The “disaster” inDisaster Preparedness Month doesn’t have to be something huge, regional, cataclysmic. Much of the preparedness information we’re presenting all month also can apply to something on a personal/household level – again, something we all hope never will happen, but to quote the old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tonight, the ounce of prevention is another webpage: Fact sheets and hotlines, compiled by the state – including an A to Z list, actually A to W, from accessible information (including Braille and ASL) to winter-storm preparedness. This one, you can bookmark and go back to later, printing out any and all fact sheets you’d want to have available – and/or consider bookmarking it on your smartphone for mobile accessibility. Certainly, your default plan CAN be “Call 911” – and it’s merited in many of the circumstances – but knowing initial steps to take while authorities rush in, or what to do if it’s a large-scale disaster and they’re overtaxed, could be the difference between life and death. Now, our nightly reminders:
–West Seattle Be Prepared (resource-laden, WS-specific website here; Facebook group for more discussion here)
-city’s 3 To Get Ready challenge (register for prizes!), which is being advertised on WSB this month
-your Emergency Communications Hub – know it, know multiple routes to it.
HEARTLAND CAFE STARTS DAILY BREAKFAST TOMORROW:Nancy from the new Heartland Café sends word that they start daily breakfast tomorrow, opening at 8 am Tuesdays-Sundays (closed Mondays) Heartland owner Jay says their hours are now: 8 am-10 pm Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 am-3:30 am Fridays and Saturdays, 8 am-3 pm and 5 pm-9 pm (supper) Sundays. The Benbow Room bar is open 11 am-2 am Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 am-2 am Saturdays-Sundays.
TWO TONS OF DONATED FOOD: You can’t quite read it in the photo at that size, but the folks at Curves West Seattle collected 1,939 pounds of food – almost a ton – in their recent food drive. However – their friendly rivals at Curves Westwood collected 2,087 and “won” the annual competition. Nonetheless, they point out in the announcement that accompanied the photo – the local food banks are the real winners.
SPECIAL MOTHER’S DAY CARD: West Seattle letterpress enterprise Myrtle Alley Press just announced it’s part of a fundraiser that you might consider as a Mother’s Day gift idea: If you donate to Jubilee Women’s Center “in honor of your mother or a special woman in your life,” the announcement says, “Jubilee will send a beautiful letterpress card – that truly captures a mother’s spirit of giving – to the honored recipient.” Myrtle Alley Press – which uses antique, hand-cranked printing presses – donated the printing of the card, shown above. Inside, it reads: “Thank you for all the small things you have done and continue to do, day after day. Happy Mother’s Day.” Jubilee provides transitional housing for homeless women; you can make a donation and arrange for a card by following this link. (Mother’s Day is May 9th – the day after West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!)
Another sign of spring this past weekend at playfields all around West Seattle — the season kickoff for West Seattle Soccer Club teams. In the photo, it’s Italy vs. Brazil – WSSC board member Tim McMonigle explained that the organization “outfitted all the teams in country jerseys to commemorate the upcoming World Cup in South Africa this June.” He also says it’s “another record-breaking year, with almost 1,000 kids participating.” Almost 200 adult volunteers, too. You can find schedules here.
There’s a new feature in the next edition of the free workshop that Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) is presenting this Wednesday night – important information about new EPA lead-paint rules starting this month for homes built before 1978. And you might also be interested in learning how to cash in on the energy-tax credits that are ending this year. The “Building a Better Home” workshop offers information for custom-home building as well as remodeling. It’s free, led by Ventana’s owners along with architect Kim Goforth, starting at 6 pm Wednesday and running about an hour and a half. They request that you RSVP ASAP since space is limited – call 206-932-3009.
Just got word from Seattle City CouncilmemberBruce Harrell‘s office that they’re inviting people to join on a special walking tour tomorrow night in West Seattle – covering two blocks that have the new LED street lights intended for installation citywide. The tour actually starts outside West Seattle, at Lighting Design Lab tomorrow at 7 pm, where the new lights will be demonstrated and discussed; then vans will shuttle participants to the West Seattle tour site – the lab’s at 2915 4th Avenue South (map). The tour blocks are 53rd and 54th SW, between Charlestown and Dakota (map). The city will replace all 40,000 street lights with LEDs over the next five years, and expects to save more than $2 million energy costs a year when they’re all in place. If you’re interested in joining the tour, here’s the official advisory.
Seattle City Council members have just unanimously (8-0, Sally Clark absent) approved the resolution that lays out a path toward a potential annexation vote for White Center and vicinity in November 2011, though the city wouldn’t have to commit to a vote till early next year. Details at partner site White Center Now.
From left, Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor) and Cari Day Day wielded the shovels this morning at the ceremonial groundbreaking for Junction Plaza Park (northwest corner of 42nd/Alaska). The park will have both grass and paved areas, as well as numerous native plantings, and work should be done by June. Here’s a rendering from last fall, showing landscape architect Karen Kiest‘s design:
As soon as the park’s done, there will be a special community event to help with plantings, and everyone’s encouraged to join in – to get on the notification list for that, e-mail Melrose at susan@wsjunction.org. ADDED 1:12 PM: Early this morning, a few hours before the groundbreaking, the park contractor was out taking soil samples; Christopher Boffoli spotted the work and got this photograph:
After the ceremony, Seattle Parks project manager Gary Gibbons explained in a short interview what the sampling is for, and what happens next:
As we’ve been reporting over the past year-plus (here’s our coverage archive), while Junction Plaza Park has been in the works for more than a few years – the site was purchased in 2005 – one last major community-contribution push involving WSJA and the Junction Neighborhood Organization helped make the long-held dream a reality.
(October 2009 photo courtesy Guy Smith)
Last fall, we brought you the story of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft – tethered to a round white buoy with blue stripe, northeast of Alki Point. This morning, the raft’s co-builder Guy Smithe-mailed to ask that people be on the lookout for the raft — it’s gone, apparently having broken away from the buoy (which is still in place) sometime overnight. If you’ve seen it – or something you think MIGHT be it – please call Guy at 206-937-8742.
We have just left Juvenile Court southeast of downtown. The Alki woman beaten unconscious while on the job as a Metro bus driver in Tukwila earlier this year has just addressed her 14-year-old attacker in court – but his sentencing has been postponed at the request of his lawyer, who told Judge Chris Washington that he thought the hearing was tomorrow, and therefore didn’t notify his client’s mother. Judge Washington agreed to let the defense present its side tomorrow but offered to hear from anyone who wanted to speak today – so the prosecution made its case, and that included the statement that the 57-year-old driver had told us via e-mail that she would give. As she had hoped, some fellow drivers, and transit union leaders, were there to support her, filling what few seats there were in the small courtroom. Visibly shaken just at the sight of her attacker, the driver nonetheless mustered courage and poise to give her statement clearly and firmly; during it, she asked her attacker to look at her (he did) from his seat, perhaps 10 feet away, and told him, among other things, “Hate never wins.” She also said she prays for him “to become a better man” and “to heal,” as she hopes he will. The court was told that he has substance-abuse and anger problems, and that he is a known gang member, who while he has no conviction record, has had at least 15 documented contacts with law enforcement. The sentencing hearing will resume at 8:30 tomorrow morning. We will add more from today’s proceedings a bit later. ADDED 4:05 PM: Our transcription of the victim’s statement in the courtroom today – read on:Read More
ORIGINAL 7:40 AM REPORT: A police investigation is under way in The Junction right now, and the north sidewalk on SW Alaska is cordoned off in the block between California SW and 44th. Det. Mark Jamieson in the SPD media unit confirms that they’re investigating a “deceased male” but says “it’s way too soon to tell if (he died) from natural or other causes.” He says the call came in from the Fire Department at 5:50 am; the 911 log shows an aid call to that area at 5:42 am. At the scene, what appears to be a covered body is visible just west of the bus waiting area between Easy Street and Twilight (behind the police car in our photo – we don’t show bodies, covered or not). Officers at the scene would say only that they were awaiting the Medical Examiner‘s arrival. The investigation has put a bus waiting area off limits, so riders are being directed to the next northbound stop along 44th. We’ll be checking with authorities later to find out whether this turns out to have been natural causes, or not. Thanks to those who e-mailed/called/texted about this; the first note was from Jonathon, who wrote, “When I arrived at my bus stop in the Junction around 5:45 this morning, a fire truck was just pulling up. A gentleman on a bicycle had called 911 out of concern for someone laying face-down in the alcove of the art collective. The cyclist had shaken the man but was unable to elicit a response. The firefighters also shook him and checked for a pulse; I couldn’t tell from where I was standing what they concluded, but the man certainly wasn’t moving.”
8:11 AM UPDATE: The body’s been removed and so has the police tape, so the bus area is open again. 8:42 AM NOTE: We checked back with Det. Jamieson, who notes that homicide detectives were not called out, so while an official cause of death isn’t in yet, that indicates no obvious sign of foul play. We will continue checking.
(Kiteboarder photographed off Alki on Saturday by David Hutchinson) JUNCTION PLAZA PARK GROUNDBREAKING CELEBRATION: 10 am today, northwest corner of 42nd/Alaska. Junction Plaza Park has been many years in the making, and after a final year-plus community fundraising push involving leaders from the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor) and Junction Neighborhood Organization, construction is about to begin. Before crews take over the site for the next month and a half or so, there’ll be a ceremony at 10 this morning, and if you can break away, you’ll be warmly welcomed.
PIGEON POINT NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Since the last meeting, this northeastern West Seattle neighborhood has gone through six weeks of road closures/detours, and events ahead include the Pigeon Point Park leg of Duwamish Alive! this Saturday in honor of Earth Day. So what else is up in Pigeon Point? Come to the cafeteria at Pathfinder K-8 tonight, 7 pm, and find out.
NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS CLASS: We’ve been talking about Disaster Preparedness every night this month and tonight, Fauntleroy neighbors get some hands-on training in a special class at 7 pm, Fauntleroy Church.
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY AT SCCC: 9 am-noon today at Brockey Center on the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) campus, Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed with talks by survivors of genocide in Europe, Cambodia, and Rwanda. Everyone is welcome.
That’s just part of what’s on today’s schedule – see more by checking the WSB Events calendar.
(WSB photos by Cliff DesPeaux)
That’s Jade West Café fan and West Seattle resident Dave Gross hugging cafe proprietor Wah Wong during Sunday’s fundraising lunch at Wallingford restaurant Perché No Pasta and Vino. Though Wah is using a wheelchair now, the family still hopes they can reopen the treasured West Seattle eatery “soon.” That’s what they told photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux, who covered the event for WSB. A larger-than-expected crowd showed up to offer their support, and to see Wah and son Jason Wong, both badly hurt when a drunk driver hit them in December outside their Beacon Hill home. Jason lost part of a leg:
Monica Tonel, greeting Jason in that photo, is the mother of a basketball player coached by Jason, whose friends organized the fundraiser. More photos ahead:Read More
If disaster hits and you have to get out in a hurry, you’re going to gather your loved ones. And “loved ones” means pets too. So on this 11th night of our Disaster Preparedness Month reports, we look at what you need to know to protect them too. The city has a flyer you can check out here; among the first tips is one we hadn’t heard before:
During an earthquake: If the ground starts shaking, do not try to hold onto your pet during the shaking. Animals will instinctively protect themselves and hide where they are safe.
From the must-bookmark West Seattle Be Prepared site, there’s a list of pet-related links on this page. One of those links takes you to this page from the Seattle Humane Society, which reminds you to put a sticker on your home to let rescuers know about any pets that normally are inside. (Also from that page, we learned that the Humane Society’s big yellow MaxMobile, best known for bringing adoptable pets to mobile adopt-a-thons around the city, is also used for pet rescue/evacuation situations!) And three more tips provided by West Seattle Be Prepared co-webmaster Karen Berge:
For dogs, general obedience classes before a disaster could be very helpful. A dog with some training will (or should) be looking for direction from the “leader of the pack”, especially in unfamiliar situation. Some basic commands will help with keeping pets calm.
· An animal that is hurt or scared may bite or lash out, even at loved ones; so it’s helpful to include a muzzle or some soft cloth strips that can be used to prevent bites/scratches. Dogs & cats that typically get along, may need to be separated from each other if they are really stressed out.
· People that keep aquariums probably know this already, but they should look for alternative ways to keep their tank temperatures from dropping below safe levels during a lengthy power outage. One tip is that hot water tanks retain heat for quite awhile & they can be a source of warm water. It’s also helpful to immediately take steps to prevent heat loss.
Your editor here can speak to the last point from personal experience – after the December 2006 windstorm, our home was out of power for 4 days, and that claimed the life of a large, cherished fish (similar to the one at left) who had outlasted many tankmates. (We wrote about the loss here.) So whether you have fish, dogs, cats, turtles, whatever – don’t make the mistake we did; be prepared.
(Our first, as-it-happened HONK Fest West report can be seen here)
That photo shared by Eileen captures the brassy boisterousness of HONK Fest West, making its first West Seattle appearance, with bands spread along two blocks of The Junction in a five-hour-plus period this afternoon. So does this clip, in which we follow the Hubbub Club as its musicians “march” (more like danced, bounced, strode) their way from the designated performance area by the Junction Wells Fargo, to the SW Alaska sidewalk, then back:
And a serious dose of dancing-in-the-streets ensued in the raised crosswalk between Oregon and Alaska – where we found the Carnival Band during our 2nd HONK Fest visit, at midafternoon:
If you didn’t get a close-enough look at the Hubbub Club’s grinning tuba in our clip, Luckie‘s photo captures it for posterity:
And even the little ones were entranced by the splendor of the costumes as well as the music – witness Holli‘s photo of the Minor Mishap Marching Band (visiting from Austin, Texas):
So will this lovably loony street festival return next year? We’ve got the question out to organizers, though they may well be getting ready to recover after 3 days around town (Fremont on Friday, Georgetown on Saturday, then West Seattle today, plus a few bands’ performances in venues elsewhere tonight). Meantime, here’s the official festival website; here’s its Facebook page; and here’s a site where they’re encouraging people to upload photos. The whole thing runs on volunteer power and donations, as carts like this one reminded festivalgoers in The Junction today:
If you didn’t have any cash to throw in the kitty while you were enjoying the show(s), you can make an online donation here. P.S. Added Monday, one last shot from Colby – seems there wasn’t just dancing in the streets, there was a little bit of lying around in the streets too:
Courtesy of Denny International Middle School, that photo shows its band in Pierce County on Saturday – one of four parades, according to principal Jeff Clark, in which they participated, in the span of one day! The day began with the 77th annual Tacoma Grand Floral Parade at 10:15 am, the Puyallup Daffodil Parade at 12:45 pm, the Sumner Daffodil Parade at 2:30 pm, and the Orting Daffodil Parade at 5 pm. (You can see more than a dozen additional photos in a gallery on the Denny Music website.) Denny’s music director Marcus Pimpleton points out that the Chief Sealth International High School marching band, which he also directs, was in the parades too, “separated by a float” from the Denny band. ADDED MONDAY: A photo of the Sealth band in action Saturday:
Thanks to West Seattle photographer Gail Ann Wodzin for sharing these pictures and the story behind them, as West Seattleites, and others in our area, reach out to Poland in the wake of the plane crash in Russia that killed President Lech Kaczynski and more than 90 others. Above, Seattle Gdynia Sister City Association treasurer Harriet Wodzin of West Seattle signs letters of condolences to the people of Poland; next, Ron Golubiec of West Seattle talks with a TV-news crew about the tragic loss of the president:
Gail Ann adds:
In Solidarity, members of the Seattle Gdynia Sister City Association gathered to mourn the loss of Poland’s President Kacynski and many other high-ranking officials when their plane crashed a few days ago in Snmolensk.
Members recalled the fight for Solidarity, of which several were part of; and to remember the lost souls of Katyn; and to grieve the loss of friends made in Poland over many years of friendship with the people of Poland.
The struggle for freedom and democracy in Poland is an evolving process and we honor those who continue to move forward.
She tells more of the story of today’s gathering, with a link to additional photos, on her website.
Take a close look at the fence in front of Slices on Alki– on the left side of the photo, it’s newer than on the right. That’s because the left side is a newly installed replacement for what vandals/thieves tore down and took on Friday night. We heard about it when one of Slices’ proprietors posted in the WSB Forums to ask if anyone saw it happen or knows who did it; he speculated the stolen fencing might have been used for beach firewood. He says the thief/vandals took one of their wood tables, too. Slices just marked its first anniversary a week ago.
Things were really jumping during the West Seattle new-season celebration for the King County Water Taxi (WSB sponsor) this afternoon (see our first report here), especially when the Lafayette Elementary Popcorns jump-rope team showed their stuff. That marked the conclusion of a busy week for the school, with two other Lafayette news that came our way – starting with this photo and summary from principal Virginia Turner:
On Tuesday, Bruce Bulloch, Mark Nyberg, and Heinz Gehlhaar of Evergreen Soaring came to Lafayette Elementary to talk with the students of Mr. Schroeder’s fourth grade class about flight. Evergreen Soaring brought an Apis 13 meter glider so students could get hands-on experience with the controls and construction of real glider. Students also learned about the science of flight and the forces that influence a glider plane. This was one of the culminating activities for their unit of flight, where they learned not only the history of flight, but also the science of why and how planes fly.
And related to another recent study unit – Lafayette parent Luckie shared a scene from “American Civil War Family Night” earlier this week:
Luckie explains:
The fifth graders in all three fifth-grade classes put together displays and presentations on their choice of Civil War topic. We had posters, dioramas, Powerpoint presentations, and models. Lots of parents and kids gathered to view the students’ work and learn about Civil War history. (The cake is a “taste of history”—it’s made from a historic recipe used by Mary Todd Lincoln, and it was one of President Lincoln’s favorites)
The party has started – and it’s a raucous one! Starting at the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard and heading southward, HONK Fest West is bringing more than five hours of marching-band style music to venues around The Junction – free! – starting with Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band from Boston (seen and heard in our iPhone clip above). Schedule and maps here.ADDED 4:41 PM: We just took another spin, north to south, along California and caught up with several bands. We’ll break most of the video into a separate story later – including our short march alongside one of the bands – but in case you still haven’t made it down (some accounts say there’ll be music till 6) – here’s the exuberance of the Hungry Marching Band on the north side of the Walk-All-Ways intersection, in front of Cupcake Royale (WSB sponsor):
We’re at Seacrest, where the King County Water Taxi’s West Seattle celebration already has begun, even though it technically wasn’t set to start till noon. King County Councilmember Jan Drago arrived on the Water Taxi about 10 minutes ago with the King County Ferry District’s new executive director Hank Myers; a program with speeches and performances is set to begin in about half an hour; and free rides and snacks are already being enjoyed (big crowd waiting to get on the run that leaves in a few minutes).
White chocolate mousse cake free while it lasts, along with coffee, and performances coming up including rope-jumpers and singers from Lafayette Elementary! ADDED 12:33 PM: King County Executive Dow Constantine, longtime Water Taxi champion, is on hand too – seen here in our cameraphone pic with his team’s transportation expert Chris Arkills:
ADDED 10 PM: Here’s the exuberant start to Constantine’s speech at the event:
Since the end of the last Water Taxi season, the county-run foot ferries briefly came under political attack, when supporters of Constantine’s opponent in the KC Executive race decried the service as “ferries going nowhere.” Then budget challenges raised some questions about its future, but county leaders ultimately decided to keep the West Seattle and Vashon services running, while deferring consideration of other potential routes. What remains in question now is whether the money will be found to make it the year-round service that it could be now that its West Seattle dock has been upgraded, with the $3 million project completed in the offseason; that has yet to be worked out, but we’ll be following the process. Meantime, you can find Water Taxi info including schedule and fares by going here.
Kelly from Muttley Crew Cuts just sent that photo from their fundraising event on behalf of the “Trippin’ Ta-Tas” Breast Cancer 3Day team: Bake sale and dog makeovers till 4 pm today. It’s happening at her shop, which moved a few months ago to 42nd just north of Admiral (map). Silent auction, too – check out some of the gift baskets:
also can apply to something on a personal/household level – again, something we all hope never will happen, but to quote the old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Tonight, the ounce of prevention is another webpage: 
We have just left Juvenile Court southeast of downtown. The Alki woman beaten unconscious while on the job as a Metro bus driver in Tukwila earlier this year has just addressed her 14-year-old attacker in court – but his sentencing has been postponed at the request of his lawyer, who told Judge Chris Washington that he thought the hearing was tomorrow, and therefore didn’t notify his client’s mother. Judge Washington agreed to let the defense present its side tomorrow but offered to hear from anyone who wanted to speak today – so the prosecution made its case, and that included the statement that the 57-year-old driver 
If disaster hits and you have to get out in a hurry, you’re going to gather your loved ones. And “loved ones” means pets too. So on this 11th night of our 
Your editor here can speak to the last point from personal experience – after the 
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