West Seattle, Washington
09 Friday
The Times writes this morning about that wind-power invention by West Seattleite Chad Maglaque; he entered it in Google’s Project 10 to the 100th, which will publish word tomorrow of the 100 finalists (from among 100,000+ entries) who made it to a public vote. 1:55 PM UPDATE: Thanks for the tip from Todd – Google has just announced it’s delaying the announcement of the 100 finalists till March; read the announcement here.
(WSB photo from August 2008)
Five months ago, we brought you first word of a proposal to create ARK Park on land owned by Arbor Heights Community Church. This morning, we have word of the first fundraiser for the project, which organizers told us last summer would be built entirely with church/community contributions. Co-organizer Loretta Kimball tells WSB her son Chad Kimball is headlining on the fundraiser – an evening of Broadway music, 7 pm February 9th at Roosevelt High School, including some of his castmates from “Memphis” (which opens this week at the 5th Avenue Theater). $15/person gets you the benefit concert plus a reception afterward. Here’s the official flyer, on the playground project’s website. Now, to North Admiral:
Meantime, in North Admiral, the first of three design workshops for California Place Park is now a week away. When it was announced recently that the workshops would be held at Alki Community Center, some voiced concern about the distance; now, there’s word from the community group spearheading the project that they’ll coordinate rides to the workshops so no one is stuck without a way to get there:
Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral (FANNA) will be coordinating rides for neighbors to each of the community design workshops for California Place Park. We will match people up who have extra room with those who need a ride. For those who plan to attend the meeting and have an extra seat or for those in need of ride to the workshops, please e-mail info@californiaplacepark.org or call Kellee Jones at 206-684-7052. Requests for rides must be received by end of day Sunday, February 1st.
The three design workshops will allow the community to explore various ideas and design options for California Place. Karen Kiest, Landscape Architects, will lead these meetings. We are looking for ways to increase community use of the park by people of all ages, and create a naturalized and safe area for the neighborhood to enjoy now and for generations to come. As an option, a supervised area for childcare will be provided during each meeting. Please bring your ideas, your neighbors and your community spirit!
Meeting Location and Dates:
Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
Tuesday, 2/3, 7 – 8:30 PM
Saturday, 3/7, 10:30 – 12 Noon
Thursday, 4/16, 7 – 8:30 PM
For more information about the improvements proposed at California Place please visit our website: www.californiaplacepark.org
On West Seattle’s Puget Ridge, South Seattle Community College‘s own celebrated wines were at centerstage, along with offerings from other famous Washington wineries, during the fundraising food-and-wine gala “Gifts From the Earth” on Saturday night. We dropped by to survey the scene at SSCC’s Brockey Center in the early going — including the team ready to show off the college’s famed culinary program too:
For all who attended, beautifully laid-out tables awaited:
“Gifts from the Earth” is an annual fundraiser for the SSCC Foundation. Meantime — earlier tonight, we mentioned West 5‘s first-ever movie screening. Before the lights went down, we stopped in (good-sized crowd!) to ask moviemaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin about the venue where “Gearhead” screened tonight:
He’s working to get “Gearhead” distributed and is also in postproduction on “Double Down Live” (working title).
You’ll see more kids/teens out and about tomorrow, because it’s the second consecutive Monday off for local public-school students — the so-called “day between semesters.”
Toni Reineke from West Seattle’s community orchestra, Westside Symphonette, tells WSB the last call for recruitment was a success — with new brass players joining (thanks!) — so she’s looking for players in three more areas of specialty: Bassoon, oboe, harp. Interested? Next rehearsal is Tuesday at Chief Sealth/Boren (map); call Toni at 206-243-6955 or e-mail tonireineke@comcast.net to find out more.
One more reminder: 8 pm tonight, you’re invited to the first-ever movie screening at West 5 in The Junction — an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin (who lives in West Seattle when not in L.A.): “Gearhead: 4 Days on the Road with Billy F. Gibbons” (of ZZ Top fame). Find out more about the film at its MySpace site.
We launched this in the WSB Forums last week (here’s the official announcement) and want to make sure everybody gets a chance to make suggestions, so we’re posting it here on the main page too. Big happy crowds enjoyed Movies on the Wall in the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard last summer (here’s the report on the one we sponsored), after the movies were chosen from a list that included suggestions from WSBers – and this year, we’re proud to be one of the sponsors for a new Winter Movies on the Wall series, with dates set for three Saturday nights in March — March 4, 11, 18 — at the new West Seattle Christian Church activity center (opening soon). So what movies would YOU like to see on those three nights in March? Please post a comment here and/or at the series’ official site. Deadline for suggestions is end of this month; you can see some of the suggestions already made here.
Taken a short time ago just after hundreds of anti-school-closure marchers left TT Minor, with full police escort (since they’re marching in the street), headed for Garfield. (We have video in the other direction, to add a bit later [5:28 pm, here it is])
There’s a Cooper contingent in the crowd too – we spotted at least one “Save Cooper” sign. ADDED 3:01 PM: The marchers have just arrived at Garfield – here’s the sign-bearing Cooper reps including Jonah Von Spreecken and Brittany Abbott, who has twin sons at the school:
(added 4:33 pm – closer look at the Cooper reps in this video clip – note the fast-n-furious snow)
(added 11:59 pm – Brittany shared this photo of her sons at the pre-march rally)
(back to 3:01 pm update) And on the right side of this next photo, with the pink sign, is West Seattle-based district watchdog Chris Jackins, who has repeatedly asked the school board to cancel all closure plans:
All the while, snow continued to fall – there’s a little bit sticking on the ground here in the Central District. We’re heading back to HQ to add video. The marchers’ chants included, “School closures/No thanks/Bail out schools/Not the banks.” They’ll be rallying inside the Garfield Community Center for the next few hours. Ongoing coverage at CentralDistrictNews.com. ADDED 8:42 PM: Thanks to Scott at CDNews for sharing his video of Cooper parent/employee Shelly Williams‘s emotional speech at the rally that preceded the march:
While covering the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s meeting earlier this month, we heard that installation had just been finished for the bus-shelter art created by community members during the last Fauntleroy Fall Festival (FFF coverage here). Today we received a photo from Jason Sutherland (thank you!), who says, “Anybody who participated should take a walk to see if their work is nearby. We lucked out in that a few of the ones we painted were at the shelter closest to our house.” (If you don’t recognize it on sight, that’s the shelter across the street from the ferry terminal.)
Lots to see and read at the Seal Sitters’ “Blubberblog” site 
these days. Just posted last night – an update on sunbathing sea-lion sightings on the West Seattle shore. There’s also the saga of an elephant seal that spent a few days on a “South Puget Sound” beach, and full details of Forte’s day along the Alki boardwalk (photo at left from our much-less-detailed coverage here), among other stories.
Sunday morning means time for the Ripe ‘n’ Ready “fresh sheet” as the West Seattle Farmers’ Market continues on year-round – this week’s list of what’s new (and not-so-new) includes “the return of fresh mushrooms.” Find the West Seattle Farmers’ Market at 44th/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm.
A little past midway through Saturday night’s 4th birthday bash for Twilight Artist Collective – held in the West Seattle Junction spot (west of Easy Street) that they took over in late ’07 – they were serenaded with the traditional birthday tune, in a not-so-traditional way. Haven’t met Erin, Mary, and Cheryl yet? Info’s here, for their original Pike Place Market location as well as their Junction space. (They have a separate blog-format website, too.)
In the middle of a rare sunny winter afternoon, a dozen people came to Delridge Library today for one last pre-closure-vote round of Q/A with West Seattle’s school board member Steve Sundquist. And while the phrase in the headline – “This is tough” — came from him, it could have come from anyone in the room, or from any of the thousands of people at the schools around the city that have been mentioned at one point or another in the closure proceedings that started last fall. The timetable has been tough too – with the “preliminary recommendations” announced just before Thanksgiving, hearings and meetings peppered throughout the holiday season, then the “final recommendations” coming out right after school resumed post-winter break. Now, the vote is less than a week away, and no more formal hearings or meetings remain before that vote, so gatherings like this one are the last opportunities for a glimpse into which way board members might go:Read More
A post in the WSB Forums asked what TV-news trucks were doing outside Salty’s tonight; as listed on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup and Events calendar, friends and family of Amanda Knox – the former Arbor Heights resident now on trial in Italy in a much-discussed murder case – were holding another fundraiser for her defense costs. The report above, from our ex-employer at Channel 13, is the first one we’ve found online. (Another fundraiser was held in November at Holy Rosary.) ADDED SUNDAY AFTERNOON: KING’s clip isn’t embeddable but here’s a direct link.
(video added 11:09 pm)
Flakes are falling. The forecast called for flurries, as mentioned earlier, so it’s not SUPPOSED to amount to much … 11:13 PM UPDATE: Uh-oh, famous forecaster Cliff Mass has published an update on his website suggesting it MIGHT be a bit more. 1:10 AM UPDATE: Seems a little more serious than flurries out there. Car tops are white. Hmm.
“Only” one crime report to share tonight – it happened to Paul west of The Junction about this time last night:
Edmunds and 47th [map], 9 pm on Friday night. I got home … to find broken glass and a smashed flashlight in my kitchen. Looks like one or two people got in, stole a couple of DVDs of the Wire (ironic), and left a lot of blood – one of them cut themselves badly coming in through the back door window. Definitely felt like opportunists, not a professional job. At least they were nice enough to close the front door when they left, so the cats didn’t get out.
Our e-mail system didn’t get that to us till several hours after Paul sent it; after we e-mailed him back this morning, he sent an update: “The cop that showed up thought that he’d managed to pick up the guy at around 1 am – he’d been called out by someone reporting a vehicle prowl a little further up north, and apprehended a guy with a bleeding right hand.”
We took you to Grace Church last July for the coronation of West Seattle Hi-Yu Senior Court Queen Margo Femiano (center) and Princesses Alicia Watanabe and Katie Tarabochia (left, right); now, at the midpoint between summers, the 2009 Scholarship Program is welcoming applications. This year’s program coordinator is Shirley Enebrad, who renews the basics of the announcement we made one year ago today:
Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Scholarship Competition: Applications due
3/30/09Young women who live, work or attend school in West Seattle are invited to apply for the Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu scholarship competition. There are several scholarship awards given out at the pageant, including, but again, not limited to: Athletic, Media Career, Community Service, Academic, Miss Congeniality, Creative Expression, and Hi-Yu Involvement. There are three titles awarded: Queen and two Princesses.
Each title winner receives a scholarship (Princesses- $1,000 each, Queen- $2,000), crown, and sash. The Queen will receive $1,250 at the end of her reign and $750 after completing the Miss Seafair competition. She will represent the community during the 2009-2010 festival year and travel to several Northwest parades with the Hi-Yu float. The Senior Court members must be available to participate in the Hi-Yu Summer Festival activities.
While there is some work involved, West Seattle royalty will have a lot of fun serving your community, making new friends, increasing confidence, and developing leadership. New this year, all candidates will have the opportunity to work with a local businesswoman as a professional mentor and spend a day with professional health & beauty professionals receiving advice on hair, make-up, and dress. Hi-Yu serves the West Seattle Community by providing fun and affordable entertainment for adults and children alike.
The application, found at www.hiyu.com, must be postmarked by March 30, 2009. Mail your completed application to Candidate Coordinator, West Seattle Hi-Yu, PO Box 16130, Seattle, WA 98116. If you have questions, call Shirley at 206-935-5224.
Again, here’s the direct link to the application. Another Hi-Yu note, from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Hi-Yu’s Spring Tea and Silent Auction is set for March 22 at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 2-4:30 pm, $25/person, and they’re taking reservations now – 206-935-6517 or info@hiyu.com.
Among your many entertainment options on tonight’s West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Two “classic silent comedies” accompanied (with ragtime!) by Donald Sosin at Kenyon Hall (interior photo above). If you aren’t well-acquainted with that venue, time to fix that. We revisited the historic building (on 35th just south of Kenyon – here’s a map) recently to talk with manager Lou Magor and find what’s new – read on!Read More
Just in from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which explains, “The stagnant weather pattern of this past week is finally eroding, bringing improved mixing and dispersion of the fine particle pollution – and ultimately, cleaner, healthier air.” You can track the air status at their site any time, pscleanair.org.
PANCAKES: Till 10:30 am, Fauntleroy Church (map), fresh-cooked breakfast (including pancakes, ham, orange juice, milk), to support the annual Fauntleroy Fall Festival. (In the photo above, helper Jason Chase is adding some special touches, including M&Ms, to a pancake or two.)
(photo added 11:29 am)
CAR WASH: Till 3 pm, the Chief Sealth and West Seattle High School swim teams are joining forces for a fundraising car wash at WSHS (map). Perfect weather to go get the dust washed off!
(Seacrest cleanup photo added 11:30 am)
PICKUP: Two special cleanup events this morning: At Seacrest (map), 9-noon, to help the park qualify as official Backyard Wildlife Habitat; also, meet at Delridge Community Center or Chief Sealth High School (map) at 9:45 to join in a double-teamed Adopt-a-Street cleanup along Delridge, from Orchard to Andover, with the North Delridge Neighborhood Council and Chief Sealth PTSA (photo added 11:32 am, after we caught up with some of the crew):
Lots more happening – check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
Next Thursday, in a special meeting at 6 pm at district HQ in Sodo, Seattle School Board members will vote on proposed closures and changes. Right now, West Seattle’s Cooper Elementary is proposed for “program closure,” as part of a chain reaction starting with closing the Genesee Hill building that’s been home to Pathfinder K-8 for more than a decade, and ending with Pathfinder moving into the Cooper building. Cooper supporters (whose site is here) have continued to relentlessly press the point that their school should be “a model, not a target” because the academic achievement of its children outpaces area schools with comparably diverse demographics (as detailed on this page).
DISTRICT SUMMARY OF COMMENTS FROM HEARINGS: Posted on a new page at the district Capacity Management (the umbrella term for changes including the closure process) website. (If you want to compare the summaries to the official transcripts, you can find those on this page.)
ANOTHER Q/A/LISTENING SESSION WITH WEST SEATTLE’S SCHOOL BOARD REP: Steve Sundquist will be at Delridge Library (map) 1-2:30 pm this afternoon; it’ll be a session similar to the one he held at Coffee to a Tea in The Junction this past Wednesday morning (WSB coverage here).
CITYWIDE PROTEST MARCH ON SUNDAY: As we reported before the January 7th school board meeting, closure opponents from around the city plan a protest rally and march Sunday afternoon, 2 pm, starting at TT Minor (map). Here’s the official site for march organizers.
NOT TOO LATE TO HAVE A SAY: Though Thursday was the last public hearing on the closure proposals, school-board members have till Tuesday at noon to propose changes to the plan (technically they could propose changes up till the last minute before the vote next Thursday, but board president Michael DeBell requested the Tuesday deadline). So you can still e-mail them with your opinion at schoolboard@seattleschools.gov (or find individual board members’ addresses here).
Thanks to Paul Dieter for sharing that video of The Center School‘s Poetry Slam performance/competition on Thursday night. We learned more about TCS during the Seattle Public Schools closure process that’s heading for a vote next Thursday; TCS changes are NOT part of the plan any more but when they were, we learned that the unique Seattle Center-based school has more than a few West Seattle teens in attendance, including one who performed in the Thursday night event, as Paul explains:
The Center School presented A Night Of Poetry and Theater For Social Change at the Seattle Repertory Theater. The standing-room-only audience was treated to these talented high-school students exercising the power they are finding in words, performance and personal poise confidence. The evening began with 18 students reading their own poems and finished with a competitive poetry slam that included West Seattle’s own Daniel Willoughby. There was also a brief performance by the school’s Theater For Social Change class that gave us a view on some of the issues facing these young adults.
Another poetry note with a West Seattle hook: South Seattle Community College writing instructor Mike Hickey (photo left), elected last November as the city’s newest Poet Populist, will be officially “installed” as the PP Sunday afternoon. He’ll read, of course, at the 2 pm event at the city’s central library branch downtown (map), which features other special guests. Read more about the (free!) event here; hear Mike read in this WSB report on a pre-election event last October at Youngstown Arts Center.
That’s the trailer from “Arctic Tale,” the movie that’ll be featured April 17th in the second CoolMom.org Family Movie Night at Camp Long; the first one, held tonight, was a roaring success. Why mention the next one so early, you ask? The answer ahead – plus a campaign that CoolMom is involved with now, to get a message to the new Mom in the White HouseRead More
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