West Seattle, Washington
04 Friday
Somehow we have missed the boat on the Complaint-Free World campaign that apparently is a major phenomenon. But it’s not too late. West Seattle’s own Nia Divas are planning a free event to kick off a campaign for a Complaint-Free WS … replete with complimentary purple bracelets like the ones shown above, while supplies last. It’s not till next weekend but it sounds so fun, we wanted to give it a shoutout tonight — a special event including refreshments, a free Nia class, and “time & facilitation to understand what constitutes complaining and how it dramatically affects our lives,” 9 am-11 am Saturday 11/10 at Youngstown Arts Center. Below, a letter from one of the organizers:Read More
In the six days since a longtime West Seattle resident was hit and killed on 35th near Fire Station 37, we have learned more about the victim, 85-year-old Oswald Clement, and we wanted to highlight the fact that those organizing a memorial service for him are hoping to hear from others with memories:Read More
-Some especially excellent comments today, and we want to call your attention to them in case you don’t usually read the comment sections of WSB posts. Below our report about the Northwest Art & Frame broken window, we just heard from “TR,” the early-morning dog-walker who spotted the damage and called authorities. And after this post updating the “West Seattle Art Attack” pumpkin surprises, we heard from people (Randie and Ben) at two of the houses “hit” by WSAA. Thanks to everybody for coming to WSB and adding new information!
-Several people e-mailed us yesterday about a mysterious sign near “Walking on Logs,” close to the relentlessly patrolled area where political signs have been turning up, and coming down. Last night we did pull over to check out that sign — it is a printout of the city sign ordinance, with the relevant section highlighted in a marker color that we can’t help describing as “angry red.” We’ll see shortly if they have gone after the signs just put up by a certain City Council candidate who seems determined to let us all know she (hearts) The Viaduct. (Including in-person sign-waving at 35th & Fauntleroy this morning.)
-If you’re interested in acupuncture, a reader e-mailed us recently suggesting that more people might want to know about a community acupuncture clinic at The Mount on Monday afternoons, run by Angie Hughes. “Reasonable price and an underutilized resource,” according to the reader, so we’re tacking it up on our equivalent of the virtual bulletin board, with this post.
Even as some of the bar parties just start getting into gear, we are in for the night. We traveled north to south, east to west, across West Seattle, including a stop at Skeleton Theatre (we’ll put up video in the morning — it’s playing again tomorrow night, so you have another chance to go see for yourself). We saw luminaria and lights, costumes from A(ngels) to Z(ombies), but we’re also glad to be back at WSB HQ sharing your Halloween scenes — including this last round of photos before the Witching Hour arrives. First, from the inbox: Tigger turned up to greet trick-or-treaters at Westwood Village tonight:
More major cuteness from the inbox: Baby Nate goes crustacean for his first Halloween:
We had seen this cool decoration outside a house not far from Skeleton Theatre but didn’t get a picture – Todd did:
Todd also was one of 2 people who sent us a photo of “Feed-O” the scary cat – this “Feed-O” photo is by MIST, who says the cat “was spitting out gummy rats”!
Now a final round of jack-o-lanterns. From Danny and Diane, a pumpkin with a statement:
A seasonal pumpkin array, from “mtnester” of Shorewood:
Huindekmi sent this next one and noted, “We don’t carve our pumpkin till Halloween”:
And the proud wife of Dan sends his creation, saying, “he just LOVES Halloween” …
Speaking of attacks – we have heard one more time from “West Seattle Art Attack,” who e-mailed WSB to say: “I placed a final pumpkin tonight in a deserving yard. It was a very pretty purple and pink one that my wife didn’t want to part with. I’ve discreetly checked on a couple of my previous placements and they haven’t moved. I’m not sure if the owners even know they are there.” Quick! Go check your yard (or tell your friends to check theirs)! You don’t want an unnoticed WSAA pumpkin sitting out there till spring … 11:55 PM ADDENDUM: This blogger tells the sorrowful saga of a nearly trick-or-treater-less night for her first West Seattle Halloween. Boo!
OK, maybe “caught on camera” isn’t entirely the best phrase, since this photo (and others) came from “West Seattle Art Attack” him/herself — and proves they have accomplices — shown here at one of the five houses where they say they left pumpkins last night. (Catch up on what this is all about by reading yesterday’s first post and later update.) Ahead, see if you recognize the four other distinctively decorated homes “hit” last night — plus, beneath the photos, one caveat from WSAA:Read More
NOTE ADDED 12/22/07 FOR ANYONE WHO FINDS THIS WHILE GOOGLING FOR “NORAD TRACKS SANTA” SINCE IT’S FOR SOME REASON THE #1 RESULT – YOU’LL FIND THAT SITE HERE.
… it’s “WSB Tracks the Art Attack(er)”! Well, “tracking” isn’t quite the right word, but we have received another communique from the mysterious artist leaving glass pumpkins in deserving West Seattle yards. “AA” reports having visited Alki already tonight and is at last report headed elsewhere. (Should we be leaving cookies and milk on the doorstep?)
Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home founder Dick Kennedy has been laid to rest, less than a week after passing away at Providence Mount St. Vincent, so close to his well-known business at Fauntleroy/Alaska. The P-I just posted an article about his memorial service; here’s Mr. Kennedy’s obituary on the Howden-Kennedy site.
4 weeks after we told you about WSB reader Meghen‘s invitation to others to join the West Seattle Meateaters meat-buying club she was forming to get sustainably raised meat through Thundering Hooves – they just got their first delivery over the weekend. Meghen sent us the photo above, and told WSB that Thundering Hooves declared the WS delivery their biggest first-time order ever. They’ve got unlimited room for more people to join before the next delivery December 1st; you can sign up any time up till the Monday before the delivery (in this case, that would be November 26th) by going to the Thundering Hooves site and looking for West Seattle Meateaters. (Or e-mail Meghen directly with questions by clicking here.)
Photos just in — courtesy of M. Thomas (thank you!) — from today’s swearing-in of West Seattle’s State Sen. Joe McDermott, after the King County Council (shown in the second photo) officially appointed him. (Top photo shows Sen. McDermott taking the oath of office with a former State Senator from West Seattle, Judge Mike Heavey.)
If you don’t know a lot about Sen. McDermott, check out his bio on the State House site. Among many other things, he formerly taught at South Seattle Community College; on a completely tangential note now, SSCC happens to be where the WSB video crew attended the Northwest Wine Academy release party this evening; clips and info coming up late tonight.
The oft-quoted Bible line (Luke 13:26) could certainly apply to members of West Seattle Christian Church, who were out doing community work today instead of attending services (which were canceled for the occasion). As pastor Dan Jacobs blogged, “We’ll be serving our community as a show of love and the reality of our faith.” He told WSB some of the projects for the day included graffiti removal behind the Junction post office, landscape cleanup in Junction parking areas along 44th, serving breakfast to local fire stations, assembling AIDS caregiver support kits to be shipped to Africa and cold-weather supplies for city homeless shelters, and projects at Schmitz Park Elementary.
Thanks to Junction Neighborhood Organization president Erica Karlovits for sending notes from what was discussed at the second-ever JuNO meeting this week. Two items have been covered here — the Design Review Board meeting for 4502 42nd (at which, as mentioned in our report, Erica advocated for Junction neighbors’ interests) and the Water Taxi’s future — but that’s just part of what they talked about, and some of it may be of interest even if you don’t live in the Junction vicinity:Read More
The community-connection organization Megawatt has called off this year’s “Gathering of Neighbors” showcase, which had been scheduled for November 3rd. An e-mail announcement sent out last night by Megawatt leaders says the group has been focused on a “strategic planning process” and adds: “We are incredibly proud of our community events and programs, and over the next few months will work to support these programs by focusing on and building our organizational infrastructure. As part of this process, we have made a strategic decision to postpone … Gathering of Neighbors until 2008.” Megawatt says it will continue offering its community “field trips,” including an artist-studio tour on October 25th; more info on the Megawatt website (and the listings are on our frequently updated West Seattle-wide Events page too). For anyone who already signed up for the now-canceled Gathering of Neighbors, Megawatt says it will refund the table fees within the next few days.
JUNO MEETS AGAIN: If you live in or around The Junction, it’s your chance to get in on the ground floor of a great group — tonight’s the second meeting of JuNO (Junction Neighborhood Organization). They’re gathering at the Senior Center (Cali & Oregon) at 6:30. Click for the updated meeting agenda flyer.
DENNY/SEALTH CONSOLIDATED CAMPUS – WHERE’S IT AT? Find out from school district reps at tonight’s meeting in the Chief Sealth HS Little Theater (also 6:30). Will anything have changed from the intense schedule laid out at the summer meeting organized by the Westwood Neighborhood Council? Will the website mentioned on the district flyer be up and running any time soon? These and many other questions about this nine-digit project will hopefully be answered.
Several other noteworthy gatherings tonight too, including the Fauntleroy Community Association and Admiral Neighborhood Association; these and many more listings are always accessible on our ever-growing Events page.
Know a girl — daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, neighbor, student, friend — who 
might be interested in becoming a Girl Scout? In the next week-plus, West Seattle girls have three chances to check out what Girl Scouts are all about these days: 6:30-7:30 pm Wednesday @ the Delridge Library, 6:30-7:30 pm Thursday @ the West Seattle (Admiral District) Library, and a week from tomorrow (Monday 10/15) — also 6:30-7:30 pm — @ the High Point Library.
Romy Ehrsam (photo left) is likely the youngest of the many artists 
having receptions in West Seattle in the next few weeks — 6 years old! The rubber-stamp craft store Friends and Company in The Junction is hosting a reception for Romy tomorrow night, during which she will sign copies of the stamp she designed (photo below, shown with the original block print it’s taken from); it’s being distributed by what Friends and Company tells us is one of the industry’s bigger names, Idaho-based Rubbermoon. The reception starts at 6, signing at 7. Romy’s a second-generation stamp artist; her mom Gretchen Ehrsam designs them too.
We’ve talked about West Seattle’s neighborhoods; their largely unsung heroes are the WS neighborhood associations. With a new month starting next week, October monthly meeting time is rolling around, and two groups have e-mailed us to let you know they’re getting together soon and to invite everyone in their areas to come check them out: Wednesday (October 3) @ 6:30, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets @ Delridge Library; Tuesday, October 9, 6:30 pm @ WS Senior Center, it’s the second-ever meeting of the Junction Neighborhood Organization (JuNO). Click here to see JuNO’s flyer with full meeting details. We’re listing these and other neighborhood meeting dates, as we receive/find them (e-mail us yours!), on our brand-new Events page – check it often from the handy tab above!
One year to the day after the bicycle-vs.-van crash that killed Susanne Scaringi @ 35th/Graham, people have been stopping by the corner today to leave flowers and candles in her memory. (Eerily, the radio station we were listening to on the way there played the ’80s hit “Send Me an Angel” just before we pulled up.)
The rest of this post, anyway. Its loose theme — history.
-This obituaries (Times, P-I) for ski-school legend “Buzz” Fiorini, who died in what’s described only as a “West Seattle nursing home” the other day, makes us think — when you drive by all our fine elder-care facilities, The Kenney (11:20 PM UPDATE: a reader tells us that’s where Mr. Fiorini died) or The Mount or any of the many others, think about who’s in there, living out lives that were remarkable in their own way, big or small. Programs like Friend to Friend find people to remind them they’re not forgotten.
-The Duwamish Tribe longhouse project on the eastern edge of WS — their ancestral lands — will get a boost from a fundraiser downtown tonight. The P-I has a good writeup with an interesting spin regarding how none of us really know how to pronounced “Seattle.” Meantime, Indian Country Today has an update on the project, as well as on the campaign in Congress to get official recognition for the tribe.
-West Seattle’s wonderful Log House Museum has remodeled its website. We discovered this after learning the Log House Museum is one of the participants in this Saturday’s Smithsonian-sponsored Museum Day (hat tip to saveseattleschools.blogspot.com for mentioning that nationwide free-admission event). Looking further into the fall, the museum will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a fundraising gala November 3rd @ Salty’s.
Received in e-mail today from new WSB reader Maryanne:
Hi! I am new to Seattle and particularly West Seattle. Is anyone out there from Atlanta? I am trying to compare my cool little neighborhood here to one out there… I live in “Cabbagetown” I know it’s strange but it is the best little neighborhood ever! Little “shotgun” houses, everyone has a dog, a porch where we all say hello while walking by, a very unique and not uptight neighborhood. Where is my cabbagetown out there?
Last week’s post on West Seattle’s most famous daddy sparked a lot of comments. He’s back in the news tonight as CNN is reporting you’ll be able to get his latest album with your next latte starting next week.
Starbucks Corp. plans to give away 50 million free digital songs to customers in all of its domestic coffee houses to promote a new wireless iTunes music service that’s about to debut in select markets. From Oct. 2 to Nov. 7, baristas in the company’s more than 10,000 U.S. stores will hand out about 1.5 million “Song of the Day” cards each day. The cards can be redeemed at Apple Inc.’s (Charts, Fortune 500) online iTunes Store.
Also on Oct. 2, Starbucks will start selling iTunes digital release cards that allow a full album of music and bonus material to be downloaded online. KT Tunstall’s “Drastic Fantastic” and the soundtrack to the film “Into the Wild” with new music from Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will be the first two featured albums, retailing for $14.99 and $11.99, respectively.
Two flyers up on the window at Garlic Jim’s Pizza in The Junction suggest that Wednesday will be a night to remember at GJ’s: Part of Wednesday’s proceeds will go toward a literacy campaign, as part of the Dish Up Literacy promotion involving restaurants around the area. (Also participating in WS on Wednesday, according to the Dish Up Literacy website: Angelina’s Trattoria and Talarico’s.) The other flyer at GJ’s announced that also on Wednesday, there’s an Under 40 Speed Date event there, 7-9 pm. Checking the website for that event’s organizer, The Professional Dater, we discovered an Over 40 Speed Date event in WS tonight — Alki Starbucks, 7-9 pm. So for anyone out there in WSB-land who’s looking for love — you’ve got the chance to find it fast this week, whatever your age.
-Today’s Times features West Seattle cancer survivor Anita Mitchell, whose art will be on display Tuesday at Swedish Medical Center.
-Event that didn’t make it to the latest WS Weekend Lineup: Four Aims Center, which took over the ex-Cat’s Eye Cafe near Lincoln Park, has an open house this afternoon/evening, with free yoga, meditation, and refreshments.
-The West Seattle Birdcam has flown away. Sorry to see it go. Can’t believe we have so few linkable live cams in WS; if you know of one that’s not on our WS “Live” Cams page (nothing too “adult,” sorry), please let us know.
-WSB reader Gayle e-mailed us to make sure everyone knows about West Seattle’s newest food option, which you might miss unless you frequent ActivSpace on Harbor Ave: River House, open Mon-Sat at ActivSpace. Gayle says, “They serve crepes (sweet and savory), sandwiches, salads, daily specials, espresso drinks, baked goods and gelato … Also offered are homemade sauces. Try the Fresh Pear – no sugar added. Coffee served is from Vashon Island Roasters. … Yummy!”
This is one of the most unusual e-mails we’ve received lately. Someone who recently found WSB is wondering if anyone out there can help him figure out whatever happened to a waiter who worked at a now-closed Junction restaurant.Read More
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