Happening now: Canoe-journey support @ Duwamish Longhouse

Till 4 pm, you are welcome to check out the Paddle From Seattle support event at the Duwamish Longhouse, co-sponsored by CARW, whose members posed for us when we stopped by just before the event began. Donations welcome, including traditional Longhouse treats such as frybread and Indian tacos, so the kitchen is busy:

More info on the event here; the Longhouse is at 4705 West Marginal Way SW, and its calendar of upcoming events is here – including the gala on June 30th.

Traffic update: Westbound Spokane Street Viaduct reopens early

June 10, 2012 11:42 am
|    Comments Off on Traffic update: Westbound Spokane Street Viaduct reopens early
 |   Spokane St. Viaduct project | West Seattle news

Thanks to the tipster who texted us (206-293-6302 any time!) to say it appeared the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct had reopened early. Just drove the bridge to verify it, since SDOT hasn’t sent an announcement, and yes, it has reopened. More closures ahead this week – including some on Highway 99 – and we’re putting together a comprehensive list to publish here later.

ADDED 2:16 PM: SDOT’s Marybeth Turner confirms via e-mail that crews are totally done with the work for which this weekend closure was planned, so that’s the last closure until a partial eastbound closure this Wednesday night (explained here).

West Seattle Sunday: From shoes to canoes, cherries to choir…

(Mallard in a field of wild mini-daisies at Lincoln Park, photographed by Machel Spence)
Some of what’s up today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:

PLAYDATE FOR K-5 STEM AT BOREN FAMILIES: Whether you’re already enrolled in West Seattle’s new public school, or you’re on the waitlist, or you’re just thinking about it, you’re welcome – 10 am at Lincoln Park, meet by the zipline that’s just north of the park’s south parking lot off Fauntleroy Way SW.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska – strawberries, cherries, and other summer fruit continue to arrive!

SHOE DRIVE: As previewed here last night, Clementine (4447 California SW) is launching its weeklong shoe drive for Jubilee Women’s Center – bring gently used women’s shoes to donate, and you’re eligible for discounts on new shoes.

LOVING DAY CELEBRATION: At Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), noon-4 pm, the annual celebration of the court decision that ended laws against interracial marriage. Details here.

PB&J TEXTILES OPEN HOUSE: 1-4 pm at their headquarters next to Skylark in North Delridge, 3805 Delridge Way SW – details here.

TOUR THE LIGHTHOUSE: Alki Point Lighthouse is open for tours 1-4 pm Saturdays and Sundays, June through August.

‘PADDLE FROM SEATTLE’ SUPPORT @ DUWAMISH LONGHOUSE: Native American canoe culture is reviving, and the Duwamish Longhouse in West Seattle is celebrating it with a benefit event this afternoon, 2-4 pm. Details here. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)

NATURE WALK: West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler is leading a nature walk at Camp Long (5200 35th SW) that’ll focus on butterflies or salamanders, depending on the weather! Starts at 2:30 pm; more info here.

BENEFIT CLASS AT BIKRAM YOGA SEATTLE: As previewed here last night, proceeds from the 5 pm class at Bikram Yoga Seattle (WSB sponsor; 4747 California SW) benefit Run of Hope, raising money for childhood-brain-tumor research.

CHOIR CONCERT: South Seattle Community College Community Choir‘s concert “Beauty and Bounty” is tonight at 7, and you are welcome! They will perform in Olympic Hall, which is the building at the southeastern end of campus (6000 16th SW, use the south entrance to SSCC).

2 ways to give in The Junction on Sunday: Yoga & shoes

June 9, 2012 11:04 pm
|    Comments Off on 2 ways to give in The Junction on Sunday: Yoga & shoes
 |   How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

BENEFIT YOGA CLASS: 5 pm on Sunday, Bikram Yoga Seattle (WSB sponsor) invites you to a special class to benefit Run of Hope, fighting childhood brain tumors. (4747 California SW)

SHOE DRIVE: Sunday is day 1 of a week-long shoe drive at Clementine (4447 California SW). Bring in “gently used” women’s shoes to donate to Jubilee Women’s Center. Here’s the Facebook event page. Donors get a discount on new shoes if interested, as pointed out in this update on the Clementine website.

Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project: Touring the work zone

Photos and story by Patrick Sand and Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Curving over 1st Avenue South, that’s the ramp West Seattleites have been waiting for since SDOT closed and demolished its predecessor two years ago, as part of the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. The new combination on-and-off-ramp for the westbound SSV isn’t expected to be ready for you to use until summer’s end – one year longer than estimated back in 2010 – but it’s getting closer:

That’s the view we had from halfway up the ramp during a tour with the project team on Friday afternoon. We saw what’s happening now and talked about what’s happening next – including the reason why the westbound SSV is now (as of 6 pm Saturday 6/9) CLOSED for the remainder of the weekend. Read on for details, including 18 more photos from our tour:

Read More

Happening now: Cooper Artist Housing open house in North Delridge

June 9, 2012 5:31 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening now: Cooper Artist Housing open house in North Delridge
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Sister the cat is helping greet visitors at the Cooper Artist Housing loft of Liv Browning, during the open house that continues till 9 tonight. We met Sister and Liv during a quick mid-afternoon visit. The artists really are opening their homes, as well as showing their work. Liv and Sister are on the third floor, as is the stairwell where music and spoken-word performances are scheduled throughout the event:

You’ll see art in many media lining the old Cooper School’s hallways:

And you can visit the nonprofits on the ground floor (like Nature Consortium) or check out demonstrations in the Movement Studio. It’s all happening inside Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Did you see a package thief?

Out of the WSB inbox, from Chris:

We had a delivered package containing some hard-to-replace valuables taken from our front porch on the corner of 27th and Holden at some point between 2 and 9 pm yesterday. Wrapping material (which I’m assuming is) from the package were strewn down the hill from our house.

He’s wondering if anyone saw someone in the area “carrying a big, 15-20 pound box during that time.”

Poggie Tavern reopens in West Seattle Junction, post-fire

Almost four weeks after an early-morning dumpster fire that spread to the exterior of Poggie Tavern in The Junction – here’s our coverage from May 14th – the Poggie is finally open again, as of about an hour ago. In our photograph, that’s bartender Amy, who explains that in addition to repairs required by smoke damage, they also took the opportunity to do some other work inside. (Thanks to Deborra for the tip!)

West Seattle weekend scenes: Cleaning streets; building ‘houses’

A productive morning around West Seattle so far – here’s just a few reasons why:

Thanks to Admiral Neighborhood Association vice president Karl de Jong for the photo of ANA president Katy Walum and children Olivia and Henry at this morning’s Adopt-A-Street cleanup (as previewed here). They were among the volunteers who spent three hours out cleaning up Admiral District streets – just one of ANA’s community-enhancing activities; if you live in the area, check out their next monthly meeting, this Tuesday, June 12, 7 pm, at Admiral Congregational Church (California/Hill).

Not far away, at Alki Bathhouse:

Thanks to Anita Lavine for sharing that photo from the Junior Carpenters’ Workshop presented by Niederberger Contracting this morning. Anita says the kids built birdhouses for chickadees to nest in! Anita explains, “The guys are doing it as a way to say ‘thank you’ to the supportive community here in the neighborhood, and provide all the materials and instruction free of charge.”

Red water reappears off West Seattle: Looks like non-toxic noctiluca again

Janel sent that photo early this morning from her neighborhood in The Arroyos, the southwesternmost area of West Seattle, wondering if the red water was a sign of an algae bloom. If it’s the same stuff that did the same thing in June of last year, it’s a “bloom,” but NOT algae – single-cell microorganisms known as “noctiluca.” Here’s one of our stories from last year. It is also NOT TOXIC, according to experts, and not uncommon, though the sight of it last year was enough to startle a sizable number of people. So far, we’ve only heard from The Arroyos – let us know if you see it anywhere else.

11:33 AM: Via a Twitter inquiry mediated by our friend Evonne from KING5.com, we hear this has shown up at Lincoln Park, too.

West Seattle Saturday: Traffic alerts; Cooper Artists’ open house; book signing; music; more

June 9, 2012 6:21 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Saturday: Traffic alerts; Cooper Artists’ open house; book signing; music; more
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Paul Swortz, via the WSB Flickr group pool)
Happy weekend! Some sunshine predicted (per the WSB Weather page). Here are some highlights:

TRAFFIC REMINDERS: The westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closes at 6 pm tonight – meaning NO I-5/BEACON HILL ACCESS TO THE BRIDGE – and is scheduled to stay closed for ongoing construction/repairs till 5 am Monday … If you are going to be out and about this afternoon, remember that two major events are happening in SODO, as detailed in the weekly citywide weekend-alerts list.

HELP CLEAN UP THE ADMIRAL DISTRICT: Be at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) at 9 am – just to the south of the front door – to meet up with the Admiral Neighborhood Association for one of its periodic Adopt-A-Street cleanups. There will be free breakfast treats (and usually sack lunches afterward), and you’ll be provided with what you need to get out and clean up. Just a few hours will make a big difference.

27TH ANNIVERSARY SALE: All weekend, at CAPERS in The Junction.

TECHSTART EXPO: Come see what the elementary and middle-school students involved with this STEM program are up to – 10 am-2 pm at Brockey Center, South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th SW.

(added) TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR MORNING GLORY DRAG BRUNCH: As of just before 11 am, Skylark Café and Club reported via Facebook that today’s Morning Glory Drag Brunch at noon still has room – so we’re adding it here.

SPRING WINE RELEASE EVENTS CONTINUE … at Northwest Wine Academy on the SSCC campus, 12-5 pm, including a food/wine pairing event 3-5 pm.

(added) AND MORE WINE: West Seattle Wine Cellars is pouring Walla Walla wines 3-5 pm today.

ANNETTE COTTRELL AT VILLAGE GREEN: The author of “The Urban Farm Handbook” will be at Village Green Perennial Nursery (WSB sponsor) to sign books today, 1 pm. Here’s the Facebook event page.

COOPER ARTIST HOUSING OPEN HOUSE: Demonstrations of movement, music, dance, and more are on the schedule for this event at the artist housing atop Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 3-9 pm.

(added) SALSA ON ALKI: Debuting for the season tonight, according to a tip via Twitter that included this Facebook event link – 6 pm.

LIVE MUSIC: Willow and The Embers (along with Nicole Hardy‘s poetry) headline “Angels on the Radio: An Evening of Wine, Wit and Song” at Mind Unwind (2206 California SW), 5:30-11 pm … Gary Benson at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm … Ever, Little Red Long, Fey Moth at Skylark Café and Club (3803 Delridge Way SW), 8 pm… The Fuzz at Feedback Lounge (6451 California SW; WSB sponsor), 8:30 pm … (Anybody else? Send us a quick note sooner rather than later, so we can help get the word out!)

WEST SEATTLE GARDEN TOUR TICKETS: With five weeks to go till the July 15th tour, the ticket books are on sale starting this weekend – locations listed here.

Even MORE for today/tonight – and beyond – on the calendar!

Update: West Seattle power outage blamed on ‘pole fire’

(Screen grab of what City Light showed at the peak of this morning’s outage)
2:16 AM, FIRST REPORT: After seeing a “wires down” call on 31st SW turn up on the 911 log, we started checking the Seattle City Light system-status map to see if anyone was out of power. Nothing has ever shown on the map, but we’ve received a few scattered reports of power having been out for an indeterminate amount of time – California/Juneau, High Point, Fairmount. If you happened to notice yours go out, let us know where and for how long – thanks!

2:26 AM UPDATE: We have a Beach Drive outage report via Twitter. Our power has not gone out, not even a flicker, here in Upper Fauntleroy, for what it’s worth. (One minute later) It’s now on the map – City Light says 1,340+ customers (homes/businesses) affected but that may be an underestimate, since their map isn’t showing areas in Alki where we’re hearing from people.

2:38 AM UPDATE: Now we’re getting reports it’s back on, at least for some. Thanks to everybody for the comments, texts (206-293-6302 any time, which is also our 24/7 voice line), tweets, Facebook posts, etc. – since the SCL map lagged on this one, your alerts are how we got the word AND that in turn helped inform everyone else out there that it wasn’t just them. Whenever we find out what caused this, we’ll add the info – not sure if that info will be available over the weekend, but we’ll try.

3:10 AM UPDATE: High Point and vicinity reports being back on. City Light map, meantime, is definitely lagging, because now it shows what must have been the peak of the outage – more than 4,700 homes/businesses out – a bit earlier. We’re taking a screengrab and will add it atop this story, for posterity’s sake.

3:20 AM UPDATE: City Light news release confirms the peak tally of 4,700+ and indeed blames it on the “wires down” incident, now described as a “pole fire” near SW Findlay/30th SW.

Video: Congratulations, Seattle Lutheran High School Class of 2012

Excitement and maybe a few nerves were evident – as you’d expect! – as the Seattle Lutheran High School Class of 2012 entered the school’s Menashe Family Gymnasium for their graduation ceremony last night. The 43 seniors comprise the school’s 32nd graduating class; Keegan White was this year’s valedictorian; Valerie Reid, the salutatorian. 15 of this year’s graduates qualified for the National Honor Society; this night also represented a milestone for their NHS advisor (among her many other roles), Shirley Vradenburgh, photographed pre-ceremony with SLHS principal Mark Henderson:

She is retiring after 32 years during which, as the school newsletter noted, she has “worked with every student who has graduated from SLHS.” A celebration is planned next week, but on this night, the spotlight was on the students moving to the next phase of their lives. Congratulations to them all!

Video: Madison musicians’ 2nd concert of the week

Madison Middle School‘s Senior Orchestra performed together one last time Thursday night at the school’s second concert of the week, and our first clip begins with music director Clark Bathum‘s explanation preceding Rimsky-Korsakov‘s “Capriccio Espagnol.” (The music begins about a minute and a quarter in.) The concert also featured the Junior Orchestra, Combined Orchestra, and the Jazz Band, which is in our next clip with one of the numbers from their division-winning performance at a recent music festival:

Our coverage from Tuesday night’s concert is here.

Fauntleroy sewage-overflow followup: Bird to blame?

Since there had been utility work in the Barton Pump Station (right) vicinity not long before last Sunday’s power problem led to a 46,000-gallon overflow into Puget Sound, we’ve been following up to see if that work had anything to do with it. Apparently not, according to both King County Wastewater Treatment Division and Seattle City Light.

While they have not pinpointed the problem’s cause and may never be able to – it apparently was triggered by a short power surge – here’s the likeliest scenario, according to SCL’s Scott Thomsen: Last Sunday at 3:18 pm, about 15 minutes before they got a call from the county about the pump-station problem, they had “a brief interruption on a (major) transmission line” – an osprey flew into a wire. Thomsen says that’s unusual for an osprey, and SCL wildlife biologists were sorry to hear about it, as the utility has been working to accommodate ospreys, which think utility poles are great places to nest, reminiscent of the tree snags they prefer in the wild. Meantime, as reported here last night, health authorities gave the county the all-clear to reopen the overflow-affected beaches after four days.

West Seattle schools: Gatewood Elementary campers’ challenge

Gatewood Elementary principal Rhonda Claytor shared the photo, explaining:

This is a picture of Gatewood Elementary teacher Dana Bogel and fifth-grade student Claire Palmer-Paige, at Camp Warm Beach in Stanwood, conquering the wall challenge. Our 4th and 5th grade students have been at camp since Wednesday and many have challenged themselves to climb the wall, ride horses and row canoes for the first time in their lives. Additionally, they do many cooperative challenges and work together in groups. They also seem to enjoy the food and swimming pool!

Checking out the Gatewood website, we noted other special offerings – including four days this summer that the school library will be open for summer-reading checkout.

Reminder: Westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closure this weekend

June 8, 2012 4:26 pm
|    Comments Off on Reminder: Westbound Spokane Street Viaduct closure this weekend
 |   Spokane St. Viaduct project | West Seattle news

That photo is from a tour of the Spokane Street Viaduct construction zone this afternoon, just as the city gets ready for another major closure. While our full tour report will have to wait till this evening, we wanted to issue a closure reminder before everyone heads out for the weekend: The closure is WESTBOUND ONLY, on the bridge between I-5 and Highway 99, and the time is unusual: 6 pm Saturday till 5 am Monday. (Remember, as noted here yesterday, there’s a lot going on Saturday afternoon in SODO, so the city didn’t want to start the shutdown till all that lightened up.) You will NOT be able to get onto the bridge from I-5 during the closure, but you WILL be able to get to it from Highway 99. Meantime, more later on what we saw, and learned about the project, during our tour.

City bike racks for Delridge? Tell SDOT where!

Just shared by Ed Pottharst from the Department of Neighborhoods: An announcement from the city that SDOT wants to put new bike racks in south-of-downtown neighborhoods “to help encourage cycling as a form of transportation to our business districts. We would like your help with finding places to install them where they will be most useful …” and the local neighborhoods where they’re seeking ideas are Delridge and South Park. This is NOT for private property, but for “public right-of-way” (sidewalks, for example), and the installation would likely happen late this year or early next year. Got an idea? Contact Doug Cox at SDOT, 206-684-8264 or doug.cox@seattle.gov.

West Seattle Weather Watch: Thunder!

Just heard thunder here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy; the National Weather Service called for a chance of thunderstorms in this “short-term forecast” (possibly even “small hail”).

West Seattle Crime Watch: SWAT officers in Sunrise Heights

Thanks to those who have called and e-mailed about what they describe was a SWAT team presence in Sunrise Heights. We have confirmed with the Southwest Precinct that officers were attempting to serve a warrant for a “high-risk subject”; we just checked the area and it appears the officers are gone, so now we’re trying to find out if they made an arrest.

West Seattle High School wins big grant: $350,000/year

West Seattle High School is in celebration mode this afternoon. Principal Ruth Medsker just announced they’ve won a major grant from the city Families and Education Levy:

West Seattle High School was awarded one of five high school Levy grants! We will be receiving $350,000 per year for the next seven years! It was an extremely competitive process and we are very proud of our grant, and the continuing work we will be doing to support students. The funds are from the City Levy. Below is a snapshot of how we will be spending the funds:

*Full time Academic Intervention Specialists to case manage the academic success of all 9th graders teaching 1 Focus class, coordinate University Tutors, manage Mandatory After School Study Halls and Saturday Schools, monitors daily individual student academic progress, collaborates with teachers, participates in AIS and 9th grade team meetings, tracks progress toward meeting Levy Target goals, attends Levy meetings, calls 9th grade families, refers identified students to SIT, collaborates with feeder middle schools for early intervention, coordinates 9th grade MAP testing.

*Fund additional counseling services for our 9th graders to do the following; schedule all 9th graders in appropriate classes, hand schedules Focus students, plan 9th grade Parent Night, track 9th grade attendance, and creates attendance agreements for identified students, participate as a member of the Student Intervention Team, organizes parent/teacher conferences, implements the roll out of ConnectEdu to 9th graders and supplemental curriculum to support College and Career Readiness.

*A half-time Social Worker provided by community partner YMCA. The other half will be shared with our feeder Madison Middle School. He/she supports a caseload of 10-15 students; provides home visits, coordinates care and direct counseling, family parenting classes, screening to support academic success and improved attendance.

*Pay for community partner YMCA to have a full-time Senior Director of Education and Development on-site and integrated into the WSHS community. A $26,000 program budget to provide 2-4 in-school and 8-12 after school enrichment and/or service based activities. Responsible for tracking all 9th graders to ensure they are involved in a minimum of one extracurricular activity during the school year and removing barriers for participation that arise for some students. Priority enrollment for identified 9th graders in “Y” activities will be given.

*Pay for community partner University Tutors to place 15 plus content specific tutors at WSHS in math and science classes and to support Mandatory After School Study Hall and Saturday School.

*Pay for a .2 FTE Academic Interventionist to teach a focus class for re-classified 9th graders. We will use carry forward performance pay from 20011-12 to pay the $20,000 cost.

West Seattle Summer Fest: Caspar Babypants returns; applications open for ‘community performers’

June 8, 2012 12:01 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Summer Fest: Caspar Babypants returns; applications open for ‘community performers’
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(WSB video of Caspar Babypants performing at 2011 West Seattle Summer Fest)
Waiting for the West Seattle Summer Fest music lineup? It’s expected to be out next week, according to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association – but she confirms to WSB that Caspar Babypants will be back, performing on the first day of the festival, Friday, July 13th (just five weeks from today!), on a small stage that’ll be on SW Alaska next to Junction Plaza Park “at a kid-friendly time” to be announced. Susan says that’s the “community performance stage,” where you’ll find “performances, demonstrations, cake-eating contests, and music,” and they’re currently accepting applications for people whose talents might be best showcased here. So, Susan invites you: “If you have a dance troupe or other act, please e-mail info@westseattlefestival.com with details.”

West Seattle beverage news: Löwman Bräu returns!

When the charity beer Hi-Yu Brü launched earlier this year, as part of an ongoing West Seattle/White Center series of locally brewed beer benefiting charities, some suggested its proceeds should have benefited its namesake festival. Now, the most popular charity beer in the series is re-launching, and its proceeds WILL benefit the West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival. Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) proprietor Jeff Gilbert sends word that Löwman Bräu is relaunching today at his bar and eight other local venues – in West Seattle, West 5, Shadowland, Mission, The Bridge, Löcöl, Beveridge Place Pub, and in White Center, Big Al Brewing and Company. Jeff says it should be available at all nine places as soon as they open today.