West Seattle, Washington
08 Wednesday
Just got Rick‘s pix and they deserve their own post. Same Rick who, as mentioned in the post below, hollered for the firefighters who were training nearby – here you see them trooping over:
More from Rick, who took the pix and reported the fire — he says the truck driver’s OK (Rick even told the DRIVER his truck was on fire!).
Confused about climate change? A Seattle-based group has a website 
where you can check the facts, and the myths, as vetted by a panel of scientific advisers. No, this isn’t some academic group, or someone who’s trying to get you to go wave protest signs downtown. It’s CoolMom.org – a moms’ group founded to support lower-ecological-impact lifestyles — and the real-life CoolMoms, including a Morgan Junction entrepreneur who co-founded the group, are launching a West Seattle chapter with a gathering tomorrow night. Meet them and read what it’s all about:Read More
Never mind the April chill, here’s news to warm a gardener’s heart: The schedule’s in for West Seattle-area Master Gardener clinics: The MGs will be at McClendon’s (White Center but close enough to WS!) 10 am-2 pm Saturdays starting this weekend — April 5-Sept. 13, and they’ll be at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm Sundays, April 27-Sept. 14. They’re there to answer your home-gardening questions or help you identify specimens. The Master Gardeners’ annual citywide plant sale is at the Center for Urban Horticulture, May 5-6; West Seattle has many great plant sales in the months ahead too, and you’ll find them on our Events list page, along with other events such as the annual West Seattle Garden Tour.
Just out of the inbox from Megan:
Our house was broken into today. We are in the 7300 block of 28th ave SW. They took the typical stuff … mostly electronics. The most disturbing part was all the rummaging they did; everything was thrown out of drawers, and the house was completely torn apart. They even tried to drill through a window, leaving it cracked but not broken out and broke our new plasma tv when they realized they couldn’t take it with them. The police indicated that this fit the profile of just wanting to damage property, not necessarily steal anything of value (nothing that they couldn’t walk away with). We are super bummed but no one was hurt, our pets were scared but safe and this is what insurance is for. It’s just a bummer that people are so disrespectful.
Here’s a map of that area.
If you don’t know them already, meet Dawn Leverett and Patti Mullen — board president and executive director, respectively, of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. As changes aplenty propel West Seattle into a bigger, busier future, they are among the key people looking at “the big picture” and fighting to ensure WS is more than a bedroom community whose residents have to squeeze through a worsening bottleneck to work and shop elsewhere. WSB sat down with them both a few days ago for an in-depth chat:Read More
Thanks to Scott for that photo of a sizable police/fire response early this morning in the 6000 block of California. In case you heard the sirens too, here’s the word on what happened, from Lt. Steve Paulsen @ the Southwest Precinct: Police were called about a fight in the street involving two men (Scott says there was plenty of shouting even before law enforcement arrived); when officers intervened, they themselves were attacked, and had to use a Taser to get one suspect under control.
Thanks to Stan Lock, Neighborhood District Coordinator at the city’s West Seattle Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction, for sending the agenda for this Thursday’s city Design Commission meeting, 
which will include a presentation of the latest schematic design for the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza (archived WSB coverage here) as well as a design-development update on the Myrtle Reservoir park, which as we reported a month ago is apparently definitely slated for 
some kind of skateboarding feature. Here’s the full agenda for Thursday’s meeting, which is open to the public; the Statue of Liberty comes up at 1 pm Thursday, Myrtle Reservoir at 2 pm (followed by a design update on the south Viaduct replacement project at 3 pm), all in room L-280 at Seattle City Hall (600 Fourth Ave. downtown). One more Statue of Liberty note – today’s the last day to order a brick for the plaza; find out more at the Plaza Project site.
Quick teardown at that site, 60th and Admiral, just a week after we told you about the permits for two duplex townhouses. Not too far away, permits are in for one duplex and two single-family homes at 6106 SW Stevens (map; project pages here and here), where a backhoe (not pictured) is already stationed behind this house:
On to the south side of West Seattle:
That’s 5933 California, which we’ve been watching for a while now (not torn down yet unless it happened this morning – we’re about to head out to check) — The latest Land Use Information Bulletin, out today, features the permit granting a seven-unit subdivision at that site (next to the townhouses at the ex-Guadalajara Hacienda site). And the Delridge building boom continues, with a permit in today’s LUIB for four 2-unit townhouses at 8444 Delridge (map).
(1st photo from King County Assessor; 2nd by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
We have been reporting for almost a full year now on the fate of Charlestown Court, the 81-year-old brick fourplex across the street from the Charlestown Cafe. As we first told you last October, it is under review for possible city landmark status (or possible teardown); on February 20th, we covered the city Landmarks Preservation Board hearing downtown at which board members agreed to consider its exterior architecture for possible landmark designation. Now, it’s decision time — this Wednesday (agenda), the Landmarks Board is scheduled to listen to public comments, and vote. (The process is explained here.) If you want to tell the board what you think, e-mail comments to board coordinator Beth Chave before Wednesday at beth.chave@seattle.gov; you also can speak at the public hearing this Wednesday, 3:30 pm on the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown. This process was set in motion by a proposal to tear down Charlestown Court and replace it with a 4-story mixed-use building (official city project page here), a project that’s still in the pipeline pending the outcome of the landmark review.
You won’t see many “school zone” lights this morning — it’s Spring Break for all Seattle Public Schools and some private schools. Speaking of SPS, families are starting to get fall assignment letters; for those seeking info about any WS school, an upgrade is in progress for our West Seattle Schools page – each public elementary listing now has a link to archived WSB coverage of that school. (We’ll add the same feature for the other schools later today.)
With the Democratic presidential-nomination race not quite over yet, there’s still some potential for drama next Saturday, when more than 1,000 delegates chosen at 34th Legislative District precinct caucuses February 9 (WSB coverage with reader reports/photos here) will gather at 10 am at West Seattle High School for the districtwide Democratic caucus. If you’re one of those delegates, your phone’s likely been ringing off the hook with campaign calls making sure you’ll be there. The 34th District Democrats have tons of info on a special section of their website, as always, including the fact that those 1,000-plus delegates will elect 51 people (and 26 alternates) to move on to the King County Democratic Convention, which is also at WSHS, 2 pm April 13. As for the Republicans — no suspense there any more, but half their delegates are still coming from the caucus process; the 34th District meeting was yesterday. The next big GOP meeting is the King County Republican Convention in Auburn on April 12.
As the Mariners play their home opener at Safeco Field tomorrow afternoon, fans will notice something new in the food zones: 
Garlic Jim’s (WSB sponsor) is now The Official Pizza of the Seattle Mariners. You might have heard this already, since the official word trickled out a couple weeks ago, but you probably haven’t heard the backstory, which involves West Seattle Garlic Jim’s owner Ryan Reese (celebrating his store’s 1st anniversary, by the way, congrats!): Ryan tells WSB he and a friend went to a game about this time last year and noticed that while the food vendors were generally local (Ivar’s, Kidd Valley, etc.), the pizza came from Papa John’s, which is based in Kentucky. Since Garlic Jim’s is headquartered in Western Washington, Ryan thought it would be a great fit at Safeco. He talked to corporate HQ in Everett; Ryan says they considered it a long shot but thought it worth making a pitch. So he checked with the M’s and discovered the pizza contract was in fact up for bid, and that GJ’s could get in on the process. They set up a meeting at The Safe; Ryan fixed pizzas at his restaurant in The Junction and took them over before he and others including Garlic Jim’s CEO Dwayne Northrop met M’s brass. Like runners moving around the bases, things advanced from there, and starting tomorrow, you’ll find Garlic Jim’s Pizza at The Safe. Ryan says the 200 level will offer pizza by the slice, and it’ll be mini-pizzas at the 100 and 300 levels. By the way, this isn’t the only Garlic Jim’s baseball involvement — after we published a West Seattle Little League pitch for team sponsors a few days ago, Ryan signed up to sponsor a WSLL team. (Don’t miss WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham‘s great pix from yesterday’s WSLL Jamboree; see them here.)
Though Seattle Public Schools leadership has decided to sell off a handful of former schools, including the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (whose tenants are working to buy it; here’s WSB in-depth coverage of last Wednesday’s meeting), 
SPS confirms it’s keeping mothballed Fairmount Park Elementary (map) as “inventory.” (Photo at left was taken as crews moved items out after it closed at the end of last school year.) Other ex-schools in West Seattle that are NOT on the market include Louisa Boren Junior High, which will become the new temporary home of Chief Sealth High School starting this fall, and E.C. Hughes, which is the current (temporary) home of South Lake alternative high school. (Our list of all currently operating public and private schools in West Seattle is here.)
Wintry chill couldn’t keep West Seattle Little League players and families off Bar-S Playfield today for the annual season-starting Jamboree. WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham got tons of great shots:
At center right in the group of photos above, that’s the “Voice of the Mariners,” West Seattle resident Tom Hutyler, on hand to announce players and teams. In the group of photos below, at upper right you see former Mariners and Oakland A’s outfielder Dave Henderson pitch in the first ball, along with one lucky Little League player. Matt writes: “Players and coaches, from T-ball to Majors, ran onto the chilled field as fans and parents hailed their grit”:
Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.
(left to right, as they’re known in the WSB Forums, JanS, NewResident [Molly], Beachdrivegirl [Megan])
Those are some of the WSB Forum Community members who gathered this morning at Uptown Espresso in The Junction for their second meeting to plan the April 19 fundraiser for Puget Sound Key and Lock, which lost everything in the still-unsolved arson attack that gutted the business eight days ago. The event will be at Admiral Pub, whose owner Eric joined the group this morning:
There’s still lots you can do to help. The group’s meeting again at Admiral Pub next Saturday at noon. In the meantime, much of the brainstorming is happening on a mailing list the group has set up – they invite you to join by following the instructions on this page. Meantime, mark your calendar for 6 pm April 19 at Admiral Pub (latest details and forum discussion here)! And you can donate any time to the Puget Sound Key and Lock account, through any Wells Fargo branch.
(Also from this morning’s meeting: To the right of Beachdrivegirl [Megan] are Alkiguy [Steve L], Kathy, Steve Sindiong from the Morgan Community Association, and JoB.)
Just back from surveying the streets. Put it this way – if you were looking down from a plane or satellite, you wouldn’t have been able to tell Earth Hour from any other hour. Sure, the Space Needle was dark (clip above shows a few seconds of that, shot from Don Armeni) and the Qwest Field roof ribs too, but not much else. The porch light was even on at Hizzoner’s house in North Admiral. Here at WSB HQ, we turned off everything but the computers.
Reminder if you missed earlier mentions (or haven’t seen Google‘s tribute) — Earth Hour is tonight, 8-9 pm, with many city-owned lights going dark by order of Mayor Nickels. If you look across the bay during Earth Hour, you’ll reportedly see such iconic illuminated structures as the Space Needle and Qwest Field participating too. Here’s worldwide backstory.
Shades of serval-mania! Steve in North Admiral e-mailed to say:
(Last night) we saw what looked like a very exotic cat moving rapidly through the backyards and greenbelt slope between Palm Ave SW and Ferry Ave SW in the 1700 block area. It was not so big–probably 10 – 15 pounds, but it had absolutely “african savannah cat” markings much like the larger serval cat that was seen and eventually captured a few months ago near PCC. Beautiful bold spotting on its body and black rings on its tail. I’ve never seen a cat move like this fellow–he/she was up on house roofs, back down to ground and darting around, etc. Never got close enough to get a picture.
We haven’t called animal control but probably will if we see it around again. It seemed highly stressed.
Here’s a map of the area. Here’s the last followup we had on the serval situation Steve mentioned. SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: The situation is resolved (as per comments below) — the cat, a Savannah, found a way to get into and out of its house while its owners were away, but a friend just verified it’s back inside now – and sent this photo (so you’ll know, if you ever see it):
Just a few of the sailboats we saw off Alki earlier this morning, as they headed around Alki Point and southward — it’s the Corinthian Yacht Club‘s Pully Point Race (more info here including the list of participating vessels). And thanks to Hopey for sending a different view as the race headed past the Fauntleroy ferry dock:
ADDED 2:20 PM: Hopey caught the racers heading back northbound past Fauntleroy:
When we first told you 2 months ago about Basic Green Box moving out of its California SW storefront (right next to this project), Charlotte at BGB didn’t know yet where they would land. Now she’s just sent WSB the official announcement – they’re leaving WS:
After 3 years in our lovely West Seattle community, we are moving to a more accessible location with more parking (you talked, we listened!).
We are so thrilled to join forces with our friends at Year of the Monkey at 2915 1st Ave S (SODO) integrating our accessories with their impressive selection of antique and reproduction furniture.
Last days: We are only open Friday-Sunday for two more weekends (March 28, 29, 30) and April 4, 5, 6 (12 pm-5 pm each day). Hurry in for up to 50% off everything (we won’t move it all!) Our accessories will still be available at www.basicgreenbox.com and we hope to see you in our new location in May. Thank you for your continued support!
(keep scrolling down for updates and pix added to this post)
Big fluffy flakes now. Steady but still not cold enough out there to stick, even on cars. (37) 12:33 PM UPDATE: Kevin writes from Arbor Heights, 375-foot elevation, the snow’s “struggling to stick.” We’re around the same elevation here in Upper Fauntleroy and it’s finally starting to stick … walking out the door for a pic. Send yours if you get one. 12:44 PM UPDATE: OK, here’s our first one.
ADDED 12:54 PM: Thanks to JoB for this pic:
1:03 PM: Definitely sticking on the WSBmobile. May be enough for some snowball fights when school gets out this afternoon. (Spring break – ha! – is finishing for some of the private-school kids; Seattle Public Schools and some other private schools are out next week.)
1:10 PM: Some kids are out having fun already. Thanks to Karen for sending this next photo from Westwood. (P.S. We’ll let you know of any traffic troubles reported on the WS-bound commute this afternoon, of course; check cams any time here).
1:18 PM: Thanks to Sage K for these next 2 pics, from Delridge and Juneau, where it’s starting to stick. If you’re wondering about the forecast, seems this may not settle down till tomorrow.
1:33 PM: Thanks to “k” for sending this from Morgan Junction:
1:44 PM: From 51st/Hudson (map) comes this classic scene of spring vs. snow, thanks to Eileen:
2:04 PM: Snow’s lightened up in a big way, at least up here. Meantime, JenV sends this photo (thank you!) of frosty flowers, taken outside Buddha Ruksa (did you see the West Seattle 101 on WSB feature yet?) at lunch:
2:08 PM: Just in from Belvidere (or is it Belvedere? even the city has it both ways):
2:13 PM: Thanks to Trick in Arbor Heights for a new twist on the term “snow globe”:
2:18 PM: Snow’s stopped and the big melt has begun here – we can hear it through the rain gutters, and there’s serious drip action from the shrubbery. Some other West Seattle news has been stacking up in queue so we’ll get that going here shortly.
If you’ve driven by that new block wall along Harbor Avenue east of Salty’s and suspected it had something to do with the restaurant – it doesn’t. After a couple of reader e-mails asking about it, we doublechecked with Salty’s, which said no, it’s an unrelated industrial project. That sent us looking into the property records, which are a little convoluted for this parcel (#7666705250, owned by Anmarco), with multiple addresses, but finally we traced it to 2130 Harbor, which carries notes of a city DPD investigation: According to this page on the DPD website, the work was proceeding without permits, and the city posted a “stop-work order” — here’s the exact language:
Constructing a 400’+ long approx. 8′ tall retaining wall and grading in a designated shoreline environment requires permits. STOP WORK ORDER posted 3/5/08 by building inspector.
The DPD website shows two case numbers open for this investigation, here and here. Anmarco’s land in the area has quite a bit of history; this article goes back 11 years.
Just in from the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – the official announcement of its Business of the Year and Community Service award winners: Business of the Year goes to Tom Smith for Tom’s Automotive; Community Service goes to Warren Lawless. Both have worked in the West Seattle community for decades; according to the Chamber announcement, Tom’s has been in business for more than 37 years and — quoting the announcement regarding Warren Lawless — “Since 1938 he has been a constant force and a very active participant in numerous West Seattle organizations.” You can be on hand to honor them both when the WS C of C presents the awards during a breakfast event at Salty’s on Alki, 7:30 am April 9. The reservation deadline is next Thursday; go to the West Seattle Chamber website for more on that.
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