West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
The year’s biggest party, West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB), is 11 days away – July 11th, 12th, 13th, closing the streets to vehicles and opening them to fun in the heart of The Junction. We’ll be counting down daily/nightly with info – tonight, Sustainable West Seattle‘s preview of the 4th annual GreenLife festival-within-a-festival:
The GreenLife Stage is sponsored by Alki Bike and Board and features 3 days of sustainability demonstrations. Topics include: Building with Reclaimed Materials; Backyard Beer Making; and Home Canning and Preservation. We are also excited to have performances of the highly acclaimed Illuminatio Dance on Friday and Sunday afternoons.
The GreenLife area is sponsored by West Seattle Nursery and is located in the parking lot (east of the former Chase drive-through), off California Ave SW and SW Edmunds St. For more information and to view the schedule, please visit wsjunction.org/summerfest/green-life
You can explore other SummerFest infolinks from the festival’s home page at wsjunction.org/summerfest.
That photo shared by Lura last night showed the retrieval of a King County water-quality-monitoring buoy from its surprise spot on the Beach Drive shore, less than a year after it was put into place off Lincoln Park. Following up on what we reported Sunday, here’s what the county says today:
King County Environmental Laboratory employees are looking into how a water-quality- data-collection buoy came loose from its mooring before washing ashore along West Seattle on June 29.
The buoy and its host of environmental sensors had been in place off Point Williams since July 2013 and automatically transmitted a wealth of important data about environmental conditions. King County employees were notified early in the morning of June 29 that the buoy was ashore along the 5400 block of Beach Drive SW, south of Me-Kwa-Mooks Park.
Later that day, laboratory employees successfully refloated the buoy and towed it to the Elliott Bay Marina while arrangements are made to move it to the County’s environmental laboratory in Queen Anne for refitting.
While the buoy itself appears unscathed by its unexpected journey, a sensor that detects and transmits data on water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and depth did not fare as well and was damaged.
Exactly how the buoy came loose from its mooring remains a mystery. The buoy was secured off Point Williams by nearly 1,200 pounds of weight, including two railroad wheels and a heavy gage steel chain that was attached to the buoy by a shackle mechanism.
Environmental laboratory workers will try to determine what part of the mooring set-up broke and how it can be repaired so that the buoy can be placed back at Point Williams.
4:50 PM: With many West Seattleites commuting through SODO one way or another, this seems worth a mention: There’s been a shooting at/near the SODO transit station, 5th/Lander, and it involved a King County Sheriff’s Deputy. No other details yet, and we haven’t seen word from Metro or Sound Transit yet on how/if this is affecting routes, but just an FYI. Also, if you are in North Delridge and noticed the major response of northbound SPD units from the precinct (we were in the area and saw half a dozen head north, full lights/sirens), that apparently is what they were headed for, though the response downsized shortly afterward; one texter says this brought helicopters (TV, we believe) to the SODO area near 99, too.
5 PM UPDATE: Metro has sent a text alert saying that buses are routed off the SODO Busway and off S. Holgate in that area – “use busway stops north of S. Holgate or south of S. Lander.” Sound Transit also has tweeted that Central Link light rail service is interrupted.
5:30 PM UPDATE: Both KCSO and Seattle Fire say one person, described by SFD only as “male” and by KCSO as a “suspect,” was declared dead at the scene. Sound Transit has sent an updated rider alert – see it here; Metro now says its busway reroute starts at Royal Brougham.
5:45 PM UPDATE: Per our partners at The Seattle Times, the shooting started as a confrontation involving an unarmed fare-enforcement officer, who called for backup, and the deadly shot(s) came from an armed deputy who was among those responding.
9:29 PM UPDATE: Sound Transit says normal operation has resumed.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
On the day he was due to answer the most-recent “unlawful detainer” complaint from the owner of the North Delridge property that holds West Seattle Athletic Club, its owner Sam Adams advised King County Superior Court that he filed for bankruptcy over the weekend.
We have confirmed the Chapter 11 case via documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court‘s Western District of Washington.
The “unlawful detainer” complaint was first reported here two weeks ago, with court filings including a document in which club landlord John Pietromonaco alleged that he was owed more than $594,000 including back rent and late fees.
Local public-school enrollment continues to rise, and even new construction/expansion isn’t taking all the pressure off some campuses. Latest evidence: Today, a portable classroom is arriving at West Seattle Elementary in High Point, according to Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Tom Redman. He says it’s a “single-classroom portable -to be used as a homeroom.” According to district numbers featured here last month, WSE expects 443 students this fall, up about twenty from last year.
A public notice published today lists 11 potential changes to the city’s Comprehensive Plan, with at least four of interest to West Seattle. All 11 will be lumped together in one public hearing set for the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee on July 15th. The four are:
*Rezoning to allow a six-townhouse project on land owned by the West Seattle Church of the Nazarene south of its 42nd/Juneau sanctuary and parsonage in north Morgan Junction. (Here’s our most recent report on the project, from a meeting in which the Morgan Community Association endorsed it; see the proposed amendment here.)
*Rezoning to “remove an area waterward of Harbor Avenue Southwest and south of Southwest Bronson Way known as Pier One from the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Center and change the designation of that area from industrial to commercial/mixed-use.” We first wrote about this proposal two years ago; see the proposed amendment here.
*An amendment to “limit live-work units along arterials.” See the text here.
*An amendment to “add policy language regarding the monitoring and reporting of growth and to require action when an area exceeds its growth targets.” This comes up often in development discussions regarding the West Seattle Junction area, already well past its current “growth target” and is in fact proposed by a West Seattleite, Cindi Barker. See the text here.
You can read the full text of all the proposed amendments by going here. The meeting on July 15th is at City Hall, 2 pm; if you can’t be there, the notice points out other ways to comment.
DEVELOPMENT P.S. We covered Saturday morning’s well-attended “West Seattle: Let’s Talk” meeting and expect to publish the report by tonight.
That view of Mount Rainier is from the new South Park Bridge, where we photographed the first vehicles to cross on this morning after its dedication celebration (WSB coverage here). Here are highlights for the rest of today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
TIDE POOL TUNES AND FISHY TALES: 11 am event with children’s author/songwriter Eric Ode at Southwest Branch Library. (35th/Henderson)
TODAY’S WADING-POOL SCHEDULE … since forecasters say we’re going into a few days of truly summery temps (near or beyond 80), we’ll list the wading pools and sprayparks open each day. Today – Lincoln Park (which is 7 days a week unless the weather’s bad), 11 am-8 pm; Delridge, noon-6:45 pm. And Highland Park Spraypark is open daily too, 11 am-8 pm. Addresses are on the citywide schedule.
HI-YU WHITE ROSE RECEPTION: From West Seattle Hi-Yu:
West Seattle Hi-Yu cordially invites you to the 2014 White Rose reception. This event is a celebration of past and present Hi Yu royalty and candidates. All are invited; festivities will begin at 7 pm at St John’s Church in West Seattle. Come and share your Hi-Yu memories and/or to learn about our community festival. Past royalty are encouraged to wear or bring their crowns and memory books.
(3050 California SW)
READY TO ROLL? NEW JUNIOR ROLLER DERBY: As previewed here last week, the new Southside Revolution Junior Roller Derby league for skaters 8-17 is having an info night tonight, 7 pm, at Southgate Roller Rink. (9646 17th SW)
(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to the last day of the month and the first day of a pre-holiday week, with the 4th of July coming up on Friday. No traffic trouble so far; we’ll update if anything happens.
TRANSPORTATION NEWS: As of 6 am, as promised, the new South Park Bridge is in service, though it’s one (vehicle) lane each way for the first week or so while finishing touches continue … From the “in case you missed it” file, you’re invited to suggest names for the new King County Water Taxi boats … and this open letter calls for the city to get moving on a bicycle-parking “corral” for The Junction.
8:05 AM: Some northbound I-5 trouble downtown:
Expect delays near Mercer and I-5: There is a car fire on the I-5 NB exit to Mercer. pic.twitter.com/CEsf8QLOQR
— seattledot (@seattledot) June 30, 2014
(WSB video, 6 am today)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The new South Park Bridge is now officially in service, opened to regular traffic minutes ago.
(Motorcyclist Charles, center, was first in line; that’s bridge project manager Tim Lane at right)
This comes on the morning after an all-day-and-into-the-night celebration. And it comes exactly four years to the day following the closure of the bridge’s 80-year-old predecessor with a wake both boisterous and bitter.
On June 30, 2010, the crowd chanted, “We need a bridge”:
That night, June 30, 2010, it was by no means certain they would get another one. The bridge’s drawspan was raised one last time, and there it stood.
Sunday, there was no chanting. But there were fireworks:
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