August 2012

The seven story apartment/retail building coming to the West Seattle Junction in the old Petco spaceat 4724 California Ave. s.w. had its land use application accepted Aug. 23 and a few changes have been made to the project from the original permit as filed with the Department of Planning and Development. The original permit called for 80 residential units and 5000 sq. ft of retail/office space at ground level. The land use permit calls for 88 units (8 more) with 75 residential units and 13 live/work units and 4,722 sq. ft. of commercial space.

The project is being designed by Weber Thompson Architects, and developed by Urban Evolution and the Wolff Group. The ground breaking will take place likely next spring.

Seattle Parks reports that the Hiawatha Community Center online registration systems and phone lines are not working. They have reported the problems to the Department of Information Technology for repair, and will have these systems back up as soon as possible.

Hiawatha Community Center is at 2700 California Ave. SW and its hours today are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“I’m delighted to be in the Husky Deli as a Cougar,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray joked as she took the makeshift podium at Husky Deli in West Seattle on Aug. 23 to urge Congress to pass a bill to continue tax cuts for the middle class and "true" small business owners.

“Today, a lot of our middle class families and our small business owners, just like where we are here today, are really struggling in this tough economy … We are beginning to move in the right direction but there are still a lot of workers struggling to get a job … families who are fighting to stay in their home and main street businesses … are working every day just to keep their doors open,” the fourth term democratic senator representing Washington said.

“We are here today because if Congress does not act, taxes are scheduled to go up for every single American at the end of this year. I think that is truly the wrong way to go for our families and the wrong way to go for the economy here in Seattle, and I’ve been working very hard to stop that from happening.”

By Joshua McNichols, award-winning author of The Urban Farm Handbook

If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you’ve probably heard actor Bryan Cranston talk about his character’s gradual transformation from gentle high school teacher to … Scarface. Well, gentle gardener, if you hope to have ripe tomatoes, you must undergo a similar transformation.

I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. After all you’ve done. After you’ve coddled your tomatoes and wrapped them in wall-of-waters to protect them from the spring night-time temperatures. After you’ve watered them during the early summer droughts.

You’re very sweet. And what do you have to show for it? Hulking green plants covered with green fruits. How quaint. Well, I have a hard truth for you. Fried green tomatoes suck. At least when compared to the umami-rush of a red heirloom. When cut open on your plate, it should look like the high-priest’s dinner following a human sacrifice. Open heart surgery.

Happy tomatoes will keep on growing forever. Tomatoes begin to ripen only when they smell the stink of death.

UPDATE 8:10am:
The South Park vacant house fire that burned this morning was intentionally set according to Lt. Sue Stangl of the Seattle Fire Department. SPD Arson and bomb will be handling the investigation.

Original Post
The West Seattle Herald's news partner Q13FoxNews is reporting this morning that an abandoned house in the 700 block of South Sullivan Street in South Park was the scene this morning of the third fire in the last few months. The abandoned house caught fire on Monday, Aug, 20 and previously on June 11, that time in a garage. This time the fire engulfed the house and it had impinged on a neighbor's house.

There were no injuries. We will update this story.

Beaver fans, get ready. The new season is fast approaching.

At the Ballard High School football team's practice on Tuesday, Aug. 21, anticipation and optimism for the coming year of football was on high.

"We're very excited," BHS Head Coach Joey Thomas said. "We definitely have a lot of good players."

In the first game on Aug. 31, 5 p.m., titled "Battle for Ballard," the Beavers will go up against the Blanchet Braves on their home turf. Thomas believes that the two teams are well matched and that the game will be an exciting one.

Thomas believes the BHS team has plenty of talent this year, some of which has carried on from last year. He expects for the starting quarterback, senior Johnny Verduin, and running back senior Dominic King both to have a big year. Last year Verduin received honorable mention as a quarterback at the Kingco All Conference.

Verduin is also excited for the new year.

"I'm really excited, we got lots of talent," Verduin said of the team. "I think it'll be a pretty special year."

More than for just themselves, Thomas said they want to play and win for the people watching them.

Metro Transit issued this update on Aug. 22 regarding a series of bus routes that affect people in West Seattle and White Center.

"Until approximately Sunday, September 30, the 1st Av S ramp from the eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct is closed for construction and paving associated with the Spokane Street Viaduct widening project.

During this closure, Metro bus routes 21 Local, 22, 35, 37, 56 Local, 57, 85 Night Owl, 116, 118 and 119 from West Seattle to downtown Seattle are traveling instead via 4th Av S, and stopping northbound at S Spokane St, S Lander St and S Royal Brougham Way. Routes 21, 22, 35, 56, 57 and 85 also serve other stops on 4th Av S at S Forest, S Walker and S Holgate streets.

A previous Transit Alert advised that one brief exception to this long-term routing revision, affecting only routes 21, 56 and 85, will be overnight on Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23, from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM each of those nights, and that, during those times, these three routes would travel via the low level Spokane St Bridge, then north on East Marginal Way S to 1st Av S and S Lander St..

With no hospital in West Seattle proper, and with the Highline Medical Center preparing a site for a new clinic in the West Seattle Triangle, this news from the Highline Times has resonance for people in this community.

If the boards of Highline Medical Center in Burien and Tacoma-based Franciscan Health System approve a final affiliation agreement, Highline would become part of an even bigger new regional healthcare system than first announced last month.

With Highline, the new partnership revealed this month would create an integrated health system in the Pacific Northwest, combining eight Catholic Health Initiatives hospitals in Washington and Oregon with nine PeaceHealth hospitals in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

Even without Highline, the new organization will include nearly 26,000 employees and about 950 employed physicians serving in hospitals, physician clinics, outpatient care clinics, long-term care facilities, laboratories and private homes across the region.

On August 28 the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Metal Shop will install a new pier ladder at Seacrest Park. This is where the Water taxi docks in West Seattle.

Because a crane is needed to install it, Parks will need to close the parking lot from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or when the work is finished.

During the closure, King County Metro buses will park on the street rather than loop through the parking lot, and crew will work between the water taxi runs, which take place once an hour.

10 West Seattle area teens are hard at work putting the final touches on their documentary titled The Next Fifty: REMIXED in advance of the official release on Sat., Aug. 25.

Here are the details on the FREE showing:

Who: RechTech Youth Media Institute teen interns (working out of the Delridge Community Center)

What: FREE screening at Seattle International Film Festival’s Film Center will showcase The Next Fifty: REMIXED, a short documentary film (along with a few creative short films the interns have worked on over the summer). A short animated film from RechTech interns at the Southwest Community Center will also be shown. In addition, seven RecTech Interns working out of the Southwest Community Center will each show a very short work they created out of flash animation .

Where: SIFF Film Center, 450 Harrison St. (inside the Seattle Center)

When: Saturday, Aug. 25, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Background on the creators and their film