West Seattle, Washington
22 Monday
Thanks to Matt Weiner, teacher candidate at Sanislo Elementary, for sharing photos from a fun event there last week, along with the story:
On Thursday, November 19th, Sanislo Elementary School held its annual Family Game Night. This year’s Game Night was organized by the four Teacher Candidates (formerly known as Student Teachers) from the University of Washington. This event draws together the school community to engage in a fun-filled evening of eating, good conversation, and of course playing games with one another. There were a wide variety of games being played, from old classics like Booby-trap and Scrabble to more contemporary games like Harry Potter chess and a fishing game based on the movie, Cars. This year, other activities were incorporated into the evening, including face painting, guessing game jars, a bake sale to support the fourth grade trip in the spring, and even a large walk on chess game.
Here’s the pic of that:
Matt continues:
Even on a rainy Seattle evening there was an estimated crowd of 150 people. This evening was even more successful with all the help of the volunteers and wonderful donations to additionally support the dinner option of pizza and prizes for the guessing game jars. This event continues to be a sought after evening of bringing together the community in a fun and interactive way.
(That gives us the opportunity to plug future Family Board Game Afternoons at Southwest Branch Library – more info here.) And at Madison Middle School, high-flying fun today:
Thanks to Ed for sharing that photo from the Ride and Glide BMX bicycle demo at Madison today. They’re the same riders who showed their stuff at West Seattle Christian in late August (WSB coverage here).
Finally got some official information about a power outage in the Westwood Village vicinity. We got a text about a “spotty” outage in a few places at the center earlier tonight – went over and looked around, didn’t see any obvious evidence of an outage. Seattle City Light didn’t have anything on its outage line. But now they’ve sent a short tweet saying 148 customers – businesses and residences – are affected by the outage, and they may not have the power back till 3 am. In a comment on this morning’s holiday supermarket hours story, “Voodoo” reports that QFC has had some effects – including the ice-cream case.
Coffee and cooking just seem to go together. So once again this year, we’ve compiled a list of which coffee shops will be open Thanksgiving (and when). Click any spot on the map and you’ll see the name, address, and hours. These are the ones we have confirmed – by phone or in-person visit – are OPEN tomorrow; those we know are closed, are not listed. Note that the green arrow marks WSB sponsor Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, which is offering coupons for freebies during the 4-day holiday weekend (see them, and print them from, our Coupons page). Use the plus sign on the left side of the map to zoom in, and to go to the fullpage Google Map (including a text list on the left side), click the VIEW LARGER MAP link under the map above. Thanks yet again to Sue Scharff (who works with the zesty Zippy Dogs) for research assistance. There are a few places that didn’t pick up the phone and didn’t have hours posted – so if you know of one we missed, please leave a comment or e-mail us, and we’ll add it. This will also be linked from the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, where you’ll also find standing links (through tomorrow, anyway!) to the list of West Seattle restaurants open tomorrow and the list of West Seattle grocery stores open tomorrow.
Remember those big roundups from SDOT before the big summer weekends? They’re back for the holidays and with so many activities around the city, we’re thinking you’ll be interested. Among them, as mentioned here a few times, Friday morning (8:45 am start)’s Macy’s Holiday Parade with the Denny/Sealth bands (here’s the official route map, courtesy of Macy’s). Read on for the full traffic alert for the next four days:Read More
Just posted at SPDBlotter: Southwest Precinct investigators who’ve been working on dental-office break-ins in West Seattle and 
citywide are asking your help in finding the man shown at left. Here’s the text of the alert: “Seattle Police detectives are seeking the public’s assistance in locating Shane L. Carlson, 26, in connection with the recent pattern of dental/medical office burglaries in recent months. Carlson in the prime suspect in these burglaries, most of which have occurred in North and West Seattle, but also in Bothell, Shoreline and Bellevue since May of this year. Carlson has multiple warrants for his arrest, including a $100,000 Burglary 2nd Degree warrant and a $150,000 Possession of Stolen Property and Violation of Uniformed Controlled Substances Act (drugs) warrant. He is described as a white male, 26 years old, 5′6″, 155 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a thin build. He has a scar on his face and tattoos on his left shoulder, upper left arm and back. He may be driving a green 1998 Range Rover or a champagne-colored 2001 Cadillac DeVille. He may frequent North King County or South Snohomish County.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call either 911 or Detective Bauer at (206) 233-7830. Those wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637). Your text message should include “TIP486″ to ensure proper routing. If a tip leads to an arrest and the filing of charges, callers may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Calls are taken 24 hours a day.“
First, one more pre-Thanksgiving food bank pitch. The West Seattle Food Bank is open till 3 pm today – one more hour – the White Center Food Bank (which serves part of southern WS too) is (THIS IS AN UPDATE) open till 7 pm. You’ve probably seen our pitches to help make sure your neighbors have a happy holiday. Here’s one we received from Rob:
Just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Audrey at the WC Food Bank last night and she said they still need large turkeys, dinner rolls and cranberry sauce. When I dropped off some cranberry sauce this morning they told me that had run out of it altogether.
I didn’t even know there was a WC Food Bank until I read your post mentioning the need for the turkeys and such. A bit embarrassing to say that since I live only about 25 blocks from it, but my point is that I didn’t know and your post made me aware of it. Here’s hoping it opens more people’s eyes.
The WC Food Bank is at 10829 8th SW; directions here. The WS Food Bank is at the southeast corner of 35th/Morgan. (3:01 PM NOTE: We went to WCFB to clarify when they’re open and what they need. Director Rick Jump says they’ve got what they need for holiday distributions and thanks everyone who’s helped. Our note: Both local food banks have a tremendous ongoing demand – donating $ to them online will give them the most buying power, as they have a lot of bulk deals.)
One more story of giving. It’s a tradition for Seattle Lutheran High School students – a day of giving right before the holiday. Today, they’ve been working on a variety of projects around West Seattle – including painting a mural in the nursery at neighboring Hope Lutheran Church/School:
Other groups of SLHS students did work including pulling invasives at Me-Kwa-Mooks and performing music for local elders. ADDED 2:16 PM: One other giving option we meant to mention – it’s among the “ongoing” listings on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page – as of today, there’s a Pet Giving Tree at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor):
Many other giving trees in West Seattle too – we’re continuing to add to the listings on the WS Holidays page – let us know if we’re missing any!
A crash is blocking the turn lane from 35th SW northbound to The Bridge eastbound at Fauntleroy – doesn’t look like a serious injury situation, but traffic is backing up on 35th.
Continuing our pre-Thanksgiving info roundups (yesterday, we published the restaurant list — and have made some additions/changes since then; thanks to everyone for collaborating!) – now, here’s the West Seattle grocery store list, with who’s open/who’s not on Thanksgiving:
METROPOLITAN MARKET , Admiral
Open till 2 pm Thanksgiving Day
PCC NATURAL MARKET, West Seattle (WSB sponsor)
Closed on Thanksgiving Day
QFC in The Junction
Open till 6 pm Thanksgiving Day
QFC in Westwood Village
Open till 6:30 pm
SAFEWAY (all 3 West Seattle locations)
Open 24 hours as usual
WEST SEATTLE THRIFTWAY
Open 5 am-6 pm on Thanksgiving
P.S. Amazon Fresh (WSB sponsor) is NOT making Thanksgiving Day deliveries. Still to come – the coffee map; all Thanksgiving info will be linked from the WSB West Seattle Holidays page too (as well as the growing-daily array of other activities between now and New Year’s!).
Didn’t get to photograph the most spectacular intervals of fog this morning, but this view looking south from the top of Genesee Hill shows some of the lingering fog as it drifted over the water. Nothing extraordinary in the holiday weekend forecast – a break right now, but then some rain, some breezy conditions, according to the “forecast discussion”. (If you’re going downtown for the Macy’s Holiday Parade on Friday morning (the Chief Sealth High School and Denny International Middle School marching bands are in it! here’s the route map), looks like rain is possible.)
(cameraphone photo added 6:16 am)
ORIGINAL 5:55 AM REPORT: Big response to a house fire in the 4200 block of Beach Drive [map]. More shortly. 6:15 AM: Beach Drive is blocked off from La Rustica to Me Kwa Mooks because of the callout, which is – as noted in comments – at an under-construction home on the water side of Beach. 6:21 AM: The fire’s tapped. Fire Department spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick is there and confirms that nobody was inside at the time and that no one’s been hurt – the fire appears to have originated on the second floor; they’re trying to reach the building’s owner. 6:26 AM: Note that the Beach Drive closure is affecting the 37 bus – via Twitter, @crm4444 advises that it’s being rerouted up Jacobsen and, “Looks like 37 riders north of Jacobsen need to catch at 63rd/Admiral till fire action clears.” 6:59 AM: Adding video of ladder crew working once the flames were out. When our camera pans back to the truck, you can see why the entire road is closed at that spot:
No word yet on the cause. 7:06 AM: SFD spokesperson Fitzpatrick now says one firefighter suffered an arm injury and had to go to the hospital. 7:18 AM: Heading back to the scene for an update. Beach Drive is still closed at Weather Watch Park on the north side. 8 AM: Still closed both ways; incident commander at the scene tells us northbound Beach Dr should reopen within an hour, southbound (the side the burned house is on) will be a bit longer. No word on the cause yet; investigators are in the house now:
In the daylight, it’s clear that the new construction where the fire happened is actually a two-story add-on in front of the old house.
10:30 AM UPDATE: Investigators say this was an accidental fire – damage estimated at $250,000. SFD says they haven’t zeroed in on exactly what sparked it, but it’s clear it was not deliberately set, so that’s the ruling.
We stopped by to check out the Triangle site (38th/Alaska) where work has begun on Link (background here), taking these photos just as day 2 of demolition work was concluding at mid-afternoon Tuesday. The old Huling repair-shop building (which more recently had been used to build/store Hi-Yu floats) is about half-gone – above, the view from SW Alaska, looking north; next, the view from 38th, looking east through what’s left of its customer-service area (note the slogan on the wall):
And on the north side of the site, the remaining ex-school buildings are just a pile of splintered wood:
The head of the construction project, developer Harbor Properties tells us, is the same one who ran Mural (WSB sponsor), the apartments/retail building that opened this year across from Jefferson Square. Right now, this is the only project Harbor – which works around the city – has under construction. Before they started work on Monday morning, they visited nearby homes and businesses, they say, to make sure everyone knew who to contact in case of concerns about anything at the site.
(Still photos in this report are courtesy King County)
A photographer working for King County took that photo of West Seattleites Dow Constantine and longtime partner Shirley Carlson in the front row at Daniels Recital Hall downtown, moments before he went to the stage to be sworn in as King County Executive. From the balcony overhead, we caught the subsequent aerial view:
We added a long excerpt of his speech to our original as-it-happened report on this afternoon’s event. You can also read the full speech text here. The county’s photos also include parental congratulations:
And here’s a cutaway of the camera-laden crowd:
Afterward, the Total Experience Gospel Choir (which rehearses at West Seattle’s Kenyon Hall) sang:
And then, with the 5 pm news hour approaching, it was time for the new County Executive to meet the media, and talk more about his immediate priorities:
His move to the County Executive’s office leaves a vacancy on the King County Council for District 8, which includes West Seattle. We’ve reported before on the process planned to find his successor to cover the next year, till what was his term expires in fall 2010. This afternoon – just moments before he was sworn-in – the county announced the list of 11 applicants for the immediate appointment (the following is an excerpt from the announcement, with the descriptions exactly as the county provided them):
Jan Drago—A member of the Seattle City Council who is leaving the Council this year
· Helen Howell—Former Director of the state Department of Financial Institutions, served as Deputy Chief of Staff under Governor Locke
· Zack Hudgins—State Representative from the 11th District
· Jake Jacobovitch—Engineer in the Road Services Division of the King County Department of Transportation
· Arun Jhaveri—Former Regional Technology Manager with the Federal Energy Management Program and former Mayor of Burien
· Lucy Krakowiak—Burien City Council Member and a member of the King County Library Board of Trustees
· Joe McDermott—State Senator from the 34th District
· Shawn McEvoy—Mayor of Normandy Park
· Sharon Nelson—State Representative from the 34th District,
· Vlad Oustimovitch—A partner at VoKa Incorporated, and a former Development Program Manager for the Seattle Housing Authority
· Kathleen Quong-Vermeire, Commissioner, Highline Water District, former Mayor of Normandy Park
Only two West Seattleites on that list — Sen. McDermott, whom the 34th District Democrats support (as reported here) as Constantine’s successor, and Oustimovitch, who also currently serves on the group of “stakeholders” helping plan the South Portal end of the Viaduct/Tunnel project. Rep. Nelson has been a longtime Constantine staffer; she emceed this afternoon’s event:
According to the county’s news release about the applicants, they both say they would run for the job after the appointed year expires; the advisory committee that will review them is supposed to recommend at least one finalist who would run, and one who would not. The County Council, now chaired by Councilmember Bob Ferguson, will interview the finalists starting Dec. 7; the advisory committee plans interviews on Dec. 3. In the meantime, another sign of the changing of the guard: Some new features on the county website, including, of course, the County Executive section.
(photo added 9:45 pm)
ORIGINAL 8:42 PM REPORT (when the headline mentioned “heavy rescue call”): Scanner says it’s a report of a car over an embankment into a building at Avalon/Genesee (map). On our way to check. Meantime, scanner says first responders report “no injuries” but they’re checking on the status of the building and the car. 8:49 PM: En route for a firsthand look but in the meantime, police now think it was a parked car that rolled over an embankment. 9:04 PM: This is actually downhill from Avalon/Genesee, 4700 block of 30th SW. It’s a pickup truck that rolled into an apartment building. Doesn’t look so far like major damage to the building. Tow truck has arrived to pull the damaged vehicle away. 9:45 PM UPDATE: Adding photos; the pickup’s been towed up and away. The driver told us and a couple TV crews that his truck wouldn’t start, so he popped the hood to have a look, and thought he had the emergency brake on, but apparently not. The downslope apartment building, by the way, wasn’t damaged.
(very brief clip added 9:09 pm, K-9 crew returning to SPD car after searching)
ORIGINAL 7:21 PM REPORT: (original headline described “assault with weapons” call) All we can tell so far from the scanner is that police are looking for a suspect who ran west from the scene in the 7600 block of 8th SW (map), and that there is an “injured victim.” More as we get it. 7:35 PM UPDATE: No details on the circumstances but a private ambulance has been called to take the victim to the hospital, a general indication the injury’s not major. According to SeattleCrime.com, this started as a robbery. 8:03 PM UPDATE: Details now directly from Seattle Police media unit Det. Jeff Kappel: The call came in to 911 as a robbery around 7:10 pm; officers found a man who had apparently been robbed at gunpoint, then hit on the head with “the butt of what we believe is a shotgun wielded by the suspect,” said Kappel. The robber then ran or walked away; Kappel says the only description they have to work with right now is “black male, 30s, black skullcap, Army fatigues, gold tooth.” WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Just checked back with SPD. They did not find the robber last night, so he’s still out there somewhere. Also one clarification on circumstances – the victim was confronted, robbed and beaten as he was getting out of his car at his home, according to SPD’s Det. Mark Jamieson in the media unit.
The verdict’s in for DeShawn “Cash Money” Clark, the teenage pimp linked to a gang called the Westside Street Mobb: Guilty. He’s the first person convicted under King County’s human-trafficking law. Though the gang was said to have originated in West Seattle, Clark’s crimes did not happen here – court documents and testimony focused on a Des Moines Memorial Drive apartment as well as Seattle, Tukwila and Portland hotels. Our partners at the Seattle Times have been covering the case closely; here’s their story on the verdict; a news release from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says five other Westside Street Mobb members have pleaded guilty in related cases and are facing prison time – Clark could get up to 26 years.
(Photo above courtesy King County, added 7:32 pm; original report and photos start below)
ORIGINAL 4:02 PM REPORT: We’re at Daniels Recital Hall downtown, the former 1st United Methodist Church, where West Seattleite Dow Constantine is about to be sworn in as King County Executive. As you’d expect, it’s a who’s-who of local politics here – we’ve seen West Seattleites Mayor Greg Nickels, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis and State Sen. Joe McDermott (who’s hoping to succeed Constantine as King County Councilmember for District 8) so far, as well as State Rep. Sharon Nelson. 4:08 PM UPDATE: The chair of his transition team is giving introductory remarks. And now (4:11), State Rep. Nelson is speaking – starting by saying, “This is a new day for King County” and then talking about the fight to protect Maury Island (where she lives) and the rest of Puget Sound. 4:18 PM: Constantine has been sworn in and is giving his “100-day plan” speech. “These are challenging times,” he says. He’s talking about “growing up in West Seattle, the son of two schoolteachers.” … “The era of government by mere good intention is over. Starting today, we will begin to build partnerships … to lead to fundamental change in the way King County government does business. … and we promise to preserve quality of life … in a way that is sustainable.” He speaks of green jobs, environmental protection, and is thanking his family as well as his “army” of campaign volunteers.
4:26 PM: Constantine says he wants “a culture of performance” to change county government and says that Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett (the eastside State Senator who ran for the County Executive job in the primary) will lead the effort to create that culture. He also stresses an emphasis on customer service. “My administration will represent all of King County — rural, suburban, urban.” That includes “reprioritizing Metro transit services,” he promises. He says he rode the number 56 bus (from West Seattle) today. He says it’s time to stop allocating Metro services based on old formulas and “political divisions.” Reducing costs, improving customer services – he says county employees “will be our best partners” toward making that happen. “We know that you know how to make things work better” – in a “culture of continuous improvement.” He promises a program to have the County Executive “walk a day in the shoes of a county employee.” He mentions having cut 15% of the staffing levels in the County Executive office and says that he and other staffers in the office have taken salary cuts from what people who held those jobs before were making. He says county government will be more user-friendly and transparent … “This is a tall order, and we will need all hands on deck.”
4:33 PM: He is quoting Bill Gates and Jimi Hendrix – the latter, “In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” He promises to harness the “innovation and spirit that built this region” — while protecting values including stewardship, sacrifice, service, rights. “This belief that we can do it, and do it right, is why we’re here today. … I want to thank the people of King County for their vote of confidence.” Short speech, less than 20 minutes, and after that sentence, plus several rounds of “thank you” – it’s over.
4:37 PM: The Total Experience Gospel Choir is singing now (another West Seattle touch – they practice at Kenyon Hall). “Lean On Me” — appropriate since Constantine told the crowd, in the final lines of his speech, that he and his administration would need everyone’s help. (We’ll publish a separate report later with video from the speech and clearer photos – the ones in this story were iPhone on-the-spot pix.)
The county’s on furlough tomorrow, and has certified election results today – this is it, three weeks after Election Day, the final count. Dow Constantine, who’ll be sworn in at 4 pm (more here), beat Susan Hutchison for County Executive with 325,777 votes (59.04%) to 224,467 votes (40.68%); for Seattle Mayor, Mike McGinn (who takes office in January and just announced 3 town halls – none in West Seattle – today) beat Joe Mallahan with 105,492 votes (51.14%) to 98,302 (47.65%). Countywide voter turnout was 53.2%, half a percent point less than the last major off-year general election in 2005 (after which the vote-by-mail proposal was made). See all the results here.
Guaranteed to make you want to stand in the middle of Walk-All-Ways, join hands with your fellow West Seattleites and sway gently (or not-so-gently depending on what you’ve been up to) while singing along … it’s “We Are The Junction” – as announced/explained by Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) proprietor Jeff Gilbert:
A Christmas album compilation made by West Seattle musicians for West Seattle
CD Release Party, Saturday, December 5th, 8 PM, The Feedback Lounge, right after the West Seattle Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Conceived by Jeff Gilbert, Steve Adams and Dave Blackburn, “We Are The Junction” is a West Seattle Christmas compilation featuring West Seattle musicians/bands. All proceeds from sales of the album are being donated to the West Seattle Food Bank.
Featuring all original holiday songs, the participating artists/musicians are…
Kirk Dubb/Dynomite D
The Pleasure Elite
Urban Squirrel
The Bend
Stumbletown Steve Adams
Gunn & The Damage Done
Jay Cates & Jefferson Bennett
Mr. Holmes
Earth, Wind & SteveThe album will be for sale at Easy Street Records, West 5, Shadowland, and The Feedback Lounge December 5th and will sell for $10.
We Are The Junction continues with two more charity albums planned for 2010, including a two-disc summer CD.
(photo courtesy General Biodiesel, added Wednesday morning)
While talking to some folks at the county about another story, we were reminded that there’s a West Seattle dropoff spot for recycling used cooking oil – and the county in fact has just put out a reminder that you can use it for free, 24/7. It’s at General Biodiesel at 4034 West Marginal Way (map).
That’s how Chas Redmond captioned this scene from Alki. (There’s probably also a “different way to stuff the bird” joke lurking in there too.) By the way, the forecast is calling for “more of the same” for the foreseeable future.
A few people asked about a sizable sludgy mess in the street in the heart of The Junction this morning. We didn’t get a photo before the cleanup was complete about an hour ago, but we did nail down what it was all about, after getting a hint it had something to do with a bus – Metro’s Linda Thielke confirms, “Some power steering fluid spilled from a bus. Metro’s spill response team responded to do the cleanup.”
We’re still checking around so this is probably NOT the final list. But this is who we know so far will be open at least part of the time on Thursday – at least as of our research done Monday. Thank you to Sue Scharff for volunteering to help with research! (Sue, by the way, is with the lively Zippy Dogs. No, not a hot-dog cart, not pet-walkers, rather, “your logo on fun stuff.”)
Admiral Pub: Serving a FREE DINNER from noon ‘til 5 pm!
Be’s Restaurant: 7 am ‘til 2 pm
Brickyard BBQ: 5 pm ‘til close
Charlestown Café: 7 am ‘til 5 pm
Christo’s on Alki: 8 am-3 pm (breakfast/lunch)
Easy Street Café: COFFEE ONLY 7 am ‘til noon
Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor): 4 pm till close (limited food menu)
Mac’s Triangle Pub (Delridge/16th/Roxbury): opening 7 pm, serving food till 1 am
Taco del Mar (Junction): 10 am ‘til 5 pm (depending on customers; may be open later)
Tacos Guaymas: 11 am ‘til 3 pm
Tha Thaitan: 11 am ‘til 9:30 pm (formerly Boontin/Olarn, across from West Seattle Nursery)
Salty’s on Alki: (call to check if reservations are still available)
Note, we are NOT listing who’s closed – just who’s open. Anybody else serving on Thanksgiving? Please let us know (or add a comment here). We’re also just about done with the Thanksgiving coffee map and will have that on the Holidays page later today. And another reminder – there are also two FREE community meals in West Seattle on Thursday: The traditional Fauntleroy gathering at The Hall at Fauntleroy (old schoolhouse), noon-3 pm; West Seattle Eagles in The Junction, reviving an old tradition, 2-5 pm, plus Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center is having a community potluck Thanksgiving at 4 (announced in the WSB Forums).
If you’re heading back this way in the next few hours, this might be a reason to avoid The Viaduct. From Peg Nielsen at SDOT:
Today, Tuesday, November 24, a Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crew will be making emergency repairs to an expansion joint on the Alaskan Way Viaduct southbound just past the First Avenue S exit. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the left and center lane will be closed southbound just south of the First Avenue off-ramp and will not hinder traffic taking that exit. Then, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., the center and right lane will be closed at the same location. Please use caution through the work zone.
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