West Seattle, Washington
10 Monday
This Saturday, 11 am-2 pm, is the big pro-Charlestown Cafe picketing rally (backstory here). So that participants can prepare, a selection of sign suggestions has just been uploaded to the Our Town West Seattle group (join it and you can download them too, while getting full details on the latest developments) — here are four of them; the last is our fave:
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We just got e-mail about Alki Boot Camp. What an awesome name for a workout class.
Proprietor Cliff Mark of Next to Nature in The Junction has posted a comment that you might not see, since it’s on a post that’s a couple pages into the site, but we thought it was worth a spotlight here:
First, a big thank you to all those who in the face of increasing numbers of pet supply stores opening in WS, have chosen to continue to grant us at Next to Nature the privilege of serving your pet-related needs. We greatly appreciate your support and hope that we will continue to satisfy you with our service, selection and value. As my wife, Bea, and I have known since 1994, WS is truly a GREAT place to live and work. BTW, to help make your continued support a little easier, we have recently expanded our hours of operation from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Mondays through Saturday. We are still open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sundays. Again, thanks to all those who are keeping all West Seattle-based businesses thriving. If anyone has any comments or suggestions for us at NTN please send them along to info@next-to-nature.com
Every time we walk past 6021 Cali, north of Morgan Junction, we wonder why in the world it’s still just a big empty lot, in these land-rush days, more than a year after it was cleared. City files show a couple different projects proposed for the site, but you have to wonder if any are active, since the parcel’s just been listed for sale for $1.4 million (described in unlinkable search results as “California Avenue Developable Land”).
The city Transportation Department has posted a new update on the WS repaving project as the Cali work wraps up and the Admiral work begins. Note there are nighttime shutdowns set for Admiral right after the Fourth of July.
Got a note tonight from a WSB reader on Gatewood Hill. Though the recent burglary spree didn’t hit his house, he thinks he may have found a stolen item in his own front yard: A boy’s mountain-style bike, “Rhino” brand. Nobody nearby seems to know whose it is, so he’s wondering if someone stole it, rode it for a while, then abandoned it. If you have any idea whose it might be, please e-mail us and we will forward your note on to him.
Creighton, whose blog is on our Other Blogs in WS page, tells us goats are grazing the hill along Marine View Drive, just up from the Endolyne area of Fauntleroy, clearing brush and delighting onlookers; he sent this photo.
Just noticed this P-I article that mentions two WS Democratic (yes, we know that’s kind of redundant) politicians — State Senator Erik Poulsen and King County Councilmember Dow Constantine — are reportedly thinking about running for State Commissioner of Public Lands. Dow C has a re-election run to get through first, later this year; Erik P just got re-elected last year and holds his current office till 2010.
Love ’em, hate ’em, neutral about ’em, West Seattle’s resident megachurch branch is worth watching. Nine months after their WS arrival, 2-plus months after the official grand opening of their permanent WS home, they’re changing pastors, according to this post on one of Mars Hill’s many blogs: WS pastor Bubba Jennings returns to the Ballard branch as “campus pastor” while Adam Sinnett moves to MH-WS in the same role after serving as the MH director of student ministries (according to this page).
While several other stations that had been selling regular below $3/gallon have now stepped back up over that mark, Delridge Arco keeps dropping. The $2.91 shown below is 18 cents below the current Seattle average (according to AAA).
Just another little post-WWII house, 4854 40th, corner of Hudson, one block west of Fauntleroy. Demolition permit just granted, six townhouses on the way.
If you heard the screaming and cheering from high atop Alki Point over the weekend (we did, while out walking before the deluge) — Cami from AlkiNews.com lets us in on what’s going on — West Seattle Little League is hosting the District 7 All-Star Tournament at Bar-S Playfield. So far the WS 9-10 and 10-11 teams have racked up victories; more games to come for them (6 pm Wednesday), and the 11-12 team will play later this week too.
Back in March, Dave from the Junction Association (and West 5) asked for WSB reader feedback on West Seattle Summer Fest. Now, 40 comments and three months later, Summer Fest is almost here, and Dave has sent us the music lineup as it stands now (noting that most bands have WS ties – either based here, or with members living here). This list is not even on the Summer Fest site as of this writing late Sunday night, so click ahead to be among the first to see it:Read More
That’s what a guy from West Seattle suggests we need, in this P-I “guest column.”
Appropriate for this to show up on a day when a whole lot of rainbow-displaying was going on just a few miles away. Thanks to Christy from On Focus Photo for the pic, shot between Seacrest and Salty’s.
Two schools here on the south side of WS may soon share a campus, and their neighbors want to hear more about what’s planned. So the Westwood Neighborhood Council is organizing a meeting about the Sealth HS/Denny Middle School project for this Wednesday, 6:30 pm @ Southwest Community Center.
We all know that spring and early summer in Seattle can bring days interspersing sun and rain, but we can’t remember having seen it change quite as often and as dramatically as today … or perhaps the fact we were out on a very long walk from south WS to north WS heightened our experience … Here’s a photo from Alki during the 4 pm deluge (including a few hailstones too fleeting to catch with the camera):
The West Seattle couple featured in the documentary “Inlaws & Outlaws,” Jane Abbott Lighty & Pete-e Petersen, are celebrity grand marshals of today’s Pride Parade downtown.
Happened onto this post from a local “parkour” star who’s in the commercial we mentioned below.
Six months after the deluge preceding the December windstorm created the Thistle/Northrop sinkhole (at the end of the 52-y-o hillside staircase) in Upper Fauntleroy, Seattle Public Utilities is finally about to do something substantial in the area. Before we elaborate: Two photos, one looking west into the sinkhole a few days after the storm (before the temporary bridge was built); the next, a recent look east at and below the segment of “suspended” sidewalk that’s been literally hanging there (blocked off from public access) ever since:
Now, the apparent plan: Flyers available at the Thistle/Northrop corner say SPU will start work next weekend on “drainage catch basins and inlets” both at that corner and a block east at Thistle/Cali. They describe the “new drainage structures” as “improved grates with curb openings to help facilitate storm water drainage when debris covers them.” As for the sinkhole itself, which now seems to be dubbed a “gully,” SPU writes on the flyer:
We are continuing to work with FEMA and private property owners to repair the gully that was eroded during the 2006 winter storms. We anticipate that this work, which will include rebuilding the sidewalks to provide access to the SW Thistle St stairs, will be completed later this summer. Thank you for your continued patience.
For walkers/joggers who are wondering (like us), we just sent a note to SPU to ask if the upcoming work will block off the stairs again … we’ll let you know what we hear.
Two weeks after we first contacted our site host with concerns about site slowness … four days after we started a full-court press via phone … the saga has reached hair-pulling stage. Click ahead only if you want to read our vent. (If you can even get to a second page. Again, we promise to get this fixed one way or another …)Read More
First, the crowd gathered for the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse groundbreaking (the site is across from Herring’s House Park but parking was full there too, so we were reduced to drive-by photography):
Next, people wrapping up at Relay for Life @ West Seattle Stadium just before noon (the end of an intense 18 hours; you can still donate to their fight against cancer here):
Last but not least, the amateur-radio operators of the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service at South Seattle Community College, starting their 24-hour participation (through 11 am Sunday) in the Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day. They’re utilizing alternative energy, which explains why the tall structure in the photo isn’t an antenna, but rather an Air-X:
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