West Seattle, Washington

20 Saturday

64℉

Spotlight Stories


  • Parade

    WS PARADE TODAY: California SW full of fun

  • Closing

    BANK CLOSURE: B of A to shut 1 WS branch

  • Closing

    COFFEE CLOSURE: Starbucks shutting a store

Batter up!
June 25, 2007 9:09 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   WS & Sports

If you heard the screaming and cheering from high atop Alki Point over the weekend (we did, while out walking before the deluge) — Cami from AlkiNews.com lets us in on what’s going on — West Seattle Little League is hosting the District 7 All-Star Tournament at Bar-S Playfield. So far the WS 9-10 and 10-11 teams have racked up victories; more games to come for them (6 pm Wednesday), and the 11-12 team will play later this week too.

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See it here first: WS Summer Fest music lineup
June 24, 2007 11:06 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle festivals | WS culture/arts

Back in March, Dave from the Junction Association (and West 5) asked for WSB reader feedback on West Seattle Summer Fest. Now, 40 comments and three months later, Summer Fest is almost here, and Dave has sent us the music lineup as it stands now (noting that most bands have WS ties – either based here, or with members living here). This list is not even on the Summer Fest site as of this writing late Sunday night, so click ahead to be among the first to see it:Read More

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Another viaduct vote?
June 24, 2007 10:42 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | Viaduct vote

That’s what a guy from West Seattle suggests we need, in this P-I “guest column.”

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After the storm
June 24, 2007 9:09 pm
|    Comments Off on After the storm
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle weather

Appropriate for this to show up on a day when a whole lot of rainbow-displaying was going on just a few miles away. Thanks to Christy from On Focus Photo for the pic, shot between Seacrest and Salty’s.

04_rainbow.jpg
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This week’s big WS meeting: Sealth/Denny/Westwood
June 24, 2007 6:45 pm
|    Comments Off on This week’s big WS meeting: Sealth/Denny/Westwood
 |   Denny-Sealth | West Seattle schools

Two schools here on the south side of WS may soon share a campus, and their neighbors want to hear more about what’s planned. So the Westwood Neighborhood Council is organizing a meeting about the Sealth HS/Denny Middle School project for this Wednesday, 6:30 pm @ Southwest Community Center.

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Wacky weather
June 24, 2007 4:47 pm
|    Comments Off on Wacky weather
 |   West Seattle weather

We all know that spring and early summer in Seattle can bring days interspersing sun and rain, but we can’t remember having seen it change quite as often and as dramatically as today … or perhaps the fact we were out on a very long walk from south WS to north WS heightened our experience … Here’s a photo from Alki during the 4 pm deluge (including a few hailstones too fleeting to catch with the camera):

soggyalki.jpg
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Leading the parade
June 24, 2007 10:08 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle people

The West Seattle couple featured in the documentary “Inlaws & Outlaws,” Jane Abbott Lighty & Pete-e Petersen, are celebrity grand marshals of today’s Pride Parade downtown.

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More on the commercial filmed at Hiawatha
June 24, 2007 12:54 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle online

Happened onto this post from a local “parkour” star who’s in the commercial we mentioned below.

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About that sinkhole …
June 23, 2007 11:52 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   December 2006 windstorm | Utilities

Six months after the deluge preceding the December windstorm created the Thistle/Northrop sinkhole (at the end of the 52-y-o hillside staircase) in Upper Fauntleroy, Seattle Public Utilities is finally about to do something substantial in the area. Before we elaborate: Two photos, one looking west into the sinkhole a few days after the storm (before the temporary bridge was built); the next, a recent look east at and below the segment of “suspended” sidewalk that’s been literally hanging there (blocked off from public access) ever since:

decembersinkhole.jpg
—
maysinkhole.jpg

Now, the apparent plan: Flyers available at the Thistle/Northrop corner say SPU will start work next weekend on “drainage catch basins and inlets” both at that corner and a block east at Thistle/Cali. They describe the “new drainage structures” as “improved grates with curb openings to help facilitate storm water drainage when debris covers them.” As for the sinkhole itself, which now seems to be dubbed a “gully,” SPU writes on the flyer:

We are continuing to work with FEMA and private property owners to repair the gully that was eroded during the 2006 winter storms. We anticipate that this work, which will include rebuilding the sidewalks to provide access to the SW Thistle St stairs, will be completed later this summer. Thank you for your continued patience.

For walkers/joggers who are wondering (like us), we just sent a note to SPU to ask if the upcoming work will block off the stairs again … we’ll let you know what we hear.

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Site tech rant: pulling … hair … out … by … roots
June 23, 2007 8:39 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle online

Two weeks after we first contacted our site host with concerns about site slowness … four days after we started a full-court press via phone … the saga has reached hair-pulling stage. Click ahead only if you want to read our vent. (If you can even get to a second page. Again, we promise to get this fixed one way or another …)Read More

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Admirable Alki anecdote
June 23, 2007 3:36 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle people

This made us smile.

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Saturday scenes around WS
June 23, 2007 3:29 pm
|    Comments Off on Saturday scenes around WS
 |   Seen around town

First, the crowd gathered for the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse groundbreaking (the site is across from Herring’s House Park but parking was full there too, so we were reduced to drive-by photography):

duwamish.jpg

Next, people wrapping up at Relay for Life @ West Seattle Stadium just before noon (the end of an intense 18 hours; you can still donate to their fight against cancer here):

relay4life.jpg

Last but not least, the amateur-radio operators of the Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service at South Seattle Community College, starting their 24-hour participation (through 11 am Sunday) in the Amateur Radio Relay League Field Day. They’re utilizing alternative energy, which explains why the tall structure in the photo isn’t an antenna, but rather an Air-X:

windmill2.jpg
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Lights, camera, advertisement
June 23, 2007 10:32 am
|    Comments Off on Lights, camera, advertisement
 |   Seen around town

A big camera/production crew is very busy amid the trees @ Hiawatha this morning (with several large lights like the one in the center of the photo). Tipster says it’s a commercial for Mervyn’s (which would be a bit ironic since their nearest location, at Southcenter, is no more):

hiawathacommercial.jpg
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WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #1
June 23, 2007 8:14 am
|    Comments Off on WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #1
 |   WS miscellaneous

9 am-1 pm today, WSHS theater & commons (better to go late than not at all). Top reason to go: Your loved ones. Be ready to protect & help them when “it” happens.

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Lyrical log
June 22, 2007 11:09 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle beaches

Stenciled on driftwood @ Lowman Beach, a line from a 1969 Led Zeppelin song:

driftwoodlyrics.jpg
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West Gatewood, 2nd evening of summer
June 22, 2007 10:42 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Gatewood | Seen around town

The sun, trying to outrun the clouds:

westgatewoodagain.jpg
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WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #2
June 22, 2007 10:11 pm
|    Comments Off on WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #2
 |   WS miscellaneous

Why you need to spend a few hours @ WSHS tomorrow morning: Six months ago.

poster_emergency_preparedness_event_r2_generic2.jpg
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They were here first
June 22, 2007 7:25 pm
|    Comments Off on They were here first
 |   West Seattle people

On the easternmost edge of WS, the tribe that reached out to the first European-American West Seattleites will have something to celebrate tomorrow.

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More change
June 22, 2007 6:29 pm
|    Comments Off on More change
 |   West Seattle businesses

Just got this note about more reported change east of The Junction:

West Seattle Furnace has been in West Seattle since 1946 and Dick Leidholm has retired and sold his building at 4619 37th Ave SW.

The office manager – myself, Diana Charles Abels – has gone to Cascade Oil Company and one of my service techs Bill M has gone to Cascade Oil also. So, if you need help with your Furnace, A/C or fuel deliveries, please contact me at 206-323-6050.

City archive photo of West Seattle Furnace, on this page.

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Friday afternoon notes
June 22, 2007 1:35 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Transportation | West Seattle schools

-In less than an hour, the final bell will ring at Fairmount Park Elementary, one of the Seattle Public Schools buildings that are being closed to save $. The kids who go there are “merging” into High Point Elementary . (FP’s half-century history is detailed here.)

-Speaking of closed school buildings: This week’s WS Herald has an update on the future of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse; next week, the city Parks Board will talk about its possible role in that future.

-In the mood to feel elegant? Just found out about High Tea on Saturday at Village Green Perennial Nursery, a hidden treasure for gardeners in WS (and beyond).-This Sunday, the Washington State Ferries summer schedule kicks in, which means more weekend service to/from Fauntleroy.

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WS Gas Price Watch: Some up, some down
June 22, 2007 10:54 am
|    Comments Off on WS Gas Price Watch: Some up, some down
 |   Gas prices | Transportation

Delridge Arco has dropped a couple more cents, to $2.93/regular; however, both of the Fauntleroy/Alaska stations have popped back up over three bucks, while remaining below the statewide average.

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First WS weekend of summer!
June 22, 2007 2:41 am
|    Comments Off on First WS weekend of summer!
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle parks | WS culture/arts | WS Weekend Lineup

From the start of wading-pool season, to the wildly important Emergency Preparedness event, to the Admiral invasion of “Can’t Stop the Serenity” — there’s tons to do, now through Sunday, without leaving the peninsula. Click ahead!Read More

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WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #3
June 21, 2007 11:54 pm
|    Comments Off on WS Emergency Preparedness event countdown: Reason #3
 |   WS miscellaneous

Tonight’s reason for being there Saturday: The 2001 quake wasn’t “The Big One.”

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