West Seattle, Washington

18 Thursday

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day : 07/07/2015 14 results

West Seattle sunset: As seen through the smoke
July 7, 2015 11:23 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle sunset: As seen through the smoke
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Smoke from fires to the north of us filtered tonight’s sunset in a big way – enough to see sunspots in some of the views we received, including the one by Neal Chism, above. The big pink moon sun was just a disc suspended in the sky for a while, as shown in John Bartell‘s photo …

… until, as shown in Long Bach Nguyen‘s photo below from Gatewood, it edged behind the Olympics:

Long also shared a sunspot view – note the band of smoky haze:

You might recall similar sunset views back in April, when smoke drifted this way from fires in Siberia.

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47th/Admiral/Waite signal & crosswalks: Celebration next week
July 7, 2015 9:39 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

(June photo by Dave Brewer)
SDOT has announced a “short completion celebration” one week from tonight – 6:30 pm Tuesday, July 14th – for the traffic signal and crosswalks installed at 47th/Admiral/Waite. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and SDOT director Scott Kubly will join the Admiral Neighborhood Association on the southwest corner of the intersection, by Alki Mail and Dispatch. The announcement from SDOT also includes the final update on the project itself:

Power was wired to the signal equipment last week and this week, crews are:

· Removing the existing flashing beacon and old stop signs

· Installing new signage, including “No parking” and “No right turn on red”

· Testing and activating the signals (during signal activation, a uniformed police officer will be on site to direct traffic during this work)

Thank you for your patience during construction.

It’s been four months since work began – as predicted in SDOT’s pre-construction announcement – and a little over two years since the City Council overruled then-Mayor Mike McGinn and proposed full funding for the signal.

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2 nights to 2015 ‘West Seattle Summer Fest Eve’ in The Junction: Art Walk and more
July 7, 2015 8:22 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

That’s artist Mindi Katzman, who we photographed this afternoon as she put up her new show at CAPERS in The Junction today, getting ready for Thursday night’s West Seattle Art Walk. (Mindi also created the distinctive trophies for last year’s West Seattle Car Show; read about her new CAPERS show here.) While WSAW happens on the second Thursday evening EVERY month, the July edition is our favorite because it coincides with what’s informally known as “West Seattle Summer Fest Eve” – the streets in the heart of The Junction close by 6 pm Thursday for festival setup, and that’s when WS Art Walk begins. Here’s how to plan your Summer Fest Eve:

*Art Walk venues/previews – wsartwalk.com
*Entertainment in the street – Per wsjunction.org‘s Summer Fest Eve preview:
–Magic & music at Elliott Bay
–Music at West 5

Or just come stroll in the street, watch the festival zone take shape, have dinner at a Junction restaurant. Get your Summer Fest going early – see you in the street Thursday night. (P.S. Anybody else with something special in The Junction on WSSF Eve – let us know! editor@westseattleblog.com)

EARLIER SUMMER FEST PREVIEWS ON WSB
*The basics
*The music
*The kid stuff
*The transit info

…more tomorrow!

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Congratulations! West Seattle Little League 10/11 All-Stars also headed to state tournament
July 7, 2015 7:37 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Thanks to Deborah Hazlegrove for the photo and report:

The West Seattle Little League 10/11 All-Star team won the District 7 Championship and is headed to state! The state tournament is in Vancouver (WA) this year and begins on July 18. The team was led by Manager Isaiah Brent and Coaches Steve Savage and Ted Godwin.

Good luck to them, and to the 13-year-olds who (as noted here) are state-bound too!

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West Seattle scene: Chamber of Commerce on a roll
July 7, 2015 6:13 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

No, that wasn’t a Segway tour rolling through The Junction earlier this evening. The two-wheel travelers were members of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, visiting businesses to drop off copies of its brand-new directory.

Above, that’s Chamber CEO Lynn Dennis (at center, Segway-less) with Clay Eals from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and Katie Krause from Daystar Retirement Village, pausing for a photo op. You can get a copy of the directory at the Chamber’s office, or stop by the Info Booth at West Seattle Summer Fest (in the heart of Walk-All-Ways at California/Alaska) this Friday-Saturday-Sunday.

P.S. We’re told the Segways did come from the Admiral District business that offers the two-wheeled tours you’ve probably seen around the peninsula, West Coast Entertainment.

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About those big, bright, yellow stacks you’re seeing by The Viaduct
July 7, 2015 5:36 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle news

5:36 PM: That photo from a Highway 99 project webcam shows a new landmark in progress – two of the four bright-yellow ventilation stacks going up at what will be the “south operations building” for the tunnel. Each one is 40 feet tall, made of 3/8-inch-thick steel, and built in Longview; the other two will be within a day or so, according to WSDOT. The “north operations building” at the other end of the tunnel route will also have a set of stacks like this. Read more about this week’s installation here.

P.S. Still no new schedule for the tunneling machine, so far.

ADDED 6:38 PM: But there will be one soon, WSDOT says tonight: “Today, the Washington State Department of Transportation received a new schedule from Seattle Tunnel Partners, the SR 99 tunnel contractor. We intend to release this schedule information to the public, but first need time for a preliminary review. WSDOT and STP will provide an update on their repair efforts and their schedule sometime next week.”

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Cannabis crackdown: County, state target ‘unlicensed’ marijuana businesses in unincorporated area; City Council discussion ahead too
July 7, 2015 4:19 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | White Center

Tomorrow morning in White Center, King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg and King County Sheriff John Urquhart plan to brief the media on what their advisory describes as an “effort aimed at closing down unlicensed marijuana businesses operating in unincorporated King County,” which includes WC. Sources tell us they’ve already been circulating letters to some of those businesses. Some unincorporated-area community advocates have long been expressing concern about the proliferation of medical-marijuana enterprises in North Highline, particularly White Center; it’s been a frequent topic at North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meetings, including one we covered in April. This follows passage of a new state law requiring that medical marijuana be handled as a sideline in state-licensed recreational-marijuana shops. (One of the latter recently opened in downtown White Center.)

Here in the city, Seattle is moving toward a crackdown of its own – the issue is, in fact, on the agenda for the City Council’s Finance and Culture Committee tomorrow afternoon.

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The wait is over: Westcrest Park expansion atop West Seattle Reservoir finally opens tomorrow
July 7, 2015 2:05 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

(City of Seattle photo by Jason Huff: ‘Flyers,’ installed @ park expansion last year)
More than five years in the making, the Westcrest Park expansion at West Seattle Reservoir finally opens tomorrow.

On Wednesday, July 8, 2015, Seattle Parks and Recreation will open the 20-acre expansion of Westcrest Park at the West Seattle Reservoir, located at 9000 8th Ave. SW in the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle. The new park expansion is the fifth reservoir lid-park collaboration between Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU).

The 20-acre expansion of the park captures panoramic views of the mountains and city skyline, while integrating a range of multi-generational amenities. Features include a flexible great lawn, a new play area with two zip-lines and a hillside slides, swaths of native prairie, strolling paths, parking and streetscape improvements, restrooms, and public art.

(Added: WSB photo taken today)
A mix of oak species will provide strategic shading, frame views and contribute to Seattle’s urban forest and habitat for generations to come. Site Workshop collaborated with the community, Seattle Parks and Recreation and SPU on designing the park and Mid-Mountain Construction built the park.

A new public artwork by David Boyer, “Flyers,” was installed in the park [photo above]. The piece consists of 15 bird- and plane-like kinetic sculptures mounted on steel poles. Grouped in three locations around the park, the sculptures will move to face the wind and the articulating tails will pivot as the wind blows. His inspiration for Flyers comes from airplanes in the SeaTac flight path and birds in the Duwamish Greenbelt. The artist worked with Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Parks and Recreation and local community members to develop the wind-driven artwork. Flyers was commissioned with SPU and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s 1% for Art Funds and managed by the Office of Arts and Culture.

In addition, the Department of Neighborhoods constructed a P-Patch in Westcrest Park featured in our park design. This feature is funded by the community garden funding included in the Parks and Green Spaces Levy.

Seattle Public Utilities has replaced open reservoirs with underground structures to improve the quality and security of Seattle’s water supply. That replacement also provided for new park space at Jefferson Park, Cal Anderson Park, Myrtle Reservoir Park and Maple Leaf Reservoir Park.

Seattle Parks and Recreation will host a community celebration for Westcrest Park expansion at West Seattle Reservoir on Saturday, July 25, 2015 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Development rules @ Seattle Council: ‘Low-rise corrections’ get final OK; ‘lot boundary adjustments’ notice to be discussed this afternoon
July 7, 2015 1:21 pm
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Updates on two development-rules issues @ Seattle City Council:

‘LOW-RISE CODE CORRECTIONS’: That’s the video from Monday afternoon’s shorter-than-usual full City Council meeting, with just one item of note on the agenda: The “low-rise code corrections” bill got final approval, 8 to 1. These are tweaks to the rules for development in “low-rise” zones (the backstory is in our June 1st report). The “no” vote was West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who proposed a long list of amendments before the earlier committee vote but only got three of them through, and expressed disappointment today that no other councilmembers had come forward with potential changes. He later published his full statement online, here. Councilmember Kshama Sawant voiced concern about affordable housing in low-rise zones being torn down and replaced by “luxury units,” but she voted for the bill.

LOT-BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS – NOTICE FOR NEIGHBORS? This afternoon at 2 pm, the Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee gets briefed on a followup to some rule changes last year regarding “lot-boundary adjustments” – which, as the briefing memo acknowledges, can have this effect: “Development on sites created through LBAs have sometimes surprised neighbors who were unaware that a potential development site existed. To address that concern, Council indicated that it would consider whether notice requirements should be established for LBAs.” The briefing will include a mention of three options to consider for how neighbors are notified, if at all:

Lot Boundary Adjustments notification

This is NOT a formal proposal yet, so no vote will be taken. If you want to watch live, it’ll be on Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 or online, coming up at 2 pm.

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West Seattle Summer Fest 2015: Metro bus reroutes – see them here
July 7, 2015 12:55 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news


In the information booth at West Seattle Summer Fest (where you’ll find us again this year), a perennially popular question is: Where do I catch my bus? Metro has just published this year’s reroutes, in effect from 5 pm Thursday (July 9th) through late Sunday night (July 12th). We’re linking them all below, in case you want to get familiar with them in advance:

RapidRide C Line Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 22 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 37 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 50 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 55 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 57 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 128 Summer Fest reroute – here
Route 773 (Water Taxi shuttle) Summer Fest reroute – here

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SDOT’s 35th SW plan: Two more chances to hear about it; Mayor Murray expected at first meeting
July 7, 2015 10:46 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

(WSB photo: 35th SW, looking south from SW Holden)
FIRST REPORT, 10:46 AM: Last Friday, after we published the announcement of the July 15th meeting at which SDOT will unveil its plan for 35th SW, commenters pointed out at least three other notable West Seattle events scheduled for that night. If you were already going to one of those other events but also want to hear the 35th SW details, good news – one more meeting and another info opportunity have just been announced. So here’s the full list of SDOT’s three planned events:

Wednesday, July 15, 2015
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Neighborhood House – Room 207
6400 Sylvan Way SW

Thursday, July 16, 2015
6:00 PM to 7:45 PM
Southwest Branch Seattle Public Library
9010 35th Avenue SW

Tuesday, August 4
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Night Out – High Point
Central Commons

SDOT presented “design alternatives” for 35th in March; during the lightly attended walking tour in May (WSB coverage here), project manager Jim Curtin said “Option A” was shaping up as the most promising one for most of the project zone.

ADDED 11:56 AM: We e-mailed SDOT to ask if the three events would have different focuses – short answer, no, but spokesperson Marybeth Turner did add this: Mayor Ed Murray is expected at the July 15th meeting.

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West Seattle Tuesday: From the walls to the wheels to the water…
July 7, 2015 9:00 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Mom Northern Flicker feeds son – photo by Mark Wangerin)

Happy Tuesday! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

ART EXHIBIT OPENS AT SSC: “Sightseeing through the Eyes of Northwest Artists” is the new exhibit at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Gallery, opening today (gallery hours until 3 pm), with a reception next Tuesday. Details in our calendar listing. (6000 16th SW)

BIKEMOBILE BIKE REPAIRS: The Bike Works truck is back in the lot behind Neighborhood House’s High Point Center 1:30-4 pm, where it’s scheduled to be every Tuesday until September – read here about its mission. (6400 Sylvan Way)

WEEKLY DEMO & PADDLE RACE: Paddleboarding and kayaking @ Alki Kayak Tours, 6-8 pm demos, 7 pm races, no preregistration required. (1660 Harbor SW)

‘DRINKING LIBERALLY’: Talk politics with this group at Pizzeria 22 during the monthly meetup, 6-7:30 pm – details in our calendar listing. (4213 SW College)

SEE IT ALL! Browse all the listings for today and beyond on our calendar.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; Summer Fest lookahead
July 7, 2015 7:27 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; Summer Fest lookahead
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:27 AM: Good morning! Only problem in the area so far this morning has been for people heading north toward the 1st Avenue South Bridge from White Center southward – a crash on NB 509 at Cloverdale. The most recent report says it’s cleared off to the shoulder, though.

This week’s big reminder:

WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST (co-sponsored by WSB) happens in The Junction this coming Friday-Saturday-Sunday (July 10-11-12); streets close to vehicle traffic starting at 6 pm Thursday for setup – California between Genesee and Edmunds (Oregon remains open to through traffic) and Alaska between 42nd and 44th – so we’re sounding the alert early. More countdown coverage later today. No transit-reroute info on Metro‘s site yet, but that’ll be part of our coverage and previews when it appears.

7:37 AM: New problem – per WSDOT, “On the I-5 northbound on-ramp from West Seattle Bridge, there is a disabled vehicle partially blocking the ramp.”

7:52 AM: Update from WSDOT – that vehicle’s been cleared from the ramp.

8:57 AM: Crash at California/Fauntleroy – no details but be aware if you’re headed that way.

12:57 PM: Keeping the promise we mentioned above – Summer Fest reroutes for Metro have just gone public – we’ve put them all in one list, here.

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You in? Run the West Seattle Float Dodger 5K pre-parade again this year!
July 7, 2015 1:39 am
|    Comments Off on You in? Run the West Seattle Float Dodger 5K pre-parade again this year!
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

Ready to run the same route as the West Seattle Grand Parade? Again this year, the big parade on Saturday, July 18th, is preceded by the Float Dodger 5K, presented by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), with proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Not only do you get to dodge floats – you get a chance at great prizes, and even one for the “middle-of-the-pack runner” – a cake donated by legendary Bakery Nouveau, the “It’s Sweet in the Middle” prize. Costume contest for kids (you’re welcome to wear one too). And after the race – watch the parade at West Seattle Runner, where there’ll be a beer garden provided by The Beer Junction, also raising money for the LLS. Sign up right now online, or stop by West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW) as soon as you can – that’s where the Float Dodger 5K begins at 9:30 am, one week from Saturday.

P.S. Look how much fun it was last year!

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