January 2009

Marley and Me

Dir.

A series of open houses will collect input from residents about a new "streamlined" bus service coming to Ballard, called RapidRide.

In coordination with the City of Seattle, the new Metro Transit route will make frequent trips all day between Crown Hill and downtown Seattle via Ballard, Interbay, Uptown Queen Anne and Belltown.

This "bus rapid transit" service, called the RapidRide D Line, is scheduled to begin in 2012.

A design review is scheduled for the eight-story condo that is supposed to replace the Manning's/Denny's building, despite the developers current lack of funding.

Developers, Rhapsody Partners, are still moving forward with the process to obtain a master-use permit, which includes a design review from a volunteer, city-appointed board, in hopes they can secure funding eventually.

The proposal description calls for an eight-story structure with 261 residential units above 32,307 square feet of retail space.

Tom Lin, co-owner of the Alki Homestead, said it's in his best interest to restore the historic restaurant.

This week, Lin met up with the potential buyers of the Homestead, "Johnny and Rose" (Zhu is said to be the buyers last name, but Lin would not confirm that). They are still interested in purchasing the business, but a few conditions need to be met.

First, the restaurant has to come back as the Alki Homestead.

Prudential Northwest Realty is combining its two West Seattle offices into the Jefferson Square location, due to changes in the economy and the real estate industry, according to Chris Pauling, president of the company.

The Admiral office, located at 3221 California Av. S.W., will close.

"Locally the real estate industry has seen a significant drop in sales," said Pauling. "The good news for our firm is that even though there are fewer homes being sold in West Seattle, our share of the shrinking market is growing.

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced today (Jan.

As the School Board's decision regarding school closure draws near, members of the community met with West Seattle representative Steve Sundquist this morning to discuss their concerns regarding the relocation of Pathfinder, closure of the Cooper program and splitting of the Accelerated Progress Program (APP) at Lowell Elementary School.

The School Board member emphasized he has not decided how he will vote on any of the recommendations yet, but that he does believe the district needs to close buildings so that it can continue programs and address the needs of its students.

The State Department of Transportation Ferry Division announced Jan. 22 it will extend public comment on its draft lon-range plan through Monday, Jan. 26.

The plan drew more than 100 Fauntleroy and West Seattle residents to a public hearing Wednesday. Most said they would not approve of a plan that would increase capacity to the Fauntleroy/Vashon route because the ferry was located in a residential neighborhood.

The public comment period first opened on Dec. 19, 2008.

The Washington State Department of Transportation Ferry Division held the last of 10 public hearings on its long-range draft plan at the Hall of Fauntleroy Wednesday (Jan.

By Rose Egge, Photos provided by Easy Street Records

For any West Seattle resident who has even a slight interest in music, Easy Street records stirs up feelings of nostalgia. It has become a cultural center for the neighborhood, where you can wander through an eclectic mix of new releases or go treasuring hunting in the used section upstairs.