July 2012

SLIDESHOW by David Rosen & Steve Shay

Click on photo for more.

The Twenty-Fifth Annual Mediterranean Fantasy Festival got underway with plenty of belly dancing and cultural displays at Hiawatha Community Center 2700 California Ave SW. It runs both Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22.

The event features dancing from 11:00am to 7:00pm Saturday and 11:00am to 5:00pm Sunday and shopping from 10:00am until end each day.

2 Stages feature music and performances with more than 90 people performing.

To learn more visit http://www.babylonianensemble.com/
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The event is produced by The Babylonian Ensemble co sponsored by Hiawatha Advisory Council and Seattle Parks And Recreation

The 2012 West Seattle Grand Parade (preceded by the West Seattle Rotary Club Kiddie Parade) was a celebration of color, community and fun.

The winner of the overall trophy for best entry this year as determined by parade organizers and hosts the American Legion went to the Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band followed by the Chinese Community Girls Drill Team and the Sumner High School Marching Band.

More than 90 entries, made their way down California Avenue from the Admiral District to the West Seattle Junction and this year only two floats joined the procession, West Seattle Hi Yu's own Secret Garden float and the float from Marysville.

The rest of the entries were bands, drill teams, organizations, politicians and of course the Seafair Pirates and Seafair Clowns.

UPDATE: Saturday, July 28, 7:15 p.m.

As we earlier reported, Mayor Mike McGinn changed plans and did not ride in the battery car in the torchlight parade. However, we reported in error, that he was not participating in the parade at all. Untrue, as he marched with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz. Seafair officials told us at about 5:40 p.m. that his plans had changed due to the Department of Justice report just released.

UPDATE: Saturday, July 28, 5:45 p.m.

According to a tip from Seafair officials, the West Seattle Herald has learned that Mayor Mike McGinn has backed out of appearing in tonight's Seafair Torchlight parade due to the Department of Justice report released yesterday. The Mayor was to ride with West Seattle's Craig Vinton on his battery-powered roadster.

Vinton was reached by the West Seattle Herald and said he knew nothing about the unusual maneuver other than he was told that his services were not needed.
We have a call out to the mayor's people for a response.
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The first West Seattle outdoor movie opening the season for the series is the Pretty in Pink, the classic 1980's teen angst film by John Hughes starring Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer and Harry Dean Stanton.

Pre-Show entertainment will be provided by Bob "Bearcat" Rice and the film is presented by Bakery Nouveau, Dream Dinners, Nicholson Kovalchik Architects, Pediatric Speech and Language Therapy.

You are urged to bring blankets, chairs family and friends to 4410 California Ave. s.w. (between Hotwire Coffee and Dr. Wolff.

All movies are FREE.

West Seattle Outdoor Movies are presented by the West Seattle Junction. You can learn more by visiting www.wsmovies.org or on their Facebook page.

The West Seattle Herald previewed the entire summer series here
http://www.westseattleherald.com/2012/06/27/news/west-seattle-outdoor-m…

UPDATE July 22:
Nancy Woodland, the Executive Director for WestSide Baby has shared the news that the Stuff the Bus diaper drive staged on Sunday July 22 was hugely successful. She wrote "215,000 diapers total so far from Stuff the Bus (diapers plus money turned into diapers). Plus 100,000 in the match from National Diaper bank Network."

Original Post
WestSide Baby's annual campaign to get donations of disposable diapers to quite literally "Stuff the Bus" is back and happening on Sunday, July 22 at American West Bank located at 4022 Alaska Street s.w. from 10am to 2pm.

Nancy Woodland, Executive Director of the organization was chosen as the Grand Marshal of the West Seattle Grand Parade and WestSide Baby is part of that event too. She urges people to bring diapers and donate them. "I'm thrilled to be part of this because this to me, as a kid is the thing that grown ups did and famous people did and I'm neither one of those things and bring more visibility to WestSide Baby. I'm excited to be the Grand Poopah,"

Seattle Beer News has selected West Seattle's Beveridge Place Pub as the number one of their Top Ten beer spots in Seattle.

The pub is owned by Gary Sink and is located at 6413 California Ave SW.

Their full and extensive review praises the pub saying it, "just has a perfect balance of good beer wrapped up in a welcome atmosphere."

Seattle Beer News goes on to outline why detailing their 36 beers on tap, their events calendar, the atmosphere and even giving them kudos for their lack of food which they consider a plus.

Updated to include testimony from Friday's sentencing. Additional photos also added (please click the photo above to see more).

20-year-old Angelo Felice was sentenced to just over 14 and a half years in prison on July 20 after pleading guilty to second degree murder in the 2011 stabbing death of Hokum W. Jeebs (aka Robert Stabile) in West Seattle.

King County Judge John Erlick handed down the sentence after listening to victim testimony from friends and loved ones of Jeebs, a well-known Vaudeville musician and performer going back to the 1970s in San Francisco.

Felice stabbed Jeebs to death at his 44th Ave S.W. home on February 16, 2011 in what detectives called an attempted robbery that turned deadly.

Felice faced a range of 10 to 18 years, with prosecutors and the defense recommending 11.6 years according to guilty plea court documents. Judge Erlick decided to go against the recommendation, tacking on an additional three years to the sentence.

At 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 18, the Seattle Fire Department responded to a fire at Carkeek Park.

What they found was not a building or forest fire, but an arson of a work of art. Artist Josho Somine's 20-foot tall cardboard tree, which was a part of the temporary exhibit "Rootbound: Heaven and Earth IV," was reduced to ashes.

This is the latest in a trend of abnormally aggressive vandalism, according to a press release sent out by the Center on Contemporary Art. Other vandalized art since the exhibit's opening includes: Fox Spear's exhibit, "I will go Back and Not Come Out" went missing, Suze Woolf's "Tree Futures" was removed/damaged, Viewlands Group's "Landscape Intervention" was damaged (since repaired), Tiki Muvihall's "Fruitless Grafting" was damaged, and The Unearth Collective's "The Mediated Landscape" was 50 percent dismantled.

The City of Burien's animal control provider, CARES (Community Animal Resource & Education Society), officially opened its new shelter at 909 SW 151st St. July 16, after receiving required permitting and approvals from the City and passing its final inspection by the King County Health Department on July 15.

It invites the public to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new pet shelter on Tuesday, July 24, at 4:00 p.m. with cake and refreshments. Dog and cat treats will be available so bring your pets. The public can stop by between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to tour the new shelter, and maybe even adopt a cat or dog. You can also view a privately owned pet daycare located next door, Paws and Relax.

Controversy

The Highline Times asked CARES volunteer director, Debra George, to address harsh complaints made by commenters responding to media articles on the facility. George was raised in St. Louis, and operates Mark Restaurant and Bar about one block south of CARES with her partner. She is also Discover Burien's special events manager. (Not board member as we previously reported in error.)

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks will be closed to all marine traffic from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 25, according to a press release sent out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The closure is for a re-inspection of the Adult Salmon Exclusion Structure, which was previously inspected on June 5. The structure prevents adult salmon from going back out into the salt water during the salmon run.

During the inspection, only emergency vessels on emergency calls may go through the locks. Boaters may call the lockmaster on duty at (206) 783-7000 to verify whether the locks are open.