West Seattle, Washington

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Spotlight Stories

Good luck, Seahawks! Chief Sealth in district playoffs today
February 26, 2010 7:55 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

After a first-round bye, the Chief Sealth High School boys’ varsity basketball team (14-8) begins district-tournament play today. 4:45 pm at Bellevue College, they face Sammamish (15-9). Here’s a map if you can go cheer them on in person (this campus map shows the gym location); we’ll be there to cover the game, including in-progress updates at our live-events Twitter account, @wsblive. 6:16 PM UPDATE: Game’s over – Sammamish defeated Sealth, 46-39. But Sealth has one more chance. Full story, with video, coming up.

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West Seattle scene: A night to reflect
February 25, 2010 11:06 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Christopher Boffoli captured the beauty of downtown Seattle mirrored on the calm waters of Elliott Bay – maybe not for long, as rain is expected back soon.

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West Seattle school news: “Hearty” jumping at Lafayette
February 25, 2010 10:26 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle school news: “Hearty” jumping at Lafayette
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

After school today at Lafayette Elementary, students got to jump not only for joy, but also to help others – it was the annual Jump Rope for Heart event, which happens around the country as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. Not just jumping – a little careful balancing, too:

Thanks to Edgar from Captive Eye Media for the photos!

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We said “no such thing as too many eagle photos …”
February 25, 2010 6:54 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | Wildlife

… so Gary Jones sent another great photo from last weekend’s sighting of juvenile eagles! Thanks!

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Days left to sign up for West Seattle Soccer Club’s spring season
February 25, 2010 5:37 pm
|    Comments Off on Days left to sign up for West Seattle Soccer Club’s spring season
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Just a few days left to sign up for the spring season of West Seattle Soccer Club. Tim McMonigle shares the basics:

The 6-Game season will begin on Sunday, April 11 and conclude on Sunday, May 23. (No games will be played on Mother’s Day, May 9.). All Games will be played on Sunday afternoons with game start times beginning at 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, and (if necessary) 5:15pm.

Registration is open to players from 5-11 years old (Coed U-6 to U-12). (This year, we have separated the Coed U-7 division into Coed U-6 and Coed U-7 divisions.) The cost is $45/player and includes a “World Cup” jersey.

Monday’s the deadline; here’s the registration page.

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“All About Lulu” author to read at West Seattle Library in Admiral
February 25, 2010 3:28 pm
|    Comments Off on “All About Lulu” author to read at West Seattle Library in Admiral
 |   Announcements

Just announced by Seattle Public Library, in conjunction with WSB sponsor Square One Books:

AUTHOR JONATHAN EVISON READS FROM ‘ALL ABOUT LULU’ AT

THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY ON MARCH 25

Author Jonathan Evison will read from and discuss his new book, “All About Lulu,” from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Thursday, March 25 at The Seattle Public Library, West Seattle Branch, 2306 42nd Ave. S.W.

The program is free and open to the public. Tickets and reservations are not required. Limited free parking is available at the branch.

Evison’s debut novel, “All About Lulu,” is a coming-of-age story set in Santa Monica, Calif. While his father and brothers turn to body-building to cope with his mother’s death, William Miller stops growing altogether until stepsister Lulu enters his life.

“All About Lulu” won the 2009 Washington State Book Award, was included on the summer reading lists of the Los Angeles Time and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and several ‘best of” lists for 2008. Evison lives on Bainbridge Island.

This program is presented in partnership with Square One Books. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

For more information, call the branch at 206-684-7444.

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Next Alaskan Way Viaduct shutdown scheduled, and other notes
February 25, 2010 3:12 pm
|    Comments Off on Next Alaskan Way Viaduct shutdown scheduled, and other notes
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle traffic alerts

Just circulated by the city’s Delridge Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles, the latest mega-mondo-traffic update for the area between West Seattle and downtown, and then some. Among the highlights – the next Alaskan Way Viaduct shutdown is scheduled for March 27-28, 6 am-6 pm each day. Note that some 1st and 4th Avenue South closures/restrictions are coming up next month, too. See the full rundown of changes/closures here.

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King County Water Taxi: Next phase for new dock
February 25, 2010 2:07 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   King County Water Taxi | Transportation | West Seattle news

With a little over five weeks to go till the new season starts for the King County Water Taxi‘s West Seattle-Downtown Seattle run, construction of its new dock at Seacrest has entered the second phase. After the new pilings were finished earlier this month, the site was quiet for a while, but now the concrete dock itself is going in – the photo above is from about an hour ago. The first day of the new season is scheduled for Monday, April 5th; last Friday, we brought you a close-up sneak peek on board the boat King County has leased for the run, the Rachel Marie (see our story =here). It’s currently at a Ballard shipyard getting freshened up, with the county branding outside, and new seats (among other things) inside – this shot from our Friday tour looks toward the bow on the main deck:

You’re likely to see West Seattle’s new Water Taxi out on training runs starting in a week or two. Meantime, here’s a little more background about the new dock; other changes for the new season include fares and the downtown dock location, which moves south to Pier 50 (which the other county run, Vashon-Downtown, already uses). ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Thanks to Brenda C for photos taken as the concrete dock floated in, earlier in the day:

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car window shattered
February 25, 2010 1:46 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

From Kristine:

I’m UNHAPPY to report that a car parked on California Avenue SW in front of the Lutheran Church at Dakota (map) had its back window COMPLETELY smashed. This happened yesterday (2/24) between noon & 6pm. The back window didn’t have a shred of glass left in the frame and the shattered glass was inside the car but sprayed out into the street leaving us to believe the window was intentionally hit (and hard) from the sidewalk. Nothing was stolen. I hope this hasn’t happened to anyone else as it’s a complete pain in the patoot & expensive for the owner.

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West Seattle’s next pump-station projects: CSO meetings set
February 25, 2010 11:27 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Utilities | West Seattle news

lowmanwarning.jpg

(Sign at Lowman Beach after Murray Pump Station overflow in 2007)
There wasn’t much turnout last fall when we covered two meetings about upcoming “CSO” – Combined Sewer Overflow – projects that King County is pursuing in connection with two pump stations on West Seattle shores, Barton (by the Fauntleroy ferry dock) and Murray (by Lowman Beach). One recent commenter wondered if perhaps the longer-than-expected 2-year duration of the 53rd Avenue Pump Station expansion project on Alki might lead to more interest in projects like these. With that in mind – here are two meeting dates just announced by King County: 6 pm March 18 for the Barton project, 6 pm March 29 for the Murray project, both at Southwest Community Center. The CSO projects are meant to come up with ways to keep stormwater and sewage from flowing into Puget Sound during storms that overload the system; the county is looking for opinions on the various ways of making that happen – which could even involve building big storage tanks near the existing pump stations (both of which are underground), to store the excess water until the weather eases. Read more about the CSO-control program here.

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Scam alert: Seattle City Light renews “bill collection” warning
February 25, 2010 11:02 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

This one’s gone around before, and Seattle City Light says it’s going around again – people getting phone calls from someone claiming to be an SCL employee and demanding a credit-card number, even in some cases a Social Security number, to prevent allegedly imminent disconnection of service. This item on SCL’s Power Lines site explains how to tell who’s legit and who’s not.

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West Seattle politics: Sabra Schneider also in State House running
February 25, 2010 10:04 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

And now, there are three declared candidates for 34th District State House Representative, Position 2, which Rep. Sharon Nelson says she’ll leave to run for State Senate (since Sen. Joe McDermott is running for County Council): Arbor Heights-residing Democrat Sabra Schneider has just announced she’s running; previous announcements have come from Democrat Marcee Stone and independent “Mac” McElroy. Read on for the news release sent by Schneider’s campaign:Read More

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Today/tonight: 2 “story times,” 1 city councilmember, and more
February 25, 2010 6:07 am
|    Comments Off on Today/tonight: 2 “story times,” 1 city councilmember, and more
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Wednesday afternoon photo from west end of The Bridge)
This morning, we direct you to the WSB Events calendar for the rundown on what’s up today and tonight – including morning events such as two library branches with story times, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw @ West Seattle Democratic Women, and tonight’s South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting, plus a special boutique event in The Junction. More here!

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Highland Park Action Committee: Annexation; auto theft; trails…
February 25, 2010 4:18 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news

At 8th/Roxbury, on the north side of Greenbridge, you can stand on the edge of White Center and look across the street at a “Welcome to Highland Park” sign. So HP has reason to pay close attention to the prospect of a November vote on whether Seattle should annex White Center and most of the rest of the unincorporated area that will remain when Burien completes its North Highline South annexation this spring. That’s why WC residents who support Seattle annexation addressed the Highland Park Action Committee meeting Wednesday night, briefly drawing audience reaction that hinted at some of the strong opinions over the area’s future. That was just part of a very busy HPAC agenda – read on for the toplines, starting with the community crime report:Read More

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West Seattle scene: Poetry proves popular
February 25, 2010 3:47 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle scene: Poetry proves popular
 |   West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Walter Maenhout e-mailed to say Wednesday night’s first “Set Apart” poetry/storytelling event at C & P Coffee “was a great success.” Above, some of the audience; below, featured poet Leopoldo Seguel. Walter says the next one’s already set for March 24, with more details to come.

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Cleanup before cookies: West Seattle Girl Scouts at Walking on Logs
February 24, 2010 9:56 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people

If you drive past Walking on Logs at the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge over the next week or two, you’ll see the sculptures dressed in Girl Scout garb, thanks to Troop 43141, fifth-grades who are second-year junior Scouts. We rolled a bit of video this afternoon as they embarked on what’s become an annual tradition just before cookie sales begin – decorating Walking on Logs, then picking up trash around the sculptures.

Troop 43141 is one of 25 West Seattle troops selling cookies this year – more than 30,000 boxes for starters between them, as we showed you in our story about the troops’ cookie pickup at a local loading dock last Saturday. Cookie sales start Friday and continue through March 14. Troop 43141’s leader Cynthia Voth and assistant leader Barb McGlothlin were at bridgeside with most of their 10 Scouts this afternoon, slogging through the muddy slopeside as traffic zoomed by – and gathering them for a group photo before they wrapped up:

Official permission to decorate Walking on Logs goes through the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, in case you wondered. And sometimes, items get left behind; Voth noticed a hobby-horse bearing the name “Roller Bull” was still at Walking on Logs, possibly from the Rat City Rollergirls‘ most recent stint decorating the site. She’s going to hold onto it for a week or so in case anyone wants to claim it (we’ll put you in touch with her if it’s yours, or if you’re interested). Meantime, look for Troop 43141 and others at locations around West Seattle starting Friday – the parent organization promises a Cookie Locator search box will be on their website once sales start, so you know where to find them and when.

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Your chance to do more than drive through Fairmount Ravine
February 24, 2010 7:57 pm
|    Comments Off on Your chance to do more than drive through Fairmount Ravine
 |   Environment | How to help | West Seattle news

That’s one of our photos from last year’s Fairmount Ravine cleanup – just part of what neighborhood volunteers picked up and took out of the ravine during several hours of work. They could have done more, with more help – and here’s the advance alert in hopes that you will join them for this year’s cleanup, just a week and a half away. From John Lang:

Fairmount Ravine Preservation Group will sponsor the 18th Annual Spring Cleanup and Reforestation of Fairmount Ravine, Saturday March 6th at 8:30. Meet at top of ravine (Forest St. and Fairmount Ave.). Wear boots and gloves. Bring a pruning saw if interested in removing ivy from trees. Delicious Tully’s coffee and hot cocoa along with donuts will be served. We extend a special invitation to those who use the ravine to access the waterfront; please donate an hour of your time to keep this greenbelt healthy and pristine. More info – call John at 932-5151.

(Google Maps doesn’t seem to recognize Forest/Fairmount but the meeting spot is just east of the spot marked on this map.)

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West Seattle weather: Somewhere under the rainbow
February 24, 2010 5:06 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle weather: Somewhere under the rainbow
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Thanks for the rainbow photos! Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) and Mary from Service Dog Academy snapped this afternoon’s rainbow too – but, even with the window bar in the middle, the one above, from Frank Rutledge at Prudential NW Realty in Jefferson Square, came out the best – note “Hole Foods” and the Link crane also under/through the rainbow.

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West Seattle real estate: Alki Point’s $1,300,000 “teardown”
February 24, 2010 3:40 pm
|      27 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

(Photos republished with permission of Rick Miner)
Thanks to Creighton for spotting this one in the real-estate listings. The house next to the Alki Point Lighthouse (on the northeast side) is for sale, asking $1,300,000. The 2-bedroom, 1-bath house at 3221 Point Place is 92 years old, according to the listing information, which pronounces it a teardown. We dug around to find out more of the backstory – read on to see what we found out:Read More

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Happy 95th to West Seattle’s Boy Scout Troop 284!
February 24, 2010 2:59 pm
|    Comments Off on Happy 95th to West Seattle’s Boy Scout Troop 284!
 |   West Seattle history | West Seattle news

Yes, we know, you’re thinking, “They don’t look a day over 94.” But seriously – the Scouts of Troop 284 are part of West Seattle history, and Diane shares the photo and invitation for you to help them celebrate – and to help them pay tribute, if you have memories to share:

Boy Scout Troop 284 celebrates its 95th Anniversary! Troop 284 (originally chartered as Troop 4 in 1915) is one of the oldest continuously chartered troops in the state of Washington. This year we are celebrating our 95th Anniversary as a troop at the same time Scouting turns 100! You are cordially invited to attend our celebration on Saturday, March 13, from 2-4pm. It will be held in the Parish Hall at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, on the corner of 34th Ave SW and SW Myrtle in West Seattle.

Please help us spread the word to Troop alumni, Eagle Scouts and Scoutmasters. Join us in celebrating this great program called Scouting that has been growing leaders for 100 years. Send us your memories of the troop to 95th@troop284.org to be added to the troop history book. RSVPs can also be sent to 95th@troop284.org. For a look at what the troop is doing now, visit our website at www.troop284.org.

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Wonder where your ferry is? State upgrades Vessel Watch
February 24, 2010 1:48 pm
|    Comments Off on Wonder where your ferry is? State upgrades Vessel Watch
 |   Seen at sea | Transportation | West Seattle news

This has apparently been in beta a few weeks but we hadn’t heard about it till a mention on WSDOT‘s Twitter feed today: The Vessel Watch page, which tells you where any given state ferry is at any given moment, has been upgraded – the map used to be static, and now it’s dynamic, with panning/zooming capabilities among other things. Check it out here. (And while that feature can identify a state ferry for you, if you’re looking to ID any other kind of vessel, MarineTraffic.com’s the place to go.)

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23rd/22nd SW road-closure effects: Official city update on changes
February 24, 2010 11:58 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Pigeon Point | Puget Ridge | West Seattle news

As noted here yesterday, Metro and SDOT worked together to make some changes lessening the Pigeon Point effects of the up-to-six-weeks closure of 23rd/22nd. Today, SDOT has sent an official news release summarizing the changes – read on:Read More

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Another coffee closure: Admiral District’s Revolution Coffee/Art
February 24, 2010 11:06 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Last week, we reported the impending closure (after March 28) of Tully’s Coffee in Morgan Junction. Today, another impending closure has been confirmed – Revolution Coffee and Art in the Admiral District. Revolution owners Jason and Pam Douros, who took over Revolution last year, have put up two announcements on its Facebook page this morning. From the main announcement:

We regret to inform you that on March 5th 2010 Revolution will close its doors for the last time. This decision was not easy for anyone involved and it was thought through thoroughly and many options were explored. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control we are unable to sell the business at this time and are left with the option of closing and liquidating our assets.

And a separate note “from the barista,” from Pam:

I have been told not to feel too bad that something like between one third and fifty percent of new businesses fail in the first year. Somehow being part of this statistic only makes me feel worse. I wish I could have been more to the community than another statistic. However for what it’s worth, thank you friends and community for being a part of our journey and I am sorry that the trip didn’t last longer.

In the meantime, Revolution is open and invites customers to come in for coffee. They’re at 4217 SW Admiral Way. (Thanks to Jennifer Lynn for the original tip on this.)

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