December 2020

Orcas in Puget Sound, soon to get much needed quiet - Letter of support from The Whale Trail

Last Friday, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Commissioners approved rules for commercial whale-watching that will make it easier for the endangered southern residents to forage and rear their young in these next few critical years. Commercial whale-watching on the southern residents will be suspended from October to June, and limited whale-watching (4 hours a day) will be allowed July through September. While it's not the year-round suspension the orcas need, it is a strong step towards reducing noise and disturbance from the status quo. There is a role for sustainable boat-based whale-watching. It must be sustainable for the orcas, first.

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Boombox Bar in White Center prepares to pump up the volume

By Patrick Robinson

Starting a new business at any time is always a risk but starting a new restaurant/bar at the tail end of 2020, after more than 100,000 have closed across the nation takes a certain amount of courage. Or maybe the crew that is launching the Boombox Bar in White Center are on to something.

The Boombox is moving into the former Company Bar location at 9608 16th SW that has stood empty for the past ten months. Boombox owner Amy McCormack said, “We saw it as an opportunity and we got a good deal on it. We have enough to get us through to the other side of this.”

The vibe is decidedly 80's and 90's with a wall inspired by TV color bars, the neon bright pink and the music pulling from the same era with some more modern selections added. "It's supposed to be a comfortable, casual environment but elevated, kinda crafty dishes and drinks," said McCormack. 

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Car flips on 35th and Kenyon; No one hurt

A gray Honda sedan ended up on its side at the intersection of 35th SW and SW Kenyon Streets on Sunday night around 6:45pm after it was hit by another car.

According to an eye witness, there was a car involved that didn’t stop and that car hit the one that flipped- but the guy who was driving the flipped car was possibly intoxicated, He tried to run but someone from a nearby restaurant stopped him and he was arrested."

No one was hurt in the incident. 

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Whisky West hit by Christmas grinches who stole more than $15,000 including employee bonuses
GoFundMe page set up to help offset the loss

Whisky West, the Morgan Junction bar and restaurant in business since 2016 in the West Seattle location, suffered a break in, and burglary in the early morning hours of Dec. 20. losing, more than $15,000 including their safe, food, liquor their work truck and employee Christmas bonuses prepared the night before.

It's not like the bar and owners Colin and Donna Pickering had been riding high. Their two locations in Belltown and West Seattle had both been struggling during the pandemic. Despite streamlining menus to point them toward take out and cutting costs, even getting a helping hand from landlord Scott MacMurray, business is off nearly 80% from last year. 

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Nursing home residents keep the holiday spirit alive as they wait for the vaccine

By Hannah Krieg

In late February, Henny Phillips turned 90 years old. 

Family flew in from as far as Maine, but for Phillips it was just a short trip from her apartment at Ballard Landmark (one of the six GenCare assisted living communities in the Seattle area) to her daughter's house in Wallingford. There, her children and grandchildren spent the evening celebrating the matriarch of their family with a party Phillips described as “enormous” and “marvelous”. 

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New online directories support Burien businesses

information from the City of Burien

The City of Burien and Discover Burien are announcing the launch of two new resources to support local restaurants and retail businesses. The City of Burien has launched Burien Eat Streets, a hyperlocal comprehensive online restaurant directory that makes it easy to support local Burien restaurants. Discover Burien is also announcing the launch of their virtual shopping directory linking to independently owned Burien retail shops that offer online shopping. The City of Burien and Discover Burien are working together to help Burien’s businesses adapt to changing economic and public health realities in order to ensure the safety of their employees and customers.

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