News

Slots open at Chief Sealth for summer credit retrieval

Ty Swenson — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:15:34 +0000

The following notice was sent out by Seattle Public Schools:

There are still slots open for summer credit retrieval for high school students in West Seattle.

Classes start Monday at Chief Sealth International High School. Of the 75 spaces available; just 41 are filled. Classes run June 24-Aug. 8 (no school July 4-5) and are scheduled Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Full participation and attendance is required or students will be dropped from the program.

Priority will be given to 11th and 12th grade students who need to retrieve both Language Arts and Math credit.

Students who enroll in the program and attend June 24-28 will be provided with an Orca card for the month of July to get to and from their school site.

Interested students who fit the above criteria should contact Janet Blanford via email at jlblanford@seattleschools.org.

ArtShow @ the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse debuts June 20

patr — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:12:23 +0000

A brand new art show is set for the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse June 20 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The ArtShow at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse at 9131 California Ave. SW will show paintings and more from West Seattle artists Linda McClamrock, June Olson, Gail Ann, Pamela Coffey and others.

For more information call 425-445-4064

Ciscoe Morris appearing at West Seattle Nursery June 20

patr — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:07:45 +0000

Well known KING5 TV gardening expert Ciscoe Morris is making a guest appearance at the West Seattle Nursery June 20 and there are still tickets left according to the company. Tickets are only $10 but there is a limit of 5 per person and there are only 100 tickets available.

This is also a celebration of the 30 years of business for the Nursery so they will have food, refreshments and prizes.

The event runs from 5 to 8pm.

Call for more information 935-9276 or via email contact Galen Guffy at galen@westseattlenursery.com.

West Seattle Nursery is located at 5275 California Ave SW

Will West Seattle win the title of 'Greenest Neighborhood'?

patr — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:50:22 +0000

Information from Call2Recycle

Seattle residents are being asked to take part in a friendly recycling competition June 22-26 to help their neighborhood win the title of Greenest Seattle Neighborhood.

Call2Recycle, North America’s first and largest consumer battery stewardship and recycling program, is partnering with The Seattle Public Library to put battery collection boxes at six different branches across the city. The neighborhood whose box weighs the most will be crowned the greenest in Seattle. Boxes will be weighed at Call2Recycle’s collection event June 28 at Westlake Park with the help of local celebrity John Curley.

“Building on the success of last year’s Battery Recycling Day, which was proclaimed by Mayor Mike McGinn, we are again celebrating on June 28,” says Jennifer Childress, director of marketing and communications for Call2Recycle. “In honor of this, we want to know which Seattle neighborhood can gather the most batteries. After you drop off batteries, make sure to tweet us at @Call2Recycle so we can say thank you.”

Battery collection boxes will be at Ballard, Beacon Hill, Capitol Hill, West Seattle, Lake City, and University libraries June 22-June 26, accessible during regular business hours.

“The Seattle Public Library is happy to be involved,” says Chance Hunt, The Seattle Public Library’s assistant director of community partnerships and government relations. “We’re excited to see how many batteries Seattleites can donate for recycling, and to find out which neighborhood truly is the greenest.”

Drop off all types of household batteries (weighing up to 11 pounds each), including both single-use batteries and rechargeable batteries commonly found in laptops and digital cameras. Obsolete cellphones can also be dropped off at the libraries for recycling. The West Seattle drop off is the SPL branch at 2306 42nd Ave SW.

More details about the June 28 Battery Recycle Day event, which will feature live music, celebrity John Curley, and prize drawings, can be found at www.call2recycle.org/takecharge. Questions about batteries or the competition? Tweet @Call2Recycle using hashtag #TakeCharge.

Why should batteries be recycled?

By collecting and recycling batteries, Call2Recycle reduces landfill waste and removes potentially harmful heavy metals from the waste stream, preventing possible contamination of groundwater, soil and other natural resources. The collected batteries and cellphones are sorted, processed and reclaimed. Materials recovered are used to create new batteries, concrete additives and a variety of stainless steel products.

About Call2Recycle®

Founded in 1994, Call2Recycle—North America's first and largest battery stewardship program—is a non-profit organization that collects and recycles batteries at no cost for municipalities, businesses and consumers. Since 1996, Call2Recycle has diverted over 75 million pounds of rechargeable batteries and cellphones from the solid waste stream and established 30,000 collection sites throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is the first program of its kind to receive the Responsible Recycling Practices Standard (R2) certification. Learn more at call2recycle.org or 877-723-1297. Follow at facebook.com/call2recycle or twitter.com/call2recycle.

It's going to get louder; Pile driving begins at Barton Pump Station on Fauntleroy

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:40:51 +0000

Information from King County

Starting as early as Wednesday, June 19, crews will need to install additional steel sheet piles in order to complete soil stabilization work at the Barton Pump Station. As crews install the sheet piles, there will be a temporary closure of the north ferry entrance lane and toll booth on Thursday, June 20. The lane is expected to be re-opened by 3:30 p.m. but could extend into the evening commute.

King County will notify commuters and the community if the lane closure extends past 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. Work is expected to be complete by Friday, June 21.

During jet grouting activities, crews determined that soils in the southwest corner of the site were incompatible with the jet grout. Crews have already installed one set of necessary sheet piles and now must complete the work.

Installing the piles requires the use of a vibrating hammer, which is expected to increase levels of noise and vibration. In an effort to mitigate these impacts, a portion of the pile locations will be pre-drilled and filled with sand. The crew will be closely monitoring vibration levels to minimize disruption to the extent possible.

What to expect

· Temporary closure of the north ferry entrance lane and toll booth on Thursday, June 20, expected to end by 3:30 p.m.
· Increased noise and vibration around the project site
· Flagger to continue moving traffic through site and in and out of the ferry terminal entrance
· Heavy equipment on site
· Work hours typically 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Ola Salon fundraiser to recover from $25,000 burglary will happen June 19 at Salty's

patr — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:45:20 +0000

On June 19 a fundraiser for Ola Salon, which was victimized in a $25,000 burglary recently, will be held at Salty's on Alki. An auction will be part of the event which runs from 6:30 to 9:30pm.

“All auction proceeds and a portion of all ticket sales will go to the salon. We need our West Seattle neighbors to know that we’ve got their back.” says Nick Nordby, VP of Business Development for Salty’s Restaurants, “We all need to look out for each other because you never know who might be next.”

All proceeds from the auction and a large portion of the ticket sales will go towards the salon. Owners Gerry & Kathy Kingen said, “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the news…they’re just down the street from us. My heart just sunk.”

Auction items will include everything from helicopter tours, to Salty’s World famous brunch packages, to signed Seahawks jerseys. The event is open to the public. Glitzy, sparkly cocktail attire is encouraged, but not required.

While the salon does have insurance, any additional funds will be donated to Transitional Resources an organization that helps "adults living with the most serious and persistent forms of mental illness by providing respectful and optimistic recovery-oriented services, affordable housing, and advocacy against discrimination which works to break the cycle of incarceration, hospitalization and homelessness."

Owner Rachel Karlin said, "This is so amazing to see the community respond like this. I'm so grateful." She explained that the burglary was apparently very organized and that, "they must have had a good size rig because they took so much stuff." Karlin also said that because the thieves took expensive shears and product it has had a major impact on the business operations. The monies raised will in part help them get back in balance.

Visit www.Saltys.com for more information.

Ticket Price: $45

Disaster communications exercise will test radio operator skills at SSCC this weekend

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:53:12 +0000

press release
We all rely on the Internet, cell phones, email and other forms of modern communications; however these systems are vulnerable to disruption. Every year whole regions of the country find themselves in the dark. Tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, storms, ice and even the occasional cutting of fiber optic cables leave people without the means to communicate. In these cases, the one consistent service that doesn't fail and provides back-up for communities is Amateur Radio.

These radio operators, often called "Hams" are organized into teams that provide back-up communications for agencies responding to emergencies including the Seattle Office of Emergency Management, American Red Cross, area hospitals and FEMA. During the weekend of Saturday and Sunday June 22nd and 23rd, four Seattle amateur radio groups join together forming one local team competing in the National ham radio Field Day Event with thousand of Amateur Radio operators making radio contacts throughout North America. This event is a good opportunity for operators to demonstrate their emergency communications capabilities. The public is invited to visit the event hosted by South Seattle Community College, at the West Seattle Campus.

Seattle's team will be exercising the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code as they compete in the contest making as many radio contacts as possible with other teams to win points. Operations will be conducted under simulated emergency conditions with ham radio equipment being powered by batteries, generators, wind turbines and solar arrays.

This year's team is comprised of members from the Auxiliary Communications Service and Medical Service Team that support the Seattle Office of Emergency Management. Also participating in the event are members of the Puget Sound Repeater Group and the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club, rounding out the crew. Seattle's team will join with over 35,000 other amateur radio operators showing off their emergency preparedness capabilities, erecting ham radio stations in community parks, campgrounds, schools and emergency centers through out the country.

Field Coordinator for the Seattle event, Curt Black said, "The public is invited to see what ham radio is all about and have a chance to try their hand at making radio contacts and experience how much fun it is to operate an amateur radio station. This is a chance to meet and talk with Seattle's radio operators and see what modern Amateur Radio Emergency Service is all about. During the two day event we will have demonstrations of Satellite communications, a digital communications workshop and an opportunity to learn how to get your own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes."

The City of Seattle through the Office of Emergency Management sponsors this event as part of its plan to provide support to community preparedness programs organized by neighborhoods in several Seattle communities. Ham radio is a primary resource that the City calls on should telephone, cellular systems and the internet fail.

The staging area for the Seattle city ham radio event is provided by South Seattle Community College and is located in a large grass field in the south east sector of the Campus near Olympic Hall. On-Air operations start at 11 Am Saturday they will continue till 12 Pm Sunday.

Over the past year, the news has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in town across America including the Moore, Oklahoma storm aftermath, and other events world-wide. When trouble is brewing, Amateur Radio's people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications.

"The fastest way to turn a crisis into a total disaster is to lose communications," said Allen Pitts, spokesman for the ARRL. "From the tornado in Moore, to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, ham radio provided the most reliable communication networks in the first critical hours of the event. Because ham radios are not dependent on the Internet, cell towers or other infrastructure, they work when northing else is available. We need nothing between is but air."

Amateur Radio is growing in the US. There are now over 700,000 Amateur Radio licensees in the US, and more than 2.5 million around the word. Through the ARRL's Amateur Radio Emergency Services program, ham volunteers provide both emergency communication for thousand of state and local emergency response agencies and non-emergency community services too, all for free.

For more information about preparedness and amateur radio - please visit:
Seattle Emergency Management: http://www.seattle.gov/emergency/default.htm
Seattle Auxiliary Communications Services: http://www.seattleacs.com
Western Washing Medical Service Team: http://ww7mst.org
West Seattle Amateur Radio Club website: http://www.westseattlearc.org/
Puget Sound Repeater Group: http://www.psrg.org/
ARRL the national association for Amateur Radio: http://www.arrl.org/

Sheriff's Office seeking victims of Vietnamese con artist working out of White Center

Ty Swenson — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:30:08 +0000

Information from the King County Sheriff's Office:

*Please note, this press release is also available in Vietnamese, posted right after the English version.

Detectives are looking for victims of a Vietnamese con artist who has been posing as an employee of DSHS to gain the trust of her victims.

Detectives said that 39 year old Oanh Nguyen of White Center would contact her victims in the DSHS office in the 9600 block of 15 Ave SW. Nguyen would pose as a DSHS employee and approach Vietnamese-speaking clients and ask if they needed help completing forms.

During her contact with the clients, she would tell them she needed help depositing a check because she did not have a bank account. Nguyen would ask the client to deposit a check into their bank account and give her the cash.

At least six agreed to help Nguyen and deposited her checks, giving her cash from their accounts. In each of the cases, her checks later bounced because the accounts were closed.

Detectives said Nguyen is also suspected of fraudulently accepting mortgage payments from Vietnamese-speaking clients when she worked as an unlicensed mortgage broker. Detectives said that from 2009-2010, Nguyen reportedly accepted mortgage payments from Vietnamese clients and never passed the payments on to the lender. One victim in particular was unaware that Nguyen was not making the payments until his house was in the process of foreclosure.

Detectives said the common denominator in these cases appears to be that the victims speak Vietnamese and little or no English. Detectives add that Nguyen also frequents the Rainier DSHS Office at 3600 Graham St. in Seattle.

On 6/13/13, Oanh Nguyen was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of fraud, ID theft, forgery, and unlawful issuance of bank checks.

-------------------------

Thám Tử của hạt King thông báo rằng họ đang tìm thêm những nạn nhân của một kẻ lừa đảo, mạo danh là nhân viên của Sở Y Tế & Xã Hội (DSHS) để lấy sự tin cậy của họ.

Thám Tử cho biết rằng, bà Oanh-Nguyễn, 39 tuổi, ngụ ở khu White Center đã thường mạo danh là một nhân viên của DSHS lân la làm quen với những khách hàng người Việt đến sở Xã Hội, giả vờ giúp họ điền đơn xin dịch vụ xã hội ở văn phòng của sở DSHS toạ lạc tại khu số 9600 ở đường 15th Ave SW.

Cảnh Sát nói rằng bà Nguyễn thường nhờ các nạn nhân giúp bà ta đặt cọc một ngân phiếu vào trương mục ngân hàng riêng của họ vì bà không có trương mục và sau đó họ đổi lấy tiền mặt cho bà ta.

Có ít nhất 6 nạn nhân đồng ý giúp bà Nguyễn, đặt cọc ngân phiếu để đổi lấy tiền giao lại cho bà nầy từ trương mục riêng của họ. Sau mỗi lần làm vậy là tấm ngân phiếu của bà Nguyễn bị nhà băng trả lại vì không tiền bảo chứng với lý do là trương mục của bà đã đóng, theo lời của các Thám Tử.

Thám Tử cho biết thêm rằng từ năm 2003-2010, bà Nguyễn đã nhận tiền trả tiền nhà từ các khách hàng người Việt tuy nhiên bà ta đã không gửi trả cho các ngân hàng cho vay nợ. Có một nạn nhân đã không biết sự kiện nầy xảy ra cho đến khi căn nhà của ông ta mua đã bị ngân hàng thực hiện thủ tục xiết nhà, theo báo cáo của cảnh sát.

Thám Tử nói rằng các nạn nhân có một điểm giống nhau là họ đều là người Việt và ít hiểu biết tiếng Anh.

Cảnh Sát nói là bà Nguyễn cũng thường lân la ở văn phòng sở Xã Hội (DSHS) ở số 3600 Gramham Street của thành phố Seattle.

Bà Nguyễn đã bị câu lưu vào nhà giam của hạt King và bị truy tố theo các tội danh lừa đảo, mạo nhận lý lịch người khác, làm giả ngân phiếu và viết ngân phiếu không tiền bảo chứng.

Nếu ai đã từng là nạn nhân của bà Nguyễn, xin liên lạc ông Peter Truong, King County Community Service Officer ở số 206-423-2932, 206-296-3323, hoặc trạm cảnh sát ở Burien số 206-296-3333.

Admiral Theater and Mind Unwind present late night film and art show June 21

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:21:35 +0000

Admiral Theater and local art gallery and education provider Mind Unwind are launching a Late Night film and art series Friday June 21 at 11 pm.

Mind Unwind, specializes in unique artworks and art education in local schools.

The event is a fundraiser to raise money for both the Admiral Theater’s upcoming renovations and for supporting Arts in Education through the Mind Unwind Foundation.

The evening will include a silent auction, live music, a photo opp with "Bruce the shark" and an art supply drive for the children’s school program.

Artist J. Conrad Nivens will also be exhibiting his LOST AT SEA, mixed media collection.

Because beer & wine will be served, the event is 21 + Doors open at 10:00 PM

White Center abduction attempt might be related to burglary says Sheriff

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:10:15 +0000

The King County Sheriff's office today said that a residential burglary attempt of an occupied house occurred on Sunday night on the same street as an attempted abduction of a 3 year old child on June 2. King County detectives believe it may be the same suspect in both cases.

A press release from the Sheriff explained:

In this most recent incident, the suspect attempted to enter a bedroom window of a house in the 10400 block of 3 Ave SW just after 10pm. A 1 year old child was sleeping in the room and the child’s mother had stepped out of the room for a moment but returned and saw the suspect pushing on the window screen. The child’s mother screamed and the suspect fled.

A relative who was home at the time jumped out the window and chased the suspect losing him near SW106th and 2 Ave SW. The suspect was wearing a grey hoodie and tan shorts.

When deputies arrived in the area they saw a red Mazda Pickup driving quickly out of the area. When deputies tried to stop the vehicle, a female passenger exited the vehicle and the vehicle sped off. The vehicle crashed a short distance away and the suspect fled on foot. The suspect was wearing clothes that matched those of the burglary suspect and was described as “tall and skinny.”

The vehicle was determined to have been stolen from Seattle on May 31st.

The previous incident on the street was on June 2nd when a suspect attempted to abduct a 3 year old child from his yard. The child’s mother was able to fight with the suspect to keep him from taking the child.

In the first incident is the suspect was described as a male, approximately 6’0 tall, and skinny. He wore a full mask, dark gloves, and all black clothing including a tight dark shirt, dark pants, and dark shoes.

On the Go Week of 6-17-13

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:13:06 +0000

Deadline for receiving items for On The Go is Noon Friday for the following week’s Herald/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email event submissions to: calendar@robinsonnews.com.

Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Richard Sherman 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our “Out & About” advertising column.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169
All items with pink tags are 75% off starting the first day of summer, Friday, June 21 and all men's wear is reduced 40% every Sunday. Early bird shoppers get double stamps on their customer appreciation cards every Monday from 10 to noon, seniors get 20% off their entire purchase all day Tuesday and high schoolers with student I.D. on Saturdays. Let us help you celebrate your birthday with a 20% discount because we believe A World With Less Cancer is a World With More Birthdays. To help us achieve the goal of finding a cure for cancer, please consider volunteering with us. In just a four hour commitment a week, you can make a difference. The all volunteer run, non profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

AAA Driver Improvement Program
West Seattle Christian Church
4400 42nd Ave. S.W.
Saturday, June 22, 8:30-4 p.m. Now accepting reservations for the refresher course on defensive driving skills, which gives practical guidance for traffic accident prevention and enhances driver safety and confidence. Successful course completion qualifies drivers 55 years of age and over for automobile insurance premium discounts. $16 per person. Pre-registration is required, call 206-243-3564.

Cadillac-LaSalle Club Car Show
Daystar Retirement Village
2615 S.W. Barton St.
206-937-6122
Sunday, June 23, 11-1 p.m. Check out great rides from the 1940’s on up. Talk to the collectors and to add to our nostalgia day we will have a hot dog stand and your favorite sodas. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

Coworking Meetup
Office Junction
5230 California Ave. S.W., Suite B
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of month, Noon--1 p.m. These are free, informal brown bag lunches for freelancers, independent business professionals, creatives and entrepreneurs working from home or coffee shops. We discuss business ideas, share skills, get feedback on projects, collaborate and network. Read about our past meetings at www.wsofficejunction.com. Come join us!

Stop ‘N Shop
4504 California Ave. S.W.
Volunteers Needed:
Weekend volunteers needed to cashier at the Stop “N Shop thrift store. You will meet new people, gain a sense of achievement and give back to your community. Shifts on Saturday and Sunday are from 10-1 p.m. and 1-4 p.m.

Volunteer consultant, computer lab assistant needed. Network experience needed (Microsoft server), maintain eleven lab computers and security system. Hours can vary.
Contact Margie at 206-932-4044 x8 or margiew@seniorservices.org.

King County Master Gardener Plant Clinic
McClendon Hardware
10210 16th Ave. S.W.
Saturdays, through Sept. 28 (except July 6, Aug. 31), 10-2 p.m. Free gardening advice and plant diagnosis from Master Gardeners.

West Seattle Lion’s Club Events
Senior Center of West Seattle - 2nd floor
4217 S.W. Oregon St
Thursdays, Noon--1:30 p.m. for lunch & speaker unless otherwise noted.
Call Harvey Rowe at 206-762-1221 for reservations by prior Tuesday evening. Lunch $7.

Overeaters Anonymous Meetings
Peace Lutheran Church
8316 39th Ave. S.W.
Every Thursday evening, 7-8:15 p.m. Overeaters Anonymous is a fellowship of women and men who meet to help solve compulsive overeating (obesity, anorexia and bulimia). The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively. OA is a non-profit international organization patterned after the Twelve-Step Alcoholics Anonymous program. All are welcome. For more info 206-979-6665 or www.seattleoa.org.

Culinary Volunteers Needed
Senior Center of West Seattle
4217 S.W. Oregon St.
206-932-4044 x8
Great volunteer positions to utilize culinary talents. Friendly people and great atmosphere. Working with seniors and members of the community. Café assistants: 8:30-12:30 p.m. or 10:30-2 p.m., M-F. Kitchen Assistant: 9:30-1:30 p.m., M-F. Call Margie: 206-932-4044 x8 or email: margiew@seniorservices.org.

Business Network with Westside Professionals
Alki Masonic Hall
4736 40th Ave. S.W.
Wednesdays, 8-9:30 a.m. Build your business through referrals and networking. For info, contact sfelix@quidnunc.net

Join the West Seattle Lion’s Club
Senior Center of West Seattle
4217 S.W. Oregon St.
206-762-1221
Meets every Thursday, noon-1:30 p.m.

Stop ‘N Shop
4504 California Ave. S.W.
Remember to donate reusable items ie kitchenware, tools, knickknacks, jewelry, linens, furniture, home decorations, clothing & accessories to the Senior Center’s Stop‘n Shop. Our thrift shop runs on the generous donations of folks like you!!! All donations tax deductible! Hours are 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Grief Support Group
Our Lady of Guadalupe Pastoral Center
7000 35th Ave. S.W. (just north of the Parish Center under construction)
Mondays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Meet weekly for 6-8 weeks. Anyone in the community who has suffered the loss of a loved one is welcome. Led by a pastoral counselor and staff member. Questions or RSVP John at 935-0358 ext. 110.

West Seattle Senior Center Needs Volunteers
4217 S.W. Oregon St.
Make a difference by getting involved! For info 206-932-4044 or email at margiew@seniorservices.org.

Daystar Toastmasters
Daystar Retirement Village
2615 S.W. Barton
Come as a guest to grow your communication and leadership skills. Second and fourth Mondays of each month, 12-1:00 PM. Arrive 5 to 10 minutes early for orientation. See http://daystarclub.toastmastersclub.org Email questions to :tm4u@comcast.net or call 206-932-6706.

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Meetings
Mount St. Vincent-2nd floor, Peps West Room
4831 35th Ave S.W.
Every Tuesday, 5:45-7 p.m. TOPS is an encouraging weight loss support group with weigh-ins every Tuesday. Info: Jan 206-762-7844 or Bunkyjanjan@yahoo.com

Volunteers for Playing Piano/Entertainment or
Manicure/Pedicure Volunteers
Providence Elizabeth House
3201 S.W. Graham St.
425-443-1484
Leave a message. yuliyam@u.washington.edu

AARP Defensive Driving Workshop
Daystar Retirement Village
2615 S.W. Barton St.
First Saturday of every month, ongoing, 9-5:30 p.m. $12 for members, $14 non-members. Call 206-937-6122 for info or to RSVP.

At Senior Center of West Seattle
4217 SW Oregon St.
206-932-4044

Informal Conversational Spanish Classes
Fridays, 1-2:15 p.m. Facilitated by Suzanne Duffy-Kane, world language educator. Register: 206-932-4044.

Casino Trips from West Seattle on June 27
Call Flo for details and reservations: 206-938-1700

Footcare & Manicures
Mondays, ongoing. Cost: Foot care $20 member/$22 non-member; Manicures w/polish $20 member/$22 non-member and no/polish $15 member or non-member. Cancellations must be made by 4 p.m. Friday prior to appointment to avoid being charged. Call 206-932-4044 ext. 1 for appointment.

Homestyle Lunches Daily
11:45-12:15 p.m. daily. FDA approved full meals for suggested donation of $3-$6. Reservations 206-932-4044.

The Cafe
9:30-1:30 p.m. daily. Nominally priced homemade soup, sandwiches, salads, and cookies.

Chair Massage
Fridays from 9:30-11:30 a.m. 15 minute appointments at $7/members or $9/non-members. Appointments with Eric LaSeur at 206-932-4044.

Gentle Yoga
Wednesdays, 9:15-10:30 a.m. Drop-in, $5 mem/$7 non-mem. Chair and standing postures (no floor sitting). Improve breathing, posture, flexibility, balance and peace of mind. Postures can be adapted to your abilities or limitations. Wear loose, comfortable clothing.

Enhance Fitness Exercise Classes
Monday, Wednesday & Friday, on-going, 8-9 a.m. & 9-10 a.m. (2 sessions). Free to Group Health members or $30 for 5 weeks. Innovative and fun strength-training classes, using wrist & ankle weights, aerobics, balance and stretching.

WSHS Host Families Needed
Host families are needed for foreign exchange students who will attend West Seattle High School for the first semester. Host families do not need to have teenagers of their own; young families as well as empty nesters are excellent high school student hosts. For info: 360-661-0552 or j.henderson33@hotmail.com.

Old Clothes = New Opportunities Donation Station
Northwest Center ‘Big Blue Truck’
Diamond Parking Lot
44th Ave. S.W. & S.W. Edmunds St.
Fridays - Sundays, 9-5 p.m. Clean out your closets and drop off your reusable clothing and household items at the donation station. List of donations accepted visit bigbluetruck.org or (800) 992-2060. Donations are tax deductible and donors receive a $3 off coupon to Value Village.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly
Guadalupe Church-Pastoral Care Center
7000 35th Ave. S.W.
Every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. TOPS is an encouraging weight loss support group with weigh-ins every Tuesday. For info at 206-932-2621.

Irish Dance Lessons
West Seattle VFW Hall
3601 S.W. Alaska St.
Mondays & Tuesdays in the late afternoon & early evenings. Open to children and adults. Information at 206-935-3225.

Providence Elizabeth House
3201 S.W. Graham St.
206-938-3276

Volunteers for Playing Piano/Entertainment
Every second Thursday, 12:45-1:45 p.m. We need someone to play piano or entertain seniors for an hour or so during Birthday Celebrations.

Volunteers for Sign Language Communication with Deaf
Come in once or twice a month to speak with a senior deaf resident. This would be very beneficial for us to have an opportunity to interact with them as well as provide practice to volunteer who studies or wants to practice using sign language.

BNI West Seattle Champion Meeting
The Kenney
7125 Fauntleroy Way S.W.
Thursdays, 7:45-9:15 a.m. Learn how to grow your business with quality referrals. $10 includes breakfast.

Seeking ESL tutors
Volunteers 18+ and fluent in English. Application, interview and background check are required. Training and on-going support are provided. Info www.stjames-cathedral.org/esl or 382-4511 or email cwalsh@stjames-cathedral.org

District Council Meetings
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way S.W.
Third Wednesday, 7–9 p.m. Representatives from neighborhood councils and other community organizations provide reports on what issues and concerns they are working on and announcements about up-coming community meetings and events.

Stay-at-home dads
Hiawatha Playfield Playground
2700 California Ave. S.W.
Mondays and Thursdays at 9 a.m. A resource and community for stay-at-home dads, fathers who are primary caregiver in their family, and other involved dads are welcome. All fathers are invited.

Thunder Girls
Fastpitch Softball
12U
West Seattle Thunder Girls
Fastpitch Softball is looking for athletes with a good attitude and desire to play tournament softball this spring and summer. For tryout, call Greg at 669-6881 or email gkormanik@comcast.net

Volunteers Needed
Providence Mount St. Vincent
4831 35th Ave. S.W.
Volunteers for hair salon, gift shop, child care, field trips, one-on-one visits with elderly residents. For info 937-3701 ext. 28170 or www.providence.org/themount

Have an event you'd like us to share? Send it to Calendar@robinsonnews.com. It must be a non-profit event or community announcement. Deadline is Friday for the following week's print edition.

Transportation spending package addresses sites where fatal accidents took place and more

patr — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:42:04 +0000

The City of Seattle took steps on June 17 to address West Seattle road safety issues among other transportation priorities as part of a $3 million spending package made possible by the Spokane Street Viaduct and 2013 debt service savings.

A list of the priorities was released by City Council Budget Committee Chair Tim Burgess and Transportation Committee Chair Tom Rasmussen.

The local safety improvements that were recommended by Mayor McGinn for East Marginal Way (the site of a truck/bike accident that killed Lance David will also include a full traffic signal at the intersection of 47th Avenue SW and SW Admiral Way (the site of an accident that took the life of Tatsuo Nakata in 2006). Additionally improvements will be made at NE 75th Street (the site of a recent pedestrian accident with multiple fatalities).

Finally funding will make possible freight mobility spot improvements, traffic signals, and other pedestrian safety and maintenance projects.

The proposed spending package adds and reallocates more than $3 million from the Mayor’s original proposal to fund safety improvements and backlogged maintenance to enable the work to begin as soon as possible. The transportation budget will be considered by the Government Performance and Finance Committee at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19.

In a press release the City of Seattle said:

“We must fix what we have, finish what we’ve started and plan wisely for the future for all transportation modes. Our proposal will help balance these needs, which are crucial to keeping people safe and our economy moving in the right direction,” said Councilmember Tim Burgess. “We have a road and bridge maintenance backlog that grows by tens of millions of dollars each year. We have planning for bus and high capacity transit projects underway now that will require half a billion dollars in funding that we do not have. Our proposal is intended to ensure every City dollar that goes to transportation will be spent to meet current critical safety, maintenance and transit needs.”

“The City’s primary focus should be on making safety and maintenance repairs now and on improving transit service in critical bus corridors such as Eastlake Avenue,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.

Funding for additional automated school zone speed cameras is included in the package. The councilmembers will soon introduce separate legislation establishing a financial policy mandating that revenue from existing school zone cameras and any future ones be used exclusively for pedestrian and road safety improvements around schools.

The proposed transportation package does not include funding for a Ship Canal crossing study because Sound Transit and the Seattle Department of Transportation are conducting a high capacity transit study for the downtown to Ballard corridor now. Discussion of a ship canal crossing will follow the results of that study. The package also changes the scope of the proposed Eastlake High Capacity Transit study to focus on more immediate bus corridor improvements.

Legislation for this supplemental spending package will be introduced to the Full Council this afternoon and considered by the Government Performance and Finance Committee at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 19.

Open discussion with West Seattle Crime Prevention Council on June 18

Ty Swenson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:43:45 +0000

WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL Community Safety Meeting,
TUESDAY, June 18, 2013
@ Southwest Police Precinct,
2300 SW Webster, 7 – 8:30pm

The June meeting will be open for discussion of various topics and community concerns. Please sent topics or issues to our e-mail below or bring your questions or concerns in written form to the meeting.
This will allow us to better budget our time.

Lt. Davis will be on hand to report on crime trends in the SW Precinct and take questions from the audience.

Reminders:
Seattle Night Out Aug 6, 2013
SW Police Precinct Picnic, Aug 17, 2013

THE MEETING IS OPEN TO EVERYONE.
For more information contact WSCPC at westseattleCPC@gmail.com

NEXT MEETING Sept 17, 2013

City buying additional service for local 21, 120 bus routes

Ty Swenson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:24:48 +0000

On June 17, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond announced the city is “buying more than 5,000 hours of added service per year through early 2016 on nine high ridership bus routes …” including the 21 and 120 routes through West Seattle.

The city will spend $750,000 saved from the Bridging the Gap levy to pay for the service, that will increase frequency from 30 to 15 or 60 to 30 minutes, depending on the route and time of day.

“This one-time savings will help us make transit a better option for more people,” McGinn said in a statement. “But there isn’t any more money where that came from. I stand with mayors from across King County and Washington State to urge our legislature to pass the local transportation funding package we proposed to them in February, which includes revenue options that will help prevent a devastating 17 percent cut to Metro bus service.”

“It’s great to be able to add this service at a time of ridership growth,” Desmond said in the same statement released by the mayor’s office. “Every bit counts, but solutions are still needed to sustain service for all of Metro’s riders.”

Metro is facing a $75 million annual shortfall.

Additional background from the Mayor’s office:
McGinn has also been working to address Metro’s long-term needs. He brought together 47 mayors from across the state in the Mayor’s Transportation Forum to propose a solution to local communities’ transportation challenges. In February they agreed on a joint proposal that they brought to the governor and the legislature to provide cities and counties with new funding to support their transportation needs. In Seattle and King County, those options will help preserve and expand transit service, as well as tackle the road maintenance backlog. The proposal called for an eight cent per gallon gas tax increase, a Motor Vehicle Excise Tax option of up to 1.5 percent that counties could enact either by councilmanic action or public vote with options provided to counties for a specific level of MVET and method of revenue allocations, and expanding from $20 to $40 the vehicle license fee that can be enacted through public vote or councilmanic action. The state legislature is now in its second special session of the year and continues to debate a transportation funding package.

Morgan Junction will be a neighborhood party June 22

patr — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:40:55 +0000

The Morgan Community Association (MoCA) is the host for the 8th Annual Morgan Junction Community Festival, held at California Ave SW and Fauntleroy Way SW. It's set for June 22 and is a family friendly event featuring music, information booths, vendors, and of course the Bite of Morgan, food samples from area restaurants and back again is the Bark of Morgan, a pet parade and contest. The event will run 10:30am to 7pm.

See the Music Schedule at the link.

Here's the list of participating Morgan Junction area restaurants:

Harry's Chicken Joint
6032 California Ave SW
206-938-9000 One Chicken Skewer

Kokoras Greek Grill
6400 California Ave SW
206-913-0041 One Stuff Grape Leaf
**Opens at 1pm***

Feedback Lounge
6451 California Ave SW
206-453-3259 Pork Chili Verde

Zeeks Pizza
6459 California Ave SW
206-504-2662 A pizza slice

Dominos Pizza
6540 California Ave SW
206-932-0995 Parmesan bread stick

McDonalds
6546 California Ave SW
206-938-1500 Free $1 menu item

West Seattle Thriftway
4201 SW Morgan Street
206-937-0245 BBQ meal for sale, proceeds donated to MoCA

Get your dog ready! The "Bark of Morgan" Returns!

The Morgan Community Association (MoCA) is pleased to announce the return of the "Bark of Morgan" at the Morgan Junction Community Festival.

All well-behaved leashed dogs (over the age of 4 months) are invited to
bring their owners and join the Pooch Parade and contests.

Here are the details:

2:00 - Pooch Parade: A parade of pooches will line up starting at 2:00pm
north of the Morgan Junction Park on SW Eddy Street. Look for the signs. We
will parade through Festival to the Washington Federal Bank Stage. Costumes
are optional.

2:15 - Contests: Join us for the following contests:
1) Cutest Puppy (4 months up to 9 months),
2) Best Trick, and
3) Best Dog/Owner Look-Alike

First and second place contestants will be selected via the 'audience
applause meter' as monitored by the MC and awarded commemorative medallions.
All "Bark of Morgan" participants will receive a special prize.

Sponsors of the second "Bark of Morgan" are Pet Elements, 6511 California
Ave SW, http://www.petelements.com, Stella Ruffington's Doggy Playcare, 7003
California Ave SW, http://stellaruffington.com; and The Wash Dog, 6400
California Ave SW, http://thewashdog.com,

Arf - the "Bark of Morgan" will occur rain or shine!

More Events and Fun Stuff:

Washington Federal parking lot. (sponsored by Edward Jones)
The Traveling Bite of Morgan - 11 to 3:00 Get your coupon book and map from the MoCA booth.
Children’s Crafts - All day, In the Washington Federal parking lot. (sponsored by Young At Art).
Children’s Tumbling - 12:30 – 2:45 in the Morgan Park (sponsored by The Little Gym).
Chalk Contest - all ages, 12:30 – 4:00, check MoCA booth for details.
Food Trucks – various locations, check MoCA booth for details.
The Bubbleman - Two performances, 11:30 in the Morgan Park and 4:00 in The Washington Federal lot
Fire & Police Dept - Fire truck visit in front of the Morgan Park, 12:30 – 2:30, police car as available.

Domestic violence suspect caught hiding in a sofa compartment

patr — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:57:14 +0000

The Seattle Police Blotter reported tonight about an arrest made the morning of June 15.

By Detective Renee Witt
A Domestic Violence (DV) assault suspect was arrested after he was found hiding in a sofa storage compartment. This morning, just shortly after 11:00 a.m., officers responded to a DV Assault at an apartment in the 8600 block of Delridge Way SW.

The investigation showed that the victim had been assaulted and had attempted to report the incident to 9-1-1.

While the victim was on the line, making the report, the suspect grabbed the phone away and threw it into the trash can. The suspect fled before officers arrived. The victim reported at that time that the suspect had at least three firearms that he kept positioned at various points throughout the apartment. Two children, ages two and three, were present during the assault. Officers took a report and left the residence.
Two hours later in the day another 9-1-1 call was received from the apartment. The operator could hear small children then the line disconnected. The dispatcher called back several times however the calls went unanswered. Officers responded back to the apartment. When the officers arrived, they could hear voices inside but no one answered the door.

Officers saw the “peephole” darken and tried the door. As the unlocked door was being opened, officers very loudly announced their intent and identification. The door was then pushed closed and locked.
Given the circumstances of the earlier call and the reported presence of firearms it was decided that the apartment would be contained and a SWAT callout would be initiated.

Shortly after the call was placed for SWAT, the female resident opened the door and came out with her children. She told officers that the suspect was not there but her demeanor said otherwise.
Officers entered the apartment to clear it and did not find the suspect. A sectional sofa in the living room, however, seemed far heavier than it should have been. Officers tipped the sofa on its back and located the suspect fully concealed within a storage bin hidden in the sofa. He was arrested without incident.

During the clearing sweep officers found three firearms in plain view. Notable was the positioning of the Sig in a bookcase in the living room. It was less than four feet from the floor and reachable by the 3 year old girl. The girl, in fact, pointed out all three locations where “Daddy” keeps his guns. All firearms were taken into police custody pending DV charges.

The suspect was booked into King County Jail for DV Assault.

Barnecuts Admiral Way Service Station sold after 90 years of ownership

patr — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:40:49 +0000

A fixture in West Seattle business, Barnecut's Admiral Way Service station at 4100 SW Admiral Way has been sold to Marc Gartin. Gartin is also the owner of the Admiral Theater building, the Bartell Drugs property, and the Admiral Way Chevron station land.

Dick Barnecut, whose father George Barnecut Sr. founded a service station in the Admiral District in 1923, said, "My dad was in business across from where the Starbucks is now, that whole property was Union Oil property. Then on March 12, 1932 he moved across the street to the new station."

Barnecut, now 87, has been in West Seattle all his life. He's wistful about the change but grateful and said he would share a letter to that effect soon. "It's been a great opportunity and a privilege to be able to grow up in a community and have all your friends and neighbors support you. It's a special place. How can you be sad about someplace you've worked for 70 years?"

He started working there when we was in high school in 1940, continued until he went in the Navy in 1944 then came back and worked ever since. "It will seem strange not to be able to walk up to that corner, walk in and sit down."

"It got so difficult to make any money and Andrew (his son who has been running it) was struggling. The county assessment was so high, it was twice the valuation of what it was worth. So it was costing us $20,000 a year in property tax. It's been that way for the last three or four years. That's one of the things that rankles me," Barnecut said.

The station was completely remodeled in 1995 changing from a Texaco to a Shell station.

"There were a lot of pressures. First of all, people buy less gas. Second, there are more places that are selling it like Costco, Safeway and others. We're the last ones to give service pumping gas and that's kind of archaic too."

There is even less money in auto repairs Barnecut explained because "the cars require less."

The station has served as a place for work for many people in West Seattle. "Out of the people who have worked there two of them are lawyers, got one doctor, a couple of teachers. It's been a pretty nice group of young men and women," Barnecut said. But those currently employed already have new jobs, except for his son Andrew who will now seek employment.

There are remediation issues with the land, and as part of selling the property a survey was conducted and they estimated it would cost $323,000. "That comes out of my pocket," said Barnecut.

This, despite the fact that the underground tanks are in good shape. "This is maybe from before. I don't know."

Barnecut said he was not certain what would become of the station but they are meeting with Gartin next week. "I think he wants to keep it as a station. I don't know."

NOTE: The Herald will publish Dick Barnecut's letter online and in print next week.

SLIDESHOW: Nature Consortium celebrates Seattle's largest forest with a Picnic in the Park

patr — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 02:54:11 +0000

Seattle's largest contiguous forest, the West Duwamish Greebelt was celebrated on June 15 with an event called Picnic in the Park, sponsored by Nature Consortium and Seattle Parks. It featured live music, hiking, and art activities.

Honored at the event was Rory Denovan, who is leaving Parks to become an ecologist with City Light. He was instrumental in saving the greenbelt. He was joined by Nancy Whitlock, founder of Nature Consortium, who is leaving the role of Executive Director soon, and Monica Thomas, who handles marketing for Nature Consortium.

Lili Allala, Restoration Director also presented the Golden Shovel Award to volunteer Tim Jeragy. Lizzie Jackson, Restoration and Education Coordinator for Nature Consortium, who is leaving the organization to get a teaching certificate was honored with the award of a Japanese hori hori knife, useful they said for removing vine weed.

Nature Consortium volunteers have worked to restore the habitat there and campaigned since 2003 to save a portion of the West Duwamish Greenbelt called the Soundway property to have it become park space.

The property is a wooded area located south of South Seattle Community College.

The effort began when former mayor Greg Nickels planned to sell the seven-acre area of woods called Soundway West to housing developers. Nature Consortium and others cited the importance of the forest as public green space, as habitat, and as a filter of air pollution emanating from the Duwamish industrial corridor.

Seattle City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Richard Conlin and Jean Godden, as well as King County Executive Dow Constantine supported the effort. Previous State Senator Erik Poulsen and State Representatives Eileen Cody and Joe McDermott (now with the King County Council) were also active in making the park a reality.

The City of Seattle designated the property as park space in January 2011. The designation included the original seven acres of Soundway West as well as 25 acres of adjacent habitat, which are now preserved as parks space in perpetuity.

$500,000 was set aside by the state for preservation of the property, which eventually went to the City of Seattle. Nature Consortium has been collaborating with Seattle Parks and Recreation to steward and restore the property back to a healthy ecosystem.

To commemorate the occasion, Mayor McGinn proclaimed June 15 to be Soundway Day.

Hikes took visitors through the trails in the greenbelt that have been built in the last two years. Jacobo Jiminez, Trails Program staff lead for Seattle Parks described what was done in the Greenbelt. "People have always been drawn to the forest and created their own trails but they haven't always been laid out in a sustainable way. What we're charged with is repairing or building trails up to a standard so they can stand years of use."

A project they started last year in a partnership with Seattle Goodwill where three days out of the week, young people in a job training program, came to the park to do forest restoration and trail work. They built trail re-routes and retaining walls from recycled city granite curbing. Jimeniz said the long term goal is to build a trail all the way to Pigeon Point in the next 5 to 10 years. "You could walk, in the forest from here and make your way down to Alki."

Truong found guilty in 2011 White Center bakery killing

Ty Swenson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:11:51 +0000

On June 13, a King County jury found Cu Van Truong guilty of first degree murder with a firearm enhancement for the shooting death of 24-year-old Jason Saechao at the Seattle Roll Bakery in White Center on Dec. 28, 2011.

Troung entered a not guilty plea to the charge in January of 2012, forcing the trial, and according to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, he faces a possible sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set by the court.

In what detectives described as a revenge plot, Truong arrived at the Seattle Roll Bakery around midnight to confront Saechao about “bad mouthing” him and stealing a necklace from an acquaintance of Troung’s who was dating Saechao’s girlfriend while the shooting victim was in jail.

Witnesses to the murder initially told police the shooting was the act of a random robber, but later changed their stories after further investigation, identifying Troung as the shooter.

They told police the two men started an argument out front that came inside the bakery, where Troung pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Saechao in the leg from 10 feet away, and then fired four more shots as he moved in closer to his victim.

He was arrested the next day near his sister’s home in Burien.

Sustainable West Seattle Summer Outdoor Series kicks off with Longfellow Creek Watershed Walk

patr — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:55:06 +0000

Information from Sustainable West Seattle

Sustainable West Seattle’s summer Outdoors in West Seattle series kicks off June 17th at 6:30 PM with a hike through one of Seattle’s most beautiful watershed environments – Longfellow Creek. This walk will demonstrate how Seattle residents’ everyday activities can impact the natural environment in their own backyards, and what everyone can do to help preserve the health of our urban watersheds.

In cooperation with Feet First, King Conservation District, and Sustainable Seattle, SWS Board Member Bryan Fiedorczyk will lead an urban hike through the Longfellow Creek Watershed. The creek drains almost 3000 acres of West Seattle and is one of only four waterways left in Seattle that flows freely year-round. This family friendly walk is estimated to be between 2 to 3 miles at a slow to moderate pace.

While walking the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail, you will see wetlands, native meadows, conifer forests, a beaver dam and large-scale public art installations. Along the trail there will be examples of areas highly modified by development, the effects of runoff from rain and stormwater, restoration efforts, and sites featuring low impact development and green infrastructure techniques such as rain gardens.

The SWS Outdoors in West Seattle series continues this summer with Pedals for the People on July 21st, an event to learn bike repair skills as we repair bikes to donate to kids in rural Africa. The SWS Annual Summer Picnic is August 19th at Lincoln Park features a potluck and outdoors activities along the Sound.

Longfellow Creek Watershed Walk Details

When: Monday, June 17th. 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Meet at corner of 26th Ave SW and SW Yancy Street (1 block west of Delridge, 1 block south of Andover) – Bus stop at Delridge & Andover for Metro Routes 50, 120, and 125; nearby signs/trees for locking up bikes, parking available along 26th Ave SW and SW Andover Street.
Route: Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/proparks/projects/LongfellowCreekMap.pdf
We’ll start at trailhead northeast of Dragonfly Pavilion and follow the trail south across the Salmon Bone bridge, and down 26th Ave SW past Greg Davis Park and the Brandon Street Natural Area (King Conservation District highlights of restoration/volunteer efforts) towards the Delridge Natural Area (Delridge & Graham). We’ll turn around after about an hour of walking – at Juneau, we’ll follow 25th Ave SW north past a cluster of residential rain gardens near Brandon through Delridge Playfield and back along the trail to the starting point where we’ll enjoy some refreshments.

Seattle Police seeking homework-burning teens

Ty Swenson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:31:06 +0000

The Seattle Police Department is looking for three teens who reportedly lit their homework on fire near the intersection of California Ave. S.W. and S.W. Lander St. on the afternoon of June 14 in West Seattle.

Nothing like celebrating the last day of school with an arrest!

Police released the above "sketch" of Beavis and Butt-head, joking from their Twitter account: "Our sketch artist has already put together a composite of the homework-burning suspects."

Westwood Village Street Fair is set for Saturday, June 15

patr — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:26:48 +0000

The Westwood Village Street Fair is back on and set for Saturday, June 15 from 10am to 6pm. Mall management promises it will be "bigger and better" this year.

The event features vendor sales, food, live music, amusements, train rides and a beer garden plus community information booths.

Visitors will find:

Food truck vendors- Xplosive (Vietnamese & Filipino), 314 Pie Seattle, Moonie Icy Tunes Ice Cream, and Waffle Wagon.

And kids will enjoy:

Wrecking Ball
Bungee Trampoline Ride
Dual Lane Slide
Modular Obstacle Course
Balloonist

McGinn: Sound Transit will study light rail feasibility from West Seattle to downtown this summer

Ty Swenson — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:38:56 +0000

Light rail service to West Seattle still has a shot, according to Mayor Mike McGinn, but don’t expect it anytime in the next decade.

In 2009, then-mayoral candidate McGinn told Erica C. Barnett with Publicola, “… Within two years of taking office, I commit to bringing a plan before voters of Seattle to bring expanded light rail service to neighborhoods (including West Seattle).”

As we say, “Life got in the way,” as the economy tanked, city council resisted the vote, and Seattle’s Department of Transportation Transit Master Plan, released in 2011, put the West Seattle corridor well down the list of top priorities for major people-moving improvements.

This week, Mayor McGinn reached out to local media for a sit down at Diva Espresso to update our readers on where the possibility of light rail service from the West Seattle to downtown stands. It's an issue still on his mind, and that of many West Seattle commuters.

“The question is ‘What’s the status of rail expansion, or transit expansion to West Seattle?’ and I’m not sure people are well aware of where things stand with Sound Transit and the development of Sound Transit’s long-range plans …,” McGinn said.

This summer will be a telling moment, he said, as Sound Transit will be performing an internal study on the feasibility of extending light rail service from West Seattle to downtown, downtown to Ballard, and Ballard to the University District as part of the “Sound Transit 3” long term plan. Once the internal study is finished, ST will hold public meetings, according to McGinn.

ST is currently working on their “Sound Transit 2” plan, constructing a light rail University Link from downtown to the University District by 2016 right now, with future projects to provide a Northgate Link by 2021 and an East Link to Bellevue and Redmond by 2023.

For those who doubt West Seattle’s light rail will ever happen based on the history of a 2002 monorail plan that died (after $124 million from taxpayers were used), McGinn said he understands.

“There was a plan to bring a monorail to West Seattle, and a lot of people feel discouraged by the way that turned out …,” he said.

As part of Sound Transit’s summer study, SDOT strategic advisor to McGinn, Micheal James, said they will look at far out projections for population rise in West Seattle. For those opposed to the thousands of apartments being built, or in the planning stage on the peninsula these days, the exploding projections as a result could be a silver lining in putting light rail marks in West Seattle’s column.

With the SR99 tunnel project coming up (and lasting for the next several years) and King County Metro funding shortfalls making service expansion difficult, McGinn said he’s fully aware of the continued transit challenges for West Seattle.

Part of that has to do with history, he said:

“We are way behind on transit, you know, we could have started a long time ago (speaking decades back) on transit to connect our neighborhoods together … for decades, we have neglected basic infrastructure,” he said, adding that the Transit Master Plan put together under his tenure is an attempt to identify areas of critical need, so catching up has a logical path in better connecting our city.

As always, McGinn said money also plays a role as city, county and transportation partners will have to find room in their own budgets, compete for federal dollars, and ask state lawmakers and everyday citizens to help pay for infrastructure improvements, Metro funding, and - possibly one day – a light rail connecting West Seattle to downtown.

Looking at the broader political landscape as we come into a mayoral vote in November, contender Sen. Ed Murray (who received the 34th District Democrats endorsement on June 12) told Publicola earlier this year, “We can’t afford [light rail from Ballard to West by ourselves. There are probably things we could do as a city … that would feed in and make the light rail system work. The city is all gridlocked. More light rail is great, but that’s got to be built on a regional level.”

Funding for Sound Transit's current Link Light Rail system was approved by voters in November of 1996, including the Tacoma Link and Central Link (with service from downtown to SeaTac airport).

Highline Public Schools will offer free summer lunches for kids

patr — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:42:39 +0000

Information from Highline Public Schools

Highline Public Schools will provide free breakfast, lunch, and snacks to children during the summer through the Simplified Summer Food Program (SSFP). Twelve Highline schools will join five community organizations to serve children living in South King County.

Meals will be free to children 18 years old and younger. A child does not need to be a Highline Public School student to participate.

Registration is not required. There are no forms to fill out and no names are written down. Food cannot be taken off the premises.

Meal service will be at the following sites:

Bow Lake Elementary
18237 42nd Ave. S.
SeaTac, WA 98188
Lunch - Snack
11:30 – 12:15 and 3:00 – 3:45
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

Cascade Middle School
11212 10th Ave. SW.
Seattle, WA 98146
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 8:55 and 10:45 – 11:15
July 8 – Aug. 15 - Mon. – Thur.

Cedarhurst Elementary
611 S. 132nd Ave. S.
Burien, WA 98168
Lunch
11:00 – 11:30
July 9 – July 31 - Tues./Wed.

Gregory Heights
16201 16th Ave. SW.
Burien, WA 98166
Lunch - Snack
11:00 – 11:30 and 3:30 – 4:00
July 8 – July 26 - Mon. – Fri.

Hazel Valley Elementary
402 SW. 132nd St.
Burien, WA 98146
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 8:50 and 11:00 – 11:30
July 8 – July 26 - Mon – Fri.

Highline High School
225 S. 152nd St.
Burien, WA 98148
Breakfast - Lunch
7:10 – 7:30 - 11:30 – 12:00
June 24 – July 26 - Mon. – Fri.

King County Parks White Center
1321 SW 102nd St.
Seattle, WA 98146
Lunch - Snack
12:00 – 1:00 and 4:00 – 5:00
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

Madrona Elementary
20301 32nd Ave. S.
SeaTac, WA 98198
Breakfast - Lunch
8:15 – 8:30 and 11:30 – 11:50
July 8 – July 31 - Mon. – Fri.

Mount Rainier High
22450 19th Ave. S.
Des Moines, WA 98198
Lunch
11:30 – 12:00
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

Mount View Elementary
10811 12th Ave. SW.
Seattle, WA 98146
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 9:00 and 12:00 – 12:30
June 24 – Aug. 1 - Mon. – Thur.

New Start
614 SW. 120th St.
Seattle, WA 98148
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 9:00 and 12:00 – 12:30
July 8 – Aug. 15 - Mon. – Thur

Seahurst Elementary
14603 14th Ave. SW
Burien, WA 98166
Lunch - Snack
11:00 – 11:30 and 3:30 – 4:00
July 29 – Aug. 16 Mon. – Fri.

Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission
15003 14th Ave. SW.
Burien, WA 98146
Lunch - Snack
12:00 – 12:30 and 4:00 – 4:30
July 9 – Aug. 16 - Tues. – Fri.

Seola Gardens
11215 5th Ave. S.
Burien, WA 98166
Snack - Lunch
9:00 – 9:30 and 12:00 – 12:30
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

Somali Community Services
15027 Military Rd., Upper #3
SeaTac, WA 98188
Lunch - Snack
11:00 – 12:00 and 2:00 – 3:00
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

SW Boys & Girls Club
9800 8th Ave. SW #105
Seattle, WA 98106
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 9:00 and 12:30 – 1:00
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Fri.

Tyee Campus
4424 S. 188th St.
SeaTac, WA 98188
Breakfast - Lunch
8:30 – 9:00 and 12:00 – 12:30
July 8 – Aug. 16 - Mon. – Thur.