Today/tonight: West Seattle Art Walk, Fenton Glen, sports …
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK, 6-9 TONIGHT: Among tonight’s dozens of options: Wallflower Custom Framing and Shooting Gallery (WSB sponsor) in The Junction features “Three Faces” by Jennifer Mercede (one of her paintings is at right), Elena Cronin, and Betsy LeVine. Kelly Rae Cunningham from Wallflower explains, “Elena, Jennifer and Betsy are three friends from Portland, Oregon, all in different stages of their art careers. Their styles vary, their colors vary, and their subjects vary. For this show, the three talented artists decide to focus on the figure.. in any way shape or form they feel inspired.” … Twilight Artist Collective has a reception for its new show 10 and Change (here’s last week’s announcement) … Tom Norton, West Seattle artist/musician/composer, paints and performs music live at The Bohemian 7-10 pm … At Shadowland, the Katie Voss Quintet plays at 8 tonight … More Art Walk previews at the official site, wsartwalk.com; get the walking map here.
SUNLIGHT, NIGHT TWO: In The Junction, you can catch the first hour and a half of the Art Walk and then move into the theater at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) for “Sunlight,” which has the second performance of its four-week run tonight at 7:30.
FIRST LOOK AT FENTON GLEN: Tonight’s meeting of the Fauntleroy Watershed Council is scheduled to include a first look at restoration plans for Fenton Glen, next to Fauntleroy Park. Area residents interested in shaping the future of the park, Fauntleroy Creek, and/or Fauntleroy Cove are encouraged to attend. Agenda and past minutes at www.fauntleroy.net; the meeting’s at 7 pm, Fauntleroy Schoolhouse.
SPORTS NOTES: Chief Sealth High School‘s sports banquet is tonight, 6 pm … Basketball tryouts continue tonight for area 4th-8th graders at White Center’s Salvation Army Community Center (details here) … Baseball, T-ball and basketball signups start today at West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) – more here.
New design guidelines outlined @ Junction Neighborhood Org.
By Johnathon Fitzpatrick
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
During the Junction Neighborhood Organization (JuNO) meeting Tuesday night, attendees were given a walk-through of the new guidelines that the city plans to use for the construction of new multifamily and commercial development.
Despite a cooling in the building construction industry, developers continue to move through Seattle’s Design Review process, including a community input period and a hearing before a community Design Review Board. Engaged West Seattle Junction residents are wanting to learn how to get involved as the process evolve, so they can keep up with developers.
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Safer streets: Councilmember, police @ West Seattle Chamber
Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess came to West Seattle today to promote his package of proposals to fight “street disorder.” He was one of three speakers during the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly lunch meeting – held this time at the Southwest Precinct. Before Burgess’s appearance, the 30-plus people in attendance heard from the precinct’s top two leaders: Its commander, Capt. Joe Kessler, and its operations lieutenant, Lt. Norm James. 
One big theme from Capt. Kessler, who’s about to mark his second anniversary as West Seattle’s top cop, and Lt. James: Report EVERY crime, no matter how small. They recounted cases in which officers recovered stolen property and wanted to return it to its owners – but the thefts had never been reported. (Be sure to have records of your valuable, and etching identifying info helps too.) He also noted a case of thefts from a business that each seemed tiny – and went unreported as a result – but eventually added up to something huge. Capt. Kessler also acknowledged that while there had been complaints in the past about callers getting brushed off when they called 911, leading people to question police advice about “call in ANYTHING suspicious,” the complaint level is down and service level is up.
Also up – police staffing; he discussed the citywide level, which is around 1,350 “and still hiring” – way up from a historic low of 1,000 some years back – and noted that while the SW Precinct has 13% of the city’s call load, it gets 14% of the staffing, because of some quirks caused by the fact the patrol area – West Seattle and South Park – is split into two “sectors” instead of three or more like other precincts. He noted that three members of the SW Precinct team are currently on military deployment overseas.
The “emphasis team for the business community,” two officers who spend most of their time in The Junction and environs, has been on that assignment for some months now, and Capt. Kessler said it’s going well – they often intervene or intercept trouble even before it’s officially reported. He says the third-watch team (which starts around 7 pm) will be increasing visibility for businesses that are open at night, such as restaurants and bars.
One such entrepreneur, Dave Montoure of West 5, commended precinct leadership for the new emphasis patrols and offered the observation that since the two officers had previously worked downtown, they recognized some Junction-area troublemakers as having come from downtown. That led Capt. Kessler to say police “strongly support” the new crackdown proposals by Councilmember Burgess, who picked up from there.
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West Seattle schools: 3 updates from Pathfinder K-8
#1 – HEALTH FAIR SEEKS BUSINESS PARTICIPANTS: Here’s the announcement:
What does being healthy mean to you? Pathfinder K-8 wants to know! Can you share your healthy living ideas with our community? If you are a business that promotes healthy food, fitness, environmental practices- we would love to hear from you. Pathfinder K-8 is looking for local business to share their scoop on healthy living in Seattle. April 29th the PTSA is sponsoring a health fair and we are looking for people to set up a spot in our cafeteria and share knowledge and/ or demos. For more information, please contact Lashanna Williams at lashannaw@gmail.com
#2 – EARTH DAY WORK PARTY AND FESTIVAL: On the next Duwamish Alive! day, this one on April 17th in honor of Earth Day, there’ll be a huge work party at and adjacent to Pathfinder K-8 grounds (map), 9:30 am-2 pm. Last year hundreds of volunteers worked at the site. After the work party, Pathfinder will host an Earth Day Festival 2-4 pm. If you can help with the work party, RSVP by e-mailing marisa@naturec.org or call 206-932-0853 (if you get voice mail, leave your name, phone number, and e-mail address).
#3, UPCOMING SCHOOL VISITS: Pathfinder is an option school and therefore among those that must specifically be chosen. The open enrollment period continues three more weeks, till the end of the month, and the school asked us to remind you of these chances to visit Pathfinder if you’re considering applying to go there:
K through 5th Grade Visits
8:45 am to 10:00 am
March 15th, 18th and 22nd
6th through 8th Grade Visits
8:45 am to 10:00 am
March 11th and 25th
Please call the school office if you need an alternate date/time to visit Pathfinder, (206) 252-9710
West Seattle Crime Watch: Junction police response explained
We got a tip around 1:40 this afternoon about a big police response by the US Bank branch in The Junction (42nd/Edmunds). Nothing there when we arrived – but we have since found out from police what was happening: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James says a man “walked into First Mutual Bank looking like he was going to rob it.” He fled after an alarm was triggered; officers then spotted him by the US Bank branch, and discovered he was “armed with a BB gun,” Lt. James says. The man was detained and turned over to robbery detectives for questioning.
Tomorrow night: West Seattle Art Walk!
Just a quick reminder that we’re just a bit more than 24 hours away from the next edition of the monthly West Seattle Art Walk. Many of the venues – dozens around the peninsula – have information about their featured artist(s) on the official West Seattle Art Walk website; see it here, print out the walking map (here), then get ready to wander and enjoy, 6-9 pm tomorrow, from The Kenney in the south to Alki Bathhouse in the north. (We’ll also showcase some featured artists here tomorrow morning.)
2 North Delridge notes: Future demolition; future restaurant
FIRST NOTE: That photo shows the boarded-up, ramshackle house at 4801 23rd SW (map), on the day that then-North Delridge Neighborhood Council leader Mike Dady led a tour of neighbors, media, and city officials, visiting several neglected-to-say-the-least properties, as a plea for help with the trouble such “problem properties” have caused. 11 months have passed since the tour (WSB coverage here); Mike just sent word that a demolition permit’s been issued for 4801 23rd SW (here’s the city infopage). At least one other property visited that day (4117 Delridge) has already been torn down.
SECOND NOTE: A banner’s up (no photo yet, sorry) on the new two-story building that went up adjacent to Olympia Pizza on Delridge (map). It promises Vietnamese soup and sandwiches, coming soon. Haven’t found any other info so far but will keep checking.
Door-to-door “alert”: West Seattle Boy Scouts’ food drive ahead
Most of our door-to-door alerts are of the “beware” variety. These upcoming door-to-door visitors hope to be welcomed. It’s time again for West Seattle Boy Scouts‘ door-to-door food drive, with notices this Saturday and pickups a week later – Rick McMinn of Troop 282 provides the details:
Since 1910, the ideals of Scouting have guided young men to perform “service to others and to the community.” Responding to the plight of America’s poor and hungry is a traditional Scouting “good turn.” During World War I, Boy Scouts planted vegetable gardens to provide food for the hungry. President Roosevelt called on Scouts to collect food for the needy during the Great Depression. Planting Victory Gardens were the Scouting “good turns” organized during World War II.
Today, Boy Scouts continue their Good Turn efforts in community stewardship through Scouting for Food. Scouts from West Seattle will walk our neighborhoods delivering door hangers on Saturday, March 13. The following Saturday, March 20, Scouts will follow-up to collect non-perishable food item donations and deliver them to the West Seattle Food Bank. Emphasis is on food most needed for nutrition such as peanut butter, baby formula, packaged meals and canned goods, especially tuna, soups, stews, meats, fruits and vegetables.
Please help support the hungry in our community. Watch for a door hanger on your door and get your donations out early on March 20th, so you can join our Scouts in “Doing a Good Turn Daily.”
Food Items Needed for Pickup Sat March 20
Canned meats – Canned vegetables – Boxed cereal – Canned milk – Canned tuna fish – Baby formula – Instant potatoes – Macaroni – Peanut butter in jars – Canned soup (chunky style) – Canned fruit – Beef stew – Pasta – Other non-perishable foods
(The next door-to-door food drive we know about after this one is the “Stamp Out Hunger” postal carriers’ drive, this year on May 8, same day as West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!)
Today/tonight: “Sunlight,” 34th Democrats, “Running” – & treats!
OPENING NIGHT FOR “SUNLIGHT”: This is a biggie for ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) – it’s the National New Play Network World Premiere of “Sunlight” by Sharr White, directed by Vanessa Miller, and tonight is Opening Night. As the ArtsWest website puts it, “the personal and political collide” in this drama. Through April 3, you can see it Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 3 pm (tickets are on sale online here).
GET BACK TO WORK! Creating jobs — that’s what the 34th District Democrats are inviting a panel of experts to talk about at tonight’s meeting, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). See the agenda here.
“RUNNING THE SAHARA”: Tonight’s the big screening at Admiral Theater – and local fitness-related businesses like the forthcoming West Seattle Runner (here’s their Facebook page) and Stroller Strides are inviting friends and clients to come see the documentary with them. Whether you go with a group or alone, you have till this afternoon to buy a ticket online for $25, which is $10 less for the door price (everyone gets a DVD of the movie).
WHEAT-FREE AND GLUTEN-FREE TREATS: Today’s the day that Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) starts featuring wheat-free and gluten-free treats by two specialty bakeries, and you can either order some for pickup or buy single-serving items. To kick it off, Flying Apron will be at Hotwire for tastings starting at 8 am, and Wheatless in Seattle will be there around 11.
FREE MARTIAL-ARTS CLASS: Seattle Integrated Martial Arts (WSB sponsor) in The Junction is hosting a “Women’s Intro to Muay Thai Kickboxing” class 7:15-8:15 tonight, free.
Sea lion shootings: Update on January/February investigations
Last month, we reported the news that federal investigators were looking into the shootings of at least five sea lions, some found in West Seattle (like the one that was being checked out in the photo at left, shared by Will). West Seattle’s Seal Sitters received early word of some of those cases and have been tracking the investigations. Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters has now posted an update on their site: She reports that authorities say, of 11 sea lions whose deaths they investigated in January and February, from Kingston in the north to Olympia in the south, 10 had been shot. Two were Steller sea lions, officially listed as “threatened”; eight were California sea lions. As Robin writes on the Seal Sitters site, these shootings are considered crimes, and there’s a 24-hour tipline. And if you spot a seal on the beach in West Seattle in any condition, call Seal Sitters at 206-905-SEAL.
Update: Deadly crash on 16th SW
(cameraphone photo added 10:56 pm)
10:49 PM: 16th SW is closed between Webster and Myrtle (map) because of a crash – at the scene, we’re seeing one badly damaged car that hit a tree on the east side of 16th. The team that investigates serious crashes appears to be arriving, so it may be closed a while, and we’re seeing buses being re-routed. Police at the scene aren’t saying anything so far about the fate of the person/s who were in the car. 11:16 PM: SPD Media Unit’s Det. Mark Jamieson confirms it’s a fatal crash, but won’t have other details until the Traffic Collision Investigation Unit – which goes out to major crash scenes – finishes its work in the hours to come. 11:50 PM: Thanks by the way to Cheri for the tip on this, and also thanks to Katie for the research assist in looking this up – it appears this is the first deadly West Seattle crash since this one on The Bridge last August.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 1:05 am)
ADDED 10:20 AM: There’s a short item on SPD Blotter this morning about the crash, but the only new information is that the driver was male, and was northbound on 16th SW before hitting a pole and then the tree. His ID would have to be made public by the county Medical Examiner, which isn’t likely to happen before mid-afternoon. 10:16 PM: According to the ME’s media-update line, the victim was 44-year-old Darryl A. Mason, who is in public databases as having a West Seattle address.
Fury, fear, frustration, fighting spirit as South Park faces bridge loss
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
More than 100 people filled, and spilled out from, tonight’s South Park Neighborhood Association meeting, facing a county rep who came to confirm the South Park Bridge – their “lifeline,” many called it – is virtually certain to close June 30. (The time is even set – 7 pm.)
The fury: “If this was the University or Fremont or Montlake Bridge … would you be doing this? You come here so casually to tell us you’re closing it!”
The fear: “If you shut that bridge, you’re going to be cutting my arm off, and I’m going to bleed to death.”
The frustration: “It’s very clear that you all know what’s at stake. I know what’s at stake. The captain of the port knows what’s at stake. But somehow that voice, that story has not penetrated the powers-that-be that make the decision (regarding funding).”
The fighting spirit: “Who do we need to contact NOW to get the money we need for the bridge? We can’t undo the last 13 or 40 years, but we need to get the money NOW.”
The voice of frustration was that of Gael Tarleton, Seattle Port Commissioner, the only elected official present at the meeting, though representatives were there on behalf of King County Executive Dow Constantine, County Councilmember Jan Drago, and City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw and Mike O’Brien. Tarleton was not a scheduled speaker, but finally spoke up from the sidelines, where she was one of several dozen standing against the walls when the South Park Neighborhood Center‘s chairs were all gone.
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West Seattle restaurants: Eness hoping to open next week
Update on the new Eness Restaurant at 3247 California SW (map; ex-Beato spot) – heard tonight from one of the proprietors, Khadidja Romari Belambri, who says they’re hoping to open next week, maybe as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. She also says they had a huge response to job openings they advertised: “I received more than 200 resumes and I was really surprised! I did not expect to receive that many … I wish we had a big restaurant to hire as many as possible but we have only 4 positions open.” (We previewed Eness here in late January.)
West Seattle sports: Baseball camp; YMCA signups; SA tryouts
Three announcements for young sports baseball and basketball players in our area:
LEARN FROM THE CHAMPS: That photo shows the triumphant Seattle Lutheran High School Men’s Varsity Baseball Team (2009 Tri-District Tournament Champions) from last year – and this weekend, they’re hosting a baseball clinic for Baseball Players 5-10 years old, March 13-14. You can find out more at the SLHS website.
WEST SEATTLE/FAUNTLEROY YMCA SPORTS SIGN-UPS: Next round of sign-ups start this Thursday at the Y (WSB sponsor). They’re registering for Youth T-ball/Baseball and Adult Co-ed Softball – go to the Y website to find out more; they’re also looking for coaches – e-mail Matt at mschlede@seattleymca.org if you’re interested.
BASKETBALL TRYOUTS: As previously announced on partner site White Center Now, this is the first of two nights for 4th through 8th grade basketball players to try out for teams at the Salvation Army Community Center in WC. If you missed tonight’s sessions, you’ve got another chance on Thursday – full details on WCN.
West Seattle Crime Watch: Nursery’s pilfered pushcart
Galen at West Seattle Nursery says they accidentally left a cart like that one outside the gate last night – and this morning, it was gone. “We know it’s our fault for leaving it out, but we would really appreciate it if anyone sees it around town and recognizes it to let us know. Or, if whoever took it would kindly bring it back, we would be eternally grateful – absolutely no questions asked.” (The nursery’s at California/Brandon – map – 935-9276 – and even now on Twitter, @wsnursery.)
New WSB sponsor: peace.love.basketball from Full Court Design
We’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor today – peace.love.basketball, the distinctive apparel (and online basketball community!) from Sonya Elliott‘s Full Court Design. (That’s Sonya and daughter Charli at left, in peace.love.basketball sweatshirts.) As always, new sponsors get to tell you about their businesses: Sonya started Full Court Design less than a year ago and says that she enjoys not only sharing her love of basketball but also meeting players, parents and coaches that “each have their own inspiring story. I meet teams that are dealing with adversity and their coaches want to share with them the positive message on our peace.love.basketball shirts, teams that are powerhouses and teams that are out on the court purely to have fun.” She’s also focused on environmental consciousness – the T-shirts are organic cotton; sweatshirts are organic cotton and recycled polyester. “Having this company also gives me a way to give back to the community in new ways, raising money for charities I believe in. We kicked off this season raising money for Hiawatha Community Center & the Healing Center and this month, for March Madness, 50% of profits will go to the Melissa Erickson Foundation in our MO vs. ALS promotion, to help the former UW basketball player’s fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). … During the summer I run a Peace.Love.Basketball Summer Shooting Challenge where athletes can download a free shooting chart to track their shooting, and with registration they receive an encouraging note mid-summer and a T-shirt and sticker at the end of summer. … I really enjoy working with young kids and sharing my love of the game.” Sonya played at EWU, and is now a 14-year resident of West Seattle who coaches 2 basketball teams through Hiawatha Community Center, helps with Madison Middle School‘s basketball program, and coaches football through Alki Community Center. For more, go to peacelovebasketball.com (and on Facebook, “fan” peace.love.basketball here).
We thank peace.love.basketball for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
Also from the Transportation Committee: Bridge briefing
We originally checked out today’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting – during which we happened onto the Pigeon Point briefing – because of an agenda item about the city’s bridge-inspection program. The committee’s chair, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, had shared photos with us recently after a tour that preceded today’s briefing – he and SDOT reps visited some of the city’s bridges, and his photos you see above and below show the “low bridge” from outside its control tower. No major news in this morning’s briefing, but interesting numbers: 146 city-owned bridges in Seattle (almost 170 others are owned by other entities); 46 of them are more than 60 years old, like the Admiral Way Bridge (cool historic construction shots here), and replacing them would cost the city about $1.5 billion, so they’re trying to prolong the bridges’ life. “Intrusion of water” is the main reason concrete bridges (like Admiral, which is “concrete truss”) fail, the committee was told; not because the concrete goes bad, but because water seeps in, corrodes the steel rebar, which in turn expands and starts breaking up the concrete. The city has steel bridges, too, and its main preservation work for those involves painting each one at least every 18 years; the repainting program costs $1 million-plus each year. Bridges are inspected routinely, following federal standards.
By the way, did you know the “low bridge” is the only bridge of its kind in the world?
Scholarship money up for grabs: Entry time for Miss Hi-Yu
Just a few more weeks for young women to apply to enter this year’s Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu competition (photo from our coverage of the 2009 coronation). You’ve heard “it’s not a beauty pageant, it’s a scholarship competition” before – it’s truly the case here, and in addition to having college money up for grabs, there’s also the chance to represent West Seattle at appearances around the region – we remain the ONLY community that still has its own parade float, and the Hi-Yu court travels with it. There’s $2,000 scholarship money for the Queen and $1,000 for each Princess; March 31 is the deadline to apply – you can get the form here (also download the accompanying letter here). For eligibility info, check out our previous report.
Council committee talks Pigeon Point development-detour dilemma
The City Council’s Transportation Committee – chaired by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – just got briefed by SDOT staff on the Pigeon Point road closure/detour/parking-restriction situation, and how the “unpleasant surprise” factor might be avoided in a future situation. 
Rasmussen, of course, was very familiar with the details, because he responded to neighbors’ requests for help and visited Pigeon Point (photo left) the weekend before the 23rd SW homebuilding-related closure took effect on Feb. 22. This discussion happened during the “SDOT director’s report” section of this morning’s committee meeting – acting SDOT chief Peter Hahn yielded the floor to SDOT’s Eric Widstrand, whose recap included this official map showing the originally proposed detours (etc.) and the revised version. The map also clearly shows what Hahn acknowledged was unusual about this situation – a road closure in one area, with major impacts on people living blocks away. Widstrand acknowledged that the main heads-up for the public was the original detour sign that some interpreted to say Delridge was closing, as first reported here on Feb. 10. (One clarification: Widstrand told the committee that developer Jon Riser had “notified” WSB, but we did NOT get any sort of “notification” from him or the city before the Delridge sign went up, though he did participate in a site discussion, quickly answered our request for comment, and was lauded for working with neighbors once he heard their concerns.) The mea culpa boiled down to: In most closures like this, apparently it’s OK to leave the notification to the developer – SDOT issues permits for thousands of closures every year. But an unusual situation like this should raise a red flag, and, Widstrand said, could be grounds for a community open house a month before closures/changes kick in. Rasmussen noted that could have saved a lot of time and trouble here, explaining that though Metro apparently didn’t consider the optimal reroute because of a tree in the way, neighbors told him that if they’d been brought into advance discussions, they could have explained that the neighbor who owns the tree would be happy to have it trimmed.
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