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    MEMORIES: How readers remember Lou Magor

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    ABOUT THAT PLANE: Why it circled early Saturday

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    FAREWELL, JEB: Why mini-horse is moving

The list for your West Seattle Monday
April 19, 2021 8:59 am
|      0 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Waterfowl babies at Seola Pond, photographed by Jim Clark)

Happenings you might want to know about:

CITY COUNCIL: Monday means two meetings, the 9:30 am briefing – including an around-the-table chance for each councilmember to share updates on what they’re focusing on right now – and the 2 pm weekly regular meeting (agenda here). Watch both via Seattle Channel, online or cable 21.

QUALITY CLEANERS PICKUP, FINAL DAY: Noon-4 pm, it’s the last of three days for customers who still have items at the closed cleaners (2601 California SW) to go in and retrieve them – unclaimed items will be donated. Mask required; one person in the shop at a time.

CAREER EXPLORATION: 3-5 pm online, discover what Seattle Colleges offer students for Arts, Design, and Graphics career pathways. Info’s in our calendar listing.

FOOD-TRUCK FUNDRAISER: 5-8:45 pm, order from the Thai-U-Up food truck at 30th/Roxbury, and 10 percent of the proceeds benefit Friends of Roxhill Elementary.

(Sunday sunset, photographed by James Bratsanos)

METEOR SHOWER: The Lyrid meteor shower should be visible this week, until the clouds return. Here’s info on looking for the meteors.

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ROAD WORK, TRAFFIC, WEATHER: Back-to-school Monday watch, with Water Taxi schedule change
April 19, 2021 6:03 am
|      0 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:03 AM: Good morning! Another sunny day, slightly cooler.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Seattle Public Schools‘ spring break is over, and middle-/high-school hybrid learning begins today, with some students in classrooms in the afternoon, in addition to the elementary/preschool/special-education students for whom some in-person learning already has resumed.

ROAD WORK .

Delridge project – A month or so of work at Delridge/Orchard has begun; here’s what else is planned this week.

TRANSIT

Metro has increased the number of passengers allowed on buses.

Starting today, the West Seattle Water Taxi is on its spring/summer schedule – all day, 7 days a week, plus Friday and Saturday evenings.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

392nd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s how it’s looking on other bridges and routes:

Low Bridge: 15th week for automated enforcement cameras; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends, when the bridge is now open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Read about other changes here.)

Here’s a low-bridge view:

West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:

Highland Park Way/Holden:

The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

And the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):

For the South Park Bridge (map), here’s the nearest camera:

To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.

See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.

Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

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CORONAVIRUS: Sunday 4/18/2021 roundup, including our weekly West Seattle trend check
April 18, 2021 11:27 pm
|      0 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Tonight’s pandemic news:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the King County Daily Summary Dashboard page, the cumulative totals:

*93,854 people have tested positive, 344 more than yesterday’s total

*1,493 people have died, unchanged since Friday

*5,573 people have been hospitalized, 4 more than yesterday’s total

*1,008,756 people have been tested, 537 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, those totals were 91,438/1,483/5,446/991,687.

WEST SEATTLE TRENDS: Time for our weekly check. These numbers are shown in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard; to determine WS status, we combine the totals from the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas” (HRAs): For the past two weeks, 165 positive test results; 103 in the 2 weeks before that; also 103 in the two weeks before that. … We also are noting WS death totals each week. The total deaths for the entire pandemic in the two HRAs comprising West Seattle: 65, unchanged again in this past week.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 141.4 million cases and 3,019,000+ deaths, 567,000+ of them in the U.S. – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.

LOOKING FOR VACCINE? Here are links to try:

*If you’re looking for a city-site appointment, note that the official advice is to sign up for the city’s notification list for all four of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine (one reader specifically recommends Valley Medical Center), Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, Neighborcare, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics
And if travel time is not a barrier – Beth recommends this lookup for potential appointments within a few hours’ drive.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

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MONDAY: Part-time in-person learning starts for middle-, high-school students
April 18, 2021 8:48 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Even if you don’t have a student in the house, we want to remind you that Seattle Public Schools‘ middle- and high-school campuses reopen for part-time in-person learning starting tomorrow. Here on the peninsula, that means increased activity at Chief Sealth International High School, Denny International Middle School, Madison Middle School, and West Seattle High School, as well as Louisa Boren STEM K-8 and Pathfinder K-8. For students and their families the district has these reminders:

Daily Health Screening
If the student will be attending in-person school, they will need to complete the daily health screening prior to 7 a.m. for the morning session or 10 a.m. for the afternoon session. (More information about schedules can be found here.) The health screening will be delivered by email (also can be received by text). The daily health screening will be sent by 5 a.m. every school day. 6-12 grade students can fill out the health screening themselves once a parent or guardian gives permission. Learn more about the daily health screening. If the daily health screening isn’t complete before the student arrives at school, it can be done on site.

Keeping School Communities Healthy
To keep SPS school communities healthy and safe, students and families are reminded:
• If the student is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea – they should not come to school.

• If a student has traveled during spring break, we recommend families follow public health guidance and quarantine. Contact the school’s attendance office to communicate the student’s absence.

Masks
Students are encouraged to bring their own mask to school. The mask should fit above the nose, chin, and snugly against the face. Students can watch a short video about how to wear a mask.

Student Devices
6-12 grade students returning to buildings should bring their SPS-issued laptops, or a personal device, for their in-person learning session. Instructions for helping students connect with their personal devices in the classroom have been provided to educators. Elementary students may be asked to bring their devices into their classrooms to support learning. Students should bring devices fully charged and in a backpack or other protected cover or case.

Meals
District meal distribution site hours have changed to support in-person learning. The 40 meal sites will now be open from 10:45 a.m. -1:15 p.m. Bus routes will deliver meals on Wednesdays only. All students can access hot, prepared meals at meal sites. Grab and go breakfast and lunch will also be available for students learning in-person at each school site.

Public Transportation: 6th-12th grade students
If a student plans to use public transportation, they are urged to have their Orca card. If a student doesn’t have an Orca card, it can be requested at school when the student arrives to school. Students can use the Metro Trip Planner or contact Metro customer service for help at 206-553-3000. All students should allow extra time to reach school and when leaving school. More tips and links for students and families are on the Metro Matters Blog.

As announced when a tentative agreement was reached April 1st, middle- and high-school students who chose to return to in-person learning will attend their schools two afternoons a week, with remote learning continuing the rest of the week. For middle-schoolers at K-8s, it’s up to the school whether their in-person classes are in the mornings or afternoons.

9:55 PM: Hybrid learning may not have had an overwhelming reception, at least at CSIHS, whose principal told families in email tonight that they have until Friday to change their choice, and “if the in-person numbers do not increase, we will collapse the two in-person cohorts into one cohort.”

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Happy trails to Jeb the miniature horse, who’s about to leave West Seattle
April 18, 2021 5:58 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   Pets | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One of West Seattle’s best-known residents is leaving.

It’s not because of the bridge closure.

It’s not because of the pandemic.

It’s … the grass.

Jeb the miniature horse has lived at an Admiral home, adjacent to a public street-end greenbelt, for more than 15 years. This Tuesday, a horse-transport firm will pick him up and take him to his new home in Taos, New Mexico.

Jeb’s human companion Mimi Miles contacted WSB because she wanted all his fans to know about his imminent departure. Word’s gotten out around the neighborhood. And there are signs up on the fence by his yard along that greenbelt:

Read More

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READER REPORT: Hit-run driver sought
April 18, 2021 5:34 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | High Point | West Seattle news

From Deniece:

I would like to report an incident that occurred today about 2:30 pm. My daughter was crossing the street, heading north on Lanham PL SW & Sylvan Way, when a Caucasian woman in a light blue 4-door car, heading west, hit her with her car. She didn’t hit her hard, but it was enough to knock her down. Apparently, this woman stopped in the middle of the intersection because traffic was backed up. The light changed red and she proceeded through the intersection. My daughter said something to her as she began crossing the street and the woman kept going and hit her. Did anyone see this? If so, I would appreciate any help trying to find this woman. The medics checked my daughter out and she is ok. I will be taking her into the doctor tomorrow morning. Police incident #21-94295.

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Alki fire rings returning next month, Parks says
April 18, 2021 5:19 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, July 2020)

The fire rings at Alki will be back by Memorial Day weekend, Seattle Parks announced via Twitter today. The rings’ absence hasn’t stopped people from having beach fires; SFD is dispatched often to “illegal burn” reports there. The rings were removed last July, months after Parks locked them, resulting in people building fires on or by them instead.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Repeat mail-theft suspect back in jail
April 18, 2021 2:46 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

For the seventh time this year, mail-theft suspect Jason A. Turner is in jail. The register shows he was booked just before 9 am today; Southwest Precinct police sent this report:

Southwest officers were dispatched to the area of 24th Av. SW / Delridge Wy SW for a male suspect checking and stealing mail from mailboxes. Officers recognized the suspect’s description and MO as a habitual mail theft suspect who preys on community members in this area. Officers arrived in the area and located the suspect standing near a recycling bin in the 6500 block of Delridge Way. Southwest Officers identified and confirmed that it was the suspect whom officers were very familiar with and know that the suspect has an extensive history of mail thefts. Southwest officers have arrested this suspect five (5) times this year alone. Officers observed that the suspect was in possession of a large bundle of US mail when contacted. The suspect was taken into custody without incident. Search incident to arrest, more US mail was recovered from his person.

When previously arrested last month, Turner spent two days in jail; he was released because the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had yet to file charges, awaiting more information from SPD. The KCPAO did charge him in February with four counts of possession of stolen mail, the first felony charges he has faced. He was in jail 16 days after that arrest, getting out on bond March 4th. He was arrested three times in March after that, twice in Seattle, once in South King County. Next step in this case should be a bail hearing tomorrow, and we will of course follow up.

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DEVELOPMENT: Early-design survey for 65-unit Duwamish Head project
April 18, 2021 12:02 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

Also discussed at this month’s Alki Community Council meeting – an early-design survey has been launched by the developers of a Duwamish Head site on which we’ve reported multiple times in the past year. A 65-unit project is proposed for 1001-1116 Alki Avenue SW, currently the site of six old houses. As part of the “early community outreach” process, the developers have set up this project website, which notes:

N&M Management LLC and MZA Architecture are partnering on the redevelopment of 1001 – 1116 Alki Ave SW. The proposed 6-story residential building will include:

65 residential units
102 parking stalls
bike parking
a rooftop patio

(That’s the minimum number of offstreet-parking spaces mandated for area development by the Alki Parking Overlay district – one and a half per unit.) The website includes a community survey that’s open for two more weeks. The ACC discussion was brief; the developers weren’t at the meeting, so it was more of an FYI. But a few attendees expressed concern that the project’s size was out of scale for the area. The project’s official address is 1116 Alki.

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WHALES: Southbound off West Seattle
April 18, 2021 10:22 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | Whales

Just in from Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch – orcas are in the area, southbound in the Fauntleroy ferry lanes. Let us know if you see them!

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On the schedule for a summerish West Seattle Sunday
April 18, 2021 6:43 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Lincoln Park evening, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

Another sunny, warm day! Here’s what’s happening:

TODAY’S ONLINE CHURCH SERVICES: As we do every week, we’ve updated our list of more than 20 local churches’ online Sunday services (a few offer in-person options too), with the newest links – see it here.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in The Junction, the market’s open. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week. (Enter at California/Alaska; pickups for online orders are at California/Oregon)

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: The University of Washington continues playing at Alki today, with games starting at 10 am.

DONATION DRIVE: 11 am-3 pm, Alki UCC is collecting food, supplies, socks, and men’s casual clothing at 6115 SW Hinds – more info in our calendar listing.

WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Open 11 am-4 pm – need a tool to fix or improve something? (4408 Delridge Way SW)’

QUALITY CLEANERS PICKUP, DAY 2: Noon-4 pm, it’s the second of three days for customers who still have items at the closed cleaners (2601 California SW) to go in and retrieve them – unclaimed items will be donated. Mask required; one person in the shop at a time.

WEST SEATTLE SKYLINK: Learn more about the gondola concept in an online presentation at 5 pm – full details are in our calendar listing.

FREE TO-GO DINNER: White Center Community Dinner Church will serve to-go meals at 5 pm, outside, near the Bartell Drugs parking lot in White Center. (9600 15th Ave SW)

TONIGHT’S SUNSET: 8:03 pm!

FLOWER & BAKE SALE: Midnight tonight is the deadline for online ordering in the sale the Alki Elementary PTA is having in conjunction with the upcoming student musical – details here.

Got something for our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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CORONAVIRUS: Saturday 4/17/2021 roundup
April 17, 2021 11:58 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Tonight’s pandemic notes:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:

*93.510 people have tested positive, 464 more than yesterday’s total

*1,493 people have died, unchanged from yesterday’s total

*5,569 people have been hospitalized, 37 more than yesterday’s total

*1,008,219 people have been tested, 5,077 more than yesterday’s total

ONE WEEK AGO: Last Saturday, those numbers were 91,054/1,483/5,439/990,933.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 140.7 million people have tested positive, and more than 3,010,000 people have died; U.S. deaths exceed 566,000. Most cases: U.S., India, Brazil, France, Russia (India moved from #3 to #2 since last week). See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.

LOOKING FOR VACCINE? If you’re seeking an appointment, here are links to try:

*If you’re looking for a city-site appointment, note that the official advice is to sign up for the city’s notification list for all four of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine (one reader specifically recommends Valley Medical Center), Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, Neighborcare, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics
And if travel time is not a barrier – Beth recommends this lookup for potential appointments within a few hours’ drive.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

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UPDATE: Shooting victim found at Delridge/Andover, taken to hospital
April 17, 2021 9:12 pm
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | Delridge | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Added: WSB photo)

9:12 PM: Big emergency response to Delridge/Andover after a report of an injured person and possible ‘gunfire in the area,’ per emergency radio. Avoid the area. Updates to come.

9:17 PM: Emergency crews are asking to block traffic from getting onto the eastbound low bridge – which would be open to all at this time of night – so they have a clear path for transporting the victim.

9:23 PM: Per radio communication, one man, about 18 years old, is going to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck, after someone shot into the vehicle he was in.

9:32 PM: Northbound Delridge is reported to be blocked at Genesee.

9:40 PM: The gunfire may have happened at some point north of Delridge/Andover; police plan to search along SW Spokane. They say they have no suspect description yet. Our crew has arrived in the area and confirms NB traffic on Delridge is blocked north of Genesee.

10:08 PM: In both a tweet and SPD Blotter post, police have used the 2000 block of SW Charlestown – uphill/east of Delridge/Andover – as a location for the shooting. They also say the victim’s wound is not believed to be life-threatening, and they ask for anyone with information to “call the tip line at 206-233-5000.”

11:59 PM: One more note on location – the preliminary summary from the Southwest Precinct says, “SPD 911 began receiving reports of gunshots near Spokane St and Delridge Way SW. Shortly afterward a victim of gunfire was located in the 3800 block of Delridge Way SW.”

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FOLLOWUP: At least one more day of work for Gatewood tower takedown
April 17, 2021 8:28 pm
|      0 COMMENTS
 |   Gatewood | West Seattle news

(Wednesday photo courtesy PSERN)

We reported Tuesday that the old emergency-communications tower at Myrtle Reservoir Park was finally coming down, more than a year after its replacement went up next to it. By the end of Wednesday, the old tower was in pieces on the ground. But the Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network says at least one more day of work is ahead: “There will be demolition work – jackhammering – off and on throughout the day, Monday, April 19, and potentially on Tuesday, April 20. The Project team greatly appreciates the patience of neighbors during these challenging times as we work with multiple partners to finish.” The upgraded emergency-radio network was authorized by a countywide ballot measure approved six years ago. This is one of more than 60 towers comprising the network, which is about to start.a major testing phase. The West Seattle tower is at the city’s highest elevation.

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SPORTS: Football victories for West Seattle, Chief Sealth
April 17, 2021 6:13 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

As Seattle Public Schools‘ high-school students get ready for part-time in-person learning starting Monday, a delayed major-sport season is winding down. Both West Seattle HS and Chief Sealth IHS won their football games this week – West Seattle over Nathan Hale last night, 24-0, while Sealth beat Ingraham on Thursday, 23-22. The Seahawks are 5-2, the Wildcats 3-1. Another major sport season is around the corner – the delayed basketball season starts week after next, for girls as well as boys.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Flower thief
April 17, 2021 4:15 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Todd reports this happened last weekend:

My wife returned home in the Belvedere neighborhood on Sunday to find a woman in a red Toyota Corolla with the passenger side door open, which was next to the curb, digging our tulips and other flower bulbs out of the ground.

Upon being confronted the woman got shaky and apologized and slid into the car with ease through the passenger side and vamoosed it on out on there. She was tall, blonde and blue eyes. Her car was decked out inside with glittery sparkly things. She was wearing blue flip flops. The perpetrator got a verbal lesson in stealing and the respect of other’s property. No police report was filed … it’s a sad story of a young woman stealing flower bulbs, as flowers are not worth anything but happiness and if you have to steal it, that defeats the purpose.

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Brown water in West Seattle, and what to.do if it happens to you
April 17, 2021 2:02 pm
|      0 COMMENTS
 |   Utilities | West Seattle news

Thanks to the texter who reported brown water in the Belvidere area. First thing to do if that happens to you is, report it to 206-386-1800. That’s the 24-hour Seattle Public Utilities hotline. If there have already been other reports, they might be able to tell you what the problem is – say, a water break in your area. More often in weather like this, it is the Seattle Fire Department using/testing hydrants, and that’s what the texter was told. That stirs up sediment – basically, rust. West Seattle had so much trouble with this five years ago, a special flushing-the-lines project ensued. Back to what you can do: Today’s texter was told, don’t use the water for a few hours, then run cold water for 20 seconds or so and that should clear things up. Here’s more advice.

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BIZNOTE: West Seattle Caffe Fiore closes
April 17, 2021 11:53 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Though the banner says “We Are Open,” Caffe Fiore at 2206 California SW is closed – permanently. After tips (thank you!), we went over this morning to check, and found this note on the door:

To all of our loyal and supportive Caffe Fiore customers: It is with a very heavy heart that we are announcing our permanent closure here in West Seattle. We have had 10 amazing years here and want to thank you for all of your support and patronage. As much as we had hoped we could get this store through this very difficult time, the situation has just been too much for us to sustain financially and this coincides with the end of our lease here. Thank you again for your amazing support over the years and we encourage you to please come visit us at any Caffe Vita or Fiore in the Seattle area. Thank you again and we wish everyone all the best.

The shop opened in November 2011. The micro-chain’s founder Deming Maclise took over Caffe Vita – which has a two-decade history – early last year.

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What’s happening on your West Seattle Saturday
April 17, 2021 6:34 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Hiawatha trees, photographed by Mark Jaroslaw)

After a high of 79 on Friday, we might get past 80 degrees today. Here’s some of what’s scheduled:

LAST DAY OF COVID-19 TESTING AT SWAC: After today, the city-run site at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) becomes vaccinations-only. If you’re looking for a testing appointment today, go here.

FREE COMPOST: Starting at 9 am and going until it’s gone – which could be relatively quickly – bring your own container and shovel to get up to a half-yard of free compost at the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) north parking lot. (UPDATE: Karen notes that by 10 am, the line was estimated at up to an hour and a half long. 2ND UPDATE: As of 12:17 pm, SPU says they’re out.)

FREE SHREDDING: 10 am-1 pm, you can bring up to three boxes of paper for free shredding at this drive-up/walk-up event at Daystar Retirement Village (2615 SW Barton; WSB sponsor).

DUWAMISH ALIVE! VOLUNTEERING: 10 am-3 pm, the twice-yearly multi-site mega-work party – here’s where help’s needed.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL: The University of Washington continues hosting a tournament at Alki today, with play starting at 10 am.

DONATE CAR SEATS: 11 am-2 pm, WestSide Baby‘s White Center hub (10002 14th SW) would love to accept your gently used or new donations – details in our preview.

WYATT’S JEWELERS ANNIVERSARY SALE: 10 am-6 pm at Westwood Village, the 16th-anniversary celebration at Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) continues with 10 percent off everything in the shop.

QUALITY CLEANERS PICKUP, DAY 1: Noon-4 pm, it’s the first of three days for customers who still have items at the closed cleaners (2601 California SW) to go in and retrieve them – unclaimed items will be donated. Mask required; one person in the shop at a time.

VISCON CELLARS: 1-6 pm, the Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) tasting room (5910 California SW) is open for tasting, glasses, and bottle sales.

Anything we’re missing? Text 206-203-6302 – thank you!

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UPDATE: About the plane circling over West Seattle
April 17, 2021 1:13 am
|      56 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

1:13 AM: Thanks for the tips. Flight tracker shows a small plane registered to the Washington State Patrol is what’s been circling in the Junction area – and other points south – originating in Olympia. We’re not sure yet why. It’s shown with a most unusual flight pattern:

(Image from Flightradar 24)

1:33 AM: It’s finally moved on, heading southwest. Still no specifics on what it was doing – we might not be able to find out until Monday – but here’s what the WSP aircraft are generally used for.

1:49 AM: Listening to archived police-radio audio to try to catch more context on a mention of a trooper in West Seattle while the plane was overhead, there was a mention of a WSP vehicle and a suspect vehicle, at a West Seattle location where SPD was going to assist, but no details on why or where.

8:32 AM: Here’s what WSP spokesperson Trooper Rick Johnson tells us:

We pursued what I believe was a stolen vehicle and then our aircraft got involved and the ground units backed off.

Two occupants fled on foot from the vehicle that I believe was in an apartment parking garage where they abandoned it.

This was not part of the street racers.

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CORONAVIRUS: Friday 4/16/2021 roundup
April 16, 2021 11:59 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Tonight’s pandemic headlines as we head into a summer-like weekend:

KING COUNTY NUMBERS: First, the latest stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:

*93,046 people have tested positive, 447 more than yesterday’s total

*1,493 people have died, 2 more than yesterday’s total

*5,532 people have been hospitalized, 29 more than yesterday’s total

*1,003,142 people have been tested, 1,001 more than yesterday’s total

On to our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:

*962,030 people have received one dose

*596,525 people have received both doses

*1,380,455 doses have been allocated to King County (not counting pharmacy programs)

One week ago, the first four totals were 90,581/1,483/5,444/990,088, and the vaccination totals were 842,660/504,402/1,244,985.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 139.9 million cases, 2,999,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.

COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: In his weekly briefing, Dr. Jeff Duchin updated King County trends. Good news: “Deaths have fallen dramatically.” Also good: 51 percent of people in King County age 16 and up have received at least one vaccine injection. Otherwise, “cases are substantial but holding steady.”

IF YOU’RE SEARCHING FOR VACCINE – here are links to try:

*If you’re looking for a city-site appointment, note that the official advice is to sign up for the city’s notification list for all four of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine (one reader specifically recommends Valley Medical Center), Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, Neighborcare, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics
And if travel time is not a barrier – Beth recommends this lookup for potential appointments within a few hours’ drive.

IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: It’s the last day for the West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle), which will become vaccinations0-only on Monday.

GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!

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Alki Community Council talks about police patrols, beach behavior
April 16, 2021 11:19 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(Photo by James Tilley)

It’s a summery spring night on Alki. Despite signs like the one above, SFD has been called out to handle unauthorized beach fires tonight. And SPD has been summoned to investigate reports of racing/stunt-driving at Don Armeni Boat Ramp. Reckless driving was.a big topic at last night’s Alki Community Council meeting, including late-night crashes like this one hours after the meeting:

(Texted photo: Car damaged by hit-run driver in 1400 block Alki after 9 pm Thursday)

Southwest Precinct Lt. Dorothy Kim represented local police at the ACC meeting. She recapped what we reported on Monday about last Sunday’s multi-agency show of force – noting that the State Patrol is “really interested in the street racers” because the groups often use I-5 to get from one point to another.

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FOLLOWUP: City’s West Seattle testing ends after tomorrow
April 16, 2021 8:52 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | West Seattle news

The reprieve for West Seattle’s city-run COVID-19 test site ends after tomorrow. Last month, as first reported here, a plan to end testing at the Southwest Athletic Complex parking-lot site was announced. Then, a week later, the city announced an extension of testing services there until at least April 17th. That’s tomorrow, and Seattle-King County Public Health said today that Saturday will indeed be the last day of testing at SWAC, with the site converting to all-vaccination status as of Monday. City Councilmember Lisa Herbold said in her weekly newsletter this afternoon that “The Mayor’s Office had previously assured me that if the SW Thistle site were to stop testing, they would place a Curative testing kiosk in the near vicinity, similar to the kiosk at Don Armeni” – but there’s no word of one yet. The Curative kiosk at Don Armeni, though, continues in operation, as do a few other test sites mentioned in Herbold’s newsletter.

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