West Seattle, Washington
04 Thursday
(12/08 Alki photo by Cathy Woo)
Remember those long weeks of being barely able to get out of the house? Some speculated a baby boom might result … and in fact, two three FOUR *FIVE* people have announced their impending parenthood today this week in the WSB Forums. (Anyone else?)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Instead of a once-planned family vacation on a sunny beach, King County Council Chair Dow Constantine is spending this partly sunny Seattle day — the first official day of his campaign for King County Executive — doing interviews, answering phone calls, e-mails, and text messages. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“This is fun,” he insists, as we part ways after a conversation at West 5 (WSB iPhone photo at left), in a space the native West Seattleite also remembers from spending many a day there in boyhood, when it was West Seattle Speedway, slot cars and all.
As promised, here’s a followup on last night’s announcement of an unplanned closure for the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) pool – it WILL be back in business tomorrow, according to this note from Josh Sutton at the Y:
We have had the WS YMCA pool & hot area closed all day today for broken glass from a light fixture.
Thanks to Kevin Sy (our YMCA Maintenance Director) and a pool vendor with mobile heavy-duty equipment, we are on track to open the pool for our regular hours on Tuesday (5:30am), with all normal schedule & programs.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Tomorrow’s the deadline to sign up for West Seattle Girls Softball, and league president Steve Peer wanted to put out the call one more time. This year, for the first time, you can sign up online – this link will take you there. Steve adds, “We want to let people know that scholarships are available. It’s really simple – if a girl wants to play in our league – she’s going to play regardless of her parents situation. This is a time when we as a West Seattle community pull together – and WSGS is no exception! If a girl doesn’t have the means to pay the registration fees please contact Steve Peer @ speer17@msn.com and we’ll take care of it. The WSGS board is ready to reach out to those in need – especially in these tough times.”
A crash on the eastbound stretch of The Bridge has been slowing traffic heading out of West Seattle – thanks to everyone who has e-mailed us about this. (Refresh for the latest visual from the traffic cam above; more cams on the WSB Traffic page; looks like it’s finally clearing.)
As Washington State Ferries plots its future and ferry communities work to have a say, we have two updates: 
First, from the Kitsap Sun, a report on Saturday’s meeting of the “Citizens Write Plan C” group (a reference to Plans A and B in the WSF Draft Long-Range Plan); one of the main points they discussed, says the Sun, is shifting the two Evergreen State-class ferries that serve the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route, the Klahowya and Tillikum, to Port Townsend and building bigger boats for major runs rather than smaller new boats for PT. Meantime, two events are coming up this Wednesday: A ferry-communities rally in Olympia (details here); and a ferry update during the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s all-neighborhood meeting that night (details here). From FCA’s Gary Dawson, we also have an update on reaction to Governor Gregoire’s proposal to abolish the Ferry Advisory Committees, whose members are unpaid volunteers representing ferry communities, as part of her “government reform” plan. He was part of a discussion about it in a meeting of FAC chairs and ferry system head David Moseley late last week – read on for his comments:Read More
Remember last November 13th? The day people all over Seattle were invited to save a memento of the day and contribute it to a time capsule that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is putting together? Turns out – there’s still time to get your contribution in, according to Andrea Mercado, who called us this weekend 
with the reminder. (Jogged our memory too, since we had failed to print out the 11/13/08 WSB entries we intended to contribute!) So if you set something aside and just forgot to send it in – a photo from that day, art you created, a program or agenda from an event you sponsored or attended, or anything else signifying “how life was lived in Seattle 11/13/08” – e-mail digital contributions (photos etc.) to loghousemuseum@yahoo.com , or, for postal mail, find the SWSHS address here. The time capsule will be going into the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza when additional bricks are installed later this year, and they’d love to have more to put into it – just get it in by the end of this month. (Photo courtesy David Hutchinson)
Gas is what’s going up, while oil keeps going down; this week, all but one station in our West Seattle-wide survey is charging more, though oil is selling for less than a week earlier. General sense seems to be, that’s happening because refineries are producing less since people are using less. Whatever’s up, here are the prices, lowest to highest:Read More
By request, we’re trying out an iPhone version of WSB that should enable you to skim the site faster. So, if you have an iPhone (or iPod Touch) that version will load as the default, but you can switch to “normal” view with a link at the bottom – to go back to the “iPhone version,” you will again see a link at the bottom of the “regular” page. Let us know what you think!
(added 11:05 pm, Dow Constantine’s video announcement of his candidacy)
We reported here last Thursday that County Council Chair Dow Constantine had told the 34th District Democrats the night before, he would make a “quick decision” on whether to run for County Executive, now that Ron Sims is leaving for D.C. After the meeting, he told WSB that “quick” meant “within a week to 10 days.” Apparently even quicker – seattlepi.com has just posted an item saying Constantine will announce tomorrow that he’s running. We have a message out to him seeking confirmation. ADDED 10:41 PM: Here’s the seattletimes.com story. ADDED 10:50 PM: And we’ve just received direct confirmation from the candidate himself, “It’s true.” (15 minutes later, his campaign sent the video link we’ve added above. Quote near the 2-minute clip’s start: “We need to hit the reset button on county government.”)
Early today, we spotted a listing on the King County Jail Register indicating that someone was booked last night for “investigation of homicide.” We checked this morning with Seattle Police to see if by chance it was related to one of the unsolved murders in West Seattle — and Detective Jeff Kappel from the media unit has just called us back with confirmation, so you’re hearing it here first: The 21-year-old man who’s in jail is being held in connection with the Friday night killing of a 71-year-old woman in the Sharon Lynn Apartments at Fauntleroy/Dawson (first reported here Saturday morning as a “suspicious death”). He says the suspect “is a family member, so it’s a domestic-violence homicide” and was arrested yesterday afternoon, about 8 hours before being booked into jail. That’s all the information available right now; the victim has not yet been publicly identified, and investigators have not yet described the manner in which she was killed. ADDED 9:27 PM: Police have now posted this on SPDBlotter (no additional details beyond what we’ve written).
Just in from Josh Sutton of the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor):
We had a glass break over the corner of our pool deck (light fixture), and have closed the pool & Hot Area for a thorough cleaning. At this point, we plan to reopen on Tuesday morning (2/17), as we will take all of Monday to be sure we’ve gotten it safe again. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Look for further updates (here on WSB), our website (www.westseattleymca.org), or call us at 206-935-6000.
I am sorry to say that since it is President’s Day, the Southwest Community Center pool is also closed.
We’ll let you know tomorrow if they’re still on track to reopen Tuesday.
(August 2008 photo by John LaSpina)
We talk a lot about the two waterways bordering West Seattle to the north — Elliott Bay — and the west — the rest of “open” Puget Sound, but not so much about our eastern border, the Duwamish River. Yet all the while, it’s a working waterway, with industry, fishing, and … environmental cleanup, as well as future planning. So what’s ahead? Here’s your invitation, just out of the inbox, to find out in a few days:
You are invited to join the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition for the release of the Duwamish Valley Vision Map & Report!
Thursday, February 19, 4–6 p.m. at the Duwamish Tribe’s Longhouse and Cultural Center, 4705 West Marginal Way South.
The Duwamish Valley Vision Map has been a year in the making and is the result of community workshops, surveys and interviews in four languages with over 500 residents, workers, business owners, industry leaders, youth, elders, fishermen, housing and homeless advocates. The map and report describe the future vision of the Duwamish Valley’s environment, community amenities, transportation, and economic development.
Please join us for our Vision Release Open House ~
~ View the vision maps
~ Pick up a CD copy of the report
~ Enjoy light snacks with the project partners, and
~ Stay for the Duwamish Tribe’s screening of 2 films by Sandy and Yasu Osawa at 7 p.m.r.s.v.p. to contact@duwamishcleanup.org
From saveseattleschools.blogspot.com, authored by volunteer writers who thoroughly cover Seattle Public Schools issues:
A presentation made to the School Board last week on school transportation included proposed changes to “bell times” for schools around the district. Middle and high schools would all start at 8 am, which means, in West Seattle, Madison and Denny Middle Schools, Pathfinder K-8, and West Seattle and Chief Sealth High Schools. Right now, per district webpages (linked to the schools’ names above), Sealth, Denny, and Madison start at 7:40 (added, see comment re: Madison/7:45), WSHS at 8:10, and it would be a dramatic change for Pathfinder K-8, which now starts at 9:10. Also per the presentation (see it here), elementary-only schools would start at 9:15, which is a bit later than most start now (particularly Roxhill, which has an 8:50 bell time). If this wins final approval, it would take effect this fall for 2009-2010, and then potentially be reviewed again before 2010-2011.
Just to be sure you’ve taken this all into account for Monday:
REDUCED METRO TRANSIT SERVICE: Same level of service most recently used on King Day; here’s the list of which routes aren’t operating Monday.
MOST GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND FACILITIES CLOSED: That includes libraries and community centers.
SCHOOLS CLOSED: And for Seattle Public Schools, students are off all week, for “mid-winter break.”
NO REGULAR MAIL DELIVERY: It’s a “postal holiday” for USPS.
FREE STREET PARKING IN SEATTLE: SDOT reiterates that here.
TRASH, RECYCLING, YARD WASTE NORMAL: Here’s the city news release.
STATE FERRIES ON A NORMAL SCHEDULE: Confirms WSF.
All from the Sunday section of the WSB West Seattle Weekend Lineup:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, as always. The fresh sheet wasn’t published this week – but you’re bound to find a tasty surprise.
HEALTHY HEART DAY: There’s one more thing you can do in The Junction today to be kind to your heart (besides buying fresh produce at the Farmers’ Market) — Pharmaca (WSB sponsor) is celebrating Healthy Heart Day, 11 am-3 pm, with free cholesterol screenings, raffles, and more (details here; also, take along this WSB coupon to get $10 off a $50 purchase).
MORE DOG DONATIONS: The folks at Muttley Crew Cuts have some more bake-sale goodies today, raising money to help the North Sound puppy-mill rescue effort. (The Saturday sale raised more than $1,000, according to Muttley Crew co-owner Kelly; Bernadette from The Wash Dog also was raising money on Saturday, half the proceeds from self-serve dog washes, more than $700!)
WSB FORUM POTLUCK AND DONATION DRIVE: Furry Faces Foundation, which also is helping the puppy-mill rescue effort, is one of two nonprofits for which WSB Forum members are inviting donations during a potluck get-together today (the other is Seattle Education Access). Everybody’s welcome! 1-5 pm at Big Al Brewing in White Center; read more here.
MUSIC FESTIVAL TO HELP KIDS: This afternoon, 2:30 pm at Grace Church, it’s the concert and fundraiser (for Baphumelele, a South African children’s home) organized by Seattle Lutheran student Lauren Vanderpool as her senior project. Full details and a map await you here.
In Gatewood, neighbors and friends spent part of Valentine’s Day working to give nature a helping hand in one of West Seattle’s semi-hidden greenbelt treasures, Orchard Street Ravine (map). Among them, Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker, who shared these photos and a quick report:
We had a very successful day planting in the Orchard Street Ravine. Nearly 20 people turned out and worked their tails off for 4 hours to get 350-plus plants into the ground. Half of the plants were donated by the Green Seattle Partnership, the others were purchased with the last of the ProParks Levy funding allocated for the ravine and trail project. Many of the plants that went in today were bareroot native trees, to complement the understory plants put in before Christmas. Today’s weather was much more enjoyable than during that frigid planting party! The remaining blackberry thickets seen in the boundary areas will remain for a year or so to provide ground cover for the wildlife, until the new plants are established and spread out. We’ve had madrona trees grow over 3 feet in one year, so this is a rich environment for native species. Remember that future work parties will be on the second Saturday of the month, from 9:00 to 1:00.
As noted in this report earlier today, Valentine’s Day is a big day for florists – but one West Seattle florist is looking ahead to something even bigger, now that the holiday is over. When we spotted that big banner (shown above) outside Bobo Botanicals at 3435 California SW, we wondered whether the shop was going out of business, so we put a call in to owner Anka Bobo. Her emphatic answer: NO – “we’re not going out of business, we’re staying in business.” She does acknowledge, “The economy’s hit us really hard,” but she’s doing what she can “to keep everything going” — including moving to a studio on Charlestown Hill where she will continue her floral business “by appointment only.” Her original lease hasn’t expired yet but she is helping the owner get the word out about the search for a new tenant. And as she gets ready to move at the end of the month, she’s got sales going to reduce her inventory. She’s focused on staying in West Seattle — she grew up here, went to West Seattle High School, then moved away but came back to raise her kids. (If you want to check out her moving sale before the month ends, here’s a map.)
We told you this morning about what police called a suspicious death in a building at Fauntleroy and Dawson. Police now say the victim was a 71 year-old woman and her death is classified as a homicide. More information at SPDBlotter. Google Street View of the building (you can click inside the image to move around and get an idea of where this is, if you’re not familiar with the area):
ADDED 6:55 PM ALONG WITH THAT IMAGE: For context – this is the second homicide case of the year in West Seattle (first one, the still-unsolved Steve Bushaw shooting on 2/1); there was only one for all of last year, a woman in Highland Park killed last spring by her husband, who then killed himself. In 2007, there were three (all men killed by someone they knew – the third case, the 59th/Admiral shooting in October ’07, was ruled self-defense, after a trial WSB covered extensively; the other two ended with plea bargains – here and here). Also, one very good point made in an unrelated crime thread in the WSB Forums: Everyone concerned about crime in our area is not only welcome, but encouraged, to attend the next West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting – it’s coming up this Tuesday, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct meeting room, and since there are almost always several reps from the precinct there, you will get the latest on the homicides, and other local crimes, firsthand, as well as a chance to ask any questions you have (the special guest is the SPD 911 team leader, to help debunk myths about when to call 911 and when not to).
That’s Khayelitshe, South Africa, home to the Baphumelele Children’s Home, which helps kids whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS. 
Tomorrow afternoon, you’re invited to a Children’s Music Festival — the senior project of Seattle Lutheran High School senior Lauren Vanderpool (left) — to benefit the children getting assistance from Baphumelele Home. It’s at 2:30 pm Sunday, Grace Church (10323 28th SW; here’s a map), and a free-will offering will be taken at the door. Lauren writes, “Children and teens from Seattle Lutheran and around Seattle are sharing their musical talents in a variety of ways.
… There are over 14,000 orphaned children in the small village of Khayelitshe. Baphumelele is a haven for these children whose lives are affected by AIDS. Right now the women of Baphumelele are in the process of building several more ‘Cluster Homes’ so the children have a warm place to sleep, and a health clinic (they have a doctor and two nurses who visit twice a week). Baphumelele is run by local women from the Khayelitshe village. The children of South Africa need our help and support.” You can find out more at www.baphumelele.org.za — and by going to the Children’s Music Festival tomorrow afternoon at Grace Church.
It’s been some months since our logs showed people landing on WSB by searching Google for “Nicholas Francisco,” the Seattle man who vanished one year ago. (His disappearance was a West Seattle story for a while because he and his wife had attended church here, and friends here put up posters all over the area.) But today’s logs suddenly show a few of those searches, and an e-mailed link explains why: On the anniversary of his disappearance, his wife gave her first TV interview in many months (see it here), claiming she found evidence of a “secret life” – but also saying, she just wants to know, is he still alive? As for law enforcement – the missing-person case is still open.
A major crash (check the cam here) has WSDOT warning that all southbound lanes are blocked:
A police investigation continues to block all lanes of southbound I-5 at Pine Street in Seattle. Traffic is currently getting by on the right shoulder. All exits on the express lanes are open to all traffic. Washington State Patrol, fire, aid and Seattle Police are on scene.
Just in case you’re heading that way or you happen to be on the other side of this and about to head THIS way, we thought we’d better share. (Added: Thanks to Scott B for sharing this link; KIRO says it started with a pursuit following an Eastside carjacking; there’s a closer photo on the KOMO site.) 1:36 PM NOTE: WSDOT sent an update – 2 SB lanes now getting by on the right shoulder.
Yes, Valentine’s Day procrastinators, you can still get flowers. One option: Follow the trail of rose petals (who needs bread crumbs?) to Linda’s Flowers and Gifts at Admiral/California (map); we stopped by last Valentine’s Day to chronicle the craziness of this very busy day, and they invited us back. The shop’s namesake and owner Linda Harader was busy with what she says remains the Valentine favorite – red roses:
As you can see in the background of that photo, balloons are bouncing around the shop too. At the work table, here are Debra (left) and Virginia:
And in the other direction, with the boss in the foreground, Melody (in pink) and Wendy:
They’re there till 5:30 tonight or “until we’re done.” When we stopped in about an hour ago, they were finishing their pickup orders, but they say they’ve got plenty left for walk-ins. (There’s a flower shop on the south side of West Seattle too, Sharon’s Westwood Florist on 35th south of Kenyon.)
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