June 2014

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It was a tense battle to live on at the Pac West Little League Complex on Sat., June 7.

In the loser out game of the Little League Majors tournament, Mac Greenan's pulled two-run double to deep right center field in the fifth inning gave the Mariners enough of a cushion to survive their opponent's one tally in the sixth inning as they held off the hard fighting Dodgers, 6-4, in the loser-out game of the tourney. After avenging a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers in the winners bracket, the Mariners moved on to a match with the undefeated Pirates.

In the provisional championship round, the Mariners will need to defeat the Pirates two consecutive times on Sun., June 8, to secure the title.
"Hats off to the Dodgers," said Mariner manager Mike Pederson. "They're one heck of a team. We've battled them all year and were fortunate to win today. It was a gutsy effort by our pitching and catching battery to play the whole game. We also had some timely hitting."

It was another banner day at state for Abi Kim of Seattle Christian.
For the second year in a row Kim won three events in Class 1A girls action at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Kim won the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.31 seconds in this year's action that concluded Saturday, May 31 and she took first in the 200 with a 25.09 effort.

Kim also scored a field events victory, taking the long jump title at 18 feet, 04.75 inches.

The Vashon Island resident who attends the Sea-Tac school was not alone on the awards stand for the Warriors at state.

Rachelle Mayes of Kent took fifth place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.39.

Seattle Christian scored a total of 34 team points for a fourth place finish.

Another standout at state from the area was Caroline Tupa of Evergreen.
Tupa took second in the state 2A shot put in action held at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma and also captured third in the discus at 117-10.

Tupa's efforts gave the Wolverines 14 state points to tie them for 14th.
Foster finished with five points for a 36th place tie in the same competition.

UPDATE June 28 8:00am

The event will now run from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Bring your best pirate gear and get ready to watch the Seafair Pirates storm the beach! They will land on Alki between 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Original post
information from Seafair

The cutthroat Seafair Pirates crew has made a deal with their new Captain Kidd and are comin’ to collect the bounty they left behind last year! Avast, the Seattle Seafair Pirates will sail in from the seven seas and the scallywags be stormin’ Alki Beach in West Seattle to kick off the 65th Seafair. Don’t be gettin’ in their way!

Merchants will be putting out their finest wares starting at around 9:30 a.m. and ye can shop, eat and dance along with the Pirates throughout the day! Including food vendors, toys, clothing, jewelry and art!

The Seattle Seafair Pirates will land at Alki Beach between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The music stage will be there ta welcome ye with music from some o the finest local bands. Belly dancin' and story tellin' will also take place on the main stage.

One of the sweetest concert series every year is back again for 2014 with the Admiral Neighborhood Association again staging the Hiawatha Summer concerts, at Hiawatha Park just adjacent to West Seattle High School.

These are family friendly events so bring the kids and the pets, babies in strollers and big blanket to sit on.
Leading off the series with the July 24 show is a band called Eclectic Approach. Their billing states: "Eclectic Approach is a blend of electro-funk, dance, pop and garage rock that just feels and sounds like a party!"

Concerts start at 6:30pm on the east lawn of Hiawatha Park, adjacent to Walnut Avenue SW.

July 24th - Eclectic Approach

July 31st - Caspar Babypants
A fun, energetic, sing along show for kids 0-6 years old and their siblings and parents filled with traditional songs and catchy original tunes.

August 7 - The Guessing Game

By Gwen Davis

Announcements:

--> There are upcoming events to celebrate the West Seattle Bridge (see westseattletc.org for details)

--> On the 21st there is the Morgan Community Festival.

--> SDOT recently delivered a presentation to the City Council Transportation Committee to make adjustments to parking meters. Discussions included using newer machines that will adjust based on time. They will also look at having different rates for different times of day.

The Meeting:

The meeting's featured guest was Washington State Secretary of Transportation and head of WSDOT Lynn Peterson to discuss the current state of the SR-99 Viaduct, its impact on West Seattle and related issues.

The meeting began quickly.

"We do apologize for rushing quickly at the start of the meeting, and will do more formal intros in the middle of the meeting," board member Michael Taylor-Judd said, due to Peterson's rush.

The secretary began by tell the coalition about her credentials and general philosophy.

The Seattle School District will construct a path in Fairmount Playfield from Fauntleroy Way S.W. to Fairmount Park Elementary School.

The south portion of Fairmount Playfield will be closed. However, the ball field will remain open.

The purpose of the path is to provide a safe walking surface from the new bus load zone on Fauntleroy Way S.W. to the school playground. It also provides a new paved, barrier-free access to Fairmount Playground at its southern boundary.

The Seattle School District is working with the contractor to minimize construction impacts that may include truck traffic and construction noise.
Construction Schedule
• Monday, June 16 – Thursday, July 3, 2014

By Eric Mathison

It was Des Moines Elementary parents’ turn at the June 4 Highline School Board meeting to complain about the proposed $385 million school construction bond.

The parents objected to the district’s plan to build the new Des Moines Elementary in Zenith at South 240th Street and 16th Place South. The school is currently located at 22001 9th Ave. S., just east of downtown Des Moines. The previous week, Evergreen High students and teachers told board members that their school should be completely rebuilt instead of just repaired.

But, as expected, board members voted unanimously to place the construction bond measure, without changes, on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

If approved by voters, the bond would fund the rebuilding of Highline High at its current Burien site and the replacing of Des Moines Elementary in Zenith. The Evergreen and Tyee High complexes would be extensively renovated but not rebuilt.

Middle schools would be built at the Manhattan site, 440 S. 186th St. in Burien, and the Glacier site, 2450 S. 142nd St. in SeaTac.

Stepping aboard Swiftsure, (Lighthouse No. 83), a 109-year-old Coast Guard Lightship, is like stepping into a floating time capsule slowly undergoing a metamorphic rejuvenation.

Onboard a lone figure is at work fitting 500-year-old Doug Fir deck pieces around the huge smokestack. The shipwright listens to Tango music that riots in the bright-lit canopied dome that protects the Swiftsure from the elements while the deck is restored.

Swiftsure Project Shipwright, Brian Johnson, almost 60, is an inquisitive man. He lives in Ballard, and dances the Tango and is a martial artist. But, mostly, Johnson knows boats.

Johnson has been working with boats all his life. He built his first vessel at the age of five. It sank, but the experience spurred a life long love of boats and an ingenuitive passion for the maritime industry.

Northwest Seaport, owner of the Swiftsure, have asked Johnson to use his shipwright expertise in rebuilding the deck -- just one piece in an ongoing restoration puzzle.

Information from SDOT

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will work today through Thursday on seasonal maintenance of landscaping under the Southwest Spokane Street Bridge (the lower, swing bridge to West Seattle) along the bike trail. Bicyclists will be required to dismount and walk through areas where the crews are working.

Tomorrow, June 11, crews plan to close one lane on Klickitat Avenue Southwest which provides access to Harbor Island. The closure will allow landscape crews to work safely in roadway medians.

30 years ago the dream of driving across a bridge to West Seattle without interruption (well as least most of the time) became a reality when the upper level West Seattle Bridge was built. It has led to many changes in the community, some of which are only happening recently. To commemorate this event, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and other West Seattle businesses are collaborating with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society to create a series of 30th anniversary events this summer called "Bridging the Gap"!