West Seattle, Washington
29 Monday
Earlier today, we reported that West Seattle-based Southwest Youth and Family Services (headquartered just southeast of the Delridge Community Center) is tabbed for a big role in the new youth-violence-prevention initiative announced by the mayor. SWYFS director Steve Daschle was among the West Seattleites at today’s announcement (others included Southwest Community Center coordinator “Junior” Kitiona); we talked with him this afternoon in search of details about what this new role means to his agency:Read More
That’s the scene from the first half of last night’s transportation forum presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce — the first hour was open-house format, so attendees could get information on virtually every major transportation project that’s about to affect West Seattleites; the second was Q/A moderated by CR Douglas. WSB contributor Evan Baumgardner covered the Q/A session — we thought that you might like to know exactly what was asked, and exactly how it was answered — Evan’s transcription follows:Read More
Another update on the first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show coming up September 21st (one week from Sunday!), co-sponsored by WSB — Michael Hoffman of Liberty Bell Printing says more than 140 cars are now registered, and they’re expecting about 300 (preregistration is closed so you’ll need to show up on show day, first-come first-served – call June @ 206/334-6606 with questions); as previously mentioned, California SW will be closed in The Junction for the car show, Edmunds to Alaska, Alaska to Oregon, Oregon to the post office. What you see at left is the cool design for T-shirts that will be sold (first-ever show! collector’s item?) – price starts at $10 (XL and up will be a bit more; sizes run to 6XL). The day’s highlights also will include a pancake breakfast at the West Seattle Eagles, starting at 7 am; Puerto Vallarta will open at 7 am with a special breakfast menu; the West Seattle Farmers’ Market‘s annual Zucchini 500 races (kids get to make zucchini vehicles!) will be happening 10 am-1 pm. Now, about those cars – all are pre-1975, no 4x4s, says Michael – and at least one dates back to 1920! There also will be a raffle and 50/50 drawing to raise money for the Maple Valley Street Rats Scholarship Fund – available to students studying to work in the automotive field – the MVSR is organizing the show along with the West Seattle Junction Association.
No massive topic on tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting agenda, but some things you should know about: The time’s set for the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, 2-6 pm October 19 at Fauntleroy Church, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) – “better than ever,” promises FCA; some volunteer help is still needed – the FF page explains who to contact. Next week, the church will host a state meeting about the Alaskan Way Viaduct (updated from our original post – FCA’s Phil Sweetland says after further discussions, the meeting WILL be at the church, 5:30-7:30 pm). The following week, Fauntleroy Church WILL be the venue for a screening of the “final cut” of “The Fauntleroy Story: 100 Years of Community,” the 35-minute documentary produced in part with city $ (we attended a preview earlier this summer), 7 pm 9/24 (DVDs will be available for a suggested donation of $10). We recently mentioned the Fauntleroy Art Show is in the works for early November at the church – Judy Pickens sent word a few days ago that artists from outside West Seattle are now welcome as well as WS artists (read more here about what they’re looking for; Oct. 1 is the deadline to apply). Also in the works: Calling the salmon home at the Fauntleroy fish ladder, set for 5-6 pm Sunday 10/26, BOYD (bring your own drum). And right before then, scheduling will begin for volunteer shifts between 10/27 and 11/27 to document coho coming into the creek to spawn — more info available on the FCA website.
As Bil Hood puts it, “The building may not look finished, but school began tonight for Hope Lutheran School. Parents and students met with teachers tonight for a back-to-school BBQ.” Bil sent the photo above, plus this one from tonight’s event:
He adds: “Most classrooms are finished and ready to go. A few classes will be in alternate accomodations until next month. Regular classes begin tomorrow.” Project progress is being chronicled on the Hope Lutheran website: HopeSeattle.org. (We reported on the groundbreaking for the church/school project that’s under way – along with 2 others nearby – see that report here.)
We’re at the Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting, where a school-district rep has just announced that the Design Team process to figure out what’ll happen to the current Denny Middle School site will start with two meetings at Denny to “listen to stakeholders,” with the first one tentatively scheduled for 9/22, more or less “the same meeting held twice” at different times of day for school staff/student and community-member convenience. (The second date will likely be in early October but may change – WNC is working to set up its own community meeting around that time.) You still have time to sign up to be on the Design Team; here’s the form on the district’s website. The district also confirms that Denny is scheduled to move midyear 2010-2011 – during winter break – from its current location, to the new building to be built on the Sealth campus. More from this meeting, as well as tonight’s transportation forum and the Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, coming up later.
Just announced by the Parks Department — an event next Wednesday afternoon, with former West Seattleite and current Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy dedicating a “refurbished community basketball court” at Delridge Community Center. Here’s the full announcement:Read More
Five days after demolition began at 6053 California, the building’s distinctive facade (along Graham as well as California) finally came down today (the top “before” photo is from last year). We once wrote we’d be sad to see it go, but as we acknowledged last week, neighbors tell WSB they’re glad, because the teardown will take away what had become a hotbed of trouble.
Raccoons have sparked more than a few conversations here on WSB – including the comments on the original post last month with that photo Jenny Simonds took in her neighborhood near Lincoln Park — and here’s word of an alert that the Fauntleroy Community Association is issuing: FCA is getting reports of “raccoon latrines” in Fauntleroy — communal spots the critters single out for elimination. They’re a concern not just for the obvious reasons but because what FCA notes is “a parasite called raccoon roundworm … Raccoons excrete roundworm eggs and larvae, and if ingested, the resulting infection can cause severe disease and even death. There is no known cure. Particularly at risk are young children and pets.” Please note, however, this is not cause for hysteria – we looked up the incidence of this disease, and online references say there’ve been 25 cases of “serious roundworm disease” in the U.S. in the past five years. Meantime — FCA leaders say they’ve asked the City Council to “take appropriate action regarding this serious public health issue” but have learned, “As it stands now, there is no department that will offer assistance.” FCA says it’s received the following advice that everyone can follow:
• Don’t feed wildlife because they become dependent on it
• Don’t feed feral cats, which provides a food source for raccoons
• Don’t feed your pets outside except when supervised, then remove bowls and spills
• Prevent raccoons from entering your home through pet doors by securing them
• Feed birds by planting bird-friendly vegetation since bird seed attracts raccoons, and
• Compost wisely because food waste attracts raccoons.
How to tell if there’s a raccoon latrine on your property, and what to do about it? Here’s some info from the King County website. Also note, this topic is likely to come up again at FCA’s monthly meeting tonight — 7 pm, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, public welcome.
Just announced by the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council: Special guest at its next meeting (next Tuesday 8/16, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room) will be Sgt. Dyment of the Seattle Police Gang Unit. The WSCPC staff liaison from Seattle Neighborhood Group, Jennifer Duong, is inviting those who plan to attend to send questions in advance, to help make sure the sergeant can pre-research specific West Seattle gang-related issues. Anything in particular you’d like to know about? E-mail jennifer@sngi.org – and be there one week from tonight.
Have to confess we haven’t seen so much as a single entire episode of “Deadliest Catch,” so we’re not too sure how big a role this guy plays – but we did see the rock-star reception another DC star got in the Seafair Torchlight Parade, so we’re thinking fans might be interested to hear that “Captain Phil” will be at West Seattle Thriftway this Sunday, pitching his own brand of coffee — “Deadliest Brew” — and signing autographs. 11 am-1 pm. P.S. Our friends at MyBallard.com mentioned over the weekend that the Nordic Heritage Museum‘s auctioning (bid now!) a chance to hang out with the crew up in Dutch Harbor, Alaska (the blurb includes the “Deadliest Catch” boat’s current local whereabouts).
We mentioned this briefly earlier today, but wanted to give it a more prominent shoutout: West Seattle’s Seal Sitters, who keep watch to protect baby seals whose moms leave them on local beaches while off hunting, have another volunteer-training session tomorrow night; we noted a decent turnout for their first one last month, which happened on a weekend afternoon — this time, it’s at night, 7-9 pm tomorrow at Alki Community Center, all welcome. When Janette Wilson from the Seal Sitters called WSB this afternoon to remind us about this, we asked how seal-pup season was going so far, and she admitted they’re “a little worried” — they’ve only responded to one pup sighting, a dramatic difference from last year, when things started getting busy in August. But she also noted that the chum run is yet to arrive, and that may bring some pups, so they want to have a full volunteer corps ready. If you want to find out more before showing up for tomorrow’s session, there’s contact info on the Seal Sitters‘ site.
Five months to the day after we first told you about Coffee at the Heights, which Paul Binder and David Robertson plan to open at 7349 35th (map) in their former PB&J Textiles location (that shop’s now in Fairmount Springs), next to their Olympic Heights Laundry — Paul sends word that the building permit’s just been granted and work starts tomorrow. ADDED 9:40 PM: A few more notes – Paul says they’ll use Caffe D’arte coffee, Sunshine dairy products, pastry provider TBA, hours 5:30 am-8 pm daily (including holidays), compostable cups/sleeves, and will be selling coffee by the pound. They hope to be open within a month.
A couple leftover photos from Alki’s Car-Free Day, to go with answers to a few questions we asked SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan. First, we reported during the event that we did not see anyone ticketed or towed, so we asked him to confirm, and he replied: “No cars were ticketed or towed for the event. SDOT worked aggressively to notify residents and businesses about the parking restrictions, and it paid off with no real parking issues on Sunday.” Next question, we asked about costs — some citywide reports cited $45K as the price tag for all three Car-Free Day events — Sheridan replies: “We do not have a definitive breakdown of costs yet. If the city decides to hold similar events next year, one of the items we will explore is the feasibility of sponsors.” Speaking of next year, that was the third question we asked – how/when will it be decided if the city will do this again? Answer: “It may be a little early to determine the process for next year’s plan. Car Free Day on Alki was a great event, however, we want to evaluate the results of all three Car Free Days and determine whether Seattle should hold similar days next year.” General SDOT feedback how-to can be found here.
City leaders have talked a lot lately about saving trees and even increasing the city’s “tree canopy” — and yet the tree-cutting doesn’t seem to have slowed. This afternoon, the mayor’s office sent a news release about “interim regulations” just proposed to “close a loophole” — take a look and see what you think:Read More
That’s the newest rendering of the building that Harbor Properties is developing at 38th/Alaska (the site of a former Huling garage as well as West Seattle Montessori). And it now has a name: Link. We sat down recently with Harbor executives to get updates on this project and the other two that Harbor has in the pipeline in West Seattle — Mural, which is under construction, and the unnamed proposal for what’s currently the site of West Seattle’s only motel (36th/Alaska). Read on to see what we found out:Read More
We’ve been updating you on the upcoming closure of lower eastbound Spokane Street, starting right where you get off the eastbound West Seattle Bridge at 1st (or affecting you sooner if you are driving on the surface from someplace further west) — as first reported here last Wednesday, the closure is now scheduled to start a week from tomorrow (see the detour route above), and this morning Seattle Public Utilities — whose water-main project marks the start of the work — has sent a news release with more specifics on exactly what it’s doing and where (plus other Sodo effects, for those who work/do business in that area):Read More
Lots happening in the week ahead, so we’ll try doing previews in installments. First: Tomorrow night. The big Tuesday night event is the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce-sponsored transportation forum at West Seattle High School — open-house format 6-7, moderated Q/A 7-8 pm. The Chamber has gathered reps who are experts on all the pieces of the increasingly complex getting-in-and-out-of-WS transportation puzzle – Alaskan Way Viaduct, Spokane Street Viaduct, Metro buses, Water Taxi, etc. Two neighborhood groups that usually meet on the second Tuesday of each month have changed their plans because of the forum, and two have not – Admiral Neighborhood Association will have a short business meeting at 8 pm at WSHS after the forum; Junction Neighborhood Organization is canceling its meeting so members can attend (and rallying volunteers for the Gateway Cleanup coming up this Saturday). Still on as usual tomorrow night: Westwood Neighborhood Council (7 pm Tuesday, Southwest Community Center, focusing on its current top issue, the future of the current Denny Middle School site) and Fauntleroy Community Association (7 pm Tuesday, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse). One more Tuesday night note: Another Seal Sitters training session, 7 pm at Alki Community Center (here’s our coverage of the one they had last month).
Almost forgot to mention, Cafe Revo (new Italian restaurant going into the ex-Murphy’s space in the Luna Park neighborhood along Avalon) sent word this weekend that it’s obtained building permits and is likely about 6 weeks from opening. Proprietors Sean and Sofia Zadra Goff also have added a webpage about their in-progress wine list. (We interviewed them for this preview/profile back in June.) They also say work will be starting on a mural on the building’s south wall.
We told you 2 weeks ago that The Bohemian (3405 California, next to Spiro’s) was about to open; this afternoon, its proprietors opened the doors for a “friends and family” preview event (we stopped by for the photos you see above) – and say they’ll open, starting tomorrow, in two phases: This week, daytime coffee/tea operations; starting a week from tomorrow, they plan to add the food/bar operations. More info including hours can be found online. Opening day tomorrow, by the way, marks exactly a year since we brought you first word The Bohemian (at the former Leslie’s location) was in the works. (Next door, the future Prost West Seattle may open as soon as next month, according to a note recently shared by WSB’er Marco.)
A stretch of Beach Drive in the Me-Kwa-Mooks vicinity is posted for parking restrictions that kick in tomorrow (9/8 through 9/19, 7 am to 6 pm). Neighbor Megan says the SDOT crews who put out the signs the other day told her it’s paving work.
(scroll/refresh for updates as we add them; our pre-closure reports can be found here)
Let’s just call him “Car-Free Guy.” At about 10 till noon, making our last motorized pass along Alki to check on pre-closure developments (coverage here), we spotted him (and his pal in the background) out in the road, just east of 53rd, hooting and hollering. Will they be the most enthusiastic Car-Free Day supporters we encounter in the next several hours? Any time you’re by a computer, check back to see what we find out; we’ll be posting updates, with photos. (And if somehow you’ve missed all the advance coverage — the waterfront roadway’s closed to vehicle traffic, except buses, from California Way/Harbor to 63rd/Alki, till 6 pm, and side streets leading from Admiral etc. are marked off as “Local Access Only,” so if you’re driving down, you’ll want to look for parking south of Admiral.) 12:34 PM UPDATE: Remember, you can head north on 63rd from Admiral, but you’re going to have to turn left – this is the west end of the closure zone:
Other streets are blocked off sooner – this is 61st/Stevens (note the bicyclist heading beachward):
We’re leaving the WSBmobile in a spot south of Admiral and heading off to report, car-free, from the car-free zone, laptop, aircard, cameras, and all. (Heaven forbid they should ever have a Tech-Free Day!) P.S. If you were wondering – Duke’s is open:
(When this was first announced in late July, they were quoted in a citywide-paper article as saying they “might close.” We’ll post here if we come across anyone closed who would otherwise be open.) 1:17 PM UPDATE: We’re at Tully’s on Alki, where it’s undeniably quieter than it might be on a day like today – so said the counter folks to an inquiring customers, plus there’s the anecdotal fact we didn’t have to wait in line. Here’s what the beach looks like, looking east from the Bathhouse; lots of empty sand:
If you come down here, though, you must go INTO the Bathhouse – that’s where you’ll find (left to right) Colette, Shannon, and Kim:
They are serving up Husky ice cream during the Cones for Kids fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital guild – till 4 pm – planned for today long before the Car-Free Day plan was announced. You can go in from the front, back, or east side of the Bathhouse – there are family activities outside, too – a scooter course on the east side and (in the background) a “fishing” tank on the north side:
In the parking strip along the street in front of the Bathhouse, you’ll find a couple booths, with Sustainable West Seattle and CoolMom.org on hand among others:
Though it’s quiet-ish here at Tully’s, most of the restaurants we have walked by seemed fairly busy. Notably, we haven’t seen too many people just walking right down the middle of the traffic lane that’s closed off – more than a few bicyclists, though, although they usually have their own lane anyway. And some have paused along the seawall to watch kite-surfers take advantage of this afternoon’s spirited breeze:
We’ll continue walking east shortly for more updates. (Couple non-police non-government cars just went by in the bus lane past here … walkers seemed startled.) 2:17 PM UPDATE: Now on the curb along Bonair just before it intersects with Alki (map). Lots of cars coming down the hill – they have to turn right here – more than a few coming by, too, so it appears the “local access” really is happening. Even saw a taxi while heading this way:
Biggest news so far – came across one vehicle that never did move out of the no-parking zone – got a close look at what was under its wipers. NOT a ticket – the golden notice just says you shouldn’t have been parked here and if you need to move your vehicle before 6 pm, find somebody from SDOT – the white piece of paper, by the way, is hand-lettered with “Car-Free Day Complaints” and lists a 684-something (that’s the city, usually) number. A non-city notice, perhaps?
Back closer to the heart of the beach – the most action we’ve encountered so far is over by Coastal, Slices, etc. – Coastal has the skating/biking ramp, as promised:
And a little west of there, some hula-hooping’s going on:
Next, we’re going to walk a little further east before turning back toward the business district. 3:01 PM UPDATE: Changed our plan. Decided to keep walking to the other end of the closure zone – to be able to chronicle what’s happening all along the entire stretch. If we hadn’t decided to do that, for example, we wouldn’t have met these fine folks, among the few who’ve actually set up impromptu tables in the street for the occasion:
Left to right, that’s Aaron, Carina, Debbie, and Sara. We found them hanging out in the 1600 block of Alki, “playing Scrabble and eating grapes.” Plus, they set up a pirate flag (partly visible behind them) “so nobody hits us!” (On that side of the street, it would have to be a bicycle. We’re currently stopped a few blocks past their table – in the 1300 block of Alki, on one of those delightful seawall-top benches under a shady tree – and still seeing a lot of bikers, walkers, rollerbladers, etc. Heading on toward “Anchor Park” and beyond, momentarily. 4:03 PM UPDATE: Made it to the east end of the closure, by Seacrest, about half an hour ago:
No other surprise sights along the way, just a steady stream of cyclists and walkers, like those in this shot from the semi-high-rise-condo zone:
Seacrest looked like a typically busy Sunday afternoon. We caught a ride back to the other end of the closure zone, where just for comparison’s sake we snapped another photo a few minutes ago:
Less than two hours to go and no reports of any real problems. We’re staked out for the moment right across from the Bathhouse; a little ways down the block, a TV live truck (no logo) is setting up, so you’ll probably see something on one of the 5 pm newscasts. Not planning on filing another update unless we spot something unusual between now and the end of the event – but we’ll be back to verify everything’s open when 6 pm arrives. 5:58 PM UPDATE: Heading back toward the beach to verify everything’s open again. The TV report turned out to be KING; though there was some broad hinting that “some” business owners thought business was down a bit, the only person who said that on camera was from Spud. We noticed things definitely picked up as the afternoon wore on; Cactus, for example, had an overflow crowd when we walked back to our car after 4:30.
(scroll down or refresh for updates; we’ll start a new post when the closure starts @ noon)
We’ll break our Alki “Car-Free Day” coverage today into three reports – before the closure (till noon), during (till 6), afterward (later this evening). First report – Just drove the length of Harbor/Alki starting a few minutes after the parking restrictions took effect at 10 am, driving westbound to 63rd. No tow trucks spotted yet. Did see more than two dozen cars parked in the no-parking zone, though, like these in the 1300 block of Alki:
Parking-enforcement golf carts and some other Seattle Police vehicles are staging at Don Armeni:
SDOT crews are starting here on the west end of the to-be-closed zone and working eastward, placing cones along the center line (the Water Taxi and 56 will run in the lane away from the water).
Heading back the other way shortly to see if any tow trucks have turned up yet. 10:44 AM UPDATE: Back at the police staging area at Don Armeni. Heading southeast through the parking lot (toward Seacrest), just got passed by several officers on Segways. Almost every type of police vehicle is here, including several motorcycles and one of the parking-enforcement Chargers. Still no sign of tow trucks, but looks like some of the cars we spotted parked in the no-parking zone back closer to the beach have since moved. Meantime, the SDOT crew coning off the bus lane has already made it to the 53rd Ave Pump Station zone:
If you were having trouble visualizing exactly where the no-parking zone kicked in at Maryland/Harbor – here’s a look, pointed southeast – this is right by the west entrance to Don Armeni – the street sign toward the right side of the photo is Maryland:
Heading back the other way toward the beach now that Hour 2 of parking restrictions is about to start. Once noon arrives, we also will report on the other side of this – where roads are blocked leading to Alki from the Admiral etc. 11:20 AM UPDATE: Only about a dozen vehicles left parked in the no-parking zone; most appear to have been ticketed (unless that’s something else in the little gold envelopes):
Honey Bucket’s putting out some port-o-lets in spots east of the main beach zone (since you won’t be able to drive to a restroom if you need one????). Most interesting note: Beach-route side streets from Admiral (all the way up to Lander) are already marked off with LOCAL ACCESS ONLY signs – this pic is from 61st/Admiral:
Probably one more pre-closure update to come in this post – then after 12 noon we will start a new post on what’s happening during the actual event, whether the beach is busy (or not, as some fear), etc. 11:56 AM UPDATE: As of about five minutes ago, the side streets were all closed off. Just a few straggler cars parked in the no-parking zone; still no sign of tow trucks, we’ll check later to see if they just stayed put (with envelope under windshield wiper) during the event. We’ll launch the “happening now” post in a couple minutes – just passed a couple of enthusiastic guys out in the street east of 53rd yelling “WE’RE CAR-FREE, HOW ABOUT YOU?” “Gonna be,” we replied. Will be hoofing it shortly (and will start the new post with the sign guy’s photo, provided it came out).
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