(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 newBridge 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!
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.
(The Michael Jackson original is unembeddable, so we’re showing the Star Wars version instead)
The summer may be over but a thrilling new round of fun has begun, per Lora Lewis from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), who just announced … she’s putting together a dance team to “join the Thrill the World Guinness Book of World Records event!” — thousands (millions?) of people doing the “Thriller” dance in groups, worldwide. The team’s already got a blog (check it out here; looks like Blayne of “Project Runway” fame is involved too) – plus the date for the first rehearsal: This Wednesday, 8-9 pm, Ginomai (southwest corner of 42nd/Genesee; that’s conveniently right before this week’s PR viewing party) — you’re invited — just RSVP by sending Lora a note at lora@hotwirecoffee.com. Subsequent rehearsals will be the same day/time each week; the Seattle event for Thrill the World, at which time this team will strut its stuff, is 11 am October 25. Lora’s already registered the team so as she puts it — “all you need to do is show up and dance!” (and she has a step-by-step video, so don’t worry if you’ve never done it before). More at the team’s blog (thrilltheworldws.blogspot.com), and the official worldwide website is thrilltheworld.com.
That’s Addie Killam of Highland Park, getting ready to ride her new hand-operated bike along Alki this morning. If Addie’s name sounds familiar but you just can’t quite place it – we first told you about her in this April report, when news came that she had become paralyzed after a freak surfing injury. Later, friends, family, neighbors, and WSB’ers worked to help fix up a house so she could come home to West Seattle this past June after weeks of rehab in a Colorado hospital. Now, Addie’s in training for a special Mike Utley Foundation fundraising ride coming up in about a month. Along the Alki bike path, we talked to her for a moment before her training ride this morning:
The Mike Utley Foundation raises money “to find a cure for paralysis”; Utley’s story is detailed here — he is a Seattle native who was a football star at Burien’s John F. Kennedy High School and then at WSU, followed by two years in the NFL, till the injury that paralyzed him in 1991. He underwent rehab at the same place in Craig, Colorado, where Addie spent time earlier this year. Now he lives in Wenatchee, where she’ll be riding her new bike in the 50-mile Dam2Dam on September 27:
Out of the WSB inbox, from Don, who wants you to be aware of what happened to him:
In the neighborhood due south of Alaska Junction’s Jefferson Square, we discovered that mail had been taken from our box, opened, and gone through, in search of credit card information and anything else of value. The perps tossed the remainder in our yard, which was ironic, as one thing of value turned out to be some expensive train tickets for an upcoming vacation trip. The only thing we actually lost was one of those fake credit-card-like things on a junk-mail come-on from American Express, but we found pieces of the neighbor’s mail near our house as well. When we mentioned this to USPS personnel, they told us to call the police and file a report, and let the local postmaster know as well.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT. These creeps take advantage of unlocked mailboxes and have no problem committing local and federal crimes. They are probably working neighborhoods across the area.
In a later e-mail exchange, Don told us police would not take a phoned-in report because nothing of value was missing. We will be checking with local police leadership after the holiday to see if there is a baseline for reports to be taken in this kind of situation; Don’s filing a report online with USPS, in the meantime.
One week from today is the first of four presentations at West Seattle-area library branches focusing on early literacy. They’re happening at four different branches, one day each month from September through December, and they’re geared toward parents, educators, and child-care providers. Free of charge, but you need to register; more info here.
New post on County Executive Ron Sims‘ blog: Charts showing this summer’s rise in Metro ridership. Previously, he notes, the trend was for lower ridership during warm weather. (Well, we haven’t had that much warm weather this summer, but never mind that. Some of the ridership-rise reasons seem obvious – hello, $4 gas.) 400,000 boardings per weekday, as of last month. Meantime, reminder: Metro’s on Sunday schedule for Labor Day; Water Taxi and its shuttle are on Saturday schedule. Here’s the official advisory.
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.
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 (
(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 
Car-Free Sunday of the summer. Last week, Car-Free Sunday #1 on Capitol Hill was cut short by rain and roiled by controversy, but the 
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