Stroll a side of West Seattle you may never have seen: Riverside
(WSB photo: Frank Zuvela at Riverside plaza dedication in 2012)
Know where Riverside is? OK, maybe you do, but – have you seen it up close and personal? One week from Saturday – on August 15th – you have the chance, courtesy of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:
Frank Zuvela, our expert on Riverside, the tiny fishing neighborhood below the West Seattle Bridge, will return on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015, to lead our annual Riverside Walking Tour. Admission is a donation of $5, and the tour leaves at 10 a.m. For more info, click here!
RSVP not required – the donation will be accepted at the start of the tour (follow the link for location info).
Barge with unusual cargo that’ll pass West Seattle on Friday: Tsunami debris
(Photos courtesy Waste Management NW)
From the “what you’ll see at sea” file: Waste Management Northwest says the 300-foot barge you see above is on its way to its South Park dock after a trip to Alaska…
… where helicopters were used to pick up more than 3,000 super sacks filled with hundreds of tons of marine debris, each weighing approximately 400 pounds.
A significant amount of the collected debris was generated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and was subsequently deposited by winds and currents along the remote coastlines of Alaska and Canada. … The barge will arrive and unload the super sacks of marine debris on Waste Management’s Seattle dock. In a few weeks, local environmental volunteer groups will sort the material for recycling at an event coordinated by Parley for the Oceans, a national non-profit focused on addressing threats to the world’s oceans. Material Innovation company Bionic Yarn will then transform the sorted marine debris plastic into high-performance textiles and polymers. All remaining debris will travel via train to the Columbia Ridge landfill.
WM isn’t sure yet exactly when the barge will enter the Duwamish River; it’s hosting a media briefing at 11 am this Friday (August 7th) and the barge is expected to be docked by then.
ELECTION 2015: Second ballot count changes City Council District 1 lead – Herbold now #1, Braddock #2
King County Elections has gone public with its second round of primary-election results. While the top two in Seattle City Council District 1 remain the same, the order has changed – Lisa Herbold is now slightly ahead of Shannon Braddock:
Herbold – 28.56% – 3551 votes
Braddock – 28.23% – 3510 votes
Tavel – 18.51% – 2301 votes
Thomas – 10.87% – 1351 votes
Redmond – 7.20% – 895 votes
Rushmer – 2.20% – 274 votes
Robles – 1.56% – 194 votes
Wirsing – 1.41% – 175 votes
Goberman – 1.16% – 144 votes
Otherwise, the top two remain the same, in the same order as last night, in all the other races that West Seattleites voted on – at-large Council Positions 8 and 9, Port Commission Positions 2 and 5, and School Board Position 6, the only other district-specific (West Seattle/South Park) race on this ballot, which is now:
Leslie Harris – 46.74% – 5240 votes
Marty McLaren – 38.69% – 4338 votes
Nick Esparza – 14.09% – 1580 votes
Next results will be out around the same time tomorrow, with daily counts until final certification in two weeks. The general election is Tuesday, November 3rd.
Lifesaving lesson: Engine 32 crew and Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins visit Delridge Library for Firefighter Storytime
Is there a preschooler or toddler in your family? Has s/he ever seen a firefighter up close, in full gear? Heard the household smoke alarm? Been told what to do in case of fire?
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
While this morning’s Firefighter Storytime at Delridge Library looked and sounded like fun … at the heart of it was a life-and-death lesson: Teaching small children what to do in case of fire. With the help of Junction-based Engine 32’s crew members, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins was the guest reader:
He read the same book that’s usually read at Firefighter Storytimes … “No Dragons for Tea,” Jean E. Pendziwol‘s book about a visit from a friendly dragon who sneezes and accidentally sets a house on fire. What follows in the story helps kids understand what to do and what not to do. After the reading, the kids got to see Firefighter Jeff from Engine 32 suit up into full gear, including the rebreather that, as Chief Scoggins noted, made him sound like Darth Vader. Then he got down on the ground to demonstrate getting below the smoke in a smoke-filled room and crawling to safety:
Chief Scoggins also got down onto the floor for some prizes and high-fives:
The storytime audience got to go outside and see the fire engine:
They also learned that firefighters go to many different types of incidents, including medical calls, so you might see them even if nothing is burning. The hope of course is that they’ll never need to put the lessons into action, nor have to see the firefighters at work, but one boy said he had: “Grandma started a fire,” he said. Uh-oh.
P.S. Chief Scoggins assigned “homework,” including asking the grownups to show the kids what the smoke alarm sounds like, and making a plan about how to get out of the house and where to go. All important stuff you can and should do with your family even if you don’t get the lesson directly from SFD. But if you’d like to check out Firefighter Storytime firsthand – next one isn’t too far away, a week from today (August 12th) at 11:15 am at South Park Library (8th Ave. S./Cloverdale).
SW Roxbury and 35th SW updates: Timeline moved back; comment time for ‘environmental’ document covering both projects
Two updates on the upcoming SW Roxbury Safety Project, and one also involves the 35th SW project:
NEW START DATE FOR ROXBURY: The Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council has learned from SDOT that the work will start next month instead of this month. WWRHAH transportation chair Chris Stripinis checked with project manager Jim Curtin, who says the new start date is September 14th, so SDOT can “mobilize for both Roxbury and 35th.” Curtin told WWRHAH that “a new kind of technology to remove the existing pavement markings that is less intrusive and much faster” will be used on both projects, hydro-blasting. He added, “We will also do most of the removal work at night and on the weekends to ensure that we do not disrupt classes at Roxhill and Holy Family.” This method is being used on Rainier Avenue right now. One more update from Curtin, forwarded by WWRHAH: “Also important to note is that the paving work between 17th and 18th on Roxbury will not occur before we restripe the roadway. We need to purchase some land from King County in order for us to construct ADA compliant ramps on the south side of Roxbury at 18th. We are in the process of obtaining the land now and this work will still move forward as soon as possible.”
DNS COMMENT TIME FOR ROXBURY AND 35TH: Getting ready to write about all that, we checked the SDOT project webpage for Roxbury, and discovered that a comment period is under way for part of the preparation process, a Determination of (Environmental) Non-Significance. This covers both the Roxbury and 35th SW projects. You can see the DNS document here; then go here (or scroll through the embedded version, above) to see the SDOT State Environmental Policy Act-mandated checklist used to generate it – that’s a very detailed document with some project information you might not have seen before. While the first document says comments will be taken through August 14th, the Roxbury webpage says August 21st is the deadline, and explains how to comment.
West Seattle Wednesday: Firefighter Story Time; Duwamish River kayak tour; more from the calendar…
(Last night’s Alki sunset, photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
Quick look at highlights for the rest of today/tonight – full list on our calendar:
FIREFIGHTER STORY TIME: 11:30 am, firefighters and SFD Chief Harold Scoggins are due at Delridge Library to help kids learn about fire prevention and safety. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARM STAND: 4-7 pm, buy fresh-picked organic produce at the High Point Market Garden Farmstand and the visiting ROAR Mobile Farmstand. HP SHA residents are eligible for vouchers, available at the farm stand as well as at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, with half off all produce up to $10. (32nd/Juneau)
DUWAMISH RIVER KAYAK TOUR: Tonight at 6 pm, learn about the river and the Superfund – details here, including how to RSVP ASAP (which will get you the departure location – either West Seattle or South Park).
ADMIRAL WAY PROJECT @ BICYCLE ADVISORY BOARD: The citywide Bicycle Advisory Board meets at City Hall tonight at 6, with three projects on the agenda, one in West Seattle, the Admiral Way Safety Project. Agenda here. (600 4th Ave., Room L280)
CRIME/COMMUNITY POLICING FOCUS GROUP: 6:30 pm tonight, if you live/work on Pigeon Point, you’re invited to come talk with the researcher who’s been convening “focus groups” for communities all around the peninsula, at the Southwest Precinct, 6:30 pm. (2300 SW Webster)
Next up at West Seattle Outdoor Movies: ‘Big Hero 6’ & free barbecue
It’s Wednesday and the weekend is in view – so we’re reminding you what’s up next for this season of West Seattle Outdoor Movies on Saturday night (August 8th). After three weeks of classics, the free movie you’ll see on the wall by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) this Saturday night is from last year – “Big Hero 6” (trailer above). Another big feature of this week’s event: The annual free barbecue presented by West Seattle Christian Church, longtime co-sponsor of the series (as is WSB). So come early – another crowd filled the courtyard at 4410 California SW last Saturday night:
Gates open at 6:30 pm – bring a chair, blanket, and if you’re so inclined, a few dollars for nonprofit-benefiting concessions and raffles. The movie’s at dusk, which could be before 9 pm this time around, especially if it’s cloudy. This is the fourth of this year’s six movies (“Guardians of the Galaxy” on August 15th and “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on August 22nd) – so if you’ve been meaning to go, don’t wait much longer. See you there!
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Wednesday updates; road-work alerts
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
We start the morning with a new road-work alert:
SW ORCHARD AT DELRIDGE, STARTING TOMORROW: From Seattle Public Utilities:
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is continuing sewer improvements near Delridge Way SW and SW Orchard Street. Work hours are 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Between Thursday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 11, SPU crews will grind, pave, and stripe SW Orchard Street. This work will require the closure of the westbound lane on SW Orchard Street (east of Delridge Way SW). The westbound lane will be opened to traffic during non-work hours. During the closure, all westbound traffic will be diverted to the eastbound lane with the assistance of a traffic flagger.
Another ongoing utility-related project:
MURRAY CSO CONTROL PROJECT WORK BY LOWMAN BEACH: If you use Beach Drive in the area, keep this alert in mind.
And scheduled to continue today:
ALKI AVENUE PAVING: Lane closures are expected between 7 am and 7 pm for the SDOT paving project announced for Alki SW between the 1300 and 1700 blocks.
West Seattle Crime Watch: 10 vehicles vandalized, man jailed
1:37 AM: Several people have asked about a police response in the California/Raymond vicinity. Here’s what we know so far: Police are investigating vandalism that damaged multiple cars. They were dispatched after what one texter described to us (similar to what was mentioned in the dispatching) as “yelling and smashing sounds.” They found multiple vehicles with damage including broken side mirrors, and were questioning one suspect at last report. We will follow up later this morning.
9:14 AM: We went down after it got light this morning to see if any of this damage was visible; above, two photos. We also are obtaining the report narrative from SPD and will add details when we have that.
9:54 AM: We now have that report, which notes at least 10 damaged vehicles, along California SW and in an apartment-building parking lot. The suspect is 31-year-old Yonas Berhane, who was arrested and cited – which means charged, in the Municipal Court system, which is why we are identifying him – with property destruction and harassment. As one commenter reports, the initial call to police said the vandalism was accompanied by yelling and screaming with threats to “murder people.” Police found Berhane walking northbound on California north of Raymond and say he appeared intoxicated. Someone told officers they had asked Berhane if he was OK and that he responded by threatening to shoot them and used both hands to “mimic … shooting guns, all the while shouting ‘blap blap blap’ (as in gunfire).” The King County Jail register shows he is still in custody, with initial bail at $2,000.
2:36 PM: Berhane is currently scheduled for a court appearance at the jail tomorrow morning. His record dating back to age 17 includes mostly misdemeanors, including theft and assault, but also a 2009 case that combined felony charges in multiple cases in South King County, including the theft of a car from a hotel parking lot near Sea-Tac; the car’s owners, according to the charging documents, had been staying at the hotel because their house burned down. He struck a plea bargain and was sentenced to two months.
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