West Seattle, Washington
24 Wednesday
Heavy-equipment cleanup under way this afternoon along Harbor Ave, just southeast of the complex in which Sleepless Coffee nestles:
No development proposals in the work for this parcel so far as we can tell; however, we’re experiencing memory loss — wasn’t this the “other” parcel with one of the famous old boats? It’s not the one we showed here – that’s still intact (so to speak) a few blocks southeast.
*If you are coming here from the Sustainable WS newsletter, welcome, and please click the West Seattle Weekend Lineup category link beneath the headline to find the current WSWL … thank you!*
The last full weekend of February is full of fun … from a pancake breakfast to a soup and chili cookoff, from a pruning workshop to an open house for the Fire Station 37 project, from Parents’ Afternoon Out and Parents’ Night Out child-care offerings to Sunday fundraisers to help a brave child and a beloved pet. We’ve listed 39 events:Read More
Updated information from the Seattle Fire Department is that up to 600 gallons of dimethyl carbonate got into Elliott Bay after the Terminal 5 spill early this morning involving a punctured container being offloaded from the Hyundai Patriot. SFD was “wrapping up” its role in the operation as of early afternoon, with other agencies still involved in containment and cleanup. The fire department says no one was hurt.
Spotted by the WSB Sales Guy while out on rounds.
With the next public meeting set for the Morgan Junction park design, seems like a good time to update the Myrtle Reservoir park project, since it’s on a similar timeline. Virginia Hassinger from Seattle Parks tells WSB the next public meeting for Myrtle is not set yet because “we have several site specific details we are still discussing with Seattle Public Utilities.” However, according to two other Parks officials, Colleen Browne and Kevin Stoops, when the final proposed Myrtle design is presented, it will include some sort of skateboard feature. That’s what so much discussion has centered around in previous public meetings (WSB coverage of last month’s meeting is here). The schematic option below, from the 1/23/08 meeting, shows the area of the park proposed for the potential skatepark feature):
The City Skatepark Plan had earmarked either Myrtle or High Point for a skateboard feature, and Browne says it makes sense to proceed with proposing it at Myrtle because that’s the “bird in hand” — a project under development now, while in comparison, there is no new park development of any type currently on the drawing board at the High Point site. Another question had been where the money for a Myrtle skateboard feature would come from (also discussed at last month’s meeting), since the Skatepark Plan did not come with funding of its own; Stoops tells WSB it would come out of the Myrtle park’s budget. “It’s a million dollars,” he noted, referring to the budget, saying this would be just another feature to be budgeted in, “like landscaping (etc.).” Hassinger says comments on all aspects of the project continue to be welcome; her contact info is on the official project webpage.
A shelter for up to 20 men that was located in West Seattle until a year ago just moved back, according to a flyer received by neighbors (read a scanned copy of it here). The Calvary Lutheran Shelter, operated by SHARE, was at the church of that same name at 35th/Cloverdale from 1999 till last year, when CL sold the site to the former Gatewood Baptist Church (now Life Church). 
Now, as of last Friday, it’s located in the Church of the Nazarene building at 42nd/Juneau (photo left; map here), according to the flyer, which says there’s an informational meeting “for immediate neighbors” this Sunday night. The flyer includes info about how the shelter is managed and notes that the church has “temporarily hosted several other SHARE shelters in the past 5 years.” We have a message out to SHARE to ask a few followup questions; if you are interested in more information about the need for places for homeless people to go, the recent One-Night Count results are enlightening, as are pages from other groups such as the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. 11:18 AM UPDATE: Just talked with a rep from SHARE, and here’s what else we found out:Read More
Got some notes from folks awakened by helicopters: TV choppers covering this spill at Terminal 5. (Which part of the port is that, exactly, you ask? Here’s the official Port of Seattle directions.)
No, that’s not a file photo of kids in class BEFORE the midwinter-break week that wraps up today for Seattle Public Schools; those are kids in class DURING the break, photographed at Denny Middle School on Thursday, getting math coaching from teacher Gary Lai as part of a reading/math camp that’s been under way since Wednesday — with free lunch every day plus a bowling party when it’s all over today. It’s one of two midwinter-break camps wrapping up at Denny today — the other is 4th-8th grade music camp, where we videotaped participants on Thursday getting ready for a casual concert they’re planning today. Denny’s well-known music director Marcus Pimpleton is leading this first-ever program, with help from some student assistants, such as 11th-grader (and Denny grad) Chloe seen here helping a breakout group improvise a drum riff:
Another set of drummers worked indoors – the steel-drum players; what a lovely sound, even in short practice bursts:Read More
Starting a week from Sunday, the megachurch branch on 35th says no more shuttle buses – it’s asking all its attendees to park in the lots at the old Hughes (South Lake) school. Here’s the announcement (which doesn’t explain why the shuttles are going away; perhaps they’ll be needed for the new Belltown branch opening in March, plus their WS holding lot is slated for development).
First photo, High Point sunrise today (thanks, Steve!); second, Lincoln Park at mid-afternoon. Here are a few more photos we wanted to share:Read More
That picture just in from Paul Cozens (thank you!), with this news:
The West Seattle Wildcats defeated the Bellevue High Wolverines in boys’ basketball today 82-76, in overtime. West Seattle will play for the District Championship next Tuesday at Bellevue CC, opponent to be determined.
2:15 AM UPDATE: Here’s what the Times wrote about the win; the Wildcats’ next opponent is now set – Rainier Beach.
The friends/family search website says they’re regrouping to look from Burien southward on Saturday, after canvassing an area including the easternmost edge of West Seattle today. (Remember, he has WS ties, including membership until recently at Mars Hill Church-WS, and coworkers/friends who live here.) Meantime, while regional media updates grow more sparse, the national media has jumped in, with ABC network coverage here and a FOX network story here.
For the second time today, we have good news for fans of fresh fruit and veggies — 
A few WSB’ers asked when Tony’s Produce will reopen for the year – so we just called & spoke to Tony himself, who says tomorrow is opening day, “8 to 8, 8 days a week, as usual.” He adds, “Just wait till you see the stuff I’ve got!” (If you haven’t been there before, it’s at 35th/Barton — map here — under the new red/white/green canvas installed before the holidays.)
That photo, and this narrative, just out of the WSB inbox, from Babs:
I had just walked into my front door and looked toward my deck which is 5 stories up with a city view. Two birds fell off the roof to the deck in right in front of my slider door. I looked closer and it was a hawk with a pigeon in his (or her) talons. I grabbed my camera and moved toward the slider – that scared the hawk and he moved allowing his lunch (the pigeon) to escape. Insanity occurred in the sky (crows and pigeons flying everywhere to get away from the unhappy hawk.)
A few minutes later the hawk returned to my deck and I took this picture (not the best but I had just a second) – So guess I’m in trouble with the hawk hood! My cats are indoor girls! Sorry dude! (My building has a lot of pigeons that hang out up here so I assume it’s an “all you can eat Hawk buffet.”)
Almost missed this one – city news release from yesterday with future recycling changes, including the end of separation requirements for glass and “everything else” (yay), plus an expansion of the kinds of plastic that can be recycled.
WSB EXCLUSIVE: The city Transportation Department invited reporters to a briefing downtown this morning announcing a new program to evaluate and potentially revise parking in several Seattle neighborhoods, including The Junction — and those revisions could even include a return to paid street parking. Other media invitees were no-shows, so your editor here got an exclusive briefing and a chance to ask SDOT all the questions we could think of. Most important thing you need to know: SDOT says the process of assessing the Junction parking situation, coming up with recommendations, and implementing them, will take a full year, and the clock on that doesn’t start ticking till later this year — but you can start having a say NOW. (Other West Seattle neighborhoods will get the same sort of review within the next few years; more on that ahead too.) Read More
This isn’t strictly West Seattle but we know many people who work at Starbucks HQ in Sodo live on the peninsula, and this hasn’t gotten wide media exposure yet – apparently big job cuts announced today. An e-mail tipster says a friend is one of those who got the ax. This is the first official word we’ve seen, more to come, we’re sure. 12:21 PM UPDATE: Just hearing a radio bulletin about this now – 200 job cuts at corporate HQ, more than 300 open jobs that won’t be filled. Yet more details here.
We told you this was in the works, and now it’s official: Following a vote of approval by the West Seattle Junction Association board, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is now clear to go year-round (otherwise, it was set to close for about 2 months after this Sunday). Seattle Neighborhood Farmers’ Market Alliance director Chris Curtis says, “The market currently is about 17 vendors. It will get a little bigger toward the end of March and should be close to 25 vendors in April and over 30 by the first of May.”
We have answers this morning to yesterday’s questions, thanks to Marybeth Turner of SDOT:
Our traffic engineers are counting traffic volumes on 35th SW and Thistle, and at several other locations on 35th SW. This is a follow-up to traffic counts done last year. I understand that results will be available in several weeks.
12:07 PM ADDENDUM: Now we’re told the cameras are NOT part of this, nor part of the red-light cam program. So they remain a mystery.
The clerk told one tv crew the crash sent a soda machine flying right by him. (It’s in one of the photos in the coverage we linked to below.)
We’re off to get pix. For now, here’s online tv coverage; an SUV lost control and slammed into the lobby at the Seattle West Inn and Suites on Alaska west of 35th (aka the former Travelodge). Its driver and passenger went to the hospital; the desk clerk escaped injury.
(update since this original report – it passed)
It’s tanked in the state Legislature a couple times in the past few years, but Admiral resident Liz Wilhelm points out that the bill to allow grocery-store beer/wine tastings is back. In fact, it’s up for a hearing in the State House Committee on Commerce and Labor in Olympia at 8 am today, according to the bill’s official webpage. Liz has a lot to say about it:Read More
Tonight at South Seattle Community College (in West Seattle), the Japanese American Citizens League of Seattle and SSCC presented a program for the Japanese American Day of Remembrance — commemorating the internment order signed February 19, 1942. As the years go by, we have fewer survivors left to tell the story firsthand; one of them, 81-year-old Sam Mitsui, spoke last night about having been interned, and having served as one of the celebrated, decorated WWII Nisei fighters:
Sam is not only a veteran and internment-camp survivor, but also a UW graduate and Boeing retiree. Though he doesn’t live in West Seattle, SSCC tells WSB he had local ties, teaching martial arts at the West Seattle YMCA in the ’60s and ’70s. Also featured at tonight’s event was Suma Kato Yagi; she was a high-school freshman when her family was ordered to leave Seattle. Suma and Sam were among more than 13,000 Seattle-area residents of Japanese descent who were ordered to the internment camps.
| 2 COMMENTS