West Seattle, Washington
21 Tuesday
Reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
CAR PROWL: From Mike:
Just wanted to inform you that sometime last night someone smashed the windows on my car and another one on the block. They were parked on Admiral, in the 5900 block (by Alki). Anyway, the thieves only stole a black Atama backpack. I’m guessing that they ditched it once they realized all that was in it was papers. Anyhow, if anyone sees it (long shot, I know), I’d appreciate a heads up.
ANOTHER CAR PROWL: This one surfaced in comments on Tuesday’s roundup – an early-morning break-in in which the thief/thieves “took a Vintage analog keyboard called an ARP Odyssey 2800 and a large blue suitcase.”
(added 5:13 pm) AND ANOTHER CAR PROWL: Just in from Shimi in Gatewood:
Just wanted to let you know my van got broken into last night and equipment was stolen from it as well as extension cords from right outside my house on 38th Ave SW (the Myrtle st. dead end).I have filed a report with the SPD.If anyone sees randomly a Honda EU6500i up for sale please alert me as this was the main thing stolen.
GUNFIRE? Scattered reports early this morning from people who thought they heard gunfire – we received one text from 23rd/Brandon at 1:40 am, two from North Admiral around 6 am. We checked around both times, and then went through the SPD Tweets by Beat log again this afternoon, but no confirmations of gunfire – which just means, no shell casings and/or property damage found (and definitely no victims – they would turn up on the SFD 911 log). Sometimes many hours elapse, though, so if anyone does find shell casings or damage (bullet holes in cars, fences, etc.), please do notify police.
P.S. As we told texters, if you think you hear gunfire, DO call 911 – the more reports they get, the more they are able to try to zero in on where it (gunfire or not) happened.
One more big school event to which you’re invited this week – tomorrow (Thursday, April 30th), Chief Sealth International High School opens the door to the community for Multicultural Night. 6-8 pm at the Sealth Galleria, it’s “our annual celebration of diversity at Sealth and is a fun event with student performances, free food and a great chance to see what our clubs and programs have been working on this year,” according to CSIHS’s Sarah Martin (who also provided the photo above, from a previous Multicultural Night). No RSVP needed – just show up. The Galleria entrance is off the courtyard between the main building and gym, north of the parking lot, at 2600 SW Thistle.
If you weren’t at the Senior Center of West Seattle last Thursday for the discussion forum that led to last week’s most-discussed WSB story, now you can watch the Seattle Channel‘s video. Thanks to Diane for the tip; it’s available online (here, or embedded above) and is being shown on SC’s cable channel (21), with upcoming schedule slots listed as 4 pm tomorrow (Thursday) as well as 1 am and 11 am on Friday (May 1st). Though the forum sought to address a multitude of housing issues, they primarily boiled down to affordability, as well as tenants’ rights.
(UPDATED 4:41 PM with new post-incident info from SPD)
11:51 AM: The traffic backup on the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct looks more like afternoon commute right now than lunchtime. SPD says it’s because of a lost load – reportedly a “12-foot spool.” SDOT says it’s at Seneca Street and blocking the right lane. WSDOT describes it as “a truck striking the Seneca St. overpass.” More to come.
11:59 AM: Now SDOT says the southbound Viaduct is closed at the Battery Street Tunnel.
12:04 PM: Update from SFD:
Forklift being brought in to reposition the load from SB SR99 Ax @ Seneca. SB Lanes shut down at Battery St Tunnel. @seattledot @SeattlePD
— Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) April 29, 2015
Here’s a picture from the scene. (Added: Alan sent this photo looking southwestward toward the trouble spot, taken in the early going:)
12:16 PM UPDATE: The Columbia Street onramp to 99 remains open, per SDOT. And they’ve just announced they’re opening a lane beyond that.
12:29 PM: Southbound 99 is being closed again from the BSTunnel and Western – but again, access from Columbia Street is *not* affected. WSDOT now says, “Forklifts from the Viaduct project are going to the semi on the SB 99 Viaduct to help secure the large spools of wire.” (Added: Photo sent by Ben:)
750-1,000 lb spool precariously perched on truck on viaduct. Battery tunnel & Elliot will be intermittently closed pic.twitter.com/ZigTOvVj76
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) April 29, 2015
1 PM: They’re still working to clear the situation.
2 spools on the truck. Authorities working to secure them and get everything moving again pic.twitter.com/HEZgYDhC7x
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) April 29, 2015
1:52 PM: SPD says the semitruck driver will be cited. They’re close to clearing the scene.
1:57 PM: Reopened!
2:18 PM: It did not go unnoticed that all this happened one day after a City Council committee was debriefed on the 9-hour fish-truck crash closure – also on SB 99 – last month (here’s our coverage of the debrief). The mayor’s office just tweeted this:
Thank you @SeattlePD, @SeattleFire & @seattledot for working together to resolve a difficult accident on SR99 & to reopen the highway.
— Ed Murray (@MayorEdMurray) April 29, 2015
We’re adding, above, some additional images that came in during the operation to clear the spools. Thanks to everyone who sent photos!
4:41 PM: Just in via SPD Blotter, including an update on the Viaduct’s structural status and the fine faced by the trucker:
olice received 911 reports at 11:34 AM that a semi-truck had lost a load of two 12-foot spools—each weighing between 700 and 1,000 pounds—on the southbound lanes of the viaduct, near Columbia Street. At least one of the spools struck the underside of the upper level of the viaduct, dislodging the massive load from the truck’s flatbed trailer.
Officers blocked traffic onto the viaduct between the Battery Street Tunnel and Stewart Street while officials from the Washington State Department of Transportation, Seattle Department of Transportation, Seattle Fire Department and Seattle City Light worked to bring in heavy equipment to remove the spools.
Crews were able to use a bulldozer to re-load and secure the spools back on the semi-truck, which was moved to a construction area. Officials reopened the viaduct shortly before 2 PM. Today’s efforts to clear SR99 were significantly aided by planning and partnerships developed after another incident involving a semi-truck in March, which led to a nine-hour closure of the viaduct.
The Seattle Department of Transportation Commercial Vehicle Enforcement team cited the semi driver for “no oversized permit,” a violation of a state permit, and for “hitting a structure with impaired clearance.” The driver received $482 in citations, and could potentially face fines totaling thousands of dollars to cover the costs of the efforts to remove the spools. Oversized loads are not permitted on the portion of the viaduct where today’s collision occurred.
Officials have confiscated the driver’s commercial transportation permit, which he will need to reapply for before he can transport the load anywhere.
State officials say the spools—which were reportedly headed for Alabama—appear to have only caused minor damage to the viaduct. They will conduct a further assessment later this evening.
(Photo courtesy SWSHS)
Big spring for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Along with being honored by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce as its Not-For-Profit Of The Year, SWSHS accepted an award last night from the Association of King County Historical Organizations, for its big event last June unveiling the refurbished Admiral Way totem pole in its new home outside the Log House Museum (WSB coverage of that event is here). Everybody in the photo above is ID’d in this item on the SWSHS website, which also includes video from last night’s AKCHO ceremony at which SWSHS accepted the Single-Impact Event Award.
P.S. As SWSHS executive director Clay Eals told the Alki Community Council earlier this month, the 1st anniversary of the unveiling will be commemorated on June 5th with students from Schmitz Park and Alki Elementaries walking toward the museum as they did for last year’s event (added: final destination, the nearby Alki Homestead/Fir Lodge for a photo op). Meantime, you can see the totem pole outside the LHM at 61st/Stevens any time, and you can visit the museum to learn more about it and so much else of this area’s history during its regular hours noon-4 pm Thursdays-Sundays.
(Raven at Lincoln Park: Photographed by Mark Ahlness, shared via WSB Flickr group)
Happy Wednesday! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FOR JUST ONE HOUR – GET OUT! Working at home is great! But sometimes a little lonely. The solution? The weekly West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor) meetup – details here. Starts at noon. (6040 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE LAND-USE COMMITTEE: 6 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library – if you’re interested in land use and/or development, be there. Tonight’s guest is Paul Haury from SeattleNERD.org.
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: 6 pm pickup game at Fairmount Playfield. (Fauntleroy/Brandon)
HELP FOR PARENTS: 7 pm at Olympic Hall on the south end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, you’re invited to be reassured and enlightened about setting your little one(s) on a path to lifelong learning. Free talk with expert Anoo Padte, as previewed here, presented by West Seattle Co-op Preschools. (6000 16th SW)
UKULELE RECITAL: 7 pm at the Admiral Bird. (California/Admiral)
‘ANGRY HOUSEWIVES,’ WEEK 2: 7:30 pm at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), your next chance to see the new production of this “feverishly rompy rock-musical.” (4711 California SW)
MORE NIGHTLIFE (AND DAYLIFE) … on our calendar!
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:12 AM: One traffic incident of note as we get going today – SDOT has just reported a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane in the northbound Battery Street Tunnel, which could affect NB Alaskan Way Viaduct traffic if it goes on for a while.
7:15 AM: SDOT has upgraded that to “northbound Battery St. Tunnel closed.”
7:19 AM: And – just heard via scanner – it’s been cleared.
7:59 AM: Texter says SPD has bus-lane enforcement out today at eastbound bridge offramp to 99. (Thanks as always for alerts – when you can text safely/legally, e.g. from a bus or a passenger seat or when you arrive at your destination – 206-293-6302.)
**We covered the early-afternoon Viaduct closure separately. And now that it’s afternoon, another problem’s been unfolding:
4:22 PM: The eastbound bridge isn’t a hot spot this time of day but just in case you have to head that way:
UPDATE: Right lane has been reopened on EB W Sea Bridge at I-5. Left lane still blocked pic.twitter.com/UNuj3lUgYz
— seattledot (@seattledot) April 29, 2015
(Photo courtesy Seattle Dining Out for Life)
Buddha Ruksa is one of five West Seattle restaurants donating part of their proceeds to Lifelong on Thursday as part of the annual Dining Out For Life benefit. According to the Seattle DOFL website, they’re donating 30 percent of dinner proceeds. Also participating on Thursday: Talarico’s in The Junction is donating 30 percent of its lunch, dinner, and late night proceeds; same percentage for El Chupacabra on Alki at lunch, Luna Park Café at dinner, and Locöl at dinner and late night.
8:41 PM: The first and only election-night results are out, and the one measure that was on ballots in our area, King County Proposition 1 to raise money to replace emergency responders’ radio system, is passing in a big way – 65 percent for, 35 percent against. It only required a simple majority for passage. Here are the numbers.
9:24 PM: County Executive Dow Constantine has sent this statement thanking voters: “A reliable emergency radio network is the lifeline that keeps all of our communities safe, used thousands of times a day by police, firefighters and medics in every corner of our county. I want to thank the voters of King County for acknowledging the need to replace a dangerously outdated system and ensuring that our first responders have the tools they need to communicate during life-threatening emergencies.”
Two notes in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STREET ROBBERY: A man was robbed this morning in The Triangle around 4:15 am. We’ve been trying all day to get some details, after seeing the robbery designation on Tweets By Beat, and finally just got information from police who are here at the Block Watch Captains’ Network meeting we’re covering. According to Lt. Ron Smith, two people described only as a black male and white female approached the victim in the 4600 block of 36th SW, asked for a ride to Renton, and then grabbed him, took his wallet and 60 dollars, tossed the wallet on the ground and took off. The report also says they considered stealing his car but it was manual transmission, so they apparently gave up on that idea. Police searched the area, with a K-9, but didn’t find the robbers.
CAR PROWL: A car-prowl victim in West Seattle early this morning is hoping somebody might spot what was stolen from her car:
Someone broke my passenger side window and stole an over-sized brown suede tote bag (I believe it was from Eddie Bauer). They took nothing of financial value, except my well-worn tote bag.
Nothing in that bag would have been of value to anyone else, she said, but it contained client files that were important for her business – if you’ve seen the bag, please let police know.
That’s the Seattle Channel video of this morning’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting, which included several items of interest. One was a briefing on the city’s ongoing study of development impact fees. Staffers from several departments participated. One reminded the councilmembers that impact fees are meant to raise “new capital for new needs created by new construction,” and that the areas in which they could be applied are “transportation, parks, schools, and fire … necessitated by new development and reasonably benefiting new development.” One example of what money from impact fees couldn’t be used to cover: Filling potholes. No vote, let alone decision, on the issue, but the studies continue.
Then came the discussion of the “after-action report” about the 9-hour Highway 99 closure last month because of an overturned truck full of fish. We published the first version of the report when it was circulated two weeks ago; today’s discussion, which included Seattle Police Deputy Chief Carmen Best and SDOT director Scott Kubly, brought a few more things to light. For one, the two departments use different traffic management systems that prioritize incidents in slightly different ways – and if not for that, different decisions might have been made as on-scene crews struggled with getting the truck out of the roadway. It was also pointed out that an insurance-company rep was on the scene relatively quickly, and that the rep was advocating for saving the $750,000 truckload of fish (“whitefish, not salmon, for the record,” it was pointed out today), which ultimately did not happen. Kubly said this would lead to some further refinements such as possibly positioning certain types of response equipment in certain areas of the city, and creating a tiered system to prioritize incidents depending upon a road/highways’ importance.
When presenting his written report, featured here last Friday, Kubly didn’t say much about the West Seattle components – except a reiteration of the walking tour times (35th SW 9 am-noon on May 16th, SW Roxbury 5:30-7:30 pm on May 20th) – but did discuss how outreach on the draft transportation levy is going, with a new draft to be presented to the mayor this week. He said the in-person traditional community meetings hadn’t drawn many, and described those drawn by those meetings as “disproportionately white, male, older,” but said 5,000 responses had come in to the online survey. Last week’s online meeting, he said, had 30 participants.
If you are raising … or have raised … a teenager, you know how tough it can be to stay connected. They need some freedom so they can get ready to live their own lives, and yet they also need guidance and support, even in the times they try hardest to shrug it off. To help with navigation of this challenging and important time, West Seattle High School‘s counseling department is hosting an event on Thursday night and inviting the entire community, not just those with WSHS ties:
Dr. Laura Kastner will be our guest speaker, along with Lisa Davidson, Seattle Public Schools Prevention/Intervention Specialist. The evening will first take a look at the latest research and data on drug use in our community (Lisa’s portion) and will be followed by a talk with Dr. Kastner on what we as parents and community partners can do to stay connected to our teens. This will take place on Thursday, April 30th, from 6:30-9:00 pm in the West Seattle High School Theater.
WSHS is at 3000 California SW; the theater entrance is toward the south end of the main building.
UPDATE: SB SR 99 ramp to West Seattle Br is blocked due to a collision.Use caution & expect delays pic.twitter.com/6yqOgiyj6P
— seattledot (@seattledot) April 28, 2015
1:26 PM: Headed toward southbound 99 to get home? You’ll need to take an alternate route – as shown in SDOT’s tweet above, the ramp from SB 99 to the West Seattle Bridge is blocked right now. So SB I-5 or 1st Avenue S. are your alternate routes to the bridge until this is cleared. (Thanks to the texter who tipped us to this!)
2:06 PM: SDOT just reported that this crash has cleared and the ramp from southbound 99 to the westbound bridge is open again.
Thanks to Machel Spence for today’s featured photo! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here are the highlights for today/tonight:
GET YOUR BALLOT IN: It’s special-election day/night, with one measure on the ballot here – the countywide levy to raise money to replace the area’s emergency-radio system. You can vote without a stamp by dropping your ballot at the White Center or West Seattle van by 8 pm (don’t be late) – we photographed Joe and Fred at the van outside the Greenbridge Library (8th SW south of Roxbury) on Monday:
The West Seattle van is at WS Stadium – turn in and find them on the driveway. (4470 35th SW)
GUARDIAN ONE PILOT @ WEST SEATTLE BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct, this month’s WSBWCN meeting features a chance to find out more about our area’s only law-enforcement helicopter patrol, and to ask questions. All welcome – you don’t have to be a Block Watch Captain, but if you’re curious about how Block Watches work, this is a good place to find out. (Webster/Delridge)
HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL ACADEMIC FAIR: 6:30 pm – details in our calendar listing. (42nd/Oregon)
FREE COMMUNITY/NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL CLINIC: Starts at 7 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle. Appointments required – our calendar listing explains how to make one. (Oregon/California)
NIGHTLIFE … see the listings on our calendar page. And have a great rest of your Tuesday!
Just in from Seattle Public Schools – three West Seattle schools are on the list of 23 district-wide that have just received Washington Achievement Awards:
Twenty-three Seattle Public Schools are being honored with Washington Achievement Awards from The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The schools earned these awards for improvements in areas including reading, English, math and overall outstanding academic success.
[West Seattle schools on the list]
Denny International Middle School – Math Growth
Pathfinder K-8 – High Progress
West Seattle High School – High Progress“We are honored to have so many of our schools recognized for their hard work, dedication, and student success, with this prestigious award,” said Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland. “This recognition demonstrates the continuing efforts and achievements our students and staff are making in academic excellence.”
Schools are selected based on their statewide assessment data for the three previous years. This data is analyzed using the Achievement Index and methodology. All schools received their awards at a ceremony earlier today in Spanaway.
(WSB photo from Sunday’s Recycle Roundup)
If you dropped something off at the Fauntleroy Church “Recycle Roundup” this past Sunday, you were part of another successful, sizable round of recycling. Judy Pickens shares the news:
The sun on Sunday brought out the best in West Seattle residents as an estimated 400 vehicles delivered recyclables to the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee’s spring Recycle Roundup. The crew from 1 Green Planet carried, loaded, and took away an estimated 10 tons for responsible disassembly. We’ll do it again on September 27!
For the fourth consecutive year, we’re planning to create and publish a page of links to West Seattle/White Center/South Park nonprofits that are participating in the GiveBIG donate-a-thon, so that readers of West Seattle Blog, White Center Now, and The South Park News will have a one-stop cheat-sheet for where to donate. This year, GiveBIG is May 5th, one week from today. So if you are associated with a nonprofit in WS, WC, and/or SP, that’ll be participating, please let us know (some already have!) and send us the link to your GiveBIG donation page, ASAP. Best way to get us this info: editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:28 AM: Tuesday morning’s commute is off to a breezy start. Two road/trail-work alerts, too:
ALKI TRAIL IN 3400 BLOCK OF HARBOR: As previewed here on Monday, SDOT is making changes for safety’s sake, and work is scheduled to start today.
24TH/MYRTLE LANE CLOSURES: As mentioned Sunday night, westbound Myrtle at 24th will be restricted in the daytime today and tomorrow as part of work related to the nearby Delridge/Orchard CSO project.
ADDED 7:27 AM: Traffic’s still quiet. So one more mention of note today, the City Council Transportation Committee meets at 9:30 am. The agenda includes the periodic update from SDOT director Scott Kubly; as previewed here last Friday with the document prepared for his appearance, it includes several West Seattle project updates.
1:28 PM: Ramp from SB 99 to the westbound bridge is blocked right now. We’re updating this separately.
(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
The only guaranteed varsity-baseball game this year between West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School ended in a 5-2 win for the Wildcats on Monday afternoon at Southwest Athletic Complex. Thanks as always to Caryn Johnson for the recap:
A beautiful afternoon for baseball between two great schools. With the addition of more schools to the Metro league and the way the divisions within Metro are set up, West Seattle and Sealth only meet each other once during the regular season. The stands were full of West Seattleites. It was fun to see the support for these two great teams.
The game was a battle of the pitchers. West Seattle senior Jordan Sagmoen was up against Sealth sophomore Evan Moe.
First inning saw no runs scored by either team.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the 2nd that Sealth broke the 0-0 tie and scored on a triple by David Johnson and a single by Evan Moe that drove him in.
In the top of the third, West Seattle would score two off a single by senior Sam Cook and a triple from Morgan McCullough. Sealth would get one more back in the bottom of the third to tie things up.
No runs were scored in the 4th.
Then at the top of the 5th, West Seattle would take advantage of a couple of errors to score two more runs. They would bring in one more run in the top of the 6th. Jordan threw the entire game to get the win 5-2 over Sealth. In the end he would strike out 6 and only give up 6 hits.
Evan Moe would also throw the entire game, striking out 4 and giving up only 5 hits.
Both teams’ next games are at 3:30 pm Wednesday – West Seattle will be at home at Hiawatha to face Seattle Prep, while Sealth will be on the road visiting Cleveland.
The West Seattle Bee Garden is getting ready for its biggest season yet, despite a disappointing discovery over the weekend – vandalism against its student-and-teacher-made mosaic sign. We first reported it after hearing from garden volunteers on Saturday, and then went over to follow up, not just on the vandalism, but on what’s ahead at the garden.
Bee Garden founder Lauren Englund (above) tells us that they are gathering financial and time/skills support to fix the mosaic, but can still use more. Both sides were damaged when someone hit it with a brick – it’s a two-sided sign greeting Bee Garden visitors as they enter and exit on the south side of the garden, which is at 31st/Graham, on the north side of High Point Commons Park. This is the side not shown in our weekend coverage:
If you can offer help to restore it, please e-mail westseattlebeegarden@gmail.com.
Now, looking ahead: Besides the third annual West Seattle Bee Festival in less than three weeks, other activities at the garden this spring/summer include a series of storytimes, 10 am Tuesdays from June 16th through August 18th. On June 23rd, July 14th, July 28th, August 11th and 18th, a beekeeper will be there for a hive demonstration, too.
The bees at the garden now made it through the winter, and will soon be joined by more, as Lauren installs another hive this Thursday. Volunteers made big progress with the garden itself – weeding and planting – last weekend and plan to be out again next weekend.
In June, something new and big will be added to the garden, a pergola designed by Josh Chambers, the architect of the bee enclosure. Before then, seven more school field trips to the bee garden are planned – one all the way from Wallingford! The garden also is getting some enhancements including hive-monitoring equipment so that the garden can participate in research and you can track hive details online, plus sound equipment so that Lauren or beekeeper Krista Conner can narrate and answer questions during demonstrations.
In the meantime, plan to visit for the Bee Festival on May 16th – Deborah Vandermar of the High Point Events Committee is hard at work on that, Lauren says – and later in the summer, the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association will have a Kids’ Day, which Lauren tells us “will have lots of beekeepers onsite, providing activities for kids (scavenger hunt for pollinator-friendly plants, etc.) and multiple hive demonstrations.” Also assisting, Nathalie Gelms, the children’s librarian from the High Point branch. Keep track of all this by checking in at westseattlebeegarden.com.
Two updates on the Port of Seattle‘s Terminal 5 in West Seattle:
VEHICLE CARRIER ON THE WAY: The vehicle carrier Ryujin is expected at T-5 tonight (unrelated to the Foss/Shell operations for which a third of T-5 is currently leased.). Port spokesperson Peter McGraw tells WSB, “It will be delivering 2,400 autos that will be stored there for up to a few weeks. There may be other car-carrying vessels over this time frame as well. At some point they will be loaded back on to the vessel and off to their planned destination.” (MarineTraffic.com shows the Ryujin currently near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. *Tuesday 6:49 am update – It’s just now passing Port Angeles.*)
SECURITY CONTRACT FOR T-5: One of the items on the agenda for tomorrow’s Port Commission meeting at Sea-Tac Airport is authorization for up to $3 million to be spent for T-5 security over the next 5 years. Here’s the agenda document:
The memo says security used to be the responsibility of whomever was leasing the terminal; since the lease expired last summer, the port has contracted with security guards, which cost almost $100,000 in the last three months of last year. They’ve already sent this proposal out to bid, with a contract to be awarded later this week, and expecting it will cost $400,000 to $600,000 a year. The memo also says the current “interim tenant” – which would be Foss – is picking up 25 percent of the security costs. The commission meeting is at 1 pm in the airport’s conference center and also is streamed live online.
Maybe you’ve seen Wayne Kinslow swimming off Alki and wondered if it was just somebody on a dare. Nope. Wayne swims off Alki every day. And we do mean, EVERY day. Today happened to be his THOUSANDTH consecutive day of swimming off Alki – that’s almost three years without missing a day, rain or shine or snow. Among those capturing the historic occasion – Clay Eals, executive director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:
During a quick post-swim interview, Wayne, who’s an Alki resident as well as Alki swimmer, received a trophy of sorts:
Here’s a closer look:
He’s still swimming tonight too, as mentioned in our daily calendar highlights, and invites you to join him in celebrating the milestone – meet up at the Alki fire rings around 6:30, group swim set for about 7 pm, then a potluck and bonfire. By the way, according to a NOAA buoy, today’s water temperature in Elliott Bay is about 51 degrees.
(City of Seattle photo: Councilmember John Okamoto’s swearing-in today)
The newest member of the Seattle City Council is 61-year-old John Okamoto of Seward Park, chosen today by his new colleagues to fill the unexpired term left when Sally Clark resigned to take a job at the University of Washington. Okamoto is a former city employee, including a recent sting as interim Human Services Director. Here’s the official city announcement; here’s Okamoto’s application material. Okamoto has pledged not to run for election this fall, as the Council had requested of applicants, so he will serve until the election is certified in late November.
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