day : 13/10/2015 12 results

Just got the photo via text from Aaron:

My “new” 1986 Toyota pickup I just bought and restored was just stolen from in front of my house at 44th and Dakota. License #C09191E.

If you see it – call 911 and refer to incident # 15-359078.

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SPAM SCAM ALERT: Beware of e-mail from ‘seattleschool’ address

October 13, 2015 10:29 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle online

With schools in the news more than usual lately, WSB reader Jade wanted to warn you about e-mail spam with a too-close-to-real address: She received e-mail tonight from an address containing seattleschool (dot) org. That’s one letter off the district’s official domain – but some might not catch that and would open it anyway. The body of the e-mail, Jade explains, contained “the ever-so-obvious ‘follow instructions for lottery payout’ instructions” in an attachment. But attachments are one of the most common ways for viruses and other problems to get passed onto your computer – don’t EVER open one you’re not expecting – so beware.

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TEACHER CUTS: Protest at district HQ, as legislators ask School Board to put teacher changes on hold

October 13, 2015 7:43 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

7:43 PM: Parents concerned about the Seattle Public Schools teacher cuts/shuffles (first reported here last Thursday) rallied outside district HQ this afternoon.

And they got some encouragement in their cause – a letter signed by legislators asking the School Board to put the changes on hold. Thanks to Amy King for sharing this scan of the letter:

(Here it is as a PDF if you can’t read the Scribd embed above.) The parents who are organizing under the name Kids Not Cuts plan to be at a school board Committee of the Whole meeting at district HQ at 4:15 pm tomorrow to directly make the request, though the issue is not on the agenda. The meeting is open to the public.

ADDED 8:39 PM: The board has already responded to the legislators’ letter, saying basically, sorry, they can’t. Thanks to Robin Graham for sharing their letter:

The afternoon protest, by the way, was the second of the day outside SPS HQ, after the “Half-Baked Sale” at midday.

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WEST SEATTLE BIZNOTE: Fit Bar set to open later this month

October 13, 2015 6:04 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

An update on Fit Bar, the healthy-food café that’s been taking shape next to Anytime Fitness at 2222 California SW in Admiral – Andrew Saldana says he, girlfriend Bles, and his brothers Daniel and Jacob, all West Seattleites, “are thrilled to announce a healthy alternative for our neighborhood! … Our Grand Opening will be Saturday, October 24th, from 8 am – 4 pm. … We are overjoyed to share what inspires us and use it as a medium to inspire others. We know we are all a little different individually, but collectively we strive to find what fuels our lives, and within that journey, we find the strongest connection; that of the mind and body.” Fit Bar will be open weekdays 7 am-7 pm and weekends 9 am-4 pm; Andrew says its website at fitbarcafe.com will go live on Friday. You can see some of the smoothies and bowls they plan to serve by checking out their Instagram feed.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Another burglary; this week’s map/list

October 13, 2015 3:55 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Crime | West Seattle news

In West Seattle Crime Watch today – another burglary report:

I’d like to get the word out that my home on Fairmount Ave SW was burglarized yesterday during the daytime while my roommates were at work. I arrived home from a trip to see they broke a window in the kitchen & had stolen items from each of my roommates.

David says his house is toward the water end of Fairmount Ave. With reports of three other burglaries in recent days, we took the occasion today to check the SPD Police Report map, sorted for burglary reports, showing nine:

You can sort the map by crime type via controls on its left side (click the image above to go to the live map, where you can also see the locations of these and other crimes, plus time/date reported, by clicking each icon). But as we’ve noted in the past, the map has some omissions – for example, it’s not showing the business break-in in the 3400 block of California SW that was part of our coverage on Saturday. It’s not caught up with yesterday yet, so David’s break-in isn’t shown. And from Tweets by Beat (you can see the West Seattle sectors’ tweets any time on the WSB Crime Watch page), we also have these four:

-Reported this morning, 3200 block SW Morgan
-Reported last night, 9600 block 47th SW
-Reported Monday afternoon, 4400 block 42nd SW
-Reported Monday morning, 2nd SW/SW Michigan

So, by our compilation, that’s 15 burglaries reported in the past week, up from where things were trending at the last West Seattle-wide briefing.

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FOLLOWUP: How are 35th SW and SW Roxbury doing, post-rechannelization? SDOT goes public with first stats

October 13, 2015 1:40 pm

| 116 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

(Photo from SDOT Blog)

Have you traveled on 35th SW and/or SW Roxbury since the recent rechannelizations (and other changes)? SDOT has just published its first report on the aftermath – see it on the SDOT Blog website, now that the work is mostly done. An excerpt:

… The project team has been monitoring the revised segments of 35th Avenue SW and SW Roxbury Street on a daily basis. We’ve also collected data in an effort to obtain preliminary insights into the effects of the recent changes.

To date, we’ve seen no change in volumes on 35th Avenue SW or SW Roxbury Street. Daily traffic volumes on these streets remain within the same range as pre-project volumes. During our public outreach process, some people commented that they were concerned about drivers diverting to nearby residential streets after the channelization changes. We’ve received no reports of diversions from residents and our volume data does not indicate diversions to residential streets. However, we will continue to keep an eye on this issue moving forward.

Our first look at vehicle speeds on 35th Avenue SW is encouraging. The street once commonly referred to as “I-35” in the neighborhood no longer sees the majority of drivers pushing speeds up to 40 miles per hour. Instead, most drivers now travel around 34 to 35 miles per hour. This is a significant improvement but we’d like to see drivers traveling at lower speeds which are closer to the new posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour. We will expand our speed data collection efforts in October and November and hope to see lower speeds as drivers adjust to the new conditions.

There’s no doubt that these corridors feel different than they used to, especially during the afternoon commute when traffic volumes are highest. With just one general purpose travel lane in each direction, vehicle queueing at signalized intersections is more substantial during the afternoon/evening commute period. However, longer signal cycles effectively mitigate the queues and vehicles are able to clear intersections in just one green phase. Occasionally, emergency response vehicles such as police and fire will preempt signals at SW Holden Street, so it can take up to two signal cycles to clear the intersection when traffic volumes are high.

Again, the corridor feels different but vehicle and transit travel times have been minimally impacted. During community outreach, we mentioned that traffic modeling projected delays on 35th Avenue SW of one-to-two minutes with a maximum delay of 2.5 minutes during the afternoon rush hour. Our travel time data, based on driving the 35th corridor dozens of times during peak hours, show that our models were a bit conservative:

The data tables are in the full post on the city website – with car and bus travel times – as are ways to get your feedback to the city.

P.S. If you missed the backstory on the 35th and Roxbury projects – check the links and slide decks in this story we published while the road work was under way.

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TEACHER CUTS: ‘Half-Baked Sale’ just wrapped up; rally ahead at 4

October 13, 2015 1:18 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

A day of protests outside Seattle Public Schools‘ SODO headquarters, less than a week after news of teacher cuts (first reported here last Thursday) began circulating:

Thanks to Helen Green for sending photos from today’s 11 am-1 pm “Half-Baked Sale,” organized by Louisa Boren STEM K-8 parent Shawna Murphy.

Helen, also a STEM parent, says, “There was a great turnout of parents from all over Seattle. A lot from West Seattle. I talked to two Roxhill parents who said that kids have been hit very hard by the teacher reduction there.”

Next up: At 4 pm, a rally – also outside district HQ at 3rd/Lander – everyone concerned about the state of school funding (the big picture as well as situations like the current one) is invited. The North Seattle parent who contributed $70,000 to save a West Seattle teacher job, first reported here Sunday night, is expected to be among the speakers.

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Memorial service Saturday for Patricia J. Hansen, 1929-2015

October 13, 2015 12:25 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Obituaries | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

A memorial service is planned in West Seattle this Saturday for Patricia J. Hansen, 86. Here’s the remembrance her family is sharing:

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and friend, Patricia J. Hansen passed away peacefully after suffering many years with Alzheimer’s Disease on Monday, September 28th at Park West Care Center.

She was born on May 19, 1929 to Ingvald and Christine in Seattle.

Patricia grew up in Ballard and attended Ballard High School, graduating in 1947. After high school, she worked at JC Penney clothing store in downtown Seattle. While out dancing at the Spanish Castle and The Trianon Ballroom, she met the love of her life – Charles “Chuck” Hansen. They married in 1953 and raised three children in West Seattle.

It was here in West Seattle that she made a loving home and worked many years at Don Swanson Insurance. She volunteered at the WS Senior Center and played Bunco there. Pat and Chuck traveled to Australia, Europe, Scandinavia, Hawaii and Mexico. Upon retiring, they spent some years as “rain birds” in Mesa, Arizona. Pat took up clogging and enjoyed time at the pool with Chuck.

Patricia is predeceased by her parents Christine and Ingvald, her loving husband Chuck in 1989, and her sister and brother-in-law, Pauline and Phil Isaminger. Surviving Pat are her three children – son Greg (wife Chris), son Keith (wife Irene), her daughter Diane, her grandchildren Veronica and Charlie, and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Memorial services will be Saturday, October 17th at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle at 11 am. Remembrances can be made to The Alzheimer’s Association.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

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YOU CAN HELP: See which Duwamish Alive! sites hope to see you

October 13, 2015 11:34 am

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| Environment | How to help | West Seattle news

(Roxhill Bog volunteer – WSB photo from April 2015 Duwamish Alive! day)

Update as the fall edition of Duwamish Alive! – simultaneous work parties to help Seattle’s only river and its watershed – gets closer (this Saturday, October 17th, 10 am-2 pm): Coalition coordinator Sharon Leishman tells WSB that these West Seattle sites are in most need of more volunteer signups:

T-107 PARK, both kayaks and habitat restoration. DRCC, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (this is the first time we have the kayak cleanup near the mouth of the river. Double kayaks are used, no experience needed, all equipment and instruction provided.) – 4700 West Marginal Way SW

ROXHILL BOG – habitat restoration with Seattle Parks and Friends of Roxhill – 2850 SW Roxbury

HERRINGS HOUSE PARK – habitat restoration with Seattle Parks – W Marginal Way SW & SW Alaska

LONGFELLOW CREEK AT BRANDON STREET, habitat restoration with King Conservation District and EarthCorps – SW Brandon St. & 29th SW

Choose one and sign up via its link on this page of the Duwamish Alive! website.

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West Seattle Tuesday: First ‘Orca Talk’ of fall; candidates talk transportation & business; Admiral, Fauntleroy councils; more…

October 13, 2015 9:42 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Neighborhood fall colors, by Flickr member yel0rose, via the WSB Flickr group)

Looking ahead to the rest of the day and tonight via the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

SCHOOL FUNDING RALLY: 4 pm outside Seattle Public Schools HQ, parents from West Seattle and elsewhere are organizing a rally sparked by this past week’s news of teacher cuts – if you’re concerned about the state of public education, be there. (3rd Ave. S. & S. Lander)

SING WITH ENDOLYNE CHILDREN’S CHOIR: It’s “Bring a Friend Night,” an open-rehearsal event for young singers interested in the choir, which actually starts at 4:30 pm:

BAFN is an open rehearsal, free for any child in grades K-10 who is interested in an evening of holiday music singing and hot cocoa.

Rehearsal Times:

Debut (grades K-2): 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Encore (grades 3-5): 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM
Advanced (grades 6-10): 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

This is happening in the reception room at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. (3050 California SW)

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE-WATCHING PARTY: Looking for someplace to watch tonight’s Democratic presidential candidate debate at 5:30? Krista in Gatewood is hosting one of the Bernie Sanders supporters’ parties and has room – check here.

CANDIDATE FORUM/DEBATE FOR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 & POSITIONS 8-9: 6:15 pm mingling, 6:45 pm debating at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, presented by the WS Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition. See the schedule here. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)

TUESDAY TUNE-UP, BENEFITING WESTSIDE BABY: 6:30 pm at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), live music “by Piano-man and Emcee Victor Janusz with Robertson Witmer on accordion and MD Dixson on saxophone,” no cover but raffle benefits WestSide Baby – details in our calendar listing. (1936 Harbor SW)

ORCA TALK: What do orcas and ants have in common? Erich Hoyt – who filled The Hall at Fauntleroy last time The Whale Trail brought him here – is back as TWT’s new season of Orca Talks begins, tonight at 7 pm – details in our preview. (9131 California SW)

ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: 7 pm, The Sanctuary at Admiral. (42nd SW & SW Lander)

FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm, board room at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. (9131 California SW)

CHIEF SEALTH INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PTSA: 7 pm in the Confucius Room. (2600 SW Thistle)

MORE ON THE CALENDAR FOR TODAY/TONIGHT … see it all here.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates & alerts

October 13, 2015 7:39 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:39 AM: The SDOT cameras are fixed, so the bridge views are back … and backed up, though it’s mostly “just” the rain – the big incidents this morning are NOT on the outbound routes from here, but instead on northbound I-5 *south* of West Seattle (truck crashes at Albro and in Federal Way).

8:05 AM: That said, as pointed out in comments, alternate routes are affected as people divert. Meantime, a transportation-related note on tonight’s calendar: The first and biggest of three City Council forums/debates in West Seattle this week is tonight, and you can expect to hear a lot about transportation since the WS Transportation Coalition is co-presenting with the WS Chamber of Commerce. All are welcome, 6:15 pm mingling, 6:45 pm debating, citywide Positions 8 and 9 first, then West Seattle/South Park District 1 – it’s happening at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way).

9:09 AM: Bridge trouble, per SDOT:

Stall on the West Seattle Br EB before SR 99 in left center lane. Use caution and expect delays pic.twitter.com/UKPpc7jCXW

— seattledot (@seattledot) October 13, 2015

9:22 AM: And don’t take the low bridge as an alternate route right now:

The Lower Spokane St Bridge has closed to traffic – 9:21:16 AM

— seattleDOTbridges (@SDOTbridges) October 13, 2015

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You won’t see Shell’s Polar Pioneer back at Terminal 5, per regional reports

October 13, 2015 1:54 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| Port of Seattle | Seen at sea | West Seattle news

(May 15th photo of Polar Pioneer at T-5, by Long Bach Nguyen)
1:54 AM: Since Shell‘s announcement two weeks ago that it was shelving Arctic offshore drilling TFN, we’ve been awaiting word on where its rigs would wind up – whether there was any chance, for example, the Polar Pioneer would come back to West Seattle’s Terminal 5, where it spent a month before heading off to drill. You’ll recall that the T-5 interim tenant, Foss Maritime, said at the time that it was too soon to say.

According to new reports in two publications, both quoting Shell, the answer is “no.”

Both KUCB in Unalaska and the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles say the Polar Pioneer will head back to PA. KUCB reports that both the PP and Shell’s other rig, the Noble Discoverer, arrived Sunday in Unalaska’s Dutch Harbor. According to KUCB, the ND didn’t stay long, heading out on Monday, bound for Everett, where it was docked until heading north for Shell’s short-lived drilling effort. The PDN reports Shell isn’t saying when the Polar Pioneer is due back in those waters, where it spent four weeks before coming to T-5 for a similar stay. And we don’t know if any of the support vessels might return to T-5; the one that seemed to spend the most time there, Aiviq, is currently Everett-bound, according to MarineTraffic.com.

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