West Seattle, Washington
21 Friday
A few more scenes from the (very busy) West Seattle weekend that just wrapped up: One day after the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time-capsule celebration (our Saturday reports are here and here), Eilene Hutchinson and Libby Carr from the Statue of Liberty Plaza Project were out serving leftover “time capsule cake.” (Thanks to Mark Matassa for the photo.) Now rewinding a bit further into the weekend:
Genevieve Aguilar photographed Fandango at DNDA‘s LINKS barbecue, held indoors on soggy Saturday; by later Saturday afternoon, the weather cleared enough for outdoor fun, including this goofy act at Holy Rosary School’s Westfest, with TV personality Jim Dever and son:
At the Southwest Branch Library on Saturday afternoon, Friends of SBL invited patrons to come meet new branch manager Jane Appling (at right in the pink shirt):
And we wanted to mention a few words about the Communications Hubs radio test on Friday night – this is Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker outside West Seattle Thriftway (the MJ “hub”) during the drill:
Cindi Barker, also from MoCA (but no relation to Deb), sent a report on how the test went (it involved small handheld radios that have been distributed to reps in the West Seattle neighborhoods participating in the disaster-preparedness project):
All the Hubs in the WS Communcations Hub system were present and accounted for. Our next hub to come on line, Highland Park, came into the test late, but still checked in and was heard.
The GMRS repeater system worked great, everyone was able to receive all Hubs, from Fauntleroy to Alki. Signal strength was a little variable, as people were getting feedback about their transmissions and moved around to improve the signal. Under simulated conditions, each Hub requested different resources of the type that might be needed immediately following a disaster, including describing a serious, high priority situation, such as the collapse of a building. Hubs also exchanged information about what resources might have become available in their neighborhood and sought to match them up with needs in other locations.
This test placed high demands on each Hub coordinator, as they had to physically set up their Hub location and manage all the radio traffic, and everyone performed at an outstanding level. During the debrief, several people said they attracted concerned attention as they were overheard reporting a fire or gas leak according to their test script, and some used the opportunity to let their neighbors know about the Emergency Communication Hub concept and about the drill, much to the relief of the visitors. All in all, an extremely successful test!
You can find your nearest Hub on this site – they’re spots set up for people to gather to coordinate information and help if disaster strikes and other means of communication don’t work.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 11:29 pm; opening-night-eve activity at Swinery tonight)
ORIGINAL 11:31 PM NOTE: Posted moments ago on Facebook by Swinery proprietor Gabriel Claycamp (backstory here):
the swinery will open tomorrow in an extremely limited capacity. Our compressors blew on 2 of our cases, so we only have the baby case…. will still have lots of goodness, stop by after 12 pm.
The new deli/meat shop (3207 California SW; map) has its full website up at swinerymeats.com. 12:40 AM MONDAY: And just an hour later, a problem. We’ll just wait till they actually open before the next update.
Scratch that. We are NOT OPENING tomorrow. why doesn’t Home Depot stay open when you need them? Tuesday. Plumbing mishap. compressors breaking in the middle of the night… clearly the universe doesn’t like the autumnal equinox for us.
Just hours after the latest message from Seal Sitters (read it here) about an increasing number of pups on West Seattle shores, and the need for everyone to help them survive, we got a raft of incredibly cute photos from Greg Wright, who photographed a couple around mid-afternoon and said that Seal Sitters were with them:
Also this afternoon along West Seattle shores, Bill Bacon photographed this masked marauder:
NOT close to the seal pups, so far as we know.
Thanks to everybody who e-mailed us about that startling sight at the easternmost Admiral Way bridge late this afternoon – particularly Mike Russell, who not only took photos, but also went over and asked the crew what was going on. Answer: Training. Or, as Mike put it more vividly:
I heard some noises coming from outside, and looked out the window to see this. At first my heart just sank, thinking someone had jumped. But looking closer, I realized (and hoped) that the one being rescued was also wearing a uniform. My suspicions were confirmed when I heard someone ask them if they were just training, and they said yes. Phew!
(One way for a quick check, by the way, is that if you see a fire crew but you do not see the location listed on the live 911 fire/aid/medic log, 99.9% likelihood it’s NOT breaking news.)
We just passed this coming back into West Seattle from downtown: some kind of problem on The Bridge, eastbound, between Fauntleroy and Delridge, with fire/aid crews blocking all lanes; we could only see one car, in the outside eastbound lane, with rescuers peering in – the 911 log called it an “aid response.” Their part of the call has just closed but the backup was all the way to the top of the bridge when we went by so might take a bit to clear. (Thanks to Daniel for the photo taken from mid-backup around 7:30.)
Irene Stewart sends word of a special invitation regarding this Tuesday’s Rotary Club of West Seattle lunch:
Rotary Club of West Seattle announces that Sept. 22 is “Bring Your Lawyer to Rotary Day”. The club’s noon luncheon provides a rare opportunity to hear a national leader in the legal profession provide the inside story about one of the more controversial legal chapters in our nation’s history.
Luncheon speaker Harry Schneider, managing partner of Perkins Coie, an international law firm headquartered in Seattle, will discuss Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, a case involving a Yemen citizen, Salim Hamdan, who was widely known as Osama bin Laden’s driver. Hamdan was captured during the invasion of Afghanistan, turned over to the United States, sent to Guantanamo Bay, and charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism.
On a pro bono basis, Perkins Coie successfully represented Hamdan in a case against the U.S. government, all the way through the United States Supreme Court. Schneider led the legal team, and was recognized by many legal organizations for his leadership, integrity and “tone of civility and candor” throughout the lengthy and historic legal proceedings.
Lawyers and non-lawyers alike are welcome to attend the Rotary luncheon on Tues., Sept. 22 (12 noon to 1:30 p.m.) at Salty’s on Alki, 1936 Harbor Ave. SW. The cost is $20 per person. Non-members should contact West Seattle Rotary at least 24 hours in advance (e-mail wsrotary@gmail.com) to ensure sufficient seating. For more information, go to www.westseattlerotary.org.
From David at 36th/Henderson (map):
We heard a loud bang around 1:20 pm Sunday 9/20 and ran out just in time to see a woman with curly brown hair (on her cell phone!!) back up and take off after she rear-ended our car. She was in a 2004 or so white king cab GMC Denali. We ran after but she turned right on red on 35th Sw and we couldn’t catch her. We talked to others at “Bird On The Wire” coffee shop soon after, and at least one other person there said they also had their car parked on the street and was hit by a white pickup about a month ago. We are on the lookout.
(scroll down for the latest photos/video; also, see our morning report here)
If you visit the WSB Forums, you’ve seen “westseattledood” – who sent the photo above that features their inspiration and sidekick, photographed with an appropriately licensed car here at the West Seattle Junction Car Show, continuing till 4 pm. As a co-sponsor of the show, we’re here all day, under a tent at the California/Alaska corner by Easy Street Records – the tents immediately east of us are where you can buy raffle tickets for a big stack of great prizes, and they’re giving away car show posters too. From WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, a wider perspective on the show, which is lining California SW from Genesee to Edmunds:
ADDED 1:17 PM: Here’s a 1935 Auburn that rolled in a while after the show started – its owner didn’t want to talk on camera but told us he’s a 1975 West Seattle High School alum:
We’ll continue posting photos and video through the afternoon – the Oh Boy Oberto hydroplane is here, next to Super Supplements kitty-corner from our spot, and we shot video as its engine fired up – note the firefighters standing by!
And two more detail shots from WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli:
Square-dancers have been promenading at the heart of Walk-All-Ways and we’ll have video of them in a bit too.
ADDED 2:25 PM: Here’s that video:
In less than an hour, awards will be announced – there are awards for best of decade, best of carmaker, and a few other special awards. If you haven’t been down here yet, don’t miss the cars on Alaska on both sides of California – all the way over by the Farmers’ Market corner, you’ll see two vintage police cars, just west of the vintage fire trucks.
2:38 PM: Before the car awards, they’re running off some rapidfire contests in the intersection – including what was supposed to be “longest beard” but turned into “best beard” – the guy at far right (four contestants are in the shot, plus the show announcer with his back to the camera) won:
More to come as the West Seattle Junction Car Show continues till 4 pm – thanks again to the great folks who’ve stopped to chat or just yelled hi as they walked by!
3:02 PM: Awards are about to be announced. We’ll tweet them live at @wsblive before adding them here.
3:39 PM: Now that the awards are over, many of the cars are leaving, so if you were thinking about a last-minute trip down here, you might not see too much. “Best West Seattle car” went to Jim Clark for his 1957 Corvette; “Best in Show” went to a 1959 Chevy convertible – we’re tracking down some names to match to the numbers. Congrats to all, including show organizers – 257 cars registered this year, up from 100 last year (which was the show’s first year). We’ll publish a separate story later with the winners.
An update from Brenda Peterson of the West Seattle-based Seal Sitters:
We had another very tiny, nursing pup on the beach Friday night until 1 a.m. She had hauled out at 2 p.m. and was about 2 ft. long, 4 weeks old, with very few teeth, so we knew she was nursing. Seal Sitters were there until the mother finally reappeared in the surf, barked to her pup. The pup suddenly upped and hopped over a log, scooted down the beach and we saw both heads swimming out together. Reunion!
We’ve got a lot of pups on the beach these days. So please remind yourreaders to leash dogs and keep their eyes out. This is pup season. There are also weaning pups who are in a critical transition time for their survival. Call 206 905-SEAL to report pups to Seal Sitters. Volunteer! Also on our website at www.sealsitters.org, there is a new daily blog – we call it the BlubberBlog — that lets the community know about seals showing up on our shores.
Here’s a direct link to the site, where you can read Brenda’s detailed story about the Friday night pup and the nervous moments along the way before that happy reunion.
(this was our morning report; see our afternoon report here)
Not just cars at the West Seattle Junction Car Show – the Last Resort Fire Department, famous for parade appearances among other things, is here, and showing off what looks like a ladder to the sky. The fire trucks are on SW Alaska west of California, near where the West Seattle Farmers’ Market will be starting at the top of the hour. We’re right at Alaska/California, next to Easy Street, just east of the table selling raffle tickets for a multitude of great prizes:
Prizes include a Weber grill donated by Junction TrueValue and a Victoria Clipper trip donated by TILA Real Estate – and dozens of others – so bring a few dollars for raffle tickets. Between Alaska and Edmunds, we caught a couple photos for starters – including a classic school bus:
And of course, fabulous cars, like this T-Bird sedan:
The announcer across from us has been touting some upcoming contests, like the “Longest Beard” around 1 pm. And to go with the classic cars, classic music – we’ve heard lots of ’50s and ’60s but right now, it’s steel drums for an island mood to accompany the sunshine.
10:44 AM UPDATE: Talked with Stan from Woodinville, who’s evoking drive-in nostalgia:
Stan’s here with wife Pam – and they’re celebrating 35 years of marriage.
ADDED 11:02 AM: Over at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, tomato tasting is about to start – we’re told it’ll continue till the tomatoes run out! (added later, here’s a photo)
And we spotted a special musical guest a little while ago: West Seattle-residing rocker Chris Ballew, performing kids’ music as Caspar Babypants:
11:20 AM: The Oh Boy Oberto hydroplane across from us is supposed to fire up its engines around noon – we’ll do our best to get that on video, if you can’t be here. Meantime, two gentlemen who are NOT here with the hydro but used to own another one just stopped by to ask if they could look over our shoulder to check on the webcast of a big hydro race down in San Diego today – it doesn’t start till 12:30 pm but it’ll be at ulhra.org. Meantime, WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli has sent some photos including great detail shots of these beautiful cars:
More photos and video as the day goes on – and we’ll start the “afternoon report” after 12; the West Seattle Junction Car Show continues till 4 pm. (Farmers’ Market is till 2 – here’s a tomato-tasting photo via Twitter from market managers at @NFMASeattle.) Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by to say hi – we are right on the corner next to Easy Street (and a big gorgeous orange car – seen here with some of the patroling SPD officers).
Bring a sweater – mostly sunny but a bit chilly – beautiful day. Meantime, we’re wrapping up this report and will be launching the afternoon edition by 12:30 pm. (Note: See it here.)
In our Saturday coverage of the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time-capsule event, we included part of the speech by former West Seattleite Capt. Gregory Johnson – now an astronaut who piloted Atlantis earlier this year. Above, more of what he had to say – 9 and a half minutes worth – including, at the request of Plaza Project co-chair Libby Carr, his predictions for the future. In the very near future, you can see/hear him in person this Thursday morning at the West Seattle High School Foundation‘s second annual Back To School Breakfast – Foundation president Christy Rowe was a WSHS Class of ’72 classmate of Capt. Johnson, in fact. Others at the breakfast will include WSHS Principal Bruce Bivins, WSHS alum/King County Council Chair/County Executive candidate Dow Constantine and Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. Coffee/breakfast at 7:30, program at 8, free/donations accepted. To RSVP, call Dick Lee at 206-252-0476
Just shot that video in The Junction while checking on setup for today’s West Seattle Junction Car Show (co-sponsored by local businesses including WSB), 8 am-4 pm along California SW between Genesee and Edmunds, which is closed (as is SW Alaska between 42nd and 44th) for the duration:
Not only did more than 100 cars pre-register in the past few months, but organizer Michael Hoffman from Liberty Bell Printing tells us this morning that so many showed up for day-of signups that traffic was backing up all the way to Fauntleroy Way! In addition to seeing classic cars, there’s entertainment along the way, and a square dance scheduled in Walk-All-Ways around 1 pm, plus the Oh Boy Oberto hydroplane is parked near Cupcake Royale/Super Supplements. Admission’s free but bring a few $ for raffles with great prizes. Also in The Junction, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is happening 10 am-2 pm as always – today’s special event, tomato-tasting (postponed from that stormy Sunday a couple weeks ago) – and here’s today’s fresh sheet. We’ll add a few more car-show-setup photos here shortly and will be reporting “live” from The Junction most of the day – see you there (and for the rest of today’s West Seattle events/activities, here’s the WS Weekend Lineup). ADDED 8:32 AM: Here are more of the cars, after they parked in place (diagonal along both sides of the show zone on California):
And here’s the aforementioned Oberto hydro:
Our next update will be in a separate report – we’re on our way back down to set up for the day at show info HQ at California/Alaska.
(Photo via Twitter and yfrog, by @driftcafe)
That photo and several other reports indicate a major crowd at Easy Street Records in The Junction (and overflow at West 5) for the new Pearl Jam “Backspacer” release at midnight – just one day before the first of two Pearl Jam shows at KeyArena downtown. Tonight’s party collected donations for West Seattle Food Bank; also via Twitter, @Java_Colleen reported a long line for that. How many “Backspacer” copies left after tonight? Check with Easy Street when you’re in The Junction for the Car Show 8 am-4 pm today.
Before tonight’s Seattle Lutheran High School–Northwest Christian game at West Seattle Stadium, Saints fans tailgated in the parking lot. An action-packed game followed: Despite losing starting quarterback Gabe Wadsworth to an injury in the first quarter, NW Christian managed to put together a ground game that beat Seattle Lutheran 28-22. Filling in for Wadsworth was wide receiver Zach Thomas, who managed to split the running game between the other backup quarterback, Ben Conner, and fullback Steven Dunn for a total of 399 yards. But SLHS scored the first touchdown of the game, on a Jake Lovely run:
Seattle Lutheran also made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter and scored to bring the game close. The drive was highlighted by Conner Mullen, who made a single catch for 37 yards. On the night. Lutheran managed 170 total yards of offense — 49 came from Mullen, along with 44 from Jake Lovely. Lutheran’s standout for the night was running back Fred Lisko who had 58 yards rushing, 12 yards passing, and two touchdowns.
Just before the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza time capsule was covered in one last layer of sand, it was topped with cement and a few inscriptions – Loren and Clara are the 11- and 8-year-old Alki Elementary students who helped fill and seal it hours earlier at the Log House Museum. The burial process involved two wheelbarrows full of broken glass – you’ll see that after the capsule is placed in the ground, along the sidewalk just above the plaza (sorry for the jostling, everybody started crowding in closely):
The actual time-capsule burial came during a break in the celebration ceremony under a tent next to the statue itself. Keynote speaker, former West Seattleite astronaut Capt. Gregory Johnson, who was introduced by deputy mayor (and West Seattleite) Tim Ceis, who had the best line of the afternoon right after finishing his proclamation:
With humor and charisma, Johnson — after a few West Seattle reminiscences, including his time at Schmitz Park Elementary — told the story of how he became an astronaut:
We’ve got lots more to add (and we’re still adding to our earlier report on the filling/sealing of the capsule), but those were the highlights. Those in attendance also included leaders and members of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, City Council president Richard Conlin and West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, as well as Alki Community Council president Jule Sugarman. The bricks atop the capsule are sand-set for drainage, Parks project manager Patrick Donohue explained; the capsule is scheduled to be removed and opened in 2059.
Just got word of this via Facebook – Kick It With Kenya, which brings health education to Kenyan youth through soccer, is presenting a fundraiser featuring Danny Godinez at Alki Tavern tonight. $10 suggested donation at the door; starts at 8 pm. Find out more about KIWK here.
More than 100 cars pre-registered, and more will be lined up when same-day registration begins early tomorrow: It’s the second annual West Seattle Junction Car Show, which will line California SW from Genesee to Edmunds with classic cars (take note, that means the street will be closed, including the central Junction section of SW Alaska, and the “no parking” signs are up already). Official showtime is 8 am-4 pm; as a co-sponsor of the show, we’ll be there with “live” updates throughout the day. Look for special touches like entertainment here and there – square dancing at 1 pm in the Walk-All-Ways intersection, plus Blue Willow Luncheonette on SW Oregon is planning to have a teenage violin virtuoso! – and bring a few $ for raffles (otherwise, admission’s free). Lots more info (including same-day registration details) at wsjunctioncarshow.com.
We’ve received two tales of encounters with purported magazine-selling solicitors in north West Seattle over the past few hours – read on:Read More
Story and photos by Mary Sheely
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Gray, chilly, rainy – perfect weather for a barbecue, isn’t it? Well, it is if you’re a member of the Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association, which is holding the Evergreen State Barbecue Championship at Alki Beach this weekend. Thirty teams were setting up tents and smokers in the morning drizzle and cold, and all of them will remain, camping and cooking overnight, until the final awards for pork butt, brisket, pork ribs and chicken are given out at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The competition is serious but friendly – Steve Sanders and Sherwin Chin were working together, setting up Steve’s tents in the rain, yet the two are actually on competing teams. Sanders, with Smoke a Fat One Barbecue, has a catering service in Snohomish, but calls his barbecue competing “just a hobby that went bad.” Or good – Sanders actually qualified for October’s Jack Daniels Invitational in Lynchburg, Tennessee, the holy grail of barbecue competitions. Chin is from Bellevue and competing with Rainbow Catering. Both men say their ribs are their best entry.
ORIGINAL 12:43 PM NOTE: This just in from Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association: Its community-barbecue celebration LINKS has been moved indoors – still at Delridge Community Center, but it’ll be inside, still 2-6 pm with live music, entertainment, food and other fun. 1:19 PM UPDATE: It’s actually indoors at YOUNGSTOWN ARTS CENTER across the street (4408 Delridge). See you there. 3:45 PM UPDATE: Here’s a photo from about an hour ago – tables are set up inside the theater, lots of food, entertainment should be in full swing by now:
Rain or no rain, the time capsule burial ceremony at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza is on for 2 this afternoon. The time capsule itself was filled and sealed this morning at the Log House Museum – that’s director Andrea Mercado in the photo with the completed capsule (at right, Clara Peterson, who with brother Loren assisted in the hour-long job, and peeking into the top of the frame is Patrick Donohue, city Parks Department manager for the plaza project); you’ll recall she put out a call for people to save memories, souvenirs and daily-life “ephemera” last November 13th – anniversary of the Denny Party’s Alki landing – to put in the capsule, and all that is what went in today. We’ve got video of much of the event and will add some later; the capsule contents were catalogued by Eilene Hutchinson as they went in:
We’ll be at the 2 pm ceremony today too – the capsule is supposed to be available for public viewing around 1:30. And remember that Alki also is headquarters to the Evergreen State Barbecue Championships all weekend (separate story to come) so it’s a busy day at the beach! 6:52 PM: Adding more video from this morning’s filling/sealing gathering. First, Andrea explains to Clara and Loren how the capsule-filling will proceed:
We asked Andrea afterward if she had ever done a time capsule before – nope, this was her first one. And she said they’re meticulously documenting everything they did regarding storage and placement, because what’s considered time-capsule state of the art now is nonetheless unproven – since you don’t really know what’ll happen till you get to the capsule opening decades (or longing later). Some of what’s in the capsule is simple, some personal:
9:13 PM: Thanks to Paul Carr for sending us the program from today’s ceremony (video is in a separate story here), which includes the full list of what’s in the time capsule. See it (and the rest of the program) here.
First word of new drinking/eating establishments, or changes in existing ones, often comes from the state’s database of liquor-license applications, and this morning there are two applications of note: At 5632 Delridge (map), which would be across the street and a bit south from Olympia Pizza and Pasta, there’s an application to open “La Luna,” seeking a spirits/beer/wine/restaurant/lounge-type license. We’ll see what else we can find out. Meantime, it looks like Garlic Jim’s in The Junction, on the market for more than 9 months, has found a buyer; there’s an application for a new beer/wine license there, with different applicants, but the restaurant’s name is staying the same, according to the online info. (The liquor-license application database can be found here.)
Many of today’s events are all or partly indoors, but even if you were looking forward to what’s supposed to be happening outdoors – the forecast says the rain WILL lift. Not predicting sunbreaks, but “rain” is supposed to make way for “cloudy with chance of showers.” 
We have NOT received word of any rainouts; we’ll add word of anything we do hear, but in the meantime, the show must go on. Two of this afternoon’s highlights: The Alki Statue of Liberty Time Capsule ceremony (with West Seattle High School alum astronaut Greg Johnson starting a round of local appearances) at 2 pm, 
which is also the start time for the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association‘s LINKS barbecue at Delridge Community Center (2-6). A highlight tonight: Easy Street Records in The Junction celebrates Pearl Jam‘s new “Backspacer” with a 9 pm party preceding the midnight sale — bring a donation for West Seattle Food Bank – giveaways, raffles, music (they’ll be playing cuts from “Backspacer” starting at 11), and if Easy Street’s full when you get there, the party’s officially spilling over into West 5. More here. For today’s full list of events, click here.
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