West Seattle, Washington

09 Wednesday

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month : 01/2009 365 results

West Seattle Crime Watch: Stolen Santa, and more theft alerts
January 9, 2009 2:46 am
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Several quick Crime Watch reports to share from the past few days. We start with the Saga of the Stolen Santa. Kirsten in North Admiral sent the photo of the “Old World Santa” at left and wrote: “(Tuesday) when I got home from work I noticed that the Old World Santa I display yearly had been stolen from my front porch. Normally I would not get upset about a material thing but the more I got to thinking about it, the more upset I have become. The Santa was my Mother’s who is now deceased and prior to my display, she had done so for many years prior. Each year when I’d put it out, it helped keep my memory of her alive and in a little way made the holidays a bit more bearable. The likelihood is that some kids took off with it but I thought that by sending this in, there is a chance I may get it back. It’s about 2.5 – 3 feet tall and 30 lbs or so.” Seen this Santa? Send us a note (editor@westseattleblog.com) and we’ll forward it to Kirsten. Ahead: Another stolen item whose owner hopes to get it back, and a stolen item that WAS retrieved, plus other reports:Read More

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Snow response review: Councilmember’s post-briefings view
January 9, 2009 1:04 am
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | West Seattle weather

(one of many photos we received during Snowstorm ’08)
The Seattle City Council has another post-snowstorm discussion coming up next Monday morning, after more than five hours of briefings this past Monday and Tuesday. Since snow-related trouble hit West Seattle particularly hard, from missing buses to missed trash pickups, it’s not surprising that some of the toughest questions at those briefings came from WS-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Before memories of those first two briefings faded too far away, we e-mailed to ask him about any reflections on what he heard – read on to see what he sent back:Read More

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Design Review report #1: 4502 42nd, Kenney decisions
January 8, 2009 11:06 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Development | The Kenney | West Seattle news

Tonight’s two-part session of the Southwest Design Review Board meeting ran almost four hours. First project on the agenda, 4502 42nd SW, won final design-review approval unanimously; second project, the $150 million “reinvention” of The Kenney, got approval to move out of the “early design guidance” stage (after two rounds), but not without extensive discussion under high-level supervision, and there are still more meetings to come (at least one more round of design review, and City Council approval would be required if they do pursue some rezoning). More details to come in separate reports.

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Good news for library lovers in south West Seattle
January 8, 2009 8:11 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

Thanks to Judy Pickens for calling our attention to this recent change: The Southwest Library branch is now open Sundays, which means — along with the West Seattle branch in Admiral — there are now two WS libraries you can go to on Sunday afternoons. Both are open noon-5.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Circa, Cupcake Royale burglarized
January 8, 2009 5:53 pm
|      21 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

West Seattle businesses are on alert tonight after two were burglarized overnight. WSB has confirmed with Circa in the Admiral District and Cupcake Royale in The Junction that both were broken into. At Circa, burglars stole the safe, but the restaurant tells WSB there wasn’t much money inside; they also took the restaurant’s official iPod, which was used to play music at Circa. At Cupcake Royale, we were told the burglars didn’t make off with the safe, but did get some money. The door through which they broke in had to be replaced – that work was just finishing when we went by to talk with them about what happened. We have an inquiry out with the Southwest Precinct seeking further details about these break-ins and about any progress toward arrests.

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Southwest District Council: RapidRide, Route 50, the 2 Viaducts
January 8, 2009 3:48 pm
|      12 COMMENTS
 |   Southwest District Council | Transportation | West Seattle news

Always lots going on when the Southwest District Council meets. Its members include representatives from many neighborhood groups and other organizations based in the section of West Seattle that the city calls the Southwest District (the city calls the rest of WS the Delridge Neighborhoods District; here’s the map). Last night, its new co-chairs began their terms – Erica Karlovits, president of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, and Chas Redmond, from the Morgan Community Association (among many other groups). On the agenda: Three major aspects of how West Seattleites get around and will get around in the future — Metro’s forthcoming RapidRide, the Spokane Street Viaduct widening project, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct Central Waterfront decision-to-come – read on for the latest:Read More

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Investment news, for those worried about Whole Foods
January 8, 2009 2:42 pm
|      29 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

fplaceastside.jpgSince West Seattle currently has the city’s only under-construction Whole Foods Market, and since the chain’s money woes continue to fuel chatter, we thought we would share this story about a major investment that pumped up its stock today. WF and local developers have continued to reiterate this project’s on track; here’s our most recent report.

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Public hearing set on Hiawatha Playfield changes
January 8, 2009 1:33 pm
|    Comments Off on Public hearing set on Hiawatha Playfield changes
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Just one West Seattle item on today’s Land Use Information Bulletin from the city: Before final approval can be granted for the Hiawatha Playfield project (field and light changes), a public hearing must be held before a city committee; that’s set for the 9:30 am February 11th meeting of the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee. Read the official notice here.

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Spokane Street warehouse fire: Two updates
January 8, 2009 12:25 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

(photo by C. Simmons)
If not for the massive flooding in the northern and southern areas of Western Washington, the Spokane Street fire at Pacific Sheet Metal early today (WSB coverage here) would have been a huge story for citywide media. Since they’re preoccupied, we’ll post a few updates here: No word on the cause yet – the latest update from Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen says firefighters are working to get “a large amount of water” out of the building and its surrounding area, and once that’s done, investigators will be able to go in. (added 12:51 pm — you can see the water in this photo sent by C. Simmons)

Also, Seattle Police have posted a side note to SPDBlotter — In addition to closing the Spokane Street Viaduct (the stretch between Highway 99 and I-5) during the height of the fire, they also had to stay with an unusual group of evacuees – residents and staff of the high-security sex-offender detention facility on the other side of the SSV had to be moved out for a few hours, and police stayed with that group until they were allowed to return to the building around 4:30 am. We’ll post another update here whenever the Fire Department has more investigation info (just saw a short TV update, finally, but it was the same info we posted nine hours ago). 12:32 PM UPDATE: City Light says it’s now restored power to all but one of the customers that have been without it since the fire.

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Tree trouble: 39th/Fauntleroy, and a backyard alert
January 8, 2009 11:24 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts | West Seattle weather

(photo added 11:36 am – the car in the background is traveling NB on Fauntleroy)
ORIGINAL 11:24 AM POST: If you’ve heard this one somewhere else: A tree fell on 39th at Fauntleroy in the Fairmount Springs area. IT IS NOT BLOCKING FAUNTLEROY. It is briefly blocking the triangle area on the side where drivers get to Fauntleroy, northbound, from 39th, and it’s being cut up as we speak.

ADDED 11:43 AM: A reason to keep close watch on the trees around your home/apartment:

Hutch sent photos of the lilac that “decided to give it up” after Sunday’s heavy, wet snow, plus the past few days’ rain (and maybe the wind, too) … good reminder that there may be more than a few trees/large shrubs in weakened condition around the area.

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Followup: 1 suspect charged in 7-11 holdup attempt; 2 others out
January 8, 2009 11:13 am
|      1 COMMENT
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

New information about the Admiral 7-11 robbery attempt we covered last weekend, which was quickly followed by the arrest of three suspects who police believe were involved with a series of holdups, mostly at convenience stores, in West Seattle and White Center (among other areas) over the past month: First, to be clear, as we originally reported, court documents indicate it was a robbery attempt; no money was taken and the would-be robber fled when the clerk ran into the restroom and called police. Two charges are now filed against the suspect who authorities say actually tried to rob the store, 18-year-old Jose G. Torres: He is charged with first-degree attempted robbery and unlawful gun possession – charging papers say he had a 38-caliber handgun but shouldn’t have, since he was already a convicted felon. The following excerpt from charging papers tells the story of what happened early Sunday morning – including an explanation of how police made the arrests so quickly:Read More

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Happening tonight: Kenney review #2; West Seattle Art Walk; more
January 8, 2009 10:13 am
|    Comments Off on Happening tonight: Kenney review #2; West Seattle Art Walk; more
 |   Development | The Kenney | West Seattle Art Walk

kenneycupola.jpgKENNEY DESIGN REVIEW #2: Reminder that tonight is the Southwest Design Review Board meeting rescheduled from snowy 12/18. It’s at West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor), SE corner of 42nd/Genesee (map); 6:30 pm, the board looks at 4502 42nd (previous coverage here); 8 pm, second “early design guidance” for The Kenney (archived coverage here). Presentation “packets” for both are linked from the meeting listing here.

WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: As previewed yesterday, it’s tonight, 6-9 pm at venues all over WS — including places you might never have been before like The Building (map) in Morgan Junction. Artist/venue info and map are here.

THINKING ABOUT REMODELING? Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) is presenting another of its free seminars tonight, 6:30 pm — more details here (including how to RSVP).

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School-board meeting followup: Video; signups; online Q/A
January 8, 2009 6:21 am
|    Comments Off on School-board meeting followup: Video; signups; online Q/A
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle school closure | West Seattle schools | West Seattle video

Three things this morning, following up on the school-closure-plan discussion at last night’s four-hour Seattle School Board meeting (see our running updates here). First, our video of the one Cooper Elementary advocate who spoke, Shelly Williams:

Members of the Cooper community held a meeting yesterday afternoon to plan next steps in their fight against the proposed closure. The Cooper School Works anti-closure website says the big nighttime meeting for the school community, postponed last month because of the snow, is rescheduled to next Tuesday, Jan. 13, 7 pm.

Second – If you want a chance to speak at the final public hearing on the citywide closure recommendations, you need to start calling/e-mailing at 8 am TODAY. The hearing is 6:30 pm January 22 at district HQ in Sodo; the number to call today starting at 6 am is 206-252-0042; or e-mail hearing@seattleschools.org

Third – Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson is participating in an online Q/A session today via the Times website, 11 am-noon; you can send in a question now by going here.

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Big fire near Spokane Street Viaduct diverts traffic from WS
January 8, 2009 2:16 am
|      26 COMMENTS
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway

We tweeted about this a couple times earlier this morning – it’s not technically in West Seattle and we thought it would be over before anybody much was affected – but a couple notes have come in so we’d better post it here too. The eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct is closed off while firefighters battle what an SFD spokesperson calls “a 2-alarm fire” at a “metal-fabricating warehouse” on lower Spokane Street. We happened to be coming back from downtown after midnight when we saw the roadblock and the billowing smoke. Helen Fitzpatrick of SFD says flames were shooting from the 1-story warehouse’s roof at 111 S. Spokane St. (map) when fire crews arrived; one firefighter’s slightly hurt, nobody was in the building, no word yet on a cause. If you drive eastbound to I-5, you’re likely to see the fire scene smoldering to the south during your morning commute. Here’s the fire vicinity, in a Google Street View photo:


View Larger Map

3 AM UPDATE: One new bit of information from the fire department since we first posted – the fire was under control as of 2:30 am. The investigation has not yet started, but fire crews will be there all night. Seattle City Light had to turn off power to the surrounding area and more than 400 “customers” are without power at the moment as a result.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Road flooding and wild wind
January 8, 2009 1:44 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle video | West Seattle weather

Five seconds of video is all we could shoot before the light turned and we had to go through that BIG puddle – deeper than it looks (it always is) – at West Marginal and Highland Park Way (map). Deep water in all directions right there, in fact. Not the only early-morning trouble spot, either – an even more treacherous stretch of water swamped the street about half a mile north, across West Marginal. So until and unless you hear it’s OK in the am, we’d say “steer clear.” Meantime, as of this moment, the wind is suddenly rocking WSB HQ stronger than at any point last night. Sure hope the “calming down by tonight” forecast turns out to be right. (To see what’s up with road trouble in the rest of King County, check here; for stream-flow info in various areas [not WS], go here; for the WSB Traffic page, with cameras and “latest incidents” links, go here.)

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Delridge-Junction Metro Route 50 update: Jan. 21 open house
January 7, 2009 11:50 pm
|    Comments Off on Delridge-Junction Metro Route 50 update: Jan. 21 open house
 |   Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

route50.jpg

Sorry if this is old news, but we hadn’t heard it till a Metro rep mentioned it at tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting (full report to come) — There’s an open house at Youngstown Arts Center on January 21st (6:30-8:30 pm) about the possible Delridge-Junction bus route we first told you about back in October, Route 50. (The map above shows the West Seattle section – click it for a full look at the entire route.) Maybe word didn’t quite filter around because it’s listed on Metro’s calendar under the same confounding heading where news of this possible route was originally unearthed from the Metro site, “Southeast Seattle Transit Connections” — apparently because most of Route 50 is in Southeast Seattle. Anyway, important thing is, now you know. Here’s the Metro calendar with word of that West Seattle event.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: Rainy-night updates
January 7, 2009 10:53 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Starting a new post for any developments overnight – in comments after our previous post, AlkiRD just reported that West Marginal Way has a foot of floodwater near Highland Park Way (map); Flipjack called attention to the fact the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for areas including Seattle metro; and Karen says Longfellow Creek is running high. We just went over to check on the Longfellow section that flooded during the December 2007 rainfest (near Allstar) — no obvious trouble yet. 10:59 PM UPDATE: Mac also just e-mailed about the West Marginal water – he says it’s up to the curb and drivers are trying to get through but shouldn’t, as you’ll see in the text of tonight’s flood warning:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A

* FLOOD WARNING FOR URBAN AREAS AND SMALL STREAMS IN THE FOLLOWING WESTERN WASHINGTON COUNTIES… KITSAP COUNTY… WESTERN KING COUNTY… SOUTHWESTERN SNOHOMISH COUNTY…

* UNTIL 830 AM PST THURSDAY.

* AT 834 PM PST RADAT AND OBSERVATIONS SHOW PRECIPITATION FALLING AT NEARLY ONE HALF INCH PER HOUR. HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH ABOUT 4 AM EARLY THURSDAY BEFORE DECREASING TO SHOWERS.

FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN NORMALLY LOW AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS…POORLY DRAINED UNDERPASSES…AND ALONG SMALL STREAMS.

A FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS IMMINENT OR HAS BEEN REPORTED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINFALL WILL CAUSE ELEVATED LEVELS ON SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS…AND PONDING OF WATER IN URBAN AREAS… HIGHWAYS…STREETS AND UNDERPASSES AS WELL AS OTHER POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND LOW LYING SPOTS.

DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE INTO AREAS WHERE THE WATER COVERS THE ROADWAY. THE WATER DEPTH MAY BE TOO GREAT TO ALLOW YOUR CAR TO CROSS SAFELY. MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

More as we get it. Let us know if there’s trouble where you are – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Theft victim helps catch pedal-peddler
January 7, 2009 7:29 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle online

We bring you the crimefighting successes as well as the crime-alert stories, and here’s the latest – from Officer Brian Ballew at West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct:

In early December a parking garage condominium on SW Avalon was burglarized. The victim had her bicycle stolen. The victim located the bike on Craig’s List and met the seller in the Downtown area. The victim took the bike for a test drive, verified it was hers by the serial number and kept the bike.

On 01/03 the victim notified SW Detectives that the same seller was selling another bike on Craig’s List. Detectives called the seller as a potential buyer and met the seller in the downtown area. When detectives met the seller, the victim was with detectives in a nearby vehicle and positively identified the seller as the same person who tried to sell her, her stolen bike. The seller was arrested and booked for trafficking stolen property.

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Weather and traffic watch: South Delridge closure; more
January 7, 2009 6:23 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle traffic alerts

6:23 PM: Sage K reports that Delridge is closed northbound between Trenton and Cloverdale (map) with police diverting traffic. Nothing on 911 for this either – we’ll check to see what’s up.

6:39 PM: Though we don’t know if that incident is weather-related, we’re going to use this post for weather/traffic notes throughout this stormy night, and invite you to do the same. First one isn’t West Seattle but might affect you: Amtrak service between Portland and Seattle is suspended. I-5 also has closed for a 20-mile stretch in Lewis County.

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School-closure fight: Board meeting updates, as they happen
January 7, 2009 6:06 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle school closure | West Seattle schools

6:06 PM: The meeting has just begun. Looks like not much “conventional media” here – no TV in evidence so far, anyway – likely because crews are out covering the flooding emergencies around other areas of Western Washington. Board president Michael DeBell opened the meeting by mentioning that Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and her husband will be attending the inauguration in Washington, D.C., week after next. We’ll add more notes here as the closure-plan-related news (or anything else major) happens. 6:24 PM UPDATE: So far the public comments have focused on opposition to the proposed African American Academy closure and the proposed split of the APP top-level-gifted program (currently at one elementary for the whole city, one middle for the whole city, but the new proposal calls for two each). Several opponents of the proposed Summit K-12 closure are speaking too. No one has spoken yet regarding the West Seattle section of the closure proposal, but Cooper teacher Cori Jaeger is on the list of speakers coming up. While we are just updating West Seattle-related highlights, you can read in-progress updates on the entire meeting at saveseattleschools.blogspot.com (or watch the meeting live on cable TV). 6:58 PM UPDATE: Jaeger yielded her time to Shelly Williams, who asked, among other things, why the district was willing to change the assignment plan so that the Cooper program could be discontinued, but not “to support us” (by expanding the “reference area” so there are more potential students from which Cooper could draw).

7:19 PM UPDATE: The public-comment period has ended, and chief academic officer Carla Santorno (a West Seattleite) is going to update effects/components of the closure plan regarding special education, bilingual, and advanced learning.

8:04 PM UPDATE: No new WS information in that presentation; district budget boss Don Kennedy is presenting an update now, and says the money picture is still bad – $25 million shortfall projected, up one million from the projection as of last fall – but not as bad as it could have been (at one point before the governor’s budget was unveiled recently, there was concern the district deficit could have wound up as high as $37 million).

8:45 PM UPDATE: Meeting has resumed after a 15-minute break. The three motions that comprise the “final recommendations” for closures/changes are being officially introduced now (again, the final vote is not scheduled till a special meeting on 1/29).

9:07 PM UPDATE: Board members are asking questions and voicing comments. West Seattle’s rep Steve Sundquist said that while he has heard a lot of concerns about the process and how the recommendations have changed along the way, he feels the “open” process that’s ensued over the past month is “transparent” and better than “the alternative.” He also asked for data about the West Seattle elementary schools to which Cooper students would be reassigned if their program closure does happen — that would relate to concerns voiced about members of the Cooper community, that the students will be reassigned to schools with worse educational performance (such as West Seattle and Roxhill elementaries).

9:30 PM UPDATE: Board president DeBell also voiced concern about the fact that ending the Cooper “program” would break up a school that is making enrollment and academic progress, as the Cooper community has been pointing out. By the way, the second and third of the three items being “introduced,” together comprising the “final recommendations,” also include components of the Cooper-discontinuance proposal – one would change the Student Assignment Plan so that current Cooper students can get transportation to their “newly assigned” schools even if they’re “out of cluster”; the other would merge the Cooper and Sanislo “reference areas.”

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West Seattle Gas Price Watch: $1-something gas starts vanishing
January 7, 2009 6:00 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle Gas Price Watch: $1-something gas starts vanishing
 |   Gas prices | West Seattle news

While heading to Sodo for tonight’s school board meeting, we spotted the first West Seattle regular-gas prices to creep back past $2/gallon – both stations at Fauntleroy/Alaska (including the 76, seen at left). We haven’t done our regular Sunday night price surveys for a few weeks because of the weather woes, but hope to get back on track starting this weekend. (The F/A 76, for comparison’s sake, was at $1.89/regular when we last did a survey 12/8, but that wasn’t quite the bottom of the curve – we saw some $1.60s and $1.70s around WS before the new price rise began.)

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West Seattle school-closure fight: Protest tonight; future plans
January 7, 2009 5:38 pm
|    Comments Off on West Seattle school-closure fight: Protest tonight; future plans
 |   West Seattle school closure | West Seattle schools

That’s part of a citywide group of about a dozen protesters is keeping vigil outside district HQ right now, half an hour before the start of the first School Board meeting since Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson announced yesterday her final recommendations for which schools/programs to close. As we reported yesterday, those recommendations include ending the Cooper Elementary “program” and reassigning its students to other West Seattle schools, in order to move Pathfinder K-8 into Cooper’s building, before closing the Genesee Hill building that Pathfinder’s been at for more than a decade. The citywide closure-opposition group (Educators, Students, Parents, Alumni, Community Members Unite for a better Vision of Seattle Public Schools) has announced an anti-closure rally and march for 2 pm January 25 (starting at TT Minor at 1700 E. Union), four days before board members are scheduled to take a final vote. A different group calling itself Students Against School Closure is also distributing flyers here this evening, calling for a student walkout on the day of the final vote, January 29th, with its supporters asked to gather at Westlake Center at 3 pm for a march to district HQ followed by a 5 pm rally before the 6 pm board meeting. Back to tonight’s board meeting: The “final recommendations” are to be officially introduced, and as always the meeting will begin with a public-comment period; the list of speakers includes at least one person we know is affiliated with Cooper.

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West Seattle Traffic Alert: EB bridge entrance reopened
January 7, 2009 4:57 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Not sure yet what’s up, but police cars are blocking the eastbound bridge entrance at 35th/Fauntleroy. Text message mentions accidents, but nothing on 9-1-1 yet. Also thanks to Todd in Westwood for word that scanner traffic around 4:30 indicated an eastbound crash that sent debris onto the westbound side. 5:21 PM UPDATE: Marco reports in comments that it’s reopened at Fauntleroy/35th.

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