West Seattle, Washington
17 Wednesday
Ron Angeles, who handles the Delridge district for the city’s Department of Neighborhoods, has sent around the reminder for the next Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting – everybody’s invited:
Reminder:
Delridge Neighborhoods District Council
Wednesday, Sept. 16th
7-9pm
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SWOn the agenda:
Neighborhood Plan Status Reports and Update Process
Climate Action Now
Friends of Seattle Public Libraries
Neighborhood Project Fund AwardeesAnd…
Updates from the Neighborhoods and Community Activities New Issues and Concerns
The District Council is made up of representatives from community and neighborhood-based organizations, business and merchant groups, schools, and non-profit human services agencies. They meet 9-10 times a year to network, support each other’s efforts, and advise the City on budgetary matters related to transportation, parks, the Neighborhood Matching Fund, Neighborhood Project Fund (street and parks improvements), and other city-sponsored programs and services. Individual citizens are also encouraged to attend and participate in open discussions.
Just announced:
The Washington Foundation for the Environment presents a candidate forum:
What: The two candidates for King County Executive answer questions on environmental issues facing the county
Who: Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison
Where: The Seattle Aquarium, 1483 Alaskan Way
Moderated by Ross Reynolds, host of “The Conversation” on KUOW-FM
Televised on King County TV Cable Channel 22When: Monday, October 12, 2009, doors open at 6:30 for refreshments and informal discussion, candidate forum starts at 7pm and is scheduled to conclude at 8pm
Why: The King County Executive plays an important role in setting the direction on local and regional environmental issues including growth and land use planning, transportation decisions, management of our water resources, farmland preservation and more. Come and ask the candidates questions and learn more about their positions.
This is a free event, donations welcome. For questions or to RSVP, please email info@wffe.org.
Co-sponsors: People For Puget Sound, National Wildlife Federation, Washington Environmental Council, Cascade Land Conservancy, Futurewise, Seattle Aquarium Society, Transportation Choices Coalition, Washington Toxics Coalition, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, and Climate Solutions
A week and a half after first mention of the new West Seattle clothing store Cherry Consignment, it welcomed shoppers to a grand-opening party tonight. West Seattle writer Mary Sheely covered it in her first assignment for WSB.
Story and photos by Mary Sheely
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Nyla Bittermann (photo left) and Tracy Dart envisioned their new store, Cherry Consignment, as a place that would welcome the community. And that community includes all shapes, sizes, and price ranges. Tonight, the night of the store’s grand-opening party, prices ranged from $4-$75 and sizes from 0 to 28 (plus men’s and maternity clothing) could be spotted on the racks. And the customers came in for both.
“Nyla’s vision is to serve the fringes—those of us who can’t find stuff in a lot of consignment stores,” says shopper Jaime Untz, whom Bittermann calls “our PR person.”
“We should be able to go into a store and try stuff on and make a day of it and feel pampered,” Untz says.
Even more important to Dart and Bittermann than Cherry Consignment’s selection and prices is the new store’s atmosphere — and they’re not talking about the cherry art that decorates the walls.
We’ll add a detailed report here later; first, both games are in the books: West Seattle High School over visiting Belmont (from just outside Victoria, BC) at West Seattle Stadium, 33-6 (covered live on Twitter at @wsblive, including a half-hour delay while an injured Belmont player was tended to – he went to the hospital for observation of what’s believed to be a “neck stinger“); Sammamish over visiting Chief Sealth, 27-0. Seattle Lutheran plays its first game tomorrow (Saturday), facing Darrington at WS Stadium.
ADDED 2:11 AM: From the WSHS game – first, a short video clip of the traditional postgame congratulations etc.
WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand reports Belmont presented West Seattle with small Canadian flags. As for game highlights: Running back Danny Phan had 3 touchdowns on the night. Other stars of the game were Isaiah Jenkins, with a couple of key runs in the 3rd quarter; he also intercepted a Belmont pass that ended Belmont’s best drive of the night. Belmont finally scored with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, but missed the extra point when their kicker fumbled the ball. Next week, it’s WSHS vs. Franklin, 5 pm Friday night (Sept. 11) at Memorial Stadium (Seattle Center). Now a few notes about Chief Sealth:
(WSB photo from the final moments of Sealth @ Sammamish)
Next week, Sealth hosts Rainier Beach at Southwest Athletic Complex. In a discussion of tonight’s game on our Facebook page, Sealth’s new athletic director Sam Reed said, “The boys played hard, and I am proud of them. They competed with a small squad and got some new players some game experience. Looking forward to seeing them incorporate some more players over the next couple weeks.”
Look for coverage tonight of the SLHS/Darrington game at WS Stadium.
Though yard-sale season is ebbing, several West Seattle sales for this weekend are posted in the Freebies/Deals/Sales section of the WSB Forums. You’re welcome to post your sale there too, free, whether personal or business; an increasing amount of freebie listings are showing up as well. Here’s where to start!
We took that photo of the parking-strip garden at Chris‘s house in Admiral (39th/Lander) after he e-mailed this report:
Last night our parking strip garden was vandalized.
For the past several years my wife and I have planted a parking strip garden and with the exception or a few tomatoes being snatched, they have been relatively undisturbed. One of the highlights is growing pumpkins for our kids. Over the years, many toddlers in our neighborhood have spend time counting our pumpkins and watching them grow. Our kids take great pride that they grow their own pumpkins for Halloween. This year we were fortunate enough to have an Atlantic Giant pumpkin that we have been nuturing along with a handful of jack o’ lantern pumpkins. The Atlantic Giant though not enormous was over 60 pounds.
This morning I was greeted with three of the pumpkins in the street. One was smashed, another undamaged and the 60-pound giant damaged. The giant was not broken open and looks like whoever perpetrated this was frustrated enough that they used a knife to cut several gashes along one end. Both my children are very upset and I am disappointed that this happened. The impact stretches beyond our family to the families in the neighborhood who take the time to walk our the garden to watch the pumpkins grow.
If you saw anything, contact police, to whom Chris says this has been reported.
We had a short update on this yesterday; now a few more details from SDOT – if you are interested in the 1st Avenue South paving, read on for the full-length announcement:Read More
Important information for you to make sure your kids are aware of – all detailed here, published today.
Driving past Capco Plaza – the soon-to-open mixed-use building in The Junction at 42nd/Alaska/41st – we spotted a Starbucks sign just inside its southeastern doors. The site is still fenced off, so even when we walked up to take the photo you see above, it wasn’t close enough to figure out whether it’s part of the QFC (which is targeting 9/16 for opening) or a free-standing ministore in the lobby of the building, which will include other retail as well as Altamira Luxury Apartments (so far, the only announced tenant besides QFC and Office Depot has been Desert Sun Tanning). We have inquiries out, to owner/developer Leon Capelouto and to Starbucks. The sighting is notable because there’s already a Starbucks stand inside the nearby Jefferson Square Safeway and because Starbucks opened — then, after a year, closed — a freestanding store on the north end of Jefferson Square (that space is currently advertised as available for lease) – plus of course there’s a multiplicity of other coffee venues within a matter of blocks. ADDED 4:13 PM: Just heard back from building owner Capelouto. He says that’s a freestanding Starbucks kiosk right inside the 42nd/Alaska corner door.
Meet 1-year-old Maarten, a little guy who’s caught up in a big fight. Right now Maarten and his family are on the other side of the country, 
where he’s getting help for a brain tumor that he’s been fighting almost his entire life. But in two weeks, right here in West Seattle, hundreds of people will come together for a huge sale to help raise money for him to get better – and they’re hoping you will join them.
It’ll be at Peace Lutheran Church in Gatewood (39th/Thistle), 9 am-6 pm Friday, September 18, and 8 am-5 pm Saturday, September 19th.
We got first word of this from Claudia Ludwig, a West Seattleite who knows the family and is organizing the big yard/bake sale. She says Maarten was diagnosed with the tumor when he was just 3 months old, in October of last year, and has gone through many treatments since then; right now he’s getting radiation again, in Boston. Claudia says his prognosis is good, but it’s just too risky for doctors to do more surgery right now, so radiation is what they’re using. Maarten’s family is publishing updates at helpmaarten.blogspot.com. Claudia says that for the sale in two weeks, more than 200 families are already donating items and baked goods, including members of the Peace Lutheran congregation, but they could use more. She explains some of the backstory:
Maarten’s parents are scientists who have devoted their lives to bettering ours. However, by working in academia, their salary is very low. Francois works at the UW and Sacha has left her job at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) to care for her son. At this point in their cancer treatment, only the basics are covered by their insurance. Everything that is only “recommended” (the physical therapy, hearing tests, occupational therapy) is not covered. And of course this does not include the flights to Boston and the time away from work. Also, all of their family live in France and the Netherlands, so they are really on their own. All of this began only 8 months after they moved to Seattle, so their support network was small.
So when we realized we must do something to help with this increasingly difficult time, we decided on a yard sale where ALL proceeds go to Maarten and his parents to help finance the needed tests, therapies, and the many bills that are stacking up. We originally decided to gather items at our work places, and then bring them to my house to sell. Then the pile of items got bigger, so we decided to spread things to my neighbors’ yards, but even that didn’t seem like enough space. That’s when Peace Lutheran Church graciously joined us and agreed to host and lend a hand. Together we will really make a difference for this family.
Claudia says the most important way to help will be to come to the sale September 18-19 – but they still could use donations as well; there’s info on the right sidebar of the Help Maarten site regarding how to reach her, as well as how to donate money via PayPal and/or check.
Last chance to enjoy some summertime staples, like Colman Pool at Lincoln Park, open Sat-Sun-Mon before closing till May 2010 … or take a scenic walk on Saturday with the Emerald City Wanderers … taste tomatoes at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sunday … more than 40 events/activities through Monday night are all featured in the Labor Day weekend edition of the WSB West Seattle Weekend Lineup:Read More
Two reports to share this morning: First, Marie reports that a bike like the one on the left is one of two bikes that were stolen from in front of the Game Stop store on Roxbury Thursday afternoon (map) – her son and a friend parked the bikes and two teenagers “grabbed them and rode off,” she says. She is asking for people to be on the lookout for the bikes: “A gray Free Agent BMX racing bike, very nice, was a Christmas present; the second bike was a vintage Dino BMX bike. It is chrome with orange lettering and red handle grips. They are irreplaceable; the boys are heartbroken.”
Second report – Karleen says her neighbor’s house near SW Oregon and 22nd (map) was broken into yesterday afternoon: “The thieves apparently entered through the kitchen window, hopped over the sink and helped themselves to the XBOX and a few games – also missing is a laptop and a ring. They left out the back door, leaving muddy footprints, and the back door was left wide open. They went as far as trying to re-install the window screen they bent on entry.” Both of these incidents have been reported to the police; later today, we’ll share some information from a neighborhood-organizing meeting last night elsewhere in West Seattle, regarding how best to protect against burglars.
ADDED 10:12 AM: Shortly after we first published this, Ray e-mailed another bike-theft report: “Our son’s bike was stolen from our backyard between noon and 3 pm, Thursday, Sept. 3. We live in North Admiral, on 45th near College Ave [map]. His bike is a red, REDLINE racer, made by Torker.”
Before we get to the West Seattle Weekend Lineup later this morning, a few quick reminders:
BLOOD DRIVE: 9 am-2 pm, presented by PNW Realty in the main Jefferson Square parking lot. Help make sure supplies don’t run low during the long holiday weekend. More here.
SHOPPING: Cherry Consignment (noted here) is throwing a grand opening bash tonight, promising “drinks, discounts and door prizes,” 5-8 pm, 4142 California SW (map).
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Season openers tonight for Chief Sealth High School (at Sammamish) and West Seattle High School (hosting Belmont from B.C. at West Seattle Stadium), both at 7 pm.
DELRIDGE PRODUCE COOPERATIVE: The fourth and final 4-day stint for the “Mobile Market” experiment starts today, 3:30-7:30 pm, 9050 Delridge (map). Want fresh food in eastern West Seattle? Stop by, get some free produce, fill out a survey, find out where the experiment goes from here.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
One night after the news that September 19th is set as the date for an event commemorating a new time capsule and plaque at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza – we have more details from Libby Carr, whose committee raised money to make the plaza dream a reality almost exactly one year ago, and is now officially disbanding:
We are now making the final arrangements for the Time Capsule Celebration at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza which is now set for Saturday, Sept. 19th at 2:00 PM at Alki’s Statue of Liberty Plaza, 61st & Alki Ave SW. We are hoping that all of Alki and West Seattle can attend. (Also, please send us an e-mail [libby@carrbiz.com] if you’d like to be on the Sealady Newsletter e-mail list, which will continue to be sent out periodically).
Special Guest is Astronaut Gregory C. Johnson: We are excited to have (West Seattle High School alumnus) Greg Johnson to help us celebrate the placing of the new 50 year Time Capsule and also celebrate 852 more inscribed bricks and 8 (still 7 left) new Tribute Plaques laid as Phase II. … The WSHS Foundation, SSLPP and the Museum of Flight worked together with NASA to make the arrangements for his trip so he could speak to our various groups.
We have also been working with the Mayor’s Office and the City Council who will issue a joint proclamation to have September 19th proclaimed as Gregory C. Johnson Day. Tim Ceis, Deputy Mayor, will present Greg with this honor.
We are now “passing the torch” to the Alki Community Council as the new community organization that will continue to keep a watchful community eye on the plaza and to be the official organization to raise funds in the future for the plaza.
Leading this effort (to finish the new plaza at Alki) has been a very interesting experience for Paul and me over the last 2 years. Even though, especially in the early days, it was not always smooth sailing, we just knew it was the right thing to do and that the majority of people in West Seattle wanted to see this special place renovated, improved and finished.
We are pleased we could be a part of this process. Thank you.
Libby & Paul Carr, Co-Chairs – Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project
The plaza was dedicated on September 6, 2008 (WSB coverage here); one year earlier, on September 11, 2007, the recast Statue of Liberty was returned to its old pre-plaza pedestal (WSB coverage here). Also a reminder – in addition to this event, astronaut Greg Johnson – who piloted Atlantis earlier this year – will appear at the Museum of Flight on Sept. 23 (here’s our story from last week).
From the city’s SODO traffic alert e-mail list tonight – “final paving” means nighttime closures next week:
Final paving Tuesday – Friday, September 8-11: overnight closures from 9 p.m. – 6 a.m. required. 1st Ave S will be closed to traffic in both directions between S Stacy and S Horton streets. During the paving, traffic will not be allowed to cross 1st Ave S east- or westbound in the work zone. North-and southbound 1st Ave S traffic will be detoured over to 4th S via S Holgate and S Horton streets. Alternate route: Use East Marginal Way S via S Atlantic and S Spokane streets. S Occidental and S Utah – the non-arterials that flank 1st Ave S – will also remain open.
If you’re not subscribed to the SODO traffic list, you can sign up from the bottom of this page.
A court appearance this morning for 19-year-old Skyelar Hailey, charged with two counts of burglary after an incident last month that started with the theft of a teacher’s purse at West Seattle High School, continued with items being taken from an acquaintance’s home nearby, and ended with a foot pursuit involving police (all detailed here): According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Hailey pleaded not guilty, and the judge cut his bail from $25,000 to $15,000. He is still in jail as of this moment, according to the county’s online jail register. As reported here Tuesday, the 17-year-old girl who was with him when this all happened is charged with burglary and ID theft, and also has pleaded not guilty.
The exterior sign isn’t up yet, but there are brand-new owners at, and a new name for, what was Pizza Time at 7514 35th SW (map). Shannon Cross tells WSB that while she and her husband are born-and-raised West Seattleites, when they decided to go into the pizza business, they couldn’t find the right place here, so they opened Red Star Pizza in the Pierce County town of Lakewood. Then Pizza Time went on the market – and they realized, “We have to have it.” Right now they’re in a transition time to the full menu they offer as Red Star Pizza (see it here on their website, which Shannon says will have the West Seattle location information soon), including subs, plus more fresh local ingredients, including, she says, produce from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. And note the video games in the photo atop this story – Shannon explains that they’re into ’80s and ’90s nostalgia, so they’ve got five classic game machines. Like Pizza Time, they have delivery and carry-out — 11 am-11 pm Mondays-Thursdays, 11 am-1 am Fridays-Saturdays, 11 am-8 pm Sundays.
That’s a very quick snippet from our visit to West Seattle High School‘s varsity football practice session Wednesday afternoon at Madison Middle School (where the Wildcats are practicing until Hiawatha field renovations are done later this year; here’s another brief clip). We published their schedule here 2 weeks ago; their kickoff game is 7 pm tomorrow, West Seattle Stadium, vs. Belmont Secondary (from British Columbia). Chief Sealth High School football gets going tomorrow too, 7 pm Friday at Sammamish, and here’s their schedule; and Seattle Lutheran opens its season vs. Darrington, 7 pm Saturday at West Seattle Stadium (SLHS calendar here).
WSHS is coming off its Metro Sound Division title season, and the coaches’ poll at the Seattle Times (WSB partner) also picks them to repeat. The team’s fundraising campaign is stepping up too – you can see head coach Davis Lura‘s video message about it on this page at Fundblast.com, which also details the discounts available through the Gold Card the team is selling (which you can buy online through a link in the lower-left section of this page). Watch WSB on game nights for scores from all three local high schools – we’ll be tracking other sports this year too. Good luck, everyone!
Dawn Jump at Prudential NW Realty in Jefferson Square sent a reminder of tomorrow’s mobile blood drive, just in time to help with potential extra need during a long holiday weekend – 9 am-2 pm tomorrow, in the Safeway parking lot on 42nd Ave SW (map). She adds, “PLEASE DONATE!!!!!!! Please call 206 932-4500 if you’d like to schedule a specific appointment or e-mail DJ at DawnJump@PNWRealty.com with your desired time.”
(PCC’s West Seattle store staff, photographed by PCC’s Scott Parshall)
Our newest sponsor is celebrating a milestone — PCC Natural Markets opened its West Seattle location (2749 California SW) 20 years ago, and invites you to a big party September 13th with free food, fun, samples, even cooking demonstrations. The full celebration plan is on the PCC website. Here’s what else PCC wants you to know: When you crave all that’s fresh, local and organic, we hope you’ll visit all of us at PCC Natural Markets. We’ve served West Seattle since 1989 and are proud supporters of the West Seattle Food Bank, the Summer Concert Series at Hiawatha and numerous schools and community groups.
We began as a food-buying club of 15 families back in 1953. Today we’re the largest consumer-owned, natural food co-operative in the United States. Co-operative means our nine locations around the Sound are owned by our roughly 45,000 members. Not a member? You’re still plenty welcome to shop with us! But we hope you’ll consider joining the co-op to support sustainable agriculture and our long-running, environmentally friendly, community-based business.
You won’t find high-fructose corn syrup or plastic bags in our stores. Here’s just a sampling of what you will find in West Seattle: Produce, meats, dairy and more that meet our standards for quality, flavor and ethics; award-winning cooking classes through our PCC Cooks program; wine tastings; hundreds of kid-tested-and-approved foods labeled throughout the store via our Kid Picks program and a team that’s glad to answer your questions or give you a sample. Here’s to a lifetime of good eating!
Thanks to PCC Natural Markets – open 7 am-11 pm daily in West Seattle – for supporting neighborhood-based, community-collaborative news/information/discussion by sponsoring WSB. Our current sponsors are all here, with info on how to join them.
FRIENDS OF SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY AT SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Two FSPL reps spoke to the group last night, and asked again for library users to speak out to help them campaign against even more cuts next year. For starters, the survey mentioned here yesterday (direct link here) is one tool they hope to use; they also want library users to show up at budget hearings this fall, saying the usual handful of people who turn up to testify won’t be enough to impress city leaders. FSPL’s Sarel Rowe also noted that budget cuts and closures “leave a legacy” – the regular hours that don’t start till early afternoon part of the week are a never-changed holdover from years ago (as the group points out here).
USUALLY GET ONLINE AT THE LIBRARY? If you know someone who usually gets online at a library, here’s an option: Lora Lewis at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) reminds us that her shop next to the Junction Post Office has a bank of computers, and “we have Internet happy hours open to 10 am and then 4 pm to close. You receive a full hour of Internet surfing with a beverage purchase. Outside of happy hour you still receive 15 minutes free Internet surfing with a beverage and it’s just 10 cents a minute for any overage. We have desktop computers, free wireless, a black and white printer, full color scanner, black and white copier. All the desktops have the full Microsoft Office Suite. We’re open 6:30 am to 7 pm.”
Margie texted to warn other downtown-bound West Seattleites that northbound 99 is backed up because of a crash. The live 911 log shows one unit on the scene of a crash in that area. 7:42 AM: She texted that 7 cars are involved, blocking the left lane, “looks like a chain reaction.” 8:12 AM: Via Facebook, Kim says, “First Ave is a fiasco, don’t come this way.” 9:22 AM: Oliver notes in comments that the crash scene is reported to now be clear.
Josh Sutton of the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) and Rotary Club of West Seattle shares that photo and an update on the school-supplies drive Pencil Me In For Kids:
20 Rotarians and family members gathered at the Sutton compound for the annual sorting of school supplies to support kids in need at our local elementary schools. We’ll deliver them more than 100 boxes (today) so that Family Support Workers can be sure students have what they need to be ready to learn. Thanks to the community support for Rotary & Pencil Me In For Kids!
Find out more about PMIFK here.
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