West Seattle, Washington
15 Tuesday
They’re known best for the art of hairstyling – but tonight, Illusions Hair Design (longtime WSB sponsor) branched out, staying open a few hours extra to show and sell creations — including paintings and jewelry — from the Circle of Friends for Mental Health. Among those welcoming guests was Illusions proprietor Sue Lindblom, whose salon is celebrating its anniversary this month:
Circle of Friends offers classes in visual arts, music and writing to those dealing with mental illness – a category that the group says can include more than a fourth of all American adults in any given year. Visitors to Illusions tonight not only got to browse and view, they also were treated to live music:
The duo goes by Julia and Jack. Find out more about Circle of Friends by going here.
As noted here about 24 hours ago, SDOT plans to close the 1st Avenue South/South Spokane Street intersection at 8:30 tonight, continuing till about 6 am Monday. But the eastbound West Seattle Bridge offramp remains open. So a few have asked – how’s that going to work? We asked SDOT, whose LeAnne Nelson replied:
The intersection will be blocked off and closed to all northbound and southbound through traffic, with drivers south of the intersection directed from 1st Ave S to Dawson to 4th Ave S. Drivers north of the intersection will be directed to Lander St and then to 4th Ave S. Five police officers will be on site to help guide traffic. Drivers from West Seattle will still be able to turn left off the ramp to go north to downtown on a lane dedicated to that traffic.
Hope that helps, in case you were wondering.
60+ options, for a weekend promising 70-degree temperatures! The big events include the Morgan Junction Community Festival (co-sponsored by WSB) 11 am-7 pm tomorrow, continuing with the West Seattle Junction Health Fair (WSB sponsor) 10 am-2 pm Sunday, and a lot more inbetween, like the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle making Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area a nicer 
place (with volunteer help), the Junction Plaza Park planting party, the West Seattle Tool Library grand opening, benefits for Chief Sealth jazz, Community School of West Seattle, and author Val Mallinson; much more … The WSWL is sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club, where you’ll find FREE live music, bountiful brunches, plus lunch ‘n’ dinner:Read More
As mentioned earlier, tonight’s graduation night for Seattle Lutheran High School in West Seattle. Didn’t get a seat in the gym? Out of town? Or otherwise unable to go? Never fear – they’re planning to stream it live. Courtesy of SLHS’s Bil Hood, here’s the link. 7:30 pm is the scheduled start time.
Seattle Police have now released more information on an incident that several people asked about this morning – we’d called earlier and all they told us at the time was that the incident that left police tape up at 15th/Henderson was “a robbery” – so we shared that info in a WSB Forums thread while working to find out more. Here’s what’s just gone up at SPD Blotter:
On June 11th at approximately 4:45 a.m., officers responded to a home invasion robbery in the 1500 block of SW Henderson St. The victims stated that they were awakened by loud noises and suspects storming into their bedrooms.
The suspects were armed with a knife and wearing masks and gloves. The suspects jumped on top of the victim’s beds demanding to know where the money, drugs, and jewelry was. The suspects took $3,500 and a projector from the victims.
The suspects spoke both English and Spanish. They gained entry by forcibly kicking in the front door and both bedroom doors. Seattle Fire responded and treated the two male victims. Neither victim was transported. The Robbery Unit responded and processed the scene and interviewed the victims. The suspects are at large.
Strawberries are first up this year for the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s annual berry sale, and orders are being taken right now – they should be delivered in time for pickup in just two weeks, June 25 and 26, on the south side of Admiral Safeway. You can order online at the Rotary website, or call 206-779-5301; raspberries and blueberries will follow in July. (Also note that the Rotary website also has forms for the Kiddies’ Parade it sponsors before the West Seattle Grand Parade every year – parade day this year is July 24th.)
Exactly one month after we first reported the resignation of West Seattle High School principal Bruce Bivins, who’s taking a job in California, we have just confirmed multiple reports that both WSHS assistant principals are leaving as well. Jenni Maughan-MacDonald wrote about her plans on her What’s Happening at Westside website – she says she’s taking a “small school principal position” in Seattle’s neighbor district to the south, Highline Public Schools. And district spokesperson Teresa Wippel confirms that the other assistant principal, Anitra Pinchback-Jones, has resigned. So what now, we asked? She replied, “We have a pool of applicants for all positions and will be updating the community next week on our process.”
An update from SDOT‘s Marybeth Turner on the SW Genesee paving plan between 47th and 49th SW: She says they’re now looking at next Tuesday, “weather permitting,” and the work will probably take all day. SDOT says traffic will be able to get through during the work.
As first reported here in April, the redevelopment plan for The Kenney is undergoing some revision – changing into “something smaller,” as T.J. Lehman of West Seattle-based Euclid Development told the Morgan Community Association at their last quarterly meeting. As part of the changes, The Kenney has just sold some land. CEO Kevin McFeely confirmed to WSB not only that they’re selling 7022 46th Avenue SW (the quarter-acre parcel across SW Myrtle from The Kenney’s NE corner; the site holds an old house and was listed for just under half a million dollars), but that the deal is closing today. He explains that “the property no longer fits into our plans” because of the “retooling” of the redevelopment project. McFeely says he expects to be able to reveal more specifics on the downsized project by the end of next month. (Our 2-year archive of stories on The Kenney’s project can be browsed here.)
The stalled development on the southeast corner of 35th/Avalon will get going again, according to a report in today’s Daily Journal of Commerce. The DJC says “an entity” of Bellevue-based Longwell Company has paid $4 million cash for it. That’s all we know so far — all but the first paragraph of the DJC story is behind a paywall — but we’ll be gathering more information to add as we get it. The project stalled after its original owner, Michael Mastro, was forced into Chapter 7 last year. The DPD permit history for the site is here. 1:10 PM: Thanks to those who’ve sent the rest of the DJC story. While we cannot and would not cut and paste copyrighted material, we’ll note that they also report Longwell says the building will be apartments for the foreseeable future, with rents starting around $1,000, because they’ll have “high-end finishes.” The article also has an interesting tidbit, citing West Seattle’s apartment-vacancy rate at 5.4 percent.
Quick look at today/tonight highlights: Low-tide time again, -2.3 at 10:49 am (here’s the chart – gets even lower this weekend) … West Seattle’s first major high-school commencement ceremony of the month is tonight, Seattle Lutheran High School … Tonight’s the wine and jazz fundraiser for Chief Sealth International High School‘s Jazz Band @ EB Foote Winery in Burien – e-mail pdsampson@comcast.net to be sure tickets are still available … The rescheduled summer wine release at South Seattle Community College is today and tomorrow … Last day of “filing week” if you’re thinking of running for something (for local races, no surprises so far on the state list or county list) … Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) hosts a special art/food/wine event tonight … The annual Seattle Playwrights Studio showcase starts tonight at ArtsWest … More details on the above – and more events – on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page!
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The monthly West Seattle Art Walk is more than a night for admiring art. At Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in North Delridge last night, it was also an occasion for borrowing it, as the Art Lending Library opened for the night. It’s been a year since the ALL made its debut – in this June 2009 story, artist Seth Damm explained it on video, and last night he was busy explaining it to prospective borrowers:
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The Art Walk is also often a night for music. At wine shop Bin 41 (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, along with watercolors by Lee Copeland, we found Red Dog:
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
They played Appalachian music, while the Bin 41 team poured wine from South Africa:
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Also in The Junction, another WSB sponsor, Mural Apartments, also featured live music – here’s video of the Velveteen Lotharios:
(Video by Patrick Sand)
In keeping with the building’s name, Mural’s lobby is meant as gallery space – you can even see art through the windows as you walk by on 42nd SW. Heading back west through The Junction, at CAPERS, featured artist Jennifer Ament has chosen to help wildlife through her imagery of it:
(Photo by Patrick Sand)
CAPERS’ Lisa Myers explains that Jennifer “is donating 20% of her art sales to the National Wildlife Federation for sealife rescue in the Gulf [of Mexico] through June 24th. … She has just released a heron, nautilus, sea fan and whale as part of her growing collection of linoleum cut prints.”
Ahead – more photos, including two examples of last night’s Art Walk spotlight shining on food:Read More
Early warning: About 3,000 homes in West Seattle will get something special on their doorsteps next week, and it’s something that local Windermere Real Estate agents hope you will use. Next Wednesday (6/16), they will distribute bags for a food-donation drive that’s part of their annual Community Service Day; then next Friday (6/18), they will return to the 3,000 or so homes where they left bags, hoping to find them filled with nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank. If you get one of the bags on your doorstep – point person Doug Baldwin says the volunteers will be hitting various neighborhoods – here’s the flyer you’ll find with it.
With the future of the now-vacant ex-Genesee Hill Elementary School building one of their area’s hottest topics, the new Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council had Seattle School Board rep Steve Sundquist on its first-ever general-meeting agenda. By the time he spoke, about 50 people were at the meeting, held at West Side Presbyterian Church. And before it ended, the group had elected its first official slate of officers. Toplines after the jump:Read More
Kitty Harbor, a nonprofit shelter and adoption facility on the south end of Harbor Avenue just before The Bridge, is open again for the summer, and getting ready to go into its second weekend. Jess Cliffe e-mailed WSB to share photos and this report :
It was a really successful weekend – we adopted out nearly 30 cats and kittens, all to great homes. … On top of all of our adoptions, we had a number of people from West Seattle come in to drop off donations, and offer to volunteer or be foster homes. It’s great to see the community coming together to help out animals in our area.
In fact, just today, we received a Facebook message from Melissa, telling us about three kittens she’s been fostering at her West Seattle home (photos here) – with adoption available through Kitty Harbor, which incidentally has a new website this year, as mentioned in previews last weekend – see it here. They’re open Saturdays and Sundays, 1-6 pm.
Tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk is only half over – you’ve still got lots of time to go visit at least a few venues (here’s the printable map). At Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in the Admiral District, for one, new paintings are in from featured artist Rachel Austin, like the one shown above – which, if you look very closely, actually incorporates an Alki Point map! It’s a cozy 5″ x 5″. There’s music, food and more, from Alki to Delridge to Fauntleroy and many points inbetween. Here’s our earlier preview; wsartwalk.com has even more highlights. We’ll have more photos to share later tonight.
Just in from SDOT:
Crews working on the Spokane Street Viaduct Project will close the intersection at First Avenue S and S Spokane Street for the weekend, beginning at 8:30 pm tomorrow (Friday, June 11). The intersection will be closed to all through traffic until early Monday (June 14) at 6 a.m. The closure is required to complete work on the water main under the roadway. The eastbound off-ramp from the Spokane Street Viaduct (from the West Seattle Bridge) to First Avenue South will remain open. Detours will be provided for north and southbound traffic on First Avenue.
That’s Mayor Mike McGinn at last night’s 34th District Democrats meeting, warning again that the city budget picture remains ugly. He also said the much-awaited (albeit nervously awaited, by many) midyear cuts are soon to be “rolled out” – and this afternoon, we’ve learned the “rollout” is set for Monday morning — city budget boss Beth Goldberg is scheduled to brief the City Council Budget Committee on the midyear cuts at 10:30 am Monday, according to the agenda just sent out. McGinn was at the 34th DDs’ meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy along with Council President Richard Conlin and Councilmember Bruce Harrell – read on for notes on what else they said, including their answers to audience questions (besides the Admiral crosswalk Q/A we reported separately this morning):Read More
3 months after we first reported the impending arrival of The Beer Junction across 42nd SW from the north end of Jefferson Square, the sign is up … and proprietor Morgan Herzog is inside with … yes … beer!
We went in to check in on his progress toward getting the store open; he tells us that if all goes well, he might be open as soon as the end of next week. That would be ahead of the schedule he was hoping for when we talked to him in March! As for the beer, he mentions he’s particularly proud of having been able to procure Pliny the Elder.
Out of the inbox, forwarded by a few folks (thank you!), SDOT’s Paul Elliott sent out this alert regarding the “low bridge” during the evening commute:
I just was told that we expect NOAA to bring two large vessels through the swing bridge this afternoon, probably about 5:30, but perhaps ten or fifteen minutes earlier. We expect the openings to last in the 25-30 minute range. Apparently we didn’t get notification until yesterday afternoon, hence this last-minute push to get the word out.
Also remember that SDOT sends word of imminent rush-hour low-bridge openings via Twitter, but this is an earlier heads-up in case you want to plot an alternate path/time to go home.
So reports the state Ecology Department, following up on the sheen sighted on the river on May 29th (WSB coverage here) – read on for their followup:Read More
(NOTE: Updated repeatedly since first publication; thanks to Nancy for the added research)
More than a few people requested a list of West Seattle establishments that plan to have the World Cup on their bigscreens as play begins this week (here’s the schedule) – and it also came up in the WSB Forums. So WSB contributor Keri DeTore started investigating. The following venues say they’ll be showing World Cup games during their regular business hours, unless otherwise noted – such as Abbondanza, Angelina’s and Beveridge Place Pub, which will be open some special hours for viewing. (For hours/contact info, we have linked establishment names to their website – except for those that do not have readily locatable sites, in which case we’ve used other online listings). Click ahead for the list (and let us know if there’s someplace we’re missing!):Read More
(Photo courtesy Historic Seattle)
The date is now set – two weeks later than previously projected – for the Landmarks Preservation Board to vote on whether to make West Seattle’s “Bloss House” an official city landmark. Board members decided in April (WSB coverage here) to proceed with consideration, but that’s no guarantee of designation. It’s a 95-year-old Craftsman home at (4055 SW Holgate), most notable as a largely unaltered example of the working-class bungalow that dominated so much of the residential construction back then. The two-part nomination document presented to the board (text here, photos here) includes a peek into West Seattle history as well as the background of the house itself. The designation vote is set for the board’s 3:30 pm meeting next Wednesday, June 16, on the 40th floor of the Municipal Tower downtown.
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