West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
Coming back from downtown, we were a few cars back at the Fauntleroy/35th stoplight when those sign-wavers outside the strip mall caught our eye – and we managed to fish out the video camera in time to snag that short clip. What you don’t see are the Obama signwavers just offscreen to the left; light turned green, and the steer-with-left-hand, shoot-with-right-hand maneuver doesn’t work so well in the rain. Remember – send us your Election Day pix/clips, all day and night tomorrow – Election Eve stuff welcome tonight too, we’ll post more later. (Election side note – we have mentioned a couple of these here already, but the fabulous Monica @ the P-I’s Big Blog has compiled the “7 Election Day Freebies” list.) ADDED 6:40 PM: Went back to 35th/Fauntleroy so we could get out of the car for a better shot (and audio, given all the hooting and hollering of the Obama signwavers) of the scene. Discovered the biggest Republican sign had been swapped out while we were away – the one with the hammer and sickle wasn’t there when we passed by earlier:
If you’re wondering about the Beren sign – he’s the Republican challenging Seattle’s incumbent Congressman Jim McDermott. More Election Eve coverage to come!
Ordering pizza tonight after a rough Monday? Tomorrow, as part of an Election Night event? You might find some info to savor in The 1st WSB West Seattle Pizza Taste Test, organized by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, with volunteer help. They didn’t hit every pizza place in West Seattle, but a good sampling – read on to learn more about this beloved food and to see which of the ones they tried came out on top(ping)!Read More
We’re at the County Courthouse downtown (again), where the King County Ferry District public hearing drew … zero testimony from West Seattle. Spectators in the gallery, but nobody who wanted to speak. (Not exactly a convenient time, we know.) King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office does report more than 30 e-mails have come in, supporting the Elliott Bay Water Taxi and the Ferry District (which runs the EBWT and the Vashon passenger ferry), and you still have time to send yours, before a vote expected later this month on whether to reauthorize the Ferry District — not a slam-dunk deal — send e-mail to info@kingcountyferries.org.
(photo added Tuesday morning — Wally said he had a mossed-over roof gutter and we asked for a pic!)
The forecast summaries don’t look too apocalyptic but Wally sent a note pointing us to the forecast “discussion” for Thursday-Friday – the possibility of heavy rain and breezy weather resulted in this note from the National Weather Service:
COULD ALSO SEE SOME LOCALLY HEAVY ACCUMULATIONS OVER THE LOWLANDS…FALL LEAVES CLOGGING DRAINS COULD EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM…SO THE SWING SHIFT SENT A SPS HIGH-LIGHTING THE POTENTIAL FOR MOUNTAIN AND LOWLAND LEAF CLOGGED DRAIN FLOODING.
Bottom line, check those drains again in the next day or two – those colorful leaves are beautiful but once they’re down, they can cause big trouble if they wind up blocking your drains, private and public property.
That sign in a Gatewood apartment window says it all. Still need info – where to go, what to do, who’s on the ballot? County Elections’ online HQ here; WSB Elections page here. If you take pix or video of voting/election-related happenings tomorrow, or have something else to say, please send it – all day and all night, we will be chronicling Election Day ’08 in West Seattle, with words and pictures (and results after 8 pm), as it happens.
From Chief Sealth High School, we get word the student newspaper is available online for the first time; see it here! (West Seattle HS‘s latest paper is online too.) Also, the CSHS daily e-mail update brings word that the Sealth girls’ soccer team is in the playoffs, starting with a game at 8 pm tonight at Memorial Stadium. (Added later: Just got WSHS e-mail, its girls soccer team is in the playoffs, #1 seed, playing 7 pm tonight at Southwest Athletic Complex.) Speaking of playoffs, Bil Hood sends word from Seattle Lutheran High School that the Saints football team has “clinched the Sea-Tac B League title, automatically qualifying them for the state tournament.” The Saints beat Sultan 29-6 at West Seattle Stadium on Friday night and finish the regular season with a game this Thursday at Evergreen Lutheran. Bil also reports:”Saints runners Gordy Mueller and Blake Wulf both qualified for the Washington State High School Cross-Country Championships this coming Saturday in Pasco.” Got school news – sports, academics, volunteering, whatever? Send it to WSB to share with your West Seattle neighbors!
Just got word from Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen that 51-year-old Daniel P. Ward, wanted in the October 17th stabbing of a woman at the Stewart Manor complex in High Point, has been arrested. SWP officers took him into custody last night. According to the King County Jail Register, he was booked just before 9:30 pm, and is being held not only for investigation of assault, but also for “failure to appear” on a previous domestic-violence assault charge.
A week and a half ago, we reported from the courthouse as King County Superior Court Judge Suzanne Barnett announced the latest decision in the fight over what, if anything, will be built on the lawn of the landmark Satterlee House (aka the “Painted Lady” of Beach Drive). She ruled against Satterlee House owner William Conner in his appeal of a decision made last April by the city Hearing Examiner (WSB coverage here). That decision in turn had affirmed a vote last year by the city Landmarks Board, denying Conner permission to build three 3,000-square-foot-average homes — not denying permission to build ANYTHING on the lawn, just rejecting this specific proposal as potentially marring the characteristics that led to the property being designated in the early ’80s as a city landmark. After Judge Barnett’s ruling on October 24th, Conner’s lawyer Richard Hill told WSB they would “digest” the ruling before deciding whether to continue the challenge; we checked back with Hill this morning to see if a decision had been made, and he replied, “Yes, Mr. Conner intends to appeal.” Next stop, the state Court of Appeals; we will continue to cover this, every step of the way.
2 major meetings on the WSB Events calendar: 1:30 pm at the King County Council Chambers, it’s the King County Ferry District public hearing we’ve been telling you about – if you can possibly break away to go voice your support for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, it could mean a lot to the service’s future; if you can’t be there, send a WT support note to info@kingcountyferries.org … 7 pm tonight @ Denny Middle School, it’s the next session for the Design Team plotting the Denny site’s future, once the school itself moves to a new building on the Chief Sealth campus (here’s our report on the last meeting).
Here are the results of our weekly Sunday night drive-by survey of posted regular and premium prices at West Seattle gas stations; prices are still sliding, but more slowly than the previous week. The biggest price drop of the week was 36 cents/gallon (3 stations), compared to 44 cents last week. Even more notably, only one non-diesel price, at one West Seattle station, remains above $3.00; everything else is 2-something, as you’ll see in the list ahead:Read More
We have just confirmed information posted earlier tonight in the following comment on our original report about Saturday’s accident near Seacrest, in which a 25-year-old diver turned up missing and was rushed to the hospital (along with the two divers who brought him up and needed to be checked out for effects of rapid ascent):
The missing diver was my brother, his name is Duy Tran. We do not know how long he was under water for before he was found, nor have we been told about what the possible cause of the accident was. He has severe brain damage from the extended period of time he was without oxygen, we were told that it took 30 minutes to get his heart beating again. We just hope that there will be some good news somewhere in the future.
Before republishing this comment here atop the home page in an update, we called Harborview Medical Center to verify whether a patient by that name is there. We just received a call back from the nursing supervisor who confirmed that yes, Duy Tran is there, and listed in serious condition. We also followed up with the sister who left the comment; she added in an e-mail reply, “My brother’s wife called me this afternoon and told me about the post on WSB … my brother did not have ID on him when he was diving, and my family did not find out about what had happened until around 8 pm yesterday … My family has lived in West Seattle for almost 10 years and we have always found it a wonderful place to call home. It is sad that the closeness to Alki that my family loves about West Seattle so much has caused us so much pain.” Seattle Police Harbor Patrol took over the investigation yesterday; there has not been a formal update from SPD since then, but we will be checking tomorrow morning to see if they have determined what went wrong — as we showed you in video added to our original report, SPD divers went down yesterday afternoon to look for clues. MONDAY MIDMORNING UPDATE: No new information re: the police investigation, according to Seattle Police spokesperson Officer Renee Witt. We also checked again with Harborview, where spokesperson Susan Gregg-Hanson tells WSB this morning that Mr. Tran is still listed in serious condition. MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Lila Tran has posted a photo of her brother on her blog, and describes him as “in a coma.”
As we’ve reported previously (Sept. 25, Sept. 26, Oct. 7), West Seattle is about to get a barbecue joint, and tonight we know when it’ll open: Otis Austin from the OK Corral called WSB today to say this Thursday’s the day. (In our 10/7 update, he had said he expected to open in the first half of November, so he’s right on schedule.) If you missed our earlier updates, he already has a successful OK Corral in Greenwood, and he’s taking over the West Seattle restaurant space at 4417 Fauntleroy (map), long-vacant former home of Seattle Teriyaki and Burger, next to recently remodeled/changed-hands Tervo’s Mini-Mart. Otis says he’s planning to be open noon-10 pm, 7 days a week, for starters, while he gets a feel for what the neighborhood wants — and for the first two months, he’ll offer a “five-dollar lunch special.” Asked exactly what you’ll get for your five bucks, Otis says with a friendly chuckle that you’ll just have to go in and see. As he had told us last month, though there will be a table or two, the focus will be on takeout.
(click to see full-size potential route map on Metro website)
Two weeks ago, we told you about proposed Metro Route 50, which would include a leg between Delridge and The Junction. It’s not getting a ton of attention in West Seattle because it’s included in a package of proposals that Metro is spotlighting as Southeast Seattle changes — all related to the launch of light rail next year. Metro’s taking public comments through next Thursday, so we’re reminding you about this one more time in case you want to pipe up. this page has all the details on your commenting options, including e-mail, phone, and postal-mail methods, or this online questionnaire (note that you’ll find Route 50 about halfway in). Metro says it will decide in January whether this (and other) proposals go forward; more comments will be solicited, and then a final county decision is expected by May.
From West Seattle acupuncturist Miranda Taylor (who you may know for her advocacy with the High Point Neighborhood Association), we get word of acupuncturists citywide banding together to offer free services to Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans on November 11th, and planning a permanent clinic to support them. Read on for full details:Read More
Thinking of a furry new addition to your household? Now’s the time, Morgan Junction’s the place. The Morgan Junction Pet Adoption Stroll is under way right now — with adoptable pets at Pet Elements (California/Holly; here’s a map), Stella Ruffington‘s (two doors down from Caffe Ladro; here’s a map), and The Wash Dog (next to Kokoras Greek Grill; here’s a map). When we stopped by a few minutes ago (before the stormy weather returned, but don’t let that stop you), Pet Elements still had a half-dozen-plus available cats and kittens from Purrfect Pals shelter, including the two you see above, and these two:
(Hard to get cats to pose, but you know that if you share your home with one or more!) Again, three venues, one afternoon, cats AND dogs, continuing till 4 pm today, more info here. Furry Faces Foundation organized it and is participating with adoptable pets; the Pet Stroll comes on the heels – or should we say the paws – of F3’s “Catsino” fundraiser, with recreational casino-inspired gaming on Saturday at Beveridge Place Pub — check out a couple of the characters we found there:
Furry Faces Foundation is a local labor of love, with advocacy for rescued animals and spaying/neutering – keep an eye out for their other fundraisers year-round, from plant sales in the spring to wreath sales for winter!
Thanks to Cindi Barker of the Morgan Community Association for forwarding that rendering from the city’s Public Art program. It shows the original concept for a public-art project that’s now being proposed for the sidewalk alongside the new Morgan Junction park, as revealed at the last MoCA meeting (WSB coverage here). This rendering was created when the project by SuttonBeresCuller was on the boards for a Central District location, so its configuration may well change, but the idea’s the same — frames set into the sidewalk with surfaces for people to create temporary art. The city had already funded it for the original location, so installing it at Morgan Junction’s new park won’t cost that project anything more, and MoCA voted to support the idea; this is the first time the rendering’s been available for wider distribution here. SDOT already had agreed to sidewalk improvements by the new park, for which construction might start before year’s end, project manager Virginia Hassinger told MoCA last month.
The pic at left is a hint … kiwis are part of what’s on this week’s fresh list; see the entire list here. Remember, West Seattle Farmers’ Market is year-round now, so today and every Sunday, you’ll see it 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska in The Junction.
Now that it’s 2 am Sunday on time-change day, it’s really 1 am, so it’ll be 2 am again in an hour. Anyway, here we are joining the chorus of fall-back reminders, with the smoke-detector add-on: Change those batteries. Even if you have an ultravigilant smoke detector like ours, which thinks every roast is an inferno, it still needs functioning batteries to save your life. Go change ’em.
ART TO RAISE $ FOR OBAMA CAMPAIGN: When the West Seattle Farmers’ Market opens at 10 am tomorrow, Fairmount resident Nancy Driver will be there to sell what you see above – and is expecting it to go fast. She explains in e-mail, “I and a couple of friends from the clay studio I work in very belatedly decided to make some ceramic items to raise money for the Obama/Biden campaign. We have some very cool and very colorful, original artwork, Obama fridge magnets, coasters and hot plates for sale. The prices will be: fridge magnets – two sizes for $5 and $6.50; 3-7/16″ coasters – $10; 6″ hot plates – $15. All of the money will go to the Obama campaign – we should end up with around $400.” Nancy says she’ll be “hanging out behind Key Bank” but as soon as the items – fewer than 50 left – are gone, she’s gone, so if you’re interested, be there at 10.
LOOKING FOR VOTES, ONE DOORBELL, ONE PHONE AT A TIME: You may have gotten a visit or a call already this weekend – both sides are canvassing West Seattle. The 34th District Republicans fanned out from Westwood Village this morning, and it was a big day of work for volunteers from the 34th District Democrats (advertising their sample ballot via WSB), who will be on the streets again tomorrow after a citywide rally on Beacon Hill with state, local, and national Democratic Party leaders.
ELECTION DAY BAZAAR, BAKE SALE: This may be the last major election with in-person voting in King County, which originally had hoped to go all-mail by now. Toward that end, local groups are going to strike while the iron — or the ballot — is hot, with bake sales and bazaars on Election Day. Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) is having its traditional Fall Bazaar, 8 am-7 pm, selling baked goods and crafts, and offering a “hearty soup lunch” 11:30 am-1:30 pm. And outside Alki Community Center, you will find neighboring Alki Elementary School‘s PTA selling baked goods on Election Day.
BALLOT DROPBOX A SMASH HIT: Saw a TV mention tonight that the ballot drop-off box at Delridge Neighborhood Service Center, one of only two in the city, was overflowing for a while earlier today, but has since been emptied. For in-person voters, the county Elections Department is trying to get the word out that you shouldn’t be worried about long lines on Election Day – according to this update, it’s staffing polling places for the possibility of “100 percent turnout” but notes that two-thirds of all county voters cast ballots by mail (p.s. as of 8 pm Saturday, HALF those ballots have been returned, per twitter.com/kcvotes). If you haven’t made up your mind on everything yet, remember we have links to pro/con/neutral info on all major races and ballot measures on the WSB Election page, which also has continuously updated election headlines from citywide news sources and major state political blogs.
In case you haven’t already heard – the votes have been counted, the contract deal is ratified, and the almost-two-month-long strike’s over. A now ex-striker in WSB-land points us to the official announcement on the union website. Some workers go back to work tomorrow.
There’s a lot going on in The Junction — not just, oh, say, visits from the governor, but also, a thriving business district gearing up for the holidays. In fact, the West Seattle Junction Association just rejoined WSB as a sponsor to launch its “Live Local” campaign (more about that here, and in a WSB shopping-season preview tomorrow). Then, there’s the movement to “Eat Local,” and that’s where today’s story comes in. The photo above shows the ground floor of Harbor Properties‘ Mural, on 42nd SW across from Jefferson Square. That particular space, the northeast quadrant of its first floor, will become the home next year of Fresh Bistro, a new restaurant from the folks behind West Seattle-based caterers Herban Feast. A few months after news of the new restaurant emerged, we met with proprietor BJ Duft at the site recently to get the newest details about what’s in the works — from the food (with a chef from legendary Canlis!) to the hours (good news for night owls) to the innovative plan for takeout:Read More
Reminder that just ’cause Halloween’s over, the fun isn’t. Right now, till 6 pm, Furry Faces Foundation invites you to go play casino-style recreational games at Beveridge Place Pub, which has been transformed into Catsino for the occasion (animal-advocacy fundraising). And Skeleton Theatre (see our clip in this Halloween roundup from last night) has encore performances tonight between 6 and 9 pm. Plus – live theater, anyone? “Black Gold” is at ArtsWest, 7:30 tonight, 3 pm tomorrow – here’s a production photo by Matt Durham, followed by a plot synopsis:
“Black Gold,” which is in its world-premiere run at AW, is described as: “What happens when an African-American man in Detroit buys an oil rig on eBay and discovers oil right under his own backyard? Will the poor get rich or will the rich just get richer? Six actors play over 80 roles in this fast-paced, political satire of class, race and government-gone-berserk.” Many more entertainment opportunities for today/tonight/tomorrow on our West Seattle Weekend Lineup list.
If you weren’t already aware of this – the Senior Center of West Seattle is lots livelier than the senior centers of yesteryear. Take a look at that photo shared by Cindy Gwinn – that’s the sold-out crowd that jammed the SC for Halloween Rainbow Bingo a week ago. Cindy tells us the next bingo session will be in February – we’ll let you know when the date is finalized. Meantime, we’ve mentioned before that the Stop ‘n’ Shop store on the center’s ground floor is closed for remodeling; a grand reopening party is planned for November 15th, and before then, Cindy says: “We are looking for helpers! We need people to help assemble shelving this coming weekend, the 8th and 9th of November. We are also looking for volunteers to work in the store. Anyone that can help or that would like to volunteer, please call 206 915-5595.”
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