Looking for something to read, and/or wondering what’s hot? Every week, courtesy of Gretchen Montgomery @ Square One Books (WSB sponsor), we bring you her independent West Seattle bookstore’s 5 best-sellers in each of 4 key categories:
Hardcover:
1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
2. 61 Hours by Lee Child
3. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
4. War by Sebastian Junger
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Paperback:
1. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
2. Tinkers by Paul Harding
3. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff
4. Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn
5. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Children/Young Adult:
1. Oh, The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
2. Perfect Piggies! by Sandra Boynton
3. Warriors/Battle of the Clans by Erin Hunter
4. Star Wars/A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder
5. The Lightning Thief Series by Rick Riordan
Teen:
1. Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. Bloodhound/Beka Cooper #2 by Tamora Pierce
4. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
5. Burned by P.C. Cast
At West Seattle High School tonight, the WSHS Alumni Association‘s annual All-School Reunion included even more special moments than usual. This is the centennial anniversary of the first WSHS graduating class in 1910 (12 seniors, per a WSHS history summary) – in their honor, the half-centennial-anniversary class of 1960 appeared together onstage with emcee Gary Smith (Class of ’66; photo above). Then, there were three Hall of Fame inductees:
The trio included WSHS’s highest-ranking current alumnus, King County Executive Dow Constantine (Class of ’80), shown above with Karen Seamens Dobbs (Class of ’71), current WSHS Alumni Association president. The other inductees are internationally accomplished photographer Harald Sund (Class of ’61) and retired business executive Wendell Hurlbut III (Class of ’49). Hurlbut couldn’t be there, but Sund was on hand:
Another big part of the program – presenting scholarships; this year, the first-ever Tim Brenton Scholarship, in honor of the WSHS-alum Seattle police officer killed in the line of duty last year, went to Genneva Machmiller:
That’s Genneva with the WSHSAA president. She’s planning to major in nursing at UW. Other scholarship recipients from the Class of 2010:
*Korinne Ainsworth (Friedline, WSHS Alumni scholarships), planning to major in English at UW
*Sam Ameny (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a business law/sports agent major at UW
*Raymond Carter (Duke/Radar scholarship), planning a chemical enginering major at UW
*Triston Endreao (Blauert scholarship), planning an environmental-studies major at Whitman
*Karen Lowe (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a biochemistry/medical research major at UW
*Carl Swenson (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a nursing major at Gonzaga
*Biniaim Woldehaimanot (Bacas Delimitro scholarship), planning a law major at Western Washington
Before the award ceremony, attendees got to “roam the halls” and admire classic cars displayed along SW Stevens before joining in one of more than three dozen by-class reunions assigned to various WSHS classrooms. The West Seattle Big Band then played a set in the theater before the award announcements got under way.
When the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure hits Seattle streets this Sunday, it’ll be a new location – around Seattle Center, instead of on the Alaskan Way Viaduct – but some things will be the same: The love, emotion, and determination, of those who both are there to support a cure for breast cancer, and those who have survived it. One special story has come to our attention, thanks to Komen volunteer Meg Paynor, who shared a letter written by an 8-year-old Holy Rosary School second-grader:
My name is Anne-Louise Lorentz. I am 8 years old and attend 2nd grade at Holy Rosary School in West Seattle. Recently, my teacher, Karen Robel was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will not be able to finish the school year with us because she will be undergoing surgery. My classmates and I are running to support my teacher and help raise funds and awareness for this disease. Your support and contributions are a blessing. If you are not able to make a monetary donation, I ask that you please say a prayer for our beloved teacher, Karen Robel.
Meg says, “Cherie Skager, the director of communications at Komen, who reads all the
story submissions, was so moved she contacted Anne-Louise¹s mother and asked
her if Anne-Louise would be the ‘Official Starter’ of the 1k Kids Race on Sunday. Anne-Louise was so thrilled, she asked if her entire class could lead the Kids’ Race. On Sunday at 8 am, the 20+ students of
Karen Robel will start the Kids’ Race, with Anne-Louise leading the group.” Meg adds that they will be obtaining a group photo to frame as a “Get Well” gift for their teacher, who had her surgery this week. They will all be
wearing t-shirts that say “Running for Robel.”
Last year, the Kids’ Race also had a West Seattle flavor – Adam Westerman was grand marshal, after helping raise thousands in honor of his mom, breast-cancer survivor Eddie Westerman. Even if you’re not planning to join Sunday’s Race for the Cure, you can donate online here.
It’s been a tough few months at Hegge Chevron in Sunrise Heights; first, the sudden death of owner Mark Hegge this past March. Today, the staff is dealing with news that one of their co-workers was killed in a car crash. It was a one-car crash in Des Moines, discovered late last night (here’s a KIRO TV report); today, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 20-year-old Sam Backman, and the folks at the Chevron station tell us Sam worked there. They say he was a Seattle Lutheran High School graduate and played ‘multiple sports’ there (here’s a 2007 story noting his football accomplishments; a school newsletter has him on the SLHS Honor Roll the same year). Lately, he had been in the automotive program at South Seattle Community College. According to the tv report, his Honda Accord crashed through a rail and plunged down a ravine near South 216th/Marine View Drive. SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Seattle Lutheran has announced that Sam Backman’s memorial is set for Saturday June 12th at 3 pm, at Grace Church, 10323 28th Avenue SW, just south of Roxbury. ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: Also from SLHS: There will be a viewing Thursday 4-8 at Howden-Kennedy in The Junction. The family asks that in place of flowers, donations be made to the Seattle Lutheran Sports Department. (Photo added Sunday, provided by Sam Backman’s family)
(May 24th photo by David Rosen from SlickPix Photography)
A followup this afternoon on car-theft cases, including the one that yielded the May 24th photo above, as well as the one discussed in this recent comment thread. Charges have just been filed against Ronald E. Thompson, a Gatewood resident who turns 20 on Monday. He is charged with three counts of auto theft and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, all happening over the past month and a half, starting with one theft in Queen Anne on April 16th. We just obtained the documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The vehicle stolen in QA was found in West Seattle, while the other three were stolen from, and found in WS – the one in the photo was taken from, and found in, the 5400 block of 46th SW. A Lexus stolen in the 6000 block of 44th on May 30th is the one in which Thompson was found two days later, when police arrested him in Gatewood, a few blocks from his house. After the arrest, the charging papers say, Thompson told police about “an assault rifle” at his home; police found a Sturm-Ruger Mini-14 .223-caliber rifle loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition; he told them he’d bought the rifle, but it was listed as stolen in a King County burglary. Thompson remains in jail and is scheduled to answer the charges June 14th; the documents say he not only has a juvenile record, but also is still awaiting trial on a different auto theft case, in which “he told police that he stole a vehicle from West Seattle and drove it to Bothell, where he was trying to sell a laptop computer.”
Hope to see you at tomorrow’s ReFRESH Southwest – the umbrella name for this year’s combined Delridge Day and Sustainable West Seattle Festival events, all happening tomorrow at, in, and around Delridge Community Center, 1-5 pm (after the Clean and Green cleanup and Delridge Walks events in the morning!) — here again is the outdoor exhibitors’ map (WSB is #26), and now for the first time we have the full schedule of indoor and outdoor events, from arts to games to the sustainability workshops and beyond, just forwarded by SWS Festival coordinator Christina, after the jump:Read More
SWINERY PATIO: Maybe THIS will bring summery weather? The Swinery is opening its courtyard patio for lunch service as of next Tuesday, according to longtime WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli (and it’s also confirmed on their FB page). If you haven’t been there lately, take note that they’ve been writing about expanded food offerings – including hot takeout food for dinner.
Mary Springer at West Seattle-based Twelfth Night Productions sent this announcement to share: Open auditions tomorrow and Sunday for their summer production, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” If you can act, sing, and dance – read on!Read More
A distinctive label describes the event Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) will host tomorrow night to mark its 4th anniversary: Not a party, not a bash … but a prom.
“After four years, we’re graduating … we’re seniors now!” laughs Skylark proprietor Jessie Summa-Kusiak.
Four is a special number for another reason. That’s how many Skylark staffers have been with the music club/restaurant/bar since Day 1 – including the bar manager and kitchen manager, and bartender Cheryl, who is the model in many of Skylark’s ads.
Why the longevity? Here’s one unexpected reason …Read More
Story and photos by Karen Berge
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
More than 50 people gathered Thursday night at the High Point Neighborhood Center for a community-safety forum, billed as a follow-up to the emotionally-charged meeting on April 29th, which followed the stabbing of a woman there on April 23rd. This 2-hour meeting began and ended with some short updates and announcements, but the primary focus was to brainstorm solutions for bringing the community together to move ahead.
Jennifer Cobb and Andrew Mead, from the High Point Neighborhood Association (HPNA), started by describing their mission, “to foster community safety” and the objective for this meeting, to keep it “focused on solutions, focused on what we can do going forward.”
Willard Brown from Seattle Housing Authority (SHA), spoke for several minutes; he remarked “the most important thing is to work together on this” and said that SHA “is committed to bringing resources together.”One tangible change that residents will notice is that they have been “working with SPD to increase the police presence in our community.”
‘FOOL FOR LOVE’ AT EASY STREET: Tonight through Saturday, Damaged Actors Productions presents Sam Shepard‘s “Fool For Love” onstage at a venue more often known for music, Easy Street Café, starring Megan Blackstone, Todd Van der Ark, Mark Naborczyk, and Juan Davilacampodonico. Admission is “pay what you will” at the door (but everyone who offers more than $5 gets a button with the performance’s logo – see it on Easy Street’s website); showtime’s at 10, with doors opening half an hour in advance.
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL ALL-SCHOOL REUNION: The annual event to which all former WSHS students are invited starts at 5 tonight, with the program including the West Seattle Big Band at 7 and awards/Hall of Fame at 7:30 pm. (Added 9:31 am – Rod calls our attention to the post-reunion WSHS Alumni Jam at Redline – Facebook invite here.)
ELEMENTARY EVENTS:Alki Elementary‘s Alki-A-Thon fundraising laps are scheduled for today, as are Roxhill Elementary‘s instrumental-music concert (2 and 7 pm) and Highland Park Elementary‘s 5th-grade play “Willy Wonka” (2 and 7 pm)
WEST SEATTLE VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION AWARDS: A friendly reminder that it’s Day 4 of the open-nomination period for the next round – we published the nomination form back on Tuesday night – find it here and start the process of getting someone recognized for the amazing work they do in our community.
When it rains (animal photos), it pours. Not long after last night’s coyote photo/report from Gatewood (which followed Wednesday’s Admiral chickens and Seaview frog), the WSB inbox yielded otter photos and report from Jennifer on Beach Drive:
Today I was happily baking in my kitchen, when I looked over and saw a sea otter
sitting outside my door! Amazing! I took some pictures as the otter traveled around the back of our house exploring. After about 10 minutes, the otter climbed up into the springs greenery behind our property. Truly amazing to live in a place with access to such sights. We live on the 5000 block of Beach Drive [map] and NOT on the water side. So how did that cute otter get across the street? One wonders? … I wonder if there have been additional
otter sightings this week?
Even before you start typing a comment – don’t worry, we did let Jennifer know that it’s RIVER otters, not sea otters, who live among us (state info sheet here). But we seldom see photos, so hers are a bonus.
(Photo by Evan Miglorie)
That’s Quin Hopkins, one of many Lafayette Elementary Schoolstudents whose work was on display tonight during for a special school-wide Art Walk. Family, friends and neighbors thronged the Admiral District school to admire the creations:
(Photo courtesy Luckie)
It wasn’t all hangable work, either:
(Photo courtesy Luckie)
And if you missed tonight’s Art Walk – some of the work is on display in neighboring businesses, too!
(Photo by Evan Miglorie)
Performing arts were showcased at Lafayette tonight too, with performances by the choir and the Popcorns jump-rope team. And tomorrow, they’ll focus on writing, with Young Author’s Conference sessions. ADDED 1:21 AM: We have video of some of the onstage performances from Thursday night, courtesy of Edgar Riebe from Captive Eye Media:
First photo-enhanced coyote report in a while. It’s from K. Parsons in Gatewood:
… in broad day-light after cruising around our front yards on the 7100 block of 39th avenue SW between Myrtle and Orchard, this guy was sunning himself (or herself) in our neighbors’ backyard for about 15 minutes then loped through our back-yard. This pic was taken today about noon. They sure do help with the rodent population but take care of your cats and small dogs!
(Video added beneath original as-it-happened report)
ORIGINAL 7 PM REPORT: Via cameraphone, a couple early photos from the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse celebration, which you still have plenty of time to go join – it’s continuing till 8 pm. Above, the group that gathered to cut the ceremonial ribbon a short time ago; below, back from a few months on the East Coast, it’s former Mayor Greg Nickels, the West Seattleite whose administration was among those helping secure funding for the schoolhouse purchase:
The West Seattle Big Band is playing, and there are treats and tours – 9131 California SW (take SW Barton west and downhill from 35th, or head uphill from Wildwood through the Endolyne area east of the ferry dock), till 8 pm.
ADDED 10:35 PM: Video of the ribboncutting – Fauntleroy Community Service Agency‘s Kevin Wooley speaks first, joined by Dr. Jack Pierce (at center), founder of Fauntleroy Children’s Center, and Bruce Butterfield (right), president of Fauntleroy Community Association – keep watching till you see the jersey on the young spectator!
Tonight’s celebration is in honor of the official completion of the FCSA’s purchase of the schoolhouse and some of the surrounding property from Seattle Public Schools, which closed this spring. But the purchase is just the start – the building needs a fair amount of work – and there’s also room for more tenants – so its next chapter has just begun.
Now, there are three declared candidates campaigning for King County Council District 8, the seat currently held by Councilmember Jan Drago — appointed to fill the vacancy after Dow Constantinewas elected County Executive, but not running to keep the job. The latest is West Seattleite Diana Toledo – read on for her announcement:Read More
We, and other media outlets, have asked for this for a long time – andSeattle Police say they’ve been working on it for a long time. Now SPD has just announced the system’s ready to go, and it’s available to everyone: Major police reports are available online – in the form they’ve been made available to the media on discs for the past few years, with names/full addresses redacted (blacked out), and delayed a few days. This means not only that you can sign up to read them yourself, but also that we will summarize more of them in WS Crime Watch, more often, since they’re accessible without the time-consuming process of going to the precinct to download reports from the discs and search through the citywide information looking for local cases. However, two categories that figure prominently in reader-reported Crime Watch roundups are not mentioned – car thefts and car prowls – so keep sharing your stories with your neighbors here. Speaking of which, we have two from the queue:Read More
Arlene Carter at Providence Mount St. Vincent shares that photo and this invitation to join in their Father’s Day car show:
Providence Mount St. Vincent is planning its annual Father’s Day Classic and Antique Car Show for the afternoon of Sunday, June 20th. If you have a classic or antique car that you would be willing to show, please contact Eileen at (206) 937-3701 ext. 28674. This show is a treasured tradition for the elderly residents of The Mount and their friends and family members!
Southwest District Council members had been looking forward to talking with Mayor McGinn on Wednesday night … till the matter of hiring a police chief got in the way. So instead, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith filled in, while his boss presided at a chief-candidates public forum downtown. When it was all over, in a discussion ranging from The Viaduct to park-n-rides to stalled developments to the city budget, SWDC co-chair Chas Redmond told Smith, “You took our heated questions very gracefully.” See why he said that – ahead:Read More
South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) is expanding its automotive-technology-training facility – and it will get a new name, one that’s widely known around West Seattle. Here’s the official announcement, just received from the college:
In recognition of more than 30 years of support for South Seattle Community College, the college is honoring the Huling family, of West Seattle, in the naming of an expanded and remodeled automotive technology training facility.
The Seattle Community Colleges trustees will name the facility the Steve and Sharon Huling Automotive Center. The new center will ensure that students work with tools and equipment that closely match current industry standards.
“We deeply appreciate the Hulings for their generous, long-time support of the college,” said Jill Wakefield, chancellor of the Seattle Community Colleges and former South president. “Their on-going partnership with the college has resulted in nearly $2 million in equipment, funds, and other support, which has advanced and improved the training opportunities for our automotive students.”
The announcement continues with more details on the expansion, after the jump:Read More
After our report yesterday on a delay in the start of Delridge Skatepark construction (see the story here), several people asked for a followup on when work will start at nearby Delridge Playfield, scheduled for renovations including new artificial turf. We checked with project manager Ted Holden, who has just replied with a major update: He says the bids were just opened yesterday (one week later than planned). His summary:
Seven firms submitted bids. The apparent low bidder is A-1 Landscape and Construction, Inc. The apparent low bid is $ 1,034,376, which is $596,894 or 36.6% below the Engineer’s Estimate. Parks shall check the required Bidder Qualifications, and if all checks out shall recommend immediate award.
Late yesterday we published a news release from the King County Executive‘s office, which provided first word of a reported $7,500 theft from KC Water Taxi – which refers to both the Vashon and West Seattle foot ferries – fare boxes. The announcement came too late to get more information from the KC Sheriff’s Office, which is handling the case, but Sgt. John Urquhart has just provided more details: The suspect is described as a 30-year-old Tacoma man who was arrested this past Saturday night, booked into jail, and released the next day. Urquhart’s update also includes more details of exactly how the theft is believed to have happened:
Detectives began their investigation on May 27th, after the Marine Division of the King County Dept. of Transportation believed money was disappearing from a safe at Pier 50. Fares from passengers riding the ferry are deposited in small “vaults”, and then stored in a larger safe before the vaults are picked up by an armored car service.
Believing the thefts to be an “inside job”, detectives eventually determined a particular employee might be involved. After further investigation, a search warrant was obtained for his Tacoma residence and seven of the stolen vaults were found. The suspect took the vaults over a period of time and would break them open using a hammer. … The Marine Division believes 26 vaults in total were taken, worth about $330 each, and approximately $7500 in cash.
Charges are not yet filed but are expected; KCSO says the suspect had worked for the county since April.
It was a one-car crash in Des Moines, discovered late last night (
Now, there are three declared candidates campaigning for King County Council District 8, the seat currently held by Councilmember Jan Drago — appointed to fill the vacancy after Dow Constantinewas elected County Executive, but not running to keep the job. The latest is West Seattleite Diana Toledo – read on for her announcement:
We, and other media outlets, have asked for this for a long time – and 
In recognition of more than 30 years of support for South Seattle Community College, the college is honoring the Huling family, of West Seattle, in the naming of an expanded and remodeled automotive technology training facility.
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