West Seattle, Washington
29 Thursday
Thanks to daPuffin for tipping us off to the Santa hat, on Roxbury at 36th. It’s now on the West Seattle Christmas lights map that you’ll find on the WSB Holidays page, and it’s in the light-display archive here.
Ted sent this to WSB last weekend and we missed the chance to post it then, but he advises us he’s still hearing the howls, so it’s not too late to issue the alert. Not to evoke anti-coyote hysteria – just a reminder to be careful:
Just wanted to let you know – saw a brazen Coyote in Lincoln Park during the day on Sat. We had our dog on a leash but another couple that was approx 100 ft away from us did not. No sooner did we pass the couple but we saw what appeared to be a very alert and scoping Coyote. I am thinking he may have been checking out the little lap dog the couple had off-leash. We were on an interior trail – near the chin-up bars. Please keep the parks (and coyotes) safe – keep your dogs on a leash !!
Adding this to the Holidays and Events pages as well as the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, but also wanted to make note of it here: 
Tomorrow at the new Tillicum Village Gift Gallery on Avalon, Northwest Coastal carver Alissa Bellah-Pierson will be handcarving ornaments to sell to raise money for the medical expenses of her 9-month-old baby Mimi’s liver transplant — the baby (shown with Alissa in photo at left from TV website) had to be rushed from Alaska to Seattle last month, and got a new liver two days before Thanksgiving. You can read more about them on this webpage (scroll down to “Help for a Family in Need”). Mimi’s mom will be carving at the Tillicum Village Gift Gallery 10 am-4 pm tomorrow.
As of right now, we’re testing two new features – both in hopes of better fulfilling the WSB mission of serving you with West Seattle news, information, and discussion, 24/7/365.
MORE DISCUSSION: We have finally launched “forums” — another HUGE thanks to the fabulous STUART MAXWELL for making this happen (same guy who got WSB onto a better server earlier this morth) — but before we build them out with a slew of categories and other enhancements, we would like you to try them and then let us know how you would want to use them. You will find them by clicking the FORUM tab at the right side of the row of navigation tabs under the sunset header (or click here). We’ve started with two general areas — we’d like to see if forums are the best, well, forum for Reader Recommendation Requests — start a new topic when you have one, and see what happens — this means RRRs won’t have to wait for us to get to them amid all the other West Seattle news of the day. Also, there’s an OPEN DISCUSSION area where you can post a topic you’d like to talk about. Sometimes the main page is the right place for that — like the “walk all ways” opinion sent to us that resulted in this well-discussed post — but again, maybe there’s something you just want to say NOW – go to the forums and say it. One note, you will have to register to post in the forums (but anyone can read them). And right now, since we’re considering this a “beta” test before possibly tying it into more of the site, that registration does NOT link to the comment feature on WSB posts, so you will still have to enter your name and e-mail address separately if you want to comment on those. Try out the forums, let us know what you think, with comments on this post OR by e-mailing WSB. Thanks!
MORE NEWS/INFORMATION: With the help of the fine folks at the Southwest Precinct, we are now able to bring you lots more information about West Seattle crime reports, safety concerns, and crime-prevention advice. Starting right now – with police-report highlights from the past several days:Read More
Just up on the future store’s door in the past 24 hours or so. The fine print is an e-mail address at the domain “seattleurbanmarket.com.” The website at that address doesn’t mention the Alki location right now but lists 9 others around the area and describes the parent company as “a company dedicated to the development of ‘high end’ delicatessen stores in the Seattle & Eastside Metropolitan Areas to serve the particular neighborhood they are located in with high quality products and services. Utilizing well known quality products such as Boar Head meats and cheeses, Appasionato Coffees, quality groceries, health foods and fine Washington Wines.”
Now closed until at least Wednesday, says an rpin.org e-mail bulletin (not online yet).
10:08 pm tonight, in case you were wondering. Meantime, we have 28 listings of West Seattle events, happening now through Sunday, that you might want to check out as we celebrate the promise of more daylight to come (among other things):Read More
Since we’re decorating our tree bit by bit between waves of typing, this note from MargeC (with the photos shown above, ’01 ornament left, ’03 right) resonated:
Just finished decorating our tree and was wondering what happened to the annual “Junction Holiday Ornament”s? We moved here in Nov 2001 and that was the first one of what was-to-be a series – it was a fund raiser for decorating the Junction with the summer flower baskets. We purchased ours at the Town Hall on California Ave. AFAIK there wasn’t one in 2002, but there was one for 2003. Does anyone know if there ever was a 2002, or any post-2003? Wish they had continued – they’re beautifully made, unique collectibles.
We recently mentioned that Jeanne Clem, wife of Bill Clem – a Mars Hill-West Seattle pastor after leading Doxa, the church that had the space previously – was losing her fight with cancer. Now there’s word she died this week, and a memorial service is set for 3 pm today (more on the Mars Hill website, which says the church will be running shuttles from the Chief Sealth HS parking lot for attendees).
While we were at the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct this week meeting with Lt. Steve Paulsen, he showed us this photo and we asked for a copy to share with you. It’s from Arbor Heights, during one of the many school-zone safety patrols that SW Precinct officers routinely handle; the trunk-mounted display is another variant on those unmanned mobile signs you see from time to time (like the longrunning one on Fauntleroy by Lincoln Park). After “early dismissal” today, school is out for the next two weeks, so you won’t see a scene like this, but many school zones are in residential areas where you’re going to want to keep the pedal a little lighter on the metal anyway.
2 sizable projects in the south half of West Seattle got a second look from the Southwest Design Review Board tonight. One will be the new home of Swedish Auto Repair, at 7901 35th, currently home to the ex-Adventist church building and a Mars Hill bus pen; concerns from board members and neighbors have sent it back to the drawing board for one more round of revisions, particularly regarding the need for its 30-plus-foot-high L-shaped building fronting 35th and Kenyon to be more streetfront-friendly. However, city planner Holly Godard did laud the project for its voluntary “green” features such as solar panels and rainwater-collecting barrels. So that one will be back for one more SWDRB meeting. This next project, though, got the green light:
That’s what you’re going to see in a year or two at California/Graham, kitty corner from the almost-condos of Strata, north of the ex-Chuck and Sally’s. We knew this would be “live/work units” as well as townhouses, but now we have even more details:Read More
Thanks to Elisabeth for sending this photo of the carefully crafted light display at 39th & Dakota; 
she warns it doesn’t do the lights justice, but the way we look at it, the pix are generally just to give you a hint there’s something cool at such-and-such an address, get out and see it if you’re holiday-lights fans like we are. Every display we’ve featured, going back to the very first one of the year — Salty’s, featured here on November 12 — is on our clickable, printable West Seattle Christmas lights map (find it on the WSB Holidays page) and in this archive.
As you probably know, the “Walk All Ways” intersection at California/Alaska was purposely preserved during the recent California repaving. But some still wonder if its time has come and gone, such as Robert Hull, who sent this letter-to-the-editor-style writeup to WSB for discussion:
Time To Rethink the Junction “All Way Walk”
I think it is time to reconsider the “All Way Walk” at the West Seattle Alaska Junction. It was fine for a while, but with the increasing traffic in the area, I believe that it should be returned to a “normal” traffic light, which would include free right turns, and a walk button for pedestrians wishing to cross the street. This would potentially reduce the amount of high volume traffic on our residential streets, since more people would use the Junction intersection rather than residential areas.
For several years I have avoided the Alaska Junction intersection due to the amount of time needed to get through the area. Instead, I have been using the residential side streets to get around this congestion. Now, we are finding that many other people are using our residential street as a major arterial. The amount of traffic on our once-quite street has increased about 200% in the last six months and most cars are traveling between 25 and 35 MPH, with some cars coming through at about 40MPH (speed limit is 20MPH on residential streets).
With all of the new condos being built in the area, and additional units coming on-line in the next few years (QFC and Whole Foods developments), the traffic problem will only get much worse. As a pedestrian, I liked the idea of the “All Way Walk,” since it was rather unique and made for some interest in our neighborhood. But the “All Way Walk” is no longer practical due to the large amount of traffic. It is also a safety issue, since it is only a matter of time before a pedestrian gets injured or killed with cars traveling 40MPH on residential streets.
Discuss!
The main questions left for us after the Denny/Sealth discussion at last night’s Seattle School Board meeting (which we covered with in-progress reports here and here) were, what now, and when? We got some new info today from West Seattle’s school-board rep Steve Sundquist. But first – we wanted to let you know, if you want to watch the meeting, particularly the testimony on this project during the public-comment period near the start, the video is now available online at the Seattle Channel site. (Regardless of where you stand on the project, you have to agree it’s particularly heartening to see students show up and speak to the board.) Back to “what’s next” — Sundquist says the Denny/Sealth “work session” at 4 pm January 9th will be open to the public; he tells WSB its format and participants are not all set yet, but he’s expecting there to be “some element of presentation” as part of it. He thinks it’ll last an hour to an hour and a half, since it’s before the board’s regular meeting at 6 pm that same night. As for any sort of a deadline to decide whether the Denny/Sealth project will proceed, change, or be scrapped altogether, Sundquist acknowledges that West Seattle families’ enrollment decisions make this time-sensitive as well as the oft-cited construction-cost factor, so he hopes it will be settled “within the first couple months of the year.”
Moments ago, the sunset from Fauntleroy:
Earlier, Dawson sent this panorama (thank you!) of the Olympics making their appearance this morning:
And we checked back on the Admiral Way median tree-planting progress a little while ago – about half were planted when we went by – here’s one:
Jeff Sullivan from the tree lot at Skyline Secure Park (Harbor Ave across from the 7-11) is giving away his last few trees – he wanted to give ’em to charities but contacted a few local nonprofits and is having trouble reaching folks so now he said, put out the word on WSB, anyone’s welcome to get one, bring your own twine, you haul. First come, first served – his only requirement, he says, is that you “have a Merry Christmas!”
Tonight, the Southwest Design Review Board is set for its final recommendations on the project planned for 6053 California, currently home of the former Butcher Block Espresso/martial arts/butcher shop/etc. building shown above (future townhouses and “live/work” units), and 7901 35th (ex-church, future auto repair). The meeting starts @ 6:30 pm in the library at Denny Middle School (different location than usual).
As announced by the city Department of Transportation, crews are out on the repaved stretch of Admiral right now, planting trees in the medians.
In a separate project, we have word from Seattle City Light of major tree work coming to West Seattle early next year: The utility is ramping up its tree trimming, so that it can work toward a cycle of ensuring that every tree near its lines citywide is checked every four years for proper clearance – 10 feet from the wires. We were downtown at the Municipal Tower yesterday talking with City Light’s Scott Thomsen, who tells WSB that the next big round of trimming work will be here in West Seattle. Here are some details:Read More
DEVELOPMENT NOTE: You’ve probably noticed that crews also have torn down the ex-Mailbox West/Eyes Rite building as well as the old green rentals in the 4100 block of California. (Rowdy reminiscences on the latter have turned up in comments here, by the way.) And now the city building permit for the mixed-use replacement is official.
BUSINESS NOTES: The newest WSB sponsor, Curious Kidstuff, has added a coupon to its ad on the right sidebar – click the ad or this link and print the ensuing coupon to take it in for your 20% discount, through Christmas Eve. … Another WSB sponsor note: Click! Design That Fits in the Admiral District has just launched a blog – including a preview of the Christmas cookies that proprietors John and Frances Smersh will be offering during tonight’s final Late Night Thursday shopping event at the store … Belated anniversary congratulations to Beato, which has been open one year as of last night; next big occasion is a special New Year’s Eve menu that’s linked from the WSB Holidays page, where we’ll be adding more WS NYE festivities as we find them. Also on the Holidays page — we are working today to wrap up the Christmas Eve/Day info list of grocery-store and coffee-shop hours (just heard from WSB sponsor Hotwire, which will be open 8 am-2 pm Christmas Day).
COMMUNITY NOTES: Just added to the WSB Events page, the free “Giving Back” dinner and entertainment event at Southwest Community Center tomorrow night, and another fundraiser coming up January 19 for the West Seattle High School Travel Club.
… is reading this story about West Seattle naturalist/author Lyanda Lynn Haupt and what she sees on the Sound – and checking out this photo @ Beach Drive Blog.
Thanks to Margelyn for this photo of another Alki-area light-covered tree (a popular feature in that vicinity) — this one’s at 63rd/Hinds, and now it’s on our West Seattle Christmas lights map (available on the WSB Holidays page) as well as with other featured displays in this archive.
Our state’s Presidential Primary is exactly two months away (February 19). But its results will only count for roughly a fourth of our state’s voice in the presidential nomination process –
all state Democratic delegates, and 49% of the Republican delegates, will be chosen in a process starting at the statewide caucuses on February 9. Members of our area’s best-organized political group, the 34th District Democrats, already are working to get out the word about those meetings. For those who haven’t participated in caucuses before – or are wondering why the focus is on the caucuses and not the primary – we sent questions to 34th DD chair Ivan Weiss; the Q & A with his e-mailed replies is just ahead. (Disclaimer, we know there are 34th District Republicans out there somewhere too – we’ve just never heard from them! Can’t find any comprehensive info about GOP caucuses online, either.)Read More
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