West Seattle, Washington
03 Thursday
… watch for Alki residents vs. city land-use planners. But seriously — we have attended two Alki Community Council meetings now, and they (the officers and the members/attendees) — are a genteel bunch, as well as lively, involved, engaged. All the things you would want a community group to be. ACC vice president Randie Stone ran tonight’s meeting and she was even passing around a basket of treats during a break in the action. But before visiting DPD planner Mark Troxel was finished with his guest appearance, the room was in a lather over teardowns and soulless redevelopment. Especially considering, as calm and polite as he tried to be, his answers about why there are no rules governing some preservation of neighborhood character in redevelopment, boiled down to nothing more than (we’re paraphrasing) “well, that would cost too much, and we really have to be concerned with housing affordability.” 
The spark for tonight’s briefly fiery discussion was the impending teardown-to-townhome project we have mentioned before at the site of the Shoremont Apartments (photo right) at 57th & Alki (on the corner east of Alki Auto Repair). “Those townhomes aren’t going to be affordable,” one attendee pointed out, laying waste to the “things might look nicer if it didn’t cost so darn much” defense. Another audience member chided the city, in the person of stalwart Mr. Troxel, for “lack of courage.” He was actually there to talk about amendments on the drawing board for a city planning document, but that discussion got derailed. After a cathartic burst of outrage about cookie-cutter townhouses, which the city rep said he isn’t thrilled about either (because they fail to maximize density potential, as well as because of their aesthetics), all ended fairly civilly, but we were a little worried there for a moment. Randie noted that the topic is enough for a meeting unto itself, and perhaps the group can invite Mr. Troxel, or another city planner, to return. Meanwhile — we’ll have several other ACC meeting items to report tomorrow, including what the city says can be done about those rental trucks that have long been bottlenecking Harbor Ave by ActivSpace. P.S. If you live in the Alki area and you’re not an ACC member yet, you can join online.
West Seattle’s most famous daddy talks about fatherhood. Revelations from WS-dwelling music star Eddie Vedder, courtesy of People magazine.
5-8 PM TONIGHT: Fall art show reception @ Alki Bathhouse.
7 PM TONIGHT: Alki Community Council meets @ Alki Community Center.
7 PM TOMORROW: Gate opens, next to Hotwire, for rescheduled Sidewalk Cinema presentation of “Monty Python & the Holy Grail.” Hope the weather holds!
Just four months into its hopefully long lifespan, Sustainable West Seattle continues to grow. Tomorrow night, you’re invited to its next meeting — 7 pm, Camp Long, family-friendly, so kids are welcome — where county and city reps will talk about transportation and climate-change issues, respectively. The latter is of special note, with a Seattle CAN (Climate Action Now) kickoff event in WS next Saturday. (Here’s a new reason to care about climate change.) If you can’t make tomorrow’s meeting, see the Sustainable WS website, which includes contact info for the people running its action groups (Energy, Transportation, Food & Health, Water & Waste Reduction, Green Building & Planning).
Congratulations to new Alki News-Beacon editor Cami MacNamara on publication of her first edition – you can check it out online here. Cami is also webmaster for AlkiNews.com, where you can always find a link to the latest Beacon as well as other info from the Alki Community Council, which is preparing for its regular bimonthly meeting next Thursday (have you joined yet?).
The goal is the same — momentum toward a breast-cancer cure — but the Race for the Cure and the 3-Day Walk are very different, even to watch. The former is an intense, relatively brief crowd event; the latter, we learned along Lincoln Park and Beach Drive and Alki Ave this morning, is no giant throng with the hundreds of walkers passing at once, but instead a steady stream, sometimes one by one:
Emotions run high — watching the 3-Dayers while shadowing them for a few miles from the other side of the street brought us to tears at times, perhaps intensified by the fact we both lost our moms to cancer — but that includes joyful emotions; the 3-Day clearly is boisterous and celebratory, as were the people who could be found all along the route this morning, cheering the walkers from the sidewalk (or honking from the street):
Along Alki Ave’s Condo Row, signs and pink ribbons cropped up on balconies:
And all along the shore, the walkers streamed on by:
By 10 am, while the fastest/earliest walkers were out of West Seattle and headed for this afternoon’s ceremonies at Seattle Center, the last group members were still walking along Beach Drive, just past the whimsically decorated rest stop set up at Me-Kwa-Mooks:
Before a few final pictures … a reminder why this matters.
Remember the saga of the pregnant woman not offered a seat on the bus? This morning, we have the tale of the baby-wearing dad who couldn’t get one either.Read More
So says this short article just posted by the P-I, and a similar one posted by the Times. He’s expected to be in court tomorrow.
Somebody buy, or at least loan, Westwood Village Barnes & Noble some chairs. For the second straight year, as many people stood as sat during West Seattle mega-selling author Terry Brooks‘ annual appearance. Diverse crowd too, 7 months to 70-plus. As was the case for his ’06 visit, Brooks read from his next book and talked about his current one. The latter, “Genesis of Shannara: The Elves of Cintra,” hit bookstore shelves today; the former, the title of which he’s not disclosing (though his “Web Druid” Shawn Speakman tried tonight to get him to spill it), is still in progress — he admitted he’s rewritten its final chapters over and over. Tonight, he confirmed that book will conclude the “Genesis of Shannara” trilogy, though at one point he had hinted online it might run longer than three books. He also pitched a new graphic novel for which he provided the plot, “Dark Wraith of Shannara,” coming out next year (and offered fans in attendance cool promotional bookmarks), and noted his near-future plans include writing another book in his “Landover (The Original Shannara Trilogy)” series, plus traveling to Britain, Japan, and the Seychelles — in response to an audience question about how he so successfully imbues his stories with a “sense of place,” he declared that travel helps fire his imagination; each new place sparks thoughts about “what kind of story could take place here?” SIDE NOTE FOR WEST SEATTLE BOOK LOVERS: Square 1 Books’ “Words from the West Side” event featuring WS authors is coming up on September 16th @ ArtsWest; read more on the Square 1 blog.
If you’re just joining us, welcome to WSB Pledge Day (it ends @ midnight so if you don’t want to hear about it, it’ll be safe to come back then). 
MEGA-THANKS to everyone who has chipped in so far. The other type of contribution that makes this more interesting every day are your e-mails and on-site comments – from “news tips” to rants/raves, and way beyond. Right now, we wanted to call your attention to the comments on our favorite post from last weekend — the one about the yard-sale signs. Several members of the family that staged the sale have come to WSB to post some very touching, lively follow-up comments, just another example of how finding out more about our neighbors, whether through a website or through in-person conversation, gives us big thrills, every day, and we hope you get a kick out of it too; e-mail us any time with something interesting you’re seeing, hearing, planning, doing.
On the same day the second novel in his latest series goes on sale, West Seattle best-selling author Terry Brooks returns to Barnes & Noble @ Westwood Village, where he spoke to an SRO crowd a year ago, just after the first book in the series debuted. Earlier this summer, in an open letter on his website, he explained the link between the new series, his past work, and the real-life world of today. Before attending Brooks’ 2006 B&N-WV appearance, we had only read his Star Wars novelization, but found him so interesting, we couldn’t resist reading some of what he’s far better-known for. Tonight’s reading at B&N-WV: 6:30 pm.
With school starting in less than 2 weeks, the machinery’s starting to rumble for kid activities too. We got e-mail this week from Camp Fire USA, which wants WS families to know it’s starting registration for group programs (and in addition to what’s mentioned in that link, even has a preschooler-level program for kids as young as three; Camp Fire offers “community family clubs” too). We have a soft spot for Camp Fire; one of us was a Blue Bird way back when (and was sad to learn while working on this post that the Blue Bird designation was retired in ’89).
-The saga of Alki seal-sitting is told poetically in the P-I by WS writer Brenda Peterson.
-Also on seal-pup watch, Cathy Woo points out that unleashed dogs can be among their worst enemies.
-The Weekly tries to find new nuggets in the casino-cheating case involving Hizzoner’s son, among others, unearthing details including what’s on the walls in the “pad” where Jake Nickels lived while working at the casino dubbed “the Sack.”
-For everyone in the Short Stop sign discussion who thinks WS needs a little more spice, the Chelan Cafe is the place you will want to be tomorrow night.
-Ending on a G-rated note, tonight is opening night at ArtsWest for the show put on by its Musical Theater Adventures Camp kids — “Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr.” (photo courtesy ArtsWest)
Not related but we’re putting them all in the same post for balance. First the rant and side-note rave, from the WSB inbox:
Sunday there was some guy parked sideways across the
Roxbury Schucks’ ONLY disabled parking spot. I very politely let them
know as I walked in, so they could take care of it. The response? A
shrug.I walked through the store to see if they had what I wanted, and heard
the two guys who were working there begin talking. They were talking in
what they thought was a “retarded” voice and saying stuff like “heh,
look at me – I’m handi-CAPABLE!” It went on for 2-3 minutes getting
more and more stupid, and more and more insulting. I finally walked out,
glaring at them. They didn’t even notice. (FYI, I use a cane due to a
spine problem)Yes, I will be writing a letter to the CEO. I’m really pissed.
What saved my mood was that afterward I went to Tony’s (he had fresh
Okra! And corn picked that morning!) Tony was there. He gave me a great
deal on a flat of strawberries. And he insisted on carrying my bags to
the car for me since the “other half” wasn’t there. He’s a big sweetie.
The other rave we wanted you to hear about was this nice tale from the WS Herald Letters to the Editor.
Alki Community Council prez Jackie Ramels points us to this article — it’s about her fellow ACC officer Peter Stekel making a discovery in California that could solve more of a World War II-era mystery he’s been investigating.
West Seattle resident Cheryl Stumbo, who survived the Jewish Federation attack downtown last year, completed the Danskin Triathlon over the weekend.
Cool crowd, both hosts and visitors, at the police department’s annual Picnic at the Precinct this afternoon. As big and busy as WS is, it’s hard to believe we didn’t get our own police precinct till 2003. It’s a lovely building, but today (before the rain moved in) most of the fun was out in the street on the building’s south side; they shut down Webster for the occasion. Our first photo here is a great crowd shot sent in by WSB reader LyndaB:
(Thanks, LyndaB!) From here, photos are by the WSB team. Besides meeting-and-greeting, the police showed off some of their arsenal, including this robot:
Next — a closeup of the robot, Chief Kerlikowske in casual wear, one of the SPD vehicles you don’t see every day, and more:Read More
Update on the Pathfinder K-8 student who went to the Pokemon World Championships in Hawaii last weekend — he won! Congratulations to 13-year-old Jeremy Scharff-Kim. (The original Times article about him was up on the wall at Hotwire Coffee last time we stopped in; in the photo accompanying the article, Jeremy sported a Hotwire-logo hat.)
A couple weeks ago, we mentioned the note on the door of Rick’s Barber Shop. Rick himself posted a comment today to say he’s reopening tomorrow; since the original post has long since fallen off the home page, we wanted to spotlight it here:
Thanks ya’ll. This is Rick and I’ll be back as of August 15th. Sorry about the short notice, had friend stick a note in the window. A little vague but not sure of my return date until I return. Lots of legal and family (ill parents) matters so I’ll probably be scootin’ out again, this time with a better note in the window. Thanks for the health concerns. Just gettin’ old I guess but not as old as the folks – Rick
We didn’t go to Westwood Village tonight in search of our semi-traditional Sunday sunset photo, much less infobits, but we found both …
The WV infobits: #1, West Seattle bestselling author Terry Brooks is coming back to the WV Barnes & Noble, August 28th @ 6:30 pm, almost a year after his last stop there; #2, the Pet Pros store in the old laundromat spot next to QFC is now open.
-From the latest Land Use Information Bulletin: More townhouses coming to Cali, this time north of the Junction, on and behind the site of a little two-business storefront (alterations and salon), a five-unit development proposed for 4045 Cali.
-Seattle City Council members are coming to West Seattle next week. The Economic Development and Neighborhoods Committee plans to meet @ High Point Community Center next Thursday (August 16th), 6-8 pm (agenda here). Councilmembers on this committee are Sally Clark, Jan Drago, Richard McIver, and Peter Steinbrueck.
-Also on the road, West Seattle 13-year-old Jeremy Scharff-Kim, a student at Pathfinder K-8. This Times article tells the tale of his trip to Hawaii in a quest for Pokemon glory. You can follow his progress here. Good luck!
-Congrats to WS “caffeine jazz” group Vente Caffeinato on its first CD. Get it here.
All over West Seattle — and much of the rest of the country — you’ll see something you don’t usually see in most neighborhoods: Neighbors out in the street, sharing good times, good food, good ideas. It’s Night Out, the sleek new-ish name for what once upon a time was known as National Night Out Against Crime. Neighborhoods that met the deadline for registering their events with the Seattle Police Southwest Precinct here in WS will get to close off (non-arterial) streets for their block parties. SPD said they were unable to provide us with a list, but some neighborhoods told us about their locations; others were posted online. Click ahead for the latest list (updated as people send us more locations); if you’re involved in any Night Out event tonight, we invite you to send us a photo afterward for posting here at WSB (represent!).Read More
This just arrived in our inbox from a WSB reader:
I wanted to note a scary incident on the 21 Express to West Seattle Friday evening.
A female rider became verbally abusive on the bus when she realized the bus was making the right turn onto the Columbia on-ramp to Highway 99. I’ve dubbed her the ‘scary bus female’ (SBF) because she definitely was not a lady. The bus had already started on the on-ramp so could not let her off. She insisted to the driver that she had been let off before. As the bus progressed, she returned to her seat loudly expressing her displeasure. She was upset and very vocal about it. The entire ride was unnerving for those who sat in the back with her.
Midway on 99, she made the ride much worse making threats to kill a woman and her grandson. Fellow riders, including a gentleman beside me, quickly got up to help control the situation. The grandmother and her grandson and other riders moved away from SBF. Several riders stood creating a human fence to block SBF from the rest of us. F or the rest of the trip on 99, until the first stop at 35th and Avalon, SBF was corraled until it was time for her to get off. The driver alert Metro base and we last saw SPD arrive at the scene but our bus was not detained per the wish of the grandmother as she wanted all of us to get home. I hope they’re okay as this was a horrible experience.
It was admirable what these people did. It made me only think of what happened several years ago when a Metro bus went off the Aurora bridge. Kudos to these riders. They helped prevent something that could have been worse.
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