West Seattle, Washington
27 Sunday
Some kids have lemonade stands. Here’s one who had a worm-compost stand (the sign reads, “Meet the Worms”). Dorothy shared the photo from the sale her nephew Zachary (that’s his hair, to the left of Dorothy’s visiting friend, Officer Krista) had today in the Admiral area. The proud aunt explains that Zachary “got a worm farm for his birthday in April. He spent all summer composting to get his worm compost and worm tea.”
That’s the final design for the long-awaited Delridge Skatepark, for which groundbreaking was anticipated soon, since bids came in two weeks ago (as reported here), with two bids below the original $505,000 estimate. The second-lowest was $502,000 from the West Seattle company that designed it (as a subcontractor), Grindline. But the low bidder, TF Sahli Construction ($413,000), may not meet the qualifications – and therein lies the controversy. West Seattle skatepark advocate and city Skate Park Advisory Committee (SPAC) member Matthew Lee Johnston has been covering this closely on the citywide website he keeps, SeattleSkateparks.org. On Tuesday, Johnston wrote this item openly critical of the low bidder and the construction process for the Seattle skatepark Sahli recently built, Lower Woodland. Today, he wrote a followup, suggesting that Parks has determined that Sahli did not meet the qualifications but would seek to re-bid the project instead of giving the contract to the 2nd-lowest bidder. That report drew concern from one North Delridge neighborhood leader who has long helped marshal support for the project, Nancy Folsom, who wrote a letter to Parks Department manager Kevin Stoops (as have Johnston and 2 other SPAC members) saying in part:
I urge you to reconsider. I’m sure you have only the best interest of the budget in mind, but a contract that seems cheap up front can end up costing far more in the long run. This will be a major city feature for many years. I will have to leave across the street from it. Let’s make it something that we’re all proud of. I don’t want to regret encouraging my neighbors to support the park and process.
We checked with Parks to see if the re-bidding report is true. Project manager Kelly Davidson was unavailable, but spokesperson Joelle Hammerstad tells WSB that Sahli has been given “until close of business today” to submit “additional documentation” regarding its qualifications – in particular, she mentioned, having to “have built six 15,000-square-foot or larger skateparks in the past six years.” So what happens if Sahli does not submit documentation confirming that? we asked. Parks has the discretion, according to Hammerstad, to either give the contract to the next lowest bidder (Grindline) or to re-bid. Since Monday is a furlough day for the division working on the project, we won’t know anything more before Tuesday – but this issue is certain to come up at SPAC’s next monthly meeting, which happens to be Monday night at Parks HQ downtown, 7 pm.
From the Chief Sealth International High School Jazz Band to the Endolyne Children’s Choir, from Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events (WSB sponsor) with pretzels and cider to Guadalajara Restaurant with tacos, the Fauntleroy Fall Festival‘s full lineup of activities, performances, food vendors and community participants is out. The festival is still a little more than a week away – a week from Sunday, 2-5:30 pm on October 17th – but so you can plan, we’re sharing the info here now (thanks to the organizers for providing it!) – click ahead for the full list:Read More
Just in from Greg Whittaker at Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor):
We are holding a Ski Swap and Haunted House at the VFW Halloween Weekend, benefiting the West Seattle Snowsports Council (WSSC). Many different manufacturers’ reps will be bringing sample product, so great deals on some of the best new gear in the NW.
We will be holding a WSSC planning meeting Wednesday, October 13th, so anyone interested in helping with the Haunted House or Ski Council is invited to attend.
Ski Swap and Haunted House
October 29th – Gear Drop Off 4-7 PM, Haunted House Setup
October 30th, Ski Swap and Haunted House 10-6
October 31st, Haunted House and Ski Swap 10-4, Gear Pickup 4-6pm
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall (VFW), 3601 SW Alaska St (across from M2S)WSSC Planning and Haunted House Meeting: Wednesday, October 13th @ M2S, 6 PM
Think snow!
During our most recent round of check-ins on local in-progress projects, from the Wing Dome (opening Tuesday) to the future Trader Joe’s, commenter “rw” asked about the planned Jonny Bostons Sandwich Shop just north of The Junction. (Here’s our story from mid-August.) While driving by this morning, we saw the door open at the 4151 California SW storefront, so we checked to see if owner Dan Atherton was around – and indeed, he was. He told us that he’s now hoping for an early November opening – as you can see from this photo, they’re still doing major work inside (permits took quite a while, as is often the case):
But in a week or so, Dan says, they should be able to move on to drywalling, among other work. As noted in our previous story, Jonny Bostons will be open lunch and dinner, Mondays-Saturdays, for starters.
(Photos added 11:58 am – thanks to Lynn for sharing them! Top, CSIHS girls & boys; bottom, all participants, boys & girls, WSHS in yellow, Franklin in Green, Ingraham in blue, Cleveland in red)
Just received results of Thursday’s multi-school Lincoln Park high-school cross-country meet from Jason Glover, cross-country coach at Chief Sealth International High School:
Here are the results from the metro 3A cross country meet held @ Lincoln Park 10/7.
In the boys’ race, CSIHS had 4 runners in the top 10, led by senior Daniel Perrine in second place with a personal best of 17:49. WSHS had 3 boys in the top 10, led by M. Wicklam with a time of 19:39.
Out of five teams, CSIHS won with a score of 39 points, while WSHS was second with a score of 47 points.
In the girls’ race, CS freshman Kenaia Neumann won with time of 22:57, followed closely by WSHS’s N. Broten @ 23:16.
Chief Sealth won the girls’ team race with a score of 27 points.
Chief Sealth, West Seattle, Ingraham, Cleveland, and Franklin were the teams involved.
We just went over to see how the Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) rummage sale was going in the first hour of its two-day run. So much stuff, some of the big, sturdy items are outside, like those bikes. And inside …
… that’s just the first of three rooms (plus a hallway, plus the stage) of stuff — clothes, dishes, decorations, books, vinyl, appliances (at least 2 sewing machines), furniture, luggage … The sale’s on at 41st/Andover (map) till 4 pm today, again 9 am-3 pm tomorrow.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“This is not just about The Viaduct,” as Linda Thielke from the King County Department of Transportation puts it.
But Alaskan Way Viaduct work is a major reason why Metro has some big changes coming up, especially for West Seattle and SODO riders, early next year. WSB was there as Thielke and Metro’s Jack Lattemann outlined them in an informal briefing downtown Thursday afternoon.
Because of construction projects – also including ongoing utility work – Metro is revising more than 30 routes when the February 5, 2011 service change takes effect.
You might not be able to tell the problem from a quick look at that photo, but those are two of the old car seats that WestSide Baby CAN’T give to new owners – because of moldy components like straps. However, we learned during a Thursday followup on WS Baby’s car-seat-collection drive announcement (published here Wednesday night), non-reusable car seats are not destined for the landfill – a different kind of recycling is in store, according to Katie Salinas from Waste Management, which is partnering with WestSide Baby for two upcoming collection events:
Katie, by the way, is a West Seattleite. She and WS Baby’s Nancy Woodland met with media on Thursday to answer questions about the upcoming collection drive, which has two dates in two locations, covering much of the metro area: You can bring your old car seat to WestSide Baby HQ in White Center (10027 14th SW – map) at 10 am-2 pm on October 16th, and tell your North Seattle friends to drop theirs off at the CoolMom booth at the Sustainable Ballard Festival by Ballard Viking Bank (2237 NW 57th – map) this Sunday, 10 am-4 pm. Bottom line, as explained in the WestSide Baby newsletter:
Any car seat will be accepted at these events. We’ll figure out if they can be reused or must be recycled. To be reused, car seats must be less than 6 years old, never been in a car accident and never been washed with harsh chemicals.
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
No classes for Seattle Public Schools (calendar here) and some independent schools … High-school football is on as usual, though, with Chief Sealth International High School vs. Franklin at 5 pm, Memorial Stadium downtown, West Seattle High School hosting Rainier Beach, 7 pm, Southwest Athletic Complex, and Seattle Lutheran HS at La Conner, 7 pm … Don’t plan on taking the day-off crowd to Southwest Pool or local community centers (except for child-care programs): It’s a furlough day … The doors ARE open at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) for the renowned Fall Rummage Sale – 9 am-4 pm Friday, 9 am-3 pm Saturday. More details here. … Bowl tonight in Pins for Pennies to benefit Family Promise of Seattle, x pm, Roxbury Lanes … Going-out options tonight include the Twelfth Night Productions gala at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, 6 pm … FLAVOR, concert/comedy/art show to benefit OneAmerica, 7 pm at Youngstown Arts Center, and An Evening of Cabaret with Sylvia and Tor, 8 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle (more info here)
A nearby project needs your help today, and/or tomorrow, and/or Sunday:
This coming Friday / Saturday / Sunday (Oct 8,9,10th) from 10 am to 4 pm, Concord International Elementary School is looking for volunteers to help assemble their new Play Structure. … We have a new play structure for the school body and local community that we will be assembling this weekend under the supervision of the structure manufacturer. All tools will be provided. Volunteers are much appreciated. Please e-mail concordplay@live.com if you think you can help us out.
While Concord is in SP, the district considers it part of the West Seattle “region,” and Concord feeds into this area’s other two international schools — Denny and Chief Sealth.
From Sacha, news of a memorial service this Saturday for West Seattle resident Aidan Bigliardi, and his obituary:
Aidan Christopher Bigliardi passed away October 2, 2010 peacefully at home after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born in Seattle, Washington on January 17, 1955. He spent his childhood on Mercer Island, where his father was the priest of Mercer Island Episcopal Church.
Aidan received his degree in nursing and worked as an RN in the operating room his entire career. He served the patients, surgeons and staff at Highline Medical Center for 30 years.
Aidan loved fishing, hiking, hunting, gardening, reading, the Seattle Times Sunday crossword puzzle and entertaining family and friends at “the trailer” in Eastern Washington.
He was preceded in death by his father Matthew Paul Bigliardi, Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Oregon. He is survived by his mother Jeanne Bigliardi, Rachel Bigliardi, his children Nicole White, Mia, Matthewm Lucas and Ali and granddaughter Julie White.
Aidan, you are loved dearly and will forever live in our hearts.
Aidan Bigliardi’s Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 1:00 pm at Hope Lutheran Church (4456 42nd SW). All are welcome to attend.
(If you have an obituary to share, we are glad to publish these types of tributes, free of charge.)
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
If you’re in the promotional-items business – just figures you’re going to put pizzazz into the otherwise semi-simple act of moving your location. And so tonight, the proprietors of ZippyDogs – Elise “Top Dog” Lindborg and Kelli “Chili Dog” Henderson – threw a party to celebrate the ribbon-cutting outside their new “world headquarters” in the newly built 6031 California SW building north of Morgan Junction. They’re not a new business – 10 years (“that’s 70 in dog years,” their website points out) – but now they’ve got fresh digs, and they hosted friends/clients/community members tonight:
ZippyDogs makes a point of offering eco-friendly options – and its proprietors show their environmental interest on the road too:
That’s their ZENN electric car (zero emission, no noise). (P.S. – Practically across the street, another business celebrates its own new location this weekend – Solar Epiphany plans an open house at its new solar showroom, 6016 California SW, 10 am-4 pm Saturday.)
Quick West Seattle Crime Watch note tonight: Karen with the Hansen View Neighborhood Blockwatch shares a heads-up about metal thefts in the alley between 35th and 36th (the 5000 block; here’s a map). A neighbor reported two incidents this past Monday: A locked garage broken into, with a lawn mover and metal bed-frame parts stolen; plus, a razor scooter “taken out of (a) recycling bin.” As the same neighbor also noted, that’s the same day we published this report of a pickup truck trolling alleys in an area not far from HV.
(WSB photo from 2008 trick-or-treating in The Junction)
One more special event has been announced for Saturday, October 30th, in The Junction – Before, during, and after trick-or-treating at local businesses (1-3 pm), you’ll be able to get a professional photo of your little goblin if you go to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) noon-4 pm. As a fundraiser for WestSide Baby and the West Seattle Food Bank, Stephanie Cristalli Photography will be set up at Hotwire. You’ll be able to go online later to view the photos, choose what you want, and pay online too. In addition to proceeds benefiting WS Baby and WS Food Bank, diapers and food donations will be collected during the photo shoots too.
From Carol at West Seattle High School – can you help?
West Seattle High School is looking for a host family for Mr. Jinan Jia for the 2010/2011 school year. Mr. Jia is a teacher from China who is teaching Chinese this year at West Seattle High School. This is an exciting opportunity for the host family to learn of the Chinese culture and the Mandarin Chinese language. A home in West Seattle is preferred as the teacher will use Metro to get to work and will be networking with his colleagues at Denny, Madison, Sealth and West Seattle High School. Please call West Seattle High School Principal Ruth Medsker or her secretary Carol Wakefield at 206 252-8800 if you are interested. Thank you!
(September 26 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
A week and a half after the downtown crash that damaged the Rachel Marie badly enough that it’ll be off the West Seattle run of the King County Water Taxi for weeks, if not months, we’ve got an update from King County Councilmember Jan Drago. In an “op-ed” essay, she reveals she’s told the county to “contract with Argosy Cruises to deliver, without interruption, West Seattle Water Taxi service” – since the crash, Argosy’s Sightseer, which used to run the route till the county took it over, has handled weekday service. Read on for Drago’s full essay:Read More
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One day after facing the City Council Budget Committee to explain the cuts proposed for her section of city government, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao faced what arguably could be considered a tougher, and even more personally involved, group: The West Seattle neighborhood-group/organization reps who comprise the Southwest District Council.
“We took a big hit,” Chao acknowledged – including a 22 percent cut in the Neighborhood Matching Fund program, which has helped pay for community-generated projects such as parks and traffic projects.
But the part of that “big hit” which concerned the SWDC members even more was the proposed closure of the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and the elimination of the Neighborhood District Coordinator job headquartered there – a job held by Stan Lock, who sat just two seats away, and has declined comment on the proposed job cut since it was announced.
As Chao listened to member after member declare that even if the center itself had to be lost, Lock’s role is too vital to cut, for the health of the neighborhood and the issues it’s dealing with, she reiterated: While it’s important for her to hear, the people who most need to have the case made to them, are the City Council members who will be here in West Seattle for a public hearing next week.
Read on for more on her appearance and other major discussions at SWDC last night, including a shorter discussion of the Seattle Public Library‘s proposed cuts, and an update on Alaska Airlines’ “Greener Skies” program, which could change Sea-Tac approach paths in this area:Read More
This one’s too hot to wait for our nightly election update in 12 hours or so: The newest Kiwanis Club of West Seattle newsletter is out, and it includes word of both 34th District State House Position 2 candidates appearing at the club’s next weekly lunch meeting, noon Wednesday (October 13th) at Be’s Restaurant in The Junction (4509 California SW) – if you’re interested in attending but not a member, call 206-938-8032. That’s the only West Seattle forum/debate on the horizon right now.
Thanks to Cormac for sharing the photo. His note mentioned only “Highland Park” but we have a followup inquiry out to ask if he can provide a slightly more specific location. 11:20 AM UPDATE: Cormac replied and identified the location as “near Forest Lawn Cemetery” [WSB sponsor] which is more like “east of High Point,” so we’ve changed the headline. He also says he saw at least three in all. (Think you know all about coyotes? Here’s the “Living with Wildlife” link we always offer – including information on what to do if you find yourself too-close-for-comfort to a coyote.)
With so many cuts proposed in next year’s city budget, and so much concern over their potential effects – we’re working right now on the story of the Southwest District Council hearing last night from the Department of Neighborhoods‘ director, who frequently used the word “pain” – next Wednesday’s public hearing in West Seattle is bound to draw hundreds. If you are planning on going – and all involved urge you to! – you’ll want to see the full online agenda, which includes some of the plans for procedures and guidelines, as well as a note that the hearing is actually TWO hearings – the first one about where the city might get money (property-tax levy?), the second, comments on the proposal itself. The agenda also includes links to documents you might want to review. The hearing’s at 5:30 pm (sign-ins at 5) at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, next Wednesday, October 13th; the full agenda is here. (And even more budget info, including other ways to comment, can be found here.)
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs (above) – neighborhood-designated sites around the peninsula where you would be able to go in case of disaster/major emergency, to get information and help (here’s where to find the one that’s closest to you). This morning, we have a request for you to help the Hubs during an upcoming “fake quake.” From Cindi Barker:
On Saturday, October 16, there will be a citywide drill of volunteer Emergency Preparedness organizations. In West Seattle, the Emergency Communications Hubs will set up 3 of their Hubs and conduct a live drill of an earthquake scenario, complete with aftershocks. To make this as realistic as possible, we would like to have citizen “actors” come to the Admiral, Fauntleroy or Highland Park Hubs to report damage, request assistance or offer resources (we’ll provide the script ideas). We would especially like to invite SNAP groups or Block Watch members to help, so you can see how the Hubs could interact with your neighborhood group. The drill will run from 9:00 am to noon on the 16th and you can participate for part or all of the drill. If you can help, please contact us at info@bepreparedseattle.info.
Big night for some West Seattle schools – including Curriculum Night at Madison Middle School (6:30 pm), Open House for families of students at Chief Sealth International High School (6 pm), Junior/Senior Night at West Seattle High School (6:15 pm), Family Engagement Night at Sanislo Elementary (6 pm) – thanks to Misty for two of those tips and Sue for another; any others? let us know … Toddler Story Time today at High Point Library, 11:30 am … The Seattle Design Commission gets an update on the West Seattle Triangle planning process today (1 pm, City Hall downtown) … Traffic note: Lane closures today on the West Seattle and Admiral Way bridges … First Lutheran Church of West Seattle Pastor Ron Marshall‘s quarterly “Read the Koran in 4 Weeks” series starts its next four-week run tonight (call 206-935-6530 to check if there’s still room) … If you’re interested in the King County Housing Authority‘s developments in the White Center area, the agency’s director will be at tonight’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting to answer questions (North Highline Fire District HQ, 7 pm) … More on the WSB Events calendar.
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