West Seattle, Washington
16 Tuesday
Our news partners at the Seattle Times have the details – while stressing that the individual franchisees aren’t in Chapter 11, only the parent company. And till the reference in the Times story, we hadn’t realized Taco Del Mar not only has two locations in West Seattle (Westwood Village and Jefferson Square), it also has corporate headquarters here (2414 SW Andover). The Times reports that the corporate HQ employs 16 people now, less than half its peak staff of 40, and owes creditors at least $1 million.
The peninsula hooped it up Friday night, as all three high schools in West Seattle played host to visiting basketball challengers. Outside the gym at Chief Sealth/Boren, the hallway was home to a Haiti-relief fundraiser, as student volunteers (all from the junior class, the group above told us) held a bake sale to raise money for post-quake help. Back in the gym, the Sealth boys won – as did the peninsula’s other two boys-varsity teams – and the Sealth girls lost, as did the other two girls-varsity teams. Ahead, notes short and not-so-short from the three of us who covered the games (and video too) *ADDED 12:10 PM – story and photo from WSHS girls’ game*:Read More
Two solicitor alerts that WSB’ers wanted to share tonight. Both could well be legitimate, but the recipients’ eyebrows were raised a bit – read on for both reports:Read More
Story and photo by Mary Sheely
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. today, Saigon Boat Café, 2632 Alki SW (map), served 20 customers. For many restaurants, that probably wouldn’t be such a great number. But for a restaurant on its opening day, with no fanfare save a lit-up “open” sign? Not bad at all.
Owner Nhung Tran, who with her sister Thu Tran is the proprietor of Saigon Boat Café and Red Nails, around the corner at 2648 59th SW, two businesses that we have covered previously, is smiling as she stands in the cheerful space that used to be a dreary rental house.
“We just opened, they come!” she says.
Not too late to jump in and sign up – we’re happy to be co-sponsoring the first Alki edition of Polar Plunge for Special Olympics of Washington and the Law Enforcement Torch Run, this Sunday at Alki – plungers include police, local students, and more! – Sunday is also Dine Out Seattle for Haiti, with five West Seattle restaurants participating last time we looked, including WSB sponsors Feedback Lounge and Skylark Cafe and Club. Saturday – it’s the West Seattleite-organized karaoke benefit at Goldie’s to benefit WS Officer Jason McKissack‘s medical fund (more here) – earlier in the day, school open-house season continues, with the doors swung open at West Seattle Montessori School (WSB sponsor) and Cometa Playschool … Saturday afternoon’s also when you’ll find puppet theater at Alki Bathhouse! From tonight through Sunday night, FIFTY events/activities in all, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club, where you’ll find FREE live music and rockin’ food (and don’t forget the Sunday benefit):Read More
Thanks to WSB’er “kmo39” – who has shared updates before on the progress of the King County Water Taxi dock project at Seacrest – for sharing that photo taken this morning: Now that the pilings for the new dock are in, concrete pouring is under way. The Water Taxi is scheduled to start running again in April, and if funding is finalized over the summer, its year-round operations could start this fall; the dock project is a prelude to that, since the previous wooden floating dock – shaky even in summertime – didn’t suit rough-weather operations. Also a reminder – the King County Ferry District board (King County Council members) is scheduled to take up the new proposed fare structure (including a 50-cent increase if you pay cash) on Monday (1:30 pm, County Courthouse), with a public hearing – here’s our story from last week.
Just got word from Feedback Lounge co-proprietor Matt that The Feedback has joined another WSB sponsor, Skylark Cafe and Club (participating during brunch), as well as La Rustica, Spring Hill and Mission in donating part of the proceeds this Sunday to Haiti earthquake relief. It’s part of a citywide promotion – more on its Facebook event page; we’re continuing to catalog West Seattle efforts here.
While wildlife authorities usually evangelize coexistence with coyotes (and other urban wildlife) – as pointed out in this recent WSB report – they decided to take a different tack with two coyotes seen recently and frequently in Magnolia, trapping and killing one this morning, according to the Seattle Times (WSB partner). Though state wildlife agents indicated they were most concerned about the coyotes’ attacks on pets – which happen in other Seattle areas too, West Seattle included – the Times report says they are NOT planning a citywide anti-coyote effort.
Thanks to Sharonn for sending that photo after we mentioned this earlier on Twitter: After a note from Deborra asking about the unusual-looking white ship in the middle of Elliott Bay. We looked it up with a website you should bookmark if you get curious about ship sightings too: marinetraffic.com’s Seattle map. It’s the Mona Lisa, a chartered passenger ship according to this info-page (which also has a closeup file photo). More background here helped indirectly point us to confirmation of what Sharonn said she’d heard – The News Tribune reported last week that Mona Lisa is one of the ships headed to Vancouver to serve as floating hotels for workers coming in for the Winter Games. 3:33 PM UPDATE: Zack shares a closer view – first, the entire photo, then a closer view, since his note to us called attention to the funnel art honoring the ship’s namesake:
Two updates in the story of Jason McKissack, the Seattle Police officer viciously attacked during a West Seattle call more than a year and a half ago, 
and still not recovered enough to work, but losing medical benefits because state law does not cover “catastrophic disability.” Since we reported Tuesday on the Seattle Police Officers Guild news conference (left) in which he and others spoke in support of EHB 1679 — state legislation reintroduced this year to fix the situation — a public hearing has been set: Next Monday, 3:30 pm, House Ways and Means Committee. West Seattle Rep. Eileen Cody is on that committee; here’s how to contact her; here’s the full list of committee members. A message on the “Support Officer Jason McKissack” Facebook group says the hearing will be short “but we need all the help we can get … to show the level of public support for this legislation.” The John L. O’Brien Building at the State Capitol (map) is where to be. Meantime, the next local fundraiser for Officer McKissack’s medical expenses is karaoke at Goldie’s in Georgetown at 9 pm tomorrow. Karaoke host Willie Murderface, a longtime West Seattle resident, organized it and has rounded up raffle prizes from businesses including Skylark Cafe (WSB sponsor), Cherry Consignment, Full Tilt Ice Cream, C and P Coffee, Proletariat Pizza, Pegasus Pizza, Pagliacci Pizza, Envy on Alki, Alki Beach Tattoo, Via Tribunali, Club Motor. Here’s Willie’s event page for this.
From WSB’er Buddsmom:
This morning at approx. 7:20 I found a pile of stolen mail behind the bus shelter at 35th AVE SW and SW 108th [map] in Arbor Heights. The addresses are from four separate houses in the vicinity of SW 106th and 107th between the 3100 block of 106th to 35th Ave SW. Anything that appears to be of a financial nature had been opened. The Westwood branch of the post office has been notified and will turn the items over to the postal inspector for investigation.
TRAFFIC ALERTS: All that activity on and around the section of The Bridge between 99 and I-5, known as the Spokane Street Viaduct, starts happening today. The 4th Avenue South offramp from the westbound side closes forever; westbound lower Spokane St. closes from 6th to 1st for many months; the northbound I-5 ramp to The Bridge and the Columbian Way ramp to The Bridge both close around 10 tonight for the entire weekend, till early Monday. Lots of details, detour maps, etc. at seattle.gov/spokane.
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY CENTERS: Fun night at three of them – Family Skate Night at 6:45 at Alki CC, an MLK celebration with arts, crafts, music and spoken-word performance at 6 pm at Hiawatha CC, and Leo the Clown at Delridge CC at 7.
PEOPLE’S PLACE FUNDRAISER: Call it a startup for helping the homeless – “communal transitional housing,” founded by two volunteers including West Seattle’s Christi Stapleton. (We wrote about People’s Place here.) 6:30 tonight at El Centro de la Raza on Beacon Hill, they’re having a fundraiser reception and silent auction (items include “lunch, coffee or drinks with Mayor Mike McGinn“).
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL (INCLUDING HAITI FUNDRAISER @ SEALTH): All three high schools in West Seattle are playing host to visiting teams tonight. At West Seattle High School, Cleveland HS is the visitor, girls’ varsity at 6:15 pm, boys’ varsity at 8 pm. At Chief Sealth High School, Nathan Hale is the visitor, same times – note that a bake sale to raise $ for Haiti relief is planned during the Sealth games. At Seattle Lutheran High School, Tacoma Baptist is the visitor, 6:15 girls’ varsity, 7:45 boys’ varsity.
More on the WSB West Seattle Events page.
(October 2009 photo courtesy of Greg Whittaker from Mountain to Sound Outfitters [WSB sponsor] and Alki Kayak Tours)
Story and photos by Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
As promised, the Alki Community Council introduced new webmaster/Alki News Beacon editor Glynnis Vaughan Thursday night in its new meeting location at Alki UCC.
But before the introduction of Vaughan, the council was treated to a presentation by United States Coast Guard Auxiliarist Lyn McClellan (left). The room of about 20 clearly enjoyed the half-hour discussion about the history of the Alki Point Lighthouse.
The USCG is thrilled to have it open to the public during the upcoming summer weekends (Memorial through Labor Day weekends) from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, and although the light is automated now, and the neighborhood side is veiled from it, the established-in-1887 lighthouse and its history are still worth the visit, with visitors from 68 countries stopping by during the last two years. You can read lots more about it here.
By Johnathon Fitzpatrick
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Big plans for the still-new year, as Sustainable West Seattle (SWS) held its annual meeting this week at the Senior Center in The Junction, with a guest appearance by new City Councilmember Mike O’Brien.
Think your neighborhood needs a park? There’s more than one way to get it. That’s what the Morgan Community Association heard from a Parks Department manager during its quarterly meeting Wednesday night. Read on for the toplines on that, and other updates including plans for this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival:Read More
Every month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites a local elected official (LEO) in for a brown-bag “Lunch with LEO”; today City Councilmember Jean Godden came to the WSCC’s office for a turn at the table (at left, with Chamber Board president Jerome O. Cohen, one of the half-dozen people who also joined in. The topics usually range far and wide for these roundtables; since Godden chairs the Budget Committee, money talk dominated this hourlong session. This year’s the city’s “big budget year,” as she put it, working toward a 2-year budget, and that’s why the Citizens’ Budget Conference is being held later this month (January 31; here’s the invitation again). She expects the mayor and most if not all councilmembers to be there, and says those who show up will get a chance to have their budget concerns heard long before the actual plan is assembled. She also talked about the council’s reaction to Mayor Mike McGinn‘s proposal for a special election in May on a property tax to fix the Alaskan Way seawall; she was one of 8 councilmembers (all but Mike O’Brien) who sent the mayor a letter this week voicing skepticism about the proposal. She said the measure seemed “premature,” while also stressing she is not questioning the need for the seawall to be replaced. Also discussed: With the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project soon to close off direct access to the West Seattle Bridge from SODO, Chas Redmond pitched for the city to again try to get the Coast Guard to agree to limit openings of the low bridge during rush hours (a previous attempt was rejected in October 2008). Godden, vice chair of the Transportation Committee, said she’d look into it. The topic of White Center annexation came up as well; we’ve reported that discussion on partner site White Center Now.
Two updates tonight on West Seattle help for Haiti. First, artist Todd Martin – shown at left while participating in last November’s West Seattle Art Walk at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) – wanted to send out a challenge to his fellow artists:
Hello West Seattle art lovers; with the help of the West Seattle Blog, I am issuing a challenge to all West Seattle Artists.
We have all seen the suffering in Haiti and the lack of medical help and supplies so far in the country. My name is Todd Martin and I am a local Alaska Junction artist and photographer. Since November I have been raising money using my photography. I have raised money for The Woodland Park Zoo and now it’s time to raise funds for Doctors without Borders. Many of you may have seen my work at Hotwire Coffee in November of 2009. My collection was “Head Shots” if animals were celebrities … what it would be like if the paparazzi chased animals instead of people. I will be donating 65 percent of all proceeds to the cause. My website: headshotsifanimalswerecelebritie.shutterfly.com/
If you are interested in knowing more about the challenge or want to buy…call me at 206-817-1784 or chillynhot@msn.com
Everything on the site is available. I have many framed items in stock right now as well as some smaller items and cards. Artists, let’s all join together so we can give weekly updates. My Goal myself is 1000 dollars. I would like to do a lot more. If we could all get together to raise 10,000 dollars in 5 weeks (end of February) It would put us on the art map and also help those less fortunate. I feel so fortunate when I see the news stories of Haiti. I have been unemployed since last May from my full-time job, but I still feel fortunate for all I have and still feel I can afford to give and help out. Please buy some art and encourage your artist friends to join in too. Artists, whatever portion you wish to donate is fine. Let’s just band together and help out our brothers and sisters in Haiti…
Also, an update from West Seattle-based filmmaker Jamie Chamberlin on the ROCK4RELIEF concert coming up January 28 at Showbox SODO (here’s our report from yesterday) – with an art component here too:
Tickets will go on sale tomorrow Friday the 22nd @ www.showboxonline.com and www.ticketmaster.com. 100% of all proceeds from this event will be sent to the American Red Cross.
A raffle is being planned the night of the event to raise additional donations. Laura Boos, a local West Seattle artist, and others will be approaching local businesses for event support.
Any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated.
If you’d like to help, please contact: info.rock4relief@gmail.com
P.S. While at Chief Sealth High School for tonight’s open house, we saw signs for a bake sale during Friday night’s basketball games, raising $ for Haiti relief.
That map just sent around by Delridge Neighborhoods District Coordinator Ron Angeles; it expands on the map published here last night when SDOT sent out its latest news release about the upcoming construction-related closures on and around the Spokane Street Viaduct (aka the section of West Seattle Bridge between 99 and I-5). As you can see, this one includes some other closures right outside the general area covered by the original map/info. This expanded list can be found on the city website here – along with a larger, more readable version of the map. Most immediately, as mentioned last night, tomorrow’s the day that the 4th Avenue S. exit from the westbound SSV closes forever, and a longer stretch of lower westbound Spokane Street closes too; plus the West Seattle Bridge ramps from northbound I-5 and Columbian Way on Beacon Hill both will close for the entire weekend, 10 pm tomorrow through 5 am Monday.
When we reported earlier this week on tributes to Bear Silverstein, co-owner of West Seattle Cellars, we noted his memorial service was still being planned. Tom DiStefano from WSC just e-mailed to say that the information is now up on the family’s Caring Bridge webpage along with a full obituary. Service details:
A memorial service will be held at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 3050 California Ave SW, Sunday, January 31 at 2 pm with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances to honor Bear may be made to the Mission Folk Festival at Box 3125, Mission, BC, Canada, V2V 4J3 , and tax deductible donations for Anna’s education and Bear’s medical costs can be made through Anna’s church, Friends of the One, Bear Fund, P.O. Box 18646, Seattle, WA 98118.
Mr. Silverstein died last week at age 53.
Today we are welcoming one of our newest sponsors, Sweeney’s Plumbing; as is traditional with new WSB sponsors, we offer them the chance to share information about their business with you:
Sweeney’s Plumbing was established in 1907 by Tim Sweeney‘s great-grandfather. As well as building the home in West Seattle where Tim Sweeney was born, raised and still lives with his wife, His great-grandfather set the tone for a career in plumbing for generations to come. Tim Sweeney has been a West Seattle resident for his entire life and a plumber for 25+ years. He has grown up here, raised his family here and is proud to be a part of this community. He does many different types of jobs, such as service work, re-piping and remodeling. A lot of his clients first hear about Sweeney through word of mouth from his past clients. Most of his clients like the fact that he is local, does great work and has been doing business in West Seattle for over 25 years. They also appreciate the importance of honesty and communication – for every job he does he is readily available to his customers with questions or concerns. He likes to walk them through the process so they can set realistic expectations and be educated from the start. The most common comment from customers is that he is on time, ready to work and finishes the job well. Please give him a call for an estimate, 206.551.6465.
We thank Sweeney’s Plumbing for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
(Design rendering from last November – note that the design is still being finalized)
The Parks Department says it’s hoping to break ground for the Delridge Skatepark in late spring – and the latest move to enable that, happened minutes ago – the City Council’s Parks Committee (with only its new chair, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, in attendance) just gave its approval to the $750,000 funding plan for the project. That sets up a vote, likely next week, before the full council. Before voting, Bagshaw heard from supporters including North Delridge resident Nancy Folsom and West Seattle-residing Skatepark Advisory Committee member Matthew Lee Johnston. Both talked about the Delridge community’s strong support for the project, which accelerated after a proposal for a smaller skateboarding facility at the future Myrtle Reservoir Park drew opposition from neighbors. The funding for Delridge is coming from what was earmarked for Myrtle and from money saved on other Parks projects with bids that came in under budget. The site is the northeastern corner of the parkland adjacent to Delridge Community Center.
So are you in for this Sunday’s Special Olympics of Washington Polar Plunge at Alki (with WSB among the co-sponsors)? Among those who already are – the man who leads the Seattle Police Department‘s Southwest Precinct here in West Seattle, Capt. Joe Kessler. We were there for the photo op at Alki this morning as he tested the waters, so to speak, for a last-minute promotional push. You can join Captain Kessler and hundreds of others on Sunday morning – 9 am registration (if you haven’t signed up online), 11 am Polar Plunge, festivities afterward. There’s a special connection for law enforcers and Special Olympic – the Law Enforcement Torch Run – so you’ll see other members of the law-enforcement community braving Elliott Bay on Sunday too. So how was the water today, you might ask?
47-degree water today, in case you were wondering.
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