May 2011

The Seattle International Film Festival is set to open this Friday, May 20th at the Admiral Theater. Tickets for their shows must be purchased through them by phone at 206.324.9966 or their website.

The Admiral is offering something unique this year, Pie and Coffee and they are teaming up with two area merchants to provide it.

3.14 Bakery Located at 9602 16th Ave SW, White Center, the 3.14 Bakery will be supplying the Admiral with what Dinah Brein calls "their super amazing “cake balls” delicate and moist and in such decadent flavors as carrot cake, pina colada and triple chocolate, we’re sure they’ll go over great here at the theater!"

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW

Thirty-eight restaurants, bakeries, wine and coffee shops from West Seattle and White Center set up tables and served scrumptious samples of their best stuff Thursday night at the Hall at Fauntleroy. The occasion was the annual Taste of West Seattle to benefit the West Seattle Helpline. Read about them here.

Since 1989 the Helpline has been offering financial aid and referral advice that can save residents from homelessness, hopelessness, and hunger. They are located at 6516 35th Avenue SW, # 204. (206) 932-4357.

Patrons were given slips at the entrance to vote on their favorite offering. And, as the cliche goes, most seemed to believe they were all winners, but Spring Hill Northwest, located north of the Alaska Junction, came in first place for their sliders. Second place had a three way tie, Blackboard Bistro, Fresh Bistro, and The Bridge.

Zippy's Giant Burgers is in the homestretch according to owner Blaine Cook with only one more fire alarm inspection and health inspection to follow. He said there's a good chance he will be able to open on Monday in their new location at 9614 14th s.w.

Here's owner Blaine (Lord Zippy) Cook's latest update as of 7:00 am May 20:

Well yesterday we thought would be the last day for all of these last minute details to be ironed out..But wait no burgers for you. The radio system for the fire alarm calls for a permit and yes another inspection. Like all permits this one will take a few days to be reviewed by the proper officials. Both the tech and the guy we deal with at the alarm company were both surprised that this last thing needed a permit. We will call our contact at the fire department and see if he can move this one to the top of his stack.

At this point all of the work has been done and unless somebody pulls something out of their @ss there should be no more hidden suprises/gremlins waiting for us.

Blaine

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Press Release:

The Seattle Department of Transportation is filling in a missing section of sidewalk around SW Barton Place at 22nd Avenue SW. They will start installing the new sidewalk on Monday, May 23, and expect to complete the work in about three days and be open by mid-week.

Megan Hoyt from SDOT said they are adding 56 feet of new sidewalk to the existing sidewalk.

The parking lane at this location will be closed. The crews will work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Feet First is sponsoring a series of workshops in Seattle to explore the question: What do we need for a walkable community?
Up for discussion are investments in sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, lighting and connectivity to public transit.

The first of the workshops is set to take place Monday May 23 here in West Seattle.

If you attend you can help the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee III prioritize needs and evaluate funding options.

UPCOMING WORK SHOPS

MONDAY, MAY 23
5:30-7:30
Southwest Library, Meeting Room
9010 35th Avenue Southwest
-Councilmember Tom Rasmussen in attendance

TUESDAY, MAY 24
5:30-7:30
Fremont Library, Meeting Room
731 N. 35th Street
-Mayor Mike McGinn in attendance

THURSDAY, MAY 26
5:30-7:30
Washington Middle School, Cafeteria
2102 South Jackson Street
-Mayor Mike McGinn in attendence

Press release:
A pilot project to train orca stewards is launching in June with its first presentation to the local community. Presented by The Whale Trail, the Orca Steward Training Program seeks to teach members of the local community what they can do to help endangered southern resident orcas. Starting with the West Seattle community, the goal is to offer the Orca Steward Training Program in communities around the region, creating a network of people making positive changes for the orcas and the Sound.

You can download the Orca Steward poster at the link above.

The free event takes place on Saturday, June 11th at the Alki Community Center from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required at brownpapertickets.com.

Press release:
South Seattle Community College was chosen by the judges at Tomorrow’s Technician magazine as one of the top four automotive schools in the country in their annual School of the Year contest. Students, instructors and other industry representatives nominated nearly 100 technical schools acrosss the country. In February, judges chose the Top 20 from the list and in April, South was named one of the four regional finalists.

Tomorrow’s Technician magazine created the School of the Year contest to recognize top automotive techinical schools who have shown inovative training programs and prepared students for a successful career after graduation. Publisher Jeff Stankard noted that the quality of automotive education in this country contiues to rise and that this year’s contest was the most competative so far.

South’s ASE Certified Automotive Technology program offers hands-on, real-world training in state-of-the-art facilities featuring the latest in high tech equipment. In addtion to Automotive Technology, the college also offers Automotive Collision Repair (ASE Certified) and Diesel & Heavy Duty Equipment programs.

Update for 4:15 p.m., May 20:
The Seattle office of the FBI released still frames from the surveillance cameras in Viking Bank that were made during the robbery on May 19. The photos show at least one gun was clearly visible during the commission of the crime. The FBI is urging anyone to submit any tips identifying those individuals to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound, at 1-800-222-TIPS. The tip line accepts anonymous tips 24/7 and generally offers a $1000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest.

Previous Update May 19:

Seattle police confirmed three masked suspects entered the Viking bank around 3:33 p.m. on May 19 armed with handguns.

There were no customers inside and police said the suspects held employees "at bay" while emptying cash drawers, then fled on foot.

According to police, there were no injuries and the suspects are still at large. A joint task force of the SPD and FBI are continuing the investigation and searching for suspects.

After a Facebook vote, Woodland Park Zoo's newest resident, a reticulated python now has a name.

Named after the unforgettable snake in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book the eight-year-old, 100 pound snake's name will be Kaa.

Kaa was introduced last week to the community and can be seen at the Day Exhibit during zoo hours.

Nearly 400 names were submitted to the zoo’s Facebook page to name the reticulated python. Out of the top five suggestions picked by the zoo, Kaa drew 44% of the votes in the follow-up poll that garnered nearly 500 votes.

The runner-up names were:

Sundara – “beautiful” in Hindi
Java – in honor of its roots in Southeast Asia and Seattle
Rimbo – “jungle” in Indonesian
Pogi – “good looking” in Tagalog (Filipino)

The Highline School District is holding the first of two public workshops tonight (Thursday, May 19) on the impact of state funding cuts. Administrators are seeking input on district budget priorities. District staff, students, parents, and the community are encouraged to participate in the workshops.
The meetings will be:
Thursday, May 19, 6-8 p.m. at Cedarhurst Elementary School, 611 S. 132nd St. in Burien.
Saturday, May 21, 9-11 a.m. at Midway Elementary School, 22447 24th Ave. S. in Des Moines.
Interpreters will be available.