WSB has learned tonight that the mayor plans to announce next week that there will definitely be a “Car-Free Day” at Alki this summer. This information comes from CoolMom, whose leaders are helping organize part of the event on Alki next week at which details will be announced. We were first to report that a day like this was expected to be included in the city’s “Give Your Car The Summer Off” campaign (here’s our report from June 12th), but when last we checked with SDOT, it wasn’t a done deal – till now. We don’t have the exact date, but CoolMom’s been told that it will be for six hours, on a Sunday. One other important note: Apparently it won’t be 100% vehicle-free — a lane reportedly will remain open for the Water Taxi shuttle and for local residents on the stretch of Alki SW whose homes (particularly the condo buildings) cannot be reached any other way. More info on the Alki “Car-Free Day” as we get it. (CoolMom, by the way, is a moms’ group founded to support lifestyles with lower ecological impact; we told you in April about its West Seattle chapter, which meets monthly; contact info is here.) 11:57 PM ADDITION: Since we first published this, we’ve learned the Alki “Car-Free Day” date is expected to be Sunday, September 7th.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
Just posted beneath our second report on last night’s 56th/Alki duplex fire (first report here), this message from the duplex tenant:
I would like to thank the Seattle fire dept, they did an amazing job in taking care of myself and my family in this difficult time.
I would also like to remind people that the fire dept could have had an easier time if thay hadn’t needed to deal with all of the spectators. You might want to think in the future, how would I like people to behave if it were my house and my family in danger.
Sincere thanks to all the truly concerned people in my neighborhood!
We saw a small demonstration of that concern just this morning, while briefly stopping in the area for this short followup — one passerby stopped to ask a man outside the charred building if he lived there (he told her he was a friend of the tenant) and if everyone was OK. Meantime, the Seattle Fire Department tells WSB that investigators still need to talk with the duplex’s owner before they can officially determine/announce the fire’s cause. ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: Browsing YouTube, we just found video (posted by “carloberti“) from the fire that we hadn’t seen before – obviously from a cameraphone so low-quality but it shows two things from VERY early on: First, toward the start you can clearly hear authorities on a loudspeaker asking the crowd to make way (as mentioned above); shortly afterward, you see the flash as the growing fire takes out a transformer:
We’re counting down to Sunday’s annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive for WestSide Baby, which helps thousands of local families every year — buy 1 or more packages of disposable diapers, drop ’em off at the big school bus you’ll see parked by the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm Sunday (or a few satellite locations listed on the WestSide Baby home page). And as we mentioned yesterday – Costco is matching the first 14,000 diapers donated, diaper for diaper! Two other bonuses – first, ever wanted to honk a school-bus horn? You can do it when you drop off your donation on Sunday. Second, across Alaska at the Junction Wells Fargo branch, free car-seat inspections are being offered during “Stuff the Bus,” thanks to SafeKids-King County South (more info on this page). We’re planning in-progress reports on Sunday; see you there!
9 am-noon tomorrow, at South Seattle Community College (in Brockey Center on the southeast side of the campus; map), it’s the third of four city-organized public forums about the “final four” potential locations for a city misdemeanor-offender jail – the second one about the two sites that are in southeast West Seattle (map), and the first one to be held IN West Seattle (the previous one was a month ago in South Park, and got pretty testy at times; WSB coverage with video, here). If you haven’t been following the issue all along, here are resources: WSB coverage archive (newest to oldest), Highland Park Action Committee‘s “NO-JAIL” site, city website’s “Municipal Jail” info section. (Which says, by the way, that doors open at 9 am for tomorrow’s forum, but nothing will actually happen till 9:30 am.)
FIRST: A “public auction” sign is now up at the closed-last-month (WSB coverage here) Corner Inn (auction’s next Tuesday; here’s the item list, on the James G. Murphy auctioneers site) … SECOND: Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) has sent an e-mail alert to customers that sidewalk work outside their business and others (west side of California SW between Juneau and Findlay) will start Monday, last three weeks, and affect parking. THIRD: Pink notes like this are on doors at Denny Middle School:
Thanks to the WSB’er who tipped us that Seattle Public Schools posted notices that it’s treating Denny with pesticide today. The notices say they’re doing it in the lunch room and bathrooms, and the pesticide is Onslaught.
About 9, I was leaving the vet clinic across the street from the [Mural, ex-Petco parking lot] construction crane area and heard a baby eagle SCREAMING! It was perched at the end of the huge yellow crane – no mom in sight. I was so distracted by it as I drove by peering through my open roof that a construction guy yelled down to me to watch where I was driving! When I stopped and told him what I was looking at a few of the other construction guys gave me the impression that the eaglet has been hanging out there. Seems odd, but actually the crane has the same rough configuration of bare snags that eagles like to hunt from. I don’t know if the little guy (not so little actually) will be there again, but maybe folks could keep an eye out for it.
It was a VERY loud baby bird – probably calling on mom, as usual. :)
That’s what the burned 56th/Alki duplex looks like this morning from 56th, looking northeast. We just checked with the Fire Department again; still no official information on what investigators believe started the fire. (We published two multiple-update reports last night – with incredible contributions from witnesses, neighbors, many others, thank you again! – #1 is here, #2 is here.) AFTERNOON UPDATE: The Fire Department still isn’t announcing a cause; spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick told us they need to talk to the owner first (and as we reported last night, she’s out of town). MEANWHILE: Also this morning, the newest information on the Fauntleroy Place (future Whole Foods etc.) demolition:
Project manager Easton Craft from BlueStar tells WSB the final major demolition work – actually bringing down the building – is now scheduled for Monday, because clearing out the interior contents (see the piles in the photo) turned out to be a really big job. Craft says “… they have found more recyclable material (metal/steel, masonry, wood) than they anticipated.” The demolition work started Tuesday (previous WSB coverage here and here; the latest on the FP development, including the design that will be reviewed at a public meeting on August 14th, is here).
Given the fact some burglars seem to case their potential targets first by knocking on doors, the level of jumpiness is understandable, and when we get advance word of a legit door-to-door campaign, we want to share it. Like this one:Read More
at which details will be announced. We were first to report that a day like this was expected to be included in the city’s “Give Your Car The Summer Off” campaign (
which helps thousands of local families every year — buy 1 or more packages of disposable diapers, drop ’em off at the big school bus you’ll see parked by the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm Sunday (or a few satellite locations listed on the 
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