From WSB sponsor Eagle Electric – a West Seattle-based business run by a 5-generation West Seattle family – word of some big news. Here’s the official announcement of a big change:
Local Electrician Brands Business with Mister Sparky Name
Eagle Electric of Seattle LLC expands business into
Mister Sparky America’s On-Time Electrician franchise
David and Wendy Lind are ready to grow their business, now that they have transformed their residential electrical service division into a Mister Sparky America’s On-Time Electrician franchise serving the Seattle area.
“Being a part of the Mister Sparky family provides national brand awareness, superior training programs and customer service approaches that will benefit my customers and my business,” David Lind said.
(WSB photo from West Seattle Summer Fest 2008)
Only two and a half months till West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction, and while that may sound like forever, if you’re a business, musician, food vendor or artist thinking about participating, now’s the time to nail down your plans. When we heard Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association mention that local businesses are offered the best rates for space, we said “tell us more” – so here’s the scoop:
The 27th annual West Seattle Summer Fest planning is under way and local West Seattle businesses are invited to participate at special neighborhood rates. The community event draws over 30,000 people and is a great way to meet your neighbors and showcase your business. Depending on your type of business, spots in vendor row can cost as much as $1500. But all West Seattle businesses will be charged only $300 per 10×10 spot. Artists can join the Art Dive for only $125. West Seattle musicians, we’ll pay you! Details at www.westseattlefestival.com.
And West Seattle businesses get a discount on sponsorships too! There are several sponsorship levels. The minimum to get your logo on the poster is $1000 for West Seattle businesses. Note that it’s $3500 for “across the bridge” sponsors.
Why the deal? This is a community-wide event and we want to encourage all of West Seattle to benefit from and participate in this festival. Many of us enjoy living in West Seattle because all of our needs can be met in our own neighborhood – so let’s show it off!
Dates are July 10, 11, 12.
To reserve a booth, visit www.westseattlefestival.com, download the vendor application and put “West Seattle Business – $300!”
To sponsor, please e-mail Susan Melrose at susan@wsjunction.org or call at 935-0904.
Hope you can join the fun!!
And Summer Fest is bound to be bigger than ever – as reported here earlier this month, Mudhoney will headline the music slate for night one on June 10th.
SEEGER/HAGLUND SIDE NOTE: If you missed it over the weekend, we previewed next Sunday’s Admiral Theater event celebrating Pete Seeger‘s 90th birthday (see the story, with video, here) – and it turns out there’s a link to one of the news stories we’re covering today. The former home of Ivar Haglund (left) that’s about to be used for training fires in Upper Alki (WSB story here) is apparently the one mentioned in our Seeger/Admiral preview, as the house where Seeger and Woody Guthrie stayed with Haglund (a folk musician as well as entrepreneur) during a West Seattle visit in the 1940s – so says legendary local historian Paul Dorpat in this detailed comment.
DYLAN BREAKFAST TOMORROW: The folks atEasy Street Records in The Junction e-mailed to make sure you know about their “Coffee with Dylan” event tomorrow morning: It’s release day for “Together through Life,” the new Bob Dylan record, tomorrow, so from 7 am-noon they’re offering free coffee and various giveaways. More info on this Easy Street webpage.
Mother’s Day is exactly two weeks away — but one West Seattle flower shop has already had a burst of extra family spirit: Sharon’s Westwood Florist and Tanning invited WSB to drop in one morning this past week as the shop hosted West Seattle Moms of Tots members in a fun floral-creation activity. That’s store team member Thaddeus at right in the photo above, assisting; below, one of the young designers with the finished product:
Sharon’s Westwood Florist is at 35th/Kenyon (map), just north of Kenyon Hall. The day BEFORE Mother’s Day – as if they’re not busy enough – they’re participating in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (Saturday 5/9, a record-setting 170+ sales!)
Thanks to Stacey and Brooklyn Fuda for that photo – Stacey explains, “My daughter and I were at Alki this morning at about 10:30 during the low tide and we saw an Eagle hanging out on the sand. It was pretty awesome! I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anything like that before!” (With all the great eagle sightings lately, we have a guest-written feature story in the works for sometime this weekend.) Meantime, back inland to The Junction, we’ve mentioned today’s “Junction Rebellion” shopping discounts (coupons here; participants listed here) – Jefferson Square has participants too, including Square One Books:
And Snap Fitness (WSB sponsor) is having an open house with free food:
Guests too – with Snap’s MJ Benavente in the middle, that’s Mary Zwerling at left and sports chiropractor Michael Ross (who gave a talk this morning) at left:
Snap’s open house continues till 3 pm. More big events happening around West Seattle as the day goes on – next up, the Pet Rodeo and Snooty Walk presented by West Seattle High School students at Hiawatha (including pet adoption!), 2-4 pm, and Feedback Lounge‘s grand opening night, starting at 6 pm (see our Thursday night sneak peek here).
Thanks to Bonnie for sharing this e-mail sent to a customer list for the kids-art business upstairs from Curious Kidstuff in The Junction:
Dear Friends,
After seven years I have had to close The Little Artist. I am very sad about it and will miss you all. In order to clear out the studio, I will be having a sale on Sunday, April 26th from 11:00 to 4:00.
* Art materials
* Easels
* Furniture (bookcases, cubbies, etc.)
* Storage bins
* Art project books
* “Grab bags” materials for several projects in each bag
* Birthday party supplies
Prices are below my costs, so bargains are to be had! Hope to see you!
We’d checked out a tip some weeks back that The Little Artist was for sale, but hadn’t confirmed anything at the time. The studio’s operator is NOT the same as the toy store it’s above.
Thanks to Charley Biggs for that Alki view as the sun started to peek through the morning fog. Before we get to the West Seattle Weekend Lineup a bit later, wanted to spotlight a couple West Seattle events happening today/tonight: The second weekend of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church‘s rummage sale is under way now – till 3 pm today, and again 9-3 tomorrow (speaking of rummage sales – tomorrow’s the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day signup deadline!). Later: Tonight is the night that four Junction fashion hot spots are joining forces with local personal-care providers for “a night of beauty and fashion” — Carmilia’s, Clementine, Edie’s and Sweetie, 7-10 pm, with deals, drinks, treats and “mini-spa treatments.” More happenings are on the WSB Events calendar.
ZEEKS PAINTING: Happening right now, with eight days to go till the grand opening (11 am May 1st) of the new pizza restaurant in Morgan Junction (California/Fauntleroy, ex-Corner Inn). The big rotating neon sign is expected to arrive next week.
CF WEST SEATTLE SIGN’S UP, SALE’S PLANNED: After two years, the “Auto Buff Moving May 1st” (which was for 2007) banner is down; the CF West Seattle banner is up. We told you last week about Eric Renn‘s new business enterprise at 42nd/Admiral; he is signed up for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 9th and planning proceeds from his sale to go to the Liver Foundation – they’re looking for items to be donated to sell that day (and will be taking $ donations for the LF too). E-mail us and we’ll put you in touch with Eric.
FROM THE TRIANGLE: Sharonn Meeks sent word, with the above photo, that the old West Seattle Furnace location at 4619 37th SW has finished its remodeling work and now has a sign up for Certified Land Services Corporation.
CUPCAKE ROYALE OWNER IN D.C.: Jody Hall, owner of West Seattle’s (and elsewhere) Cupcake Royale, is in D.C. for a small-business health-care roundtable with President Obama. According to this CR webpage, you can watch live on C-SPAN starting at 8 tomorrow morning.
BUILDING FOR SALE: Speaking of land – we often note sizable real-estate listings, so we’re passing on the word that the apartment/commercial building at 6015 California SW is now on the market for $1,940,000; here’s the listing.
Quick update on this Saturday’s big Junction sale (first reported here a week ago) — a dozen coupons are now available for you to print, from the West Seattle Junction Association website; find the coupons here.
The team from Movin’ 92.5 FM‘s “The Ladies Room” is in that video – courtesy Michele at West Seattle Thriftway — flanking the winner of the 3-wheeled ECO Motor Company Green Car that they gave away at the store today as part of an Earth Day extravaganza. Finalists competed in a motorized shopping-cart race:
Here’s the car:
Also today, Thriftway’s been giving away reusable bags to shoppers — all groceries are being bagged that way — and Michele says it’s going great, supplies should last till the store closes at midnight, no complaints, even! One other photo from earlier today in Thriftway — WSB’er BJP caught this mom and daughter shopping with an environmental exhibit (apparently from a school event):
One more free bag P.S. Celeste shared a coupon for a free reusable bag with a $10 purchase from Bartell Drugs – see it here.
Today, we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, Jen Flynn‘s Four Legs Photography. Jen brings her fine-arts-photography background to taking pictures of people’s pets. She says that experience helps her find your pet’s character and capture it on film. Jen does both dog and cat photography in the owners’ homes and occasionally in parks or at the beach [photo at left is C & P Coffee‘s “shop dog” Adie]. When working in a client’s home she says she is careful not to bring her equipment in immediately so that she can get to know the dog or cat she’ll be photographing. Prior to an appointment, Jen also has several tips on how to get your pet’s energy out and still look fresh for a picture. She says that taking this time to establish herself in the pet’s home has led many of her clients to say they were amazed their pet sat still to have a picture taken. Jen also works with several animal rescue and adoption groups and she’s involved with the Northwest Photographic Center. Her work has been seen in West Seattle at Next to Nature in the Junction and at The Kenney during February’s West Seattle Art Walk. She has an upcoming show at Plasteel Frames in June, and she is a frequent contributor to West Seattle-headquartered City Dog Magazine. You can find Four Legs Photography online at fourlegsphoto.com, or call Jen at 206-890-8295.
While at Chief Sealth High School for the Honor Choir/Mariachi Tamale Dinner last night, we noticed that sign on a courtyard window. The Wednesday activity reminded us of the passion with which restoration workers describe the need to get invasives up and out of our forests, yards, fields, anywhere you see them. (Here’s a list and photos of what to look for.) Meantime, we also have an update from West Seattle Thriftway regarding their big Earth Day plan: Not only will the store bag everything in reusable tote bags (while they last) – and no plastic for the day at all (aside from the health-code-required produce and meat/freezer bags), even if you insist you don’t want a tote bag – but the Movin’ 92.5 “Ladies Room” team will have a contest in the Thriftway parking lot, noon-1:30 pm, giving away a three-wheeled ECO Car. Michelle from Thriftway explains, “These cars are still in preproduction … so the winner will be able to customize the car to their liking…interior, color etc. There will be a model of the car on-site. They have a pre-determined list of contestants [from an ongoing contest], but will be choosing a handful of on-site individuals to participate (maybe 10-15). It will be a mix of some ECO trivia and sort of a ‘Supermarket Sweep’ type game to incorporate our store into the challenge.” Here’s a video of the DJs’ test drive of the three-wheeled car:
Found that on their site’s page with more info, here. Thriftway’s Earth Day page is here.
After more than two years, the “Auto Buff Is Moving” banner is finally about to come down at 42nd/Admiral – because the building’s getting a facelift, with someone new moving in: Eric Renn talked to WSB today about his new “athletic gym,” taking over the long-vacant former Auto Buff space. Our discussion also reveals a bit about the future of the corner in general – previously slated for a mixed-use development with a “grocery store” once rumored to be the ever-elusive Trader Joe’s – read on to find out more:Read More
One day after Tax Deadline Day, the merchants of the West Seattle Junction Association have just announced a plan to free you from (sales) taxes for a day – the “Junction Rebellion.” Tax-free shopping – in other words, the store pays the tax, not you – with other discounts and promotions, are planned for participating merchants (see the poster) on Saturday, April 25th.
3:46 PM UPDATE: After some commenters asked whether this was tied to yesterday’s “tea party” protests around the country, WSJA’s Susan Melrose asked us to share this message:
The purpose of this promotion was to generate shopping in The Junction for the benefit of our retail members in this trying economy. It was in no way intended to be construed as a political statement, and the timing was inadvertent and unfortunate for our intention (we planned this 2 weeks ago). One of the Junction Association’s core values is to support community and the true intention behind this promotion is nothing more than to have a fun shopping day in The Junction, enjoy living local, and have merchants pick up the tab on sales tax. Sorry for overcomplicating a simple neighborhood sale! To contact me directly: susan@wsjunction.org
It’s Tax Day; we’ve had a lot of crime reports (and more in the works); so let’s take a moment for a quick respite: After we started profiling West Seattle’s “shop cats” (meet Swiftyhere, Presta and Schraderhere, and Sethhere), we got a few notes about local “shop dogs.” First, there was Cooper; now, meet Adie, the mascot for C & P Coffee, where proprietor Cameron says, “We love all our pals who come to visit, although the official line is service dogs only. Adie comes to work with us every day, but she still won’t drink coffee.” More “mascots” to come!
(The Stonehedge Tree Experts team: From left, Matt Kuebler, Jim LeBlanc, Lincoln Erbeck and owner Mark Harman)
Today we welcome a new sponsor – Stonehedge Tree Experts. Stonehedge is West Seattle’s oldest tree-care company. Its owner Mark Harman says his business is built on repeat customers who appreciate the care and attention to detail that his crew brings to each and every job. He says the comments he gets about his crew usually include the words “careful,” “efficient,” and “clean.” Mark says he thinks that this care and attention are why he’s been able to build so many long-term relationships with customers. Mark is a member of the International Society of Arboriculture and Plant Amnesty. He has three ISA Certified Arborists on the crew who are members of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. Mark is a West Seattle native – his family lived in Fauntleroy when he was born and that’s where he grew up; he currently resides in Gatewood. He’s also a member of the Fauntleroy Community Association. You can reach Stonehedge Tree Experts at 937-7428 or at their website, stonehedgetree.com.
Thanks to Stonehedge Tree Experts for choosing to grow their business while supporting 24/7 community news/information/discussion by sponsoring WSB; our full sponsor lineup, and info on how to become part of it, is on our Advertise! page.
This is the first of the current wave of Junction megaprojects to be finished — just one month from now, residents will start moving in, and its storefronts will start to open. Today, as WSB welcomes Mural Apartments (4727 42nd SW; map; ) as a sponsor, we have photos and information to bring you from a tour we joined last Friday, even as crews put the finishing touches on residential and retail – you are welcome to book a tour too (935-0676). Here’s a sneak peek inside one of the model units they’re showing now:
Read on to see what else we saw, and found out, including new information about Mural‘s ground-floor businesses:Read More
It’s been one year and five days since we first told you about Coffee at the Heights, the espresso shop that the proprietors of PB&J Textiles have been working on at their shop’s former location in Sunrise Heights (7349 35th SW; here’s a map). As is often the case for new food/drink establishments in particular, it’s been a bit of a bumpy road, but they are finally on the verge of opening – here’s the latest from proprietors Paul and David:
We are ready for our final inspections. Tuesday is plumbing and electrical, and if there are no issues then we can schedule the final health inspection. Once that passes, we are open. Our grand opening will start May 1 and run for 30 days with all of our drawings on May 31st! … Grand prize winner is a coffee drink for a day for a year!
In the meantime, Paul and David are looking for artists who might want to show their work in the new shop – they would love to hear from you ASAP – their number at PB&J Textiles is 206-243-3053.
So far in our series profiling “shop cats” who are fixtures at local businesses, you’ve met Seth at West Seattle Nursery (story here) and Presta and Schrader at Aaron’s Bicycle Repair (story here). Today we head to the southernmost edge of West Seattle for our next “Shop Cat”: Swifty, “the cat who purrs like an engine.”
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Introducing Swifty — whose name exemplifies irony.
Swifty spent 9/10ths of our interview in her big, soft bed on the counter at Roxbury Complete Auto Supply (map). When co-owner Bill Crawford finally picked her up and placed her at the other end of the store, she meandered the aisles for a bit, then went right back to her big, soft bed on the counter.
We’ve introduced you to three West Seattle “Shop Cats” so far — Seth at West Seattle Nursery (story here) and Presta and Schrader at Aaron’s Bicycle Repair (story here). Along the way, a few people have asked if we plan to highlight “Shop Dogs” too – we’d planned to wait till the “Shop Cats” ran their course, but then Rock Steele sent us the photo above, and this caption:
This is Baron with his person Scott Goerig – owner of Redline Music and Sports on 35th Ave SW just south of Avalon. Baron can be found most days at the Redline greeting guests as they arrive, checking to make sure that everything is OK and policing the floor between naps.
Thanks, Rock, Baron, and Scott! Meantime, we’ve already got more “Shop Cats” in queue – watch this space. (And one plug for a Shop Cat with a special event coming up – West Seattle Nursery’s spring open house is this Saturday, April 11th, more info on the WSN website.)
From the city’s daily “permit issuance” list, a permit’s been granted for Chase signage to go up at the West Seattle Thriftway WaMu branch; we just went down the hill to check – the illuminated “runner” is already up inside the branch; the sign over the door is in transition; the WaMu sign on the outdoor storefront (photo above) is all that remains. WaMu/Chase has five West Seattle branches in all (counting the Junction drive-through).
That’s Todd Carden of Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub, — a mainstay in The Junction for 12 years — accepting the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s “Business of the Year” award this morning. WSCC members and guests gathered at Salty’s on Alkifor the annual awards breakfast, at which County Council Chair Dow Constantine presented the awards; he was one of three political leaders in attendance, along with City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Nick Licata. Introducing EBB owner Carden, Constantine listed the company’s distinctions, particularly in environmental stewardship — first King County brewery to go organic, first in Washington with two organic breweries (there’s an EBB in Burien too), a trailblazing composting program. Carden said he was happy to first hear of the award (reported here March 11) but it didn’t really sink in until he and his wife were visiting stops on the West Seattle Art Walk the next night and “people started congratulating me left and right.”
Also honored this morning — the Community Service Award recipient, Robinson Newspapers founder Jerry Robinson (who, it was revealed after his acceptance speech, turns 89 next Monday). With the trademark humor familiar to readers of his column, he quipped that others might have deserved the honor more — perhaps Rolf Neslund, the ship captain whose collision with the old West Seattle Bridge in 1978 broke a longrunning logjam over whether to build a new one. (Elliott Bay proprietor Carden later joked he might have to name a future beer after Neslund.) Jerry Robinson founded the White Center News in 1952 and bought the West Seattle Herald in 1974; at one point, not that many years ago, he tried to retire, but admitted he felt a bit “useless” in his temporary life of leisure, saying, “Nothing is as fulfilling” as being of service to others.
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s regular monthly meetings are listed on its website at wschamber.com.
Look in the picture windows filled with bicycles at Aaron’s shop in Morgan Junction and you may find a pair of bright green eyes looking back at you. Presta and Schrader, the feline brothers who live at the shop, regularly perch themselves on a bike saddle in the front window to take the measure of the world outside.
SEEGER/HAGLUND SIDE NOTE: If you missed it over the weekend, we previewed next Sunday’s 
DYLAN BREAKFAST TOMORROW: The folks at 
She says that experience helps her find your pet’s character and capture it on film. Jen does both dog and cat photography in the owners’ homes and occasionally in parks or at the beach [photo at left is 
It’s been one year and five days since we 
Also honored this morning — the Community Service Award recipient, Robinson Newspapers founder Jerry Robinson (who, it was revealed after his acceptance speech, turns 89 next Monday). With the trademark humor familiar to readers of his column, he quipped that others might have deserved the honor more — perhaps Rolf Neslund, the ship captain whose 
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