West Seattle, Washington
12 Friday
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
If we told you local fans gathered in a West Seattle pub to watch a professional-sports championship game today – you might guess we were talking about the Stanley Cup. (After all, Vancouver’s in the finals.) Nope. That’s next week; this was a different cup. Soccer’s European Cup, pitting Manchester United against Barcelona, filled the Corner Pocket in The Junction at midday. The CP has for years been a hot spot for watching soccer – particularly if you are a Manchester United fan. WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen stopped by early in the game.
Fans explained to Ellen that while you can watch soccer at other Seattle pubs, for more than three years, Corner Pocket has become the headquarters for Manchester United loyalists – who sing, cheer, and otherwise raucously root for their team. Things were tied 1-1 while Ellen was there, but Barcelona eventually won, 3-1. It was a party just the same – Ellen reports one fan even brought in Manchester United cupcakes for all to enjoy, complete with individual players’ pictures:
If you want to read a UK take on how the game unfolded – here’s one we found.Manchester has won the European Cup three times previously, by the way. And their upcoming U.S. tour includes a Seattle stop – on July 20th, they’re playing the Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field.
(P.S. Thanks to Selena for putting this on our radar via Twitter – one of many ways to share info on what’s going on or coming up!)
Sometimes reports like the following two will yield “yeah, me too,” or “actually, here’s what that was about” – so toward that end, here are two notes that arrived in the WSB inbox late last night, one from the Genesee area, one from Highland Park:Read More
(Photo by Mark Sears, one of the experts leading the June 11th Orca Steward training session)
Can you imagine Puget Sound without that amazing sight? We can’t. So, in case you haven’t already seen this on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, here’s a reminder: Two weeks from today, if you can spare a few hours to help make sure our area’s threatened orcas (fewer than 100 left!) get a better chance of survival, you can join an Orca Steward training session. 10 am-2:30 pm on Saturday, June 11th, at Alki Community Center, as announced by Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail:
Topics/presenters include:
Orca ABCs – Cindy Hansen, Whale Museum
Killer Whale Management and Recovery – Lynne Barre, NOAA Fisheries
West Seattle Orca Sightings – Mark Sears, Orca Researcher
What We Can Do To Help the Orcas – Franziska McKay, People for Puget Sound.The event is free, and open to all ages. … Lunch will be provided.
Though there’s no charge – thanks in part to a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods matching-fund grant – you need to SIGN UP NOW – since space is limited. And you can do it online, right this very moment – just go here. Need to know more first? Check out The Whale Trail’s website and/or Facebook page. Or – e-mail info@thewhaletrail.org.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Donna sends word the session is now full! But e-mail that same address to get on the waiting list for the next one (date etc. TBA).
(Photo by Cheryl, from the West Seattle Blog Flickr group pool)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, happening today/tonight:
THE SNEAKERY ‘GRAND OPENING’: Though it’s been open a few weeks, today is the official “grand opening” celebration for The Sneakery, the new shoes/socks store in The Junction, starting at 11 am with discounts, giveaways, and a 7 pm acoustic set by two members of The Young Evils.
CAIRDEAS WINERY TASTING ROOM OPENS: Today and tomorrow, a new tasting room opens its doors at ActivSpace on Harbor Avenue just north of the West Seattle Bridge, noon-5 pm (details here).
SHOWCASE OF NEW PLAYS: Annual Showcase of New Plays at ArtsWest – 5 new plays by 5 playwrights tonight (and 5 more tomorrow), 7 pm. More details here; three West Seattle playwrights are on tonight’s slate – Judy Jacobs, Suzanne Bailie, and Scot Bastian.
SIFF AT THE ADMIRAL: The Seattle International Film Festival continues, with screenings at the Admiral Theater in West Seattle among the venues. Today at The Admiral, the films are “Fathers and Sons” at 1 pm, “Littlerock” at 3:30 pm, “Young Goethe in Love” at 6 pm, “On Tour” at 9 pm. Tickets are available online through the SIFF site.
GET OUT AND GET GREEN: Three West Seattle work parties are listed today on the Green Seattle Partnership page; find them here.
GOT A HOLIDAY WEEKEND PROJECT? But not sure you have what you need to make it happen? Check out the West Seattle Tool Library in its new Youngstown Cultural Arts Center space (east side of main building), 9 am-2 pm today (and every Saturday).
SEATTLE LUTHERAN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: As noted here last night, the Seattle Lutheran High School baseball team is in the state 2B finals. The game’s in Yakima at 4 pm, but you can get in-progress reports via Twitter (@seattlelutheran).
Saturday afternoon in Yakima, defending state 2B baseball champs Seattle Lutheran High School will play for the title again. In the semifinals tonight, the Saints beat DeSales, 12-7, which means they’ll face the other semifinal winner, Warden, tomorrow at 4 pm. (Last year, SLHS beat Colfax to take the title.)
Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
You might already have met this unique fellow during his walks around West Seattle, or at public events including last Sunday’s Summer Streets party on Alki, but we wanted to find out his backstory – so, meet Jeb: He enjoys long walks in Schmitz Park, gallops through the snow, and getting his back scratched. He’s a vegetarian who loves granola and the occasional tortilla chip. He stands 38 inches tall (at the shoulder) and has been known to show a marked preference for blondes.
(“How YOU doin’?” Jeb puts Zoolander’s look to shame)
Some of Jeb’s family members, local artist Mimi Miles and her teenage daughters Celeste and Hope, met us in the big back yard of their home to give us the scoop.
“He’s definitely got attitude,” Hope quips, as Mimi scratched Jeb’s ear, then elaborated on Jeb’s idiosyncrasies: “We’ve had him for 5 1/2 years; he’s 8 years old now. He’s devious. He’s very much a boy. He’s got that thing – he can be really sweet, then he can turn around and be a total brat. Jeb likes for everything to be done the same, he likes routine. He knows I give him his vitamins at 9 o’clock; if it’s five after nine, he starts to whinny – and he knows when the girls are supposed to come home from school.”
After something of a lull, the Seattle Police SPD Blotter has resumed updates on the Aggressive Drivers Response Team, and the latest update published minutes ago has some stats from today – read on:Read More
Starting six weeks from today, West Seattle Summer Fest takes over The Junction for the three hottest days (regardless of the weather!) of summer – July 8, 9, 10. Today, the West Seattle Junction Association has gone public with the official 2011 West Seattle Summer Fest poster. For the design, they turned to one of West Seattle’s most artistically inclined entrepreneurs, Jeff Gilbert of the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) – who routinely designs grabby graphics for his own business’s online and offline promotions. In a news release, WSJA quotes Jeff as saying, “Being asked to design the poster for Summer Fest is the West Seattle equivalent of winning an Academy Award. I’ve been such a huge fan of the festival, every since I was a kid. More so now that I’m old enough to get in the beer garden! It’s an absolute honor to be asked to contribute to the West Seattle community.”
Also as part of the Summer Fest preps, this call for participation:
… we’re gathering performance ideas from the community. Calling all artists, dancers, and performers who’d like to showcase their talents in the heart of the festival. Performers will have a dedicated area (but not a stage) and a sound system. This a great opportunity for school groups, clubs, teams and specialized schools. Email info@westseattlefestival.com to express your interest in performing.
WSB is proud to be among the festival’s co-sponsors again this year! P.S. Trying to remember what last year’s poster looked like? We published it here.
We’ve received a few notes about a police search on California SW between The Junction and Morgan Junction. Scanner traffic indicates there was a report a man had assaulted a woman in an apartment in the 5600 block of California SW and taken off possibly with a BB gun or some kind of rifle in his possession. At one point, police boarded a bus at California/Juneau to check if the suspect was on board. No report of an arrest so far, and we don’t know anything more yet about the condition of the victim or the circumstances of the assault; there’s no medic/aid call on the 911 log for that area.
(Photos by Katie Meyer for WSB)
West Seattle Smoke Company is open for business in The Junction, albeit in “soft open” mode. Thanks to Brian Presser at TouchTech Systems in The Junction for the original tip late yesterday; WSB contributor Katie Meyer was finally able to confirm this afternoon that the store’s open for business. That’s owner Umar Kahn behind the counter, above. Katie reports that he decided to do a “soft open” with the store, he says, despite the cigars having been held up until next week when the tempered glass for the humidor cabinets near the front door arrives. (He joked that he and the other new business owners on that side of the block have all been able to commiserate with each other about contractor delays, licensing/permit turnaround times, etc.) Asked what the hours will be, Umar wrote down his initial plan for us and said that he’ll see how things go for a while and modify hours if need be to what the neighborhood seems to want: Monday-Thursday, 10 am-9 pm; Friday-Saturday, 10 am-10 pm; Sunday, 10 am-6 pm.
Once the tempered glass is installed in the cabinets up front, the custom humidity control can be put into place and the cabinets are expected to store more than 100 boxes of quality cigars from the Dominican Republic and Brazil, among other countries. The West Seattle Smoke Company website says they’ll have a grand opening concurrent with neighboring A Terrible Beauty, whose sign went up this week:
…but no opening date announced THERE yet.
Beach cleanups aren’t just a matter of aesthetics – it could be a matter of life and death for wildlife. That’s why the Alki Community Council and Seal Sitters have a series of volunteer cleanups under way, and David Hutchinson shares photos as well as a report on the latest one, just hours ago:
The second beach clean-up of the season, sponsored by the Alki Community Council and Seal Sitters, took place this morning. Twenty-one volunteers from the Renton High School Choir, led by choir director Lizabeth Diaz, removed litter from the area around the picnic tables in Alki Park, along the beach, and by the fire rings.
These events also provide an educational opportunity for the volunteers. Robin Lindsey, one of the founders of Seal Sitters, briefed the students on local marine mammals and the negative impact of litter and pollutants when they get into the marine environment.
These activities are coordinated through Colleen Hackett of Seattle Parks & Recreation. If you want additional information on how you can become involved, contact Larry Carpenter, of the Alki Community Council, at 206-938-0887.
And of course, it should go without saying .. don’t leave beach trash behind in the first place. Just in case the cans fill up on a long weekend like this, if you’re going to the beach, bring a bag so you can “pack (trash) out” if you need to.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*Around 5:30 Tuesday evening, a citizen called 911 to report that someone in a passing car had fired a shot toward a home in the 6500 block of 34th SW. As it turns out, a person on the sidewalk had been the target. (And the target wouldn’t answer any questions.) Officers did, however, have a description of the car, which — along with its driver— turned out to be well-known to gang detectives. It was spotted and pulled over in Rainier Valley later in the week. The 17-year-old driver, a Kent resident, was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of the drive-by shooting.
Eleven more summaries – and it’s a little grittier than usual this time, so beware – after the jump:Read More
Thanks to Jessica and Jenn for sending tips – another film is shooting in West Seattle. If you’ve driven along Admiral Way, you might have noticed the equipment outside the Heartland Café and Shipwreck Tavern this morning. The film is called “Safety Not Guaranteed“; the crew tells us they’ll be here most of the day. According to iMDB, the plot is along the lines of: “Two magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.”
Among its stars – Kristen Bell. Looking around online, we’ve found indications they’ve been filming at other locations in the area this month, including Downtown Seattle and Burien.
(No, not the same bird as yesterday! Warbling vireo, photographed by Trileigh Tucker in Lincoln Park)
Traveling for the holiday weekend? Stay safe, and see you soon! If not – no worries, you have options! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
GARDEN CLUB: West Seattle Garden Club will honor its Past Presidents as they meet at Daystar Retirement Village, (Bldg 1, 2615 SW Barton Street), 10 am – 2 pm. Coffee and registration begin the meeting, followed by business, and lunch. Master Gardener Mick Duggan presents a program about the gardens at El Centro de la Raza, his work and experiences as the gardeners grow vegetables for the Food Bank. Donation $5.
BASEBALL FINAL FOUR: Seattle Lutheran High School plays DeSales in state baseball 2B tournament tonight, Yakima, 7 pm.
SEALTH STUDENT’S SHORT AT SIFF: Chief Sealth International High School student Rachel Townsend’s short “Technicolor Love” will be shown before the Seattle International Film Festival’s screening of The Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater, 4:30 pm.
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P COFFEE: Bob “Bobcat” Rice at 6 pm (C&P, a WSB sponsor, is at 5612 California SW).
LIVE MUSIC AT SKYLARK: 9 pm, The Navins; 10 pm, Valis; 11 pm, Sir Coyler and His Asthmatic Band, $5 cover (Skylark, a WSB sponsor, is at 3803 Delridge Way SW).
Got an event to announce? E-mail editor@westseattleblog.com – info preferred in plain-text e-mail, not attachments – who/what/when/where/why, plus, links to further info on your website/Facebook page are appreciated, if available, since we include those in listings when we can! Thank you!
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports to share this morning (and the latest WS Beat roundup is in the works for a bit later) – First, just in from Judy, a Fairmount Springs car theft early today:
I wanted to alert the WSB community of a car theft. Seems like there’s been a rash of these posted recently!
Our car was stolen from in front of our house this morning around 4:30 am. 39th Ave SW and Raymond (one block off Fauntleroy – 5900 block of 39th Ave SW)
1998 white Nissan Maxima
License plate 984VFEAlso a *reminder* to not leave anything in your car. Unfortunately, my husband left his golf clubs, backpack and umpire gear in the vehicle – so this was all taken.
Another thing – I heard them this morning. I thought it was the newspaper delivery person when I heard the rustling- looked at the clock 4:30 am- and decided it wasn’t worth getting up to investigate.
If you see this car, call 911. As for a “rash” of car thefts – we checked the police-report map; 11 noted in West Seattle in the past week (not counting Judy’s, since the map is time-lagged and won’t show a report from this morning till later today), 10 the previous week. No particular hot spot – they’re on the map from Admiral to Arbor Heights, Beach Drive to Highland Park. Meantime, after the jump, a car-prowl-interrupted report from this past Wednesday:Read More
He’s only been on the job six months, but King County Councilmember Joe McDermott is already running again. Last fall, he was elected for the year remaining in what was now-County Executive Dow Constantine’s term, after Jan Drago served a year as an appointee; this time, a full four-year term is at stake. Thursday night, in bowling shoes, McDermott presided over his official campaign-kickoff party at Roxbury Lanes just yards south of West Seattle. Among those in attendance were County Council colleagues Julia Patterson, Larry Phillips, Larry Gossett, and Bob Ferguson, State House Rep. Eileen Cody, elected city officials from Burien and Tukwila, members of the North Highline Unincorporated Council, and community advocates from neighborhoods in the 8th District including White Center, South Park, and Vashon. And from McDermott’s home neighborhood, West Seattle – his parents Terri McDermott and Jim McDermott:
Though all at the party were exhorted to have fun and get some bowling in, there was of course the opportunity for the candidate to offer a short speech first:
McDermott spent almost a decade in the State Legislature before moving to the County Council. The other candidate in this race so far is another West Seattleite, Diana Toledo, whom he also faced in last year’s general election. We covered her kickoff party at the Admiral Theater last week.
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB. This is “Summer,” Best in Show and Gervais Award winner, by Maddy Jones of Seattle Lutheran)
This week, ArtsWest Gallery in The Junction is full of work by local high-school students, and tonight was the reception/awards ceremony for the juried exhibit. Ellen Cedergreen was there for WSB and reports that there were a total of 14 winners in all from our area’s three major high schools: Chief Sealth International, Seattle Lutheran, and West Seattle High.
The show was judged by West Seattle-based artist RobRoy Chalmers. Arts West’s Nichole DeMent told WSB she chose him due to his visibility in so many different avenues in the arts, his potential for good leadership, and because he is “a fantastic artist.” Chalmers and DeMent handed out the monetary awards to the students, with “Best in Show” receiving a special award.
(WSDOT construction photo from May 20th)
This turned up in the latest “Seattle Area (Road) Construction Look Ahead” – the Alaskan Way Viaduct has another weekend closure coming up in two weeks, June 10th through June 13th. It’ll be structured like the one two weeks ago: The Viaduct is scheduled to be closed in its entirety 11 pm Friday, June 10th, through 5 am Monday, June 13th, except for the NORTHBOUND stretch between the stadiums and the Battery Street Tunnel, which will reopen at 10 am Saturday, June 11th (doesn’t do drivers heading out of West Seattle much good unless you take surface streets to the stadium-area northbound on-ramp). This is part of the ongoing work to rebuild the southern (Holgate to King) stretch of 99.
Gus Mears is one of the local Boy Scouts who, along with other volunteers, has been putting up flags and crosses on veterans’ graves at Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Cemetery (WSB sponsor). We caught up with him just as they were finishing work this evening. His last stop was the only Civil War veteran’s grave at the cemetery east of High Point. You’re invited to honor veterans past and present at the annual Memorial Day service at Forest Lawn on Monday, co-sponsored by American Legion Post 160, 2 pm.
More than a thousand flags/crosses are placed each year on graves at Forest Lawn.
Here’s the summertime chance of a lifetime – a six-week trail-skating series with the Rat City Rollergirls‘ “Rain of Terror” travel team. For six Thursday nights, starting June 2nd (one week from tonight), you’ll hit area skating trails “followed by a heart-pounding off-skates workout” and then a visit to “a nearby watering hole for a refreshing beverage.” RC Rollergirl “Lucinda Pack” shared news of this tonight and says spots are still available – the trails are all around the region, from Renton to Sammamish, with an Alki session planned, all ages welcome, $80 for the entire 6-week series (orientation plus 5 skating sessions, and a T-shirt). Here’s where to sign up.
Just over the ridge in South Park, an exciting day at the community food-gardening site known as Marra Farm. First, a soccer star from the Mexican national team – which is in Seattle to play the Ecuador national team on Saturday – stopped by to meet fifth-graders from nearby Concord International School. 44-year-old Luis Roberto Alves, known as Zague, hung out for a while with the students from Linda Martinez and Kate Ayers’ classes. Besides autographing, he also dropped into a pickup game of keep-away:
The students had walked over from Concord to join in on the final part of a work party with about 50 Home Depot employees from around Seattle:
Their volunteer work included donations of strawberry plants and materials for new garden beds; the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) facilitated the project through its programs at Concord (which is considered part of the West Seattle region for Seattle Public Schools), where the Y supports Head-Start preschool, Community Learning Center programs with after-school academic/enrichment classes, and before- and after-school child care.
The wait is almost over, for fans of Zippy’s Giant Burgers. West Seattle Blog/White Center Now contributor Deanie Schwarz has just spoken to Zippy’s proprietor Blaine Cook, who says the opening date/time is officially set – next Tuesday (May 31st), 10:30 am. Zippy’s left its original location in Highland Park on April 16th, amid much uncertainty that followed the building’s foreclosure (its previous owner ran the now-closed SeaMart store on site), and had hoped to reopen in White Center about a week and a half later, but challenges with permits and upgrades stretched the time far beyond what they had expected and hoped for. As first reported here in February, the new location is at 9614 14th SW.
Just in from Seattle Parks – A mechanical problem at Colman Pool is causing problems with heating the water that’s brought in from Puget Sound, so the pool won’t open for the season until Sunday, instead of Saturday, since the part won’t arrive in time for fast repairs. Usually, Parks explains, the water is heated to 84 degrees (from the upper-40s Sound temperature) – but even with the expected repair schedule, the water will be cooler than normal, in the 70s, when the pool opens on Sunday. Parks spokesperson Joelle Hammerstad tells WSB the problem is unrelated to the vault work that had been under way by the pool the past few weeks. Here’s more info from Parks’ frequently updated site “Parkways.” The pool’s schedule brochure (minus this change) can be seen here, and it includes word that Colman Pool will celebrate its 70th birthday with a 4th of July party, 1:45-4:45 pm.
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