West Seattle, Washington
28 Sunday
Seattle Weekly just posted its “Best of 2008” winners’ list, with some West Seattle representation: In the readers’ poll, Buddha Ruksa was voted “best Thai restaurant,” Husky Deli was voted “best takeout deli food,” Cupcake Royale (which of course has branches outside WS too) got “best cupcakes,” and we thank you for voting WSB “best neighborhood blog” – the Weekly kindly included the description, “keeping us astoundingly well-informed on goings-on across the bridge.” You can read the entire Best of 2008 readers’-poll list here. In addition to the reader votes, the Weekly also profiled its staff “best of” picks; Spring Hill is “best new restaurant“; Rocksport is lauded as “best unvarnished sports bar”; Redline Music and Sports is written up here as “best way to keep your Cougar pride in Seattle,” Kitty Harbor is profiled here as “best place to melt your heart,” and WSB also got a bonus shoutout in this section, courtesy of Weekly managing editor Mike Seely, who lives on this side of the bay. You can browse all the writeups from this “Best Of” start page; there are a TON of categories and we just read through as quickly as we could but have to leave the computer for a while – let us know if you see a West Seattle winner we missed and we’ll add it here later.
Diane sent this, with that plaintive plea in the subject line:
On Sunday, July 27 someone decided they needed to remove my sixteen-year-old Acura Vigor from my driveway in Pigeon Point. I am hoping that it is sitting in your neighborhood taking up space. It is black with a spoiler on the back with a good-looking outside and a well-worn inside. The license plate number is 861RMX. If you have seen it, I would love to bring it home.
Side notes: According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Seattle’s auto-theft rate is #16 in the nation, with more than 24,000 vehicles stolen last year. The police department has an auto-theft-prevention webpage here, and crime stats by census tract (including car-theft breakouts) on an interactive map here.
The water’s really the place to be when the temperature peaks in the early evening – David Hutchinson sent that Tuesday sunset shot of Argosy’s Goodtime II off Alki. Temps could be into the 90s by day’s end (and that Smog Watch is still in effect). And if you’ll be looking for a place to chill with good company by evening, join the “Project Runway” viewing party at Ginomai (southwest corner 42nd/Genesee) to cheer for Hotwire< barista Blayne — 8 pm doors open (bring non-alcoholic beverage/small dessert to share), 9 pm show.
In report #1, we showed you the pix we took and posted while traveling around West Seattle 6-9:30 pm last night to visit Night Out parties. Only made it to a dozen of the 32-ish stops we’d hoped to visit – next year we’ll split up AND recruit reinforcements! But luckily pix are starting to come in from places we didn’t get to – like the Pigeon Point party with almost 100 participants — Pete Spalding, shown below with Southwest Precinct Captain Joe Kessler, sent some pix:
Capt. Kessler and other precinct leaders made the rounds to other Night Out events around West Seattle; we’ve heard of at least a few other sightings. Back to Pigeon Point, here are three other shots Pete sent – note they had Fire Department representation too – in this next photo, Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council president Matt Swenson is in the foreground, with longtime neighborhood volunteer Ed Doyne in the center:
Now, from Arbor Heights, State Sen. Joe McDermott sends a photo of Joy and Anna, whose karaoke number he found himself introducing when he stopped by their neighborhood’s block party near 100th/California:
Speaking of music, here’s that video we promised with the jam by the 40th Street Band, headlining the Fairmount Springs block party we featured in our first report:
And we have a block-party report from Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Mark Ahlness, who shows us what happened in his Gatewood neighborhood:
Mark also shared this report:
OMG what a beautiful night! At the corner of SW Elmgrove and 39th SW we had our annual Night Out. We were definitely feeling the absence of co-host for so many years Wilma, but husband Wally, son Ed, and neighbors carried on. We wished Wilma a speedy return from the hospital – sent her a banner and a group “Hi†picture tonight. Our local fire department spent some time with us again – a tradition we really appreciate and enjoy.
Here’s the banner they made for Wilma, followed by the visit from Engine 37 (which is getting a new station at 35th/Holden – city status reports say construction starts soon), and the group shot Mark mentioned:
Next chance to meet neighbors and local law enforcers: Picnic at the Precinct, Saturday 8/16, 1-4 pm at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster; map).
Posted tonight on the P-I site – trouble for Whole Foods, which says it’ll be scaling back but doesn’t specify how. We’ll check with Fauntleroy Place developer BlueStar in the morning to see if they’ve received any assurances the project here won’t be affected. (The next project update was expected a week from Thursday, when the newest design for Fauntleroy Place is to go before the Southwest Design Review Board, 8 pm 8/14 @ High Point Community Center.)
(refresh and/or scroll to the bottom for frequent updates as we report Night Out ’08 in West Seattle from the road!)
More than 30 stops in three-plus hours, can we do it? We’re going to try! Just before 6 pm, we left WSB headquarters in Upper Fauntleroy, headed north. First stop, a North Admiral bash that sounded like it would start on the early side of the time frame – many folks warned us they wouldn’t get going before 6:30 because everyone needed to get home from work and get settled. Updates in this post as we get them …
6:16 PM UPDATE: That party on Prescott is just getting going – with a giveaway for emergency preparedness supplies – but we’re going to have to change our route; there’s a big callout to 2615 SW Barton, near Westwood Village, “fire in building,” we’ve even seen engines heading out from this side. So we’re heading back to south West Seattle to check it out.
6:21 PM UPDATE: Probably not too huge – scanner says Ladder 11 has just been dismissed from the scene. We’ve had to sit through three lights from Avalon to turn left on 35th – should have taken Delridge.
6:32 PM UPDATE: Looks like a fire truck at Daystar across from Westwood Village, way back on the south side. Getting out to investigate, no smoke visible or other signs of a major emergency. We have Highland Park Night Out parties on the list so we’ll just go there next if nothing’s seriously wrong here.
6:35 PM UPDATE: “Food on the stove,” the verdict from firefighters. Nothing to see here, moving along.
6:40 PM UPDATE: Adding a photo of organizer Meredith from the North Admiral block party:
6:46 PM UPDATE: We’re in Highland Park, where Dina and Blair Johnson of the Highland Park Action Committee let us know about their block party. Photo to come, before we head to another HP stop. 7:02 PM UPDATE: First photo is from the party on the Johnsons’ block; next two, from the 8600 block of 12th a few blocks away, where Michelle tells us it’s the third year they’ve had a Night Out party, and this year several new families have just moved in and are participating.
Saw yet another party in the middle of the street in Highland Park as we headed back westward; snapped a quick pic, will use that later.
7:08 PM UPDATE: Now we’re in Fauntleroy, to check out a block party a few blocks east of the ferry dock. An SPD car is parked here — we know some of the folks from the precinct are out making the rounds tonight. (Added a few minutes later …) Here’s who we found at this party — Officer John Nark, standing with neighbor Will Castillo; the party was outside the home of John Bartell:
7:18 PM UPDATE: We’re in Arbor Heights now – southwestern most stop on the tour, party at 102nd and 44th. After that, Westwood. We’ve driven by two locations that unfortunately aren’t quite up and running yet – we’ll get back this way later if we can, but in the meantime, heading north toward Morgan and Fairmount. Here’s the Arbor Heights party we visited:
7:34 PM UPDATE: Still in Westwood, checking out the party Kelly told us about, off Thistle, just a few blocks west of Denny Middle School and Southwest Community Center. They’re having fun at this one – check out the pig pinata, and the cards for “Know Your Neighbor Bingo”:
7:42 PM UPDATE: Now we’re near 31st/Myrtle, just east of Our Lady of Guadalupe, south of High Point playfield, where Ingrid invited us to stop by for pix. We passed by Mars Hill Church-West Seattle and they seem to have quite the gathering going to – we’ll catch a photo later if it’s still happening when we head back this way. Here’s a photo from Ingrid’s party – tiki torches and barbecued ribs; lucky the weather is matching the tropical motif:
7:55 PM UPDATE: Now we’re in Morgan Junction to check in on a neighborhood-radio test that’s happening as part of Night Out. More on that shortly.
8:21 PM UPDATE: We’re stopping now at one of the biggest block parties yet – Fairmount Springs, just off Fauntleroy, in the 5600 block of 40th SW. Live band and all. Photos in a moment – but first, Ron Zuber, heading up the neighborhood radio test a short time ago from his deck in upper Morgan Junction – beautiful sunset:
More later on how the test went – there were about half a dozen neighborhood reps stationed all over West Seattle testing to see if they could communicate neighborhood-to-neighborhood with simple handheld walkie-talkie-type “family radios,” in case of catastrophe. After that, on the way from Ron’s house to Fairmount Springs, we caught this flyby on cam – coincidence, or Night Out special feature?
8:33 PM UPDATE: Stopping now in the 42nd/Brandon vicinity – here’s a photo from Fairmount Springs, featuring the 40th Street Band (got them on video too, will post that later):
8:42 PM UPDATE: From 42nd/Brandon – first a group shot, then Susie and husband holding rare commodities – West Seattle Hard Core bumper stickers (It’s a Bridge, Not a Freeway and West Seattle Hardcore) – they gave us some to take home – thanks!
Next stop, 5400 block of 45th, invited by Kristina – and then we’re going to see if the Junction Neighborhood Organization block party’s still in full swing before it gets too dark …
9 PM UPDATE: Our camera doesn’t handle dusk too well so the photo you see at left is the best one we have of the 5400 block of 45th; we’re in the Admiral District now, hoping flash will work for one of the parties still going at this semi-late hour, in the neighborhood where Admiral Neighborhood Association president Mark Wainwright lives. Meantime, speaking of neighborhood-association leaders, JuNO president Erica Karlovits was at her group’s gathering in The Junction; they’re collecting signatures on some of those petitions we told you about last week (which also got a writeup on Slog today). And that party is where we met Zukor the puppy (not sure if we’re spelling the name right – nobody there really knew for sure – Zukor belongs to a partygoer’s roommate, we were informed!):
9:17 PM UPDATE: Turns out that wasn’t Mark’s party – we were a block or two off (eyes failing in the dimming light), and we found Al Vincent and his neighbors – also in a tropical mood (as are parts of Al’s house, see photo below right):
Bonnie in the WSB Forums is asking how to sign up for next year – as we replied there, just keep an eye on the Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention webpage (and of course, on WSB too, as we will give you lots of advance notice – and you can find the crime prevention link any time from the resources at the bottom of our Crime Watch page) – you can sign up online to close off your (non-arterial) street for a block party on Night Out, which is usually the first night in August. We didn’t make our unrealistic goal of hitting all 30-plus parties at which we would have been welcome – but we got to as many as we could – and we welcome you to send us your pix of your party, wherever it was, as we will post more pix as we get them! Meantime, we’ll wrap up this part of the coverage with another beautiful sunset photo, taken by Brian Hawksford from Fauntleroy:
Thanks to more than 30 neighborhoods who’ve e-mailed to say they’re OK with WSB stopping by for Night Out block-party pix tonight – we’re plotting our travels at this very moment in hopes we can get to them all – But if we don’t, or if you didn’t e-mail to give us permission to come by, we would love to put up photos you send us – be sure to include the general neighborhood ID info (nearest intersection is fine), names of people in the pix are preferred but optional – editor@westseattleblog.com is the best address; thanks, have a great time tonight, and if you’re online, check back here for our frequently updated coverage as we make the rounds! (P.S. Crimefighting info is available year-round at the crime-prevention page on the Southwest Precinct website.)
Followup to the new development we reported yesterday in the plan to rebuild Admiral Safeway (new store plus 34 residential units, according to the city project page): We mentioned, we had a message out to corporate HQ to ask if a rendering of the proposed project is available, and now we have a response: Not yet, says Safeway’s Sara Corn, but she promises it will be unveiled at a community meeting before the Design Review Board “early design guidance” session for the project on September 11th. As soon as Safeway sets the date for that community meeting, you’ll see it here, as well as other places including posters at the store.
Hot off the presses (and out of the pixels), the poster for Picnic at the Precinct, 1-4 pm Saturday 8/16 – if you’re having a block party tonight, make sure everybody knows this is coming up!
We got some fun pix at last year’s Picnic at the Precinct (kids and robots!); see them here.
While driving by this corner on the north edge of The Junction (map) a few days back, we spotted that sign in the window at the closed-for-a-while shop Divina — and an open door, so we hopped out to see what we could find out about what’s going on, since we’ve received a few recent e-mails from curious passersby. We found Divina owner Julie Mireille Anderson doing some painting during a day off from her “day job”; Julie explained that she’s working on a new version of her shop – after a few potential subleases fell through, she’s now developing a plan that may include “seasonal retail” as well as utilizing it as an event space for arts, education, other community-focused efforts. The space immediately east, meantime, is in the process of becoming Salon 08, with some of the hair stylists who have been working at nearby Friends; they told us recently they hope to be open by Labor Day. Oh by the way – the sign you see in the photo isn’t apropos to anything in particular but joie de vivre; one of Julie’s artist friends made it.
Seems fitting that hours before Night Out — when thousands of West Seattleites will be out with their neighbors celebrating community, crimefighting, and safety — we just got word of an honor that’s yours as much as ours – WSB is among the honorees for the annual Seattle Police Department Citizen Appreciation Awards on August 19. The information-sharing partnership that the Southwest Precinct has launched with WSB – and the time so many people in WSB-land take to send “reader reports” and other important information to be shared here with the community at large – is really a precedent-setter for the entire city; as fine folks in other neighborhoods launch news websites based on this model, several have opened discussions with their respective precincts, which wouldn’t be possible without the trail blazed by the foresightedness and openness of the Southwest Precinct — and the receptiveness of downtown leadership all the way up to Chief Gil Kerlikowske. So anyway, when we go to City Hall that night, whatever plaque or certificate or handshake we get is really yours too; thanks for so often taking the time to let us – and thereby everyone else in West Seattle – know what’s going on, and please continue to e-mail, call, “tweet,” etc., with information/photos/tips/concerns any time, 24/7.
We started seeing links about this yesterday but somehow neglected to mention it here till we got a nudge – one of West Seattle High School‘s better-known alums just told us it’s a big deal, so we’ll believe him: One of the first three University of Washington Huskies football-player commitments for the 2009 group of recruits is Aaron Grymes from WSHS. Here’s dawgman.com coverage via Scout; here’s his profile. In this blog post, he told the Times that playing for UW “has been my dream since I was little.”
Thanks to Bruce for that photo of what neighbors apparently know as the “local” coyote, which showed up last night in their back yard “just above the ravine in the North Admiral area on the 2100 block of 41st Ave. SW.” (map) His note landed in the WSB inbox right on the heels of a Delridge sighting — Dorothy lives at the sprawling West Ridge Park complex (map) and says she saw a coyote Saturday morning and again this morning. She added, “I’m concerned because many residents here have pets and small children” and wondered where to “report” it. As we’ve discussed here before, aside from this type of report, which we publish as part of the general WSB community info-sharing, there’s really no place to “report” coyotes under normal circumstances – they’re considered just part of the landscape – and just one of many reasons not to let small animals (cats etc.) roam alone (certainly there are many other threats to them) … local wildlife experts have a lot of advice about peaceful coexistence (don’t feed them, etc.) and you can find much of it, with handy links, in this WSB report from earlier this year.
Tonight, as previously mentioned, Night Out is the biggie, and we’ll be covering it all over West Seattle. From the WSB Events calendar, others to single out:
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Some local neighborhood councils/associations go on hiatus in August, but not the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, which meets at 6:30 pm, Delridge Library. In The Junction, it’s the next “Project Runway” viewing party to cheer barista Blayne (Ginomai, 42nd/Genesee, doors open 8 pm, show at 9 pm).
THURSDAY NIGHT: Another outdoor concert on Alki – this time, Blue 55 plays by the Bathhouse; at SSCC’s Brockey Center, a Town Hall meeting about a substance-abuse problem that too often goes unnoticed till it’s too late, medicine abuse, 5 pm.
FRIDAY: Volunteers of all ages are invited to join in the next Delridge-area grocery audit as part of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, then enjoy a barbecue party – full scoop here; the Rotary Club of West Seattle fundraising berry sale starts blueberry pickups (today’s the order deadline, by the way); then it’s the summer’ second outdoor concert at Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor), featuring Maia Santell; and fun will be sprouting more raucously than usual at West Seattle Nursery that night during the 34th District Democrats‘ biggest fundraiser of the year, the Garden Party (full details here, including catered Cajun dinner).
SATURDAY: The “Water and Spirit” fundraising bike ride will take participants from St. John the Baptist and other area churches on a 40-mile trek ending with a barbecue at Alki. That night, the next episode of West Seattle Movies on the Wall brings an animated fave, “Finding Nemo,” dusk in the courtyard by Hotwire.
One more note – West Seattle’s library branches have several special events this week (including raptors and games – libraries are about a lot more than books!) – check here.
This one’s too good to wait for it to show up on the More page‘s citywide-media digest: The Times profiles Cafe Rozella (which is in the city limits so it’s really West Seattle as well as White Center) and includes a mention of Full Tilt – both mentioned/discussed often here among the pixels of WSB; White Center’s evolution gets a nod too. (Cafe Rozella just announced its music slate for the rest of the summer, by the way; see it here.)
Jenny Simonds included that photo with the pix we posted with her account of last Saturday’s Friends of Lincoln Park work party; this wasn’t another scene from said party, but rather from her L-Park-area neighborhood. Probably a LOLcat-style caption in there somewhere.
By this time tomorrow night, dozens of neighborhoods all around West Seattle will be finishing up, or cleaning up after, their Night Out block parties – more than 200 registered for the right to block off their (non-arterial) streets, 
according to what we heard from Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Benjamin Kinlow a few days ago. (And thanks to everyone who e-mailed us when we asked to hear from block-party-throwers who wouldn’t mind WSB showing up for a photo or two – we hope to see many, hopefully all, of you tomorrow night!) But one other thing worth noting – while the main purpose of Night Out is to get people together to celebrate neighborhood solidarity and raise awareness about safety and crimefighting, more than half a dozen areas of West Seattle are also participating in a test of radio communications in case of a disaster or other major emergency – they’ll be doing a relay of sorts using simple walkie-talkie-type “family radios,” to see how well information could be relayed neighborhood to neighborhood across the peninsula if necessary. This is a spinoff from some of the emergency-preparedness events we told you about a few months back; we’ll let you know how the test goes – and we’ll be posting in-progress updates on Night Out tomorrow as we travel around West Seattle! (Just found out it’s the nationwide event’s 25th anniversary.)
NASA has chosen a West Seattle High School graduate to pilot the next space-shuttle mission: 54-year-old Gregory C. Johnson, a 1972 WSHS alum per his official online NASA bio. He’ll fly Atlantis to the Hubble Space Telescope this fall; the launch is scheduled for October 8, according to the news release issued today. You can track preparations for the mission on NASA’s website, which notes Johnson and his fellow mission-mates have had to take a training break as Johnson Space Center shut down in advance of Edouard.
Just added today to the city’s Design Review/Upcoming schedule: The September 11th meeting of the Southwest Design Review Board now includes the first “early design guidance” session for the proposal to redevelop the Admiral Safeway site. This has been under discussion for a while, as we first reported last February (then in April, this WSB post asked for your thoughts about the site); the city’s official project page includes this overview of what’s being proposed:
Design review, early design guidance meeting for two new buildings; a one story, 58,750 sq.ft. grocery store (Safeway) with a four story, 34-unit residential structure attached and a one story, 7,000 sq.ft. retail building. Parking for 227 vehicles to be located on the roof and at grade. Project will require alley vacations and contract rezone. Existing 32,000 sq.ft. grocery store to be demolished.
The architects on the project page are Seattle-based Fuller-Sears; you can see some of their work at their website. The design-review meeting is set for 8 pm Sept. 11 at a TBA location in West Seattle; we’d mentioned earlier that the Spring Hill mixed-use building south of The Junction (5020 California) was already on the agenda that night (6:30 pm). We’ve got a message out to Safeway to see if any renderings for this proposal are available yet.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has just called a “smog watch” for all of King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, because the air is stagnating and hotter weather’s on the way. It’s expected to last until at least Wednesday evening. Here’s what the agency suggests you can be doing to help lessen the severity:
-Driving your most fuel-efficient car, and combining errands into one trip.
-Skipping gasoline-powered yard work and gas-fueled recreation.
-Carpooling or riding the bus to work, events and outings.
-Refueling your car in the cooler evening hours
Full details on this PSCAA page. (And you can check the current air quality here!)
Today we’re welcoming the newest WSB sponsor, Fauntleroy Chiropractic Clinic, which has been in West Seattle for more than 25 years; 
Dr. Bryan Wiebe and Hillary Wiebe took over the practice a decade ago. Fauntleroy Chiropractic Clinic sees patients for injuries and treatment, as well as for wellness and preventive care. FCC offers therapeutic massage onsite. They are on most insurance plans, and offer affordable cash plans too. You’ll find Fauntleroy Chiropractic Clinic at 4520 Fauntleroy (map), online at www.fauntleroychiro.com, and by phone at 206/932-6605. We appreciate the support of Fauntleroy Chiropractic Clinic and all our sponsors, who are listed on the WSB Advertise page, where anyone interested in joining them can also find out how (the latest toplines on WSB traffic growth are on that page too). Welcome, Fauntleroy Chiropractic Clinic!
… because what we would have come up with last night, if we’d done the usually-weekly survey of all West Seattle stations, would have been way outdated by late morning today. See photo at left (California/Andover 76); while most WS gas stations were still in the four-dollar-and-teens vicinity over the weekend, so far today most of the ones we’ve driven by have dropped into the four-oh-somethings. Let us know if you see someone drop below $4 before we see it (posted price, that is; gas was available at $3.99 at Admiral Safeway this morning, for example, for those who qualified for the dime-a-gallon discount and applied it to the $4.09/gallon price there).
Followup on this item from this morning: Just got the scoop from Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct — although this was a county investigation, he notes (so we will check with King County Sheriff’s Office to see if there’s a news release with more info) — as part of a multiple-location drug raid, a “high-risk entry” had to be made, involving the SWAT team and devices known as “flashbangs” designed to make noise catching the suspects/targets by surprise. Again, SPD doesn’t have full details since they weren’t the lead agency, but apparently all went well. 4:54 PM UPDATE: Just heard back from Sgt. John Urquhart, who handles media for KCSO. He says:
… there were two drug search warrants served simultaneously this morning shortly after 5:00 AM. One was a house in the 23800 block of 140th Ave SE, Kent. The other was in the 7000 block of 16th Ave SW. There were arrests made … SPD SWAT helped on the 16th SW house, and our SWAT helped with the house in Kent. Occupants of both houses were expected to be “armed and dangerous”, but no shots were fired and no one was injured.
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