January 2013

A large colorful mural depicting a northwest scene, and containing visual references to the cultures and people of the White Center/West Seattle communties was dedicated by the West Seattle Lions Club on Jan 20.

The Sea Scouts presented the flags of the United states and Canada. From the Chief Sealth Council BSA of Washington, Troup 97.

Artist Xavier Lopez jr. was on hand to speak about the work and to sign it.

The event, attended by more than 70 people, featured White Center Chamber of Commerce President Mark Ufkes, West Seattle Lions Club's Jimie Martin and others from the community.

SLIDESHOW, Click on photo for more, or click on photo in gallery below:

Hundreds gathered for the annual Rustycon 30 Convention this weekend at the SeaTac Marriott to celebrate the "steampunk" scene. According to Steampunk.com, "Steampunk has always been first and foremost a literary genre (...) a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th Century (the steam) usually with some deconstruction of, reimagining of, or rebellion against parts of it (the punk)."

The convention runs through 6:00pm today, Sunday, Jan. 20. There is an admission charge.

Costumed participants parade their edgy fashion statements, some women letting most of it all hang out, some men, with heads covered in gas masks and other rubber and copper disguises, revealing very little. Some play sci-fi board games and attend panel discussions led by successful authors who write in their genre. They seem to celebrate a contradiction, a deliberate blend of hipness and nerdom.

Leslee Fuller of West Seattle was liaison to the press at the convention. Her husband, Lee, was DJ during some late night dance events there.

Calley Maine, the daughter of Jan Maine who owns of the Corner Pocket at the Alaska Junction, died there suddenly Saturday night, Jan. 12 . She was 37. Calley was the mother of 14 year-old Cooper. Cooper was raised by Calley and her life-partner, Jeremy Parmenter, all of Tukwila. Jeremy, 36, is a union carpenter.

The West Seattle Herald published an announcement of her passing here.

She had a seizure, went into cardiac arrest, and died at the bar, her brother, Michael Maine, who works there, told Robinson Newspapers. According to the Real-Time911 website, aid vehicles arrived at the scene, at 4302 Alaska St SW, at about 8:00 p.m.

The funeral took place Friday, Jan. 18, at 1:00 p.m. at the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home on Alaska St. It was filled, with over 50 people spread around outside. A memorial followed, at the Corner Pocket. Family members said, "It was packed. A lot of sharing between individuals took place with a lot of tears."

Calley Maine, the daughter of Jan Maine who owns of the Corner Pocket at the Alaska Junction, died there suddenly Saturday night, Jan. 12 . She was 37. Calley was the mother of 14 year-old Cooper. Cooper was raised by Calley and her life-partner, Jeremy Parmenter, all of Tukwila. Jeremy, 36, is a union carpenter.

The West Seattle Herald published an announcement of her passing here.

She had a seizure, went into cardiac arrest, and died at the bar, her brother, Michael Maine, who works there, told the West Seattle Herald. According to the Real-Time911 website, aid vehicles arrived at the scene, at 4302 Alaska St SW, at about 8:00 p.m.

The funeral took place Friday, Jan. 18, at 1:00 p.m. at the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home on Alaska St. It was filled, with over 50 people spread around outside. A memorial followed, at the Corner Pocket. Family members said, "It was packed. A lot of sharing between individuals took place with a lot of tears."

Easy Street Records, who announced the closure of their Queen Anne location on Jan. 2is holding their in-store auction of memorabilia and fixtures Jan. 20.

The preview galleries reveal a treasure trove for music fans including posters of album covers, banners and other promotional material for artists such as Jack White, Bruce Springsteen, Black Keys, AC/DC, The Clash, Devo, Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, The Posies, Dave Matthews, Nirvana, The Ramones, Bob Marley, The Cure, Jane's Addiction and and many more.

The auction start time is 11 am. The auction will close when it's all sold or the doors close at 8pm.

Easy Street Records held a final closing party for the store on Jan. 19 featuring Yo La Tengo.

The store, at least for a little while longer, is located at 20 Mercer Street in lower Queen Anne.

SLIDESHOW, Click on photo for more, or click on photo in gallery below:

Hundreds gathered for the annual Rustycon 30 Convention this weekend at the SeaTac Marriott to celebrate the steampunk scene. It continues until 6:00 p.m. Sunday night, Jan. 20. There is an admission charge.

According to Steampunk.com, "Steampunk has always been first and foremost a literary genre (...) a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th Century (the steam) usually with some deconstruction of, reimagining of, or rebellion against parts of it (the punk)."

Costumed participants parade their edgy fashion statements, some revealing almost everything, some revealing nothing. Some play sci-fi board games and attend panel discussions led by successful authors who write in their genre. They seem to embody a contradiction, a deliberate blend of hipness and nerdom.

By Christopher Duclos

On Friday night, Jan. 19, the Beavers girls and boys both suffered a loss against Issaquah High School.

Having not played since last Friday the lady beavers took the court. It was Issaquah that broke away early in the first quarter. Adjustments were then made to end the half as Ballard held the Eagles to only 2 points in the second quarter. Issaquah never let up, though, outscoring the Beavers with a final score of 45-32.

Shot totals: Nancy MacGeorge (9), Beverly Verduin (8), Riley Soukup (7), Imani Bender (4), Shelby Bailess (2) and Sam Hall (2).

After witnessing the rough loss from the girls, the men were seeking a win. Issaquah turned up the heat early with a stingy defense, keeping Ballard’s star players from making too big of an impact during the game. The Eagles continued its defensive momentum after halftime, grabbing a 10-0 run and extending their lead to 39-19.The Beavers were never able to rally to catch up to Issaquah, ending the game with a loss, 48-35.

Everyone heard the sirens, but few heard the story behind them.

On Nov. 20, 2012, at 8:23 a.m., Seattle Fire responded to a small boat fire at Shilshole Bay Marina. We reported on it that day, as everyone in the neighborhood could hear the three fire trucks screaming down Market St, but by the time firefighters got there, the small electrical fire coming from the control panel was already out.

We figured there was nothing more to say. But we were wrong.

It turns out, a brave ten-year-old girl was responsible for preventing the fire from getting worse. Her name is Ellie.

She was in the back of the boat when she could smell something funny, and then she saw smoke. "It was really scary," she said.

But not scary enough. Acting on her own -- her parents were just ten boats down the dock, at the moment oblivious -- she alerted her neighbors and called 911. She even sent her dad a text.

"She sent me a text," Scott Brosius said. "'Dad, there's smoke,' but I didn't get in time."

Relentless defense and fast break basketball does in the Ingraham Rams.
Ingraham was never able to keep up with the Wildcats speed and found themselves down 14-11 at the end of the first period.

At the end of the first half the west side boys held a semi comfortable ten point lead 27-17. But this is basketball and fortunes can swing in any direction. West Seattle stuck with their run and gun style and the Rams were never able to mount any kind of momentum, and at one point in the second half West Seattle held an 18 point lead.

Ingraham was able to get back a few of those points late in the fourth period, but could never mount any kind of real comeback due to a Wildcat defense that took risky chances to steal the ball. While West Seattle did get dinged with penalties because of this aggressive style of play, the Wildcats created numerous turnovers that led to fast break points. West Seattle was aided by poor shooting at the line by Ingraham.

Wildcat Point Guard LaTrey Newsome’s defensive ability and his team high 22 points was a dagger that the Rams could not overcome.

Lifewise Health Plan of Washington is sponsoring a high school video contest called Hunt 4 Health. West Seattle High School is among the top ten finalists.

The goal of the contest was to get students to portray students staying healthy and active in a video presentation.

A panel of community and company representatives has screened all entries and selected 10 to be voted on from January 1 through Jan. 31, 2013. The 10 were chosen based on how effectively and creatively they show students staying healthy and active. You can vote for your favorite video based on this criteria on the Facebook page here. You must be logged into Facebook.