West Seattle, Washington
26 Sunday
Yes, we know the West Water condo-conversion marketers are likely laughing all the way to the bank, while observers grumble and gripe and gnash teeth over the unprecedented overkill of their over-the-top campaign. Nonetheless … it’s the gaudiest thing to hit this side of West Seattle in a long time, so we’re all over it. Earlier today, we discussed the spotlights that are the latest bling in this blitz. After dark, we couldn’t resist heading down the hill with our video camera:
In today’s earlier post, and its comments, readers shared info about how to complain about aspects of this condo campaign that appear to break city rules, such as the sandwich-board signs along roads and highways. One more to add — this one from Jill:
Please add the Seattle Dept of Planning and Development number 206-615-0808, so that citizens can complain. Or file one online at
seattle.gov/dpd/enforcement/code_compliance/filing_a_complaint
The marketers have laughed off the city’s attempts to assess 500-dollar/day fines. Apparently that’s less than the cost of renting throw pillows. Maybe a lawsuit over light pollution, the windsail signs, or a traffic accident in front of Ladro will be needed to do the trick.
First, some good news: the Fauntleroy Community Association website has this Fauntleroy Creek update reporting five spawners were spotted heading upstream earlier this week. Meantime, WSB reader Luckie suggests goodnaturedly that there’s probably a “raccoon feast tonight” along Longfellow Creek because of the scene below that she and her family photographed this afternoon “downstream from the fishbone bridge near SW Yancy.”
It was on our Events calendar, but not here on the main page — yesterday was the 156th anniversary of the Denny Party landing on Alki. Every year since 2001, WSB reader Margelyn reports, the “Swag Lady,” Natalie “Penny” Earnest, has decorated the Founders’ Monument as shown above. Margelyn says Penny’s swag of cedar with bird feathers and cones gathered from the beach is “her way of paying tribute both to the Denny Party who landed here on Nov 13, 1851 and to the Native Americans who helped them survive their first winter.” Closeup photo, also courtesy of Margelyn:
Margelyn adds: “Penny and her husband Mike, who passed away this year, have lived on the water at Alki Point since the early 1990’s and have been active in the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Working with Pat Filer of the society’s Log House Museum, Penny was instrumental in getting Department of Neighborhoods funding to add plaques on the Founders Monument at the 2001 sesquicentennial naming the individual women of the Denny Party and acknowledging the role of the Duwamish and Suquamish people.” Here’s a closeup of her note on the Alki monument for yesterday’s anniversary:
Margelyn concludes, “Living right on the water at Alki Point and walking daily along the beach, Penny says she often thinks of the words attributed to Chief Seattle:”
And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children’s children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone.
Exactly 4 months after its opening, the Junction pie shop is featured in The Stranger today. We haven’t been there in a while. You?
Townhouses and mixed-use megaprojects aren’t the only construction projects under way in West Seattle right now, and here’s the proof. This photo is just in, showing work now under way at the Ercolini Park site on Alaska west of The Junction, courtesy of Friends of Ercolini Park volunteer (and WSB sponsor) Bill Barna:
On the day that Gee is auctioning off what’s left (minus vehicles) of the ex-Huling dealership contents (see post below; here’s what’s on the block for day 2 tomorrow) … the man prosecutors say was victimized by ex-Huling employees is testifying in court.
A few new comments and e-mails have come in about the latest marketing tactic deployed by the heavily marketed West Water condo complex, ex-Watermark(e) Apartments, south of Morgan Junction — a light show (equipment at right of above photo, taken late yesterday). The latest e-mail, from WSB reader Kerri, begs the question, how much marketing is TOO much marketing?
Is anyone other than me tired of West Water condominiums’ overzealous and trashy marketing campaign? I thought I would share the contact information for the person who takes credit for the sandwich boards every 200 feet going both directions on the viaduct, the posters staked every 15-20 feet up and down Fauntleroy and California, the dozen giant flags, used-car lot style balloons and now giant spotlight laser show that pollute the front of the building, etc….
Her name is Judy Gamel, office phone: (206) 216-7200.
I went in to complain tonight and she seemed pretty pleased with how successful their trashy marketing campaign has been so far. It sounds like they plan to keep it up full force until the building sells out.
Today and tomorrow, as we have mentioned, are auction days for parts, furnishings, equipment (even plants!) at the ex-Gee/ex-Huling dealerships along Fauntleroy, which Gee has promised to clear out of by the end of this month. WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli just checked it out – here are his photos:
After going offline for a short while – we opened the inbox and some wonderful folks from WSB-land have sent photos of the amazing sights from early this morning; thank you all SO much! We start with this sunrise sky shot from WSB contributing photographer Christopher Boffoli:
Two more from Christopher – first, a boater getting ready to leave Seacrest during the spectacular sunrise; the second one, of course, needs no caption:
ADDED 9:25 AM: From Joe Murray, the sunrise with Rainier in the distance:
ADDED 9:45 AM: One final photo – this one from Patricia, near Alki Point:
We appreciate all photos of interesting sights/happenings/people around West Seattle – send them to us any time at westseattleblog@yahoo.com!
In the predawn darkness outside Alki Mail/Dispatch this morning, the bright orange pedestrian flags waited, as did their counterparts across Admiral. One year ago today, at this intersection, 47th/Admiral, where so many busy drivers roar by, heading to/from Alki or Beach Drive, one driver hit a man crossing the street. It happens, just like it happened last month at 35th/Othello to Oswald Clement (whose memorial is today, by the way). This time, it drew citywide notice, because the man who was hit — who later died at the hospital — was 29-year-old Tatsuo Nakata, chief of staff to City Councilmember David Della. Some things have changed at the intersection since then — the city placed temporary and permanent safety measures. Then yesterday, Tatsuo Nakata’s old boss and other councilmembers came to West Seattle – though nowhere near 47th/Admiral — to publicize their “Pedestrian Safety Initiative.” But also during the year, the city has removed crosswalks in areas of West Seattle (on Avalon, along 35th, and along Fauntleroy) where it felt they didn’t meet safety standards, while adding new markings on a California crosswalk. So we ask you — has enough been done? Do you feel safe crossing the street, wherever you cross, or is it just a hazard of everyday life?
Continuing our report on details about the California Ave (Hanford to Hinds) rezoning request that were revealed at tonight’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting: While, as we mentioned earlier, there are two “primary applicants,” the area involved in this request to “upzone” from the current NC1-30 to NC2-40 has more than 20 property owners. The applicants’ rep Josh Stepherson says 70% of them have signed on for this, but even among the other 30%, he says, none are opposed. His presentation included bullet points on what “positive impacts” the applicants think this would have on the area — but first, the full text of their statement, included in the 10-page handout Stepherson distributed tonight:Read More
Just back from dropping in on the Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting to hear the promised mini-presentation on the proposed “upzoning” of both sides of California from Hanford to Hinds (and a bit beyond, on the west side). Not only was a DPD rep there as expected, so was Josh Stepherson, who’s representing the property owners behind the proposal. He brought along a 10-page handout, and among the new details included in that handout were the names of the “primary applicants” — Roger Cayce and Mike Gain. If you are a relatively recent West Seattle arrival, you might be thinking “Yes, and your point is — ?” It’s this: Back when we arrived in the early ’90s, they were the biggest names in WS real estate, with their names on almost every for-sale shingle. (We bought our house from a Cayce & Gain listing, after two years of renting a Cayce & Gain-managed condo.) Their names are still on a property-management firm in the proposed rezone area, but what was Cayce & Gain Real Estate is now Prudential NW (also in the proposed rezone area). So why are they (and other area property owners) asking to change the zoning? We have some details on that too, as well as on plans for a public meeting in about 2 weeks, coming up in a complete report we’ll post here later tonight.
That’s the summertime scene at West Seattle Stadium, during the West Seattle Relay for Life. The next one happens in June 2008, but the people who organize it are working on it already, and inviting the community to their next meeting, tomorrow night (Wednesday), 7:30 pm @ Fauntleroy Children’s Center. Organizers describe WS Relay for Life as “a fun-filled overnight event designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer in our community.” The event includes the lighting of luminaria (in the white bags you see in the photo above). If you can’t attend tomorrow night’s meeting (they meet each month, same time, same location, second Wednesday), you can find out more about Relay for Life by calling Karee at 206-674-4105 or Melissa at 206-281-3738.
From West Seattle Blog contributing photographer Matt Durham, two photographs of events around WS today — first, from the Gee West Seattle (ex-Huling) auction preview (more info on the auction, which starts tomorrow and Thursday @ 10 am, in this earlier post):
Second photo is a familiar scene to West Seattle families with kids in elementary school — and for everyone else, it explains why you are seeing kids out and about earlier than usual this week — it’s “early release” time, to clear afternoon/evening blocks for parent-teacher conferences. Here, Matt photographed Kent Ferris, 4th-grade teacher from Lafayette Elementary in the Admiral District, meeting with parents:
Parent-teacher conferences (and early dismissals) continue citywide through November 20; here’s the district calendar. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Two opportunities — one pre-Thanksgiving, one on the holiday itself.
Pre-Thanksgiving, High Point Community Center invites everybody to a feast they’re having this Friday night, 6-8 pm, featuring deep-fried turkeys, veggies, rolls, even door prizes.
On Thanksgiving — we just got details from Carol Madaio @ Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering about the fabulous free feast that somebody mentioned in our RRR thread below, the community dinner at the Hall @ Fauntleroy:
Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering hosts a free Thanksgiving Community Meal on Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, from noon to 3 PM at our banquet facility The Hall at Fauntleroy. This will be our 9th year hosting Thanksgiving dinner at the Hall. Co-owners David and Meg Haggerty and David Meckstroth invite all to come to this served traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings prepared by our Executive Chef Michael Chase. The meal is a seated dinner served by our volunteer families – many who have been with us every year since we began in 1998. We are located in the old Fauntleroy School Building across from the Fauntleroy Church at 9131 California Ave SW.
In the RRR of your blog, Jan commented that it is not a “soup kitchen†kind of meal. This is in part because of the warm atmosphere of our room. The biggest part however is our guests. Some people come from the street to warm up and have a much needed meal. Some come from their warm homes to share conversation. Some come just to be taken care of for the day. Some come alone, some bring the whole family. Some guests come because they came the first year and look forward to the ambience which has made this into a new tradition. The reasons are as different as our guests, but one thing is for sure, we all leave with a sense of community.
People can call me if they need any more information, 206-932-1059 ex 305.
Not sure if this is the first time the Seattle City Council has gathered on Delridge — but it’s probably the loudest time. Members were at Delridge and Myrtle to officially unveil the Pedestrian Safety Initiative (details here; we’re checking for West Seattle specifics) that’s part of the $900 million-plus city budget proposal. Here’s our first video clip (1 more to come) from the start of the event this morning; local kids appear nearby, about a minute in:
Second clip features a local neighborhood activist hoping to get her voice heard:Read More
Heard back from KC Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s staff on our question about the KCFD plan approved this morning: 
No significant changes from the original plan posted on the county website. The levy rate to pay for Ferry District operations — including the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, the Seattle-Vashon passenger ferry that the state has to give up, and “demonstration routes” on other county waterways — will be 5.5 cents per $1000 of property value — $22/year ($1.83/month) if your home is worth $400,000. The assessment will start in January. As for Water Taxi operations — Argosy will continue to operate the service next year, for a season that might start slightly earlier and end slightly later than this year, and in summer of 2009; if dock improvements at Seacrest are ready by fall 2009, that’s when “in-house operations” would begin and the Water Taxi would go year-round — if dock improvements aren’t done by then, they say, that work would happen in winter ’09-’10 (it can’t happen any other time of the year) and year-round operations would start no later than spring 2010.
8-1 in favor (King County Councilmembers sitting as King County Ferry District), only no vote was Reagan Dunn. Missed part of the discussion so checking to see what changes if any were included in the approved plan, which is FD2007-06.1, with Title Amendment T. Lots of happy talk about transportation in King County now going “back to the future,” with a modern-day version of the fabled Mosquito Fleet. West Seattle’s Councilmember Dow Constantine talked about how the Mosquito Fleet was swept away by the automobile, but now, “those automobiles are sitting in gridlock and we don’t have a lot of choices about how to get from place to place” — this is a step toward more options; it includes demonstration routes elsewhere on Puget Sound and Lake Washington, in addition to the Elliott Bay Water Taxi and county operation of the Vashon-Seattle passenger ferry that the state has to give up. More details in a bit.
As of right this moment, it’s preview time for the items that the ex-Gee dealerships are auctioning this week as part of the process of getting cleared out by the end of the month. The preview (till 4 pm today) and auction (10 am both Wednesday & Thursday) are likely to be quite lively; the official auction webpage mentions “food service available at auction site” (personally, we’d just walk over to The Junction, so many tasty options). If you’re curious, here are full lists of what’s on the block: “day 1” is here (from item #1, a battery charger, to #814, miscellaneous plants), “day 2” is here (from #831, a pneumatic fuel tank, to #1145, whiteboard and cabinets), downloadable PDF of the whole catalog is here.
You can watch/listen in online (or on cable) on King County TV. (The levy to pay for Elliott Bay Water Taxi operations and other passenger-ferry routes is the main topic of discussion right now.)
We first told you five days ago about the new proposal to rezone both sides of a stretch of California Ave south of Admiral Junction. Right now it’s zoned NC1-30 (latter number is maximum height); the proposal, brought by a representative for area property owners, is to change that to NC2-40. (“NC” stands for neighborhood commercial; other Seattle zoning designations explained here.) Here’s the area in question, in a screengrab straight from the city “notice of application” page:
Some of those commenting on our original post suggested new development in that area will be an aesthetic improvement. Then there are concerns like this one:Read More
There are several important things happening in, and pertaining to, West Seattle tomorrow. You can find them right now on the WSB Events page; we were going to put together a preview post for tonight, but we think we have a better way to conclude the “holiday” night — asking you to help a fellow WSB reader with this recommendation request:
The people we normally spend Thanksgiving with are not having a gathering this year, so we’re on our own and are looking for a restaurant. Does anyone have any recommendation for a nice place for a couple to have Thanksgiving dinner that doesn’t cost a small fortune? Our favorite restaurant is closed on Thanksgiving. I checked with Salty’s online and their buffet is almost $50 a person – I’m thinking I’d like to spend a little less than that for dinner. It doesn’t have to be a buffet, and not even necessarily “typical” Thanksgiving food. Doesn’t have to be in West Seattle, but within half an hour or so would be fine. Any thoughts?
Post your recommendation(s) in the comments; previous WSB Reader Recommendation Requests and responses are archived here.
We feel quite lucky to be able to share excellent photographs with you from this photogenically stormy day. Our newest three are from longtime West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham (his new collaboration with WSB is noted here) — two more from the spray-riffic Constellation Park zone, and then a third reminding us why today was a “holiday” in the first place — Matt’s captions are beneath each photo:
Cold spray from white-capped waves greeted adventure-goers at Constellation Park just south of Alki Point. Waves slammed into the sea wall during an afternoon middle tide.
This motorcyclist has a cold ride home after soaking his clothes in the spray of today’s wind-driven waves along Constellation Park.
Two flags were set for our veterans at Forest Lawn Cemetery (map) today. In years past, volunteers used to line every veteran’s headstone with an American Flag in a gesture of thanks and appreciation.
(Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
| 40 COMMENTS