Three notes to share, loosely related in that they have something to do with health care. First, student nurses from the Seattle University College of Nursing are inviting you to a health fair this Saturday – 10 am-4 pm @ High Point Community Center. They’re organizing it as a school-related project and they are really excited about the chance to come help people be healthier; they’re offering blood-sugar testing and blood-pressure checks for adults, mouth-care demos and face painting for kids, as well as information on a variety of health challenges and conditions. Here’s the flyer. Second – On Saturday afternoon 5/31, West Seattle acupuncture practitioner and community activist Miranda Taylor will be offering “community-style acupuncture” at the CommuniChi clinic on Beacon Hill; fees are sliding scale and proceeds on this particular day are going toward West Seattle community activist Maria Ramirez‘s School Board campaign from last fall. Appointments can be made online at the CommuniChi website. Last but not least, the date is now set for a Junction drugstore transition — new information (including plans for grand-opening freebies such as massages!) and a video interview, ahead:Read More
Thanks to the folks at Hope Lutheran School for the advance alert about tonight’s Lion Dance parade to their school, after a special event at the nearby Seattle Lutheran gym capped a special unit of Chinese studies. Just so happened that your editor here and the Junior Member of the Team were at also-nearby Ginomai for the JuNO meeting on Junction development projects (full report upcoming); thanks to JMoT for going out with the camera to catch this glimpse (the drums rocked the meeting room for a few minutes too!).
In addition to big groups such as the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the West Seattle Junction Association, WS is laden with many smaller networking groups – and one of them is reaching out to prospective new members: The Westside Professionals’ first new-member outreach begins tomorrow morning; they’ll be meeting at Pegasus on Alki starting at 7:45, and welcome anyone interested in finding out more. Here chapter president Don Linley (who works with Crown Mortgage) talks a little about the group:
The Westside Professionals are affiliated with BNI, which bills itself as “the largest business-networking organization in the world.”
Don’t let the tarp fool you — underneath it you’ll find part of the area’s “smallest certified organic garden,” which stretches across two plots, and into a greenhouse, on a site along SW Avalon (map).
This is part of Transitional Resources, whose invitation to visit in advance of their “Garden Party” this Saturday provided us with another one of those “been in West Seattle 17 years but had NO IDEA this was here” moments. Growing food and herbs at this site is a sideline for an organization that provides residential and drop-in services for more than 100 people every month who are working on having productive lives while dealing with mental illness. (Read more about TR here.) It saves taxpayers big bucks — the cost for someone to live and work here is a fraction of state or hospital institutionalization — but operates on a shoestring. (As TR’s Karyn Mikkelsen explains, “Without TR, clients would have fewer options and more would remain incarcerated, hospitalized or homeless, all at a high expense to society in loss of creativity and productivity, not to mention the huge financial expense of incarceration and hospitalization. The average annual cost of providing outpatient case management services to a client is $4,657. One year in the hospital or jail costs $146,000.”) To raise awareness and $, they’re inviting community members to come spend the day helping in the garden — and enjoying food prepared by a well-known local chef — read on:Read More
That’s just one tiny cross-section of the HUGE volunteer cleanup/beautification work at Pathfinder K-8 on Genesee Hill (map) today … the amphitheater on the lower field, cleared from under a serious case of overgrowth. Even more impressive, a huge painting project splashing brighter colors onto the portables up on the main grounds … our video of that, unfortunately, did not survive a serious case of user error, but the Pathfinder folks promised us before/after photos for a followup. They had more than 100 volunteers on hand (including dozens from Seattle Works and West Seattle school-board rep Steve Sundquist) and also were grateful for donations from local businesses (a Pathfinder parent gave them a shoutout in this thread in the WSB Forums). Pathfinder, you may recall, needs a better building but almost got moved to an arguably worse one in the recent round of school closures/consolidations; since no new building is likely any time soon, this was a case of the school community working to improve the livability of what they have.
So we’re lunching at Easy Street a little while ago, enjoying today’s soundtrack (a Chic LP from disco’s heyday!), and … noticing bubbles floating by the street-level window now and then. Music-induced flashback to roller disco, maybe? Nope. Went outside and found those folks on the roof over West Seattle Optix — they explained simply, “It’s a great day for bubbles!”
Those who worry that city leadership might not always have neighborhoods’ best interests at heart will be interested in that excerpt from the Sustainable West Seattle Festival speech by Jim Diers, former director of the city Department of Neighborhoods. From our vantage point next to the main stage for all five hours, Diers was hands-down the most energetic speaker of the day (gotta check out the NEIGHBOR POWER! bellow – that’s the title of a book Diers wrote). More from him, and four other clips to conclude our coverage, ahead:Read More
No punchy answer, just the facts: The Feet First chicken greeted the Fast Feet Fridays walking-to-school contingent — including a guest appearance by West Seattle’s school board member Steve Sundquist (he’s in the blue jacket telling the chicken “good morning”) — at 34th/Morgan in High Point, where the long-sought crosswalk was just painted two days ago. (Also in the video, you see Leah the crossing guard, who was nearly hit by a car while we were covering this dangerous crossing spot a few months ago.) This is part of Walk to School Month and Feet First’s ongoing Safe Routes to School campaign; it’ll feature special events like this every Friday this month on the route to West Seattle Elementary. This group walked from 31st/Graham; another group started at Hughes Playground at 29th/Holden, and “a Sunrise Heights neighbor” sent us this photo from that site (thanks!):
We mentioned it briefly last night, and promised more details: After weeks of declaring the decision was made and space for a “skate feature” would definitely be reserved in the new Myrtle Reservoir park, city Parks Department managers announced an abrupt about-face last night. That left opponents happy, skatepark supporters fuming, and other issues with the park plan bubbling to the forefront:Read More
As promised last night by Brandon, who told us about the Admiral Theater marquee spotlighting a prom-date invitation, here’s his video interview with the happy couple after Stephanie told Sam “yes.” (We’re charmed by the start of the clip but the jury’s out on the soundtrack.)
Just wanted to let you know that local production company Penny Dreadfuls shot a three-minute short for entry into the SIFF-Seattle Times 3-Minute Masterpiece contest at West Seattle’s very own West 5 in mid-April. The bar provided the perfect backdrop for “Annie’s First Dates,” a three-minute tale of our young heroine’s quest for love and the bizarre characters she encounters on the way. Dave – one of West 5’s owners – volunteered to get up at 3 am to let the film crew in to shoot on a Saturday and Sunday; he stayed with us for the entire duration of the shoot and EVEN MADE US COFFEE!
Please check out the short on YouTube – youtube.com/watch?v=bUEqI2ErRP0 – and leave us your comments, or check it out on our website: penny-dreadfuls.com. And give some major props to West 5 for being perhaps the greatest bar in our great neighborhood!
So acknowledged City Councilmember Sally Clark this afternoon during her Junction walking tour (first brief WSB report here) with nearby resident Sue Scharff, who invited the Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee chair to come see a neighborhood on the brink of major change. Here’s what else Clark had to say — plus video, including Scharff’s thoughts after the tour:Read More
Yes, there was even clowning around at the Elliott Bay Water Taxi’s opening-day celebration at Seacrest earlier this afternoon – there you see the guest clown creating not a balloon animal, but a balloon flower, in about 20 seconds. We showed you the Water Taxi’s first arrival earlier this morning; ahead, more of this afternoon’s festivities, including the crowd, the shuttle, the band, the speech (and remember, rides are free all day long):Read More
That’s your first look at Myrtle, the Shar-Pei that won the “Most Beautiful Pet” contest at the West Seattle Junction Association’s first-ever Pet Fest about an hour ago. We have a lot more to show you from the contest, including video, a little bit later, but wanted to post this as a reminder that Pet Fest continues till 4 pm in the Wells Fargo lot at the NE corner of 44th/Alaska. (Don’t miss the pet-adoption area featuring Homeward Pet, run by West Seattleite Steve Siadek, who regularly contributes adoption candidates to the WSB Pets page.) ADDED EARLY MONDAY: Still working on a longer compilation of video from the contest, but here’s a clip of Myrtle with the runner-up, another Shar-Pei, named Buddy (his owner Michelle says he’s 1 1/2; Myrtle’s owner Ryan says she’s a rescuee and about 8):
We got that photo from Seacrest less than an hour ago as the Elliott Bay Water Taxi headed over from Pier 55 on its first official run of the season. Upon arrival, a loudspeaker announcement from the crew thanked their inaugural group of passengers — five in all (you can hear the announcement in this clip:
As mentioned earlier, the kickoff ceremony, emceed by West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine and featuring music by West Seattle’s Bronwyn Edwards Cryer, is happening noon-2 pm. Water Taxi rides are free all day (here’s the schedule), and remember the free shuttle is now back in business too (here’s its schedule) – taking it will be a really good idea today, given the limited parking at and around Seacrest. The Water Taxi’s season is set to continue all the way through Halloween this year, with the full 7-day schedule all the way till the end.
No idea what those City Light crews were up to along Fauntleroy just west of 35th, but we couldn’t resist a picture. Next, something else we happened onto – a line outside the Westwood Village post office, where a passport fair is under way:
Last but not least, a quick pic from the West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club Hi-Yu Fishing Derby at Seacrest this morning, as a participant gets help bagging the fish he caught:
(We have video too, which we’ll include in a later roundup, but more Saturday events to cover first!) EARLY SUNDAY UPDATE: Here’s the clip, as promised:
That’s the temporary “pond” set up at Seacrest with the hatchery trout that arrived this afternoon in advance of tomorrow morning’s West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club Hi-Yu Kids’ Fishing Derby. It’s happening much earlier in the season this year (last year it was in July) — 8 am-11 am tomorrow, to be specific, free to kids under 14, gear provided. But first – club members will be on fish watch all night tonight, guarding the pond and its contents – if you stop by Seacrest on this lovely night, you can’t miss ’em. Then in the morning, when the Derby begins, club members and fish will be joined by Hi-Yu junior and senior court members and candidates; kids get to keep their catch, and get goodie bags regardless of whether they catch anything.
Thanks to marketing director Maureen Black at Argosy Cruises for answering our inquiries about when we might catch the Sightseer — aka the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, now operated by the new King County Ferry District — in action prior to its season debut this Sunday; as a result, we caught the crew in action doing touch-and-go practice at Seacrest this afternoon. Here’s a longer clip from our visit to Seacrest:
That was the scene at Chief Sealth High School less than an hour ago as the “Inconvenient Ride” cross-country student bicyclists (they’re in the light-blue jackets) headed out, with plenty of company, for Benaroya Hall, site of tonight’s “Project Earth Care” benefit. ADDED 6 PM: A candid moment with three of the riders, including the youngest:Read More
Thanks to Arbor Heights Elementary School teacher Mark Ahlness for sharing that video of his third-graders (who can be found online at roomtwelve.com), decorating “Earth Day” grocery bags and then delivering them to the Roxbury Safeway. Ahlness says Arbor Heights kids decorated more than 300 bags this year, the 16th consecutive year of their Earth Day partnership with Safeway on this project, and the 15th anniversary of the Earth Day Groceries Project, which Mark notes began at Arbor Heights. If you shop at that store today, you’ll likely get one of these bags. Meantime, today is the day the five local students on “An Inconvenient Ride” are expected back in Seattle, with the homecoming festivities taking them downtown tonight for the “Global to Local” benefit at Benaroya Hall. 8:11 AM UPDATE: Just got word from the Southwest Precinct that the Inconvenient Ride-rs may have up to 200 bicyclists accompanying them on their last leg, and the precinct wants to alert you to their route, for safety’s sake – will post more on that a little bit later this morning.
Yes, yard/garden/habitat work can be fun — if you have company! That video shows just one of several merry mulch-relaying groups we saw in action during a brief visit to the EarthCorps– and Nature Consortium-organized Duwamish Alive! Earth Day event at Pigeon Point Park today. The restoration work at PP Park has really taken shape since we visited for this report a few months ago. After today’s cleanup work, the party was scheduled to move inside neighboring Cooper Elementary for indoor events (good timing; as our video shows, we were there during a sun break, but we all know that didn’t last long). One organizer told WSB today’s turnout numbered about 400!
Dustin in Arbor Heights (thanks!) caught some flakes on cam in Arbor Heights; below is the video we shot with our cam pointed out the car window while en route to “only because there’s not one in West Seattle” Trader Joe’s in Burien a short time ago – looked more impressive in person but here it is anyway:
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