New WSB sponsor: Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation
West Seattle is home to a wide variety of spiritual communities from a diverse array of faith traditions – and many are growing fast. Today, we welcome one of them as our newest WSB sponsor: Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, an active, spiritually liberal West Seattle Church for more than four decades, led by the Rev. Peg Morgan. The tagline summing up WSUU: “Feeding your spirit, expanding your mind, working for justice.” Here are some of the ways its current, growing congregation of 150 adults and 80 children/youth say they’re doing that: “Examples of our current work in social justice include direct participation in Habitat for Humanity; caring for homeless families through the Family Promise Program; joining with the West Seattle Neighbors for Peace in opposing the tragic war in Iraq; and continuing to press for full equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.” Toward the latter end, WSUU is a certified Welcoming Congregation. If you haven’t attended a Unitarian Universalist service before and are wondering what UUs believe, here’s a little bit about that: “We believe there are many sources of wisdom from which to draw in order for one to develop a strong spiritual core and live a meaningful, ethical life. Those sources include the world’s religions, our natural environment, as well as science and reason.” And it’s for all ages; WSUU has a well-regarded, comprehensive religious-education program for youth, under the leadership of Director of Religious Education for Children and Youth, Kari Kopnick. Also offered is a stimulating and diverse program of adult education classes. The church meets at 10:30 Sunday mornings at the Alki Masonic Temple, with an after-service coffee hour “where newcomers are warmly welcomed” – and there’s an enthusiastic, growing Choir and Music program too:
Plus, there are other socializing/spiritual support opportunities such as Women’s Retreats and Circle Suppers. To find out more, explore the WSUU website at wsuu.org. Thanks to Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation for joining the WSB sponsor team; our full list of sponsors — thanks to everyone for supporting them! — and info on how to join them, is on this page.
West Seattle Weekend Lineup: CROP Walk, pet blessings, more
Faith-based activities abound this weekend – Seattle CROP Walk in the Alki area on Sunday (WSB 2007 photo above); two chances to have your pet(s) blessed; Holy Rosary‘s annual Alumni Sunday … Meantime, tonight and tomorrow are the final performances of “The Vertical Hour” at ArtsWest, and the weekend even offers a chance to press cider with neighbors. 41 events on our handy list ahead:Read More
Crime Watch: Any idea who this guy is?
Seattle Police just put out a citywide call for public help in identifying the man shown in the sketch at left. The news release says: “On September 25th 2008, at approximately 11:00 p.m., the below-described suspect sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in the yard of her home in the 2200 block of Northeast 143rd Street. The suspect is described as a white male, 55-60 years old, 5’07-5’10 very skinny build. Hair/beard possibly blondish/gray. Last seen wearing, a navy blue knit cap (recovered at scene). Gray hooded sweatshirt. Dark jeans. Alcohol on breath, dirty. Knife or sharp object in pocket of sweatshirt. ‘Holes’ on forehead/cheeks. (Possibly pock marks, large pores or bumps) Light scar below right eye. Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to call the Seattle Police Sexual Assault Unit at 206-684-5573.”
Fauntleroy Schoolhouse: Event tonight; purchase-talks update
Two items this morning related to the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse: First – from the WSB Events page – a free Family Fun Night tonight, sponsored by civicdancers.org, a nonprofit part of Seattlecivicdance.com, one of the schoolhouse’s key tenants. Kim Dinsmoor says it’s free, 6-9 pm, on the north side of the schoolhouse’s lower floor: “There is a silent auction of items donated by more than 30 families and West Seattle merchants. You can buy tickets for food, drinks, face painting, cake walk with up to 100 cakes, and more. All profit from this goes to Seattle Civic Concert Dancers, a non profit group. This is a chance for West Seattleites to see one of the reasons why the old Fauntleroy school is so important to our community.” Speaking of which, we just checked on the status of the plan to purchase the schoolhouse, which Seattle Public Schools has designated “surplus” property, and there are a few new developments – read on:Read More
Running out of time to register – and another vote note
Tomorrow’s the last day you can register to vote in the general election (E-Day is November 4th but the state starts sending out mail-in ballots within a couple weeks). Various groups plan registration drives around West Seattle on Saturday, but you can also do the deed online right now by going here. If you vote by mail, by the way, you will have an in-person dropoff option in West Seattle starting October 17th (and continuing round-the-clock through 8 pm on Election Day, 11/4) at the Delridge Neighborhood Services Center (one of only two such dropoffs in the entire city!). And when it comes time to make your voting decisions – you can find lots of info links (voters’ guides, official websites for candidates and ballot measure supporter/opponents, debate schedules, more) on the WSB Election page.
North Delridge Council: New signs; a juicy invitation; more
That’s one of the signs you can expect to see around North Delridge before the next meeting of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council – purchased with money from an outreach grant, and unveiled at last night’s NDNC meeting. Also discussed last night: They’re still working on next steps for the Cottage Grove “tot lot” playground upgrade, for which they have received a $15,000 matching-funds grant from the city. Expect an official update soon. Meantime, next year’s Neighborhood Street Fund plans for the area were outlined – projects that have been requested for years, as NDNC co-chair Mike Dady pointed out – including a sidewalk along Brandon from Delridge to the park and traffic calming on 26th SW north of Brandon, between Cottage Grove and Greg Davis parks; still some work to be done on projects approved for this year, as well, including calming on the 21st/Dawson hill that’s “supposed to start any day now” (that’s the hill heading down to Oregon, scene of this guardrail crash we covered recently). For the “juicy invitation” and a few more items, read on:Read More
Chief Sealth’s first open-house night @ Boren
Seen at tonight’s Chief Sealth High School open house at the temporary (this year and next) Boren location – new T-shirts that the CSHS PTSA is selling, with BELIEVE in English on the front and many more languages on the back:
We dropped in as Sealth Principal John Boyd was saying a few words to the crowd:
Just general opening remarks, but significant in that this is the first open house in Sealth’s two-year home (while the permanent campus is undergoing renovation work, which started over the summer). Other activities tonight included dinner and chances for families to learn more about what’s being taught this year. Lots more school news on the CSHS website; the PTSA has its own site too, right here.
Staying safe on the sidewalks and streets: Pedestrian updates
Several items tonight: First, we heard this week from Michael Taylor-Judd, who attended a recent city Pedestrian Safety Advisory Group meeting and came away with information he wanted to share, including some followup on comments made after the California/Dawson crash last week that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale (most recent update: police were looking for witnesses):
Shane DeWald spoke to me afterward. She is a Senior Landscape Architect with SDOT’s Urban Forestry division. She was very interested in learning more about the comments folks made after last week’s fatality about whether or not shading caused by trees could have contributed the accident. She encouraged folks to contact her with concerns about whether some streets/crossings might need a more aggressive trimming schedule. She can be reached at (206) 684-5041 or shane.dewald@seattle.gov.
2) Megan Hoyt also spoke to me afterward. She is the Pedestrian & Bicycle Program Coordinator for SDOT’s Traffic Management Division. She provided a general phone number and e-mail address for the program — (206) 684-7583 and walkandbike@seattle.gov — and encourages folks to make comments to the group about where safety improvements need to be made. More can be found out about the program on their website — http://seattle.gov/transportation/walkandbike.htm — along with links to work on the Pedestrian Master Plan.
Second, two reminders about next week: First, Councilmember Nick Licata is sponsoring a forum downtown on Monday night about his proposal to move $40 million-plus from the Mercer Street project to pedestrian/bicycle improvements (read more here). The next day, Tuesday, is the pedestrian-safety demonstration at 35th/Juneau (map), first mentioned here; the time’s now set for 3-4 pm and this flyer is being circulated:
West Seattle Crime Watch: More than an outage
Just out of the WSB inbox from “T and T,” near Lincoln Park:
Our cable internet and phone service were both down Monday night (9/29). The following evening when I returned from work, I called Comcast and Qwest to troubleshoot. When we were told by both companies that there were no known issues causing the outage, my husband and I went outside to check our wiring entering our home. We were surprised to find that someone had cleanly cut our phone line (i.e. with a wire cutter or similar) and two of our three cable wires. We figure that someone must have tried to break into our home via our basement door, but either got spooked by the giant dog next door or was unsuccessful getting in to our well-secured door. This happened on Kenyon just across the street from Lincoln Park (map).
By the time we called the police, the damage was more than 24 hrs old (since we had assumed initially that this was just a simple cable outage). We have spoken to police and are filing a police report, but wanted to make everyone aware. Two teenage youth were reportedly “looking out of place” and walking up our dead-end street that day, but we have also had neighbors call the police recently for “meth heads” (as they were described to us) who were stealing metal from our neighbor.
Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Skylark Cafe and Club
That’s Jessie Summa-Kusiak, proprietor of Skylark Club and Cafe, standing next to her menus (the only ones we know of where WSB is mentioned, thanks to the tater tots and their nod in this popular post). Skylark has just joined WSB to sponsor the West Seattle Weekend Lineup every Friday (you can always find the latest one here). She says Skylark is all about “beverages, food, and entertainment.” On the first count – 13 new drink specials, 11 beers on tap, one hard cider.
On the second count (menus here) – her recommendations include mac and cheese, meatloaf, SFV sandwich, or if you’re dieting, the grilled chicken spinach salad, though she also notes they’re “baking delicious desserts from scratch, and we offer not just lunch and dinner 6 nights a week but weekend brunch Saturday AND Sunday.” Plus, she’s got a lunch punch card; after 7, #8 is on the house. Re: entertainment (calendar here) – “Free live music 6 nights a week, closed Mondays. Mostly local original acts, all genres. We link to music clips on our website so neighbors can listen to a sample before deciding whether to head down. Lots of opportunities for YOU to be the rockstar. Karaoke, open mic, open tease, open turntables. Kids are welcome until 11 pm on Sundays for our all-ages show (and before 9 pm every other night).” Jessie moved to West Seattle 11 years ago and opened Skylark two years ago (she was previously a manager at Amazon). She elaborates: “My husband Charles and I met as I was forming a band here in the late 90s (he was my bass player), and we discovered that we had an odd thing in common. Both our fathers supported the family growing up in the 70s by playing guitar in rock bands. His dad was in a disco/funk cover band that played in Atlantic City, mine fronted an original jazz-fusion band in Boston. My dad currently is a composer and does film scores for Errol Morris. (johnkusiak.com; a movie he scored, “Secrecy,” screens at the Northwest Film Forum Oct. 10-16) I’ve been booking bands since college and I managed Ladyfest Seattle 2004. I always wanted my own club, even when I lived in Boston. Here in WS I also realized there was a need for a laid-back, neighborhood place that wasn’t too upscale or intimidating. All the new places going in at the Junction seemed so fancy. Also I wanted to create a place where a woman could go, alone, and have a drink and read or work on her laptop or whatever without being hit on or feeling weird. That we do have solo female regulars tells me I’ve succeeded in creating the right ambience. No TV was another requirement, since I find TVs so distracting when I’m out with friends. Exceptions are games and elections, of course … we’re planning a big election day party (cancelling karaoke for the night) and we’ll have the results projected on a big screen as they come in.” She’s launching weekly Trivia Nights on 10/15 and doing monthly Open Turntable nights (mentioned here; next one is 10/28). Welcome to Skylark Cafe and Club, 3803 Delridge (map); look for its banner atop the West Seattle Weekend Lineup tomorrow morning. Meantime, thanks for your support of all the WSB sponsors who make it possible for us to bring you fresh West Seattle news/information/discussion 24/7; they’re all listed here along with information on how to join them.
Update: Permits granted for Harbor Avenue project
It’s the building boom that doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as the one in The Junction, but it’s also transforming an area: We told you in January about the permit application for 2775 Harbor (map), shown above in a photo we took at the time; this week, according to the city planning website, land-use and construction permits (here and here) have been granted for the project, described as “a 5-story 13,101 sq. ft. office building with an 800 sq. ft. caretakers unit … Surface parking for 15 vehicles to be provided.” Thanks very much to the architecture firm Shugart Bates for rapidly responding to our request for a drawing (the driveway goes to Harbor Ave, in case you were wondering):
This is one of several major projects in the area, including the rather extensive-looking WestBay in the 2200 block of Harbor (map), which has a sketch on its leasing listing.
Attention, West Seattle artists and art lovers: Two notes
SOUTHWEST LIBRARY ART SHOW: Registration is now open for the 17th Annual Artists Showcase at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library (35th/Henderson; here’s a map). Interested artists can either register at the branch or call 206-684-7455; October 25 is the deadline. Organizers say this is a non-juried, nonprofit exhibit; you’ll be able to see it on display at the branch from Monday, Oct. 27, through Saturday, Nov. 15.
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK ONE WEEK FROM TONIGHT: As mentioned last month, the next Art Walk has a record-high list of participants – 43 venues, all over West Seattle! Now it’s just a week away; 6-9 pm Thursday, Oct. 9. Here’s the list; new additions (highlighted on that document) include venues in Delridge and on Alki!
Notes from the Southwest District Council meeting
No blockbuster items on last night’s agenda for the Southwest District Council, where reps from local neighborhood groups and other key organizations get and give updates on what they’re up to. One citywide hot potato did get the spotlight for a while – read on:Read More
“Nickelsville” clears out of West Seattle as promised, moves north
Just back from checking if the “Nickelsville” campers at West Marginal/Highland Park Way cleared out as they said they’d do late tonight, 5 days after the first sweep. 
Short answer: Yes. Long answer: The campsite was dark but some vehicles were clearly being loaded before heading out in mini-convoys; we followed a few to see if they were moving nearby as one report had suggested — but the first mini-convoy we followed headed north on The Viaduct, far out of West Seattle (we broke off and turned around at Seneca); the second mini-convoy we followed crossed south Seattle to get on north I-5. So either they’re moving some distance away, or rendezvousing somewhere, or both. No new communiques on their Google Groups site or website so far. We made one last pass before returning to WSB HQ – the former campsite was virtually empty, just a few stragglers and a vehicle preparing to take off. 11:05 PM UPDATE: Well, that explains the northward convoys – Channel 4 is live at the new campsite: the tribal center at Discovery Park.
| Comments Off on Friday afternoon links