West Seattle, Washington
10 Tuesday
That hand-lettered sign graced a column inside the Admiral Pub as the WSB Forum Community and fellow funseekers rocked the house during tonight’s get-together and fundraiser. More pix (plus video) ahead:Read More
Yes, yard/garden/habitat work can be fun — if you have company! That video shows just one of several merry mulch-relaying groups we saw in action during a brief visit to the EarthCorps– and Nature Consortium-organized Duwamish Alive! Earth Day event at Pigeon Point Park today. The restoration work at PP Park has really taken shape since we visited for this report a few months ago. After today’s cleanup work, the party was scheduled to move inside neighboring Cooper Elementary for indoor events (good timing; as our video shows, we were there during a sun break, but we all know that didn’t last long). One organizer told WSB today’s turnout numbered about 400!
We told you earlier this week about an event today looking ahead to the city’s proposal to “update” neighborhood plans. Didn’t realize quite how dramatically the process might change till reading this P-I account posted tonight. (Aside – not all West Seattle areas have “neighborhood plans” from the ’90s process that resulted in the ones that exist today; five do, as you can see from this map.)
Great people, great raffle items & fun, a great cause. All ages welcome. Map here. See you there! 8:21 PM UPDATE: We’re just back; party’s still in full swing, excellent turnout, plus three TV stations (KING5, Q13, KIRO7) showed up (watch at 9/10/11 pm tonight). Full WSB report, with pix and video, a little bit later.
WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham photographed the West Seattle High School Class of ’09‘s second annual Snooty Walk fundraiser this afternoon, with this info about those pix, clockwise from top: 1. A pug dashes for the finish line with lofty goals of winning “fastest dog”; 2. “Gunner,” a 2-1/2-year-old purebred black lab, ducks through a flexible tube to win first prize “Speediest” through an obstacle course; 3. Chloe and Jacob Simmons congratulate their dog, Frieda, during the “Best Dressed” portion of the competitions; 4. Grayson (27 months old) couldn’t resist taking apart the dogs’ race lanes to investigate his world through a cone. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, mattdurhamphotography.com.) Below, coincidentally sent separately by Grayson’s mom, this photo shows the family’s two canine competitors:
Accompanying that photo, these details:
West Seattle’s own Harold, 4/M/BlackPug, won something! He came in second, VERY SNOOTY, at today’s Snooty Walk and Pet Rodeo. For so long now all the attention has gone to Hester his older sister, 5/F/FawnPug. Though we think the pair was robbed of the Cutest Couple Award we had a great time again (Hester has been putting up with Harold’s ahumpin’ for YEARS, yet the prize went to a couple of dogs that just met at the event. Can you believe it?) I hope to see the Get Snooty T-shirts put up on eBay for the community to bid upon. Keep the money flowing in, Class of ’09!
ADDED 9:03 PM: This one’s from Laurie:
Laurie elaborates:
This is Penguin, the Polish Crested chicken who won “Most Unique” and “Smallest” pet. She is 7 weeks old and has been hand-raised from chickhood. Bianca (8 years old) was very happy to win a trophy!
ADDED SUNDAY: More of “Gunner,” the “Speediest Pet” winner. Proud owner Wendy Bradley sent this quick clip of Gunner “running the tube” (that’s Matt Durham at the other end getting the photo you saw above), followed by a photo of Gunner with his trophy:
Dustin in Arbor Heights (thanks!) caught some flakes on cam in Arbor Heights; below is the video we shot with our cam pointed out the car window while en route to “only because there’s not one in West Seattle” Trader Joe’s in Burien a short time ago – looked more impressive in person but here it is anyway:
One more event we’re counting down to – opening day for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi a week from tomorrow. (Full schedule here, including details on the opening-day festivities.) Rides are free all day that day, but for subsequent trips, there’s a coupon for a freebie on a postcard from West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine that’s landing in (postal) mailboxes now (we just got ours).
Less than a week left to sign up to be part of the 4th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (go here to see how); we’ve now passed 60 sales signed up to be part of one fun day of West Seattle-wide shopping and selling on May 10, but there’s room for more on the map – invite your neighbors to set up a block sale, or have one at your business/school!
Looks like Winter Encore ’08 smacked other areas but spared us (so far), so here are outdoor and indoor highlights (find today’s full list in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup):
EARTH DAY: It’s officially not till Tuesday but today, Cooper Elementary and neighboring Pigeon Point Park are the epicenter of the Duwamish Alive! activities happening all day long (with work parties at Roxhill Park and Brandon Street Natural Area too). Full details here.
FREE SWIMMING! It’s part of the April Pools Day event 10:30 am-noon at Southwest Pool.
LONGFELLOW CREEK FARM WORK PARTY: As we put it in our first report, “free organic produce … with just one catch!” Noon-4 pm.
HOMEMADE BRIGADE: Artists and craftspeople are setting up inside Freshy’s noon-4 pm today to show and sell their creations. Organizer Amber Bennett says live music will follow.
SNOOTY WALK: Across the street from Freshy’s, at Hiawatha, the pet event organized by and benefiting the West Seattle High School Class of ’09 starts at 2 pm. Read all about it here.
GOING TO THE HEALTHY LIVING EXPO? It’s not in West Seattle but if you’re going to this event @ Qwest, the WS Nia Divas asked us to let you know they’re presenting a free Nia class there @ 3 pm.
WSB FORUM COMMUNITY GET-TOGETHER AND ARSON-VICTIM FUNDRAISER: 6-9 pm tonight at Admiral Pub, join the WSB Forum Community for an evening of fun — all ages welcome — including a dart tournament and raffles with a list of enticing items (still growing as we speak) to raise money for Puget Sound Key and Lock, the Morgan Junction business gutted a month ago by a still-unsolved arson attack (recent followup here). Admiral Pub is on the east side of California just a few blocks north of Admiral; here’s the latest forum thread about tonight’s event (including raffle-item updates).
In odd-weather times like these, we love the no-nonsense format of the UW-hosted National Weather Service text; you can check that forecast here. 9:43 AM UPDATE: A few flakes are flying here at WSB HQ in Upper Fauntleroy.
At left is “Daisy,” the missing Boston Terrier whose photo is on almost every utility pole, store window, and bulletin board in West Seattle — she’s even the subject of a spray-painted bedsheet hung over a section of waterfront railing. We posted her photo on our Pets page, and there it stayed till we got a note Friday from a friend of Daisy’s owner Dez, saying Daisy’s still missing and by the way, not only is Dez dealing with this frantic, relentless search, she’s also 8 months pregnant. We thought you might want to hear from Dez herself, so we talked with her Friday evening at her workplace, the Forsythe Studio salon in The Junction:
As the posting on our Pets page says, Daisy got out quite by accident. A reward is offered; call 206-935-1865 or cell phone number 206-227-7090. if you’ve seen her.
Thanks to Capers for again hosting the quarterly West Seattle Community Recognition Awards get-together, with complimentary coffee, tea, and brownies like last time (January report here) – and thanks to everybody who attended – more pix, and the winners, ahead:Read More
Next Tuesday is homecoming day for the half-dozen local students (and their adult chaperones) who’ve been on a cross-country environmental-awareness bicycle trip dubbed “An Inconvenient Ride” (we interviewed them on video a few days before they left). Their trip officially ends with the Global to Local benefit for Project Earth Care (a West Seattle-based initiative) at Benaroya Hall downtown on Tuesday night. We just noticed a few new updates on the IR website — some humorous road musings on the main page, additions to the “trip log” page where the kids tell their stories, and added links on their media-coverage page. According to the route page, they’re in Northern California tonight.
Just a reminder, you’re invited to Capers in The Junction 7-8 pm for the second quarterly informal get-together to announce the latest West Seattle Community Recognition Awards recipients. The three of us will be there, as will WSB Forum Community members selling tickets for tomorrow night’s raffle, plus – treats! Come say hi if you can. 8:41 PM UPDATE: Great crowd, fun event. We’ll post with photos and winner announcements in a bit.
People returning home tonight from work to the Alki neighborhood along and around SW Stevens and 59th/60th environs will notice many new markings like that (as well as the word “locate”) on the curbs near driveways and corners, thanks to a city Transportation Department worker who was out there, wielding a can of white spray paint, this morning.
This is a busy parking street about to get busier, with the sign in the photo above heralding a teardown we’ve mentioned before, five units going up in its place, directly across 59th from Alki Elementary/Playground/Playfield. But the city marking project — delineating the areas around driveways/corners that must be kept clear — is the first step toward getting cars out of some illegal spaces on the street, for safety’s sake:Read More
So says the National Weather Service in its latest “forecast discussion,” for those of you tracking Possible April Snow Panic ’08. (If ANY kind of weather is really possible, we vote for 75/sunny.)
Last night we published a letter on which we were cc’d, from Denise Sharify of High Point’s Neighborhood House, regarding some long-fought-for High Point-area pedestrian-safety improvements that are apparently finally on the way. This afternoon, we got the official details from SDOT communications boss Rick Sheridan and wanted to share that with you too:Read More
That’s a photo by Ann Summa, whose “Punk Los Angeles” exhibition opens at Skylark with a reception at 4 pm this Sunday – one of 47 events ahead on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, including two WSB-related events: Please drop in to say hi during the West Seattle Community Recognition Awards informal get-together tonight @ Capers in The Junction, 7-8 pm, all three of us will be there as will members of the WSB Forum Community; then tomorrow is the night for the Forum Community’s big get-together/fundraiser on behalf of Puget Sound Key and Lock, 6-9 pm Saturday @ Admiral Pub. Now, the full lineup:Read More
We are putting together the West Seattle Weekend Lineup right now for publication by 2 pm and just remembered, we wanted to tell you about this separately — One of the C & P Coffee Company regular live-music guests, Bobcat Bob, will be putting on a special performance tonight. Here’s the e-mail, forwarded by C & P’s Cameron Moores, explaining why:
dear friends, almost 3 weeks ago our bass player dave lucas and his wife kenna lost their only child jessica in a car accident back in the midwest. my brother dave and i are dedicating the c and p performance on april 18th to dave, kenna, jessica’s husband and her 2 children. they need our help spiritually and financially. please come to this performance in a show of support for this sweet family. dave will be in his position on bass and we hope to see you all there. thank you. most sincerely, bob.
They’re playing C & P 6-8 pm tonight. (Drop in early, then pop down California SW to Capers and make a cameo appearance at our West Seattle Community Recognition Awards get-together 7-8 pm!)
So we checked with the Southwest Precinct after getting this e-mail yesterday from Sunny:
Our house was broken into on Tax Day :(
We’re on the 7900 block of 12th Ave SW and both the officer and I suspect the same bra-flinging/pizza-eating group. The thieves helped themselves to some candy and a Coke and made off with some replaceable electronics. They rummaged through my lingerie and really ripped the bedroom apart. The officer walked away with LOTS of evidence which I hope is enough to catch the thieves. I am annoyed about having to replace my pricey toys, but just sick over someone invading our home.
Sgt. Jeffrey Durden at SWP says there’s “no real leads, yet” on the “bra-scattering” burglar. However, he did have more details on the burglary suspect we mentioned in this report from Tuesday night’s West Seattle Community Safety Partnership meeting: “Thanks to good investigative work by patrol officers — three different officers lifted the same suspect’s fingerprints at residential burglary scenes –” prosecutors are expected to seek charges against the suspect, who’s currently in custody in Florida, in three burglaries from the past few months.
When the city Parks Department started its first tour of meetings last fall to ask for input on a potential Strategic Plan, we covered the Southwest Community Center version of the meeting in late November (read the story here). After going back to Southwest CC to check in on the second round of meetings last night — three more in West Seattle in the next six days for your chance to have a say — we can tell you how these meetings work, what you’ll hear, what the Parks employees say they want to hear from you, and even some parks-related revelations that emerged last night:Read More
SNOW? We’ll believe it when we see it, but here’s the forecast discussion.
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY: 1 more week to sign up! Do it here.
“MASTER OF DISASTER” MAP: Pigeon Point just added. Click on your nearest site here.
TWITTER: Scroll to see the widget we just added to the WSB sidebar for our “feed” (we’re “westseattleblog”); plus, find breaking citywide news here.
Yeah, it’s supposed to be cold on Saturday (and probably sooner). That’s not going to stop the hardy West Seattle souls planning a huge slate of events we’ve been telling you about (see the Events page for most of ’em, and the West Seattle Weekend Lineup at midday Friday for even more), and here’s another one we wanted to preview — the Duwamish Alive! Earth Day festivities planned for Saturday:Read More
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