Almost exactly one year after announcing an expansion plan for its HQ in The Triangle, the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) has a major update today: Construction costs have gone up, so the plan’s size has to go down. From the announcement:
…With rising construction costs and after careful consideration of fundraising efforts thus far, the original design will be modified with a focus on delivering the expanded Y in 2016.
Factors impacting the revised scope include:
• A booming Seattle construction market that has boosted the original project design cost to an estimated $12 million (including underground parking).
• $3.5 million has been raised to date from 240 generous local donors, putting the West Seattle YMCA on track to raise $4 million. The YMCA of Greater Seattle is matching this amount dollar for dollar, currently allowing for a project that costs approximately $8 million.
• Even with our continued plans to raise funds for the expanding West Seattle YMCA, board and staff leadership does not see a timely pathway to $12 million in funding.
Leadership staff and volunteers are working closely with donors and the project team to provide alternate plans that better fit the YMCA’s financial capacity. “We’re working with the project architect, Miller Hayashi, to keep focused on community need as we revise our expansion plans.” said Dave Kehle, Chair of the Building Committee.
Key components of the revised project will include:
• Expanded Fitness Space
• Family Programs Wing
• Family Changing Rooms
• Community Meeting Room with Healthy Eating Kitchen
The community will have an opportunity to view these plans at meetings in October. Dates for the meetings and updated information will be shared on OurNewY.org.
Fundraising continues in earnest with every dollar making a difference. New donors pledging $1,500 or more can double their impact by having their gift matched dollar for dollar by the Nucor-Pigott Community Challenge. …
The West Seattle YMCA will serve thousands more people annually with the expanded facility. The building will remain open during construction, with improvements happening in phases and completion expected in 2016.
Read the full announcement here. Full details of the revised plan haven’t been worked out yet, so there are no specific drawings or details yet.
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING ON HOUSING-AFFORDABILITY RECOMMENDATIONS: 5:30 pm at City Hall downtown, the council’s Select Committee on Housing Affordability – which includes all nine councilmembers – will listen to public comments about the proposals to be considered in the months ahead. See the agenda here; see the documents here. (5th/Cherry)
AMERICAN LEGION POST 160: 6 pm monthly meeting, open to all who have served or are serving in the U.S. armed forces. (3618 SW Alaska)
KAYAK THE DUWAMISH RIVER: 6-7:30 pm, tonight’s community kayak tour features “Stories of This Place“; details in our calendar listing, including how to RSVP, which will bring you information on where the tour’s launching from (either West Seattle or South Park).
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, our area’s largest political organization meets. In addition to the agenda posted online – including some endorsement decisions – chair Marcee Stone-Vekich says the group will hear at 7:15 pm from Phyllis Campano, head of the bargaining group for the now-on-strike Seattle Education Association. (9131 California SW)
48TH SW CLOSURE STARTING TOMORROW: Another project announced by SPU starts tomorrow:
Beginning September 10, Seattle Public Utilities will repair sewer lines on 48th Avenue SW between SW Juneau Street and SW Raymond Street. This work will require closing 48th Avenue SW to through traffic. Local access will be available with the assistance of a traffic flagger. Work may take up to five days to complete with hours from 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The lanes will remain closed for the duration of work hours, and will be opened to traffic after non-work hours. Metro bus 37 will run as normal.
35TH SW PAVING STARTING TOMORROW: Preparation for SDOT‘s 35th and Roxbury rechannelization work continues, and starting tomorrow, 35th will be repaved between SW Cambridge and SW Barton – here’s that announcement.
3:09 AM:Seattle Fire crews are arriving at a small house fire near 23rd SW and SW Willow – the caller didn’t have a precise address so it’s taken them a while to find it. Some of the units are already being turned back. More to come.
3:21 AM: Our crew has arrived and says this happened at a vacant house (confirmed by city complaint records) in the 6700 block of 23rd SW and was so small that SFD didn’t even need to roll out hoses to get water on the fire, but instead used extinguishers to put it out and are now ventilating the house. No injuries reported. The cause is under investigation.
It came out of the blue – or, we should say, out of the green. Alice Enevoldsen of Alice’s Astro Info and Skies Over West Seattle suddenly turned up on Twitter earlier tonight saying that with a really good camera, a “dim” aurora was in view. Jason Enevoldsen subsequently got the view the orange clouds and green glow.
Avoid Fauntleroy Way north of Lincoln Park right now – a crash left a motorcycle rider hurt at Fauntleroy Way and SW Othello, and he’s being taken to the hospital by private ambulance. Police are trying to sort out the circumstances – whether the rider lost control and hit a parked car, or whether it might have been a hit-run situation, as one witness mentioned a white pickup truck leaving the scene. His injuries are not life-threatening.
(TOPLINES: At 6:19 pm, we reported the union says it’s striking tomorrow; scroll down for that and later updates)
5:25 PM: We’re at Seattle Public Schools HQ downtown, the center of activity on this evening before either a Seattle Education Association strike or the start of SPS classes. First – the union says staffers at some schools walked out this afternoon “in solidarity” – we received this photo from Gatewood Elementary:
At HQ, we’ve received the text of the resolution the School Board is to consider, after a closed session shortly after the scheduled 5:30 pm start of a special meeting. We’ll link it here as soon as we find it online.
5:37 PM: The board has convened, taken roll, said the Pledge of Allegiance, then immediately left its chambers to go into closed-door session, expecting to be back at 6:25 pm. Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland wasn’t here yet – said to be stuck in traffic. Here meantime is the aforementioned document, with the resolution attached; we’ll embed it here shortly.
6:06 PM: Here’s the resolution, at the end of this document:
6:19 PM: Seattle Education Association bargainers have just walked into the board chambers and announced THE STRIKE IS ON – no deal, and talks have ended for the night. A large group has announced that the district made its most-recent offer 20 minutes ago. (Added: Our phone video with about a minute from the announcement:)
Union leaders are telling parents, call the district and tell it to “get serious.” This is all happening while the board continues its closed-door meeting steps away, expected to emerge and decide whether to authorize district leadership to pursue legal action in case of a strike, which we now know will happen. Picketing, the union says, will start (updated) at 8:30 am. If the district goes to court, the union says, it’ll ask members what they want to do – and they expect members would vote to defy the order, as Pasco teachers did. “We want competitive pay,” the union bargainers are saying. “Equity issues, reasonable testing issues, fair evaluations” are other issues that remain outstanding, they’re telling reporters. SEA’s bargaining chair and vice president Phyllis Campano is who’s been speaking.
6:29 PM: The board is now back in session and voting on the resolution shortly. Some hissing from the audience as a staffer reads the resolution components – including the authorization to close facilities if necessary – to the board. One component of the resolution is a suspension of regular board meetings – so if it passes, tomorrow night’s regular board meeting would be postponed indefinitely. There is a suggestion that if this resolution isn’t passed, the strike could go on for a long time. West Seattle’s school board member Marty McLaren says she is “devastated” to hear that school won’t start tomorrow. Director Sue Peters says it’s “her hope” that an agreement can still be reached soon: “There are many important components to this resolution that I do support, but not #5 – authorization of legal action,” so she’s not supporting the resolution. Board president Sherry Carr says the “#1 priority” is an agreement that works for both sides: “This is the textbook case of what results from a profoundly broken K=12 funding mechanism in Washington state.”
6:39 PM: Roll call: Betty Patu abstains. Peters votes no. All others vote yes. The resolution passes, and that authorizes the district to take legal action against the union, among other things. “SHAME ON YOU!” yell several in the audience. And a few minutes later, as the board members leave, some shout “Thank you, Sue Peters.”
Bottom line as of right now:
*Seattle Education Association says it’ll be out on strike tomorrow
*Union bargainers said no time/date set for talks to continue
*School Board has voted to give staff authorization to take legal action and other actions mentioned in the resolution (above) that just passed 5-1-1
There will certainly be more information from both sides as the night goes on and we’ll update, but for now, the board meeting is over and we’re headed back to West Seattle.
SIDE NOTE: For those still seeking child care – Seattle Parks says that while Hiawatha Community Center is at capacity, Alki, Delridge, High Point, and South Park community centers have some space for kids 5-12 already enrolled in before/after-school care there. See the original announcement here.
9:30 PM: And now the news releases from both sides. From the Seattle Education Association:
More than 5,000 Seattle teachers and paraprofessionals will be on strike Sept. 9, the scheduled first day of school.
Picket lines will begin at 8:30 am Wednesday at every one of Seattle’s 97 public schools.
It is the first contract-related strike by the Seattle Education Association since 1985. Seattle is Washington’s largest school district.
Contract negotiations continued until about 6 pm Monday. On Sept. 3, SEA members voted unanimously to strike if the Seattle School Board failed to negotiate a tentative contract agreement by the start of school.
While negotiations began in May, major unresolved issues haven’t changed:
*Professional pay: We need to attract and keep caring, qualified educators in Seattle, which is one of the most expensive cities in the United States. We’ve gone six years with no state COLA and five years with no state increase in funding for educator health care.
*Fair teacher and staff evaluations: Educators should be evaluated fairly and consistently, and the focus should be on providing the support all educators need to be successful.
*Reasonable testing: Too much standardized testing is stealing time away from classroom learning.
*Educator workload relief: Current workloads mean many students aren’t getting the help they need.
*Student equity around discipline and the opportunity gap: We need to focus on equity issues in every school, not just some.
*The administration’s proposal to make teachers work more for free: It is unrealistic to expect teachers to work more hours without additional pay, and the district administration has been unable to explain how their proposal would help students.
SEA represents about 5,000 teachers, instructional assistants, paraprofessionals, nurses, counselors, substitute teachers and office professionals who educate 52,000 students in the Seattle School District.
Teachers in Pasco, WA also are on strike.
Here’s the district news release:
Seattle Public Schools’ teachers have declared a strike against the district, effective at midnight September 9, 2015. There will be no school tomorrow, the originally scheduled first day of school. A collective bargaining agreement could not be reached.
Seattle Education Association (SEA), the union that represents the district’s educators, substitutes, paraprofessionals, instructional assistants and office professionals notified Superintendent Larry Nyland and the School Board by letter earlier tonight. The notification of intent to strike, was made prior to the Board’s decision to approve a resolution that would allow appropriate legal action. This allows the superintendent to take necessary action he deems appropriate to protect and serve the district’s interests should there be a strike.
Mediators were brought in to assist with the negotiation process last week. The two sides held bargaining sessions throughout the day today. After a brief break, SEA informed the district talks had concluded for the night and announced their intent to strike. The district’s bargaining team has made themselves available to meet with SEA’s bargaining team at any time.
The district has partnered with the City of Seattle on child care options including Seattle Parks and Recreation and some SPS daycares will remain open.
SPS and SEA have the same shared goal of providing a quality education for our 53,000 students. The district is hopeful for a swift resolution and those students can start their school year soon.
Bargaining updates and information including child care options can be found on the SPS website.
Also: Just received word that tomorrow night’s 34th District Democrats meeting (7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy) will start with an update from the union’s bargaining leader, who’s seen in our video above.
SDOT has just gone public with the revised SW Admiral Way Safety Project plan, ahead of a briefing at tonight’sAdmiral Neighborhood Association meeting. This is the plan that originally stirred controversy for seeking to remove more than 200 parking spaces along parts of Admiral Way west of California SW. Some residents launched a petition drive and campaign, with concerns including SDOT having made decisions based on a parking study conducted in the winter. SDOT agreed to do another parking study in the summer, and this is the revised version just announced:
Our revised proposal maintains on-street parking on both sides of the street, constructs a buffered bike lane, adds a new crosswalk and a westbound radar feedback sign. It also helps motorists maintain speeds closer to 30 mph by reducing travel lane widths. We are doing this by removing the center turn lane, while maintaining left turn pockets at four intersections with high left turn demand. Providing these left turn pockets would require removing a limited amount of on-street parking at 59th, 49th and 47th Avenues SW (no changes proposed at California Ave SW). The design is not at a point where we know how many spaces, but as you can imagine it will be much less than the initial concept shared in May.
While the revised proposal significantly reduces impacts to parking, we still wanted to honor our commitment to studying parking during the peak summer season. A parking study was conducted from July 30 through August 11 along SW Admiral Way by an independent consultant. Here is an overview of what we learned (the full report is available online).
We are looking forward to engaging the community in a conversation about the revised proposal. A public meeting is being held on September 17 from 6:15 to 7:45 PM at the Hiawatha Community Center and more information is available at our project website. We will be taking comments until October 1, 2015.
Your first opportunity to do that will be at tonight’s ANA meeting, 7 pm at The Sanctuary at Admiral (42nd SW & SW Lander).
Last Friday, we showed you the start of preparation work for SW Roxbury rechannelization and other changes. SDOT had said it would be staging for and working on the 35th SW changes – as announced in July(presentation above) – concurrently, and has just sent this update:
Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews will begin re-paving 35th Avenue SW between SW Cambridge and SW Barton streets Thursday, September 10. This work will occur from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. and is expected to take one week.
In addition, SDOT crews will begin re-channeling SW Roxbury Street and 35th Avenue SW after the repaving work has begun. Work will occur from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. for about two to three weeks, weather permitting. Crews will also modify traffic signals and signal detection systems.
What to expect:
• Re-paving on 35th Avenue SW between SW Cambridge and SW Barton streets
• Re-channelization on:
• SW Roxbury Street between 17th Avenue SW and 35th Avenue SW
• 35th Avenue SW between SW Roxbury Street and SW Morgan Street
• SW Barton Street between 34th Avenue SW and 36th Avenue SW
Paving and signal work will occur between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and channelization work between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. Expect periodic lane closures in construction areas and temporary parking restrictions. Moderate construction noise is expected when the existing pavement markings are removed.
This work is part of the 35th Avenue SW and SW Roxbury Street Road Safety Corridor Project, which aims to make streets safer and more accessible for everyone. The projects are expected to be completed by mid-October. SDOT appreciates the public’s patience while this work is being completed.
We note that the SDOT announcement today mentions “Roxbury to Morgan” for 35th, while it was “Roxbury to Willow” when announced in mid-July, so we’re following up on that.
The West Seattle public school permanently located at 5950 Delridge Way SW will be starting the year with a new name: Louisa Boren STEM K-8. This reflects not only the grades being added to what originally was called K-5 STEM, but also, an acknowledgment of the woman for whom the school’s now-permanent home is named (first as Louisa Boren Junior High School, later as the Boren Building). The announcement:
Only four years ago, Seattle Public Schools’ option school K-5 STEM opened its doors offering Kindergarten through 5th grade. One of the only STEM dedicated (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) elementary schools in the Seattle Metro area, the school is adding a middle school, beginning with 6th grade this coming school year.
With the addition of a middle school and a permanent location in the Boren building in West Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood, the school is now being called Louisa Boren STEM K-8.
“We are very excited to start our 4th year as Louisa Boren STEM K-8. We remain true to the school’s original goals of providing a strong STEM program rooted in project based learning, while our expanding vision is geared towards 21st century readiness in a community that values equity, sustainability and the whole child.” said principal Ben Ostrom.
STEM K-8’s 6th grade students will start this fall. Each coming year will add another grade, serving Kindergarten through 8th grade in the 2017-18 school year. Although current students ‘roll-up’ into the new middle school automatically, there is limited space for new enrollment as the school expands.
Louisa Boren was one of the Washington Territory pioneers and a founder of the city of Seattle. It’s fitting that STEM K-8 is located in the Louisa Boren building because Louisa herself loved science, particularly chemistry, botany and astronomy. “Liza” had a love of learning and a natural curiosity about the world.
Louisa Boren’s legacy continues today. Not only in the city of Seattle and the brave pioneering spirit she engendered, but also in her hard work supporting the women’s suffrage movement and her advocacy for Chinese workers settling in the area.
Arbor Heights Elementary school currently shares the Boren site for the second year while their school is built and ready for students in Fall 2016.
(CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW: By Trileigh Tucker, who was photographing the great blue heron when the salmon appeared)
Looking ahead to tonight – first, while it’s not happening in West Seattle, this is of interest to thousands here:
SPECIAL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING: As mentioned in our ongoing coverage (newest update here) of whether Seattle Public Schools will start classes tomorrow as scheduled or whether there’ll be a strike, the SPS Board has a special meeting at 5:30 pm tonight to consider authorizing legal action against the Seattle Education Association. The meeting will start and end in public session but will also include a closed-door session. 5:30 pm, district HQ in SODO. (3rd S. & S. Lander)
Meantime, on the peninsula, two community-council meetings lead tonight’s list:
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: For tonight’s 7 pm board meeting, per the newest Fauntleroy Flash e-mail: “Among the topics on this month’s agenda: Fauntleroy Fall Festival, Cove Park, traffic revisions, surplus substation property, survey update, Southwest District Council, and Fauntleroy Schoolhouse.” That’s where the board meets, too. (9131 California SW)
West Seattle Hi-Yu has just announced a new way for local youth to be part of the long-running community festival:
It’s application time for the new West Seattle Teen Ambassador Program for teens 13-16 that live in West Seattle in zip codes 98106-98146, as approved at the West Seattle Hi-Yu meeting Sept. 7th.
This new opportunity for teens expands the West Seattle Hi-Yu offering opportunities for community service to teens and fills the gap between the Junior Court and Senior Court.
We are looking forward to having teens and their parents participate in the West Seattle Hi-Yu community festival, parades and other events in the coming year.
Please pass the information on to teens and encourage them to apply. They will gain confidence, have fun and be able to have recognition as a leader in the community as an Ambassador.
This is a wonderful opportunity for students and their parents to join the West Seattle Hi-Yu and join in the fun, have opportunities for community service and gain poise & confidence.
An orientation session is planned for teens and their parents at 7 pm Monday, Sept. 28th, to explain the program and answer questions.
West Seattle Hi-Yu meetings are on the first Monday of each month, and all Mondays in July. We are looking forward to seeing you.
Please pass the information on to other parents with teens age 13-16.
Deadline is Oct. 1st. with interviews scheduled Oct. 1st and Oct. 2nd from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Final selection at the Oct. 5th West Seattle Hi-Yu meeting 7:00 pm at the Admiral Congregational Church, 4320 SW Hill St. (3 blocks North of Admiral Way on California Ave SW)
(Four WS-relevant views – main bridge cameras weren’t working as of early morning – more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know as the holiday-shortened week begins:
BACK TO SCHOOL: In addition to the parochial schools that have already started their year, independent Tilden School (California SW & SW Dakota; WSB sponsor) starts back today (easing in with a half-day, dismissal at noon). The rest of the independent schools start back tomorrow. That as you likely know is also supposed to be Seattle Public Schools‘ first day of classes, but might see the start of a strike instead.
5:04 AM: Contract talks continued on Labor Day between Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association – but instead of points of progress, this time around, the biggest news is the district’s announcement of a special board meeting tonight, seeking authority to go to court if there’s a strike. Here’s the action item on that meeting’s agenda:
(Read it here if you can’t see the embedded version above.) SEA members voted last Thursday night to strike tomorrow if there’s no contract deal; there was word of some progress over the holiday weekend, including agreeing on 30 minutes of guaranteed recess (the union had previously sought 45 minutes) and issues relating to substitute teachers, but no word of progress on Monday. Tonight’s special board meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm at district HQ in SODO (3rd S. & S. Lander), with a closed-door “executive session” up first, followed by the aforementioned resolution to be considered in open session thereafter.
9:57 AM: The union has just posted an update – see it here. From that update:
The SEA Bargaining Team continues to bargain in good faith – last night the team proposed a two-year contract and proposed creating a work group to study the possible merits and feasibility of extending the school day.
While we moved closer on some issues through the course of Monday’s bargaining, including on evaluations, the school board’s 11 pm package proposal still insisted on a 30-minute longer school day without a commitment to pay for that time. The district administration’s wage proposal barely budged from previous offers: 2 percent this year, 3.2 percent next year, and 3.75 percent the following year, when certificated staff would begin working 30 minutes longer. The SEA pay proposal is 6 percent a year.
We don’t have a tentative agreement, and our strike deadline is almost here.
As we’ve said all along, we’re dedicated to negotiating a fair contract and starting school on time, but the school board and district administration must recognize that educators need to be part of the decision making about what is best for students.
Our team is willing to meet with district bargainers today, but only if there’s a sense that continuing to meet would be productive.
12:13 PM UPDATE: Just received from district spokesperson Stacy Howard via e-mail:
We wanted to provide a very brief update, a more official detailed will be likely be provided later.
· SPS has offered $62 million as a counter to the $172 million worth of asks of SEA
· Includes
o Significant staff increases for special education
o Wage increases
o 30 minutes of additional student instructional time in year 3
· We gave that proposal just before midnight last night and are awaiting a response from SEA
· SPS bargaining team continues to be ready and available to meet
· We ask that families please have a contingency plan in place for childcare, in case school does not start tomorrow
· We are asking the media to help us in reaching out to some of our communities where English is a second language, for preparations.
We will continue updating this story until either late afternoon or a major development, whichever comes first, at which time we’ll start a new story and will add the link here so people know where to find it. We’re keeping this linked at the top of our sidebar (“BIG STORIES”) for easy finding, in the meantime.
3:11 PM: Neither side has yet ruled out the possibility that school COULD still start tomorrow as scheduled. The latest update is this district tweet from minutes ago:
SPS has received a counter offer from @seattleea and is currently considering it.
CRIME FOLLOWUP: As WWRHAH co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick pointed out, the June meeting (WSB coverage here) focused on crime, especially chronic problems in the South Delridge area. Some action had ensued – “some flare-ups, some diedowns.” And then Community Police Team Officer Jon Flores got up to speak. He’s one of two Southwest Precinct CPT officers right now – the team had been up to 4 just a few months ago, but, he said, one member has been promoted and another has been assigned to a technology project.
In this area in the past two months, he said, SPD has tallied:
-112 calls for suspicious activity/circumstances
-19 residential burglaries
-13 harassment/threat calls
-10 assaults
-6 car prowls
-2 armed robberies
After the June WWRHAH meeting, Officer Flores said, they were clear on what needed to be done in the South Delridge area – they met with several other city departments, got some CPTED principles applied to the area, but they are still working on some things, like graffiti-vandalism cleanup.
For the fifth time in less than a year, Puget Sound’s Southern Resident Killer Whales have welcomed a baby. The Instagram-shared photo above and news release below are from the Center for Whale Research:
Today there was another new baby in the L pod! L91 was first seen near Sooke, BC this morning with a very newborn calf, confirmed a few hours later by Mark Malleson off Victoria, BC and CWR staffers, Dave Ellifrit and Melissa Pinnow, and by colleagues Drs. John Durban, Holly Fearnbach, and Lance Barrett-Lennard.
These latter colleagues happened to be in the area conducting a sequel to CWR aerial measurements of all of the SRKW’s (Southern Resident Killer Whales), this time with a very sophisticated hexacopter (Unmanned Aerial System – UAS, or drone). The measurements were accomplished on the US side of the border as Dave and Melissa took numerous identification photographs from the research vessel “Orca” at a respectful distance. The new calf is designated L122, and is the fifth new baby to come into the population since December, 2014. The mother and baby and other L pod whales spent the afternoon and evening in Haro Strait ‘fishing’, and by day’s end were joined by J and K pod members.
In the forty-year history of ORCA SURVEY, a long-term photo-identification study of this whale population, the greatest number of calves born in a year was 9 in 1977, and there were none born that survived in 2013 or 2014. We hope this year’s ‘baby boom’ represents a turnaround in what has been a negative population trend in recent years.
(Photos by Cameron Harris – USA Baseball, republished with permission)
Toward the left of that photo, #5 on the USA Baseball 18U National Team, is West Seattle High School senior Morgan McCullough, gesturing “#1” with both hands right after he and his teammates won the WBSC World Cup tournament in Osaka, Japan this weekend. We wrote on Saturday about the team making it into Sunday’s title game; Team USA was victorious over the host team, taking the USA’s third consecutive title, 2-1. McCullough, who is due home late tonight, started the game at playing second base and batting leadoff, drawing a walk to get on base early on:
His mom Jane Muxen McCullough says, “This is something he has been working for since he first picked up a bat.” We asked her what he had to say about the victory, and she relayed this quote: “It was the best experience of my life with the best teammates I could imagine. Representing the USA, the team felt we had targets on our back. We embraced that feeling and stuck together as a unit, and because of that we are gold medalists.” Morgan is the only Northwest resident on the team, whose roster you can see here.
Thanks for the tips that resulted in these four West Seattle business notes:
PARLIAMENT TAVERN NOW OPEN: In the space vacated by Vidiot, which is now next door in the former Benbow Tavern space at 4210 SW Admiral Way, Parliament Tavern opened this weekend.
MARDI GRAS DONUTS REOPENS: Fans were sad to see a “closed until further notice” sign up recently, but a texted tip and WSB Forums topic reveal the famous-for-its-beignets donut shop at 9828 16th SW in White Center has reopened.
CHOPSTIX ABOUT TO REOPEN: When last we wrote about Chopstix, north of Morgan Junction at 5905 California SW, it was promising an August 15th reopening. That came and went but now the sign on its door says it’ll be open this Wednesday (September 9th). We have a feeling it’s likelier this time – its website now sports the “grand reopening” menu for what will now be called Chopstix BBQ.
NEXT DOOR … The same tipster who texted the Chopstix update points out that Juneau Street Market, next to Chopstix, has somewhat conflicting notes on its locked doors, one saying it’ll be closed TFN, one saying it’ll reopen September 12th (next Saturday) after remodeling.
P.S. We have a really long watch list right now of in-progress restaurants and for-lease spaces we’re tracking – checking the locations, permit records, etc., as often as we can, but just wanted to say again, tips are very much appreciated if you spot signage, progress, etc., before we do – editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!
One last score to report from the first weekend of local high-school football: The Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks were on the road against the Garfield Bulldogs, at Southeast Athletic Complex on Saturday night. Final score: Garfield 48, Sealth 13. Next up for the Seahawks: Another road game, vs. King’s Way Christian in Vancouver (WA) at 6 pm Friday. (Thanks to Mel for the photo!)
ALLEY VANDALISM ALERT: A neighbor near this alley between the 3200 block of California SW and of 44th SW wanted to warn people about that knocked-over-by-vandals portable toilet, the contents of which subsequently spilled onto the alley. It’s a busy alley, the neighbor says, used by residents and their pets, but no cleanup yet.
ILLEGAL OFF-ROADING: From a Riverview resident, who’s asking neighbors to be watchful:
This afternoon, I was out walking when at least four young kids on dirt bikes rode down 12th Ave and into Riverview Playfield. As I walked, I noticed they were going up and down to the Pee-Wee fields. There were families in the park at the time. These are kids that are too young to have drivers licenses, on vehicles that are not licensed for street use, riding not only on the street but into parks and greenbelt where they are not allowed. One was carrying a shovel.
On the walk back, I saw two ride through the pee-wee fields and into the greenbelt, NE of 12th & Holly. I could also hear a shovel being used. I called 911 and reported it. They seemed responsive, but I don’t know if the kids will be there by the time the police get there. Also, they can easily scatter, so likely will get away. The thing to do would be to have a few police officers up in the Riverview Playfield parking lot waiting and then have an officer approach from the utility road off of West Marginal Way. The kids would ride back toward the parking lot and home.
I would like to encourage my neighbors and anyone using the park to call 911 if they see anyone going on dirt bikes into the greenbelt. You aren’t even supposed to be in the greenbelt on a bicycle, let alone a dirt bike. They were riding on crushed rock trails that Parks is working on, likely causing damage to them. Nature Consortium has had plantings destroyed by these kids on their bikes.
The forest in that area is part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt, which the NC works year-round to restore.
11:43 AM: Volunteers of all ages were out cleaning up paint vandalism at Schmitz Park Elementary this morning – two days after we published reader reports about vandalism there and at Madison Middle School, blocks away. The first person to mention it, Nathan, was organizing an army of volunteers but then found out the district had sent a pressure-washer-equipped crew out first thing this morning:
As Nathan put it in this comment, “The district got the really big stuff cleared, but we have a crew of kids and adults really making the place shine.” He was hoping some volunteers would make it to Madison by day’s end, too.
ADDED 5:02 PM: Thanks to Sean for sending this photo:
Sean points out that the young signmaker’s message is: “No Graffiti.”
ADDED 10:44 PM: Thanks to Mark for sharing photos from Madison Middle School, where volunteers indeed showed up in force:
In the photos, he notes, are “Superheroes: Helen Schlacter, Mary Schlacter, Anne Wainwright, Hayden Wainwright. A few other families helped out earlier in the day.”
From just-hatched octopus babies to an iridescent nudibranch, the sea life in the video above comprise just a tiny corner of the window on the undersea world that “Diver Laura” James has provided to so many in recent years. And it’s an adjunct to what else she and fellow volunteers have done in local waters – cleanups and environmental education, too. That all made her Scuba Diving magazine’s monthly “Sea Hero” for August, one of what the magazine describes as “everyday divers who make an extraordinary difference.” In case you haven’t seen it in the print edition, the story is now online – read it here. Her videos are part of what she talks about in the interview:
People protect what they love, but they must know it to love it. I remind myself of this when the weather is cold and the visibility is low. All the creatures, great and small, are worth filming and sharing, and that next bit of video I shoot may make the difference for one elected official, or inspire one little kid.
She also talks about the tox-ick.org toxic-runoff-reduction campaign – take a look at 7 things you can do, especially important as winter (and inevitably more rain) approaches, washing what’s on the streets and in your yards right into Puget Sound.
as the school expands. 
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