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Spotlight Stories


  • Closure

    LOW-BRIDGE CLOSURE: Continues today

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    ALKI HEALTHY STREET: SDOT starting work

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    WS GARAGE SALE DAY 5/11: Register by Thursday 4/25!

Elliott Bay Water Taxi sets a record – with one month to go
October 7, 2008 2:41 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Elliott Bay Water Taxi | West Seattle news

Just in from King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office, the official announcement:

With a month left in the 2008 sailing season the Elliott Bay Water Taxi continues to attract new passengers—and break records.

A total of 167,748 riders used the West Seattle-to-downtown foot ferry through the end of September, exceeding last year’s record of 161,331 riders. September 2008 ridership was up 9.7 percent over last September’s totals.

“The Water Taxi has routinely exceeded its 2007 ridership totals all summer,” said King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. “This puts another record year on the books as we look forward to year-round Water Taxi operation in 2010.”

The King County Ferry District took over Water Taxi funding earlier this year. This countywide special district also funds the operation of the Vashon Island-to-downtown passenger-only ferry and is expected to add up to five demonstration routes serving other Puget Sound and Lake Washington communities in the next few years. … The 2008 Water Taxi season runs through Friday, Oct. 31.

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One more chance to get your pet(s) blessed
October 7, 2008 1:39 pm
|    Comments Off on One more chance to get your pet(s) blessed
 |   Pets | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

blessinganotherdog.jpgLast weekend, we covered two Blessing of the Animals events, presented Saturday by The Mount and presented Sunday by St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (photo left). Today, we just got word of another one – 10 am this Sunday at Alki Congregational United Church of Christ, whose announcement follows: In honor of St. Francis, Patron Saint of Animals, bring your pets and human friends to this very special service. We all worship together — children, adults, cats, dogs, goldfish, birds, and last year we even had a jar of bees (who put a jar of honey in the offering plate!). Dogs on leashes and cats in carriers, please. For information, e-mail alkiucc@attglobal.net.

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West Seattle outage updates: Monday’s electricity, today’s cable
October 7, 2008 1:00 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

FIRST UPDATE: We promised to check on the cause of the outage that left an estimated 4,000-plus south West Seattle homes and businesses without power for more than an hour, right about this time yesterday. Just heard back from Scott Thomsen at Seattle City Light; he says it’s listed as an underground cable failure – those happen from time to time for a variety of reasons, anything from age to damage caused by weather conditions in earlier months and years. SECOND UPDATE: We checked on the Arbor Heights/Fauntleroy Comcast outage reported by Hopey this morning in comments on this post; Comcast’s Shauna Causey tells WSB that two technicians are in the area right now and if it’s not fixed yet, it should be shortly.

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West Seattle barbecue update: It’ll be the OK Corral, after all
October 7, 2008 11:08 am
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

okcorral.jpg

A week and a half ago, when we followed up on the news a day earlier of a barbecue joint coming to the Fauntleroy/36th building (next to Tervo’s) by talking to its proprietor, he told us he didn’t want to say too much till he’d finished up some more paperwork. Late last night, he called WSB to say his city license is a done deal and he’s ready to talk. Otis Austin also says that instead of rebranding as “Sammich Slingers,” he’s going to keep the OK Corral name by which his barbecue is well-known in the North End – the new sign in the Fauntleroy storefront’s window (photo above) is already evidence of that. Read on to find out more about his plans:Read More

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Another park update: What’s next for Dakota Place
October 7, 2008 9:31 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

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That’s the historic ex-substation building (an official city landmark) at Dakota Place Park, which has mostly languished (the site sign and city webpage mention ’06 scheduled completion) at California/Dakota (map) north of The Junction for some time. In the comments on WSB coverage of the Prop 2 (parks levy) campaign stopping at Delridge Playfield weekend before last, DW asked what’s going on with Dakota Place; West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (Parks Committee chair) then posted he’d get the answer. Here’s what he found out: Bids are due tomorrow on the “exterior construction” package for the park; the project is to be complete by next January, with elements including: “Plaza with integrated artwork, ADA access, site lighting, multiple seating elements, refurbishing existing historic elements, automated irrigation, and extensive community-provided landscaping.” Meantime, work is to be finished by next spring on the “building package,” which includes “hazardous material abatement, historically correct window replacement, new roof, brick re-pointing, and seismic upgrades are complete.” Though the above-mentioned city webpage for Dakota Place isn’t entirely up to date, you can see the site schematic design there; the website for the citizens’ group that announced in January the city had committed to finish the park by last May (WSB report here) is no longer up and running. TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Councilmember Rasmussen asked the Parks Department what’s led to the delays on the Dakota Place project; he was told that one big problem was that the “… project manager was reassigned to finalize the Statue of Liberty project. That project came in on time and on budget. What is so challenging for the Parks Department is that they have only so many project managers and when their attention is moved to time-consuming projects with great sensitivity to deadlines like the Statue other things will be delayed. Park’s does a great job but is stretched thin.”

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Happening today/tonight: Safety rally, Scouting, more …
October 7, 2008 8:10 am
|    Comments Off on Happening today/tonight: Safety rally, Scouting, more …
 |   Arbor Heights | High Point | Westwood | WS miscellaneous

Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar (besides this of course being the night of Presidential Debate #2):

PEDESTRIAN-SAFETY RALLY: As first mentioned in this report, everyone concerned about safety on West Seattle streets is invited to join a rally 3-4 pm today at 35th/Juneau in High Point (map) – that’s the intersection where a 15-year-old girl was hit last month.

SCOUTING: Another local Cub Scout pack is signing up new members tonight – the sign-up meeting for Cub Scout Pack 799 is at 7 pm tonight, Arbor Heights Elementary lunchroom. Boys 1st-5th grade are invited.

DENNY/SEALTH PROJECT DEPARTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: As mentioned in our report from last night, this group is reviewing the request for zoning “departures” required by the Denny/Sealth combined-campus proposal – less parking, more height. The public’s invited to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm at the Denny cafeteria (more info here).

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West Seattle Weather Watch: All’s well so far
October 7, 2008 7:01 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle weather

Seriously breezy but not catastrophically windy; no major problems reported overnight or currently. The National Weather Service‘s morning “forecast discussion” says this system is moving through “as advertised” and things should quiet down later this morning, with the next notable development some colder air on Thursday with daytime highs as low as the upper 40s. 7:43 AM UPDATE: In comments, Hopey notes a Fauntleroy/Arbor Heights Comcast service outage. We’ll update if we can find out more about its status.

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Westwood hopes for Denny site, post-Denny
October 6, 2008 11:58 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | Westwood

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Just a few months till Seattle Public Schools aims to have a final decision on the future of the Denny Middle School site, once the new Denny is built and occupied on the Chief Sealth campus nearby – and tonight was the first of three key meetings in the process that are all happening this week. The Westwood Neighborhood Council organized this one in hopes of clarifying community priorities for the Denny site, and the cozy group in attendance emerged with a list:Read More

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City parking-review results in another ‘hood, before WS
October 6, 2008 11:21 pm
|    Comments Off on City parking-review results in another ‘hood, before WS
 |   Junction parking review | Transportation | West Seattle news

Last month, we updated the city’s timeline for a Junction-area parking review — while some of the work will start before the end of the year, most of it won’t happen till next year, several months later than the earlier projection. We mention this because you might be wondering what’s up with that review if you read this P-I article about the controversial results of a similar city study in Fremont.

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Orchard Street Ravine: New plan, old idea – $ “wasted”?
October 6, 2008 7:08 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Gatewood | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

orchardtent.jpg

(photo courtesy Scott C)
Shortly after that photo was taken, more than a dozen people sat down under that canopy at Orchard Street Ravine on Saturday morning – subsequently besieged by rain and wind – to hear city Parks Department managers unveil a new proposal for the 38th SW “connector” into the ravine – and some were aghast. Previously, the department was looking at building a stairway into the ravine along what is technically 38th Ave SW right-of-way – now, suddenly, it’s proposing a simpler trail instead. What galled many of the people who gathered to hear about this was the amount of money, and time, spent to get to a point that some consider being almost back at square one. Read on:Read More

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2 weekend-before-Halloween notes just in
October 6, 2008 6:48 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | Holidays | West Seattle news

Didn’t want to wait too late to share these, since so many folks nail down Halloween plans early. First – while at West Seattle Bowl this afternoon, we found out about half a dozen lanes are left for Halloween Family Glow Zone bowling on Sunday 10/26, 5:30-7:30 pm – $70/lane, up to 6 people, shoe rental, pizza, and soda included – plus there’ll be a costume contest, with prizes. Call 932-3731 to ask about reservations. Second – a P-I blog points us to this nefarious plan for that same day; looks like the 4th annual Seattle Zombie Walk is targeting West Seattle. (No known relation to the Thrill the World-West Seattle zombies who’ll be dancing in the world-record attempt downtown on Saturday 10/25, with a Junction encore at 2 pm that day during Junction trick-or-treating.)

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State expands plan for mid-October Viaduct shutdown
October 6, 2008 5:35 pm
|    Comments Off on State expands plan for mid-October Viaduct shutdown
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation

SCENIC_Alaskan_Way_AWV1.jpgJust in from WSDOT: They’ve now decided to close the Alaskan Way Viaduct (and Battery Street Tunnel) continuously, from 6 am Saturday 10/18 to 6 pm Sunday 10/19. Project spokesperson Emily Fishkin explains, “We’ve extended the closure overnight on Saturday to allow crews to repair concrete panels in the southbound lanes, closer to the Spokane Viaduct.”

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind expected, but not like Sat.
October 6, 2008 5:06 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Weather Watch: Wind expected, but not like Sat.
 |   West Seattle weather

No wind advisory so far for our area, but a “special weather statement” issued this morning does cover the city; it warns of “gusty winds” but adds, not as strong as Saturday. So far today, more than a quarter-inch of rain has fallen at the nearest major measuring station, Boeing Field, according to this datapage (look at “KBFI”). (Looking way ahead to next weekend, the “forecast discussion” suggests a “more benign weather pattern.”)

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“Megahouse” proposal passes, 9 months after 1st word here
October 6, 2008 3:31 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Way back in January, when we reported on City Council President Richard Conlin speaking to the Alki Community Council, we mentioned he was working on a proposal to curb so-called “megahouse” development, aka “McMansions.” Two months later, Conlin told the Southwest District Council he was still working on it, but the process was “frustrating.” Now, this afternoon, there is word councilmembers have passed a bill about it – here’s the official news release:Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car prowlers strike again
October 6, 2008 3:19 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

We’ve had several reports of car break-ins in recent days, and here’s another one: Don e-mails to report, “My truck was also broken into on the night of the 3rd. It was on 42nd near Blockbuster on Fauntleroy. Radio and some change is all that is missing. Damaged the locks on both doors to gain entry.”

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Updates: Power outage in south West Seattle
October 6, 2008 1:48 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news

Working on details – more shortly.

City Light says about 4000 customers are without power as of 1:15 this afternoon. The boundaries are listed as Webster SW on the north down to 113th Place SW, 30th SW on the east to Puget Sound on the west. Crews have been dispatched and as of 1:45 no time was given for when power would be restored.

Update 2 pm: According to Mike it’s affecting some traffic signals near Lincoln Park.

websterout.jpg

Update 2 pm: The Webster and Cloverdale signals are out (Webster shown in photo above, taken just before 2 pm), as are the ferry dock toll booths.

Update 2 pm: Fauntleroy power just came back on. Still waiting to hear back from City Light about the cause. Thanks to everyone who sent e-mail/text tips about the outage!

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Finally, we know more about the California/Dawson crash victim
October 6, 2008 11:50 am
|    Comments Off on Finally, we know more about the California/Dawson crash victim
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

crashinvestigat.jpg

Thanks to much to Mike for finding this: Two weeks after 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale was hit by a car and killed while crossing California at Dawson (9/22 photo above), we finally know more about her, thanks to this online obituary running today. It describes her as “very athletic,” born in Rainier, OR, and having outlived her husband Robert MacCorkindale. The obituary doesn’t mention any children of theirs but does say she is survived by a sister who lives in Idaho, and that Ms. MacCorkindale loved to spend time at the library, so memorial donations to the Seattle Public Library Foundation are suggested. Police are still investigating the crash; three days after it happened, we reported that detectives wanted to hear from anyone who saw it happen. She was the fourth pedestrian hit and killed in West Seattle in less than a year (after Gregory Hampel near Camp Long in August, Teri Soike near Westwood Village in February, and Oswald Clement at 35th/Othello last October); the rally planned by neighborhood activists hoping to improve pedestrian safety is at 3 pm tomorrow at 35th/Juneau, where a 15-year-old High Point girl was hit and injured by a car last month.

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County sheriff, prosecutor, judges plan town-hall meeting
October 6, 2008 11:30 am
|    Comments Off on County sheriff, prosecutor, judges plan town-hall meeting
 |   Crime | Safety | White Center

sheriffgrab.jpgBack in June, we covered a regional briefing in SeaTac by King County Sheriff Sue Rahr (left), sounding the alarm about how the county’s budget crisis might affect public-safety services — services that affect Seattle residents (and other cities) as well as those in unincorporated areas like White Center, including the Prosecuting Attorney‘s office and the courts. Now, as budget-decision time approaches, the sheriff has just announced another series of public meetings at which she, Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg, and two presiding judges will appear; one is October 29th in White Center – details are on our partner site, White Center Now. (Another meeting that’s not too far away from West Seattle will be at Town Hall downtown, 7 pm on November 3rd.)

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Microsoft Connector makes its West Seattle debut
October 6, 2008 8:47 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

connector.jpg

Bridge traffic had 40-plus fewer cars this morning, thanks to that shuttle: It’s a Microsoft Connector bus heading east on Alaska from 40th after picking up riders at the Masonic Temple lot (where MSFT has rented park-and-ride spaces, as reported here) this morning — its first official run from West Seattle to Redmond after announcing the service expansion last month. The wifi- and bike-rack-equipped Connector also picks up WS riders further north (the route map’s in our original report). If you work for another non-WS company that provides a commuting solution to cut down on car traffic, we’d love to hear about that too.

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Tonight: Community’s turn to envision Denny site’s future
October 6, 2008 6:07 am
|    Comments Off on Tonight: Community’s turn to envision Denny site’s future
 |   Denny-Sealth | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Though Denny Middle School won’t be moving into its new location on the Chief Sealth campus for 2+ years, Seattle Public Schools wants to lock down a plan for the current Denny site’s future within a matter of months. A district-organized Design Team already has had its first meeting; tonight, the Westwood Neighborhood Council is offering the community a chance to voice its hopes and dreams. 7:30 pm, Southwest Community Center. (As we mentioned over the weekend, this is the first of three Denny/Sealth-related meetings over the next three nights; we are also reminded this morning that Friday night also brings a major school district-related meeting to West Seattle — 6:30 pm Friday, West Seattle High School library, the community meeting to talk about what should be in the district’s next levy request; see the flyer here.)

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West Seattle Hi-Yu: ’08 float finale – ’09 help needed now
October 5, 2008 10:01 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Hi-Yu: ’08 float finale – ’09 help needed now
 |   How to help | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle news

floatissaquah.jpg

That’s the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival‘s 2008 float making its last parade appearance of the year, this weekend in Issaquah. The float’s had its ups and downs this year, and we asked Hi-Yu president Tim Winston to let us know when it was time to ask for your help — now’s the time, as he writes in this update about the 2008 float’s finale:

We had a successful day at Issaquah Salmon Days yesterday. The float ran great, thanks to Tim Szender of Quality Auto Electric in Des Moines and Al Glencross of the West Seattle Eagles. Tim replaced the entire ignition system of our 1967 Roadmaster with an electronic system. Al funded the repair.

The day started when we left the old Huling Garage (thank you, Harbor Properties) @ 4:30 am so the float could be ready for judging in Issaquah by 7:30. There was moderate rain for set up and staging; however, it stopped for the 10 am parade. Unfortunately, we had to trailer and cover the float in a steady, drenching rain:

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This completes the 2008 parade season, so what’s next? The engine repairs will make it possible to keep the float running for the next 2 years while we raise funds and build a new float platform. With a few repairs to the frame and an upgrade to the sound system, it will be ready for 2009.

However, next year’s parade season depends on obtaining a covered car trailer for the float. Our existing flatbed trailer has become too demanding and dangerous for the volunteers. We are consistently the last crew to leave a parade. Getting the float on the trailer requires a carefully followed procedure for bracing the trailer, driving the float up steep ramps, and securing it. Then the unwieldy tarp must be pulled over the float and secured for freeway-speed winds. This whole process takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours a on sunny day. At midnight and/or in the rain, it can take substantially longer. Our peers with covered vehicle trailers, drive in the float, secure it with a built-in system, shut the door & leave. Unless we happen to have volunteers with trucking or equipment hauling experience, people have to be trained each year. The unpleasant hours that volunteers spend at this reduces the hours that we have available for coordinating community events.

Additionally, when Harbor Properties begins construction on the site where we are currently storing the float, which they have graciously provided for us, we will once again need a storage location. A covered trailer will provide many more storage options in, or close to, West Seattle.

We are planning to buy a new trailer similar to the one that the Leavenworth Autumn Leaf Festival purchased this year. Photo shows the trailer at the Seafair Torchlight Parade:

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This 30’ extra-height vehicle trailer will cost about $12,000 and should last at least 20 years. We believe that is an obtainable goal this Fall and Winter, in addition to the annual memberships that we depend on for the festival’s annual scholarships and events.

We are offering both perpetual and annual logo placement on the sides and back of the trailer:

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This is very good exposure, since the float travels to about 10 parades throughout the area. Depending on where the trailer is stored, there may be year-around exposure. Anyone who would like information about sponsorship should e-mail me at info@hiyu.com

Thanks,
Tim Winston
President
West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival

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Election countdown: West Seattle happenings this week
October 5, 2008 8:50 pm
|    Comments Off on Election countdown: West Seattle happenings this week
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

WEST SEATTLE OBAMA FUNDRAISER: Graham Ford sends word of West Seattleites organizing an evening of “food, comedy and fundraising” for the Democratic presidential campaign, 6-8 pm tomorrow at Talarico’s in The Junction. Talarico’s is donating the pizza; the comedy is by Joe Vespaziani (video). Here’s the flyer with full details.

34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Wednesday night, it’s the final pre-election monthly meeting of West Seattle’s biggest political group – 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy. The 34th District Democrats, by the way, have just joined WSB as a sponsor – note the “paid political ad” space on the sidebar – to provide a continuous link to the sample ballot they have created listing their endorsements for the November election. Their WSB ad links directly to that printable sample ballot, or you can see it here.

ATTENTION, WEST SEATTLE REPUBLICANS: We’ve said it before, if you’ve got an event or meeting coming up, let us know and we’d be happy to publish that news too; editor@westseattleblog.com. (Here’s the 34th District GOP webpage.)

REMINDER – WSB HAS AN ELECTION-INFO PAGE: Debate schedules, links to information on the hot races and topics, automatically updated digests of political news and blogs — find it all here.

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Another “Blessing of the Animals,” with a community-festival twist
October 5, 2008 7:31 pm
|    Comments Off on Another “Blessing of the Animals,” with a community-festival twist
 |   Pets | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion | West Seattle video

blessingdog.jpg

Brother Nicholas Kis from the Order of St. Francis in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia blessed dozens of West Seattleites’ pets this afternoon in the West Seattle High School parking lot, at a “Blessing of the Animals“ presented by neighboring St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Mostly dogs, just a few cats, one of whom received the first blessing; later, we discovered it had a special meaning:

(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)

When we caught up with Pesky the cat a few minutes later, Pesky’s owner told us that blessing was really like “last rites” — later today, she was taking 14-year-old Pesky to the vet to be euthanized, after a long and painful battle with incurable renal disease. She read about today’s event on WSB and thought it would be an appropriate place to bring Pesky first. Just ahead, more video and photos:Read More

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