West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
The first local home varsity-football game of the year was tonight at Southwest Athletic Complex, where the Chief Sealth International High School Seahawks hosted the Notre Dame Lions, visiting from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a 15-hour bus ride away. Above, Sealth senior Brady Crane scored two touchdowns, including running back the opening kickoff for his first one. But Notre Dame returned home with a win, 43-20. Sealth’s other TD was by junior Daron Camacho:
This early in the season, both teams were clearly working on cohesiveness; both had stretches of running and throwing well, but penalties were plentiful that seemed to negate many gains. Sealth has a new head coach this fall, by the way, Simon Iniguez, promoted from defensive coordinator.
NEXT UP FOR SEALTH: Next Friday (September 12th), 7 pm, they visit Rainier Beach High School at Southeast Athletic Complex.
My apologies to @westseattleblog for not including this shot earlier. (cc:@VisitSeattle). From yesterday's flight. pic.twitter.com/dSsu3QxFUs
— Peter West Carey (@pwcarey) September 5, 2014
This West Seattle view, tweeted today, shows a stark look at what so many continue to notice, especially driving westbound on the high bridge – the emptiness of the port’s Terminal 5, now in its second month of closure. It’s a discussion topic on next Tuesday night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition agenda. But in case you’ve missed the backstory:
*In June, the Port Commission approved closure as the first step toward “modernization”
*The final ship, for now, called at T-5 in late July
*Commissioners voted last month to sell T-5’s cranes, too small for the ships they want to expand it to handle
The commission still has steps to take before its modernization plan would be fully in gear – not the least of which would be, deciding how to pay for its likely nine-digit price. So in the meantime, interested citizens have unofficially suggested alternative futures for the site. One is on the agenda for the West Seattle Transportation Coalition’s meeting next Tuesday, 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way, everyone welcome. The agenda also includes Q/A with new SDOT director Scott Kubly, who spoke with the Southwest District Council earlier this week, as covered here.
The city has issued the master-use permit for The Whittaker, the mixed-use megaproject at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW. The project team told us they got the news from the city this week, and the online files say the permit is officially dated today. According to correspondence in the same files, the project team has told the city it is eager to move forward so the deteriorating, vandalized old buildings on the site can be torn down, but has had to wait for that permit to be finalized, which has taken longer than they expected. The demolition permit is separate and is not shown as finalized yet, so you’re not going to see backhoes show up immediately, but the project team hopes some site work can start soon. The project will line Fauntleroy from Alaska to Edmunds, and Alaska from Fauntleroy to 40th, with two buildings holding about 370 apartments, a Whole Foods Market, and other retailers yet to be signed/announced. The project gained regional attention when former Mayor Mike McGinn told SDOT to reject developers’ request to buy a city-owned alley that’s on the site; the ultimate decision was up to the City Council, which approved the alley deal last April. Construction is expected to last about two years.
Seattle Police have just gone public with that video from this morning’s shooting/robbery outside the South Delridge 7-11 (WSB early-morning coverage here). And they have new information. From the accompanying SPD Blotter post:
SPD Robbery detectives collected video surveillance from the scene of this morning’s shooting and are now working to identify a group of suspects.
In the video, the group of suspects can be seen circling through the parking lot of a West Seattle 7-11 in a gray or silver Buick early this morning, before they climb out of their car and confront several men and women standing outside the store.
During the confrontation, one of the suspects grabbed a man’s phone and demanded his watch before the suspects returned to their Buick.
As the group of suspects began to drive away, one of the victims lobbed something at the suspects’ car. The driver of the Buick then fired several shots out a car window — striking one man in the buttocks and a woman in both her legs — and sped away from the scene.
Witnesses described the gunman as a white male in his mid 20s, possibly with blonde hair, and said he was accompanied by three black males in their 20s and 30s.
If you recognize the suspects in the video or know anything about this case, please call the SPD Robbery Unit at (206) 684-5535.
If you’re picking up a student at Chief Sealth International High School – where classes are ending for the day – it’ll be more difficult than usual to navigate the parking lot/dropoff zone, where you’ll see police cars, a fire engine, an ambulance, and a tow truck. That’s because of what’s in the photos – a car that somehow wound up on the embankment between the parking lot and the exit driveway alongside the auditorium.
Thanks to the person who texted to let us know about this and shared the top photo; at the scene, police told us the car was driven by a student, who wasn’t hurt, but had passengers who were still being checked.
Katy reports her street, 58th SW near Alki’s Whale Tail Park, has been hit hard by vehicle-related crime. Her 4-door Ford F250 was stolen early Thursday – beige, black hard cover for its bed, chrome wheels and rails, red Fx4 sticker on back 3/4 panel, WA plate B59699Y – call 911 if you have seen it. She adds, “In addition, our next-door neighbor got his work truck broken into last week, cleaned him out…and someone at the end of the block had their Lexus stolen.” We don’t have additional details on the latter theft so far but will add them if we find them; Katy’s truck is posted on SPD’s @getyourcarback feed.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand. Above, the start of today’s assembly)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This morning’s back-to-school celebration/assembly at Westside School (WSB sponsor) was the last one at the former EC Hughes Elementary.
Next year, after five years at the leased Seattle Public Schools-owned campus in Sunrise Heights, Westside is expecting to start the year in a “home of their own” for the very first time – the former Hillcrest Presbyterian Church site that they’ve purchased and are renovating in Arbor Heights.
The project is on schedule, Westside’s head of school Kate Mulligan told us during an end-of-summer conversation about that and other reasons this is an especially exciting year for the independent PreK-8 school.
Thanks to Fiona for the tip: Demolition has begun at the other new-elementary-school site in West Seattle, on Genesee Hill. No backhoe-biting-into-building activity yet, as of our visit – as you can see in the photo, some bricks have been removed from the front of the school along SW Genesee, and we noted backhoes on the back side (north). This is the future home of the program currently at Schmitz Park Elementary; Seattle Public Schools has said that building will become an “early-learning center” once the new elementary opens. According to this history page from the district website, Genesee Hill Elementary was open 1948-1988 before its first closure; the building was reopened in 1994 for the alternative school that became Pathfinder K-8, which was housed there until GH was closed one final time in 2009.
Crystal-clear morning, no snow on the Olympics in the view from Beach Drive. None likely any time soon. So consider this another summer weekend – from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here’s how it’s getting started:
DUWAMISH NATIVE MARKET & JUMBLE DAYS: 10 am-4 pm, first of two days for the arts/crafts-and-more multiple-vendors sale at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle; more info in our calendar listing. Free parking/admission. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
DELRIDGE GROCERY’S FRIDAY FARMSTAND: The fresh-produce stand just south of Delridge Library is open again, 4:30-7:30 pm, with farm-fresh fruit and vegetables. (5435 Delridge Way SW)
WORDS, WRITERS, WEST SEATTLE: Molly Ringle is featured tonight at the monthly Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented author reading/signing event at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village, 5-7 pm. (2600 SW Barton)
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: One local game tonight – Chief Sealth International High School starts its season at home at Southwest Athletic Complex across the street, 5 pm. (2601 SW Thistle)
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY BACK-TO-SCHOOL BARBECUE: As previewed here earlier this week, 5:30-7 pm. (1012 SW Trenton)
CORNER BAR & SQUARE DANCING: The Subversive Square Dance Society joins the Highland Park Improvement Club‘s monthly pop-up Corner Bar, starting at 6 pm – more in our calendar listing. (12th/Holden)
SAN GENNARO FESTIVAL: This is a West Seattle family‘s 2nd year staging this festival in nearby Georgetown. Opening night, 6-10 pm; more info here. (South Angelo St., north of Boeing Field)
NIGHTLIFE AND MORE … live music at multiple venues and other happenings beyond what’s highlighted above – find it all on our calendar.
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Quiet on the roads so far, and the weather is clear, headed for the 80s. We’ve been covering an early-morning police investigation in South Delridge but it is not affecting traffic.
WEEKEND TRAFFIC ALERTS: See them (and more) in the SDOT Construction Lookahead – most notable is that southbound I-5 will be closed 11:30 pm tonight to 6:30 am Saturday under the downtown Convention Center for fire-system testing.
TRANSPORTATION NEWS: SDOT’s new boss made his first official West Seattle appearance this week; here’s the story we published late last night.
(Photo added: South Delridge 7-11, at which police say this started)
4:38 AM: Police and fire have responded to the 9000 block of 20th SW for an assault-with-weapons call with two victims. Per emergency radio, both are in their 20s and both have gunshot wounds – one to the leg, one with a “grazing wound” behind her knees. The gunfire is believed to have come from someone in a car. More to come.
4:50 AM: According to radio communications, the person shot in the leg is a 29-year-old man who will be transported by SFD medic unit; the person with a grazing wound to her legs is an 18-year-old woman who’ll go to the hospital via private ambulance. The latest description of the vehicle is “gold,” with the shots believed to have been fired by a “white male,” with “three black males” also in the car.
Our crew at the scene is seeing one person being treated at the Montridge Arms Apartments (photo added above); police also are at the nearby 7-11.
4:55 AM: New possible description of the vehicle: Gray Taurus; police are still sorting it out.
5:01 AM: From our crew at the scene: Police say this might have started as a person-to-person theft at the 7-11, between the victims and the people in the car. The victims made it across the street to the apartment building under their own power. This is not affecting traffic on Delridge Way.
5:14 AM: More from what police said at the scene: They’re not certain whether the “grazing” injury suffered by the female victim were from bullets or “shrapnel.” Again, neither victim has a life-threatening injury. No one in custody so far. People in the area say they thought they heard five shots. Police are still talking to witnesses to sort things out, including the vehicle/suspect descriptions.
6:14 AM UPDATE: Police have just published a summary on SPD Blotter; they now confirm the man was shot, the woman hurt by “shrapnel.” The item at issue in the “theft” they told us about is now reported to have been a cell phone. The conflicting vehicle descriptions also are mentioned – either gold Buick or gray Taurus.
9 AM NOTE: We went by in the 7 am hour and noted that Robbery Unit detectives had joined other officers on scene, still behind the yellow tape.
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