West Seattle, Washington
16 Tuesday
As reported here a week and a half ago, the second of three levels of light-rail-route review has concluded and what’s known as the Golf Course/Alaska Junction/Tunnel proposal is under the microscope. A big part of the decisionmaking process involves station siting – and that’s a focus of a walk-and-talk tour you’re invited to join tomorrow. In case you haven’t already seen it on our calendar or heard about it some other way, we’re publishing this reminder tonight. The tour organizers at Feet First describes the plan as follows:
Join King County Council Chair Joe McDermott, Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Sound Transit officials, and community leaders for a walking tour of proposed Sound Transit Link light rail station sites in West Seattle.
This event, sponsored by the pedestrian-advocacy group Feet First, will visit Link light rail station site alternatives at West Seattle Junction, Avalon, and Delridge.* Sound Transit is currently evaluating and gathering public input about station siting alternatives at these locations.
Sound Transit’s final selection of where the stations will go has big implications for how West Seattle will evolve over the coming decades, hopefully fostering the development of vibrant and walkable communities. On this walk, we will discuss trade-offs between the various site alternatives and how to ensure good walking access to the Sound Transit light rail system.
* the Delridge portion of the walk is optional.
You can RSVP here – the walk starts at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska) at 4:30 pm and if you’re along the whole way to Delridge, discussion is planned afterward at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW).
Every year, Seattle University oversees the citywide Public Safety Survey about crime, safety, and policing, with findings that are then reported to SPD – and you. If you’d like to take this year’s survey, it’s now open – go here to start (and note the variety of language options). Want to know more first? Here’s the announcement published when results of last year’s survey were released.
P.S. If you want to talk about crime/safety in a more immediate manner – remember that tomorrow (Tuesday, October 16th) brings the last West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting of the year, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster).
You might recall our report last Friday about a power outage at West Seattle Stadium – forcing O’Dea, which plays home games there, to move its homecoming game to its opponent’s field at Rainier Beach HS. The outage was resolved at some point late Friday night/early Saturday morning, but with no announcement of the cause, so we followed up today with Seattle City Light. Spokesperson Scott Thomsen tells WSB that the stadium outage “was caused by the failure of a piece of underground equipment called an elbow. This is a connector for an underground cable and another piece of equipment that bends at an angle, like an elbow.”
A local business has moved, and that’s a springboard to a development update. Salon West has cleared out of 7009 California SW, and according to what’s posted on the window, is moving to the former Tiffany’s salon at 2738 Alki SW (the space actually fronts 61st SW, behind B’s Po Boy and north of the Homestead). This is happening as development plans for the south Morgan Junction site proceed; we first reported back in May that a four-townhouse development was proposed for part of the block starting at the dog-care corner (formerly Stella Ruffington, now Good Dog). The newest site plan in the city’s online files shows five townhouses proposed for 7001-7009 California SW (the latter was Salon West’s address). If you’re wondering about the southernmost business on the block, Caffe Ladro‘s Bob Ohly told us last time we checked in, “We are staying in our current building with a bit of a size adjustment, removing the old Bakery space. There will be a building facelift inside and out. We will at that time take ownership of the building.” This site-plan document covers that part of the project. All this is continuing to move through the permit system. It’s not the first redevelopment proposal for the site, but the first we’ve seen get anywhere near this far.
Above and here (PDF), you can see the proposed new schedule for the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route of Washington State Ferries. WSF has just released the draft for public comment, a week before starting a round of community meetings about the proposal. The accompanying message, via WSF spokesperson Hadley Rodero:
Over the past two years, WSF has engaged in a robust community process and has worked with the Triangle Task Force, local FACs, and the public to develop a draft schedule that considers customers’ needs and priorities. The result of these efforts is a draft sailing schedule that focuses on the afternoon peak commute westbound from Fauntleroy and adjusts eastbound sailing times in the morning from Southworth to better serve commuters. The draft schedule also aims to provide reliability, increase capacity, and regularly fill all sailings when a third 124-car Issaquah Class vessel begins serving the route.
In response to feedback from community members, King County Metro and Kitsap Transit staff, and WSF vessel and terminal employees on the timing of a schedule change, the new schedule will be implemented on March 31, 2019 at the beginning of the spring schedule. This will allow our transit partners to better align their schedules with ours and it will allow us to start the new schedule before the busy summer season.
We hope to hear from you or see you at a public meeting!
The first meeting is at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW) one week from tomorrow – 5 to 7 pm Tuesday, October 23rd. You also can comment via e-mail – WSFPlanning@wsdot.wa.gov – deadline November 9th. It’s been two months since the Triangle Task Force got a look at two draft-schedule options (WSB coverage here). That group isn’t scheduled to meet again until next month, and will get a look at the feedback that’s starting now with the release of this proposal.
This year’s official West Seattle Junction Christmas-tree-lighting event is December 1st – still seven weeks away, so some people did a double-take when they noticed the tree all lit up this past weekend, including Melissa, who sent the photo. We recalled early installation and testing last year, and verified today with Junction Association executive director Lora Radford that the same thing is happening this year – easier to get it done before the fall rains arrive. (Although the forecast suggests they’re not likely to get going any time soon!)
Thanks to Tom Stoner for the photo. That was the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) headed northbound past West Seattle earlier today. It’s been back at Bremerton a little more than a month after the latest stint at sea getting ready for deployment. After deployment, it’s scheduled to relocate to Norfolk, Virginia, and the carrier USS Carl S. Vinson (CVN 70) will be moved to Bremerton for maintenance.
Saturday night, in the span of less than two hours and 4 blocks, police investigated two incidents that sent people to the hospital. What exactly had transpired wasn’t clear in the early going, so we requested and obtained both SPD report narratives this morning:
8800 BLOCK OF DELRIDGE: Here’s our Saturday coverage. The police report says the initial call to 911 was from someone saying she’d been called by her sister, who said her boyfriend had been stabbed and the suspects were “still there.” Police went to the apartment and found no one there – but they did find blood and broken glass. Outside the building, they found the girlfriend’s mother.
While they were talking to her, they found out that medics had been called to treat an injured man a short distance south, at Delridge/Henderson. He turned out to be the man who the girlfriend had said stabbed the victim, according to her mother. The man at Delridge/Henderson claimed his wounds were from trying to defend himself. In the meantime, the K9 team investigating near the original scene finally found the victim, who flagged them down. He was described as intoxicated and uncooperative, and made various claims about how he became injured. Then police found the girlfriend, who told police she used to date the alleged attacker, who is a longtime friend of her current boyfriend, and that the two men started arguing about the relationship. It turned violent, she said, with the former boyfriend breaking a bottle over the head of the current boyfriend, then stabbing him with a piece of broken glass, and trying to strangle her. The 35-year-old ex-boyfriend was eventually arrested and is in the King County Jail for investigation of assault.
9200 BLOCK OF 17TH SW: Here’s our Saturday coverage. According to the police report, a man knocked on the apartment door of a woman he knows in this building and said he had been shot. Police found him lying on her couch with a bullet wound to the left hamstring. The report said he was uncooperative, refusing to answer questions about the circumstances or location of the shooting. The acquaintance said she hadn’t seen anything but did hear a gunshot that seemed to have happened in the building’s parking lot; another person later told police he had been outside at the time and saw a group of five or six people who scattered after what sounded like a shot; a “light-colored mid-sized SUV” left the area shortly afterward. Police did not find any shooting evidence in the area. The report notes the Gang Unit is investigating.
(Harlequin duck, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Five options for your Monday:
AFTERNOON BOOK GROUP: 2 pm at Southwest Library. This month’s book is “State of Wonder” by Ann Patchett. (9010 35th SW)
MACRAME MEETUP: 6:30 pm at Bird on a Wire:
Macramé is a making a comeback! With the changing of seasons, what better way to cozy up inside than with some new friends and create some functional art? This is a great way for people to come together and along the way learn a new skill. The host will have some basic materials for the first mini-project (a small plant hanger). If you’ve got any materials you’d like to use, bring them!
Discussion about follow-up Macramé Meetups will be discussed – donations for the next project will be accepted as well as any ideas for what you’d like to make next! We’re looking to make this a monthly event happening at Bird on a Wire.
(3509 SW Henderson)
‘LIKE’: First area showing of this movie about social media and its effect on our lives. 7 pm at Seattle Lutheran High School – all welcome. (4100 SW Genesee)
WEST SEATTLE QUILTERS: Into quilting? Get/share advice and be part of group projects! 7 pm meeting at the Senior Center/Sisson Building. (4217 SW Oregon)
PUB QUIZ: 8 pm trivia at Shadowland in The Junction – info here. (4458 California SW)
LOOK AHEAD via our complete calendar and newly launched Halloween (Etc.) Guide!
Whatever your age – you can be afflicted by anxiety. The film “Angst“ seeks to raise awareness about it and what you can do – and this week you’re invited to a free local screening, 6:30 pm Thursday (October 18th):
Join Denny International Middle School for a special screening of Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety, a film created to break the stigma around anxiety and open up the conversation around mental health.
Filmmakers believe there is power in watching as a community; power to change and permission to talk about it. The fifty-three minute film will be followed by a moderated discussion with mental health and school professionals.
This film will be sub-titled in Spanish. Appropriate for ages 10+. Childcare will be provided for children 4 to 10 years old.
Everyone’s invited, not just students and families. The auditorium is on the west side of the campus, at 2600 SW Thistle.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:59 AM: Good morning! No transit alerts or incidents of note so far this Monday morning.
The first version of our 2018 West Seattle Halloween (Etc.) Guide is up – find it here! If you’re planning a seasonal event/activity/show that’s open to the public, free or fee, and you haven’t sent us the info yet, please e-mail the what/when/where to westseattleblog@gmail.com – we’ll be updating the guide daily as new info comes in. P.S. If you spot cool Halloween decorations, we’re interested in those too – please send the location and we’ll go look!
(WSB photos/video)
It didn’t have to be nighttime for the lanterns, and smiles, to shine brightly during the Children’s Moonlight Festival today at the Vietnamese Cultural Center in West Seattle. We arrived just in time for the lantern parade:
That was the culmination of today’s three-hour event at the center, the traditional autumn celebration known as Tết Nhi Đồng, featuring activities, games, and treats including moon cake.
Group photos are a tradition at center events.
The center’s longtime director is Lee Bui:
If you’ve never visited, the center is often open to visitors on Saturday afternoons (2236 SW Orchard).
So far, this weekend’s Highway 99 closure (SB between the Battery Street Tunnel and West Seattle Bridge) has NOT ended early. But we want to take a moment to remind you about NEXT weekend’s both-ways closure – including the last-ever scheduled inspection of the Alaskan Way Viaduct – planned to start late Friday, October 19th, continuing to early Monday, October 22nd.
(WSB photo)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:15 PM SUNDAY: The Barnes & Noble bookstore chain has struggled for years and is currently reported to be in a “strategic review”. Rumors of its Westwood Village store closing have arrived in our inbox now and then. This time, it’s no rumor. After Lynne e-mailed us to report hearing via social media that the store is closing in January, we went there to ask. The on-duty store manager confirmed to us that the company headquarters has indeed informed them the store will be closing in January. No further comment; we’ll follow up with company HQ and the firm that manages Westwood Village, Madison Marquette, tomorrow. The 26,000-square-foot store opened in October 2005. While Westwood Village has more than half a dozen retail spaces listed publicly as “for lease” right now, so far as we can find, this is not (yet) among them. The next-closest B&N is at Pacific Place downtown.
ADDED 3:09 PM MONDAY: We asked B&N corporate media relations for comment on why the store is closing and what would happen to its employees. They’re not commenting on either of those questions and said this statement is “all they have”:
“We will be closing our Westwood Village, Seattle location in January. It has been our pleasure serving this community over the years, and we will continue to serve our valued customers at our stores at South Center (Tukwila) and Downtown Seattle.”
-Jim Lampassi, VP of Real Estate Development at Barnes & Noble
Too often, music and theater are seen as “extra” for kids – but the benefits prove they should be considered essential. That’s why Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) proprietor Erin Rubin launched a nonprofit offshoot, Mode Music and Performing Arts, to provide it to more youth. A party last night at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center not only raised money for MMPA, it also showcased some of Mode’s students, like Ellie and Sophia:
The party’s emcee was Troy Nelson, who you probably know best from KEXP. Erin joined him onstage to express gratitude for the support they’re receiving in MMPA’s mission:
If you couldn’t be there but want to support MMPA’s quest to bring performing-arts education to more schools, you can donate online any time.
ADDED 3:42 PM: Update from Erin: “We had such a great night! We raised over $2500 for music and performing arts education in the schools and will continue to do so thanks to the support of our community.”
(WSB photo, September 2017)
Congratulations to Lyanda Lynn Haupt! The West Seattle-based author has just won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for nonfiction for “Mozart’s Starling.” She also was honored with the award in 2002 for “Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds.” The 2018 awards were announced last night at the Central Library downtown; they are given for “the strength of a book’s literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality” and eligibility requires either being born in Washington or having lived here at least three years. The full winners’ list:
2018 WSBA WINNERS: BOOKS FOR ADULTS CATEGORIES
Fiction
· “This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel, of Seattle (Flatiron Books)
Nonfiction
· “Mozart’s Starling” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, of Seattle (Little, Brown & Company)
Biography/Memoir
· “The Spider and the Fly” by Claudia Rowe, of Seattle (Dey Street/ HarperCollins)
Poetry
· “Water & Salt” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, of Redmond (Red Hen Press)
2018 WSBA WINNERS: BOOKS FOR YOUTH CATEGORIES
Picture Book
· “Shawn Loves Sharks” by Curtis Manley, of Bellevue, illustrated by Tracy Subisak, of Portland (Roaring Book Press)
Books for Young Readers (ages 6 to 8)
· “Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows” by Asia Citro, of Issaquah (Innovation Press)
Books for Middle Readers (ages 9 to 12)
· “The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming” by J. Anderson Coats, of Everett (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Books for Young Adult Readers (ages 13 to 18)
· “The Arsonist” by Stephanie Oakes, of Spokane (Dial Books)
Also part of the honors, West Seattle-residing state Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, as a contributor to “WA 129,” a collection of 129 poems by poets living in Washington, put together by her predecessor Tod Marshall.
(Ezra jumps and Silas watches, photographed by their dad Eugene Lee at Lowman Beach on Saturday)
Options for your Sunday – right after this reminder:
TRAFFIC ALERT: The Highway 99 and I-5 closures are scheduled to continue today, but in the past they’ve ended earlier – especially 99 – so we’ll be monitoring through the day, and will publish a separate update if that does happen. In the meantime, southbound 99 is closed between the West Seattle Bridge and Battery St. Tunnel, and northbound I-5 has lane closures starting south of the city and stretching to Olive Way.
Now, what’s up:
WALK WITH PODCAST: WEST SEATTLE: 10 am, meet at Whale Tail Park in Alki to join Podcast: West Seattle on a history-rich hike including Schmitz Park. Full details here. (59th SW/SW Lander)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, fall freshness! In the street in the heart of The Junction. (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)
PUMPKIN CARVING: 2-4 pm at Puget Ridge Edible Park:
Come enjoy pumpkin carving with your neighbors at PREP. Not only do you get to have fun with your neighbors, but you can leave the mess there as the scraps can go directly to the garden’s compost. Bring your own pumpkin, but there will be about 20 pumpkins for anyone who doesn’t have one. Afterward, you can stay and learn more about PREP during the monthly work meeting.
(18th SW/SW Brandon)
WRITING EMOTION IN FICTION: Local writer Karen Finneyfrock (who just emceed the Washington State Book Awards last night) will lead a workshop to “explore some of the ways writers create an emotional response in the reader. Primarily geared toward writers working on novels or short stories.” 2-4 pm, Southwest Library, free. (9010 35th SW)
CHILDREN’S MOONLIGHT FESTIVAL: 3-6 pm at the Vietnamese Cultural Center, as previewed here – activities, performances, more, for all ages. (2236 SW Orchard)
MADELINE TASQUIN: “Eclectic songwriter” performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)
FINAL PERFORMANCE OF ‘SKELETON CREW’: Closing day at ArtsWest – 3 pm curtain; check here for tickets. (4711 California SW)
ALL-AGES SHOW: Blue Avenue, Fever Point, Sanya at The Skylark, doors at 5, show at 6, all ages, $5 cover. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
PREVIEW THE WEEK AHEAD … via our complete West Seattle calendar!
10:39 PM: Another “scenes of violence” response in South Delridge: This time, per dispatch, someone showed up in the 9200 block of 17th SW [map] and said they had been shot in the leg. Updates to come.
10:43 PM: Police arriving at the scene – reported to be in an apartment-building parking lot – are getting reports that a vehicle might have been associated with the shooting, possibly a light-colored SUV.
10:57 PM: The 30-year-old victim is reported to have a gunshot wound to his left leg and is being taken to Harborview by SFD medic unit. No further description of circumstances or suspect(s).
(WSB photos)
8:59 PM: SPD and SFD have a “scenes of violence” callout in the 8800 block of Delridge. Updates to come.
9:05 PM: This was initially described as a possible stabbing and police have since reported finding ‘the mother of the victim’ but no word on the victim’s status. The SFD response has closed.
9:16 PM: Per scanner, another call a couple blocks on Delridge is being linked to this one.
9:25 PM: We have finally made it to the scene. Some police at Delridge/Trenton, more – plus an ambulance – at the business corner of Delridge/Henderson. One person found there will be taken to the hospital, police tell us, but they’re not certain yet if it’s the person injured a couple blocks north (where radio exchanges earlier mentioned blood found in an apartment). No one in custody and we’re now seeing a K-9 team arriving.
10:23 PM: Per radio exchange, police have yet to finish sorting this out. They’re talking to others who had some role in whatever happened, and an SFD unit is headed back to the original Delridge/Trenton scene.
(2017 photo by Lynda Bui)
Early reminder about one of tomorrow’s highlights: The annual Children’s Moonlight Festival at the Vietnamese Cultural Center, 3-6 pm Sunday at 2236 SW Orchard (just north of Home Depot). Games, activities, entertainment, refreshments including the traditional moon cake, all free, all ages welcome. Here’s the flyer with details.
The photo is from Susan in South Delridge, who e-mailed to say, “Found this little scooter on my property … It was hidden pretty well in the bushes. It’s a little beat up, but still belonged to someone. It is heavy and could only get it moved from the bushes (because it has a flat tire) to near the sidewalk and now visible from the street.” Yours? Let us know.
(Photos courtesy White Center Food Bank)
Could be the ultimate home decoration … a fire hydrant. It’s one of the auction items up for bids one week from tonight at this year’s Harvest Dinner and Auction benefiting White Center Food Bank, which serves part of West Seattle too. Here’s the reminder:
The White Center Food Bank’s 14th Annual Harvest Dinner & Auction fundraiser is October 20th from 6 PM – 10 PM at the Brockey Center at South Seattle College. The theme is “Back to Our Roots,” signifying the return of the WCFB auction back to its neighborhood after being in various venues the past few years.
Keeping with the theme, WCFB will have a former customer of the food bank share her story and what role the food bank played in her getting connected to achieve her personal and professional goals.
The food bank’s new Executive Director will address the audience, as will the board president and a local partner, CitySoil Farm.
Featured items in the Live Auction include a fire hydrant from KC Water District 20, Seattle’s “other” sports package, a week-long stay at a timeshare in Mexico or Florida, and a farm to table dinner for 12 at WCFB’s onsite Grow2Give Garden.
Tickets are $75. Get them here. Questions? Please email: auction@whitecenterfoodbank.org or call 206-717-2531.
P.S. Follow the ticket link to preview dozens of other auction items too!
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