West Seattle, Washington
05 Saturday
Out of the WSB inbox from someone who lives in the 5900 block of 38th SW (map):
A tall, young, dark haired Caucasian guy appeared at my front door this afternoon (Thursday) at 4:30 and said he represented “GE” but his uniform polo shirt said a different company name (“Pivotal” or “Pinnacle”?). He asked if I was the homeowner, which immediately irked me, and then asked if I attended the “community meeting at the school” about security in the neighborhood, etc. etc. He wanted us to post a sign in our yard advertising his security services; I never saw any signs though he did carry an official looking folio which he never opened. He refused to provide a business card or identification which made me suspicious.
City law requires ID and licenses for door-to-door solicitors – here are the rules (find them any time in the resource section at the bottom of the Crime Watch page).
From a cameraphone, but it still clearly told the tale of a dangerous spot in The Junction – which may see extra traffic during West Seattle Summer Fest this weekend – the photo came from Jim Edwards, as did this report:
You know the sign that says “motorcycles use extreme caution” — you better heed it here. Just north of Alaska on 42nd Ave SW. Part of the Capco site work. It is wide enough to catch a scooter or motorcycle tire. A bicycle will flip for sure. SPD non-emergency notified about quarter past nine. This is the detour route for the weekend too.
As mentioned here in a related context recently, if there is a major road hazard, the city also advises alerting 206-386-1218. UPDATE: Jim just called and was told the plate’s “already been reset.” Still – be careful in this spot.
Is West Seattle ready for “flexible workspaces”? That’s what James Tjoa is trying to figure out, and he would love to know what you think. He is working on the residential side of the project that Admiral Safeway has proposed for redeveloping its site, and exploring an idea that came up in response to concerns voiced at previous Design Review Board meetings: 
Adding to the “density” of the residential section along 42nd (top-center of that rendering from last fall, which we use just as a reference) by turning part of that section of the building into workspace. The space in question involves about 18,000 square feet around what will be Safeway’s loading dock – Tjoa says they realized that having living units atop and alongside the loading dock wouldn’t be optimal anyway, with noise and other concerns. They took a look around West Seattle, and while there’s ActivSpace on Harbor Ave, there’s no flexible workspace of note in the business-district centers. The “flexible space” concept is very much in the roughing-out process, he explains — some of it might be small spaces for just one person (150 square feet?), some bigger (up to 700?). And he says they’re open to hearing thoughts on the concept of “shared space” too – one of those places where you pay a fee to have the right to use a desk on a drop-in basis. In addition to the density concern, Tjoa says this concept could solve another of the criticisms brought up during previous Design Review meetings – there was a “green wall” there by the loading dock, and now he says the workspace could come all the way down to the sidewalk and “activate” the area facing 42nd as a result. According to Tjoa, some additional parking would be added beyond what was previously envisioned – some underground parking on that side of the building, in addition to what’s proposed for the Safeway roof. As they continue roughing out this concept, they’re also wondering what people might want – a conference room? bike storage? or? If you’ve got some thoughts about what this kind of space would need, he would love to hear from you at james@jamestjoa.com or 206-726-6230 … or leave a comment on this story. As for the entire project’s official status – it’s been through two Design Review meetings (most recently in November), and the next one is not yet scheduled.
Here’s the map – more than 50 venues (highlights here), one likely near you. Art everywhere, treats many places, music in some spots. Till 9 pm – have fun!
No, the concerts aren’t starting yet, but the promotion is: The Admiral Neighborhood Association invites anybody who can spare some time tonight to meet up at 6 pm at the Admiral Theater to fan out and put up posters for the concert series (which WSB is co-sponsoring) – first concert is two weeks from tonight, July 23rd! (Here’s the full lineup.) You can check out Art Walk stops along the way, too (map and more here).
10 am tomorrow, West Seattle Summer Fest kicks off, with three days of celebration in the heart of The Junction. Just in — Steve Huling is opening up his site along Fauntleroy, south of the Shell station, for extra Summer Fest parking. Meantime: The beer gardens are in the works, including the one by Junction Plaza Park that’ll raise money to finish its construction (photo above). And tonight at 6, the street closures kick in, which means a fun time to walk in the middle of the street – during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk (6-9 pm) and afterward – but also means detours (and Jonathan French tells us parking-enforcement officers are on the prowl already). A few more notes: When you stop by to say hi at WSB Summer Fest HQ at the northwest corner (facing Easy Street) of the big tent in the center of California/Alaska, take a minute to fill out a survey (just one page, on a laptop!) about your Summer Fest experience, 
and that’ll get you entered in a drawing for a $100 Junction shopping spree. … See the T-shirt at right? You’ll be able to buy it from the Delridge Playground project volunteers at Summer Fest, $15. They’ll be in the “community tent” near Super Supplements, raising money to feed volunteers during the big playground-building day July 17 (a week from tomorrow!), also raising money by selling $1 lemonade and $2 raffle tickets (prizes including a sunset sail cruise and a walk-on role for a child in the national show “BizKid$”). You can stop by and see the playground design, too … Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) will be down from the Admiral District to have a Summer Fest presence. From the Click! website: “You can come to the Click! booth and get 20% off Smersh Design Jewelry and Orla Kiely Handbags, and take home a coupon for 15% off your next purchase at Click! Design That Fits.” … Junction retailer Capers sent word of Summer Fest deals too: Owner Lisa says, “Capers encourages everyone to ‘represent’ the neighborhood with their new shipment of West Seattle hats and t-shirts. They are featuring outdoor furniture at 50% off list, selected pillows $9.99, and ‘Mary’s Deals’ all weekend. Hope to see y’all at the Festival.” Hmm, there’s two T-shirt mentions so far. Ready for a third? We may have a T-shirt announcement of our own tomorrow. Stand by. Meantime, if you’re at Summer Fest late Saturday, hang around to check out the Home Alive! benefit at Rocksport (more details on Facebook). Keep sending the Summer Fest scoop – we’ll write more tonight and we will start previewing when the sun rises tomorrow, as well as packing up to be based on site from the moment it opens at 10 am Friday. Official Summer Fest website – with vendors, music, entertainers, maps, more — is here. P.S. Just as we were finishing this, we got a note about these folks:
Jessica sent the note, saying:
I wanted to send you a quick heads up about a unique West Seattle group that will be performing at Summerfest tomorrow on the California Stage at 3 pm. They’re called Pillow Army, and they are an avant chamber-pop group that includes cello, violin, and flute. They have unusual, complicated musical parts that would be of interest to anyone curious about the merger of classical and pop sensibilities. They also have somewhat daring and unconventional lyrical content, such as the song “Chicken Wants Her Beak Back”‘ which is a fun, upbeat song with a sneaky message decrying factory farming. They also do a mean cover of the Walrus, by the Beatles (which has beautiful string parts).
“Chicken Wants Her Beak Back” is the song in the video. Pillow Army’s MySpace site is here. Live music starts 2 pm tomorrow – all listed here (including Mudhoney headlining tomorrow night at 8:10!).
Just in via the Swee Swee Paperie e-mail list — its Junction store is closing:
Summer is the season filled with fantastic days of sun and fun to glorious nights of long dusks, watching the sun slowing go down only to begin again in just a few short hours…
Well that got us thinking.. we are a little tired and we could use a little relaxation too, so with a little saddness in our hearts, we wanted to let you know that swee swee paperie and studio is going to take a little vacation at the end of July. We are going to use this time to relax, rethink and re-evaluate. It has been the most amazing three years, and we wanted to thank you for all of your support and appreciation of fine paper good and wrapping.
Now, do not think we are leaving you high and dry for those necessary paper fixes…we are revamping our online store and will be offering a wonder selection of goodies there. Look for our e-store reopening in September. The corporate gifting and wrapping is still going strong. And any custom work that we can help out on will be available as well.
The e-mail penned by owner Ann Conway says a big sale starts tomorrow, including “the antiques and fixtures that have adorned our store.”
From King County Council Chair Dow Constantine‘s office:
Metropolitan King County Council Chair Dow Constantine today called for a County hiring freeze through the end of 2009, a step that could save an estimated $15 million, including approximately $1 million in general fund spending.
“We must cut spending immediately to offset costs for essential ‘lifeboat’ programs that were only granted partial-year funding in this year’s budget,” said Constantine. “Leaving positions vacant will provide funds to be used in next year’s budget, which has already been projected to have a shortfall of almost $50 million.”
Due to the public safety and public health nature of their positions, the proposed freeze would not affect the hiring of personnel in four key areas:
· The King County Sheriff’s Office,
· Corrections officers in county correctional facilities,
· Health care providers in county correctional facilities and county health centers,
· The King County Superior Court, King County District Court, or King County Prosecutor’s Office.Although exempt from the proposed hiring freeze, the legislation encourages the responsible department heads or separately elected officials operating these agencies to consider suspending the hiring process for administrative positions not directly associated with the provision of public safety or public health services.
A provision is also included to allow hires by the County Executive in cases where the department can show that keeping a position vacant would actually increase costs to the county.
“The Council voted last December to ratify the Executive’s declaration of a budget emergency,” said Constantine. “With tax collections in decline and economic indicators showing more hard times ahead, we need to take immediate, decisive action to protect public services.”
Just received this announcement:
West Seattle Eagles lodge is sponsoring the 13th annual Make-A-Wish golf tournament:
August 29, 2009
(In memory of Craig Wilkerson)
This year’s event will be held at Jefferson Golf Course, at 4101 Beacon Ave. S.Those of you who would like to help, may sponsor a golf hole, play golf, or donate prizes for raffles.
For more information, contact Mary Lou Wilkerson at West Seattle Eagles -206-938-4426
ORIGINAL 12:04 PM REPORT: If you saw this report in today’s Seattle Times regarding an Eastside foreclosure on property owned by Conner Homes, the developer for the California/Alaska/42nd parcels in The Junction, you may have wondered about the status of Conner’s West Seattle plans. We have phone and e-mail messages out to company owner Charlie Conner requesting comment. We also are checking online land/court records and so far have not found anything unusual. The most recent official activity regarding the 2-building proposal was its final Southwest Design Review Board meeting April 23 (WSB coverage here). Note that the official owner of the Junction property is 4700 California LLC (for which Charlie Conner is the contact listed in state records), which bought it in 2000; county property records say $1.4 million was the price for the western parcel, $2.1 million for the eastern parcel.
1:30 PM UPDATE: Charlie Conner just called us back. Regarding West Seattle (where the photo shows him at a 2008 meeting for this project), he says, “Different project, different company. West Seattle very much still makes economic sense.” Why? 
“Anything that’s worth more than what you paid for it!” (Note the links above regarding these parcels having been purchased in 2000.) “The other (Eastside) projects don’t make economic sense,” though he is hopeful of getting one of them back. Conner added, “What I can tell you is, everybody that works for me is paid in full. Only people that I owe money to are the banks and a contractor i’m paying on a monthly basis … we delivered all the homes to the customers that had presales …I take my commitments pretty seriously.” So what’s the status of the Junction project? “The drawings will be resubmitted to the city.” And he says he’s hoping to meet “in the next couple of weeks” with “a few folks in The Junction” whom he says are still not happy “with the process … (I want) to talk to them about that and see what else we might do to make sure everybody likes what we’re doing, and then we’ll be moving forward with (Master Use Permit) approval and the alley vacation … so we’ll be ready to start next year.” We asked about financing? He says they “haven’t even looked” for it yet because of the market conditions. We also asked him about rumors that the site is or will be for sale. “Everything’s always for sale,” he said wryly. “Are there buyers out there who’d want to pay me what it’s worth? Probably not.” However, he reiterated, it is not currently listed for sale and they currently are “NOT marketing the property.” The city’s official project page for the current proposal is here.
Manuel e-mailed earlier this week to ask if there was a reason major work on the Fauntleroy Way road-rebuilding project had slowed, leaving rough edges between lanes, among other difficult spots. We asked SDOT for the latest, and they’ve just issued a complete update, addressing those edges and also the California/Fauntleroy intersection’s status – read on:Read More
Almost half a year ago, we brought you first word (January report here) of a campaign to name the West Seattle Bridge in honor of the late former City Councilmember Jeanette Williams, whose efforts helped make it reality. 
A version of this proposal is finally coming before the City Council next Monday (2 pm), according to the office of West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who worked for and with Ms. Williams for many years. Here’s the resolution he is sponsoring to give it the secondary name “Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge.” Rasmussen staffer Brian Hawksford tells WSB, “The resolution requests SDOT to install signage at all approaches to the bridge. It will be similar to the signage on SR-520 that honors former Governor Rosellini. The secondary naming will mean that no maps or freeway signage will need to be changed and the costs will be minimal. The official name of the bridge will remain the West Seattle Bridge. We expect that there will be a dedication in a few months after SDOT completes its work.” He says there’s no exact cost estimate yet, and also notes that there will be a proclamation next week noting the 25th anniversary next Tuesday of the dedication of The Bridge (July 14, 1984).
From today’s city Land Use Information Bulletin – a public notice asking for people to be part of the “Madison Middle School Departure Advisory Committee.” Its purpose – to decide if land-use rules can be waived for this:
The Seattle School District is requesting a waiver (departure) to install an approximately 30 square foot electronic reader board sign on the east face of the gymnasium building wall at Madison Middle School, facing 45th Street, and approximately 12 feet 9 inches above the walkway. The purpose of the sign is to notify the school and neighboring community about school events and community items of interest.
For more details about who they’re hoping to have on the committee, and what its duties will be, here’s the full public notice. They want to receive letters from everyone interested by July 25. (The most recent school-related Departure Advisory Committee was set up to review components of the Denny-Sealth project.)
The map for the monthly West Seattle Art Walk keeps getting bigger and bigger – now more than 50 venues are on the list – and tonight they’ll all open their doors to you, from Fauntleroy (where Endolyne Joe’s [WSB sponsor] has joined up) to California SW between Junctions (another WSB sponsor, Ventana Construction, joins the Art Walk starting tonight) to Alki (the Bathhouse) and beyond. 6-9 pm, here’s the map, and browse the WS Art Walk website to find out who’s showing what where. Many venues, as always, are in The Junction, where there’s something extra tonight: Streets close at 6 pm for West Seattle Summer Fest preps. And Elliott Bay sets up its outdoor “beer garden” early (as they reminded this morning via Twitter) – with family entertainment in the street, The Bubbleman expected around 7, like last year!
That’s one of the results getting all the citywide coverage in the wake of last night’s 5-hour 34th District Democrats endorsement meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy: While West Seattle-residing Mayor Greg Nickels got the most votes, it wasn’t the two-thirds needed for an endorsement, not even on the 2nd ballot when it was Nickels vs. Michael McGinn, who was in second place after the first ballot. So the group then voted for a “dual endorsement” (other option on Ballot 3 would have been “no endorsement”). Anyway, if you want a taste of the moment-by-moment drama, see our as-it-happened account from last night. Right here, it’s our wrapup with just the basics, plus a few more photos and video clips interspersed:
SEATTLE MAYOR
Dual endorsement: Greg Nickels, Michael McGinn (mayor photographed early in the meeting, back of the room)
SEATTLE CITY ATTORNEY
Sole endorsement: Tom Carr (shown in this next clip after fellow West Seattleite, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, introduced him – our clips are lo-fi, shot on Flip)
SEATTLE REFERENDUM 1 (BAG FEE)
No position
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 2
Dual endorsement: David Ginsberg, Richard Conlin – captured in the same frame during a lull in the action – after the photo, you’ll see how Ginsberg pitched for the vote:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 4
Dual endorsement: Dorsol Plants, Sally Bagshaw
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 6
Dual endorsement: Nick Licata, Jessie Israel – got them both on video:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 8
Dual endorsement: David Miller, Robert Rosencrantz (here’s Miller pre-vote)
NORTH HIGHLINE SOUTH ANNEXATION (an area including part of White Center voting whether to be annexed by Burien)
Support
SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 1
No endorsement
SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 3
Rob Holland
SEATTLE PORT COMMISSION POSITION 4
Max Vekich
Official account online at 34dems.org. Wondering why so many “dual endorsements”? A two-thirds majority was required for a sole endorsement, so most key races went to three ballots – first with all the candidates, then the top two, then “dual endorsement or no endorsement.” Made vote-counting intense for the groups working on the elevated stage – at tables or even on the floor:
Meantime, remember that this group made an earlier endorsement of King County Council Chair Dow Constantine for King County Executive – he was at last night’s meeting too, introduced with cheers and whoops:
Added later Thursday morning: As noted in our running coverage from last night, some additional endorsement proposals were brought before the group at the end of the meeting, though they weren’t on the original agenda. Results of those proposals: The 34th DDs support the “Decline to Sign” campaign (asking people not to sign petitions being circulated that would set up a public vote on the domestic-partnership-rights measure passed by the Legislature), and also endorsed state Court of Appeal Judge Anne Ellington.
What happens next: The primary election is August 18. It’s all-mail, however, and your ballot could arrive before July is over, since the county plans to start sending them on July 29.
As reported here Tuesday, Seattle Public Schools has announced that Madison Middle School‘s principal Dr. Jill Hudson is leaving to lead Nathan Hale High School (whose current principal becomes districtwide Executive Director of Special Education), and assistant principal Henterson Carlisle will move up, at least on an interim basis, to head up Madison. Thanks to Todd Crooks for forwarding the letter Dr. Hudson has sent to the school community, as well as the official district letter to families. Todd notes, “As a former PTSA President at Madison, I can speak for all when I say she will be truly missed.” Here’s the letter::
Dear Families,
“Success is a journey, not a destination.”
Ben SweetlandAnd so I am moving along on my journey . Madison is a great school and will continue to be a great school. I have a new challenge in front of me, a high school. As most of you have heard by now, I am moving to Nathan Hale High School to be their principal. I am excited for this new learning experience. I am also sad to leave Madison after eight years as principal. I have grown so much during my tenure at Madison and will take many of the lessons I have learned from students, staff and families with me on this next adventure.
Madison is in a good place for an administration change because there are a lot of structures and systems already functioning well at this time. The school is filled with strong teachers and support staff as evidenced by our academic growth on the WASL. We have had significant gains in all areas and evidence of educational gap closing which has led to Madison earning the School of Distinction award from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Washington. Madison has an effective decision making process and uses budget dollars well to provide the best possible learning experience for students. Madison has recently increased family involvement and will need to continue those efforts to meet Madison’s motto, “Together We’re Better!” Madison has a well developed, inclusive learning environment where high expectations are the norm both academically and behaviorally. The ample after school and extended learning opportunities add depth and variety to this multileveled learning experience.
The administrative team is strong and Henterson Carlisle, current assistant principal, is ready to be principal. His charismatic leadership style motivates students to learn and do their best. He asks the tough questions and acts to make sure that all students’ interests are served. He will need your support during this transition. So please contact him often to encourage him with positive and constructive comments. Mr. Carlisle is a life-long learner and has been prepared for this transition. He is the right person to take Madison to the next level.
Thank you for your dedication to Madison and for always providing feedback to make Madison the great school that it is. I wish you and your families well and hope for a successful 2009-10 school year.
Take care,
Jill Hudson, Ed.D.
Click here to see the letter from the superintendent. (And thanks to David for also e-mailing to let us know the principal had sent a farewell letter.)
(iPhone photo by Christopher Boffoli from Harbor Island, added 10:53 pm)
ORIGINAL 10:21 PM REPORT: We got a call about a water-main break and have just confirmed with Seattle Public Utilities‘ Andy Ryan that a 12″ main is broken in the 3200 block of 16th SW. No other details yet, but apparently some people are without water as a result. That address is on Harbor Island, by the way (map). 11:01 PM UPDATE: From WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli at the water-main-break scene: “12 inch water main broke around 9pm. No idea what caused the break. Has caused water outages in West Seattle. Repair may take 6 hours. Some businesses on Harbor Island are flooded out.” 11:14 PM UPDATE: More from Christopher: “Estimated 60,000 gallons of water spilled until they were able to turn it off. No idea how many households are affected but calls are coming in to SPU from a number of West Seattle customers.” As Aaron points out in comments, the Fire Department has now been summoned to the water-main-break location, which is described on the 911 log as “water job minor.” 11:40 PM UPDATE: More from Christopher, who has talked with SPU spokesperson Andy Ryan at the scene: “… the pipe that broke was new. The service had recently been moved farther away from the building. Andy speculates that there may have been a problem with the installation or some of the materials may have had a failure. They will have to do a forensic examination to determine exactly what happened.” 11:54 PM UPDATE: New information from Christopher – he’s been told SFD will be pumping several feet of water out of the basement of Seattle Bulk Rail. Also, new estimate of how much water was lost – almost 850,000 gallons – which was said to have caused a pressure drop so dramatic, it was felt as far away as Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill. ADDED 1:07 AM: A few more photos from Christopher:
We’ll be checking with SPU in the morning for new information about what happened and who in all was affected.
(scroll down for continuous updates from the 34th DDs’ meeting in Fauntleroy)
We’re at The Hall at Fauntleroy as the 34th District Democrats get ready to vote on their primary-election endorsements. Most of the major candidates are here, as is a crowd of hundreds. As-it-happens updates, and more photos, to come. Above, the scene inside the hall; here’s Mayor Nickels arriving, with wife Sharon Nickels hugging a friend in the foreground:
7:19 PM UPDATE: Chair Tim Nuse is calling the meeting to order – a bit late – some folks were good-naturedly chanting “LET’S GO, LET’S GO, LET’S GO!” Former chair Ivan Weiss has just led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. Short speeches will be given on behalf of candidates before the vote. Seattle City Council Position 8 is the first endorsement that’ll be made. Voting tonight will be done on paper ballots. Nuse explains that a candidate needs 2/3 majority for the endorsement. If no one gets that on the first ballot, the top two will advance to another vote.
(Tim Nuse at left, Stephen Lamphear at right)
Rule change – before that Seattle Council endorsement: The first endorsements, however, are being made in a block vote – including “No” on the Tim Eyman initiative 1033, Rob Holland for Port of Seattle Position 3, Max Vekich for Port of Seattle Position 4, Brian Bennett for Burien City Council Position 7 – this will be a voice vote.
7:29 PM: The block endorsement passes. Now, the Seattle Council Position 8 endorsements, with candidates being nominated – then speeches will be made before voting. So far, Rusty Williams, David Miller, and Bobby Forch have been spoken for. Next, Jordan Royer. (After him, the nominees to be spoken for are Mike O’Brien and Robert Rosencrantz. This is the position that Richard McIver holds now.) Susan Harmon spoke for him – now it’s Royer himself. Brian Allen is speaking for O’Brien – “We have a lot of really great candidates for Position 8” – now he’s ceding to O’Brien, who included an anti-tunnel line in his speech. (Speeches are limited to 2 minutes, regardless of how many people speak for and against a candidate. So far no one has chosen to speak against any particylar candidate.) Walter Sive is now speaking (7:45 pm) for Rosencrantz … who then on his behalf says Seattle needs to get ready because “the 2nd industrial revolution is coming.” (7:48 pm) The ballots are being filled out for Seattle Council Position 8.
Four minutes later – they’ve all been collected and are about to be counted.
The next position to be considered is Burien City Council #1 (while the previous race’s ballots are counted) – we won’t be writing about that in detail since it’s outside our area.
8:11 PM: 1st vote count – nobody for Position 8 got 2/3 majority so David Miller (48 votes) and Robert Rosencrantz (37 votes) advance to Round 2. Ballots are being collected. (8:22 pm, still being counted, and they announced, NO endorsement on Burien Council #1 – now they’re handing out ballots for the next position, Port Commissioner #1, before announcing Seattle Council #1 results – There are two nominations in Port #1, John Creighton and no endorsement – Stephen Lamphear (who BTW is a former Burien City Councilmember) says he recommends NO ENDORSEMENT because “there are no Democrats in the race”) – Marcee Stone says, “I know John has struggled with his Democratic identity at times, but he IS a Democrat .. he is an environmentalist.” Now Creighton is speaking (incumbent running for re-election). He says “We still have a lot of work to do, that’s why I’m running for re-election.” Chris Porter (who’s been keeping time tonight) spoke against Creighton; another attendee spoke for him. Cherisse Luxa is now speaking against Creighton, reading from the by-laws. She says Creighton didn’t say he’s a Democrat when answering a questionnaire.
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8 SECOND BALLOT: Miller 99, Rosencrantz 72, neither got a two-thirds majority, the THIRD ballot now will go “dual endorsement or no endorsement.” Chair Nuse just announced that the 34th District Democrats’ endorsed County Executive candidate, Dow Constantine, has a poll lead over “other Democrats” in the race but needs more support, and he’s mentioning a phone bank, Grand Parade marching, etc. (8:42 pm) Vote-counting still under way. Nuse now has announced 34th DDs’ summer picnic for July 21st at Lincoln Park, and August 14th for the Garden Party fundraiser at West Seattle Nursery. Gatewood resident New York Vinnie will emcee (he’s here tonight BTW).
8:47 PM: Results for Seattle Port Commission #1 – 55% no endorsement, 43% Creighton. No second ballot, so no position in this race. Now nominations are being taken for Position 4 – West Seattle’s Dorsol Plants nominated first, Sally Bagshaw next, David Bloom next. That’s it for this race. Ex-chair Weiss speaking for Plants. Weiss gave a fiery speech – we’ve got it on video we hope to add later. Bagshaw says she’s here “to do some ‘splainin'” about “why (she worked for) 3 Republicans.” She says she worked for Norm Maleng because he worked on social justice issues; she says she worked for Dan Satterberg because she believes in what he did; and as a lawyer for the King County Council, she advised Rob McKenna. She is defending work she did with him such as transit-oriented development. She says this is no place for party labels. Michael Taylor-Judd is speaking against her nomination, saying he agrees to some degree but says that you don’t send letters seeking endorsement and funding for Republicans and then come ask for Democrats’ votes. He got big cheers. Rep. Sharon Nelson spoke for Bagshaw:
David Bloom spoke for himself and derided money being spent on the Mercer Mess, among other things. That’s it for the nomination speeches in this race – voting will begin.
RESULTS IN SEATTLE COUNCIL POSITION 8 – David Miller and Robert Rosencrantz dual endorsement (74% voted for dual endorsement, 26% for no endorsement). Here’s video of Pete Spalding’s nomination speech earlier for Miller, followed by the candidate himself (didn’t get Rosencrantz on video):
9:07 PM: Opening nominations for Seattle Council #2 – West Seattleite David Ginsberg, incumbent Council President Richard Conlin are the nominees. Sen. Joe McDermott spoke for Ginsberg. Then Ginsberg himself: “Nothing would mean more to me than your endorsement.” Kim Becklund speaking for Conlin. For Conlin, Kim Becklund spoke about his environmental achievements; Conlin himself echoed that. Voting is now under way for this position.
9:15 PM: There’s going to be a second ballot for Seattle Council Position 4 – the first ballot ended with Plants 35%, Bagshaw 40%, Bloom 20% – since nobody got two-thirds, there’s a second ballot with Plants and Bagshaw. Here’s Plants, photographed a bit earlier in the meeting:
Voting on that second ballot is under way now. And we’re awaiting results of Ginsberg/Conlin.
9:27 PM UPDATE: Still awaiting vote counts. Chair Tim Nuse has announced 209 credentialed members of the 34th DDs are in the house tonight. He’s also announced donation-seeking for a variety of organizations, including “the homeless camp calling itself Nickelsville.” Marcee Stone is announcing a “Hoe-Down for Dow” fundraiser for County Executive candidate Constantine, at Puget Ridge Co-Housing on July 26th. (photo added later – a lot of this is waiting – Dorsol Plants, Richard Conlin, city attorney and West Seattleite Tom Carr on the sidelines):
9:35 PM UPDATE: It’s been announced that in Position 2, 123 votes were needed for an endorsement – Ginsberg got 122 – so it’s been challenged that two “spoiled ballots” should not have been included in the total from which the 123 was derived to say what constitutes two-thirds. Nuse is citing from Robert’s Rules of Order. (9:41 pm update) Challenges and discussions continue. One motion has been made to revote this race. There’s disagreement over what’s a spoiled ballot and what’s a blank ballot. Marcee Stone suggested that Nuse doesn’t have to go with what the parliamentarian (Lamphear) says. Nuse says he goes with the rules. Now a motion to hand-vote the race, rather than ballot-vote.
9:55 PM UPDATE: Now this race goes to a written second ballot – because in the hand-count revote, 158 votes were cast, Ginsberg got 102, Conlin 56, but 106 votes were needed for two-thirds. The second ballot is for “dual endorsement or no endorsement” just like the Miller/Rosencrantz vote earlier. Someone near us says, “Why not just dual-endorse everybody and get out of here?” And moments later, it was announced that in the second ballot of Council Position 4 the results were Plants 50.3%, Bagshaw 48.6%, so that too goes to a “dual endorsement vs. no endorsement” revote now. It’ll be done by paper ballot – Nuse’s proposal to do a hand vote was challenged.
10:05 PM: While those votes are counted, it’s on to the Seattle City Attorney‘s race. West Seattleite Tom Carr vs. challenger Pete Holmes. Ex-chair Ivan Weiss bellows, “TOM CARR!” Dorsol Plants yells, “PETE HOLMES!” … After speeches, it’s time for a vote in this race. There is a motion to suspend the rules and conduct every further vote tonight by hand vote rather than paper ballots.
10:17 PM: Dual endorsements announced for Ginsberg and Conlin, and for Plants and Bagshaw.
10:26 PM: In the midst of speeches for mayoral nominations. Michael McGinn is the first candidate to speak on his own behalf – Vlad Oustimovitch spoke for City Councilmember Jan Drago, State Sen. Joe McDermott spoke for Mayor Greg Nickels. McGinn mentioned his opposition to the tunnel. Oustimovitch mentioned that Drago had tried to salvage the monorail and when that failed, he says she said, “West Seattle got screwed,” adding, “She was right.” Next candidates nominated, Joe Mallahan (who related an anecdote involving West Seattle’s Holy Rosary and his childhood) and Norman Sigler. No one spoke on James Donaldson’s behalf. Now the voting will begin, though there’s some question about whether a candidate can be voted on if not nominated by a voting member. Sigler will be removed from consideration as a result. Vote-counting under way now. Mallahan’s mention of Holy Rosary, by the way, turns out to be regarding his uncle.
10:39 PM UPDATE: Now to Seattle City Council Position 6 – Nick Licata, Marty Kaplan, Jessie Israel nominated. Licata said he wants to be re-elected to work on a “Sustainable Seattle.” Kaplan says, “You’ve got a choice in this race … it’s an interesting choice.” Israel notes Rep. Nelson and Cascade Bicycle Club have endorsed her.
10:48 PM: Tom Carr receives Seattle City Attorney endorsement of 34th DDs with 68% of the vote. (minutes later) Mayor first ballot – nobody got two-thirds – Nickels got 52 percent, McGinn got 19%, they are top two and go to next ballot.
11:00 PM: Seattle Council Position 6 – Licata got 55% of vote and Israel 40% of vote so they go to a second ballot. We are now in Hour 5 of this meeting. It’s just been announced that King County Council chair and already-endorsed-by-this-group County Executive candidate Dow Constantine is here.
11:08 PM: Just announced, neither Nickels nor McGinn got two-thirds support on second ballot – 64% for Nickels, 35% for McGinn. Now a third ballot will decide on dual endorsement or no endorsement. And meantime they’re moving on to decide what to vote on the bag fee (Seattle Referendum 1). Ann Martin is speaking in favor of it, holding up cloth bags: “This is a big step for our environment.” (A vote FOR the referendum would be a vote in favor of the 20-cent fee for non-reusable shopping bags.) There was also a speaker against – and now Sharon Huling is speaking in favor – saying plastic pollution is “a critical problem.” Cherisse Luxa follows that up by speaking against the bag fee – saying it’s a “regressive” fee. And then, speakers for and against REJECTING the bag fee – Chris Porter, against rejecting: “The planet cannot wait.” Heather Trim of People for Puget Sound held up a small bottle she said contained evidence of plastic pollution in the ocean, blamed partly on bags:
11:24 PM: Just announced, neither Licata nor Israel got two-thirds majority in the second ballot in their council race – so it goes to third ballot (like many other races tonight), “dual endorsement or no endorsement.” We’re also still awaiting results of the same third-ballot “dual or no” vote in Seattle mayor, which is Nickels vs. McGinn.
11:33 PM: Neither side in the bag fee got two-thirds … “yes” came close, 64% … so the 34th DDs take “no position” on that. Now they’re taking up the North Highline Annexation (whether south White Center and other parts of the unincorporated area will agree to be annexed by Burien). A motion to endorse has made from the floor. King County Council Chair Dow Constantine and former Burien City Councilmember Stephen Lamphear have spoken for it – “There is one Highline,” says Lamphear, saying he wanted to annex ALL of North Highline even back when he was on the council; Sharon Maeda has spoken against the proposal. On a hand vote, the 34th DDs support the annexation proposal.
11:48 PM: Now miscellaneous matters. Judge Anne Ellington has been endorsed. The “Decline to Sign” movement to keep an anti-gay-rights referendum off the ballot is supported. Now there are motions to endorse Charlie Mas or Betty Patu for the school board seat that Cheryl Chow is leaving. Leslie Harris is speaking in favor of Mas and recommends people check out his writings at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com. She called him “briliant” and noted he has “lots of experience being a gadfly.” Christi Stapleton speaks for Patu and notes she worked at West Seattle’s now-closed Cooper Elementary for many years. This race now goes to a paper ballot.
11:57 PM UPDATE: Meeting adjourned after it was noted that the School Board district is not in the 34th’s turf (although in the GENERAL election, all school board seats are voted on citywide). Almost five hours. Will file a separate item with more photos as well as succinct list of who was endorsed for what.
EARLY THURSDAY UPDATE: The 34th DDs’ official account is on their website at 34dems.org.
Yet more from the West Seattle Summer Fest preview files tonight, with the three-day festival less than two days from kickoff (10 am Friday) … At left is West Seattle’s most fashionable designer/barista, Blayne, photographed at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) this afternoon and also among the amazing artists, merchants, performers, vendors and others you’ll find at Summer Fest. … Erin at Edie’s Shoes, which also happens to be one of four local stores in the new City Stimulus promotion, says that for Summer Fest, “We will be having a promotion for the festival. Buy one pair of full-priced shoes, get a second pair half off, of equal or lesser value (excludes sale) …” Pete Spalding from the West Seattle Food Bank board of directors sent a reminder that the always-popular WS Food Bank raffle tickets will be on sale at Summer Fest – $5 each. We mentioned the tickets when they went on sale last month – grand prize, 2 unrestricted Alaska Airlines tickets! (More in the second half of this WSB report) … Also another note about the beer garden raising money to complete the construction fund for Junction Plaza Park — it’s the beer garden AT the park site — not only is Elliott Bay Brewery making a special beer for the occasion (which Washington Beer Blog writes about here), but we’re also reminded that sales of the other beers available at that garden will chip 25% into the park fund too. And the beer cups will be compostable! … We’ve also heard from Sorensen Orthodontics in Burien, which will have a booth near the kids’ area, and says, “We will be handing out information regarding the Invisalign Orthodontic Treatment and signing up prospective new patients for our Burien and coming soon to West Seattle offices. Summer Fest patrons can also take a guess on how many retainers we have on display with a chance to win a I-Pod Nano!” Free lip balms, too … The full lineup of Summer Fest participants is here – with live music here and other entertainment here. We’ll be publishing more previews so if you’re part of Summer Fest, please e-mail to let us know what you’ll be doing/offering! We’ll be reporting live from WSSF the whole time, too, so we’ll see you there …
We received e-mail this morning asking for an update on when the 16th SW road-rebuilding work will start north of South Seattle Community College. In our last update in late May, SDOT had projected “late July.” Checking with SDOT’s Marybeth Turner today, we learned the city has just set the start date for the week of July 20th; people who live in the area are getting flyers today. See the entire flyer here – it includes the detour map shown above, which will affect northbound traffic only, according to SDOT. (The red stretch is the “project” zone, where SDOT says there will be some “minor widening” as well as “reconstruction” work.) The official project page on the city website – just updated today – is here. If you haven’t seen that stretch of badly pitted road, by the way, even Google Street View captures it (likely photographed sometime last year):
First of 2 road-work updates we have for you this afternoon: During Sustainable West Seattle‘s Bike-A-Palooza meeting in April (WSB coverage here), city rep Gina Coffman mentioned one of the next WS road stretches to get sharrows would be California SW between Fauntleroy and Thistle, and indeed, the prep work has begun: They’ve been roughed out this week along part of that stretch in Gatewood; we took the photo on the northbound side at Holden (map). “Sharrows” (full explanation here) indicate road stretches which bicyclists and drivers are supposed to share and have already been painted on several West Seattle arterials; to see where else they’re scheduled to go in the future, check the city’s Bicycle Master Plan – specifically, this map section (zoomable) shows what’s planned/proposed for West Seattle streets.
(photo added 2:20 pm – note, they’re still early in the set-up phase)
Two quick notes re: e-mail we just received – First, Steve wrote to ask why video-game machines are being moved into the space that’s been open since Capers consolidated. Answer: West Seattle Summer Fest! Blinky’s Time Warp Video Arcade will occupy that space during the festival (Friday-Saturday-Sunday – read about it here). Second, a coyote alert – Michael just saw one on Genesee Hill near the now-closed school: “Bold as brass, trotting slowly up our driveway … sorry I was too slow to get a pic. Small pet warning!!” (All WSB coyote reports – some with pix and/or video – are archived here, newest to oldest.) ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: Going through e-mail from the incredibly busy holiday weekend, we realize that last Friday night we failed to add this (suspected) coyote report:
At 3:00 AM on July 3, a probable coyote (according to Animal Control, who said it was definitely not a raccoon) killed an orange cat between Walker and Hill on 48th AVE SW.
Per the Kitsap Sun, the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis will return to Bremerton early Friday – due in around 7 am – after a six-month deployment, so that likely means West Seattle waterfront views for early risers. It’s headed this way from a stop in San Diego. (The carrier has an extensively updated website, including feature stories like this one about a father and son both currently on board.)
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