West Seattle, Washington
29 Monday
Southwest Community Center needs your help designing a new fitness room to replace the current workout zone next to the pool (which has been closed 3 months, 1 1/2 to go, for renovation work). To help, join in three workshops set for 6-8 pm 9/25, 10/16, 11/20. Want to know more? E-mail Kellee Jones, kellee.jones@seattle.gov.
Just in from our correspondent at West Seattle Stadium: The big game just ended, and West Seattle High School‘s football team has beaten O’Dea, 21-6. We shot video of the game-end celebration and we’ll put it up when it comes into WSB HQ a bit later. This is big because WSHS has NEVER before beaten the football squad from O’Dea, which the Times noted here has won the Metro League 12 of the past 14 seasons. ADDED 10:32 PM: The end-of-game video, starting a few seconds before the clock ran out. Note that we did NOT go to shoot the game itself, so we don’t have highlights – we went to the stadium late in the game to make sure we’d be able to share the score fast if they won (last year we learned it’s almost impossible to find out the score any other way), and since WSHS did win, we shot the fans going wild (more so than the players). Congratulations! (P.S. Anyone interested in sending pix/video and/or texting or phoning in the score after any local schools’ games, we’d love to share more of this; let us know if you can help.)
Left to right, that’s JanS, JoB, and Kat near Mars Hill Church-West Seattle tonight, in a vigil/protest that grew out of a vigorous discussion in the WSB Forum and elsewhere this past week. It began with first word that MH was sponsoring a two-day seminar with parenting author Tedd Tripp, whose teachings include an advocacy of corporal punishment and say it may even be merited for babies. Opponents decided to gather tonight outside MH-Ballard, where Tripp is speaking, and MH-West Seattle, one of several MH branches where the seminar is being broadcast live. As families arrived, the West Seattle trio stood on the corner across from the church’s south side and offered their thoughts to those who walked by, as well as offering flyers.
Some accepted flyers, some didn’t; one person was heard to suggest that the protesters go inside to listen for themselves. To that point, we should note that a Mars Hill representative, in logo T-shirt and name tag, offered us and the other media reps the chance to go inside and observe the seminar. We didn’t take him up on it; the controversial topic itself comes up late tomorrow morning. Meantime, we’ve received a photo of the concurrent Ballard protest tonight:
That photo is courtesy of our friends at MyBallard.com; you can see their coverage here.
Gotta love a festival with a 20-foot-high inflatable pig over the barbecue stand. Lots of food options at the West Fest Fall Family Festival (WSB sponsor), happening now through 10 pm, then again tomorrow 10 am-10 pm, at Holy Rosary (42nd/Genesee – look for all the activity NORTH of Genesee), and much dining was under way when we dropped in briefly:
There are also games, bouncy rides, and indoor offerings too — bingo in the gym, with coffee and other autumnal beverages available for purchase. Despite the clouds, it was relatively pleasant during our passthrough. Live music should be under way by now; the schedule is listed in this WSB preview.
The major decisions in the controversial campus-combining project may be in the history books, but there is other work under way now, with public involvement/comment encouraged, and we want to make sure you know it’s happening: First, what is currently being called the “School Design Team for Future Redevelopment of the Former Denny Middle School Site” is about to meet for the first time – in two sessions two weeks apart, the first one next Monday afternoon – here’s the official announcement:
The first meeting is planned for September 22nd at 3 pm at Denny Middle School with a repeat meeting to take place on October 8th at 7 pm at Denny Middle School for parents, neighbors and community members not able to attend the meeting on the 22nd. The SDT process allows a set number of volunteers from the school, parks, businesses and the surrounding neighborhood to attend the meetings to develop the project needs and requirements. The entire community is invited to attend these meetings and voice their opinion and desires regarding the design and use of the former Denny Middle School site. A number of people from the community volunteered to be a part of the design team. At this time the available seats have been filled. However, we may need optional members in the case that any of the team members are unable to keep their commitment for the full length of time. If anyone is still interested in volunteering to be a part of the design team, please fill out the volunteer form.
The first meeting will familiarize everyone with the school design team process and begin the process of deciding together the best use of the space. The intent is to have all stakeholders be able to express their interests.
The second group that’s meeting is the Sealth/Denny School Departure Advisory Committee. Its first meeting actually happened earlier this week, but we didn’t get an announcement ahead of time and we don’t see evidence much of anyone else did, either — we’re thankful that one of the participants called us the next day in hopes we’d shine a little more light on the process. This is a group the city is required to convene because the Denny/Sealth project calls for zoning “departures” – regarding parking and height. The Departure Advisory Committee’s next meeting is 7 pm October 7, also at Denny.
As we first reported here last month, the state liquor store in Morgan Junction is closing for good tomorrow, after losing its lease. Nearby Aaron’s Bicycle Shop is moving into the space. When the state announced the liquor-store closure, the Liquor Control Board said it was seeking another location in the area; we called Olympia today to see if they’ve found one yet — answer, no. So the stores in The Junction and White Center are your nearest options TFN, after the MJ store shuts its doors for good at 8 pm tomorrow.
On the national/world front, a rough week, scary week. If you need a little distraction, the West Seattle Weekend Lineup has lots of it, including comedy tonight and tomorrow as the Admiral Theater‘s “Ladies of Laughter” series continues. This afternoon, we caught up briefly with headliner Carrie Snow, who managed to tie yoga and comedy together:
Snow says Seattle comedy star Peggy Platt will appear with her at The Admiral tonight. Meantime, you can read more about Snow here; tickets are $20, with $5 going to the Susan G. Komen breast-cancer-fighting fund.
We dropped by the Seattle Parks Foundation‘s “park” in The Junction thinking it was a quick photo op – and instead, we found out a lot of new information that answers a question asked every time we show the site of Junction Plaza Park (northwest corner of 42nd/Alaska): “When is it going to be done and how much more money do they need?” Read on for details plus the latest park plan:Read More
We just stopped at the White Center “PARK(ing) Day” (backstory here) park and are en route momentarily to the West Seattle version set up by KeyBank in The Junction. At the one in WC (more pix on partner site White Center Now), Sopha Danh of White Center Community Development Association and Richard Brown from Technology Access Foundation are going high-tech and low-tech – with laptops and produce – the latter, to help spark the dream of reviving a WC Farmers’ Market. The WC “park” will be on the west side of 16th SW, half a block south of Roxbury, in front of Full Tilt, till 3; the West Seattle one is scheduled to be in place till 4 – we’ll add pix here as soon as we get ’em.
Fall officially begins Monday. So this is it (today’s weather seems to have jumped the gun). Clouds or sun, summer’s going out in style – with 
the West Fest Fall Family Festival (WSB sponsor; ’07 photo at left) at Holy Rosary tonight and tomorrow, the first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show (co-sponsored by WSB) on Sunday, two live theater options (final performances of “In the Sawtooths” by Burnt Studio Productions [WSB sponsor] at Youngstown Arts Center, and the ongoing “The Vertical Hour” at ArtsWest), 46 events ahead – first, a big shoutout to Skylark Club and Cafe, the brand-new sponsor of the Weekend Lineup (live music, food, and more):Read More
TODAY: TEMP PARKS: We just checked and the soggy weather’s not stopping the local plans for PARKing Day, a nationwide event with temporary “parks” set up – often in onstreet parking spaces – to demonstrate the importance of greenspace in urban areas. One was planned for Alaska/California 9 am-4 pm today (as of 9:08 am, they’re setting it up), and another in the 9600 block of 16th SW in White Center, 10 am-3 pm in front of Full Tilt Ice Cream.
TONIGHT: PUNISHMENT PROTEST: A demonstration is planned outside Mars Hill Church-West Seattle at 6 pm tonight by people who are upset about the parenting-book author whose Mars Hill-Ballard seminars are going to be broadcast there live tonight and tomorrow, Tedd Tripp, because his advocacy of corporal punishment includes the suggestion parents may need to hit children starting in infancy. This Times story today takes a thorough look at the controversy, including a statement from MH; the genesis of the demonstration was in this WSB Forum thread, followed by this one specifically about the protest plan (check it if you are interested in participating in the protest; meantime, MH’s seminar schedule is here – the “physical discipline” discussion is tomorrow morning).
Got a note inviting us to a briefing next week where a Florida man will try to get traction for his idea to replace the Central Waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct without having to tear down the old one first: The rendering you see above is from the website for the “Seattle Skyway” (which, a few pages in, also proposes an alternative replacement for the 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington); its proponent, Jim Powers, says the 70-foot-high “Skyway” could be built for less than a billion dollars. No cost estimates yet on the 8 Viaduct “scenarios” currently officially under consideration; Powers says his idea is really just a variation on “Option D,” officially sketched by the state as follows:
Powers’ briefing is next Wednesday night, the day before the next meeting of the Stakeholders Advisory Committee (4 pm Thursday 9/25, City Hall) that’s helping evaluate possibilities as state/city/county leaders move closer to a Central Waterfront decision.
(click to see larger version of the photo)
From WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham: “Medic 32‘s Mark Colley strolls back and forth along the rear bay of Station 32 on SW Alaska St. as he exercises his pipes. Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums’ newest member was kilted at the annual 9/11 police and fire get-together at the Red Door this year. The group plays at memorial and ceremonial events associated with fire and police.” Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available at his site, mattdurhamphotography.com.
(view from the northeast – if you were looking down from a helicopter high over Admiral Starbucks – click for larger version)
Even before tonight’s community meeting, the folks at Safeway cautioned that what they are showing tonight is more their “vision” for the sight than what they will take to the Design Review Board next week — since there’s a set procedure for those meetings, reviewing three options for general size, shape, layout, etc. But nonetheless, it’s our first look at what they are hoping to build on their current store site that takes up the southern half-plus of the block fronting California and 42nd between Admiral and Lander: a bigger new store, plus more than 30 residential units, and a separate small retail building on the northwest corner of the lot. Just ahead, three more views (all four are courtesy Fuller/Sears Architects), plus Safeway’s description of its hopes and dreams (followed by our bullet points from tonight’s meeting:Read More
(click image to see full three-page document with city’s “final design”)
First update from tonight’s Alki Community Council meeting: Issues are still simmering with the city plan to finish the sidewalk on the north side of Alki Sw, from 63rd SW west to the other side of Alki Point. What you see above – difficult as it may be to decipher (even if you click on the image to see the full three-page document) – is what’s described on the city’s webpage for the project as “the final design,” and labeled on the document as “100% review” (dated tomorrow, by the way). At one point, the ACC had hoped that city project manager “Sam” Woods would be at tonight’s meeting; instead, she has been going door-to-door through the affected area this week to talk with residents. Just one problem, said a few attendees at tonight’s meeting: The letter from SDOT director Grace Crunican (read it here) says those visits were happening yesterday and today – but some didn’t even get the letter till today. They say they still have safety concerns about the plan and would like to see it presented one last time (the previous, contentious community meeting was this one in April) – with safety details highlighted (beyond the two raised crosswalks, at 64th and at Alki/Beach, as reported here in July) — before it’s finalized prior to construction (which Crunican’s letter says will start early next year). ACC secretary Larry Carpenter says he’s certain that such a meeting is already in the city’s plans; we’ll check with SDOT tomorrow, and we’ll also be asking about a report tonight that the project is $150,000 over the original budget.
We told you recently that two of the three 2007 West Seattle murder cases both ended with plea bargains instead of trial — Brian Walsh pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of second-degree murder for killing “Benny” Reside at Cal-Mor Circle and is awaiting sentencing; Jabarie Phillips pleaded guilty earlier in the year to a reduced charge of manslaughter for killing Dewayne West outside West’s house at 37th/Findlay, and was sentenced last month to 13 years in prison. 
That leaves the case of the shooting last October 13th inside a car at 59th/Admiral (10/13/07 scene photo at left, arrow points to the car) that killed 33-year-old Francisco Bailey-Ortiz. The suspect, an Alki resident, was 17 when it happened and is now 18; we stopped identifying him when his defense labeled him a victim of child sexual abuse (detailed in our report last October 29th). He has remained in jail, though his bail was cut to $200,000, and we have continued to watch the case through a fairly standard string of hearings, continuations, legal motions, etc. Now, it looks like the case is going to trial; a date’s been set for early October, and a pretrial “omnibus” hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. We checked with the suspect’s lawyer, Robert Perez, today, to find out if there was any chance a plea bargain was in the works for this case too. His reply: “I can assure you there will be no plea bargaining in this case. (The defendant) is not a felon and he has no intention of becoming one based on the victimization that led to this tragedy. He will seek justice from a jury of his peers. The case will go to trial during the week of October 6.”
It’s a tradition for some school-board members and now West Seattle’s Steve Sundquist is jumping in: He plans a monthly coffee hour during which anyone can drop by to “discuss education issues.” It’ll be the fourth Wednesday of the month, 9 am, Coffee to a Tea with Sugar in The Junction. First one is next Wednesday.
The neighborhood: The Junction.
The events: The first-ever West Seattle Junction Car Show (co-sponsored by WSB), 8 am-4 pm Sunday, and Holy Rosary’s West Fest (WSB sponsor), 6-10 pm Friday, 10 am-10 pm Saturday.
The highlights: At West Fest on Friday-Saturday, live music for all ages, bouncy rides for kids, food, fun; see our full preview here (including info about advance purchase of wristbands). At the Junction Car Show on Sunday, more than 200 classic cars — among them, the 1968 convertible Dodge Dart GT shown above; Knight — who just moved to West Seattle — tells WSB, “This will be the 1st car show I’ve ever entered since I bought the car in Florida 2 years ago.” 2 1/2 blocks of California will be closed, block by block, between Edmunds and the post office. There’s still room for day-of entries – first come, first served, staging entry will be from the east side of Edmunds/42nd. Breakfast options now include a special Elliott Bay Brewery breakfast menu 10 am-2 pm (in addition to the West Seattle Eagles‘ Sunday breakfast starting early, at 7, and Puerto Vallarta breakfast at 7).
In the last Cafe Revo update, proprietors Sean and Sofia Zadra Goff mentioned a mural would be painted on the south side of their Avalon/Luna Park building. Drove by today and noticed the mural’s in progress — no surprise it features a scooter! Not far away, a reminder outside Delridge Community Center:
Saturday afternoon’s health fair is part of a new effort to get the city Parks and Recreation Department more involved in helping people stay healthy. And a little ways further south on Delridge, the first sighting of a regular-gas price in the $3.60s:
Yes, we know Arco is usually somewhat lower, but some of the other stations aren’t too far behind – about 15 minutes earlier we noticed the California/Charlestown 7-11 and California/Andover 76 were both down to $3.72 for regular.
HIKE: Last reminder, the Nature Consortium‘s free monthly guided hike through West Duwamish Greenbelt is 1-2:30 tomorrow afternoon (last summery chance to enjoy the walk? here’s our report from the May version) – meet at 14th SW/SW Holly (map); RSVP by e-mail, lisa@naturec.org
BIKE: Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board is gathering a group to ride from West Seattle to the U-District tomorrow night to see “Battle in Seattle” (the movie about the 1999 WTO protests – here’s the trailer). He’s inviting anyone who wants to join the group to meet at his shop (east side of California, just west of Admiral Safeway) at 6 pm tomorrow to make the 7:10 show – there’s a 9:30 pm showing too so he’s asking for e-mail from anyone interested in joining, and/or interested in the later show. (He also suggests buying tickets online before joining the ride.) E-mail: alkistu@hotmail.com
If you haven’t checked out the WSB Forums lately – a few threads percolating right now: A protest planned outside Mars Hill-West Seattle when it televises the Ballard seminar by a controversial parenting author; a local singer/songwriter has produced a music video for his song “Yes We Can” (bet you can guess which candidate it’s for), which at least one forum member already has reposted to Daily Kos; and if you’re noticing more spiders in your house – you’re far from alone. Want to start a conversation about something? The Forum’s the place.
Take a sec, spare a click to help a local school get TV time: We mentioned this yesterday, and the deadline’s tonight: The West Seattle High School-O’Dea matchup will be featured on channel 7’s Friday night sportscast – IF it wins the webpoll on this page. P.S. Thanks to Jonathan French for sending this Times link that notes the Wildcats are bidding to be the first WSHS team to knock off O’Dea. The game’s at West Seattle Stadium, 7 pm tomorrow.
At the first of two community meetings about the $150 million plan to “reinvent” The Kenney, the century-old retirement center in Fauntleroy, management and consultants revealed two big changes since the plan was first previewed over the summer (not only in this WSB article, but also in meetings with Kenney residents): There’s more “park-like” space planned for the northwest section of the site, which is famous for its greenery now, but in order to make that happen, The Kenney wants to double the height of one new building in the middle of the complex — that means six stories, and it would require rezoning, if the City Council approves. Tonight is the second of two community meetings to discuss the latest plans for the project – here’s our full report on what happened at the first meeting:Read More
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