West Seattle, Washington
30 Friday
(First 2 photos by Patrick Sand)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog
Salmon releases wrapped up in Fauntleroy Park with 75 fourth- and fifth-graders from Sanislo Elementary this morning. They were among 725 students from 16 West Seattle schools releasing about 1,800 coho fry into Fauntleroy Creek. An additional 315 adults and young siblings came on the 21 releases.
Fourteen schools received eyed eggs in January through the Salmon in the Schools program and volunteer Jack Lawless reared another 500 for the Fauntleroy Watershed Council to offer to two preschools and an elementary that lost most of its fish during a power outage.
The council has about 100 fry left and invites anyone who would like to put a fish in the water to a community salmon release on Saturday, June 8, 1:00-3:00 pm at the big bridge in Fauntleroy Park:
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Volunteers will be on hand to talk salmon, habitat, and stewardship.
Volunteers Dennis Hinton (above), Pete Draughon, and Shannon Ninburg dipped fish, looked out for safety, and guided students in exploring native habitat in the park. Peggy Cummings and Mark Ahlness were on-call exploration volunteers. Many of the students also had lunch and a Q&A session in the lower creek with project coordinators Judy Pickens and Phil Sweetland.
(Photo by Kersti Muul)
The fry will use their year in fresh water to grow into fingerlings and then smolts. Those that survive will leave the creek next spring for their two years in saltwater before the survivors return to spawn.
Since 2003, volunteers have been documenting smolt survival by briefly trapping them as they leave the park and reaches downstream of there. Between March 15 and May 26 this year, 22 smolts left for saltwater – half last year’s total. After a preliminary assessment by volunteers, the watershed council called on city and state specialists to help determine why only four of those smolts exited Fauntleroy Park.
Gone now but we’re mentioning it because the other one might show up later: That was just the obligatory pre-holiday-weekend TV-news chopper ferry-traffic flyover.
P.S. Two-hour wait at Fauntleroy right now, per WSF.
8:41 PM: Beautiful night at The Hall at Fauntleroy, inside and out, as the West Seattle Helpline hosted its annual Taste of West Seattle, raising money for emergency assistance that helps keep people from becoming homeless. Dozens of local food and beverage venues/providers were there with samples and sips – like Mission Cantina (WSB sponsor) with esquites con nopale:
Flying Apron‘s offerings included chocolate cupcakes with curry frosting:
The tasting tables were spread throughout the Hall and across its grounds, including both of its big rooms:
Serving up chicken paella, Colleen and Kim from Dream Dinners West Seattle (WSB sponsor):
Lots of beverages too – winemaker Ben Viscon of Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) was pouring:
Michelle, Brie, and Shauna from Pecos Pit BBQ (WSB sponsor) were dishing up all-beef spicy hot links and mac ‘n’ cheese:
We have a few more photos to add – plus, we’re awaiting the results of Taste-goers’ voting – more later!
ADDED LATE THURSDAY: Also at the Taste – Husky Deli‘s Jack Miller:
And from Salty’s (WSB sponsor), Victor was serving aleppo-pepper-crusted ahi:
New participants included Indulge Desserts, a relatively recent arrival at 35th/Henderson.
ADDED FRIDAY: Update from the Helpline:
The winners for best…
Taste – Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes
Veggie Taste – Mission Cantina
Pour – The Bridge
Mocktail – All In
Sweet – Bakery NouveauThough there are still some donations and matches coming in, so far we have raised over $57,000. This is enough to keep over 160 families safe and stable in their homes while they recover from unexpected hardship!!
Thanks to Krista for the photo and tip. A multi-vehicle collision at the Fauntleroy ferry dock has brought a police and fire response and, says WSF, is expected to lead to some delays. No report of serious injuries. (You can check the latest terminal conditions via webcams here.)
From Erich in Fauntleroy:
A boy’s bike appeared in my back yard 3 nights ago, about 2 blocks from Endolyne Joe’s. It is blue and white and has a round sticker on the front saying “In Memoriam — RIP Jimmy John” with a little number 22 on the sticker. I’m thinking the owner will know the manufacturer and / or model of the bike.
Yours? Let us know and we’ll connect you.
(WSB photo, 4/28/2019)
Another spring tradition for unburdening yourself of unwanted-but-reusable items: Fauntleroy Church‘s Recycle Roundup. The most recent one happened two weeks ago; Judy Pickens reports today that participants were part of a record:
The spring recycle roundup at Fauntleroy Church is always a busy one as people clean house or prepare to move. The April 28 roundup at Fauntleroy Church proved to be especially so as a record 540 vehicles came through to leave the crew from 1 Green Planet the biggest haul of recyclables yet with – 16.54 tons. Total weight going back to the resource stream since the roundups began in 2010 is 248.7 tons. The fall roundup is set for Sunday, Sept. 22.
As we showed you earlier this week, it’s salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek – part of the annual lifecycle since community advocacy led to work that brought the creek back to life. Part of it remains underground, carried in culverts, and some sections need to be replaced, so Seattle Public Utilities is in the early stages of figuring out how. Back in March, SPU offered opportunities to offer early-stage comments. If you missed those, it’s not too late to comment – SPU reopened its online survey seeking your opinion. As the (short) survey explains:
Design options present tradeoffs. This includes the opportunity to enhance creek habitat with open channel sections. However, these features require retaining walls and potential realignment that can have greater short-term construction impacts, as well as require long-term changes to existing site conditions.
So they’re asking about your priorities – when you can spare a moment or two to comment, go here. (Background info from the March open house is here.)
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Every spring, salmon fry like these are released into Fauntleroy Creek with the hopes of students, educators, and volunteers swimming right along next to them. Today, these were the first school-raised fry of the year to be set free. And the occasion brought another first:
Fifth-graders from Louisa Boren STEM K-8 are the first at their school to participate in the Salmon in the Schools program. They arrived by bus at Fauntleroy Park in the midmorning sun and headed to the creek:
Watershed steward Judy Pickens tells us that lead teacher Christina Massimino and students at Boren have “jumped in” wholeheartedly with a lot of environmental learning tied to coho-raising in the four months since eggs were delivered.
Another 19 releases are planned in the next month. Judy adds, “Volunteers Dennis Hinton, Pete Draughon, and Shannon Ninburg will be in the woods again this year, dipping fish, looking out for safety, and coordinating habitat exploration.”
After the fry are freed, it’s off to Judy’s end of the creek, closer to the overlook across from the Fauntleroy ferry dock, for Q&A and lunch. The annual cycle at Fauntleroy Creek also includes the fall watch for spawners; last year, volunteers counted 18, the most in four years.
P.S. In case you haven’t already seen it, Fauntleroy Creek – and Dennis and Judy – got a TV showcase this week.
Looks like West Seattle will again be tons lighter after the twice-annual Recycle Roundup, with 1 Green Planet crews on site right now at Fauntleroy Church. The second hour is wrapping up; we stopped by in the first hour and found a steady stream of recyclers:
No charge for dropoffs – check check this list before you go. And be aware the crew has the discretion to refuse items; we haven’t heard of that happening much over the years but one commenter this morning says their plastic-and-fabric office chair was not accepted.
Another caveat – while this continues until 3, please don’t wait until the last minute! The volunteer organizers/coordinators will appreciate that. Fauntleroy Church is at 9140 California SW; here’s a map.
Don’t toss it – recycle it!
Twice a year, Fauntleroy Church invites you to bring no-longer-wanted/neeed items to its parking lot (9140 California SW) 9 am-3 pm, and next Sunday (April 28th) sis the day you can drive/ride/walk up to drop recyclables off for free. 1 Green Planet will be there, and the newest list of what they’re accepting this time is here.
(WSB file photo)
Just two weeks until your chance to help keep tons of no-longer-wanted/needed items from ending up in the waste stream question via the spring Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church. 9 am-3 pm Sunday, April 28th, drive/ride/walk up to the church lot at 9140 California SW with your recyclables, and drop them off for free with the church’s longtime Recycle Roundup partner, 1 Green Planet. If you’re ready to go through your stuff and see what you can unload, compare what you have with the newest list of the dozens of types of items they will accept – see the list here. (That link also includes what NOT to bring.)
It’s never too soon to look ahead to … fall? That was part of the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s April agenda this past Tuesday.
(WSB photo from 2018 Fauntleroy Fall Festival)
FALL FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER: The FCA is a major supporter of the annual festival and is involved in its major fundraiser coming up May 7th at Endolyne Joe’s (9261 45th SW; WSB sponsor) – dine there that day/night and part of the proceeds benefit this year’s festival! FCA board members donate baskets to be raffled during the benefit, and spent some time Tuesday discussing that.
POLICE UPDATE: Southwest Precinct operations commander Lt. Steve Strand was in attendance. He mentioned a noise-enforcement patrol is planned in Fauntleroy soon. As precinct leadership have been telling community groups, they’re providing special attention in other trouble spots too. He also had another update on the fire-ravaged problem house across from Lincoln Park – it’s boarded up, with “no trespassing” signage, and ready for sale or demolition. (No permits are in the city files but we did see the “emergency order” mandating it to be vacated a month ago.)
As happens at just about every community meeting with police in attendance, the subject of RV camping came up. Lt. Strand said “new directives” are in progress for dealing with that and should be in place within a few weeks.
FERRY DOCK’S FUTURE: Though the Fauntleroy dock rebuild is still a decade or so away, conversations about the project are already happening. A rep from one of the engineering firms already talking with Washington State Ferries, Harbor Consulting Engineers, was at the FCA meeting. He said the state is currently looking at a nearly $100 million investment in the project, starting with an environmental study that alone would likely take about four years. His main message was that the state wants to get community opinion about the dock’s future and impacts including traffic. The FCA’s longtime ferry liaison Gary Dawson pointed out that all this has long been on the FCA’s radar. Another significant issue: The dock project’s effect on salmon, with Fauntleroy Creek’s mouth right next door.
The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets second Tuesdays most months, 7 pm, at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse; community members always welcome. Watch fauntleroy.net for updates between meetings.
9:43 AM: Maybe you can help find Jane‘s car, stolen in Fauntleroy:
2012 black Ford Flex stolen overnight/early Friday a.m. from my garage in the 4500 block of SW Concord St. Year: 2012. License plate: AKM2728. Other details: Silver ski rack crossbars.
Police case #2019-120457. If you see this car or have any information, please call 911 with this case #.
5:08 PM: A reader found it in Highland Park – see comments.
Washington State Ferries wants to be sure you know that the Fauntleroy-Vashon run is getting heavier traffic this afternoon because of a service outage on the south end of Vashon. The Tahlequah-Point Defiance run has been shut down since the M/V Chetzemoka went out of service with a generator problem. No ETA yet for its return.
(WSB photo from April 2018 Recycle Roundup)
A question about the date for the next Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church reminds us that it’s time to remind you – exactly one month away! 9 am-3 pm Sunday, April 28th, you will be welcome to drive/ride/walk up with your recyclables for free dropoff with the church’s Recycle Roundup partner, 1 Green Planet. Just be sure it’s on the newest list of what they’re accepting – see that list here. It all happens in the parking lot outside the church, 9140 California SW.
A reminder today from Washington State Ferries, for people who use the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route:
Starting in ONE WEEK, the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route will be operating on a brand new weekday and adjusted weekend schedule! Be sure to make your plans by picking up a green Spring 2019 sailing schedule or going online (here).
Meantime, the Triangle Route will be back to the regular three-boat schedule tomorrow.
(WSB photos)
6:47 PM: Until 8 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW) is abuzz with the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s annual membership meeting and Food Fest. In addition to tastes from local food/drink purveyors, you’ll find info tables from community and government organizations – just stop in! Updates to come.
ADDED EARLY WEDNESDAY: A few more scenes from the event:
The season of school fundraisers continues, and we have two Saturday events to note:
SATURDAY MORNING MOVIE FOR CO-OP PRESCHOOLS: You can start the day at the Admiral Theater, 9:30 am:
South Seattle College Cooperative Preschools will be hosting a screening of “My Neighbor Totoro” at the Admiral Theater (to whom we are incredibly grateful for hosting the
event!). “My Neighbor Totoro” (directed by Hayao Miyazaki) is a beautiful family-friendly animated film about two young sisters and their adventures with friendly forest spirits in rural Japan.Tickets will be available at the door for a suggested donation of $7 each or $25 for a family. Children under 1 are free. We are only able to accept cash or check at the door.
All proceeds go to support the Mary E. Phillips Scholarship Fund, making SSC Cooperative preschool affordable to all. SSC Co-op Preschools have locations throughout West Seattle (Alki, North Admiral, Lincoln Park, White Center, and SSC Campus) and we will have information about our preschools available at the event.
SATURDAY NIGHT PARTY FOR FAUNTLEROY CHILDREN’S CENTER: From Judy Pickens:
The 32nd annual dinner auction on Saturday, March 16, to benefit the Fauntleroy Children’s Center is a three-generation affair for the Nickels family.
Sharon Nickels (left) will be there with husband and former Seattle mayor Greg as he runs the live auction. Their daughter, Carey Nickels, is chairing the auction committee and grandchildren Rowan and Ciaran O’Brien attend the center.
“Moonlight Masquerade” will get under way at 5:30 pm in the Hall @ Fauntleroy. Find details and reserve your seat at fauntleroychildrenscenter.org/annual-auction.
Toplines from last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting:
CULVERT REPLACEMENT: As noted here last weekend, the Seattle Public Utilities project to replace century-old culverts that take Fauntleroy Creek under 45th SW and California SW is approaching the design phase, and the FCA board meeting was the first of three stops in less than two weeks for project manager Cody Nelson. Construction is likely in multiple phases between 2021 and 2024, each several weeks long, since it has to take into account the windows with least effect on the creek’s fish as well as neighborhood impacts.
Nelson showed images from a video survey of the existing culverts, showing damage and wear. New laws require the culverts to be much wider than the current ones so that fish have fewer barriers to passage. The replacements will still be 30 to 40 feet underground, as are the current ones, but they’ll be at least 11 feet wide as required. SPU is also talking with Fauntleroy Church, as part of the California culvert is on church-owned property, so the work would affect the church/YMCA parking lot as well as the road.
The design process isn’t expected to start before the end of this year, so there’s plenty of time to ask questions and voice concerns, starting with two events next week: SPU will have an informational table at the FCA’s annual Food Fest membership meeting (6-8 pm Tuesday, March 19th, The Hall at Fauntleroy) and then a project-specific open house the next night, also at The Hall, 5-7 pm Wednesday, March 20th.
CRIME/SAFETY UPDATE: Southwest Precinct operations commander Lt. Steve Strand was in attendance. He said SDCI has taken action against the “problem house” across from the main Lincoln Park parking lot, unsafe for occupancy because of a fire a while back, and said those in the house were supposed to be out by last Friday. No reports of trespassers since then. He also mentioned Westwood Village, saying it’s had signs of improvement, with shoplifting starting to drop, but they’re keeping up the pressure, including another attempt at an observation tower/platform on the grounds.
FOOD FEST NEXT WEEK: The FCA’s annual all-community meeting, famous for food samples from local businesses, is next Tuesday (March 19th) at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). No list yet of participants – the FCA board member organizing that is out of town. This is a night for renewing FCA membership ($25 a year for residents) and for a bit of official business like board elections, which are planned at 7 pm.
11:50 AM: From Washington State Ferries:
The M/V Sealth is out of service due to unscheduled maintenance until further notice. The Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route will operate under the normal 3-boat schedule without the #2 vessel departures and arrivals. Real-time departures and arrivals of the M/V Cathlamet and M/V Chelan can be viewed on www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch.
It was just yesterday that the route returned to 3-boat service after a week with two.
1:30 PM: The problem was brief and the run’s back to three-boat service.
The map is from Seattle Public Utilities, showing Fauntleroy Creek, which has a big project ahead, as explained by SPU:
There are three culverts along Fauntleroy Creek. The culverts located at 45th Avenue SW near SW Wildwood Place and California Avenue SW near SW Brace Point Drive are in extremely poor structural condition. Due to the culverts’ age, condition, and permitting restrictions related to fish passage requirements, the culverts need to be fully replaced.
The third culvert, which is located under Fauntleroy Way and includes a fish ladder, was replaced in the late 1990’s and is not part of this project.
The replacements also would improve conditions for salmon in Fauntleroy Creek, says the city. Right now, SPU is evaluating options for the replacement, before entering the design phase. At this early stage, you have three opportunities this month to hear from and talk with SPU reps:
*Fauntleroy Community Association business meeting, 7 pm Tuesday (March 12th), Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW)
*FCA annual meeting and Food Fest, 6 pm March 19th, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9140 California SW)
*Project-specific open house, 5-7 pm March 20th, The Hall at Fauntleroy
From Washington State Ferries:
The Chelan returns to the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route on Monday, putting three boats back to the run to start the week. We appreciate your patience during this past week while the route was on a two-boat schedule due to unplanned vessel maintenance. Starting on Monday, the vessels will be in the following order: Chelan #1, Sealth #2 and Cathlamet #3.
(WSB photo from February)
Two weeks ago, we reported on a state Department of Natural Resources-contracted crew removing creosote-contaminated logs from the Fauntleroy shore, one of many cleanups they do on shorelines around the state each year, with hopes of doing more. Resident Mike Dey (who also leads the Fauntleroy Commmunity Association) shares word of the final total – “45,960 pounds of contaminated logs from Fauntleroy Cove and another 16,580 pounds from Lincoln Park for a total of 62,540 pounds of creosote laden logs from the beach. (The DNR) said this may be the largest collection they have ever had from a continuous private beach. Quite a haul.”
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