(Photo courtesy Aviva Furman)
While mulching material was being moved to the new site of the future Community Orchard of West Seattle, that little salamander turned up. Not sure if s/he will be there, but you’re invited to pitch in at an orchard-site work party and design workshop today – details here … Also from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Need a little more purring around the house? Though technically closed for the season, Kitty Harbor is opening today for a special one-day adoption event, noon-6 pm, with more than 50 cats and kittens from local rescue groups. 3422 Harbor Avenue SW. … A little ways up the road, divers at Alki Cove 2 will be part of the Seattle Aquarium‘s Giant Pacific Octopus Census, 9 am-1 pm … Need help paying your utility bills? Assistance is available – but you might not know how to find it, so there’s a special sign-up event continuing today (and tomorrow) at Southwest Youth and Family Services, 9 am-3 pm (details here) … Looking to move? New WSB sponsor Link – the almost-done building in The Triangle – is officially pre-leasing; look for the Airstream along 38th SW between Fauntleroy and Alaska, 8 am-5 pm … If you’re looking to fix up the place where you live now, West Seattle businesses are part of the Remodeling Expo at the Convention Center downtown today (and tomorrow), including WSB sponsors Potter Construction and NCompass Cottage Company (find show info here) … Another downtown event featuring a West Seattleite: An afternoon of poetry with Eugenia Toledo, 2-4 pm at Central Library … And West Seattle Community Clinic is having one of its periodic events offering free health exams to women 40-65 who are uninsured or underinsured – call to check if they have any appointments open; 206-937-9722 (if they’re booked up … Also call on this one before you go: Learn the history of High Tea, at Merrill Gardens West Seattle (WSB sponsor), 4611 35th SW, free, but RSVP to 206-932-5480 … Finally, a reminder about the West Seattle Eagles‘ dinner tonight to benefit the family of Brian Teachout – here’s our preview with details. … More on the calendar!

(Wednesday photo of Fairmount Springs’ chronic Fauntleroy Way puddle)
Rain remains in the forecast (“special weather statement,” in fact) … but we’re used to it, right? Also on the Friday schedule: If you see this before 9 am, you are welcome to go meet the West Seattle Earlybirds Toastmasters at ArtsWest, during their 7-9 am open house this morning … Almost next door at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy (WSB sponsor), a 2 pm event promises info to help you figure out which supplements can boost your immune system … Exercise can help too, and Friday Night Skating at Alki Community Center might be the ticket – $3/person, BYO skates or borrow them, 6:45-8:45 pm … Live music tonight at Skylark Café and Club (calendar here) and C & P Coffee (calendar here), both WSB sponsors … SIDE NOTE: Exactly four months from today, it’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, sponsored/organized by WSB (second Saturday in May every year, this year that’s May 14)!

The weather may be the talk of the town but there’s more on tap today. From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: The free Seattle Symphony concert at South Seattle Community College, presented by the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, is tonight at 7 pm, more details here … PCC Natural Markets‘ West Seattle store (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its remodeling project with a 2-6 pm open house this afternoon … The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s annual meeting luncheon is at 11:30, High Point Neighborhood Center … And the 34th District Democrats elect new officers tonight, The Hall at Fauntleroy, 7 pm – here’s who’s running.

(Friday sunset photo by Mark Dale)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar as well as previous coverage:

SEARCH FOR JEREMY PECK: Anyone who can help with the search for the West Seattle resident who hasn’t been seen since early Christmas Eve morning is asked to join searchers meeting at Puerto Vallarta in The Junction at 10:30 am. Here’s our most recent update.

SPOKESPEOPLE WEST SEATTLE BIKE RIDE: As organizer Stu Hennessey puts it, “Spokespeople West Seattle will not concede the forgone conclusion that baby boomers will bankrupt Medicare. Baby boomers grew up on two wheels, and two wheels will keep them healthy and decrease their health-care costs.” Join the group for a 38-mile ride starting at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza at 11 am. Two levels of moderate pace.

‘AMAHL’ FINALE: Last show today at 3 pm for Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor)’s 14th annual production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Gian Carlos Menotti at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, The Junction (44th/Alaska). Here’s what’s listed as “new this week” on market managers’ Ripe and Ready list:

Mead – Honey-based alcohol beverage– Delicious! – from Rockridge Orchards. Considered the oldest alcoholic beverage in the world (Bronze Age) made from fermented honey and water… limited quantities and it sells out quickly.
Cippollini Onions – organic from Pipitone Farms
Frozen Cherries – Sonata, Bing and Santa Rosa cherries). Tonnemaker Family Orchards
Frozen Roasted Peppers – Sweet and Hot varieties from River Farm
Dried Herbs – basil, oregano, rosemary, CATNIP!

And via Twitter, Hotcakes – a chocolatey creation – says they’re premiering at the market today.

(Friday afternoon rainbow photo shared by Erik)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page – among other sources:

SEAHAWKS FLYOVER FYI: Via Twitter, the team announced, “A pair of Navy EA-18G Growlers will conduct a flyover near the end of the national anthem on Saturday.” Military flyovers at the stadiums often go over West Seattle, so we’re sharing the heads-up. (The team’s playoff game vs. New Orleans starts at 1:30 pm.)

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR MATT DURHAM: The West Seattle photojournalist and Woodinville firefighter, who died of cancer nine days ago at 45, will be remembered at 1 pm today at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, all welcome. Details including a map are here.

CHRISTMAS-TREE RECYCLING: Want to get rid of your tree before the (potential) snow? Today’s the West Seattle Rainbow Girls‘ recycling event, 9 am-2 pm, Masonic Hall parking lot, 40th/Edmunds. (Suggested donation $5.)

SCHOOL FAIR/OPEN HOUSES: There’s a school fair at SSCC 10 am-1 pm, plus Westside School (WSB sponsor)’s open house 1-3 pm – here’s our preview from last night.

ELVIS COMPETITION: Two West Seattleites in the Elvis competition in SODO tonight – full details here.

Those are just a few of the highlights. More on the calendar. As for the forecast – there’s a chance of snow showers tonight/tomorrow.

(Jack Block Park entrance, taken by Nakean, shared via the WSB Flickr group pool)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page: It’s opening night for this weekend’s four-performance run of “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (tickets available online) … Friday-night skating returns tonight to Alki Community Center (5817 SW Stevens) after a few holiday-season weeks off – $3/person, bring your own skates or borrow them, 6:45-8:45 pm … Grand opening celebration at new 35th/Barton 7-11, free food, drinks, other treats 11 am-1 pm … Cleaning house after the holidays? Northwest Center’s “Big Blue Truck” is in West Seattle Fridays-Sundays, 44th Av SW & SW Edmunds, 9 am – 5 pm. … P.S. If you see this early, another wave of “king tides” is under way, and a 12.5-foot high tide hits West Seattle at 7:26 this morning (next wave is later this month, peaking at 13.3 feet January 22-23).

PHO AROMA CLOSED TILL FRIDAY: So says a note on the door of the Delridge restaurant, according to a photo sent by WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen. The note says the closure is because of a “family emergency.” We’ll make a note to check back Friday if Pho Aroma indeed reopens – let us know if you see them open sooner.

LOCOL OPENING THIS WEEKEND? If you’ve driven by the in-progress beer/wine/food spot Locöl at 35th and Kenyon lately and seen people inside – those are still “soft open” events for friends/family, according to proprietor Kyle Duce. We checked in with him again this afternoon to ask about an official grand-opening date. He says they should know tomorrow, and are hopeful it will finally be this weekend. Here’s our most recent story.

HAPPY NEWS FROM THE WSB PETS PAGE: With so many lost cats reported and never found – all the coyote activity in West Seattle, among other things, can lead you to fear the worst sometime. But tonight we have just received word of a lost cat posted on the WSB Pets page, finally found after six weeks. At left, that’s Eddie, posted on the Pets page on Thanksgiving. Tonight, we got a note from someone whose friend had spotted a similar-looking cat, and in short order, we heard from Eddie’s owner Melissa, who said he was finally home. We’ve also added several more lost/found pets to the page, which is among the WSB features we’ll be improving in the months ahead – low-tech as it is, it’s helped reunite many pets and owners in its three years of existence, so if you have a lost/found/sighted pet to report, please let us know. (And if you don’t see it on the page shortly thereafter, do send a reminder – our mailbox gets a little bollixed sometimes – working on that too.) P.S. Just noticed tomorrow is the third anniversary of the day we launched the Pets page — January 5, 2008. Thanks to everyone for helping the dogs, cats, birds (and a few others) get safely home.

(Anchor/Luna Park photo by Flickr member Nakean, from the WSB Flickr photo pool)
Part of today’s look ahead is warmer, if cloudier, weather – last night was the last subfreezing night expected for a while. Also, one more road reminder, if you haven’t already been through it, today is the day 1st Avenue South is down to one lane each way by the stadiums until April, because of Alaskan Way Viaduct south-end replacement work, which also brought southbound changes to some Metro routes that previously used 1st Ave. S. in that area, including a few serving West Seattle. Besides that reminder, the schedule’s light today; folk-rocker Abi Grace is onstage at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) tonight at 9 (heard about their menu changes yet?), and it’s trivia night at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor).

NON-WEST SEATTLE P.S. In case you are interested in seeing this: The Seattle Fire Department has sent word that the traveling Patriot Flag, a 9/11 memorial, will hang between two 100-foot ladder trucks at Seattle Center between 2 and 2:30 this afternoon, south side of the International Fountain. It’s traveling between fire departments across America (previous stop: Olympia), final destination New York City for the 10th anniversary this September.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Two weeks of winter break are over, and most if not all local students are back in class today.

ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER CHANGES: Big changes in hours and staffing, as mandated by the final city budget, begin today; we previewed them here when the center’s Advisory Council got official word a month ago, and they’re detailed in a flyer linked from the ACC home page.

VIADUCT-CONSTRUCTION CHANGES FOR DRIVERS AND RIDERS ON 1ST AVENUE SOUTH: Tonight’s the night those changes start taking effect – first with an overnight closure, then longterm lane closures – on 1st Avenue South in the stadium zone; here’s our original story with details. The changes also will affect some Metro routes, southbound direction only; those details are here.

METRO, FERRY FARE CHANGES: Both Metro and Washington State Ferries changed fares over the weekend – Metro changes here, with full details here (thanks to Bob for pointing out the detailed link), and ferry changes here (PDF).

SOUNDWAY VOTE BY FULL COUNCIL: This afternoon at 2 pm, the Seattle City Council (agenda here) is expected to take the final vote approving transfer of part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt from SDOT to Seattle Parks – ending its longstanding designation as right-of-way for potential roads, and paving the way for all-out restoration work by the Nature Consortium.

OPENING DAY FOR AVALON: Just two months after first word of the new restaurant Avalon, it’s officially opening today for happy hour and dinner. (Here’s our coverage of its preview night last Wednesday.)

FREE COFFEE AT JOJO’S: After shuttering her 16th/Holden coffee stand last week amid a mess involving back rent and the foreclosure that closed her landlord’s neighboring store, JoJo’s Fine Espresso owner Jodi Robbins said in a WSB comment that she’d be there this morning (as of about an hour ago) giving out free coffee drinks until her remaining supplies ran out.

By now, you may be thoroughly tired of “2010 in review,” since 2011 is in its third day. We weren’t able to finish it sooner – new news always comes first – but just in case you’re still interested, after the jump, our decidedly nonscientific, maybe even highly disputable picks for WSB’s top stories of 2010:Read More

(Male Anna’s hummingbird; photo by Danny McMillin via the WSB Flickr group pool)
Happy second day of 2011! A few notes for today – Washington State Ferries‘ winter schedule starts today, which means, among other changes, fewer weekend runs for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth; the new schedule is available in various formats here – note that fares just went up too … West Seattle Farmers’ Market is open as always, 10 am-2 pm … At the beach, Alki Arts (2820 Alki SW) celebrates its half-year “anniversary” with a storewide 10%-off sale, noon-7 pm. … Two WSB sponsors have live music today/tonight: At C & P Coffee (5612 California SW), it’s Bremerton songwriter Umber Mishra, 3-5 pm, and at Skylark Café and Club (3803 Delridge Way), it’s all-ages night, with Petros, Canby, and Elliott G. Knapp, starting at 7 … P.S. (added 9 am) A Tweet reminds us that the West Seattle Tool Library is open today too, 1-5 pm (see its inventory here).

While continuing to put together the WSB take on 2010’s top 10 stories (coming up later), we came across three that seemed to deserve a retrospective all their own – the three offbeat stories covered here in 2010. Read More

Over the course of today/tonight, we’re looking back at West Seattle’s 2010 in a few ways. Here’s the first. Christopher Boffoli photographed dozens of notable stories for WSB again this year; he went through his archives via Flickr and created this montage of memorable scenes. It’s not in order of importance – you’ll see a number of breaking-news scenes since Christopher is often first to arrive, but also wildlife, parade participants, sights at sea and in the sky … a great visual retrospective. Just click the “play” button and the images will automatically advance as you watch. Coming up later, our “top stories of the year” list, as well as year-end thanks. (But we’ll be here as usual covering today’s news all day, too!)

First, the transit-rider reminder: Metro’s on “reduced weekday service” again today … A citywide event bound to be of interest here too – Mayor McGinn plans an update on the “Nightlife Initiative” at 6 pm tonight (Washington Hall in Squire Park) … Speaking of nightlife, a few notes – the ReKonstruction show with West Seattle-raised comedian Adam Cozens, mentioned in this WSB story, is tonight at Comedy Underground in Pioneer Square, 8 pm (hosted by West Seattle’s Alex Meyer) … Nightlife *in* West Seattle includes “Writers and Tellers Night” at 9 pm, Mac’s Triangle Pub (9454 Delridge Way), with the “Big Fat Liars Club” competition … At the other end of Delridge, it’s Caffeine, live on stage at 9 pm, at Skylark Café and Club, and 8 pm rock trivia at Feedback Lounge (both WSB sponsors) … For the much-much-younger set, there’s afternoon entertainment: Toddler Story Time at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson), 2 pm (more info here) … And looking ahead, we’re continuing to add to the West Seattle New Year’s Eve list on the Holidays page.

(Sunday photo by Chas Redmond)
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is admittedly usually fairly quiet – though the “s” word remains in the forecast for later this week – but there are a few things to share: First, for transit users, remember that Metro continues “reduced weekday service” between the holidays … From the WSB Forums, there’s a La Leche League meeting this morning, 10:30 am at Seaview Methodist Church (4620 SW Graham) … Tonight, families are welcome at Pajama Story Time at High Point Library (35th/Raymond), 7 pm … C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) doesn’t usually have live music on Mondays, but tonight, regular performer Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice is scheduled to play, 6-8 pm … Monday night means that Scrabble‘s the word, raising money this time for Books for Prisoners, tonight at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), 7 pm registration, 7:15 pm game (details here). … And if you feel like dancing, you’ve got the floor at Kenyon Hall during Balorico‘s Family Holiday Dance Party, 4:30-5:45 pm (details here).

(Sightseer photo from last Friday, shared by West Seattle Water Taxi enthusiast “expatom“)
Welcome to the largely-devoid-of-official-events week before Christmas, when all through the peninsula, not a meeting was stirring … There are activities, of course. Like today’s Afternoon Book Group at Southwest Library, 2 pm … It’s the fifth-to-last performance of “A Tuna Christmas” at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), 7:30 tonight (tickets available online) … Be at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) at 7 pm to sign up for the third weekly Scrabble tournament, this time raising money for Furry Faces Foundation … And the West Seattle See Dogs club meets tonight, welcoming everyone potentially interested in helping raise a guide puppy to become a guide dog (more info here). Last but not least, you never know, there could be enough of a break in the weather tonight to glimpse at least part of the total lunar eclipse – this seattletimes.com (WSB partner) story has details.