West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
Again this year, to discourage personal-use fireworks (which are illegal in Seattle), the Parks Department will turn on the lights for a while at synthetic-turf fields, including 3 in West Seattle. The announcement’s ahead:Read More
You might remember that video from 2009 – WSDOT’s version of how a big quake could bring down the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the downtown Seattle seawall. The Viaduct’s fate has since been settled, but the seawall’s has not …till now. Months after that video went public, not long after taking office in early 2010, Mayor McGinn proposed a $241 million property-tax levy to pay most of the cost of replacing the Elliott Bay seawall (we covered the announcement downtown). That proposal died. Now a new one is expected to go to Seattle voters in November – a $290 million bond measure that got preliminary City Council approval today (here’s the news release), with final approval expected next week. That’s not the full cost – the news release says the city’s already set aside $30 million, and the county would chip in $30 million more. One more number: If your house is worth $360,000, the city says the new seawall will cost you $59 a year. If the current schedule proceeds, it would be done by 2016 – when the tunnel’s supposed to be done, too.
The August 7th election is five weeks from tomorrow – including not only the primary, but also two local levies (Seattle libraries and the King County youth justice/family law center) and we have just learned that, for those who would rather not put their ballots in the mail, there WILL be some ballot-dropoff service in West Seattle for the first time since 2009.
We checked with King County Elections after hearing that Burien had received a new dropbox and wondering if West Seattle and/or White Center would get one too. Kim Van Ekstrom‘s reply: No, BUT: “A new temporary service for returning your ballot will be added for the 2012 fall elections. We will employ 3 vans that will park in temporary locations. The vans will be parked and staffed by people accepting ballots at the following locations, on the following dates and times: Friday, Saturday, and Monday prior to Election Day 10 am – 5 pm, and on Election Day, 7 am – 8 pm.” West Seattle Stadium is one of the three dropoff-van locations.
If you’re interested in where else you will find either accessible-voting service or ballot dropoffs around King County, here’s an advance look at all of that information, which Van Ekstrom says will be updated soon on the Elections website:Read More
(West Seattle Hi-Yu photo from 2011-12 Junior Court coronation)
Girls who will be 8-12 by the start of September are invited to apply right now for this year’s West Seattle Hi-Yu Junior Court coronation – to serve as the Junior Court Queen and Princesses from this fall through next summer, right after the reign of current royalty (above, Princess Elena, Queen Thea, and Princess Amanda). Here’s the announcement we received from Hi-Yu this morning:
The Hi-Yu Summer Festival is in full swing and the float will be in the West Seattle American Legion parade on Saturday, July 21st, 11 am, PLUS traveling to the following communities soon: Burien – July 4th, Chinatown-July 22nd, and Torchlight-July 28th, to name just a few.
Also, it’s that time of year to look for NEW JUNIOR COURT ROYALTY FOR 2013. The current court of royalty will be crowning new girls on Friday, July 20th at the Hiawatha Fun Fest at 1:00 pm.
For an application, click here, print it, fill it out and mail it in BEFORE Tuesday, JULY 17th. ALL INSTRUCTIONS ARE ON THE APPLICATION.
TRY OUT TO BE PART OF HI-YU ROYALTY, HAVE FUN MAKING NEW FRIENDS and PROUDLY REPRESENT YOUR COMMUNITY – WEST SEATTLE!!!
The application form isn’t just an application, but includes lots of information about what’s expected of Hi-Yu Royalty during the year – event appearances and other involvement – as well as Junior Court members’ perks. (Our coverage of last year’s coronation event, with video, is here.)
(Photo by Trileigh Tucker, who muses about birds, and more, here)
Working this week? The midweek holiday will lead to a lot of odd schedules. Still some activities to share, so here are the calendar highlights for today/tonight:
TRAFFIC ALERT: The westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will close 10 pm tonight till 5 am Tuesday (as noted in our list of this week’s closures). Reminder – the 1st Avenue onramp to the westbound SSV is now available to emergency vehicles if they need it, so don’t be startled if you happen to see that in action; the city doesn’t expect it’ll be ready for everybody else till the whole project’s done around summer’s end.
MONDAY ARTISTS: If you’re a watercolorist – even a beginning one – you’re invited to check out Monday Artists, a group that meets Mondays, 9:30 am-noon, at Island View Apartments across from West Seattle High School (3000 block California SW). Details here.
LOW-LOW TIDE: Beach-walk alert! For the next three days, low tides are below -3 feet. Today, it’s -3.1 at 10:16 am. You can find volunteer Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists on the shore at Lincoln and Constellation Parks 9:30 am-1 pm.
SALAD DAY: The West Seattle Cooking Club invites you to bring a salad to share, while enjoying others’ creations, at their weekly meeting, 3 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW).
DANCE! New series starts with Balorico at Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW) – details here.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 4TH OF JULY … this year’s holiday-info page is up.
A crash has drawn a crowd and blocked a major street in Highland Park. The car hit a pole, according to a witness, and came to a stop at Highland Park Way and SW Holden, and the emergency response is blocking Holden at the spot for now. One person was being taken to the hospital. The witness told us that the driver appeared impaired and tried to get out of the car and walk away after the impact, but bystanders kept her from doing that.
Also of note: The first Seattle Fire crew sent to the scene was Ladder 13, which, as reported here last Thursday, is scheduled to be taken out of service tomorrow morning. The crash scene is just a few blocks east of Station 11, where it had been based for almost a year and a half. Meantime, we’ll check with SPD later this morning regarding any investigation findings from the crash.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: SPD did confirm the driver was “processed for DUI.” However, we haven’t been able to find out anything else about her, either her condition or age, as she was not taken to a hospital by Seattle Fire’s medic crew, so it’s not on their records, according to spokesperson Kyle Moore. Meantime, Kay from Highland Park Improvement Club mentioned in comments that they’d lost a street tree when the driver veered off the road by their building, a couple blocks west of the crash scene on Holden. We went over to take a look today:
The utility pole that was hit didn’t look much the worse for wear, except for a field of small debris around it, and what appeared to be automotive fluid on the sidewalk:
Last December, we reported that the owner of Jonny Bostons, the burger/cheesesteak/etc. shop on the north end of The Junction, had decided to sell. Half a year later, the shop has a new owner. We talked this afternoon with Miguel Govela, who has taken over from original owner Dan Atherton. For now, Govela told WSB, the name and the menu will stay the same. In the weeks/months ahead, they will be working to make additions to the menu, such as salads and tacos, and eventually, the name will change (though, like this weekend’s other north-Junction restaurant story, it’s not finalized yet – he’s looking at Pica, as in “hot,” the name on the sign-permit application that tipped us to the ownership change). Jonny Bostons, by the way, will be closed on the 4th.
April shared that photo on the WSB Facebook wall and wondered what all the small boats were up to. We admit we should keep better track of fishing seasons, to include that information in the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar – today, it turns out, was the start of sport-crab-fishing season, according to this report from the News-Tribune in Tacoma (which lists the rules, too).
The doors opened at Alki Arts on July 10, 2010 – the 1st anniversary party was July 10, 2011 – this year, the party’s on July 1st. “That’s the day we got the keys,” reminisced co-owner Diane Venti, above with co-owner and husband, artist Tom Wyrick.
They’re celebrating till 8 tonight, with live music and refreshments, and a sunny attitude despite the relentless gray. Back in 2010, they told WSB they were just “trying the space out for the summer”; two years later, Diane says running an art gallery/events venue remains touch-and-go – some good months, some not-so-good months – but they defy patterns: She says they were told that February’s usually the worst month in the gallery business, and the first year, that turned out to be true, but this past year, February was their best month ever (with the help of a big order for a new development). She’s grateful for community support, and intent on giving back any way they can – lending space for school fundraisers, for example. It’s a bright, airy space, especially when the door’s rolled open; she says well-wishers have been stopping by all day. (They’ll be open on the 4th of July, too, and often have special drop-in events with art and music, including West Seattle Art Walk nights – watch the AA Facebook page for announcements.)
Fireworks shows, transportation schedules, the Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade … if you’re looking for West Seattle holiday info (and a bit of what’s happening nearby), our annual page is up. It has its own tab atop every WSB page – or, go here.
Just stopped by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor; California/Charlestown) to say hi to (from left) co-proprietors Tim McConnell and Lori McConnell and Ilana Balint from Run for Good Racing Company, as they sign up participants for the first-ever Float Dodger 5K. Till 4 pm, you can get a $5 discount on registration, plus some of Lori’s birthday cake (raffles and giveaways too):
The run/walk will precede the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 21st, as a charity fundraiser (Leukemia/Lymphoma Society and Rotary Club of West Seattle) and a fun way to make the day even more fun, for participants and spectators. If you missed our earlier mentions and don’t see this till after 4, you can still sign up online – just go here – or by stopping by WS Runner.
Though we’re still short on golden sunlight, the other colors of summer are spilling forth in West Seattle gardens big and small as July arrives. 
As a returning co-sponsor of the West Seattle Garden Tour, we’re taking a moment to remind you it’s exactly 2 weeks away: 9 am-5 pm on Sunday, July 15th, you can wander 9 West Seattle gardens (preview them here) at your leisure. Your ticket also gets you into The Kenney at noontime to hear author Lorene Edwards Forkner talk about “The Handmade Garden.” And there tend to be other surprises in your $15 ticket book – which also helps the WSGT donate net proceeds to local nonprofits (here are this year’s 8 beneficiaries). You can buy yours now at 8 locations (including WSB sponsors Metropolitan Market and Village Green Perennial Nursery), or get a voucher online.
Almost 5 years after the first known “West Seattle Art Attack,” the mysterious leaver-of-glass-gifts has “struck” again. We received photos this morning with word that they were from WSAA visits to three local P-Patch community gardens. So if you’re tending a plot today, keep an eye out!
The art isn’t ALL hidden among the stalks and leaves at the Barton, Genesee, and Charlestown P-Patches:
This is the first time we’ve heard from/about West Seattle Art Attack since a WSAA/YarnCore collaboration inside a local café more than a year ago.
(Fairmount Ravine greenbelt, photographed by Long Bach Nguyen – note bridge toward upper right)
Happy July! Today’s forecast remains cloudy but the 4th is looking better … in the meantime, from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar, highlights for today/tonight:
TRAFFIC ALERT: Southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/Highway 99 is supposed to reopen by 9 am, after its two-night, one-day closure. No other closures/changes planned for today.
PLASTIC-BAG BAN, PAPER-BAG FEE: Today’s the day it starts. Again, in a nutshell, stores are not supposed to offer plastic shopping bags any more, unless they are sturdy, thick, reusable plastic; if you didn’t bring your own bag and want a paper bag, they’re supposed to charge you at least a nickel. Here’s the city’s infopage.
PET FOOD DRIVE: Alki Mail and Dispatch (47th/Admiral) is collecting pet food for two nonprofits all month long, starting today (they open at 9).
RETURN OF THE LOW-LOW TIDES: Today is the first of five days of low-low tides – 9:27 am, -2.5 feet, per our favorite chart (Tuesday will bring the lowest tide, -3.4 feet, along with the full moon.) And 9:30 am-12:30 pm, you will find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists on the shore at Lincoln Park and south of Alki Point.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska as always.
REGISTRATION PARTY FOR FLOAT DODGER 5K: Noon-4 pm, stop by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor; California/Charlestown) to sign up for the first-ever Float Dodger 5K before the West Seattle Grand Parade on July 21st – get $5 off the fee, shop the store at a discount, and a variety of other fun detailed here.
COLMAN POOL, DAY 2: Thanks to Venkat for this Instagram view of the pool on reopening day Saturday:
Today is day 2, and the schedule – starting with noon lap swimming – is here.
ALKI ARTS’ 2ND ANNIVERSARY: Noon-8 pm, the little-gallery-that-could throws a big party to celebrate 2 years at the beach. Music and more; details here.
‘XANADU’ MATINEE: 3 pm, it’s the first matinee, ending the first week, of the musical “Xanadu“‘s run at ArtsWest in The Junction.
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P: 3-5 pm, Heather O’Neill performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor; 5612 California SW).
(WSB photo from Seafair Pirates Landing 2010)
Just in case you’re new … and thinking it’s a little quiet around here for summer … the big events are right around the corner. The Fourth of July, of course, goes without saying (our roundup on that is almost done – look for it tomorrow). Three days later – next Saturday (July 7th) – the Seafair Pirates land on Alki – always a spectacle, with a flotilla offshore, a landing craft sailing right up to the beach, the Pirates storming the shore, and all manner of mild mayhem after that, before they board their landcraft Moby Duck and sail, er, drive, away. You can arrive at the beach early and check out vendors and kids’ activities. One possible twist this year – remember our story earlier this month about people being sought for some kind of political demonstration? Still haven’t heard who that might be and what it might be about – organizers promised it would “be on the news” but haven’t revealed it to “the news” yet, so far as we know. The Pirates’ Landing itself always makes news anyway, and you can be part of it – their website says, as usual, they’ll land between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm, but it could be earlier, could be later. Arrrrrrr!
You’ve often heard about the importance of donating to local food banks – West Seattle FB and White Center FB. We don’t hear as often about the need for pet-food donations, but that need is great too – so Alki Mail and Dispatch plans to collect it throughout July, according to Bree, starting tomorrow:
We will be collecting dry and canned food (and treats too!) with cat food going to Kitty Harbor and dog food going to an organization called Dogs Deserve Better. They are a wonderful organization working to raise the awareness of the plight of chained and tethered dogs that are forced to live outdoors. We will be collecting here in the shop (we are at 4701 SW Admiral Way) for the whole month of July and we want to see everyone bring something in!
Question? You can reach Bree at staff@alkimail.com. Alki Mail’s hours are listed here.
Just heard from Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail that orcas are visible off Me-Kwa-Mooks, looking toward the Vashon ferry terminal. More as we get it!
A long-empty space on the north end of The Junction is being readied for its new life as a café and creperie – though the name is still being worked out. Charell Estby started a Facebook page a week and a half ago for her future operation at 4160 California SW, the long-closed former Divina, under the name Firefly Café and Creperie, but when WSB contributor Keri DeTore talked with her earlier this week, she explained that might not turn out to be its official name. Nonetheless, you can track her progress at that page. Charell told Keri that she’s “over the moon about the possibilities” the space offers. She’s planning to offer soups, salads, and pastries along with sweet and savory crepes that will be served all day. She is aiming for a September/October opening.
POSTSCRIPT: Charell says she has the OK to use the Firefly name.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB unless credited otherwise)
Every year during the Blue Angels‘ visit, the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field becomes a virtual honorary West Seattle annex. Today, it’s even more so, not just because NASA‘s distinctive Super Guppy brought the crew-cabin section of the space-shuttle trainer that’s being assembled at MoF for display, but because it was piloted by a West Seattle High School alum, from the clas of 1972, astronaut Greg Johnson (cool onboard feature here).
Our partner The Seattle Times has more on the exhibit-in-the-works; today, you still have time to get over to be part of the festivities surrounding the arrival (till about 5 pm), which was delayed a bit from the original schedule. WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli is there for WSB and just sent this view as they begin to open the plane:
ADDED 2:37 PM: Craig Young has this view from West Seattle of the Super Guppy’s flyover – just after it passed over the other eye-catching star of the weekend, the Seattle Great Wheel:
(Click photo for larger view)
And from JayDee – his view as it flew over the 4th Avenue Costco lot (a popular place for viewing Boeing Field-bound aircraft):
More later! We should also note that the Super Guppy is scheduled to stay at the MoF till Monday morning, so you can see it if you go there Sunday, too.
ADDED 11:20 PM: More views – and info – from Christopher Boffoli’s coverage at the MoF for WSB:
The Super Guppy is the only aircraft of its kind still flying, cruising at about 200 knots, with four Allison T-56 501-D22C engines like those that power C-130s such as the Blue Angels’ Fat Albert.
It was preceded by a T-38 Talon, the standard NASA chase plane you might remember from shuttle landings, and accompanied to Boeing Field by a Lear Jet chase plane, flying over the airport around 10 till noon.
Capt. Johnson (U.S. Navy, Retired) says they went up over the city, over the Ballard Locks and part of Lake Washington, then flew an approach to Paine Field in Snohomish County, before landing at Boeing Field, with a crowd there to watch:
The plane taxied in and then shut down just at the edge of the taxiway where a tug pulled it to an unloading area set up just off the back parking lot of the Museum of Flight. They loaded the plane with fuel and then opened the nose of the aircraft, which is hinged on its port side.
Then they brought in an Air Force “Tunner 60K loader.”
Its deck elevates from 3.25 feet to 18.5 feet and has a power conveyor built into the top. The Tunner is about 50 feet long, with a maximum payload of 60,000 pounds.
The cargo compartment is 25 feet tall and 111 feet long. The plane can carry a maximum payload of more than 26 tons. There is 39,000 cubic feet of usable volume within the aircraft.
As for the shuttle crew compartment that it carried, it is 28.75′ long and weighs about 28,000 pounds, almost half the 60,000 pound capacity of the SG.
It was cradled in a steel truss system adding weight to the cargo. The steel truss system will return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston inside the Superguppy when it departs on Monday morning. Once the crew cabin was out of the cargo bay, the Tunner lowered it down and then took it across East Marginal Way to the new Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.
Cranes lifted the crew compartment off the Tunner and rolled it into the gallery through an enormous door on the back wall.
The next part of the Shuttle Trainer to arrive will be the payload bay, in the second of three planned Super Guppy flights to bring the trainer components here. Museum officials said they hope to have the exhibit complete and open by this November.
Notice the line of scooters outside Skylark Café and Club in North Delridge this morning? Paul from neighboring PB&J Textiles (WSB sponsor) did, and shared the photo. It was a brunch stop for the 25th annual Scooter Insanity, the Northwest’s longest-running annual rally of its kind (per its Facebook page). The schedule posted online by the local Westenders club shows the group was to head out on a Poker Run afterward, ending up on Capitol Hill this evening, and finishing the rally in Georgetown tomorrow.
You have another hour to get over to Admiral’s Umpqua Bank (WSB sponsor) branch to see if Arnold (above) and Brinkley (below) have found forever homes yet.
They are two of the dogs Saving Great Animals brought to today’s adopt-a-thon, continuing at Umpqua till about 1:30 pm. The branch is on California SW immediately north of Admiral Safeway.
Once they were shiny, new, cause for excitement in somebody’s home … right now, TVs, computer monitors, and other no-longer-wanted/needed/operable electronics are filling a truck at the West Seattle Junction Association-presented recycling/shredding event happening right now. It’s free, as is the shredding service also being offered:
You have about an hour to get to the lot in the 4500 block of 42nd SW (between Oregon and Alaska).
A day or so after we showed you the plastering operation that was the final stage of major renovation work at Colman Pool, local photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen shared that image of the pool partly filled. It’s since been completed – fully filled, too! – and reopens today, which is just one of the highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
REMEMBER – SOUTHBOUND VIADUCT/99 IS CLOSED … and scheduled to remain that way till 9 am Sunday.
EX-WEST SEATTLEITE ASTRONAUT PILOTS SUPER GUPPY TO MoF: Today is the day the not-far-from-West-Seattle Museum of Flight celebrates the arrival of the crew cabin from the space-shuttle trainer it’ll house in a permanent exhibit. As reported here 2 weeks ago, it’s arriving in a Super Guppy cargo plane piloted by astronaut Greg Johnson, a West Seattle High School alum. The whole day’s schedule, starting at 9:30 am, is on this page of the MoF website.
FREE ELECTRONICS RECYCLING & SHREDDING: The West Seattle Junction Association-presented event is happening 10 am-1 pm today in The Junction’s parking lot along 42nd SW between Alaska and Oregon. More details here.
PET ADOPTION EVENT: Room in your heart and home for a new friend? Go to Umpqua Bank (WSB sponsor) in Admiral (just north of Admiral Safeway) 10 am-1:30 pm today. Details here.
EXPLORE RIVERSIDE: Southwest Seattle Historical Society walking tour, with Judy Bentley and Frank Zuvela, 10 am-noon, learning about the fishing community founded near the mouth of the Duwamish River. Details here.
‘INVENTORY BLOWOUT’ PLANT SALE AT SSCC: 11 am-3 pm at Puget Ridge Garden Center on the north side of the campus (6000 16th SW), 30 percent off all plants.
COLMAN POOL REOPENS: Noon today is the first session of 2012 for the outdoor pool at Lincoln Park, which has undergone major renovations – new plaster, mostly new deck, new piping and electrical work and boiler and more – in recent months. Here’s its webpage, including a schedule link. (And here’s our most recent story about the renovations.)
K-5 STEM PLAYDATE: Families enrolled in or interested in West Seattle’s new public school are invited to a playdate at the south Lincoln Park playground, 2-3 pm today (details here).
WEST SIDE MUSIC ACADEMY BANDS @ SKYLARK: Thanks to the tipster who let us know that West Side Music Academy‘s rock bands – Rhythm Jam, Beginning Rock Band and Beginning Girl Band – will be performing at 4 pm at Skylark Café and Club (3803 Delridge Way SW). Free, all ages.
DUWAMISH TRIBAL SERVICES’ GALA DINNER/AUCTION: Tonight at the Duwamish Longhouse (4705 W. Marginal Way SW), 4:30-8 pm, it’s the benefit gala – details here.
GRAND OPENING PARTY: Cycle U (3418 Harbor SW) is throwing a grand-opening party at 6 pm in honor of its recent move.
LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT: The Twitch plays “unplugged rock” at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm … Acoustic blues at Kenyon Hall, Orville Johnson with Grant Dermody and John Miller, 7:30 pm … Disco Cowboys, John Hammock and the Rooster Run Band at Skylark, 9 pm … West Side Sally at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 9 pm … The Badlands, Local Dudes at The Benbow Room, 9 pm.
Way outside West Seattle, but of local note:
EMERALD DOWNS CELEBRATES ‘WEST SEATTLE BOY’: The 21-race-winning 13-year-old named West Seattle Boy is retiring at the South King County track, and special events galore are planned today – detailed here.
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