2 boards need you: Fauntleroy Schoolhouse; SW Historical Society

Looking for a way to get more involved with your community? Here are two!

schoolhouse.jpg

FAUNTLEROY SCHOOLHOUSE BUILDING ADVISORY BOARD: As the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency gets closer to closing the deal to buy the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (here’s our most recent update), it’s forming a Building and Site Development Advisory Board “to oversee the building development and operations within the context of this mission,” according to the official announcement. They’re hoping its members will include (but not be limited to) people with expertise in areas such as real-estate development, building renovation and construction, property management, real-estate negotiations, public/private financing options, familiarity with city/state/school district, connections to local community groups. Interested? Call FCSA president Kevin Wooley, (corrected) 206-933-6410.

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SOUTHWEST HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD: SWSHS, which operates The Log House Museum, says it’s “looking for board members who have the skills and enthusiasm to bring to our organization for three-year terms beginning in 2010. Participation in our board will be challenging and rewarding, stretching your skills and abilities. You will also gain experience in the meaningful work of preserving West Seattle history, making new friends in the community and the pride of knowing you’ve contributed to a vital organization.” Interested in helping with historic preservation and running a small museum? E-mail a letter of interest to board member Joey Richesson at EuniceSnit@aol.com, or call her at 206-909-9016, before the end of the month.

West Seattle business news: Seen in The Junction

Got that photo from Brian at TouchTech Systems in The Junction – he spotted those signs in the window of the storefront in The Junction formerly inhabited by Funky Jane’s. “Heavenly Wholesale,” we’ve seen on A-boards all around WS. “Leslie’s, A Country Store” brings back memories of the similarly named business that preceded The Bohemian at 3405 California SW (though at the time, two and a half years ago, that closure was described as “retirement”). Nothing in the city’s business-license database to yield a clue at this point but we’ll be checking tomorrow!

2 Senior Center events not just for seniors: Festival & Bingo

October 11, 2009 9:22 am
|    Comments Off on 2 Senior Center events not just for seniors: Festival & Bingo
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

Two reminders from Carol Johnston at the Senior Center of West Seattle (SE corner of California/Oregon):

HARVEST FESTIVAL: This Tuesday, 10 am-2 pm, free admission. Check out bazaar crafts with new items and collectibles, a bake sale, flu shots by Safeway pharmacists (free with Medicare Part B and $30 for everyone else), and $3-$7 lunch.

LAST RAINBOW BINGO OF THE YEAR: Friday 10/23, with a Halloween theme – costumes encouraged, and there will be a parade! Doors open at 5, bingo starts at 7 with caller Sylvia O’Stayformore assisted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. $15 in advance, $20 at the door, call Margie for reservations/info at 206-932-4044.

Today: Benefit Nia class; WS Farmers’ Market; board games!

October 11, 2009 6:21 am
|    Comments Off on Today: Benefit Nia class; WS Farmers’ Market; board games!
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle Farmers' Market

3RD ANNUAL NIA CLASS TO BENEFIT NORTHWEST HOPE AND HEALING: Be at Youngstown Arts Center (4408 Delridge) at 10 am to join the NiaDivas in raising $ for NWHH, a West Seattle-founded organization that helps newly diagnosed breast-cancer patients. Find out more about Nia here, and about the NiaDivas here.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in The Junction, as always. Here’s today’s Ripe and Ready fresh list; watch @NFMASeattle on Twitter for pics and sightings.


View Larger Map

BOARD GAMES! Today’s the day for the first Board Game Afternoon presented by Friends of Southwest Branch Library — all ages, all skill levels, just come to the meeting room upstairs at the branch (9010 35th SW; Google Street View above) between 1 pm and 4:30 pm. Members of the Friends will bring some games and will teach any you don’t know; you’re welcome to bring your favorite board game(s), too.

West Seattle weekend scenes: Shipwreck, car washes, pancakes

The photo’s from Kendall, sent “live” a few hours ago from opening night at Shipwreck Tavern – he reported a capacity crowd — and wrote more about it at Washington Beer Blog. Hours earlier, Saturday morning, we stopped by all three high-school-fundraising car washes – all reporting a brisk business in the early going! – top to bottom in the next three photos, it’s Chief Sealth (check the fall colors in the background) at Boren, Seattle Lutheran at Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor), and West Seattle High School at WSHS:

Last but not least, folks fueled up for a busy Saturday by starting the morning at Alki Lodge 152‘s pancake breakfast –

For a look ahead to what’s happening today, here’s the latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 robbers hold up Tervo’s Mini-Mart

While we were at the scene of the SW Barton crash, police there confirmed a report we’d been checking out shortly before it happened – that Tervo’s Mini-Mart in the Triangle (map) had been robbed a few hours ago. Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith says two people, one with a handgun, held up the store. He says nobody was hurt, and nobody’s been arrested yet. No other details so far.

Updates: Car hits pole west of Westwood Village, 1 to hospital

(Photo added 9:54 pm)
ORIGINAL 9:45 PM REPORT: A crash described as car vs. pole — “heavy rescue” on the 911 log – is closing Barton at 30th (just west of Westwood Village – here’s a map), all lanes according to the scanner. The collision has cut power to part of the area, also per the scanner. 9:54 PM UPDATE: Just added a cameraphone photo. Fire/rescue crews are trying to get into the vehicle by cutting its top off – it’s on its side against the pole – we don’t know how many people are inside or what condition they are in. 10:08 PM UPDATE: Commenter Conrad has a different line of sight than our crew and says they’ve gotten the driver into an ambulance. 10:21 PM UPDATE: Our crew confirms one man’s been taken to the hospital; since it was by ambulance rather than SFD medic unit, that usually indicates injuries were not life-threatening. Power’s still out around the intersection. Seattle City Light has arrived. 10:38 PM UPDATE: Barton is partly reopened (and should be fully reopened shortly); the power’s back on; the wreckage will be cleared before long.

11:04 PM UPDATE: Lt. Ron Smith at the Southwest Precinct tells us the driver has a minor injury and that investigators are looking into the possibility of DUI, though, he confirms, the driver did indeed tell police (as Conrad reported in comments) he had swerved to avoid a dog.

West Seattle MaxMobile visit followup: “Baron” finds a home

More dog news: When the Seattle Humane Society‘s big yellow MaxMobile was at West Seattle Thriftway the other day, Michele sent a photo of a German Shepherd named Baron who was there awaiting his “forever home.” Tonight, we got a note confirming he did – Brent wrote in to say thanks for the news about Baron, with the photo above:

Baron (was a name given by the shelter) now going by “Payton” has a new family and a new buddy “Indy,” a 5 year old German Shepherd, and is doing well very well in his new surroundings. Baron is wearing the harness.

Got room to give somebody a new forever home? The MaxMobile calendar shows it’s coming back to West Seattle twice in the next eight days – Pet Pros in Westwood Village next Friday, then Next to Nature in The Junction two days later.

Video: Human, canine volunteers finish up new Westcrest feature

That video shows what you might call a victory howl for the canine volunteers at Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area this morning, as they and human companions finished spreading wood chips at the newly created “special needs” area at West Seattle’s only off-leash park – a section that’s more easily accessible for disabled/elderly users. We first reported earlier this week on Westcrest OLA steward Steve McElhenney‘s effort to make this happen; during this morning’s work party, we asked Steve to tell us more about the volunteer efforts and their result:

If you’re a Westcrest OLA user and want to keep up with other volunteer efforts (among other topics), you can join their Yahoo! mailing list by going here.

Next chance to help library supporters fight more budget cuts

Another City Council-led hearing on the 2010 city budget is coming up this week. It’s not happening in West Seattle, but the fate of many city-operated services hangs in the budget balance – particularly the Seattle Public Library. According to Friends of SPL, there will be dramatic effects at West Seattle libraries, particularly the Delridge, High Point, and WS (Admiral) branches — which would close on Fridays and Sundays, and cut back other hours — as well as nearby South Park. Sarel Rowe from Friends of SPL says they didn’t get the support turnout they were hoping for at the first budget hearing this past week (as they report here), so they are pleading with library supporters to come make brief remarks in support of prioritizing library funding at these two hearings – one just days away:

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14
Northwest African-American Museum
2300 S Massachusetts St. (map)

5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26 at
City Council Chambers
600 4th Avenue (map)

Rowe says, “We need people who will stand up and speak for two minutes in support of the library. One night at a hearing is a small investment if one considers that the risk is closures and reduced hours of our neighborhood branches. E-mails help alot but we must also have support at the hearings if we have any hope of blunting or avoiding these service cuts.” And if you haven’t taken the Friends of SPL survey about library use yet, go here. Meantime, you can dig into details of the 2010 budget proposal by going here.

Eat Local Now! tomorrow night: See who’s exhibiting

Hope we’ll be seeing you tomorrow night at Eat Local Now! – the first year West Seattle is headquarters for this dinner/auction event celebrating the growing (in more ways than one) local-food movement, co-presented by groups including Sustainable West Seattle and CoolMom, featuring a great lineup of local chefs and other food stars, and with co-sponsors including WSB. We got word a couple days ago that tickets were sold out, so if you don’t have yours, it’s unfortunately too late, but organizers asked to share a list of — and acknowledgment for — exhibitors who will be there (including us) — check it out:Read More

West Seattle traffic alerts: The Bridge and Sylvan Way

October 10, 2009 10:34 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle traffic alerts: The Bridge and Sylvan Way
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Reminder: SDOT announced two days ago that crews planned to work on The Bridge today, westbound, at the Harbor Avenue exit till about 6 pm, replacing a “crash cushion.” And we have word from Marco via Twitter that Sylvan Way through High Point (map) is closed – not sure if that’s related to the bike-lane work that we reported yesterday, but if you usually use that “through route” between Delridge and 35th (or points inbetween), heads up.

Happening this morning: Pancakes, rummage sale, car washes

October 10, 2009 6:43 am
|    Comments Off on Happening this morning: Pancakes, rummage sale, car washes
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

Often, the morning preview includes highlights from all dayparts. Today’s got so much going on, we’re just going to start with the morning. First: Pancakes! Alki Lodge #152 presents a pancake breakfast at the Masonic Hall (4736 40th SW), 8 am-11 am, sausage, eggs, pancakes, coffee, OJ, adults $5/kids $4. 9 am is when the Tibbetts United Methodist Church mega-rummage sale kicks off day 2, 3940 41st SW, till 3 pm; and there are four fundraising car washes today – this preview details the 3 for West Seattle’s three high schools; this one is for a Burien car wash (in case you’re headed that way) benefiting a teacher fighting cancer. MUCH more going on, of course – see it all in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.

Halloween-themed web-wandering: Online “artists’ studio tour”

October 10, 2009 12:31 am
|    Comments Off on Halloween-themed web-wandering: Online “artists’ studio tour”
 |   Holidays | West Seattle online | WS culture/arts

jackols.jpgWest Seattle artist Karen Lyons shares news of an “online studio tour” in which she’s participating, to celebrate Halloween and to raise money for bat conservation. It’s a fun site to wander if you have at least a few minutes to spare – halloweenstudiotour.com – and you can contact Karen at woosel@wildmail.com if you want to know more.

Under the West Seattle Bridge, one man “thinks global, acts local”

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

That spot under the high-rise bridge- a stone’s throw from the low bridge – is at the heart of a no-man’s land of sorts – where multiple jurisdictions have ownership and interests, on the shore of a channel at the north end of the Duwamish. Other interests there are those of residents like a great blue heron known as “Grandpa“:

Pull back, and you can see where he is:

Turn in the other direction, here’s what you see:

That’s Jim Clark Marina. Not just a place to keep your boat when you’re not on it – it’s also headquarters to Neal Chism‘s cleanup mission removing trash from marina waters and a nearby section of the Duwamish – hand tools and all.

The grabber is store-bought, but the other item is an invention – a $3 office-item sorting basket tacked to a piece of wood.

With those items, and a few others, Neal has been fishing trash out of the waterway, and pulling it from the shore, for about four months now. As he explains it:

Around about the first of June this year I reached a point where I could no longer stand to look at all the trash that was building up in the parking lot area out in front of our small marina on Harbor Island. At the same time, I was frustrated at the fact that while trash was floating in the waters of the marina just a few feet away from the boat docks I could not reach it.

He is a self-described “semi-retired engineer,” so of course he’s been tracking what he’s finding and making charts:

That chart shows the volume fluctuation in the trajectory of trash he has been picking up on nearby beaches along the waterway – just within a mile or so; the beaches have nicknames, like “Safe,” where a discarded safe turned up once, and “Seal Pup,” for a little critter who turned up there. They aren’t sandy beaches like Alki – more rocky shores, like this one on the north side of the bridge, not far from a pocket park on Port of Seattle land:

Also nearby, a city sewer-line project related to the reason we first heard from Neal – a big project under the bridge (something we’ll follow up on separately!):

But first, more about what he’s doing and why. Neal cites the infamous story of the Great Garbage Patch in the middle of the Pacific – hundreds of miles wide, a repository for trash, particularly plastic, that starts a million places that ultimately feed into the ocean. Neal says he traveled extensively in the South Pacific and was horrified by what garbage has done – a disposable lighter that finds itself into the water, for example, might get eaten by an albatross with a 10-foot wingspan, get stuck in its throat, and starve the bird to death. So, to keep at least a small portion of the trash from getting that far, he’s taking action, one piece of trash at a time. “This is for the birds,” he says – including ones he’s photographed, like Grandpa:

He shows us the photos in a shack at the marina, where he has been restoring an old sailboat, and where he also keeps the “cataraft” he uses to travel to nearby beaches – pull up, pick up some trash, get back into the water and row to the next beach – it’s atop this stack of small boats:

The narrow end of the channel where the marina sits is something of the last bottleneck before trash is closer to making its way into Elliott Bay – he showed us this on a navigation chart:

What he picks up isn’t all trash. He also cuts plastic rope left behind when net fishers remove their nets; he’s invented a battery-powered, gun-shaped device that heats a wire to slice through them:

So far, his project has been a one-person effort. Later this month, he’ll be talking to others at the marina about what he’s been doing, and how they might help. It’s something almost anyone can help with – not just by avoiding throwing trash on beaches, let alone into the water, but also being careful not to lose items in the water – some of what he picks up involves tennis balls tossed for dogs to fetch, for example. Also, it just so happens that the next semiannual Duwamish Alive! cleanup is a week away – 10 am-2 pm October 17th – with hundreds of volunteers set to work along the waterway and in nearby greenbelts (including here in West Seattle). His project, however, isn’t really formal – except for this:

Picking up the trash turns out to be the easy part. Finding a way to have the collected trash hauled away is tougher. I came up with the idea of having the area officially adopted under the Seattle Public Utilities “Adopt a Street” program. Instead of adopting a street, however, I adopted an area from Klickitat Way over to the water. The benefit of using this program is that the city gets volunteers (me) to pick up an area, and the city will take the refuse and clean-green away for free.

If we haven’t mentioned this sooner – Neal didn’t contact us looking for publicity – he e-mailed regarding the aforementioned sewer project, and when he mentioned his cleanup work, we asked if we could meet him to do a story about it. Turns out he COULD use a little publicity – he’s pitched his project as an idea for the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs” – read his pitch on their forum, and give him a vote if you think it would make a good episode.

Need your car washed? Local schools offer 3 choices tomorrow!

We’re adding two more high-school benefit car washes to tomorrow’s calendar – which means all three of West Seattle’s high schools are offering you the chance tomorrow to help out AND get a cleaner car (sunny forecast!):

WEST SEATTLE HS GRAD NIGHT: Putting on the stay-safe-while-having-fun event takes a lot of fundraising throughout the year, and tomorrow’s 10 am-2 pm car wash at the WSHS parking lot (3000 California SW) is the next event.

CHIEF SEALTH MUSIC: Washing cars at the school parking lot (5950 Delridge) 9 am-3 pm tomorrow. The Sealth music program is raising $ for tuxedos and travel expenses. Monica Kenny writes, “We are hoping that once again our fellow West Seattleites would like to liberate themselves of car-wash duty and help out a great bunch of musicians at the same time.”

SEATTLE LUTHERAN FOOTBALL: 10 am-1 pm at Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor; 7501 35th SW). They’re raising money to help with travel expenses – particularly in the league in which they play, they have to go to a lot of farther-flung spots (Concrete, Naselle, etc.).

2 ways to help local food banks – get your tickets now!

October 9, 2009 4:36 pm
|    Comments Off on 2 ways to help local food banks – get your tickets now!
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

FIRST: One week from tomorrow, the White Center Food Bank presents its annual Harvest Dinner/Auction – a key fundraiser for an agency that serves people in the city limits (as well as WC) but doesn’t get city funding. The auction will include chairs hand-decorated by local artists – among them, WSB’er Babs, who just finished and turned in the one you see above, and shared its story:

Discarded and found in a local Goodwill, this lonely chair cried out for a new beginning. It started life over 80 years ago in a Tacoma woodworking shop and since then only we can be the judge of the many dining tables it has graced. Time gave it life scars but it remained sturdy and strong – awaiting placement at a new table to oversee more stories from life shared over meals.

To get tickets for the White Center Food Bank Harvest and Auction (5:30 pm October 17 @ Brockey Center), call 206-762-2848.

SECOND: The West Seattle Food Bank needs plenty of help too – business is booming there too. WSB has just signed up to be one of the sponsors of an annual event that’s all about collecting $ (as well as food) for the WS Food Bank – the Beer Church‘s 11th annual Turkey Bowl. It’s not till November 21st, 5:30 pm at West Seattle Bowl, but tickets just went on sale online, and an early purchase is the best way to guarantee you’ll be part of the fun. Go here to buy in (you can even buy your own lane!), and find out more.

Followup from SDOT on the Admiral/California signal

A little more today from SDOT on the source-of-much-discussion Admiral/California signal timing. Here’s what Marybeth Turner found out for us:

SDOT did change the signal timing around a month ago and has been actively monitoring the traffic since then. Based on our observations, the corridor is operating very well during the AM and PM peak times. We will make some minor changes to the signal timing at the intersection of California Ave SW & Admiral Way SW for the off-peak and weekend periods. That will extend the green time for eastbound and westbound traffic within the next couple of weeks. If your readers have additional concerns, please e-mail them to SDOT at traffic.signals@seattle.gov

Please do take her up on that request – comments on this item are great TOO (and when you e-mail us about concerns, that helps us ask authorities the right questions), but if you also send them to SDOT as requested here, they’ll also circulate directly into mailboxes that matter.

Yet more Fauntleroy Way restriping – and Sylvan Way too

(looking north on Fauntleroy from just south of Holly)
Thanks to John C for noting that the long line of “no parking” signs along Fauntleroy Way east/south of Morgan Junction has been followed up by what appeared to be lines for bike lanes, and work crews like the one you see above. That stretch indeed is identified as a bike-lane prospect in the citywide Bicycle Master Plan (get a closer look at West Seattle plans here); we asked SDOT‘s Rick Sheridan for details on what exactly is being done right now:

As part of the Bicycle Master Plan, SDOT is adding new bike lanes and sharrows on Fauntleroy Way SW from California to the ferry terminal. Your readers can basically expect to see a bike lane on the northbound side and sharrows on the southbound side. To accommodate the new bike facilities, we are shifting the center line in some locations and reducing the width of the two-way left turn lane. No parking will be lost due to the changes. Weather permitting, the work should be completed by the end of next week.

Over the next few days, we will also be installing bike lanes uphill and sharrows downhill on Sylvan Way SW from Delridge to High Point.

More trouble for stalled 35th/Avalon (and others) owner Mastro

One of the most recent citywide-media reports about developer Michael Mastro – forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, with properties including the half-done 35th/Avalon building as well as Harbor Ave land and the West Water condo conversion – focused on his “Friends and Family” investors. That’s what appears to be at the heart of charges just announced by the state – read on for the news release:Read More

Shipwreck Tavern update: Tomorrow confirmed as opening night

When we published this update a week and a half ago on the new Shipwreck Tavern (4210 Admiral Way), they were on track for an October 10th opening – but as we’ve seen with many new restaurant/store projects, you never know for sure till you get there, so we just checked with Shipwreck proprietor Chris Long, who says tomorrow IS definitely opening night. Chris told WSB contributing reporter Mary Sheely that the doors open at 6 pm tomorrow, Colby Imus & the Good Lieutenants will play, music starts between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. – there may be more than one act but they’re the only ones confirmed. Twelve beers on tap including the old standbys like Bud and Bud Light and also selections like Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Manny’s Pale Ale, Mud Shark Porter, Stella Artois, Red Hook, and Jubelale.”

West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Eat Local Now! edition

wswllicon3.pngThe Eat Local Now! event Sunday night is sold out – hope you got your ticket – but if not, we hereby encourage you to “eat local” this weekend in a variety of ways: Support West Seattle restaurants, markets, Farmers’ Market vendors and other food purveyors! WS has 100+ places to chow down, including WSB sponsors Cafe Revo, Endolyne Joe’s, Feedback Lounge and Skylark Cafe and Club (which sponsors the WS Weekend Lineup!). And there are cooking classes at West Seattle PCC (two this weekend that still have space). Other weekend highlights include a WSHS Grad Night fundraising car wash, first Board Game Afternoon on Sunday at Southwest Library, and “Art in the Garden” opens Saturday at West Seattle Nursery. Read on for our list of 50+ events and activities:Read More