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Since few people check comments on posts more than a few days old, we wanted to highlight this here – an update this week on the motorcycle rider hurt in a West Seattle crash 10 days ago. “Sarg” wrote:

Visited Derby [Sunday], she was in very good spirits but not very hungry yet. Her foot, ankle and facial orbital surgeries are this week. She is very optimistic and talkative â€¦ that is a very good sign. Keep your prayers coming as our dear gal has a long road of recovery ahead of her. I would like to mention that she is in a room with another gal who incurred a m/c accident. Her name is Zoe and she is in much worse shape than Karen. Say a few words for her too. Thank you

2 playground proposals: Admiral dream; Delridge architect search

June 25, 2008 8:46 am

| 14 COMMENTS

| California Place Park | Delridge | How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

The popularity of new Ercolini Park is a reminder of just what a playground, and park, can mean to a neighborhood. Neighbors in two areas of West Seattle are working now to make similar dreams come true, and we have updates on both: The first one’s a dream for this Admiral park that you might not even recognize as a park:

Just beyond the tree in the foreground, that triangle of land at California/Hill (map), immediately southeast of Admiral Congregational UCC Church, is indeed a park, called California Place (official city page here). Manuela Slye, who also happens to be opening the new Spanish-language preschool Cometa (as mentioned here), spoke to the Admiral Neighborhood Association at its last meeting about her dream of creating a playground there. She is in the very early stages of trying to figure out what that would involve, but already has a touching presentation (as read to the ANA) with children’s art and words about what it would mean to have “a place to play” there.

Second, in North Delridge, the “tot lot” project (previous WSB coverage here) for Cottage Grove Park is now seeking an architect. They are hoping to find a landscape architect that can donate her/his services for this small playground project, but there’s a possibility their grant-seeking could include some money for fees, so they want to hear from anyone interested. Read on for a full description of the work and who to contact:Read More

Crime Watch reader report: Burglary on 35th

June 24, 2008 11:09 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Karen:

I wanted to let you know that there was a burglary in our Blockwatch area today, in the 5000 block of 35th Ave SW, mid-block, on the west side of the street. It occurred sometime between 7:00 AM & 5:30 PM while the owners were gone. The burglars entered through a window & took small electronics & other things that are easy to carry.

Our Blockwatch area covers a two block area just south of Providence/Mt. St. Vincent, between Dawson & Hudson streets. It is called the Hansen View neighborhood, which is part of Fairmount.

Thanks for getting the word out!

Rock royalty and West Seattle book duo @ Easy Street tonight

June 24, 2008 9:36 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle video | WS culture/arts

At center, it’s R.E.M. co-founder Peter Buck, flanked by West Seattle residents David Belisle (L) and Corianton Hale (R), at the launch party for their new book R.E.M.:HELLO tonight at Easy Street in The Junction. (Read more about it in our original report.) Here’s some video looking over their shoulders at the crowd for the signing during the first hour of the party:

Click To Play

Tuesday notes: Berry delay, boat trip, shoe drive, coffee talk

June 24, 2008 5:08 pm

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| Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

BERRY DELAY: This afternoon’s weather is picture-perfect typical June, but we all know what a weird year it’s been otherwise. As a result, the Rotary Club of West Seattle won’t get the first delivery for its berry sale — the strawberries — till next month, so the pickups originally set for this Friday and Saturday are postponed till July 11-12 – when raspberries will be available too. You can order berries through the Rotary Club’s website.

BOAT TRIP: If the forecast holds out, this is going to be spectacular: The Northwest Environmental Education Councill and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition have a two-hour boat trip on the Duwamish this Saturday, 10 am-noon. It’s $20/person and you can sign up online here.

SHOE DRIVE: If you have any “gently used shoes” you’re thinking of getting rid of, save them for next month – Edie’s Shoes in The Junction sends word of a drive to benefit Soles 4 Souls – they’ll offer $10 discounts to customers who bring in “gently used shoes” to donate to the drive during July.

COFFEE TALK: Every Thursday night starting this week, 6-8 pm, special “coffee hours” are planned at Cafe Rozella as part of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative — looking for your thoughts about the availability of activity opportunities and healthy food in Delridge and White Center. Read on for more info:Read More

Proposal to speed up permits – for sidewalk cafes

June 24, 2008 2:49 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Perhaps timing this announcement with perfect sidewalk-cafe weather, the office of West Seattle’s Most Famous Politician (gotta use that term every so often just to keep the search results high) just sent this:Read More

Reader report: 3-car crash in Jefferson Square parking lot

June 24, 2008 1:15 pm

| 32 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Just out of the WSB inbox from “k” (thank you!) – we are en route to check it out:

just returned from safeway at jefferson square. 3 car accident right in front of the starbucks in the lot. close call for them! the cars were on the curb. not sure what happened, but police are there directing traffic and tow trucks are on scene. saw one fender on the ground and a lot of damage.

this lot is truly a mess always. this just made it even worse.

1:25 PM UPDATE: Don’t worry about trouble if you have to go to J-Square – the scene is now clear.

Crime Watch reader report: Where the rubber meets the vandal(s)

June 24, 2008 12:08 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox from Kendall:

I feel somewhat silly reporting this. It seems so trivial compared to the serious crime reported on the blog, but my wife and I both had flat tires this morning. Apparently, we have some “harmless” vandals in the neighborhood-the north Admiral neighborhood. This is the second time it has happened in the last two months. The perpetrators flattened one tire per car and were even so kind as to replace the valve stem caps before scurrying off into the darkness. We do not know if these have been random acts or if we are the targets of someone’s ill will.

The first time it happened, my wife assumed (as anyone would) that it was a flat tire and not merely a deflated tire. She took it to Barnecut’s to have it repaired. Of course, they could find no leak. The young man working that day mentioned that there had been other people in the neighborhood with the same problem and suggested that it was some bored kids. Other than his saying so, we have no idea if this is the case.

The first incident happened several weeks ago and we imagined it an isolated event. This morning we were surprised to find both of our cars with flat tires. We park in the alley behind our house. Although it is just one block off California Avenue, it is a quiet, dead end alley. To the best of our knowledge, our nearby neighbors are not experiencing this problem.

It’s not the end of the world, but it is not fun to come out to your car in the morning and find a flat tire. Luckily, we have an air compressor so the vandals are not creating as much trouble for us as they imagine. I am sure our neighbors don’t appreciate my need to run the compressor at 7:00 AM, but at least we can solve the problem without putting on a spare.

Of course, we are thankful that they are not puncturing the tires, breaking into the cars, or engaging in some more seriously damaging activity, but it is a nuisance.

We don’t really have a clear understanding of whether the architects of this annoyance are targeting us directly or if this is a rash in our neighborhood. We’d like to think that we are random victims. We’re nice people and have done nothing to warrant this kind of special attention.

We are just wondering if anyone else in the neighborhood has experienced the same problem.

Junction coverup: Bus shelter finally back

June 24, 2008 8:52 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Thanks to Chas Redmond for that photo and word that the shelter on the southwest corner of California/Alaska in The Junction is back. When it was removed nine months ago (WSB report here), the county said it was going away so KeyBank could do some work on its building. (That same post had a long list of other shelter changes that were in the works at the time.)

Jail-sites fight: Highland Park strategy session

June 23, 2008 11:59 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Highland Park | West Seattle jail sites | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

With three nights to go till the first of two city-organized public forums on the two potential city-jail sites that are in southeast West Seattle, the Highland Park Action Committee got together again tonight to strategize in advance. Part of their plan is to research and counter some of the documents the city is citing as reasons why a jail wouldn’t be detrimental to this community (or either of the other two with potential sites). In particular, they are poking holes in this study posted on the city’s jail-info website, taking issue in particular with whether that federal study has any relevance to effects a jail might have here:

Click To Play

That’s HPAC’s Kathleen Voss, saying that trying to apply the findings of that study to the situation here is a real case of apples-and-oranges. HPAC chair Dorsol Plants also noted that even where there might be economic activity tied to a jail, the money from jail workers buying lunch in Highland Park, as he put it, would not outweigh the money lost by families that wouldn’t buy homes in HP because of a jail nearby. HPAC continues its activism on a variety of fronts, including an online petition that’s linked from its jail-info page, but the next big focus is Thursday night’s city forum, 6-9 pm at 9125 15th Place S. in South Park (map). HPAC will hold its next monthly meeting July 21 (7 pm, HP Improvement Club), so members will have a chance to confer before the city’s second public forum (July 26, 9 am, South Seattle Community College). But as Plants warned tonight’s 50 or so attendees, “It’s going to be a long fight.” To catch up with all WSB coverage on the jail-sites fight, check out the newest-to-oldest archive page here.

Pulling an all-nighter that could help save your life

June 23, 2008 9:04 pm

| Comments Off on Pulling an all-nighter that could help save your life

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

At center stage in that photo from a few summers ago is Kevin Wooley (with Jim Dever and then-Hi-Yu Court members). You may know Kevin and wife Tammy Wooley, who are Fauntlee Hills residents – among other things, he chairs the Fauntleroy Community Services Agency, currently working to save the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, and she volunteers at local schools. This Friday night into Saturday morning, we know where you can find them, and hundreds of others – at West Seattle Stadium, during the Relay for Life of West Seattle. It’s different from some of the other “walkathon” type fundraisers that happen each summer (like last weekend’s Race for the Cure) – and there are a variety of ways you can be part of it, with or without becoming an official participant. Read on to hear how Kevin and Tammy – a 10-year cancer survivor – describe it:Read More

West Seattle Summer Fest music lineup: See it here!

June 23, 2008 3:31 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

Just in from the West Seattle Junction Association — the program for West Seattle Summer Fest, coming up July 11-12-13 — and it has first word of the music acts you can expect to see. It’s not on the Summer Fest website just yet, so download it here (the music lineup is on page 7, with performer info starting on page 10). The program has other Summer Fest details too; click ahead for a few additional notes of interest:Read More

Charlestown Cafe: Sneak peek inside, pre-grand reopening

June 23, 2008 2:07 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Charlestown Cafe | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Tama and Sacha are two of the Charlestown Cafe team members working hard today to get the beloved restaurant back in shape for its grand reopening, now just days away, as first reported here last Thursday. It’s been a long and bumpy road to get the restaurant reopened after the February fire that at first left cafe co-owners hoping they’d only be closed for “days”; here’s one reason it took so long:

That’s the new hood system required as a condition of reopening. But as our photo shows, it’s in place and ready to go, and the place was abuzz with work when we stopped by earlier today:

Our Charlestown Cafe coverage — not just the fire, but also the development controversy that unfolded in preceding months — is all archived here.

Crime Watch reader report: Watch for would-be-burglars team

June 23, 2008 12:59 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Crime | Safety | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from BG:

Yesterday (6/22) an attempted burglary was successfully thwarted on the 9000 block of 13th Avenue SW [map]. At approximately noon on Sunday, I was in my home office when I noticed three youths engaging in suspicious activity across the street in my neighborâ€™s driveway. With one youth serving as a lookout, the other two removed the screen from our neighborâ€™s kitchen window and attempted to enter the house. The neighbors were away for the weekend.

I immediately called 911 and police arrived in time to apprehend one of the suspects. Two suspects escaped and were not apprehended. I was shocked by the brazen attempt to burglarize our neighborâ€™s home in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon. These three juveniles have been recently observed by others in the area looking into cars and appearing to case houses. I urge you to keep an eye out for them in your neighborhood. Their physical descriptions are as follows:

1. Female, juvenile (14 â€“ 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5â€™ 5â€™â€™, stocky build. Short hair, worn in a bun in the back of the head. Last seen wearing tight blue jeans, and a tight black top.
2. Male, juvenile (14 â€“ 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5â€™ 8â€™â€™, muscular build. Last seen wearing baggy shorts, a dark oversized coat, and an orange knit stocking cap.
3. Male, juvenile (14 â€“ 17 yrs. old), African American, approx 5â€™ 10â€™â€™, muscular build. Last seen wearing baggy shorts, a dark oversized coat, and a red baseball cap.

These three juveniles work as a team. The female has been observed walking in our neighborhood on the more than one occasion, and serves as a lookout for the male juveniles. Vigilance made the difference on our block yesterday and the West Seattle Blog deserves credit for making us all more aware of suspicious activity in our neighborhood.

And in turn we hat-tip to West Seattle’s police force at the Southwest Precinct, which is trailblazing for the whole city by aggressively advocating this kind of watchfulness and repeatedly reminding us all not to hesitate calling 911 for ANY kind of suspicious activity as it happens. If a life’s not at risk, the response time depends on what else is going on, but as we were reminded in a recent chat with precinct leaders, thorough and complete crime reports at the very least help them decide where to best deploy their people when they’re planning schedules and emphasis patrols.

From the permit files: Station confirmation; townhouses

June 23, 2008 12:44 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

STATION CONFIRMATION: Yesterday, we showed you the long-closed Roxbury 76 station getting fueled. Today, the state liquor-license-application site shows “Roxbury Gasoline” at that location applying for a store license to sell beer/wine. So a mini-mart’s on the way too.

FUTURE TOWNHOUSES: The city’s latest Land Use Information Bulletin includes the decision approving a five-lot “subdivision” at 4009 California, currently home to this:

A permit to build five townhouses here was issued earlier this month.

Happening tonight, Thursday: Meetings on West Seattle jail sites

June 23, 2008 11:42 am

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| Neighborhoods | West Seattle jail sites | West Seattle news

TONIGHT: The Highland Park Action Committee meets tonight (7 pm, Highland Park Improvement Club, 11th and Holden) to continue strategizing opposition to the two HP-vicinity sites (map) on the city’s “final four” list of potential jail locations. THURSDAY: The first of two city-organized public meetings focusing on those two sites — this one’s in neighboring South Park (6 pm @ 9125 15th Place S., map here); the second meeting is July 26 at South Seattle Community College. More on all planned city forums here; city info page on jail-site search here; HPAC jail-sites info page here; all WSB coverage on the jail-sites issue is archived here.

West Seattle Gas Price Watch: Pump-jump slowdown

June 23, 2008 5:40 am

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| Gas prices | Transportation | West Seattle news

The highest price in this week’s West Seattle Gas Price Watch — our weekly survey of posted regular and premium prices at all West Seattle stations (checked during late-Sunday-night drives and posted early Monday mornings) — is only two cents over last week’s highest price: It’s $4.45/regular at Lincoln Park 76 (photo left). More than half the other 19 West Seattle stations have the same price for regular, a rare sort of consensus – some are even unchanged from last week — one station is actually cheaper! See the latest prices, on our map and text list, ahead:Read More

Fauntleroy tree update: Notice posted, comments solicited

June 22, 2008 11:03 pm

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| Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks to Jenny for sending new photos including that one showing the notice posted a few days ago on the 45th/Trenton tree we wrote about last month – marked for removal by agreement with the city, after the latest round of city-contracted trimming to try to create clearance around power lines just didn’t work out (near another tree that was botched in a way that led to one crew’s removal from the city contract). This is what’s currently left of the to-be-removed tree itself:

Jenny also sent a view we didn’t have before, this tree “in happier times” – she knows it as “the candelabra tree”:

As the notice says, it’s to be replaced with two “power line-appropriate” trees. The notice also says comments will be accepted by the City Arborist until June 28th (next Saturday) – here’s the phone/e-mail/postal-mail info.

Crime Watch reader report: Time to put up a sign for car prowlers?

June 22, 2008 8:51 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just out of the WSB inbox, from Tiffany D:

Just wanted to put the word out. Someone broke into one of our vehicles (again!!) which was parked in our driveway on 41st Ave. SW (near the high school) They started rummaging, but I think may have been scared off. Nothing appears to have been taken. This same vehicle was stolen (and recovered) about two years ago. Another car of ours has been repeatedly broken into over the years.

Weâ€™re thinking of printing up signs and put in the cars that say “Aren’t you bored of us yet? Nothing new here.”

Anyway – keep the doors locked and aware.

Myrtle Reservoir park: See the latest plans

June 22, 2008 2:42 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

While reporting on the Parks Department‘s latest Myrtle Reservoir park-plan presentation before the city Design Commission last Thursday (WSB coverage here), we mentioned we would check with project manager Virginia Hassinger for electronic copies of what she and architect Jim Nakano showed, so we could share them with you. She has sent them, so we’re sharing. What you see above is the latest “schematic” (click the image to see a PDF of the full-screen version) that won the commission’s approval on Thursday, with a few comments as noted in our report. Here are two other new visuals from the presentation: the play structure, and a cross-section of the park. Seattle Public Utilities continues its work on the reservoir site (which has recently been grass-seeded); actual park construction is scheduled for next year – the city’s project page doesn’t have these new images as of this writing but probably will soon.

Early-morning car crash damages Emma Schmitz Viewpoint

June 22, 2008 11:40 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Photos at Beach Drive Blog — damage includes a bench, greenery, and sign. We were up late and saw a “heavy rescue” call on the 911 log for 4520 Beach, but it closed shortly after the initial 3:40 am call, and scanner traffic didn’t suggest anything major going on, so we didn’t go; it was followed by an aid call for almost the same address 22 minutes later.

Westwood Council releases “vision” for Denny site

June 21, 2008 5:15 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | Westwood

We mentioned here last month that the Westwood Neighborhood Council was looking for drawing help to draft neighbors’ vision of what could be done with the Denny Middle School site when the new Denny is ready on the Chief Sealth High School campus and the old Denny is demolished. The first draft (mentioned at the last WNC meeting; WSB coverage here) is above; click it for a fullsize version so you can read all the descriptions. So far, as reported here, early Seattle Public Schools thoughts on the site have focused on tennis courts and a softball field (