West Seattle, Washington
30 Wednesday
No new news in it but we thought you might want to see the story just posted by the P-I.
Just back from three hours at the Southwest Design Review Board meeting on two WS projects — the headliner was the reworked design for the Petco store proposed to take over the Charlestown Cafe site — board members still have major concerns and are basically sending the new architects back to the drawing board for a third “Early Design Guidance” meeting (some projects only need one). Detailed report to come.
More information from the folks at the Admiral Theater about plans for its latest round of renovations, previously mentioned here and here. Biggest news: the Admiral’s Steve Garrett says they have the OK to reopen the theater’s long-closed balcony “once certain work is done” — but first, he says, they want to do some restoration work, including painting a mural in the balcony area, and they are looking for bids and proposals. Click ahead for a little more on that, including how to reach Steve if you want to bid, plus news of a prestigious premiere coming to the theater:Read More
Interesting quote from West Seattle’s Most Famous Politician in what The Big Blog says is an Esquire Magazine feature about “stylish” mayors (not available online so far as we can tell). We must admit, a decade and a half in WS but we have yet to find ourselves grocery-shopping at the same place and time as Hizzoner. (Did rub produce-browsing elbows with ex-police chief Norm Stamper once.) 9:47 PM UPDATE: Citizen Rain points us to examples of the mayor’s style in his online photo gallery, which is more up to date than many other parts of the city website – it actually has pix from his KIRO Radio guest appearance today. (And yet we couldn’t get timely, detailed city website updates during Windstorm ’06 …)
You may have read or heard something about a temporary traffic signal going in on the elevated portion of Spokane Street, better known as the last EB stretch of the West Seattle Bridge, formerly the West Seattle Freeway. We have doublechecked with WSDOT, which is working on traffic mitigation with SDOT, and they confirm for us that this is not so — quoting Erin Bogenschutz of WSDOT:
They are not removing any of the concrete barrier to allow eastbound vehicles on the elevated portion of Spokane Street to turn left to 4th Ave.
The City will install a new left turn signal for eastbound traffic on the ground-level of Spokane Street to turn left to 4th Ave. Currently, the signal prohibits left-turns. The new signal should be installed this afternoon.
Another example of how lucky we are to have diverse wildlife on the ground and in the air over West Seattle … WSB reader Luckie e-mailed us photos of woodpeckers she’d never seen around her house before. This one, we recognize as a pileated woodpecker; we see them occasionally, though Northern Flickers are more common. Seems they like ants; we’re plagued by more of those this year, so maybe that explains it.
Reminder for all our fellow bird fans, the West Seattle Birdcam is still going strong; you can check it out any time from our WS “Live” Cams page, and its operators have a photoblog, also accessible any time from our Other Blogs in WS page.
7:30 tonight @ Delridge Community Center, the West Seattle Skatepark Action Committee meets; WS-based city skatepark advocate Matt Johnston says it’s open to anyone wanting to join (or find out more about) a group of people “working hard to create safe public facilities for skateboarders in West Seattle, that respect the communities they are placed in, and provide healthy and active places for kids and big kids to enjoy this popular sport.” (You can read more about where WS falls into the Citywide Skatepark Plan here.)
The newest numbers, courtesy of the office of West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine, show quite the ridership boom for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi this year: July had 36,885 passengers, up 20% from last year; total ridership for this entire Water Taxi season was at 88,336 as of the start of this month, a 27% increase from the same period in ’06. From here on out, comparisons will be more complicated, since as we first told you last month, the WT’s capacity got a big boost in time for Freeway Fright ’07. All the same, this bodes well for efforts to make it year-round and get it a new home.
9 am to noon today, 710 AM on your radio (streaming online too), Hizzoner will become the latest guest host to fill in for KIRO Radio’s vacationing Dave Ross. We would suggest calling in with questions, but looking at his all-star guest list, we suspect he won’t have time.
The latest on the major road projects that are rolling our way like a semi-truck with burned-out brakes:
FREEWAY FRIGHT ’07, aka the I-5 northbound lane closures: We know it’s going to be crunchy but gosh, the handwringing we’ve heard on tv lately … you would think our peninsula is going to be scooped up and flung into the middle of the Pacific, with all this hue and cry over People In West Seattle Won’t Be Able To Go Anywhere. Oh well, maybe it means a few more square feet of sand on Alki for the locals if the weather ever gets nice again. Back to the traffic: WSDOT has launched this very handy new page with specifics about What Exactly Is Happening Right This Minute, schedule changes if any, relevant cameras, and current traffic troubles. We’ll have it linked prominently here on our site every morning along with specifics on what us WSers need to know before heading out (more on that tomorrow).
ADMIRAL AGONY ’07, as in, the paving that will close Admiral Way for two nights between Olga and 41st starting tomorrow night, 7 pm-6 am. This city press release has the bare-bones basics about detours and so forth; the city e-mail update we posted back on Monday has even more information, including the warning for neighbors about possible vibrations from construction equipment.
So says the flyer, and it’s right here in WS. We’d guess five offers by morning.
The new holder of the “lowest posted price for regular gas in West Seattle” title is … Shell @ Fauntleroy & Alaska (photo right). It’s been in a price war of sorts with the kitty-corner 76 for a few weeks — one would drop a couple cents, the other would match or edge lower — but suddenly sometime since this morning, the Shell slashed its prices and now sells regular for $2.69. That’s six cents cheaper than the station that had been the low-price titleholder for a while, Arco on Delridge, which is at $2.75.
The beautiful murals around the heart of West Seattle are getting some long-awaited TLC. WS Junction Association president Dave Montoure of West 5 describes it as “the long process of restoring the salvageable murals in The Junction.” As our photos below show, they’re starting with the Hi-Yu Parade mural on the side of the Post Office, hit by taggers some time back. Dave also notes regarding the overall project, “Earl Cruzen, the gentleman who was a key figure in the original murals installation project, has stepped forward yet again — he’s a true WS treasure — to locate the original mural artists about restoration, replacement and, unfortunately in some cases, disposal.” Read more about the WS murals here and here.
P.S. We didn’t realize till a viewer e-mail following this post that the high-rise megaproject on the drawing board west of Jefferson Square is to be called “Mural,” in tribute to the WS murals … scroll down this page for a rendering.
On the easternmost edge of West Seattle, a couple of parks dot the shore of the Duwamish, including T-107 Park, where a WSB reader spotted two signs like this:
-Tomorrow night is the monthly West Seattle Art Walk in The Junction; more than a dozen stops and their intriguing offerings are listed on the Art Walk blog (a fine resource that also includes direct weblinks for many of the participating artists and businesses). Among the participants, the growing Ginomai center for artists.
-Also tomorrow night, it’s opening night for two musicals here in WS: The Twelfth Night Productions presentation of “Oklahoma!” @ West Seattle HS Theater (tickets available online), and the ArtsWest Summer Musical Theater Conservatory Program presentation of “Disney’s High School Musical” (tickets available online).
-Friday, three one-time-onlies (more Fri-Sat-Sun events when our weekend lineup appears on Fri morning): In the afternoon; golf in WS for a good cause; then in the evening, the weather should be nice for the makeup showing (remember the July 21 rainout?) of “Chicken Run” at Sidewalk Cinema’s Movies on the Wall next to Hotwire Coffeehouse — and for the 34th District Democrats’ annual Garden Party Auction fundraising bash @ West Seattle Nursery.
Two more photos just in. The first two are from the Ercolini Park gathering, where Bill Barna reports not only was a good time had by all, but $1,000 more was raised for the park (now just a few thousand to go; find out how to help at their website).The second one is from the 3200 block of 45th SW, courtesy of Luckie.
—
The three photos below are from the first two sets of pix (including a full gallery here) we received, both from the gathering at and around 39th/Elmgrove, which we’re told got two visits from nearby landmark Fire Station 37. (One attendee offers a shoutout to hosts Wally & Wilma.) Keep the pix coming; we’ll add as the day goes on — also, thanks to everyone who shared their locations in advance — heartening to know there were so many around WS.
Wonder what these are going to look like? Our imagination doesn’t paint a pretty picture.
On the west end of the Alki restaurant district, the Pegasus Pizza building project (2758 Alki) is no longer alone. Another project has surfaced in the next block: The last little low-rise residence (2810 Alki), sandwiched between Bamboo and the ex-Alki Market, is slated to be replaced by a three-story building described as two floors of restaurant topped by one residential unit. A Design Review Board “early design guidance” meeting for the project is already set for September 13th.
As the I-5 closures roll ever-closer, the very nice folks in communications @ WSDOT are working overtime to be sure even small news “organizations” like WSB are supplied with every last little bit of info. Among today’s bits: This helpful link including the specifics on exactly which lanes are scheduled to be closed when. That includes a complete lack of access to NB I-5 from the east end of The Bridge this weekend — so don’t even try.
This Thursday night, the city’s Southwest Design Review Board will take a look at the latest design for the proposed Petco store at the Charlestown Cafe site.
We’ve received a pre-meeting update from Mark Wainwright with Our Town West Seattle, the community group keeping a close watch on this project and the restaurant’s fate; the group met last Thursday to look ahead to this week’s Design Review meeting.
Mark says there’s a new architect for the Petco plan, Sienna Architecture, based in Portland but with a Seattle office. He adds, “The project design is, in a word, better … this design may have the potential to be Petco’s nicest store.”
Click ahead to read what else Mark says:Read More
Thanks to the WSB reader who sent e-mail to call to our attention the fact that, not long after its sale, Carosello Coffee (former Coffee Shoppe, former Casablanca) on 35th north of Holden is closed. Handwritten sign on its door says NEW OWNERSHIP, WILL REOPEN SOON. The business next door (also recently sold) has already changed from Koze to Northwest Montessori (which used to be on the grounds of the former Calvary Lutheran Church at 35th/Cloverdale, now Life Church Ministries, the congregation, previously known as Gatewood Baptist before selling its Cali/Othello building to developers who resold it to Seattle International Church … whew, sounds like a soap-opera recap).
All over West Seattle — and much of the rest of the country — you’ll see something you don’t usually see in most neighborhoods: Neighbors out in the street, sharing good times, good food, good ideas. It’s Night Out, the sleek new-ish name for what once upon a time was known as National Night Out Against Crime. Neighborhoods that met the deadline for registering their events with the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct here in WS will get to close off (non-arterial) streets for their block parties. SPD said they were unable to provide us with a list, but some neighborhoods told us about their locations; others were posted online. Click ahead for the latest list (updated as people send us more locations); if you’re involved in any Night Out event tonight, we invite you to send us a photo afterward for posting here at WSB (represent!).Read More
| Comments Off on Alki Statue of Liberty: Newspaper update, sort of