West Seattle

By MaryBeth Dagg
There’s quite a buzz around town, and it includes recent sightings of Otis Redding, the Duke, E.T., Woody and Queen Latifah here on our own Alki beach.

These non-celebrities are leading players in a drama unfolding on our West Seattle beaches and are actually just a few of the many harbor seals that “haul out” on our beaches throughout the year.

Seal sightings are just one of the joys of living in our beach community, but the combination of these cute creatures, people and pets can be dangerous. They’re adorable. We’re curious. And that’s where the trouble begins. Truth is, only 50 percent of seal pups make it alive out of their first year and human interaction can be extremely hazardous to their survival. If beach-goers get too close or leave their scent on a seal pup, the mother can easily be scared away or even not recognize her own pup, leading to abandonment. People need to know that feeding, moving or covering up a seal for warmth can have fatal consequences.

Last Sunday, police responded to a burglary call on Harbor Island just after noon. When they arrived at the retired, vacant flour mill the caller told them several motion detector trips revealed a burglar’s path from one building over a skywalk into another, and they believed he was still there. The week before the same building had been burglarized twice and an estimated $100,000 in brass and copper was taken. Four officers entered the abandoned building and began searching rooms and floors throughout. Two officers entered a room described as a lounge area and found a white male, who they arrested without incident. In the lounge they found several pieces of fresh cut copper piping and a backpack containing tools for removal, belonging to the suspect. Back at the Southwest Precinct, the suspect admitted that he had robbed the building five to six times and would often go there on the weekends. Police also recovered a Sony digital camera which the suspect said he used for, “urban exploring.” As officers looked through the photos, most of them were of the interior of the flour mill.

While there's no spaces left for bowlers (it's sold out) you can still join the members of Beer Church at West Seattle Bowl on Saturday, November 20 at 5:30 p.m.) for the 12th Annual Turkey Bowl as they collect food donations and raise money to support the West Seattle Food Bank.

Bring canned goods or packaged food products to drop off.

The Turkey Bowl features more than 200 bowlers and dozens of spectators. The event is open to the public but also includes teams representing local restaurants, bars and breweries.

The West Seattle Food Bank works to eliminate hunger in West Seattle so that no one in our community will go to bed hungry.

Opened in 1981, the West Seattle Food Bank serves over 500 families each week. The food bank recently experienced the busiest month in its 29 year history. Please help support this worthy cause as they face unprecedented challenges.

After a rainy beginning for the evening the November 2010 West Seattle Artwalk was well attended.

CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE MORE IMAGES.

Samrawit Zeinu, who volunteers at The Kenney was on hand there selling Christmas Wreaths and representing Global Visionaries, selling coffee for a trip she is planning to Guatemala as well as for a 'Project Fund' whose purpose is to build schools and supply hospitals in that nation.

"Each year different high school students go to Guatemala for two weeks to assist other Guatemala teams," said Zeinu.

Also at the Kenney, the Cornucopia Band played. This 24 piece band performs music from the late 19th century up to 1930 when band concerts, jazz and ragtime were highly popular.They are scheduled to appear at Kenyon Hall at Saturday and Sunday, November 20-21, 7:30 PM at 7904 35th Avenue s.w.

UPDATE for 6/22/11:
The skeleton for the new two-story, 140,000 square foot South Transfer Station in West Seattle has been built, showing clear signs of progress for the facility that will replace the old transfer station across the street (130 S. Kenyon St.).

Henry Friedman, project manager for Seattle Public Utilities said the new station is still on target for a June 2012 opening and so far there haven't been any issues overshooting the budget.

Original story from Nov. 10, 2010:
The City of Seattle will break ground on a new $50 million waste transfer station in West Seattle on Nov. 22, according to project manager Henry Friedman of Seattle Public Utilities.

The two-story, 140,500 sq. foot building with 84 parking spots is projected to be finished in June 2012. It will be built at 130 S. Kenyon St., just northwest of the existing waste transfer station and was approved on Nov. 1 by Lucas DeHerrera, Senior Land Use Planner for the Department of Planning and Development.

Jessica Talley got her dog Ernie from Fur Baby Rescue in Blaine, Washington and when she and her boyfriend James brought him home, he was top dog. Ernie is a Shih Tzu and not large (though Jessica describes him as "chunky") but he knew he was in charge in the house. At least at first. "When we first got him he walked in there like I am top dog. End of story (...) and he was for a really long time," Jessica said.

Ernie has a move that Jessica calls his "bullfighter" in which he puffs out his chest, holds up his head, growls and paws the ground. This came as a surprise to the dog they already had, Oscar who is a Bichon/Maltese mix.

"Oscar doesn't have the social skills that Ernie does, with his puppy mill history. He didn't understand what was going on other than this little dog is growling at me and I better do what he says," Jessica explained.

But that changed.

by Sam Reed

The Seahawk’s 2010 Fall sports season was a very successful one, in that it saw solid team improvement, outstanding individual achievements and tremendous overall achievement both in the field of play and in the classroom. Overall 175 student-athletes donned helmets, knee pads, shin guards, running shoes or spikes and represented Chief Sealth International in Metro League competition.

From the Department of Planning and Development site:
The West Seattle Triangle open house event planned for December 2 has been postponed, and will be rescheduled in early 2011. Members of the public are instead invited to attend Mayor Mike McGinn’s Community Forum on Thursday December 2, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center at 4408 Delridge Way SW. The community forum is an opportunity for members of the West Seattle community to hear about work by City departments, and to converse with the Mayor about issues of interest. Staff from the Seattle Department of Planning and Development will be available at the event with information about the department, including information about the West Seattle Triangle project.

WestSeattleTriangle.pdf

Press Release:
The Divine Marigolds shoots its pilot episode, The Homecoming, at the Villa Heidelberg Bed and Breakfast in West Seattle Nov. 12-14. An off-kilter comedy about a large Irish family living in Seattle, The Divine Marigolds finds all the adult children moving back home, resulting in hilarious yet deeply affecting moments as they all learn to live under the same roof again.

The show’s creators, Lisa Coronado and Alder Sherwood of Corwood Productions along with Will Chase and Jeremiah Kaynor, have brought on Las Vegas director Francisco Menendez, who most recently wrapped a Roger Corman film, to help bring out the heart of the story.

“The project has picked up strong momentum and the support for the show continues to surprise me” says Lisa Coronado. “Our local community continues to be amazingly supportive.”

The show features some of Seattle’s most notable indie film actors in strong ensemble-driven roles, including Paul Eenhorn as Pops Marigold and Lorraine Montez as Ruby Marigold. “When the cast came together on set at rehearsal, it was magic – they make the family seem so real,” explained Jeremiah Kaynor.

I've been thinking about a topic that comes up quite often in our business, but isn't discussed much in the media.

Everyone sees ads all of the time on TV, Newspapers, etc. for new vehicles. We are encouraged to buy the newest models, and now, with emerging technology, there will be more choices in electric and hybrid vehicles than ever. We read news of the economy and how new car sales is an indicator of how we are doing as a nation. Most of us are also aware of the maintenance needs of newer cars and trucks, and it is increasingly more important than ever to stick to the factory scheduled maintenance to keep your warranty in effect and the vehicle in compliance with emissions standards.

What is less discussed, though, is what to do if you have an older vehicle or are in the market to buy a used vehicle.