West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
Thanks to Jenny Simonds for e-mailing us about this on Halloween Eve; we didn’t mention it last night because of the cloud cover, but tonight it’s clear again, so if you’re up late tonight or on subsequent clear nights, you might want to check it out for yourself: Comet Holmes has suddenly brightened. This article has lots of info and near-nightly updates. Jenny explains:
If you look northeast, maybe a teeny bit East of NE, you can see 3 stars that are almost vertical to each other. Apparently these are part of the constellation Perseus, for those of you who are familiar with Perseus. (They’re actually a bit more prominent than what the picture shows.) To the left of the bottom two stars there’s a 3rd star – but if you look at it closely, it refuses to be a point of light, just a tight smudge. That’s the comet!
Jenny offers another link about the comet, and also this handy composite showing how to look for it:
The West Seattle Junction Association Beautification Committee is soliciting bids for some landscaping work to spruce up various spots in the heart of West Seattle, including the well-known “flagpole corner.” Click ahead to read the request for bids — interesting reading even if you don’t expect to be bidding — and to see a sketch of the areas involved:Read More
-Our city utility bills are all going up. (Side note, did you know you can report a missed trash/recycling pickup online?) TUESDAY AFTERNOON CORRECTION: The city has just posted a note that the original newspaper report was wrong; City Light is not proposing an increase.
–Capitol Hill Seattle suggests we could cut those bills a bit and make an energy-saving statement by joining L.A. and S.F. in shutting off everything “nonessential” for an hour at 8 pm October 20. We’re in, how ’bout you? (And how about West Seattle’s Most Famous Politician; anybody asked him about this yet?)
–The West Seattle Little League website now has a photo up of proud WSLL reps at the Safe last Friday night, accepting the big $100K Boeing/Mariners Care check for Bar-S Playfield improvements.
–Endolyne Joe’s fans can take this as a hint of which food theme is likely to follow the currently featured “prairie” menu.
-Besides Trader Joe’s (someday, someday), this is the grocery chain we would most like to see expand into West Seattle.
At left (photo by Matthew Durham, courtesy ArtsWest), it’s the amazing Bat Boy, no longer just the figment of active tabloid imaginations (RIP, Weekly World News). ArtsWest‘s season opens next Wednesday with the Seattle premiere of “Bat Boy: The Musical” (tickets available online). For the theater-intrigued, one free event during the “Bat Boy” run is particularly worth noting: Next Monday @ 7:30 pm, ArtsWest’s director of theater will be among those participating in what AW describes as “a lively discussion about music as a character, musicals as social commentary, and how this all relates to the strange boy with pointy ears at the heart of “Bat Boy” … Zinovitch is directing “Bat Boy” and has something to say about the show in this new post on the ArtsWest MySpace blog.
This comment just in on the seal-photo post:
I was lucky enough to visit Seattle this year, do some work, and see the Gray Whales. With mountains, seas, beaches, forests you live in a wonderful part of the world! Having spent a fair bit of time on the East Coast my few days in Seattle changed my perception of the US significantly!
Awww. That’ll keep us warm till the fog lifts.
A WSB reader e-mailed to ask about a scene on West Marginal Way Tuesday afternoon, “just under the low bridge,” involving police and what was clearly a (covered) body. No major crime investigations were under way, but we just checked the King County Medical Examiner’s latest report on recent deaths, and there’s one case that’s a potential match — a 43-year-old man listed as having committed suicide Tuesday in Seattle, with the cause of death explained as a number of injuries that would be tough to suffer all at once without having jumped from quite some height. Last bridge suicide we know of was in mid-June. If you know anyone contemplating suicide … there is a comprehensive list of suicide-prevention resources here.
In the “reserve” greenspace near Salty’s, this blazingly bright little tree:
This sighting also gives us an excuse to mention a new site – featuring an interactive map to find “urban nature” near you.
Brenda Peterson of the Seal Sitters sent us an update on the seal caught in a dangerous situation before a heroic rescue last night. If you would like to volunteer, e-mail us (please be sure to include your phone #, which will be used for no other purpose than forwarding to Brenda):
The same small pup is back on the beach today and resting now that the audio tape is untangled from his back flipper. We have named this pup Singer, because of the rather poignant audio connection that we are grateful will no longer harm him. He is still underweight, which means he may be getting weaned and just learning to fish for himself. There are a few seal sitters there but we always need more volunteers to send us a note with their phone numbers. Thanks!
Just seen on tv, can’t find it online yet – the Chief Sealth student who said he was attacked just offcampus at lunchtime last Friday, now apparently says he made up the story – it was some kind of “initiation,” not a random attack.
Will keep an eye out for more followup on this.
Late September was an unpleasant time on our side of the bay last year. Today, Cathy Woo‘s Alki Beach Walks blog reminds us that yesterday marked 1 year since the Alki Ave crash that killed 2 teenagers. Later this week, it’ll be one year since the High Point bike-van collision that killed bicyclist Susanne Scaringi.
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This morning, the Budget rental trucks on Harbor Ave, which on occasion cause a bottleneck we first mentioned last December, were behind their fence and in their lot (photo above). Perhaps the business got the message conveyed at last night’s Alki Community Council meeting — much of the problems reported by area residents involve activity that, if true, would be against the law, according to the city Transportation Department reps at the meeting — they say citations would be warranted for such things as parking with wheels up on the sidewalk and detaching trailers. They said they had messages out to the business owners responsible for the rental-truck business and that they also planned to alert their “commercial compliance” squad, as well as Seattle Police parking enforcement. So keep your eyes out and if you don’t think things are getting better — let the city know.
-Almost fainted (but that would have caused a crash) while driving toward Fauntleroy on The Bridge this evening — the sign was still up.
-This (and many more events) will be in tomorrow morning’s WS Weekend Lineup, of course, but did want to call special attention to the fact that the fabulous folks of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council are inviting you to an Adopt-A-Street Cleanup this Saturday. Meet in the Delridge Community Center parking lot at 10 am to pick up city-provided supplies and get going. Every little bit helps.
-If you glossed past our item earlier this week about the West Seattle HS schedule-change controversy, the comments (scroll down) are worth another look — a lively debate has developed, especially once “5766324” joined the fray.
West Seattle’s most famous daddy talks about fatherhood. Revelations from WS-dwelling music star Eddie Vedder, courtesy of People magazine.
The Times (second item) says Shing Chin, who ran Ovio with wife Ellie Chin till the end of June, has a new job as assistant general manager of the Waterfront Seafood Grill on the downtown side of Elliott Bay. In other newspaper food news, the P-I’s weekly column mentions WSB toward the end, noting our “breathless reports” about WS restaurant comings and goings. (Hey, food is big news. 150-plus comments are the proof in the pudding.)
Every so often, somebody asks where to find an I (HEART) WEST SEATTLE bumper sticker. 
We kept thinking maybe we’d get into the bumper-sticker business, but other priorities kept getting in the way. Luckily, WSB reader Tom just posted last night (the 9:48 pm comment below this post) that he’s set some up through the online store CafePress.com. Here’s the link to the sticker Tom is selling. Design shown at right (image grab from CafePress.com); just says I (HEART) WEST SEATTLE, no other logo or business name, $2.99 plus 75 cents shipping/handling. We don’t know Tom personally and aren’t affiliated with this but nonetheless we say bravo.
Checked out the monthly West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting tonight and came away with some eye-opening info which we will process for you by morning. Headlines include: Lincoln Park visitors should watch out for transients camping in the greenery; neighborhoods with nuisance properties have an amazing amount of guidance available for dealing with the problem; and the WSCSP needs an infusion of new community involvement or else the Seattle Neighborhood Group may have to stop providing the services of staffer Lois Grammon-Simpson to help oversee and facilitate its vital business of helping us all stay safe. This would be a big loss. More on that in a few hours.
A few folks have e-mailed in recent weeks to inquire about the definitive West Seattle neighborhood map. You would expect the city to have the final say, but upon a closer look at their neighborhood map boundaries for West Seattle — which, annoyingly, the city seems to consider separate from greater Delridge — we’re not so sure. Take a look at what the maps linked below say is your neighborhood; comment here if you disagree. (Note some neighborhood names are missing altogether, such as Pigeon Point.)
Links:
-“West Seattle” (small; large)
-“Delridge” (small; large)
–The Northwest Hope & Healing Half-Marathon (and accompanying 5K walk) takes off from Lincoln Park @ 8 am. Click here to see the route they’ll follow on their long loop back to LP.
-Meet West Seattle authors at Square 1 Books’ “Words from the WestSide” event @ ArtsWest, 1 pm.
We mentioned last month that Starbucks is taking over the Infinity Espresso spot at the northwestern corner of Jefferson Square, but hadn’t heard when Infinity would be closing. Now we know, per this e-mail:
CLOSING TOMORROW AFTER 10 YEARS!!!! the new building owners didn’t
renew our lease and they kicked us out and let starbucks in!!!!! We are selling
everything so people are welcome to come in and make an offer!
The Infinity folks say they’ll be open 8-6 tomorrow. Friday and Saturday, people will be at the store, but they’ll just be packing up and moving out, so if you want to “come in and make an offer,” tomorrow’s the day.
The Alki Statue of Liberty celebration is not the only notable event happening in WS today/tonight. Here are 3 other highlights, only one directly related to the fact today is the 9/11 anniversary:
1 PM: Interfaith Service for Peace in the World @ Providence Mount St. Vincent Chapel.
DINNERTIME: Support next month’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival by dining tonight at Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant (which survived a scare the other night).
6 PM: Midway State performs live in-store at Easy Street in The Junction.
Besides the Alki Statue of Liberty unveiling, 9/11 (Tuesday) also will bring an event @ the Providence Mt. St. Vincent Chapel, an Interfaith Prayer for Peace in the World @ 1 pm … and: A sizable anti-war, anti-global-warming ad will run, according to WashBLOG (this link includes what the WashBLOG writer says it will look like), in the WS Herald and its sister papers.
SIGN SAGA #1 — A medic call to Westwood Village around 6 pm tonight is explained by a reader as follows:
One of the main signs inside of Westwood Village Target fell on a lady’s shoulder earlier tonight. It was one of the main signs that say Bedding or Electronics that hang from the ceiling with two tiny strings. It fell on the lady and shattered on the floor. They called the medics for her. I asked her if she was okay right after it happened and she said I think so.
SIGN SAGA #2 — Yes, it’s illegal to hang banners on the Fauntleroy pedestrian overpass, but it’s a tradition anyway — apparently, a tradition someone is intent on stomping out, as any banner that’s gone up lately hasn’t been up for long, and here’s the latest example: A volunteer for a local nonprofit group desperate to get the word out about an upcoming event told us she went up with a banner today and left a note saying “we’ll be back for this on Thursday; if you need it taken down before then, please call (number).” The banner was up when we drove by at 7 pm tonight; gone at quarter past 9; the banner-hanger tells us no one called. Other prospective banner-hangers, you’ve been warned.
Another weekend has arrived, as has the month in which fall will begin. Yard-sale season is in its ebb tide. This weekend, will we find another round of creative signs like this memorable WS campaign last weekend? Let us know if you see anything double-take-worthy. Meantime, though we do not (yet) routinely feature yard sales, we heard from someone whose 1-day sale on Fauntleroy today sounds intriguing …Read More
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