West Seattle, Washington

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Spotlight Stories


  • Remembering

    WSB CO-FOUNDER DIES: Remembering Patrick Sand

  • Zoning

    ZONING CHANGES: Check your neighborhood

  • Kenney

    TOWER LIGHT’S BACK ON: The story behind it

New WSB sponsor: Twelfth Night presents “The Underpants”
March 27, 2009 2:14 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fun stuff to do | WS culture/arts

Maybe you could use a little comic relief after this week (or after any week, really). Toward that end, we welcome a new sponsor, Twelfth Night Productions‘ latest play, “The Underpants,” opening tonight at Youngstown Arts Center. Here’s the official news release announcing the show:

Never underestimate the power of a glimpse of lingerie. Twelfth Night Productions (TNP) is proud to announce its next offering, “The Underpants.”

Adapted by Steve Martin from Carl Sternheim‘s 1910 comedy Die Hose,” this hilarious comedy dives into issues of sex, feminism and politics. The story begins when young housewife Louise has a mishap with her underpants – they fall to her ankles, resting there for a few moments in public. The sight of her underpants unearths passion in those who witnessed it and concern from her boring, government-employed husband. “The Underpants” is a witty and hilarious look at marriage, gender roles, celebrity and class. This production is for mature audiences only.

TNP is a non-profit performing arts organization located at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. This production features several artists from the West Seattle community as well as the greater Seattle area.

“The Underpants” runs in a special limited engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, the former historic Cooper School, in West Seattle. Show times are: March 27th and 28th, April 3rd and 4th at 7:30PM, with matinees at 3 PM on March 29th and April 5th. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com), and at the Youngstown Theater on performance days. “The Underpants” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

Twelfth Night Productions (www.twelfthnightproductions.org) is a non-profit arts organization and anchor tenant at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (www.youngstownarts.org). Established by educators in West Seattle over twenty years ago, Twelfth Night has been active in charitable and neighborhood improvement projects such as The Compass Center and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. The organization has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities, and offers theater training and mentorship to all members of the community, free of charge. Recent productions have included Once Upon a Mattress, True West, Fiddler on the Roof, The Dining Room, The Foreigner, Oklahoma!, DeathTrap, Crazy for You, and Bullshot Crummond.

Thanks to Twelfth Night Productions’ “The Underpants” for sponsoring local news, information, and discussion here on WSB; our current sponsor team is listed here.

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Happening now: Alki Homestead post-fire cleanup, repairs
March 27, 2009 11:28 am
|      23 COMMENTS
 |   Alki Homestead | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Meet Marcus, Josiah, and Taylor Tunison, brothers who went to high school at West Seattle’s own Seattle Lutheran, volunteering their time right now to help clean up the historic Alki Homestead‘s fire-ravaged interior. In a WSB comment thread earlier this week about concern for the Homestead’s future, 2 months after the fire, owner Tom Lin said this:

I found a contractor who can come on Friday to build a temporary roof. If anyone is really interested in helping out, be at Homestead 9 am on Friday. He will start the work at that time.

This morning, four people did that – three of them, the young brothers you see above. A professional work crew is also there:

That worker subsequently invited us inside to see what’s happening – the cords in this photo, next to the huge stone fireplace, lead up through an opening in the roof, which workers are trying to get covered:

The most striking image of the morning remains that of the three young brothers who just showed up to help:

Lin wondered – where is everyone else? He says that contrary to perception, the insurance company he’s working with has been “great” – and finally just this week gave him a green light to do some cleanup, even though the insurance company itself technically now owns the “contents,” including fire-damaged items that the young volunteers are helping bring out. We will check back later in the day to see how this is going; Lin had to leave the site for a while for an appointment at the restaurant he says he is taking over so that his Homestead employees will have work — “Ten people are going to get a job from that,” he called out to us, as he walked to his car. (He is not yet publicly naming the restaurant.) If you want to help with the cleanup happening right now, the Homestead is on 61st just south of Alki Ave (map).

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Viaduct inspection results: “Small amount of settlement”
March 27, 2009 10:39 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

… but WSDOT says the Alaskan Way Viaduct remains safe. Here’s the full news release just sent out about the results of last weekend’s inspections:Read More

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John’s Corner Deli robbery update: The latest from police
March 27, 2009 9:33 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news

The first question on everyone’s mind this morning was obviously – has anyone been caught yet, in connection with the robbery last night at John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster (original WSB coverage here)? We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit. The answer: No, no one in custody. Beyond that, two things: First, the media unit has just filed its summary of the situation on SPDBlotter, moments ago (see it here)- it mentions three details we didn’t have before: First, police say the robbers grabbed the entire cash register; second, they apparently got away in a vehicle, from a spot half a block away where the track followed by K-9 officers came to an end; third, the robbers were believed to be in their 30s. As for how the clerk is doing, we know he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, but information on his condition is not publicly available right now. Police are not saying whether the store got the incident on surveillance video but promise that if there are images to release to help in the search, we will get them so that they can be publicized. 10:14 AM UPDATE: We just went to the store to see if we could find out how the victim is doing. The shop is open again for business; the woman we spoke with didn’t want to say much more than, “My brother … is fine” and that they will be “OK.”

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West Seattle school note: Last day before spring break, for many
March 27, 2009 7:02 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle schools

Quick reminder – today’s the last day before the week-long spring break for Seattle Public Schools, some West Seattle private schools, and Highline Public Schools (Vashon schools aren’t out until week AFTER next). Many local community centers offer special break-week activities; check the brochure here.

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Update: John’s Corner Deli robbed, clerk hurt, robbers on loose
March 26, 2009 10:03 pm
|      140 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

ORIGINAL 10:03 PM REPORT: The city’s 9-1-1 logs show a police and fire callout to the 7500 block of 35th to investigate an assault with weapons call. Text messages we’ve received say the search is working its way down Myrtle and some of the other side streets off that block of 35th. A helicopter is in the air over that area. Details will follow as we get them.

10:34 PM UPDATE: Police are still combing the area for two robbers who grabbed the cash till at John’s Corner Deli at 7500 35th SW. Police say two males wearing ski masks entered the store, one carrying a knife and the other carrying a firearm. A struggle ensued; a worker at the store received injuries which have not yet been disclosed.

Here’s a shot of what the floor inside looked like as seen from across the street.

1:29 AM UPDATE: The most recent update from police says the robbers are still on the loose and that the clerk suffered “facial injuries.” The descriptions of the robbers aren’t very detailed, but here’s exactly what police said in that update: One Hispanic male with a face mask and a shotgun; one “unknown race” male, mask, with a knife. If you have ANY information, call 911.

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Door-to-door alerts: 2 solicitor reports
March 26, 2009 7:11 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Door-to-door alert

For those who track door-to-door sightings – both e-mailers say they have no proof these aren’t legitimate, but they wanted to share word of the sightings – read on if you’re interested:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: 2 items from SPDBlotter
March 26, 2009 5:51 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Just in case you haven’t already seen these items on the WSB Crime Watch page, which instantly picks up whatever Seattle Police publish to their SPDBlotter site: First, early this morning at a Roxhill-area home (the address is not mentioned), police went to a house whose resident reported the second break-in in two weeks; the alleged burglar was found in another house nearby, and police say they found “property” from both burglaries. Full SPDBlotter writeup here.

Then, late this morning, police went to a house in the 3800 block of 19th SW (map) to check out a report of people in what was supposed to be a vacant building; while talking to people they found inside, according to the police report, they were “charged” by a pit bull. One officer shot and wounded the dog. Full SPDBlotter writeup on that one here. (We also have received a note from a nearby resident who says police activity continued at the house through the afternoon.)

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Accident at 32nd and Henderson
March 26, 2009 3:19 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

Fire crews and paramedics responded to a call at 32nd SW and Henderson just after 2:30 this afternoon. Witnesses at the scene said the silver car was traveling down 32nd when it struck the black SUV in the intersection. Paramedics transported the drivers for treatment of minor injuries.

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West Seattle scene: New banners up in The Junction
March 26, 2009 2:20 pm
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle news

Followup to our recent report that new banners had been designed to replace the undeniably worn ones hanging around The Junction – the new ones are now up along 42nd and 44th (the latter is where we took the photo above).

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New online traffic/traveling info-map from the city
March 26, 2009 1:40 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle online

SDOT just announced a new web feature with color-coded traffic info, live-camera links, and transit info all in one place: seattle.gov/travelers. Read on for the full announcement:Read More

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Police aren’t the only ones with canine assistance: Meet Henny
March 26, 2009 12:20 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools


Special guests today at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in West Seattle — Fire Captain Steve Baer and fire dog Henny, a four-year-old Lab. Capt. Baer says that Henny is one of only two arson-investigation dogs in our entire state; she started her “career” as a seeing-eye dog, but was “too distracted” so she moved on to fire-dog training; she lives with the Baer family. OLG preschool and kindergarten students got to pet her after Capt. Baer’s presentation about their work. (For a little more info, here’s an announcement from when Henny joined the Seattle Fire Department three years ago.)

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From land-use land: Harbor Ave, Delridge projects approved
March 26, 2009 11:04 am
|    Comments Off on From land-use land: Harbor Ave, Delridge projects approved
 |   Development | West Seattle news

From the latest Land Use Information Bulletin just sent out by the city:

westbay.jpg

*A land-use permit has just been approved for 2328 Harbor Ave, a waterfront multi-building project, called West Bay (the drawing above is also on a sign at the site), where Berg Scaffolding is now. The decision, and information on how to comment, can be found here.

*The subdivision plan for a six-unit residential project at 5020 Delridge (map) also has been approved; more on the decision, and how to comment, can be seen here.

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A request from Alki Homestead’s owner, to help thank firefighters
March 26, 2009 10:11 am
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   Alki Homestead | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(January 16 photo taken at Homestead fire scene by David Hutchinson)
A new update this morning from Alki Homestead owner Tom Lin – who wants help in showing gratitude to the firefighters who responded the morning the historic restaurant caught fire:

Alki Homestead-Volunteers Wanted

I have been swamped with work since the fire and it would be great if someone with the connection can help with the following tasks.

The day of the fire, I remember there were about 10 fire trucks from 3 or 4 fire stations putting out the fire. It is very important to show how grateful we are for what they have done and how quickly they responded. I thought it would be nice to install a X Box or Wii in every station. It must be pretty boring to sit in the station at times and a good computer game could ease the boredom.

1. We need to find out if that is permitted to install the games in the stations.
2. We need to find out which stations these firemen came from.
3. We need volunteers to install these games.
4. If we can’t install the games, suggestions as to what can we do to show our appreciation.

I will provide the systems and games.

Tom’s e-mail is alkihomestead@yahoo.com.

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Update; One person taken to hospital after 35th/Avalon crash
March 26, 2009 7:47 am
|      18 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS breaking news

WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is just back from a crash at 35th/Avalon; he says a car and pickup truck collided – witnesses told him the car may have run a red light before hitting the truck, whose driver was taken to Harborview Medical Center. This is one of the two West Seattle intersections with red-light cameras. (Check the latest conditions at that intersection in the cam on our Traffic page.) 8:16 AM UPDATE: The crash scene has been cleared.

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Today/tonight: WSDW lunch; crime prevention; Water Taxi
March 26, 2009 7:43 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: WSDW lunch; crime prevention; Water Taxi
 |   Crime | King County Water Taxi | West Seattle politics

From the WSB Events calendar:

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN LUNCHEON: 11:30 am at the West Seattle Golf Course. Guest speakers include 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse and West Seattle’s School Board rep Steve Sundquist; registration starts Registration will begin at 11:15 A.M. with the lunch/program beginning at 11:30 A.M. Cost is $10 for members; $12 for non-members. But call for reservations first: (206) 935-3216.

PARKS BOARD VOTE ON WATER TAXI DOCK: 7 pm at Parks Department HQ downtown (map). Tonight’s agenda includes a vote on whether to recommend that Parks support the plan to expand the dock at Seacrest so that the (newly renamed) King County Water Taxi can start year-round operations next year.

SOUTH DELRIDGE/WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY SAFETY COALITION: 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW (map). Tonight’s agenda includes the continued discussion of a possible “alcohol impact zone” on both sides of the city/county line.

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The beauty of books: Donations from, and for, local students
March 25, 2009 10:13 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

First, the donations FROM students. Above are Erika and Julia Guerette, posing with boxes of books explained in this official announcement about their achievement:

Want to read the classic West Side Story? Or last year’s hit Twilight? How about a John Grisham novel or one of the books from the children’s series Arthur? If so, you find these and 400 more books in five boxes headed to Alaska, thanks to the generosity of students and staff from Holy Names Academy and Our Lady of Guadalupe School. For the fourth year now, Julia (right in photo) and Erika Guerette (left) have been collecting books from schoolmates and sending them north to villages smaller than their schools. Many of the villages have a population of less than 200 people and are located in the remote parts of the state along the famed Iditarod Trail. Julia and Erika’s goal is simple. Books open doors that lead out of the rugged isolation kids their age face in the rural Alaskan villages where teen suicide is higher than the national average. Julia is a freshman at Holy Names Academy and Erika is an eighth grader at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. She’ll be joining her sister at Holy Names next year. The 2009 book drive put their running book count for the past four years close to 2,000 books.

Now, on to donations you can make for a local preschool – by buying books for yourself!

That’s a photo from last night’s story time at Barnes and Noble-Westwood Village, in honor of the Arbor Heights Co-op Preschool< BookFair, which continues one more day – buy anything through tomorrow at any B&N and mention this code: 497941.

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West Seattle sweeps Parks & Rec Youth Basketball Championships!
March 25, 2009 9:03 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Speedy Demons: Standing left to right: Coach Sonya Elliott, Julia Nark, Kelsey Klapperich, Anna Carlson-Ziegver, Abby Tuthill, and Coach Jason Elliott. Kneeling left to right: Charli Elliott, Ali Campagnaro, Sami MacKenzie, Annalisa Ursino, and Sarah Cooper. Not pictured: Allyson Ylvisaker

Knights: Standing left to right: Coach Todd Stordahl, Alex MacKenzie, Michael Sasonoff, Parker Diller, Diego Rangel, Mike Dennehy, Carter Mensing, Coach John MacKenzie, and Kevin Stordahl. Kneeling left to right: Casey Lenzie, AJ Lingg, Dylan Jergens, Emmett Abdian, and Joey Meucci
The “sweep” headline comes from John MacKenzie, along with the photos you see above, and the story about the newly crowned champs:

The Girls U-12 Silver division Hiawatha Speedy Demons and the Boys U-12 Silver division Alki Knights brought home back to back championships at Miller Community Center last Sunday.

The Speedy Demons played at 11 AM against a tough and determined Yesler team but came out ahead with a gritty 21-18 victory to finish the season undefeated. The hard-fought battle included 2 players from Hiawatha fouling out in the 4th quarter.

The boys followed at 12:30 PM and finished off a pesky Meadowbrook team with a 6-0 run late in the 4th quarter giving them a 40-33 victory. Vashon Island gave Alki their only 2 defeats of the season but Alki got revenge by beating them in the semi-finals to advance to the championship game.

Both teams used incredible teamwork and perseverance. Each player understood their role and made a valuable contribution to their victory. All the hard work and practice paid off for the 2 West Seattle teams.

Congratulations to both teams!

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Three stories to share
March 25, 2009 8:06 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

First: From seattlepi.com – Six people have been indicted in connection with a prostitution ring, and they allegedly are affiliated with what’s described as a West Seattle-based gang. Read the story here.

Second, Derek P sent this photo, and the report that follows:

Just another FYI for West Seattle residents who believe that they may live on a quiet street. I returned back from work today passing my girlfriend’s vehicle parallel parked at SW Raymond St. & 30th Ave SW [map] What do I find? Gold paint running along the bottom of the drivers side (see photo). Reported to the SPD. No witnesses. Her vehicle happened to be one of two parked along the street at the time (4:30pm). Fortunately, the paint was still somewhat soft so I managed to remove most of it with some bug / tar remover plus some elbow grease. At first I assumed it was spray paint but I’m not so sure. I will probably go back out later to ask neighbors who may have been parked on the street earlier to see if their cars were hit.

Finally, Susan in Upper Fauntleroy sent this after reading about the stolen Buddha on Alki earlier this week:

Within the past week we had a large (4 foot) carving of a fisherman with a large fish stolen from our front poarch. I would love to get it back, it was rather unique, but I don’t have much hope. However, I wanted to let you know because there may be a trend and I want others in the West Seattle community to learn from our experience.

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Wanted by West Seattle church: Anyone have a donkey to loan?
March 25, 2009 5:31 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle religion

Thanks to Diane for spotting this on the West Seattle-sorted CL listings that cycle through the WSB More page: A West Seattle church, looking for a donkey for Palm Sunday. We sent a note to the blind-box e-mail address to find out which church: It’s St. John the Baptist Episcopal, next to West Seattle High School – which in fact offered a well-attended “Blessing of the Animals” last October.

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Delridge-area problem properties: Cleanup under way on 26th
March 25, 2009 2:44 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

In the past week, we have brought you two updates on Delridge-area problem properties (here and here), focused in particular on one vacant house at the far north end of Delridge, but also discussing a wider problem – junk and trash piling up outside some, transient/squatter problems at others. Today, we got word (thanks, Lisa!) that a cleanup crew is at 5424 26th SW (map), which she says is a vacant house that’s had a junk problem for a long time (note the photos above and below). The city-worker crew that’s there would tell us only that it’s a court-ordered cleanup; crossreferencing the parcel number in King County’s online-records system didn’t turn up that kind of court order, nor did any recent violation notices show up on the city website (though as a commenter discovered, it looks like one of last year’s violations did just wind its way through the system), but we did find a notice that the site is to be auctioned off on April 17th (10 am, King County Administration Building downtown).

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Alki Homestead’s future: An update from owner Tom Lin
March 25, 2009 12:16 pm
|      25 COMMENTS
 |   Alki Homestead | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

After both of the stories we published here the past two days about concerns regarding the Alki Homestead‘s future (here and here), we mentioned trying to reach owner Tom Lin for his comment on his plans for the landmark restaurant, two months after the fire that closed it. Here’s what he just sent us:

It has been 2 months since the fire at Alki Homestead and I appreciate everyone’s concern as to what to do with the property. Hopefully this will provide some insight as to what is going on.

My main concern is to find a place for my employees to work. It has not been easy due to the economic condition of the market. I have looked at over several restaurants that are for sale in West Seattle and finally found one that everyone likes. I presented the letter of intent yesterday and hopefully it will work out. The employees are thrilled to have the opportunity to work together as a team again — over 10 of them. It is not going to be named Alki Homestead. However, the spirit will be kept alive until Homestead reopens.

It will be a long road ahead to restore Alki Homestead. The insurance is still in the process of getting settled. I have to say that the insurance companies I am working with are professional and extremely helpful. They have a process that they have to go through in order to settle the claim. It just takes time and they are doing the best they can.

I called my insurance adjuster yesterday and asked them to release the property. They called back immediately with permission to go ahead with a modified cleanup. I can start cleaning up the place, but I should keep the contents intact until the insurance settles. Technically, the insurance companies own the property inside the building because they are paying for it.

Where do we go from here? I have been working with my architects and Mark Fritch of Mark Fritch Log Homes. Mark sent a letter to West Seattle Herald on March 24th. I hope you will have a chance to read it. Mark is the great grandson of the original builder, Anton Borgen, who helped build Alki Homestead and Log House Museum.

I met up with the board of Log House Museum a month ago. Their position is to restore the building regardless of the “use” of the building. They believe that as long as a viable business can pay the rent, then the building is saved.

I disagree with that view. The building is the shell, but the spirit is the Alki Homestead. To bring back the building without Alki Homestead is like visiting your grandmother’s house after she passed away, kind of empty. I have owned it for 3 years. I am the one who has seen:

1, Customers celebrating their 50th anniversary because that is where they had their wedding rehearsal.
2. The Ericksons, who have been coming every Friday night for the past 27 years.
3, The couple who celebrated their 75th anniversary, and they met at the beach when they were 16 years old.

The stories go on and on.

Maybe all of you can help me preserve the spirit of the property as well as the historical use of this great site. Maybe the Log House Museum can have their annual gala at Alki Homestead Restaurant in the future, instead of holding those events at other non-historic venues, as in the past 2 years.

I believe action speaks louder than words. If you would like to help with the project, then let’s be constructive. We need to stay positive and move forward. A lot of work needs to be done. Let’s bring Alki Homestead Restaurant back and let’s make this project something we can all be proud of.

Thomas Lin

(added 1:35 pm – We’ve just spoken with Lin by phone; he won’t elaborate on which restaurant he’s looking into – the two closed restaurants that have been for sale in West Seattle for months are the former Beato and Blackbird.) He also attached a WSB-addressed version of the letter he mentioned, from Mark Fritch, a great-grandson of the builder of the Homestead and the Log House Museum – read on to see it in its entirety:Read More

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Happening in West Seattle tonight: Jim Diers, “Idol,” school talks
March 25, 2009 9:04 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

At last year’s Sustainable West Seattle Festival (have you signed up for this year yet? 4/4’s the deadline), Jim Diers listed West Seattle – and elsewhere – examples of “Neighbor Power,” and tonight he brings that energy and evangelism to the Fauntleroy Church series about “Re-creating Community in Our Day.” It’s free at 7 pm; if you want to, you can go early and share a “simple supper” for which donations will be accepted, starting at 6 pm. Afterward, if you’re in the mood for music, “Junction Idol” is into the finals at Rocksport — one of the contenders recommended to us is Anders:

See the rest of the contestants on the Junction Idol YouTube page – then show up tonight at 9:30 to watch the finals.

CHIEF SEALTH MEETING: One other note – the Chief Sealth High School PTSA encourages Sealth parents to attend a meeting tonight, 7 pm, in the school library, to hear from principal John Boyd about how district budget challenges will affect the school.

(added 12:59 pm) PATHFINDER K-8 PTSA MEETING: Also just got word (thanks, Lashanna!) that Pathfinder K-8 has a meeting tonight too, for an update on the changes that are under way (as it prepares to move to a new location this fall) – 6:45 pm, school cafeteria.

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