West Seattle, Washington
10 Tuesday
That’s the mascot of the kids’ magazine “Ranger Rick” hanging out at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza during Saturday’s Community Wildlife Habitat Certification celebration. While the habitat project is more about Alki’s present and future than its past, our area’s history will be in the spotlight during one of the next few big events at the beach. More from the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project‘s David Hutchinson (who provided the photos in this report, along with Eilene Hutchinson):
Thanks to the generosity of the Alki and West Seattle Communities, 851 new engraved bricks will be installed in the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. The engraving should be completed by the end of next week with the date of installation to be set by Seattle Parks & Recreation. This is currently planned for the early part of June, weather permitting. We will notify all donors when a specific date has been set. At the same time, a number of tribute plaques will be installed and a time capsule, scheduled to be opened in 2059, will be buried at the site:
Andrea Mercado of the Log House Museum has been sorting through the many submissions for inclusion in the capsule and is responsible for this part of the project:
The proceeds from the sale of the bricks and tribute plaques has been turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation and has been placed in a separate account. These funds, minus the cost of the new construction, will be used for the future maintenance of the Statue and Plaza.
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In case you missed it this morning, that’s video of the space shuttle Atlantis landing at Edwards Air Force Base in the Southern California desert, 13 days after it left Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA‘s been trying since Friday to bring it home, but the Florida weather just wouldn’t cooperate. West Seattle High School Class of ’72 alum Gregory Johnson piloted Atlantis during the mission, which was the last servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will be taken back to Florida in a week or so atop a modified 747; Johnson and his fellow astronauts will head back to the Johnson Space Center in Texas on Tuesday, when a welcome-home ceremony is scheduled in Houston.
We’ve been tracking the holiday-weekend low tides – very low today, and the next two days it’ll be lower still (per this tide chart, -3.6 at 12:07 pm tomorrow and the same at 12:53 pm Tuesday). We’ve received three close-up photos of tidal sights today – the first and second are from Minette (who also shared her baby-owl gallery following last night’s Lincoln Park owl-photo post) – and she shared info too:
The (first) one … is an image of a “Red octopus” (Octopus rubescens). This octopus is frequently found at our local beaches and people are always very happy to see it. However, it is venomous (for real!) and can deliver a nasty bite, so be careful out there, all you curious folks. The (next) one … is a sea slug (also called a nudibranch). This particular one is the Opalescent nudibranch (Hermissenda crassicornis). It can be found in great numbers at our local beaches and at all times of the year, but people rarely notice it because it’s so small.
We’ve also received photos from Rick – two views of a sun star: First, full body —
Next, close up:
Thanks again to everyone who sends photos to share — editor@westseattleblog.com any time (and if you have a sec, consider programming that into your cell-phone contact list in case you happen onto an interesting sight sometime and want to send it from your cameraphone fast).
Elana thinks the man who rather aggressively solicited for yard work may have been casing for crime. Read on for the story she e-mailed us to share:Read More
Earlier this spring, we published a series of stories about “shop cats” (and a few “shop dogs”) who reside at West Seattle businesses. Then even more news than usual started happening and we never got around to finishing the series. So we’re taking the opportunity now. (Since Keri spoke to the PB&J Textiles team, they have opened Coffee at the Heights [WSB sponsor; open 6:30 am-3 pm on Memorial Day].)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Dakota is a BIG black cat. Not fat, not even overly long; just huge. And when petted, he creates a purr that matches his stature. Murphy is a petite tortoiseshell female who, if it weren’t for her longish fur, would be utterly dwarfed by Dakota.
These two cats share their space with the humans at PB&J Textiles on Fauntleroy Way. You may see them sitting on their kitty condo in the south storefront window, or on sunny days, sprawled out and soaking up the sun on the west-facing work table. Owner Paul Binder comments: “Dakota’s black fur soaks up so much heat, he’s hot to the touch.”
Binder and partner David Robertson decided to bring cats to the shop three years ago when they were dealing with mouse issues. They were trying to decide whether to deal with the rodents via chemical or natural means and decided having a cat in the shop would be fun. They found an online ad for cats who needed to find a new home because the dog they were living with was too aggressive. The catch: The cats came as a pair. The couple giving the cats away were initially dubious about the cats living in a shop, but have since come to visit the cats and are happy with the new home.
Next Sunday, West Seattle’s major waterfront boulevard closes to traffic from Alki/63rd to Harbor/California Way, 9 am-5 pm for “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” — the sequel to last September’s Car-Free Day –and it will literally get off to a running start with the first-ever West Seattle 5K Run/Walk to raise money for local schools. West Seattle 5K is advertising on WSB for one last push to get the word out, and in case you missed the first round of announcements regarding this new event and what it’s about, here’s what it’s all about:
SHOW YOUR WESTSIDE PRIDE!
The West Seattle High School PTSA is proud to present the West Seattle 5K Run/Walk on May 31, 2009. This fun, family-friendly event will raise much needed funds to support the West Seattle High School PTSA and the PTSA’s at some of West Seattle’s other community schools. Help the PTSA at your school provide an important voice to students, parents, and staff, as well as fund important educational initiatives. We can’t do it without YOUR support!
REGISTER NOW!
Gather together your family or a group of friends for a 3.1-mile run or walk along West Seattle’s own Alki Beach. When you’re done, enjoy a car-free day on Alki courtesy of the City of Seattle and Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets.Register online or by mail. For more information, visit westseattle5k.com/registration. Registration fees are $35 for Adults, $25 for Students, and 6 and under are free.
MAKE A DONATION!
You can make a tax-deductible cash donation online at westseattle5k.com/support. Designate West Seattle High School, Chief Sealth High School, Madison Middle School, or Roxhill Elementary. Any amount helps! If you don’t see your school on this list, we encourage you to make a cash donation directly to your school’s PTSA to help those organizations continue to advocate for the kids at your school.
If you want to register by mail, obviously you’re going to want to send it in fast. Online, the deadline is 6 pm Friday – after that, you can register in person on Saturday or Sunday. The registration page explains how, where and when – as well as, for those who’ve already registered, how to pick up your bib, shirt and timing pin on Saturday. See you at the West Seattle 5K!
If you don’t already shop there – ever drive past one of White Center’s non-chain supermarkets and feel a tinge of curiosity? This just might convince you to stop someday and go inside: A close-up look at one of the “Great Markets of White Center,” at WSB’s partner site White Center Now.
Thanks to Gregory Wright for photos from Saturday’s low tide – and this morning, it’ll be even lower (bottoming out at 11:24 am, according to this tide chart) – with volunteer beach naturalists out again at Lincoln Park and south of Alki Point, 10 am-1:30 pm:
Also today: Extra fun at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm in The Junction) – it’s “Live Local Day” with free draft-mule-wagon rides, free sweet-pea flower starts for kids from Langley Fine Gardens, and free cooking demos (barbecue sauces!) – plus, here’s today’s fresh sheet. Last but not least, day 2 of Colman Pool‘s first “pre-season weekend” on the Lincoln Park shoreline, schedule here. More in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup – and if you’re garage-saling, check the listings in the WSB Forums’ Freebies-Deals-Sales section (free to post YOUR future sale!).
Under investigation by Seattle Police right now: First came the report of shots fired in the California SW/SW College vicinity (map). Then, the scanner report that officers found “multiple 40-caliber shell casings in the driveway on the south side of the Blockbuster.” We’re continuing to monitor this; so far NO report of anyone having been hit by those shots.
Received from the Duwamish Tribe:
Native Film: ‘Maria Tallchief’
Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center
4705 W. Marginal Way SWThe ballet world that was dominated by the Russians, French, and English changed dramatically in 1948 when Maria Tallchief took center stage to the most thunderous ovation ever heard in the history of New York City theater and dance. Come watch this beautiful documentary on the life of Maria Tallchief, America’s first prima ballerina. Journey with her as she leaps from her home in the Osage Indian Territory in Oklahoma to the center stages of the world.
May 28, 2009 @ 7:00 pm
2 hours
$10
www.duwamishtribe.org
james@duwamishlonghouse.org
(206) 431-1582
(photo courtesy Eilene Hutchinson)
Years of hard work — neighbors’ efforts, volunteers’ coordination — culminated in a celebration today at Alki Bathhouse, as Alki was officially certified by the National Wildlife Federation as Community Wildlife Habitat. But that’s just the beginning, as volunteer Mary Quackenbush pointed out – next, a campaign to have all of West Seattle certified – so wherever you live in West Seattle, listen up later this year for how to get involved with that. “It’s really easy,” Mary said. But in the short run – it was time for the Alki community to celebrate – including project chair Dolly Vinal:
She received the certificate from NWF representative Courtney Sullivan – listen to the hearty round of applause echoing around Alki Bathhouse:
The NWF rep explained in this video clip — with some amazing numbers — what an achievement it was for Alki to get to this point, six years after launching the project:
Before the ceremony ended, other key team members who helped make the certification reality came forward – note in the foreground, one of the Alki Wildlife Habitat Project’s special touches, gourds like those hung at Seacrest Pier for the purple martin, as coordinated by Alki Kayak Tours‘ Kara Whittaker:
Making the rest of West Seattle a wildlife habitat might not be that hard, considering that groups from all over the peninsula were represented at today’s celebration — Friends of Lincoln Park (here’s our story on one of their recent work parties) had Cathy Davis and Sharon Baker on hand:
Sharon shared a card from the Healthy Parks, Healthy You project that notes you can burn 340 calories in an hour by digging, gardening and mulching – whether at a work party (listed weekly at greenseattle.org) or in your own yard. On the flip side of the calorie count, it wouldn’t have been a party without cake – this was donated by Alki Community Council vice president Randie Stone:
City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (who chairs the council’s Parks Committee) joined the party too, receiving a certification sign for his own Alki-area property, joking that it might have been designated as wildlife habitat because he doesn’t mow enough and it just looks wild:
Next step – before that West Seattle-wide effort gets under way (likely in fall, Mary said, given the prime planting conditions then) — there’s a work party planned for next Saturday, 9 am-noon, at Seacrest, to get more mulching done on a native-plant area there that’s part of the AWHP.
Thanks to Kim and Jordan Petram of Fauntleroy for sharing these photos of a baby owl and its parents in Lincoln Park tonight – Kim says they were spotted in the trees “north of the north parking lot.”
Looking at birdweb.org – we’re thinking these are barred owls (experts, please weigh in)? Also note – Camp Long naturalists often lead owl-watching walks in Lincoln Park; check the newly issued summer brochure (registration starts Tuesday) or the online signup system SPARC for upcoming opportunities.
We have information tonight on a police response that turned some heads in the Admiral District early this afternoon. Thanks to the folks who called and e-mailed to ask about it; at the time we got those notifications, we went to check it out in person, but police were gone. However, SPD media-unit Officer Mark Jamieson looked into it for us later and says a suspect “wanted on a warrant” was spotted in the 4300 block of Admiral Way around 12:38 pm; “a foot chase ensued, and the suspect ran eastbound toward the 7-11, then witnesses thought he may have run toward the (gas) station, possibly into a laundromat. Additional officers came to the area to assist with containment, so that explains the number of cars. Suspect was located and arrested for outstanding misdemeanor warrant out of Snohomish County. It looks like he may have been caught near the Admiral Theater.”
From the sun-splashed courtyard on the north end of the South Seattle Community College campus, stretching into several rooms of the adjacent Horticulture Building, today’s first-ever West Seattle Edible Garden Fair drew hundreds to learn more about how to “grow your own groceries,” as the promotional slogan went. We visited in the final hour; organizer Aviva Furman from Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle said they’d had a great day. Same thing we heard from many participants – like Sandy Pederson from Urban Land Army:
She’s posing there in front of her Land Link map (explained here) but ULA also presented the “Bucket Brigade” container-gardening table, so popular they ran out of plants and soil, after making dozens of container gardens! Of course, urban farming isn’t just about the plants: Thinking about livestock? Even if you have a small yard, you can keep up to three goats:
Chewee and Amanda were having a bit of a food fight when we stopped by. What they eat, we were told, comes from the Seattle Urban Farm Cooperative, whose mission is “to satisfy demand for local, organic feed and supplies for urban farmers”; check them out on Facebook. Back now to the concept of growing your own: Need some help? These guys have just gone into business:
Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are known as The Shibaguyz (on Twitter, @shibaguyz), the Lazy Locavores and the Urban Farming Project (contact info here) – not only are can they consult on your urban-farming project, they’re also having an heirloom tomato sale the next two Saturdays (May 30 and June 6; watch for more info here – more than 1,000 plants, they told us!). Now, you can’t grow plants really well without good soil, so Carrie’s hints about worm composting were invaluable:
She said keeping a worm bin, like the one in the photo, is a lot easier than you might think (here’s info). Bottom line, besides growing tastier, affordable food, edible gardening is also a matter of increased self-sufficiency – which is why it synergizes so well with the display Deb Greer and Karen Berge set up:
That’s a map of the neighborhood-gathering places around West Seattle designated just in case of major emergency. The website they maintain to get out information about West Seattle preparedness, as part of this effort we’ve been covering, is down at the moment but we’ll link it here when it’s back. (Yes, Deb and Karen are gardeners too, and were even giving out samples of organic carrot seeds.) In addition to the outdoor displays, there was a busy slate of simultaneous indoor presentations all day long (as listed here). It all wrapped up just an hour and a half ago.
The Garden Center at SSCC, by the way, adjacent to today’s fair setup, is open 11 am-3 pm every Saturday.
We promised we’d let you know as soon as we found out what last night’s helicopter-over-Alki police search (original WSB coverage here) was all about – and Seattle Police media-unit Officer Mark Jamieson has just provided details: At 2:12 am, a call came in from the 3000 block of 59th SW, where somebody saw “two males” who “hopped a fence,” followed by the sound of something crashing. A few minutes later, Seattle Public Schools security answered an alarm at nearby Alki Elementary, and then came a report that the possible suspects were seen running westbound on Stevens (just west of the school). The helicopter was available, so it, and K-9 officers, joined the search. The suspects were described as 2 white males, around 16 years old, wearing dark clothing. Around 3:05 am, the search was called off; police went back to the school and found a broken window on the south side of the school, but it hasn’t been determined yet whether entry was actually made and whether anything was taken.
It’s West Seattle’s first car show this summer — happening right now at Southwest Community Center, and a few nonmotorized vehicles are on display too:
Bluegrass band Pickled Okra is entertaining:
And for kids, there are carnival activities including a bouncy house:
This continues till 5 pm on the east and south sides of SWCC – take note there’s a track meet at adjacent Southwest Athletic Complex, so parking is a bit crunchy.
The crosses are going up on the graves at Forest Lawn (map), preparing for Memorial Day, when American Legion Post 160 presents West Seattle’s annual community service. It’s scheduled for 2 pm on the rolling hills of the cemetery. (Here’s our coverage, with video, from last year.) Crosses and flags are placed on the graves each Memorial Day weekend by volunteers including local Scouts.
That’s Colman Pool, the saltwater swimming facility on the Lincoln Park waterfront, opening today for its always-too-short summer season – it’s the first of three “pre-season weekends,” so after today/Sunday/Monday, it’ll be closed till next Saturday – full schedule here.
Other major highlights today include the first-ever West Seattle Edible Garden Fair, 9:30 am-4 pm at South Seattle Community College — here’s the full schedule; presentations start at 10 am – all FREE (and don’t forget to bring garden supplies, tools, books to recycle – scroll down here for details on that).
And on Alki, a big party to celebrate the community’s National Wildlife Federation certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat. Events and activities center around the Alki Bathhouse, 11 am-3 pm with a ceremony scheduled at 1 pm.
Lots more happening today, including a Car Show/Carnival at Southwest Community Center – full slate of activities can be found in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
We were just about to post this when the police search broke, but now that it seems over, did still want to let you know about this … Thanks to the folks who e-mailed over the past few days to make sure we knew that the “next page” link at the bottom of the WSB home page wasn’t working. It broke when we tweaked some code to lay the groundwork for the new “Announced” page the other day – but it took a few nights of work to figure out why it broke, and how to fix it. All appears well now, but again, we very much appreciate the heads-up (editor@westseattleblog.com) when you notice something’s wrong – you may find trouble before we do.
ORIGINAL 2:47 AM REPORT: Heard Guardian One over our house a few minutes ago, heading north – and in fact, we’ve just received a few notes and a call that the chopper is searching over Alki, and that there’s a ground search too. Haven’t heard exactly what happened but “two white males that jumped (a) fence” are being sought, and the chopper has reported not seeing any hot spots “around the building.” The caller said she’s seeing the activity close to the Alki Tully’s. More as we get it. 2:55 AM: We should mention, for potentially a bit of reassurance, there have been no aid calls in the area, so nothing injurious related to this; we’d been listening to the scanner even before the first phone call of the chopper over Alki (plus several Twitter and Facebook reports too) and hadn’t heard anything dramatic. 3:05 AM: Sounds like Guardian One is “clearing out.” If we’re not able to get any details on the incident here in the wee hours, we’ll update – as always – whenever the details DO become available. 4:05 AM: **NOT** related that we know of, but if you’re still awake in the Alki area after all this, there’s now a fire engine responding to 62nd/Alki for a “rubbish fire” (as real-time 911 puts it). 12:19 PM UPDATE: Just got the details from SPD media officer Mark Jamieson: A break-in or attempted break-in at Alki Elementary. Will post all the details in a separate item in a few minutes. No arrests.
Two weeks since West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day ’09, and the rest of garage-/yard-sale season is revving up big time. If you’re having a sale, we invite you to post it – free! – in the Freebies-Deals-Sales section of the WSB Forums – and so far tonight, four households with sales this weekend have done just that. They all ended up posting in the same thread, but you are welcome to start your own. See this weekend’s four sale listings here. (P.S. Almost forgot – we’ve also published an item about Shorewood Christian‘s 50-FAMILY yard sale this weekend!)
That’s what Jane e-mailed us to ask, since as noted in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, this is Fresh Bistro‘s opening night (street level of The Junction’s new Mural Apartments [WSB sponsor]). We’ve taken a look inside, but we don’t do reviews – the food opinions on WSB come from you! If you’ve been, share your thoughts in comments – this post will be on the home page through the weekend. Thanks!
That video showed the scene on the eastern edge of West Seattle – West Marginal/Highland Park Way (map; same spot that’s still under consideration as a possible jail site) – eight months ago, as police arrived to arrest more than 20 people at the encampment calling itself “Nickelsville.” (Our as-it-happened story here; followup here.) Those arrested weren’t in custody for long, and the camp packed up and moved days later, but the trespassing cases have been making their way through the Seattle Municipal Court system. Maybe not much longer, according to a KOMO News report today that says the charges will be dropped. We checked on the one suspect whose name we reported at the time, Anitra Freeman; in the online Municipal Court records, she still has an open charge for 2nd-degree criminal trespass, with a “readiness conference” scheduled next Friday and trial tentatively scheduled in June. When everything reopens next week, we’ll check on when the “dropping” is scheduled to happen. Meantime, “Nickelsville” still exists, and currently is set up at a Southeast Seattle church.
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