WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Junction post office posts new lobby hours after reported theft
Thanks to Val for the tip and the photo of that notice posted on the door at the West Seattle Junction Post Office. We don’t know if the new closure time is actually in effect yet – after getting Val’s note, we went over to verify, and a door was still wide open at 7:55 pm (the USPS website, meantime, cites an even-earlier closure time) – but we do have a potential answer to Val’s question of what the reason might be: Multiple readers told us this week that a local accounting firm had told customers they had been “notified by the U.S. Post Office that mail thieves broke into approximately a dozen post office boxes at their West Seattle Branch on or around February 16th.” We hadn’t found a corresponding police-report number yet so have no further details, but are mentioning it given the lobby-closure notice.
Dragon in the kitchen! South Seattle College’s cake creation
There was a (Komodo) dragon in the kitchen with South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Pastry and Baking Arts students and faculty today!
That’s Chef Instructor Christopher Harris with the finishing touches on what’s actually a cake “for a very lucky four-year-old’s birthday party this weekend,” as SSC’s communications director Ty Swenson explains.
The real-life Komodo dragons are native to Indonesia and grow to about eight feet long.
P.S. The program does do work like this by commission – “generally ¼ to ½ what a retail cake artist would charge,” per SSC.
FOLLOWUP: Peek under the new cover at Ounces in North Delridge
(WSB photos)
When we reported last November on the first-anniversary party at Ounces, North Delridge’s taproom and beer garden (3809 Delridge Way SW), we showed you the newly unveiled rendering of what has since taken shape in the outdoor space that was formerly under a tent. Now, it’s almost finished! We stopped by for a followup.
Above are Ounces co-proprietor Laurel Trujillo and the architect of their project, North Delridge-based Parie Hines of LD Arch Design (WSB sponsor). We talked with them at Ounces on Thursday afternoon. They say this will be mostly complete within the next two weeks or so.
Laurel assembled the tabletops; an Ounces bartender did the welding; and the contractor is Avid Builders, making it an all-West Seattle project.
(If you’re a fan of the old “spool” tables, don’t worry, a few of them are outside the structure on the north side.) The finishing touches will enable the space to be enclosed when need be – including garage doors on the way for both the north and south sides, and permanent material on the roof (which currently has a temporary covering):
Laurel says that after she shared her vision for the replacement of their former tent, “Parie nailed it” in one take. It includes some inspiration from Hines’s design for the West Seattle Nursery expansion. Laurel says you can watch for news of a grand opening when it’s all done in four to six weeks. But the timing will be a bit of a balancing act because she’s expecting something else in about six weeks – her first child – she and husband Andrew Trujillo are about to become parents as well as co-proprietors and spouses.
P.S. If you haven’t been to Ounces lately, or even if you have, you can get a peek at the project tomorrow when they host a St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt – starting at 1:30 pm.
SATURDAY: Enjoy audiobooks? Check this out
In case you haven’t already seen this in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for tomorrow – it just might be Saturday’s most unusual event:
West Seattleite and local TV host Brian Callanan will be hosting an event, “Understanding Audiobooks,” at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, March 17, at 10:30 am. Brian has been a narrator for Audible for the past three years, and he’s holding the discussion session to talk about his work and how audiobooks are produced. Award-winning author Wendy Terrien (for whom Brian has produced three audiobooks) will join him for the event. Come by for a fun discussion, some coffee, and a free book or two for the lucky readers/listeners who show up!
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Morgan Junction smash-and-grab car prowl
From Alex:
We did our usual jaunt to Starbucks on California & Fauntleroy this morning. 7:40 ish, parked in the parking lot as usual – side lot – closer to Subway. Full daylight. not there 15 min. Smash & grab in that pretty public lot, in a spot very close to the street (California). Took my daughter’s stuff – a bag not on the seat, in the wheel well. An older iPad – but the bag itself was special. We just got it on ‘girls’ day’ at the Museum of Flight – a WWII P52 warhawk bag – the girl loves WWII planes. It was a really sad morning – a sad morning for West Seattle. I don’t think I would be this much taken aback if this had happened overnight on the street :(
We’re checking for the police report #, so you can refer to it in case you happen to spot Alex’s daughter’s bag tossed aside somewhere.
Highlights for your West Seattle Friday
(Our favorite bird! Steller’s Jay, photographed by Mark Ahlness)
Here are highlights for your mid-March Friday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: “Lust for Life” from 1956 is the movie this afternoon, 1 pm, at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (4217 SW Oregon)
DAVE HOLO TRIO: Music at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 5-8 pm, New Orleans jazz with a view! (1936 Harbor SW)
ORCHESTRA CONCERT: Tonight you can enjoy the West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble in concert, 7 pm at Chief Sealth International High School Auditorium. From the former’s rehearsal, conducted by Anton Coleman:
(Thanks to WSCO for that video from a rehearsal for tonight’s concert!) Admission free; donations accepted. (2600 SW Thistle)
STEVE ITTERLY: Singer-songwriter performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
GET QUIET: 7-8 pm at Our Lady of Guadalupe, all welcome for quiet “prayer, meditation, adoration.” (35th SW/SW Myrtle)
WATCH THE SUNSET: 7:16 pm tonight, the first Friday of Daylight Saving Time, per the WSB West Seattle Weather page. Robert Spears shared this from last night’s sunset:
Also tonight:
AFTER-HOURS STOMP: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, Arthur Migliazza and Carole J. Bufford perform “a knockout musical road trip.” Ticket info is in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)
PREVIEW THE WEEKEND while seeing what else is up today/tonight, via our complete calendar!
DELRIDGE TREE TAKEDOWN: ‘Heartbreaking decision,’ says owner
(WSB photo, Thursday morning)
For reasons from development to storm damage and beyond, trees are taken down in West Seattle (and elsewhere) often. But removals seldom generate the notice and concern that has resulted from one tree being taken down in North Delridge on Thursday – a big cherry tree in the front yard of a small house on the east side of Delridge Way SW by Dakota. After receiving questions about it, we stopped to take the photo above while passing through the area as a tree service worked on the removal yesterday morning. This photo from Google Street View shows what the tree looked like while fully leafed out:
Last night we did research to see if the property had a development proposal or recent sale. No on both counts. And we happened onto a social-media discussion with numerous laments about the loss of the tree. We have since reached the house’s owner via e-mail, and here’s the reply we received this mornig from Jodi Opitz:
I knew I would hear about this and almost posted a sign for the public. It was a heartbreaking decision to fell the tree; I’ve avoided this for a few years. The tree had definitely run its life-course and was becoming dangerous from internal rot and fungus running the entire trunk.
I’ve had more than one arborist look at the tree in order to make an educated decision on this, I’ve owned the house since 1993 and have always loved the tree even with its considerable damage over the years to all my plumbing and concrete due to its root system.
So did many who passed by. If you were among them, now you know.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday watch; bridge crash, Admiral incident
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:45 AM: Thanks for the tips. Emergency responders are being sent to a crash on the bridge. SDOT describes it as “blocking the left eastbound and left westbound lane at SW Avalon Way.” The most-recent caller tells us it’s by the pedestrian overpass.
6:57 AM: Another tipster says this has pushed out the jersey barriers, which would add time to the crash-clearing work.
(SDOT image of bridge crash scene, via Twitter)
7:14 AM: Still blocking, per SDOT. So avoid the Fauntleroy bridge entrance, as that’s the section affected.
7:37 AM: Metro just sent a late alert that the 7:20 am Route 57 didn’t run.
8:03 AM: Two more problems – police are headed to a crash at 11th SW and SW Elmgrove, no injuries reported. And there’s a medical callout to 42nd and Admiral – a vehicle/pedestrian collision is reported.
8:09 AM: The pedestrian’s injuries are not major and won’t require SFD medic-unit transport, per scanner.
8:19 AM: Per Bill‘s tweet from the scene, the Admiral/42nd incident is at the southeast corner.
8:24 AM: And in case you were wondering, still no “all clear” from the bridge crash scene.
8:43 AM: After two hours, SDOT says, the bridge crash scene IS now clear.
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