Happy homecoming
We promised you an update once it was confirmed: The cat pictured at right, found at 35th/Thistle and taken care of for more than a week before its finder e-mailed us for help, is now home. His name is Max; his owner saw Max’s photo on WSB just before catching a plane out of town but managed to get a housesitting friend to go retrieve Max and bring him home. Gotta love a happy ending.
A few more days to go for La Rustica fire repair/remodel
A member of the family that runs the well-regarded Beach Drive Italian restaurant La Rustica had told us they hoped to reopen last night, after adding some remodeling work to the repairs following last month’s small fire. However, the work’s not quite done yet, so LR was still closed last night; our family contact says they are “working hard to open ASAP,” adding “the kitchen remodel is looking great!” and noting they have a big reservation for Saturday night & “intend to keep that reservation.”
Best food in the Seattle school district?
Dori, the Denny Middle School Lunch Lady, says that’s what she serves every day, and she invited the architects and school administrators overseeing the Denny-Sealth construction project to come have lunch. She was one of about 35 people who came to tonight’s overview of the latest plans for the Denny-Sealth shared-campus project with some serious concerns over the initial plans. The plan presented showed one kitchen which would serve both schools, to be located between the gym and the common areas. As Dori said – a kitchen with no windows or adequate ventilation is not a good idea. What she wants is for the planners and architects to see the existing Denny lunch room and kitchen, which she calls a “kitchen done right.”
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Denny-Sealth campus consolidation meeting: School sparks
Just back from the school district-organized Denny-Sealth project update meeting at CSHS. Sparks flew, especially on the issue of why this meeting was called with only days’ notice. Another one is set for later this month. Our full report will be posted here later tonight.
Election countdown: 4 weeks away
Election Day is November 6 — exactly four weeks away. Discussion and debate are revving up, particularly regarding the biggest ballot measure in the election — Sound Transit/RTID Proposition 1, also known as “Roads and Transit.” Pros here, cons here, but, you may ask — what’s in it for West Seattle? You can get the full picture at the next meeting of Sustainable West Seattle, Monday night (October 15th) at Camp Long, during a Q/A forum with supporters and opponents. Meantime, the 34th District Democrats gather for their regular monthly meeting tomorrow night at The Hall @ Fauntleroy. They are not only making plans for getting out the vote in November — they also are dealing with their official role in the changing of the legislative guard in our area. The resignation of West Seattle’s State Senator Erik Poulsen is now official, and the 34th District Democrats must recommend proposed replacements to be appointed to the Senate seat till the next election. Precinct officers from around the district will gather this Saturday at High Point Community Center to formally recommend three possible appointees. West Seattle State Representative Joe McDermott is considered the leading candidate for that appointment; if he gets it, attention then moves to the House vacancy that would ensue. A candidates’ forum is expected to happen October 24th, probably also at The Hall @ Fauntleroy. The 34th DDs have tons of information about the Senate/House/etc. appointment process, including the 7 candidates who are seeking the potential House job, on this page.
The next big West Seattle retail trend?
We’ve had a cascade of cupcakes, a plethora of pet stores … now, perhaps, a surge of supplement shops. A year after Super Supplements moved into The Junction, a new permit granted for space in Westwood Village (we haven’t done the backwork yet to figure out which space “E8” refers to) reveals the impending arrival of “Fresh Vitamins.” A quick websearch shows they have several other outlets around the metro area.
Two Tuesday night notables
JUNO MEETS AGAIN: If you live in or around The Junction, it’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of a great group — tonight’s the second meeting of JuNO (Junction Neighborhood Organization). They’re gathering at the Senior Center (Cali & Oregon) at 6:30. Click for the updated meeting agenda flyer.
DENNY/SEALTH CONSOLIDATED CAMPUS – WHERE’S IT AT? Find out from school district reps at tonight’s meeting in the Chief Sealth HS Little Theater (also 6:30). Will anything have changed from the intense schedule laid out at the summer meeting organized by the Westwood Neighborhood Council? Will the website mentioned on the district flyer be up and running any time soon? These and many other questions about this nine-digit project will hopefully be answered.
Several other noteworthy gatherings tonight too, including the Fauntleroy Community Association and Admiral Neighborhood Association; these and many more listings are always accessible on our ever-growing Events page.
Help make The Junction a prettier place
The West Seattle Junction Association Beautification Committee is soliciting bids for some landscaping work to spruce up various spots in the heart of West Seattle, including the well-known “flagpole corner.” Click ahead to read the request for bids — interesting reading even if you don’t expect to be bidding — and to see a sketch of the areas involved:Read More
House fire at 4050 45th
If you’re in, around, or north of The Junction, you may have heard all the sirens. Numerous fire crews rushed to a reported house fire at 4050 45th (Dakota’s the nearest cross-street). Our first word at the scene comes from WSB frequent contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says it appears to have been a kitchen fire, and he’s not seeing any obvious signs of anyone having been hurt.
Christopher sends these two pictures of firefighters responding.
Door-to-door alert: ID-less visitor
Yes, we know there are many legit door-to-door solicitors in the world. Nonetheless, our category of “door-to-door alerts” is a popular one, and absent some other type of clearinghouse, we pass along these notes from time to time. Here’s one just out of the inbox:Read More
Midday photo break
Three photos to share – the first two are from among several more that came in this morning from WSB readers who, like us, were wowed by the eerie sky late yesterday (big thanks to them for sending their pix; send yours along any time); the third is a real-estate-related sign we spotted over the weekend. First, a Sunday sky photo from Joe Murray:
This one’s from Amy:
And now, from the northeastern edge of Lincoln Park, at the corner of Lincoln Park Way and Fauntleroy. Reminded us a bit of this weekend post at The Mortgage Porter.
New glimpse into the Water Taxi’s potential future
As the Elliott Bay Water Taxi continues its extra bonus month of commuter runs (M-F through November 2nd, plus two Seahawks home game Sundays 10/14 and 10/21), we get a new peek into its possible future, courtesy of documents prepared for a meeting today
— the King County Council, meeting as the county Ferry District Board. A draft PowerPoint presentation linked to the meeting agenda contains the following proposals (major disclaimer, they’re only proposals until and unless they get official approval): Pier 50 downtown as the permanent terminal for the Vashon and West Seattle (Water Taxi) runs that the Ferry District would operate; Seacrest continuing as the WT’s near-term home, also in contention as its longterm home (along with Pier 2); three vessels to be leased by the county for the first years of Ferry District operations — one for the Vashon/Seattle run, one for the WT, one as a backup. (The draft presentation also contains extensive details of proposals for the Vashon/Seattle run that the county will be taking over from the state, as well as for “demonstration runs” between Seattle and TBA locations on the Eastside — Kirkland or Bellevue — North King County, and South King County.) And it envisions the Water Taxi operating an “extended” season next year — March through October — then starting year-round operations in January 2009. Last but not least, the presentation also looks at how Ferry District service will be paid for, and what it will cost; part of the $ will come from a property-tax levy, with the rate yet to be set. Again, all this is from a draft presentation to be given to councilmembers during their meeting as the Ferry District board at 1:30 this afternoon; you should be able to watch on cable TV or online (KCTV link here), and of course we’ll continue to keep you updated on what happens next.
Wheels up
WSB frequent contributor “The House” is fuming about this note placed on his windshield, apparently by Seattle Police.
Here’s his beef, followed by what we have found out so far:Read More
The cloud between the storms
Between bursts of rain this afternoon and evening, dramatic cloud formations graced our area in almost every direction. We missed the photo-ops but luckily WSB reader Anne did not — she e-mailed us this photo (thank you!) taken from the Admiral viewpoint:
Targeted for teardown: 2 more
Cross-checking some of the city’s alternate methods for unearthing proposed projects (the Activity Locator is a fun time-killer), we happened onto a proposal we hadn’t noticed before. It seeks to take down two small Junction buildings including the one shown below (4515 44th, across from the big parking lot behind WaMu/liquor store/etc.), so a 4-story mixed-use building can be built in their place.
The city system indicates a design review meeting for this hasn’t been set yet; the only date of any kind listed in the online records is 5/29/07, when the fee for the “pre-application site visit” was paid, so we’re not sure how long this has been pending (it doesn’t seem to have appeared in any of the city Land Use Information Bulletins, at least not the ones we searched going back to this time last year). Meantime, a second teardown proposal, this one from inland Alki, a new yellow land-use application sign just went up on the northwest corner of 60th/Admiral:
The teardown-to-townhome proposal for this parcel dates back to March, but the application to subdivide the lot was just filed a few weeks ago, hence the yellow sign.
West Seattle Gas Price Watch: Heading down again
Looks like nobody in West Seattle really had the heart to break the 3-buck barrier. Most stations’ prices are heading back down again; the title of “lowest posted price for regular unleaded” belongs to Delridge Arco (photo right) at $2.79. That’s no surprise, but this is: The highest posted price for regular unleaded is at 35th/Barton Exxon, at $2.97. The Lundberg Survey says the national average for unleaded regular is $2.75, after sliding 4 cents in the past 2 weeks. That’s fairly close to what we’ve seen since our last update two weeks ago (Delridge Arco has actually dropped 6 cents). Still a ways to go to make it to what was the lowest point since we started watching prices, $2.60s back in August.
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