West Seattle, Washington
31 Thursday
When demolition equipment dug into the century-old house at 4526 41st SW (map) on Thursday, it wasn’t the start, but more like the end to the process. To find out more about the forthcoming four-townhome project, previously mentioned here last September, WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli talked with owner/developer Zoran Brlecic (below left), who lives across the alley:
Christopher reports:
He said the house was built in 1907 and that they spent months dismantling and giving away whatever could be re-used, including the back deck, which was meticulously disassembled over the course of a week before being hauled away. Zoran says he thinks the house may have been one of the first on the block to convert from coal to burning gas. The house’s gas furnace from the 1950s was still in good working order before it was removed.
Zoran and his wife left their native Croatia just a couple of years before the war broke out in the ’90s. They immigrated to Canada, where they were able to get work visas and then later got refugee status. Ultimately they moved to Ohio and then to Seattle. Zoran says that if this goes well he plans to continue developing properties. He said this property is being built green with a number of features to control water run-off from the property. They hope to have the project completed in nine months.
It went through the “streamlined design review” process; the informational packet remains online. When it’s done, Brlecic told Christopher, he plans to move into one of the new units.
(Ben Wexler pitching)
Another win for West Seattle High School‘s baseball team, reports parent Greg Slader, sharing photos and this summary:
The varsity baseball team improves to 2-1 on the season. Seven pitchers combined to hold Lakeside to one run. Spencer Elder had two hits as the offense executed when they needed to, in order to score four runs. Next game is Saturday @ Safeco Field – 4 pm, come support your team!
(Kevin Cuddy pitching)
As noted in this comment earlier this week, the Saturday game is WSHS vs. Kentridge at the Safe, and admission is free.
Just discovered this in the West Seattle section of the weekly road-work update the city updates every Thursday – Lane closures are expected April 2nd and 3rd on California SW between Holly and Myrtle in south Morgan Junction/west Gatewood (map), because of repaving work. We’ll be following up with SDOT tomorrow to find out if this is “spot repaving” or something more extensive.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?”:
*At 39th and Oregon on the 17th, around 8 pm, a man driving by noticed another citizen being threatened by a man with a gun. He honked his car horn, and the suspect — along with a second man — ran off. The driver picked up the victim and drove him home while the victim called 911. Due to heavy foot traffic in the area, the K9 unit couldn’t pick up a good trail. The man with the gun was described as black, 22-29 years old, around 5’10”, wearing a dark hoodie. The other man (who stole the victim’s cell phone) was described as white, aged 22-29, about 6’2”, wearing dark clothing.
*On the 18th, in the 7300 block of 30th SW, a man found two young men peering into his car, which was warming up in the driveway. He asked, “Did you take something from my car?” In response, one youth turned and punched him four or five times. Officers tracked down two teens matching the description in the restroom at EC Hughes Park. The 15-year-old who threw the punches was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of assault and for investigation of marijuana possession. The other, 16, was released to his parents.
Nine more summaries ahead:Read More
One of the clubs whose meetings are regularly featured in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, the West Seattle Cooking Club, is changing its schedule. It has long met mostly on Monday afternoons, but now it’s changing to every other Sunday, we’re told by WSCC’s Jenn Gibson. That starts with this Sunday, 3 pm, at Beveridge Place Pub, when the theme will be “breakfast cereal” – so you’re asked to make and bring something involving a recipe using breakfast cereal. Because of Easter, the next meeting will be three weeks after that (“Foods Inspired by the Movies” on April 14th), and we’ll have the rest of the calendar in ours – or check the WSCC website.
(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)
Today we welcome a new WSB sponsor, Vibrant Life Guided Wellness Programs:
West Seattle naturopath Dr. Katherine Oldfield and Bastyr-trained dietitian Michelle Babb have joined
forces to create Vibrant Life Guided Wellness Programs – a whole-foods based, anti-inflammatory program for weight management and optimal cardiovascular health. Dr. Oldfield (right) and Michelle (below right) facilitate and guide each 12-week program, bringing people together with similar challenges to receive professional guidance with the goal of health transformation from the inside out. The groups are purposefully kept small to facilitate sharing and to personalize the program. Most programs involve a three-week hormone-balancing cleanse or an anti-inflammatory cleanse. Michelle and Dr. Oldfield guide the re-introduction of the foods so that each participant learns how to eat a delicious whole-foods diet that optimizes their health, increases energy, reduces joint pain, and promotes long-term weight management. Depending on the program, Katherine and Michelle share their knowledge on topics that range from inflammation to menopause, 
but most importantly they integrate their passion for food and give practical tips that set their program participants up for success. The programs always include cooking demos, guest speakers and hands-on activities.
We all know it’s important to eat more vegetables, cut down on the junk food and get some exercise, but knowing and doing are two different things. Vibrant Life helps people achieve those goals and make lifelong change. “The most rewarding part of this program is seeing people who have been chronic dieters change their relationship with food, lose weight and learn to be truly healthy without dieting,” said Michelle. “And I get to see the evidence of how these changes affect our class participants when labs come back showing better blood sugar control and decreased cholesterol” added Dr Oldfield. The Vibrant Life philosophy is that weight loss is not just a calories-in, calories-out equation. The type of food matters, and there are a multitude of other factors that influence weight including exercise, sleep, hormone imbalance and stress management. All of these factors are addressed in the 12-week programs. Vibrant Life’s co-founders both live and have their individual practices in West Seattle. Dr. Oldfield says “We may not be as intriguing as the story about catamarans with couches, or as riveting as the recent estate sale robbery, but anybody who takes one of our classes can expect to learn a whole new way of eating and approaching health and have fun doing it.”
For more info or to take the quiz and see what program is right for you, visit www.vibrantlifeseattle.com.
We thank Vibrant Life Guided Wellness Programs for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Even before a flurry of inquiries wondering what we knew about that sign on the lower level of The Residences at 3295 – the finally-almost-done building on the southeast corner of 35th/Avalon – we’d been trying to reach the former proprietor of Redline Music and Sports, to ask if it meant his plan to “resurrect” Redline was itself revived. (It was in the works two years ago – till the building changed owners.) Today, we found a partner in the business who says, only in name. A restaurant is indeed opening there under the name Redline WS, Michael Bauer told WSB’s Katie Meyer. And former Redline proprietor Scott Goerig is involved – managing and marketing Redline WS, Bauer says. But otherwise, according to Bauer, it’ll be an all-ages family restaurant with TVs showing sports events all day long, and a menu featuring pizza and burgers, “typical Americana.” In the morning, he says, it will likely have more of a coffee-shop feel because of the major bus stops nearby. Redline WS is targeting a June opening – but things could change, so stay tuned.
2:52 PM: We’ve heard that other parts of West Seattle have had off-on hail/graupel/sleet etc. this afternoon, and it’s finally arrived here in Upper Fauntleroy. Ground-covering, even! Photo in a moment.
2:58 PM: And now … it’s sunny!
3:34 PM NOTE: This might not be the end of the unstable weather – the National Weather Service renewed the alert just before that icy shower hit. (Still sunny as we write, though.)
(UPDATED THURSDAY EVENING with new comments from prospective club buyer Sam Adams, and another “response” document – both updates added at end of story)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Continuing our coverage of Allstar Fitness‘s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, there are new developments as the proposed sale of the 
club’s assets goes before a federal judge downtown tomorrow morning:
More than 50 responses and/or objections to the sale motion have been filed, according to our most recent check of the online docket. We haven’t read all of them yet; most appear to be from individuals, with one exception: GRE 509 Olive LLC.
Its objection involves both the sale and the purchase. You can read it in its entirety here; while we’ve been working on this story, a response has been filed as well – a response saying that if the sale is not approved, the bankruptcy will go to Chapter 7 and the club will close, and had already been on the brink of closing in January.
First, excerpts from the objection:
At the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s past few meetings, they’ve talked about plans to get Mayor McGinn to The Admiral District for a walking tour – and it’s finally set. This Saturday afternoon, a delegation including ANA president David Whiting plans to take him from Admiral Safeway to Alki Mail and Dispatch in the span of an hour or so, starting at 1 pm, with issues to be discussed including development and safety.
(March 10 WSB photo by Nick Adams)
Can you help Fairmount Ravine neighbors finish what they started almost two weeks ago? As you might have seen in our coverage of their annual cleanup, they had so much to handle, from encampments to weeds, that they decided to follow up – so at 8:30 am this Saturday (March 23), they and anyone else who cares to help will meet again at Fairmount and Forest south of the ravine (map) for another couple hours of cleanup. John Lang tells WSB, “If enough people show up, we will clean the Admiral bridge sidewalk too. We did this 2 years ago and cleared off decades of leaf mulch and garbage. This is a heavily used pedestrian walkway to Admiral Junction.”
(Photo courtesy John Calambokidis)
Your next chance to join The Whale Trail and friends in learning about local marine life is one week from tonight. From TWT’s Donna Sandstrom:
Harbor porpoises were once commonly seen throughout the Salish Sea. After falling to record lows, sightings are on the increase. Is the population coming back? Scientists recently gathered to discuss what we know – and don’t know – about these elusive animals. What is their range? What do they eat? Like their cousins the orcas, harbor porpoise are an indicator species for the health of Puget Sound. How are they doing?
Join us for on March 28 at C & P Coffee for the next Orca Talk, featuring John Calambokidis, founder and director of Cascadia Research. John and his colleague Jessie Huggins are leaders in the transboundary effort to assess and monitor the health of the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea. John is a renowned biologist who directs long-term research on the status, movements, and underwater behavior of blue, humpback, and gray whales. In 2010, John conducted the necropsy on the gray whale that stranded on Arroyo Beach in West Seattle.
The event is scheduled 6:30-9 pm, $5 suggested donation, tickets available at brownpapertickets.com. Along with the guest speaker and The Whale Trail, Donna adds, “The event also features updates from Robin Lindsey (Seal Sitters), and ‘Diver Laura’ James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography and art from Judy Lane and Mike Russell.”
In recent months, City Council President Sally Clark and Councilmember Nick Licata have made the rounds of neighborhood meetings to talk about the proposed city zoning restrictions for marijuana growing/selling/etc. (Here’s our video of Clark’s briefing at the Southwest District Council last November.) Today, the city has announced 2 pm April 24 as a City Council committee’s public-hearing date for its proposals – here’s the notice that just arrived with the biweekly Land Use Information Bulletin. You can read the newest revision of the proposed ordinance (dated two days ago) by going here, and/or reading the summary here; one topline for potential West Seattle effects – it would limit marijuana business/growing activity in single-family and multi-family residential zones, and in Neighborhood Commercial 1 zones. The city also created an “informal” map earlier this year with an overlay of proposed city and state rules. Today’s hearing notice also explains how to comment in writing if you can’t be there in person.
Even this morning’s chill can’t chase away the spring daydreams – like getting out and golfing. Ruthi Winter shares the annual invitation from the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club for prospective new members:
Dust off your clubs! It’s time to get ready for the 2013 Golf Season!
The West Seattle Women’s Golf Club is welcoming new members for the 2013 season. Applications may be found on the West Seattle Women’s Golf Club Website.
Our organization began in the 1940s and has been in continuous operation since then. On this well established and beautiful course, you will enjoy breath-taking views of downtown Seattle, Mt. Rainier, and even Mt. Baker on occasion.
Our organization is made up of women of all skill levels, from beginners to experienced golfers from all areas within Seattle and the surrounding communities. We offer weekly competitions as well as other special tournaments that are free to all members. This is a great group of women who love to play golf and socialize fter a rousing game at our outdoor café, rated by Golf Digest as one of the 50 best 19th holes in the country.
We’d love to have you join us for the 2013 season at the West Seattle Golf Course, one of the best public courses in the Northwest. For more information, please contact Ruthi Winter, West Seattle Women’s Golf Club New Member Chair, at 206 251 2031 or ruthi.winter@gmail.com.
(Salmonberry blossom shared by “Old Desolate” via the WSB Flickr group)
First full day of spring, and many more flowers to come! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, some of what’s up today/tonight:
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LUNCH: Hear the secrets of business success from local entrepreneurs (including WSB sponsor Ventana Construction) during today’s West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch, 11:30 am at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way; WSB sponsor).
NEED AN ORCA CARD? You can get one at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon; WSB sponsor) today at 12:15 pm – details in our calendar listing.
PROTEST MARCH: Supporters of the Idle No More movement is planning a protest march from downtown to the SSA HQ on Harbor Island, to oppose the Whatcom County coal-terminal proposal. Here’s the Facebook event with timeline and route map; this could affect low-bridge users in late afternoon.
NATURE CONSORTIUM GALA: Tonight’s the night for the Nature Consortium‘s new-format gala, “Deep Roots,” at West Seattleite-owned Herban Feast’s SODO Park, with WSB among the event sponsors. 6 pm – details and map in our calendar listing. (Just before publishing this, we checked with Lindsay at NC, and there are a few tickets left – call her at 206-229-5984 ASAP if you are interested.)
ASK AN EXPERT: WSB sponsor LD Arch Design is one of tonight’s experts at the West Seattle Tool Library – from the Facebook event page, tonight’s experts and topics, available for free consultation:
Sustainable Home Renovations | Mighty House Construction
Edible Gardening + Urban Farms | Gray Sky Farm
Architecture and Interior Design | LC Arch Design
ATE runs 6-8 pm – just drop in.
ALSO AT THE TOOL LIBRARY – ARE YOU SHOVEL-READY? The Fixers’ Collective can help you get ready for shoveling season – 6-9 pm at the West Seattle Tool Library (northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW.
NIGHTLIFE – MUSIC AND COMEDY: Check out the individual performance/venues’ listings on the calendar page!
Thanks to Leeann for the tip on this, which we are adding to the daily traffic and highlight lists: The Idle No More indigenous-peoples movement is planning a rally and march this afternoon that might affect West Seattle-bound roads including the low bridge. According to the Facebook event page for the protest, they are headed for SSA’s Terminal 18 to show opposition to the coal terminal proposed for Whatcom County, and they plan to distribute a flyer to truckers. The event page includes a route map showing travel along 1st to lower Spokane St., with a timeline suggesting Harbor Island arrival in the 5 pm vicinity. We’ll track this in the afternoon and update you on what’s happening.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
A weather alert for possible snow showers remains in effect this morning – more likely around the North Seattle/south Snohomish County “convergence zone,” but you’re now forewarned in case it happens further south. Road work reminders: It’s day 2 of Phase 2 work on the Delridge Way repaving project; Delridge is now closed in the southbound direction between Thistle and Trenton. And this weekend, you’ll find ramp closures Friday night through Monday morning because of the I-5 Spokane St. Interchange Special Bridge Repair Project: From the West Seattle Bridge, you won’t be able to get to northbound I-5 or to Beacon Hill.
DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC ALERT THIS MORNING: Police are investigating a shooting on the south end of downtown – the 911 log puts it at 2nd Avenue Ext. and S. Main; SPD, via Twitter, says 3rd/Washington (they’re both in the same triangle area shown on this map). The investigation is likely to affect traffic in that area for hours.
8:29 AM UPDATE: KING 5‘s traffic reporter Tracy Taylor tweets that the investigation scene has cleared.
8:55 AM NOTE: Thanks to Leeann for letting us know about a protest planned on Harbor Island this afternoon. We will write a separate story about it later but in the meantime, for commute purposes, here’s what it’s about, the indigenous/tribal movement Idle No More protesting the Northwest Washington coal-terminal proposal – always tough to figure out in advance whether a protest will attract dozens or hundreds, but some plan to march from Westlake to the SSA terminal on Harbor Island.
Photos by Nick Adams for WSB
(Sealth’s Elijah Lazo and Roosevelt’s Charlie Spurr fight for ball control)
On the first afternoon of spring, a wintry wind blew as Chief Sealth International High School‘s boys-varsity soccer team hosted Roosevelt on Wednesday afternoon. They fought to a scoreless tie – which gives them a 3-1-1 record after the first five games of the season.
(Sealth’s Anthony Masundire drives down the field)
More of WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams‘ scenes from the game, ahead:
A small but hardy group of skywatchers gathered at Solstice Park this evening for Alice Enevoldsen‘s quarterly equinox/sunset viewing, part of her public event schedule as a NASA Solar System Ambassador. A biting wind swept over the slope – that’s Alice, bundled up in blue – but the sun remained in view:
In addition to the globe she totes to explain the meaning of equinox or solstice, whichever applies, this time Alice brought a book she’s written:
This is the one and only copy of the book she’s written for young children, including her own daughter – but she’s looking for a publisher (any suggestions? you can reach her through her website alicesastroinfo.com).
After sunset, she was off to Lincoln Park to comet-watch, and reported via Twitter that PanSTARRS was visible again!
Just noticed this new commercial real-estate listing: The 16,000-square-foot South Delridge site approved for 45 apartments and live-work units at 20th and Barton is up for sale, listed at $850,000. The two vacant, graffiti-covered homes that had been on the site were demolished some weeks back, and the listing points out that the land-use permit has been granted, “building permit in process.” The project required three design-review meetings last year because the concept changed between the first and second meetings. But it drew no controversy along the way – as noted in our October report, your editor here was the only person at the last design review meeting besides board members, project team, and the city planner assigned to the project.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
People call him “Mr. Toilet,” and for Jack Sim, nothing could make him more proud.
Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organization, flew from Singapore to deliver the keynote presentation of World Water Week at Chief Sealth International High School on Tuesday night. It’s the school’s third annual WWW, billed as a “local ideas festival.” This year’s theme, according to student leaders, is centered around toilets, sanitation and health – a truly global issue with truly local connotations.
Sealth students worked tirelessly to plan this week’s events, along with social studies teacher Noah Zeichner, who serves as faculty leader for the project.
(Sealth teacher Noah Zeichner, left, with Jack Sim and an audience member.)
Tuesday’s night’s events kicked off with a Water and Health Resource Fair, featuring a jam-packed hallway of research projects and presentations from Sealth 9th-graders:
In an adjacent hallway, representatives from a variety of organizations like King County, Splash.org, and Friendly Water for the World were on-hand to talk to visitors. We also spotted “Diver Laura” James from Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and the tox-ick.org campaign:
After the resource fair, a big crowd gathered in the Sealth auditorium for a brief awards ceremony and a few remarks from event organizers, before Sim took the stage for his keynote address about toilets, sanitation and public health.
As Sim explained, the global statistics are staggering:
Without proper sanitation and disposal, human waste ends up out in the open or in the rivers and groundwater, further spreading disease. For Sim, who achieved success as a young businessman in Singapore but has now made public health his life’s work for 13 years, his goal is simple but lofty — “I want everybody on planet Earth to have access to clean toilets, any day, any time.” He believes that improved sanitation on a global scale is a goal that can be achieved in 15-20 years with the proper support, and he’s pleased to see people around the world start to rally behind the cause.
To get people talking about such a taboo topic, Sim said he’s worked hard to use humor and a close partnership with the media. The results have been impressive — Sim’s efforts are supported by big names like Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, and by world leaders and government officials everywhere. The Gates Foundation estimates that the outreach efforts have reached 3.3 billion people, and is starting to truly change the conversation.
“When we first started doing this,” Sim said, “no politicians wanted to have their picture taken next to a toilet. Now, they compete!”
Sim showed a series of photos of global “sit-ins” (essentially, huge groups of people sitting on toilets or assuming a “squat” pose in public), holding signs and talking about the issue, along with speeches and stand-up comedy events all designed to erase the stigma and talk about the problems. Social media has been a powerful tool as well, according to Sim. He recalled that on World Toilet Day (November 19) in 2010, the movie release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” fell on the same day — “we saw that toilets were trending on Twitter, one spot behind Harry Potter, and we beat Justin Bieber!”
In addition to increasing public support for dealing with sanitation issues, Sim emphasized the importance of education when it comes to the recipients of that support. In some very poor areas of the world, the usage of toilets is a totally unfamiliar concept. “When you give someone water, they know exactly what to do with it,” Sim said. “But if you give them a toilet, they may not know what to do.” Sim added that in some parts of the world, people avoid using what few toilets may be available, either because the facilities are unsanitary or because they’re located in areas that are unsafe or violent.
Next up for Sim? He headed to New York City today to meet with United Nations officials to discuss making World Toilet Day a “UN Official Day” worldwide. “Wish me luck!” he said.
Sim closed his presentation by showing two videos previously mentioned by WSB, featuring celebrity Matt Damon’s personal “strike” against global sanitation issues (saying that the toilet has “saved more lives than any invention in human history,”) and Sealth students’ creative response to that campaign. Sim praised the efforts of Sealth students and teachers in raising awareness and getting involved, and encouraged them to keep it up.
Sim’s appearance was co-sponsored by Town Hall Seattle. You can support Sealth students’ efforts by visiting their fundraising page, and learn more about Sim’s work in the video below:
When Seattle voters approved the Parks and Green Spaces Levy in 2008, it not only came with a list of “named projects” to fund, it also came with a provision to pay for to-be-identified Opportunity Fund projects – to be proposed by the community, and reviewed by a volunteer committee before the City Council had the final say.
One West Seattle project funded in the first Opportunity Fund round is finally becoming reality: After long, bumpy negotiations, the city has just made a deal to buy a piece of property at 18th and Brandon so it can become a food-growing oasis known as Puget Ridge Edible Park.
Longtime PREP proponent Stu Hennessey is thrilled. It’s been in the works for several years – including two and a half years since he pitched the project to the levy’s Oversight Committee, and almost exactly two years since the City Council finalized the half-million-dollar levy allocation. (We took a closer look at PREP right after that, in March 2011.)
(2011 photo courtesy Stu Hennessey)
Seattle Parks acquisitions planner Chip Nevins confirms to WSB, “We do finally have a signed deal on the property. This has been a long negotiation and the community has been patient. The agreement gives us some time to perform our due diligence on the property. The next step is get an environmental site assessment for the property (which we have started) to make sure it is clean. I cannot give out the purchase price until it closes, which should be on or before June 30, 2013.”
Hennessey tells WSB work parties probably won’t start before fall, because of the aforementioned process, as well as demolition of the house on the PREP site.
While that Opportunity Fund project is finally moving closer to reality, the next round is getting closer to approval, and Oversight Committee chair Pete Spalding of Pigeon Point tells WSB that the draft list has two projects from the Southwest region – weatherization of cabins at Camp Long “so they can be rented all year long,” and the purchase of the South Park Plaza site, to create a park as the new bridge comes online. If those projects do win final approval, Spalding says this area will get $1.4 million of the $7.2 million to be spent in this Opportunity Fund route.
Another project, purchasing some open space on 48th SW on Genesee Hill, had a fair amount of committee support, according to Spalding, but didn’t make the current cut for this funding for a variety of reasons, including the possibility it will be eligible for a different type of funding, and the fact it’s not currently for sale.
Next step: A public hearing at Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill on April 22nd, at which project supporters are welcome to make pitches even if their proposals did not make this cut – the committee could make some changes, if there are compelling reasons. Hearing details are here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
He’s one of a kind.
Det. Christopher Young, the Seattle Police Department‘s lone graffiti detective, made a guest appearance at last night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, debunking graffiti myths and sharing case histories with more than two dozen people, who identified themselves as being from all over the peninsula, plus White Center. (The detective, for his part, said he’s a former West Seattleite.)
He began with the “top 4 graffiti myths.”
| 9 COMMENTS