West Seattle, Washington
17 Sunday
FIRST REPORT, 3:28 PM: If you have used Twitter or Metro text messaging to keep track of when the West Seattle “low bridge” is open for marine traffic and therefore closed to land traffic, heads up: Starting tomorrow, you won’t get those messages any more. SDOT and Metro had been sending them, but say they won’t be needed when the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct‘s new 1st Avenue South ramp opens first thing Friday morning.
5:39 PM UPDATE: SDOT now says its Twitter updates won’t end immediately:
@westseattleblog@wade_68 Update: SDOT will keep tweeting Spokane St swing bridge status til end of widening project (late Sept)@kcmetrobus— seattledot (@seattledot) August 30, 2012
Two weeks after a letter from the Fauntleroy Community Association (noted in our coverage of FCA’s August meeting), SDOT has moved the school-zone lights on southbound Fauntleroy Way, near Gatewood Elementary, to address visibility issues. (Compare the photo above to the one in our August 14th story.) This is the same area where a speeder-detecting camera is scheduled to be in operation this fall, as first reported here earlier this month. One glitch, though – Phil Sweetland from the FCA board, who’s been monitoring the issue, says the new location is, while more visible, is south of the old one – therefore closer to the school, giving drivers less time to react. He had suggested a change northward (further from the school) and even has put together a PDF with a montage showing the difference.
Before summer wraps up, how about a South Pacific-style afternoon, without leaving West Seattle? Seaview United Methodist Church invites you to its annual luau, Saturday at 2 pm. Just announced by Seini Puloka:
The Tongan (Polynesian) members of the congregation are hosting this event. The menu includes roast pig, fish, taro and other Polynesian foods. Entertainment will be done by the children and youth of the church, complete with music and dances from islands of the South Pacific.
Location: 4620 SW Graham Street
Donation: $20 adults; $10 for teens; $5 for 12 and under
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand; click this image for larger view)
Roxhill Elementary‘s teachers, staff, City Year (red shirts) reps, and new principal Sahnica Washington are on campus today getting ready for next Wednesday’s start of the new school year – and they have extra reason to smile because of what you see in the foreground of this photo:
That’s part of the $1,000 worth of school supplies presented today by the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, which has “adopted” Roxhill this year, after helping other schools in the past.
(From left, SPOG’s Deb Nicholson and Randy Robinson, Roxhill principal Sahnica Washington, SPOG’s Ed Harris, Rich O’Neill, Kevin Stuckey)
Sgt. Rich O’Neill, guild president, says it’s important for police to build relationships with youth long before they have the chance to get in trouble – to let kids know they want to be a friend, not “the person who’s out to get you.” (Although he joked that he hoped the staff didn’t recognize two of the officers who helped with the presentation, since they do Traffic Enforcement out on Roxbury, among other places!) The guild is the union for more than 1,200 SPD officers and sergeants. (Update: Video of today’s presentation:)
P.S. Roxhill is having its back-to-school barbecue 4:30-6:30 today.
The electronics/etc. Recycle Roundups sponsored by Fauntleroy Church for West Seattle/White Center residents continue to grow in popularity, so we’re giving you early warning about the next one, in case you’re getting ready for a round of end-of-summer cleaning – September 23rd, 9 am-3 pm. Watch the church website for a list of what they’ll take and what they won’t.
ADDED: We have a copy of that list now – see it here.
Just before we get to the long Labor Day weekend, a busy Thursday in West Seattle – here are highlights from the WSB calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: From our night-by-night/day-by-day list, southbound 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed again overnight, 9 pm-5 am, and northbound 1st is closed at (surface) Spokane, 10 pm-5 am. Reminder – the new 1st Avenue South ramp to/from the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct is scheduled to open early TOMORROW (Friday) morning.
TRAFFIC/WATER TAXI ALERT: Seahawks play at home tonight – which means not only lots of traffic in SODO/Pioneer Square, but also extended West Seattle Water Taxi sailings (details here).
PRE-BACK-TO-SCHOOL EVENTS:
-Barbecue @ Roxhill Elementary School, 4:30 pm
-Barbecue @ Seattle Lutheran High School, 5 pm
-Barbecue @ Sanislo Elementary, 5:30-7 pm
-Open house/ice-cream social @ Gatewood Elementary (times/grades here)
-Orientation/ice-cream social @ Denny International Middle School, 6:30-8 pm
(Any we missed? Let us know and we’ll add!)
COMMUNITY KAYAK TOUR OF DUWAMISH RIVER: Tour with Alki Kayak Tours (WSB sponsor) and the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. Tonight’s tour leaves 6 pm from Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park. Details, map here.
SHOP LATE THURSDAYS – GRAND FINALE: 6-9 pm, go shop The Junction for the special summer hours’ last hurrah. Who’s part of it, you ask? All listed here.
MARRIAGE-EQUALITY FUNDRAISER AT OUTWEST: 6-9 pm, the Campaign to Approve Referendum 74 has a fundraiser/end-of-summer party at West Seattle’s OutWest Bar – full details (and pre-registration if you’re interested) in our calendar listing.
SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA – GRAND FINALE: Go enjoy Curtains For You, free, on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, 6:30 pm – it’s the last of this year’s six concerts presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association (with co-sponsors including WSB). All ages invited, and as announced last night by ANA, they’re offering free face-painting and popsicles! Bring your own chair/blanket.
FREE HEALTH TALK AND QI-GONG CLASS: 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW), details here.
CITY DATA SERVICES OUTAGE STARTS TONIGHT: If you use City of Seattle online services, remember that much of it will be offline starting tonight through Labor Day (as explained here), so pay bills, do searches, etc. by 5 pm today. (This also affects some offline services that are dependent on city data services.)
REGISTERED FOR THE CAR (AND MOTORCYCLE) SHOW YET? While you can decide at the last minute to participate in the West Seattle Junction Car Show (co-sponsored by WSB) on September 16th, to get the early registration deal, your mail-in entry has to be postmarked by Saturday. Motorcycles/mopeds are welcome this year too. Find the rules/forms here!
Just got word from Seattle Public Schools about the rounds that new Superintendent José Banda plans for the first day of school on Wednesday; the district says he will start the day at West Seattle’s brand-new K-5 STEM at Boren, 9 am-10 am, before heading out to schools elsewhere in the city. (June photo by Ilona Berzups Photography)
Laurie shared these photos from Lincoln Park, explaining:
About 1:45 today, eleven police officers pulled up on motorcycles in front of Colman Pool. Apparently it was a training exercise in riding through park terrain.
First the officers answered questions and handed out stickers to awe-struck boys, and then they rode up the steep dirt trail that leads from the beach to the upper park. Once there, they rode around single file, learning to navigate the fields and woods.
Read about the SPD Motorcycle Unit here.
Tomorrow (Thursday) night, it’s the grand finale of the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with co-sponsors including WSB. Tonight’s reminder comes from ANA president Katy Walum:
I wanted to let your readers know that the Admiral Neighborhood Association will be having two face painters for the kids’ enjoyment at tomorrow night’s show. Free! Also, we’ll be giving out the rest of our popsicles – free! And the best free thing of all – the free concert – Curtains For You – brought to the community by the ANA and our fabulous sponsors. We’re a little sad that the last show of the summer is upon us, but so glad that we get to ring out the close of the season with such an amazing power-pop band (hint: they’ll be opening for the fall tour of the Head and the Heart)! Fingers crossed for clear-ish skies …
Above, a recent Curtains For You clip we found on YouTube. The concert’s free, on the east lawn of Hiawatha Community Center, 6:30 pm. See you there!
Thanks to Wendy Hughes-Jelen for that photo of part of a brand-new installation in High Point – the Bataan Park Outdoor Fitness Zone at High Point Drive SW and Bataan Place SW. We got first word from Denise Sharify with Neighborhood House:
Be Active Together (Neighborhood House) and Open Space Association at High Point announces the opening of the Bataan Park Outdoor Fitness Zone
First of a kind in West Seattle, if not Seattle, The Zone offers FREE outdoor exercise equipment to the community 24/7. They are fun to use and accessible for almost everyone.
There are 8 pieces of equipment that make up a medium-sized gym center outdoors in a beautiful setting. A person who works his or her way through the entire circuit will get a high-quality aerobic and strength workout for the whole body.
*Located next to a children’s playground, it promotes family fitness and intergenerational play
*Offers communities a great way to promote wellness and fight obesity.
Join us at the grand opening on Sept. 5th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and work out with fitness expert Willie Austin. Live Jazz music and refreshments provided.
For more information or to receive training as a Fitness Zone ambassador, call Denise Sharify at 206.571.5070.
The new Fitness Zone was built with the help of a grant from KaBOOM! (previously known around here for the Delridge Playground) and Dr. Pepper/Snapple.
Remember Lauren Englund and her idea for an “observational/educational beehive” in High Point, where she lives? We featured her pitch here back in May – and she’s just e-mailed to say “We got the space!” Next Tuesday, everyone interested in the project is invited to a design meeting. Ahead, excerpts of the e-mail she sent to supporters, including the meeting time/date/place:Read More
Last night, as reported in our as-it-happened coverage of Mayor McGinn‘s West Seattle Town Hall, Admiral resident Diane Vincent told him the city should have planned better to make sure computerless citizens weren’t out in the cold during the Seattle Public Library closure week – she tried to use community-center computer labs, and found some of THEM closed too. The mayor promised action. Here’s the official announcement just sent by Seattle Parks:
During this week when Seattle Public Library branches are closed, these Seattle Parks and Recreation “Rec Tech” computer labs will be open for public use:
· International District/Chinatown Community Center, 719 8th Ave. S, Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and today and Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
· Garfield Community Center, 2323 E Cherry St., hours vary because of daily programming; please call 206-684-4788 for public hours.
· Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave. E, hours vary because of daily programming; please call 206-684-4753 for public hours.
· Yesler Community Center, 917 E Yesler Way, Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. Additional hours may be available for public use based on daily programming; for information, please call 206-386-1245.
· Southwest Teen Life Center, 2801 SW Thistle St., will open today and tomorrow (Thursday) from 5 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. but no technical support will be available.
Regular library operations resume on Tuesday, September 4. …
We’ll add a direct link shortly to Diane’s question (#19) in our video of the entire event. (added) You can hear her question (we didn’t turn the camera, though) and see the mayor’s response, starting here.
Recent comments and correspondence have led us to realize that some people still are not aware that coyotes are pretty much everywhere around the peninsula (here’s our map). So, when something like this note from Bill comes in, we need to share it:
My wife was walking our dog this morning in the Westwood area when she came across a coyote with a black cat in its mouth. This happened on 32nd Ave between Thistle and Cloverdale. Just want to give all of our neighbors near here a heads-up.
Everything you want to know about coyotes – including what to do when you see one – is here.
Big news from ArtsWest – a prestigious grant never before given to a theater in our state. Here’s the announcement:
ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery is pleased to announce that the American Theatre Wing, best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards, is awarding the Company with one of the 2012 National Theatre Company grants.
The award includes a $10,000 grant given to only 10 theaters in the country. ArtsWest is the first theater in Washington State to win this award.
This grant will have a significant impact on ArtsWest, providing resources needed to realize our full artistic vision and assisting in our ability to provide even broader access to the arts. The grant is given to emerging regional theaters that have articulated a distinctive mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists in ways that strengthen and demonstrate the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre. More information about the National Theatre Company grants can be found at http://americantheatrewing.org/grants.
Anne at Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) tipped us to a work crew at 4755 Fauntleroy Way, past Huling Chevrolet and future proposed mixed-use development site (first covered here a month ago). In case you wondered too: We checked with John Wunder of Associates West, rep for the property owners, and he said it’s just “environmental testing” – the site’s prospective future owners doing “due diligence.” No additional information yet about this proposed development, but we’re continuing to follow up. It’s one of the sites on the map we debuted last week, showing active under- and future-construction sites in West Seattle:
Nothing added to the map since its debut six days ago, but we’re monitoring these and other sites and will continue to update.
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Pica Border Grill is open for business in The Junction at 4151 California SW (the former location of Jonny Bostons), offering “burgers, tacos, and more.”
We reported last month that new owner Miguel Govela planned to expand the menu and change the name and look of the establishment; he chatted with WSB Wednesday during the “soft launch” of the new menu. The restaurant has new art, too.
First, the food – Pica Border Grill now offers food from “both sides of the border,” retaining the menu of burgers and cheesesteak subs and adding a menu of Mexican fare that includes chicken, beef, pork and fish tacos, quesadillas, salads and a torta sandwich named the Tampiqueña: Beef or shredded pork on a bolillo (French roll) with mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, carmelized onions, homemade chorizo, avocado, Mexican cheese, green salsa, tomato, and cilantro. (This signature torta is named for Govela’s home city of Tampico, in Tamaulipas, Mexico.) There are vegetarian options for several of the dishes — and their variety of salsas and salad dressings are prepared fresh each day.
(Proud proprietor of Pica Border Grill, Miguel Govela)
Next, the art – after painting the building with a southwestern color palette, Govela was pleased to have West Seattle artist Joseph Brooks (seen in the West Seattle Art Walk, featured at Twilight Artist Collective) spraypaint the mural that glows on the south side of the building:
Minor fine-tuning to the menu may occur going forward, but Govela looks forward to providing his “both sides of the border” menu to West Seattle.
Big roundup today for West Seattle Crime Watch and other police activity – with three notes related to bike theft (actual or suspected).
First one starts with an incident that several people asked about this morning on the WSB Facebook page – early-morning yelling in Morgan Junction, and eventually an ambulance. Nothing on the 911 log, so we checked with Det. Mark Jamieson of Seattle Police. He says one man thought he saw another steal a bicycle around 2 am – the second man was reported to be on one bicycle and pushing another, after having allegedly gone into the first man’s neighbor’s yard. The first man, police say, followed/chased the second man, who dropped the extra bike, and then, when the first man caught up with him near California/Graham, dropped the one he was riding. The first man “detained” him and the second one started yelling something like “Don’t hurt me.” That’s when multiple people called 911 – a passing ambulance even stopped, thinking they had witnessed an assault. Police could not prove that the bicycle was stolen, says Det. Jamieson, so there was no arrest, and nobody required hospitalization, so the final categorization of the call was simply “suspicious circumstances.” P.S. The bicycle was placed into evidence.
Whether related or not, we’ve heard more stories of bicycle thefts in Crime Watch reader reports lately. One is after the jump – along with the saga of a Crime Watch case closed when a bicycle-theft victim DID get her bikes back – via someone who saw the story here – and a few other WSCW notes:
For today’s daily preview, just a quick note pointing you to the updated-for-months-to-come WSB West Seattle Events Calendar. The highlights are several Back-To-School events for individual local schools, including WSB sponsors West Seattle Montessori and Holy Family Parish School, plus a Community Health Fair this evening in High Point. For any WSB calendar event (today or beyond) you would like to know more about, click the “plus” on the right side of the listing line to expand the preview, then click “read more” on the lower right, and you will be taken to a standalone page with info, map, and more.
By this time Friday morning, as SDOT announced last week, the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct‘s new 1st Avenue South on-/offramp will be open. Since it is a two-way ramp, you’ll drive southbound to get onto it, rather than westbound. And that led commenter “TK” to ask:
What is the recommended route for westbound traffic coming from the Georgetown/4th Ave S (Costco)/Spokane St. area going back to West Seattle via the 1st Ave onramp?
Once Spokane St is reopened, how do we access the onramp? Turn north on 1st Ave & pull a U-turn? (will SDOT put up signs allowing this like some places in Bellevue?) Or continue on 4th north to the old potholed non-arterial Holgate just to get south again?
There doesn’t seem to be any reasonable solution that comes to mind, and there is a lot of traffic which will have to deal with this daily.
As promised in the comment exchange, we took the question to SDOT. Ahead, the answer from project spokesperson Paul Elliott:Read More
Thanks to Eric from Crossfit West Seattle for the rainbow view over Lafayette Elementary and its playground. We have more news stories in queue for you on Wednesday but nothing mega-urgent – for now! – so we’re going to close out the night with this. Might even be showers overnight, says the forecast.
7:54 PM: Just got a note about more than a dozen emergency vehicles on SW Roxbury. We believe this is related to the King County Sheriff’s Office reporting a possible shooting in the 9600 block of 11th SW. More when we get there.
8 PM UPDATE: KCSO Sgt. Cindi West updates that this apparently is an accidental shooting. She tells our crew that a man appears to have been walking with a gun in his pocket, and when he reached into his pocket, the gun went off. He shot himself in the leg; he’s been taken to the hospital. Traffic is still moving on Roxbury, and the scene will be wrapping up.
After a community resource fair and youth performance, the mayor has just taken the microphone. We’ll be updating live.
6:41 PM: “We’re starting to see things turn around in the city, economically,” he begins, adding that he believes the city has recovered “more than half” the 35,000 jobs believed to have been lost in recent years. Current Seattle unemployment is estimated at 6.5 percent, he says, while noting that’s “still historically high.” He recalls a time when the “biggest challenge” was to manage growth – and then things went downhill. He says he’s “worked hard to have a city government responsive to people and their needs.” (If that sounds a little like campaigning … we should note, his first term ends next year, though we don’t believe he’s announced whether he plans to run for a second one.) He runs through some of the budget-cutting measures he says have been taken by the city in the past few years, including a quick allusion to community-center cuts – which have affected the facility in which this event is being held; it was a full-fledged community center, and now it is a teen center, also co-housing a Neighborhood Service Center. “We have to focus on good, sustainable economic growth that everybody can share,” he summarizes – “… and focus on our strengths.”
REST OF THE AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE, PLUS VIDEO OF THE ENTIRE EVENT, AFTER THE JUMP:Read More
With most schools starting next week, a quick message from Tiffani at Hiawatha:
We have had a few spots for Hiawatha Community Center Before/After School program open up. This is for children attending Lafayette only. The Schmitz Park Program is still full. Call the center at 206-684-7441 or e-mail at Tiffani.Melake@seattle.gov, Hiawatha.Childcare@seattle.gov
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