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    WS HOLIDAY GUIDE: See what’s in it!

Bikes, boats, benefit: Water and Spirit Ride this Saturday
July 23, 2009 7:05 pm
|    Comments Off on Bikes, boats, benefit: Water and Spirit Ride this Saturday
 |   Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

Saturday is the Water and Spirit Ride to raise money for Family Promise of Seattle, a West Seattle-based organization that helps homeless families – families who have few places to turn, as most homeless shelters are not able to accommodate keeping family members together. Here’s the announcement:

Join St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church for their Water & Spirit Bike Ride 2009, a 40-mile ride that includes three scenic ferry crossings and concludes with a party at Me Kwa Mooks Park. Riders are welcome to come with bikes ready for a road trip. Helmets are a must. Friends are welcome.

The ride is organized as a fun community event and to raise awareness and funds for Family Promise of Seattle, an emergency housing program for homeless families based here in West Seattle. FPS coordinates a network of 15 congregations and over 100 volunteers that provides fellowship and nightly shelter and food at local churches, while staff provides case management to help newly homeless families access the resources they need to regain self-sufficiency. FPS has served 12 families since opening a year ago this month.

The ride begins with registration at St. John’s 6:15-8:00 AM in order to take 7:35 or 8:45 AM ferry crossings to Bremerton. Registration fee for adults $30, $20 for youth 18 and under, and includes ferry passes, a T-shirt, and picnic on the beach. Riders are encouraged to solicit sponsorships. Please visit http://www.saintjohnonline.org/article.php?id=29 to download rider registration and sponsor pledge forms.

St. John’s is next to West Seattle High School; here’s a map.

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Followup: No Junction pay stations – but what about other areas?
July 23, 2009 4:50 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Junction Plaza Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

One note of interest, following up on this afternoon’s bulletin that the city is NOT considering pay stations for street parking in The Junction, because the statistics just don’t show a need. (See our 1:02 pm bulletin here.) Knowing that the city had originally said it would do parking reviews in Morgan Junction next year, Admiral in 2011, and Alki in 2012, we asked if those timetables had slid, since this review has taken a year and a half. Here’s the reply from SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan:

The Morgan Junction is the only West Seattle area on the near term schedule for a review of parking. This community parking project is tentatively planned for 2010, but that may change due to staffing availability. We still plan to work with the Admiral and Alki/Harbor Drive neighborhoods, but that will occur much further down the road.

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Delridge Playground opening tonight: 1 more look at “build day”
July 23, 2009 4:32 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Before last week’s one-day build of the new Delridge Community Center playground, we brought you photos and information courtesy of the ARC Digital Darkroom Teen Interns from DCC. We didn’t get a chance to fully explain the program or introduce them. But before tonight’s grand opening of the playground (coming up at 6:30 pm), we wanted to share their reflections, with photos, from construction day last Friday, and share the introductory information. Go here to read what the program’s about, how it’s funded, and how a few community donations are needed. Above, you see a photo we took of the team when they stopped by to say hi at West Seattle Summer Fest, followed by their self-intro, and their latest work:

We are ten individual teens (working) at the Delridge Community Center for a seven weeks photography and Digital Darkroom internship. When we complete this program, we will receive a stipend of $599.00 and 15 hours of community service hours. We started out with a job interview at the Delridge Community Center RecTech Computer Lab with Leslie, our Program Director. One of the questions we were asked at the interview was “why do you want to be part of this internship?” and “What do you want to get out of this internship?” After the interview, we all waited with anticipation for a week. We finally got a call and were told we could start at 1:30 on July 6. We were glad to be selected out of the 25 to 30 applicants who applied. We found out that we work from 1:30 to 5:30 Monday through Thursday and in addition, we may occasionally work a few hours on a weekend if there is an event we’d like to cover.

We were all nervous on the first day with so many new faces, but we started off right away taking photos and that helped us begin to relax. Our first photo warm-up was shooting a moving object, and our subject was one of our instructor’s dogs, a little poodle named Luke. We tried to get a good photo of him while he was both running and sitting out in the field. After our photography warm-up, we were introduced to Photoshop and figure out ways to make one of the photos we took look better or add effects. We all created individual blogs and posted our favorite photos. We then wrote and told a story about our photograph.
…
As all of us are new to photojournalism … we are all excited that the West Seattle community will be watching our progress as we learn to become better photographers and journalists.
Alexander Phaiboon
Mariah Whitman
Rachel Jimenez

They got more practice at West Seattle Summer Fest. And now, here are their reflections on the playground project – read on:Read More

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BULLETIN: SDOT says no paid parking for The Junction
July 23, 2009 1:02 pm
|      24 COMMENTS
 |   Junction parking review | West Seattle news

SDOT has published the “draft findings” of the Junction Parking Review – one and a half years in the making (here’s our coverage archive) – on its new “blog.” Quote: “SDOT doesn’t think paid parking is the right approach for The Junction at this time.” More as we continue reading this. Excerpt:

The parking study examined how full the parking spaces were and how many people were staying longer than the allowed two hours. In the Junction’s commercial area, about 56 percent to 71 percent of parking spaces are generally full. When 75 percent or more of the spots in an area are full it gets hard to find a parking space. That’s our threshold for making significant changes to existing parking regulations, like the use of paid parking. Compliance with the two-hour time limit signs was also high, meaning that the signs are working well to create customer turnover and paid parking isn’t needed at this time.

ADDED 1:12 PM: Here’s the full document with the “preliminary findings” including the full chart of what was discovered during the study. It’s been 17 months since SDOT first announced it would study parking in The Junction (here’s our first report from February 2008) – other West Seattle neighborhoods are to be studied in the future, including Admiral, Alki and Morgan Junction. Today’s announcement doesn’t necessarily mean “no change” in The Junction – other possible “parking management” options have been discussed along the way – any such proposals will be in the final report later this year.

ADDED 3:12 PM: Official reaction from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose: “Junction merchants will be thrilled with the results. We’re pleased to see that the city process worked here in The Junction … also it’s nice to know that the West Seattle community is using Junction parking in the way that we want it used – come in, shop for a couple hours, and move on … I think it represents a good relationship with the West Seattle community and Junction merchants, and it works both ways and that’s what we want in our little neighborhood of downtown West Seattle.” We also have a followup out to SDOT, asking if there’s been any change in the timetables for reviewing parking in the other neighborhoods, and will let you know what we hear back.

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West Seattle development: 4106 Delridge seeks land-use permit
July 23, 2009 1:01 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle development: 4106 Delridge seeks land-use permit
 |   Delridge | Development | West Seattle news

Nine months after its “early design guidance” Southwest Design Review Board meeting (WSB coverage here), the proposed development at 4106 Delridge has moved to a new stage, applying for a land-use permit, as noted in today’s edition of the city’s twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin. It’s currently described as 5 stories, 4,000 square feet of retail, 36 residential units, parking “within the structure” for 39 vehicles.

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Traffic alert: Official citywide list of weekend road closures etc.
July 23, 2009 12:39 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

From the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s two-hour northbound lane closure during Saturday night’s Seafair Torchlight Run to games earlier that day at BOTH stadiums, and beyond, it’s going to be a mega-busy weekend. We just got the official citywide traffic advisory – read on:Read More

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Judge rules against West Seattle homeless encampment
July 23, 2009 11:49 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

(photo added 12:15 pm)
According to this AP report on seattletimes.com, a federal judge is refusing to block the state from evicting the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville” from its current site on the eastern edge of West Seattle. In an update on their website last night, organizers said that if they didn’t get a court order to stop eviction, they would start packing at 5 pm today. We are going over to the camp to see what’s happening right now. 12:03 PM UPDATE: Looks like they’ve already started breaking down the camp. No one at the site would officially comment, however. 12:30 PM UPDATE: Organizers just sent an official news release – they say they’ll sue, and that they expect state troopers to arrive right at the 7 pm deadline tonight that they were given to clear out – read on:Read More

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Update: Metro/Ferry District proposal “swapping taxes”
July 23, 2009 11:00 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news

(12:06 PM NOTE: Official news release on this can now be seen here.)

ORIGINAL 11 AM REPORT: We’re at King County’s Chinook building downtown (south end of 5th Avenue) for County Executive Kurt Triplett’s briefing on the Metro budget situation – there’ve been warnings throughout the year that it’s in dire straits and that service changes/cuts are likely to result. We’ll add announcements as soon as they are made. 11:01 AM UPDATE: We just got the news release. He’s proposing a 5.5 cent property tax (taxing authority granted recently by the Legislature) to “save RapidRide” among other things. Triplett says he will reduce other levies by an equal amount – including a 4 1/2 cent reduction in the King County Ferry District levy (we should find out what that means to the Water Taxi – Council Chair Dow Constantine is here as well). He also says he has no details yet today of what service cuts will be needed. He says he will dedicate part of the money to save the RapidRide plan (note that it was previously reported the West Seattle RapidRide “branding” would be delayed a year, to 2012 instead of 2011). Triplett says the budget problem is a 4-year problem, not a 2-year problem. 11:09 AM UPDATE: Reading ahead in the printed news release – while the Ferry District “demonstration route” plans outside West Seattle would be affected, the plan for “enhanced” West Seattle service and a new vessel will NOT be affected. Triplett calls the demonstration routes “a luxury we cannot afford when Metro ridership has gone up 20 percent yet is facing deep cuts” because of sales-tax revenue drops. 11:14 AM: Triplett says “this is not buses versus boats” but also acknowledges his office has no formal role in Ferry District budgeting so he is going to send a recommended budget alternative and hopes the Ferry District Board of Supervisors – the county council – will adopt it, using the one-cent tax that would remain if 4 1/2 cents are indeed taken off the Ferry District taxing. 11:18 AM: County Council Chair Dow Constantine has just spoken – he chairs the Ferry Board and the Regional Transit Committee as well. He said a fare increase may be required in the future instead of a tax increase. Now County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who like Constantine is running for County Executive, says he’s going to present a separate “action plan” for Metro at an event after this one. 11:20 AM: Triplett says that next week he will roll out a plan that will include service cuts as well as fare increases but wanted to address Ferry District and RapidRide separately. 11:22 AM: We just asked whether the year-round Water Taxi plan and the Seacrest dock improvements would be affected. Harold Taniguchi from Metro says no – the brunt of the Ferry District cuts would be the demonstration routes (which were not going to involve West Seattle anyway). 11:36 AM: Briefing over. It’s clear that this is just a small piece of a puzzle that we won’t fully see till next week – Council Chair Constantine just came over to talk with us for a moment to further clarify. He says this boils down to an attempt to keep transit rolling as much as possible through the “trough of the current recession” until its funding source picks up. He also notes that regarding the Seacrest dock improvements, their final price tag is lower than originally proposed anyway (we have to track down the exact cost of that). We’re leaving the county building now and will digest this into a “bottom line – what it means to you” report in a bit. 2:25 PM: The news release for Phillips’ plan is now out. He is proposing repealing the King County Ferry District tax levy entirely, saying “Buses are … more important to our regional transportation system than water taxis.” Read on for the full text; we’ll be pursuing comment on whether he is seeking to cancel the King County Water Taxi program altogether (which runs the Seattle-Vashon foot ferry as well as West Seattle-downtown) or instead proposing it find some other source of funding:Read More

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Happening today/tonight – the quick roundup
July 23, 2009 9:19 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Delridge | Highland Park | South Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

METRO BUDGET: We’ll be downtown at 11 am to hear County Executive Kurt Triplett discuss the latest on Metro’s budget troubles, so we can find out how that might affect transit service. Look for live updates here.

ENCAMPMENT EVICTION? We’re awaiting word of whether organizers of the 2nd SW/Highland Park Way camp that calls itself “Nickelsville” will get a court order holding off eviction from the state-owned land. If not, they say they’ll be packing up starting around 5 pm.

DESIGN REVIEW FOR 4532 42ND SW: 6:30 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle. Here’s our preview from yesterday.

DELRIDGE PLAYGROUND’S GRAND OPENING: Six days after a volunteer army built it, tonight kids get to play on it, it opens tonight at 6:30. Look for a story later with our “Digital Darkroom” interns from Delridge Community Center taking one more look at the amazing playground-building day.

ADMIRAL OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES KICKOFF: Summer Concerts at Hiawatha begin tonight – 6:30 pm, east lawn, Alma Villegas (find out about her music here), FREE, series presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association and co-sponsored by local businesses including WSB. B/Y/O blanket/chair.

REMEMBERING TERESA BUTZ: 7:30 tonight in the grassy area between the parking lot and ballfields at South Park Community Center (map), a memorial for the woman stabbed to death in her South Park home last Sunday morning. More here.

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Update: Leschi murder suspect arrested in West Seattle
July 23, 2009 7:54 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news

We reported earlier this morning that a man wanted for a deadly shooting in Leschi last night had a West Seattle link. Police confirm they arrested him here this morning. The update’s at the end of this SPDBlotter report; he was arrested at a home near Delridge/Andover. ADDED 8:04 AM: Thanks to Steven for sending the photo above, taken by Rose Feliciano, showing a vehicle linked to the case being towed away. (It matches the description of the one mentioned in our early-early-morning report – “tan” minivan.) He says the arrest happened “without incident … no sirens, no confrontation …” and the only clue that something big had just happened was the appearance of one TV news crew (KIRO).

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5 days till the most important 4 questions you’ll answer all summer
July 23, 2009 2:01 am
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Development | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Sharonn Meeks from the Fairmount Community Association went to last night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting to hit the point home: West Seattle neighborhoods need to represent in a big way at next Tuesday night’s “Neighborhood Plan Status Report” meeting at Delridge Community Center (where she’ll be a facilitator). Five West Seattle neighborhoods have Neighborhood Plans crafted a decade ago — The Junction, Admiral, Morgan Junction, Delridge, Highland Park/Westwood (all linked in the right sidebar here). Some have called for revisiting them in a big way – that’s not on the drawing board yet, but next Tuesday’s meeting is designed to revisit them all in a small way, with official “status reports” and gathering of residents’ opinions.

There’s no shortage of those opinions, as evidenced in discussions here on WSB and in the few public meetings that relate to planning processes, such as Design Review Board meetings. But if ever you’ve wanted to say something about the future of West Seattle – and its state right now – this meeting is the place.

Meeks will facilitate one of the discussions at the session – each of the five neighborhoods will have its own discussion, and Georgetown will be part of this gathering too. Advance reading material, from the original plans to “status reports,” is now available on the city site – we’ll get to the direct links at the end of this story.

What Meeks told HPAC last night gets to the heart of why this meeting matters: She listened to what was discussed in the meeting before it was her turn, and she heard concerns about issues like traffic and safety. They all play into long-term planning, she stressed.

Delridge Neighborhoods District Council chair Pablo Lambinicio (seen in the background of our photo, facing the camera) then spoke. He said he’d been part of the process 10 years ago as a Westwood resident. At the time, he noted, the “urban village” was the central idea and all neighborhood planning was to revolve around the “urban villages.” That idea didn’t really draw Highland Park residents into the process a decade ago, Lambinicio noted, but now it’s a chance to take a step toward building a plan from the ground up, rather than the top down.

Rory Denovan, former HPAC vice chair, said it’s vital for this to be handled at the neighborhood level, since the neighborhoods live with the consequences. He urged others to get involved and make sure Highland Park residents are at Tuesday’s meeting to be heard. HPAC’s current chair Dan Mullins said he plans to follow up by gathering members to try to arrange a meeting with City Councilmember Sally Clark, who chairs the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee. He also offered to accept questions/concerns from anyone who cannot make next Tuesday’s meeting.

The city is taking online comments too – but it can’t be stressed enough, there’s no substitute for being there, if there’s any way you can spare 2 hours next Tuesday night. Even if you don’t live in one of the five neighborhood-plan zones, you have a stake in one or more of them – particularly The Junction, with another major new building about to open and more in the wings once the economic bumpiness is past.

Each group at Tuesday’s meeting – again, those groups are Admiral, The Junction, Westwood Village/Highland Park, Delridge and Morgan Junction – will tackle four questions:

1. Most of the neighborhood plans were adopted about 10 years ago and are in their mid-life. How has your neighborhood changed in the last decade since the plan was adopted, (or since you’ve been there)?

2. What changes or aspects of your neighborhood are you most pleased about? Most dissatisfied about?

3. How well are your Neighborhood Plan vision and key strategies being achieved? Are they still the priority?

4. The city is completing neighborhood plan status reports focusing on demographics, development patterns, housing affordability, public amenities and transportation networks. What should there be more focus on (or less focus on) as the neighborhood status reports are completed in the coming months? Are there any important gaps in the draft status report?

See the draft status report and other documents by following links from the “Status Reports” list at the bottom of this page – note that the West Seattle neighborhoods are woven in with others. The documents are at local libraries, too. Again, the meeting is 6-8 pm next Tuesday (7/28), Delridge Community Center (map). But if you absolutely cannot make it Tuesday (again, going in person sends a major message that you care about your neighborhood’s future) — participate online by going here. Then watch for word of followup meetings this fall.

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West Seattle scene: Hope Lutheran’s “Son Rock Kids Camp”
July 23, 2009 1:32 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

Many churches offer Vacation Bible Camp (or School), but what’s happening at Hope Lutheran this week is evidence it can be a melding of faith and fun. This week’s camp at Hope Lutheran is “Son Rock Kids Camp”; Leighellen Landskov shared the photo above and says they’ve had more than 140 kids and 50 volunteers each day, with activities ranging from “silly songs” and “campy crafts” to nature learning and a daily “Mission Outreach” project – Tuesday, campers brought canned food for West Seattle Food Bank; Wednesday, they brought socks for Compass Center. Registration is still open through the end of the week – kids PK-4 through 5th grade, 9 am-noon daily (with dropoffs OK as early as 8:30), and the fee only $5 – you can call the church at 206-937-9330, e-mail church@hopeseattle.org, or Leighanne says, “simply show up around 8:30 at the main entrance to the church at 4456 42nd Ave SW.”

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Possible West Seattle connection in Leschi suspect search
July 23, 2009 1:18 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

Our fellow neighborhood-news-service operators at Central District News are covering a shooting investigation right now, and they tell us there’s a possible West Seattle link – the suspect’s girlfriend is believed to live here. So we’re passing along the description information: “The suspect is described as an 18 year old white male, 6′ tall, muscular build, blonde hair, wearing a black tank top and shorts. He is possibly associated with a tan 2001 Chrysler Voyager minivan. Police consider the suspect to be armed and dangerous.” Read the ongoing coverage at CentralDistrictNews.com here.

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Highland Park Action Committee: Tonight’s toplines
July 22, 2009 11:58 pm
|    Comments Off on Highland Park Action Committee: Tonight’s toplines
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news

(Chair Dan Mullins leading tonight’s HPAC meeting)
Quick notes from tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting – remember, they’ve moved to a new night, fourth Wednesday of each month:

LOW-FLYING PLANES: HPAC has started a committee to look at whether general-aviation planes headed to Boeing Field are flying too low over Highland Park. Some are concerned that suggested flight paths and FAA guidelines aren’t being followed. The committee will report next month on what it’s found.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY: The HPAC committee looking at this is continuing to work on making it safer for people to cross SW Holden right by the Highland Park Improvement Club building where HPAC meets.

CRIME STATS: Officer Adonis Topacio brought his monthly update. He says illicit activity at Westcrest Park remains an ongoing concern. In the past four weeks, there’ve been 9 car prowls, 10 burglaries, and 5 auto thefts in the general Highland Park/South Delridge area. One attendee expressed concern about someone knocking on doors at midnight one night last week and wondered when it’s OK to call 911 (police’s answer is always, better safe than sorry, if it’s suspicious and it’s happening now, call). The unsolved South Park stabbings came up, with questions about burglarproofing your home; Officer Topacio reiterated that windows and doors should stay locked and closed.

HIGHLAND PARK WADING POOL: A question came up about why it hasn’t been opened yet this season. (As first reported here two months ago, the city decided 11 of the city’s 25 wading pools would not be put into use this year because the Parks Department hasn’t finished federally mandated drain-safety retrofits; the HP pool is one of the 11.)

JAIL SITE FIGHT: HPAC chair Dan Mullins says nothing’s going on but the long-running environmental-evaluation process. (It’s now been 14 months since Highland Park Action Committee has been fighting against the possible siting of a new municipal misdemeanor-offender jail in the area; check our coverage archive here.)

HPAC also heard a presentation about the mega-important Neighborhood Plan Status Check meeting coming up next Tuesday, July 28, 6 pm at Delridge Community Center (Highland Park is one of the five West Seattle neighborhoods with an official plan); more on that in our next story.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Recycling-bin ripoff
July 22, 2009 10:51 pm
|      27 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

Bernice wonders if anybody else’s recycling bin has been stolen. A costlier crime than you might imagine – read on:Read More

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West Seattle wildlife: Lincoln Park owl sighting
July 22, 2009 10:30 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | Wildlife

Thanks to Jim Biava for sharing that photo. We’re not sure if it’s either grown-up Wollet or one of her/his parents (see previous coverage of the Lincoln Park owl family here), but it’s a great photo no matter what. (If you missed earlier discussions – these are barred owls – more info here, from Seattle Audubon.)

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West Seattle Little League 11-12s start state tourney Saturday
July 22, 2009 9:46 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

This Saturday, West Seattle Little League‘s 11-12 All-Stars begin play in the state tournament, 2:30 pm at Port Orchard’s Art Mikelson Field (map). Their manager, John MacKenzie, shared the photo above along with the intense tale of how they got there!

West Seattle won back-to-back games against South Highline National on Saturday July 12th at PacWest fields in Burien to win the District 7 Little League title. After West Seattle lost the first game against South Highline National they needed to win 6 games in a row to advance to the Little League 11-12 year old State Tournament. “It wasn’t how we planned it but we persevered and it actually benefited our team in the long run to have to fight through the losers’ bracket,” said Manager John MacKenzie. “We had no margin for error and had to play every day to advance, allowing the team to gel.”

The bright spot of the 7-3 game 1 loss was the play of lead-off batter McNeil Fulmore, who homered in the first and scored twice. It turned out to be the 1st of 23 homeruns by 10 different players in 7 games by the powerful West Seattle squad. “After Nutt (McNeil) hit a lead-off homer to tie the score in the first I thought we were off to the races” said a West Side fan, “but that didn’t happen.”

(Read on for the rest of the dramatic play by play!)Read More

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West Seattle Crime Watch update: Burglary suspect identified
July 22, 2009 5:31 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Several people e-mailed and tweeted about a notable police presence at California/Myrtle (map) this afternoon. Here’s what we’ve found out: It was linked to the burglary case we reported here yesterday – a man breaking into an apartment at California/Raymond Tuesday morning, bolting when the apartment’s occupant screamed. Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen says evidence from that scene has led them to identify a suspect; they were hoping to arrest him at the California/Myrtle location today and they have a warrant, but he wasn’t there – Lt. Paulsen says, however, they’re confident they’ll arrest him soon, adding that this is someone with whom area officers are familiar because he’s been arrested multiple times before. Lt. Paulsen also reiterates that evidence in this case has further verified this suspect is NOT tied to the South Park stabbings (no new info in that case so far – here’s the suspect sketch again).

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Delridge Playground: New ramp today, celebration tomorrow
July 22, 2009 4:59 pm
|    Comments Off on Delridge Playground: New ramp today, celebration tomorrow
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(WSB photo from last Friday afternoon)
A quick update from Holli Margell on behalf of the volunteers who built the new Delridge Community Center playground (WSB coverage here), which is one day away from its grand opening:

Tomorrow from 6:30-8:30 pm – Join us for live music, light refreshments and a new playground to play on! The playground just got a new ADA ramp poured today. Please DO NOT play on it until someone from the Parks Department removes the orange fencing and yellow construction tape. We know this is difficult, and appreciate everyone’s understanding.

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Update: New California SW bike lane explained
July 22, 2009 4:04 pm
|      17 COMMENTS
 |   Gatewood | Transportation | West Seattle news

That’s the view of a small section of the new California SW bike lane, as seen from one of the big chairs outside Caffe Ladro in Morgan Junction. Since we first told you about the new lane last Sunday, more work has been done, and one stretch of California SW just north of here (south of Fauntleroy Way) now has bike lanes on both sides of the street. We had sent an inquiry to SDOT after noting the bike lane wasn’t called for in the Bicycle Master Plan, which simply recommended “sharrows” in this area (they’ve been painted in the same area between the bike-lane-lined sections). Here’s the explanation we received today:

The recommendations for bicycle facilities in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan were based on detailed field work and available data regarding traffic volumes, turning movements, speeds and other factors. However, the plan also recognized that “in most cases, the facilities and actions identified in the Plan will require additional traffic analysis….”

In this particular case, there is about 48′ from curb-to-curb on the stretch between Fauntleroy and Myrtle, yet the 2-way left-turn lane is only present between Fauntleroy and Willow. That provided some extra room on the section between Willow & Myrtle, so we were able to install bike lanes on both sides of the street for those 3 blocks. We also determined that there is enough roadway width (~40′) to upgrade to a climbing lane (bike lane going uphill, sharrows going down) between Myrtle and Ida. In general, we prefer to install bike lanes over sharrows if there is space available.

Also today, the city issued a midyear “Bridging the Gap update” news release regarding how much road work’s been done so far this year – read it here.

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Facing eviction, West Seattle homeless-camp advocates go to court
July 22, 2009 3:48 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news

Another update just in from a spokesperson for the encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville,” currently set up on state-owned land along the eastern edge of West Seattle (2nd SW/Highland Park Way), and under orders to clear out by Thursday night:

Yesterday Attorneys Robert Siegel and Peggy Herman filed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in Federal District Court. Judge Richard Martinez said he will issue an order either today or tomorrow. He has decided not to hold a public hearing before issuing his decision.

If Judge Martinez grants the TRO request, Nickelsville will have up to 2 weeks before a second hearing. At a second hearing a permanent order might be granted. If Judge Martinez does not issue a Temporary Restraining Order, at 5:00 PM Thursday Nickelsville and arriving supporters will load-up vehicles and trucks, in which case Nickelsville has asked the State to allow up to 12 PM Friday for people who have chosen to leave to leave, and for people to be given the opportunity to move both their own and Nickelsville community property.

Nickelsville’s residents who commit to stay through the arrival of Police, should this happen, will not be verbally abusive or disrespectful to either those issuing the orders, or those carrying them out.

“It is our opinion that it is both wrong and illegal to remove this community from this permanent site without having another permanent site available. Contrary to some claims, no church or other property owner has offered Nickelsville a site to go to. It is true that a temporary site is not suitable for our community. Our goal is to survive and solve homelessness with this stable, functional alternative, and not suffer continual disruption.”

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Traffic alert: Crash closes southbound Delridge at Barton
July 22, 2009 2:49 pm
|    Comments Off on Traffic alert: Crash closes southbound Delridge at Barton
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news

No details of the crash at this point but police are saying (scanner traffic) that they’ll need to close the southbound lanes of Delridge in the 9200 block (map) because of a crash they and firefighters are responding to.

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The Porterhouse update: Job interviews Monday, menu shortly
July 22, 2009 2:30 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

They “don’t want to disappoint” by setting an opening date yet, but the people working to open the Porterhouse restaurant/bar in the former Blackbird space next to the Admiral Theater told us today during a quick sneak-peek tour that they are getting closer. For one, the new taps are in — “We added 21” (to the pre-existing 4), smiles co-owner Silas Reynolds, a West Seattle native, shown above with co-owner Linda Libby, posing with the 25-in-all taps in the background. That’s just one of the changes they’ve made to the space – they say they’ve made it more open, from the kitchen through the seating area: here’s a quick Flip-cam pan:

For two, they’re about to finalize the menu, which — as discussed in our earlier story about the Porterhouse — is described by Reynolds as “gastro-pub,” though he’s not a huge fan of the term – pub food but with a twist, yet “approachable” and, as Libby puts it, “affordable and tasty – our goal is to create a nice neighborhood restaurant for people who live here.” (Both Reynolds and Libby are chefs, but Porterhouse has its own chef – Katy Lauzon, who previously worked with the two in a Skagit County enterprise.) They’ve chosen their coffee – Vashon Coffee – and desserts will include Molly Moon‘s organic ice cream. They’ll be emphasizing “fresh, local, organic food as much as possible” and as little “processed food” as possible — they’re even hoping to make their own fries and onion rings. And many dishes, they say, will have a bit of a twist, like a tuna sandwich with pickled hopvines. (If we get a copy of the menu before the night’s out, we’ll add it to this story; otherwise we’ll publish a separate update.) Number three, they’re about to start hiring — next Monday (July 27), they’re inviting anybody who’s interested in working at the Porterhouse to come by between noon and 3 pm, and bring a resume. The restaurant hours will be 11 am-11 pm for starters, with the bar open later; they’ll probably add brunch in the not-too-distant future, and they’re working to add outside seating as well – for starters, they’re enhancing the space’s ties to the patio space on the south, with a new openable window added to that end of the bar. (Here’s our previous story about Porterhouse, explaining that the team runs a restaurant of the same name in Mount Vernon — see its website here, but take note that the West Seattle venue will be all-ages.)

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