Yet more on Admiral Safeway shop-or-else parking

-One person who now declares herself an ex-Admiral Safeway customer because of the parking crackdown says the parking patrollers are marking tires. So, she wonders, what if you happen to spend an extra-long time in the store?

-Another reader wrote to ask the nearby Sanctuary At Admiral what they’re doing about parking, and got back a note from its owner, saying its guests have permission to park in the Safeway back lot. OK, so, now we have exceptions for them, Lafayette Elementary, and the senior citizen field trips. Who else?

Semi-sigh of relief

The state had said it wouldn’t release results of last weekend’s viaduct inspection till tomorrow but the information is actually already available. Bottom line appears to be, it’s still in bad shape, but hasn’t gotten any worse since last checkup. Whew.

And more bakery news

March 29, 2007 12:23 pm
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 |   West Seattle restaurants

Finally found an apparent name for the bakery taking over the ex-Bobby’s Hobbies spot. The latest round of construction-related permits mentions “Shoofly Pie Company,” and while there’s not much at the dot-com address for that name, it’s registered to someone in WS.

Thursday tidbits

-Thanks to the reader who tipped us that Bakery Nouveau is featured on the cover of Seattle Magazine’s new “best restaurants” issue. Yum.

-A new exhibit at MOHAI will feature 19th-century paintings from a daughter of the Denny party’s namesake.

-Also from the P-I, Ted Van Dyk has a good post-viaduct-vote rant. Reminds us of the interesting sight we saw while traveling up Cali after the Charlestown meeting last night — an apartment window plastered with not only a YES ELEVATED sign, but also RECALL NICKELS and even mock Times front pages with the apartment-dweller’s fantasy future headline NICKELS DEFEATED. (Perhaps a Steinbrueck relative lives there!)

Charlestown meeting: ‘Tis better to propose as well as oppose …

That’s one way we would sum up organizer Mark Wainwright’s main theme for the spirited crowd that sardined itself into the northernmost room of Charlestown Cafe tonight. Not to say there won’t be some rabblerousing …Read More

Traffic alert for eastbounders

If you drive east from WS, thru South Park and Georgetown, you need to know about this. As for our WS paving work … lots of dirt to be seen in the center of Cali as you travel the zone … if you are imaginative, it might make you wonder what WS looked like pre-paved roads, although on that stretch of Cali, the pavement apparently goes way back!

Last reminder – Charlestown gathering tonight

Just in case you forgot: It’s not a political meeting, not an official meeting, really just a grass-roots get-together for folks concerned about the closing of the Charlestown Cafe and/or what might replace it (currently, it’s proposed as Petco’s new home once that store leaves The Junction), and what they can do about it. 7 pm tonight @ the cafe.

North-end notes

March 28, 2007 7:35 am
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 |   Development

Busy day for north West Seattle in the city’s land-use-permit department: First, the city says again that the King County project to upgrade the pump station on the east edge of Alki is OK by them. Second, a townhouse project at Cali & Seattle just cleared some hurdles — with this construction permit, another construction permit, this demolition permit, and another demo permit.

Welcome to West Seattle’s newest resident

Since their site’s been on our Other Blogs in WS page pretty much the whole time their son gestated, we want to publicly congratulate The Perrys of West Seattle on their new arrival. All together now — awwwww!

Mars Hill’s plea to parishioners

With the first major service in its new West Seattle digs just days away, Mars Hill has just posted a blog entry pleading with its parishioners to not fulfill neighbors’ worst fears regarding a potential neighborhood parking nightmare. The post’s heading, “Obey Jesus: Park and Ride,” kinda says it all.

New pizza joint is open — discuss!

Exactly seven months after we first mentioned Garlic Jim’s was on its way to The Junction — it’s grand-opening day. Will it live up to hopes ‘n’ hype? Will it take a bite out of Pagliacci’s business? How far south will they deliver? How good is its “gourmet” pizza, anyway? Any and all comments/reviews, this thread is here for you. (P.S. Before you recycle today’s junk mail – check for GJ coupons/menu – we got some and plan to use ’em.)

Ex-Hollywood (etc.) demolition, updated view

The former video store and the ex-we-can’t-even-remember-WHAT-it-was-before to the west are now both rubble, barely a week after demolition work began. This view looks west from 41st (Jefferson Square sign off to the left):

junctiondemoupdate.jpg

Night in the life of a councilmember

March 27, 2007 9:28 am
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 |   Development | West Seattle politics | WS miscellaneous

Busy dance card tomorrow night for West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. He’s the guest of honor at a fundraising “roast” at West 5, kicking off his next campaign. But his staff tells us he’s hoping first to drop in and “touch base” with the gathering crowd at the Charlestown Cafe meeting, which they regret was scheduled long after the West 5 shindig was nailed down. (Afterparty, anyone?)

West Seattle authors, again

Perhaps it’s the ol’ law of attraction. We were browsing library shelves far from West Seattle last weekend and playing book roulette — just grab something that looks somewhat interesting. We didn’t read the author blurb, didn’t recognize the name, just saw the sci-fi/fantasy type plot summary and said “why not.” Started reading it last night, thought a name in the author’s family acknowledgments looked familiar,  followed the Google trail … yes, the author is from West Seattle. Of ALL the books to pull out of the stack! Just started it so no review, but add this to your list of WS authors. P.S. Speaking of WS authors, the WSB reader behind “Heidi, Geek Girl Detective” (a “serialized mystery webcomic”) has posted Book One’s final chapter.

And another WS cam!

A WSB regular found a weather cam at Madison Middle School. (2 additions to the cams page in 3 days, can we stand the excitement?) Anyway, thanks, and keep the discoveries coming!

More about the Coast Guardsman who died off our shores

March 27, 2007 12:14 am
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 |   West Seattle news

So sad that he died the day before he was scheduled to return to home base. (Besides that newspaper link, the CG has an updated press release with photos.)

Perhaps they’re just teasing us

It’s probably the #1 question we get: WS Trader Joe’s or no WS Trader Joe’s? Sorry to say, we have no definitive answer. We have heard way too many second- and third-hand reports of yes/no/maybe/never, plus we remember back when a businessperson near Caffe Ladro claimed the landlord for that building was insisting TJ’s would go in there, with condos above (ultimately, the commercial building stayed status-quo, and condos went into the empty lot next door). That said, it seems rather mean that Trader Joe’s has given names to its checkout aisles, including: Three Tree Point, Normandy Park, Des Moines, Seahurst … and … Fauntleroy. Why don’t they just rename one “Alki” and rub it in even further? Wah!

Garlic Jim’s is a go

Final word from the proprietor of The Junction’s new pizza joint, the plan to open tomorrow @ 11 am is a go. (By the way, according to a newspaper in Everett, home to GJ’s corporate HQ, this is the chain’s first sit-down location ever.) We’ll open a thread tomorrow for early reviews. Now, attention turns to The Junction’s northernmost block — who’ll open next, Shadowland, Spring Hill, or the bakery?

Coast Guard death near Fauntleroy ferry dock

Heard all the sirens this afternoon, drove by but couldn’t tell what was going on — now it’s posted at the P-I site and on the local Coast Guard site: A CG petty officer died off Fauntleroy after some kind of accident involving one of those boats we saw at Don Armeni last week. (UPDATE: Thanks to Nic Templeton for sending photos taken from Lincoln Park during the rescue attempt, including the one below; a little hard to tell in the afternoon-sunshine glare but at left on the dock, you see Seattle FD vehicles; at right alongside the dock, a Coast Guard boat.)

niccoastguardphoto.jpg

Finally moved

March 25, 2007 2:48 pm
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 |   Development | Gatewood | West Seattle housing | West Seattle religion

Note on the front door of Gatewood Baptist says they’ve finally made their move to the new digs on 35th (formerly Calvary Lutheran), and the name change (Life Church) too. Meantime, the townhouses on ex-church property across the street are moving fast … frames are up for at least two of the buildings.

At long last, another WS webcam

Given the natural splendor of West Seattle, we’re endlessly puzzled as to why more webcams aren’t up around here. The list on our WS Cams page has stayed relatively unchanged for months. Last summer, a volleyball group had an Alki cam up for a while, but even that went away. Finally, today, someone put up another live WS cam: the West Seattle Birdcam. Just a backyard and a bird feeder, but we’ll give ’em an A for effort, and add them to the cams page. Let us know if there’s something out there we’re missing — we keep looking!

Escape your espresso rut

So it’s Sunday morning, you’re not in such a rush, thinking about wandering out for coffee. Do you always go to the same place, or do you get adventurous every now and then? We’ve been trying to branch out, try the places we haven’t been to in a while (if ever), and we have to say, we’re really impressed with Cafe Rozella, on the southwestern edge (the “cutting edge,” their site says) of WS. Excellent coffee & ambience. See you there.

More church expansion on 35th

March 24, 2007 8:59 pm
|    Comments Off on More church expansion on 35th
 |   West Seattle religion

Our Lady of Guadalupe, one of West Seattle’s three major Catholic churches, is using this weekend’s services to kick off its campaign to raise at least $3 million to build a “Parish Life Center” and administrative building. A flyer on the church site has a few more details.