(County rendering of what the South Park end of the SP Bridge will look like, right after 6/30 shutdown) By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“This is challenging.”
That declaration repeated a few times Tuesday night by King County Transportation Director Harold Taniguchi summed up not only the logistics of closing the South Park Bridge forever and getting people around after the June 30th closure, but also the logistics of trying to round up money to replace it.
For the first time in the most recent series of public meetings about the impending bridge closure, elected officials appeared and spoke – first King County Executive Dow Constantine, who represented this area as a county councilmember before moving up to the top job last year, second State Sen. Joe McDermott, who doesn’t represent South Park in the Legislature, but is seeking to represent the area as its next county councilmember. Here’s our video of Constantine’s entire 8-minute speech:
And Sen. McDermott, whose remarks were much shorter, but drew a pointed challenge fairly quickly:
Aside from Constantine’s extensive recap of how we got to this point – past funding attempts, the defeat of the bridge-money-containing Roads and Transit ballot measure, etc. – their appearances, and much of the first two-thirds of the meeting, looked to the future: Will there really be money at some point for a new South Park Bridge (which is at least 3 years away, even if money were found today, those on hand were warned repeatedly)?Read More
(West Seattle Tool Library donations collected on WS Community Garage Sale Day back on May 8th)
Months in the making, the West Seattle Tool Library‘s now just two weeks from opening – and tonight we have a few more details of the grand-opening event, planned for 9 am-2 pm June 12th in the Garden Center area on the north side of South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor). Patrick Dunn from Sustainable West Seattle, which has been working on the Tool Library with the help of a city Neighborhood Matching Fund grant as well as hundreds of tool donations, says there’ll be free workshops – SeaChar and Second Use will offer them throughout the event, “on topics from biochar stoves to window replacement techniques.” And if you’ve got usable, non-gas-powered tools to donate, you can drop them off at the West Seattle Farmers Market on Sundays TFN (10 am-2 pm) as well as at the ReFRESH Southwest festival on June 5th – and then, once it opens, at the Tool Library site itself. Yet more details to come as grand opening gets closer!
A few notes from tonight’s second meeting of the newly formedWest Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network, a community effort to bring together people who are (or want to be) leading Block Watch efforts: About 20 people attended the gathering, held this time at the Southwest Precinct, six weeks after meeting #1. The group is still in its formative stages, and working toward goals such as getting Block Watches in as many West Seattle neighborhoods as possible, so they’re working to figure out which areas have them and which don’t. The more neighborhoods that have Block Watches, the more neighborhoods are available to network and communicate effectively, block to block to block. As for how to efficiently get those groups formed – one idea that gained traction tonight involved organizing a central meeting for those interested in setting up Block Watches, rather than the precinct’s Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow just going out to individual neighborhoods one at a time. He told the group that’s certainly a possibility. In addition to logistics and outreach, participants also discussed neighborhood concerns such as what to do about alley lighting. If you’re interested in joining the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network, best thing to do is to start with the group’s Facebook page, where you can network with others and help the group’s efforts move ahead.
(P.S. A Q13 tv crew was there to do a story on the new group; don’t know yet if it’s airing tonight or at a future date.)
South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) has gained fame for a variety of academic and vocational programs – and they were all on display to prospective students tonight during “College Night.” The most visual, of course, were from the Culinary programs – flambé above, spun sugar below:
Also showcased, a variety of programs including options for transferring to four-year schools, and options for completing a four-year degree at SSCC. If you’re thinking of enrolling at SSCC, enrollment just opened yesterday for the summer and fall quarters – here’s the calendar, and links to more info. P.S. Earlier today, we interviewed SSCC’s newly announced (2 weeks ago) president Gary Oertli, who’ll be on the job by fall – look for that story tomorrow.
Joseph Seia, Pacific Islander Family Advocate at West Seattle’s Southwest Youth and Family Services, shares that photo, with news of the big achievement just scored by the kids who posed for it:
I just wanted to pass on this awesome piece of news! At the “Washington’s Strongest School” competition held last Saturday at Memorial Stadium, the kids from Southwest Youth and Family Services placed second!
This group of South Pacific Islander kids has been working for about a year now in becoming more active, and this illustrates how far they’ve come. It was exciting for them to be competing against schools like Juanita, Garfield and O’dea, and they were really proud of themselves for doing so well.
Today we’re welcoming another of our newest WSB sponsors, á vie massage. It’s WSB tradition to offer new sponsors the chance to tell you about their business. Jennifer Giuntini from á vie massage says she became a therapist because, “I like to say that life experience gently guided me to my purpose. I didn’t embrace the path of healing until after the sudden death of my father. My father was a chiropractor. In my eyes, he contributed to society in a big way. He helped heal people and improved their quality of life and I really admired him for that. As a result of his influence and teachings of natural medicine, I developed a strong appreciation for holistic healing and a profound understanding and respect for the human body. My view on life and my feelings about the world around me shifted after he passed away. It was a defining moment in my life; an awakening of spirit. I realized in the months following his death that I wasn’t fulfilled and that I wanted to contribute to society in a much bigger way. I wanted to follow in his footpath of healing people, so I enrolled in massage school.” About her work, Jennifer says: “My massage style integrates a variety of techniques that promote a greater sense of relaxation, healing and body awareness. I work with active and athletic individuals to help bring an end to the chronic health concerns or injuries they’ve been dealing with, so they can feel good again and continue with the activities they enjoy! I provide a massage that is specifically tailored to their needs in order to release muscular and fascial holding patterns and adhesions, thereby relieving pain and healing injury. I also have a growing specialty in belly massage for individuals struggling with chronic digestive issues.” You can read client testimonials at aviemassage.net. On the WSB Coupons page, you will find a “New Client Special” for á vie massage – $20 off your first visit. “á vie massage. The care you need. The results you want.”2255 Harbor Avenue SW #205, 206-371-7115, aviemassage.net.
We thank á vie massage for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
We made this for the West Seattle 5K participant goodie bags – sponsors got the chance to include collateral – but we wanted to share it here for anybody to print. It’s a one-page 8 1/2 x 11 list, printable, of dates for key summer events around here. By no means all-inclusive – we keep adding to the WSB West Seattle Events calendar page all the time, and that page has MANY more listed – but what most would consider “the biggest” are here. Here’s the 1-page PDF.
The folks at West Seattle Nursery have just announced a new West Seattle Summer Fest event they are co-sponsoring with Sustainable West Seattle: It’s called GreenLife at Summer Fest. GreenLife is a sustainability and gardening expo to be set up in the Diamond lot south of the Chase drive-thru at Edmunds/44th (map) throughout West Seattle Summer Fest’s entire 3-day run (July 9-10-11). As the brand-new info sheet for the event says:
We are looking for local businesses to showcase merchandise, products and services related to the goal of this new special area – to raise awareness and equip our community with tools, knowledge and capabilities to create a more sustainable West Seattle.
There’s also room for organizations to showcase info/demonstrations/products on gardens, composting, permaculture, beekeeping, backyard chicken-raising, community fruit harvesting, and local waterways including Puget Sound and West Seattle’s creeks. Here’s the full info-sheet on the WSN website. Whether you’re a business or nonprofit, the deadline’s coming up fast: You must sign up by June 15th. Get the application here.
No big festivals in West Seattle next weekend since it’s Memorial Day – but here are updates on the first two in June:
WALK TO ReFRESH SOUTHWEST (DELRIDGE DAY/SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE FESTIVAL), JUNE 5: The festival itself (info here) is 1 pm-5 pm, but other activities precede it, including a contest to encourage you to walk to Delridge Community Center to join the fun. Neighborhood District CoordinatorRon Angeles has forwarded the info:
You can win $50 and other giveaway items by forming a group to walk to the festival … It’s simple. Five categories to win:
Group with the largest number of walkers
Group taking the nicest photo of the Delridge area
Group taking photo of most distressed area needing special attention
Group that picks up the most litter on their journey to the event (we”ll provide bags and grabbers)
Group that visits the most Delridge “Points of Interest” (we’ll provide you with a location map, and bus passes if needed)
Bus passes will also be provided to participants to return to their original starting points.
MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL, JUNE 12: The schedule of major events is out, from bands to Bubbleman (he’ll be there 5:15-5:45; the festival itself runs 11 am-7 pm). Here’s the full flyer/poster; the start times for all the bands are listed on the MoCA website. Another popular feature returns, too – the Bite of Morgan, with neighborhood eateries participating. It’s all headquartered at and around Morgan Junction Park, which was dedicated before last year’s festival. (Here’s some of our coverage of last year’s event.)
A couple to share this morning. Again, we don’t publish these reports (see our archive here, with some past photos, too) to promote hysteria, but rather to make sure you’re well aware that coyotes are among us (it’s pup season, too). First, from Karl:
This morning my wife chased a coyote away from the neighbor’s cat which was hiding in a fender well of a car. We live on 37th between Andover and Dakota [map]. I’m offering this to alert homeowners who let their cats (and dogs) outside and aren’t aware that we do have coyotes in northern West Seattle. This is the second time the coyote was seen in our neighborhood.
Further south, Scott C reported a double sighting last Wednesday:
… this morning at 2:45 AM I opened my front door and saw a couple of -large- Coyotes running down 36th Ave and turned down the hill on Othello [map]. They were both very quiet, and running very fast. Take appropriate measures given what I’ve seen. As they say, don’t leave food for animals outside. The two were large, which means well-fed.
(Photo by David Hutchinson, taken during Sunday’s ever-changing weather)
Among tonight’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: It’s College Night at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor), your chance to find out anything you want to know – from its “career-ready programs” to its partner programs in which you can finish a four-year degree on campus to college prep. 5:30-7:30 pm in Brockey Center (here’s a campus map). … The West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network meets for the second time, 6:30 pm at Southwest Precinct(Facebook event page here, and here’s a map to the precinct); this new group is working to promote communication and cooperation between neighborhoods, toward the goal of a safer, stronger West Seattle … The final closure plan for the South Park Bridge – what will happen after it shuts down June 30th, from bus routes to business support – starts at 6 pm at the IAM Local 751 Hall in SP (full details here, and here’s a map) … And regular Tuesday night diversions are on the calendar too, including open turntables at Skylark Café and Club at 6 pm (see the calendar here) and rock trivia at Feedback Lounge at 8 pm (both establishments are WSB sponsors). The full calendar’s here.
For all the Patches Pals – and pug fans – in WSB-land, one more photo from Saturday’s Westwood Village Street Fair, shared by Karen. She says, “My friend Kristi worked the Seattle Pug Rescue booth at Westwood Street Fair on Saturday. She got JP to pose with her pugs Viola and Suzy.”
The Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee – citizen volunteers from around the city, including two from West Seattle – met tonight, and they’re getting closer to decisions on which citizen-proposed projects will receive money from the levy’s Opportunity Fund. Pigeon Point’s Pete Spalding is one of West Seattle’s reps, and tells WSB that the “initial staff ratings” on the proposed projects will be posted online tomorrow. In the meantime, he shares the news of the top 5 (again, in those initial staff ratings) projects in the southwest section of the city:
1. Puget Ridge Edible Park – West Seattle
2. South Park View Park – South Park
3. Morgan Urban Village Land Acquisition – Morgan Junction
4. Mini-Mart City Park – Georgetown
5. Highland Park Spray Park – Highland Park
We’ve reported on a few of those before – here’s our January story about the Highland Park proposal (the city plans a spray park in the spot now occupied by the HP wading pool, but admitted it’s underfunded, so community member Carolyn Stauffer spearheaded a proposal to enhance it with the Opportunity Fund); Puget Ridge Edible Parkalso appeared on the “Ideas for Seattle” website. In Morgan Junction, acquisition proposals have been described at recent Morgan Community Association meetings. Spalding also says two public meetings will be scheduled for June 14 and 28 – times and locations TBA – for those proposing Opportunity Fund projects to show them in an open-house format and to speak briefly to the Oversight Committee. The rest of the timeline’s spelled out here.
“Much like the Fremont Sunday Market, in miniature.” That’s how Tiffany Silver-Brace describes the West Seattle Sunday Market she is organizing for the lot at the Highland Park Improvement Club, starting June 27th and continuing every Sunday, 9 am-1 pm, through the summer. She’s looking for interested vendors, explaining:
Items to be sold must be either locally grown or produced eggs/bread/flowers/fruit/veg, etc… Other items to be sold must be hand-crafted, and can be anything such as clothing, household items, art, health and beauty supplies, etc. Vendor tables will be $25.
I am really hoping that this will be successful, as it will be located on a street with high traffic volume and would be the only market of its kind in the area.
A Facebook page for the West Seattle Sunday Market is now up and running – you can see it here. If you are interested in selling at the market, Tiffany also can be contacted at 206-919-2758 or silverbrace@gmail.com.
That’s the view from top-deck aft on the way back to West Seattle aboard the Rachel Marie less than an hour ago (8-minute crossing!). Though it’s been running almost two months now, this was our first chance to ride the King County Water Taxi this season (we’d toured the boat at a Ballard shipyard while renovations were under way). Whether you’ve tried the new vessel/new dock or not, you probably have some thoughts about the service – and as we noticed in a flyer posted on board, a Town Hall is coming up in West Seattle to give you a chance to talk about it with King County Councilmember and Ferry District Board Chair Jan Drago. It’s set for 7 pm June 9 at Alki Community Center; here’s the official flyer, from the KCFD website.
Don’t yet know what it is – except it’s not TV news, and not Guardian One. 7:23 PM NOTE: No conclusions reached (we tried calling Boeing Field and couldn’t get a live person on the phone) – but do note there’s a disaster drill involving state ferries tomorrow.
This Saturday, outdoor Colman Pool at Lincoln Park is scheduled to open for the first of three “pre-season weekends” – with its full season scheduled to start June 19th. The operative word here is “scheduled.” There’s no question it will be open this weekend (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday – Memorial Day). After that – same limbo as other programs, awaiting word of what midyear budget cuts Seattle Parks (and other city departments) will have to make, and what will and won’t be affected. As noted here last week, that also means that the question of whether city wading pools will or won’t open is also up in the air – even though a schedule has been published, the city website pointedly notes that the pools’ fate is pending Parks’ midyear-cut announcement on June 1st (one week from tomorrow). So in the meantime, if you love to swim, be sure to visit Colman during the three-day weekend – the special “preseason” schedule is on this webpage.
Local moms who are also entrepreneurs are invited to an event tonight at WestSide Baby, 5:30-7:30 pm, in conjunction with Help A Mother Out, described by WestSide Baby as “an organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers, children and families in need one diaper at at time.” This event is a run-up to a big event coming up at The Little Gym in West Seattle (WSB sponsor) on June 5th (2-4 pm) as part of HAMO’s diaper drive to collect 20,000 diapers. So tonight, bring a box of diapers and/or products that you’d want to offer as a door prize at the June 5th event.
David Rosen from SlickPix Photography shared that photo of an SUV found tipped on its side, empty, just after 2 am today at 46th/Brandon (map). Police now confirm that was a case of car theft – Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James tells WSB the vehicle was stolen from the same block where it tipped after hitting a parked car. He adds, “A male suspect wearing black was seen fleeing on foot after the accident to a waiting white van.”
The next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards – co-sponsored by the Southwest District Council, Delridge District Council, and WSB – is about to kick off. We’re giving you a week’s advance notice here so you can start thinking about the volunteer(s) you think need to be publicly celebrated – unsung heroes whose efforts make West Seattle such an incredible place to live, work and play. Nominations (using a simple online form) will open June 1st and close on June 21st. We’ll have the form linked here at WSB; but just so you know, we don’t have any role in judging – that’s handled by a volunteer committee with reps from the district councils. Once they’ve made their choices, the West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards will be announced and presented to the recipients during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival Concert in the Park on the Hiawatha Community Center east lawn, the evening of July 20th. (Wondering who’s already been honored? Here’s our report from the 1st round of awards last summer; here’s our report from the 2nd round, announced during last December’s West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting.)
Today we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, James Vann with Axia Financial. As is customary, new sponsors are invited to tell you about their business: James is a licensed independent contracting Home Mortgage Consultant and grew up in West Seattle. James has been in the mortgage business for more than 7 years. He is a 4th-generation graduate of West Seattle High School, with immediate family still living in WS; James and his wife Andrea live with their 1-year-old son Jackson in Kirkland. His family used to own Vann’s Restaurant, which was located in the Junction, open for more than 60 years. James holds his mortgage license under the umbrella of Axia Financial LLC, based in Bellevue. Locally owned and operated, Axia Financial is a distinguished mortgage banker dedicated to assisting clients with their mortgage-financing needs. James prides himself in offering excellent customer service and adheres to the highest ethical standards. In today’s current marketplace, it’s imperative to have several different options for securing financing. The In-House mortgage platform that Axia provides makes for a smooth closing and streamlined process. To go along with In-House underwriting, doc drawing and funding teams, our correspondent lender list includes Bank of America, Chase, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Flagstar, Suntrust, and Axia Financial. This list doesn’t include the long list of lenders that Axia can also broker out to if needed for a specific scenario that doesn’t fall within our In-House lenders box. He has an array of mortgage services that he can provide which include Conforming and JUMBO loans, FHA, VA, commercial loans, No Money and Low-Money down payment options, construction and Rehab loans, Reverse Mortgages and FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER strategies and financing. James adds, “If you or any friends, family members or co-workers are looking to buy a new home and/or refinance their current home loan, please don’t hesitate to call me to do a quick mortgage analysis. This only takes a few minutes of your time and could save you hundreds of dollars monthly. If you mention WEST SEATTLE BLOG, I’m offering a reimbursement of your appraisal fee through closing or donate $250 to a school of your choice.” (A loan constitutes any first or second lien residential mortgage. Loan completion constitutes funding and disbursement of the loan through a title company. The school of choice may not be affiliated with Axia Financial, LLC.) Here’s how to reach James Vann425-605-8507 or james.vann@axiafinancial.com.
We thank James Vann and Axia Financial for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
Late last week, various citywide-news outlets reported the future was uncertain for County Executive Dow Constantine‘s proposal to raise the sales tax to avoid cuts in criminal-justice services. Today, there’s a new proposal, this time from the King County Council – involving property taxes. It would ask voters to reduce four existing levies and approve a new one specifically to pay for criminal-justice programs. Five council members are listed as sponsors, including Councilmember Jan Drago, who represents West Seattle; you can read the full proposal here. Read on for the official county news release:Read More
Today we’re welcoming another of our newest WSB sponsors, 
The next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards – co-sponsored by the Southwest District Council, Delridge District Council, and WSB – is about to kick off. We’re giving you a week’s advance notice here so you can start thinking about the volunteer(s) you think need to be publicly celebrated – unsung heroes whose efforts make West Seattle such an incredible place to live, work and play. Nominations (using a simple online form) will open June 1st and close on June 21st. We’ll have the form linked here at WSB; but just so you know, we don’t have any role in judging – that’s handled by a volunteer committee with reps from the district councils. Once they’ve made their choices, the West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards will be announced and presented to the recipients during the 
Today we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, James Vann with
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