August 2013

In a overwhelmingly powerful display of talent and mastery of their own back catalog of hit songs, Heart carried the torch for Led Zeppelin lit earlier in the evening by none other than Jason Bonham, son of the late drummer for the classic rock band, John Bonham on Aug 31 at Seattle's Bumbershoot festival.

West Seattle's own Lou Magor, owner and impressario at Kenyon Hall on 35th SW joined Heart and Bonham on stage for the final song, Stairway to Heaven.

Earlier in the day Magor, providing keyboards, performed with the Total Experience Gospel Choir led by Pat Wright, on the Starbucks stage.

Magor's appearance with Heart capped an extraordinary night that began with Bonham and his band providing the "Led Zeppelin Experience." They performed amazingly accurate versions of some of Led Zeppelin's best songs, dipping into a couple of lesser known songs during the set including "Nobody's Fault But Mine" from the Presence album.

Then Heart took the stage after an intermission and rocked the crowd with over an hour of their own hits from "Barracuda" to" Dog and Butterfly".

WSDOT has posted the latest round of ramp closures that will affect West Seattle drivers. The primary one this weekend is the closure of the northbound I-5 ramps to 6th Ave. South/ lower Spokane Street and upper Spokane Street viaduct/West Seattle Bridge.

From WSDOT
One or more of the following ramps will be closed through fall 2013. Closure detours are listed below. Closure dates are subject to change. Contact broch.bender@wsdot.wa.gov or call 206-440-4699 for more information or if you have questions.

CLOSED:
August 30 - September 2 (Labor Day)
Northbound I-5 ramps to 6th Ave. S./lower S. Spokane Street and upper S. Spokane Street viaduct/West Seattle Bridge
7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30 through 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 2 (Labor Day).
Both ramps are closed.
Detour to northbound I-5 exit 164B Edgar Martinez Drive to First Avenue South to South Spokane Street.

CLOSED: September 6-9

Sergeant Cindi West

White Center- the King County Sheriff’s Office said the White Center branch of Key Bank was robbed just before 3pm today.

Deputies are at the scene of the bank located in the 9600 block of 17 Ave SW. Employees said that a white male entered the bank, passed a note and implied a weapon (not seen) and fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

He was last seen eastbound on 98 Ave SW. He is described as a white male, 40’s, wearing a blue shirt and jeans.

If you see the man pictured please call 911.

(On a side note I will be happy to buy coffee for the first citizen that spots him and calls 911 so we can catch him!)

By Paul Moseley

If you pass by SWAC field most weeknights, you’ll likely see the swarm of red uniforms filled with rowdy players 6-14 years old knocking each other around in the SWAC Cougar football program. Four teams, 199 players, 55 cheerleaders, coaches, parents and volunteers occupy end zone to end zone and onto the utility field.

According to Cougar president Shon Sweet, that wasn’t the case just a few years ago. “We had 99 football players, 15 kids per team, and a small handful of cheerleaders. The board was looking to possibly shut it down for lack of equipment.” According to Sweet, the helmets were too old and unsafe. Even Sweet’s nephew was the victim of poor equipment, suffering a concussion.

As the new president of the group, Sweet asked to board to help get aggressive on fundraising for new equipment. The board – and the community – responded.

Information from the City of Seattle

The City of Seattle today announced it will open and staff drop-in activities at 20 designated community centers for Seattle Public Schools students on free and reduced lunch from Kindergarten to 8th Grade if a strike delays the opening of Seattle Public Schools. The free program will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. beginning Thursday, September 5 and include supervised recreation activities, with an anticipated supervision ratio of 20 children to 1 adult leader. Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Associated Recreation Council will staff these sites.

“I urge the district and the teachers to do what it takes to reach an agreement and ensure our students are in the classroom on Wednesday,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “If they do not reach an agreement, we are able to provide some drop-in services for the students most in need, but our capacity is limited.”

The ongoing battle of what comes down to a difference of interpretation between the City of Seattle and the Benchview Neighborhood Association (BNA) took a turn on Friday Aug. 30 as the City of Seattle approved the Lot Boundary Adjustment requested by the developers. Their plan is to build three houses on lots that have up to now only been able to fit two homes.

Judge Spearman left the matter somewhat open to interpretation when she left it up to the City to decide of the permit was issued in error. Diane Sigamura, DPD Director said the permit was allowable under current zoning and lot boundary adjustment rules. The BNA saw the ruling, announced on the Friday before the holiday weekend as an insult and an attempt to get it out there where it might draw less attention from the media.
That's the sense that David Allen, speaking for the BNA, conveyed when the West Seattle Herald spoke to him on Friday. The BNA replied to Sigamura, expressing their disappointment.

Here's the correspondence from both sides of this debate:

Dear Benchview Neighbors:

The Landmarks Preservation Board will consider landmark nomination for the property at 3219 California Avenue SW. The meeting will be on Wednesday, October 2 at 3:30 p.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue, 40th Floor in Room 4060.

The property was originally constructed in 1952 as a dental clinic by the architect Paul Kirk. The building received an addition in 1953-54 which was also designed by Kirk, and a third addition by an unknown architect/builder around 1982. The report requesting the consideration was written at the request of the prospective owners of the property, Intracorp-Admiral West, with permission of the current owners of the property, the Cayce and Gain families, to ascertain the historical nature of the subject building.

From the report:(see link above)

King County Sheriff's put out a bulletin on a robbery suspect of the Key Bank on 17th Ave SW in White Center just before 3pm today.

Though no weapon was shown the suspect implied that he was armed and passed a note to tellers. Police are asking for the help of the public identifying and apprehending the suspect. He was last seen heading eastbound on 98th Street SW. If you know or have seen this suspect, contact the King County Sheriff’s Department at 206.296.3311 or dial 911.

High schools
Football
Highline Memorial will be the site of a football double-header as the season opens Friday.
Mount Rainier will host Auburn-Riverside in a 5 p.m. game, followed by close neighbors Chief Sealth of West Seattle and Evergreen of White Center going at it in a non-league game at 8 p.m.
Chief Sealth is a member of the Metro League and Evergreen is in the Seamount League.
In other action at 7 p.m. that day, West Seattle will be at Fife.
Seattle Lutheran will be at home against Evergreen Lutheran at 7 p.m. Saturday at West Seattle Stadium.

Colleges
Football
Washington State University goes on the road to USC Saturday, playing the Trojans in a 7:30 p.m. game.
The Washington Huskies take this weekend off before visiting Illinois Saturday, Sept. 14.

Men's soccer
Santa Clara drops in on the University of Washington for a 7:30 p.m. match Tuesday before Portland visits at the same time Friday.

Pro Sports
Seattle Mariners

By Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, issued the following statement regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that the Obama Administration will not preempt Washington’s legal regulation of a marijuana market at the state level.

This welcome confirmation from federal officials eliminates a major impediment to our efforts to establish a legal, regulated marijuana market in Washington state. This is terrific news for everyone who has been wrestling with the inherent conflicts between state and federal laws.

I’m also pleased that the Obama and Inslee Administrations recognize the need for a regulated system of licensed producers, processors, and dispensers of medical cannabis, which is what my 2011 legislation would have established if it had not been partially vetoed by the governor’s office at that time. Ironically, we were ahead of the curve back in 2011. Although I regret the unnecessary delay in reaching this point, I am nevertheless gratified that those who seek relief through medical cannabis are a step closer to a system that addresses their needs.