West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
Today, you’ll find volunteers from the 34th District Democrats in a booth at the Delridge Day festival – just hours after the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the Garden Party. Last night, partygoers basked in evening sunshine at West Seattle Nursery, with the theme “All-American Barbecue,” and with this area’s highest-ranking politician serving as auctioneer/emcee:
With King County Executive Dow Constantine, that’s the 34th DDs’ chair Tim Nuse at left, and the ubiquitous reminders that this is a presidential election year. The event’s theme even inspired some costuming – Chris Porter was in the red-white-and-blue spirit:
More of WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams‘ scenes from the Garden Party, ahead:
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Around 7:30 a.m. on a recent Thursday, a 15-year-old was assaulted on the bike trail near the steel mill by two men who told him to empty his pockets. He was punched and knocked to the ground (and also struck back, bloodying one suspect’s nose). The suspects — considered to be possibly homeless because they were described as “both pretty dirty” — were described as black men: One in his twenties, about 6 feet tall, wearing a white short-sleeved T shirt; the other in his forties, about 5’8”, wearing a black beanie, black shirt, and brown baggy pants. They remain at large.
Ahead, five more summaries, including the case of the arrested landlord, and trouble at/near Lincoln Park:Read More
BIG Saturday ahead. You can preview it all right now on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar. And here are a few details on two of the biggies:
(Click to see map full size in Delridge Day brochure, with vendor list)
DELRIDGE DAY: Tons of fun packed into a four-hour festival, 11 am-3 pm Saturday in the park between Delridge Community Center and Delridge Skatepark. We’re sponsoring the Kids’ Zone, with a bouncy house, face-painting, picnic games, and balloon art. You’ll also find live music (the schedule’s in the official brochure), dozens of booths (come say hi!), two food trucks, the Alki Bike and Board skate competitions, and more.
WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES: Second-to-last Saturday for the year (!) … The Beatles’ animated “Yellow Submarine” is the movie; trivia with Jessie from Skylark Café and Club is the preshow fun; the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) is the place. You’ll also find Furry Faces Foundation there selling/making pet tags (read about the program here) starting around 6 pm. Movie’s at dusk – it’s free, but bring $ for pet tags and nonprofit-benefiting raffles and concessions!
Every so often, a Seattle Parks property gets extra attention via what the department calls a “jamboree” – with staffers from all over the city deploying to the chosen park. The next one is Lincoln Park, as discussed at the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s board meeting this week. Parks manager Carol Baker came to the meeting to share some early details:
(Photo by Mike Siegel/The Seattle Times – republished with permission)
This Sunday, when you see River Farm Organic Produce at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, you might consider buying something extra – we’ve just learned that their family has lost a home in the big Taylor Bridge Fire in Central Washington. An anonymous family friend e-mailed to let us know about this, and to say that River Farm does plan to be at the WSFM this Sunday. We have since confirmed this with market management, which explained that the family farm itself was spared, as was the home of the farm family’s patriarch, but the fire destroyed the home of his daughter and her husband. In addition to supporting them directly, we’re told they also will benefit from the Neighborhood Farmers’ Market Alliance “Good Farmer Fund,” which helps with emergency relief for vendors hit by crises like this. (You can donate to that fund online here.)
A message sent to the WSB Facebook page requested a list of air-conditioned restaurants. So we asked for suggestions – here’s what we have so far (sorry we haven’t linked them all, but the WSB Restaurant Guide is a shortcut to info):
Melissa, Micki, Anmari, Lucretia: Circa
Julia, Dorothy, Jenny: Zeek’s Pizza (A/C *and* a patio, Julia notes)
Betsy, Molly, Jaime: Spiro’s
Katie, Sara: Freshy’s
Kristin, Tessa: Fresh Bistro
Teresa: Puerto Vallarta
Andy: Wing Dome
Guy: Yen Wor
Susan: Angelina’s
Aimee: “La Romanza Bistro is air conditioned and our cocktails with put a nice chill on you :)” (Editor’s note, La Romanza is a WSB sponsor)
Julie: Talarico’s
Jaime: Admiral Pub and Spiro’s
Tessa: Fresh Bistro
Our notes: Both Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and The Bridge have pointed out they have A/C. (The Bridge is now open for lunch, by the way.)
P.S. Food/beverage spot suggestions that aren’t restaurants:
Donna: Stuffed Cakes
Ronda: Full Tilt Ice Cream
CeeCee: “Have dessert for dinner and go to Baskin-Robbins? Jamoca Almond Fudge sundae with whipped cream! You’ll be cool inside and out – just have to exercise a bit more when it cools down.”
Lindsey: “Beveridge Place AND they are having the cider revival. Nice and crisp!”
Wendy: Beer Junction
P.P.S. A few non-food/beverage (more or less) suggestions that were shared:
Nyla: “Sorry no food, but Cherry Consignment will be nice n cool & we have a great “toy box” for your kiddos.”
Kambra: “It’s not a restaurant, but the Bartell’s at Jefferson square has INSANE AC… i nearly cried.”
Erik: “The Highland Park Improvement Club is ALWAYS nice and cool & tomorrow night at 6:30 is FREE FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT!!!It’s the 3rd Friday of every month! The have popcorn, candy, drinks and all of the concessions are delicious & affordable, so bring a pillow, blanket, etc. and come on down!!!” (Editor’s note: This is also part of today’s “West Seattle Friday” preview.)
Amanda: “The bowling alley for the win!! Awesome happy hour AC blasting the whole building was nice and cool.”
Elissa: “The Seattle Children’s Museum has AC :)”
Donna: “Try getting out on the water! (Thursday) was a perfect day for kayaking!”
And a question:
Rachel: “Any newborn-friendly places? I’ve got two very hot little kiddos at my place!”
Thanks for the suggestions, questions, etc.!
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning, starting with Barb‘s stolen Blazer:
Sometime between 5:30 am on Thursday 8/16/12 and 5:30 am on Friday 8/17/12 my green (but dirty) 4-door Chevy Blazer was stolen from where it was parked on Belvidere. It was at the corner of Grayson and Belvidere in the Admiral area. The license plate is ____-NNJ.
Call 911 if you find it.
(3:15 PM UPDATE: See the thread in comments – turns out Barb’s vehicle was impounded. But SPD apparently didn’t know that – they even tweeted it as stolen.)
Report #2, a car prowl in Upper Alki, reported by Syd:
I live on 59th Ave SW (near Charlestown) and wanted to alert people that last night someone tried to break into my car, attempting twice to break my passenger window. Thankfully they were unsuccessful, but they smashed the window and damaged the door frame. This is the second time in the past few months that my car has been targeted.
If you have a Crime Watch report to share with your neighbors via WSB, editor@westseattleblog.com – but please report it to police first!
West Seattle filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin has big news – his feature film featuring Duff McKagan’s Loaded is almost done. The video above is from an interview in which the project is discussed by McKagan himself, whose most recent star turn was as Seafair Torchlight Parade Grand Marshal. Before that, the film was shot in a variety of places around the area, including West Seattle venues such as Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and West 5 (where we covered the wrap of filming last September – here’s that story), along with scenic spots like Alki.
Chamberlin says the film, “The Taking,” will “be released in episodes; a total of 10 vignettes/music videos that will tell a tale of totally bizarre adventures, imprisoned band members, and kids’ size ice cream cones. The series begins Fall 2012. There are numerous cameos in the film including: Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains, former Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, Steve Jones of Sex Pistols, and Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead.” Chamberlin is producer and director for “The Taking,” and promises more news soon on exactly where you’ll find the vignettes when they start rolling out.
(Don Brubeck‘s photo shows one place to beat the heat – a shaded field! Thursday photo from Alki Playfield)
You probably have your heat-beating strategy fine-tuned by now … after today, the forecast says, it’ll get back to something resembling normal. Lots of great ways to spend your Friday night, and a few things during the day, in our highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
DONATE TO WESTSIDE BABY: There’s a donation drive at the soccer camp that West Seattle Soccer Club is having at Riverview Playfield today – “Pack the Goal with PJs and Pants.” They’re collecting those items in sizes 4-12, till noon, and offering a chance at prizes including Sounders tickets.
BALLROOM DANCING: It’s the monthly event with Lauren Petrie at Delridge Community Center, 1:30 pm – details here.
SUMMER CONCERTS AT THE MOUNT: 85th Street Big Band plays tonight – optional dinner/drinks available for sale at 5:30 pm, music (free!) at 6, south side of the Providence Mount St. Vincent campus (4831 35th SW), more info (including the menu) here.
GARDEN PARTY: The 34th District Democrats‘ fundraising auction, with live music, food from The Swinery, ice cream from Full Tilt, and guest auctioneer County Executive Dow Constantine, starts at 6 at West Seattle Nursery (California/Brandon); more info here.
THE NOISE GUY! He’s at Alki Community Center at 6:15 tonight – details here.
MOVIE NIGHT AT HIGHLAND PARK IMPROVEMENT CLUB: “Ratatouille” is on the screen – bring the family! 6:30 pm at HPIC (12th/Holden), details here.
‘ANYTHING GOES’ AT WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL THEATER: It’s the second weekend for Twelfth Night Productions ‘ (WSB sponsor) version of the Cole Porter classic – don’t forget to bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank! – 7:30 pm (ticket info and more on the TNP website; 3000 California SW).
‘GODSPELL’ AT ARTSWEST: Three more chances to see the youth performers put on this show! 7:30 pm.
MORE LIVE MUSIC: Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), 6 pm … Barbie Anaka at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 8 pm … Panama Gold, Western Medicine, Loyal Kites at Skylark, 8 pm … Fiasco plays Feedback Lounge at 9:30 pm.
West Seattle Stadium will be the site of national-championship competition this weekend, as dozens of throwers come from around the country, as explained in this news release we just received:
Men and women ages 30 and over will be contesting the United States Track and Field Association’s (USATF) National Masters Throws and Ultra Weight Pentathlon Saturday and Sunday at West Seattle Stadium. Events begin at 8 am each day.
The throws pentathlon is a Masters (age 30-105+) event consisting of 5 events – the hammer, shot put, discus throw, javelin throw, and weight throw. They must be contested in order. Weight of implement goes down in 10-year increments after age 50 as age increases. Athletes compete in 5 years age groups, 50-54, 55-59 etc. Each distance, for each event, has a point score based on its relationship to the world records for the events. The athlete with the highest number of points wins.
The First Masters National Championship was held at Husky Stadium in 1992. It was organized by West Seattle residents Ken Weinbel and George Mathews (former WS resident and meet director of this year’s event), with the help of West Seattle resident Leon Joslin. That first meet was conducted by the Seattle Masters Athletic Club, who is also responsible for building the area’s only hammer cage 18 years ago at West Seattle Stadium. The ultra weight pentathlon was also created by Weinbel and Mathews and will be contested on Sunday.
Three-time Olympic hammer thrower and flag bearer at the LA Olympics, Ed Burke, 72, of Los Gatos, Ca. will be competing and looking to break world records in the Throws Pentathlon and Super Weight Throw in the meet this weekend. Meet Director and five-time Masters World champion in the weight and hammer throw, George Mathews, will be looking to break his American record in the age 65-69 Super Weight (44lb.) throw. Over 60 athletes have entered the meet and come from all over the United States.
Residents and staff at The Kenney (WSB sponsor) have been getting to know new CEO Ed Mawe over the past few weeks, but tonight was the first big public event at which he appeared – the continuing-care retirement center’s annual barbecue.
Mawe joined The Kenney last month, not long after the departure of previous CEO Kevin McFeely. That’s according to information provided tonight by Moraine Byrne, president of Ontrac Management Services, part of Covenant Retirement Services, an Illinois-based firm also recently hired by The Kenney, to help with management and positioning. Byrne tells WSB that Mawe has “many years of serving senior adults in the Tacoma and Portland areas.” Online research shows Mawe’s past leadership roles include tenures at Franke Tobey Jones in Tacoma and Mary’s Woods in Portland.
Back to the barbecue – The Kenney’s park-like northwest lawn provided shade, both trees and tents, and a chance for residents, relatives, and neighbors to enjoy each other’s company.
The barbecue is an annual August tradition.
The two hottest nights of the week are coinciding with the nights for West Seattle’s ongoing weekly summer outdoor concerts. First, tonight at Alki, The Braxmatics:
They boogied at the beach, during the annual Alki stop for the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association.
(Video added)
Next Thursday, it’s back to Hiawatha, with Caspar Babypants, 6:30 pm, free as always.
But first – another free outdoor concert in West Seattle tomorrow! The Summer Concerts at The Mount series will feature the 85th Street Big Band at 6 pm Friday, south side of the Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor) campus, which is usually shady by showtime. Bring a chair/blanket – and some $ if you’re interested in dinner (tacos with toppings bar – available starting at 5:30 pm), hot dogs/hamburgers, or other treats.
(WSB 2011 photo of the view from behind the “ecology blocks” at the bottom of the sliding Beach Drive slope)
Earlier this year, when repaving was ahead for a section of Beach Drive close to the ravaged section caught in a dispute over slides, the city revealed more mediation was ahead. Now, there’s word it has succeeded. This is just in from the City Attorney’s Office:
A significant hillside repair project along Beach Drive in West Seattle will be built without any City funds, in accord with the successful mediation of Anderson v. City, Saladino et. al.
“I am pleased to report that the City has resolved litigation and enforcement actions related to landslides in West Seattle above Beach Drive,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said Thursday. “Insurance monies and private funds will be used to construct deep retaining walls and a drainage system to stabilize a hillside. No City funds will be used to construct the project. The City has agreed to waive the majority of fines it sought in this action in exchange for the agreement by Peter Saladino to build the walls.”
Saladino and the City were both defendants in this action brought by 29 households that alleged they were affected by the landslides that occurred in 2007 and 2010.
The parties reached agreement late Wednesday night, the second day of mediation.
Saladino personally and the insurance carrier for Saladino agreed to fund and construct the remediation project to stabilize the hillside across a three-property area. The remediation project, which is likely to cost more than $2 million, involves two walls and a drainage system. The project is being reviewed by the Department of Planning and Development and the Department of Transportation and other City departments, with construction likely to begin this year.
The City did not pay attorney’s fees. The City did agree, however, to reduce the fines against Saladino to $10,000 if he is able to obtain that amount or more from a neighboring property owner’s insurance company. If he is unable to get that amount, the City will waive all fines as to Saladino. In addition, the City agreed to resurface a portion of Beach Drive north of the slide area in 2012.
Tom Rasmussen, chairman of the Seattle City Council Transportation Committee, expressed delight with the settlement: “The area near the slide on Beach Drive is in terrible condition and the agreement will allow the hillside to be repaired and Beach Drive to be repaired and repaved.”
We’ll add backstory shortly. As part of all this, the city had sued Saladino in 2009; area homeowners sued in 2011.
Earlier today, David Hutchinson sent us that image of a cormorant that he said was behaving somewhat unusually – just sitting on a seawall, rather than in the water or on a piling. No indication of trouble, and it soon flew away, David says, but later in the day, as a Seal Sitters volunteer, he got word of a phone call that makes publishing the photo a more-urgent matter:
This afternoon, Seal Sitters received a call on our hotline, reporting a “non-native” cormorant on the beach near 53rd & Alki Ave. The reporting party said that the cormorant had trouble walking, appeared unable to fly, and had what could be a fishing lure in its mouth. Seal Sitters followed up, but was unable to locate the cormorant. If you spot this bird on a West Seattle beach, please call Seal Sitters hotline (206-905-7325) and we will respond and see if we can help.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“A good neighborhood joint.”
That’s how Aaron Shepherd explained his future Admiral District restaurant, the Copper Coin, to a passerby who peeked in while he was working today.
We in fact got first word of the Copper Coin via another passerby, WSB Forums member “twobottles,” who started a discussion wondering what was going in at the former Porterhouse space; another member, “Admiral935,” then added a little more info, and we picked up the research from there.
Aaron already owns a successful restaurant north of the city, and says he’d been looking around for a new place for a few years, but even the neighborhood where he lives – Ballard – didn’t offer just the right spot.
West Seattle did.
So here’s his plan:
Just in from SDOT, the customary weekly list of what’s happening elsewhere in the city, which we share here so you won’t be surprised to suddenly happen onto a roadblock/crowd/traffic jam/etc.:
Though the King County Wastewater Treatment Division is well into the preparation process for tearing down a block of houses/apartments across from Lowman Beach Park and replacing them with a million-gallon tank to reduce sewage overflows – a “fence-painting party” is even planned this Saturday – the city hasn’t finalized the land-use permit yet. First, a city-led public meeting has just been announced to take comments before it does. The meeting is scheduled for September 11th, 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (in the old schoolhouse at 9131 California SW).
We’re spotlighting outdoor events even more than usual these next few days, since it’s usually cooler outside in the evening than in a non-air-conditioned house/apartment, so here’s another one: Friday night is the annual Garden Party/Auction for our area’s largest political organization, the 34th District Democrats. This year’s auctioneer is King County Executive Dow Constantine; the auction will include donated items from a Napa getaway to condos in Spain to airline tickets. He’s not the only local political leader you’ll see – prime-time for ear bending while you mingle. The Haggis Brothers – featured at The Mount last Friday – are the musical guests. The food theme this year is “All-American BBQ” – from The Swinery. It all happens at West Seattle Nursery, 6 pm Friday; more info here.
Don Brubeck‘s photo is from Alki last Thursday night, when the weekly drum circle by the Statue of Liberty drew some brass accompaniment. Tonight, even more music at the beach – part of our highlight list from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: Two closures are scheduled tonight – southbound 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct from Battery Street Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm to 5 am, and eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct, 10 pm-5 am, with the eastbound onramp from Harbor Island reopening tomorrow morning, once the SSV closure is over.
WADING POOLS OPEN IN WEST SEATTLE TODAY: Delridge, E.C. Hughes, Lincoln Park – here’s the citywide schedule with times/locations.
WORKSHOP FOR YOUNG ARTISTS: 10-16-year-olds interested in drawing comics are invited to a free workshop at High Point Library (35th/Raymond) today, 3:30 pm.
THE BRAXMATICS ON ALKI: This is part of the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, but this time around, the show’s on Alki (east of the Bathhouse). 6:30 pm, free! Here’s our preview.
DRUM CIRCLE ON ALKI: And on the other side of the Bathhouse, at Statue of Liberty Plaza, the weekly summer drum circle starts at 6:30.
STRESSED OUT? Get help … free … in a garden setting, at a free seminar at Transitional Resources (2970 SW Avalon Way), 6:30 pm.
‘GODSPELL,’ NIGHT TWO: Presented by the 12-to-16-year-old Theater Conservatory summer students, it’s the second night of “Godspell” at ArtsWest, showtime 7:30 pm.
LOTS more on the calendar – including a preview of the days/weeks/months ahead.
In that video from earlier this year, it’s the funky party band The Braxmatics – playing Thursday night’s show for the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha. HOWEVER – remember that this show is NOT at Hiawatha, but at Alki Beach, near the Bathhouse, perfect night for it since it’ll be cooler by the water. 6:30 pm, free, fun, bring your own chair/mat/blanket (or just stand up to get down). This is the fourth concert of this year’s series – the last two will be back at Hiawatha, with Caspar Babypants on August 23rd and Curtains For You on August 30th.
(WSB photo: Artech’s Shawn Nordfors and Roger Waterhouse)
A few days after the second anniversary of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem-pole re-dedication, the pole got a touch-up today. Visiting West Seattle to get the job done: Roger Waterhouse and Shawn Nordfors from Artech, the Renton-based firm that restored it in 2010, months after the bizarre theft-and-recovery saga ended.
Their work today at the park (35th/Alaska) left it shining in the late-morning sun:
By now, the light preservative they applied has likely soaked all the way in; they cleaned the pole first, and did some paint touchup afterward. We stopped by just as they were wrapping up:
Roger told us the Rotary Viewpoint Park pole is in great shape – evident if you look closely at features like the “paws” toward the bottom:
An even closer look at its base is revealing because of what you don’t see – no moss, no sign that the pole has been permeated with new moisture.
Since it was in such good shape, they needed less than half the 3 1/2 hours they originally scheduled for the job, and packed up, planning to check back on it in another 2 years or so. As reported here after the pole’s brief absence in late 2009, it was carved in 1976 by Robin Young, a Native American who at the time taught woodcarving at Highline Community College, and donated to the city along with the park site by the Rotary Club of West Seattle.
The National Weather Service stepped up the alert level one more notch this afternoon; now that the extra-hot weather is almost here, an “Excessive Heat Warning” will be in effect tomorrow afternoon through late Friday night – see it here. That means a “prolonged period of dangerously hot temperatures,” according to the NWS, which is still projecting highs at least into the mid-90s. If your house is the typical air-conditioning-less Seattle “oven,” as some describe theirs, there are outdoor alternatives both nights – we’ll spotlight them later tonight, or you can skip ahead to the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar now!
7-year-old Sophia Thompson is fighting a rare form of soft-tissue cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma – so rare that only 350 cases are diagnosed each year. That means big medical bills, as little Sophia goes through chemo and deals with a feeding tube to help keep her from losing too much weight. Her classmates at West Seattle Montessori School (WSB sponsor) are hoping you will help them help Sophia and her family – by buying lemonade from them at their fundraising stand outside the West Seattle Farmers’ Market this Sunday, 10 am-2 pm. You can find out more about Sophia – and make a donation now – at gofundme.com/sophia. There’s also a benefit at 7 pm August 25th at Bison Creek Pizza in Burien, 630 SW 153rd, with raffles and music, plus of course pizza. But first – lemonade this Sunday!
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