West Seattle, Washington
14 Tuesday
That’s Charlie Conner, president/owner of Conner Homes, whose California/Alaska/42nd project went back to the Southwest Design Review Board last night for a second round of “Design Review Guidance.” He was clearly there to lead the team making the case for the project; this time, he directly addressed the crowd to open what is usually the architect’s presentation to the board — and that followed time he spent before the meeting introducing himself to members of the standing-room-only crowd as they arrived. Then, more than half an hour after the meeting, he was outside the Southwest Precinct, still talking with a small group of attendees in which we recognized at least one Junction merchant. Our full report on what happened, and what happens next, straight ahead — long report, for a long (more than 2 hours) meeting:Read More
AWARD: Congratulations to Clay Eals, honored in the IPPY (Independent Publisher) Awards with a “silver” award for the biography category (see #28 in the list here) on the first anniversary of his acclaimed book “Steve Goodman: Facing the Music.” The awards will be presented tomorrow in Los Angeles.
READING: Longtime South Seattle Community College instructor Arleen Williams has published “The Thirty-Ninth Victim: A Memoir,” about what her family went through in connection with her sister having been one of the Green River serial-murder victims. She will read from the book during an event June 6th at SSCC’s Cascade Courtyard and Wine Tasting Room. The event runs 4-6 pm and includes a preview of two SSCC wines to be released in the fall; Williams’ reading will start at 4:30 pm.
Standing-room-only crowd at the Southwest Precinct for the Design Review Board meeting on the Conner Homes project in The Junction, two buildings at California/Alaska/42nd. Conner boss Charlie Conner attended and directly addressed the crowd as the meeting began, saying he thought people might want to put a face to the name. Board members were disappointed some of their recommendations from the first “early design guidance” meeting didn’t seem to have been considered in tonight’s presentation; after public comments that board chair David Foster described as “brilliant,” they have some very specific recommendations, but also agreed to let the project move to the next phase of Design Review. Full report in the works.
You may have heard about this in the citywide media; it’s been mentioned we post about it here, in case the whale wanders past West Seattle shores when it inevitably eventually heads back north: A humpback whale’s been hanging out near south Vashon Island for a few weeks. At least one tv station has video. Best chance to try to get a glimpse of it would be via the Tahlequah-Point Defiance ferry that travels between south Vashon and Tacoma; our favorite way to get there from here is to take the Fauntleroy ferry to (north) Vashon (schedule here) and drive down the island to the Tahlequah dock (schedule here). We usually only take that trip during our annual jaunt to Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, but might have to go look for the humpback in the next day or two!
As first reported here in February, the city’s planning a formal “parking review” for the Junction area. When we covered the first briefing, the start date wasn’t set; we have since checked with Mary Catherine Snyder from the Seattle Department of Transportation, and she tells WSB the Junction parking review is scheduled to begin in September. But with the rising tide of Junction development, it’s clear that parking concerns are rising too, and fast. West Seattle Junction Association president Dave Montoure talked with WSB about that, and asked us to solicit your opinion on related issues – read on:Read More
This would appear to be inspired by a North End case (citywide media coverage here) but could potentially affect West Seattle development, since we still have some trees left: Council President Richard Conlin and Councilmember Sally Clark say they’re proposing legislation to “protect … groves of trees.” News release here.
That’s an SDOT crew giving a facelift to the California SW crosswalk at SW Findlay.
Not sure if it was SDOT or someone else, but there’s also been a “facelift” on that bridge column on the west side of the low bridge — and that covered the wolf art that’s been there at least since we posted about it almost a year ago. (Thanks to Patricia for the tip.)
When we did a West Seattle-wide gas-price survey last weekend, we mentioned we couldn’t include biodiesel prices because they’re not posted for drive-by viewing. The new Propel station at 35th/Barton has just changed that.
In The Junction, the Morton’s-to-Pharmaca pharmacy transition is almost complete. It’s scheduled to become official at the end of this week; as we reported two weeks ago, they’re offering freebies during the “grand opening.”
In case you missed it on the More page — this might be of interest, if you’re interested in the broader philosophies driving development in West Seattle and beyond. This addresses transportation needs as well; it’s written by two executives with Harbor Properties, which is building Mural in the old Petco lot and has at least two other West Seattle projects in the pipeline (38th/Alaska and the motel site). Most Daily Journal of Commerce content is subscription-only but that article (and the special section, published today, where it appears) is available free, at least as of this writing.
OFF-LEASH AREA CLOSED TODAY: Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area is closed 9 am-4 pm today for maintenance work, and park steward Steve says in this post on the WPOLA Yahoo! group, “I need all the humans I can get!” to help.
JUNCTION DEVELOPMENT DESIGN REVIEW TONIGHT: 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room, the California/42nd/Alaska development (presentation previewed and linked here yesterday).
SCHOOLS SHOW OFF ART/MUSIC TALENT: Lafayette Elementary has an Art Walk 6-9 pm at the school and in nearby businesses’ windows; Pathfinder K-8 has its first all-school art show 6:30-8 pm; the West Seattle High School Spring Concert is at 7:30 pm.
More new events added daily (now stretching to next spring!) on the WSB Events page.
“ANNIE’S FIRST DATES” GETS THE GRAND PRIZE: We showed you the short, then told you it made the winners’ list. Now comes word from Jenny Hawes @ Penny Dreadfuls Productions that “Annie’s First Dates,” their entry into the “3-Minute Masterpieces” competition, won the Grand Prize. We asked Jenny what they got for winning; she replied, “Our co-directors, Mike Gaston and Brooke Montgomery, won 2 all-access passes to SIFF and classes from the Seattle Film Institute. Pretty sweet – we were all psyched.”
“DOCUMENTARY CHALLENGE” WINNER FEATURES WEST SEATTLEITE: This article (linked off the More page) led us to news that an 8-minute short featuring Cory Calhoun, who identifies himself online as a West Seattle resident, had won the “International Documentary Challenge” at a Canadian film festival. The article describes Calhoun as one of the world’s best anagrammers. The short will be featured in July on PBS and at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle; you can watch it online here.
Thanks to Fiona Preedy for that photo and word that the two teachers pictured, Carolyn Kunihiro (left) and Sharon Glockner, are retiring from Schmitz Park Elementary this year and will be feted at a reception on Friday, June 6th (along with SP principal Richard Mellish, who’s departing). Fiona adds, “I’d like to invite former students, families, and staff to the reception, to bring these teachers their well wishes and as a reunion. If folks are unable to attend, pictures, stories, memories, are being gratefully received at schmitzparkelementary@gmail.com.” That’s a big potential pool of participants — Fiona says Mrs. Kunihiro has been teaching for 35 years (27 at SP) and Mrs. Glockner for 38 years (28 at SP).
Happened onto this tv story about a North End school (KapKa Cooperative K-2) 
whose students have come all the way to Fauntleroy Creek in recent years to study an environmental challenge – creek pollution from pet waste. On the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s web section for the creek, you’ll find a link to this official state proposal for tackling the problem (public comments are being accepted till June 16th). Here’s more on the study.
As the second team of blue-shirted DNC solicitors in 2 nights walks past the WSB HQ window, we’re reminded we got an update from 34th District Democrats chair Ivan Weiss (backstory here and here):Read More
Those are from the “Preferred Scheme” section of the newly released Conner Homes presentation that will be made tomorrow night at the second Early Design Guidance meeting for Conner’s proposed buildings at California/Alaska/42nd in The Junction. See the presentation in its entirety here. The city Department of Planning and Development sometimes posts these presentations on the Design Review site in advance of the meetings (otherwise, they go up afterward), and that’s where we just found it. (Our coverage of the project’s first EDG meeting is here; tomorrow’s meeting is at 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room.
We also have some new info about the groundbreaking celebration for the project that’ll soon start construction at that site, Fauntleroy Place (aka “the Whole Foods project”). Eric Radovich from development firm BlueStar says the June 12 event (first announced here) wiil start at 5:30 pm with a hosted barbecue (beer, wine, soda available). Music will be provided by local reggae band Andy O. Eric says, “You can expect a politician or two and a few of the key players to say a few words between 6:10 pm and 6:30 pm. We’ll turn a couple of shovels full of dirt and then back to the party until probably around 8 pm.” (Whole Foods and a new Hancock Fabrics store are the only two retail tenants who’ll be in the new building, which also will include hundreds of residential units.)
Two really big FREE events happen this Saturday in West Seattle – we’ve told you about Delridge Day at Youngstown Arts Center (11 am-4 pm) and now we have many more details about the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo @ South Seattle Community College, 11 am-3 pm, including free workshops with experts on everything from gardening to food to fitness – read on!Read More
On behalf of West Seattle Little League, Alki’s Cami MacNamara e-mailed WSB to let you know:
West Seattle Little League has completed regular season play. Congratulations to the Minors division (ages 8-10) Diamondbacks and the Majors division (ages 10-12) Orioles for finishing in first place! Tonight, End of Season (EOS) Tournament play begins for the Minors at Bar-S Field (6464 SW Admiral Way) at 6 pm and runs through June 10th. Majors take the field on Friday, May 30th also play through June 10th. The winner of each division will move on the the District 7 Tournament of Champions on June 13th-16th, hosted by the South Highline Nationals at City Hall Park in Normandy Park. Come down to Bar-S and enjoy the fun! To view the complete tournament schedules, go to westseattlelittleleague.com.
Here’s a map to Bar-S; here are photos from the season-starting Jamboree two short months ago.
Every time a new sponsor comes on board, we take a moment to welcome them and let you know what their business is about. The latest is Dream Dinners, operated by Leslie Thomson (left) in Jefferson Square. It’s a solution to being repeatedly plagued by the dread question of “what’s for dinner?” when you don’t really have the inclination to make something from scratch, but a restaurant or takeout isn’t feasible either. This page on the Dream Dinners website explains “how it works” — they have the recipes and ingredients, you arrange for a session, you go home with meals to freeze till you’re ready to cook ’em. In this short clip, you’ll hear Leslie describe a few of the dishes on the DD menu (which rotates every several weeks, to offer plenty of choices):
This month’s menu continues through the end of the week; next month’s menu is previewable online too. Since Dream Dinners’ hours vary, the best way to contact Leslie to find out more is to e-mail her here: Leslie.Thomson@dreamdinners.com. Thanks to Dream Dinners for sponsoring WSB — and thanks to our other sponsors, all of whom you will find on this page, which also has info for anybody interested in joining them to grow their business and reach more customers while helping WSB be a sustainable source of 24/7 community news, information, and discussion for West Seattle.
Thanks to Debbie for sending word that this is the last day for K-8 classes at Hope Lutheran School – the big construction project for the school/church is about to get under way, and there’s moving-out work to be done. Checking the Hope school newsletter online, a groundbreaking ceremony is planned this Sunday morning – then for the summer, Sunday services will be held in the Seattle Lutheran High School gym. The city project page for the construction work is here; permits were issued just yesterday.
Still letting your cat(s) run around, confident you’re in a wildlife-free zone? If so, you’re the reason “Mac’s Mom” wanted us to share her e-mail:
We are in the 4100 block between 44th and 45th [map], an area not particularly close to any green spaces. One month ago we found the remains of our family cat who had met a very violent end (at about 4AM – he put up quite a fight). Last weekend, our neighbors experienced the same loss. [Yes, we had told our neighbors what happened] I’m not sure how large a Coyote’s territory is, but we are evidently within one and wanted to let other folks in the area know that this is happening. While we’ve seen all of the warnings here on the blog, we disregarded them as we are so far from what we would consider to be “Coyote Habitat”. Please don’t make the same mistake we did!
It’s been said 2,005,894 times, there are many other good reasons to keep pets indoors too … cars, humans, other cats, other types of wildlife among them. For more on “coexisting with coyotes,” check out the info in our coverage of a city-organized presentation earlier this year.
Quiet week for public meetings since it’s the end of the month (except for tomorrow night’s Design Review meeting on the Conner Homes Junction project) — but there’s an author event tonight, and we don’t get a lot of those on this side of the bay: Bill Press, radio host, is at Barnes and Noble in Westwood Village at 6:30 pm on behalf of his book Train Wreck: The End of the Conservative Revolution, and Not a Minute Too Soon. More West Seattle happenings for the days, weeks, and months ahead are on the WSB Events list (added about a dozen just last night).
Three weeks from today, the school year ends for most local students; in the wake of the last pre-summer-vacation three-day weekend, we have updates (including events you’re invited to share!) from six local schools:Read More
West Seattle Crime Watch has been long on reader reports and short on police reports for a while because of a change in how we access those reports, related to Seattle Police switching to a new computerized report system. But now we’re getting back into the rhythm of things, so those who are interested in these roundups can see what’s been going on. Keep those reader reports coming, though. Meantime, here are some West Seattle notes from the past four days worth of reports, plus one reader report:Read More
This time of year, the quieter north side of the Lincoln Park shore is an especially wonderful place to watch the sun slide behind the Olympics.
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