Happening now: Be a “Master of Disaster” @ Hughes
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Continuing through late May, we’re helping local neighborhood leaders get you information that will help you keep your family safe in case of disaster. One big part of this spring’s campaign in West Seattle is the designation of neighborhood gathering spots so that everyone knows where they can go post-disaster to get information and help. This is being done on a very grass-roots level, and not all areas of West Seattle are set up yet, but those that are (marked with clickable icons on the map you see above) have been having drop-in events where neighbors can come by, meet the folks working on this, and get important info on simple steps they can take to be prepared. The next such event is happening right now at Hughes Playground (click the spot on the map near the words “High Point”; street address is 2805 Holden). If that’s the spot closest to you, take a few minutes and stop by; look for them on the north side, near the restrooms, till 4 pm.
Helping local students: Today, tonight, and beyond
TODAY: The weather’s a little sketchy but if you were going to wash your car anyway, note that the WSHS Class of ’08 is having another Grad Night-fundraising car wash at the school through 2 pm today.
TODAY: Arbor Heights and Highland Park Elementary Schools are both having rummage sales under way right now (AH has a plant sale too); more here.
TONIGHT: The Sanislo Elementary auction, 5 pm, Holy Family. More here.
THURSDAY: Another WSHS benefit — the Foundation is raising money for visual and performing arts with an evening of dinner and theater (and a few extras!) on Thursday night, hosted by County Councilmember (and WSHS alum) Dow Constantine — read on for full details and ticket info:Read More
1 week till West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!
A little too early for a reliable long-range forecast, but of course we are thinking bright sunshine for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 
one week from today, 9 am-3 pm, more than 145 locations all over West Seattle. Our registration closed more than a week ago but if you have some stuff to sell, there’s a chance you can still be part of one officially participating venue – the courtyard next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor; see the Hotwire website or drop by Hotwire for more details). If you are going to be a shopper that day — maps will be available online (here and at westseattlegaragesale.com) starting Thursday, and at 10 locations around West Seattle (see the list here). If you are going to be a seller — the last dozen or so infopackets are in the mail as of this morning; if you don’t get yours by Tuesday at the absolute latest, please call us 206/293-6302. Remember we’re having two contests as a fun little side note — “Best Sign” (photograph yours on sale day and send it to garagesale@westseattleblog.com) for sellers, “Most Unusual Item” for sellers AND shoppers (same drill, send photo to that same address) – Hotwire Coffee cards are the prizes in both contests. Last note, we’ll be tabling at the Sustainable West Seattle Festival tomorrow in The Junction, 10 am-3 pm, to continue getting the word out about WSCGSD, so if you’re there, look for us and come say hi.
Traffic alert: Short partial Viaduct closure Sunday morning
Just found this in a city traffic advisory:
The March of Dimes March for Babies will occur on Sunday, May 4, with as many as 10,000 walkers participating. The northbound lanes of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed to traffic from 9 to 11 a.m. The march will begin at Qwest Field at 10 a.m., move south on Occidental Avenue South to South Royal Brougham Street, west on Royal Brougham to First Avenue South, north on First onto the northbound lanes of the SR-99 Alaskan Way Viaduct, and north on the viaduct to approximately the Western Avenue off-ramp. Then they will make a u-turn and move back to Qwest field along the same route.
West Seattle Weekend Lineup, Sustainable WS Festival edition
Another “first” this weekend in The Junction — the first Sustainable West Seattle Festival, 10 am-3 pm Sunday in the Wells Fargo parking lot. We’ll be there on behalf of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (which is really just a different way to recycle!) – stop by and say hi! – but more importantly, it’s a chance to find out about an amazing lineup of local organizations working on small-step solutions to some of today’s biggest problems. And don’t miss the Transit Forum nearby at ArtsWest (talk about a problem in search of a solution) … But the SWS Festival is just one of 45 events listed ahead:Read More
Update: City clears Camp Long homeless encampment
Just in from city Parks Department spokesperson Dewey Potter, who had most recently said the clearing was likely to happen Monday:
I have just learned that the encampment has been removed and that our crew delivered to our warehouse the belongings that appeared to have any personal or monetary value. The cleanup took place after outreach workers notified our crew that they had completed their efforts to notify the people there.
We first told you about the encampment on Monday; WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham had been monitoring it for more than a month.
Why did the chicken cross the road @ the new crosswalk?
No punchy answer, just the facts: The Feet First chicken greeted the Fast Feet Fridays walking-to-school contingent — including a guest appearance by West Seattle’s school board member Steve Sundquist (he’s in the blue jacket telling the chicken “good morning”) — at 34th/Morgan in High Point, where the long-sought crosswalk was just painted two days ago. (Also in the video, you see Leah the crossing guard, who was nearly hit by a car while we were covering this dangerous crossing spot a few months ago.) This is part of Walk to School Month and Feet First’s ongoing Safe Routes to School campaign; it’ll feature special events like this every Friday this month on the route to West Seattle Elementary. This group walked from 31st/Graham; another group started at Hughes Playground at 29th/Holden, and “a Sunrise Heights neighbor” sent us this photo from that site (thanks!):
Hang up, or else!
From the “Campus Security Report” in the latest South Seattle Community College newsletter:
April 28: Student directed to leave the Library after repeatedly refusing to stop using his cell phone, to library staff and then security officers.
Actually that’s just one small snippet from a newsletter jampacked with other news from West Seattle’s only college; the folks at SSCC invited us to share the whole thing with you here.
Skylark gets spicier (and we don’t mean the cuisine)
Just got the latest e-mail newsletter from Skylark. (More and more West Seattle businesses have newsletters available, often with tasty infobits and sometimes with special offers; worth checking your favorite businesses’ websites next time you’re idly wandering the interwebs.) Later this month, Skylark is launching what we suspect is a West Seattle first — a monthly open burlesque competition, pros and amateurs welcome, starting May 20 and on the third Tuesday of each month thereafter. Read more about it here. (Skylark also is one of the businesses who are among the 148 participants in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 10!)
Day of Prayer gathering tonight on Alki
Thanks to WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli for those photos from tonight’s Day of Prayer gathering by the Alki Statue of Liberty. There was music as well as prayer; leaders from more than 10 local congregations had promised to participate, including West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor), Life Church, Arbor Heights Community Church, Eastridge Christian Assembly, the Providence Mt. St. Vincent Chapel, Holy Rosary, West Side Presbyterian, Mars Hill, Hope Lutheran, First Lutheran, and Calvary Chapel.
Movies on the Wall update: Kickoff flick picked
That’s the screen on the wall in the courtyard outside Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), where Movies on the Wall are shown in the summer. As we mentioned two days ago, Hotwire’s Lora Lewis is collecting suggestions for this summer’s series — you can send one in via this WSB page, or by using ballot boxes set up at Hotwire and other places in The Junction. Lora confesses she’s already planning to kick off the season July 19 with the movie that was rained out three times at the end of last summer, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” At least one would-be voter asked what was shown last year; here’s the list:
Chicken Run
Best in Show
Wizard of Oz
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Edward Scissorhands
You can send in a suggestion by going to this page, any time before May 15.
Public meeting announced for project across from Alki Elementary
We last mentioned this Alki project at 59th/Stevens when reporting on SDOT signage-prep work in the neighborhood two weeks ago. The house on the property where that sign is on display, an 83-year-old home purchased for $795,000 last year by Cobb Construction, is proposed for teardown, to be replaced on the 7,770-square-foot lot by two single-family homes and one three-unit townhouse. The public meeting just announced for May 22 (Admiral library branch, 6:30 pm) is “to gather comments on the project.” Most projects this size don’t get this type of public review; we called the planner assigned to the project, Janet Wright, who explained it’s the result of a petition signed by more than 50 neighbors, linked to the fact the project requires SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) review because it’s proposing 5 units on a lot that normally could ot have more than four. P.S. Two people have now pointed out, this site is listed for sale – $1,000,000.
Camp Long encampment update: Deadline set
Those are two more of the most recent photos WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham took at the Camp Long homeless encampment he has been investigating (first WSB report here; followup here). We just got an update from Dewey Potter at the city Parks Department:
The outreach people will try once more tomorrow to see if there’s evidence of anyone living at the camp site. If they are satisfied that the people have left, they will notify the crew chief and Parks will clean up the site on the next working day, Monday.
Opening day for Zippy’s Giant Burgers
See that bun? It almost kept Zippy’s Giant Burgers (16th/Holden) from opening as planned today. We called this morning to see if Opening Day was on schedule and were told “If the buns get here …” They did, and the burgers are on the grill. Hours: 10:30 am-9 pm Mondays-Thursdays, 10:30 am-10 pm Fridays, 11 am-10 pm Saturdays, noon-7 pm Sundays. (Cash only.) Below, employee Chris LaFayette and owner Blaine Cook, proud of the new enterprise:
Reader report: Another suspicion-stirring solicitor
From Andrea (here’s a map of the location she mentions):
Around 8:30 p.m. last night a suspicious man knocked on our door claiming to be selling home security. He was from “Icon Security” but after googling the company we discovered it was fake. He asked my husband strange questions such as if he was married and how long we’d lived there. We called the police an hour later after realizing he was a fake, but they said they couldn’t do anything as too much time had passed. The told us to call 911 right away if it happens again. I’d like to know if anyone else has encountered this man. We’re located around 29th and Holden.
In separate e-mail, Andrea’s husband described the solicitor as a “chubby 30-ish white guy.”
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