Now that we have the fireworks out of the way …
… time for more summer fun. Here’s one event you might not have heard about: the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival, coming up a week from Saturday, right here in fabulous WS. I would never have heard of it if not for a mailing list I signed up for after becoming enthralled by a local belly-dance troupe during an offbeat Christmas show at ArtsWest a couple years back. See ya there!
In case this is your first 4th in West Seattle
We don’t have “our own” big fireworks display over here, but you can see lots of good stuff without leaving West Seattle.
BIGGEST: Fourth of Jul-Ivar’s, over Elliott Bay. Look toward the Space Needle — if you are so far up the northern side of the WS shoreline that you CAN’T see the Needle, you probably won’t be able to see the fireworks. Stake out a viewing spot early, whether you’re on the shore or up above (the Admiral viewpoint, the north Cali Ave viewpoint, etc.).
SECONDARY: If you’re at the right angle, you will see some of the Lake Union show “behind” the Elliott Bay show. Or, if you watch toward the west, you will probably catch some Bainbridge Island fireworks. And if you are on the west/south shore, looking toward Vashon, you can see some of their shows too — I hear there’s supposed to be a big display over Quartermaster Harbor this year.
As for personal fireworks, they’re illegal in the Seattle city limits, but not in the neighboring chunk of unincorporated King County known as White Center — the closest fireworks stands are in and near the parking lot of the Safeway on Roxbury, just barely over the city-limits line.
Happy Independence Day!
Flunking elementary property management?
With the next Big Announcement in the Seattle school-closure scuffle coming up on Wednesday, it’s always interesting to dredge this up. Funny thing is that the Times did a very similar story (different writer) last year — and that one pointed out that Jefferson Square here in West Seattle is one of the district properties bringing in pathetically low returns. Why not just dare to sell whatever they close? Here in WS, Genesee Hill and Fairmount Park, both slated for shutdown (pending Superintendent Raj’s recommendations Wednesday), are in residential areas where I’m sure developers will be thrilled to pay big bucks to get their hands on some land.
Down goes one, up goes six
The city’s latest semiweekly bulletin of land-use applications & decisions contains a few more “subdivisions” of lots on this side of WS. All along Cali Ave, it seems like at least a dozen houses have made way for townhomeplexes in just the past half-year or so. A Times columnist muses today on the subject, certainly not something affecting our side of the city alone.
It’s not ALL set to be paved over …
Got an e-mail from someone wondering what’s up with the empty lot at the northwest corner of 42nd and Alaska. I remembered something about the city acquiring that lot as parkland, so I checked around and indeed, a park is still in the works for that site, known as “Junction Plaza” — timely question since, according to this city news release, city leaders want your ideas on exactly what to do with it; they’ll be at the Summer Fest in two weeks with a booth featuring the latest scoop.
Weekend calm before the storm
This is the weekend to hang out around your house before West Seattle’s blitz of midsummer events: Pirates Landing next weekend, Summer Fest (formerly Street Festival) the weekend after that, The Parade the weekend after that. Of course, by “weekend” I mean literally today and tomorrow, since Monday you’ll have to get ready for fireworks viewing on Tuesday … looks like great weather for the Fourth of Jul-Ivar’s show over the bay, which is visible from the Alki Bathhouse eastward along the WS Elliott Bay waterfront.
Still catching up
Lagged a few days in patroling for blog material; big work project kept me megabusy. Finally getting out there and wow, so much has happened! Went through the Junction tonight, for example, and two things in particular caught my eye:
-The “Watch This Space” butcher paper over the ex-tanning salon next to Pagliacci is now replaced with hand-lettering for “Coming Soon: Clementine/Women’s shoes/Handbags/(didn’t get close enough to read the third thing.”
-Tons of motorcycles outside Matador (10 pm Friday). Is this the upscale sequel to Taco Thursday at the Alki Tavern????
Open ‘n’ shut case
OPEN: The Safeway gas depot on Admiral … finally … sometime in the past week or so; just saw it brightly lit and serving customers tonight.
ALMOST OPEN: Also brightly lit, signs and interior alike — Super Supplements in the Junction.
SHUT: Looks like the Cat’s Eye Cafe may have run out of all nine of its lives. Signs spotted on its door tonight indicate its fixtures are for sale. Some kind of construction permit is posted — though it’s so new, I can’t follow its trail online yet.
Post-monorail consolation prize?
A few more details in today’s P-I re: Ron Sims’ “lots o’buses, no waiting” plan. Our neck of the woods is in line for part of it (somebody had to earmark West Seattle for SOMETHING, given the fact the monorail is toast and light rail is nowhere nearby) … but the part about “approve the tax, THEN we’ll decide the details” is just a bit disturbing. Isn’t that where the monorail went wrong — voters said yes (repeatedly), THEN a revolt brewed when some of the details (like the Financing Plan From Hell) appeared?
Hot enough for ya? 2
It was better to approach Alki from the south rather than the north. The traffic coming off the bridge was at a constant crawl. We gave up on the crowded beach and went to the Junction to be part of the ice-cream-seeking throng spilling out onto the sidewalk in front of the Husky Deli.
KOMO has the list of record temp busters here.
Squeaky wheels get … reconsidered?
As noted in the Times on Friday, looks like the NO BOREN FOR PATHFINDER crowd may get some action. They’ve certainly roused a lot of rabble for a relatively small school … just hours before that article posted, we even spotted a car with a NBFP sign in its back window, parked not far from Lincoln Park’s southernmost playground.
We’re noting this as an excuse to remind you that the next round of school-closure hearings is about to begin — this time, with a hearing at each school building on the latest list. One of the first hearings is tomorrow (Monday) at Fairmount Park, 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. Pathfinder gets its hearing on Wednesday, also 6:30 pm, also in the cafeteria.
Were we dissed?
Interesting quote in this P-I article on the flap over this weekend’s official gay-pride celebrations moving from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center:
Moving the pride parade off Capitol Hill, Benner said, is “like holding the Fremont (Solstice) Parade in West Seattle.”
Does that mean we’re too dull for words out here? Or is it just a geographic reference, and she could just as easily have said “like holding the Solstice Parade in Lake City”?
I for one don’t consider WS boring, although we could use a few naked bike riders — that would really spice up the Seafair Pirates Landing! And good heavens, you have to remember that the Rat City Rollergirls were “born” in neighboring White Center. (Still a bummer about that rink.) I’ll think of some other reasons we’re not boring … just give me a bit, still waking up.
Bad memories
Some of the news coverage of yesterday’s Bridge Disaster unearthed long-buried memories of the olden days of the stretch between 99 and I-5. It used to be a barrier-free high-speed death trap known as the West Seattle Freeway (or its official name, the Spokane Street Viaduct), with endless official protestations of “sorry it’s so dangerous, but there’s no room for a barrier” — till “new technology” was found and deployed six years ago.
Meanwhile, as of this writing, all looks well on The Bridge (note that the “Chelan intersection” link on our cams page shows the approach to the low bridge, if you ever need to check that out before leaving home). Some interesting follow-up stories in this morning’s papers, including lots of gripes that clearing away the wreckage took way too long. Still don’t know who those three people in the mangled, burned car were, though.
Takin’ it to the streets
-A final word from today’s crash-caused traffic jam: While trying to get out of WS in the late morning, West Seattle Blogger Spouse reported a suspected sighting of Councilguy Dow in the next car. I’m a little suspicious since it would seem Councilguy Dow would be the first to switch to the Water Taxi. But perhaps he was just on his way to Seacrest …
Bridge back in business
The West Seattle Bridge reopened in both directions late this morning after wreckage from the overnight crash was cleared. We’ve heard that the Water Taxi did extra business because of the traffic nightmare, and it’s adding some extra runs for folks returning home tonight. As of mid-afternoon online reports, no information apparently about who the crash victims were or what exactly caused the crash.
Deadly crash closes The Bridge
If you use the high bridge to leave WS in the morning, check the traffic reports and the bridge cams before you go — right now it’s closed both ways because of a deadly crash. Here’s what’s online right now in the relatively early morning: P-I, channel 7, channel 5.
If you’ve never had to detour around the bridge before, beware the low bridge as an option — in situations like this, it clogs pretty fast. Heading south through White Center and then north on Highway 509 can also work.
Living dangerously
First night of summer, last day of school, whatever the case, a little edgy down along Alki Beach just after sunset — we were out for a simple “scenic drive” en route home from downtown, but things bottlenecked right around the Pepperdock — at least half a dozen police cars blocking off a side street, officers walking warily around the edge of a fairly thick crowd on the beach side of the street. Hard to tell if any actual trouble had brewed, but with the crowd so close to the traffic lanes, we felt a bit nervous. I know Alki’s been a gathering place for The Young Folks since the dawn of time, but this density seemed a little unfamiliar.
Grand opening du jour
Thanks to a tipster for calling our attention to a CitiFinancial branch that’s just opened on 42nd, south of Alaska, across from Jefferson Square. As the tipster notes, it’s a banking boom in WS these days — with Viking Bank building a branch at the old Burger King site further down Alaska, and First Mutual opening its new building on Cali Ave north of the Junction. Maybe the attraction is all the new construction? Or perhaps just the people moving here to live in the new construction …
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