West Seattle, Washington
08 Monday
Employers are welcome to post their West Seattle-based job openings FREE in the WSB Forums‘ West Seattle Jobs Offered section, and two more just have – including one offering a meet-and-greet tomorrow night – go here to see what’s listed.
IN A FLASH: It’s been discussed here on WSB multiple times; now channel 4 has crossed the bridge to do a story about the frequently flashing 35th/Thistle (map) red-light camera. (Most interesting factoid in there — this camera is reported to average 2.5 tickets/day.)
TRANSPORTATION (DEPARTMENT) TALES: This relatively new city website is providing updates on SDOT projects at a fairly busy clip. Most recent West Seattle update – a look at this past week’s work to repair sections of the Duwamish Trail.
FAREWELL, FERRIES: Two of the four steel-electric ferries the state took out of service and sold for scrap started their final journey last night, under tow. Since they were briefly in Elliott Bay, you might have seen them; if not, here’s a Seattle Times photo. Until concerns about their seaworthiness arose, a steel-electric was usually the third boat on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run. Quinault and Nisqually were the two towed last night; the other two, Klickitat and Illahee, will be towed away later this month.
Just a reminder that the Freebies, Deals, Sales category in the WSB Forums is open to yard/garage sale listings (as well as individual items you or your business is offering at a “deal” price) – free. Five yard sales are listed for tomorrow, so far, including a big group sale at Youngstown Arts Center by the Service Board. See these sales (and the other Freebies/Deals/Sales items) here.
We haven’t written an item like this in a while. More than a few people, however, have suggested we shouldn’t be so shy about sharing good news regarding this trailblazing business of making a living as an independent, journalist-run, community-collaborative, online-only news service. So here’s a little bit about WSB’s July. According to Google Analytics – the gold standard in traffic measurement – WSB pageviews totaled 706,143 for the month of July. 23,000 homes/businesses (unique users) visited at least once a week; more than a third of them visited at least once a day. This is the biggest month we’ve had so far this year, second-biggest to snowbound December 2008, and through the end of July, our pageviews for this year total more than 4.6 million. We thank you SO MUCH for finding value in being part of WSB. But even more than the numbers, we are proud of more big stories this month. The biggest: Myrtle Reservoir neighbors e-mailed WSB, wondering why the reservoir-covering project was being dug up again; we uncovered the fact that the waterproofing material used at Myrtle and Beacon reservoirs had hundreds of leaks and needed to be replaced, in a $4 million “change order”; the story was picked up by almost every major news outlet in the region, with credit to WSB in print and on the airwaves. Speaking of airwaves, we guested on KUOW’s “The Conversation” twice this month to talk about neighborhood news. The WSB Pets page helped reunite more than a dozen lost/found pets with their owners; the WSB Forums’ West Seattle Jobs Offered section helped match jobs and jobseekers (see this recent “thank you” from a recruiter) – employers can post job listings there for free. And last week, for the second consecutive year, Seattle Weekly announced that readers voted WSB the best website of its kind in the city – and this year the competition was tougher than ever, with more great independent news sites appearing almost weekly. Though we don’t all run our operations exactly the same way, there is one guiding principle we all share: Community collaboration. So much of what you see here begins with your e-mails, phone calls, WSB Forum posts, tweets, Facebook posts, and in-person conversations (all contact info here) – we were pleased to meet so many people this spring/summer while tabling at festivals from Gathering of Neighbors to Delridge Day to the Morgan Junction Community Festival to West Seattle Summer Fest. Thanks again for being part of an incredible community, and thanks to everyone who is part of WSB by collaborating with helpfulness and respect for your fellow neighbor. Though some days bring bad news, and it’s part of our job to report that too, together our future as a community is nothing but bright.
The White Center Food Bank, which also serves West Seattle south of SW Myrtle, just launched a “blog” section on its website. To kick it off in style, they’re looking for name suggestions – send one in and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a $25 Farmers’ Market gift certificate. Read all about it here.
It’s the city department we discuss the most here, so we’re guessing you’ll want to check out SDOT’s new website. With it – a new Twitter account through which they promise traffic alerts, @seattledot (they used a different one a bit during last year’s snowstorm). And they’ve put the Community Parking Program, which includes the Junction parking review that’s been under way for a year and a half, on Facebook. Plus, you can get their news releases via RSS. (We’ve had state transportation news on our Traffic page via RSS for a while so we’ll add city shortly too.)
Just posted – here’s the listing. Reminder that anyone who is hiring one or more employees in the West Seattle/White Center area is welcome to post the job in the WSB Forums – the listing is FREE – start here. (Another section of interest to businesses, as well as shoppers: Freebies, Deals, Sales.)
Today we’re welcoming a new sponsor, Michelle Babb, MS, RD, 
a Bastyr graduate and adjunct professor who consults on finding optimum health by improving nutrition. New sponsors are always offered the chance to share information with you regarding what they do; Michelle says, “Clients seek me out because they’re looking to change their lifestyle to address their health issues and restore vitality. They’re often very frustrated and worn out with traditional methods for weight loss and disease prevention, and they don’t know where to turn. Most people need a little information and a lot of motivation. I encourage them to make small, but meaningful changes and build up to an optimal diet and I provide support every step of the way. I also use therapeutic diets when warranted, and my patients commonly report feeling better than they have in years. Once they start seeing and feeling the results of restoring balance to the body through good nutrition, exercise and relaxation, that becomes its own motivation.” Michelle says that if you’ve been trying to lose weight or have been diagnosed with a digestive problem, she can work with you to find the right foods. She’s also in touch with naturopaths, medical doctors, acupuncturists and chiropractors to create a whole plan for better nutrition and health. Find Michelle Babb, MS, RD, online at eatplaybe.com. We welcome her to the WSB sponsor lineup, listed in full here along with information on how to become part of it.
And to think it started with a WSBer’s photo. Here’s the WSB Forums thread.
We were helping cover this story via Twitter early this morning – didn’t think it was West Seattle enough for WSB but as more of the effects become obvious, we’re realizing it is: A relatively small fire late last night at Fisher Plaza downtown (4th/Denny, south of the Space Needle) cut power to the building, affecting not only KOMO TV (flagship to Fisher Broadcasting) but also a slew of websites whose hosting companies have servers in the building. We first learned about this indirectly from a West Seattleite whose site was affected – then it was revealed that national sites like geocaching.com and authorize.net (which processes credit cards) were involved too – and now we’ve learned that organizations with West Seattle branches, like PCC and Mars Hill Church, also are without their sites. After several hours of lag, some citywide/national media coverage is FINALLY starting to turn up, but for the best up-to-the-minute news, track Twitter, where many of the companies/organizations that are affected are sharing information – hashtag #fisherfire – direct access to the latest, go here. 1 PM UPDATE: Added this in comments a little while ago since we got the call while out and about, but it needs to be in the main report too: Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) is also among the companies whose servers were affected by this fire/outage – proprietor Gretchen says they have no e-mail access right now, in addition to their website being down, so call if you need something (935-5764). Some other affected websites (not necessarily WS-linked) are listed here.
Just launched, a city-assembled page of “recession resources” links — see it here.
Have to confess we STILL have not been there. But here’s the next best thing – Mary T tells the story of a Walker Rock Garden visit with words and pictures on her site Shelterrific. (The “garden” is also featured here on WSB in the West Seattle 101 section.)
Today we’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor, Kayle Shulenberger, MA-CCC-SLP, 
Licensed Speech Language Pathologist. Kayle has recently moved her office from the University District to West Seattle and she’s available to see children in their homes. If you have a child with speech production disorders and language delay, Kayle has a few openings for new clients right now.
Kayle has been in private practice for the majority of her career. She’s also had experience in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and as a clinical supervisor at Western Washington University. Her references are available upon request and she’s received positive reviews on Yelp. Also, Kayle bills Premera, Regence and Aetna insurance companies for covered speech pathology services. You’ll find her online – with contact information – at kaylespeech.com.
Thanks to Kayle Shulenberger, Licensed Speech Language Pathologist for 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.
Since the WSB Forums launched more than a year and a half ago, originally mostly because people wanted to request and receive recommendations for local businesses and services, they’ve facilitated a lot of other connections too, with more than 61,000 posts and 5,000 members. The latest – a vanpool that’s got room for somebody new. If you commute between West Seattle and the north end of Lake Washington, check out the post here – and check out what else is new in the Forums here.
West Seattleite Joni, who works for the company behind story-sharing site Whrrl, e-mailed to share the latest story posted there – a traveling writer’s photographic look at a day in the life of the homeless camp that calls itself “Nickelsville,” now in its second week at 2nd SW/Highland Park Way on the eastern edge of West Seattle, just feet from its original location. See the story here (or click on the image above); Joni also notes that the writer, Mark Horvath (who tells the story behind the story here), is having a Tweetup (Twitter-driven “meetup” – he’s at @hardlynormal) downtown tonight to talk about his project invisiblepeople.tv, and there’s still a few spots left. P.S. Just discovered some additional “Nickelsville” updates at Blogging Georgetown, including work to start an organic garden.
It’s been about an hour since Facebook started offering members the chance to customize the Web address for their FB presence. We signed up fast for facebook.com/westseattleblog – so that’s where you can find us, as opposed to the previous long string of numbers that we never did manage to memorize. (If you haven’t signed up to customize your FB address yet, it’s a quick free process that starts here. –
(2008 photo by Jerry from JetCityOrange)
No, not a news release – just one line on Twitter: the big green trucks of Amazon Fresh are now delivering to zip code 98146. It’s been a year and a half since AF’s first West Seattle service, at which time (WSB report here) they told us they weren’t sure how soon 98146 would be added. (They added 98106 in March of last year.)
As Kristina put it while e-mailing WSB to share this New York Times link (which a few others have pointed out to us as well), “West Seattle-ites don’t hit the NYT all that often!” Seattle-based NYT writer Timothy Egan has written a long, opinionated look at the case of Amanda Knox, the Arbor Heights student who is about to testify at her murder trial in Italy. See it here.
Today we welcome Darling Skincare & Sugaring as a new WSB sponsor. Here’s what they want to share about their business: Vanessa is excited to bring sugaring to West Seattle! 
Sugaring is an all-natural way to remove unwanted hair. It differs from traditional waxing methods in that it is applied lukewarm so it never burns the skin. This gentle application removes hair at all stages of growth (no little prickles the following week!) and caters to sensitive skin while tackling the coarsest follicles with ease. It is simply the best way to say goodbye to hair that you don’t want around! Darling Skincare & Sugaring offers a full range of organic skincare as well. They offer visible results for a variety of skin conditions including acne treatment and anti-aging care, and also features professional relaxation services. Vanessa would like to thank West Seattle for welcoming her to the area, adding that she discovered where the hip professionals have gone! As a Seattle native from Phinney Ridge, Vanessa appreciates the sense of community she found in her new neighborhood. Darling Skincare & Sugaring also provides bridal and permanent make-up services, and offers gift certificates for any occasion. Darling Skincare & Sugaring is located at 3620 California Avenue SW (map), 206-930-0823, and online at darlingskincare.com.
We welcome Darling Skincare & Sugaring to the WSB sponsor team; the latest lineup is here, along with information on how to grow your business by becoming part of it!
When a sponsor joins WSB, we traditionally offer them the chance to let you know something about their business: Today we welcome 
My Family Doctor, Dr. Terrill Harrington, whose office is at 3623 SW Alaska [map] in the Triangle area. Dr. Harrington’s practice is truly for the whole family – children to adults. He’s ready to talk to you about your medical questions, and to provide care that’s open to everyone, regardless of age. Dr. Harrington is proud that some of the babies he’s delivered are still coming to him years later for their regular care. He says that can be attributed to how people feel about the care they receive from him. While there are many options out there, Dr. Harrington believes people want to come to a place that treats them with the respect and dignity they deserve. Dr. Harrington says he has worked for some of the largest medical providers in the area and while he practiced with people who were well-trained and intelligent, he says there’s no substitute for a neighborhood doctor who can provide personal attention, which even includes the occasional house call. Dr. Harrington has had a practice in West Seattle for the past several years; he has served as team doctor for the Seattle Lutheran High School football team, and has provided hearing tests and other medical screening for elementary and middle schools in West Seattle. My Family Doctor is ready to be your family doctor; you can call 206-362-8674, and find out more online at myfamilydoctorws.com. We welcome Dr. Terrill Harrington to the WSB sponsor team; the latest lineup is here along with information on how to join them!
WEST SEATTLE WINS KEXP HOOD-TO-HOOD: Thanks to a note from Beth, we were able to share the news here last week about the KEXP radio pledge-drive Hood-to-Hood Challenge, offering a special event to whichever neighborhood had the most pledgers by the end of the drive last Friday night. Today we get word (thanks to David for the first word, confirmed on the KEXP home page) that West Seattle won! Working now to find out (a) by how much (not sure if this is the final tally), (b) who came in second, and (c) when/where that event will happen. 4:21 PM UPDATE: (a and b) answer, $70,000+ with Ballard in second at $65K+, (c) answer, sometime in the first quarter of next year, though many details remain to be worked out.
EASY STREET RECORDS ON TWITTER: The latest West Seattle business to hop onto Twitter is the legendary music store that started in the heart of The Junction. You’ll find them at twitter.com/easystrecords. (If you “follow” us at twitter.com/westseattleblog, you know we also send word when we spot any other West Seattle business/institution turning up – over the weekend, for example, Westwood Village restaurant Eats Market Cafe got on board – twitter.com/eatsmarketcafe – other West Seattle eateries on Twitter include WSB sponsors @skylarkcafe and @caferevo.) In addition to our human-powered, interactive account at @westseattleblog, if you just want links to WSB stories, follow us at twitter.com/westseattlenews. You can also see our “tweets” and others mentioning West Seattle on the WSB Twitter page.
Well, that’s all we could think of for a headline, given that Beach Drive Blog already took “Tern, Tern, Tern” (here’s the soundtrack). Great pix on BDB: Terns over West Seattle waters.
We try not to take up much time and space here on the main page talking about panels we’re on and outside-media mentions we’ve gotten for being among the first nationwide to truly succeed as a respectable, commercial, online-only neighborhood-news operation. It would be boring to prattle on about ourselves, since WSB is about you. But this is a rare bit of national exposure, so we’re breaking our rule, and linking to it here: Two weeks ago we spent a few minutes at the KUOW Radio studios in the U-District taping an interview for the weekly NPR show “On the Media,” which was putting together a look at the Seattle news world, post-paper-P-I. The finished product is on this week’s program – which airs on KUOW at 7 pm Sunday, but is online now, and you can listen (via the embedded player above, or go to the OTM site here) if you’re interested. Your editor here is featured for about four minutes, starting five and a half minutes into the piece (after Eli Sanders from The Stranger). Now, back to the news … and thanks again for your support, your sharing of news tips and stories and photos, and for just being there.
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