West Seattle, Washington
16 Tuesday
ORIGINAL 7:23 PM REPORT: If you’re on the east side of West Seattle and have heard a lot of sirens – there’s a big “ship fire, 50′, on shore/pier” call on Harbor Island, 1700 block of 13th SW (map). Apparently at or near Todd Shipyard. Whatever’s on fire, it was attached to a barge, according to scanner traffic. More as we get it. 7:48 PM UPDATE: We’re along Harbor Ave to see if we can get a vantage point. Can still see smoke rising from the Todd vicinity, but it’s on the other side of the docks that are visible from here. Monitoring the scanner as well, and it’s clear that many firefighters are being used in what is still an intense firefight. No official word that we’ve gotten yet on exactly what (or what kind of) boat caught fire. 8:01 PM UPDATE: The fire’s just been reported under control; also from the scanner, one person who was on the boat is undergoing medical evaluation. Can’t see smoke any more from this side of the water (we’re now looking from Seacrest). 8:14 PM UPDATE: Just got the first official update from Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen: The fire is aboard a 120-foot tugboat, and one person does have a “minor injury.” This is officially a “two-alarm fire”; no word yet on how it started. 9:25 PM UPDATE: Vander Houwen says the fire is now out. She says the tug is the Corbin Foss. She says 75 firefighters have been working at the scene, as well as the fire investigators who are waiting to be able to get onto the tug to figure out how the fire started. Here’s a link to a photo of the Corbin Foss in 2003, towing the USS Midway.
More suggestions needed! And not just pizza. Who’s your fave? Have a say, and see who’s been mentioned so far, by going to this WSB Forums post.
SEATTLE STYLE SALON: After a move from North Delridge up to 7350 35th SW (map), Seattle Style Salon has just opened in the former Carosello Coffee (among other names; it closed a year and a half ago) space in Olympic Heights. Owner Denise showed off her salon’s unique furnishings (photo left) when we dropped by the other day, and also noted that she’s hiring more staff (here’s her CL listing).
COFFEE AT THE HEIGHTS UPDATE: Across the street from Seattle Style Salon, work on this new coffee shop continues, slower than its owners originally hoped (as unfortunately seems to be the case for so many hard-working entrepreneurs). Co-owner Paul tells us the flooring’s going in this weekend, and the counters will follow, so they’re getting closer.
WESTSIDE DERMATOLOGY RE-WELCOMES AMY NELSON: This week, Westside Dermatology rejoined us as a sponsor, and wanted to share the news that certified physician assistant Amy Nelson (photo right) is coming back on Monday, after a few months of maternity leave following the arrival of her twins, Dylan (6 lbs, 13 ounces) and Sasha (6 pounds even), who join 2-year-old big brother Elijah.
CHURCH’S NEW WEBSITE: Pastor Erik Kindem from Peace Lutheran in Gatewood shares the news that his church’s previous website has been upgraded to this brand-new look.
(WSB photo from “Car-Free Day” on Alki last year, 9/7/08)
63rd SW will once again be the starting point for a car-free day on Alki Ave SW. That’s one of the new details we’re learned today, one month after our first report that Sunday, May 31st is the date this year that the city will close much of West Seattle’s main waterfront thoroughfare street to (most) cars. Mayoral spokesperson Alex Fryer also confirms that 9 am-6 pm is the scheduled shutdown time for Alki that day, from 63rd to California Way SW, and that timeframe includes the West Seattle High School PTSA 5K (scroll down this page). The event series includes five other dates in five other neighborhoods, but it’s not being called Car-Free Days this year; it’s “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets,” and the official webpage with the full list of locations/dates can now be seen here.
We’re moving this up for wider attention after Molly K posted it as a comment on this mail-theft story from Monday:
We had a care package from my mom stolen from our front porch (28th & Myrtle in Sunrise Heights [map]) on Friday, February 20. We knew it had been stolen because a neighbor in Sylvan Heights found a letter and check from my Grandma in their trash and sent it back to her . My husband and I walked the trail between our house and Sylvan Heights and found traces of our package – a couple pacifiers, a book, a card and check addressed to my son from Grandma, and the empty box with my mom’s return address. The jerks ripped it open and threw the stuff they didn’t want into the blackberry bushes. Apparently they kept the baby clothes, the quilt my mother made, and the needlepoint Christmas stocking my 90-year-old grandmother made for my son because we have yet to find those. We also found the remains of another person’s package and took that stuff back to her.
If anyone was along that trail last Friday (the one that starts at 28th and ends at Sylvan Way) and found any baby stuff, or if you live in Sylvan Heights and had inexplicable baby items in your trash Friday afternoon, please let us know.
Thanks to the anonymous postal-mailer who suggested it was long past time for a followup on the Huling/Gee lawsuit. If you’re new to the area or your memory’s murky, long story short: 
The deal to sell West Seattle’s longtime Huling Brothers car dealerships to Spokane-based Gee Automotive was announced in January 2007 — shortly afterward, a criminal case erupted involving former Huling employees. Gee closed the dealerships less than nine months later and sued Huling, originally seeking $7 million, saying they knew and should have disclosed what was happening. Huling countersued, to evict Gee, but a deal was reached relatively quickly, and Gee cleared out as agreed at the end of November 2007. The suit against Huling proceeded, however, and WAS tentatively set for trial next month — but, as of right now, it is no longer scheduled for further court proceedings, because of a decision earlier this month to send it to private arbitration (see the court document here) to address the Gee claims and Huling “counterclaim.” Arbitration is what Huling had originally wanted, but the courts previously said no go (as reported here in November 2007) because of a certain part of the claim, seeking “equitable relief”; that part was dismissed on “summary judgment” this past November, which cleared the way for arbitration. We called Huling lawyer Randall Beighle to ask for details of when arbitration might happen and how it would be done; he said he couldn’t elaborate, but said they considered the summary judgment a “victory.”
This reminder just in from Metro Transit – changes are about to kick in on Metro and Sound Transit routes related to two projects, the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening work, and the 1st Avenue So. repairs/rebuilding. Read on for the full news release (and, added after it @ 12:35 pm, an East Marginal Way advisory from the city):Read More
Thanks to the multiple tipsters who e-mailed (editor@westseattleblog.com) about this: All that noise in the 5000 block of California SW is from a labor protest south of The Junction; Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters members say they have a beef with a scaffolding company, which they say they’ve been targeting at worksites all around the region. We’ll be checking for more information on the background, but meantime, if you heard or saw this and wondered what it’s all about, that’s the scoop. Thanks to Karen for the photo you see above; we’re there now to check on the situation and will have video shortly. 11:31 AM UPDATE: Swapped video for the original photo (you can hear how loud the protest is; Seattle Police also have been keeping watch). We also have a message out to Berg Scaffolding, seeking comment on the union’s claims.
A week ago, we told you about the new campaign to enlist community support in pledging volunteer time to help Junction Plaza Park qualify for a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant. An update now from West Seattle Junction Association‘s Susan Melrose:
As you may know, the effort to build Junction Plaza Park have been underway for several years. But this is the year we make it happen! We are in a good position to complete fundraising for the park this year. A brief update – we ‘value engineered’ the cost down to $350k, have already raised $55k mostly thanks to the Seattle Parks Foundation, and have a solid plan for securing large donors and grants. We are currently asking for $100k from the Neighborhood Matching Funds Grant.
Now community volunteer hours are needed to build support for the park and help win our grant from the Neighborhood Matching Funds. Friends of Junction Plaza Park is hosting its first meeting on Tuesday, March 3 from 6:30-7:30 pm in the Nelson Room at the Senior Center.
If you’d like to help build community support, please see the attached information and volunteer opportunities. And most importantly… Take the pledge by April 6th! It’s easy for individuals to pledge a handful of hours and the results are satisfying. Businesses and organizations can take the pledge too.
The pledge form is on the second page of this JP Park fact sheet. You can e-mail it to junctionplazapark@yahoo.com.
This time around, the West Seattle Weekend Lineup includes several notable events outside West Seattle boundaries that we thought you’d like to know about anyway — including “Remember This” tonight at Seattle Center, the first-ever Rat City Rummage and a beer/ice-cream tasting event in White Center and a wine festival in Des Moines – but we have lots of West Seattle happenings too, including a family “game show” night and the Highland Park Elementary all-ages school dance tonight, the Sanislo Elementary used-book sale tomorrow, your first chance to get directly involved in the city’s review of whether The Junction needs pay stations or other on-street parking changes. In all, more than 40 events are listed ahead in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More
Metro issued a news release this morning saying they’ve been patrolling roads throughout the county all night checking for ice/snow and haven’t found any, so buses should all be running on schedule.
By Tilden School’s 5th-grade class
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Last fall, Tilden‘s fourth and fifth grade students read books for a Scholastic Books contest in which Scholastic would donate 100 books to a community in need for each class that read 100 books. Both classes did, so Scholastic donated 100 books each to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona, and Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, NM!
This made us eligible to enter another Scholastic contest, the Care Where You Are Sweepstakes, to win 500 books that we could donate to a local organization. Our 5th grade class is one of 200 winners out of 16,000 entries.
After researching local nonprofit organizations, we found out about the foster kids at Treehouse (treehouse4kids.org), and decided this was the right place for the 500 books. Our class thought Treehouse could use some of the books for tutoring foster children, and put some of the books in its Wearhouse for the foster kids to choose and take home.
It makes us feel really good to be able to help foster children, and donate books that they could read and use to learn. The books we’re donating include 100 preschool and Kindergarten books, 100 Kindergarten and 1st grade books, 100 2nd and 3rd grade books, 100 4th through 6th grade books, and 100 books for grades 7 and up. We hope that Treehouse foster kids enjoy using these books!
If you don’t frequent the city Parks Department‘s page for “requests for proposals” – you might have missed word that the city has finally published the official “request for proposals” to get a private operator for West Seattle Stadium. It’s one of two RFPs of West Seattle interest — the other seeks vendors to sell firewood at Alki (and Golden Gardens). More on that in a moment. First, the stadium proposal has been in the works a while (first covered here last fall), and still seeks an operator that will pay for improvements as well as run the stadium; the desired improvements are described in the RFP this way:
At minimum, the City has identified the North Grand Stand area, including the restrooms, locker room, walkways, and concession building as a focus for major renovation.
That appears to be a shorter wish list than the draft version of the RFP (9/08 WSB report here). Proposals have to be turned in by March 26; a decision is to be made, with applicants notified, by April 23. Now, about that firewood – the RFP for the vendor search is the last surviving remnant of last summer’s brief beach-fire-ban flap:
Interesting tidbit buried in this RFP – year 1, the vendor-sold firewood would be just an option for beach-fire fans, but if there’s a year 2, they would no longer be allowed to have the option to bring their own:
The Department is seeking proposals from operators to sell wood to the general public for beach fires at specific beach locations in these two parks, from May 1 2009 through April 2010. The Summer months which includes May through September and selected special events, such as the Christmas Ship event, would be the required and most-beneficial times to sell. (NOTE: Park Patrons are not required to purchase wood from this concession and are allowed to bring in their own wood during this first year. If the Department decides to extend or advertise again the following year, we will require that all Park Patrons must purchase the wood from the permitted vendor.)
The Department will select the concessionaire(s) that best demonstrates the ability to provide
innovative, affordable, safe and reliable services to park patrons while paying reasonable concession
fees to the Department. The price of the wood must be no higher than the average price of wood
sold in the Seattle metro area stores (ie Safeway, Albertsons, etc.) You are encouraged to offer
services and/or products that would be complimentary to the existing uses of the park. The
Department reserves the right to approve any proposed business activity.
If you want to seek that contract, March 11 is the deadline for your proposal. Forms and details for both RFPs are linked from this city page.
At Madison Middle School in West Seattle, the stage is literally set tonight for a show tomorrow morning that will rock the cafeteria/auditorium space and the hundreds of students who will fill it. That’s where we caught up this afternoon with Dr. Bernard Harris (bio), a former astronaut who made history during one of his two space flights as the first African-American to walk in space. (What you see on stage to the right in the photo is one of two shuttle seats that also have been in space, and now are used as props during his presentation.) Madison is the first stop on this year’s DREAM Tour, meant to get students jazzed about math and science, and in no small part their practical applications – even to the level of discussing how those lines of work can become lucrative.
Based in Houston, Dr. Harris himself is an internist as well as a former astronaut, and now runs a venture-capital firm, Vesalius Ventures (named after legendary anatomist Andreas Vesalius) focused on telemedicine, as well as the Harris Foundation, to focus on the cause of advancing math-science education. Tomorrow morning’s presentation will include not just a speech by Dr. Harris but videos, with young scientists telling their stories, and even an audio/video surround-sound experience of a shuttle launch. He hopes the kids will leave “fired up” – and when they take their enthusiasm home, or to their friends’ houses, here’s what he hopes will happen:
But first, he says, it’s a matter of making it relevant: “I always ask them, do you enjoy cell phones, rap music, video games? They all exist because scientists or engineers developed the technology. We try to bring it down to earth, relate it to real life.” And the message: “If you want to have a career where you can take care of yourself and your family — math and science can be the key.” Expanding that realization is an urgent job, he adds, given how far behind our country is in producing new workers to join fields (medicine, engineering, and more) where those skills are vital.
He is doing everything he can to help make that happen, involved in an effort that provides scholarships, as well as in other core efforts from his Harris Foundation, such as Summer Science Camps. He revealed in our chat this afternoon that they’ll be announcing next Monday that they’re expanding to 30 locations nationwide this year. (The closest one is at Oregon State University.) But first, he was speaking at an education-themed event in downtown Seattle tonight; after he appears at Madison tomorrow, it’s on to Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis later this year – and students interested in staying involved with the project, he says, will find new features on its website soon.
Yes, that’s a hot-dog stand outside Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction. Something new they’re trying for the next month, said April, when we called to check on what we thought we saw. Heading back down now for a photo. PHOTO AND INFO ADDED 5:35 PM: The cart’s from Hot Dog Joes, which has carts in other spots around the city. That’s Drew staffing the one outside Beveridge Place Pub tonight. He says they’re planning to be there Thursdays through Saturdays, setting up around mid-afternoon (3ish) and staying till late night (maybe as late as 11). Their suppliers include Bavarian Meat and Hebrew National; chicken and veggie dogs too. Prices start at $5.
Just got an update from Dan Donohoe at the office of King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg: He says Satterberg has a family emergency and has to cancel his planned appearance at tonight’s South Delridge/White Center Community Safety Coalition meeting, but will reschedule. (However, the law/justice reps who are usually on hand at the meeting do include a prosecutor’s-office rep.) Everything else planned for the meeting, including updates on local crime trends and nuisance spots, is on as usual, 6 pm, St. James Place, 9421 18th SW.
As mentioned earlier, we followed up further with King County Council Chair Dow Constantine‘s office to get beyond the statement issued earlier, which acknowledged bus problems and urged better performance/communication next time. There hasn’t been a statement on that directly from Metro yet, so our simple question – so what WAS the problem – has a simple answer, according to the Constantine team, which checked directly with Metro after receiving numerous complaints about late/no-show buses: It was a “judgment call.” Metro management told them that serious snow was NOT predicted in the info they had late last night, when they had to make the call about whether to spend the money to bring in the extra/overtime staff to chain buses and handle extra communications duties. (There was one short, heavy blast of snow/hail around quarter till midnight – as we showed you here – then it cleared out for several hours before the serious snow began in the 4/5 am vicinity.) So they weren’t ready for what happened with the weather.
Of interest since a West Seattle site is still in the running as the possible location of a municipal-misdemeanor jail for “north/east King County cities” including Seattle: A coalition of South King County cities has just announced it’s chosen a site in Des Moines, according to this P-I story just published, on port-owned property (map). As for the latest on the Seattle (etc.) site search, Becca Fong provided an update at this week’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting, noting the environment-impact “scoping” process has just finished, adding that HPAC brought up “as many environmental concerns as we could find, to broaden the ‘scope,’ hopefully making our Highland Park Way site a little less appealing.” Now, she said, the process is in a “holding pattern,” with the official environmental-impact statement due in about six months, triggering another process of public comment and review before the site is chosen next year.
Still awaiting answers on why information lagged this morning. However, this is what Metro says about the state of its system as of now, looking toward the pm commute – text of the official news release:
locations in West Seattle recently consolidated operations at Jefferson Square, vacating the California SW branch. This morning, another big change is being announced at that firm: previous owner Mike Gain (12/07 WSB photo at left), long a major name in West Seattle real estate sharing the helm of Cayce and Gain, is taking over. We received word of this from two sources last night, and Gain answered our query this morning by saying he’ll send a news release with full details as soon as it’s available, so we’ll get more info a bit later. ADDED 11:52 AM: Here’s the news release in its entirety:
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