West Seattle, Washington
18 Thursday
7:15 PM: Our video is from the Walk All Ways dance party that’s part of tonight’s multiple-venue Pride celebration in the West Seattle Junction. More coverage to come!
ADDED EARLY FRIDAY: Thanks to Chris Peak for this photo from Walk All Ways:
Photos from here are by WSB’s Torin Record-Sand:
More Pride events are ahead in West Seattle this month – and of course Alki Beach Pride in August – watch our calendar and daily highlight lists!
12:55 PM: Again this year, the West Seattle Junction Association has decked the heart of the business district with rainbow flags to celebrate Pride on the night of June’s WS Art Walk. As featured in our calendar and daily event list, Pride events tonight include a meetup at VAIN (4513 California SW) at 6 pm and then a “dance party” in the Walk All Ways intersection at 6:30; that’ll be followed by a drag show at Jet City Labs (4547 California SW) and the only event on the slate that’s not all-ages, an 8:30 pm afterparty at The Poggie.
ADDED 3:15 PM: Victoria at VAIN sent several reasons to stop there at the start of tonight’s celebration – “We have a limited number of Pride flags to give away before we proceed down to the intersection. We have a small run of West Seattle Pride shirts to sell. PFLAG will have an info table with some giveaways as well.”
Even if you don’t know Cara‘s name, you might recognize her on sight. Her friends are hoping that her longtime community connection will serve the fundraising they’re doing as she recovers from an unexpected health crisis. Here are two ways to help:
(Poster created by fundraiser organizers)
With over 15 years of experience in the Seattle restaurant scene, you’ve likely been served or have pulled a shift with our friend Cara. Having graced the wells and bar rails of Westy, Fireside, Nook and the Book Store Bar. Cara is no stranger to the strange, yet loyal bar patrons of Pioneer Square, West Seattle, and Burien.
Having recently decided to be at the helm as the next loving caretakers of The Nook in the Admiral district, Cara and husband Poncho, certainly were not expecting life’s next curveball.
Three weeks after getting what should have been a routine torn-ACL surgery in February, a blood clot traveled to Cara’s lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism and cardiac arrest. Luckily Poncho was there and acted quickly to get her to Harborview. Cara was in the ICU for approx. a month and a half. While we are happy to report that Cara pulled through and is recovering at home, the after-care required will be extensive. And here’s how you can help:
We are raising funds for Cara’s after-care so Poncho can breathe a little bit easier and stay home to be a caregiver for Cara and their beloved dog Egon. These funds will go directly to Cara and Poncho to help alleviate the financially stress of such a traumatic and unexpected event.
Where: Kenyon Hall, 7904 35th Ave SW
When: Tuesday, June 16th, 2026, 5-10 pm
Food, Beer, Bud Light, Raffles, Games and More! All proceeds collected from this event will go directly to Cara and Poncho
There’s also a crowdfunding link you can use to help, too – go here.
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
For a second year, performers spanning generations will take the stage together in BAYFEST’s Intergenerational Theater Project show this Friday and Saturday in West Seattle. We attended one of the final rehearsals to get to know the cast and learn about the age-defying connections that have blossomed since the group began rehearsing in February.
Unique to this program is the intentional age differences between cast members – six high-school students and six older adults. The spring show, titled “Verses, Voices, and Visions,” works to explore collective experience across generational lines through poetry and personal testimony.
“I’ve always been interested in this intergenerational connection, and noticing more and more that young people are disconnected from older people and vice versa,” said Robert Shampain, the founder and executive director of BAYFEST Youth Theater program. Shampain has been directing this specific project since he introduced it in West Seattle last year.
The poetry selections featured in the show were hand-selected by cast members, who work to deliver vivid, engaging recitations.
“We are doing acting, but at the same time analyzing poems,” explained Lucy Hostetter, a member of the teen cohort. “It also kind of feels like an English class.”
Shampain began Saturday’s rehearsal with a group working on a performance of “Filling My Purse with Commas” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. He directed the mixed-age group with a certain passion and sincerity – tweaking details as the rehearsal ran, to align the cadence of the spoken word with the actors’ movements.
“Robert is very intuitive, and he’s very good at what he does. It is amazing to see what he sees, what he decides works, what doesn’t, and how beautifully he expresses it,” said Virginia Pellegrino, a member of the senior cohort.
When rehearsing “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein, Robert urged the cast to take the poem line by line. They considered which words Silverstein intended to lay emphasis on, and how this could be conveyed through performance. He read a line aloud, “What does this suggest to you?” he asked the actors.
“I’m giving them feedback like I would when I direct a professional production, and they respond. You don’t need to be a professional actor to really respond to the idea of what it means to perform honestly,” Shampain said.
A real sense of connection develops through the later half of the show, titled “The Personal Writings.” Cast members were each asked to describe an experience that any part of the poem selection invoked. The accounts will be read in the first-person by a member of the opposite cohort, oftentimes with teens reading of circumstances that they wouldn’t otherwise relate to.
“There’s a real magic in saying somebody else’s words as if they are yours in the first person. It sort of automatically makes you honor them,” Shampain explained.
While this sense of connection will unfold for audiences watching the performances next weekend, what they won’t see is the behind the scenes camaraderie that develops as a cast works towards their common goal.
“We are all working on the same thing and are being asked to be vulnerable in the same way,” Pellegrino reasoned. “My preconceived notion was that they (teens) wouldn’t really show up and want to engage, and that was not the case. I found it really joyful.”
“We don’t have the ‘teenage audacity’,” Lucy explained. “We’re not always on our phones,” her friend Sloane Pothier added. “I kind of expected there to be a cutoff dynamic between the older generation and the younger generation. We have definitely become more of a community than I thought we would,” Sloane continued.
“Half of them ride motorcycles!” Lucy exclaimed jokingly.
The two students were joined by fellow cohort member Eve LeBlanc, who explained that she was participating alongside her grandparents. Not only will she be bridging a generational gap, but doing so with members of her own family.
Shampain emphasized his intention at keeping the program small as it develops. Specifically, keeping it local to West Seattle. “It’s not something that we want to expand too much. Keeping this community based in West Seattle really, it feels right.”
“Verses, Voices, and Visions” will be performed, free admission, this Friday and Saturday (June 12-13) at three different locations. Friday’s show will be at 4 pm at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon). Saturday’s shows will be at 2 pm in the Fellowship Hall at Fauntleroy Church, and 7 pm at the West Seattle Golf Course Clubhouse Banquet Room (4470 35th SW).
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Tulsa, Oklahoma’s best-known literary connoisseur and community connector has taken a leap across the U.S. and landed right here in West Seattle.
Jeff Martin, co-founder of Magic City Books, was recently profiled by the New York Times for his “Literary King” status, with his then-impending move to Seattle making the article’s headline. Excited West Seattle readers sent us the link, so we sat down with Martin – who recently moved into a home near Fauntleroy Park – to find out more about his motivation and potential plans. (Books, after all, are huge here, with two indie bookstores in West Seattle and numerous book clubs.)
Martin has built a name for himself over the past decade operating the Tulsa book store as a nonprofit, and creating a nationally recognized event space visited by countless best-selling authors.
But it took years to develop – at 23, Martin was introduced to the industry by working on the program team for a bookstore by happenstance. An opportunity opened after the then-manager went on extended leave, after which Martin offered to jump in.
And jump he did. He started reaching out to authors and publishers, hoping to get more and more people coming through the store, and began to build relationships within the literary community.
“I liked the idea of bringing people together for these kinds of shared experiences,” he explained.
A few years later, in 2009, Martin went out to do his own thing. This manifested in some different forms, at one point a book-centered social hour cleverly named “Beer Pub,” and later Booksmart, with the intention of bringing in one author per month.
The last indie bookstore in Tulsa that sold new books closed in 2013, which ultimately convinced Martin to open up one of his own, and Magic City was born. Stephen King headlined the first official event, a year and a half after the store’s opening.
When Martin’s work with Magic City Books was featured in The New York Times earlier this spring, the Times described it as having “helped transform his midsize city into a dynamic cultural hub.”
“I’ve done projects that have kind of been highlighted in there, but it’s a totally different thing when it’s about you personally… not to mention the intensity of the interviews.” Martin said “But I really lucked out. The reporter they sent was so amazing, and so engaged with what we were doing.”
Initially, Martin recalled, the reporter thought the NYT article to read as an obituary. That is, until its publishing was postponed, and ended up coinciding with Martin’s decision to move. It then read as an ode to everything Martin has already achieved, and his move worked to establish a potential continuum of his dedication to the community.
“This kind of gives it a sense of what the next step is, what’s coming, and it feels a little bit more open ended.”
Martin is going to work here for a museum (more on that in a moment), but he hasn’t completely closed the door on the literary community he worked to build, or Magic City Books, with which he expects to remain involved. “I’m so invested in that city. We have an amazing staff and a crew where I just found myself not needed day to day. And I’ll still provide a lot of oversight and creative energy from afar… And I’ll go back.” (Conveniently, Alaska Airlines just launched a daily, year-round direct flight from Seattle to Tulsa.) “I kind of ran out of excuses not to try it. I don’t like the idea of regret, so we took a shot.”
The move first came about as he and his wife Molly had lost three of their four parents over the past two and half years. “Those are shocks to your system.” Martin explained, and they ultimately led the pair to want to build a relationship closer to remaining family members living just across the Idaho border.
For the past 17 years, Martin also held the position of director of communications at a Tulsa museum, Philbrook Art & Gardens, which led to a new job that also played a big factor in the ultimate decision to move to West Seattle – Martin started work last month at the Seattle Art Museum, as Chief of Creative Strategy and Storytelling.
His goals mirror those at the Philbrook, drawing the distinction between “respected” and “beloved” for the Seattle Art Museum, and helping Seattleites begin to identify SAM with the latter. He wants to give voice and personality to the institution, leaning into an air of fun. “Part of my job is to try to create some kind of unified theory of the museum and make people understand what it is and kind of bring the tone back.”
So, why live in West Seattle? Martin spoke fondly of his new home bordering Fauntleroy Park. He liked the idea of being close to Puget Sound, and experiencing the small-town energy that he felt this part of Seattle exudes. “Downtown, obviously it’s so crazy and hectic. So when you come over here, it’s kind of like: exhale. We may not stay in this part of the city forever, but it felt to me like a good starting point.”
Since his move, Martin has been exploring the local scene in West Seattle, and trying to find some spots that stick. He specifically mentioned visiting Paper Boat Booksellers (WSB sponsor), and was excited by their curated selections. He also went to Admiral Theater, and noticed its status as the peninsula’s only movie theater.
“There’s not a lot of movie theaters in West Seattle. So that’s something that maybe we need to figure that out.” Martin was first interested in filmmaking as a teenager, wanting to write scripts before he moved to explore the book world.
As for bringing something similar to Magic City Books to the Seattle scene, Martin has no immediate plans, though he did mention a warm Seattle welcome from book-fanatics as a result of the New York Times article.
“It was an amazing way to kind of get introduced to everybody really fast. So I’ve had all these meetings. But it’s just been a really nice thing to have this entry to the city,” Martin said.
(Photo courtesy Jeff Martin)
(PHOTOS BY DAVE GERSHGORN FOR WEST SEATTLE BLOG)
Three hours of remembering and reconnecting are just wrapping up at West Seattle High School, where alumni from many years gathered for the annual All-School Reunion.
Above, WSHS Alumni Association president Karen (Seamens) Dobbs and Nancy (Rutherford) Sleight led attendees in singing the historic alma mater song. Memorabilia was on display as usual:
And more-modern logos adorned school merch offered for sale:
Along with gathering in the commons …
… people also gathered class by class in smaller spaces including classrooms and the library:
Every year the 50th-anniversary class is spotlighted – that meant this year was the turn for those who graduated in the bicentennial year, 1976. You can read what various classes’ alums are up to – and about this year’s two Hall of Fame inductees – in the latest issue of the Alumni Association publication, the Chinook.
(WSB photos)
The business-consulting firm Deloitte had dozens of employees volunteering at Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor) today, during the company’s annual Impact Day – and their work won’t just benefit the people who live and work at The Mount.
Though the volunteers worked all around The Mount’s hilltop campus at 35th/Edmunds, the south patio/arden area was a special area of emphasis – getting ready for its renovation.
This is the area, with its adjacent parking lot, where The Mount has presented its community concert series and outdoor barbecues, so the renovation will benefit visitors to community events like those too.
(WSB file photo)
Tonight, the Seattle Pride organization announced awards “honoring individuals whose leadership, advocacy, and service have made lasting impacts on the LGBTQIA2S+ community” – and Alki Beach Pride co-founder Stacy Bass-Walden is the major honoree. From Seattle Pride’s announcement:
The Ackerman Award for Service was established by Seattle Pride in 2024 to honor those who exemplify outstanding commitment to serving and uplifting the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
This year the award is being presented to Stacy Bass-Walden, co-founder and co-producer of West Seattle’s Alki Beach Pride — created as a space for marginalized voices. A Black lesbian leader and mentor, she is committed to creating inclusive spaces and supporting the next generation of LGBTQIA2S+ organizers.
Bass-Walden – along with her wife Jolie – founded Alki Beach Pride in 2014. Since then, it has grown from a small gathering, into an annual community celebration centering on queer and BIPOC voices. Her efforts and advocacy have resonated deeply with the community, with a focus on creating diversity, equality, and creating a welcoming space—reflecting the values Seattle Pride strives to uplift every day.
Seattle Pride planned to present the award at an event tonight on Lake Union. This year’s Alki Beach Pride is scheduled for August 15.
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Last night’s Alki Community Council meeting had an agenda packed with public safety initiatives, briefings, and plans, along with the presentation of awards to three dedicated community members.
CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY: Lieutenant Pat Daly from the Southwest Precinct was invited up to give the community an overview of crime trends and plans that the department has as Alki starts the summer season. According to Daly, crime in the precinct jurisdiction – West Seattle and South Park – is down by 12% and down in Alki by 10% compared to 4% citywide. He emphasized, however, that these statistics don’t take into account what the department calls “quality of life issues” including minor traffic issues, noise ordinances, and street racing.
As for plans to address these issues in Alki, Daly recounted three initiatives. First, they are proactively closing the Don Armeni Boat Ramp earlier at night to prevent cars from showing up. The department is also emphasizing that officers carry out “directed patrols” along Alki for quality of life issues also including illegal drinking and parking violations. Lastly, the department is still working to finalize an agreement with Seattle Parks and Recreation to deploy officers on the beach on weekend nights to help “close out” the beach.
The lieutenant reiterated the importance of calling 911 about noise complaints, or at least making an online report or a phone report. Not only does this help the department to immediately address the issue, but these reports create data so that the department knows if they are “effectively and efficiently” deploying their resources.
NEW PUBLIC SAFETY TECHNOLOGY FOR LIME: Stefan Winkler with SDOT provided a presentation on their partnership with Lime eBike and scooters, including plans to update technology and an outline of plans for Alki. Through SDOT’s permit program, vendors pay fees to operate within the city. The program comes with vendor performance expectations, and as of now Lime is the only partner in the program. As of April 1, permit conditions were updated for Lime’s technology to include sidewalk-riding detection, rider-behavior detection, increased parking fines, increased insurance requirements, more than 50% seated devices, and increased equity deployment. Winkler also mentioned efforts to implement technology to detect and prevent tandem riding. (Added: Here’s the SDOT slide deck.)
On Alki, riding is currently allowed on the shared-use path next to the beach and vehicles must be parked at corrals. This spring, a geofence was put along the business side of Alki and Harbor.
NEW PEDESTRIAN SAFETY INITIATIVE: Next up was revealing a new safety initiative by SDOT, resulting from collaboration with District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka. The proposed concept will cost roughly $254,000. The councilmember’s office sent over a statement regarding SDOT’s plans:
We reviewed a request for speed humps/cushions and curb bulbs on Alki Ave SW from 59th Ave SW to 63rd Ave SW to reduce driver speeds and enhanced pedestrian safety near Alki Beach. We recommend installing two new speed cushions between 59th Ave SW and 61st Ave SW and adding a vehicle lane edge line. To discourage drivers form bypassing the speed cushions and enhance safety for people biking and rolling, we recommend adding a hardened bike lane buffer between 59th Ave SW and 63rd Ave SW. We also recommend adding a paint and post curb bulb at both 61st Ave SW and 62nd Ave SW to encourage slower driver speeds and improve visibility for all users.
Plans for traffic calmin on 63rd between Alki and Admiral, as reported here recently, require more data collection this summer.
ALKI EMERGENCY HUB: Amy, the new co-captain of the Alki Emergency Hub, gave a quick briefing about the organization and urged neighbors to get involved. The hub stands as a resource for community members in the event of an emergency – a potential disaster or other loss of communication – to connect with operators who are in touch with emergency management systems. They are looking for more people to get involved, and for neighbors to come together in helping one another. If you’re interested, you can learn more at seattleemergencyhubs.org.
PICKLEBALL UPDATE: Seattle Metro Pickleball Association‘s Don Gouley addressed the council with an update on the organization’s petitioning against Seattle Parks and Recreation’s plan to turn some outdoor public courts throughout the city into tennis-only – including in Alki – resulting in the loss of 36 public courts at 7 locations. SMPA has collected more than 3,200 online signatures, which were sent to city council members as well as Mayor Wilson. The city has since revised their strategy to more equally favor pickleball and tennis in the city, with an update Parks plans to release next week, according to Gouley. He noted that the sport has the power to bring generations and communities together, and that taking away these public facilities is “just not right.”
AWARDS: Possibly the most anticipated agenda item was the presentation of three volunteer awards to longtime Alki Community Council members. These awards were given to Kathy Olson, Tony Fragada, and William Winter.
Olson was granted the Enduring Impact Award to commemorate the fact that the Alki Community Council “would not have made it through some of its toughest years without her.” She has spent more than a decade with the organization, and helped to establish and sustain its 501c3 nonprofit status. Aside from her assumption of multiple board leadership roles, she is known for being welcoming at the door, baking cookies for community members, and generally acting in kindness.
The next award recipient was Tony Fragada, who was granted the Leadership and Service Award. Fragada has been involved in the council since the 1990s, and was the president from 2011-2023 after a stint in the early 2000s. He contributed his “time, positive energy, manual labor, and ideas toward making Alki a better place to work and play.” Tony noted that his focus today is nature – encouraging future generation to live in respect of our ecosystems.
The final recipient was William Winter, who got the Alki Lifetime Service Award. Winter has been serving Alki for 38 years which began with his time at the Alki Community School. He started the fundraising effort for the community bathhouse called the Friends of the Alki Bathhouse, and helped start the Alki Art Fair.
The Alki Community Council typically meets on the third Thursday of every month. The council does not schedule meetings for June, August and December, so will presumably pick back up in July.
NOTE: Corrected post-publication – the titles of Tony Fragada’s and William Winter’s awards, and the spelling of the SDOT rep’s name.
One more set of honors to tell you about. From the Alki Community Council:
A very special Alki Community Council meeting is coming up Thursday.
Three exceptional leaders who are all currently involved with their community will be honored.
Will Winter, current board trustee and past ACC president, Tony Fragada, current board trustee and past ACC president, and Kathy Olson, past ACC secretary/treasurer, will be honored.
Collective contributions range from helping to design the Alki Trail, helping to launch the Alki Art Fair and keep it going, launching Alki Emergency Preparedness, and keeping the ACC operating to get us to where we are today.
This will become a yearly tradition. We hope you all can join us!
Lots of other big items on the agenda too – see it here. All are welcome at the meeting, which starts at 7 pm Thursday at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).
Back in March, we told you about plans for the first-ever West Seattle Math Competition – organized by students, for students, all middle-schoolers. The competition happened this past Saturday at the Admiral HUB – and we were there to photograph the conclusion of the competition (the first few hours happened behind closed doors). It ended with a trophy ceremony for both the individual and team winners. Individual winners were Bella, Zhenyu, and Sadhika:
They were all from the Skyview Mathematics team, which came in first and also included Brayden:
The second-place team, the Three Musketeers – Prayaag, Neilai, Ashrith:
And the third-place team, the West Side 3, with Ayan, Oliver, Sterling, Rohan:
The competition spanned four rounds, including algebra, geometry, probability, and number theory problems.
P.S. Thanks to Lacey, parent of an organizer, for letting us know about all this; she says, “It is very impressive what they have done and myself and the other parents involved are very proud of them.”
First of two baking-related stories we have for you before the night’s out. This one was sent by proud mom Laurel Taylor:
Our daughter, Elspeth Stoner (WSHS grad), went off to Carleton College in MN last September, her dad’s alma mater.
She got work study and was one of only three first-year students chosen to work at Dacie Moses House, where a primary function is baking treats for anyone who stops into the house. We are pretty sure that the reason she was chosen is that she put on her resume that she had volunteered over the years for The Christmas People with her sister Gwendolyn and grandma Carol. They baked dozens of cookies and then also volunteered to pack them.
Fast forward to (Wednesday)’s paper New York Times, where Elspeth’s photo is on the front page of the food section! She is not mentioned by name in the article but she is there. In a fun follow-up, she was just offered and accepted a position as one of the residents for next year. She is the one wearing a green cardigan holding a plate of Cowboy Cookies — my recipe ;). It’s also on the NYT website
The Christmas People are a nonprofit that collects thousands of home-baked cookies in West Seattle and vicinity every holiday season to distribute to people in need. We asked Elspeth what she baked for those donations: Various types, he said, “like oatmeal raisin, cranberry cookies, and I believe the same recipe for Cowboy Cookies that I’m holding in the photo in the NYTimes. At Dacie’s, of course, I make all kinds of things depending on what we need each week.” We also asked what she’s majoring in: “At Carleton we aren’t allowed to declare a major until the end of sophomore year, but I’m fairly certain I’m going to be a Biology and English double major.”
14- to 24-year-olds are invited to this brand-new event:
Register for the First-Ever King County Youth Leadership Summit!
Designed by and for young people, this summit is a unique opportunity for leaders and aspiring changemakers (ages 14-24) to gather from across King County. Whether they are already active in the community or looking for a way to start, this event is built to amplify youth voice.
The Details:
What: King County Youth Leadership Summit
When: Saturday, May 30, 2026 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Where: The Museum of Flight (9404 East Marginal Way S, Tukwila)
Registration: https://beststartsblog.com/2026/04/15/register-for-the-first-ever-king-county-youth-leadership-summit/
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is getting the word out about a major award for the environmental historian who developed part of its closing-soon exhibit about the West Duwamish Greenbelt.You can see her work even without visiting the museum. Here’s the announcement:
Lisa Meoli, Senior Environmental Historian with the environmental consulting firm Floyd|Snider, has been awarded the David Douglas Award from the Washington State Historical Society for developing the interactive StoryMap, Trails Through Time: Contamination and Restoration in the West Duwamish Greenbelt. Meoli will be presented with the award at the Washington State History Awards this Saturday, April 25.
The David Douglas Award recognizes the significant contribution of an individual or an organization through projects, exhibits, digital presentations, or programs that inform or expand appreciation of Washington State history.
Trails Through Time tells the story of contamination and restoration of the Greenbelt, a culturally rich 500-acre forest that spans the Duwamish Peninsula from Puget Ridge to Westcrest Park, through an interactive website. Meoli compiled research gathered by the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group, helicopter footage, geological surveys, environmental studies, interviews, photographs, on-foot videos, and additional resources to tell a new story about the Greenbelt. Visitors can explore the pre-colonial history of the lower Duwamish, view the dredging of the river in the 1890s, pinpoint locations of historic industry, identify cement kiln dust (CKD) contamination areas, and track Superfund clean-up sites.
The project was supported by the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society as part of the Seattle Forest: the West Duwamish Greenbelt exhibit co-curated by WDGT and SWSHS. The exhibit was installed at the Log House Museum in the fall of 2024 and will close at the end of next month. Meoli was a guest speaker for SWSHS’s Words, Writers, Southwest Stories free virtual speaker series in September 2025. You can watch her program here.
The StoryMap is viewable here and on the WDGT and SWSHS websites.
Today, the Duwamish Tribe, Ridge 2 River, West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group, among others, continue to advocate and caretake this forest. WDGT leads free guided hikes through the Greenbelt every third Saturday, April through November. Learn more and sign up here.
You can also find out about West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails at tonight’s HPAC meeting! And you can see the exhibit during the Log House Museum’s newly expanded hours, noon-4 pm Thursdays and Fridays, 10 am-4 pm Saturdays.
It’s student diplomacy in action. This past weekend downtown, the West Seattle High School Model United Nations group participated in its fourth conference of the year, KingMUN. The head delegate of the group, WSHS sophomore Lars Norman, sent this report for us to share with you:
KingMUN stands for King County Model United Nations, and is one of four MUN conferences hosted by the student-led organization, Model United Nations Northwest. For more context, at MUN conferences, delegates are assigned to represent a specific country, organization, or individual. Delegates serve on committees with different focuses, topics, and sub-topics. Debates are held between delegates. The overarching goal of the event is for delegates to come to an agreement on resolutions. This year, the WSHSMUN delegation included 11 students: Lars Norman, Hannah Haskel, Iris Christian, Manon Coffinieres, Kat Andes, Azalea Geoghegan, Yaphet Etana, Eden O’Donnell, Josephine Mangelsen, Larssen Landers, and Francesca (Franki) Breznau Foster.
Lars tells WSB, “This was the last conference of the year, but we will be attending a conference Lakeside High School is hosting later this year. We are also excited to get started with more conferences next school year!” The group was advised for the conference by Christina Dahms.
Thanks to Joe Drake for arranging and sending what’s become an annual tradition – the group photo of West Seattleites who have traveled cross-country to run the Boston Marathon!
The 130th running of the Boston Marathon will take place on Monday (April 20). A sizable contingent of West Seattle runners and their enthusiastic supporters have flocked to Beantown to participate in the most prestigious annual marathon in the world. Some of them gathered at the Marathon Expo for a pre-race photo op. Shown above, from left to right, are Kyle Oman, Treva Thomas, Michael Nguyen, Shannon Chappon, Huy Son, Mike Marshino, Joe Drake, Patti Shuster, Becca Gehring Brown, Jonathan Brown, Eric Eagle, and Marie Skoor.
If you are – or know someone who is – a West Seattleite who’s going to Boston to run the renowned marathon on Monday, Joe Drake wants to hear from you! He’ll be there again this year, and he’s already got a plan to meet up with other West Seattleites like last year, but in case there’s someone with whom he hasn’t connected yet, he asked us to put out the call! So anyone going from here who isn’t already planning to meet up for the West Seattleites’ group shot, please email him at jnldrake@gmail.com – thank you!
That Seattle Police video published today tells the story of why Officer Albert Khandzhayan got the department’s “Medal of Courage” for an incident that began in West Seattle. We reported on it the morning it happened – May 3, 2025 – though it got little other attention as it happened on a Saturday morning and was over relatively quickly. It started north of The Junction with a scene that terrified onlookers, not to mention the mom and children involved – her ex-boyfriend breaking out the window of her car, pulling her out, and driving away with the children. Officer Khandzhayan rescued them – and arrested him – in Boulevard Park.
This year’s Westside Awards. will be presented next month by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – but first, the organization is gathering nominations, and if you want to suggest a business, organization, or community leader, you have one more day! Here again are the four categories:
• Westside Business of the Year recognizes an established business (3 or more years in operation) demonstrating growth, excellence in customer service, and meaningful community involvement.
• Westside Emerging Business of the Year honors a newer business (under 3 years) already making its presence felt through innovation, community engagement and gaining momentum.
• Westside Not-for-Profit of the Year highlights a nonprofit whose dedication to service and social good has left a visible mark on West Seattle.
• Westsider of the Year recognizes an individual whose leadership, volunteerism, or service has strengthened the community.
Chamber board members choose the winners, who’ll be celebrated at a breakfast event May 20 at The Hall at Fauntleroy. To send in a nomination, use this form – by 5 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, April 15)! (See the list of past winners here.)
2:46 AM: SPD and SFD are arriving in The Triangle after a report that someone might have been shot near 36th SW and SW Snoqualmie. No confirmation yet.
2:52 AM: Still no victim or evidence of a shooting found, police say. The just-in-case SFD response is waiting at Station 32 (38th/Alaska).
2:55 AM: One officer reports talking to someone in the area who is saying what sounded to one 911 caller like a “shot” might have been “a car backfire.” Another officer then reported finding a trail of blood leading “across 35th toward the encampment and the golf course.”
3:20 AM: Apparently that led nowhere – though they haven’t acknowledged it over the air, the SFD log shows the responding units have just been cleared and the call’s been closed.
9:31 AM: Here’s the SPD report narrative:
At approximately 0239 hrs on 04/14/2026, one call came in to 911 stating that a male had possibly shot another male near 36 AV SW and SW Snoqualmie St. The caller, who wanted to remain anonymous, first reported hearing a gunshot, then when asked if anyone had been shot, they reported that there was a possible shooting victim. While several units were enroute to the location, other callers called in reporting a fight involving 2-4 males in the same area.
Several units arrived in the area. Found on S Snoqualmie St, just east of 36 AV S, was a pair
of shoes in the street and several small blood droplets on the south sidewalk.A XXX male was found in the same block, around the corner. He stated that he heard guys fighting in the street, but said there were no shots fired. Another witness, listed above, said that, from her apartment window, she saw three males running eastbound towards 35th AV SW, one of them stated that he was hurt. She said that she heard one of the other males tell the injured male that he should call 911 and he said that he would not do so. She said a vehicle pulled up, one male handed something to someone in the vehicle and the vehicle left southbound on 36th. She also stated that she may have heard the vehicle backfire.
We followed the trail of small blood drops eastbound across 35th to a tent on the east side of 35th, but the tent was empty.
An extensive check for any victims or evidence of a shooting was conducted with negative results. The scene was photographed and released.
Regional publications are reporting the death of mountaineering legend and former West Seattleite Jim Whittaker at age 97. We met him more than a decade ago, when the West Seattle mixed-use megadevelopment The Whittaker (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW, anchored by Whole Foods) was named for him.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB – Jim Whittaker at The Whittaker’s dedication in 2016)
Mr. Whittaker was the first American to summit Mount Everest, in 1963. He and his wife Dianne Roberts, a photographer, were living in Port Townsend by the time the building-naming happened in 2014, but in an interview, Mr. Whittaker told us, “West Seattle is home … I went to Fauntleroy grade school, James Madison Middle School, West Seattle High School … That’s where I got my hiking and climbing inspiration. My parents loved nature and the outdoors – we would go to the beach in Lincoln Park. And then starting in grade school, I would walk up the Fauntleroy hill to Arbor Heights [where his family lived], even at lunchtime, so I got a lot of exercise.” You can read more about his storied life in this Cascadia Daily News obituary, which says plans have not yet been announced for a Celebration of Life.
If there’s a person, business, or organization you think deserves one of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s Westside Awards, here’s your chance! The Chamber has just announced that nominations are open:
Nominations close April 5, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. across four categories:
• Westside Business of the Year recognizes an established business (3 or more years in operation) demonstrating growth, excellence in customer service, and meaningful community involvement.
• Westside Emerging Business of the Year honors a newer business (under 3 years) already making its presence felt through innovation, community engagement and gaining momentum.
• Westside Not for Profit of the Year highlights a nonprofit whose dedication to service and social good has left a visible mark on West Seattle.
• Westsider of the Year recognizes an individual whose leadership, volunteerism, or service has strengthened the community.
“Every year, the nominations remind us just how much is happening in this community. The Westside Awards exist to make sure that work gets the recognition it deserves,” said Rachel Porter, Executive Director of the West Seattle Chamber. “We encourage anyone who has witnessed dedication to West Seattle to put in a nomination.”
Winners will be selected by the Chamber’s Board of Directors and recognized at the Annual Westside Awards Breakfast on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at The Hall at Fauntleroy.
Nominations are free and open to the public. Submit at https://loom.ly/j2lcDkM
For more information about the Westside Awards, contact Rachel Porter at rachel@wschamber.com.
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization that has served the West Seattle business community since 1923. The Chamber advocates for local businesses, connects members, and works to strengthen the economic foundation that makes West Seattle a place where commerce and community grow together.
Here’s our coverage of last year’s awards breakfast; see the list of past winners here.
West Seattle’s Sanislo Elementary is thrilled on behalf of the school’s social worker Miss Dez, who has won a statewide award. The Sanislo PTA is hoping you’ll collaborate in celebrating:
Did you know that Sanislo’s social worker was named WA School Social Worker of the Year?
MEET MISS DEZ: This fall, when some Sanislo families faced the possibility of losing access to food and other basic necessities, Miss Dezirae Brown, Sanislo’s school social worker, sprang into action—helping organize a school food pantry to ensure students and their families had the essentials that they needed. She has since expanded, providing shelf-stable food, snacks, shoes, clothing, and school supplies.
Miss Dez’s Boutique is just one example of the care, leadership, and advocacy she brings to her work every day, uplifting students, families, and colleagues – helping each one feel seen, supported, and valued. She builds a safe environment for social, emotional development in small groups and guided counseling. She creates space for young people to stand up for their values and community, helping students find their voices in powerful ways. In moments like these, Miss Dez shows what it means to lead by example.
For this and so many other contributions to the Sanislo community, Miss Dez was recognized as Washington School Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers, Washington (NASW – WA) – a huge statewide recognition – right here in West Seattle!
The Sanislo PTA wants to celebrate Miss Dez’s incredible and well-deserved STATEWIDE RECOGNITION by hosting a joyful, community celebration – and other festivities – this month. Help us show Miss Dez our neighborhood’s gratitude for all the ways she supports our kids!
Please consider:
-Becoming an event sponsor for our community celebration of Miss Dez
-Contributing essentials (food and household items) for the school’s boutique pantry, or
-Donating prizes for our upcoming school carnival.
To learn more or get involved, please contact the Sanislo PTA at sanisloelementarypta@gmail.com or Jen at 917-715-7474.
Sanislo is West Seattle’s “small but mighty” elementary, on Puget Ridge.
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