June 2013

Warning: Due to the crass names of the subject band and venue, this article contains numerous accounts of the 'F' word and the 'P' word.

"Jazz is dead; the Copper Gate is dead."

Such was the proclamation of organist Ron Weinstein, who with drummer Mike Peterson makes up the jazz duo the Suffering Fuckheads. They played their last set on Tuesday, June 25 in the Pussy Room at the Copper Gate.

"We're absolutely heartbroken," Weinstein said of the Copper Gate. Between the intimate space, the atmosphere, the colors and the loud acoustics, he said it was one of his favorite venues to play in.

The Suffering Fuckheads have been together in one form or another for ten years. At the start, there were more people in the band, but Weinstein joked that the others found himself and Peterson too obnoxious and left. They played at the Sunset Tavern for a year, but they are probably best known for playing regular sets at the Copper Gate, which they have called home for three and a half years now.

"Yes, we're a Ballard fixture," Weinstein said. "Maybe we still will be. We're looking for somewhere to play."

The people will take to the streets at Seattle’s 29th Annual Night Out celebration on Aug. 6 this year. It’s an opportunity to gather, connect, eat and drink with your neighbors while closing down the street to vehicle traffic.

Participation in the event by West Seattleites is traditionally high, so for the sake of keeping that trend alive here are the details on registration.

To register your Night Out party and have your street officially closed for the night, visit http://www.seattle.gov/spd/nightout/.

There is also the opportunity to apply for a Small Sparks Fund grant to help pay for your party – up to $1000. The deadline for grants is JULY 8 and more information is available at http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/smallsparks.htm.

Here’s our slideshow from last year.

It is with sadness that we report the passing of long time West Seattle resident Victor Okinczyc at the age of 100. We published a story about his 100th birthday on February 13.

By Sabina Dinkakos

The 5th Annual Southwest Teen Center Family Fest and Car Show is set for Saturday, August 10.
At Southwest Teen Life Center, 2801 SW Thistle Street (Located Across from Chief Sealth High School).

This family friendly event will feature a Car Show (registration at the link) Bounce Houses for the kids, Face Painting, Live Entertainment area teens (Family Friendly), Vendor Booths, Food Booth, and a Free Public Swim. All proceeds from this show will go toward Teen Programs throughout the City of Seattle/Seattle Parks and Recreation.

There will be trophies awarded for Car Show Participants.

For Registration or more information contact
Stephanie Berry at 206-386- 0024 Or by E-mail Stephanie.Berry@seattle.gov

Announcement from the West Seattle Tool Library (part of Sustainable West Seattle):

West Seattle Tool Library Expands Summer Hours

The West Seattle Tool Library announces extended hours for the summer. As of July 1st, WSTL is adding hours on Tuesdays from 5-8 pm. They are also adjusting their hours on Thursday and weekends to serve more member requests for tools and workshop use.

"We're expanding our hours to keep up with demand for our tools," said WSTL Manager Micah Summers. "Our new hours should help accommodate more people and increase the convenience of checking tools in and out."

The new West Seattle Tool Library summer schedule begins July 1st:

Tuesday 5-8 pm (new day)
Thursday 5-8 pm (new hours)
Saturday 11 am - 4 pm (new hours)
Sunday 11 am -4 pm (new hours)

Amy Goodman and Dani Steuermann got their brand new family member, named Lil Poundcake from Virginia now about three weeks ago. Lil (as we'll refer to her) is a Miniature Sharpe with a brushcoat. She's just twelve weeks old.

They found her online and, "American Airlines has a climate controlled pet area and we picked her up at the airport," said Amy.

Lil is a very calm puppy, content to be cuddled and petted and she has a unique beauty characteristic. " Everyone thinks her nails are painted," Amy explained, "because they're white. Even the vet yesterday asked if we had painted her nails. It's very unusual and even the vet had never seen it before."

She eat a custom food blend of grains, wheat, proteins, fruit and vegetables from Natural Pet Pantry in Burien.

Amy talked about the breed saying, "They are Chinese fighting dogs. Back in the 800's and 900's royalty had miniature Sharpe's that guarded them at the palace." Though they have an aggressive back story, today they are gentle housepets and no trouble.

Update, July 29

The sockeye salmon run has begun tapering off, and while it won't reach high enough numbers to open up the fishing season, it's a significant step up from previous years.

As of July 28, 176,071 salmon have been counted going through the Locks. This beats the numbers going all the way back to 2006, which saw 418,085 salmon go through the locks -- the last year when sport and Tribal fishing was opened up for sockeye salmon.

Meanwhile, the Chinook (king) salmon run has also started. That count is up to 1,289.

People should be able to see salmon at the locks at least through the end of August.

Original, June 27

The sockeye salmon count this year got off to a strong start, with 5,202 fish counted coming through the Ballard Locks fish ladder in the first two days.

Now, as of June 23, the count is at 54,064, well on it's way to overcoming the projected forecast of 96,866 for the season. However, it's still too early to tell if the salmon count will reach the 350,000 needed before any fisheries can be considered.

Avalon Glassworks has been chosen as the maker of this year's Washington State Chili Cookoff commemorative glass chili. The event is this weekend, on June 29 at North Beach (near Pacific Beach WA) . The glass chili is a limited edition, numbered first in a series. It will come in a box with the International Chili Society logo.

The one-day event will feature great food, prizes and more. Venue for this state chili cookoff is sanctioned by the International Chili Society is the Pacific Beach Elementary School.

“Weʼre really excited for this yearʼs event,” said Cynthia Stearns, event organizer. “We are excited to have the Washington State Championship sanctioned by the International Chili Society, which is one of the larger food festival organizations in the world head to the North Beach. Cookoffs just like this one have enabled the ICS to raise over a million dollars annually for charity.”

West Seattle's most well known Elvis impersonator, Bret Wiggins will perform at the La Romanza Bistro on Thursday July 11 from 6:30 to 11pm.

Wiggins who lives in West Seattle and whose day job is as an architect took home the title of The King in Seattle's Best Amateur Elvis contest in 2012. See the story and video of his performance at the link.

Those attending will be able to enjoy wine and small bites all evening.

The La Romanza Bistro is located at 4521 California Ave. SW. Contact Kevin Brown at 465-1047 for more information.

All it takes is one look at the King County sex offender registry online to realize those with a criminal past live amongst us, sometimes right next door to schools, day cares, churches and playgrounds.

Around 20 concerned West Seattleites attended the WS Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting on June 25 to learn more about sex offenders from the Seattle Police Department’s Sex Offender Detail Office. Most came hoping for answers on how they can identify risks and safeguard their children.