West Seattle, Washington
19 Tuesday
One day after the West Seattle arrest of Michael Sean Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off a monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, he has just appeared in Seattle Municipal Court (via video feed). Our partners at The Seattle Times report that Stanley pleaded not guilty to harassment and that his bail is set at $100,000. Earlier this morning, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe told WSB that Stanley has not yet been booked in the alleged Admiral-area sexual assault that police learned about after the initial harassment arrest, so he will not have a bail hearing in that potential case today. Any additional information in the case today will be added to this story. (Photo: King County sex-offender-registry page)
ADDED 1:54 PM: News release about this morning’s hearing, sent by the City Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the current case:
Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue set bail at $100,000 today for registered sex offender Michael Shawn Stanley on a misdemeanor harassment charge filed by the City Attorney’s Office.
CAO asked for the unusually high bail for a misdemeanor based on information from the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating a separate, alleged sexual assault by Stanley on a teenage male. Stanley, an American citizen, re-entered the United States recently from Canada where he has an extensive sex crimes record. Also, in this state, he has been convicted of first-degree burglary and DUI.
The misdemeanor charge alleges that Stanley, while intoxicated, was making loud noises in an alley behind a residence in West Seattle. When the victim asked him to be quiet, Stanley repeatedly said he would beat the victim up.
The City’s sentencing recommendation is 364 days in jail/274 days suspended, an anti-harassment order and a substance-abuse evaluation plus any recommended follow-up (with Stanley remaining under the court’s jurisdiction for two years).
ADDED 5:51 PM: KING 5 obtained video from Admiral Chevron that they say shows Stanley in the mini-mart there very early yesterday with the teen who told police he had been sexually assaulted. See their report here.
(Tuesday photo by Elodie Daquila)
We’ve lost count of how many foggy days in a row we’ve had. But the fog can bring beauty, as well. Meantime, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
COMMUNITY ART SHOWCASE: Stop by the Southwest Branch Library during regular hours (today, that’s 10 am-8 pm) and admire the work of your West Seattle neighbors during this year’s Community Art Showcase! (35th/Henderson)
‘CLOTHESPIN ON A WIRE’: Pop-up shop at Bird on a Wire Espresso, including “authentic German fare” – full details in our calendar listing. 6-9 pm (SW Henderson just west of 35th SW)
WEST SEATTLE TIMEBANK: Yes, you have time to become part of this! Great way to get what you need, and help someone who can use your skills. It’s the next orientation for the West Seattle Timebank (here’s how it works), 6:30 pm potluck, 7 pm meeting, Senior Center of West Seattle. (California/Oregon)
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: Monthly meeting tonight at 7 at Highland Park Improvement Club:
We’ll be discussing adding our name to the growing list of endorsements for the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, meeting our current Community Police Officer (bring your questions and concerns), some news about addressing pedestrian and vehicular safety along Roxbury, and other exciting things happening in the neighborhood.
HPIC is at 12th/Holden.
BIG VOLLEYBALL GAME: As previewed here on Tuesday, it’s a division-leadership varsity-volleyball clash tonight at 7 between West Seattle High School and visiting Chief Sealth International High School at the WSHS Gym. Admission free, all invited (and welcome to cheer on local student athletes); it’s also Senior Night for WSHS. (3000 California SW)
POEMS AND STORIES: Monthly poetry/storytelling event at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), details in our calendar listing. (5612 California SW)
Lots more on the calendar!
(WSB photo from 2012 West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival)
Just four days until the second annual West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival – the streets-closed event 10 am-2 pm Sunday, incorporating not only trick-or-treating at Junction businesses, but also a special “in-the-street” edition of the WS Farmers’ Market, and lots more! Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association has shared a preview:
11 am – Chili competition in front of KeyBank, limited to 100 “judges” so come early – list of participating restaurants tomorrow, 100 percent of the proceeds go to West Seattle Food Bank
11:30 am – Costume parade led by West Seattle High School Marching Band
Noon-2 pm – Trick-or-treating
Activities for the duration, 10 am-2 pm, as follows:
Thank you to the 31 businesses and non-profits providing games, activities and projects. Some highlights:
WSBx3 (West Seattle Blog, WS Bowl, WestSide Baby) – This trio is offering pumpkin bowling for all ability levels.
Community School of West Seattle – Their preschool farm is coming to Harvest Festival with a special guest, a 6-month-old calf!
Young at Art – As usual, a selection of super fun and crafty art projects.
You’ll also find projects like making tea light lanterns, paper bag black cats and harvest bracelets. Activities include an obstacle course, pin the tail on the scarecrow and carnival games. There’s a free costume photo booth by Donna Ryan and cider pressing. Our neighborhood can really pull together for a great festival!
Thanks to all who help make this happen!
Alki Art Fair
Alki Juice and Java
City Mouse Store
Community School of West Seattle
Eastridge Church
Emeritus Senior Living West Seattle
Endolyne Children’s Choir
Equilibrium Fitness
Fitness Revolution
Franciscan West Seattle Family
Ginger’s Treats
Hope Lutheran Church and School
Hotwire Coffee
La Leche League
Orange Twist
Run. Walk. Play.
Second Gear Sports
West Seattle Cyclery
Snooter-doots
SSCC Cooperative Preschool
St John the Baptist Episcopal Church
Sustainable West Seattle
The Little Gym of West Seattle
Ventana Construction
West Seattle Kiwanis
West Seattle Montessori
West Seattle See Dogs
Westside Rotaract Club
WSBx3 (West Seattle Blog, WestSide Baby, West Seattle Bowl)
Young at Art
The Harvest Festival is one of the many local events featured in the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide, now live at westseattleblog.com/halloween – browse it to see what’s up, now through the post-Halloween weekend, and if we’re missing something, please e-mail us at editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
Quick reminder about the West Seattle Education Fair next Monday (October 28th), hosted by and at Seattle Lutheran High School, sponsored by WSB, your chance for a one-stop shop to find out about local educational options, pre-K through 8th grade. Jeanne Flohr of SLHS, who’s organizing it, tells us 18 schools are signed up to participate (list to come). Free for families to attend – 6:30-8:30 pm Monday in the SLHS Gym (SW Genesee between 41st and 42nd).
(East-facing camera on the West Seattle Bridge; see other cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:43 AM: First e-mail of the day: “Northbound 99 is a parking lot – at 6:30 am.” That’s because of a crash, on the 911 log as a “heavy rescue” response, at Lander. So avoid 99 for now. Here’s the closest camera:
WSB’er Franci reports, “Rollover accident, barrier between NB/SB (99) dislodged, 2 cars – 1 SUV and 1 sedan.”
6:57 AM: Emergency vehicles have been trying to get to the scene any way they can, even by going the wrong way – and that part of the response is being canceled. “Heavy rescue” usually means rescuers might have to cut someone out of wreckage, and they have reported by scanner that everyone is out of the rolled-over car. Also, Metro has sent a text alert that Viaduct-running buses are detoured to 4th Avenue. Trouble on the water this morning too, because of the fog – Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth runs are delayed.
7:25 AM: Two lanes blocked still on northbound 99 and no word how long that’ll last – depends on what level of investigation (and repairs) the crash will require. WSDOT says via Twitter that northbound I-5 is “rough,” too, so if there’s any way you can head in later than usual today, that might be the best plan of all.
7:55 AM: One lane is getting by, per WSDOT. And as shown in our “live” image from the traffic camera at the scene right now, tow trucks are there.
8:09 AM: Still “don’t leave if you can wait” mode – tweeters say that traffic headed for the bridge is backed up on Fauntleroy to Fairmount Park and that even with the Viaduct buses rerouted to 4th, it’s still slow going getting TO the bridge.
8:26 AM: Buses have returned to regular northbound 99 routing, according to a text alert from Metro.
8:36 AM: Per scanner, 99 is about to “open back up.” Remember that it’ll still be a while before the residual backup clears. And it’s still massively foggy out there – be very careful.
9:10 AM: In fact, the National Weather Service has a “dense fog advisory” in effect for the general metro area. And Washington State Ferries just sent an updated alert, “All vessels on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route are delayed and estimated 30-45 minutes due to heavy fog.” Speaking of WSF – this reminder also has just come in:
WSF is considering revisions to the Fauntleroy/Vashon/SW schedule to make the best use of added vehicle capacity when the 124-car Cathlamet replaces the 87-car Klahowya in fall 2014. We look forward to sharing information and hearing from our customers at two open houses on: Sat., Oct. 26, 12-3 p.m. at the Ober Park Community Center, 17130 Vashon Hwy. SW, Vashon Island; and Tue, Oct. 29, 5-7 p.m. at Harper Church, 10384 SE Sedgwick Road in Port Orchard. More information at wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Service/ScheduleProposals.htm
Toward the end of a busy news day, we’re taking a moment to look ahead to something cool: Your next chance to jump into the new West Seattle Timebank. As organizer Tamsen Spengler puts it, “We build community, one hour at a time.” You can be part of that community-building by joining the Timebank (here’s how it works) – and if you can spare a little time tomorrow (Wednesday) night, it’s the perfect chance to get going. That’s the next West Seattle Timebank orientation; you don’t have to commit, go meet the people and think about what you need and what you can offer! 6:30 pm potluck, 7 pm meeting, Senior Center of West Seattle. Questions? info@wstb.tbanks.org
P.S. Special presentation Wednesday by West Seattle Be Prepared!
(Crash scene viewed from east side of 35th; photo substituted for original cameraphone image)
7:17 PM: A crash at 35th/Henderson has injured at least two people and brought a sizable “automobile-rescue” response from Seattle Fire. We’re on the way.
7:27 PM UPDATE: Our crew says the crash involves an SUV and a car, in the median just north of the intersection; 35th is blocked both ways. Early radio exchanges suggest neither victim is believed to have life-threatening injuries.
7:52 PM: SFD Lt. Sue Stangl told us at the scene that the two drivers would be taken to Harborview by private ambulance to be checked out. The scene will be cleared sooner rather than later since no major injuries are involved and that means the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad won’t be called out.
(UPDATED with first official info from police – scroll or click to end of story)
6:09 PM: We’ve just learned that police are investigating another case of a “flasher” near a local school. This time, it was reported by two students from Madison Middle School. According to the mother of one of the students, the man was exposing/touching himself while in a car, with the door open, near 45th and Andover (map), about two blocks south of Madison, around 2:45 pm. She says he was described as a “30-something white male, dark hair, heavyset. Black, small 4-door sedan in poor condition.”
We are trying to reach police to see if they believe it’s linked to any of the previous recent incidents in West Seattle. (P.S. If you are just catching up with the day’s other news, that was 6 hours after rapist Michael S. Stanley was booked into jail, so there’s no chance it was him.)
6:28 PM UPDATE: And now we’re getting word of an incident outside Westside School (WSB sponsor) today as well – one of the schools targeted in earlier incidents. Multiple parents just tipped us – here’s an excerpt from the note that went home:
I regret that I must write to inform our Westside Families of another incident that happened at school today. This afternoon, several Middle School girls were playing near the fence along 32nd Ave. A man drove up, stayed in his car and began to touch himself inappropriately. The girls immediately walked away from the fence, notified an adult and were not in any physical danger. Staff were present on the playground and observant of the students. Parents of each of the girls involved have been contacted personally by the school.
Our primary concern is to keep your children safe at school and in the community. Our playground perimeter is fenced and secure, and we have video cameras in place. We have adults with children at all times on our playgrounds and in school. Just as in the previous incident, we are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will provide as much information as possible to support them in finding this individual and preventing him from engaging in this type of activity. We will also communicate with our colleagues at other schools that have been affected by recent similar events.
Those incidents were (links go to our coverage):
*September 9, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Holy Rosary
*September 18, Westside
*October 1, Hope (reported child-luring attempt, while the previous three were “flashers”)
It should be noted, police have never said whether any or all of those are believed to be related.
9 PM UPDATE: SPD Blotter now has a report on today’s two incidents – go here or read on for the full text:Read More
Thanks to Carolyn Newman for the photo of the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior passing West Seattle earlier today. It’s docked at Pier 66, but it’s not here for a protest – it’s here on an official, pre-scheduled visit, and will be offering tours on the downtown waterfront this weekend – details here.
Before we get to today’s advice on what to put into your “Go Bag” in honor of Washington State Diaster Preparedness Month – one last reminder about a meeting tonight at which you can find out about other ways to prepare yourself and your neighborhood: The West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network will focus on preparedness resources during its monthly meeting, 6:30 tonight at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster). Everybody’s welcome!
Now, today’s get-it-in-your-bag advice, from West Seattle Be Prepared:
So far, you may have been able to fill your bag with things you have had sitting around the house. This time, you might have to go out to get this one – today you should put cash money into your kit. Recommended is about $100, and in small bills, no larger than $20 are best. This will allow you to purchase at stores even if their card-reader systems are not back on line.
Just getting started? Catching up? Planning to get started? Items 1 (the bag itself) through 20 are archived in reverse-chronological order here.
(Photo by Tony Bradley)
1:36 PM: We’re getting word that a car-motorcycle crash at East Marginal Way South and South Spokane Street (map) involves a fatality. That’s according to Seattle Fire via Twitter; the motorcycle rider was killed, while the car’s 55-year-old driver is being taken to a hospital “as a precaution.” More to come.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
4:05 PM: Investigators are still at the scene, so motor vehicles should avoid the area (bike path unaffected).
8:07 PM: Seattle Police have just published an update via SPD Blotter, saying they believe the motorcycle rider, 24 years old, was speeding:
… Preliminary investigation indicates that a 24-year-old man was driving his white Yamaha motorcycle southbound on East Marginal Way South at a high rate of speed and passing vehicles using the bicycle lane. As the motorcyclist approached South Spokane Street he struck a green Isuzu Trooper SUV that had been travelling southbound on East Marginal Way South and was initiating a westbound turn onto South Spokane Street. The force of the collision caused the motorcyclist to be thrown from his motorcycle, and he subsequently sustained fatal injuries.
Fire department medics responded and pronounced the motorcyclist deceased at the scene. King County Medical Examiner’s Office personnel responded and took custody of the deceased man.
The 50-year-old driver of the Isuzu was transported to Harborview Medical Center via ambulance for precautionary reasons. Officers evaluated the driver of the Isuzu for signs of impairment; none were detected. …
The motorcycle rider has not been identified; his name isn’t likely to be made available by the Medical Examiner’s Office before tomorrow.
(MID-AFTERNOON UPDATE: Scroll/click ahead to bottom of story; building’s now mostly gone)
12:28 PM: As of noon, the western building on the heart-of-The-Junction development site was more than half gone. This one has far more history than the eastern building, which was torn down first; the one on the southeast corner of California/Alaska was the home of West Seattle Hospital for years, with multiple families welcoming new additions each day during the peak of the baby boom. Click ahead for photos and video from earlier this morning, when the facade started coming down (update: more images added @ 3 pm):
(UPDATE/EDITOR’S NOTE: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for sexual assault – scroll down for newest info)
9:50 AM: Just published on SPD Blotter:
Just before 6 AM this morning, police received several reports that a man was yelling in an alley near the 2300 block of 44th Avenue SW in West Seattle.
One caller told police that when he’d asked the man to quiet down, the man had threatened to assault him.
When officers arrived at the scene, they Stanley, who became combative with officers and claimed he had a knife.
Officers found a small knife on Stanley, who appeared intoxicated, and booked him into the King County Jail for harassment.
ADDED 10:45 AM: First – in case you are wondering which alley in the 2300 block of 44th, police say it’s the one between California and 44th, behind the Admiral Theater (added: photo of the general area).
No word yet what he was doing in West Seattle; in case you haven’t seen the regional-media reports about Stanley, here’s one from the Seattle Times (WSB partner) published before today’s arrest. He is 48 years old and was out of prison in Canada after serving time for crimes including, reports the Times, “raping an 82-year-old woman who used a wheelchair and of luring and sexually assaulting two mentally challenged boys.”
On October 1st, he removed a monitoring device he had been ordered to wear, and eventually made his way to the U.S./Canada border crossing in Blaine, north of Bellingham. He turned up in Seattle last week and, while local authorities aren’t sure if he is required to register here – Canada didn’t even want him extradited – he did register as transient, saying he was living near Pike Place Market. Here is his page on the King County sex-offender registry site; we’ve added the photo from that page to this story.
11:07 AM: According to the King County Jail Register, Stanley was booked at 8:42 am and his bail is set at $1,000. He is listed on the register as Michael Shawn Stanley; the names/aliases listed on his sex-offender-registration page are Michael Sean Stanley, Michael A. Bigwolf, David Quintasket, Carl C. Youngpine. He is a U.S. citizen and entered the country on October 7th, according to Canadian reports. There’s more about his background in this story, which notes that he has a record with at least four dozen convictions.
11:39 AM: Since the charge on which he’s being held is a misdemeanor, it’s being handled by Seattle Municipal Court and the city attorney’s office, whose spokesperson Kimberly Mills says he is scheduled for arraignment tomorrow morning.
12:23 PM: Police now say Stanley is under investigation for a reported sexual assault just before his Admiral arrest early today. An update from SPD Blotter:
Shortly after arresting sex offender Michael Sean Stanley this morning, Seattle police received information that he may be the suspect in a sexual assault in West Seattle earlier today.
According to the report police received this morning, Stanley met a 16-year-old male at a grocery store, struck up a conversation with the teen, and walked with him to an alley in the 2400 block of 44th Ave. SW. In the alley, Stanley plied the teen with alcohol, grabbed the teen, and sexually assaulted him. The 16-year-old pulled a knife on Stanley and was able to run to another location and contact police.
Detectives believe this incident may have preceded several calls to police about noise and threats in the alleyway. After investigating those complaints this morning, officers arrested Stanley for harassment.
Stanley, who fled Canada and entered the US earlier this month, is currently in the King County Jail, but will be re-booked on additional charges today.
Stanley is currently registered as a sex offender and is under the supervision of the King County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are now working to determine how this will impact his offender status.
Since attempted sexual assault is a felony, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will now be involved in the case; we’re checking with them regarding plans for a bail hearing – most likely won’t be before tomorrow.
3:32 PM: No new updates yet – the jail register still shows Stanley behind bars. He has been out of prison in Canada since April 2011. We haven’t found court documents for any of his cases but he does have a record in our state as well, dating up to the turn of the millennium. He had a King County Superior Court case from 1983 – when he would have been in his late teens – but the docket doesn’t cite the charge and the records are not available online.
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE, 10:05 AM: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office tells WSB he has yet to be booked in the sexual-assault case, so he won’t be on the bail-hearing calendar for that today. He is in Seattle Municipal Court right now and citywide reporters say he has pleaded not guilty and that bail has just been set at $100,000. Separate story to come.
(WSB photo from October 2nd Sealth vs. WSHS game)
Last Saturday, the Huling Bowl … tomorrow, a rematch of division leaders in volleyball! Another West Seattle High School vs. Chief Sealth International High School game is coming up, and WSHS parent Laurie Sarver e-mailed us with an invitation/reminder for you to show up and support the schools’ athletes. Admission is free; it’s also Senior Night for four Wildcats players. The girls hit the court at 7 pm Wednesday night (October 23) in the WSHS gym (3000 California SW).
(East-facing camera on the West Seattle Bridge; see other cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! No scheduled road work to report for today. While we watch to see how your commute goes: In the ongoing-projects department, there’s a new photo from WSDOT, shared via Twitter, of the work going on at the future Highway 99 south portal, now that the tunnel-digging machine is making some progress:
The tunnel’s future south portal is coming together. pic.twitter.com/2RF5f5jcro
— Bertha (@BerthaDigsSR99) October 21, 2013
Here’s an overview of how the South Portal area will work.
At its quarterly meeting, the Morgan Community Association voted to support the new West Seattle Transportation Coalition, got an update on the about-to-be-built sewer-overflow-control project at Lowman Beach, heard about efforts to improve cleanliness and safety at Morgan Junction Park, discussed a new development – and that was just the start:
(WSB photo, taken the day after the MoCA meeting)
FRIENDS OF MORGAN JUNCTION PARKS: In addition to the volunteer work this group is doing, talk turned to those who loiter in Morgan Junction Park. Park volunteers say they have engaged the people who hang out, but so far the loiterers are not complying with trash rules. And they say not enough people are calling 911 when they see rulebreaking; more should be making those calls, for wider community representation. The behavior is getting worse, it appears – one week earlier, there was a big drinking party, and a big bonfire was started in the park; Seattle Fire came but police were never able to respond because that happened concurrently with the Westwood Village-area stabbings. To address this, MoCA is working with police to find an official sign to put up regarding, “Drinking is against the rules, here’s who to call.” Also call in matters of public safety – somebody passed out, someone injured … “Don’t be shy,” said Friends of MJP’s Tod Rodman. “It’s your park – if people are there, the bad stuff will (recede),” added FoMJP’s Barry White.
Back to the group’s main work: One more planting and mulching event will be happening in early November, an afternoon event after the Seahawks game, White said. “It’s been a great ride, and we’re getting more and more people involved.” The triangle park just north of West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) had a great planting party recently with 20 volunteers from Peace Lutheran Church in Gatewood. The current planting project in the streetside strips by Thriftway is the store’s doing, it was revealed in subsequent discussion. Next, the Friends of MJP is going to look at the Fauntleroy/Juneau triangle property to find out how it can help.
Two-thirds of the way through Washington State Diaster Preparedness Month AND two-thirds of the way through the “Go Bag”/emergency kit we’re building one day at a time, with the help of West Seattle Be Prepared:
It’s time to dig through the pile of clothes that you were going to give away: Put in a change of clothing and a pair of shoes for each person. It’s better in our part of the country to make sure you have warm clothing included, rather than just a T-shirt or light pants. If you can fit them, a pair of gloves and a warm or waterproof hat should go in as well.
Items 1 (the bag itself) through 19 are archived in reverse-chronological order here.
P.S. Be extra-prepared by going to the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network‘s Tuesday night meeting – info here.
“Safety shouldn’t be scary!” So says the flyer for a special event just announced, with an open invitation to families from around the community:
Hope Lutheran School is sponsoring and hosting (the event) on November 5th, presented by Kim Estes, from Savvy Parents Safe Kids. Due to the recent events at various local schools (including Hope) involving children being approached by strangers, we felt a great need to not only review safety with our students, but also with our parents. We invite the community to attend this great workshop about how to keep our children as safe as possible. The 90-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session is free. Child care will not be provided. The event begins at 6:30 and ends at 8:00 pm followed by a question and answer session.
Here’s the full flyer:
(See it here if you can’t see the scrollable embedded version above.) Hope is at 42nd and Oregon in The Junction.
The unions representing thousands of grocery-store workers at chains including QFC, Safeway, Albertsons, and Fred Meyer say they have reached a tentative contract deal. So it looks like NO strike. Here’s their statement via Facebook:
We are very pleased to announce that today at 5 PM the union member bargaining team from UFCW 21 & 367 and Teamsters 38 reached a tentative agreement with the national grocery chains in contract negotiations. This tentative agreement has been unanimously recommended by the union member bargaining team. Details will not to be released until after union members themselves have had the opportunity to review the tentative agreement and vote on it. The times and locations of those vote meetings will be announced in the coming days after arrangements have been made to schedule the vote.
The announcement came with just a few hours left in the strike countdown.
(Blue Angels fly over Boeing Field, 2009 photo by David DeSiga)
An announcement by the Navy last Friday was so quiet, they’re shouting it a bit louder today – they’ve figured out how to resume “community outreach” and that means, among other things, that the Blue Angels are back in the air next year, and that some festivals will see Fleet Week ships again, including Seafair here in Seattle.
(USS Bunker Hill passing Alki Point during Seafair 2012; photo by Gary Jones)
Here’s the Navy’s announcement. You’ll recall that this year’s Seafair went without Blue Angels and a visiting fleet because of federal belt-tightening.
(WSB photo from June 2013 Relay for Life)
One of our area’s major cancer-fighting fundraisers, West Seattle Relay for Life, happens every summer – a memorable all-night relay with moments from exuberant to emotional. Like so many excellent events, it doesn’t and can’t happen without major volunteer help, and this is where you come in – maybe your special skills can make a difference:
Right now, the local American Cancer Society signature fundraising event is looking for committee members to help organize the 2013 Relay For Life. With just over nine months left before the Relay, the committee has a place for everyone.
Positions available include:
Sponsorship Chair: Get local businesses involved in this community-based event.
Online Chair: Manage the online fundraising arm of the American Cancer Society’s most successful event!
Team Development Chair: Help teams fundraise and recruit new teams to join the fight.
Many more!This year’s Relay For Life of West Seattle will take place overnight in July (date TBD) at West Seattle Stadium.
Want to know more, or just go ahead and volunteer? Contact chair Santina, santinarigano@yahoo.com, or ACS staff partner Nici, nici.eaton@cancer.org. An organizational meeting is coming up in early November and they can tell you more.
You won’t notice it yet if you drive by on California or Alaska, but from 42nd SW, you can see that demolition has indeed begun on the remaining building on the site of Equity Residential’s 2-building, ~200-apartment project. A closer look shows long-hidden interior brick walls:
As discussed in comments on recent WSB coverage of teardown elsewhere on the site, this building was once – when it had a second story – home to the West Seattle Hospital, which later moved to the site on SW Holden that is now home to Navos. Meantime, another reminder that sidewalks on California and Alaska are closed – temporarily, as noted here Friday – while this stage of demolition continues for several days.
Stopping by the West Seattle Hi-Yu table at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival on Sunday, we found out Hi-Yu has just announced a big change: Boys are now welcome to apply to be Hi-Yu royalty, as well as girls.
The full announcement is on the Hi-Yu website, along with this link to the Junior Court application (which will download as a Word doc). The application has to be in by November 5th; this year’s Junior Court coronation is planned for the Hi-Yu Community Breakfast on November 9th. Girls and boys 8-12 years old are welcome to apply.
The Senior Court also will be open to both male and female candidates, and Hi-Yu says it’ll announce the application period soon. The next royalty will be part of a milestone – Hi-Yu’s 80th anniversary!
If you would like to get an application in person, Hi-Yu reps will be at the Hiawatha Community Center Halloween carnival this Friday night (one of the events are in the just-launched WSB Halloween Guide).
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