March 2014

A large group of West Seattle donors and supporters gathered at Salty's on Alki Sunday, March 9, to celebrate and dedicate Seattle's newest public art, Luna Girls, by sculptor Lezlie Jane.

The sculpture was made possible by many people but began with the West Seattle Garden Tour. Pam Stusser, Secretary and Selection Committee Chairperson said, "We were so happy to support a local artist, who is so phenomenal in her craft. I learned of Lezlie and we give money every year to local artists and she fit the bill."

She added that this year the tour will take place on July 20, with ten gardens (including three within walking distance of each other).

Jan Clow of the WSGT said, "We were delighted to help out. I think Lezlie has done a number of community projects in West Seattle and we're happy she was finally able to get this sited and installed."

Salty's on Alki prepared an array of desserts and surprised the artist with the announcement of a special cocktail The Luna Girl that will become a permanent part of Salty's menu.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Shorewood Christian finished fifth in the Class 1B boys basketball championship with a 55-44 loss to Neah Bay in the third place game Saturday.

The West Seattle team was coming off a narrow, 61-58, loss to Colton in the state semifinals the night before, and Colton went on to win the championship game Saturday by a 59-46 margin over Pomeroy.

All of this past week's Elite Eight state action took place over three days at the Spokane Arena.

Information from Salty's at Alki

Seattle’s Alki Beach is World famous for its breathtaking Views of downtown Seattle and throughout the year Seattle enthusiasts Rollerblade, play volleyball, walk their dogs, jog, and simply engage in one of the most outgoing waterfront communities in the city. This is why Local artist Lezlie Jane wanted to honor the historic community by placing her work where people could enjoy “The Luna Girls sculpture”which celebrates women in history and the West Seattle we know and love. This is a dream come true for Lezlie who spent 3 Years raising money from the community to create the work of art. The history of Luna Park can be found on HistoryLink.org.

Fabrication of The Luna Girls
The three figures were flame-cut from slab steel. They are cut to look like lines drawn in the air.

Michael Sean Stanley, the fugitive sex offender who was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy behind the Admiral Theater in October will not be prosecuted.

The King County Prosector's office said they were unable to prove the case through forensics and since there were inconsistencies there was insufficient evidence.

In our story published on October 22 we said:

After registering as a homeless sex offender with the King County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 19 nothing had been heard until Stanley reemerged in West Seattle. According to police, several people called 911 shortly before 6 a.m. on Oct. 22 to report a man was yelling in an alleyway near the 2400 block of 44th Ave. S.W. (behind the Admiral Theater).

One witness told police he asked the screaming man to quiet down and Stanley allegedly threatened to assault him. Police say Stanley was combative with officers when they arrived and claimed to be armed with a knife. During his arrest a small knife was recovered and officers noted he “appeared intoxicated.”

UPDATE- 3:47 Mar. 8
The Herald has learned that at least four families that are part of the Holy Rosary parish of West Seattle have been affected by the tax fraud scheme we reported yesterday. The FBI has now gotten involved in the case and the Archdiocese has set up a special email address for the case taxinformation@seattlearch.org for those who think their tax return may have been compromised or falsified.

Original Post Mar. 7
The Archdiocese of Seattle has sent a memo out to pastors, priest administrators, pastoral coordinators, principals, pastoral assistants for administration notifying them that "there have been victims of fraud in several of our parishes and at the Chancery. We first learned of the issue on Tuesday, but at that time the reports came from only one parish so it was presumed to be a local issue. Since that time we have learned of the same situation in at least two other parishes and at the Chancery."

This issue may affect volunteers with Holy Rosary in West Seattle.

They have hired a national forensic security firm and will work through the weekend on the issue. They have also filed a report with the FBI.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

It was close, but the Shorewood Christian boys basketball team from West Seattle just missed getting into the Class 1B state championship game.

The Lions lost to Colton by a 61-58 score in the state semifinals Friday, dropping them into the game for third and fifth place instead.

Shorewood Christian will play Neah Bay in an 11:15 a.m. Saturday game at the Spokane Arena.
The Lions had opened the tournament with a 54-48 quarterfinal victory over Three Rivers Christian on Thursday.

The Duwamish tribe made a public claim on Feb. 27 that the Burke Museum was paid to confiscate tribal artifacts by the Port of Seattle. They were notified that the artifacts would be given to the Muckleshoot Tribe in Auburn.

Now the Port of Seattle has responded and told the Duwamish Tribe that since they have signed agreements with two other tribes and that those tribes have the facilities and staff to meet federal standards for storage. Cecile Hansen, Chairperson of the Duwamish Tribe has declined to comment at this time.

Here's the port's letter:

Dear Ms. Hansen:
Thank you for your February 28th letter concerning the port's agreements with the Muckleshoot and Suquamish tribes to transfer custody of cultural materials from the Duwamish Number 1 and World Trade Center sites.

By Gerardo Bolong

TACOMA - Zero hour in Tacoma struck well for the Mount Rainier Rams on Thurs., March 6, at the 2014 Class 4A girls Hardwood Classic state basketball tournament.

Utilizing a swarming defense and a nearly unrelenting transition game, Mount Rainier exacted deadly vengeance on Inglemoor for a 15 point loss in January at the ShoWare Center in Kent by running the Vikings into the ground before holding off a desperation fourth quarter Inglemoor charge in a 64-57 quarterfinal win that sent it into a semifinal Friday conflict with Moses Lake as part of the Final Four contingent of the high school March Madness..

"Everyone played well," Mount Rainier head coach Bob Bolam stressed. "If we're going to win it (the state title), we need everyone playing well and I thought today we had that.That was nice to see."

Today Bartell Drugs opened their new location at the intersection of N.W. Market Street and 15th Avenue N.W.

In honor of their new store, all day they have been offering customers free growlers with the purchase of a beer-fill.

The Ballard News-Tribune could not refuse the allure of a good growler and dropped by for a fill. While watching the suds spill, the store manager, Mark Becker was all too eager to reveal the store’s plans.

“We have ten rotating taps and one of them will always be root beer. We’re planning on only having Washington beers and maybe some from Oregon. Bartell’s is a Northwest company, and so we want to keep it local by offering beers from the region, especially ones that are harder to find in the bottle,” said Becker.

Beer on tap is not the only temptation offered at the new location. Bartell’s is also offering their own brand of ice cream called Emerald and Spruce.

“We’ve got ten different flavors with names inspired by the Northwest and will be making waffle cones daily,” said Becker.

The store will be celebrating their opening for the next week with other promotions and a drawing.

The King County Sheriff's office said today that a bank robber was arrested after he entered a bank, displayed a gun and demanded money.

SeaTac Police responded to the armed robbery just after noon at the Bank of America in the 16600 block of International Blvd S. When police arrived they were told that the suspect was still inside. Officers surrounded the building and within a couple of minutes the suspect exited with his hands up.

Detectives said the suspect left the gun on a chair inside the bank before walking out of the bank. It is unknown at this time if the suspect obtained any money prior to walking out of the bank.

The suspect is a 49 year old California man. No further information is available at this time.