sites proposed for a new regional misdemeanor jail – including the West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way site. More info on that at the jail-project website. Becca says any citizen concerns about air, water, soil effects will have to be followed up on by the city, so if you have them, send them. (She’s willing to answer questions about the process, highlandparkparadise@gmail.com.)
So says the latest forecast. Famous forecaster Cliff Mass is a little more vague.
GROUNDBREAKING: Work’s been under way for months now on the Chief Sealth High School upgrades that are going in prior to construction of a new Denny Middle School on the CSHS campus – and tonight there’s word of a “groundbreaking celebration” for the next phase of work, set for March 12th. More details later this week, according to the project-management team. The project website has some toplines about what’s been happening this month; see them here.
CLOSURE AMENDMENTS: As reported previously, if any Seattle School Board members plan to make amendments to the “final recommendations” for school closure/changes currently slated for a Thursday vote, they’ve been asked to turn in said amendments by noon tomorrow. We checked with the Seattle Public Schools communications office to ask if any such amendments would be then made available to the media before they’re published on the district website (which is supposed to happen Wednesday). Got the answer this afternoon: No.
Washington State Ferries says it’s making some changes in a month regarding how fares are collected, including: No more checks. Read on for details of the WSF announcement:Read More
It might seem “no duh” to some but since this scammer targeted particularly vulnerable people, the elderly, it’s important to get the word out any way possible: The folks at Merrill Gardens on 35th gave us a flyer about a scam alert they’re distributing to residents, and asked if we would share it with you too – read on:Read More
Thanks to Chas Redmond for sharing the view (from Gatewood) of the Port of Tacoma‘s 4 new cranes, heading southbound on Puget Sound past West Seattle a few hours ago. You can read about the cranes at the port website.
Another sign of business booming on Harbor Ave: Not only is Western Marine building its new HQ in the 2700 block of Harbor, Jacobsen’s Marine is moving next month to the former Aspen site in the 2600 block; they’re currently located in Ballard, and have been there more than half a century. More details on the move at MyBallard.com.
ORIGINAL 11:42 AM REPORT: If you’ve noticed police and yellow tape in the 1900 block of Harbor SW (map), here’s what’s happening: A body was found in the water. We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit and that’s all they can tell us right now – firefighters briefly answered a medic-response call to the area just before 11 am but it was clear they weren’t needed as the person (no description) was “DOA,” Jamieson says, adding that police are “actively investigating.” 12:42 PM UPDATE: To give you an idea of where this is, we added the photo above – it’s the industrial area between Salty’s and Jack Block Park. 1:16 PM UPDATE: Just checked with Officer Renee Witt at SPD, who tells us there was ID on the body indicating it’s that of a 38-year-old Seattle man. Too soon to tell how he died – that information will come from the County Medical Examiner. Officer Witt says the man’s body actually was found half in the water, half out, under a pier in the area, about 100 yards south of Salty’s. The first report came from a cell phone, apparently from someone walking in the area, she says. TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The daily update from the ME’s office confirms this was a case of suicide, cause of death listed as drowning. WSB policy is to not publish names (although in some of our past reports, family/friends have chose to disclose ID in comments) but public records for the name on the ME list suggests he lived in West Seattle.
Thanks to Chris for the tip about that BIG broken window (tarped over in the second photo) at the ex-Huling/Gee sites on the south side of SW Alaska, east of Fauntleroy Way. Police were leaving as we got there, so we’re checking with the precinct about whether this involved a break-in or “just” a break, and will add that info when we get it. (Not only was the crew from Ladder 11 helping clean up and secure the scene, two of them subsequently spotted us in a mortifying bit of car trouble across the street minutes later – got stuck on an unnoticed curb while trying to make a fast getaway — and saved us with a push. Thanks, guys!)
Just out of the inbox: “SDOT plans to close the lefthand, eastbound lane tomorrow (Tuesday January 27) from 12:00 noon to 2 p.m. During this closure a broken water line to a fire hydrant will be inspected.” A couple more bridge notes from Seattle City Light, by the way – they are still working on the street lights and SCL’s Mike Eagan tells WSB the ones on the Spokane Street Viaduct stretch (east of 99) should be done “within a week or two,” while burned-out Alaskan Way Viaduct lights will be fixed “during the next scheduled closure.”
(WSB photo from August 2008)
Five months ago, we brought you first word of a proposal to create ARK Park on land owned by Arbor Heights Community Church. This morning, we have word of the first fundraiser for the project, which organizers told us last summer would be built entirely with church/community contributions. Co-organizer Loretta Kimball tells WSB her son Chad Kimball is headlining on the fundraiser – an evening of Broadway music, 7 pm February 9th at Roosevelt High School, including some of his castmates from “Memphis” (which opens this week at the 5th Avenue Theater). $15/person gets you the benefit concert plus a reception afterward. Here’s the official flyer, on the playground project’s website. Now, to North Admiral:
Meantime, in North Admiral, the first of three design workshops for California Place Park is now a week away. When it was announced recently that the workshops would be held at Alki Community Center, some voiced concern about the distance; now, there’s word from the community group spearheading the project that they’ll coordinate rides to the workshops so no one is stuck without a way to get there:
Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral (FANNA) will be coordinating rides for neighbors to each of the community design workshops for California Place Park. We will match people up who have extra room with those who need a ride. For those who plan to attend the meeting and have an extra seat or for those in need of ride to the workshops, please e-mail info@californiaplacepark.org or call Kellee Jones at 206-684-7052. Requests for rides must be received by end of day Sunday, February 1st.
The three design workshops will allow the community to explore various ideas and design options for California Place. Karen Kiest, Landscape Architects, will lead these meetings. We are looking for ways to increase community use of the park by people of all ages, and create a naturalized and safe area for the neighborhood to enjoy now and for generations to come. As an option, a supervised area for childcare will be provided during each meeting. Please bring your ideas, your neighbors and your community spirit!
Meeting Location and Dates:
Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
Tuesday, 2/3, 7 – 8:30 PM
Saturday, 3/7, 10:30 – 12 Noon
Thursday, 4/16, 7 – 8:30 PM
For more information about the improvements proposed at California Place please visit our website: www.californiaplacepark.org
You’ll see more kids/teens out and about tomorrow, because it’s the second consecutive Monday off for local public-school students — the so-called “day between semesters.”
One more reminder: 8 pm tonight, you’re invited to the first-ever movie screening at West 5 in The Junction — an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin (who lives in West Seattle when not in L.A.): “Gearhead: 4 Days on the Road with Billy F. Gibbons” (of ZZ Top fame). Find out more about the film at its MySpace site.
Taken a short time ago just after hundreds of anti-school-closure marchers left TT Minor, with full police escort (since they’re marching in the street), headed for Garfield. (We have video in the other direction, to add a bit later [5:28 pm, here it is])
There’s a Cooper contingent in the crowd too – we spotted at least one “Save Cooper” sign. ADDED 3:01 PM: The marchers have just arrived at Garfield – here’s the sign-bearing Cooper reps including Jonah Von Spreecken and Brittany Abbott, who has twin sons at the school:
(added 4:33 pm – closer look at the Cooper reps in this video clip – note the fast-n-furious snow)
(added 11:59 pm – Brittany shared this photo of her sons at the pre-march rally)
(back to 3:01 pm update) And on the right side of this next photo, with the pink sign, is West Seattle-based district watchdog Chris Jackins, who has repeatedly asked the school board to cancel all closure plans:
All the while, snow continued to fall – there’s a little bit sticking on the ground here in the Central District. We’re heading back to HQ to add video. The marchers’ chants included, “School closures/No thanks/Bail out schools/Not the banks.” They’ll be rallying inside the Garfield Community Center for the next few hours. Ongoing coverage at CentralDistrictNews.com. ADDED 8:42 PM: Thanks to Scott at CDNews for sharing his video of Cooper parent/employee Shelly Williams‘s emotional speech at the rally that preceded the march:
While covering the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s meeting earlier this month, we heard that installation had just been finished for the bus-shelter art created by community members during the last Fauntleroy Fall Festival (FFF coverage here). Today we received a photo from Jason Sutherland (thank you!), who says, “Anybody who participated should take a walk to see if their work is nearby. We lucked out in that a few of the ones we painted were at the shelter closest to our house.” (If you don’t recognize it on sight, that’s the shelter across the street from the ferry terminal.)
Sunday morning means time for the Ripe ‘n’ Ready “fresh sheet” as the West Seattle Farmers’ Market continues on year-round – this week’s list of what’s new (and not-so-new) includes “the return of fresh mushrooms.” Find the West Seattle Farmers’ Market at 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm.
In the middle of a rare sunny winter afternoon, a dozen people came to Delridge Library today for one last pre-closure-vote round of Q/A with West Seattle’s school board member Steve Sundquist. And while the phrase in the headline – “This is tough” — came from him, it could have come from anyone in the room, or from any of the thousands of people at the schools around the city that have been mentioned at one point or another in the closure proceedings that started last fall. The timetable has been tough too – with the “preliminary recommendations” announced just before Thanksgiving, hearings and meetings peppered throughout the holiday season, then the “final recommendations” coming out right after school resumed post-winter break. Now, the vote is less than a week away, and no more formal hearings or meetings remain before that vote, so gatherings like this one are the last opportunities for a glimpse into which way board members might go:Read More
A post in the WSB Forums asked what TV-news trucks were doing outside Salty’s tonight; as listed on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup and Events calendar, friends and family of Amanda Knox – the former Arbor Heights resident now on trial in Italy in a much-discussed murder case – were holding another fundraiser for her defense costs. The report above, from our ex-employer at Channel 13, is the first one we’ve found online. (Another fundraiser was held in November at Holy Rosary.) ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: KING’s clip isn’t embeddable but here’s a direct link.
(video added 11:09 pm)
Flakes are falling. The forecast called for flurries, as mentioned earlier, so it’s not SUPPOSED to amount to much … 11:13 PM UPDATE: Uh-oh, famous forecaster Cliff Mass has published an update on his website suggesting it MIGHT be a bit more. 1:10 AM UPDATE: Seems a little more serious than flurries out there. Car tops are white. Hmm.
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