West Seattle, Washington
29 Wednesday
(WSB photo from 2014 West Seattle Car Show)
When the new presenters of the West Seattle Car Show had to regretfully announce one month ago that it wouldn’t happen this year, because the streets in The Junction wouldn’t be available, community commenters suggested South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) as an alternative. And now – it’s happening! Just in:
Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks are pleased to announce that the 2015 car show will happen on Sunday, September 13th, at South Seattle College! We are excited about this new collaboration with the college and thank the West Seattle Community for the idea. Registration and more information to follow soon!
WSAW and Swedish (both WSB sponsors) took over the show after its founder and longtime organizer Michael Hoffman died suddenly last year at age 47, and last September’s show was the biggest one yet.
(WSB photo from 2012 Hiawatha performance by Caspar Babypants, who’s back this year)
Today’s second big summer outdoor-entertainment lineup announcement: The Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha lineup for 2015! From Katy Walum – who’s organized the series from the start – here are the six acts booked for six consecutive Thursday nights, 6:30-8 pm on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center:
July 23rd – Carrie Akre
July 30th – Naomi Wachira
August 6th – Star Anna
August 13th – Modern Relics
August 20th – Ayron Jones and the Way
August 27th – Caspar Babypants
The concerts are free – bring your own chair, blanket, picnic dinner, family, friends, neighbors, and have a great time. (We’re proud to have co-sponsored Summer Concerts at Hiawatha every year since its start in 2009; this is the series’ seventh year!)
(UPDATED 3:15 PM with added information including the restaurant’s exact location in the project)
We now know the identity of the second commercial tenant at Junction 47, the almost-complete two-building apartments/retail project at California/Alaska/42nd. The first, reported here in February, is Starbucks. The second, announced today: The Lodge Sports Grille. It’s “a family owned, locally based restaurant known for its wide selection of craft beers and innovative American-style menu,” according to the official announcement. The Lodge already has five locations in the region – SODO, downtown, Kirkland, Mill Creek, and Mukilteo, with a sixth planned in Greenwood. For its seventh, here, it’s leased 4,200 square feet, about a fifth of Junction 47’s retail space. Proprietor Shawn Roten says the Junction hours will be 11 am to midnight Sundays-Tuesdays, 11 am-2 am Wednesdays-Saturdays, adding, “We open for breakfast during the football season at 9 am.” (Preview their current beer list and menus on the left sidebar here). Read on for the full news release (plus, 3:15 pm update, answers to two questions):
(WSB photo)
FIRST REPORT, 11:06 AM: We’ve been following the final run-up to the demolition of the former Charlestown Café – and contrary to our most recent information from Intracorp, which plans to build 27 live-work and townhouse units on the site, the teardown is happening now. Just started – thanks to the person who tipped us; the heavy equipment wasn’t there when we drove by around 9 am.
The Charlestown Café closed in April 2011, after its final few years brought a variety of challenges:
Less than three years before it closed forever, it was shut down for five months following a fire in February 2008. That fire happened just days after the café ownership found out a retail-development proposal that had threatened to cost them their lease had fallen through, giving them a reprieve; first word of that proposal had brought a groundswell of public support via a community campaign in early 2007 (in our early days of covering news on WSB). After the restaurant closed in April 2011, a mixed-use-development proposal surfaced but didn’t go far; two years later, the Intracorp plan appeared, and that’s what’s going forward now.
ADDED 12:57 PM: The aforementioned community campaign eight years ago was spearheaded by Mark Wainwright, a former Admiral Neighborhood Association president who has been involved in other community-advocacy efforts along the way too. We asked him today for some thoughts on the end of the line for what was the Charlestown Café:
Was walking the dog last night and decided to wander by… I walked up the not-so-good alley (which I believe is being improved – yea!) and gazed over the old and beaten remains of the Charlestown Cafe.
Its easy to look forward to the demolition, as the building is a mess, but I do remember those breakfasts…
And how important a place it was when people in the surrounding blocks needed a warm place with food and coffee during that big winter storm and power outage we had years ago.
When Petco proposed a store on that site, I wasn’t too excited. I wasn’t a dog owner back then (am now), but regardless I wasn’t excited.
Lot’s of people weren’t excited – for lots of reasons. People wanted the Charlestown Cafe to stay exactly as it had been. People didn’t like the idea of a national retailer. People though a big store and big parking lot was a waste of space for housing. People thought lots of things.
But we managed to come together as a group – and not make it about Petco or other stuff. We came together out of a desire to support our neighborhood, to support our “Mickey Mouse pancakes,” and to show everybody involved in that whole thing that we gave a damn. And Petco walked away.
I learned a lot – about organizing people, about our neighborhood, about Larry Mellum (Charlestown Cafe owner), about the property owner (the name escapes me, but I think they own a ton of Seattle lots and live up in Edmonds). Most of all, I learned that people can make a difference.
I’m not down on this new development – it was going to happen sooner or later, and I’m looking forward to what comes of it. I’ll freely admit that I’m all for building more housing, because I believe that our current high prices (rent and for sale) are (at least partially) a result of high demand and low supply.
But really, I’m excited about the future. Maybe my daughter’s next best friend will live there. Maybe a teacher will live there. And maybe we can all make some new memories together there in the future.
Good memories, tho. And good Mickey Mouse pancakes.
Charlestown update: Mostly gone. pic.twitter.com/IQfVFLTxFw
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) June 3, 2015
(WSB photo from past WSOM season)
Thanks to everyone who answered the call for suggestions for this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies series, six summer Saturday nights featuring free films at dusk in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor), now just a month and a half away, with co-sponsors including WSB. The lineup is set – and the leader of the movie pack, Hotwire’s Lora Swift, has two requests. But first, the movies!
Sat, July 18th: “Zoolander,” 2001 (trailer above; PG-13)
Sat, July 25th: “Singles,” 1992 (PG-13)
Sat, Aug 1st: “Raising Arizona,” 1987 (PG-13)
Sat, Aug 8th: “Big Hero 6,” 2014 (PG)
Sat, Aug 15th: “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 2014 (PG-13)
Sat, Aug 22nd: “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” 1975 (R)
(“Rocky” ended its monthly Admiral Theater run last fall, so this will be its first screening in West Seattle in almost a year.) Now, the requests:
NONPROFITS WANTED: Every movie night includes a raffle to raise money for local nonprofits. If yours is interested, please apply now! You’ll have to contribute a few items for the raffle and have a rep there on your movie night as well as two volunteers. By the way, sponsors contribute cool raffle items too, all season long, so the raffle items aren’t ONLY from the beneficiaries.
PRE-SHOW ENTERTAINMENT WANTED: Lora is recruiting variety acts to perform in the courtyard before the movie (times TBA, since the movie starts at dusk and that gets earlier as the summer goes on) – go to this link (CL) to find out more.
The e-mail address for charities and pre-show entertainment is the same: westseattlemovies@gmail.com
ALSO: This year’s concessions will benefit, and be run by, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. For more about the series, check out the official website, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning:
PARKGOER’S WARNING: Police were in Highland Park Tuesday afternoon looking for what was dispatched as a man asking women for hugs. Then overnight, a reader e-mailed us to say that the man “groped” her while she was at Westcrest Park playing with her child “and attending to the garden.” She added, “This same man also appeared at the park next to the Highland Park Elementary playground, which I happened to be at after the P Patch. I informed the other parents and then called the Police.” She says he is known to him, is developmentally disabled, and apparently “tends to run away from his foster parents and go to the parks where he asks for hugs from girls. If you ever see him, he is about 6’3″ about late teens with blondish hair, call the police and let them know.”
HAMMOCK CHAIR THEFT: Also in Highland Park, a case of chair theft:
Our hammock chairs were stolen off our front patio Monday morning between 5:30 and 8 am. We live on the corner of 11th and Holden Street. Chairs are rare (made in Hawaii, available only [online]) and we have never seen anything like them. Any and all help relocating them is much appreciated.
Please call police if you’ve seen them.
(June bug photographed in West Seattle by Janet Pliske)
Midway to the weekend, here’s what’s ahead for the rest of today/tonight. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out at Lincoln and Constellation Parks again today, 9:45 am-1 pm, with low tide out to -2.2 feet at 12:06 pm.
WEEKLY ENTREPRENEUR/HOME-WORKER MEETUP: At West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), the area’s only co-working center, it’s the weekly “informal brown bag lunch for freelancers, independent business professionals, creatives, and entrepreneurs working from home or coffee shops.” Noon-1:15 pm. (6040 California SW)
LANDMARK STATUS FOR EC HUGHES SCHOOL? 3:30 pm today at the Muni Tower downtown, the city Landmarks Preservation Board considers whether the former EC Hughes Elementary in Sunrise Heights (built in 1926, leased by Westside School [WSB sponsor] until its move to a new campus this fall) merits landmark status. Find background documents here. (700 5th Ave., 40th floor)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL, LOCATION CHANGE: 6:30 pm, the Southwest District Council meets but not at its usual location. They’ll gather at, and tour, the Arboretum on the north side of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). All welcome – meet at the main entrance; the tour will last about an hour, and then SWDC will move into a classroom for its business meeting. (6000 16th SW)
WEST SEATTLE KIWANIS: 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, it’s the regular meeting of the Kiwanis, who tonight will be assembling care kits for homeless people. Join them and check out the club! (Oregon/California)
FREE BIKE-COMMUTING WORKSHOP: Thinking about commuting by bike? Get your Q & A on first with this free workshop at Cycle U, 6:30 pm. (3418 Harbor SW)
JIM PAGE AT C & P: Live music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) with singer/songwriter Jim Page, 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
MORE NIGHTLIFE … check the listings on our calendar. (And if you see something missing, please let us know! editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.)
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:14 AM: Good morning! Another routine commute so far. One note for later: It’s an early-dismissal day for Seattle Public Schools – students will be out two hours earlier than usual.
7:41 AM: If you use 4th Avenue to get into downtown – SDOT reports “police activity” has blocked a lane at Main in Pioneer Square.
8:08 AM: SDOT says that’s clear. No other problems between here and downtown right now.
(Looking southward over the heart of White Center. Photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, as reported here Monday, the issue of White Center/North Highline annexation comes up for another briefing before the City Council’s Education and Governance Committee. Last December, that committee voted to take a step that it stressed just kept the city’s options open for potentially seeking an annexation vote in time to use a state tax credit considered vital for covering some of the costs. Now, another step has to be taken to keep that option open, councilmembers will be told tomorrow. But another vote would be required to actually pursue a vote by residents of the potential annexation area, and if that vote happens, it might not be until after the November election. As a prelude to tomorrow’s briefing – we asked the nine candidates for City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) whether, and why, they do or do not support annexing WC/NH. We sent the questions to their official e-mail addresses just before noon Monday, with a deadline of midnight. Seven candidates replied; we’ve published their responses in the order received and as received, unedited:
Eight development notes plus a photo:
EARLY DESIGN GUIDANCE SET FOR REVIVED JUNCTION PROJECT: Three months after we reported that 4532 42nd SW was active again, six years after demolition of the biggest building on the site, its new plan is on the Southwest Design Review Board schedule. As noted here in March, that new plan is for a six-story building with 84 apartments and 70 underground parking spaces, along with 3,350 square feet of commercial space. It’s set to go to the SWDRB at 8 pm July 2nd, Senior Center of West Seattle, right after this next project …
DESIGN REVIEW UPDATE FOR AEGIS LIVING: A week ago, we reported that the online files for Aegis Living‘s 80-unit memory-care/assisted-living center at 4700 SW Admiral Way showed it would go through Administrative Design Review – no public meeting. Since then, a listing showed up for a 6:30 pm July 2nd public meeting with the SW Design Review Board. We sought clarification from the city planner on the project, Holly Godard, who replied that the project WILL go before the board. The error/dual listing is unexplained, though, and even resulted in this apparently erroneous notice in the city Land Use Information Bulletin. The July 2nd public meeting seems to be for real, so if you’re interested in this project, mark your calendar. And send e-mail comments to holly.godard@seattle.gov.
Now, updates from two arterials. First, California SW:
NEW CALIFORNIA SW PROJECT: A mostly empty lot – just a storage building on its alley side – at 5431 California SW is proposed for three live-work units fronting California, with a two-unit townhouse building behind them, and two single-family houses behind that.
THIRD DEMOLITION IN TWO BLOCKS IN TWO WEEKS: The house at 4031 California SW came down last week, less than two blocks south of the 3811 California SW and 3829 California SW teardowns days earlier:
Thanks to Bryce for that photo. A two-unit townhouse and one single-family house are planned on the site.
CALIFORNIA/CHARLESTOWN FOLLOWUP: We reported last Friday night that Intracorp said it was about to get going on the ex-Charlestown Café site. The announcement didn’t have specifics on the exact demolition timetable, though; project spokesperson Dan Swallow has since told WSB that it’s expected one week from today (June 9th). **UPDATE, WEDNESDAY MORNING** As we’re covering in a separate story, the teardown is under way NOW.
Lots of redevelopment along Delridge Way, too. From north to south, three projects to mention:
4107-4111 DELRIDGE WAY SW: These two addresses are proposed for a three-unit rowhouse fronting Delridge and two single-family houses behind. (Side note: Records show that in 2008, this site was proposed for a six-unit “cottage housing” redevelopment.)
5013 DELRIDGE WAY SW: Land-use proposal for a five-townhouse building, with ground-level carports, on a vacant lot; the site plan shows the entrance will be via one curb cut on Delridge.
8139 DELRIDGE WAY SW: This house will be demolished, with four single-family houses scheduled to replace it.
FINALLY – THE WHITTAKER, FROM THE SKY: Local pilot/photographer Long Bach Nguyen, who often generously shares images via WSB, just sent this new aerial looking southward over the construction site at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW:
We pinged a project spokesperson today to see if there’s anything new on this project (future home of 400 apartments, Whole Foods Market, other TBA retail, and 600 underground parking spaces), but haven’t heard back yet.
If you’ll be bicycling to or from the low bridge on Thursday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 am, set aside a few minutes for a stop along the way. Just out of the WSB inbox:
Two local West Seattle businesses are teaming up to support the American Lung Association. Brad Loetel, owner of West Seattle Cyclery, will be in the West Seattle Cyclery Tent, as usual on Thursday mornings, handing out coffee, refreshments, and mechanical support to bike commuters. Mike Mulligan of AAA Washington will join Brad on this Thursday to help raise awareness of the American Lung Association’s Ride Around the Sound fundraising ride scheduled for September 19, 2015. We hope cyclists will stop and learn about this one-day, fully supported fundraising ride to support the good work of the American Lung Association.
(AAA is a WSB sponsor.)
(May 2015 photo of ‘Solar Pioneer,’ with Polar Pioneer in background, by David Hutchinson)
While Shell’s Arctic-offshore-drilling vessels might be leaving as soon as June 10th, opponents have announced another round of protest events in West Seattle. According to an online schedule (found earlier on this webpage, but it’s timing out as we write this), they’re including two “welcoming” events today and Thursday at the park adjacent to Delridge Community Center and a gathering tomorrow night across the street at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, as well as “land blockades” as soon as Friday and a Friday night flotilla near the People’s Platform/Solar Pioneer barge off Don Armeni Boat Ramp.
ADDED 6:25 PM: We went over to the Delridge CC park to check on the “welcoming” event and found two people under a canopy along with this sign near the corner of Delridge and Genesee:
They told us someone had already sent police over to check on them; the officers stopped by, and left.
(back to original report) Meantime, the state Department of Natural Resources confirmed to WSB that Shell has responded to its questions about whether the drilling platform is too big for T-5, but hasn’t made the response public yet, saying DNR staffers are “reviewing” it.
2:05 PM: While we haven’t been able to get full details from Seattle Police yet, we wanted to tell you what we do know about this, given where it happened: SPD is investigating a strong-arm street robbery reported just before 10 this morning at California/Hanford [map]. The robber took the victim’s backpack. While the location is just south of West Seattle High School, we do NOT know if the victim was, or was not, a student; because the report isn’t in the system yet, SPD media relations didn’t have access to details such as the victim’s age. The only descriptive information in the system so far regarding the robber is: A Hispanic man in his 30s, 6 feet tall, wearing jeans. When we find out more, we’ll add it here.
4:09 PM: SPD has added one more detail so far – the victim is a 13-year-old girl.
Have you seen the new safety lights on the crosswalk signs at California/Dakota, north of The Junction? We noticed them earlier this week, grabbed the quick Instagram clip you see above, and then asked SDOT’s Brian Dougherty if more are on the way for West Seattle. Yes, he replied, two more so far:
The new rectangular rapid flash beacons (RRFB) at California Avenue SW and SW Dakota Street were funded and installed by SDOT’s Safe Routes to School program. This is one of several RRFBs that will be installed at school crosswalks this year; the other two locations in West Seattle include the new Delridge midblock crosswalk that will be installed in front of the Boren building, and SW Holden Street and 11th Avenue SW near Riverview Playfields (funded by Neighborhood Park and Street Fund). Both of those are planned to be installed this summer.
Boren also remains a top candidate for West Seattle’s next school-zone speed camera, Dougherty confirms, but the list of upcoming installations hasn’t been finalized yet.
Some of the concerns about the city’s proposed $930 million transportation levy – which, as mentioned in our daily preview, is the subject of a public hearing tonight – involve how it would be paid for: A property-tax levy. Councilmember Nick Licata proposes shifting a third of the cost to other sources – making it a $600 million levy, with $330 million to be raised via development-impact fees, commercial-parking taxes, and an employee-hours tax. Read on for the full news release:
Read More
One reader report in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning, plus three incidents found on the tweeted police log:
CAR PROWL: Reported via text (206-293-6302 any time) this morning:
Sometime between 10pm and 5am our car was broken into while parked in our driveway. We are on 47th and Myrtle [map]. Everything was rummaged through but it is not clear if anything was actually taken. Fuse box was ripped out.
We checked Tweets by Beat – which shows address, type of incident, and time – and found only one other car-prowl report for the past 24 hours in West Seattle: 2200 block of SW Andover in North Delridge, reported at mid-afternoon Monday.
BURGLARY REPORTS: No reader reports so far today (editor@westseattleblog.com); two are shown on Tweets by Beat from the past 24 hours in West Seattle: One reported last night, 3700 block of SW Trenton [map] in Upper Fauntleroy; one reported Monday afternoon, 9600 block of Fauntleroy Way SW in Brace Point [map].
ONE MORE REMINDER: Crime concerns in Westwood/Roxhill/South Delridge? Be at WWRHAH tonight.
Thanks to Dina Lydia for sharing her short video of walking/riding passersby on Alki last weekend. Though it’s damp and cool this morning, summery weather is expected this weekend. But first, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, what’s up for the rest of today/tonight:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: Out to -1.8 at 11:29 am today, and even lower in the early afternoon for the next three days; here’s the chart. Starting at 9:45 am, you’ll find Seattle Aquarium volunteer Beach Naturalists out at Lincoln and Constellation Parks (look for the signs), until 1 pm.
LOWRISE ZONING HEARING: As previewed here on Monday, the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee has a public hearing at 2 pm about proposed changes in “low-rise” multi-family zoning; if you’re interested in commenting, just show up, and/or e-mail mike.obrien@seattle.gov. If you can’t be at City Hall, it’ll be live on Seattle Channel, cable and Web.
TRANSPORTATION LEVY HEARING: Another public hearing at City Hall – 5:30 pm, the City Council’s Transportation Committee listens to public comments on the latest version of the proposed transportation levy. (4th/5th/James/Cherry)
MADISON OPEN HOUSE/POTLUCK: 6-8 pm event at Madison Middle School to celebrate the upcoming end of the school year and to welcome incoming 6th-grade families. (45th/Spokane)
‘DRINKING LIBERALLY WEST SEATTLE’: Drop by at or after 6 pm for the confluence of politics and beverages, at Pizzeria 22. (4213 SW College)
TALK CRIME WITH WWRHAH, SPD, AND MORE: City reps including SPD and DPD will be at the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting – as previewed here – for a discussion about ongoing area crime concerns (including nuisance houses). What’s the situation in YOUR neighborhood? Come be part of the conversation (or at least just to listen). 6:15-7:45 pm in the upstairs meeting room at Southwest Branch Library. (35th/Henderson)
HELP PLAN AN OUTDOOR GYM: 6:30 pm, be at Delridge Community Center to help plan the new free-to-use outdoor “fitness zone” that’s due to be installed this year. We asked Seattle Parks where on the grounds it’s likely to go – they told us, that’s up to you to help decide! More info here. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
THAT’S NOT ALL … our calendar pages for today and beyond have even more listed – see for yourself.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:29 AM: Good morning! Quiet again so far this morning. We’ll update if that changes. Since our Monday traffic watch, one advance alert has come in:
47th/ADMIRAL SIGNAL UPDATE: After a stopdown while awaiting delivery of the signal equipment, the final phase of work is likely to start next week, SDOT announced:
As soon as Monday, June 8, work will resume at the intersection of 47th Avenue SW and SW Admiral Way. … We anticipate approximately 3-4 more weeks of construction while the signal is installed and configured. After we receive the signal equipment, crews will:
· Install signal equipment including poles and mast arms, signal heads and cabinets
· Stripe the intersection with new crosswalks and a new left-turn pocket on SW Admiral Way
· Remove the existing overhead pedestrian signal
· Complete remaining landscapingWhen construction resumes, residents, businesses, and travelers can expect the following impacts:
· Construction activity from 7 AM – 4 PM
· Pedestrian and bicycle detours around the work areas
· Temporary parking and lane restrictions on 47th Avenue SW, SW Admiral Way and SW Waite Street
· Noise and activity from construction equipment and vehicles
ADDED 8:16 AM: Still quiet, per all the sources we monitor (scanner, transportation/public-safety agencies on Twitter, incoming messaging channels). One more reminder: If you want to tell the City Council something about the proposed Transportation Levy as it stands now, a special evening public hearing is set for 5:30 tonight at City Hall downtown – more info here.
8:34 AM: Transit alert – Metro has just sent a text alert that “the last Route 55 trip from 44th SW and SW Atlantic (scheduled for) 8:17 am is delayed about 30-40 minutes.”
Thanks to Sheryl Guyon for sharing photos and news of Madison Middle School musicians’ success
Madison Middle School has an award-winning Music Department. They competed this weekend at Music in the Parks in Silverwood, Idaho. Under the expert direction of Mr. Clark Bathum, the concert band won 1st place for their division!
The Orchestra and Jazz band were pleased to each win second place, most notably with an excellent rating. The competition was intense this year, with more than 1,800 music students attending from Northwest high schools and middle schools. The school is incredibly proud of Jonah Elbaum, who was awarded Outstanding Jazz Soloist:
As one of the youngest members of the jazz band, his award is exceptional. Perhaps the greatest compliment of all came at the end of the trip. The hotel manager noted that this was the most polite and respectful group of young people they have ever had stay at the hotel. Mr. Bathum expects the very best from his students and this remarkable group of young people never fails to deliver.
According to the Madison home page, you’ll be able to see the award-winning young musicians in concert before the school year ends – the orchestra and jazz concert is listed for this Thursday (June 4th), the band concert for next Monday (June 8th), both at 7 pm.
(Photo by Dennis Hinton – creekside sign created by Taproot School)
One incredibly busy month of visits by salmon-raising schools – starting with Pathfinder K-8 on April 30th (WSB coverage here) – is over at Fauntleroy Creek. Judy Pickens has the wrapup report:
The last of 20 salmon releases in Fauntleroy Creek occurred May 28 when second- and fourth-graders from Concord Elementary brought their coho to Fauntleroy Park.
All told, volunteers with the Fauntleroy Watershed Council hosted 750 students this year and an additional 175 adults and younger siblings. Their participation in the Salmon in the Schools program resulted in the release of nearly 1,700 fry that will spend the next year in the creek.
Also this spring, volunteers documented 31 coho smolts leaving the creek for two years in saltwater, a dozen more than in 2014.
Next big season for volunteers on the creek will be this fall, when they watch for returning spawners – 19 last year.
7:37 PM: No official word from Comcast yet, but its Internet service seems to be having some trouble, not just in West Seattle but elsewhere in the metro area, and in the Bay Area too. We started hearing about it via Twitter a short time ago and it seemed widespread enough to mention here. Also via Twitter, you can see the Comcast support account responding to messages from users.
10:09 PM: Readers report service returning to normal – see comments – and @ComcastWA on Twitter also reported areas “coming back up.” No explanation from Comcast of what went wrong (aside from acknowledgment of what users had reported, that it was a DNS issue).
11:34 PM: GeekWire quotes Comcast as saying its people are “working through a root cause analysis to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
In a West Seattle Crime Watch report earlier this afternoon, we mentioned that crime will be the focus of tomorrow night’s Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting. Since then, the person who sent the announcement, co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick, has sent a Crime Watch reader report of her own:
I had my 1980s Panasonic ladies bike stolen from my porch last night. 10 speed with Schwinn cruiser handlebars. It has a rear fender and bike rack. A light and bell on the handlebars and a clip for a basket on the front. Lots of star stickers, a Proletariat Pizza sticker and an Amanda4D1.com sticker too. It’s not worth a lot, but it’s My Bike! You know? I reported it to the police, and I’ve been driving around the ‘hood like a stalker…. the picture is from when I first got it almost 5 years ago. So BUMMED!
If you see it … let police know, and then consider commenting here as well.
RECENT BICYCLE CASES: None of these have been resolved so far as we know, so we’re mentioning them again (all three have photos too): 12-year-old boy’s silver Fuji Absolute stolen May 28th, also in Westwood; child- and adult-size bicycles found in Westwood and Highland Park respectively, published here May 20th – we suggested to the finders of the latter two that they be reported to police for pickup.
As summer approaches, so do reunions – including some that span multiple years, like the annual West Seattle High School All-School Reunion, set for next Saturday. From the WSB inbox:
Calling all WSHS students and faculty, current and former, to join us at the first Saturday in June (6/6/15) annual All-School Reunion. 2-3 pm sign-in, 3-5:30 individual class reunions and program including honoring Hall of Fame inductees, Scholarship recipients and more. Renew your membership and receive a beautiful alumni license plate frame (while supplies last)! Sign up in advance for a group photo of family/friends/classmates by student photographers in their studio, just drop an email to wshsaa.98116@gmail.com for scheduling. AND HELP US SPREAD THE WORD BY SHARING THIS EVENT WITH ALL YOUR ALUMNI CONTACTS!
You can see a photo of the license-plate frame on the All-School Reunion’s Facebook event page.
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