West Seattle, Washington
08 Saturday
Thanks to Curtis for the tip from last night’s West Seattle High School 2010 football banquet: Head football coach Davis Lura announced he’s leaving after four seasons. Having listened to what he described as an emotional speech, Curtis said, “Despite what was a very difficult season, it is very clear that Coach Lura cares about the young men on his team very much.” We checked today with WSHS athletic director George Foster, who confirmed Coach Lura’s departure, saying he is pursuing coaching opportunities in Ballard, where he teaches. No replacement for the Wildcats yet – the interview process may take a while.
Two weeks after the Seattle City Council finalized a budget for next year – which among other things changes Alki Community Center into a “limited-use” facility – the details of what that means for people who use the center are finally worked out, while those involved acknowledge it’s a work in progress.
We sat in last night on the meeting of the all-volunteer Alki Community Center Advisory Council, whose members will be more responsible than ever for what happens at Alki CC – most of its programs are funded through the council, including preschool and child care. Among the toplines of what’s ahead: We know the new hours; we know that (as first reported here in October) the popular Alki Art Fair won’t happen next year unless someone else is found to present it; and we know that tonight will be the last time the West Seattle Art Walk includes an Alki Bathhouse stop.
Read on for details:Read More
(Most recent WSDOT video simulation of the tunnel – from October 2010)
The apparent winning bid has been chosen from the two submitted for the tunnel that the state wants to build to replace the central section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. According to transportation reporter Mike Lindblom‘s story at SeattleTimes.com (WSB partner), the bidder, Seattle Tunnel Partners, says they could finish sooner than the state asked – and can build the tunnel a bit wider. The state has just sent its official news release – it’s not online yet so far as we can tell, but we’ve got it after the jump:Read More
This happened within the past hour in Highland Park, according to BigRed:
I just wanted to put the word out on an attempted break-in on our house around 12pm today; we live on 17th and Trenton [map]. I was home sick and my husband works from home and we have a rather large dog, so I am not quite sure why they picked our house but it worked out well! My husband was working in his office with his curtains closed and heard something on his window. He opened his curtain and found a younger African-American male, age 15-16 trying to pry our window open. This scared the robber off and he escaped down our alley. My husband also saw a younger female with the suspect, he didn’t get a good look at her but she seemed around the same age, possibly Hispanic. A section of our fence along the side was removed so they could get into our yard. Cops responded quickly and are canvassing the neighborhood for suspects. Our 95lb “guard dog” slept peacefully through it all.
We’re at the Seattle Municipal Tower downtown, where Seattle City Light superintendent Jorge Carrasco is leading a media briefing about streetlight safety, in the wake of both the Thanksgiving Day electrocution of a dog who walked onto an electrified plate by a Queen Anne light, and a High Point incident revealed last night. 
Though City Light’s account did not mention names, HP resident Wendy Hughes-Jelen identified herself in WSB comments as the person who called to report a streetlight that appeared to be having problems, after her Italian greyhound Sophia acted oddly around it. Carrasco says the pole she reported (on SW Raymond, near the one in our photo) was indeed found to have “voltage” on the pole – no one was injured, however. That has been repaired, and he says after immediate testing of a half-dozen poles nearby, crews also went out yesterday and tested all 170 streetlights in the High Point area to be sure there were no other problems; there weren’t, but the grounding system there will be evaluated, in case a “more robust” grounding system is needed, according to Carrasco. Other “similar” developments will be checked ASAP, he said – listing them later as Greenbridge in White Center, as well as two Seattle developments, Rainier Vista and New Holly. The problem that caused the voltage in the High Point pole, according to the superintendent, was a frayed wire. The pole carried 50 volts, said City Light staffers at the briefing, which Carrasco confirmed could have been a problem if a pet or child had touched it before it was fixed. The voltage involved in the Queen Anne dog’s death, they said, was 90.
Here’s what he mentioned regarding safety “going forward”: As of New Year’s Day, there’s a new grounding standard for all metal poles, and City Light will be accountable for all inspections from thereon out. “We operate the streetlight system – we need to be the ones making sure the streetlights are safe,” Carrasco said. (It was revealed in coverage of the Queen Anne dog incident that SDOT had some accountability for checking the lights.) He also discussed the decorative streetlights that are in place in some neighborhoods – saying it’s difficult for crews to keep track of the different grounding configurations. “We are going to reduce the number of options going forward,” Carrasco said, regarding those types of streetlamps, in order to reduce the chances of safety hazards. He also announced a plan to test all 20,000 existing metal-poled streetlights (the rest of the city’s system has wooden poles) for voltage between now and next May 1st, while noting that a just-completed inventory of streetlights has had crews visiting all of those poles fairly recently, with no problems detected at the time. “We had a human being in the past year touching every one of those poles, metal or wood, and no problems were reported,” he reiterated. (As part of the inventory process, a metal plate was attached to metal poles.)
If you see anything of concern with a streetlight or pole, Carrasco stressed, call City Light at 206-684-7056 (the number we mentioned last night); he says staff has been trained so that they will recognize signs of a problem requiring an immediate inspection. We are checking to see what hours that number is answered, and what to do if you see a potential problem after-hours. Bottom line, though, SCL says these problems are extremely rare, so – Carrasco insists – you do NOT need to be worried that every streetlight pole you see is a potential hazard.
(Photos by Gary Jones)
Not sure if it’s still visible but we just received a few e-mails (thanks, Diane, Bryan, and Ed!) pointing out that the USS Nimitz has been passing West Seattle shores while on its way to Bremerton, where its crew of nearly 3,000 will be based while maintenance work is done on the carrier. It was homeported in Bremerton for a decade from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and has spent most of this decade based in San Diego.
ADDED 9:31 AM: Thanks so much to Gary Jones, who has shared photos of the Nimitz passing our shores – in the top photo, that’s the Vashon Water Taxi heading downtown as the Nimitz continues its Bremerton-bound path; in the 2nd photo, that’s the top of the Alki Lighthouse in the foreground. Also thanks to Jennifer for noting in a Twitter discussion that the Nimitz is on Facebook (with updates about the arrival).
4:23 PM NOTE: The Navy has announced that after the work in Bremerton, the Nimitz will be homeported in Everett.
(‘Slip 4’ Duwamish cleanup area, photographed for WSB by Christopher Boffoli)
Here are highlights of what’s notable tonight BESIDES the West Seattle Art Walk, The Junction’s Shop Late Thursday, and West Seattle holiday events: 2 more chances to learn more about the proposed alternatives for cleaning up Duwamish River pollution, 3:30 and 5:30 pm at South Seattle Community College‘s Georgetown campus (directions here) … Two major high-school events tonight: At West Seattle High School, find out about financial, with a rep from the National Education Loan Association on hand, 6:30 pm in the WSHS theater … It’s Multicultural Night at Chief Sealth International High School, featuring student performances and appetizers, 6:30 pm … And the South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meets tonight at the WC DSHS offices (9650 15th SW), 6 pm. … More (mostly) non-holiday events on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page!
ADDED 9:09 AM: From the comments, one more meeting tonight of note for anyone interested in local Seattle Public Schools.
ADDED 12:41 PM: Couple more additions: Youngstown Arts Center’s All-Access Showcase tonight, with amazing performances by the youth who are part of the afterschool (etc.) program there, 6 pm; Sanislo Elementary has a fundraising book fair tonight at Barnes and Noble/Westwood Village – 6:30 to 8:30 pm – if you buy a book, be sure to tell the clerk it’s to benefit Sanislo!
(Photos by Aaron Hernandez, courtesy WSCC)
Tonight (Thursday), during the December edition of the West Seattle Art Walk, stop by Ginomai artist studios and put in a bid for art that will do double duty: A gift for someone (maybe even yourself?), and a gift for hundreds of people thousands of miles away. Local artists have donated pieces for a silent auction raising money for the next well-building trip by a delegation from West Seattle Christian Church. Dan Jacobs, the WSCC pastor who spoke at last weekend’s Junction Tree Lighting, was part of the group that helped build a well for a Guatemalan village this past summer and is making plans now to go to Honduras next summer. (Exactly where, they don’t know yet, because the demand is so great, the exact community isn’t designated till the last moment.) It’s in connection with a group called Living Water, and as Dan says, it’s a matter of living or dying, in many cases – until these new wells are dug, deep below the area where the ground might be contaminated by farming runoff or other pollutants, water-borne illnesses are common, and deadly, especially to children, who also lose countless school hours to frequent sickness.
West Seattle Christian has been supporting well-building projects for some years – but until recently, that just involved fundraising. However, Dan says the value of going to help out in person not only entails more help, but also more awareness: “There were 10 of us who went, and 300 involved in sending us.” The drive to raise money for the project always starts at Christmastime, and that’s on purpose: “Three years ago, I heard a statistic that the U.S. will spend $450 billion on Christmas. The estimated cost to address the need for clean water in the world is $10 billion. We thought we could do Christmas better than just spending money on stuff.” (Thus, the involvement with Advent Conspiracy.)
One individual well about 100 feet deep might cost about $5,000, he notes, not much of a cost for 300 people to “have clean water for the first time ever.” The wells are drilled only in common public areas like schools, so there’s little chance of a “water war” breaking out over access. Dan says his group this past summer only had to dig to about 80 feet to get clean water, and they’ve gotten reports, since their departure, that it’s yielding even more water than expected.
Paintings and photos comprise most of the work you’ll see at the silent auction during the Art Walk. Included is some photography by WSCC’s Aaron Hernandez, who also is part of the well-building delegation. Even for those who couldn’t go, the pastor explains, “our whole church felt they were part of (the journey) – including some older couples who were so proud to be part of it, we felt as if we were taking them there with us.”
Bid for some art at Ginomai tonight, and you can be part of it too. The silent auction is in the community room down the hall – enter from 42nd, on the SW corner of Genesee (parking is on the south side of the building, also entered from 42nd).
(NOTE: The promotional clip below includes a simulated violent attack)
Did you know that West Seattle martial-arts expert Lisa Skvarla is an accomplished stuntwoman too? In the two-minute preview video above, she’s the dark-haired woman in the re-enactment scenes (starting about 18 seconds in) as a crime survivor tells her story of an East Coast ordeal more than a decade ago. It’s part of a new DIscovery Health special, “The Worst Thing that Ever Happened to Me,” debuting at 7 pm Friday (December 10); Skvarla is seen in flashback scenes as Debra Puglisi Sharp, who survived an attack that took her husband’s life (also detailed in the book “Shattered“). Lisa and husband Joe own Lee’s Martial Arts in the south Admiral area, and she teaches self-defense to kids as well as adults. According to a news release Skvarla sent tonight to announce the show, she also has been an actor/stunt performer/stunt coordinator working in L.A. as well as Seattle for more than 15 years.
You might have heard about the dog electrocuted on Queen Anne because of an “energized metal plate” over a streetlight power vault. Tonight, Seattle City Light reveals that a subsequent call from a worried High Point resident led them to a malfunctioning streetlight. From an SCL media advisory tonight:
“We received a call from a customer who believed that a streetlight in her neighborhood may not be working properly,” says Superintendent of City Light Jorge Carrasco. “Crews investigated the streetlight on Tuesday, found that there were exposed wires in the lamphead and immediately repaired it. There was no damage or injury associated with this malfunctioning streetlight.”
According to tonight’s advisory, Carrasco will brief the media tomorrow on the utility’s plans to check the system’s 20,000 metal streetlight poles and 10,000 metal streetlight-vault covers, and to fix any that need repairs. Meantime, if you suspect any kind of trouble with a streetlight – even if it’s just burned out – the city has long had a reporting system set up: Find the online form and phone number here.
(USCG Rear Admiral Gary Blore with Kiwanis Club of West Seattle president West Niver)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If we started this story by saying that the U.S. Coast Guard District 13 commander, Rear Adm. Gary Blore, was in West Seattle today, that wouldn’t be remarkable, considering he lives here – on the grounds of the Alki Point Lighthouse.
But his appearance during the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s luncheon meeting was noteworthy. Instead of focusing on the lighthouse, as expected, he said it was most important for people to know more about the Arctic, what’s changing there, and how it’s affecting not just the USCG, but the rest of the country.
He discussed the shrinking of the Arctic ice cap without ever using the phrase “global warming” or “climate change.”
(UPDATED 5:22 PM: At the end of the story, we’ve added new information from the county, including an open letter to the community, and information on how residents of the proposed-for-purchase Lowman Beach properties were notified. ADDITIONAL UPDATE 6:35 PM with Fauntleroy reaction)
(County map showing where the “green stormwater infrastructure” is proposed for the area feeding the Barton pump station; go here for larger version)
ORIGINAL 2:40 PM REPORT: Just in from King County Wastewater Treatment Division: The county has announced its preferred alternatives for facilities to achieve a required reduction in CSOs (combined-sewer overflows) at the Murray (Lowman Beach) and Barton (next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock) Pump Stations. For Murray, they propose building a million-gallon storage tank under private property across the street from Lowman Beach Park – which the county would have to buy (even if that involves “eminent domain“); for Barton, the Green Stormwater Infrastructure project – read on for the news release; more to come – the process of arriving at these choices has been going on for more than 3 years (with major acceleration in fall of last year). and today’s announcement is the first step toward an in-depth environmental review:Read More
Congratulations to volunteers from West Seattle’s Hiawatha and Alki Community Centers for winning 2010 Denny Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Stewardship, as presented by Seattle Parks last night. From the announcement:
Up and Coming Youth Award
Natalie “Wolfy” Whithan, Hiawatha Community Center Teen Council
At just 17, Natalie is already making a big impact in her community. She is a member of the Hiawatha Community Center Teen Council and the Youth Engaged in Service program. She has helped the center create more organized office systems, reshaped the Teen Advisory Council, designed colorful bulletin boards that highlight the teen program, led younger youth in fun activities, and ran special events at both the Hiawatha and Southwest community centers. She is a bright light to those around her.Associated Recreation Council Volunteer of the Year Award
Darrell Glover, Alki Community Center Advisory Council
Darrell not only helps lead the center with important policy and monetary decisions through his work on the advisory council, but he also rolls up his sleeves to help out for special events. He advertises events to businesses, parents, and friends before the event; sets up tables, passes out equipment, and supports staff during the event; then takes out trash, sweeps up afterward, and ensures the work is done before going home himself.
Natalie and Darrell were two of six West Seattle-linked nominees, as first mentioned here last month.
Though registration started yesterday for Seattle Parks community centers and pools’ winter programs, if you tried to find a copy of the winter brochure, you couldn’t. This, we’ve learned today via a discussion on Twitter, is because the department has needed extra time to figure out the schedules for the budget-determined “limited hours” community centers – including Alki – since the budget was just finalized two weeks ago. Parks says the brochures might be posted online as soon as tomorrow (watch the right sidebar on the home page for your favorite community center – the West Seattle/South Park centers and Southwest Pool all combine their schedules into one brochure); the printed version will follow. But you don’t have to wait for the brochure to get program information – check out the online-registration system SPARC by starting here. (P.S. Your West Seattle Community Centers, which are part of the WSB sponsor team, are “likable” on Facebook too.)
2:07 PM P.S. Just discovered on the Alki Community Center webpage that its Advisory Council meets tonight, 7 pm, to talk about next year – a meeting certainly of interest to anyone wondering how the budget cuts will affect its offerings.
Just out of the WSB inbox, word that the next initiative targeting the tunnel-replacing-Viaduct plan is to be filed with the City Clerk tomorrow morning. This one is to bear the name Seattle Taxpayer Protection Initiative, and according to its sponsors’ news release:
• Requires the City of Seattle to hold the State solely responsible for cost overruns and to require budgetary transparency on all state transportation projects located within Seattle.
• Requires all branches of City government to cooperate in holding the State responsible for project costs and report progress to the citizens on a quarterly basis.
• Establishes a Cost Accountability Commission to inform and monitor implementation of the ordinance.
• Instructs City Officials to fulfill the requirements of the ordinance within the full limits of their established authority.
The sponsors, including the state Sierra Club and Real Change, have a website at moveseattlesmarter.org. This is separate from the “no tunnel” initiative for which signature-gathering has been under way for months. P.S. The filing tomorrow will come three hours before the governor is scheduled to open bids from the 2 teams vying to design and build the tunnel.
ADDED 2:16 PM: Reaction from the pro-tunnel Tunnel Plus Transit coalition, excerpted from a news release they just sent:
“This initiative is a complete waste of time, trees, and money. The backers say they are concerned about protecting Seattle’s wallet, but they admit this will have no real affect – except, of course, that they want to waste the taxpayers’ money to put it on the ballot. We don’t need symbolic gestures, we need to replace the capacity of an aging and dangerous structure, we need congestion relief, and we need to take advantage of the favorable bidding climate right now. More delay is irresponsible,” said Bob Donegan, coalition spokesman.
Just yesterday, we were talking about owls. This one is not likely to have been part of THAT story, but it’ll figure into the next West Seattle Art Walk. Remember Wollet, the Lincoln Park owlet, shown here last year in photos shared by Trileigh? This photo is part of her first-ever photography show, “Backyard Beauty and Beyond,” which you can see at the Senior Center of West Seattle during tomorrow night’s Art Walk, 6-9 pm, along with other photos she took, mostly in Lincoln Park. “It’ll be wonderful to share some of these glimpses of our local beauty with my wonderful WS community!” Trileigh tells WSB.
Other December Art Walk highlights – with venues from Alki to Highland Park! (here’s the map) – include The Puny Picture Show, “tiny original masterpieces” – from 16 artists! – at Wallflower Custom Framing and Shooting Gallery (WSB sponsor). You’ll find live music, “puny snacks,” and eggnog as part of the Art Walk party accompanying the show at Wallflower (which also is offering a deal on the WSB Coupons page right now).
Also in The Junction, Twilight Artist Collective – one of the 20 participants in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Shopping Guide – is not only showing new art, it’s having a Tacky Sweater Party; wear your tacky sweater and bring an unwrapped toy for the Treehouse toy drive that’s continuing at Twilight (SW Alaska just west of California) … Be sure to find your way up to California/42nd/Genesee, not only to see Justin Hillgrove at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), but also to check out the Silent Auction at Ginomai artist studios – local artists have donated work to raise money for West Seattle Christian Church‘s next wellbuilding trip to Central America (we’ll have a separate story with more on that later today) … Brunette Mix (WSB sponsor) is celebrating its third anniversary and featuring the work of Tony Taj … The Junction also will be in the midst of its second Shop Late Thursday tomorrow night.
Art Walk highlights outside The Junction: If you and your dog stop by West Side Yoga/Doga in Morgan Junction, you’ll find yourself in the Yappy Howlidays Muttmixer party, presented in conjunction with West Seattle-headquartered City Dog Magazine … The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way) will have a visit from Santa Claus in the FIRST hour, 6-7 pm … Bird on a Wire Espresso will welcome Art Walk visitors to its new location at 2604 California SW tomorrow night instead of its Westwood store … A long list of previews can be found at wsartwalk.com (see the map here) and we’ll have at least 2 more previews before tomorrow night.
This morning’s photo is courtesy WSB’er “Veteran Wisdom,” updating the installation of additional lampposts along SW Alaska in The Junction. A bigger light – Alki Lighthouse – figures prominently in one of today’s featured events (as does The Junction): The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle will hear all about it from U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Gary Blore, commander of the USCG’s Seattle-headquartered 13th District; the noon luncheon at Be’s Restaurant is $8, call the Kiwanis office ASAP for a reservation – 206-938-8032 … Tonight at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), 7 pm, West Seattle CoolMom talks about greening up the holiday season as well as looking ahead to 2011 … From the WSB West Seattle Holidays list, Westside Dermatology (WSB sponsor) presents its first-ever Holiday Skin Care Party, 5:30-7:30 pm, free but go here to RSVP … Fine Films at Freshy’s (Coffee, 2735 California SW) screens “Elf” at 7 pm.
Just posted on the Caring Bridge website set up by the family of Tony Genzale, the proprietor of Tony’s Market at 35th/Barton in West Seattle who died last weekend (here’s our Saturday night report) – the date, time and place for his memorial services: The Rosary will be at 7 pm next Monday, December 13th; the funeral Mass will be at 10:30 am the following Wednesday, December 15th. Both will be held at St. Francis of Assisi, 15236 21st SW in Burien, where Tony lived until losing his long battle with cancer at age 61. (Photo is from the website for the SW Sewer Commission, on which Tony served.)
Two days after the latest West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards ceremony, here’s another major celebration of local volunteer power: Tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, people who volunteer for the West Seattle Food Bank were in the spotlight, at the annual holiday-season dinner given in their honor. Among them, the three women in our photo, who are among the food bank’s longest-serving volunteers – Norma Arbow, Caroline Boone, and Asenath Brozovich – volunteering is for people of ALL ages! There are lots of ways you too can help the food bank, even if you don’t volunteer your time – other ways to help are listed on this page of the WS Food Bank website. (And you can give money any time!)
The Southwest Precinct sends holiday greetings and a wish for a (continued) low-crime season. Toward that end, precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen asked if we would share an SPD-provided list of holiday-specific crime-prevention tips with you. Even if you’re sure you’ve heard them all before – take another look. You’ll find the full list after the jump:
Gatewood Elementary students have just gathered a quarter-ton of pennies — but that’s only half their charitable work. Teacher Darren Radu, who also shared the photo, explains:
Over the past 4 weeks, kids from all classrooms worked together to bring in close to 500 pounds of pennies (and other coins) as part of the 2010 Penny Harvest. The bags of coins were shipped off to the local Penny Harvest offices last Thursday.
The next steps for the kids (in the New Year) will be to convene a Philanthropy Roundtable, where students from each grade will come together to research organizations working for justice in the community, country, and world, and determine which organizations are in most need of support. The Philanthropy Roundtable will then allocate grant funds from the pennies raised to these organizations. One of the Roundtable’s most important criteria is ‘leverage per dollar’ – the Philanthropists use their research to allocate funds in a way that works most effectively to make a positive difference in the world. Last year, Gatewood students awarded Penny Harvest grants to PAWS, Haiti Relief, the Mockingbird Society, and Child Haven. They had some guidance from teachers, but did most of the research and made the final decisions on where to send the money themselves.
The attached photo shows some of our many ‘harvesters’ with a few of the 30-pound bags they filled.
Big gratitude to the Gatewood community, families, and friends, for supporting this worthwhile work!
Darren Radu
4th/5th Teacher at Gatewood Elementary
ADDED 7:12 PM: Via Facebook, Stacey tells us Madison Middle School collected for Penny Harvest too – about 300 pounds.
Following our earlier report about Walt Hundley Playfield getting Parks and Green Spaces Levy money for new turf, as recommended by the levy’s Oversight Committee last night, here’s more big news from that meeting: Of the two West Seattle projects that were finalists for money from the levy’s Opportunity Fund, both will get money – one from the fund, one from other sources. The committee is recommending $520,000 for Puget Ridge Edible Park, a site for edible gardening, education, and more, proposed for a parcel in the 5200 block of 18th SW. (Added Wednesday – Stu Hennessey tells WSB that work should start next spring.) And it’s recommending that the Highland Park Spray Park – originally scheduled for a very basic installation where the HP wading pool is now – get “inflation funding” so that it’ll get the water- (and fun-) maximizing features that community advocates led by Carolyn Stauffer were asking for. The recommendations need approval from acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams, and then the City Council will vote on them next year.
That’s the map showing where the state’s installing automatic closure gates that are supposed to go down almost instantly if there’s a big earthquake, to keep traffic off the Alaskan Way Viaduct until it’s checked out. The work to install those gates has necessitated ramp and lane closures, and more are ahead in the next week, just announced and all listed here.
| 2 COMMENTS