Fauntleroy Place lawsuits update: Now, the BlueStar lawsuit text

Over the past six days, we have brought you word of two lawsuits filed in connection with Fauntleroy Place, the idled development site east of The Junction, slated to include a Whole Foods store – if and when construction gets back into swing. Following our first report on the lawsuits last Friday, we shared the full documentation this past Tuesday for the suit filed by Christopher NeVan (here’s that story) against the other site owners, and now today, the full documentation for the suit filed by site developers BlueStar against the site owners has become available online (its lawyers had declined our request last week to provide the document shortly after its filing, but now it’s publicly accessible). The BlueStar suit alleges breach of contract; “unjust enrichment”; intentional interference with business relationships and expectancies; disparagement affecting business, trade, or profession; and defamation, and says BlueStar hasn’t been paid for its work since last August. Read the entire lawsuit here (33 pages); we’ll add an overview after we go through it. ADDED 3:30 PM: The toplines from this lawsuit:Read More

West Seattle whale-watching alert: Orcas heading this way

Just got a call from West Seattle-based orca expert Jeff Hogan, who says there’s been a sighting around Bainbridge and they’re headed south – so heads up if you’re anywhere near the West Seattle waterfront. Updates as we get them. 11:12 AM UPDATE: Jeff called again – says “they’re a mile off Vashon, heading south.” 1:45 PM UPDATE: The Orca Network has more details on today’s sighting near Bainbridge:

March 19
Orca Network received a call from the Ferry Kitsap at 10:50 am, reporting a pod of orcas 1 mile off Alki Pt, between Alki & Restoration Pts, near the Tango Buoy, heading south.

March 19
We are watching what looks like 4 Orcas in a line between Rolling Bay, Bainbridge Island and Carkeek Park, Seattle. They are close to the south bound shipping lane heading south. Looks like one male, two females and not sure about the 4th one. Saw the first one at 8am.
UPDATE 8:30am: The four came in by Skiff Point, Bainbridge Island still heading south. A mother and a juvenile are also out in the south bound shipping lane off of West Point. The juvenile is particularly frisky – jumping clear out of the water.

ADDED 4:15 PM: Here’s a link to KING5 aerials shot today.

Followup: Heart On My Sleeve – next move, and how to help

Here on WSB last week, you met Heart On My Sleeve in this story – three men, working out of a Pigeon Point duplex, hoping to change the world for the better, with recycled-material fashion, design, and music: Navy veteran Johnathan Oliver, former UW football player Shelton Sampson (shown above), and musician Art B. They were hopeful their “big break” was just around the corner; in the week and a half since we met them, some new excitement has materialized, starting with Seattle Fashion Week next month. Johnathan wrote to say:

Seattle Fashion Week has invited us to show our line. They also want us to serve as visual graphic directors for the show. We will also have the opportunity to design a piece for Vitamin Water. They are one of the sponsors for the event. They will be providing us with the money to purchase the materials needed for the piece. We have so many great ideas and I’m sure we would be able to make quite a statement at this show. We feel that a successful show can and will catapult us in the local fashion scene as well as the global.

Johnathan later e-mailed to say fashion-industry insider BJ Coleman has agreed to come here for the show, if they can figure out how to get him here. And that’s not all. They’ve been asked to perform some of their songs at a Fashion Week promo event on March 26, plus:

We will be creating 10 pieces for the fashion show. Each piece will have a charity associated to it. Such charities as The American Heart Association, the glass-blowing program in Tacoma. We are also creating a piece for Fashion Week that will be auctioned off at the Community School of West Seattle to raise money to replace technologies in their preschool. The kids will actually be helping us construct the piece as well.

They’ve been getting by on something of a shoestring – so in order to make all this happen, they have a wish list that you might be able to help with – read on to see it, plus an easy way to help:Read More

West Seattle Crime Watch: Early-morning melee

Got notes and texts about a big police presence in the past hour-plus near Fairmount Park, including one from Stephanie, who saw what happened near 40th/Dawson (map): In short, she says, it appeared to be a dispute of some kind between a man and a woman – starting with the woman in a car stopped in the middle of the street honking the horn, culminating in a hit-and-run crash, when he reportedly hit the car she was in, then took off. The damaged car, Stephanie says, has been towed. No medic calls, so no apparent injuries.

Today’s must-read: Seattle Times plows into Snowpocalypse

(December 22 WSB’er photo, California/Lander, looking west)
For an article published this morning, the Seattle Times launched “a review of about 2,000 records, including e-mails and detailed reports on how the city deployed equipment and crews” during the December snowstorms. The article starts off by calling attention to two SDOT managers who made what Times reporter Susan Kelleher calls “questionable decisions,” then provides a window into e-mail exchanges that seem to run counter to the stern tone of some of the official hearings (like this one) — Kelleher writes that Councilmember Sally Clark e-mailed SDOT boss Grace Crunican in January to say her West Seattle-residing colleague Tom Rasmussen was “out of line” in asking whether Crunican was in Seattle for the entirety of the storm (as reported here, she wasn’t), and Christmas e-mail from Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis to Crunican and one of her managers is quoted as saying “SDOT has been magnificent throughout these storms.” Ceis and Crunican also live in West Seattle, as of course does Mayor Nickels, and yet another part of the story says city workers spent more time clearing “sidewalks, landings, and bus stops” here than any other part of the city. Anyway, just go read the whole story.

West Seattle scene: Someone drew “a heart in the sand”

Seen during a walk on Alki as the tide was still going out late this afternoon. Sorry we couldn’t get a better angle without having been on a boat about 50 feet offshore.

West Seattle Crime Watch: Sealth site security beefed up

The day after we reported on vandalism/arson damage at the Chief Sealth High School (permanent) campus, which is closed till summer of next year for major renovations, we have some followup information from Seattle Public Schools. We asked how security would be beefed up – SPS spokesperson Tom Redman‘s reply: “The general contractor for the Sealth renovation project has contracted with a professional security firm for guard services to patrol the Sealth building and grounds.” We also asked how much the damage would cost to repair – no dollar figure provided; Redman said, “Most of the damage is limited to broken glass and a small fire in one classroom, in addition to possible smoke damage. The general contractor’s insurance company’s risk adjusters are assessing the extent and cost of the damage.”

Junction parking-review tour #2: If you build it, they will park

The city is studying Junction-area parking right now – but area businesspeople and residents are worried the study’s results will be out-of-date as area developments (like almost-done Mural, above) start to open. That’s one of the issues that emerged at midday today during the second — and likely final — walking tour offered as the city Transportation Department‘s Junction parking study begins in earnest. The dozen-strong tour group included the project manager, Dante Taylor (at center in the photo above), his SDOT colleague Mary Catherine Snyder, Junction businesspeople, residents, and leaders of two Junction churches.

As did the first tour on February 28 (WSB coverage here), this one focused on the blocks away from California Avenue SW – read on for photos of what was seen, and toplines on what was discussed:Read More

Admiral Theater this Saturday: 2 firsts, in music and art

That’s guitarist Andre Feriante, who will be performing in West Seattle for the first time ever as part of the “Listening Room” show at the Admiral Theater this Saturday night. If you haven’t seen one of the shows yet, “Listening Room” is a new concept at The Admiral — concerts for true music lovers. We talked with Feriante this afternoon, and he’s excited about playing the historic theater, saying he’s always curious about the history of places like The Admiral.

He’s been a musician full-time for a quarter-century and has played around the world, mixing guitar with poems in multiple languages as well as songs. With him onstage will be, he explains, “two people I play with frequently — Swil Kanim, Native American violinist and storyteller — he’s an actor, with a Native American spirit tradition, and a haunting mystical quality to his sound., as well as a deep, moving presence. Also playing with us, Eric Fridrich, a blues and jazz singer with a great big warm voice, a phenomenal guitar and harmonica player – there’s going to be some contrasts since I’m a flamenco, classical, Brazilian, Latin-style solo guitarist.” And that barely describes the “eclectic” nature of what he does, Feriante adds, saying his songs “are in the Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel style.”

Here’s the other eclectic aspect of the Listening Room show – local muralist Glenn Case will paint live onstage during the performances. One of his most recent works in West Seattle is the distinctive Cafe Revo mural:

revomural1.jpg

(September 2008 photo, as the mural was being completed)
The Saturday night “Listening Room” show is at 9 pm; tickets are $12 and available online right now via Brown Paper Tickets.

School Board meeting: ANOTHER change to the start-time plan

Monitoring the Seattle School Board meeting that’s under way now (live on cable channel 26) – the proposed start times have changed yet again before the formal presentation and vote later in the meeting (as part of a transportation plan) – the official presentation is here; it now calls for elementary schools to run 9:30 am-3:40 pm, middle schools, high schools, and most K-8s (including Pathfinder) to run 8:15 am-2:45 pm. We’ll add the vote here when it happens, as well as any other major developments from tonight’s meeting. 7:14 PM: Denny and Sealth students spoke during the public-comment period to express opposition to cuts in the Proyecto Saber program. Another West Seattle note – a presentation under way now about the future of special education mentions “more middle-school autism services in West Seattle.” Also, West Seattle board rep Steve Sundquist is asking why the district did not respond to a community request to offer the Spectrum gifted-education program in a West Seattle elementary school (Arbor Heights has been suggested – right now West Seattle’s only official elementary Spectrum program is at Lafayette in the north end); the staff response was that the closure process caused some bumps in the feedback process, and that explanations of the denial will be forthcoming “now that everything is final.”

8:16 PM:
COO Don Kennedy is in the middle of the start-time/transportation presentation, and clarified that those times are not necessarily hard-and-fast school bell times but the basic transportation-related times so there may be some variations at individual schools, but not too far. (“Clarified” may be a misnomer, still working to be clear on this one, probably will require post-meeting followups assuming this plan is approved tonight.) Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson said that it’s not usual for something to be introduced and voted on during the same meeting, but said time was lost because of the closure process and if the vote on this is put off till early April, parents won’t have full information till after the enrollment period closes.

8:41 PM: One data point – Kennedy says this plan would take 49 school buses off the road. School Board president Michael DeBell is impressed.

9:25 PM: The proposal was approved.

9:50 PM: District lawyers just noted that a hearing is set April 1st for a lawsuit against the sale of the Fauntleroy schoolhouse; this came during a discussion of other sales and challenges, current and prospective, to them.

11:35 PM: The district has issued a news release with language further attempting to clarify the “start time” issue – read on for the full text:Read More

Renovations planned for West Seattle’s Colman Pool – if $ stays

colman1.jpg

The city Parks Department is planning some renovations at West Seattle’s only outdoor pool, Colman Pool in Lincoln Park – but the plan’s fate is pending, as Parks managers wait to see if the $900,000 allotted for the work will stay in the budget. Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter tells WSB the planned renovations include “adding a family changing area that would be accessible for people with disabilities, and reinforcing the structure of the deck, and other miscellaneous work.” Right now, design work is scheduled to happen this year, with construction next year – if the potential funding stays out of range of the sizable budget ax that’s expected to fall next month, once city number-crunchers figure out just how much real-estate-excise-tax revenue they’ve lost. Meantime, this year’s Colman Pool season is scheduled to open May 23; swim-lesson registration starts April 2; learn about the pool’s history in our West Seattle 101 on WSB section.

Jobless in West Seattle? Keri wants to meet you

Don’t let the smile on Keri Robinson‘s face fool you – She’s coping, as are so many these days, with unemployment. We got a note from her this afternoon that said, in part: “I am a West Seattlelite who was given the pink-slip from Microsoft about 2 months ago and curious about a couple things. First, do you know where all the other pink-slipped Seattlelites hang out? It’s been about 2 months post layoff – and I have yet to really run into anyone, everyone seems to be hibernating or something. After about my first month, I came out of my shell and decided to start blogging about my experience as an unemployed person, but I am hoping to find some of the others out there – we are in the same boat and despite the long lonely journey through unemployment land ahead of us – I was hoping I could try to recruit some of our local pink-slips to be guest bloggers on my site.” So we asked Keri to send us a photo and told her we’d put out the call to you – if you happen to be in the jobseeking mode – you’ll find her site, Lords and Ladies of Leisure, by going here; her e-mail address is on the “about” page. (We’ll be adding her site feed shortly to the WSB Blogs page, too.)

Traffic alert: Crowd expected for Sounders opener tomorrow

Lots of West Seattleites commute to and through Sodo/Pioneer Square, so we’re sharing this traffic alert – tens of thousands will be in the area tomorrow afternoon/evening for the Seattle Sounders‘ kickoff game.

More Junction growth: ArtsWest summer camp adds 2nd session

March 18, 2009 2:57 pm
|    Comments Off on More Junction growth: ArtsWest summer camp adds 2nd session
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Just in from ArtsWest – the waiting list for the first session of its Summer Musical Theater Camp got to be so long, they opened a second session, and it has some room – read on for the announcement:Read More

Wednesday afternoon notes from Alki to The Junction, and beyond

ALKI NEWS: Twofold this time – the latest edition of the Alki News Beacon is available online (with a couple WSB contributions) – see it here; the every-two-months publication usually comes out just before the Alki Community Council meets, and in fact, that meeting is tomorrow night, 7 pm, Alki Community Center. Editor Cami MacNamara also sends word of a revamp at alkinews.com – see it here, including highlights of tomorrow night’s agenda.

SLEEPERS IN SEATTLE, NOT JUST FOR SEATTLE: West Seattle certainly has more than a few businesses that serve customers far beyond the peninsula or even the city limits. On the Junction parking-review walking tour that just wrapped up (story to come), we chatted with Meryl Alcabes (photo left) of Sleepers in Seattle, who mentioned that their nationwide-delivery service is continuing to grow – they’ve even got customers in New York and just expanded their online presence to serve them. (Other West Seattle businesses that sell online too include WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits.)

EASY STREET MIDNIGHT EVENT: Also while on the Junction walking tour, we noticed the Easy Street Records marquee promoting a midnight sale event next Monday night when four special editions of Pearl Jam‘s 1991 debut “Ten” go on sale. (Easy Street also revamped its website not too long ago – lots of great stuff there if you haven’t visited lately, including an easy place to find upcoming in-store performances.)

CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle-based Potter Construction is sharing the news that it’s been honored with a 2009 Guildmaster Award for customer service – find out more about it here. (Got big news about YOUR business – or school, or neighborhood, or group, or … ? Let us know!)

Also tonight: Street projects and more @ Delridge District Council

March 18, 2009 11:51 am
|    Comments Off on Also tonight: Street projects and more @ Delridge District Council
 |   Delridge | Delridge District Council | West Seattle news

One more important event to mention tonight: The Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meets at 7, Youngstown Arts Center, everybody welcome. Agenda includes a look at the latest list of proposed Delridge neighborhoods street improvement projects, which will be ranked by District Council members and sent to city departments for evaluation, plus an update from a Seattle City Light rep (got a question about SCL issues, including street lights? this is a good chance). Here’s our report from last month’s DNDC meeting.

Habitat for Humanity’s High Point work gets mayoral help

March 18, 2009 10:51 am
|    Comments Off on Habitat for Humanity’s High Point work gets mayoral help
 |   High Point | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

That’s Mayor Nickels, lending a hand this morning to a project that’s had tons of volunteer help — Habitat for Humanity‘s High Point project (here’s more information on what’s being built there). You can help too – here’s how.

Welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Somanda Bodyworks

This morning, we welcome a new WSB sponsor: Somanda Bodyworks in the Admiral District. As always, we offer new sponsors the chance to share information about their businesses: Amanda Coleman, LMP, has been a SOMA practitioner for the past nine years. In 2007, she moved her practice here to West Seattle, having previously practiced at The Moving Space in Ballard and Full Circle Wellness on Vashon Island. She’s now in the Admiral District, just a block south of Metropolitan Market. Amanda holds an Advanced degree from the Soma Institute of Neuromuscular Integration®, located near Mt. Rainier. She has recently integrated into her work the osteopathic, gentle-touch techniques of Jean-Pierre Barral, learned from Rolfer Jeffrey Burch in Eugene, OR. She is a member of the International Association for Structural Integrators. SOMA is a series of deep and gentle bodywork sessions that restructure the human body (this includes your brain!). Sessions include re-learning movement and loosening restrictive mental/emotional patterns. Some of the benefits of SOMA include:
· Increased energy
· Greater enthusiasm
· Less tension
· Fewer aches & pains
· Better balance
· More physical awareness
· Emotional openness
· Improved self-reliance
· Heightened creativity
· Youthful appearance
· Enhanced athletic performance
Saturday, March 28th at 4 pm, Amanda will be hosting a live demonstration of SOMA in action at her office at 2650 42nd Ave SW (map). One lucky attendee will win a free session! The demonstration is free; please RSVP since space is limited. You can call her at 206-979-6106 or e-mail her at amandathon-soma@yahoo.com – thanks to Somanda Bodyworks for joining the WSB sponsor team, whose current roster can be found here, along with info on how to become part of it!

More Crime Watch notes: Car-strip suspect nabbed; search site

March 18, 2009 9:27 am
|    Comments Off on More Crime Watch notes: Car-strip suspect nabbed; search site
 |   Crime | South Park | West Seattle news

2 more notes that trace back to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, although one is a new development just within the past few hours:

CAR-STRIPPING SUSPECT NABBED: Lt. Steve Paulsen told the group last night that officers hoped to make an arrest shortly in a case featured in the Washington’s Most Wanted reports on channel 13 – a restored 1967 Mustang was ravaged by someone who broke into the the South Park trailer where it was stored. (Read the original story here.) Southwest Precinct officers tracked down a suspect in Renton and Lt. Paulsen just confirmed to WSB that they arrested him this morning.

WANT TO KNOW IF A SEX OFFENDER LIVES NEAR YOU? We have mentioned this before, and the link has been in the “resources” section at the bottom of the WSB Crime Watch page for months, but it came up at last night’s Crime Prevention Council meeting so we want to share it again: To find out whether a registered sex offender – someone convicted of a serious sex crime – lives near you, there’s a great statewide search website you can use: Here’s the link. (There are three “levels” of sex offender – 2 and 3 are the most serious, and those are the ones you can search for by using that site.)

School Board tonight: West Seattle projects, start times, more

March 18, 2009 8:43 am
|    Comments Off on School Board tonight: West Seattle projects, start times, more
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Tonight’s the regular semimonthly meeting of the Seattle School Board (6 pm, district HQ in Sodo), with an agenda that has a few extra reasons for West Seattleites to keep watch: Contracts for several local renovation/repair projects are on the agenda – for Alki Elementary, a $596,000 contract with Western Ventures Construction to do the following work this summer:

Install new roofing membrane which will improve student indoor air quality by preventing water intrusion into interior spaces and reduce maintenance backlog.

• Replace worn flooring surfaces with new carpet and resilient composition tile which will provide for a healthier cleaner environment for the students and staff.

• Replace and/or refurbish aging HVAC equipment which will reduce the maintenance backlog, improve indoor air quality and reduce energy costs.

• Replace the large single glazed window at the lunchroom with a new double glazed window system which will improve energy savings and provide for a warmer, more comfortable environment for the students and staff.

The same construction company is also recommended for a $749,000 project this summer at Gatewood and Sanislo Elementary Schools:

Sanislo Elementary:

• New roofing system with added insulation.

• Install new roof flashing.

• Clean brick.

• Replace worn carpeting in the auditorium with new resilient floor tile.

• Install five (5) new roof top air handling units.

• Replace worn and cracked playground walkway with a new, more ADA compliant concrete walkway.

Gatewood Elementary:

• Replace worn and cracked linoleum flooring with new resilient floor tile at selected areas.

• Repair the wood flooring in the library.

• Replace stage curtain and wall covering at existing operable wall in lunchroom.

• Refurbish existing HVAC fluid cooler, replace heat pump at daycare and add exhaust/relief/supply fans to improve indoor air quality.

Also on the agenda:

–Standardized school start times, which we first mentioned here, will be considered as part of “transportation standards.” Read the document here; it mentions various provisions for exceptions, but in general, elementary schools would run 9:15 am-3:25 pm, middle schools and “designated elementary and K-8” 8 am-2:30 pm. (The always-excellent SPS Community Blog has an extensive breakdown.)

–The 2009-2010 calendar, which would start classes on Sept. 9 and end them on June 22 (unless there are snow days to make up); see the proposed calendar here.

If you can’t make it to the meeting, you should be able to watch it live on cable TV (channel 26).

West Seattle Crime Watch: The big picture; the latest incidents

Back from three-plus hours at the Southwest Precinct, starting with the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, then moving on to review the latest reports. From the WSCPC meeting – the February crime stats, announced by Lt. Steve Paulsen: 2 armed robberies, down from 5 in January; strong-armed robberies were up to 7 for February, described by Lt. Paulsen as largely “afterschool stuff” – youths getting iPods and money stolen, and he says they’re “working with the schools on that issue” – residential burglaries down to 37 in February (usually averaging about 50/month); 26 car thefts in February, down from 33; car prowls down dramatically in February, 83, from January’s 127. More from the Crime Prevention Council meeting in a separate story; first, on to some of the latest reports from the precinct, including more than a few car crimes, starting with a theft that ended in arson and a store clerk scaring away a would-be robber – plus a burglary from today, reported by a local Block Watch — read on:Read More

West Seattle restaurant note: Cafe Revo starts happy hour

E-mail note tonight from Cafe Revo, which opened three and a half weeks ago in the Luna Park business district – it’s starting “happy hour” as of tomorrow, 4-6 pm Mondays-Fridays, with offerings including $4 appetizers.

Update: Pedestrian hit at 16th/Roxbury

(thanks to Mona for the photo)
We’re checking on something happening at 16th/Roxbury (map) – there was a brief medic call to 15th/Roxbury, it closed, but Mona just sent word of a big fire/police presence in the area, and we got a call from Kevin too. More as soon as we confirm info. Avoid the area in the meantime. 8:11 PM UPDATE: This is on the King County side of White Center – King County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating; they say a man was hit by a car in the intersection – the driver told investigators he never saw the man. The man’s been taken to Harborview Medical Center. The Roxbury/16th/15th area is still closed at last report so avoid the area.