West Seattle, Washington
17 Wednesday
Jennifer e-mailed that photo within the past hour with this note:
I just looked out my front window and saw this guy. Any idea what he is? I live in the Alaska Junction.
We had a few guesses but after checking online imagery, can’t reach a conclusion, so hopefully the many expert wildlife-watchers in WSB-land can. Seems a little far from the creeks to be a beaver. Wandering river otter, perhaps, heading quite far uphill from the water? Co-publisher’s vote is for “woodchuck” (groundhog) but we haven’t found evidence yet that they live in this area. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Comment consensus so far – a marmot.
We’re just back from Seattle U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott‘s office downtown, where several local families including members of West Seattle’s CoolMom group visited to ask him to support the American Clean Energy and Security Act (here’s a National Wildlife Federation page about the campaign; here’s more information on the bill from OpenCongress). The congressman wasn’t there but staffers greeted the group and also accepted hand-created items including this:
The proposal, House Bill 2454, also known as ACES, may come up for a vote in the U.S. House later this month. You can share your opinion on this (or any other matter before Congress) with Rep. McDermott, whose district includes the entire city of Seattle, by going here.
(Photo taken mid-May along Alki Avenue)
As we reported from the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting Tuesday night, police say things have been quieter on Alki in the month and a half since the May 1 shooting, but the Alki Community Council is taking nothing for granted. Following up on last month’s discussion with Southwest Precinct police leaders, the ACC held a “working meeting” last night to follow up on public-safety issues, and has come up with an action plan – including some components with which you can help. ACC officer Paul Carr has just published a summary to the ACC e-mail group – read on:Read More
Shellie just e-mailed to share this report and to warn area residents:
Thursday, June 18th between 8am and 1pm a house on 32nd Ave SW, between Roxbury and Barton, was broken into. The thief took jewelry, select checks with a woman’s name on them, and a laptop. They broke into a window where a bar had been located, somehow moving the window around the security bar to get in. The only part of the house ransacked was the one bedroom although oddly two empty jewelry boxes were stuffed under the cushions of the living room couch. No other incidents have happened in the area that we know of but warning to all to lock your windows and doors before you leave. Neighbors please add more…..
This also gives us the occasion to share the “Summertime Security Tips” in the latest edition of Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow‘s newsletter – read on (and if you are vacationing any time soon, note the last one):Read More
That video gives you the view from under the portion of the “lid” that’s been poured so far – with all those columns to hold it up – at West Seattle Reservoir, the city water-storage facility at Westcrest Park in Highland Park. Once the 30-million-gallon covered facility (replacing what was an open reservoir holding twice that much water) is complete, an addition to the park will be developed, and that parkland is one of the Westcrest topics that’ll be discussed at a special Highland Park Action Committee meeting Monday night, as chair Dan Mullins just reminded the HPAC mailing list:
On June 22nd HPAC will be sponsoring the Westcrest Park “Mini Summit” on the future of Westcrest Park, one of our area’s most outstanding, yet under-used parks.
We have worked very hard at getting the word out, and we are hoping to have a great turnout at this event.
Our focus for the meeting will be greenbelt and forest restoration, park safety, illicit activity, the new reservoir lid, parking problems, off-leash issues, etc.
If you have something to say about the future of the park, now is the time to say it! Several guests including Council President Conlin and Parks Division Director Robb Courtney will attend.
HPAC’s Westcrest Park “mini-summit” starts at 7 pm Monday at the Highland Park Improvement Club building (11th/Holden – map), following potluck dinner at 6:30.
That’s Trio Lucero del Norte earlier this year at Cafe Rozella, where they’re back at 7 tonight – 
just hours before Summer Solstice – which will then in turn be followed by big events including the Clean and Green event in The Junction on Saturday (be at the new Genesee/42nd P-Patch site for all the excitement starting at 9 am), the California Place Park celebration later that day, Relay for Life starting tonight, the Lincoln Park wading pool opening tomorrow … more than FIFTY events ahead in the full West Seattle Weekend Lineup, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club:Read More
Never thought we’d see the day when rain made news shortly after it started falling. But yes, after a bit of a “shpritz” (as a weather anchor we worked with years and miles ago called it) a few hours ago, it is REALLY raining right now. At least in Upper Fauntleroy!
(The first South Seattle Community College students to graduate with a Bachelors of Applied Science degree in Hospitality Management: Heidi Engeset, Criselda Hermano, Andrea Kwok, Lisa Mantle, Jamilah McWilliams, Khin Naing, Marilyn Peredo, Jaimie Schutter, Soledad Strubhar ,William Schwartze, Celia Waddell. Their instructor and faculty adviser: Tom Mayburry)
Story and photos by Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
In the sea of deep blue caps and gowns at South Seattle Community College graduation ceremonies tonight, a small clutch of students stood out, wearing black gowns and waving a banner featuring a pineapple, the symbol of hospitality.
The 11 students are the first to graduate with bachelor’s degrees earned at SSCC – in this case, the Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Hospitality Management.
The program that allows community colleges to award four-year degrees in specific subjects started three years ago.
The hospitality graduates included Soledad Strubhar, winner of one of just three President’s Medals awarded at South Seattle Community College this year.
(WSB photo from May meeting of Delridge Neighborhoods District Council)
That group from Chief Sealth High School is one of three groups that pitched eastern West Seattle projects’ Neighborhood Matching Fund applications at the May meeting of the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council – all described as “remarkable projects” (WSB coverage here). When the council met again last night, Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ron Angeles shared the word that all three projects got some of the money they were seeking. The Chief Sealth group proposed an online news network for underserved local ethnic communities; the other two were Youngstown Arts Center‘s All-Access seeking money for its popular but understaffed afterschool programs and the West Seattle Trails/Feet First wayfinding project seeking money to do in eastern West Seattle what it’s already got on tap on the peninsula’s west side. We don’t have the specific amounts of partial funding granted for two of the projects, but Chas Redmond, on behalf of West Seattle Trails, tells WSB the $54,000 granted for that project will likely be allocated after some more community conversations to figure out which locations would have informational/wayfinding kiosks funded with that money, and which additional spots might be funded by seeking a separate grant. Also at last night’s DNDC meeting: News that a different city grant program would be funding a requested traffic circle at 31st and Henderson; a presentation on the proposal to allow “backyard cottages” to be built citywide (right now they’re only allowed in Southeast Seattle – here’s all the city info on this proposal); and a presentation on the draft feasibility study from the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group (a government/business coalition) regarding cleaning up the Duwamish – June 29 is the deadline for comments.
After last night’s announcement at the Seattle School Board meeting (WSB coverage here) that the district would “recall” 57 of the teachers citywide who’d been told they would be laid off, we asked for specifics on which schools would see cut teachers restored. The district communications team has just provided a spreadsheet with numbers per school – while saying the district would do its best to restore the teachers to the positions they’d previously held. No names or teaching specialties attached, just current school names and numbers at this point, and these are the only West Seattle schools listed: West Seattle High School – 4 recalled; Lafayette Elementary, 1 recalled; Cooper Elementary (which closes after tomorrow), 1 recalled.
(WSB photo from Upper Fauntleroy, December 2008)
The city Ethics (and Elections) Commission issued a short letter to Mayor Nickels late today, saying that in his response for an investigation into whether any aspect of the snowstorm response constituted an ethics violation, “… there is insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a violation of the Ethics Code.” Accompanying that letter, their report on who they talked to and what they found out. See the report here; see the letter here. We’re checking the report now for any West Seattle specifics – you’ll recall, one of the allegations was that extra snow-clearing was done in north West Seattle, where the mayor, deputy mayor Tim Ceis and SDOT director Grace Crunican live. ADDED: Page 3 of the report is where the findings in those allegations begin – read on for our cut-and-paste if that’s easier:Read More
ADMIRAL THEATER: This Saturday night’s “Listening Room” show is also a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank (which serves West Seattle from SW Myrtle southward) — Admiral entertainment director Dinah Brein McClellan says one thing the WCFB really needs, for example, is bathroom tissue! More on what to bring, who’s performing and how to get tickets here. The show’s at 9 pm and includes live painting as well as music – full details here.
WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST: We’ve been updating you on all the plans for West Seattle’s huge three-day summer street festival (a WSB sponsor), coming up July 10-11-12 (most recent update here – another big-name addition to the music slate), including the fact that the beer garden at the Junction Plaza Park site will help raise money to finish the park project. Now Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association sends an update on that – the percentage has been finalized: 25 percent of the beer garden’s proceeds will go to the park. She’s also looking for volunteers to help staff the park’s booth at Summer Fest – susan@wsjunction.org if you can help.
Out of the WSB inbox, here’s the announcement:
EOS Alliance is recruiting 100 Seattle homes for a free home efficiency pilot project called Green Blocks.
From July 6 through August 21, 2009, Seattle residents participating in this program will receive free home environmental performance assessments, recommendations for home efficiency improvements, and technical assistance implementing the recommendations.
Environmental performance measures installed as part of the Green Blocks program (pending home owner approval) may include smart electric meters, weather-stripping, door sweeps, gap sealant, low-flow sink aerators, low-flow showerheads, programmable thermostats, CFLs, hot water tank insulation, attic and wall insulation, efficient appliances, rain barrels, sheet mulching, drought tolerant landscaping, storm water infiltration swales, and vegetable garden beds. Once environmental performance measures have been installed, EOS Alliance will track (with homeowner support) energy, water, and fuel usage for at least one year to note the benefits and changes in home efficiency. Individual and household information will remain confidential and only generalized data will be used to assess the program.
You can apply online by going here.
That’s Mark Tomkiewicz from the Youngstown Arts Center-based Nature Consortium. Usually you’ll find him in the West Duwamish Greenbelt along West Seattle’s eastern slope, leading work parties that have planted tens of thousands of conifers and native plants in the city’s largest remaining greenbelt – but today, he was instead in the Boards and Commissions Room at City Hall, answering questions about a segment of the WDG whose future was once very much in question: The so-called Soundway property, 32 acres that are mostly south of South Seattle Community College. Decades ago, it was earmarked for road/highway development as part of a plan that even envisioned a bridge to Vashon Island; streets were mapped, but the bridge project never happened (here’s some online history). Then just five years ago, the city considered selling part of it to developers (here’s a 2004 story about community opposition and more here). That didn’t happen either – instead, neighbors and open-space advocates won the fight to see the site saved, and today’s Seattle Design Commission hearing was one step toward guaranteeing it will be protected as a greenbelt forever – read on for more on what happened today, and what happens next:Read More
No surprise that an electric utility would get some trucks that run partly on … electricity. Seattle City Light just unveiled two new hybrid diesel-electric trucks that are going into service starting today, and provided the photo you see above — read on for the official news release, which says they’re quieter, too:Read More
Want to get outdoors but not just, oh, say, sit on the beach? Here’s a chance this Sunday to tour one of West Seattle’s greenspaces:
Fauntleroy Park Plant Tour. Co-leaders: Richard Drokar and Steve Richmond
Fauntleroy Park is 28 acres of urban forest in West Seattle, currently under
restoration through the efforts of neighborhood volunteers, Earth Corps, the Green
Seattle Partnership and a company of professional restorationists, Steve Richmond of
Garden Cycles. It is the watershed for Fauntleroy Creek, which has been stocked with
salmon fingerlings by local schoolchildren and has an annual run of coho salmon. The
Park is little known, but it may be one of Seattle’s most pristine natural areas.
Join Steve and Richard to hear about restoration efforts and the native plants,
lichens and bird life of the Park. As an urban forest, the Park has urban amenities.
There is a small, local bakery a block away (the Original Bakery) where Bernie’s
bearclaws and donuts are especially good. A bakery stop after the tour will give us
a chance to discuss the challenges of urban forest restoration.Date & Time
Sunday, June 21, 2009; 12 PMLocation
Meet at 12:00 noon at the SW Barton Street entrance to the Park, between 40th and
41st Avenue SW, a few blocks west of the Fauntleroy ferry terminal.Contact
For more detailed directions and to
sign up, contact Richard at drokoo@mac.com or 206-935-1769.
That’s the current West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival Junior Court – in a WSB photo from their coronation last July. Now that summer’s here again, it’s almost time to choose a new Junior Court – and if you know a girl who’d be interested, here’s the announcement Diane Szender just sent:
West Seattle Hi-Yu is seeking 2009-2010 Junior Court Candidates
Applications must be received by Tuesday, July 14th, 2009.
The West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival organization is seeking friendly, outgoing, community-oriented girls for the 2009-2010 Junior Court. Young ladies must be between 7 and 11 by Sept 1st of the year they run. The new court will represent West Seattle at many local events and travel with the float to other community parades and festivals.
You can download the Junior Court application by going here. And you can meet current royalty and Senior Court candidates at the upcoming White Rose Reception, June 30th at Fauntleroy Church, tickets on sale now (more info here).
(photo taken Tuesday, looking east from the west side of the site)
We’ve received a couple notes in the past week or so inquiring about the status of what’s been dubbed the “Hole Foods” site at Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th – where construction on a proposed Whole Foods Market/Hancock Fabrics/residential building has been stalled for more than half a year now – like this note from Dorothy:
I don’t see the Whole Foods sign at the dig at (Alaska) and Fauntleroy. Does this
mean they no longer plan to be there? What is the status of that construction site?
First of all – the banner that used to be on the fence there disappeared the day after our most recent report of vandalism (someone cut the W out of the word Whole). But aside from that, we were overdue for a project check anyway; read on to see what we have found out – both about this site, and another site linked to the Whole Foods project’s original developers:Read More
As reported here last month, the 80-year-old former 6th Church of Christ, Scientist, now known as The Sanctuary at Admiral (42nd and Lander; map), is nominated for city landmark status. And now, a date is set for the Landmarks Board to consider the nomination: 3:30 pm July 1st, on the 40th floor of the Seattle Municipal Tower downtown (here’s the official notice, which also includes information on how to comment in writing). Part of the info packet includes this note:
The owner is nominating this property for City of Seattle Landmark status as part of an application for a Conditional Use Permit to establish a non-conforming adaptive reuse of this historic West Seattle community church.
And this interesting bit of history from the church’s past (its congregation merged with the Fauntleroy Christian Science church before the building was sold in 2002):
The church’s first service was held on January 1, 1930. The total cost of construction was under $37,000. However, because Christian Science churches are not dedicated until they are free from debt, the Sixth Church of Christ, Scientist was not dedicated until February 8, 1942. There were initially fourteen charter members of the church.
You can see the entire nomination document, with tons of details about the building and its history (that’s where we found the 1937 photo at the top of this story), here.
“DUMP THE PUMP DAY”: Area transit agencies say today’s the day to take a bus, ride a bike, walk, carpool, anything but drive alone. Side note: Just looked up our D-the-P Day item from last year. It notes that gas at a certain station was about $4.33, while on the same date in 2007, it was more like what it is now, just under $3. (P.S. We just might see you today on the King County Water Taxi.)
SOUNDWAY “VACATION” TO DESIGN COMMISSION: Why the Water Taxi, you ask? We’re expecting to head downtown for a Seattle Design Commission review at 11 this morning at City Hall – seems terribly appropriate this one’s happening on “Dump the Pump Day,” because it involves greenbelt once targeted for roadbuilding that never happened, the “Soundway” property in the West Duwamish Greenbelt. For this to officially be preserved as greenbelt, its once-planned streets/alleys have to be officially “vacated,” and the SDC has to off on those. (Here’s the agenda.)
ALSO AT CITY HALL: The next big campaign forum is at 5 pm tonight, presented by the City Neighborhood Council. City Council candidates are in the spotlight this time.
SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS MAKE HISTORY: Tonight’s SSCC graduation at Brockey Center, 7:30 pm, includes the first 4-year graduates from its Hospitality Management program.
Of all the photos we didn’t get around to using during our coverage of the Morgan Junction Community Festival last weekend, that’s our favorite – one of the many festival-going families stopping by to see Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), though the youngest member of the family turned her attention elsewhere. This was the fourth time the Morgan Community Association (MoCA) has presented the festival, but the first time for the free food feature “Bite of Morgan” – get a coupon book and walk to area eateries to swap coupons for freebies including pizza and coffee. “Bite” organizer Kate Stineback wanted to share this message of thanks to the participating businesses:
Thank You “Bite of Morgan” Businesses!
Last Saturday the Morgan Junction Community Festival coordinated the first ever “Bite of Morgan Junction”. As part of the annual Festival, the “Bite” was intended to not only feed festival-goers, but to encourage attendees to walk around the Morgan Junction, patronize businesses and get to know their neighborhood.
This year we had eight businesses participate in the event, each donating a substantial amount of food or beverage. Kokoras Greek Grill; Feedback Lounge; Zeeks Pizza; Tully’s Coffee; Abbondanza Pizzeria; Domino’s; Caffe Ladro; and Thriftway.
The Morgan Community Association (MoCA) is happy to report that the “Bite” was a huge success. After tallying up the coupons from all participating establishments, we nearly hit 50% coupon usage – pretty good for a new event! (Caffe Ladro handed out their own coupons at the Park Opening and Thiftway donated proceeds from their BBQ to the Festival!)
MoCA would like to extend our sincerest thanks to these businesses for participating in the “Bite”. In particular, we want to thank them for donating during such a precarious time in the economy. It says a lot about our little business district that eight establishments, both large and small, as well as local and corporate, would come together to serve our community in this way.
As a big neighborhood thank you, MoCA would like to encourage anyone who attended the “Bite” to patronize these restaurants in the coming months. Let’s make sure they know how much we appreciate them!
Click ahead to see Kate’s photos of the friendly folks at six of the venues:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox (here’s how to contact us any time):
Dirty diapers! Teething babies! Giggling (and sometimes crying) toddlers and little kids! Stay-at-home moms! These are things that the members of MOMS Club have in common. MOMS Club of West Seattle is part of an international organization supporting stay-at-home moms. MOMS stands for “Moms Offering Moms Support.”
We now officially have a MOMS Club of West Seattle. As an organization, we have park days, play dates, moms nights out, service projects, and much more! Through MOMS Club, you’ll get to know other moms in West Seattle and build lasting friendships! We have our first meeting set for Tuesday, July 7th from 9:30 – 11:00 and are very excited to share MOMS Club with you. We are also looking for someone to fill the Secretary Position on our board.
Please e-mail us at momsclubofwestseattle@gmail.com for the location and additional information. Meetings are kid-friendly!
Also from the Seattle School Board meeting: The long-awaited Student Assignment Plan, which will transition the district from “choice”-focused school attendance to neighborhood-focused school attendance starting in fall 2010, has just passed 6-1 (Mary Bass was the lone “no” vote) – after the same vote approved an amendment by board member Sherry Carr creating a transition time so that fewer families face the possibility that siblings will wind up having to attend different schools. Here’s the plan, pre-amendment; here’s Carr’s amendment. ADDED 10:48 PM: While this phase of the plan does not specify boundaries, there’s a board “work session” scheduled next Wednesday (June 24), 4 pm at district HQ, to discuss “how boundaries are drawn” (p.s. for those who’ve asked, yes, that meeting is open to the public, though there’s no comment opportunity). ADDED 11:34 PM: The official district news release just came in – read on to see it:Read More
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