West Seattle, Washington
21 Saturday
Thanks to JayDee for that sunset shot. After we originally published this post half an hour ago, this view came in from David Hutchinson:
There are still sights to be seen tonight; check out the nearly full moon if you haven’t already (nice picture on Creighton‘s blog, by the way). Latest forecast: Sunny and 90s tomorrow AND Saturday. Here’s a cooling view, from Lincoln Park:
Luckie actually took that one yesterday, by Colman Pool. Not far away, in Fauntleroy tonight, great night for a barbecue:
That video shows an overview of the big crowd on the northwest lawn of The Kenney during tonight’s annual barbecue. The Kenney, by the way, is just about to file applications with the city to initiate its major redevelopment project; we spoke with its CEO a few hours before tonight’s event and plan to publish our report tomorrow.
We’re still in the “no spoilers on the home page” mode for those who recorded the show but haven’t watched it yet, so click ahead to see how Blayne did tonight, and what his Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) boss has to say about it:Read More
Thanks to Karen Berge for sending pix again this week from the outdoor concert series at Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor) — Friday night’s featured performer was Maia Santell, and we caught a video snippet of Maia and her backup band:
Two more outdoor concerts during the monthlong Friday night series — next Friday, it’s the West Seattle Big Band (get a video preview in our Hi-Yu Concert in the Park coverage from last month). The fun all happens in the courtyard/parking area on the south-central side of The Mount, with dinner and beer/wine going on sale at 5 pm, the free tunes starting at 6.
Team WSB watched tonight’s “Project Runway“ episode with a spirited crowd – biggest since the premiere night – at Ginomai, where the air conditioning was heavenly and so was the potluck dessert selection – read on to see how Blayne did and what his Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) boss Lora Lewis says about it:Read More
That garden along SW Rose in Gatewood was one of 10 stops today on the first-ever Edible Gardens of West Seattle tour, presented by Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. That view looks west down Rose, with Puget Sound in the distance – notice the garden’s in the “parking strip” (which is adjacent property owners’ responsibility to maintain). We talked with one of the gardeners, who tells us in this video clip that the garden’s good for more than food:
The tour was free (locations were listed on the online map). Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is best known for organizing volunteer help to harvest fruit from trees where it otherwise might go to waste; to find out how to help with harvests, or how to “donate” the yield of your tree(s), check the CHoSS website.
No same-night spoilers on the home page, so click ahead if you want to know how Blayne did tonight, and/or what his Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) boss Lora Lewis said about it afterward …Read More
That video is from our chat with Abby Suplizio, who leads the West Seattle chapter of CoolMom — the group that got first word of the September 7th Alki “Car-Free Day” (as reported here last Friday). We talked about their potential ideas for the big day, right after it was officially announced today at a beachfront news conference along Alki. Our first report from this morning has full details, including a map of the Harbor/California Way-to-Alki/63rd closure zone (direct map link here). Suplizio’s group members are not the only ones now brainstorming plans for ways to make the six-hour event (noon-6 pm) special — so are Coastal owners Christy Pudduck and Sarah Steere; at the news conference, Steere said they’re hoping not only to see new customers, but to entice West Seattle locals to really come enjoy the beach area:
Coastal, in fact, had a sandbox event out front of its Alki store back on May 31st to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their business (WSB photos here). So what about the operational specifics of the fact that that the September 7th “Car-Free Day” will not be entirely “car-free” along Harbor/Alki? Just ahead, what SDOT director Grace Crunican — who, like the mayor, lives in West Seattle — told us, plus a city request for help:Read More
Your editor here has driven past the Corner Inn (California/Fauntleroy) thousands of times, yet never been inside till this morning’s auction, almost two months after its sudden shutdown. Above, you see just one video clip of many we captured during the auction’s first 45 minutes – even without any personal memories in the place, we found ourselves oddly teary at the sadness of the scene – the icicle lights and Mylar stars still dangling from the ceiling, right next to the elevated portable podium where the namesake of James G. Murphy Auctioneers cheerily (as our video shows) plowed through the list of items, from a colander, to photos from the wall, up to the piano and organ – those by the way went for a shockingly low price; that clip ahead (and we’ll be adding more as we go through our video):Read More
At day’s end, when the heavy-equipment operators parked their rigs for the night, that’s what was still left at the future site of Fauntleroy Place — a massive mountain of debris, and the shell of the ex-Schuck’s/Hancock Fabrics building’s east-facing facade. Crews started tearing into the building around 10:40 this morning, as we showed you here; we checked back around mid-afternoon for another video clip — the progress here was coming from inside the building (keep an eye on the background for chunks falling down, especially one pulled from up top about a minute into the clip):
So there’s more work to do tomorrow. And as mentioned before, the newest Fauntleroy Place design gets a public hearing before the Southwest Design Review Board at 8 pm August 14th (two weeks from Thursday), at High Point Community Center.
That’s WSB video of the West Seattle Hi-Yu float going by during tonight’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, from our vantage point across from the Rainier Club about two-thirds of the way down the parade route. The Hi-Yu folks had extra reasons for those big bright smiles — the Luna Park-themed float won the Smile Award during judging for tonight’s parade. (Full list of winners here.) We’ll add a few more West Seattle moments and parade observations later, but wanted to get this news up first (in case you missed our post to Twitter during the parade). ADDED VERY EARLY SUNDAY: Those assorted extras, including a clip of parade grand marshal Sig Hansen from “Deadliest Catch” (no West Seattle link that I know of, but having had some family ties to the fishing industry, it was interesting to see a fisherman treated like a rock star!):Read More
That’s Eddie Sherman, from the second generation of family ownership at Pacific Plumbing Supply, a regional business headquartered next to the West Marginal/Highland Park Way site that’s one of two potential West Seattle locations on the “final four” list for a public jail. Those two sites were the focus of a three-hour city-organized public forum at South Seattle Community College today. One major revelation from the city officials and consultants who were on hand: The process is slowing a bit now that Seattle is looking at teaming with north- and east-county cities on one semi-regional jail; that means the next round of hearings, on environmental impacts, won’t be till fall (there was originally talk of those hearings happening next month). The concerns expressed by jail opponents, meantime, continue to expand. Hear more of those concerns, and see what happens next, ahead:Read More
First thing this morning, vendors were getting ready for the Alki Beach Art Fair, today and tomorrow 10 am-5 pm, rain or shine, and the Statue of Liberty Plaza construction isn’t getting in the way – as the photo above shows, there are booths to the west, and also lots of booths to the right, on both sides of the bathhouse. Let’s hope things stay dry because tonight is parade night:
That’s the West Seattle Hi-Yu float, royalty, and volunteers in last Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade – towed because of ongoing trouble. They have received a “very special exemption” from Seafair to be towed the entire length of tonight’s Torchlight Parade route downtown. (If you’re not going to the parade, remember many downtown streets will be completely or partly blocked off – the main parade route goes down 4th, from Seattle Center to the International District, and it’s preceded by the Torchlight Run, which puts the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct out of commission approximately 5:30-8 pm.)Meantime, back on our side of the bay, it’s Movies on the Wall night again next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor):
That’s the trailer from the ’80s classic “The Goonies,” tonight’s movie, starting at dusk (9 pm-ish); free admission, but bring a nonperishable food donation for the West Seattle Food Bank, which also is the beneficiary of concession sales presented by West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor). One more outdoor movie note: There’s an outdoor showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” in Fremont tonight – $5 donation suggested – and the proceeds will be split by Sustainable West Seattle and Sustainable Ballard. (North 35th/Phinney Ave. North, map; “doors” open 7:30 pm.) And on the indoor-activities front, Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) continues its centennial celebration:
That’s the crowd that turned out for last night’s Bean Feed and Talent Show, paying tribute to a long-ago church tradition; this afternoon, Fauntleroy Church has an open house, 1-4 pm — if you’ve never been there, it’s worth checking out the steepled sanctuary in its beautiful wooded sanctuary across the street from the old schoolhouse (9140 California SW; map). What else is up, you ask? Check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
(FIRST WSB REPORT WITH MULTIPLE UPDATES, LOTS OF PIX/VIDEO, CAN BE FOUND HERE)
Starting a new post to add more photos and any new information we get on the investigation of tonight’s fire at 2508 56th SW (map). Those two photos above were sent by David Hutchinson, who also contributed to our first 2 1/2 hours of fire coverage. The next photo is from D.S., who says it “was taken before the fire trucks got set up. Neighbors were hosing down the nearby house.”
At the scene, we talked with Shane Gilbert, who describes in this video clip what he heard just as the fire started:
And here’s an odd little scene we recorded around the corner – it’s not quite Nero fiddling while Rome burned, maybe more like taking advantage of a near-captive audience (since Alki Ave was blocked off at that point):
Still no update on the SFD media line (since the information we included in our first report); we’ll check again before taking our brief overnight break. 12:44 AM UPDATE: A tenant from the burned duplex had reported in comments on the first fire report that her cat was missing; now a followup comment says it’s been found. 3 AM UPDATE: Hotline now has an update – no cause determined yet, they need to “talk to a few more people, including the owner, who’s out of town” (as we reported in our first series of updates); the damage is estimated at $150,000 – $100K to the 86-year-old structure, $50K to its contents. Meantime, Logan Jenott sent along a gallery link and word of the unique perspective that afforded the chance to be shooting video as the fire trucks rolled up;
Here’s Logan’s story:
My volleyball team and I were playing a league game on Alki beach when my teammate Rob noticed a small fire burning on the covered deck of a house across the street. As the fire rapidly grew I grabbed my phone and called 911 while my teammates and I raced raced across the street. We were yelling that the house was on fire and my teammates Rob and Pamela pounded on the doors, trying to alert any occupants. One occupant was home on the ground floor and immediately evacuated. It took about 7 minutes for the first fire truck to arrive (my 911 call initially went to Kitsap County and they had to transfer me to Seattle, then I was on hold for about 1 minute before getting a dispatcher); by then the roof over the deck had collapsed, the fire had spread across the deck into the house and to the house next door. A large crowd had gathered and watched as a total of 5 fire trucks arrived and firefighters began battling the blaze.
From Logan’s gallery, you can play another clip that gives an even better picture of the number of spectators that gathered.
Walking the southern side of the ex-Schuck’s/Hancock Fabrics building, future Fauntleroy Place, at Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th, we caught that little slice of demolition life toward the end of the Tuesday workday — note the shopping carts on the lower right. Demolition work is scheduled to continue today, starting around 8 am. (More background in WSB coverage from Tuesday morning.) Meantime, a milestone happens tonight in the life of another project:
6:30 tonight, Admiral library branch, you are invited to the first community meeting about a proposal for a playground at that mini-park (California Place, next to Admiral UCC church; backstory in previous WSB coverage here).
Last but by no means least on the list of tonight’s highlights — Viewing Party #2 for West Seattle’s own contender on “Project Runway” season 5 — barista Blayne from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). Again tonight, bring a non-alcoholic beverage to share, and a small dessert, to Ginomai (southwest corner of 42nd/Genesee), doors open at 8 pm, show’s on the big screen at 9, free offstreet parking lot.
So you’re a festival queen at the end of your yearlong reign, about to turn over the tiara – and you tell the audience about your fondest memories:
Yes, as reported here before, the Hi-Yu float has needed help for a while, and even that will be a fond memory for good-humored Sivona Lingle. Last year, she was the only candidate for the senior court in the Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Scholarship Program, and therefore has served the past year as a one-woman senior court. Last night, quite a different scenario – she crowned her successor, and two princesses, from a field of five candidates, during a high-spirited event in the expansive (and warm!) sanctuary of Grace Community Church. Watch video of all three crowning moments – and a few other highlights, including the Talent Award-winning performance – as our story continues just ahead:Read More
Thanks to Meredith K. Hailey for sharing her West Seattle Grand Parade photos, including that great close-up of one of the dogs that accompanied the Luna Park Cafe contingent (who won second place in the Commercial category) toward the end of the parade. No cats in the parade, but the next best thing — video of Furry Faces Foundation promoting its fall “Catsino” fundraiser:
A few more pet sightings from the parade – including the inanimate kind – just ahead:Read More
The kids in that video clip were among the participants in the Kiddies’ Parade presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle right before the Grand Parade — it’s open to all who show up, on a shorter route. There also were many young participants in the bigger parade, as well as entries promoting events coming up to help local kids:
On the hood of the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) VW Bug, you’ll see a logo for Pencil Me In For Kids — the pink sign on the car’s sign was a reminder about a car wash tomorrow, 10 am-2 pm at the West Seattle Eagles parking lot, with Illusions staffers scrubbing vehicles to raise money for PMIFK, which buys school supplies for kids in need. And a week from tomorrow, it’s the annual WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive:
WestSide Baby‘s Nancy Woodland broke the news to WSB during Summer Fest last weekend, right after First Student offered her organization space on that bus (which took second place in the Community Floats category!) to promote “Stuff the Bus” during the parade (right after the WestSide Baby marching unit) as well as a bus for the diaper collection on July 27. All you have to do is show up at the bus that day – it’ll be parked right next to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on 44th south of Alaska – with one or more packages of disposable diapers, to help “Stuff the Bus.” Meantime – yet more parade coverage later tonight!
From sword-scraping to cannon-lighting (and firing), that clip captures the essence of a Seafair Pirates parade appearance – the West Seattle Grand Parade is part of a busy summer slate of parade appearances for these swashbucklers. Here’s a snapshot of that cannon-lighting moment (look close and you’ll even see the blue lighter):
After the jump, video of another multi-parade attraction, the Seattle Schools All-City Band — led by Denny Middle School music director Marcus Pimpleton — and a few other biggies, including a visiting group you DON’T see in most other local parades, the Vancouver (B.C.) Police motorcycle drill team:Read More
Dizzying array of fun things to do this weekend here on the peninsula – never mind those big events elsewhere (Bite of Seattle, etc.) — and a few more have come to our attention in recent days, so besides putting them on the Events calendar page (and in tomorrow’s West Seattle Weekend Lineup), here are quick highlights, followed by a final word on West Seattle’s “Project Runway” contestant (and plans for more viewing parties). First, a fundraiser:
That’s the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) car in last year’s West Seattle Grand Parade – they’ll be in this Saturday’s parade too (more parade updates here later today) to promote a fundraiser they’re putting on the very next day for one of their favorite nonprofits, Pencil Me In For Kids: A car wash on Sunday, 10 am-2 pm, West Seattle Eagles’ parking lot (by the Junction post office).
Sunday is also West Seattle Garden Tour day; we reminded you about that the other day, but then just heard from the WSGT folks that they are still “looking for a few good volunteers to assist in guiding attendees in the gardens this Sunday. Morning and afternoon shifts are available. (3-hour shifts) Please contact Lee Kramer, Volunteer Coordinator at (206)932-8662 if you are interested in helping out.”
Saturday, a couple of interesting sales have just been added to the calendar: First – the Ocean View Community Beach Club is inviting you to its quiet corner of southwest West Seattle:
The Ocean View Community Beach Club is having its periodic neighborhood garage sale this Saturday, July 19th from 8-5. The address is 11408 Marine View Dr SW. [map] West Seattleites are invited to drop by and have a chat with friendly neighbors.
Also having a sale Saturday – one of West Seattle’s many one-of-a-kind businesses, Casual Industrees. 6205 SW Admiral, 10 am “till dark,” they promise.
Last but not least, speaking of fun, a couple addendums on the “West Seattle barista Blayne on Project Runway” front. First, we made it back to Blayne’s workplace, Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, today for a brief debrief with proprietor Lora Lewis on how she thinks Blayne did in the season premiere last night:
Lora also confirmed that the viewing parties at Ginomai @ 42nd/Genesee (here’s our coverage of the first one last night) will continue for as long as Blayne remains a contender. So you’re invited again next Wednesday, show at 9 pm/doors open at 8 pm, bring a non-alcoholic beverage to share and a “small dessert.” (We’re told that fun was had at Shadow Land last night as well, for those who preferred adult beverages to accompany their viewing.)
No spoilers here on the home page, in case you’re watching later via TiVO etc. … we’ve got a viewing party report for starters:Read More
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli shot those photos (and all others in this report unless otherwise credited) as the rescued worker was taken to an aid car to be rushed to the hospital. Meantime, we’re starting a new post here to put together all the information we have, now that the construction worker’s been rescued (see previous post for our two-plus hours of frequent as-it-happened updates). Here’s Technical Rescue Lt. Powell explaining afterward what the operation was like:
The Fire Department says the bucket of an excavator that was being used at the scene is believed to have had something to do with the collapse that trapped the worker for more than two hours. You can see that excavator on the right side of this photo (which we’ve also added to our original series of updates below):
As the owners of nearby future restaurant Cafe Revo told WSB during our updates, the crew was doing drainage work on behalf of the landlord at that site, not related to their work turning the ex-Murphy’s into a restaurant. According to an SFD spokesperson, the rescued man is “alert” but since he is just now being evaluated at the hospital, there’s no further word yet on his condition or whether he suffered any internal injuries. Here’s a shot of the roadblock during the incident – sounds from the scanner like it’s now cleared (let us know if you’re seeing otherwise):
ADDED 7:25 PM: The entire rescue unfolded before the eyes of the folks who live in the residential unit at the back of the Revo building — Sarah sent us photos including these next three, starting with this bird’s-eye view of some of the fire equipment and its personnel:
As for the actual rescue scene itself, she had to shoot through a window screen, but if you missed the earlier live aerials many of us watched online and/or on-air, you can get an idea of the incredibly intense activity that surrounded the collapse site until the worker was pulled out:
A different kind of activity hub was across Avalon, where reporters and photographers were asked to stay, for safety’s sake (theirs and the crews involved in the rescue):
ADDED 7:55 PM: More photos taken by Christopher – first one, the scene before the Vactor trucks arrived to help clear the debris that were trapping the worker:
Workers began to assemble sections of pipe after a city truck brought it in:
Nearby salon Ola had to be evacuated after a while just in case the scene became more dangerous:
More rescue teams converged around the scene:
Firefighters from Ladder 11 rigged lines and pulleys to provide leverage so they could get the victim out:
P.S. The Fire Department just updated its media-info line with a few more details. They’re not releasing the worker’s name but say he is reported to be in stable condition. He became trapped in the 8-foot-deep trench when 1 side of it “collapsed in on him.” Technical-rescue experts worked with Seattle Public Utilities crews to get the man out – SPU’s two large Vactor trucks pumped dirt out of the hole; meantime, there were “about five” Technical Rescue team members in the hole with the worker as the operation continued, while medics monitored his condition, made sure he had pain medication, kept him hydrated. Christopher’s photos at the top of this post are vastly better, but we did also shoot video as the rescued man was being taken to the aid car:
11:21 PM UPDATE: KOMO identifies the man as Kelley Vielle and quotes family members as saying he’s on oxygen but able to talk and “moving his toes.”
Just so happens the song was “The Children of Sanchez” when we got that video of The Children of West Seattle (some of ’em, anyway) romping during the West Seattle Big Band‘s hour-and-a-half Hi-Yu Festival Concert in the Park tonight @ Hiawatha. Good-sized crowd – band manager Jim Edwards told us afterward that concertgoers started showing up as early as an hour before showtime (great night for a picnic dinner!). Ahead, more video (including an extremely young “assistant bandleader”), and your next chance to enjoy free outdoor summer concerts in West Seattle (one of which will also star the WSBB):Read More
As you can see in that video, not an easy task to move an iguana from one container to another. That’s Seattle Animal Shelter animal-care officer Michael Kokernak making the transfer earlier this afternoon at the shelter’s HQ in Interbay, watched by Sean, the High Point resident who rescued the iguana he’s nicknamed “Lucky.” If you missed it over the past few days, the story first started unfolding here with this post early Saturday, after another High Point neighbor, Ann, saw a couple drive up to the High Point pond, where they abandoned “Lucky.” She and others worried about the iguana’s fate, went looking for it; then Sunday, Sean wound up finding it in a tree near his home – appropriately enough, since he’s an arborist; here’s the photo he took after the rescue, which left him fairly scratched up because “Lucky” was somewhat stuck in that tree:
Sean didn’t want to talk to us on camera; he just wants to make sure “Lucky” finds a good home, and Seattle Animal Shelter is fairly confident it can help make that happen. So if you ever find yourself with a pet you can no longer care for – please don’t just abandon it somewhere – most such cases don’t turn out as well as this one. The shelter promises to let us know when “Lucky” gets adopted. And re: “citywide fame” – at least two citywide-media outlets picked up this tale of neighborliness and animal-welfare concern after seeing it on WSB; the first bit of coverage we know of for sure is via our ex-co-workers at Q13, who were at the shelter for the handoff, so you might see something at 9/10 pm tonight. 10:23 PM UPDATE: Short story on Q13, though they didn’t attribute to WSB, just said “according to a local blog.” Our material is copyrighted, FYI, and we have a strong policy of giving credit where credit’s due when we get info somewhere else, so we’re hopeful that will be remedied if the story is rerun.
| 3 COMMENTS