West Seattle, Washington
19 Tuesday
Admiring the fall colors this weekend? A visit to the past-and-future school site on Genesee Hill (50th SW/SW Genesee) might be in order – to pay your respects to that American Elm honored as a “Best in City” tree in PlantAmnesty‘s Heritage Tree program. Karen Lyons shares the photo and the news:
I belong to a group that is trying to save some of the fine trees on the school’s 6.2 acres. I’m the group’s botanist so I volunteered to take a tree survey last year and found a magnificent American Elm! The majority of American Elms in the US were wiped out by Dutch Elm disease. Somehow this tree is either immune (making it valuable for research) or has escaped the disease. I later contacted the Heritage Tree committee and they sent a group of 6 investigators to measure and take samples of the Elm. That was a few months ago. On October 1st I received this letter naming this tree and awarding it as “Best In The City”. It will be spared!
District documentation verifies that the tree will not be taken out during the construction of the new school – from last month’s summary of the newest design changes: “The steep hillside on the site will be fully protected, as will the significant and exceptional trees on the hillside (including the old elm near the center of the site).” The district expects to start construction next spring; the current Schmitz Park school program is expected to move into the new school at mid-year 2015-2016, while the district proposes to turn the current Schmitz Park building into an early-learning center.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
How can West Seattle’s transportation tangle best be untangled?
With unified, peninsula-wide voices, resolve, and action.
That’s what the newly rechristened West Seattle Transportation Coalition is organizing. This morning, its interim board members are meeting for a strategy session, as they prepare for their first big public action, sending a letter to local political leaders – the ones who have (or potentially have) the power to forward and fund solutions to our peninsula’s muddled intersection between population growth and lack of transportation vision.
Here’s the brand-new letter the WSTC will send to elected officials and candidates (scroll to the end to see the list of addressees, and if you can’t see the embedded document, here’s the PDF link):
The WSTC (whose board members are listed here) isn’t just going to wait for politicians to take action, though. It’s also going to draft a transportation vision. And it’s looking for as much support as possible. Here’s how:
-Show your support and/or your group, business, organization – go here
-Explain what matters most to you in the creation of a peninsula-wide transportation vision – send e-mail, circulate a survey, see how by going here
-Come to WSTC meetings, listed here – next one is Tuesday, November 12th, a general meeting expected to focus on operational issues including planning and recruitment.
BACKSTORY: The WS Transportation Coalition is the renamed WS Transit Coalition, which itself launched less than three weeks ago – here’s our coverage, with video, of that first meeting.
6:59 PM NOTE: WSTC board members finalized and formatted the letter at their meeting today and that finalized version is now linked and embedded above.
In honor of Washington Disaster Preparedness Month, we’re continuing to publish day-by-day instructions on making the “Go Bag” that you want to have in case of disaster (big earthquake, longrunning power outage, etc.). Some of the items on the list so far are things you might well already have around the house. This one probably is not. From West Seattle Be Prepared:
It’s Saturday, so hopefully you should have time to shop for this item; a hand-crank AM/FM radio with NOAA weather radio channel. If it also has a USB charger, that’s even better.
In Seattle there are several commercial radio stations that would become official emergency-channel radio stations: KIRO-AM 710 and/or FM 100.7, KOMO-AM 1000, KNWX-AM 770, and KVI-AM 570. But to hear directly from the National Weather Service, a NOAA Weather Radio is best. It also has a warning alarm feature, and site-specific and event-select capabilities. It serves as Washington’s “all-hazards” warning system, including tsunamis, volcanoes, and hazardous releases. Lots of detailed information about weather Radios and the spotter system we have in Washington can be found here.
You can look for this type of radio at a variety of stores – hardware and electronics, among them. If you can’t find one at a store, order it online and put it in the bag as soon as it arrives. We found them on websites including Radio Shack (here) and Amazon (here) – and you can even buy yours from the Red Cross!
Haven’t started the “Go Bag” yet? Don’t feel guilty! Just get GO-ing. Find the suitcase or backpack you’re going to designate (that was Day 1) and scroll through this WSB archive page to find the items for days 2-10.
8:59 AM: Thanks to @hommesea for the tip via Twitter: There’s a crash on northbound 99, and the Battery Street Tunnel is closed in that direction as a result. If you have to head out sometime soon, you might want to wait a while or check out another route.
9:27 AM: Northbound 99 is now reported clear. HOWEVER – there’s scanner talk of a crash on northbound I-5 in downtown, though it’s not on the 911 log.
(WSB photo: Crows at Junction Plaza Park on Thursday afternoon)
Options for your Saturday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
TIBBETTS RUMMAGE SALE, DAY 2: 9 am-3 pm, from cookware to clothing to crystal and much more, rooms of stuff on sale at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) in the second and final day of their big fall rummage sale. (3940 41st SW)
ELECTRONICS RECYCLING AT PCC: 9 am-4 pm, drop off your unwanted electronics and metal items at PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) to be recycled, free! Find a list of what will be accepted by going here. (California/Stevens)
COSTUME SWAP: A different kind of recycling – bring in a gently used Halloween costume, and swap it for another one, starting at 10 am at City Mouse Studio and Store in The Junction, as previewed here. (4218 SW Alaska)
FIRST HOLIDAY BAZAAR OF THE SEASON: 10 am-4 pm at the Masonic Center in The Junction. (40th/Edmunds)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM VOLUNTEERING: 11 am-1 pm at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum, it’s the next session for prospective volunteers, as explained on the LHM website. They would love to see you! (61st/Stevens)
CATS IN SEARCH OF FOREVER HOMES: Two places you can go to meet your next feline companion(s) today – a one-time-only event at the Alki Community Center with adoptable foster felines via the Seattle Animal Shelter, noon-3 pm (details in our calendar listing), and Kitty Harbor, noon-6 pm (on Harbor Ave. SW north of the West Seattle Bridge).
FIND YOUR ROOTS: 1:30-5:30 pm, come to the West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library for a free class/workshop on genealogical research – explained in our calendar listing. (2306 42nd SW)
REFLECTIONS ON RESTORATION: Come to Roxhill Park/Bog 2-4 pm to find out more about its long restoration process – details in our calendar listing.
FIRST NATIONS CELEBRATION: The Duwamish Tribe honors the First Nations with a program this afternoon-evening at their West Seattle longhouse. Details in our calendar listing. 4-7 pm. (4205 West Marginal Way SW)
NIGHTLIFE: See live-music listings for tonight on the calendar!
(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
After weeks of road games, the West Seattle High School Wildcats finally played at home Friday night; the band had a whole new look for the occasion. The game went into overtime, and was hard-fought, though visiting Ingraham pulled out the win, 12-6.
That’s WSHS #12, Carter Golgart, taking down Ingraham’s #12, Nate Han. In our next photo, the Wildcats’ defense snags Ingraham’s running back Emmery Porter:
Next weekend, it’s the always-awaited Huling Bowl, with Westside facing Chief Sealth for annual bragging rights – 7 pm Saturday, October 19th, at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW).
(Chief Sealth quarterback Weston Reed; photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
The Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks scored first but eventually lost Friday night to Nathan Hale at Northeast Athletic Complex, 33-20. Here’s Alloney Burris after that first TD:
Next, Sealth’s Larry Mao going up for the pass, with Hale’s Gadisa Margarsa blocking:
Next week, the Seahawks are close to home but technically on the road as they face West Seattle High School for the Huling Bowl, 7 pm Saturday, October 19th, at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW).
At mid-afternoon Friday, all that was left of the building on the southwest corner of 42nd/Alaska was what we’re told was once a vault. As projected by contractor Andersen Construction, working for developer/owner Equity Residential, the building was torn down in a week. We showed the Monday start here, and an update on Thursday, before crews moved on to the Rocksport side of the building Friday. One 7-story apartment/retail building is to go up on that side of the site, another on the west side, which formerly housed businesses including Super Supplements, and long before that, the West Seattle Hospital, including an upper story that’s long gone – check it out in this aerial from the city archives, dated 1957:
Click here to see a larger view, and look closely for the street labeling. Note that Jefferson School (opened in 1912, closed in 1979) was still on the 42nd SW site now known as Jefferson Square, and look around the photo for other sites that are on the brink of change – what do you recognize that’s not there any more?
Reader report: A 12-year-old girl told her parents – who in turn told police – that she was followed around 8 pm tonight in Gatewood, near 39th/Webster (map), by a van described as “light-colored, beat-up,” driven by a man described as “middle-aged, with dark brown hair.” She reported the van followed her for a few blocks as she walked home from a friend’s house and at one point flashed its lights at her; she started running when she noticed it, and hid on the side of her house because nobody was home yet. Her father then arrived and saw the van as the girl ran to the parent’s car; the van took off at that point. The family just wanted to share the alert; we’re checking to see if police have anything to add.
Here’s tonight’s installment of what to put in your “Go Bag” – which we’re building one day at a time during Washington Disaster Preparedness Month, with the help of West Seattle Be Prepared:
Put these basic hygiene items in your kit today: toothbrush, travel size toothpaste, comb, hand sanitizer. A ziplock bag is a great way to keep all these together.
WEEKEND ALERT: We’re still only a third of the way in and this weekend is another perfect opportunity to catch up, even if you are starting from scratch (first thing to do: find the suitcase or backpack that will be your “Go Bag”). So Saturday’s installment will be published here by 9 am tomorrow, so that you can go shop, whether you’re looking for the next item, or catching up on what’s gone into the bag so far, or both.
Catch up with previous installments by going here. The most recent installment is always linked atop the BIG STORIES list in the sidebar on the right side of WSB pages.
(UPDATED MONDAY with link to district survey about the new draft)
Tonight, the next draft of proposed Seattle Public Schools “growth boundaries” is out, as part of the agenda for next Wednesday’s School Board meeting, at which they are to be officially introduced.
See the maps here; changes from the first draft are described in this document.
One big change: The district says it’s addressed concerns that the High Point area was being split between the reopening Fairmount Park Elementary (which feeds Madison Middle School) and West Seattle Elementary (which feeds Denny) by keeping most of the High Point community feeding into WSES and Denny.
What hasn’t changed: K-5 STEM at Boren is still proposed for evolution into K-8 STEM at Boren, to be permanently sited at the mid-Delridge building that once was Louisa May Boren Junior High School. … Once the new Genesee Hill elementary school is built, the current Schmitz Park site is still proposed for evolution into an “early learning center … to serve students in special education development preschools along with typical peers.”
The department also has compiled comments received on the first draft of the proposals, including those voiced during the round of public meetings that included the one September 25th at West Seattle High School (WSB coverage here) – see them here, organized by the schools (in alphabetical order) to which they refer – 96 pages of comments!
Timeline: From the accompanying materials attached to the agenda:
New boundaries, as well as location of services and programs, will be implemented in phases in alignment with the BEX IV construction schedule and enrollment changes. Some changes will be implemented beginning in 2014-15; others cannot be implemented for several years because they are dependent on completion of BEX IV projects. As BEX IV projects come online and additional capacity becomes available, implementation of Growth Boundaries will be phased in.
We’re still reviewing the supporting materials. The board meeting is at 4:15 pm Wednesday (October 16th) at district HQ in SODO, but this item isn’t scheduled to come up until after 6 pm – the agenda is here.
ADDED MONDAY: As a commenter has noted, the district has just gone public with a survey to ask what you think about the second draft – take the survey here.
“It’s been a bit of a long haul getting to this point but now all of the cylinders are running and we’re very excited.” So says Jef Fike, proprietor past and future of Cassis, mentioned here back in January, after <Rebekah Denn broke the news he hoped to revive his fabled French restaurant on Alki, nine years after it closed on Capitol Hill. We’ve checked in with him a time or two since then, and today he confirmed to WSB that the Alki location is now official, and as long rumored, it’s 2820 Alki SW, where Alki Arts closed its beach location at the end of September after its lease wasn’t extended.
Fike told WSB today that he has “signed a lease and taken possession of the gallery space. Plans are done, permits are now being applied for and we intend to open in February 2014. It will be a full restaurant and bar which should seat 45-50, including the bar seating.” No website yet but he’s launched a Facebook page. He’s “also doing a pop up dinner on November 11th at Cafe Grub on Queen Anne Hill to begin to introduce our food to the city. We’re hoping to find a West Seattle location for a second one in January.”
Out of the WSB inbox this afternoon, from Ann Marie:
There’s a couple running around right now around 28th/27th & Kenyon. [map] I’ve seen them twice now this afternoon…bring your cats in!
As always – we share this “coexisting with coyotes” info including how to scare one off if you see one (or two!).
What started as a house-fire call this afternoon – but was quickly downgraded – seemed so small when we went by, we weren’t even going to mention it – until our followup question to
At 1:38 p.m. a 911 call came into a firefighter/dispatcher reporting a dryer fire at a home located in the 5900 block of 26th Avenue SW in West Seattle. When Engine Company 11 arrived they found the exterior-dryer-vent fire was extinguished thanks to the quick work of a teenage occupant of the house. The teen used a fire extinguisher to knock down the flames on the outer wall of the 2-story house before crews arrived.
While the exterior flames had been extinguished, the fire worked its way into the wall. Firefighters were able to cut holes into the wall and knock down all of the flames and hot spots. The damage estimate is several thousand dollars. There were no injuries.
Moore says the vent fire started with lint – which brings an important reminder to check the one at your home; here are safety tips from the National Fire Prevention Association.
If you haven’t checked our calendar yet today – five quick highlights for this afternoon/evening:
TIBBETTS RUMMAGE SALE, DAY 1: Hannah was helping out at the Express Pay Line when we stopped by the Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) rummage sale this morning. Just like a grocery express line – if you have just a few items, the express line’s for you here. Meantime, here’s one of the unique items we found – an antique tea set!
The sale’s on until 4 pm today and 9 am-3 pm tomorrow (Saturday), 3940 41st SW.
WINE AND CHOCOLATE WITH THE ROTARY: As previewed here – tasty benefit to help the Rotary Club of West Seattle raise money for community projects like the Children’s Holiday Shopping Spree. The Sanctuary at Admiral, 5 pm. (2656 42nd SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Chief Sealth IHS is on the road vs. Nathan Hale, 6 pm at NE Athletic Complex (10750 30th Ave NE) … West Seattle HS is home vs. Ingraham, 7 pm at SW Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle)
SEATTLE SYMPHONY, FOR FREE: Community concert at Chief Sealth International High School tonight, all welcome, no admission charge. 7:30 pm. (2600 SW Thistle)
SWEET, SWEET MUSIC: Live music and dessert at Fauntleroy Church, this time featuring bluegrass by Pickled Okra. 7:30 pm; details in our calendar listing. (9140 California SW)
COLLEEN RANEY CD-RELEASE PARTY: Seattle-born singer in the Irish tradition, 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall – details in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)
From Amy Cooper, who will be teaching “Roots of Empathy” at Alki Elementary, which is introducing the program this year:
Are you the proud parent of a 2- to 4-month-old baby? You and your baby could be a Roots of Empathy family!
Roots of Empathy is an award-winning program for elementary-school children which has been bringing the wisdom of parents and babies into classrooms since 1996 and is currently in nearly 100 classrooms in the Seattle area. The program helps children learn about a baby’s needs and development, and lets children see a loving relationship grow between parent and baby.
The heart of Roots of Empathy is the neighborhood parent and infant who join the Roots of Empathy Instructor in the classroom for Family Visits. There are 9 visits during the school year, approximately once a month, and each is about 30 minutes long.
The program celebrates the power of the family in the development of the baby as a person. Classes are taught by a certified Roots of Empathy Instructor trained to give lessons on how a baby grows, naming and talking about feelings, and thinking about the feelings of others. The Instructor will ask you to share with the students how it feels to be a parent and to talk about how your baby is growing and learning.
Your baby will be loved by every student and be a star in the school and your family will be helping to build caring, peaceful, and civil societies.
We are currently looking for Roots of Empathy families to join Alki Elementary’s three kindergarten classrooms in their first year of offering the program at Alki. If you are interested, please contact Amy Cooper at 206-390-6065 or by e-mail at akcooper07@yahoo.com. You can also read more about the Roots of Empathy program at rootsofempathy.org.
9:46 AM: Lots of questions about temporary installations along/near 35th SW in Arbor Heights, including the one in our photo – a tall, skinny pole fastened to city poles and signs, topped by small cameras. We at first thought this might be related to more city improvements for safety along the route to Arbor Heights Elementary School, and asked SDOT if the cameras were theirs; they said no, not theirs (but they have been getting questions too!). We found a phone number on one of the boxes and tried it; received a call back from a rep at IDAX, which owns the equipment. The cameras are “counting cars,” he explained, as part of a traffic analysis related to AH Elementary. We’re checking with the school district right now to see if it’s part of the preparation for building the new AHES (this is the last year the existing building will be in use) or for something sooner (the school has just implemented a new pickup/dropoff traffic plan, as noted in its newsletter), and we’ll add whatever we find out. The IDAX rep, meantime, said that they are keeping the cameras up through today so they can compare traffic today (with no classes at the school) to measurements from a school-in-session day like yesterday.
11:24 AM UPDATE: SPS spokesperson Tom Redman tells us it’s “for the traffic study we are performing as part of our SEPA checklist requirements” for construction of the new AHES. (SEPA is short for the State Environmental Policy Act, as explained here; traffic is one of the factors considered in SEPA reviews of projects.)
Since we first told you about the Halloween-costume swap coming up tomorrow at City Mouse Studio and Store in The Junction, proprietor Donna has made a change: Even if you haven’t already dropped off a costume to swap, you can just bring your gently used kids’ costume(s) to the store starting at 10 am tomorrow and swap on the spot. Have a greener Halloween and join in! (P.S. Did you see Donna on KING 5 this morning? Our friends there spotted the story here and reported from her store at 4218 SW Alaska to share the news about National Costume Swap Day. If a clip turns up online, we’ll link it here.)
Thanks to West Seattle High School soccer parents for updates on two Thursday games, both of which included the Wildcats holding their opponents scoreless:
The varsity team played at Addams Playfields in North Seattle. Karin Beck shares the photo and report:
The WSHS girls’ varsity team tied Nathan Hale, 0-0. Shutout keeper was Sarah DuLong. Next game is against Chief Sealth, 3:30 pm on October 15th at Walt Hundley Playfield.
That’s the field next to High Point Community Center, and it’s also where the JV team played their NH counterparts Thursday; Anne W. shares a photo and report:
WSHS Westside girls’ JV soccer wins over Nathan Hale, 2-1. Goals were scored by Madison Larsen (pictured) and Delia Finney.
We welcome game reports from any and all high-school sports – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
First, a word about the camera view: The east-facing West Seattle Bridge camera has been offline for days; the west-facing one is switched to a low-bridge view as of this writing, but SDOT could change that at any time; some other cameras are shown on/linked to the WSB Traffic page.
SCHOOL’S OUT: No classes today for Seattle Public Schools or Highline Public Schools (White Center, Shorewood, southward).
DETOUR REMINDER: The repaving detour on Delridge Way between Roxbury and Henderson did change directions as of Thursday afternoon – southbound traffic now continues through, while northbound traffic is detoured.
CITYWIDE WEEKEND ALERTS: Who’s at which stadium and when? That’s part of SDOT‘s roundup of weekend events citywide that might affect traffic.
If you still haven’t jumped into our item-at-a-time “Go Bag” preparedness series in honor of Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month – we’re getting closer to the weekend, great time to catch up! But the next items to put in your bag are fairly simple. From West Seattle Be Prepared:
We’re going to do a couple of days of hygiene supplies. Put 1 roll of toilet paper and one washcloth per person in your kit this time. Heads up – start looking in the stores for a small first aid kit, so when that comes up, you know where to get one, or think about what you might already have around that house that could be collected together.
Catch up with previous installments – and join in as we head toward the goal of finishing October with a vital preparedness item on hand – by going here.
6:58 PM: Police and fire have rushed to the 2500 block of SW Barton to respond to an assault-with-weapons call. Details as we get it.
7:02 PM: We’re told it’s a stabbing with two victims – our crew is on the way and we hope to find out more shortly about circumstances and conditions.
7:10 PM: Our crew says one victim is being treated by the bus stop across Barton from Target, the other by the Westwood Village McDonald’s.
SPD now says both victims are “males believed to be in their late teens.” Seattle Fire, however, says one is a 21-year-old man, the other a 15-year-old boy.
7:19 PM: Our crew at the scene says police are still trying to sort out whether the victims were stabbed where they were found. No word of any arrests yet. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to early assessments.
9:29 PM: No new information. We’ve added two photos taken before police cleared the scene about an hour ago.
10:33 AM FRIDAY: Just published on SPD Blotter:
Gang Unit detectives are handling the follow up to a stabbing of two people last night at the Westwood Village. The two victims, ages 15 and 21, were transported to Harborview Medical Center with multiple stab wounds.
At about 6:45 pm, several Southwest Precinct officers were handling a disturbance call in the 2600 Block of SW Barton when someone came running up to them stating that someone had been stabbed across the street. Officers immediately ran over and found the 15-year-old male on the street. Seattle Fire was immediately called and responded. A second victim, the 21-year-old, was found across the street.
As the victims were being attended to, their friends told officers what had happened. The group of friends had gone to Westwood Village when they confronted another group of Hispanic males. The two victims reportedly got into a fist fight with the group and during the fight the man was stabbed by one of the suspects. The Hispanic males reportedly then fled. The 15-year-old and another friend gave chase, catching up to and confronting them near the QFC. According to witnesses, the 15-year-old collapsed in the street with multiple stab wounds. Both of the victims were treated at the scene and then transported to HMC. The suspects, only described as Hispanic males, fled the scene.
Gang Unit detectives responded to the scene and will be handling the investigation.
Pershing Hall – the new event venue created inside West Seattle’s historic American Legion Post 160 in The Triangle – is open right now for its first WS Art Walk night, featuring artist Jason Tang. Art Walk is on until 9 pm, and here’s the map/list showing who else is open:
Can’t decide where to go? Preview some of the artists via the official Art Walk website at wsartwalk.com.
| 12 COMMENTS