West Seattle, Washington
30 Friday
Two one-time-only events to remind you about before the day is gone:
FAMILY SURVEY RESULTS: Back in November, we brought you the link to a community survey spearheaded by Renae Gaines , who’s based at Madison Middle School but has been working tirelessly community-wide to make sure that West Seattleites are aware of the true impact of underage drinking, and how to fight the problem. The survey results are out now, and will be discussed in detail at tonight’s meeting of the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership, 6 pm at West Seattle High School. (Here’s a Power Point presentation of the results, if you want a preview.)
SEWAGE PLANT MEETING: Don’t let the title fool you: This is technically about the West Point Sewage Treatment Plant, which is in Magnolia, but it turns out the focus is also on the “combined sewer overflows” that result from pump stations all over West Seattle and elsewhere – so the meeting will feature information about potential pollution in our waters, both the open Sound and the Duwamish River. 6 pm tonight, South Seattle Community College‘s Georgetown campus, Building C (6727 Corson Ave. S.; map). Thanks to Liesbet for the tip; she points out there’s more info at duwamishcleanup.org.
This apparently happened late last week but we can’t find any evidence of major coverage – just got a news release about it now. Opponents of the plan to build a new regional misdemeanor jail (with Seattle and several other King County cities partnering; they’re considering six sites including one in West Seattle) have filed Initiative 100, asking, among other things, for a public vote on whether to build a jail. (It’s also on tap for a forum tomorrow night, 6:30, Pigott Hall at Seattle University.) Here’s the initiative petition that will be circulated (note: updated that link late Tuesday to point to the copy finalized today). ADDED 4:46 PM: Just got a county news release about a County Council briefing today regarding the first drop in county jail population in five years – read on:Read More
That photo is courtesy Teri Ensley of Furry Faces Foundation, who first asked us last week to let you know (original report here) that West Seattle businesses are collecting donations for the hundreds of dogs rescued from “puppy mill” operations in the North Sound. Last night, Teri and others took a pile of donated items up to two of the organizations that are helping care for the rescued dogs, and she reports:
Both shelters are so grateful for everyone’s generous donations. They have enough food for now (but will not turn any down)–and what they are in desperate need for are the following:
1. Lots and lots of toys for small to sm/med sized dogs
2. Lots of wee wee pads/puppy training pads
3. Bedding—beds, blankets, towels, etc.
Here are the businesses where you can drop off items:
Admiral District:
Mud Bay; 2611 Calif. Ave SW (dog food & supplies only)
Muttley Crew Cuts Co; 3707 Calif. Ave SWAlaska Junction:
Hotwire Online Coffeehouse; 4410 Calif. Ave SW (dog food & supplies only)Petco: 4732 Calif. Ave SW
Alki: All the Best Pet Care; 2820 Alki Ave SW
Morgan Junction:
Pet Elements; 6701 Calif. Ave SW
The Wash Dog; 6400 Calif. Ave SW
(added late Tuesday afternoon) Stella Ruffington’s, 7003 California SWWestwood Village: Pet Pros; 9033 25th Ave SW
Teri says any other businesses interested in participating — and anyone who can help make future deliveries of donated items — is welcome to e-mail her at furryfaces@hotmail.com. Also, she says Muttley Crew Cuts staffers are heading north next Monday “to volunteer their grooming skills with some of the dogs,” and at least one other business owner is trying to help with grooming too. Teri also shared a link to this article about the whistleblower who touched off the investigation that led to the dogs’ rescue.
As first featured here two months ago, that’s Lynda, who won “Alki Idol” Season 1 (and $1,000)! Now it’s time for the second round – here’s the announcement from organizer John McKenzie:
The Bamboo Bar and Grill on Alki will be hosting Alki Idol Season 2 starting Thursday, January 29th at 9:30 PM. Alki Idol is an eight-week karaoke competition set up for local amateur singers to compete for cash and prizes on a weekly basis, as well as a grand prize for the overall winner. Season 1 was a huge success and featured some amazing local singers.
The contest will include 6 weeks of auditions with 2 contestants qualifying each night based on voting by a panel of judges. The final field of 12 will compete in a semi-final competition on March 12th, reducing the field to 6. The 6 finalists will then compete in the finals for cash and prizes on March 19th. The Bamboo Bar and Grill is located at 2806 Alki Ave SW. Check for updates on Alki Idol at www.alkiidol.com or www.bamboobarandgrill.com.
You may have heard that the Interbay Whole Foods project is now back on track, as officially announced today. Our fellow neighborhood-news-site operators at MagnoliaVoice.com covered the announcement and were kind enough to ask WF about its West Seattle status on our behalf. John Clougher, Pacific Northwest regional manager for Whole Foods, replied: “As far as West Seattle, we are on track and deeply committed to that project. It is a solid commitment and we can’t wait to get going. There is no opening date yet but it usually takes 5-7 months after the construction of the shell is complete and delivered to Whole Foods.” (We’ve had messages out to local developers BlueStar for a few days to find out when construction will be gearing up again at the Fauntleroy Place site, and will let you know when we hear from them.) ADDED 2:11 PM: MagnoliaVoice.com‘s full story on today’s Interbay announcement is now up; see it here.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Terry:
I was ticketed for $162.00 for having my dogs off a leash at Hamilton Viewpoint Park (map) this AM. I and many other West Seattle residents have been taking our dogs there for years. We all seem to use the hilly south end of the park as not to disturb anyone. I have never experienced people leaving dog waste there, and often leave with a handful of broken beer bottle glass and trash from the night before. In any case, the animal control explained dogs can’t be off a leash in a public park in Seattle. The only signs in the park ask for dogs to be kept out of the flower beds.
Not word yet if underage drinking parties are still “a go.”
The only official “off-leash area” in West Seattle is at Westcrest Park (map).
(looking toward the SW Thistle stairs to Lincoln Park, west of California SW)
At least up here, and at least it waited till the commute was mostly over. SDOT sent a short blurb to assure you they’re on patrol:
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has trucks standing by at various locations around the city including the West Seattle Bridge and the tops of hills, in case they are needed. Last night crews applied deicer to the high level West Seattle Bridge, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and the Aurora Bridge.
Is it snowing where you are? 9:10 AM UPDATE: Via Facebook (where you can “friend” us as WS Blog), Becky reports that she’s seen one of those city trucks standing by at Westwood Village. While the ground is lightly covered up here at “higher elevations,” the road’s still bare/wet. Forecasters continue to all-but-promise it will turn to rain within a few hours. Here’s the bridge cam (refresh the page for the latest image; you can also see it any time on the WSB Traffic page):
9:45 AM UPDATE: We’re out driving around. Not much at all on the ground/roofs down at sea level, through Morgan Junction and Fairmount Springs. The “snow” itself is more like sleet. 11:33 AM UPDATE: En route back from downtown and it’s rain now … we can definitely declare fleeting snow panic over!
The folks at 8 Limbs Yoga (WSB sponsor) are banding together to help popular teacher Denise Carrico (photo at left), who can’t teach – and therefore, can’t work – for a month because she “fell while hiking and broke both her leg and her arm,” says 8 Limbs’ Anne Phyfe Palmer. To help get Denise through this time of crisis, 8 Limbs is offering two benefit classes this Saturday – here are the details:
Please join yoga teacher Greg Owen on Saturday, January 31st for either of his morning classes:
9:00 am LEVEL II FLOW
10:30 am LEVEL IHere’s how Denise will benefit:
Drop-ins ($16) will go directly to Denise.
If you are an 8 Limbs class card holder, consider paying drop-in for this class, otherwise $5 will be donated by 8 Limbs for each class card holder. 8 Limbs will donate $5 for each member who attends.
Additional donations are encouraged. Please pay cash or write checks directly to Denise Carrico.
Donations of any amount can be made by check at any time at the 8 Limbs front desk.
Thank you!
8 Limbs is in The Junction, right over JaK’s Grill (map), enter from the alley behind the building; find lots more information online at 8limbsyoga.com.
That’s the Highland Park Action Committee‘s new chair Dan Mullins, presiding for the first time at HPAC’s first meeting of the year tonight. (New vice chair Nicole Mazza and treasurer Shawn Mazza couldn’t attend, but you can see them in this photo on the HPAC website; as we reported following the last HPAC meeting, the previous officers decided not to run again — former chair Dorsol Plants is about to kick off his City Council campaign – website in the works here.) Dan’s first report as chair revolved around plans to have a brainstorming session for the community to looking into getting city matching grants for various projects – such as replanting parking strips, doing cleanup in the greenbelt, maybe a kiosk in the Highland Park Improvement Club parking lot to distribute info about HPAC, the HPIC building, and the neighborhood. He also mentioned that Habitat for Humanity is doing a build-a-thon in September and they’re looking for people to sit on a steering committee (more info to come on that). On the hottest HP topic of the past year, Becca Fong says THIS FRIDAY is the deadline for comments on the potential environmental impacts of sites proposed for a new regional misdemeanor jail – including the West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way site. More info on that at the jail-project website. Becca says any citizen concerns about air, water, soil effects will have to be followed up on by the city, so if you have them, send them. (She’s willing to answer questions about the process, highlandparkparadise@gmail.com.)
You might have seen a citywide article or two suggesting arts organizations are struggling in these tough times. Not ArtsWest, retorts exec director Alan Harrison in this essay.
So says the latest forecast. Famous forecaster Cliff Mass is a little more vague.
Just posted on our partner site White Center Now: Even as Burien’s city manager Mike Martin told council members (who had to cancel tonight’s work session for lack of quorum) he’s hoping for an August vote on the proposed North Highline annexation (in an area that leaves the majority of White Center available for Seattle to annex), a prominent Burien resident, former councilmember Stephen Lamphear, has filed notice of an initiative to stop the deal for separate annexations. See the document here. More as this develops. 9:51 PM UPDATE: Added comments from initiative sponsor Lamphear at WCN.
GROUNDBREAKING: Work’s been under way for months now on the Chief Sealth High School upgrades that are going in prior to construction of a new Denny Middle School on the CSHS campus – and tonight there’s word of a “groundbreaking celebration” for the next phase of work, set for March 12th. More details later this week, according to the project-management team. The project website has some toplines about what’s been happening this month; see them here.
CLOSURE AMENDMENTS: As reported previously, if any Seattle School Board members plan to make amendments to the “final recommendations” for school closure/changes currently slated for a Thursday vote, they’ve been asked to turn in said amendments by noon tomorrow. We checked with the Seattle Public Schools communications office to ask if any such amendments would be then made available to the media before they’re published on the district website (which is supposed to happen Wednesday). Got the answer this afternoon: No.
Washington State Ferries says it’s making some changes in a month regarding how fares are collected, including: No more checks. Read on for details of the WSF announcement:Read More
It might seem “no duh” to some but since this scammer targeted particularly vulnerable people, the elderly, it’s important to get the word out any way possible: The folks at Merrill Gardens on 35th gave us a flyer about a scam alert they’re distributing to residents, and asked if we would share it with you too – read on:Read More
Thanks to Chas Redmond for sharing the view (from Gatewood) of the Port of Tacoma‘s 4 new cranes, heading southbound on Puget Sound past West Seattle a few hours ago. You can read about the cranes at the port website.
Another sign of business booming on Harbor Ave: Not only is Western Marine building its new HQ in the 2700 block of Harbor, Jacobsen’s Marine is moving next month to the former Aspen site in the 2600 block; they’re currently located in Ballard, and have been there more than half a century. More details on the move at MyBallard.com.
(West Seattle Pharmaca Team: Jessica, Dava, Angela, Matthew, Joanna, Meranda, Brian)
Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy — which took over the old Morton‘s spot in The Junction last spring — has been on the WSB sponsor team since early in the month but we just got the staff together for a photo so we could introduce them to you along with sharing information they’d like you to have regarding what they’re all about: Pharmaca became the first integrative pharmacy in the U.S. back in 2000. This model brings a full-service pharmacy and complementary treatment options together under one roof so customers can enjoy the best of both worlds. Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy is changing the way people think about their health by offering traditional pharmacy services and alternative remedies under one roof. Stores feature the best in natural products, certified staff members, safe cosmetics, fair-trade gifts and more. Band-Aids never kept such good company! Integrative medicine is now embraced by 75% of medical schools, including such prestigious names as Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Yale, and the Mayo Clinic. From acupuncture to aromatherapy, these institutions are exploring methods of treatment beyond standard western medicine. Pharmaca customers get a choice when it comes to their health care. For example, they offer several ways to stay healthy during the flu season:
*Flu shots can be scheduled for those who want to receive immunization
*Preventive supplements like Echinacea come with free advice from our expert staff
*Prescription medications are available if your doctor recommends treatment
Expect total care when you come to Pharmaca. Your body—not to mention your mind and spirit—will thank you for it. Pharmaca is in West Seattle at 4707 California Avenue SW (map; at the Alaska Junction, next to the Farmers’ Market lot; formerly Morton’s Pharmacy), 206.932.4225. Hours are Monday–Friday 9 am-7 pm, Saturday 9 am-6 pm, Sunday 10 am-6 pm. (Online, you can find a list of the special in-store events they have coming up.) We welcome Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy to the WSB sponsor lineup, listed here along with info on how to join the team.
ORIGINAL 11:42 AM REPORT: If you’ve noticed police and yellow tape in the 1900 block of Harbor SW (map), here’s what’s happening: A body was found in the water. We just talked with Officer Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit and that’s all they can tell us right now – firefighters briefly answered a medic-response call to the area just before 11 am but it was clear they weren’t needed as the person (no description) was “DOA,” Jamieson says, adding that police are “actively investigating.” 12:42 PM UPDATE: To give you an idea of where this is, we added the photo above – it’s the industrial area between Salty’s and Jack Block Park. 1:16 PM UPDATE: Just checked with Officer Renee Witt at SPD, who tells us there was ID on the body indicating it’s that of a 38-year-old Seattle man. Too soon to tell how he died – that information will come from the County Medical Examiner. Officer Witt says the man’s body actually was found half in the water, half out, under a pier in the area, about 100 yards south of Salty’s. The first report came from a cell phone, apparently from someone walking in the area, she says. TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The daily update from the ME’s office confirms this was a case of suicide, cause of death listed as drowning. WSB policy is to not publish names (although in some of our past reports, family/friends have chose to disclose ID in comments) but public records for the name on the ME list suggests he lived in West Seattle.
Thanks to Chris for the tip about that BIG broken window (tarped over in the second photo) at the ex-Huling/Gee sites on the south side of SW Alaska, east of Fauntleroy Way. Police were leaving as we got there, so we’re checking with the precinct about whether this involved a break-in or “just” a break, and will add that info when we get it. (Not only was the crew from Ladder 11 helping clean up and secure the scene, two of them subsequently spotted us in a mortifying bit of car trouble across the street minutes later – got stuck on an unnoticed curb while trying to make a fast getaway — and saved us with a push. Thanks, guys!)
Just out of the inbox: “SDOT plans to close the lefthand, eastbound lane tomorrow (Tuesday January 27) from 12:00 noon to 2 p.m. During this closure a broken water line to a fire hydrant will be inspected.” A couple more bridge notes from Seattle City Light, by the way – they are still working on the street lights and SCL’s Mike Eagan tells WSB the ones on the Spokane Street Viaduct stretch (east of 99) should be done “within a week or two,” while burned-out Alaskan Way Viaduct lights will be fixed “during the next scheduled closure.”
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
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