Plan your procrastination: Thanksgiving grocery-store hours
(THIS IS A 2007 POST – OUR 2008 INFO FOR WEST SEATTLE IS ON THE HOLIDAYS PAGE)
Still working on the list of “where you can get your latte on Thanksgiving,” but we have the West Seattle supermarket holiday hours nailed down so we thought we’d pass them along: PCC will be closed, Metropolitan Market will be open till 2 pm, Thriftway will be open till 4 pm, QFC till 6 pm, the Safeways say it’s 24-hour business as usual.
Welcome to the latest WSB sponsor
There was a time you didn’t hear much about the mortgage business unless you yourself were in the process of getting one. Then – times changed. But the latest 
West Seattle businessperson to join the WSB sponsor ranks has a clear, authoritative, helpful voice that has emerged from the middle of it all: Rhonda Porter, CMPS (Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist), who has gained local and national attention with her blog The Mortgage Porter. It’s a place not just to find information such as her weekly Friday Mortgage Rate Update (last Friday’s edition here) but also background information and context (check the left sidebar for “Favorite Mortgage Posts” such as How to Pick a Lender, and a group of posts explaining specific mortgage programs). Rhonda also contributes to the respected regional real-estate blog Rain City Guide. You can reach Rhonda at 206-718-9488 or by e-mail (click here). This Thanksgiving week, we are thankful for Rhonda Porter and for Hotwire Coffee and Garlic Jim’s Pizza in The Junction, Click! Design That Fits in the Admiral District, and West Seattle Realtor Bill Barna, our first fabulous WSB sponsors; here’s how to join them. (And we are thankful for YOU and all our fabulous WSB visitors/readers/contributors/participants, too!)
Reader Recommendation Request: Local housecleaners
Last time we asked for RRRs on house-cleaning services, we paired it with an unrelated request which stirred up most of the discussion and stole the spotlight. Now with holiday guests looming, we have a new RRR on the topic — Lisa is looking for a house-cleaning/maid service based in, or willing to come to, West Seattle. Please leave your recommendation as a comment; previous RRRs and responses are archived here.
Gee vs. Huling: No arbitration, says judge
The auction is over, the first ex-Huling employee verdict is in, but the court fight over who’s to blame for the dealership failure continues: Latest development in the Gee vs. Huling lawsuit (full lawsuit document linked from here), according to the newest publicly downloadable court documents, is this — 
King County Superior Court Judge Harry McCarthy has ruled against the Hulings in their contention that the dispute with the Gees should go to arbitration rather than court because of terms in their original dealership sale agreement. (The judge wrote “… the dispute falls outside of the arbitration provision in the parties’ contract”; read the ruling here.) So now the Hulings are taking it to the state Court of Appeals. (Read the “notice of appeal” here.)
Along Avalon
Lots going on in one of West Seattle’s most compact and eclectic business districts, SW Avalon heading uphill south from Harbor (map):
-At 2940 SW Avalon, Murphy’s Furniture Studio is presenting a “Girls’ Night Out” event tonight, 6-9 pm, promising food, wine, door prizes, mini-spa treatments from neighboring Ola (discussed in the comments on the recent WSB RRR for salons). Bring donations for the West Seattle Food Bank (which is now at peak time for collecting Thanksgiving food items).
-A bit further uphill, at 2992 Avalon, the Tillicum Village offices just announced something new in time for the holiday-shopping season: A Gift Gallery open to shoppers, with items including original Native American carvings, other art pieces, jewelry, drums, amd clothing. It’s open 9 am-5 pm Monday-Friday, 10 am-4 pm Saturday.
Gee West Seattle auction: Battle of the bidders
Today and tomorrow, as we have mentioned, are auction days for parts, furnishings, equipment (even plants!) at the ex-Gee/ex-Huling dealerships along Fauntleroy, which Gee has promised to clear out of by the end of this month. WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli just checked it out – here are his photos:
Peek at what’s on the block
As of right this moment, it’s preview time for the items that the ex-Gee dealerships are auctioning this week as part of the process of getting cleared out by the end of the month. The preview (till 4 pm today) and auction (10 am both Wednesday & Thursday) are likely to be quite lively; the official auction webpage mentions “food service available at auction site” (personally, we’d just walk over to The Junction, so many tasty options). If you’re curious, here are full lists of what’s on the block: “day 1” is here (from item #1, a battery charger, to #814, miscellaneous plants), “day 2” is here (from #831, a pneumatic fuel tank, to #1145, whiteboard and cabinets), downloadable PDF of the whole catalog is here.
Gee/Huling, the next chapters
The vehicles are off the lots, and now the next chapters in the Gee/Huling saga will unfold this week: Tomorrow is the preview day for the auction that Gee plans this Wednesday/Thursday, to sell parts and other equipment from the now shut-down dealerships along Fauntleroy, which Gee has said it will finish vacating by the end of this month. (You can preview the auction items online at this website.) Meanwhile, the trial is under way for Paul Rimbey, one of the suspects from the criminal case that is at the heart of events that have led to all this; nothing is happening today because courts are closed for the holiday, but this article says the victim is expected to testify this week. The other two former Huling employees charged in the case, Adrian Dillard and Ted Coxwell, are due back in court later this month. And it’ll be a while yet before any trial in the Gee lawsuit against the Hulings; most recently, the Hulings filed a motion saying the dispute should have to go to arbitration, mostly because of terms in the original dealership-sale agreement; the Gees filed a response saying they disagree.
West Seattle Sunday scenes, including a Shadowland update
Veteran West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham, from MattDurhamPhotography.com, has agreed to contribute photos and reporting to WSB from time to time, and we couldn’t be more pleased – his excellent work fits so well with our mission of bringing you West Seattle news, information, and discussion 24/7/365. Here are three of Matt’s photos from today, with his captions below each:
Japhy Witte (with Sign Savant, a West Seattle business) puts the finishing touches on the marquee that will welcome patrons to the new tapas restaurant Shadowland, slated to open around the week of Thanksgiving. Shadowland will offer tapas, small plates, and entrees in a variety of cuisine types, according to owner Ben Jenkins.
With a steady gaze, a loyal lab waits for its owner to exit Capers Sunday afternoon.
The cold, blustery Sunday weather did not deter shoppers from purchasing their fresh produce and organic groceries from West Seattle’ Farmers’ Market.
We look forward to more from Matt in the future. (Prints of these photos and his other work, by the way, are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Welcome to WSB’s fourth sponsor
This morning, Click! Design That Fits in the Admiral District 
joins Hotwire Coffee, Garlic Jim’s Pizza, and Prudential NW Realtor Bill Barna on the growing list of West Seattle businesses sponsoring WSB to reach out to you and the thousands of other local folks who come here daily for 24/7/365 West Seattle news, information, and discussion. (Read our “why ads on WSB?” explanation here.) Click! Design That Fits is at 2210 California Ave. SW, a few blocks north of Admiral (map and hours are on the Click! site), and just celebrated its third anniversary; as Click! owners Frances and John Smersh explain on their website, they opened the shop “to bring contemporary design to our neighborhood of West Seattle … We believe that everyday things should be conscientiously made, functional for the task they were designed to accomplish, and should contribute beauty to daily life.” They also offer online shopping at the Click! site, with gorgeous pix of the jewelry Frances designs and makes by hand, and much more, including a “gift ideas” page. To find out more about joining them as a WSB sponsor, click here to see how to get in touch with our WSB Sales Guy. And thanks again to you and everyone for being part of the WSB community!
Friday afternoon notes
-Two store openings in The Junction today: Craze Clothing in the ex-mortgage space @ the NW corner of California/Oregon (thanks to Keith for the sighting!); Starbucks in the ex-Infinity Espresso space at Jefferson Square.
-Congratulations to a Junction business on its 20th anniversary! Square 1 Books is celebrating with a 20th-anniversary sale through tomorrow.
-Orca fans, be on the lookout again today – We just signed up for the Orca Network e-mail notification list about local sightings (you can sign up here), and not only is there a new photo of the baby orca we mentioned this morning (not linked on the web yet but we’ll put the link here when it is), there’s also word of orca sightings today around Three Tree Point south of West Seattle, and off Maury Island.
-The pirate radio station we mentioned last night seems to be up and playing its promised “warmup music” prior to the FCC media ownership audiocast starting around 4 pm. We heard it (calling itself “Radio 33”) at 93.7 FM.
Packing up, heading out
One week till the parts-inventory auction at the ex-GEE (previously Huling) lots — and now it looks like the vehicles are heading out (as we reported 2 weeks ago, the Gees said in court documents that the inventory was being repurchased). Thanks to Andy S for the tip and pic. We also are working on another update about the latest back-and-forth in the court battle related to the Gees’ suit against the Hulings; short version is, the Hulings say the dispute should be arbitrated per a clause in their original agreement, the Gees say no.
Reader Recommendation Request: Best nail salon?
Before we all get immersed in the day’s news … the latest WSB Reader Recommendation Request. (You can find all previous RRRs here.) Nancy writes:
I’m hoping the WSB community can suggest a good place for nails, both natural and acrylics. A really good, affordable place is key to the all-important Saturday afternoon ritual enjoyed by women (and men!) all over town. A place I’ve been going to for a couple of years is lacking, and I’m looking for a new place.
The high points of any worthy nail establishment should include cleanliness (above all), efficiency, be affordable (i.e. a regular manicure under $25!), and it would be great if you could understand what the technician is saying, and they you. I mean, when we’re talking about avoiding drawing blood from my hands or toes, I would rather not have to repeat myself.
Click the comment link under the headline to share your recommendation(s). Thanks!
Junction soon to go Craze-y
Even more is afoot at California/Oregon in The Junction: The mortgage office is gone at the northwest corner, and the storefront window has the makeshift sign you see above … promising Crazé Clothing on the way. Only thing we have found out so far — the business license is in the category the city titles “women’s, juniors, misses suits, skirts, and coats.” P.S. Big thank you to the WSB readers who first spotted this and e-mailed us about it, so we could share the news.
GEE/Huling update: The deal to clear out
If you drive along Fauntleroy, you’ve probably noticed the lots are finally starting to empty out, more than 2 weeks after closing:
Today we have more details on what’s going on, now that court documents are available for the agreement reached in the Huling suit to evict GEE (we reported last Tuesday that the Huling lawyer said the agreement was in the works to give the Gees till November 30th to clear out):Read More
Show the world you (rock) West Seattle
Remember our bumper-sticker PhotoShop “competition” last week? (Updated here with all the images we received; thanks to everyone who played along!) The “I (rock) West Seattle” version inspired Skylark proprietor Jessie Summa-Kusiak to write to make sure we all know her fab restaurant/club is actually selling hoodies with a similar inscription:
Get ’em at Skylark … “soft and cozy for fall,” notes Jessie … $34.95.
Huling/GEE eviction lawsuit: They’re talking
We’re into the second week of idleness for the ex-GEE/ex-Huling dealerships along Fauntleroy. Since the Gees had till today to answer the eviction lawsuit filed by the Hulings, we checked with the Hulings’ lawyer to see what was going on. Randall Beighle of Lane Powell tells WSB that instead of an official hearing, he met informally this afternoon with Ryan Gee, and that they are in the process of coming up with an agreement for when the Gees will vacate the dealerships. Beighle says this would mean they’ll avoid a court fight over when the Gees will depart, though he also reiterates these talks have no bearing on the other lawsuit, filed by the Gees against the Hulings. He says the Gees hope to keep possession of the lots till the end of next month. As for another question many have asked — what’s the Huling family’s plan for the dealership sites? — Beighle says the Hulings are not currently marketing the properties and are still deciding what to do next.
Still closed, now scrutinized
Still seems Chuck and Sally’s Tavern north of Morgan Junction is the sort of place that should have had a “we’re closing” party rather than just fading away. Whatever the case, it’s still closed, and as we reported here and here, seems unlikely to be reopening. Latest action at the site is a city violation notice of “illegal land use” — according to the notation on the city website, the alleged violation constituted “using the property (used to be a tavern) as a parking lot.” Not much action when we went by, though:
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