A rant & 2 raves
Not related but we’re putting them all in the same post for balance. First the rant and side-note rave, from the WSB inbox:
Sunday there was some guy parked sideways across the
Roxbury Schucks’ ONLY disabled parking spot. I very politely let them
know as I walked in, so they could take care of it. The response? A
shrug.
I walked through the store to see if they had what I wanted, and heard
the two guys who were working there begin talking. They were talking in
what they thought was a “retarded” voice and saying stuff like “heh,
look at me – I’m handi-CAPABLE!” It went on for 2-3 minutes getting
more and more stupid, and more and more insulting. I finally walked out,
glaring at them. They didn’t even notice. (FYI, I use a cane due to a
spine problem)
Yes, I will be writing a letter to the CEO. I’m really pissed.
What saved my mood was that afterward I went to Tony’s (he had fresh
Okra! And corn picked that morning!) Tony was there. He gave me a great
deal on a flat of strawberries. And he insisted on carrying my bags to
the car for me since the “other half” wasn’t there. He’s a big sweetie.
The other rave we wanted you to hear about was this nice tale from the WS Herald Letters to the Editor.
Partying with the protectors @ The Precinct
Cool crowd, both hosts and visitors, at the police department’s annual Picnic at the Precinct this afternoon. As big and busy as WS is, it’s hard to believe we didn’t get our own police precinct till 2003. It’s a lovely building, but today (before the rain moved in) most of the fun was out in the street on the building’s south side; they shut down Webster for the occasion. Our first photo here is a great crowd shot sent in by WSB reader LyndaB:
(Thanks, LyndaB!) From here, photos are by the WSB team. Besides meeting-and-greeting, the police showed off some of their arsenal, including this robot:
Next — a closeup of the robot, Chief Kerlikowske in casual wear, one of the SPD vehicles you don’t see every day, and more:Read More
Barber’s back
A couple weeks ago, we mentioned the note on the door of Rick’s Barber Shop. Rick himself posted a comment today to say he’s reopening tomorrow; since the original post has long since fallen off the home page, we wanted to spotlight it here:
Thanks ya’ll. This is Rick and I’ll be back as of August 15th. Sorry about the short notice, had friend stick a note in the window. A little vague but not sure of my return date until I return. Lots of legal and family (ill parents) matters so I’ll probably be scootin’ out again, this time with a better note in the window. Thanks for the health concerns. Just gettin’ old I guess but not as old as the folks – Rick
Tonight’s the night….for Night Out
All over West Seattle — and much of the rest of the country — you’ll see something you don’t usually see in most neighborhoods: Neighbors out in the street, sharing good times, good food, good ideas. It’s Night Out, the sleek new-ish name for what once upon a time was known as National Night Out Against Crime. Neighborhoods that met the deadline for registering their events with the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct here in WS will get to close off (non-arterial) streets for their block parties. SPD said they were unable to provide us with a list, but some neighborhoods told us about their locations; others were posted online. Click ahead for the latest list (updated as people send us more locations); if you’re involved in any Night Out event tonight, we invite you to send us a photo afterward for posting here at WSB (represent!).Read More
Heroes on the 21X
This just arrived in our inbox from a WSB reader:
I wanted to note a scary incident on the 21 Express to West Seattle Friday evening.
A female rider became verbally abusive on the bus when she realized the bus was making the right turn onto the Columbia on-ramp to Highway 99. I’ve dubbed her the ‘scary bus female’ (SBF) because she definitely was not a lady. The bus had already started on the on-ramp so could not let her off. She insisted to the driver that she had been let off before. As the bus progressed, she returned to her seat loudly expressing her displeasure. She was upset and very vocal about it. The entire ride was unnerving for those who sat in the back with her.
Midway on 99, she made the ride much worse making threats to kill a woman and her grandson. Fellow riders, including a gentleman beside me, quickly got up to help control the situation. The grandmother and her grandson and other riders moved away from SBF. Several riders stood creating a human fence to block SBF from the rest of us. F or the rest of the trip on 99, until the first stop at 35th and Avalon, SBF was corraled until it was time for her to get off. The driver alert Metro base and we last saw SPD arrive at the scene but our bus was not detained per the wish of the grandmother as she wanted all of us to get home. I hope they’re okay as this was a horrible experience.
It was admirable what these people did. It made me only think of what happened several years ago when a Metro bus went off the Aurora bridge. Kudos to these riders. They helped prevent something that could have been worse.
Liftoff for JuNO
Christopher Boffoli tells WSB that the first meeting of the new Junction Neighborhood Organization, JuNO, had a great turnout last night (especially considering the temptations of a warm summer night). He also passes on some updates about area crime, procured from a Seattle Police rep in attendance — click to read what Christopher reports about that:Read More
WS on the radio
WS writer/broadcaster/blogger John Moe wrote to let us know his latest piece for public radio’s Weekend America has a WS angle — as he describes it, “comparing and contrasting Lindsay Lohan and West Seattleite Frances Farmer. I talk about her life in West Seattle, mention West Seattle High School, and a couple other local things.” Here’s the link.
Viaduct alert, Hi-Yu float fame, and other Seafair tidbits
Though tonight’s Seafair Torchlight Parade happens downtown, there are a few Seafair-related items of WS relevance:
-Because of the Torchlight Run preceding the parade, The Viaduct will be closed tonight, from 5:45 till 7:30 or so.
-The West Seattle Hi-Yu float got fixed, thanks to Alki Automotive, and is ready for the parade; it got a lot of ink (pixels) in this Seattle Times parade preview.
-Thanks to Northwest Asian Weekly, we found out a West Seattle teenager has a prominent role in one of the most popular parade entries: Jennifer Gee, featured by NAW as an “Outstanding Graduate” for her achievement as this year’s West Seattle High School valedictorian, is captain of the Seattle Chinese Community Girls’ Drill Team (photo taken by Jason Parker at Hi-Yu Parade last weekend).
-Last but not least, West Seattle writer/humorist John Moe (whose blog Monkey Disaster is one of the 70-plus sites linked from our Other Blogs in WS page) wrote an amusing piece about potential Seafair revisions for the Times.
If you’re going to the Torchlight Parade, we’ll see you there. If not, we highly recommend checking out the first night (since last week was rained out) of Movies on the Wall by Sidewalk Cinema, featuring “Best in Show,” next to Hotwire Coffeehouse. Free! Fun! (Here’s our post from the first time we went last year.)
Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07, 5th installment: The people
While we sit back in our fold-up chairs and enjoy the parade, we can’t forget how many people it takes to make it happen — not just the hundreds of participants, but the others behind the scenes. Kudos to the Hi-Yu and American Legion folks, among a legion of others. Now, another group of photos — focusing on people. We start with the Hi-Yu royalty and other Hi-Yu folks (red shirts), who held court on the SW corner of Cali/Alaska (the camera crew you see behind/above them involved Art Institute students who have been shooting video at Hi-Yu events as a project):
Click ahead for more parade people, from the famous to the oughta-be-famous:Read More
Beacon of change
Yet another tidbit from last night’s Alki Community Council meeting, big changes ahead for the semi-monthly Alki News Beacon: Its webmaster Cami MacNamara will take over as editor, as Christine L’Ecluse moves on to “a new adventure”; plus, toward the end of the year, subscribers will receive the Beacon by mail instead of by carrier. (If you pick it up at local businesses, don’t worry; Cami tells WSB that copies will still be made available at Alki/Admiral-area businesses.)
Bakery that’s not opening in WS
Don’t faint. A West Seattle-based couple is opening their own bakery — but not on our side of the bay. We best remember Stephanie Crocker and her “Sugar” creations from the Farmers’ Market last year; also, last November we told you about the pie fundraiser to help Stephanie and her husband John with expenses from his fight against cancer. That’s going well and now they’re getting ready to open their own place, Sugar Bakery & Cafe on First Hill (and blogging about it too). Stephanie tells WSB they hope to open in October – just in time for the bakery-mania of the holiday season.
Thanks & good night
Much more WS news to tell you about, but it’s going to have to wait till morning. For now, we close the night with words of thanks for polite WS drivers, from a WSB reader who hopes to see more of them:
I know that it’s been tough for commuters using Admiral Way lately.
From those of us living just off Admiral between 37th and 39th, I’d like to send out a thank you to the few drivers who have been kind enough to let us into and out of our neighborhood.
Some days (like Monday when I had to take my cat to the vet) I waited 10 minutes to turn right onto Admiral from 39th. Finally, one driver, a man in a black sedan, let me in. Special thanks to that driver!
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