West Seattle, Washington
19 Tuesday
A few times these past few weeks, Westwood residents asked about music/drums they’ve heard coming from Southwest Athletic Complex. We eventually learned SWAC is the rehearsal HQ this year for the All-City Band, the green-shirted student musicians who are fixtures in summer parades around this region. And beyond – as evidenced by the photos and update shared by Steve White:
The Seattle All City Band, under the direction of Chief Sealth/Denny music director Marcus Pimpleton, is performing this week on the island of Oahu.
Today, they participated in the Kailua, Oahu, 4th of July Parade (photo above; below is a group shot with the King Kamehameha statue in Honolulu).
Later in the week, the band will be performing at the Polynesian Cultural Center and in a parade along Waikiki Beach in downtown Honolulu.
The band is rehearsing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at SWAC to prepare for the upcoming Seafair parade season.
The band will also be hosting the Seattle All City “Band Jam” at SWAC on Friday, July 26th at 7 pm. This event features many of the music groups that will be performing in the following night’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, but in a concert setting on the football field. The event is free for all; donations to the program gladly accepted.
Before that, you’ll see them here in the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 20th.
After leaving the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum, we traveled Alki and Harbor Avenues to see what’s up this 4th of July. Above, at 59th/Alki, we found the AMNO & Co. underwater-robotics team with fundraising refreshments (they’re there until 6 pm) – here’s our recent story about them. Right across the street, perhaps the most unusual food truck we’ve seen at Alki:
Yes, it’s a truck promoting Birds-Eye frozen food. Exactly what we had on our mind on the national barbecuing holiday. From there, more routine sights, including what you’ll always see at Don Armeni and other northeast-facing points by early afternoon on the 4th – people staked out for a fireworks view:
Whatever you do – be safe. We’re hoping for a quiet night. But we’ll be covering breaking news 24/7 as always, so if you see/hear something, 206-293-6302.
12:43 PM: Next big event of the day is at the Log House Museum (61st/Stevens) – its annual 4th of July membership picnic is under way now till 3 pm, with a theme of “celebrating volunteers” this year. We’re on the way for some photos and will add an update when we get there!
1:21 PM: Clay Eals, executive director, is emceeing the picnic program on the museum’s back patio (above), talking to some of the volunteers who are on hand about why they volunteered and why others should join them. Eals noted that this year alone, 35 new volunteers have signed up. There are some not-that-new volunteers here too – 87-year-old Nancy McPhee (with Eals in photo below) joked that she “IS a historical exhibit.”
Veteran volunteer Barbara McGlothern reminisced about the campaign to save the Admiral Theater more than 20 years ago. And president Marcy Johnsen talked about living in the Log House Museum before it was a museum.
Still lots of time to come on over – bring a potluck dish if you have one, but if you don’t, don’t let that stop you, there’s food aplenty to share here! P.S. Your next chance to get involved as a volunteer at the museum/Southwest Seattle Historical Society is an information session on July 13th – details here. And Eals has just announced other big events SWSHS has coming up – look for a separate story on that here a bit later.
(POST-PARADE NOTE: This’ll be in report #2 later with lots of full-size photos but if you can’t wait – go here to see our “parade in its entirety” video)
10 AM: As usual, we’re tweeting from the parade route. In case you don’t use Twitter, here’s a window to show you those quick updates, including photos and possibly some video (look for links with Instagram addresses) along the way:
11:17 AM: Parade is over and funfest at Hamilton Viewpoint is well under way. Looks like AT&T signal hung up most of our parade pic tweets but we’ll have lots of coverage once back at HQ.
Good morning and Happy Independence Day! Our full lineup of 4th of July-related information is on this special WSB page, but here are a few toplines:
FORECAST FOR THE FOURTH: Cloudy now but supposed to burn off at “midday,” says the National Weather Service, as it has the past few days.
WEST SEATTLE 4TH OF JULY KIDS’ PARADE: The peninsula’s only 4th of July parade starts at 44th and Sunset at 10 am. Everyone’s welcome to join the fun, walking/rolling along a fairly short route to Hamilton Viewpoint Park, where you’ll find old-fashioned games on the green plus concessions, for a fun celebration to start your holiday. Remember the diaper drive at the start of the route this year for WestSide Baby! And if you’re not in the parade or watching it, do avoid the north end of California till it’s over, as traffic will be stopped while paraders cross. We’ll post a traffic alert on WSB and our other channels once they’re all on the other side.
BOATING OR GOING TO THE BEACH? Seal Sitters reminds you that it’s pupping season and what you do, or don’t do, on beaches and on the water can be a matter of life and death.
SPEAKING OF WATER: The new Highland Park Spraypark is open daily 11 am-8 pm; the city wading-pool hotline says that since the forecast is for sunshine and 70s later, the pools WILL be open – in our area, on Thursdays, that’ll be Lincoln Park, EC Hughes, and Delridge (hours are on the citywide season schedule). Outdoor Colman Pool will be open (here’s its schedule); indoor Southwest Pool, closed.
LOST OR FOUND PET? While personal fireworks are illegal, many use them anyway, and that leads to more than a few pets getting spooked and running away. If you find or lose a pet, we hope West Seattle’s only dedicated online HQ for such notices can help with a reunion – e-mail info (photo if available but not required) to editor@westseattleblog.com – we will be on duty as always, well into the night.
Again – lots more on the West Seattle 4th of July page.
Family and friends of Mark “Waz” Wasielewski knew that even though he wasn’t around for his 27th annual Make-A-Wish fundraising Invitational Golf Tournament this year – having died suddenly in February at just 51 years old – they had to carry on. And carry on they did, raising $11,278.45, exceeding their expectations, according to Verne Justice, who’s in the photo with Janice Morgan and Make-A-Wish’s Tamsyn Theo. Verne says he and Janice were joined in making the June tournament happen by Jim & Jillian Wasielewski, Eric Dwyer, and John Maynard. “We far exceeded our expectations,” Verne says. “We never really had a goal – just to have some fun and raise some money.” Enough, in fact, “to support not one, but two wishes! In fact, it looks like this year was the most successful year yet!” Their acknowledgments:
Thanks to the friends and family of Mark Wasielewski in making the day a huge success. Also, to the following businesses that supported the Tournament; Pizzeria 22, Seattle Fish, Lee’s Asian, Salty’s, Phoenecia, Elliott Bay Pub, Jak’s Grill, Marination Ma Kai, Szmania’s, Alki Mail, Foster Golf Course, Seattle Logo Pro, Easy Street, Talarico’s, Kamei Restaurant, West Seattle Golf, Ephesus, A Terrible Beauty, Proletariat Pizza, and the Lunchbox Laboratory.
Also, thanks to sponsors; Ray Bowen, Eric Beardemphl, Tim Morgan and Paul Frederickson
Verne adds, “The sun came out the day of the Tournament, everyone was in good spirits; it was a great tribute to Mark.” P.S. You can help Make-A-Wish too – just go here.
A memorial service is planned August 2nd for Susan Fortney, whose family shares this remembrance:
Susan Theresa Fortney, 64, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family, on June 22, 2013.
Susie was born in Wallace, Idaho, on April 3, 1949 and moved to West Seattle at the age of 2- she was a lifelong resident of the West Seattle area, attending Cooper Elementary, Boren Middle School, then graduating from Chief Sealth High School in 1968. She continued on to receive an associate’s degree to become a nurse from Skagit Valley Community College.
Susie was a nurse, in heart and profession, at Valley Medical Center for several years, and then went to work for a law firm, working as a office manager until her full-time retirement in 2011.
The latest West Seattle coyote sighting was shared by Diane, and it paints quite the picture:
Today, a coyote was chased by crows through the Delridge P-Patch parking lot along Puget Blvd toward the Longfellow Creek greenbelt. It looked like a very healthy male.
As always – we share this advice about what to do if you see a coyote as well as how to reduce the chance of conflicts. (The crows seem to know already.)
ADDED 9:28 PM: Another one came in right after we published this. From Melissa:
Just had a coyote go trotting down the street here, heading toward 16th. I’m just below Riverview Park on Othello. He moved too fast for me to get a pic, though. Figured I’d pass along a head’s up.
In addition to peninsula-wide groups such as the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council and West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network, individual neighborhoods’ councils and associations are tackling crime and safety concerns too. That’s why the High Point Neighborhood Association is inviting area residents to a meeting next Monday that HPNA vice president Deborah Vandermar says will include:
Senior SHA Property Management staff, members of the High Point HOA Board, Trustees from the High Point Neighborhood Association, High Point Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel, and SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon
The meeting is set for 6:30 pm Monday (July 8th) at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way SW.
Please accept our apologies for the outage late today – it was NOT planned, and furthermore, when we occasionally need to take the site down for maintenance, we do our best to make sure it’s only in the very late-night/early-morning hours. Our latest problems are the result of growing pains yet again – every month sets a new record for homes/businesses visiting WSB, and we keep having to adjust the underlying technology to keep up. Right now we’re beginning work (with expert assistance) on leaping way ahead, rather than just keeping up, so once we can make that leap, it should dramatically reduce the risk of sudden crashes like the few we’ve had lately. In addition to checking our social-media channels if WSB is down – primarily Facebook (be sure you “like” facebook.com/westseattleblog, NOT our old “WS Blog” account) and Twitter – we also have revived our old blog-format backup site, so bookmark westseattleblog.wordpress.com) just in case. Thanks again for your patience and ongoing support and collaboration – Tracy Record & Patrick Sand, WSB co-publishers
The third and, we believe, final principal announcement this afternoon for West Seattle’s public schools – this time, news of a replacement, the new principal for Chief Sealth International High School principal:
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Aida Fraser-Hammer as your new principal, effective July 1, 2013. She replaces Chris Kinsey who announced in June that he would not be returning in the fall.
Ms. Fraser-Hammer comes to Chief Sealth International High School from Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington, where she has been an assistant principal since 2004. At Kentwood she worked with staff, students, and families to increase on-time graduation rates and students’ academic achievement. Ms. Fraser-Hammer has an international background, and she is fluent in Spanish.
More principal news from Seattle Public Schools this afternoon. Earlier we published word that Gatewood Elementary‘s principal has been reassigned; now, the district sends word that Alki Elementary‘s principal has a new job too. Families are receiving this note:
Today I’m announcing a leadership change at Alki Elementary School for the next school year.
Your principal, Ms. Chanda E. Oatis, has been appointed principal at Van Asselt Elementary School effective for the 2013-2014 school year.
Ms. Carmela Dellino, Executive Director for K-12 schools in West Seattle, will lead the process to identify a new principal for Alki. We will move quickly to form a hiring committee, and will keep you informed of the process. We are committed to finding a strong principal who will be a great fit for your community and who can build on Alki’s successes.
I appreciate the outstanding leadership that Ms. Oatis brought to Alki Elementary the past two years which has led to impressive gains in literacy, math and science achievement. And I appreciate the dedication of Alki families and staff to student success and to creating a positive and enriching learning environment at your school.
Please join me in thanking Ms. Oatis for her years at Alki Elementary.
Sincerely,
José Banda
She’s the 6th West Seattle public school principal whose departure has been announced since April (see the list at the end of our earlier Gatewood story).
It’s come up often, especially in the WSB Forums – how to tell whether someone who comes to your door, claiming to be a rep for Comcast, really IS. And even then, we learn in the latest newsletter from Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, that’s no guarantee all’s well, especially if you didn’t request the visit. He says a recent incident in West Seattle prompted this:
Seattle Police Newsletter, July 2013
P.S. In case you – like a commenter – cannot see or access the document we embedded via Scribd, here’s the original PDF, uploaded to our server (it came from SPD via e-mail attachment, otherwise we’d happily point you to their site).
LA ROMANZA ADDS PATIO: A new place to dine outdoors in The Junction – La Romanza Bistro Italiano (WSB sponsor) has opened its patio out back. Proprietor Aimee Pellegrini says it’s open “all of our open and non-raining hours, definitely happy hour, dinner and sunny brunch. We can seat up to 20 on the deck and the entire space may be reserved as well. It’s a great spot for an al-fresco evening with light breezes and western exposure. Happy hour on the deck starts at 4:00 pm!” (P.S. Aimee adds that on West Seattle Summer Fest Eve, July 11th, award-winning Elvis stylist Bret Wiggins will perform two sets in front of La Romanza, starting at 6:30 pm, free, with drinks, “small bites,” and dinner available.)
4TH OF JULY CHICKEN: One of our newest sponsors, Harry’s Chicken Joint just north of Morgan Junction, will be open for takeout only on the 4th of July, 1-5 pm. Call ASAP at 206-938-9000 to reserve your chicken.
WANT YOUR OWN PIZZA SHOP? Spotted this week in the businesses-for-sale listings, Red Star Pizza is on the market, four years after taking over the old Pizza Time shop at 7514 35th SW.
WEST SEATTLE FOOD TRUCK SCHEDULE UPDATE: The schedule of food trucks visiting all or most weekdays at Delridge/Andover continues to evolve. Our friends at SeattleFoodTruck.com tell us Where Ya At Matt has moved on, but a new gourmet truck called Nosh is headed that way – watch their site for dates.
THE ‘IN CASE YOU MISSED IT’ FILE: While we’re talking food … if you missed our earlier stories, two new restaurants are on their way to The Junction, likely by summer’s end: We reported last week on Pecado Bueno, taking over the ex-Wing Dome space, and we reported a month ago on Quadrato, en route to SW Oregon west of California.
Another West Seattle school is changing principals. Just forwarded by a parent at Gatewood Elementary:
Today I’m announcing a leadership change at Gatewood Elementary that is effective for this coming school year.
After serving as your principal for eight years, Ms. Rhonda Claytor has been appointed principal of Leschi Elementary.
One of the things that the Leschi community is excited about is that Ms. Claytor works collaboratively with staff, families, and community members. Thank you for working with her to create a great learning community at Gatewood.
Ms. Carmela Dellino, Executive Director of K-12 schools for West Seattle, will lead the process to identify a new principal for Gatewood. We will move quickly to form a hiring committee and will keep you informed of the process. We are committed to finding a strong principal who is a great fit for your community, and who will build on your many successes.
Please join me in thanking Ms. Claytor for her years at Gatewood Elementary.
Sincerely,
José Banda
Superintendent
Seattle Public Schools
Gatewood is the fifth public school in West Seattle with a principal change for next year, after Madison Middle School (here’s our story from last month), Sanislo Elementary (here’s our story from April), Lafayette Elementary (here’s our story from April), and Chief Sealth International High School (here’s our story from last month).
2:43 PM UPDATE: Since we published this, a sixth change has been announced (Alki Elementary).
PHOTO CREDIT: Inset photo of Rhonda Claytor is by Gail Ann Photography.
Right about this time tomorrow, hundreds of kids (and accompanying adults) will be walking/rolling along the North Admiral route of the annual 4th of July Kids’ Parade, which starts from 44th/Sunset (map) at 10 am Thursday. New parade co-coordinator Jackie Clough shares the photo from Walking on Logs, where WestSide Baby‘s “Stuff the Bus” reminders are currently sharing space with a parade reminder and patriotic decorations. Jackie also has a reminder for paradegoers:
It would be great to remind folks to please not park on Atlantic Street between Sunset Ave SW and California Ave SW. This is along the parade route and would obstruct the parade (the parade route runs south on Sunset Ave SW, East on Atlantic, crossing California Ave SW, north on Palm, and ending at Hamilton Viewpoint Park).
If you’re not joining or watching the parade, please note that when it gets to California and heads east across the street, vehicle traffic is stopped both ways until everyone has crossed, and that could take up to 15 minutes (by our informal measure in years past). Then remember, it’s a post-parade fun fest of games and concessions on the lawn at Hamilton Viewpoint immediately afterward. The full lineup of who/what/when/where is here. See you there (and as reiterated on the sign – bring diapers for WS Baby if you can)!
(Blue heron photographed by Bill Bacon, shared via the WSB Facebook page)
If you’re not leaving town for the holiday – speaking of which, our 4th of July page is here – three calendar listings to note before today gets too much further down the road:
POP-UP SHOP @ BIRD ON A WIRE: The first in a series of shopping events at Bird on a Wire Espresso (WSB sponsor) dubbed “Clothespin on a Wire,” described as being focused on “local arts, crafts, and foods,” 6-9 pm; details on this Facebook event page. (SW Henderson just west of 35th SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P: Relax and get into the holiday mood with a beverage and live music by Jim Page at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm, details in our calendar listing. (5612 California SW)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Yes, there’s a community meeting tonight – Southwest District Council meets at 6:30 pm at Southwest Teen Life Center. Agenda highlights:
6:40 p.m. West Seattle school capital projects – Joe Wolf, K-12 Planning Coordinator, Capitol Projects and Planning, Seattle Public Schools
7:10 p.m. Surplus substation properties in West Seattle — Dave Barber and Effie Moody, Seattle City Light
7:30 p.m. Night Out – Mark Solomon, Seattle Police Department
All are welcome. (2801 SW Thistle, lower-level meeting room on south side of building)
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Likely to see less traffic today, on the eve of the 4th of July holiday. Let us know how it goes! Meantime, our reminders again – there’s a weekend 99 closure – Battery Street Tunnel to Valley St., Friday night to Monday morning, and there are holiday transit notes on our West Seattle 4th of July page. And if you’re headed out for a five-day weekend (or longer), remember that when you come back, Monday is expected to be the day the Delridge repaving project switches to its next phase.
(“Chess” rehearsal photo, courtesy ArtsWest)
The young actors in ArtsWest‘s Summer Apprenticeship Program are getting ready to open this year’s show, the musical “Chess,” two weeks from tonight. And as befits a production centered on a game, ArtsWest itself is inviting the community to play one, which they describe as a treasure hunt of sorts – “Find the Queen.” They’re posting a clue a day on the ArtsWest Facebook page, and your job is to figure out who/what/where the Queen is – AW says “it’s a person, location, or thing” – then take a picture of yourself with “the Queen” and post it on the AW FB page. First correct post wins the prize, which is two tickets to “Chess” and two 2013-2014 season subscriptions. If you’re just now hearing about this – catch up by checking out the first clue here and the second clue here; watch for the third clue sometime today here. (And find out more about “Chess” at ArtsWest, running July 17-27, by going here.)
(Click image for PDF of full-size flyer)
Though football season is still a ways off, teams are getting ready, and Chief Sealth International High School‘s head coach Luther Carr III is inviting you to a tournament he’s excited about:
We are inviting the whole community to come out and support/watch some of the best high-school football teams in the Seattle area compete in our inaugural 7 on 7 Passing League Tournament. Free to the public. This event is an opportunity for the teams listed to work on their pass offense and pass defense. The line-up is very competitive. Top teams include: Mount Si, Shelton, Woodinville, Issaquah, Liberty, and of course our local favorite, Chief Sealth.
Also: Quincy Carter, QB for Kent-Meridian HS, is considered one of the best athletes in the state, and Kentwood is a perennial powerhouse. Ballard HS is coached by former Kennedy HS and NFL alum Joey Thomas. It will be a great day of football and fun.
This is all happening at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle, across from Sealth) 8 am-5 pm Saturday, July 13th.
(Jaden Sadis coming home, congratulated by Bowie Hichens, who was going up to bat)
Tomorrow night, you can go to Bar-S Playfield and cheer on either (or both) the West Seattle Little League teams playing in the 9-10 and 11-12 District 7 Tournament games that WSLL is hosting there all week. Both won this weekend; Laurie Rasmussen shares the wrapup of the 9-10 game, along with the photo above:
West Seattle Little League 9/10 All Stars team won their first tournament game Sunday night against Renton, 19-6. It was a close game in the heat of the day for both teams. However, in the fourth inning WSLL batted through the entire lineup and scored 6 runs. While in the fifth inning, things really heated up for Westside. With three players on base , Jaden Sadis hit a 3 RBI triple for Westside, followed by Dylan Mastroianni hitting a triple and finishing that inning up 19-6. Westside was able to hold off Renton in the bottom of the fifth inning with some great pitching by Jaden Sadis to end the game.
West Seattle hit through the line up twice in the game, every player on the team was on base at least once and had a total of 17 hits! Way to go, Westside. Next game is on Wednesday at Bar S fields at 6:00, playing South Highline National.
Also at 6 pm tomorrow, the WSLL 11-12 team plays Pac West at 6 pm, after winning their own game against Renton on Sunday, 13-12. Details are on the WSLL website, where you’ll find brackets and other info about the tournament as it continues through Saturday – everyone’s welcome to stop by and root for the young athletes playing their hearts out.
Almost three years ago, when we toured the then-newly built facility that Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor) was about to move into, we reported on its environmentally friendly features – including the potential for adding solar-power system in the future. Now, that future is here, with a 9.6-kilowatt system being installed – Swedish Automotive shared the photo with that news, and, as noted in a detailed report on their website, with the hope of more to come. See more photos in this album linked from the Swedish Facebook page.
4:55 PM: Also happening right now: A police response in Highland Park. We’d been monitoring this just before the aforementioned port rescue broke out. Per scanner traffic, it started as a report of a possible carjacking, but then the story got more complicated. They’ve been searching for suspects in the Highland Park Elementary vicinity. Police explain it via Twitter this way: “Officers investigating very strange carjacking report in West Seattle. Started off as report of 6 ppl fighting in 3800 blk of Delridge……suspect fled the scene, but later called 911 himself, spoke briefly with an operator and hung up……officers are now looking for the suspect and a white Toyota Corolla.” Scanner indicates there may be a South Park address associated with this.
5:40 PM: No official updates; a WSB crew just checked the Highland Park vicinity where police were earlier, nothing happening.
5:57 PM UPDATE: Via Twitter, SPD now says, “Officers have taken two people into custody in connection with the carjacking in W. Seattle. More details when we sort all this out.”
LATE-NIGHT UPDATE: No official update yet, but activity into the evening in Highland Park may have been related; we’ll be checking back in the morning.
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