In these final moments of a holiday whose backstory stars a family seeking shelter, a West Seattle-based organization continues to work toward its dream of once again helping families find shelter.
Family Promise of Seattle has not yet reached its $90,000 goal – but that’s all they need to resume helping homeless families stay together, safe, and warm.
It’s been four months since Family Promise of Seattle put its sheltering operation on hold, as first reported here. The organization’s leaders decided they would reopen as soon as they raised $90,000 to fund adequate staff and resources for the intensive job of offering newly homeless families not just shelter, but also assistance in finding employment.
We sat in on Family Promise’s most recent fundraising committee and board meetings, back to back on a rainy night earlier this month. They had progress to celebrate, but a ways to go to the goal – and in less than a month, the board says it will decide whether to soldier on, or call it quits.
(WSB photo of promotional sign at West Seattle Farmers’ Market last Sunday)
There’s a whole lot of after-Christmas shopping to be done right here on the peninsula. (We’re compiling a list of sales/specials to publish tomorrow morning, so if you have or know of one, share the news!) One place you might be surprised to find specials, West Seattle Farmers’ Market. It’s open 10 am-2 pm tomorrow as always, and the market will observe Boxing Day in a unique way. Explains Chris Curtis: “Farmers have been encouraged to provide good deals in boxes all day long to market shoppers.” One more bonus: Stop by the information booth to ask about free Market Bucks to “spend on the spot … while supplies last,” according to the Seattle Farmers Markets page on Facebook. (If you’re new or visiting, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is at 44th/Alaska.)
First saw a mention at KING5.com, then noted it’s also part of the newest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service: There’s a chance of lowland snow around here at midweek, forecasters say. Enough of a chance that the NWS has just issued a “special weather statement” about it – read it here. Excerpt (caps theirs):
THERE IS A CHANCE OF LOWLAND SNOW BEGINNING ABOUT WEDNESDAY AND LASTING INTO THURSDAY NIGHT. A DEEP UPPER TROUGH WILL SETTLE OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON. PRECIPITATION WILL BE SHOWERY AND WILL DIMINISH BY THURSDAY. HOWEVER IT IS LIKELY THAT AT LEAST SOME OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE IN THE FORM OF SNOW. WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S AND LOWS IN THE 20S…SOME OF THE SNOW WILL STICK.
THIS SNOWFALL IS STILL FOUR DAYS AWAY AND THE FORECAST COULD CHANGE.
While things are quiet on this Christmas Day, another set of West Seattle holiday scenes we’ve been saving up – photos from a gingerbread-house-making event at West Seattle Christian Church earlier this month.
We shot most of our photos at kid’s-eye level, but builders of all ages participated. The result here was described as “gingerbread house after an earthquake”:
The next one might qualify for the label “gingerbread doghouse”:
Some builders eschewed the “house” shape altogether:
But there’s also beauty in tradition:
Thanks to WSCC and EVERYONE around West Seattle who has sponsored fun holiday events, including many that doubled as charity fundraisers/donation drives, for the community this season (many of which we were honored to feature on our West Seattle Holidays page, which is now down to today and New Year’s Eve/Day – please let us know if you are having a public New Year’s event that’s not on the page yet).
(Taken in The Junction by smohundro, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Merry Christmas!
We’ve updated the “who’s open for groceries/coffee/dining & drinks” list to winnow it down to just the businesses open today – including 9 coffee shops and more than a dozen places to get food. See the list here.
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
As promised, a few more of the West Seattle business windows painted with holiday scenes – seemed to us like there were more than usual this year, so we thought it would be fun to showcase some on Christmas Eve/Day; we showed the Talarico’s tribute to Bob Ross earlier. In this roundup, the top and below photo are from the display that’s generated the most buzz in The Junction – Puerto Vallarta‘s fun-loving, thong-sporting holiday entourage:
Those are by Sign Savant, Japhy Witte with Z. Rockstad; SS also painted the tamer scenes at West Seattle Coins and Courtesy Tire:
At Northwest Art and Frame, a rare non-Sign Savant window creation. This one’s by TJ Swier of TJ Grafix:
We’re planning to show a few more windows tomorrow.
Crime takes no holiday. Well, there’s always hope for tomorrow. But tonight, we have two reports about one case of car vandalism – one from “k,” who drove by and noticed it; then came this direct report on behalf of the victim, from Martha:
My ex-husband, who is recovering from open heart surgery, had his new little Toyota vandalized two days after his return home from the hospital last week. The CD player was taken and glove compartment rummaged through. Last night the car was spray painted with black paint “this car is gay” along the entire passenger side. Two stripes of black and white left on the driver’s side rear panel. I just discovered this this afternoon when I was visiting. I have called the police and they are sending out an officer. This is particularly upsetting to our family at this time of year and with him in such frail health. Thanks to whoever did it for an extra kick in the teeth for Christmas!
This was one of two vandalized cars noticed by “k” in the south of Admiral area; she says it was near 45th/Spokane, while the other, near 48th/Hinds, also had black spray paint on it.
First word of this came in the WSB Forums on Wednesday; Angel posted to say her brother and the rest of the West Seattle Garlic Jim’s staff had lost their jobs when the Junction pizzeria suddenly closed. Her post blamed new owners for “laying off the entire staff.” Much discussion ensued, so we sought out the new owners to find out their side of the story.
They are Jeff and Page Taylor, who since April have owned a Garlic Jim’s in Edmonds, and since Wednesday, own the one in West Seattle. We talked by phone this afternoon with Jeff Taylor, who told us they’re working at the Edmonds pizzeria tonight to give the staff a Christmas Eve break. Ahead – his explanation of what happened, and their plans for the West Seattle store, which first opened in 2007, at least a few prior owners ago:Read More
In case you saw the big callout – either via the 911 log or via seeing (or hearing) the trucks race by – Christopher Boffoli checked out last hour’s fire response on 32nd SW in High Point. It closed pretty quickly and appeared to have been triggered by incense that got knocked over, according to what firefighters told Christopher. No notable damage, no injuries.
This e-card from Seal Sitters was sent with holiday wishes for all WSB’ers as well as those of us here at HQ, so of course we have to share! You can keep up with Seal Sitters year-round here. (Reminder, if you’re looking for Christmas Eve dinner/drinks/groceries, check here; for church services, check here.)
After noticing so many festively painted store windows in West Seattle, particularly in The Junction, we asked WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen to photograph some of them for us to feature Christmas Eve/Day. We’ll publish a few installments tonight/tomorrow but this one kicks it off – the Bob Ross tribute in the windows at Talarico’s, by Sign Savant‘s Japhy Witte and Z. (Zach) Rockstad (who painted the vast majority of what we spotted). P.S. If you don’t remember Bob Ross – think public TV, painting, gentle voice, big hair. A closer look at some of the scenes:
Just received from Rebecka, who wanted to get the word out fast:
My family just witnessed a man take off with a package from our neighbor’s porch.
My husband stepped out to confront him and he immediately took off. We are on the corner of 42nd and Brandon. The guy was heading south in the alley between 42nd and 41st. By the time he rounded the corner, the guy was out of sight. We called it in to the police, but they were not even interested in getting a description, said it was too late to do anything.
Apparently this has been going on quite a bit in our hood for the last week. The guy was in his mid to late thirties, dark hair and goatee, black leather jacket, jeans, dark shoes. He looked as if he hadn’t slept for days, SUPER SKETCHY.
Just thought people should be aware if they are expecting deliveries today. This took place at 8:40 this morning.
(3 Wise Penguins? Window @ Curious Kidstuff; WSB photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
Whether you are celebrating or not, we hope some of this information will be helpful:
If you are doing last-minute gift shopping, most if not all of your West Seattle shops are there for you today at least into the afternoon. Many of our Holiday Shopping Guide participants (24 local businesses) have today’s hours listed already; local businesses are also welcome to add a comment here with today’s plan. We also have a directory of ongoing sponsors, with links to websites and Facebook pages, here. (And thanks to Bartell Drugs for sending a tweet that they’re open till 9 pm in Admiral today.) … Looks like ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) has some tickets left for the final “A Tuna Christmas” show at 5 pm today. … And if you’re planning on going out for a beverage – this is the final day for Christmas Cocktails, with six local bars/lounges contributing $1 to charity for each purchase of a special drink that’s part of the promotion. … Need wrapping help? There’s one more round of fundraising gift-wrapping to help local animal-advocacy groups – 2-7 pm at Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction.
It’s the little things. Earlier, the tale of the candy cane; tonight, a tale of greenery, from Jamie and Chelsea:
My wife and I were walking back to our Morgan Junction home from buying half-off garlands tonight at West Seattle Nursery, and in front of the [frame shop] and tae kwon do studio near Juneau, this nice woman appeared out of nowhere and asked if we wanted her spare wreath. Apparently she had an extra and since we were already loaded up with holiday spirit i.e. garlands she must have thought we needed more!
Thanks to this nice woman, and happy holidays to West Seattle!
That’s part of our video from last New Year’s Eve, when Highland Park neighbors launched a new holiday tradition, the “Not-So-Silent Night Parade” (more WSB coverage here). Tonight, there’s word from Highland Park Action Committee chair Dan Mullins that they’re doing it again:
If you want to have some fun this New Year’s Eve, Highland Park is the place to be! Bang on a drum or shake your tambourine as you travel along with the second annual “Not So Silent Night Parade.” March along with us on a 20-30 minute trip through Highland Park, making just enough noise to remind our neighbors that it’s New Year’s Eve.
Afterward, they’re planning more festivities in the parking lot (same as last year), as well as hot cider and cookies. It’ll all start and end at the Highland Park Improvement Club (12th/Holden; map), meet at 6:45 pm, parade starts at 7 and will last about half an hour. Also from the announcement:
Dress warm ’cause we are going, rain or moon-shine, and you may want to bring a flashlight and an umbrella! (or even better a flashlight taped inside an umbrella, so it glows!) Bring the kids in their strollers and your friendly dogs on their leashes.
They’re also recruiting volunteers to help direct traffic along the way – if you can volunteer to be a crossing guard, e-mail Dan at chair09@highlandpk.net.
Forget the mall – your last-minute holiday shopping can stay right here in West Seattle. Many stores are open on Christmas Eve, and right now, many of the shops in The Junction are open till 9 tonight for one last “Shop Late Thursday.” We checked on a few WSB Holiday Shopping Guide participants – you can get your art on at Twilight Artist Collective (4306 SW Alaska), above, or the sweet smell of gift-giving from knows perfume (4536 California SW):
We found Frances Smersh with some of the jewelry – they carry her creations as well as others – at the shop she and husband John recently relocated to The Junction (4540 California SW), Click! Design That Fits, which is open 11 am-3 pm on Christmas Eve:
Shoes? Handbags? Clementine is one option – that’s where we found Lisa:
And a few doors east, Angela is helping shoppers at Funky Jane’s Consignment (4455 California SW):
Thanks to Kirk for the tip on this – which has turned out to be more than a “simple” case of a business closing. SeaMart, the 16th SW/SW Holden (map) mini-market in Highland Park, is closing after Friday. Thanks to extensive research for WSB by contributor Deanie Schwarz, here’s what we’ve found out so far:
The property, which is also home to Zippy’s Giant Burgers and JoJo’s Fine Espresso, is in judicial foreclosure, according to SeaMart’s owner, Ed Choe, the building owner who’s been foreclosed on. Deanie spoke today with him as well as with the owners of Zippy’s and JoJo’s. They have both been trying to find out from the bank that’s taken possession of the building, UniBank*, what the status of their leases is – Zippy’s, for example, has a lease through next April but with a two-year-extension option, and the fate of that extension is now in question (they’re consulting a lawyer). Zippy’s owners Blaine and Rahel Cook say the bank asked them if they had any interest in buying the space and named a price that was too high, based on a valuation from two years ago. The bank reportedly already has bids for a possible “short sale” of the property. Meantime, store owner Choe says he tried to refinance but couldn’t qualify; he and his wife have had a tough year, losing a child a few months ago, and now their business, but he told Deanie, “We still have our health, and we will be OK.” They had been commuting from Edmonds and admit that was rough too. So what’s next? The only thing for sure is that SeaMart is closing after tomorrow and has a closeout sale under way on just about everything except beer and cigarettes. We’ll keep you updated on what happens with the rest.
*DECEMBER 31ST UPDATE: We have corrected the name of the bank in the story – it’s UniBank, not Union.
After three public meetings, official activity on the planned driving range at West Seattle Golf Course is in a lull, according to Seattle Parks’ Garrett Farrell. But local golfers are ramping up their concerns about the most recent proposal (unveiled at the third meeting), which would lead to changes on three holes of the course itself. First, the official update from Farrell:
Parks is evaluating the community feedback to date while gathering better detail on the proposed range and how it fits the site.
A ball trespass study to determine how much netting is required and other pieces that help evaluate costs have arrived in the past month.
I anticipate being back out in front of the community in early 2011 with an update on status.
Now, the latest on concerns. A new “Save West Seattle Golf Course” Facebook page has been set up, urging people concerned about the latest version of the driving-range proposal to contact City Councilmembers and other city leaders. The site includes a version of an open letter sent to WSB by Kurt Niedermeier, who is a member of the West Seattle Golf Club Board, though he stresses his letter is not an official statement on behalf of the board – read on:Read More
It’s not just Christmas Eve-Eve – December 23rd is also the date for Festivus, a cantankerous winter anti-holiday spun off from the classic comedy TV show “Seinfeld.” If you’ve been to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) in recent weeks, you’ve probably seen the Festivus pole, maybe even written a note for the “Airing of Grievances” which is part of the … event. Hotwire proprietor Lora proclaimed 10 am this morning as the time to come “celebrate” Festivus at her shop in The Junction (where they’ve also been collecting donations for pets – “Festivus for the pets of us”). Christopher Boffoli was there on behalf of WSB, and you can see his video above. (Don’t miss Dharma the dog, midway through!)
To whoever is leaving candy canes on doors–THANKS!!
My wife found a candy cane on our front door with the message: “Thank you for your lights, we love them!” I don’t believe that this is a new thing in West Seattle but it’s new to us. Nice holiday spirit!
Are you alone on Christmas Day and need to burn some humbug energy? Or maybe you just want to get out of the house for an hour and get your daily run on. A small group of us are doing a 10K run along Alki, rain or shine, to raise a few bucks for a friend who is heading to Africa to volunteer for three months in 2011. We’ll meet at 11 am. This is very low key. If interested, e-mail for more details … read30@yahoo.com
Any other activities, let us know; meantime, we are continuing to tweak the list of West Seattle restaurant/coffee shop/grocery store Christmas Eve/Day hours – you can find it here, and it’s linked from our updated-all-season-long West Seattle Holidays page (where you also will find Christmas Eve/Day church services).
Though school’s out till the New Year, you can still send e-mail or leave a message to help with this – WSB’ers have answered the call before:
The marketing teacher at West Seattle High School could use your help.
In January, 30 marketing students from West Seattle High School will go to the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue to compete in marketing competitions. We need judges to judge the marketing presentations for students from all around the Puget Sound Area at the Meydenbauer Center on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. If you have any business experience or enjoy helping out students we could use judges to watch and score the student marketing presentations.
Please contact Michelle Sloan, Marketing Teacher, West Seattle High School, masloan@seattleschools.org, 206-252-8861.
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