Reader Recommendation Request: On the fence
From David:
I am about to drop a considerable amount of money on a new fence and have been unimpressed by the big names that have come by so far to provide quotes. Some have
even taken 2 months to just get us an estimate ~! Can you please inquire with the community on recommendations for fence contractors/companies in the area that perform fast, reliable work?
As always, please respond by adding a comment; all WSB Reader Recommendation Requests are archived here.
Gifts that keep on giving
West Seattle holiday gifts ‘n’ stuff with an extra punch – plus a request for ideas from you:
POINSETTIAS TO HELP STUDENTS: Today’s the deadline to get orders in for the Chief Sealth High School Band fundraising poinsettia sale; full details in our original post – we just checked and they DO have some left!
BOOKS FOR WESTSIDE BABY: This Saturday, during Hometown Holidays weekend, Square 1 Books in Jefferson Square is having a unique sale — as described on the Square One blog, “Purchase any children’s book from us Dec. 1-2 for 15 percent off and we will donate the book to WestSide Baby. The books will be distributed to families in need in December.”
CALENDARS FOR CANINES: Wendy Hughes-Jelen, from the High Point K-9 Club and other endeavors, has created the 2008 IGGY Ambassadors Calendar, which she describes further: “Entitled ‘Personal images of the dogs we love, photographed by members of IGGY Ambassadors — Emerald City (Italian Greyhounds of the Northwest)’, it is a large and elegant calendar, something to be treasured by ALL dog lovers.” 16% of the price of each calendar (what’s left after printing costs & the lulu.com publisher’s fee) goes to “help pay for vet bills and other costs associated with the very active Northwest Italian greyhound rescue community.” You can preview the calendar here; you can order it here.
NOW, A QUESTION FOR YOU: This came in as a WSB Reader Recommendation Request but relates to the topic of “gifts that keep on giving” — Adam e-mailed, “In lieu of giving presents, my wife and I have donated money which we might normally spend on presents to some of the many worthwhile charities. We are searching for recommendations for legitimate local charities for Iraq veterans and their families. Any reader suggestions?”
Reader report: Train derailment
From Garrett:
Train slightly derailed, zig zag fashion, right under the intersection of 99 and spokane st viaduct. Don’t know if this will affect any West Seattle Bridge traffic!
8:45 UPDATE: John from WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits forwarded a city traffic alert e-mail that says: “All lanes on S Spokane St are blocked by a derailed train at E Marginal Way S. Seattle Police are providing traffic control.”
2 important events in West Seattle today & tonight
SENATOR HERE THIS MORNING: U.S. Senator Patty Murray and a long list of business and education leaders will be in West Seattle this morning, in Olympic Hall at South Seattle Community College, for a field hearing of Murray’s Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.
FIRST STOP IN THE CITY PARKS HEARING TOUR TONIGHT: As we reported earlier this month, the city Parks Department is touring the city in a series of 30-plus public hearings on what should be in its forthcoming Strategic Business Plan. Tonight is the first of five hearings in West Seattle (7-9 pm, Southwest Community Center). Lots more info here; the full list of meetings is here; if you are absolutely certain you cannot make it to any of those meetings, the Parks Department has a “short online survey” you can take here. With so much parkland here on our beautiful peninsula — and remember, we’re the biggest neighborhood in the city! — it’s vital to have West Seattle opinions, hopes, and dreams represented in the forthcoming Parks plan.
West Seattle Christmas lights, 11/27/07
On a hedge west of The Junction, along Erskine west of Hudson (map here; we will have an all-inclusive map shortly showing all the lights we’re featuring). And for those who are on Menashe Watch along Beach Drive — drove by again tonight, they’re not quite there yet, but the first night that house is lit in all its glory, you’ll hear about it here. Meantime, if you have bright lights or have seen some somewhere, please e-mail us about ’em so we can add them to our West Seattle Christmas lights patrol; if you’re looking for holiday events, with or without lights, the list just keeps getting longer on our everything-West-Seattle Events page.
West Seattle scene: The birdman of Alki
From WSB contributing photographer Matt Durham: Tuesday morning, “Dan” walks and feeds the pigeons on Alki Beach. Dan can often be seen walking Alki Beach with two or three pigeons perched on his shoulders or tucked under his arms.
(Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Reader report: Trouble at Delridge/Sylvan
From the inbox (thanks to “AA”):
Looks like either a glass truck lost its load, or someone t-boned it. There is glass ALL over the intersection and the police have a big blockade around it and a traffic arrow. The backup was almost a half-mile down Delridge when driving North to South. There is no backup driving South to North. Sylvan is blocked west of Delridge. The glass truck is parked in the Arco parking lot and there are people milling about. Worth letting people know if they can take an alternate route to the South Delridge area, it’s probably a good idea.
Moonrise in The Junction
WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli spotted the last piece of the Shadowland sign now in place — the moon. As for when they’re opening – still waiting to hear.
West Seattle crime watch: Previous peeper sighting
After yesterday’s report about one “peeper” reported in two West Seattle neighborhoods last Saturday night, this e-mail came in from WSB reader “L”:
I am a resident from the Andover/46th block. After reading and hearing about the peeper from this past weekend I was reminded of my own experience this past August 14th. I was awakened in the early morning hours, 1:30 – 2:30, by a strange noise and when I went to investigate saw a man standing at my sliding glass door. I called 911 and the police arrived and searched our yard but found no traces of the man. I was alarmed last night to find that these peeper reports are in close proximity to our address. Hopefully the police are taking notice and patrolling our neighborhood a bit more often than normal.
We are working on obtaining more information about last weekend’s incidents and will of course report whatever we find out.
Reader Recommendation Request: Company for a mini-move?
Future West Seattleite Tanaya e-mailed this Reader Recommendation Request:
We will be moving from a small one bedroom apartment in Capitol Hill to a small one bedroom apartment near Alki, mid-December. Does anyone know of a reliable moving company that will handle a small move? Thanks!
Please post recommendations as comments; check out other WSB RRRs and their respective responses in their own archives here.
Theft alert: When something left at curbside is not a freebie
Over the weekend, this reader report sparked a discussion about curbside freebies. Today, we got e-mail from JG, wanting to share an alert about a curbside-donation thief:
Please tell people not to put out their pickup for Northwest Center until 7:30 am or a little before. I had mine out the night before and was woke up with headlights coming in my bedroom and saw a white car, late 90’s or early 2000’s model with a sunroof, stealing my donation. The passenger that took my donation was a girl with brown hair to her shoulders or a little longer. I should have gotten up right away but I hesitated for a couple minutes, then got in my car to see if I could find the car and get the license plate number. I know probably a stupid thing to do but I didn’t find them. This was around 1:30 last night.
We asked JG a couple followup questions — what was in her donation? (clothes & shoes) was it clearly marked as a donation so this wasn’t a case of someone mistaking it for a freebie? (yes, it had the Northwest Center tag on it). So … consider yourself alerted.
Fauntleroy Creek salmon update – and video
The Fauntleroy Community Association website has posted a short video clip from the recent Fauntleroy Creek coho return – follow the link from the fauntleroy.net home page. And there’s new information beyond what’s posted with that video — we visited the fish-ladder overlook (across the street and up the bluffside staircase from the ferry dock) over the weekend and saw a note headlined “IT’S A WRAP,” indicating creek-watchers believe this year’s return is over — but they did count more than 90 fish during the week-long return, compared to none last year and 46 in ’05. Next step, according to that note – watching for fry in February.
From land-use land, post-holiday edition
TOWNHOUSE GLUT? WHAT TOWNHOUSE GLUT? Not long after reading this article (which we also mentioned over the weekend), we found permit applications for another teardown-to-townhome project in north West Seattle, on 44th just south of Atlantic (map): it spans two addresses, 1506 44th and 1508 44th, and is next to what appears to be a similarly sized project for which permit applications were filed a few weeks earlier, 1510 44th and 1512 44th.
LAST CALL FOR DESIGN REVIEW ON 2 PROJECTS: The official notice on these came out last week but might have gotten lost in the pre-holiday rush: The Southwest Design Review Board meets December 20th — at Denny Middle School instead of the usual SW Precinct — for the “recommendation” phase on the townhouse/”live-work” proposal at 6053 California (where the martial-arts tenant just had its moving sale weekend before last) and 7901 35th, known for spiritual pursuits from the Seventh-Day Adventists to Temenos to Mars Hill bus parking, now proposed for auto repair (including a new 2-story building).
The King County Elections Department has just certified final results from this month’s election; 
Reminder that this Thursday night (6:30 pm, West Seattle High School library) is the first major public meeting about
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