December 2012

An estimated crowd of more than 500 crowded into Junction Plaza Park to see the official lighting of the Junction Christmas Tree on the evening of Dec. 1.

Marty Riemer, fresh off his announcement of his imminent departure from his job as DJ on KMTT 103.7FM, was in fine comedic form and the emcee for the light hearted event.

Music was provided by the Starlite All Stars and the singing group the Winter Wonderettes.
Line Sandsmark, Executive Director of Arts West spoke about the new show at the theater.
Pastor Dan Jacobs of West Seattle Christian spoke briefly.
Nancy Woodland of Westside Baby urged people to support the agency.

The Endolyne Children's Choir performed under the direction of Amy Stagnobokanev

The event was sponsored by the West Seattle Junction Association.

There have certainly been some growing pains with Metro’s introduction of the RapidRide C Line to West Seattle, from hour long waits when 10 to 15 minutes were promised to buses filled to the brim and forced to drive right past waiting commuters.

Those problems, Metro says, come down to increased ridership over their expectations (they have added more buses in an attempt to cure that woe), issues with traffic light and driver timing, and slowdowns at certain parts of the line – especially downtown after the free-ride area came to an end and everyone had to start paying a fare.

Or did they?

That was one of the concerns raised by the community at a West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting in November, where Richard Miller, council president, brought in representatives from Metro and Sound Transit to answer questions.

“Rampant with thugs and drug dealers and punks,” was the way one citizen characterized the ridership of RapidRide, especially resulting from stops in the Junction and at Fauntleroy on the way downtown.

Just like a retail operation might look at what sold well and what sat on the shelves at the end of each year, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office puts together an annual report on their area of expertise: death.

While a summary of deaths may seem morbid, Dr. David Fleming, director of public health for the county, said when the report was released in November, “Medical Examiner death reviews support Public Health’s prevention efforts.”

For example, according to the 2011 report, while homicides and traffic deaths dropped from 2010, suicides increased. More people died of accidental overdoses than traffic crashes, and the number of overdoses in which oxycodone (prescription pain killer) was involved jumped 60 percent over the prior year.

The Admiral District merchants were out beautifying the area on Saturday, Dec. 1 putting up wreaths and other decorations to get the area in the holiday spirit.

Stu Hennesey of Alki Bike and Board was up on a step ladder and working with Jessie Allert of Zatz a Better Bagel. Hennesey had some advice for shoppers this year.

"I think we're in a recessionary time and it's a little down from where we've been climbing to, and in that atmosphere why not get a practical gift. I recommend gift cards so you can get things like repairs done on your bike."

Allert said they have gift cards too, "We sell gift cards and gift certificates."

The Admiral District is also home of course to the Admiral Theater where the FREE Holiday movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas will play at 4 pm on Dec. 16.

The Rotary of West Seattle is on a roll, helping raise supplies for Transitional Resources on Dec. 7 after helping the West Seattle Food Bank on the first Friday of October and gathering coats, gloves and scarves for those in need in November.

Here are the details on their latest fundraiser:

First Friday – Third Times a charm (too)

Following Hurricane Sandy, preparedness is on our minds too; so we looked within our community and decided for this First Friday (December 7th) we would ask the community to help us better prepare Transitional Resources.

Transitional Resources is a licensed mental health center and residential facility located here in West Seattle. They serve over 200 people per year.

They provide affordable housing in many forms from group homes to individual apartments depending on where people are in their recovery. Safe stable housing is essential to people being able to work towards recovery.

While Transitional resources is prepared with water and food for emergencies they want to make sure that their clients have some basic safety and first aid with them.

UPDATE 12/7/12 3PM
The going away party for Marty Riemer will be Thursday, Dec. 20 at the Feedback Lounge from 7-10PM on his last day at kmtt 12/20. No cover. 21 and over, his longtime co-host Jodi Brothers Blau shared via Facebook. "nothing fancy, everyone's welcome. Hugs for everyone," she said.

Original Post
Well known West Seattleite, and radio personality Marty Riemer will leave his post at the Mountain 103.7FM on Dec. 20 he announced via Facebook today.

Monday, Nov. 26
Girls basketball
Fife 50, Evergreen 29
The Wolverines' started off their season with a decisive loss to the Fife Trojans this past Monday.

Tuesday, Nov. 27
Boys basketball
Interlake 57, Foster 52
Interlake squeezed out a five-point win over the Bulldogs in Tuesday action.
Mt. Rainier 65, Evergreen 56
The Mount Rainier Rams of Des Moines got the best of the Wolverines in Tuesday night's game.
Girls basketball
Mt. Rainier 68, Eastlake 62
Brittany McPhee poured in 35 points and sister Jordan McPhee added 16 as the Rams rallied for a close win this past Tuesday.
West Seattle 45, Foster 29
West Seattle won against the Bulldogs of Foster in Tuesday's action.
Aub.-Riv. 64, Chief Sealth 29
Allison Hadaway scored 13 points for the Seahawks in Tuesday's loss in the Auburn-Riverside gymnasium.

Wednesday, Nov. 28
Boys basketball
King's 55, Evergreen 45
Evergreen went down to a 10-point defeat Wednesday.
Decatur 84, Highline 50
Highline journeyed to the home gym of perennial power Decatur on Wednesday and came away with a lopsided loss.
Girls basketball
Interlake 47, Evergreen 25

The lady Wildcats traveled to Burien Tuesday night and soundly defeated Highline High School 38-12.

As the teams took the court and readied for the tipoff one could sense the outcome. West Seattle fielded a much larger team and the Wildcats' size could not be ignored.

From the beginning West Seattle controlled the game. The Pirates played hard but were simply outmatched by the bigger, faster, stronger Wildcats.

Highline’s fast break attempts were constantly thwarted by a wall of blue, forcing the Pirates to shoot from the outside. They seemed uncomfortable doing so.

Led by No. 24 Lydia Giomi at the post the Wildcats took away almost every missed shot by Highline and quickly pushed the ball up court. The Pirates were speedy and got back in coverage to thwart West Seattle’s fast break, forcing the Wildcats to shoot from the outside. But this is where size comes into play. West Seattle’s offensive rebounding gave them the edge and second chance shooting under the hoop was the difference. At the end of the first period the Wildcats were up 11-2.

I have had my experience with minus tides so I don't plan to join the throngs on the puget sound beaches next week at Seahurst park. There will be hundreds of people walking the wet sand with lanterns and flashlights.I have talked to several divers who explore the bottom of Puget Sound and know there is a 20-foot boat on a trailer out there near the Salmon Creek sewer treatment pumps.

I don't know how it got there.

Several years ago a bunch of Highline - West Seattle guys decided to rent a 30-foot cruiser and play a lot of poker on Puget Sound. I was there.

We rented the boat, took it through the Ballard Locks and headed for a bunch of pilings our captain knew about near Indianola, just north of Bainbridge Island. We found some old pilings left from an historic dock. We happily tied our cruiser to them and got our game started..

It was a sunny afternoon; we were in high spirits ( that too ). The game was not going well for me. I was down 40 bucks and whining about my poor luck. At about 8 p.m we fixed some sandwiches and a few more libations.

Press release:

The Environmental Science Center (ESC) would like to invite the public to join us for this free ONCE A YEAR event at the Environmental Science Center at Seahurst Park. An After-Hours Beach Walk will take place Friday, December 14th, 2012 from 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM.

An especially low tide combined with the protective darkness of night will give you the opportunity to see marine animals in a new light- your FLASHLIGHT! Naturalists will be taking groups from the Environmental Science Center down to the beach to guide the experience and identify discoveries. Inside the center, you can learn more about marine life at the microscope station or join a game of marine bingo. Warm up with cider and cookies while socializing with fellow Puget Sound enthusiasts.

A few friendly pointers and reminders:
- Dress warmly
- Wear rubber boots
- Bring a flashlight
- Do No Harm
-Touch animals gently with a wet finger
- Watch where you step
- Leave rocks bigger than your fist where they are (don’t flip over)
- Save the Children
- Leave ALL animals and shells where you find them (don’t take them home)
- Pass It On
- Share what you learn with others