When the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership meets next Tuesday, one of the agenda items centers on the planned new location of a liquor store in Westwood Village (as first reported here a month ago, it’s intended to replace the one that closed in Morgan Junction last year). Donn DeVore of the Westwood Neighborhood Council is concerned about the location’s proximity to Sealth/Denny playfields and the Southwest Athletic Complex, just across SW Trenton from the back of the store, which is supposed to take over part of the Famous Footwear space on the north side of the shopping center – in Google Street View above, you can see the southern stairs from the SWAC field at left, the back of the liquor store’s future home at right. (Coincidentally, info about the Healthy Youth Partnership, which focuses primarily on underage drinking, is to be handed out at SWAC tonight before/during the Sealth homecoming game.) Tuesday night’s meeting is at Madison Middle School, 6 pm.
(Chief Sealth’s Daniel Davis explains why the team’s Oregon trip last week [Clatskanie 21, Sealth 14] was fun) By Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publisher
When Chief Sealth High School varsity-football captain Daniel Davis was a freshman, he thought the best way to go about the first week of football practice was to not say much and get the lay of the land.
That changed a couple of days into that week, when he and another player decided to throw the ball around. Near the end of practice, Daniel launched a pass to a friend that covered almost 40 yards. “Coach ran over to me, ” he said, “and asked, ‘Freshman, did you throw that ball?'” After he said he did, the coach asked, without hesitating, “You want to play quarterback?”
15 years old at the time, Davis found it to be a pretty daunting question. But after talking to cousins who had played not only high school but college ball, he decided to give it a try. At his very first game as the freshman starting quarterback he remembers his first series as being nothing to write home about, but the next time he got the ball he found a receiver on the sideline and managed to put together an 80-yard pass play that led to a touchdown. Near the end of that same game he threw another touchdown pass to his friend and fellow freshman, Greg Wilson.
He’s never looked back … though his high-school accomplishments overall are worth reviewing and celebrating!Read More
Quick notes on 6 more upcoming West Seattle events just announced: The West Seattle Eagles have just announced their first-ever Oktoberfest, coming up on October 24th, including beer/brats/sauerkraut, flag football, and kid/adult Ms. Oktoberfest costume contests … The West Seattle High School Radio Players open “Invasion from Mars, featuring The Shadow” on October 29th … Also that night, Alki Idol starts a new competition season at Bamboo … Keller Williams Realty in The Junction is having a chili cookoff and carved-pumpkin contest at noon October 30th … Furry Faces Foundation is presenting its 2nd annual Catsino at Beveridge Place Pub 2-6 pm Nov. 14 (flyer), followed by the Morgan Junction Pet Adoption Stroll the next day (flyer) … More details on these events and TONS of others are on the WSB Events Calendar page.
From Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting: Three major topics – a followup to the Alki Homestead proposal presentation that anchored the last meeting; a report on how an airline’s proposal to change flight patterns would affect the area; and accountability for Statue of Liberty Plaza now that the Plaza Project Committee has phased itself out. Read on for details on all three:Read More
By Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Thursday night’s West Seattle Q/A session for Seattle Public Schools‘ proposed school-attendance boundaries was the first of two chances for families to publicly air any concerns, problems and issues they might have with the proposal (the second chance is at Denny International Middle School tonight, 6:30 pm)
Following up on the big news from Monday night’s meeting at Schmitz Park Elementary with School Board rep Steve Sundquist — the West Seattle map error (now officially acknowledged here) — the hot issue at Thursday night’s meeting surrounded the factors that are influencing the boundaries within the district.
Just got a text and phone call that the eastbound bridge is blocked, all traffic stopped, around the Nucor plant. The 911 log shows a crash report a while ago, but the Fire Department involvement in it was “closed” – checking to see what more we can find out, but in the meantime, if you have to head east, don’t try to get on The Bridge before Delridge. 12:33 AM UPDATE: In comments, Diane says it now looks like things are cleared up. 7:46 AM NOTE: Unrelated crash that we didn’t get to before the call “closed” – a car went down an embankment on Pigeon Point in the 1 am hour – there’s a bit about it here.
Long-form story’s in progress, but here are a couple toplines from tonight’s West Seattle Candidates’ Forum at Youngstown Arts Center: Six of the potential 10 total candidates (mayor plus four City Council races) showed up – the no-shows were both would-be mayors (Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn), incumbent Council President Richard Conlin (who’d been invited to spend the evening with the governor in Olympia) and council hopeful Sally Bagshaw (whose campaign manager said she had committed to a “public-safety walk” in North Seattle long before getting this invitation). The most West Seattle-specific question posed by moderators Chas Redmond (photo right) and Pete Spalding (photo left) — of the co-sponsoring Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils, respectively — involved how to tackle West Seattle’s transportation challenges – and it was clear few had closely studied the peninsula’s unique problems. No moments of major disagreement – the two opponents with the sharpest contrasts were council candidates Mike O’Brien and Robert Rosencrantz. We have short clips of all six participants plus highlights of their answers to the night’s questions, coming up in the long report. P.S. This seattlepi.com report saysJoe Mallahan skipped a forum earlier today too, on short notice.
We have had an amazing turnout and some extremely generous people from West Seattle, White Center and beyond. I just wanted to give you a quick recap of what we have collected so far (or have set a time to pick up):
26 recorders
1 flute
1 piccolo
2 oboes
1 Cello
4 guitars
1 set of Congo drums
1 Clarinet
1 Alto Saxophone
1 Violin
1 Trombone
This is really way more than we could have ever expected! Thank you to everyone who helped – spreading the word, donating, and just supporting!!
White Center Heights will be holding an Assembly to honor the donors and talk about what encompasses a community, on October 30th from 1:20-1:55. All donors are invited to attend!!
Thank you so much for your help!
White Center Heights Elementary is at 10015 6th Avenue SW; here’s a map.
By Charla Mustard-Foote
Special to West Seattle Blog
More than 60 people braved a damp West Seattle fall evening to attend a benefit to help the family of Café Revoowner and Chef Sean “Chano” Goff – who died a month ago at age 43 – and to help maintain his dream of opening a great Italian restaurant in West Seattle.
At last night’s event at The Sanctuary at Admiral, Sean’s wife, Sofia Zadra Goff (left), and children, Forrest and Maya, mixed with the crowd of friends and family, and never stopped smiling (at least, publicly). The event was the celebration of a life and a dream — it gave people a taste of what drew Sean and Sofia to the town and food and culture of her family’s ancestral home, Revo, Italy.
The menu included a rich creamy Gnocchi (rumored to be a staple of the menu at Café Revo [a WSB sponsor]), Papperdelle (a tangy noodle dish), and topped off by an exquisite tiramisu, and generous amounts of an excellent Café Revo house red wine. The elegant and leisurely meal stretched over 2 hours. (Photos ahead!)
Tonight’s the first of 2 official Seattle Public Schools meetings in West Seattle to offer briefings and take questions/comments regarding the new proposed school-attendance boundaries – 6:30 pm at West Seattle High School tonight, 6:30 pm at Denny International Middle School tomorrow. This past Monday, West Seattle school-board rep Steve Sundquist acknowledged at a meeting at Schmitz Park Elementary that the Denny/Chief Sealth HS boundaries on the proposed maps were wrong and will be fixed (WSB coverage here). We asked him and the district how this would be communicated; just got word from SPS spokesperson Patti Spencer that it’s acknowledged in the FAQ regarding the proposed maps – see the short blurb here.
Update and new photos from David Hutchinson regarding the sailboat situation he reported this morning:
The sailboat grounded yesterday on the rocks south of the Don Armeni boat ramps was successfully refloated a little after 2 PM. The rising tide and the assistance of a number of concerned passers-by who offered their advice, equipment, and a willingness to get personally involved led to this happy outcome. The owner of the boat seemed like a nice young man doing his best in a difficult situation.
These are for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, all from SDOT. For the weekend:
Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, The Seattle Department of Transportation will be removing and replacing markings in the bus lane eastbound on the West Seattle Bridge from the Avalon Way on-ramp, adjacent to the old steel mill, to the First Avenue S off-ramp, just past the SR99 exit. In conjunction with the pavement marking work, the crews will also be installing signs.
The work will be carried out between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day. Motorists should use caution and be watchful for buses needing to pull out of the bus lane in the work zone.
And for Monday – the westbound left lane will be closed 9 am-3 pm so the Seattle Fire Department can check the fire-suppression system – here’s that alert. Reminders will be on the WSB Events calendar page in case you need to check those dates again.
First, an update on the recurring homophobic graffiti in the Morgan Junction/Lincoln Park area (same 3-word phrase that is too vile to post here). We reported its reappearance last month; then in the past few days, we’ve received three more reports, including the tennis courts near Lincoln Park and a business sign in south Morgan Junction. To recap – there was an arrest after the first wave of this vandalism last May, and a suspect was charged in Seattle Municipal Court, but the charges were dismissed because he was found mentally incompetent; an evaluation was recommended. What happened after that is not a matter of public record, for medical privacy reasons. Lt. Steve Paulsen of the Southwest Precinct tells us today that SWP officers are on alert to watch for the same suspect, to question him; their best bet (whether the vandal is indeed him or someone else) will be if someone catches and reports this vandalism as it happens.
Meantime, in a separate case, we also received a report of extensive tagging on benches, rocks and other facilities at Constellation Park south of Alki Point; no arrests reported. Investigators reiterate that if you see graffiti, please make sure that it IS reported: Graffiti at city facilities (such as parks) can be reported through this form. If you want to paint it out immediately, take a photo first – they are keeping a database in hopes of matching more crimes to suspects when arrests are made. Graffiti also is often discussed at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s meetings; next one is next Tuesday, 7 pm, at the SW Precinct meeting room (Webster/Delridge).
Just got word from SDOT that the location’s now set for the ceremony to give the West Seattle Bridge the name “Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge” at 12:30 pm Friday, October 23: It’ll be at 3682 West Marginal Way (west side of the waterfront under the bridge). SDOT says Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and the family of Jeanette Williams — the former councilmember who died a year ago — will be there, and you are invited to be there too.
Update on one effect of last night’s up-to-3-hours West Seattle power outage (WSB as-it-happened coverage here) – a spill at the Lowman Beach pump station, where WSB contributing journalist Christopher Boffoli took that photo last night (the light in the background was from a county truck at the pump station). This news release is just in from King County:
A power failure in West Seattle last night knocked out electricity at King County’s Murray Avenue Pump Station, causing a small sewage overflow near Lowman Beach Park.
County employees responded quickly Wednesday night and installed a portable generator to provide back up power during the outage. Crews stopped the overflow within 30 minutes.
It’s estimated that about 65,000 gallons of wastewater was discharged through the pump station’s emergency outfall into Puget Sound.
County staff took water quality samples and notified health and regulatory agencies about the overflow.
Utility power was back online within two hours and the facility is again operating normally.
We have followup questions out to Seattle City Light regarding the cause of the “underground cable failure” blamed for last night’s outage, which affected almost 2,800 homes and businesses at its peak.
West Seattle Helpline director Anna Fern sends news their Clothesline clothing bank is expanding its services:
The West Seattle Helpline is taking the Clothesline to Seniors. We have partnered with the West Seattle Food Bank to bring some clothing items to their waiting room on Tuesdays just before their distribution. Last Tuesday and yesterday, we gave away sweaters. (Photo above shows Liz, a Helpline volunteer, with the sweaters before we took them down to the Food Bank. Photo below shows a picture of the rack in the Food Bank waiting room after sweaters were selected by Seniors yesterday.)
Then next Tuesday we are going to give away coats. We need extra winter coats in order to have enough for next Tuesday the 20th and the following Tuesday the 27th . … We could use help gathering extra coats. They can drop off coats at the Helpline (6516 35th Ave. SW) during office hours Monday – Friday 7:00 to 8:30 AM or Monday – Thursday 4:30 to 6:30. For other arrangements, call 206.932.4357.
P.S.: As noted earlier today, West Seattle Helpline is the beneficiary of one of the upcoming WS Halloween events – Nightmare on Morgan Street at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) Oct. 29 (here’s the poster).
Noticed this sailboat aground just south of the Don Armeni boat ramp yesterday afternoon. I think it broke loose from where it was moored during the recent stormy weather. It was still there this morning. The owner was on site trying to free it from the rocks so it could be refloated at high tide (3:32 PM). I believe he was originally contacted by the Coast Guard and he could probably use some assistance if anyone has any expertise in this type of situation.
4:51 PM UPDATE: David sends word (with new photos) that the boat is off the rocks. Posting a separate followup shortly.
We’ve been adding Halloween events to the WSB Events calendar as fast as they come in – and here’s another: The Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) now has two bashes Halloween week – 6 pm Thursday 10/29 it’s the “Nightmare on Morgan Street” masquerade ball (poster) to benefit West Seattle Helpline; 8 pm Friday 10/30, it’s the “Zombie Dance Party” (poster) benefiting teams from the Rat City Rollergirls and Jet City Rollergirls. (Halloween-style fun starts heating up this weekend – if you have an event, make sure it’s on our calendar – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)
ADDED 12:33 PM: Another announcement has come in: 2:30-4:30 pm Halloween afternoon at Hiawatha Community Center, West Seattle Dawg, Muttley Crew Cuts and The Wash Dog are presenting a pet-friendly event, Halloween Howl, including a dog costume contest and pet psychics. Rex at WS Dawg says they’re selling tickets now – it’s a benefit for West Seattle Food Bank.
As noted here, the followup to the big July Neighborhood Plan Status Check meeting is coming up November 5th. Today, Sharonn Meeks, who’s on the citywide Neighborhood Plan Advisory Council, sends word that the city’s official summaries are now online. You’ll find them in this document, interspersed with the rest of the city – alphabetical order – listed as Admiral, Delridge, Morgan Junction, West Seattle Junction, Westwood/Highland Park.
10-year-old Vanessa Radke of West Seattle gets to “skip school on Monday,” as her mom Sara Satterlee put it, for what you’d probably agree is a good reason — she’s flying to New York to be on NBC’s nationally broadcastTODAY show. Sara says her daughter – an Alki Elementary School student and former West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival Junior Princess – has made it to the final 16 in the show’s “Kid Reporter” contest, and will be interviewed live on the show Monday. Contestants were asked to put together a video report and mail it in; we asked Sara about Vanessa’s entry:
Her submission was videotaped with her father a few weeks down at Alki Beach. She did a quick one minute bit on how to conserve water. The video starts out with her intro about water with the back drop being Puget Sound on the sandy shores of Alki Beach. She then cuts to her in her grandma’s kitchen telling her viewers that there are just three simple steps everyone could follow that could help everyone. Scene fades to her brushing her teeth, and her explaining the importance of tuning off the water while brushing It then fades into a dishwashing session and Vanessa tells her audience that they need to fill the sink, turn off the water, wash the dishes, and then rinse. For the final few scenes it is apparent from her wet hair and that she is wrapped up tight in a robe that she is fresh out of the shower. As she walks across the living room she describes to her viewer that by cutting your shower back by only one minute, saves water. As she wraps up her video she recaps how three simple steps can help so much.
Sara says a producer interviewed Vanessa by phone yesterday and then extended the invite to them to fly to NY for the show – they’re flying out Sunday, then returning right afterward on Monday. You’ll get the chance to vote for her to make it to the next round: Checking TODAY online, looks like this is the second week they’ll be featuring a group of four semifinalists on Monday, opening the voting by text message, then announcing the winner from that group on Wednesday; then in early November there’ll be another round of voting after the group of finalists is set. Besides getting to report for TODAY, the winner gets a Caribbean cruise. (Here’s the first group of semifinalists from last week; an Oklahoma girl got the most votes in that group.) TODAY airs on KING 5 here in Seattle, 7-11 am weekdays (we’ll be checking to see what time Monday you’re likely to see Vanessa).
Also from the West Seattle Rotary, an invitation to NON-Rotarians:
Here’s an incredible opportunity for a young professional! Local Rotary clubs are looking for young business people from King County who would like to travel to Bolivia next spring. And the best part – Rotary picks up the tab!
Rotary group study exchanges develop professional and leadership skills and prepare participants to address global needs within their own communities. The month-long program provides an opportunity to travel to Bolivia, engage in professional discussions, and tour facilities that they would never see as a tourist.
All costs are covered by Rotary. Applicants must be age 25 to 40 and employed. Only non-Rotarians need apply — even Rotary family members are not eligible to participate. Applications are due on or before October 19, 2009. For more information, go to www.gse.rotary5030.org or contact the Rotary District 5030 GSE Committee Chair, Bob Kaercher, at 425-277-3114 or GSEChair@USRotary.org.
That deadline may be a bit flexible, according to WS Rotary’s Steve Fuller, but the sooner the better.
WEST SEATTLE CANDIDATES’ FORUM: It’s been in the works for weeks, and tonight’s the night – come hear the candidates for Mayor and City Council take on West Seattle-specific questions. The forum co-sponsored by the Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils starts at 7 pm at Youngstown Arts Center(4408 Delridge); reminder that you can come early and meet the artists chosen for the Delridge Playfield art project.
GIRL SCOUTS INFORMATIONAL MEETING: Tonight there’s one at Roxhill Elementary, 6 pm. Organizers note that girls will not be assigned to troops at this meeting, but they explain the organization and even how to form your own troop, as well as how to become a volunteer!
UPRIDGE TOWNHOMES’ GRAND OPENING: As noted here when we welcomed upRidge as a sponsor yesterday, the new development alongside Longfellow Creek (5957 Delridge) has its grand opening today, 4-7:30 pm, and you’re invited to come take tours and enjoy free pizza from Delridge’s own Olympia.
Six of the potential 10 total candidates (mayor plus four City Council races) showed up – the no-shows were both would-be mayors (Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn), incumbent Council President Richard Conlin (who’d been invited to spend the evening with the governor in Olympia) and council hopeful Sally Bagshaw (whose campaign manager said she had committed to a “public-safety walk” in North Seattle long before getting this invitation). The most West Seattle-specific question posed by moderators Chas Redmond (photo right) and Pete Spalding (photo left) — of the co-sponsoring Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils, respectively — involved how to tackle West Seattle’s transportation challenges – and it was clear few had closely studied the peninsula’s unique problems. No moments of major disagreement – the two opponents with the sharpest contrasts were council candidates Mike O’Brien and Robert Rosencrantz. We have short clips of all six participants plus highlights of their answers to the night’s questions, coming up in the long report. P.S. 
At last night’s event at 
To recap – there was an arrest after 
We’ve been adding Halloween events to the 
10-year-old Vanessa Radke of West Seattle gets to “skip school on Monday,” as her mom Sara Satterlee put it, for what you’d probably agree is a good reason — she’s flying to New York to be on NBC’s nationally broadcast 
WEST SEATTLE CANDIDATES’ FORUM: It’s been in the works for weeks, and tonight’s the night – come hear the candidates for Mayor and City Council take on West Seattle-specific questions. The forum co-sponsored by the Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils starts at 7 pm at
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