West Seattle, Washington
21 Sunday
In the hat, it’s West Seattle writer and former “Rosie the Riveter” Georgie Bright Kunkel, who spoke briefly at Thursday’s West Seattle Democratic Women luncheon as the group paid tribute to her husband Norman Kunkel, who died earlier this year (as noted here). (Georgie revealed she’s doing open-mike comedy at Comedy Underground on June 8th, by the way.) The group also presented a check to an organization for which Mr. Kunkel did a lot of work, the Sightline Institute (whose Alan Durning is shown above with Georgie) in his honor. The centerpiece of the luncheon at the West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse, however, was a candidates’ forum – one of several in West Seattle in the coming weeks. The field won’t be set till after the filing deadline a week from today, but three candidates each for two City Council seats – the open Position 4 (which Jan Drago is leaving to run for mayor) and Position 6 (with candidates including incumbent Nick Licata) spoke to the group – read on for video highlights and a few other notes:Read More
(video added 4:47 am, wrecked Porsche after it was pulled out of water and up over seawall)
ORIGINAL 2:32 AM REPORT: “Water rescue” call right now in the 1100 block of Harbor Alki Avenue. Here’s what we are hearing on the scanner: Somebody drove into the water and his car — a Porsche Carrera, unless what we are hearing on the scanner is a joke — is about six feet under; divers are going in to make sure the driver’s alone, which is what he has told them. More as we get it. 2:37 AM UPDATE: Divers have confirmed nobody’s in the submerged car. 3:10 AM UPDATE: We’re at the scene – the car really is a Porsche and really is less than 10 yards offshore, underwater; it went over the seawall in the condo zone.
(video added later, best shot we could get of the car, submerged:)
The driver’s been taken to the hospital – the medic unit passed us as we were arriving here about 20 minutes ago (TV crews are here too). Police have reopened the road; City Light’s also here because the car took out a power pole before going over the wall. Now police are strategizing with a tow crew how they’re going to get the car out. 3:54 AM UPDATE: Two police divers are in the water, where they will attach cables from a bigger tow truck that’s come in; we’re with TV crews awaiting the big pullout attempt – might be about 10 more minutes. If you’re seeing this “live,” KIRO does news at 4:30 am so that may be the first place you see video. Lt. Ron Smith has spoken with us at the scene, by the way, and says the driver, in his 50s, was taken to Harborview Medical Center for observation, and will be tested for possible intoxication. (Added later, clip from Lt. Smith’s briefing:)
(this clip also added later) Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen was at the scene for a while too — she explains what SFD rescuers saw and did upon arrival:
4:24 AM UPDATE: The mangled Porsche is out. We’re on our way back to upload video from HQ. 4:59 AM UPDATE: Adding clips, as promised. Atop this post, it’s the car right after pullout; here, the last haul up over the wall:
Also added a few clips in the middle. To fill in one of the blanks: The car was heading north/eastbound on Alki when it “went straight where there’s a curve,” as Lt. Smith put it. As for the driver’s condition, no formal word, but as SFD’s Vander Houwen said, he did NOT have “life-threatening injuries.”
10:28 AM UPDATE: SPDBlotter has summarized the incident briefly with a few additional details: The driver was 54 and is described as having ultimately determined to have been “uninjured”; the item says, “Investigators believe drugs and/or alcohol in addition to speed may have contributed to the collision” (pending test results). Plus, specifics on the car: A 1991 Porsche 911.
11:09 AM NOTE: A comment recalls a deadly crash in the area a few years ago. To be specific – according to this brief item from WSB’s first year – 2 people were killed in September 2006 when their car went into the water across from 1238 Alki, less than a block west of this morning’s crash site.
With the retiring of the colors, this year’s West Seattle Memorial Day commemoration at Dignity Memorial/Forest Lawn concluded a few hours ago. Veterans young and old were among those at the event – from a man in a “KOREA VET” cap, heard discussing the North Korea missile test, to Iraq War veterans like City Council candidate and former Highland Park Action Committee chair Dorsol Plants (who served for five years, until 2007). Another younger veteran on hand was Christopher Shea, commander of American Legion Post 160, which presents this ceremony each year; he recounted the reason for the holiday:
Today’s special guest speaker was Vietnam War veteran Margarita Suarez, who recalled her harrowing work as a nurse, sharing memories with a message that had some in tears:
The simple spirit of patriotism imbued the service, including singalongs led by guest vocalist Tom Carlisle:
And Scouts from Troop 284 performed wreath duty (listen for the crows):
Other participants in the ceremony included Pastor Tom Isenhart and musician Jim Edwards, who played “Taps.” This is the 82nd time the Post has presented this service — one of the longest-running Memorial Day events in the Seattle area.
Our video shows executive chef/co-owner Dalis Chea and crew at Fresh Bistro tonight (street level of the now-renting Mural Apartments [WSB sponsor] in The Junction, preparing Shiso Crusted Honey Pecan Prawns (see the finished product close up here in Seattle Bon Vivant‘s photos), one of a multitude of mouth-watering-sounding offerings on the menu at a special preview. We dropped by to take a look at the restaurant, a creation of West Seattle-based Herban Feast, whose proprietor BJ Duft talked with us last fall for a super-early preview. This Friday is Opening Day, as noted here last week — here’s a look inside the brand-new restaurant:
Click ahead for more photos, plus information about the opening schedule/hours:Read More
We mentioned it during our running coverage of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting (now over) – lightning flashed, thunder roared, hail pounded on the Southwest Precinct roof. Now we have a High Point view in the photo above, shared by Marco, via Twitter. Forecast, believe it or not, says “partly sunny” for tomorrow. ADDED 10:38 PM: At the peak of the downpour, we put our video camera on the floor next to our chair in the SW Precinct meeting room and pointed it at the window. The resulting video isn’t too bad. Note the low-level ambient audio is irrelevant; the rain and hail couldn’t be heard through the window:
Neighboring entrepreneur Rick of Rick’s Barber Shop shared the news last weekend that this was imminent, and today, it really happened: We’ve seen it with our own eyes. The many-years-closed shop formerly known as Cavvy’s, 5247 California SW (map), is now open again. Under new management, but “old” ownership – the building’s owner, Wayne Whitten, is trying his hand at retail ownership (he’s worked at stores including McLendon’s). Check the video clip above for a look all around the store (starting with the life ring from the state ferry Walla Walla): “Everything’s for sale,” Wayne told us. Cash only. “Like a yard sale!” says one of the cheery makeshift window signs. But there is something he needs – a name for the shop. Note the old sign is gone:
“What should we call it?” he asked. We didn’t have a pithy suggestion – he says barber Rick offered “Wayne’s World”; we said we’d ask you. So if you have a suggestion, leave a comment. And drop by to see Wayne, who’s expecting to be open 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays TFN, with more merchandise to be added, including what he calls “antiquey” items:
On video, that’s helga hizer and Matthew Ellis of Mess Kit performing at West Seattle Nursery a short time ago – during the first-ever beer/art/gardening event that’s teaming WSN with Twilight Artist Collective and Prost West Seattle. $2 beer:
$1 pretzels:
Art – priceless. Well, not really. Prices vary.
West Seattle Nursery is at California/Brandon (map). Part of the sale proceeds during today’s event will go to West Seattle Helpline.
That video shows the start of this morning’s Walk with Us to Cure Lupus 5K fundraising walk at Alki – third year for this event, and organizer Laurie Gray told us the hundreds of walkers raised about $40,000. Before the walk began, participants were told that researchers are making progress in the fight against lupus, an auto-immune disorder (explained here), by identifying specific genes linked to it. (Lupus is gender-linked, as well; 90 percent of patients are female.) This is one of more than a dozen Walk with Us to Cure Lupus events around the country (others are listed here); local businesses supported the event too, including WSB sponsor M3 Bodyworks, which had massage stations set up inside Alki Bathhouse:
From left, that’s Jen Barth, Michael Mandell and Liam Buell (he’s one of M3’s newest therapists, who are the inspiration for the “New Therapists Special” currently being promoted in M3’s WSB ad). Seattle Lutheran High School band members were on hand to help pump up the walkers, and Pioneer Coffee provided their signature beverage. Next 5K event on Alki: The first-ever West Seattle 5K to raise money for local schools; organizers are advertising on WSB for the rest of the month to help get the word out — it’s the kickoff event to the May 31 “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event (sequel to last September’s Car-Free Day, though the name has changed this year); you can register for the West Seattle 5K here.
Five of the six candidates for Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival (meet all six here) posed for us on Seacrest Pier this morning as the West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club Kids’ Fishing Derby was in its final moments, just yards away. Once again this year, brilliant sunshine for WSSC members to host a temporary fishing pond at the pier for kids 12 and under – we caught two catches on video:
The next scheduled Hi-Yu event is the American Legion Candidates’ Reception on June 11th; the Hi-Yu float, meantime, fresh off its award-winning Sequim appearance last weekend (WSB coverage here), was scheduled to be up north again today, at the Rhododendron Festival Parade in Port Townsend.
For more than a few local schools, it’s a tradition to get out of the classroom and walk laps to raise money — and today, perfect weather graced Alki Elementary School‘s annual springtime fundraiser, the Alki-a-thon. Allison Carver from the Alki Elementary PTA explained, “We stagger the grades (from oldest to youngest) and each grade makes a grand entrance with their own unique colorful team t-shirt and theme song!” Music, refreshment, and games – Crabwalk, Limbo, Buddywalk – were part of the fun. (Next week, by the way, Sanislo Elementary hits the ground running with its Jog-a-thon.)
That’s one of your two State House members, Rep. Sharon Nelson, briefing last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting about the legislative session just concluded – note that she explained she is expecting word sometime today about the ultimate fate of her “payday lending” legislation. With her, the 34th District’s other two legislators – State Sen. Joe McDermott gave the longest briefing, including updates on education-related legislation:
And since health care issues are a focus for Rep. Eileen Cody, that’s where her briefing focused:
The 34th DDs also heard last night from a long list of people running for local office this year, primarily Seattle City Council candidates (all of whom we will be profiling here on WSB in the weeks ahead) – although mayoral candidate James Donaldson was there too. The meeting ran nearly three hours and included a somewhat contentious vote (background here) on the group’s rules for candidate endorsements – which they plan to make at their meeting in July. Announcements at the meeting included a reminder of the June 1st King County Executive candidates’ forum, sponsored by inSPIRE, to be held at Fauntleroy Church (more info here).
A week and a half after West Seattle’s first Zeeks Pizza opened in Morgan Junction, its neon sign with the rotating “Z” is in place tonight. The process took much of the day, during which several people e-mailed us about it, so we thought some might like to see the finished installation. Racking brain – there’s a rotating sign at the Admiral/California dry cleaners – anyone else in West Seattle have a rotating sign?
If you happened to drive by 35th/Holden within the past hour and wondered why a fire station was on the lawn of the old house across from the Chevron station – Engine 37 was temporarily on special duty, making a visit to its future home, where ceremonial groundbreaking was celebrated for the new Fire Station 37, which will look something like this (photograph replaced Tuesday night with digital copy of rendering):
Not only was the Station 37 team on hand —
— so were Mayor Nickels, Fire Chief Gregory Dean, West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, and Brenda Bauer, who handles projects like this as director of Fleets and Facilities:
The mayor explained why this particular fire-station project is a special one for him personally:
Councilmember Rasmussen wondered if a somewhat secret feature of the old station would be moved to the new one:
The crowd also heard a few words from Pablo Lambinicio, chair of the Delridge District Council:
Other well-known West Seattleites in attendance included the peninsula’s two Neighborhood Services Coordinators, Ron Angeles (Delridge office) and Stan Lock (Junction office). We talked with project managers afterward; right now, the city’s evaluating bids for the construction but hasn’t awarded a contract yet, so don’t expect to see backhoes pulling up any day now. Once the new Station 37 is built and occupied (second half of next year), the city will sell the current 84-year-old Station 37, which must be preserved because it’s an official city landmark:
The new site is a few blocks south of the old one at 35th/Othello; the new station will be about 9,000 square feet, more than double the size of the old one, and the project cost has been estimated at about $6 million. ADDED 8 PM: The city tells us the top three bidders, whose bids are being reviewed right now, are Harmatta Construction Inc., Kirtley – Cole Associates, and OPUS.
It’s a familiar sight to those who drive Sylvan Heights/Orchard between Delridge and High Point — the Vietnamese Cultural Center north of Home Depot and next to Tug, a simple structure with a grand statue out back. As noted in the feature story we published last July, that statue pays tribute to 13th century Vietnamese hero Gen. Tran Hung Dao. But on Saturday, those gathered at the center were there to honor other soldiers – the thousands of Americans and Vietnamese who lost their lives in last century’s decades of war:
Chanting honored those soldiers, as did a drum ceremony:
Those in attendance heard from Dr. Dung Nguyen, M.D., who chaired the event.
A moment was offered for veterans to pause and remember:
A wreath was laid, before a moment of silence:
As explained on the event invitation, Vietnamese-American communities take time around the end of April/early May each year for ceremonies like this; as this online timeline reminds us, this is the time of year, 34 years ago, when the war finally ended.
(For the history of Vietnamese immigration to the U.S. in wartime and afterward, here’s a city-hosted website.)
That’s Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s Father Jack Walmesley blessing Delores Chapman, OLG School‘s recess supervisor – with help, as you can hear in the video! – in honor of her 80th birthday. She’s been at the school for 15 years, and the students not only made birthday cards for her, but presented her with a specially decorated safety vest that put her in a dancing mood:
By the way, the OLG parish has something else to celebrate – completion of its new pastoral center, north of the church and school – an open house has just been announced – read on for details:Read More
Here’s our second video report on the big candidates’ forum at Washington Athletic Club this morning, presented by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce-affiliated Alki Foundation. In our first one (see it here), we brought you the one-minute pitches made by the four Seattle Mayor candidates present; this time, it’s the 2 1/2-minute pitches allowed from the four King County Executive candidates who were on hand. At top, it’s King County Council Chair Dow Constantine; below, State Rep. Ross Hunter, State Sen. Fred Jarrett, and King County Councilmember Larry Phillips (absent: former TV news anchor Susan Hutchison):
As with the mayoral candidates, the KCE candidates had a “lightning round” in which yes/no questions were asked by the audience and moderator, with the candidates holding up a paddle displaying either yes or no; several questions were relevant to White Center annexation, and we’ll write up a separate report for partner site White Center Now, but among the others, a highlight included the question of whether King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit should merge – all said “no” except Hunter. We’ll be covering other forums, and presenting more close-up looks at the candidates, as the August primary gets ever-closer. (Note – The 34th District Democrats plan a candidates’ forum, with mayoral, County Executive, and other candidates, coming up June 10.)
This morning, the campaign season kicked into a higher gear – with a little more than three months to go till the primary — as the first major campaign forum of the season, sponsored by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce-affiliated Alki Foundation, brought movers and shakers from the worlds of business and politics to the Washington Athletic Club. We will be covering the major citywide/countywide races here in the months ahead, so we went for a closeup look at participating candidates, and video to share with you. We’re breaking this story into two parts, four clips each – in this one, the one-minute opening pitches each Seattle Mayor candidate made. Four of the five who are officially running participated (Joe Mallahan wasn’t there). The top clip is James Donaldson; the next three, in order, are Michael McGinn, incumbent Greg Nickels, and Norman Sigler:
Each candidate’s name above is linked to his campaign website. This morning’s event also included a “lightning round” in which a yes/no question was asked and each candidate had to hold up a paddle showing his answer – one notable question regarding West Seattle concerns, “Do you support building park-ride garages in Seattle?” – McGinn and Nickels said no, Donaldson and Sigler said yes. In a separate story later tonight, we’ll have our clips of the four County Executive candidates who appeared. The Seattle Chamber’s photos from this morning are posted on its Flickr site; for a different style of as-it-happened coverage, see what we wrote via Twitter on our @wsblive account (which we use to cover live events like this, so as not to clutter our other streams) – our main Twitter account is @westseattleblog, and our automated feed of links to WSB stories is @westseattlenews.
Those dancers were part of Chief Sealth High School‘s Cinco de Mayo assembly earlier this afternoon – and the assembly ended with a bonus: Seattle Seahawks reps (including defensive tackle Craig Terrill) were there to present Sealth teacher Nancy Ruyzcki with the Symetra MVP award (officially announced last December), which brings the school a $20,000 grant and what Sealth’s Sam Reed describes as “a complete set of laptop computers that will be for use by our students in a mobile-classroom setting” – see ’em here:
Terrill also led the students in a cheer – noting that he’s a Seahawk and they (because of the Chief Sealth mascot) are Seahawks too:
Just hit “play” on that first clip, and you’re bound to get a Fourth of July feeling, despite the somewhat wintry weather outside. That’s the Toni Reineke-directed Westside Symphonette senior orchestra, conducted in our video by Nse Ekpo, rehearsing at Chief Sealth High School (Boren). That’s also where the Symphonette’s senior and junior members will perform their FREE spring concert tomorrow night, 7 pm. Also on the program, a Mozart clarinet concerto, with Ekpo soloing:
Westside Symphonette is West Seattle’s community orchestra – all volunteers, and though the concert’s free, donations will be accepted.
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli took an amazing flight today and is sharing that video as well as photos and a story – he says you might have heard the rumbling since the plane was flying over this area too:
Photos and story by Christopher Boffoli
The large vintage plane you might see over the skies of West Seattle this weekend is a newly restored World War II era B-17 “Flying Fortress” named the Liberty Belle. The bomber will be making flights through the weekend from Boeing Field and can be seen up close behind the Museum of Flight.
These Boeing-designed planes were best known for their bombing runs from England to Germany throughout the War and were famous for their ability to withstand damage from both enemy fighters and from flak guns on the ground and yet continue to fly. Still, the bombing runs were incredibly dangerous. Of the 12,731 B-17s built, exactly 8,007 were lost in combat and almost 25,000 airmen died.
Casualty figures were extremely high during the first few years of the War, until the Allies eventually were able to design longer-range fighter escorts to protect the planes from the Luftwaffe. By studying B-17s that crash-landed, the Germans were able to learn how to exploit the weaknesses of the aircraft. But the sheer number of successful bombing missions by Flying Fortresses had a devastating effect on the German war machine.
The crews of the B-17s were able to defend themselves with .50 caliber machine guns mounted at several positions on the aircraft, including a tail gunner and a man in a turret on the belly of the fuselage. The planes were not pressurized and the long flights could be very loud and cold. The airmen wore electric flight suits to keep warm in temperature that could reach 50 below. Some crew members were killed when their oxygen tanks froze at high elevation. The name Flying Fortress was apparently coined by a Seattle Times reporter in the early 40’s. The moniker caught on and Boeing eventually copyrighted it.
The B-17 in town this weekend, the Liberty Belle, was built in 1945 in Burbank, California under contract by the Vega Aircraft Corporation, a part of Lockheed. Because it was completed at the end of the War, this B-17 never saw combat. It was initially sold for scrap but was rescued by a collector who then sold it to engine maker Pratt & Whitney which used it for many years to test engines. It was eventually sold to private collectors, changing hands a number of times over the years. While on display at an air museum in the 1970’s it was damaged by a tornado. The current owner spent more than $5 million meticulously restoring the B-17 to flight condition. Fewer than a dozen B-17s are still airworthy.
Much of the aircraft is in original condition, through some modern avionics and navigation equipment has been added. The Liberty Belle was actually flown to England last year, following the same route and landing at the airfields used by the B-17’s during the War.
The story of Christopher’s flight, ahead:Read More
The presentation of the colors opened the ceremony at noon today at Dignity Memorial/Forest Lawn in High Point, with dozens of police officers and community members gathered for a groundbreaking. We reported a week ago about the plan for this site — Forest Lawn is donating it for the construction of what will be Seattle’s first freestanding memorial to officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The ceremony was brief; speakers included West Seattle’s highest-ranking law enforcer, Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler:
The line of SPD cars nearby was another sign of the police participation:
Also in attendance, representatives of groups that assist the families of fallen officers. Forest Lawn officials explained that the idea’s been in the works for three years, sparked by ongoing collaboration with SPD chaplains, whose leader John Oas was part of today’s event, and helped with the ceremonial groundbreaking:
Forest Lawn will now embark on fundraising to help cover the cost of designing and building the actual memorial; they’re hoping it will be ready for a big dedication ceremony around this time next year. (Forest Lawn has another big event coming up, by the way – 2 pm May 25th, the annual Memorial Day ceremony; here’s our coverage from last year.)
Well – as we post this photo, it’s still a few minutes till Skillet Street Food officially opens in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard at 11 am (they’re scheduled to be here till 2 pm – California SW, just south of Genesee, north of the post office). That’s the menu and pricing, written in purple on the side of the gleaming chrome Airstream trailer. We peeked into the trailer too, where Josh, Mark and Mary are working – video shortly.
ADDED 11:08 AM: Here’s video of Mary inside the Skillet trailer, telling us a bit about the burger, the poutine gravy, the Thom Kha soup and the calamari (see menu/pricing photo above):
10 minutes after they opened, there’s a line, but not too bad – still inside the courtyard.
ADDED 11:39 AM: Here’s the current line:
And most important of all, their signature dish – “The Burger” (one person just suggested it’s a serious rival to West Seattle’s current burger fave, Zippy’s):
Good reviews so far – including this :15 assessment of The Burger, from Gatewood resident Dave Gross:
We’re moving on to a few other stories but in case you checked online before heading out into the sunshine, we knew we had to report on the big debut. Their menu changes weekly and you can usually find it on the home page at skilletstreetfood.com; if you haven’t been to Hotwire before, here’s a map to their location. P.S. If you’re just catching up with all this and wondering what’s the fuss — Skillet sets up at various Seattle locations and has amassed quite the following, since street-side food is not often also somewhat gourmet, and this is yet another sign that West Seattle has “arrived” as a foodie destination (in addition to rave reviews for local eateries such as Spring Hill); previous “press clips” can be browsed here. P.S. We were asked via Twitter (@westseattleblog for human-powered updates and observations, @westseattlenews for links to WSB stories as they’re published) if Skillet takes credit cards – answer, yes.
8:32 PM ADDITION: Speaking of Twitter, this postmortem from Skillet via Twitter (@skilletstfood):
so..that was the biggest opening day at any location we have ever had..and the biggest day we have ever had…..thanks WS, WSB and hotwire
Folk-music legend Pete Seeger co-wrote “If I Had a Hammer,” but Peter, Paul and Mary made it famous. Seeger – whose impending 90th birthday will be celebrated in West Seattle and other locals nationwide – is much better known for his songwriting than his singing – this classic performed by The Byrds, also from the ’60s, is a prime example:
Here’s Seeger explaining how he wrote that:
So, after those clips, are you in the mood to sing along with songs like “If I Had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn,” along with many others? On Seeger’s 90th birthday, Sunday 5/3, a day with celebrations planned around the country, the Seattle party will be right here in West Seattle, at the historic Admiral Theater. The singalongs will be part of an evening music slate, starting at 7 pm, following a documentary screening at 4 pm. West Seattle author/historian Clay Eals is the one who came up with the idea for the historic theater to host this celebration of living history – during an interview at the Admiral last Wednesday, he explained what it’s going to be all about:
Read on for more about the celebration, more from Eals – who explains the synergy between this event and the musician-biography project he worked on for years – ahead:Read More
| 6 COMMENTS