West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
(photo added Thursday courtesy of Georgie Bright Kunkel, shown with husband Norman Kunkel at right, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott at left)
From the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting, which we’re covering right now at The Hall at Fauntleroy: Condolences to West Seattle writer Georgie Bright Kunkel (of Rosie the Riveters fame, among other things) and family on the death of her husband, 90-year-old Norman C. Kunkel. His obituary is on the 34th DDs’ website; he was a longtime Democratic PCO in the district. He and Georgie were married for more than 60 years, and they wrote a book together about his World War II experience as an Ambulance Corps driver and concentration-camp liberator. His memorial service is set for 3 pm April 18 at Saltwater UU Church in Des Moines. More later from the 34th DDs’ meeting, where County Councilmember Larry Phillips has just pitched his County Executive candidacy (though the group endorsed County Council Chair Dow Constantine in the race at its last meeting), and City Council President Richard Conlin is among those who will be speaking shortly.
Till 8 pm tonight, Kiwanis Division 26 volunteers are at the White Center Food Bank (which serves part of West Seattle, too), collecting donations. As mentioned before, food-bank donations count for extra through the end of this month because of a special nationwide partial-match program – so if you take food/money to them now, it’s worth even more than face value. Here’s a map to WCFB. We’re off to get a photo.
ADDED 6:16 PM: Photo added atop the post — that’s Barbara Connor from the Rainier Valley Kiwanis, taking first watch at the donation station in the WCFB parking lot. Just drive right in off 8th SW – it’s a drive-up food drive to boot! Again, they’re there till 8 pm.
That’s Todd Carden of Elliott Bay Brewery and Pub, — a mainstay in The Junction for 12 years — accepting the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s “Business of the Year” award this morning. WSCC members and guests gathered at Salty’s on Alki for the annual awards breakfast, at which County Council Chair Dow Constantine presented the awards; he was one of three political leaders in attendance, along with City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Nick Licata. Introducing EBB owner Carden, Constantine listed the company’s distinctions, particularly in environmental stewardship — first King County brewery to go organic, first in Washington with two organic breweries (there’s an EBB in Burien too), a trailblazing composting program. Carden said he was happy to first hear of the award (reported here March 11) but it didn’t really sink in until he and his wife were visiting stops on the West Seattle Art Walk the next night and “people started congratulating me left and right.”
Also honored this morning — the Community Service Award recipient, Robinson Newspapers founder Jerry Robinson (who, it was revealed after his acceptance speech, turns 89 next Monday). With the trademark humor familiar to readers of his column, he quipped that others might have deserved the honor more — perhaps Rolf Neslund, the ship captain whose collision with the old West Seattle Bridge in 1978 broke a longrunning logjam over whether to build a new one. (Elliott Bay proprietor Carden later joked he might have to name a future beer after Neslund.) Jerry Robinson founded the White Center News in 1952 and bought the West Seattle Herald in 1974; at one point, not that many years ago, he tried to retire, but admitted he felt a bit “useless” in his temporary life of leisure, saying, “Nothing is as fulfilling” as being of service to others.
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s regular monthly meetings are listed on its website at wschamber.com.
We’ve mentioned it before, it’s on the WSB Events calendar, and now it’s just two days away, so it’s reminder time – this Wednesday night, local Kiwanians will be at the White Center Food Bank to receive your donations. Not only does the WCFB help fight hunger in WC, it’s also accountable for assisting everyone in West Seattle south of SW Myrtle who needs food-bank help:
Members of the Division 26 Kiwanis in Seattle would like to invite you to bring non-perishable foods to the White Center Food Bank on Wednesday evening, April 8, 2009 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Members of the Kiwanis will be stationed outside the food bank at 10829 8th Avenue SW [map] under a canopy to collect your donations.
Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.
The White Center Food Bank says the most needed foods are Hamburger Helper and Rice-a-Roni type products as well as canned meat (not tuna), canned fruit, cereal, and jelly. The White Center Food Bank serves a diverse ethnic population so ethnic foods are always welcome. The food bank also accepts $5 and $10 gift cards from Safeway, QFC or Albertsons. Cash donations can be sent to the White Center Food Bank at 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To donate online, go to www.whitecenterfoodbank.org.
Kiwanis Club of West Seattle president Michael LaFranchi stopped by our table at the Gathering of Neighbors on Saturday and mentioned that club members also were at two local grocery stores that day, collecting food. Donations to the WCFB and West Seattle Food Bank count extra through the end of this month because of the Feinstein Challenge, so everything you give includes a built-in bonus.
Just heard from Pete Spalding, who’s been helping lead the months-long community effort to convince the city Parks Department to name the new Morgan Junction park after longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, even though he’s been gone less than the three years the department lists as a minimum for such naming proposals. Pete says they have ONE MORE DAY to gather petition signatures supporting the park name – they will be at the Gathering of Neighbors tomorrow, 11 am-3 pm at Chief Sealth High School (at Boren), where you can sign in person, or if you can’t go, contact Pete at bayouwonder@msn.com and he’ll arrange to get your signature. (The park is scheduled for its official dedication at the Morgan Community Festival in June, but construction’s been proceeding quickly — including sidewalk work on the California SW frontage — and it will likely be done well before then.)
“It’s like a modern, supernatural Jane Eyre.” That’s what West Seattle author Molly Ringle says about her paperback novel going on sale today, “The Ghost Downstairs,” also described as “a paranormal romance novel depicting an unusual workplace relationship in a house whose spirits refuse to rest.” Ringle’s inspiration: A haunted sorority house where she spent time during college in Oregon, though the novel is set in Seattle. Ringle says she’s published e-books before but this is her first paperback, issued by Wild Rose Press. It’s available online through Barnes and Noble or Amazon; you can read the first chapter online.
Two weeks ago, we brought you the story of Keri Robinson, a pink-slipped West Seattleite hoping to connect with others who are in the process of figuring out what’s next in their professional lives. Connect, she did, and this morning at C and P Coffee, Keri (center of the top photo) and more than 10 other 
“Lords and Ladies of Leisure” got together to talk about it in person. They had a special guest, too – KING 5 reporter Tonya Mosley – so watch for TV coverage to follow. Kevin McClintic of Arbor Heights shared the photos and recapped: “It was a diverse group consisting of several folks from the IT industry, a graphic designer, a construction project manager, a mortgage banker, an HR manager, and even an architect to name a few. … Also in attendance was Steve Paul, a former IT director who has started a similar job search networking group that meets in Greenwood each week [with Mosley in photo at right]. All told, it was a very informative hour, and the entire group agreed they would look forward to additional meetings.” We’ve also heard from Shari Fox, who says the group’s dubbing itself Pink Slips Unite, and adds that a smaller group met yesterday to talk about everything from job-searching to volunteering. If you want to meet the folks who got together today, next meeting is 11 am next Thursday, C and P; in the meantime, you can reach Keri through her website.
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Here’s a link to the KING 5 story that included today’s meeting.
Two links of interest to share from our partner site White Center Now:
ANNEXATION: Burien’s proposal to annex part of the White Center/North Highline area is one step closer to reality tonight after a preliminary approval recommendation from the King County Boundary Review Board, following a public hearing in Tukwila. Burien’s city manager noted during the hearing that Seattle, which might annex the rest of the area – or might not – didn’t send a representative to comment. Read detailed notes from the hearing, as it happened, here.
AMANDA KNOX: Some people are so interested in the case of the young woman from West Seattle who’s on trial for murder in Italy, they could tell you the entire story in intricate detail. If you, on the other hand, feel like you came into the story in the middle, you might be interested in this WCN analysis/opinion piece retracing the case.
That’s Payton the schnoodle — whose person Dan Nicholson hopes everybody to be on the lookout citywide, after Payton was stolen from Dan’s car on Capitol Hill last night. Here’s his report on what happened:
Our 10 month old puppy, Payton (named after the Glove. In honor of my lost and beloved Sonics), was stolen from our car (last night) while we were dining at Piecora’s. He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and weighs 13.5 lbs. We were parked in their back lot and planned to go to the Beveridge Place in W. Seattle afterward as they allow dogs. I had to talk my wife into letting him come as I felt bad locking him back up after working all day. The camera photage literally shows them pull up, throw a boulder through our window, grabbed him and go. Fortunately they left our other dog. He’s our little buddy and basically we’re desperate to get him back. We’ll pay a reward to have him safely returned.
We’ve also pointed Dan toward our fellow neighborhood-news sites closer to the scene of the crime, including Capitol Hill Seattle. Call police if you’ve seen Payton.
We first heard about it from Kathy (thank you!), who e-mailed WSB to say that she’d heard Dave Pedras, a paramedic/firefighter who lives in West Seattle, will be honored for his role in a rescue last summer. We checked with the Fire Department, and spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen said it’s true, sending along complete details:
Firefighter/Paramedic Dave Pedras will be recognized with a Unit Citation at the Seattle Fire Department Awards Ceremony which is taking place on Thursday, May 7. Unit Citations are awarded to units at the scene of an emergency for outstanding performance of an exceptionally difficult task, performance under hazardous or adverse conditions and for exemplifying the importance of teamwork and cooperation. Engine 33, Ladder 12 and Medic 28 received Unit Citations for the rescue.
On August 22, 2008 at around 8:30 pm, someone called 911 reporting that a person was missing in Lake Washington near Pritchard Island Beach. When the first Unit (Engine 33) arrived on the scene, they got information from bystanders about where the patient was last seen. Firefighters Dennis Stanley and Jason Hess (both of Engine 33) immediately entered the water and went out about 60 feet off shore to the area where witnesses had last seen the patient. After two to three minutes of searching, using a flashlight, Firefighter Hess was able to see a shadow below the surface. Firefighter Stanley dove down approximately 10 feet and found the patient and brought her up to the surface – she was unconscious and unresponsive.
Firefighters Stanley and Hess worked together to swim her back to shore. The patient was placed on a backboard – she was still unconscious and unresponsive and did not have a pulse. Firefighters and Firefighter/Paramedics immediately started CPR. The patient was quickly moved into a Medic 28.
Firefighter/Paramedics Dave Pedras and Dave Head of Medic 28 provided advanced life support and ongoing CPR with the help of the firefighters on the scene. Through the quick actions of responding firefighters and teamwork by all those who responded, the patient’s pulse returned. She was transported to Harborview, and 15 minutes after she arrived she had strong vitals and a good prognosis from the Emergency Room staff.
Kathy has firsthand knowledge of what happened after that, and says the rescued woman made a full recovery. Medic 28 is based at Station 28 in Rainier Valley.
Seattle Channel has just posted a video that focuses on one of Seattle’s fastest-growing communities, one with a significant presence in the West Seattle/White Center area: Somali immigrants. It’s a look into the community’s traditions, successes, hopes, fears, and faith, all in 15 minutes: Watch online here.
Thanks to Jules for the tip that Beach Drive resident Scott Noble, now back to work as King County Assessor, has done an interview with channel 5 TV, and that media crews have been milling in the area all day. Here’s the first online version of the story – the video clip promotes a longer version to be shown on the station’s 11 pm newscast.
Be on the lookout for that display around West Seattle in the months to come. It’s part of the next phase of an effort that really started to rev up last year. If you were a WSB’er last spring/summer, you may recall our coverage of special events introducing neighborhoods to community meeting places (like this one), designated just in case of major disasters — someplace you could go to get connected with information and help, if all the other channels fail. There currently are eight such neighborhood gathering spots around West Seattle which are now dubbed “emergency-communication hubs.”
Saturday morning, many of the volunteers who are working on this got together in Morgan Junction for a discussion including guests from the city and county — and that’s where we all learned about help that’s needed right now for a “corps” that hopefully will never have to spring into action – the Public Health Reserve Corps. Don’t let the name scare you off – they’re looking to sign up volunteers who are NOT health pros, too — read on for more about that, and about the state of disaster readiness in local neighborhoods:Read More
Volunteers tabled and walked along Alki today in honor of World Water Day — to make sure you know that something we take for granted — a clean, safe water supply — is still elusive for way too many people worldwide. Find out more here (including info about an event at Seward Park on May 30th, in which participants will try to walk 5 kilometers carrying 5 gallons of water — which water1st.org notes is “the average walk made by women and children in poor countries who lack access to safe, convenient water supplies”). Another day of awareness with local involvement is just two days away — World TB Day on Tuesday, with local students helping put on a big event downtown:
The World TB Day event Tuesday night at Town Hall is free – and promises to be an eye-opener. Full details here. If you thought tuberculosis was a thing of the past – this King County-specific information alone will cure you of that notion. (The local rate, in fact, hit a 30-year high in 2007.) Student organizers also have been sending out TB info via Twitter – follow their tweets (and see the archives) at twitter.com/worldtbday.
Two words: Chocolate fountain.
That alone may have been enough to recommend the annual West Side MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) Spa Day today at West Side Presbyterian Church. Any and all of the group’s 65 members were welcome to come indulge in free pleasures donated by local businesses – from that chocolate fountain and other treats, to chair massages …
… and hair help …
… and lots more. As event coordinator Leah Barham put it, if you have little kids (she has a 3-year-old and a first-grader) you don’t tend to take time to take care of yourself, so Spa Day gives MOPS moms a chance for a relaxing break. Without the kids – they were in another area of the WSPC building. That’s also how MOPS runs its meetings, 1st and 3rd Fridays, October through May – while the moms get together, the kids are having a good time in the MOPPETS program. Lots more about MOPS at the group’s website; meantime, read on for a list of the businesses that supported today’s event (Leah says they’re grateful for so much generosity even with the challenging economy):Read More
(From left, Delridge Produce Co-Op organizer Galena White, Nola [daughter of Jennifer Grant], board members Jennifer Grant and Ranette Iding, volunteer consultant Johnathan Oliver from Heart On My Sleeve)
The next big event for the volunteers working toward a Delridge Produce Cooperative is a community potluck (to which you’re invited!) one week from tomorrow, and they gathered to work on the plan last night at Pearls coffeehouse. Music, food, a raffle, and even a chili-making demonstration are planned for the event 11 am-2 pm (see the flyer on the Delridge Produce Cooperative home page) Saturday, March 28, at Youngstown Arts Center. Your role? Show up, with “healthy food” to share, and have fun. Meantime, co-op organizer Galena White recently wrote up a recap of how this all got started, in response to requests from other media looking into stories about the Delridge Produce Cooperative effort, and we want to share her story as an inspirational instance of one person who decided to stop “complaining” – and take action – see what she did, step by step:Read More
That’s Moon the cat. Moon needs someplace to stay – short term or long term. His person, Sherry, lost her job, then got evicted this week, according to Delridge resident Paul Boyarin, who met Sherry at her recent yard sale. Now that she’s staying at an emergency shelter, she can’t keep Moon with her; the neighbor who’s watching him can’t keep him; Paul himself is maxed out with four foster cats; and local cat rescuers say they’re full to capacity right now. So Paul wonders if anyone in WSB-land would be interested in taking care of Moon, who’s about three years old, described as “very friendly and sweet” and “a well-loved indoor cat.” If you can help, here’s how to reach Paul: pzalic@yahoo.com
Here on WSB last week, you met Heart On My Sleeve in this story – three men, working out of a Pigeon Point duplex, hoping to change the world for the better, with recycled-material fashion, design, and music: Navy veteran Johnathan Oliver, former UW football player Shelton Sampson (shown above), and musician Art B. They were hopeful their “big break” was just around the corner; in the week and a half since we met them, some new excitement has materialized, starting with Seattle Fashion Week next month. Johnathan wrote to say:
Seattle Fashion Week has invited us to show our line. They also want us to serve as visual graphic directors for the show. We will also have the opportunity to design a piece for Vitamin Water. They are one of the sponsors for the event. They will be providing us with the money to purchase the materials needed for the piece. We have so many great ideas and I’m sure we would be able to make quite a statement at this show. We feel that a successful show can and will catapult us in the local fashion scene as well as the global.
Johnathan later e-mailed to say fashion-industry insider BJ Coleman has agreed to come here for the show, if they can figure out how to get him here. And that’s not all. They’ve been asked to perform some of their songs at a Fashion Week promo event on March 26, plus:
We will be creating 10 pieces for the fashion show. Each piece will have a charity associated to it. Such charities as The American Heart Association, the glass-blowing program in Tacoma. We are also creating a piece for Fashion Week that will be auctioned off at the Community School of West Seattle to raise money to replace technologies in their preschool. The kids will actually be helping us construct the piece as well.
They’ve been getting by on something of a shoestring – so in order to make all this happen, they have a wish list that you might be able to help with – read on to see it, plus an easy way to help:Read More
Don’t let the smile on Keri Robinson‘s face fool you – She’s coping, as are so many these days, with unemployment. We got a note from her this afternoon that said, in part: “I am a West Seattlelite who was given the pink-slip from Microsoft about 2 months ago and curious about a couple things. First, do you know where all the other pink-slipped Seattlelites hang out? It’s been about 2 months post layoff – and I have yet to really run into anyone, everyone seems to be hibernating or something. After about my first month, I came out of my shell and decided to start blogging about my experience as an unemployed person, but I am hoping to find some of the others out there – we are in the same boat and despite the long lonely journey through unemployment land ahead of us – I was hoping I could try to recruit some of our local pink-slips to be guest bloggers on my site.” So we asked Keri to send us a photo and told her we’d put out the call to you – if you happen to be in the jobseeking mode – you’ll find her site, Lords and Ladies of Leisure, by going here; her e-mail address is on the “about” page. (We’ll be adding her site feed shortly to the WSB Blogs page, too.)
PCG e-mailed this tribute, to share with you:
There was an elderly gentleman that lived on a street adjacent to our house (33rd SW near Andover) that we fondly refer to as Pussy Cat Lane because of all of the Tabbies that Titus (our dog) searches for with each morning walk.
He was an interesting man, who for the most part kept to himself. While I would often see him shuffling back and forth with his shopping bag, we rarely exchanged greetings with the exception of good morning, or good afternoon. I remember in exacting detail one day last summer, during an unusually hot spell, when he was walking in front of the house while the sprinkler system was on; there he stood soaking up the mist and all the goodness that a cool rain could bring on a hot summer’s day. In that brief moment I found myself admiring him for his love of life and all that it can bring.
His house is now dark. One of the tires is flat on his van. He died last week.
I, for one, will miss him and his ability to put one foot in front of the other, his love of life and his ability to get on. But it is that picture of an elderly man in a bucket hat standing in the spray of a sprinkler system that will never leave my mind. He meant something to someone, I was one of them. I am saddened for the loss. He made my world a better place, though some would deem him insignificant. He meant something to someone, I must admit I was one of those individuals, though he didn’t know it.
Michelle Baker is a born-and-raised West Seattleite – attended Lafayette Elementary, Madison Middle School, and West Seattle High School – but right now she’s in Butare, Rwanda (map), as part of her International Studies major at Seattle University. Before she left, she held a Beads for Life fundraiser to help Ugandan women – the photo above shows Michelle and mom Julie at the fundraiser. Now that she’s in Africa, Michelle is writing about her experiences online – michellejbaker.blogspot.com. But her trip is about more than studying; Michelle — a longtime soccer player — and her friend Caitlin, from Colorado, are also spending time in Uganda and have written a proposal to carry out a dream to help women through sports, by starting a soccer team in Northern Uganda. They need support, including money. Read on to see what they want to do and why:Read More
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(today’s shuttle launch, clip from MSNBC.com added 5:59 pm)
Just watched the liftoff of shuttle Discovery, headed for the International Space Station 
(check out NASA’s website for all the latest, including live audio and video from the mission as of this writing). In case you’ve been wondering — West Seattle High School alum Gregory Johnson (photo at right) is still waiting to go up – we reported back in August on the announcement that he would pilot the next mission of shuttle Atlantis, headed for the Hubble Space Telescope; his mission, STS-125, is currently scheduled for May.
Often, a “ridealong” – when a civilian observer goes along with a police officer on patrol — can be uneventful. Not the ones that West Seattle-based author Michael Stusser writes about, vividly and compactly, including one from the Southwest Precinct; read his story here.
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