Event updates: Art Walk history, Garage Sale Day progress
ART WALK THIS THURSDAY: Another record number of participants — 29, from Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in the north, where you’ll find a reception Thursday night for the Jewels in May show — to Bubbles on Delridge in the east, to West Seattle Nursery in the south. Here’s the official map; more info on the Art Walk blog. 6-9 pm Thursday, lots going on as the Art Walk expands.
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE THIS SATURDAY: The official map of all 140-plus locations (still doublechecking to make sure we haven’t missed anyone, before we get an accurate count) 
is just about ready to print and will be available Thursday as promised – online (and clickable!) at westseattlegaragesale.com, where we are posting ongoing updates as preparations continue, or preprinted and available for pickup at 11 West Seattle locations: Alki Community Center, Admiral Library, Cafe Rozella, Capers, Delridge Library, Fauntleroy YMCA, Hotwire Coffee, Senior Center of West Seattle, Southwest Library, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, West Seattle Family YMCA. Sale sites are literally all over the map, from Alki to Arbor Heights, from Fauntleroy to Pigeon Point to Westwood, and every place inbetween; more than a few fundraisers, too, including the Log House Museum, Community School of West Seattle, Kiwanis of West Seattle, Pigeon Point Neighborhood raising money for Cooper School, North Delridge Neighborhood raising money for tot play equipment at Cottage Grove Park, Homeward Pet, Breast Cancer 3-Day, Alex’s Lemonade Stand, Alki UCC … You’ll see it all on The Map. And tomorrow, a special Garage Sale Day pitch from local neighborhood leaders working on disaster preparedness
And another eyebrow-raising pitch
Not to harp too long on a theme, but this one just hit the inbox and seemed sharable:
There seems to be a theme going around with suspicious door-to-door sales people but just wanted to make another mention of Icon Security. At about 7:30 or so we had a young woman come to the door saying that she was from Icon. My husband answered the door and she asked it he was the “man of the house.” He said that he was and she then looked him over and said “you’re looking really good, I hope that your wife isn’t here.” He was rather taken aback especially considering he was wearing flannel pants and ratty old T-shirt. She then started asking about our security system and if it was wireless saying that they could offer us a better deal. He told her we were happy with our service and started closing the door and she left. I remembered that Icon has been mentioned on the blog before so I just thought I would say that they were out again. If these people are legitimate they really need to work on their sales pitch, they seem really sleazy. We called the police and reported this. We live in Arbor Heights.
Door-knocker at WSB HQ: Do we e-mail ourselves about it?
Some young guy, white, brown hair, Comcast polo shirt, badge around his neck, claiming to be from Comcast doing a customer survey. We’ll check with their PR department tomorrow if they were legit, but seriously, do they send people around door-to-door at 7 pm asking for opinions on their service? We told him through the window, just send around a link to an online survey and we’d be happy to fill it out.
Bridge backup update: Debris cleared, traffic clearing
4:13 PM UPDATE: As you can see in the traffic-cam shot below, looks like the crunch is easing:
ORIGINAL REPORT: The westbound commute may be a mess well into the formal start of rush hour. Just talked to Peg Nielsen at SDOT; she says it’ll be another half-hour or so till all the bricks and debris a truck spilled on the westbound high bridge at the high rise are cleared — here are photos of the truck (first one thanks to Josh Sutton from the West Seattle YMCA, another sponsor turned tipster; second one thanks to WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, who cameraphoned it while driving by):
With traffic already backed up all the way to I-5, that means a real commute crunch. She says the low bridge problem briefly reported earlier this afternoon IS FIXED, so you can try the low bridge, or take 99 south past The Bridge and double back through White Center. We’ll keep you updated. Here’s the view westbound at the trouble spot:
Traffic alert: Spilled bricks back up high bridge, westbound
Thanks to Rhonda Porter of The Mortgage Porter (WSB sponsor) for the tip: Accident on the westbound high bridge, west side of the rise, apparently involving a truck that lost its load. You can see the backup from this SDOT camera pointing east:
3:06 PM EYEWITNESS UPDATE FROM WSB TEAM MEMBER: What the truck spilled was a load of bricks, so the cleanup’s taking a while. The westbound backup goes all the way back to the exit from I-5.
Denny-Sealth: Westwood Council’s unusual request for help
As the Denny-Sealth project (archived WSB coverage here) proceeds, the Westwood Neighborhood Council expects to be working closely with the district and the city on plans for the site where Denny Middle School will be demolished after its replacement is built next to Chief Sealth High School. Because of that, WNC president Steve Fischer has just put out the call for “someone who has drawing skills … (and can) translate ideas into visual concept presentations for open space and pedestrian amenities in the neighborhood. We’d like help in creating approximately three drawings that can help us communicate how important it is for the neighborhood to have open space for everyone who lives in and visits Westwood.” The required skills are further clarified as:
We really need someone who can help with some hand-drawing with pencil or pen. We don’t need technical plan level drawings, just conceptual drawings that are attractive and that can communicate some ideas and alternatives. An understanding of landscape/ architectural standards would be useful, but not necessary. As well, if someone wants to use a computer program to create some ideas, that would be fine too.
If you can help, or want to find out more, contact Susan, at csmclain@hotmail.com.
Crime Watch: West Seattle’s first 2008 murder
One more report from the Southwest Precinct: This one somehow went all but unnoticed over the weekend — a man and woman found dead in a home on the southeastern edge of West Seattle, an apparent case of murder-suicide. Police say they answered a call at 9:45 am Saturday about a man found dead with wrist wounds at a home in the 2nd/Roxbury vicinity (map); relatives said they were worried about his wife, who no one had heard from in a while — officers subsequently found her dead, “locked in the family van.” Police say the couple had a history of domestic violence. No further details, but that would make her West Seattle’s first murder victim of 2008 (our area had three in 2007; all three suspects were still awaiting trial at last check).
WS Crime Watch: Alki shots; homeowner tackles burglars
Two items just in from Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct: 
First, confirmation of something we got e-mail about over the weekend: Those WERE gunshots very early Sunday morning on Alki. At 12:44 am, a man heading south from 63rd/Alki “fired 5 rounds from a .38 revolver while driving.” Witnesses gave police a description of his vehicle; several minutes later, an officer found it at Delridge/Myrtle, and found the suspect “in possession of the loaded handgun and ammunition.” They say the suspect “later confessed to shooting up in the air while driving because, ‘he felt someone on the beach had been threatening him’.” and apparently thought that person had something to do with the recent death of the suspect’s relative. No injuries or property damage; the suspect is in jail. Next – three burglary arrests yesterday that may solve more than one recent break-in:Read More
Encampment postscript: Photojournalist’s park proposal
Exactly one week after we brought you first word of the Camp Long homeless encampment (cleared on Friday) that WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham had documented, he has a two-part postscript. First, his newest photos above, clockwise from top, and his captions below:
1. Spring rears its head along the trails leading to the removed encampments at Camp Long.
2. The encampment and its removal scarred nearly 50 yards of trail with deep ruts and the litter. Parks Department workers are limited in their resources to properly restore the park, given other demands.
3. A teddy bear, along with other human waste, continues to litter the area surrounding the dismantled encampment.
4. Large areas of forest floor are trampled and impregnated with leftover refuse from the encampments.
5. Parks Department workers remove a rope swing, near the homeless encampment, to reduce the chance of serious injury to park visitors.
6. A Seattle Parks Department wheel loader knocked a tree down to maneuver close enough to remove a large quantity of human refuse.
Second, Matt has written commentary about an idea he suggests could prevent such encampments and enhance park usage. Read on:Read More
Sustainable West Seattle Festival: More video highlights
Those who worry that city leadership might not always have neighborhoods’ best interests at heart will be interested in that excerpt from the Sustainable West Seattle Festival speech by Jim Diers, former director of the city Department of Neighborhoods. From our vantage point next to the main stage for all five hours, Diers was hands-down the most energetic speaker of the day (gotta check out the NEIGHBOR POWER! bellow – that’s the title of a book Diers wrote). More from him, and four other clips to conclude our coverage, ahead:Read More
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