*No new negotiations so far; each side met today with mediators. Seattle Public Schools held a short media briefing at 5 pm; we published immediate toplines in our earlier coverage as well as our social-media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), and also recorded it on video:
Our earlier coverage also includes union comments – while the district says the union “has not responded” to its 5:15 pm Tuesday offer, the union says it was essentially not a new offer so its response was to announce the strike.
*No picketing tomorrow – teachers plan to spend the morning on service projects (it’s National Day of Service) and then there’s at least one afternoon activity.
(Gatewood educators who worked at a Morgan Junction park on Thursday – photo courtesy Barry White)
Students and families are welcome, we’re told, to join in any and all of these:
COMBINED SCHOOL SERVICE PROJECT: DENNY INTERNATIONAL MIDDLE SCHOOL & CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Instead of picketing tomorrow, the above mentioned striking teachers, staff & parents will be participating in a combined service project along the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail. Blackberry removal will begin at 8:30 at the Thistle P-Patch, and going further in along the trail.
There will also be a Read-In along Thistle St. working in shifts, and then reading.
At 11:30 we will do a trash pickup, while walking along several different routes to Castle Park. A BBQ will be held there at 12:00. All are welcome to join.
If people want to join or support, it would be fantastic. We will need leather gloves, pointed shovels, loppers, hand pruners, tarps. Any drop
offs of breakfast food, while we are at the Longfellow Creek P Patch, would be appreciated. At Castle Rock we will be BBQing so any potluck style foods would be great at that time. We plan to converge with the folks from Roxhill Elementary there at 12 noon.
To sum up:
8:30 am Blackberry removal, Thistle P-Patch.
11:30 Trash cleanup as walking to Castle Park, to meet Roxhill supporters.
12:00 Barbecue at Castle Park for support and fellowship.
What is needed?
1. The YMCA’s earth service corps will be bringing tools for about 40 people, we could definitely use more gloves, loppers, pointy shovels,
pitchforks, yard waste bags
2. Breakfast Items for the morning clean up at the Thistle P-Patch, beginning around 8:00am
3. Potluck lunch items at Castle Park for barbecue lunch beginning around 12:00
Roxhill Elementary Staff voted to spend their Day of Service at Roxhill Park. They will be picking up trash and removing invasive species as park of the larger efforts of Denny and Sealth to clean the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail.
They will be out in the park starting at 8:30 am and they are welcoming students and caregivers to join them.
FROM FAIRMOUNT PARK ELEMENTARY:
We are trying to get word out to West Seattle educators, families, and community supporters who would like to join us for our service project tomorrow morning. Meet at “Anchor Park” at the Duwamish Head at 8:30 am. Garbage bags will be provided. Wear red, wear gloves.
The International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer effort on behalf of our oceans, lakes and rivers—a massive display of teamwork that removes millions of pounds of plastic and other trash from shorelines and water bodies around the globe. Pick up litter and record what you find to be added to the Global Trash Index while on strike Friday, September 11th.
FROM ALKI ELEMENTARY: Cleanup on Alki Beach (multiple schools participating), 8:30-10:30 am, area students/families welcome. Meet at Alki Statue of Liberty.
CONCORD INTERNATIONAL: Their service project is at South Park’s Marra Farm.
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY: They’ll be working at the Salvation Army facility in White Center.
(added) WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL: Participating in the Alki cleanup (meet at Statue of Liberty, 8:30 am) and also cleaning up along California SW in front of Hiawatha/WSHS and on the east side of the street, also starting at 8:30 am, community welcome to join in either/both.
Lafayette Elementary School teachers are having a food drive for the West Seattle Food Bank at Lafayette school at 2645 California Ave. SW in the Admiral District. The food drive will be from 9 am to 12 noon today, Friday, 9/11 and they want to receive donations for our Backpack Program which provides healthy weekend meals to school children from 8 West Seattle schools at risk of hunger over the weekend. Items needed are individual servings of shelf stable milk (cow, soy or almond), boxed or caned juices, individual meals in one like soups, mac n’ cheese, ravioli, cup of noodles/top ramen, applesauce/fruit cups and peanut butter or tuna snack packs. Please stop by and support the teachers and your school children in need.
We are writing to provide an update on the microsurfacing project in Arbor Heights. We will be using our make-up day, tomorrow, Friday, September 11, to complete microsurfacing on the following streets:
*SW Arroyo Dr and 39th Ave SW, beginning at 9 AM
*49th Ave SW
*SW 112th St between Marine View Dr SW and 35th Ave SW, including side streets scheduled for microsurfacing
*SW Ocean View Dr
*SW 114th St
We understand using our make-up day may interrupt plans or be otherwise inconvenient, and we make every effort to avoid such occurrences. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete this work.
If you have any questions about what to expect during tomorrow’s work or about the project, please feel free to review the attached construction notice we sent previously or contact us.
Second Thursday means lots of art around West Seattle – our first stop is C & P Coffee Company(5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), where our crew spotted this chalk art outside, and will be talking with painter Jennifer Carrasco inside. It’s Art Walk night until 9 pm – more info on the official WSAW website!
ADDED 7:08 PM: Happening now at a longtime Art Walk stop, Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor):
That’s artist Deanna Baldi, with her “Morpheus and Adonis series of pyrographic paintings (the Greek names refer to poppies and anemone flowers she paints),” per Click! co-proprietor John Smersh, who shared the photo.
(Photo from M/V Doc Maynard’s launch in Bellingham, courtesy King County DOT)
If you have eyes on Elliott Bay somewhere in the 4-5 pm vicinity tomorrow, you just might see West Seattle’s new Water Taxi, the M/V Doc Maynard, arriving in its new home waters. That’s the word from King County Transportation Department spokesperson Rochelle Ogershok. Once the Bellingham-built boat is here, she adds, “Once here, the vessel will start undergoing training and crew familiarization in Elliott Bay. Then of course, there will be the dedication ceremony next Friday [September 18th].” If you missed our preview of that last month – read it here.
P.S. The Doc Maynard might be a little hard to spot tomorrow unless you’re close enough to see its name, since it’s a twin to the M/V Sally Fox, which is already in service on the Vashon-to-Seattle run. The Doc Maynard, KCDOT told us last month, will be replacing it for a few weeks before going into service on the West Seattle route.
12:40 PM: Thanks to the readers who spotted today’s Public Health “food establishment closures” bulletin before we did. It reports that inspectors closed Maharaja in The Junction on Wednesday afternoon. From the county’s ongoing list of closures:
Closed: Sept. 9, 2015 at 4:00 pm. Reasons:
Potentially hazardous foods at unsafe temperatures
Improper cooling of potentially hazardous food
Foods not protected from cross contamination
Poor personal hygiene practices – bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods
Failure to correct repeated violations
We just called to see if the restaurant was still closed; the person answering the phone said yes, but that they expected to reopen by mid-afternoon. The county explains its closure policy here; you can look up any restaurant’s inspection history here.
7:46 PM: Via comment and e-mail, we’re told Maharaja has indeed reopened. Morgan sent this photo:
The Health Department website hasn’t been updated since 3:44 pm; we’ll check again tomorrow.
(SCROLL DOWN for newest updates, including 3:30 pm district briefing, with declaration NO SCHOOL FRIDAY, and our conversation with SEA rep afterward; also, post-5 pm, more photos added from today’s picketing)
FIRST UPDATE, 11:56 AM – Day 2 of the Seattle Education Association strike against Seattle Public Schools. We’ll be updating this story throughout the day, until or unless there’s a breakthrough, in which case we’ll start a new one. We start with scenes from a picket line:
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL PICKETERS SERENADED: Perhaps the most visible picket line in West Seattle, along California Avenue SW outside WS High School, had musical support this morning. WSHS teacher Jennifer Hall had sent word last night that folk singer Jim Page would be playing for the picketers starting around 10 am. Turned out he wasn’t alone – Charmaine and Charlie from Squirrel Butter had shown up too, and were playing with their friend Duane when we recorded the quick Instagram clip above. They and Hall subsequently joined Page in a reworked version of “This Land is Your Land,” both his lyrics and “These Schools Are Your Schools,” on a song sheet from the teachers’ May 19th one-day strike courtesy of the Washington Badass Teachers Chorus, of which Hall is a member:
Page explained, “I learned a long time ago what songs can do if you let them out of their box.” Meantime, as you can see and hear in the clip, passing drivers were honking and waving at the picketers. Hall said they’d been getting a steady stream of visitors, too, including, while we were there, a longtime substitute teacher. Meantime, we’re still checking on the status of this morning’s talks – as reported here last night, the district believed they would resume, while all a union rep had confirmed was a meeting with mediators. Updates as we get them. We’ll also be publishing a separate story with the list of service projects the educators are planning to participate in tomorrow if the strike isn’t resolved by then – students and families are welcome at most of the ones we’ve heard about so far. Updates to come.
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12:24 PM UPDATE – DISTRICT SAYS BARGAINERS ‘WAITING’: Neither side has sent or published an official update on whether or not talks have resumed today, so far as we have seen. We pinged SPS spokesperson Stacy Howard, who replied, “Still waiting…our team has been in there since early this morning. We should know soon if the union has officially refused and not shown up.” As reported here last night, the union’s lead bargainer had said part of their team was scheduled to meet with mediators this morning, but hadn’t officially “heard from” the district.
1:56 PM UPDATE – UNION SAYS ‘TEAM READY AND WILLING TO MEET’: After the response from the district as quoted above, we pinged union spokesperson Rich Wood. His reply: “No negotiations are scheduled. Phyllis and our bargaining team leaders met with the state mediators this morning. Our team is ready and willing to meet anytime, but it¹s time for the Seattle School Board to step up and make a contract proposal that addresses the needs of Seattle students. Our bargainers have sacrificed months to try to negotiate a good settlement that focuses on kids.” So our followup question now is – if both sides claim to be willing, what will it take to set up a meeting? Stand by.
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2:07 PM UPDATE – ON THE LINE AT CONCORD: The district’s southwest region includes not only 16 public schools in West Seattle, but also Concord International (Elementary) in South Park. We went over a little while ago to see what’s happening:
Along with picketers, we found Full Tilt Ice Cream, which is continuing to make the rounds.
Co-proprietor Justin Cline(above left) was in the truck at Concord, while co-proprietor Ann Magyar (a former longtime teacher) is in a separate truck that has visited more West Seattle schools today. Other local businesses are donating sustenance to the teachers – the Sealth/Denny strikers sent a photo of Ripple Café (35th/Henderson) donating sandwiches today.
Thanks for the photos we’ve received from other sites – we’ll be adding more shortly.
2:51 PM: Just confirmed the district will brief media at 3:30 pm, so we’re heading downtown. Watch here as well as our Twitter account.
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3:27 PM: As district reps – spokesperson Stacy Howard and bargaining-team member Jon Halfaker (northwest region executive director of schools) – are about to brief media at district HQ, they’ve handed out this one-sheet with info from the Tuesday 5 pm counter-offer:
Howard says a few things have changed since then, and we will write toplines here as we hear them. We’re also recording video again today, to publish in an evening update later.
3:31 PM: The briefing has begun. Howard says, “Seattle Public Schools and Seattle EA are continuing to meet with the mediators … there will not be school tomorrow.” So what’s the actual status of talks? Howard says both sides are talking with mediators but not with each other, at this point. SEA has not responded to the district counteroffer made at the end of day Tuesday, Halfaker and Howard say. Also: In response to a question, Howard says, no further discussion of going to court. This briefing lasted only about five minutes. Again, bottom line, official negotiations have NOT resumed yet; there will NOT be school Friday. The district says its bargainers will be back at HQ tomorrow ready and waiting.
3:51 PM: Post-briefing, we found SEA reps in the room – the same big meeting room where the school board usually meets at district HQ. We talked briefly with Rich Wood of the SEA. He says what the district said about the status of talks is accurate – each side talked with mediators today. What exactly will it take to get them actually negotiating again? we asked him. From SEA’s perspective, they are looking for some hint that the district is willing to yield. He said if there’s no indication of that, then, in SEA’s view, they *did* respond to the Tuesday offer – by leaving the talks and announcing the strike.
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4:50 PM: We are working on a separate report with video from the district briefing plus a list of service projects announced for tomorrow plus a reminder of the “read-in” to which all local families are invited on Alki tomorrow afternoon (any info about tomorrow, please e-mail us – editor@westseattleblog.com). Meantime, for the record, adding more picket-line photos sent to us from local schools today … – first, via Twitter:
Our entire faculty is out in force again today. We’ve been overwhelmed with support from both Gatewood families and the greater West Seattle community, from honking and waving to snacks and water. We’re so grateful for the empathy and understanding! We’re unified in hopes of reaching a fair settlement and appreciate that this is a burden for many families. We want the community to know that there is not a person among us who wouldn’t rather be in the classroom teaching kids, and we’re hoping to be there soon!
At Highland Park Elementary, a contingent from Ages in Stages Child Care showed up to support striking teachers, says Alicia Shenefelt:
At Fairmount Park Elementary School, strikers not only had a visit from Full Tilt Ice Cream (as did other schools including Concord International in South Park, as mentioned above), Althea Chow says firefighters visited too:
We were delighted to receive a surprise special delivery from Ladder 11 from Station 32….they brought water and frozen treats to support Fairmount Park teachers, instructional assistants, our counselor, and other staff on the picket line today! Thank you, fire fighters!
(added) From Mel, Chief Sealth International High School cheerleaders who “contributed and had trail mix made for the teachers. They also picketed in front of the school with the teachers.”
Again, no picketing tomorrow – strikers will be at service-project sites, mostly in the morning, with at least one major regional activity – the Alki Read-In – in the afternoon. Separate story to come.
Second Thursday of the month means tonight brings the September edition of the West Seattle Art Walk! Here’s the venue list/map (which changes quarterly – this is the third Art Walk of summer quarter):
(Click image to see the full-size view)
As you make your plan for tonight, you’ll find previews on the official Art Walk website. Art Walk hours are 6-9 pm.
Also today/tonight:
CHIPOTLE OPENING DAY: Today is the announced opening day for Chipotle Mexican Grill in The Junction, as reported here last month.
(Photo shared by Michael, added Thursday evening)
**11:54 am update – we went by to check, and the restaurant is indeed open, and busy.** (4730 California SW)
FRESH PRODUCE ON DELRIDGE: Second-to-last chance this summer to buy farm-fresh produce at the Delridge Grocery Farm Stand, 4-7 pm. While you’re there, talk to reps from DG (which is a WSB sponsor) about membership, to help them make the final push to open their permanent storefront nearby – if you’re not a member already! (5455 Delridge Way SW)
TOAST THE Y AT EBB: From Elliott Bay Brewing Company in The Junction: “Tonight at 5 pm Elliott Bay Brewery will have a toast in honor of our special YMCA fundraising art exhibit. Local photos by photographer Erik Holen are being sold for $75 apiece. Elliott Bay and the Carden family will match and donate all proceeds to the YMCA expansion project. Come by and raise a glass.” (4720 California SW)
JENNIFER CARRASCO AT C & P: 6-8 pm, meet artist Jennifer Carrasco at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), where she’s been teaching classes, with a new series coming up. See her work and that of those who’ve been meeting with her to make and talk art. More info in our calendar listing. (5612 California SW)
Just in from the City Attorney’s Office, this announcement of how it’s defending against the lawsuit filed challenging the recently approved gun and ammunition tax:
The $25 per firearm tax on retailers enacted to mitigate the costs of gun violence in Seattle is “a proper and lawful exercise” of the City’s authority as granted by the Washington Constitution and Legislature, the City declared in rebutting a lawsuit filed by the NRA, among other gun-rights groups, and several individuals. “The Ordinance does not limit any person’s right to purchase, sell, acquire, transfer, discharge, or transport firearms or ammunition,” the City said in its answer to Watson v. City of Seattle.
“This is where Seattle draws the line,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said as assistant City attorneys, aided by national and local counsel working pro bono, entered their appearances in the case Wednesday in King County Superior Court.
BURGLARIZED AGAIN: Two people texted to let us know it appeared Café Osita at 7349 35th SW had been burglarized again – they saw the door getting boarded up – and even before we could get over to check, we heard from proprietor Andrea, saying, “We arrived this a.m. to find the front (glass) door smashed in. No one was hurt; the place was ransacked and items were stolen.” Police are reviewing evidence, and Andrea says Café Osita is closed today because of the break-in. Her shop also was broken into in August, as reported here.
HIGHLAND PARK PROWLER: From Evan:
I live in the 16th/Kenyon area of West Seattle, and spotted a guy wandering up and down the alley looking into people’s back yards. He would stop at each house for 1-2 minutes and look around the yards, once even climbing up onto the fence.
My neighbor recently had his motorcycle stolen from his yard, so if you can warn those in the neighborhood to watch out for this guy, that would be awesome. I called the police to report him and gave them his description.
Evan says police arrived to search the alley within 15 minutes of his call. When you call 911 about a prowler or burglar, the response time – depending on what else is happening – hinges on whether you are seeing them RIGHT NOW, moments ago, or whether it’s something that might have happened hours ago, so they advise always being clear on the time frame. (If you scroll through the automated tweets on our Crime Watch page, for example, you’ll see classifications such as BURGLARY, I/P OR J/O, which means “in progress” or “just occurred.”)
(Four WS-relevant views – more cams on the WSB Traffic page) 7:32 AM: Good morning. Again this morning, so far, no incidents.
SCHOOLS: This is day two of the Seattle Public Schools strike, so no students at those campuses, but all independent/parochial schools are now back in session as of yesterday.
Road-work reminders:
35TH SW PAVING STARTING TODAY: As part of preparation for SDOT‘s 35th and Roxbury rechannelization work, 35th SW is scheduled to be repaved between SW Cambridge and SW Barton starting today – here’s the announcement.
48TH AND 49TH SW CLOSURE:Seattle Public Utilities is closing 49th SW between Edmunds and Alaska for sewer repairs. And starting today, it’s also scheduled to work on 48th SW between Juneau and Raymond, closing that stretch to through traffic during the work hours, with “local access … with the assistance of a traffic flagger.” Work will take up to five days, 7 am-5 pm.
Following up on bus cancellations:
APOLOGY CARDS: Via Twitter, in the wake of a wave of cancellations, on north West Seattle routes in particular, recently. Let us know if you see these:
We published a followup yesterday, with Metro’s general manager giving his explanation to City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who plans a hearing later this month on Metro’s first three months since the infusion of city money that among other things led to a Metro promise that the routes hit hardest recently would become more reliable, not less.
ADDED 8:09 AM: Thanks – we’ve heard from several riders who have indeed seen the cards. Meantime, thanks to NorDel, who points out in comments that the Mariners have a day game today, hosting the Texas Rangers at 12:40 pm.
8:57 AM – ROAD WORK UPDATE: Just went to the three locations mentioned above. The repaving work on 35th SW between Cambridge and Barton is indeed getting started – trucks were staging when we went through about half an hour ago. However, no sign of work at the 48th or 49th locations, so we’ll be checking with SPU.
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