West Seattle, Washington
02 Tuesday

Another section of the remaining bumpy stretches of Beach Drive is getting help right now – Atlas to Juneau, as announced by SDOT last week. Traffic is getting through, but one lane at a time, so you may have to stop and wait for a bit. The work is expected to continue till about 7 this evening and then again 8 am-7 pm tomorrow. With this and the section that was repaved back in May, only the section abutting the long-disputed (now settled), slide-prone slope will remain, and the city says that’ll be fixed once the slope work is done (no timetable yet).
We know more today about what’s planned for Fairmount Park Elementary before Seattle Public Schools reopens the closed-since-2007 campus. Last week, it was explained at the school board’s work session about the BEX IV levy (WSB coverage here) that the district planned “an addition” at Fairmount Park, which in turn, administrators said, would eliminate the need to reopen the former Hughes Elementary, currently leased to independent Westside School (WSB sponsor). But we didn’t know the details until this week’s school-board meeting agenda. District documents show it is planned as an eight-classroom addition, and the board will be asked tomorrow night to approve almost a million dollars for its design. It is proposed as an addition to a contract Miller Hayashi Architects already had for design/engineering work to get the school in shape for reopening in the fall of 2014. The district has not said yet what kind of program it plans for the reopened school – regular neighborhood school or something else (such as permanent home of the K-5 STEM school just opened at Boren on Delridge).

Tomorrow marks exactly 31 years since Greggette R. and Dwight K. Guy were wed at a church in Burien. Today – six months and one week after Mrs. Guy was murdered in West Seattle – her husband (above) came from Kent to stand in a South Seattle parking lot with other murder victims’ families, showing support for a new billboard/bus-board campaign. CrimeStoppers and Seattle Police are among the sponsors of “Who Killed Me?”, which will place billboards around the city, showing murder victims’ faces, and imploring people with any information to come forward. Dwight Guy did not speak at today’s media event, but several of those on hand did, often emotionally. (Added – here’s our video of the entire event:)
Mr. Guy’s message, in a conversation with WSB afterward, is the same: Even if it takes years, his wife’s killer can be found and brought to justice. Organizers tell us a billboard will be put up in West Seattle with Mrs. Guy’s photo; they’re checking on the planned location (update – it’ll be on Harbor Avenue near the bridge). The first billboard, unveiled during the media event, highlights three other unsolved killings.
For more on where the Greggette Guy case stands, here’s our detailed followup from last week. P.S. There is one more West Seattle case on SPD’s list of spotlighted unsolved murders in the past 2 years – that of Kaari Higgins, a Fauntlee Hills woman whose January 2011 death was not classified as a homicide till long afterward. Find out more about Ms. Higgins, Mrs. Guy, and the other unsolved-murder victims here.

(Photo by Machel Spence)
Neighborhood crime concerns? Questions for police? Tonight the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council resumes its season of monthly meetings. That’s one of the highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: From our latest day-by-day/night-by-night list: In West Seattle, SDOT announced Beach Drive repaving between Atlas and Juneau would start today, 8 am-7 pm. No closure expected but lane restrictions. On the highways, another southbound 99 closure between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am. And a Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project note – there’ll be work on the surface at 1st/Spokane tonight because the eastbound 1st Avenue South offramp is scheduled to reopen tomorrow morning.
JUDGE SPEAKS TO ROTARY: As previewed here on Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu speaks to the Rotary Club of West Seattle today, noon at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor).
PROLETARIAT PIZZA’S ANNIVERSARY GIFT: Three years ago today, the popular family-owned pizza place opened in downtown White Center, and they’re celebrating by donating 30 percent of tonight’s take to the White Center Food Bank. Hours 4 pm-9 pm.
DROP-IN CHESS: For youth, at High Point Library, starting at 4 pm.
JOIN A DRILL TEAM! The Spinnakers are having an open house at Highland Park Elementary tonight, 6-8 pm. Details here.
EVENING BOOK GROUP: “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez is the featured book this month for the group meeting tonight at High Point Library (35th/Raymond), 6 pm.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: After summer break, this volunteer citizen group is back in session. Local police leadership is there for crime-trend updates and citizen Q/A, so if you have concerns or questions, this is your best chance each month to get them answered directly. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room, right off the parking lot along Webster west of Delridge Way SW.
CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PTSA: The PTA/PTSA meetings for the new school year are under way, and tonight, Chief Sealth’s PTSA kicks off its year, 7 pm in the school library; details in the calendar listing.
NIGHTLIFE: Alauda belly-dancing showcase at 7:30, followed by Baby Ketten Karaoke at 9, at Skylark CafĆ© and Club … Open-mike night at The Cask in the Admiral District, 8 pm … Trivia That Rocks at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm …
More on the calendar!
Questions about RapidRide and/or route restructuring, all of which kick in on September 29, just one week from Saturday? Metro is one of the participants scheduled for a Transportation Fair at Greenbridge, 2-4 pm tomorrow, in the Wiley Community Center, 9800 8th SW (just south of Roxbury). Other groups and agencies will be there too, with information about a wide range of transportation options; they’re listed on this flyer.

The Junction is a popular place for wedding photos these days! West Seattleites Chris and Mariko Raynor are announcing their marriage after returning from their long honeymoon in Thailand. Chris is a remodeler and Mariko is a paralegal. Chris says their wedding July 21st was at a chapel in Kent, with the officiant from West Seattle’s Our Lady of Guadalupe, Father Jack Walmesley. Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Thanks to JayDee for sharing tonight’s sunset view from Upper Alki. (For beach-level views, check out WSB’ers Debra and April, who have launched the Facebook page Alki Beach Daily Sunsets.) There still isn’t even a hint of rain in the forecast, according to what the National Weather Service is projecting for the next week. Wildlife-care tip: Be sure to keep water in the bird baths, or even set up makeshift ones (past years’ Christmas-tree stands on our back patio have been popular with the birds).

7:37 PM: The police search that is under way in Sunrise Heights right now started with a “routine traffic stop,” we’ve learned at the scene. Police say they were trying to pull over a driver for something “routine” when the driver took off and headed east, then got out of the car at some point and ran. They don’t know why but they’re trying to find him; the search includes a greenbelt area stretching down the hillside off SW Othello. A K-9 team is involved in the search.
7:51 PM: The search is also covering greenbelt area southeast of High Point, stretching down toward Home Depot, as a commenter notes.
If you drive 99 between West Seattle and downtown, you probably noticed (as did commenter Robert) that while the new northbound stretch through SODO is open, the southbound side is still two lanes. Not for long, says WSDOT spokesperson Travis Phelps. He says, “We will start pulling back the barrier tonight when the southbound viaduct is closed. We hope to be done by Wednesday.”

(Thursday photo courtesy Benjamin Blain)
The proposed Seattle Parks purchase of the commercial site north of Morgan Junction Park (reported here last week) is on this Thursday’s City Council Parks and Neighborhoods Committee agenda. Last Thursday night, the Morgan Community Association invited community members to come see and discuss the site (above) with Parks reps; this Thursday, Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams will brief committee members on where the deal stands. The agenda includes a proposed ordinance that would authorize the city to acquire the site via condemnation – “eminent domain” – which seemed a little drastic, so we checked today with Parks’ Chip Nevins to get an explanation. He says the ordinance “was written several months ago when negotiations were not going as well as they are now. We always expect that we can negotiate a successful acquisition, but condemnation authority shows the landowner that we are serious, provides us with some more negotiating tools and also provides some tax advantages to the seller.” He says that while there have been past cases of the council authorizing this process for Parks’ use, they’ve never had to deploy it. The Morgan Junction site (6311 California SW) is still on the open market for $2 million, as it was when we first mentioned it back in June.
Next Monday, the new school year starts at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge. Today, they’re celebrating receiving the “military-friendly school” designation again:
South Seattle Community College has been designated by G.I. Jobs magazine as a āMilitary Friendly Schoolā for 2012 – 2013, the third year in a row.
G.I. Jobs polled more than 7,000 schools across the country to compile its ā2013 Guide to Military Friendly Schools.ā Criteria for making the list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students, and academic accreditations. The recognition honors the countryās colleges and universities for their work in welcoming military veterans and enhancing their student experience.
The honor ranks South in the top 15 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide that are doing the most to embrace those who have served their country.
South was noted a good choice because of the collegeās experienced staff and personal commitment to ensure that each and every veteran that comes to South has all the means necessary to complete his or her academic goals.
Here’s more info about SSCC’s Veterans Affairs department.

(Click image for PDF with larger view)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
On September 27th – one week from Thursday – the Southwest Design Review Board gets its first look at the mixed-use megaproject (we haven’t used that term in a while, but this one seems to merit it) proposed for 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW.
As noted in our September 7th report on the project – which first came to light in July – it would span not only the ex-Huling Chevrolet site at that address but also, fronting Alaska, the block from Fauntleroy to 40th, now holding a gas station, funeral home, and ex-used car lot.
By the end of this week, the “packet” with visuals for the meeting should be available online. Over the weekend, the project team went public with three sketches that envision the streetscape in the spots where they are looking at mid-block connectors, aka passthroughs Above, a possible Fauntleroy view looking into the “connector” – next, a possible view from 40th SW on the other side.

(Click image for PDF with larger view)
The project team say they are envisioning the 40th SW side overall as more of a “green street.” Here’s their concept of a potential street-level view:

(Click image for PDF with larger view)
The project site does NOT include the Alki Masonic Lodge, though its Fauntleroy side would be immediately east of that. Right now, the project – which does not have a working title as of last check – is envisioned at six floors, more than 350 apartments, and around 55,000 square feet of retail, over more than 530 parking spaces. While no retailers have been named yet, the project team confirms they’re in “advanced” talks with an unnamed grocer for about two-thirds of the space.
The September 27th Design Review Board meeting is set for 6:30 pm at what’s become the board’s usual venue in West Seattle, the Senior Center (California/Oregon). Public comment is welcome; if you’ve never been to a DRB meeting before, here’s the city’s guide outlining the process.
P.S. For one more layer of public process, an alley vacation – which triggers a different review process that includes the city Design Commission and City Council – would be involved in the plan, too.
We usually only report on judges when they preside over high-profile trials or sentencings – but their work includes much more. If you’d like to hear from a judge firsthand outside court, the Rotary Club of West Seattle invites you to lunch tomorrow, with featured speaker King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu. She has been on the bench for a dozen years, serving in the court’s civil-, criminal-, and family-law departments, and shared the Washington State Bar Association’s Judge of the Year award in 2011. (Our most recent coverage of Judge Yu’s work was at a murder sentencing in April.) The Rotary meets at noon Tuesdays at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor).

(Photo by Guy Smith, taken last week near Alki Point)
Happy Monday! From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar – what you need to know about the day/night ahead:
TRAFFIC ALERTS TODAY/TONIGHT: Those who use Highway 99 to head downtown and beyond are driving on the new northbound stretch this morning (it opened Saturday night, earlier than projected). Then tonight, there is another southbound 99 closure – WSDOT is still working on reinforcing a section of remaining Alaskan Way Viaduct that’s over the future tunnel-boring zone – 9 pm tonight to 5 am Tuesday.
AFTERNOON BOOK GROUP: The Southwest Library welcomes you to the group discussing “The Deptford Trilogy” this month, meeting at 2 pm today at the branch (35th/Henderson).
IRISH DANCE: New class sessions (including Mondays) are under way this month at the VFW Hall in The Triangle – find out more here.
WINTER GARDENING, WITH SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE: 6-8 pm at the South Seattle Community College Arboretum, you can get ready for fall/winter food growing by attending SWS’s monthly Community Forum – full details on the SWS website.
DELRIDGE PRODUCE COOPERATIVE: Everyone’s invited to DPC’s general meeting at 6:30 pm tonight, Delridge Library (Brandon/Delridge). The agenda includes a variety of topics from involvement with the upcoming West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, to a future fundraising dinner/auction, to a market-research survey.
NIGHTLIFE: Pub quiz night at Shadowland, 8 pm … Flat Earth Society at West 5 features Matt Lukin spinning tonight (Melvins/Mudhoney alum), 9 pm … that’s also when Karaoke Kelli presides at the Benbow Room …

(One of WSF’s new 144-car ferries, under construction at Vigor, via WSDOT on Flickr)
The soon-to-be-headquartered-in-West-Seattle Bartell Drugs is throwing its weight behind the proposal to name a new Washington State Ferry after a well-known West Seattle native – entrepreneur Ivar Haglund. The idea emerged last month; when Seattle Times (WSB partner) columnist Ron Judd wrote about it, we noted it on the WSB Facebook page, but hadn’t heard anything since. This morning, a news release from Bartell says the company will have petitions in all of its stores through September 23rd (along with an ongoing prize drawing, including gift cards for Ivar’s). The news release quotes company leader George D. Bartell as saying, “The ‘M/V Ivar Haglund’ plying the waters of Puget Sound would be a fitting tribute to his legacy. Ivar brought the color and pioneering spirit of Puget Sound to our doorsteps through his music, restaurants, and colorful personality.” Ivar died in 1985. His namesake company supports the naming effort too – and it should be noted the new ferries are being built on West Seattle’s Harbor Island.
P.S. After receiving the Bartell news release about this, we asked for the latest timetable on the corporate HQ’s West Seattle move. Spokesperson Barry Bartlett says it’s currently on track for mid-to-late October. They’re moving – administrative operations, not a store – from Georgetown into the West Seattle Corporate Center, known as “the building with the big flag,” at Delridge and Andover, as first reported here August 7th.

(Friday photo, courtesy John Hopkins)
If you drive along the 5900 block of Delridge Way SW in the morning or afternoon, remember, it’s a school zone again! Parents from K-5 STEM at Boren have been out with signs the past few school days, trying to make sure everyone knows. The challenge is that while 20 mph “school zone” signs have been up along that stretch for years, first, this is the first time in two years that the school’s been occupied, and second, because of the way the Boren building is laid out, you won’t necessarily see much activity along the street. Parents are hoping to convince SDOT to add flashing lights to the signage for extra reminders, but those requests usually take a while to work through the system.

Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports from the weekend – starting with a bicycle theft; Daniel sent the photo and report:
I just wanted to share that my bike was stolen off our back porch Sept 15th. We live off Fauntleroy and Dawson (across from Fairmount Park). It was an old gray Raleigh beach cruiser I had turned into a lowrider. It wasn’t worth much by any means; I just feel cheated, is all.
Three more reports ahead, including a car prowl and a detailed account from a rollerblader who says he was attacked near Luna (Anchor) Park:Read More
Almost impossible to believe, with this weekend’s sunshine, but the official end of summer is less than a week away, and a change-of-seasons tradition is now officially on the schedule: West Seattle’s NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen has announced her Fall Equinox Sunset Watch for next Saturday at Solstice Park (behind the tennis courts across Fauntleroy from the north end of Lincoln Park). It’ll be the first sunset of fall, which officially arrives at 7:49 am our time Saturday morning. Alice advises arriving around 6:45 pm. (Here’s our coverage of her summer-solstice sunset event. At right is Cathy Jaramillo‘s photo of her that night, showing where the setting sun should have lined up if it it had been visible that night. Will it be visible next Saturday? Too soon to say!)

From left, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Swift and Skylark CafƩ and Club proprietor Jessie SK led the way as the first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show afterparty scooter rally left the Hotwire vicinity just after 4 pm.

We rolled video as the riders rolled away:
Right now, they should be enjoying music and more at Skylark – you’re welcome to join in, even without a scooter – and then the fun heads to the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) for “Quadrophenia” at 8 pm.

(SDOT “live” camera looking north along 99)
The new northbound section of Highway 99 through SODO is open (the closure ended early, last night) and the 1st Avenue offramp from the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct opens Wednesday. Those are highlights of this week’s day-by-day/night-by-night traffic-alerts list (compiled from lists provided by SDOT and by WSDOT):
SUNDAY 9/16 (tonight)
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am.
Spokane Street Viaduct: Nothing planned
MONDAY 9/17
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am.
Spokane Street Viaduct: Tonight, SDOT says, “Surface S Spokane Street west of East Marginal Way will be restricted overnight from 10 p.m. on Monday until 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning. During this time, northbound traffic on East Marginal Way wishing to turn west onto S Spokane Street will be detoured to the north and directed to make a u-turn. Southbound traffic on East Marginal Way will be permitted to turn west onto S Spokane Street.”
TUESDAY 9/18
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am.
Spokane Street Viaduct: Tonight, SDOT says, “First Avenue S, from the on/off-ramp to the north side of the intersection of First Avenue S and S Spokane Street will be closed from 10 p.m. on Tuesday until 5 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The on/off-ramp connecting the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct with First Avenue S will remain open during the closure.”
West Seattle road work alert: Beach Drive between Atlas and Juneau is scheduled for resurfacing, with the work planned 8 am-7 pm.
WEDNESDAY 9/19
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am.
Spokane Street Viaduct: From SDOT, “The eastbound off-ramp at First Avenue S will reopen Wednesday morning … The same morning, First Avenue S between S Spokane and S Horton Streets will be returned to two travel lanes in each direction, and the eastbound stretch of surface S Spokane Street from East Marginal Way to First Avenue S will reopen.”
West Seattle road work alert: Beach Drive between Atlas and Juneau is scheduled for resurfacing, with the work planned 8 am-7 pm.
THURSDAY 9/20
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound between Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am.
Spokane Street Viaduct: Nothing planned.
FRIDAY 9/21-SATURDAY 9/22-SUNDAY 9/23
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct:
Spokane Street Viaduct:
The latest version of this list is always linked atop the WSB sidebar and atop the WSB Traffic page.
Just in case you wondered. We’ve been out here at the West Seattle Junction Car Show all day and heard it – and several people have pinged it since. Thanks to Damon and Patrick for the quick answer when we put the question out via Twitter. (added) Also via Twitter, there’s one report it was two F-15s from a New Orleans-based group.

11:16 AM: We’re live on site at the West Seattle Junction Car Show (and proud to be a co-sponsor again this year) – and lots of people are out and about! Here’s the “live” look from SDOT’s camera by KeyBank, pointed north:

The first raffle winner (ticket sales benefit Pencil Me In For Kids) has just been announced. We’re right in front of Easy Street Records and CafĆ©:

(Those are our first-ever freebies on the table – not sure how long they’ll last, but we thought we’d offer something practical, since winter weather – as unthinkable as it seems right now – is a place where WSB community collaboration has always shone!) Right around the corner from us is where you’ll find the raffle tickets, at a booth on Easy Street’s south side. Adding more photos shortly. Tip: Don’t wait till the last hour to come down – in the past, we’ve seen early departures. Also, in case you’re wondering about music, it’s classic oldies – ’60s and ’70s.
ADDED 11:56 AM: Zucchini 500 racing at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market around the corner!

The zucchini celebration even extends to the 50-pound version that you’ll find at the ROckridge Cidery booth:

Even though The Junction’s streets are closed (same “footprint” as Summer Fest), the Farmers’ Market is on, full strength, till 2 pm as always. Thanks to all the cool people who have stopped by to say hi – including a dozen or so who told us they moved here recently and use WSB (even before they got here) to plug into what’s going on. Also just talked to longtime WSB sponsor BJ from Brunette Mix, which is here in The Junction (on SW Oregon). Great to see EVERYBODY who is out and about – lots of smiles regarding the great weather. We’re gathering more photos right now – adding shortly.
12:53 PM UPDATE: Show organizer Michael Hoffman tells us they’ve set a record for registrations – 222! This year, you might recall, motorcycles and scooters were welcomed too – here’s some of what we’ve seen so far:

And of course – more cars! Here’s a 1963 Imperial Crown, entry #105:

Also from ’63, a Mercury Monterey, entry #66:

All the cars look great, gleaming in the sun … now we’re at the time of day where it’s shining on both sides of the street:

2 PM UPDATE: One more hour of prime viewing time before the awards! Here’s a 1974 Volkswagen Westfalia, entry #36:

And a ’65 Mustang, entry #163:

Previous photos are by Patrick Sand; next two are by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, with a closer look at some of the beautiful details:

]

Remember the scooter rally’s coming up right after the car show too – one of the organizers, Hotwire’s Lora Swift, is here chatting with us now; they did a dry run on the route, and she says it was “awesome.” Get your scooter to Hotwire at 4410 California SW by 4 pm. (Whether you’re rallying or not, you’re also invited to the “Quadrophenia” screening at Feedback Lounge tonight!)
3:38 PM UPDATE: The show’s wrapping up with the final award having just been presented – we have recorded video of the entire ceremony and will add that later (added – here’s that video):
Among the many winners, this 1934 Pontiac convertible:

The cars are still on display – the timing’s worked out better this year, along with the increased turnout and great weather. The announcer just noted the street will reopen by 6 pm, so take note of that, in case you were wondering. The raffles during the day raised $700 for PMIFK. Watch for more photos later – either added to this story, or in a “Report #2”! (And if you have a gallery of your own – we know a LOT of people were out taking photos – send us a link, so we can include it!)
LATE-NIGHT NOTE: Updated fundraising total – between the raffles and the “50/50” drawing, $950 raised, according to organizer Hoffman – and that, like the registration total, is a record, he says.

With two months to go till completion, the Harbor/Urban all-apartments development Nova started leasing this weekend in The Triangle, and has launched its website too. We visited the 62-unit building this week, in advance of the milestone. See our photo tour ahead:
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