High-school basketball season is under way, and a four-team, two-day regional tournament concludes today at Seattle Lutheran High School in West Seattle. In addition to SLHS, Portland Lutheran, Cedar Park Christian, and Mt. Rainier Lutheran are participating. Both Saints teams won their games against Portland Lutheran last night – above, video from the girls’ 35-29 victory; after the jump, toplines from the games, plus a clip from the boys’ 63-28 win:
Two West Seattle Bridge notes this early morning: Alia just e-mailed to report seeing a de-icer truck in action on The Bridge a little while ago. Not surprising – it’s cold out there and clear, but there’s also condensation on cars, which means you may need to scrape your windshield if you park on the street. Meantime, heads up about lane closures announced by SDOT for 7 am-4 pm today – the left (inside) lane is scheduled to be closed in both directions around the Admiral Way exit to repair barrier damage.
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Kicking off a West Seattle weekend full of open houses, bazaars, and other holiday events – one celebration at a business rich in history, one celebration for a business that’s brand new. First one: Husky Deli, the West Seattle Junction icon. As WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen describes it, “Husky was packed in waves. Very high spirits, lots of West Seattle pride.”
Above, Husky proprietor Jack Miller; next, one of the vendors who were part of tonight’s open house, West Seattle beekeeper Krista Conner, who says she can barely keep her “West Seattle Honey” in stock at Husky:
Husky offered a discount on purchases made during the open house. And despite the chilly night, the ice-cream counter was as popular as ever:
Ice cream, of course, is what really put Husky on the map when the business was started 78 years ago. If you haven’t heard its full history, check out Lori Hinton‘s “West Seattle 101” chapter about Husky Deli, republished here on WSB. Meantime, while Husky bustled with open-house visitors, about a mile south on California SW, a brand-new business celebrated its debut:
Eco Beauty is a new Aveda salon and spa at 6040 California SW. A holiday open house marked its grand opening tonight. With the theme “Nature nurturing you,” owner Christine Darragh(above left) is showing support for environmental concerns; and raised money tonight for Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, whose Betsy Moyer(above right) joined her at the open house.
The Menashe Family promised their famous display in the 5600 block of Beach Drive (map) would be on tonight – and on, it is. Here’s a look in HD video:
Tomorrow’s the night you’ll see them featured on a nationally broadcast TLC special (9 pm Saturday, “Invasion of the Christmas Lights 2“).
(WSB photos by Katie Meyer)
Thanks to Shelley and Kristen for e-mailing about this sighting today – crews working for the city on the slope beneath Hamilton Viewpoint. The burlap they’re spreading is striking enough – but what really caught passers-by’s eyes were the mounds of bottles and cans found beneath years worth of blackberry tangle – here’s a closer look:
WSB contributor Katie Meyer talked to the workers while photographing the project zone and the bottle/can mounds. They told her the areas being protected now with burlap will be seeded with grass, and then planted with native bushes and shrubs (Oregon Grape and ferns were mentioned).
As Katie points out, the recovered containers have been sorted into piles for recycling!
The much-awaited Jonny Bostons Sandwich Shop is finally open on the north edge of The Junction (4151 California SW). In our iPhone photo at left, that’s owner Dan‘s son Jon – the Jonny in Jonny Bostons – at the counter with Bev. But before you go rushing over, Dan cautions that this is truly a SOFT OPEN – they don’t even have the fryer going yet, so no fries (probably till Monday) – just burgers, cheesesteaks, sausages, chips, and soda. (You can see the menu via the Jonny Bostons Facebook page.) They’ll be ramping up over the next few days, so if you do go, understand they’re trying to keep things low-key while they get acclimated. (We just happened to notice while driving through The Junction that the paper was off the windows and there appeared to be people inside, so we stopped in to see if it was indeed the long-awaited opening.) As reported in our previous stories here and here, their hours will be Mondays-Saturdays, 11 am-8 pm.
As promised, we followed up with SDOTon the issue raised by commenter “Pha-la-la” following coverage of a crash on the West Seattle Bridge night before last. In short, the crash led to the closure of the westbound bridge, east of 99, for more than an hour, and drivers were diverted onto the “low bridge” – and a backup ensued when that bridge opened for marine traffic. Asked “Pha-la-la” in her/his lengthy comment that seemed to pithily summarize many longrunning West Seattle traffic complaints; before this part of the comment, they had run through the process of getting diverted from the then-closed high bridge, creeping westward:
… Finally, lower West Seattle bridge appears like an oasis on the horizon. But, uh oh, lower bridge is, ding ding ding…opening? Why is lower bridge opening? Hasn’t anyone informed the lower bridge Controller that the upper bridge is kinda closed from I-5 and traffic is being diverted to lower bridge. Give ME the Controller’s phone number and I’ll call him/her. This is how you coordinate traffic. We need to bring the pieces TOGETHER so they work TOGETHER. …
We asked SDOT why an emergency closure of the high bridge wouldn’t put low-bridge openings on hold – especially considering that emergency responders would need one route to be open in case of a major incident (like a structure fire) bringing in resources from across the Duwamish. Spokesperson Marybeth Turner‘s reply:
Unfortunately SDOT does not have a choice of whether or not to open the Spokane Street swing bridge to marine traffic. Federal laws for navigable waters require us to open for vessels regardless of whether or not the West Seattle high level bridge is open. The Fire Department is notified when the bridges are closed to traffic. Sometimes when the high level bridge is closed to general traffic, emergency vehicles can still get across. However, this is not always an option, so emergency responders must plan where to locate their resources and must determine which alternate routes are best to provide supplementary services.
You may recall that, as reported here repeatedly, city leaders have tried to get the federal rules amended at least a bit while Spokane Street Viaduct and Alaskan Way Viaduct construction – and have been turned down every time.
We missed the early-warning tweet, but a note from customer Chris (thank you!) brought word that Bird on a Wire Espresso‘s new second location is open as of this morning in the Heavenly Pastry ex-storefront between Alki Bike and Board (WSB Holiday Shopping Guide sponsor) and Linda’s Flowers and Gifts. So we went over to procure photographic proof, and found Bird proprietor Heidi Herr pulling (as well as calling) the shots. Hours for the new venture, per Heidi: 6 am-2 pm Mondays-Fridays, 7 am-2 pm Saturdays, 8 am-2 pm Sundays. (The original Bird location is still open, 35th/Henderson in Westwood – as Heidi noted when announcing this just two weeks ago, this is an expansion, not a replacement.)
(WSB video and photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
And our third and final report on a Thursday night full of showcases for local student creativity – Winter Jazz Night at Chief Sealth International High School. In the clip above, Jazz Band II, which opened the night, performed “Emergency Stopping Only,” featuring Jesse Torres-Cruz on drums, Jazz Band II was led by Marcus Pimpleton, who, WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen reports, talked onstage about how exciting it is for Sealth to have two Jazz Bands, since as an alum he remembers when there were none. Also performing last night, Jazz Band I, led by Debbie Meyer – sorry we don’t have video of this group too (next concert!), but here’s a photo:
Jazz Band I performed six songs, after Jazz Band II’s five-song set. Thanks to the community members on- and off-campus who share the news about events like this and the others we covered last night; if you have school/community/etc. news/event notices to share, please let us know, any time!
(From the WSB Flickr group, by smohundro)
On the third night of Hanukkah, and with three weeks to go till Christmas Eve, we’ll break out today/tonight’s spotlight events into the holidays/non-holidays divisions:
NON-HOLIDAYS: West Seattle parents are invited to a presentation at Pathfinder K-8tonight with the author of “Birds + Bees + Your Kids – A Guide to Sharing Your Beliefs About Sexuality, Love and Relationships,” 6 pm (free but RSVP requested, lashannaw@gmail.com) … The new Eco Beauty Salon/Spa at 6040 California SW launches with an open house, 5:30-9 pm, with treats and prizes, full details on this Facebook events page … Yes, there’s still Friday night skating at Alki Community Center! 6:45-8:45 pm, $3/person.
The 2nd of 3 events we covered last night celebrating local students’ creativity and talent was a Community Film Fest at Chief Sealth International High School, with five short films screened, each exploring an environmental issue. Over the past four months, Environmental Science/Global Studies students made the films, with research trips including an examination of how the city handles solid waste as well as a Duwamish River tour to see how industrial and urban residential uses affect local waterways. Onstage in our top photo are Global Studies students who produced the film “Heavy Metal,” answering questions onstage afterward. The program was presented in connection with Bridges to Understanding; a rep told us they’re expecting to make the students’ work available online (we’ll follow up when we get word on when/where to find it).
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Thursday night, we covered three events showcasing student creativity – and here’s the first report. Above, that’sDenny International Middle School student Jasmin Fredriksson proudly displaying “Through Our Eyes,” a first-of-its-kind compilation of Denny students’ personal narratives. She wrote “Bow to the 8th Grade,” about a bullying incident. Jasmin told WSB she’d love a career as a writer. We met Jasmin and other young writers during an event at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) celebrating the debut of “Through Our Eyes”:
Language Arts teacher Nehaya Dashti happily reported that it was the first time she could recall students outnumbering parents in the crowd at an event like this.
You can buy a copy of “Through Our Eyes” ($30) by contacting the teacher at 817-602-9378 or nadashti@seattleschools.org.
No confrontation, all conversation for Mayor Mike McGinn at his community-forum/town-hall meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center tonight. The people you see onstage behind him are other city reps who were standing by to answer questions if needed (the officer on the right is one of West Seattle’s Community Police Team officers, Jonathan Kiehn; the others were from parks, transportation, human services, and economic development). The mayor heard entreaties about some recent hot issues, including the West Seattle Golf Course driving range and the RapidRide bus-lane-vs.-parking concerns, and also heard about local youth concerns, as well as ongoing problems like Delridge-area healthy-food access, but if you were expecting somebody to rant about, oh, say, traffic or snow response, nope. We got it all on video so you’ll be able to see for yourself once we have it uploaded (Seattle Channel wasn’t there to record the event, so as far as we know, this will be the only video of the entire meeting), and we’ll add a few more notes in a bit. Right now, we have the first installment – the mayor had two warm-up acts, a rapper and rockers – they’re both in this clip, starting with an intro from Chas Redmond, who co-moderated the evening with Pete Spalding:
(added) Here’s the video of the entire Q/A section – about an hour and a half:
Among the speakers were local neighborhood advocates who issued invitations to the mayor: Fairmount Community Association‘s Sharonn Meeks invited him to come take a walking tour of The Triangle, which has been the subject of a city-led planning process (she’s on the citizens’ advisory group convened as part of it); White Center Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes invited the mayor to visit WC and talk with its residents and businesspeople about the benefits of being part of Seattle, since there might be an annexation vote in their future. The mayor indicated interest in both invitations. And he issued one of his own to the youth who shared their concerns about issues including transit routes and education – he invited them to come downtown to talk more about their ideas and observations.
I live on California Ave near Thistle Street [map]. We had a Christmas gift stolen off our front porch that was ordered off the internet and dropped by common carrier. I’ve heard of this happening but never experienced it until today. Probably happens more frequently than one would suspect. Just be aware there are bad guys out there. If it happened to us probably more will experience it this holiday season. Might want to warn W.S. residents. I’ve heard the crooks follow the trucks. Enjoy the Lego set, is all I can say. Hopefully someone who needs it more than our kids … eventually gets it.
Also tonight, Jen wanted to get the news out about an earlier burglary:
Not sure how to get this out, but our house was broken into today. We live at 32nd and Juneau [map], near High Point. It was between 10 am and 2 pm today. They threw a rock through the window, crawled through, and helped themselves to our electronics, jewelry, gift cards, etc etc etc.
Just want to get the word out and heighten awareness. Maybe it will help someone else going through what we are now.
Big callout for a crash on Fauntleroy Way alongside Lincoln Park. Northbound traffic – as in, coming away from the ferry terminal – is being diverted onto SW Kenyon. We’re told it involved a car pulling in front of a bus, but nobody was hurt; what was an “automobile rescue” call has already been downgraded and closed since it turned out not to be as bad as it apparently initially sounded. 6:26 PM UPDATE: Added photo of the vehicle hit by the bus. Jeff, who was on the bus (a Sound Transit 560), confirmed nobody was hurt.
(Conferring, moments before becoming Sen. Nelson and Rep. Fitzgibbon)
ORIGINAL 4:37 PM REPORT: We’re in the County Council chambers downtown, where State Rep. Sharon Nelson is about to become State Sen. Nelson, and where her former assistant Joe Fitzgibbon is about to take her soon-to-be ex-House spot. Former Sen. Joe McDermott is here – one week after his swearing-in as County Councilmember – so is County Executive Dow Constantine, who formerly held two of the jobs represented here – and there’s also quite the audience. More after the ceremony.
4:53 PM UPDATE: The ceremony’s over – the oaths for both were administered by King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu — and both have acknowledged the challenges they face ahead in Olympia. We’ll add video of the swearings-in – which included brief remarks from the County Executive as well as the new senator and representative – once we’re back at headquarters. (6:25 PM – video now added, and the following clip, added later, includes the legislators’ post-ceremony remarks)
Thanks to Lucian for sharing photos of the big job under way right now on the west-facing Lincoln Park shore: Sand replenishment. Funny, we were just talking about beach erosion last month (Lincoln Park here, Alki Beach here). We got first word of the sand barge’s presence late last night, when Ellen e-mailed after spotting it on a late-night walk. Here’s a shot showing more of the barge itself:
We have an inquiry out to the Parks Department for details; so far, they’ve told us the “sand-replenishment project” is something they’ve “been waiting for,” and they’re rustling up background. We’ll add it when we get it.
5:59 PM UPDATE: Thanks to “Swamp Thing” in the comments, who reveals this is a federal project and shares what was purportedly a “public notice” (will be checking into whether it was actually circulated beyond fine print somewhere). According to the notice, this is part of a periodic “renourishment” project that started in the late ’80s – last round of “renourishment” was 2002.
That’s what the businesses’ proprietors warn could happen if the forthcoming Metro RapidRide “C Line” takes away Avalon Way street parking nearby – as is currently planned – a risk they say is even more dire in their area than in The Triangle, where related fears have surfaced.
The Luna Park district merchants have been talking with Metro over the past few months, without convincing them to preserve the parking, so now they’re taking their concerns to the community at large. Wednesday morning, we were invited to sit in on their monthly merchants’ meeting, which also included businesspeople dealing with related RapidRide-parking-removal concerns in The Triangle, as well as three county reps.
For a second consecutive year, West Seattle’s David Miles Huber is a Grammy Award nominee – again in the “Best Surround Sound Album” category, but this time for “Parallax Eden,” . The album is described by one reviewer quoted on Huber’s website as “a study in minimal relaxed electronic instrumental music that becomes more and more compelling with every listen.” The video above features the artist – who describes himself as based in Berlin as well as West Seattle – talking about, and demonstrating, his work. You can also hear samples on the “Parallax Eden” webpage – and via Huber’s YouTube channel. Grammy winners are scheduled to be announced February 13th.
At left, one of the wreaths that’s just gone up in The Junction, where the first Shop Late Thursday (previewed here) is tonight, with participants including 3 of our West Seattle Holiday/Business Guide sponsors (P.S. 15 businesses in the guide now – listing deals and special holiday hours!). That means you can shop till 9 tonight – which even gives you time after another big event tonight, Mayor McGinn with Q/A at a West Seattle community meeting, 6 pm (he’s on at 6:35 pm, as previewed here) at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW). And talented local students have several showcases tonight: At C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), young authors from Denny International Middle School are debuting their first publication with a special event 6-8 pm (5612 California SW; pizza and refreshments for all!); and two events tonight at Chief Sealth International High School – 6 pm, a Community Film Fest with student-made videos, full details here; 7 pm, Jazz Night with student ensembles performing in the auditorium. More on our calendars – holiday events here, other events here!
Monica Skov has made good on her promise to announce this week when her West Seattle Fabric Company store will open in the Admiral District (2210 California SW, formerly occupied by now-in-The-Junction Click! Design That Fits [WSB sponsor]) … just received this note:
We’re ready to announce our Grand Opening Date.
We’d like to welcome our West Seattle Community to come shop and explore our store Saturday, December 11th 11 am-5 pm and Sunday, December 12th 12 pm – 4 pm. We will have Hot Cider, Spiced Tea, Cookies and Candy Canes for the children. We look forward to opening our doors to our neighbors.
Read more about West Seattle Fabric Company in our previous stories here and here; they’re on Facebookhere.
Just found out that the hot local teen rockers Castbound (recorded above during this fall’s Holy Rosary WestFest) will open for Mayor Mike McGinn at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center tomorrow night. Well, that’s sort of what they’re doing. They’re playing around 6:30, right before Q/A during the mayor’s West Seattle town hall. So tonight we’re publishing this reminder that if you have something to say to the mayor, he’s here tomorrow night for exactly that purpose. Budget cuts? Snow response? Viaduct/Tunnel (he’s at a non-city meeting about that tonight)? Moderators are local uber-active neighborhood/civic volunteers/advocates Pete Spalding and Chas Redmond. The 6:30 performance/6:35 mayoral Q/A will be preceded by a 6 pm resource fair – learn more about who and what are here to help you in West Seattle! Youngstown’s at 4408 Delridge.
It’s another West Seattle holiday tradition – suggest what the historic Admiral Theater should show as its free Christmas movie! Dinah at The Admiral tells us the movie will be at 7 pm Thursday, December 23rd – admission free but you’re asked to bring food, toys, collars, dog beds to donate to the Humane Society. And now: Time for your suggestion! E-mail dinahmite9@gmail.com – winner revealed December 20th.
The much-awaited Jonny Bostons Sandwich Shop is finally open on the north edge of The Junction (4151 California SW). In our iPhone photo at left, that’s owner Dan‘s son Jon – the Jonny in Jonny Bostons – at the counter with Bev. But before you go rushing over, Dan cautions that this is truly a SOFT OPEN – they don’t even have the fryer going yet, so no fries (probably till Monday) – just burgers, cheesesteaks, sausages, chips, and soda. (You can see the menu 
At left, one of the wreaths that’s just gone up in The Junction, where the first Shop Late Thursday (
It’s another West Seattle holiday tradition – suggest what the historic
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