West Seattle, Washington

27 Monday

46℉

Spotlight Stories

West Seattle scene: Birds of a feather, photographed together
December 25, 2013 4:27 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle news

Thanks to Chris Frankovich for sharing another stirring scene, photographed Christmas Eve morning; he explains, “It was a little gray and hazy but caught two spectaular occurrences: Two eagles in the tree (a first) and the Kenmore airplane flying by.” Click the image for a larger view.

Share This

West Seattle whales: Might see orcas before nightfall
December 25, 2013 3:08 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news | Wildlife

3:08 PM: Latest update on orcas headed this way: Donna from The Whale Trail says they are still reported southbound, off Richmond Beach, so whether we see them here before nightfall depends on how fast they are moving, among other factors.

4:07 PM UPDATE: Still north of Elliott Bay, according to commenters on the Orca Network Facebook page.

Share This

Purse lost, then found with contents missing: Seen any of them?
December 25, 2013 1:12 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news

From Scott:

While attending the 7:00 X-Mas Eve Service at Fauntleroy Church last night my Mother in Law lost her purse. We were not able to find it in several attempts last night so this morning we went back and after searching we found the purse but all of the contents had been stolen including cash, driver’s license and credit cards.

We believe that one scenario is that the purse was dropped in the driveway while she was getting into the car at my Mother’s house at the corner of Brace Point and Wildwood. The purse nowhere to be found last night when we returned 30 minutes later last night but found it this morning just to the north in the brush in the area directly across Brace Point from the church. My Mother in Law is traveling from out of town and will need to catch a flight back so the missing ID at this point is more important than the cash, credit cards etc. My guess is that at some point the person that found it took what they wanted out of the wallet that was inside and then threw away the wallet. I was hoping that someone may find it so we can at least get the ID back. The driver’s license is from Virginia and my Mother in Laws name is Jane. We can certainly find some ways to get around the airport security issues when not having ID but the easiest solution would be to get the license back so we would be very grateful if someone was to find it and return it.

Share This

West Seattle Christmas Day 2013: Coffee, restaurants, grocery stores, lights, transportation, more
December 25, 2013 5:40 am
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news

December in Seattle.

(Photo by Danny McMillin, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Merry Christmas! We start the day with our traditional attempt at holiday helpfulness:

WHO’S OPEN FOR COFFEE: Here’s our list. If a West Seattle coffee shop told us during our recent round of calls that they would be open today, that’s noted here. Not necessarily an all-inclusive list, though we try our best, so if you find that someone is open but not on the list, please let us know! Same goes for any other change.

WHICH RESTAURANTS ARE OPEN? Here’s the list. Similar caveats.

WHICH GROCERY STORES ARE OPEN? Here’s the list. Since it’s a short list, it also mentions who’s definitely closed.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS MAP: Going out to look at lights tonight? See the map on the WSB Holiday Guide page.

TRANSPORTATION: Metro is on a Sunday schedule today. … The West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxis do NOT run today. … Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route is on a regular weekday schedule. … Sound Transit is on a Sunday schedule. … In Seattle neighborhoods with city pay stations/meters, parking is free today.

DINNER AND TOY GIVEAWAY FOR FAMILIES WITHOUT HOMES: The Skate Church is offering dinner and toys to homeless families 2-7 pm in their basement HQ at West Seattle Baptist Church. (4157 California SW)

Share This

Update: Basement fire at home near Westwood Village
December 24, 2013 11:14 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news | Westwood

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
11:14 PM: Big response for a house-fire call in the 9000 block of 21st SW, near Westwood Village (map) – possibly a fire in the basement. More shortly.

11:29 PM UPDATE: Christopher Boffoli is there for WSB and confirms it’s a basement fire – very smoky, he adds. Via radio, we’ve heard firefighters declare it “tapped.” No injuries reported so far.

11:37 PM UPDATE: Update from Christopher – all the residents got out OK; they’re still doing inventory on pets – he says, “They grabbed their dogs but they say a couple of cats are inside.”

Share This

Alki dancer’s ‘Nutcracker’ takeoff: ‘Ballerinas need respect’
December 24, 2013 10:16 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

NUTSKRACKER from Perinspire on Vimeo.

No, ballerinas are NOT all sweetness and light. Alki resident Simone Bruyère Fraser, who danced professionally for 10 years back east, wanted to have some fun and show ballet dancers’ tough side – so she and friend Esy Casey made that video, with composer Carl Clark, and invited us to share it here for the lighter side of Christmas. (Full credits are on the video.) Simone says she and Esy, the video’s director (at left with her in the photo at right), shot it at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) – perfect place, considering they are the home of life-size Nutcrackers. And yes, she has danced in “The Nutcracker” – “almost every role in 10 years … from lamb, to mouse, to snow queen!” These days, she also does commercial, TV, film, and print work as well as dance, but says her “true commitment is trying to do some good in this world and help people to ‘respect the dance’,” adding, “Ballerinas need respect!”

Share This

West Seattle Christmas Eve 2013: Holiday card from the air
December 24, 2013 6:41 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news

Gatewood photographer/pilot Long B. Nguyen sent that view of West Seattle (and beyond) – photographed on Monday – for us to share with you as a “holiday card from the air.” In turn, we thank him for sharing so many images – most, but not all, from the sky – in recent years! (Click the photo for a larger view.)

Share This

Update: International District fire, with smoke visible from here
December 24, 2013 4:42 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle news

4:42 PM: Just got a call from someone asking about the smoke visible from Harbor Avenue, looking across the bay. There’s a big fire in the International District; the address on the SFD 911 log is 669 S. King Street. Here’s one of the photos SFD has tweeted:


Here’s what our friends at KING 5 are reporting.

6:29 PM UPDATE: Our partners at The Seattle Times quote SFD as pointing out that this building has a notorious past – as the site of the Wah Mee massacre 30 years ago.

8:39 PM UPDATE: Updated the Times link in the preceding paragraph – they now have a longer story elsewhere on their site. Also of note, West Seattle fire crews are assisting, per radio communication and the online 911 log, including Ladder 11, whose crew we had photographed earlier today assisting police on Genesee Hill, as well as Engine 11 from Highland Park and Engine 32 from The Junction.

WEDNESDAY MORNING NOTE: SFD published an update overnight; the fire wasn’t under control until almost 10:30 pm.

Share This

West Seattle Crime Watch: Genesee Hill break-in; two car thefts
December 24, 2013 2:27 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Here’s hoping for a “Silent Night” from here – but it hasn’t been a slow day for West Seattle public-safety personnel:

SCHOOL SUSPECTS: SPD called in Seattle Fire this past hour to help them get two suspects off the roof of the old, soon-to-be-demolished Genesee Hill school building. District security called SPD to check out a possible break-in; if you drove SW Genesee past the school, you might have seen the big response.

After a lengthy search, officers found two men. They are suspected to have been squatting there, we were told by police at the scene. Officers wound up on the roof with at least one of the suspects and asked for SFD’s help in getting him down; Ladder 11 from Station 32 in The Junction responded, and as you see in our photo, its crew wound up using a portable ladder rather than the truck’s big ladder.

No details yet on the men’s ages or whether they were booked into jail.

AUTO THEFTS: Two reader reports have come in today about stolen cars whose owners ask you to be on the lookout for them. First:

My car was stolen this morning (12/24) around 10 am in West Seattle. I had it parked on the street in front of my home on the 5000 block of 38th Ave SW. It is an older model Honda CRV 2000 …license plate number WYG585 .Color is red with a few stickers on the backside as well a spare tire with black cover….If you have any information, please contact the non emergency police line at 206-625-5011 … Thank you!

Also, from Sally:

My car was stolen over the weekend. The last time I saw it was on Saturday, 12/21/13 at 9:30 pm and I found out it was missing on Monday, 12/23/13 at 7:30 am. It was stolen from the North Admiral area in a secure parking garage.

It is a dark green 97 Honda Accord in pretty good shape. It has a spoiler and the letters and logos are in gold. The license plate number is 521-ZDJ. If anyone finds it, please report to the police. Thank you in advance and I hope you enjoy the holidays.

Share This

Stage 1 burn ban for King County, but not until Christmas night
December 24, 2013 12:11 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   Health | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Just announced by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency:

Due to increasingly stagnant weather conditions, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is issuing a Stage 1 burn ban for King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties, effective at 5 p.m. on December 25, 2013. This ban remains in effect until further notice.

During a Stage 1 burn ban:

No burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves. Residents should rely instead on their home’s other, cleaner source of heat (such as their furnace or electric baseboard heaters) for a few days until air quality improves, the public health risk diminishes and the ban is cancelled. The only exception is if a wood stove is a home’s only adequate source of heat.
No outdoor fires are allowed. This includes recreational fires such as bonfires, campfires and the use of fire pits and chimineas.
Burn ban violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty.

It is OK to use natural gas, propane, pellet and EPA-certified wood stoves or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.

Share This

West Seattle Crime Watch: 13-year-old burglary suspect arrested
December 24, 2013 11:11 am
|      41 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

11:11 AM: Last night we were asked about a sizable police response and apparent arrest in Arbor Heights near 35th and 102nd. Today, we have details: Police arrested a 13-year-old suspected in multiple burglaries/attempts. Officers found him after a report of someone trying to break into a house near 98th/32nd; items found on him were linked to other break-ins. The report we obtained from police says he just got out a week ago after serving time for other burglaries. Still working on more info – added details to come.

ADDED 12:33 PM: More details from the report:

Read More

Share This

West Seattle Christmas Eve 2013: Lights, churches, restaurants, grocery stores…
December 24, 2013 9:51 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news

That’s the McKean home between Schmitz Park and Madison – just added to our map (see below), one of the lists we put together each year in hopes of being helpful during the holidays. For this Christmas Eve, our daily preview is all about the lists:

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS MAP: You can go directly to its page on Google Maps, or see it in the WSB Holiday Events/Info Guide. Click any icon for the address, and links to get directions and other information. (Note that the music-synched West Seattle Lights/Helmstetler Family Spectacular is on until midnight tonight, with free hot chocolate 6-8 pm – remember to bring your West Seattle Food Bank donation or donate online.) Thanks to everyone who has sent suggestions and/or photos this season – and thanks to everyone who has taken the time to decorate, brightening the season for passers-by!

RESTAURANTS OPEN CHRISTMAS EVE AND/OR DAY: Here’s the list – please note the caveats!

(added) TACO TRUCK FREEBIES: 11 am-3 pm today, Taqueria El Antojo, the truck in the Short Stop lot north of Morgan Junction Park, is giving away food for Customer Appreciation Day.

GROCERY STORE HOURS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE/DAY: Here’s the list, including when they’re closing tonight and who’s closed tomorrow.

CHRISTMAS EVE CHURCH SERVICES: See the WSB Holiday Guide for the churches that sent us their service times/info for tonight (thank you!).

(added) NEED SOMETHING WRAPPED? From the Holiday Guide – Furry Faces Foundation and AARF have one last “Wrap It Up” (by donation for their animal-advocacy work) event, 2-7 pm today at Beveridge Place Pub. (6413 California SW)

CHRISTMAS DAY COFFEE: This info is mostly helpful tomorrow, but in case you want to plan ahead, here’s the list. Caveats here too, and as with restaurants, if you as a customer discover last-minute changes, or if you as a proprietor make last-minute changes, please let us know, since we’re here 24/7/365 as always.

Local shopping hours today? We just didn’t have the bandwidth to canvass local stores too BUT you are welcome to comment on this story if you’re open for last-minute shoppers!

Share This

TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Christmas Eve 2013 edition
December 24, 2013 7:42 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(More area traffic cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning. As you’d expect, quiet, as reinforced by this tweet from the WSDOT person watching metro-area highways:

One more reminder that the holiday schedule changes start today for Metro riders, as outlined here – today it’s the “reduced weekday” schedule.

Share This

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 charged in 4 auto thefts
December 23, 2013 11:35 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

An Audi stolen from Genesee Hill, mentioned in West Seattle Crime Watch 10 days ago, was found a few days after it was taken. We learned this because we discovered its alleged thieves are in jail – charged in connection with four stolen vehicles.

32-year-old Leslie Davis and 42-year-old Bryan Tiedeman were arrested eight days ago, the afternoon of Sunday, December 15th, after crashing a stolen 1996 gray Honda Civic in the 7700 block of Highland Park Way SW.

Read More

Share This

ArtsWest launching new theater classes in the new year
December 23, 2013 10:05 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

For years, youth-education efforts at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) have been focused on its summertime programs. But the new year will bring a new program to West Seattle’s arts hub – a new 10-week series of performing-arts classes for all ages. The classes are:

*Exploratory Drama for 4- and 5-year-olds
*Creative Drama for 1st- through 3rd-graders
*Acting 101: Heroes’ Quest for 3rd- through 5th-graders
*The Pituitary Monologues: Writing Monologues for the Stage for 6th- through 8th-graders
*Beginning Improv for 6th- through 8th-graders
*Intro to Musical Theater for 9th- through 12th-graders
*Adult Introduction to Improv

You can follow the links on each of those class names to find out more, or start on the main page for the new program, which also includes contact information for registration.

Share This

West Seattle Christmas Eve-Eve: More holiday-info lists
December 23, 2013 7:33 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Holidays | West Seattle news

If you’re planning ahead for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we’ve added more lists. In addition to the restaurant list, we also now have published of where you’ll find coffee, and what hours grocery stores will be open. For Christmas Eve church services, see the WSB Holiday Guide, where New Year’s Eve/Day information can be found too.

Share This

Uber: Welcoming a new WSB sponsor, with a deal on your first ride
December 23, 2013 5:59 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)

Need a ride? Uber has just joined the WSB sponsor team. New sponsors get the chance to share a message with you – and here’s theirs, including a deal:

Hello readers! We here at Team Uber Seattle would like to introduce ourselves and say how very excited we are to be the newest sponsors of the WSB!

What is Uber?
Uber is an app on your smartphone that allows you to request a ride with the push of a button. At the end of the ride, there’s no need to exchange cash or card as the fare is charged directly to your preferred method of payment on file. Plus, as always with Uber, there is no need to tip! Easy-peasy.

ENJOY YOUR 1ST RIDE FREE UP TO $30*!
Download the app, sign up, and enter the promo code SEAWSB for your 1st ride free up to $30!

MORE DETAILS:
Seattle was Uber’s 3rd city to launch. Since then, Uber’s presence has grown to over 60 cities and 20 countries across the world!

Here in Seattle, we have 3 different vehicle choices that you can request:

uberX: Our lower-cost option features mostly hybrids and mid-sized sedans. uberX has the same rates as taxi and as always there is no need to tip (read: cheaper than a taxi.)

UberBLACK: The original Uber. This option features town cars and luxury vehicles, is about 1.5x the cost of a taxi, and is perfect for a night out on the town or getting to/from meetings.

UberSUV: Seats up to 6 people and is great for getting a group of friends from point A to point B. Don’t forget to split the fare with our fare-splitting feature!

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to shoot us an email or tweet.

Cheers!
Team Uber Seattle: Jen, Travis, Brooke, Bryce, Drew, Melissa, Tom, Ryan, Chelsea, and Meg

*Code is good for new users only through 1/31/14

We thank Uber Seattle for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

Share This

West Seattle holiday scene: Illusions Hair Design’s open house
December 23, 2013 4:50 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Holidays | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Here’s one place you can shop late tonight: Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) is open until 8:30. And you don’t have to have a hair appointment to stop by – Illusions has purses, jewelry, and scarves, and they’re on sale. Treats too; Illusions is at 5619 California SW. This is, so far as we know, the last West Seattle business holiday open house of the season – we featured many others in the Holiday Guide and here on the news page over the past month or so.

Share This

New King County Water Taxi boats to be built by All American Marine, but delivered later than originally hoped
December 23, 2013 4:15 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   King County Water Taxi | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Artist rendering of new vessels’ design)
The King County Ferry District has just announced the shipbuilder chosen for the two new Water Taxi vessels: All American Marine, based in Bellingham. We’ve been reporting on the plans to have two new vessels built; the expected $11.8 million cost of designing and building them, the county says, will be 80 percent footed by the Federal Transit Administration. Each boat will be able to carry up to 250 passengers, more than Rachel Marie and Melissa Ann, leased three years ago, and more than the district-owned Spirit of Kingston, taken over last year, which will stay with the fleet. The new boats also will have wider doors for faster boarding and more bicycle capacity – 26 per boat, up from 18 now. Construction is expected to start in early 2014, with the first vessel delivered by mid-2015, the second one by the end of 2015 – that’s another delay beyond what the county told us about back in August, when the scheduled had slipped to late 2014 for the first boat. The budget also had to be increased earlier this year when no “responsive” bid came in to meet the original $11.1 million budget.

P.S. Speaking of the Water Taxi – neither route runs on Christmas Day.

.

Share This

Which West Seattle grocery stores are open Christmas and which aren’t?
December 23, 2013 1:58 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Announcements

Compiled from information available online and posted at stores as of December 23, 2013 – please let us know if you discover a change:

*Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) – open until 6 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day, reopens 6 am Thursday, December 26th

*PCC Natural Market (WSB sponsor) – open until 7 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day

*West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) – open until 9 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day, reopens 5 am Thursday, December 26th

*QFC (both West Seattle stores): Open until 6 pm Christmas Eve, open 7 am-4 pm Christmas Day

*Trader Joe’s: Open until 6 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day

*Safeway (all 3 local stores): Updated – closing 7 pm Christmas Eve, open 8 am-5 pm Christmas Day

Share This

How high is too high for ‘lowrise’ development? You’re invited to citywide meeting January 14th
December 23, 2013 1:46 pm
|      31 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

That’s our section of the official zoning map for the city of Seattle. You can see the city map in its entirety, including the color-coding explanation, by going here. Take note that the olive-green areas are “low-rise multifamily.” What’s allowable in that zoning is an area of interest/concern, literally, in neighborhoods around the city, including ours, as multifamily development intensifies, particularly in that zone, which is often adjacent to single-family areas. So if you share that interest/concern, from whatever viewpoint, you’ll want to make plans to be at a citywide meeting on January 14th, regarding possibly changing the rules.

We first heard about this from the Morgan Community Association, which has been working on development-related education lately as new projects start popping up in its area, mentioned it first. The meeting was sparked by a coalition called Seattle Speaks Up, which petitioned the city about the zoning rules and explains the meeting here.

As for the city Department of Planning and Development, this is from a note DPD sent today:

On January 14th, we’re holding a citywide meeting to talk about the citywide issue of building height limits in Lowrise Multifamily zones. We want to hear from residents and others about how buildings built recently in lowrise zones are fitting into neighborhoods. We’re evaluating possibilities for reductions to allowable building height.The meeting will be held on Capitol Hill at Lowell Elementary School 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM.

The city’s full description of the meeting’s purpose is here. An even-fuller description of the potential “code correction” project is here. A map to the meeting site is here.

Share This

West Seattle restaurants open on Christmas: The list is up!
December 23, 2013 12:09 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

If you’re looking for someone else to do the cooking on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day – our annual “West Seattle restaurants open on Christmas” list is now available for your perusal. See it here. Please note the disclaimers – this is compiled via more than 100 phone calls/e-mails over the course of multiple days, and if an establishment changes its plan, we won’t necessarily get notification. But we hope it’s helpful. Also note that it includes New Year’s Eve/Day listings, if available. If a local restaurant is NOT listed here at all, it means either they are closed on all four days we asked about OR that they did not return our phone calls/messages. We’ll continue to add any information that comes in, including changes on the holidays themselves; e-mail is the best way to get information to us – editor@westseattleblog.com. Thanks!

Share This

‘West Seattle: We Have That!’ How your support of local businesses translates to support for local schools, nonprofits
December 23, 2013 11:28 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this year, WSB started a series of stories about independent local businesses and why they matter more to a community like ours than you might realize. Then, the “West Seattle: We Have That” campaign launched at midsummer. Now, we’re continuing to publish stories as part of the series – and inviting you into the conversation. Many of the reports are being underwritten by the West Seattle Junction Association, but not as ads – it’s their contribution to an issue of importance from Sunrise Heights to Seaview, Highland Park to High Point, Luna Park to Brace Point, and all over WS.

By Keith Creighton
Special to West Seattle Blog

As part of our ongoing series about the impact that independently owned businesses have on the West Seattle economy and quality of life, we asked a selection of local schools, PTAs and retailers to share firsthand accounts of how sponsorships and partnerships affect area students.

Dwindling state and federal funds are forcing local schools to get creative with the support they seek from area businesses. While the “mom & pop” shops don’t have the resources to fully bridge the gap, their contributions certainly make a difference. When you compare prices between local boutiques and giant online and big box retailers this holiday season, keep in mind where those extra few dollars are going.

Q: What type of contributions do local businesses make to your school?

Read More

Share This