West Seattle, Washington
07 Tuesday
Sent today by Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner, another of the occasional notifications that a Level 3 sex offender has moved into a local neighborhood:
In an effort to keep you informed, and in our constant attempts to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know about a level 3 sex offender that has recently moved into a SW Precinct neighborhood.
Christopher Kinser, a 59-year-old white man, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 9700 block of Myers Way South. Mr. Kinser is no longer under Department of Corrections supervision.
To learn more about this offender and to see his photo, please visit the King County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender website and search by his name; you will also find personal safety tips and resources on this website. [Editor’s note: Here’s a direct link to the page with his photo and background information
To register to receive an email alert whenever a published offender registers within one mile of your desired address(es), go to (this) link.
Level 3 sex offenders pose the highest risk to re-offend. It is normal to feel upset, angry and worried about a registered sex offender living in your community. The Community Notification Act of 1990 requires sex offenders to register in the community where they live. The law also allows local law enforcement to make the public aware about Level 2 and Level 3 offenders. Since these offenders have completed their sentences, they are free to live where they wish. Experts believe sex offenders are less likely to re-offend if they live and work in an environment free of harassment. Any actions taken against the listed sex offenders could result in arrest and prosecution as it is against the law to use this information in any way to threaten, intimidate or harass registered sex offenders. The SPD Sex offender detectives will check on these offenders every 3 months to verify our information.
The single most effective means of protecting your child is communication with your child. They have to feel comfortable discussing sensitive matters with you. Teach your children that they should not be asked to touch anyone in the bathing suit areas of their body or allow anyone to touch them in those areas. Teach them types of situations to avoid. It is not good enough to tell a child to avoid strangers. Please remember that children are most often molested by someone they or their parents know.
Other questions? This FAQ might help
Those two maps – top one between the South and Delridge substations, second one between the Delridge and Duwamish substations – show the routes for a fiberoptic-cable project Seattle City Light just announced:
Seattle City Light crews plan to install new fiberoptic cables between several utility substations in the southwest Seattle area. This work is needed to provide reliable communications for City Light’s electrical substations and operations network.
Beginning in mid-July 2020, City Light crews will pull overhead cables along several routes between the utility’s Delridge, Duwamish and South substations. Crews will be working on several utility poles to complete this work.
Additional Details:
Customers can anticipate temporary parking, sidewalk and traffic restrictions during this project. —
Flaggers will assist with directing traffic through work zones.
During this project, City Light will have the opportunity to upgrade infrastructure and replace utility poles that are in poor condition. Additional poles may be installed as well.
Some noise is expected from construction activities.
Maintenance power outages are not expected. If outages are needed, customers will be notified in advance.
The project will require rolling slowdowns on State Route (SR) 99 and SR 509. Details about this phase of work, tentatively beginning in September, will be shared with customers once a construction schedule has been determined.
This project is anticipated to start in mid-July 2020. Construction will last approximately two to three months. Construction work hours are from Mondays to Fridays, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Crews may be working outside these hours, as needed.
Transient orcas, seen in the area a few days ago. are back – reported off Fay Bainbridge State Park and heading southwest about an hour ago, so you’d definitely need binoculars, but this is a heads-up to be on the lookout. (Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip!)
(Rendering, from page 32 of ‘checklist’ document)
One more West Seattle High School sports note today: One more week to comment on the levy-funded Athletic Field Improvement Project‘s environmental checklist. The document describes the project as follows:
SPS is proposing to add a batting cage and conduct other field improvements at West Seattle High School. The proposal includes improvements to the existing south field area located at the northwest corner of the SW Hanford Street / 42nd Avenue SW intersection, south of the school. The field improvements would be used by high school sports teams as well as PE students. The project would convert the existing natural grass athletic field to a new synthetic turf field constructed with natural cork and sand infill. This would involve excavation to 1-foot and installation of a drainage system. A prefabricated batting cage with roof would be installed with 3 batting stations on the west side of the field. The batting cage structure would be approximately 3,900 square feet, consisting of roughly 78 feet long by 50 feet wide by 17 feet tall. The batting cage would be for school use only and would be locked at 10 p.m. during the school year. The new facilities are not expected to be used for Seattle Parks’ activities nor by the general public. It would have lighting inside the batting cage during use and 24-hour exterior security lighting. The field would not be lighted. There would be no changes to parking and access.
You can see the “checklist” – actually a 37-page document – by going here. Comment deadline is 5 pm next Monday, July 13th, and yu can send yours to SEPAcomments@seattleschools.org.
Teen golfer in your house? The West Seattle High School Golf Team is looking ahead to the 2020-2021 season – here’s the announcement we received:
Are you an incoming Freshman or an existing student at West Seattle High School and are interested in playing for the Golf Team for the 2020-2021 season? If so, please contact Coach Joel at wshsgolfteam@outlook.com. Our season runs from September to the end of October. Team practices will start in August. We have varsity and junior-varsity teams for both Boys and Girls. All skill levels are welcome.
6:07 AM: Good morning and welcome to the 105th morning without the high-rise West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK
Lane reductions continue for the Delridge Way RapidRide H Line project – here’s what they’re working on this week.
TRAFFIC
Here’s the camera for the restricted-daytime-access low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) – which has up to 14 overnight closures planned later this month. Meanwhile, here’s that camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map) – this camera shows the SP-side approach:
If you’re going through South Park, neighbors urge you to slow down.
P.S. Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
TRANSIT
Metro – Some service has been restored – details here.
Water Taxi – Some service has been restored on the WT too, plus the 773 and 775 shuttles – see the schedule here.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
11:08 PM: A Seattle Fire “full response” is headed for the 6300 block of 38th SW [map]. First engine on scene says it’s a house fire.
11:13 PM: The fire is reported to be on the house’s 2nd floor. Firefighters have water on it.
11:19 PM: The fire is reported to be under control. Both occupants are reported to have gotten out OK.
11:22 PM: Fire now declared “tapped” (out).
ADDED 2 PM MONDAY: SFD says, “The fire started from a lamp in a closet that ignited nearby combustible material. Total estimated loss is $125,000.”
A short roundup as we wrap up the holiday weekend:
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*11,014 people have tested positive, up 230 from yesterday
*590 people have died, unchanged for a second day
*1,616 people have been hospitalized, up 6 from yesterday
*187,647 people have been tested, up 6.111 from yesterday
(corrected) One week ago, the totals were 9,901/586/1,574/159,551.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 11.4 million cases and more than 534,000 deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO MASK, NO SERVICE: Remember that Tuesday’s the day that businesses statewide are supposed to start refusing service to those not wearing face coverings.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
4 bridge notes as the 16th week of its closure appraches:
RECONNECT WEST SEATTLE: Tomorrow’s the aay that SDOT has said it will go public with ballots to vote on potential projects that can help with bridge-closure-related traffic in four areas – Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill, as well as South Park, Georgetown, and SODO. Each area’s ballot will ask you to choose up to 10 of the projects; voting will be open until the end of the month.
COMMUNITY TASK FORCE: This advisory group’s fourth meeting is scheduled for Wednesday (July 8th), noon-2 pm. We’ll publish the link for real=time viewing as soon as we get it from SDOT.
FEDERAL FUNDING? Our area’s U.S. House Rep. Pramila Jayapal – a West Seattle resident when not in D.C. – says she’s pushing for it. Last week she mentioned the bridge on the House floor, and tweeted the clip:
Speaking on the House floor today, I urged support for a deeply necessary investment in our country's infrastructure. This includes critical revenue for repairing and rebuilding bridges like the West Seattle Bridge in our community. pic.twitter.com/CbyzDwFeyV
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 1, 2020
In her latest weekly newsletter, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold says she’s working with Rep.Jayapal on that.
SPEAKING OF $: Seen on the city website, another “request for statement of qualifications” – this time for a consultant to handle communications, although the description targets “qualified engineering firms,” not communications firms. Whoever’s hired is expected to get $5 million over three years.
8:31 PM Thanks for the texted tips and photo – another crash on Sylvan Way near Sylvan Heights. Sam reports, “Driver hit a tree and took the entire tree down, then went up the embankment and knocked down a fence, then landed upright wrapped around another tree.” SFD has cleared the scene, no medic unit dispatched, so apparently no major injuries. Sam says two people were in the car.
8:48 PM: Sam says traffic’s being allowed back through, as site cleanup continues.
The reopenings continue.
EPHESUS: Thanks for the tip! The Turkish restaurant at 5245 California SW plans to reopen Wednesday (July 8th). For dinner reservations, call 206-937-3302.
IRASHAI: The Japanese restaurant at 2352 California SW (which changed ownership last year) has a big banner announcing it’s reopening Tuesday (July 7th).
The family of former longtime West Seattle resident Vernon “Don” Adams has announced his passing and is sharing this remembrance:
Vernon ‘Don’ Adams passed away peacefully on June 21, 2020, with his loving wife of almost 65 years, Tricia, and his daughter, Edie, at his bedside. Other family members were not able to visit due to the current pandemic.
Don was born on Valentine’s Day during the Great Depression times of 1936 in rural Wellington, Texas to David Wendell and Anna Dobson Adams. Dave and Anna worked a variety of jobs including farm labor and picking fruit. At the time of Don’s birth, Dave worked as a rural school bus driver. The young couple were assisted by a minister whose name was Vernon and, in gratitude, named little “Don” after the minister. Within a few years, when Don was six-months-old, the migrant family had moved to Auburn, Washington. At four years old, Don was recorded onto the 1940 census.
With his older brother, George, Don grew up in Auburn throughout the 1940s and – 50s. Like many young men of those times, his interests included cars, hunting, horseback clubs, and girls. Don “lettered” as a varsity basketball player and played other sports. He was also an avid outdoorsman all his life. He enjoyed camping, fishing, and hunting with his family, friends, and business partners.
According to Tricia, during his school years, he was really into horses: “I think he had at least three and he belonged to the Saddle Club.” The club went on trail rides and Don and his friends camped with their horses. “I remember Don telling me about camping out by the river, catching fish and cooking them over a campfire, and having sword fights with the big ferns”. Another time Don and his buddies were riding their horses up by Lake Tapps chasing some Indian ponies and Don’s horse ran into a wire and was cut. Don’s father Dave taught Don how to doctor the horse.
Then cars entered the picture. “When I first met Don, he had a little red Oldsmobile convertible with a white top he sold to get a ‘49 Chevrolet that ended up being our first car”. He always felt bad about being lured away from his horses by a car. He drove to school and worked on a water well rig and also in a slaughterhouse outside of Auburn but mostly at his father’s Auburn Texaco service station. Don cherished all the friendships he made and has maintained them from those early school days.
In 1954, Don was introduced to Patricia Wilson by his sister-in-law Hazel Adams (both young women were working for Patricia’s uncle in the main office of his downtown bookstore, which was part of a national chain). Love bloomed and they married July 30th, 1955, in Seattle. Don initially worked at Boeing but did not find that to his liking. Don had always been enamored of planes and was able to start flying lessons while working at Boeing. With a new family, he eventually had to stop the lessons, but later he was able to go back and fly solo.
Over the next few years, the couple followed construction to find work. For a few months in late 1956, they lived in Myrtle Point, Oregon while Don was working as an apprentice carpenter, helping build a school. The young couple lived in Myrtle Point until the construction job finished and they then traveled to Santa Rosa, California. While living in a mobile home park on the Old Redwood Highway, Don took a job at the Cadillac garage in Santa Rosa. Their first son, Michael, was born in Santa Rosa and the young father took his family home from the hospital in a borrowed Cadillac. Eventually, Don got homesick and lonesome for the beautiful green state of Washington and the couple went back to Washington, living in several small towns south of Seattle, before moving to West Seattle in 1963. While his children were small, Don had another job that involved driving a big truck from Seattle to Reno to Sacramento. For a while, he also was a relief milk truck driver for Kent Farm Dairy in Kent, Washington. Don always wanted to be a police officer and in 1960, he began working with the King County Sheriff Department. In 1961, he moved to the Seattle Police Department.
As a Seattle Police Department Sergeant in July 1972, Don was awarded the Seattle Industrial Kiwanis Club Police Officer of the Month for a heroic rescue action he performed during a March 18, 1972 gunfire standoff involving a mentally-ill individual who had been sniping at individuals from his upper story, downtown hotel window. In a Seattle Times article of the day, “Officer Honored for Actions against Sniper,” it was written that: “Police Sgt. Vernon D. Adams, 36, was honored at a luncheon today as Officer of the Month by the Industrial Kiwanis Club. Adams was chosen because of his role in taking command of police operations as a sniper at the Bush Hotel fired on police March 18. Adams was also awarded a department commendation by Chief George P. Tielsch.”
The Chief’s commendation was as follows: “Although you were aware that you were exposing yourself to deadly danger, you risked your life to rescue a fellow officer…” which “resulted in your sustaining a serious and painful gunshot wound. I have no doubt that your direction of this operation, although wounded yourself, and your courageous self-sacrifice minimized the potentially serious injuries and prevented the fatal injuring of the police officers at the scene.”
Thankfully, he recovered from his physical injuries, but trauma nevertheless was in fact sustained (today it would be called post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD). Also, although Don had always wanted to be a police officer, he became disillusioned with what might be called “politics” in the Department (i.e., watch out who you catch doing something wrong and arrest and who they might be connected to). He left the police department in 1975.
That period was initially a period of chaotic personal turmoil, facing the challenge of changing employment while having a family of six to feed. Also, within approximately a year of leaving police work, the family unexpectedly sustained a house fire, requiring him to face multiple challenges including several moves over the next year, while he commissioned a new house in the Schmitz Park area of West Seattle.
Although he initially considered small-town police department Chief positions during this period, he found an exciting change in the direction of real estate. He later felt that he owed a great deal to his mentor, the West Seattle real estate broker Ron Turner. Within short order, he was his office’s top producer and eventually sold multiple millions of dollars in real estate. His wife, Tricia joined him in the real estate practice, and together with another couple, they started their new business “Elliott Bay Realtors,” first operating out of the Admiral District and later building their own real estate office at California and Brandon street in West Seattle. They eventually sold their interest, left, and worked with Prudential Real Estate (the other couple later sold Elliott Bay Realtors to Prudential).
During Don’s later years as a real-estate agent, he resumed his young adult hobby of private pilot aviation and enjoyed several different aircraft. According to Tricia, during a hectic real estate market, Don discovered he could get away from the office and watch the planes and hide at Boeing Field. It was there he saw his first Ercoupe and the rest is history. The guy was rebuilding the one we bought and we had our choice of paint colors so we chose lime and white, just like the can of (a popular) shaving cream.
At one point, he also had his own small 22-foot sailboat which he would sail in Elliott Bay of Seattle. In a time of a busy market, these activities helped preserve his sanity!
After retirement in 2000, Don and Tricia traveled the United States in a fifth-wheel trailer revisiting historic sites of family history. After two years of this nomadic travel (and with some health issues), they settled down at their high-desert retirement home in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Through the connection of their daughter and son-in-law to the U.S. Army post-Fort Huachuca, Don and Tricia were introduced to Sierra Vista and it was there that they decided where their retirement years together would be spent. In Sierra Vista, Don was involved with the local radio-control-aircraft flying club, where he made many deep friendships.
Don was an engaged parent and grandparent and was constantly amazed by the large and small achievements of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Employment: Carpenter; Long-haul Truck Driver; Milk Man; King County Sheriff Deputy; Seattle Police Department Motorcycle Officer, Patrolman, Sergeant & Detective; Real Estate Agent, Broker and part-owners of Elliott Bay Realtors.
Children: Besides Michael Don Adams, two additional sons, Stanley David Adams and Jerrold Dennis Adams, and a daughter, Edith “Edie” Anne (Adams) Guild became part of their family.
Grandkids and Great Grandkids: Michael David Adams, Zachary Loberg Adams, Lauren Rae Adams, Kyran Park Adams, Bradley Adams, Kiana Jade Adams, Nicolle Rose Guild, Jessica Anne Guild, and Great-grandchildren James A. Segovia and Landon Rose.
The family plans to have a Memorial BBQ in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, please donate “In Memory of Don Adams” to your favorite animal rescue organization.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
In our coverage last night, we asked for photos of fireworks debris readers found today. First, from Phil at Westcrest Park:
2:07 PM: From Christie at Highland Park Elementary:
From a texter at Alki Beach:
Next one is from Therese in The Junction:
She notes, “Partial debris pile from ONE household’s “celebration” in the alley directly behind Courtesy Tire, which went on until after 2:30 a.m. The smell is terrible, and of course it is impossible to pick up all the little bits.” Toxic, too. Photos from other areas? Send them and we will add – thank you.
ADDED 5:20 PM: From Jackie, near White Center:
Jackie says, “t was 3 am before the bombing stopped. I’ve never before seen residential fireworks the size of a case of beer.” Next, from Kayoko, at North Shorewood Park’s parking lot:
And from Laura at EC Hughes Playground:
The first Sunday of the month usually brings the monthly Community Advisory Committee meeting for Camp Second Chance, West Seattle’s only city-sanctioned encampment. Because of the holiday, the CAC meeting is delayed a week to next Sunday, July 12th, 2 pm. Here’s how to join:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 858 5523 4269
Password: 9701
By phone: 253 215 8782
Our coverage of past meetings, and the encampment itself, is archived here.
(Photo by Lonita Weaver, who says, “My husband, Ray Weaver of Arbor Heights, made this picnic table for our resident squirrels in backyard.”)
As the three-day holiday weekend concludes, here’s our list of what’s happening today, starting with updated links for West Seattle churches’ online services – most livestreamed, some not:
ADMIRAL UCC: Find today’s worship video here.
ALKI UCC: 10 am online service via Zoom – info and link on church’s home page.
ALL SOULS SEATTLE (WSB sponsor): Online worship is viewable here.
BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH: Livestreaming for West Seattle here at 9:30 am.
CALVARY CHAPEL: Service will be viewable here, plus 11 am fellowship via Zoom, 6 pm all-church prayer and 7 pm evening worship (info on home page).
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: West Seattle Ward has Sunday services via Zoom at 10 am, one hour long, all welcome. They last an hour. Here’s the link.
EASTRIDGE CHURCH: Livestreaming here at 9 am and 11 am.
FAUNTLEROY UCC: Livestreaming on the church’s YouTube channel at 10 am.
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST SEATTLE: Today’s online liturgy is here.
GRACE CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10:30 am.
HALLOWS CHURCH: Streaming at 10 am via the church’s YouTube channel.
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming in English at 8:30 am, en Español at 10 am, all here. (Adding in-person Masses July 11th – registration required.)
HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 9:30 am here.
HOPE LUTHERAN: Today’s worship service and children’s story are viewable here.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 10 am, both here.
PEACE LUTHERAN: Livestreaming at 10:30 am on YouTube.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Viewable on YouTube: All Ages Sunday School at 10 am, Morning Prayer at 10:15 am (here’s today’s bulletin), Kids’ Club at 11:30 am.
TIBBETTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (WSB sponsor): The video service for today will be viewable here.
TRINITY CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10 am.
WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: The video service for today is viewable here.
WEST SEATTLE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: Livestreaming here, 11 am.
WEST SIDE PRESBYTERIAN Livestreaming at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.
WESTSIDE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION: Livestreaming at 10:30 am – information’s here, 10:30 am.
WESTWOOD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: Online worship at 11 am; info here.
Any other churches to add? Please email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Also today:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week. (Enter at California/Alaska)
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Open 11 am-4 pm – need a tool to fix or improve something? (4408 Delridge Way SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE: Out to -3.0 feet at 11:38 am.
FREE TO-GO DINNER – NEW LOCATION: White Center Community Dinner Church will serve to-go meals at 5 pm, outside, near the Bartell Drugs parking lot in White Center, SW Roxbury St. & 15th Ave. SW (9600 15th Ave SW)
From Dayanne: “Between Thursday night 10 pm and Friday morning at 7 am my dad’s car was stolen from in front of our house on 8th and Sullivan [South Park]. Please keep an eye out for a black Lexus IS 250; the license plate number is BNF6031. It’s all black with tinted windows and has the same wheels as the picture – we don’t have an exact picture of the car, but it looks identical to the one (here).” Call 911 if you see it.
10:35 PM: Many Fourth of July late nights, we keep an incident log, so we’re starting one now. Above is the SPD Mobile Precinct, seen at Alki around 7 pm. Around 9 pm, police radioed that they would be assisting Seattle Parks in closing the beach. Then came a call for police to help SFD with numerous illegal beach fires. And right now, police are handling a crash in the (corrected) 1200 block of Alki SW – the whole block is closed, per the scanner. This was originally dispatched as a rollover but we’re not sure if that’s what it turned out to be; more than half the originally dispatched SFD units have been dismissed. … Update: Erin just sent this photo. Definitely a flipped car.
One person is reported to be getting evaluated for possible injuries.
11:02 PM: Another Alki crash dispatch, 56th about half a block south of Alki SW. Also, a car fire at 6th SW/SW Cloverdale, which is close to a “brush fire” call last hour. The previous call was answered by Squad 40, a unit we don’t usually hear mentioned routinely. SFD explains that it’s “our brush truck used for wildland firefighting deployments. We have it staffed and in-service today for responding to extinguish spot/brush fires.”
11:28 PM: Alki SW is still closed at the flipped-car crash scene, which, as shown in the photo below sent by Michael, is outside the Infinity project site – took out the fencing:
11:35 PM: Now a “brush fire” call at Gatewood Elementary – which is barely half a block west of this evening’s apartment fire. Dispatcher says a tree is on fire. … And a minute later, a “rubbish fire” dispatch at Lowman Beach.
12:33 AM: Things have quieted down somewhat since that burst.
1:12 AM: What’s it been like on Alki? Two photos from David Hutchinson:
Up here east of Lincoln Park, we’re still hearing scattered booms.
2:28 AM: Finally quiet, at least here.
3:15 AM: Well, it was, till now. P.S. If you are among the kind souls who go out on the morning of the 5th to clean up … consider sending us a photo of what you find.
As public-health authorities warned, viruses don’t take holidays. So even on this Independence Day night, we have a roundup, though it’s short:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative numbers from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*10,784 people have tested positive, 65 more than yesterday
*590 people have died, unchanged from yesterday
*1,610 people have been hospitalized, unchanged from yesterday
*181,536 people have been tested, 1,892 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 9,819/586/1,574/157,623.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 11.2 million people have tested positive, and more than 530,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, Russia, India, Peru (last week’s #5, the UK, is down to #7). See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.
NEED PET FOOD? King County’s mobile pet-food bank has announced it’ll be at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center (1321 SW 102nd) noon-3 pm next Friday (July 10th).
FARMERS’ MARKET NOTES FOR SUNDAY: The market remains modified because of the pandemic, but it’s open tomorrow as usual, 10 am–2 pm. If you’ve ordered from the new online system, you can go directly to the north side of the market for pickup – California/Oregon. If you’re shopping the regular market, management wants you to know:
People needing ADA accessibility, those with mobility issues, and older folks are welcome to walk to the front of the market line [California/Alaska] for quicker entry. (This is a rule we’ve had in place verbally and through signage at market for months, but it seems more important than ever with the heat and longer lines.)
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westsettleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
6:04 PM: We just happened onto this and SFD has just arrived.
The fire was burning in shrubbery in front of the building and spread to balconies.
(Photo by Julianne Davidson)
(Texted photo)
Passersby were hollering for people to get out. More…
More firefighters have arrived. The flames were roaring up the side of the building before their arrival. No word of injuries so far.
6:19 PM: Under control, damage mostly exterior, says SFD. Cause under investigation.
6:34 PM: They’re evaluating the interior to see if it’s safe for residents to go back inside.
7:15 PM: California’s still blocked at the scene by SFD units.
7:30 PM: SFD says it was started by fireworks. $100,000 damage estimate.
8:49 PM: Added two short video clips we recorded just before and just after the first engine arrived. Meantime, the incident log shows only 3 units still on scene, so California is likely passable again.
From the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
Another Rotary Year Passes:
The West Seattle Rotary just had its New Year’s (July 1) change of Leadership. We would like to welcome our new President Dawn Schaper, who is also the Executive Director of Brookdale Admiral Heights.
This has been a busy year for outgoing President Dave Nichols; with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he took the weekly club meetings online in Zoom. As a club, we raised and donated almost $10,000 to three of our local nonprofits – West Seattle Food Bank, Senior Center of West Seattle, and WestSide Baby, who are supporting our community in this time of need. If you would like to help us, you may donate here.
One of the annual events presented by the Rotary, the West Seattle Grand Parade, is among the summer events that have to skip this year.
Somebody texted a while ago to report a beaver at Don Armeni. We suspect it’s the same critter Sharon Wada photographed earlier today, sending the pics and noting, “This guy looks like he’s surfing! So many people I talked to said this was the first time they’ve seen a beaver walking and swimming in the tideoools before swimming along the edge towards Elliott Bay. Feel free to post these pictures of what looks to be a beaver; however, some have asked if it was a nutria.”
11 years ago, a similar sighting in a Junction yard resulted in a commenter consensus of “marmot.” Here are infopages for beavers, nutria, and marmot (seems unlikely). Thoughts?
Right about now every Fourth of July, Southwest Seattle Historical Society members and friends gather at the Log House Museum on Alki for their annual picnic. Not this year. But the SWSHS is offering you the chance to celebrate by learning more about a chapter in American history – here’s the announcement:
Over the past year, staff at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society have conducted a series of oral histories with the West Seattle High School classes of 1944 and 1945. The purpose was to document the impact of WWII on the youth of West Seattle.
We had hoped to have a pop-up exhibit at the all-school reunion at WSHS (last month). However, the reunion was canceled due to the pandemic. So, we are bringing you a mini-online exhibit of War on the Homefront. Head over to our website for a glimpse of the rich stories our wonderful participants shared with us. We look forward to creating a more robust exhibit at the museum in the future.
(To explore the “mini-exhibit,” mouse over the bottom of the window that’ll come up on the SWSHS website, and you’ll see the arrows.)
(Photo by Brittany Philbin)
Good morning and happy Independence Day! Because of the pandemic, all the usual local events are taking this year off. So we have a few notes (interspersed with local photos of our national bird, the Bald Eagle):
TRANSIT: Metro is on the usual Saturday schedule.
PARKS: Here’s the city list of what’s closed/open.
ALKI CLEANUP: As previewed here, you’re invited to join in, 10 am-2 pm.
LOW-LOW TIDE: Way out to -3.0 feet at 10:56 am.
(Photo by Sharon Wada)
FIREWORKS: Not here (illegal, and city/port parks are trying to dissuade them), no shows visible from here (Lake Union show is canceled, Three Tree Point show is canceled, Bainbridge show is canceled, Vashon show is canceled).
LUNAR ECLIPSE, SORT OF: One will be happening tonight after 8 pm but even if the sky’s clear, you won’t see anything but the full moon, Space.com explains.
(Photo by Lynn Hall)
We’re working as always, so if you have a photo, tip, lost/found pet, westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you and stay safe!
| 4 COMMENTS