SOUNDGARDEN CD RELEASE PARTY TONIGHT AT FEEDBACK LOUNGE: Our photo shows part of the Soundgardenmemorabilia you can see at The Feedback (WSB sponsor) – but tonight’s about looking ahead more than looking back – looking ahead, once the party starts at 10 pm, to album sales at midnight, for the new Soundgarden retrospective Telephantasm. The Seattle-based stars themselves won’t be on hand, per the Feedback Lounge’s website, which says they’re “needed elsewhere to save the world from crappy rock ‘n’ roll,” but guess who will – the event’s happening in conjunction with Easy Street Records, whose website has even more here. And speaking of Easy Street …
EASY STREET IS TOPS (THOUGH YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT): The West Seattle-founded music emporium has just been featured by Rolling Stone as being among the 25 Best Record Stores in the USA. The feature (see it here) gives the nod to Easy Street for both locations, but as you’ll see with the click, the photo shows the sun-splashed, flag-topped classic West Seattle storefront.
PHOENECIA SOUNDS BETTER THAN EVER: It’s gained fame for its food (read their Seattle Times review here), but Alki’s reborn Phoenecia also has live music on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month by WSB contributor Jason Grotelueschen (Facebook page here), who tells us the restaurant’s just made some acoustic changes, in response to what they say is the main customer complaint since they reopened – not just during music nights – noise. According to Jason, Phoenecia’s Sonya Khazaal says customers will notice the difference and that the change is like “night and day” since they installed new acoustic paneling and draperies. (He’s looking forward to checking it out during his next performance on October 6th.)
On the scanner, we’re hearing firefighters arriving at the scene reporting light smoke. We’re on the way to the scene, 7700 block of 18th SW (close to Holden). 6:43 PM UPDATE: Some of the units are being canceled. 6:55 PM UPDATE: Verdict from firefighters – candle in the house got too smoky somehow. Firefighters wrapping up and so are we.
Duwamish River Halloween “River of Terror” Boat Tour
October 30th from 3:30-5:30 pm
Several spooky guides will lead you on a two-hour boat tour of the Duwamish River Superfund Site. You’ll hear stories of local Native American supernatural legends, early settler stories from Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods, and learn about the terrifying realities of toxic chemicals in the Duwamish! Learn about the natural and human history of the Duwamish Valley, environmental health and (in)justice, and the future of Seattle’s very own Superfund cleanup site on this guided tour aboard the Admiral Pete power boat. Tours happen rain or shine.
Participants must RSVP through Brown Paper Tickets for this tour. Click here.
The boat’s capacity is 60 people and we cannot over-book the tour, so RSVP today!
Tours happen rain or shine and are appropriate for people of all ages, and ADA accessible. You may bring a snack to eat on the tour.
We offer these tours to the public for free, but appreciate donations of any amount.
You may present the event organizers with cash or check donations at the conclusion of the tour.
You may also donate to DRCC/TAG via our secure web site.
(Photo courtesy Andrew Harms, who was on board when the Rachel Marie crashed on Sunday)
Just in from King County, an update on the aftermath of yesterday’s crash, with the West Seattle-to-downtown Water Taxi, Rachel Marie, hitting the seawall and historic landing south of its dock at Pier 50, sending 7 people to the hospital (WSB coverage here). The county says damage to the RM appears “significant” and that Argosy’s Sightseer will continue to make the run, between Seacrest and Pier 55 instead of 50, for at least the rest of this week. (We checked out its first run this morning; later, Ross sent this photo of a bigger crowd boarding:)
Read on for the full text of the news release just sent by King County Department of Transportation:Read More
12:13 PM: Click “play” in the video window above, and you’ll see [now-archived] Mayor McGinn presenting his official 2011 Budget Address. We will be adding key points in the text of this story as we get them. Earlier, we got a preview from a source attending one of the meetings at which Seattle Parks employees were briefed – among the proposals, as reported here, Alki Community Center would be closed (though child-care and preschool programs would be proposed to continue through an ongoing partnership). (12:39 pm note – Alki CC was described as “limited-use status” in the mayor’s address)
12:16 PM: The mayor has begun. He mentions the $67 million budget deficit. He says he will talk about not only the decisions made, but how they were made.
12:20 PM: If you want to read ahead – the budget info’s all linked here. We’re just starting to read through it and will add highlights. The mayor’s speech at Rainier Beach Community Center, meantime, is still in the background/context stage. Here’s a section including some specific effects in West Seattle:
• Community Centers: Five community centers – Alki, Ballard, Laurelhurst, Queen Anne, and Green Lake – will have reduced operating hours. The drop-in hours for Alki, Ballard, and Laurelhurst will be reduced from 53 hours per week during the school year and 46 hours per week in the summer to 15-20 hours per week year round.
• Wading Pools: Wading pools at Green Lake, Lincoln, Magnuson, Van Asselt, and Volunteer Park will be open seven days a week in the summer months. Wading pools at South Park, East Queen Anne, Cal Anderson, Dahl, Delridge, Wallingford, Hiawatha, Bitter Lake, EC Hughes, and Sound View Parks will be open three days a week. …
• Seattle Public Library: The library is making 8.5 percent in cuts yet keeping all current hours of operation at 2010 levels by restructuring management of branches. A systemwide closure first instituted in 2009 will continue in 2011.
• Neighborhood Service Centers (NSC): Six of Seattle’s 13 Neighborhood Service Centers (those that serve as payment and information centers) will remain open. Seven centers will close, including the West Seattle payment and information center. The West Seattle site was selected for closure because the building lease expires at the end of 2010; it will merge with the nearby Delridge NSC. The remaining six payment sites are Delridge, University District, Central District, Lake City, Southeast, and Ballard.
12:35 PM: The mayor says that 30 police officers will be redeployed from lower-priority positions to patrol, so there will be more officers on patrol, even though they will not be hiring new officers (as had been proposed in the Neighborhood Policing Plan).
12:40 PM: The mayor describes Alki Community Center’s proposed status as “limited use.” Also, still reviewing the online documents related to the budget, here’s one case of proposed streamlining:
Currently, the Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE), the Department of Neighborhoods (DON), Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), and Seattle City Light each play a role in providing tree planting services to Seattle residents. The 2011-2012 Proposed Budget consolidates the OSE and DON portions of the program under the auspices of SPU, improving service delivery and making more effective use of utility funds and the General Fund. This change will provide the urban forestry program with dedicated staffing to better facilitate community engagement with the mission of increasing the city‟s tree canopy cover. Seattle City Light will continue to contribute to the program, as well.
12:45 PM: One more West Seattle detail regarding libraries – While Delridge will remain open 35 hours a week, it is one of the city’s “smaller libraries” that the mayor says will be shifted to “circulating library” status – no librarian on duty. The online overview explains that this means:
These branches
will offer collections, holds-pickup, and computer access. Access to specialized reference or collection
services will be provided on-line or by telephone access to staff at the Central Library. Programming will
be primarily focused on youth and provided by librarians from other locations.
South Park also is proposed for this status change. … While he says there are no “general tax increases,” there are fee increases – he mentions parking-meter rates and the “parking scofflaw” crackdown mentioned in our earlier story (though he says there will be an amnesty period). He also mentions, without elaborating – we’re still reading the documents – increases in various fees.
1:03 PM: The mayor just talked about neighborhood planning beginning with an analysis of “how we spend our money.” Meantime, we are continuing to find more details in the online overview: One big change – if you go downtown or to other neighborhoods where street parking is not free, Sundays now will be paid parking days (11 am-6 pm) as well as Mondays-Saturdays. The meter/pay-station rates will rise by $1.50 downtown and 50 cents (an hour) in other neighborhoods.
1:09 PM: The mayor’s speech is over. One more thing from the online overview – more details on fee increases:
FAS: FAS will increase the cat license fee in 2011. The current fee structure has been in place since 2003. The fee for altered cats will increase from $15 to $20 and the fee for unaltered cats will increase from $20 to $30. FAS will also restructure the driver-for-hire license fee and will levy a $50 charge on taxi drivers who have dual King County/City of Seattle licenses. Previously taxi drivers were not required to pay the City for dual licenses. Drivers licensed only in Seattle, who make up less than 1% of all licensed drivers, will see their fee reduced from $75 to $50.
Library: The Library will increase the daily fine rate on a variety of loaned materials including print materials, DVDs, inter-library loans, and reference materials. The Library will also increase the fees for patrons to print from Library computers. Additionally, the Library will authorize its collection recovery agency to send fine notices to parents of juveniles under the age of 13 who owe fines. Collectively, these measures will generate $650,000 in revenue.
Police: The Seattle Police Department will increase the fee charged to alarm companies who request a police response based on a false alarm. The purpose of this increase is twofold. First, SPD is attempting to reduce the number of false alarms as these responses constitute a large drain on available officers to respond to true emergencies. Given that the current percentage of alarms that are false is 97%, there is much room for improvement. Second, SPD is attempting to recoup a greater percentage of its costs related to responding to false alarms.
Fire: To maintain historical cost recovery rates for billable services, the Seattle Fire Department will implement fee increases of 10% to 15% for permits, conducting certification examinations for fire protection systems and code compliance inspections when multiple re-inspections are required. Additionally, a new $10 reporting fee for processing required fire protection system confidence testing documentation is applied. The increased fees will generate approximately $586,000 for the General Fund and will bring Fire Prevention Division fees to a 75% cost recovery rate, consistent with previous practices.
Seattle Municipal Court: The Seattle Municipal Court will generate additional revenue in 2011 through a variety of changes to its fee structure. First, the Court will continue a number of fee increases it implemented in mid-2010, including an increase from $1 to $3 to handle credit card payments made via the Internet (there is no charge for payments sent in by U.S. mail or made in-person); an increase from $100 to $122 in the administrative fee for deferred findings; and a $10 fee to set up time-payment plans. In 2011, the Court will increase revenue collections by working with its collection agency, Alliance One, to process a large volume of garnishments for people who have past due fines. The Court will also increase the monthly probation fee from $20 to $25. Lastly, the Court will increase revenue collections related to red light camera violations. Collectively, these increases will generate $1.2 million in revenue.
Parks and Recreation: The 2011-2012 Proposed Budget assumes $1 million in new revenue from increases in Parks fees and charges. The updated fees and charges set in this budget are based on Parks‟ new fees and charges policy, which seeks to align fees with the cost of providing the service. Higher percentage costs are charged where benefits of the service accrue primarily to the individual and a lower percentage where society also benefits. In addition to considering the cost of providing a service, Parks analyzed comparable fees charged by other public agencies and recreation service providers. As a result of this analysis, the following fees are increased in the 2011-2012 Proposed Budget: Japanese Garden, Camp Long, Amy Yee Tennis Center, swimming pools, athletic fields, boat ramps, community meeting rooms and gymnasiums, special events – ceremonies, picnics, and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts. A new fee for plan review is also proposed.
Official steps now include presenting the budget to the council this afternoon, and two months of public hearings, meetings, comments, and other forms of review. Again, the West Seattle hearing on the budget is at 5:30 pm October 13th, in the Brockey Center on the southern end of the South Seattle Community College campus (6000 16th SW).
1:55 PM NOTE: We are about to re-add the live video window, since it’s going to show the mayor’s formal budget transmittal to the City Council. Plus – if you’d like to read the detailed city budget overview, here’s the most informative link we’ve found so far (we’re STILL reading through other docs).
3:26 PM UPDATE: The mayor is now taking questions from the media – and that event is what’s live in the video window atop the story. Also – from that media availability (and our ongoing reading of “the fine print” in the budget) we’ve learned of another major West Seattle effect: The Seattle Police Department Mounted Unit, based in Westcrest Park, is proposed for elimination – its officers would be transferred elsewhere in the department.
4:50 PM UPDATE: All of today’s live events are over – the archived city video atop this story is the mayor’s noon speech. Meantime, the next big discussion of the budget is less than two hours away – the City Neighborhood Council, chaired and co-chaired by West Seattleites (Chas Redmond and Jim Del Ciello, respectively – thanks to Jim for this tip), is discussing the budget during its meeting at 6:30 pm at the West Precinct downtown, with city budget boss Beth Goldberg scheduled to attend. Here’s the draft agenda.
Thanks to Sara for the tip via Twitter about police activity at 20th/Holden (map) earlier this morning. We checked with Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James, who says they got a call about two men seen removing items from a vacant house there – one suspect ran away, one drove away, so nobody’s in custody so far. Another vacant house figures into an update this morning from Mariko regarding her stolen car (which was noted in this Crime Watch roundup last night):
Wanted to let you guys know that my car was recovered in a house that is for sale, but vacant. The SPD told me that the due to the large numbers of homes for sale that are vacant, many thieves find this the perfect place to store stolen cars. Just a good tip for neighbors that notice strange cars in driveways – they might be stolen.
And a crimefighting reminder – the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network has its first meeting in a few months tomorrow (Tuesday) night – more info on its website.
9:52 AM: A source in one of the Seattle Parks budget briefings – as noted in our previous report, employees are being told whether their jobs will be affected by the budget Mayor McGinn will officially announce at noon – says $10.2 million in cuts are being proposed for Parks. That includes 192 people whose jobs will be affected by proposed reduction of 103.3 “full time equivalents” – apparently many jobs are being proposed for reduced hours rather than outright layoffs. Our source also says that next year, if you are found to get four parking tickets, you’ll get The Boot (immobilizing device) – unpaid parking tickets represent $15 million in uncollected revenue (not sure why this came up in the Parks meeting, but it did). Again, this is all reported to be in the mayor’s proposal – nothing is final until the next few months of meetings, hearings, and votes are over. More as we get it.
10:20 AM: Latest update from our source: The community centers that are reportedly to be proposed for closure include Alki Community Center in West Seattle. Also reportedly proposed for closure: Ballard, Green Lake, Laurelhurst, and Rainier Beach (a new building is in the works at RB anyway).
11:01 AM: More from our source: Child care/preschool could remain at Alki (among others) under a partnership model. Also, NO pool closures are proposed, we are told – and beaches with lifeguards will keep them. Again, the mayor’s official announcement is due at noon – Seattle Channel is offering a live online feed and we will post that in a separate story.
12:59 PM NOTE: See our separate, ongoing story about the budget address, and the online documents with details. The mayor described the Alki CC changes as “limited-use status.” Still sorting out full details.
Rev. Peter DeVeau at St. John’s Episcopal Church in West Seattle shares this announcement of an annual event:
Blessing of the Animals: 12 noon, West Seattle High School Parking Lot, rain or shine.
The community is invited to bring all creatures great and small for this celebration and thanksgiving for the gift of animals.
This is an annual event hosted by the people of St. John’s Episcopal Church. It is held on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, October 4. Francis was known for his love and care for all creation.
Both Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine are scheduled to announce their proposed budgets today, and neither is expected to make anybody happy. Constantine’s budget address is scheduled for 10:30 am (KCTV will run it live); McGinn’s is set for noon at the Rainier Beach Community Center, and it’ll be streamed by Seattle Channel (link to come). Their respective proposals won’t be the final word – hearings, discussions, proposals and counterproposals will ensue, but we know that at least one group of employees will get the word in advance about whether their jobs are likely to stay or go: Seattle Parks staffers have meetings set this morning with Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams, starting at 9 am, according to a memo shared with us by a source. (Acting Deputy Superintendent Eric Friedli had told the Parks Board earlier this month that managers planned to brief workers on potential budget impacts before the news went public.)
Quick reminder for West Seattle Water Taxi commuters who either missed the news about yesterday’s crash (WSB coverage here) or the followup about today’s service: The county announced last night that a replacement boat from Argosy Cruises was expected to run the regular schedule – which starts with a 6:50 am trip from Seacrest to downtown. 7:31 AM UPDATE: The replacement is the former Water Taxi boat, the Sightseer, which left at 6:50 am (video above) with eight on board, according to what the crew shouted up to the bridge. (At least one passenger hadn’t heard about the crash – a crew member could be heard giving a quick explanation for the boat change.) 10:02 AM: Also note, as Eric points out in comments – the Sightseer is docking at the “old” Water Taxi dock at Pier 55 (Argosy HQ), not the current one at Pier 50.
(Asst. Chief Jim Pugel and Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, at the scene of last Thursday’s murder-suicide)
Story and photos by Christopher Boffoli
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
When Seattle Police officers responded to the location of this past week’s deadly shootings, they arrived to what Assistant Chief Jim Pugel(above, left) would subsequently describe as “an uncertain and chaotic scene.” There had been multiple 911 calls with word of shots fired, potential gunshot victims who needed medical attention, and a shooter possibly on the loose, close to busy intersections filled with people.
Though the circumstances of the event were far more severe and quite different than what most officers experience on a routine patrol, what was similar was the method by which they all applied their training and experience, with ambiguous information, in a rapidly developing scenario with the lives of citizens and emergency personnel at stake.
(Officers Chris Meyers and Dallas Murry demonstrate the X-26 TASER)
Just a day before the quadruple murder-suicide in West Seattle, the Seattle Police Department invited media, including WSB, to a training facility in Tukwila for a primer in how officers are trained to deal with equivocal, potentially dangerous situations. Though the outreach was clearly designed to engage the media in the wake of the downtown shooting of Native American woodcarver John T. Williams, as well as a handful of recent, racially charged interactions, the behind-the-scenes look at current training methods is relevant to Thursday’s West Seattle shootings as well as the recent Thomas Qualls shooting in the Alki area.
As the saying goes, “try before you buy.” In that spirit, Seattle Parks is in another round of “Try It for $2” (as advertised on WSB) – and that goes for certain programs and classes at the Parks facilities around West Seattle. Matt Richardson from Southwest Pool has some suggestions on what you can get for your two bucks:
The Seattle Parks Department is repeating its popular “Try It for $2” promotion through October 9th. All Community Center and Pool sites are offering selected classes at a reduced promotional rate. The first class of a course for a trial $2.00 fee. If you enjoy your first visit, you are invited to sign up for the remainder of the session.
At Southwest Pool, we would like to invite everyone to try our Fitness Classes at the $2.00 promo rate for their first visit. This includes Water Aerobics (both deep and shallow water) and Masters Workouts. It is a great way to get out of the house, have some fun, and do something good for your body.
Our regular attendees can get an even better deal. If you have taken Water Aerobics classes or Masters Workouts and would like to get back into it, your visit will be free if you bring in a brand-new participant to try a class.
Once again today, the Sustainable West Seattle crew at the WS Farmers’ Market was getting the word out about Eat Local Now! – the dinner/auction/education/entertainment gala this Thursday night at Herban Feast‘s Sodo Park (buy tickets online now!) – but that’s not the only local-food event on the horizon: Tonight, Stu Hennessey of SWS (he’s in the center of our photo, with Christina Hahs and Chas Redmond) sent this announcement:
Community Orchard of West Seattle work party for 350.org
Join Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle and Sustainable West Seattle as we build a community orchard that will provide locally grown fruit, nuts and berries to the Seattle area. This event takes place on the campus of South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Avenue SW, at the south end of the school property.
We will meet at 1 pm and work to 5 pm. on 10/10/10. Community gardens and orchards are being built throughout our nation to bring seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries to local residents with low to NO carbon demand. Since the Community Orchard of West Seattle will be built with organic farming techniques and will be distributed locally, the fossil fuel element will be left out of the equation. To find out more about the Community Orchard of West Seattle go to: www.gleanit.org
And back to event #1 – find out more about Eat Local Now! (with co-sponsors including WSB) at eatlocalnow.org.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports from the WSB inbox in the past few days – a car theft, a car break-in, and a condo building repeatedly burglarized – read on:Read More
Just heard on the scanner, and confirmed via Twitter from @macjustice (who also shared the above photo) – a Seattle Police car was involved in a crash in the Admiral District, at California/College. No word on circumstances yet – no serious injuries reported so far. Mac reports, “I was walking the other way and heard a minor crash, then the (police car) rolled across CA from the (Blockbuster store) and hit the truck pictured … looks like the PO clipped or was clipped by SUV (not pictured) as it pulled out of the parking lot.”
(This was our Sunday coverage of the incident, from first report through evening updates – The Water Taxi *will* run a normal schedule, with an Argosy boat, Monday, says the county)
(Top photo courtesy Roy, who was on the Water Taxi when it hit, added 12:27 pm; below photo, WSB cameraphone, added 11:56 am)
ORIGINAL 11:29 AM REPORT: From the scanner, and we are en route – the medic call to Alaskan Way involves the Water Taxi from West Seattle colliding with crashing into its downtown dock. Minor injuries are reported. We’re on the way to find out more. No word yet how this will affect service.
11:35 AM UPDATE: From Amy, in comments:
My husband is on the water taxi that crashed with our two young sons. Apparently the boat crashed into the dock on the Seattle side. He has heard reports of someone with a bloody nose and can see a broken window, but otherwise it didn’t sound too bad. He said they are telling everyone to stay seated while they decide how to get everyone off the boat.
According to the scanner, seven people are believed to be hurt, and one may have been briefly knocked unconscious, but is conscious now. Also from the scanner (we are almost to the scene), rescuers are using the fireboat Leschi to help get people off the boat. Nearby Fire Station 5 (on the waterfront between Colman Dock and Ivar’s) is being used as a base of operations to stage medics.
11:57 AM UPDATE: We are downtown finding out more about what’s happened. Four ambulances are at Fire Station 5 awaiting the patients, who will be brought over from the dock. We’re adding photos.
12:03 PM UPDATE: Note that traffic on Alaskan Way is being affected – as is obviously the Water Taxi schedule – we are working to reach King County DOT to find out about their plans. At least 5 are confirmed hurt – 4 being put on stretchers at the scene, 1 who is “walking” – the 4 will be taken to the hospital by ambulance. Police and Coast Guard, meantime, are assisting on the water:
We have just spoken at the scene with a passenger named Mike from West Seattle who says they got warning at the last moment – the captain said, everybody hold on, we’re going to hit – but they were not traveling at excessive speed, in Mike’s opinion.
12:29 PM UPDATE: Five patients are going to the hospital – from the scanner description, one is more seriously hurt than the other four. We have just added a photo atop this story from Roy, who was on board when it happened (husband of Amy, who has reported twice now in comments). Christopher Boffoli has joined Patrick Sand at the scene for WSB coverage; Christopher stopped by the West Seattle dock on the way here and says people there hadn’t yet gotten news about what had happened and were wondering where the boat was.
12:38 PM UPDATE: The Rachel Marie is the boat that hit the dock – recently there was a substitution for maintenance, but we have confirmed this. The other boat that serves Water Taxi runs, usually to Vashon, Melissa Ann, will be summoned into service later today, says Linda Thielke of King County Department of Transportation, but West Seattle Water Taxi service is suspended until then (no estimated time yet).
1:06 PM UPDATE: From “E” in comments:
We were on the boat too! I luckily had just strapped our 11 week old baby in the bjorn. My husband was helping with our 3-year-old son in the stroller. They took a pretty good hit. Sad for my son because he’s still a little traumatized!!! We are at Seahawk game now and he’s doing a little better. Hopefully one day he’ll remember how fun it was to get rescued by the police boat!!
Meantime, Amy’s husband Roy, who shared the top photo, checked in:
He reports, “We were cruising into the dock. I had noticed the boat went past where it normally stops, then I heard them say something like ‘Jones to the Control Room’ and then ‘everyone please brace for impact, we have an emergency’ and boom, we crashed into the dock. It felt like being hit while in a moving car.” He held onto the kids and they were ok, although a seat came loose from the base of the floor. He observed one end of the pier now sticking through the window of the water taxi, where thankfully no one was sitting. He said, “I’ll put it this way: I’m glad we weren’t going any faster.”
Just got an update at the scene from Seattle Police Det. Jeff Kappel of the Media Unit, who will be briefing us and others shortly – he says seven people went to the hospital, all with “non-life-threatening” injuries. (Update – USCG did the briefing instead – photo below:)
1:39 PM UPDATE: Briefing from Coast Guard: Mechanical failure is suspected. They say no one went into the water. (added later – video of the briefing in its entirety)
Meantime, King County DOT says water-taxi service has resumed – the Melissa Ann went toward West Seattle at 1:30 and should be back on the regular schedule.
2:09 PM UPDATE: Adding more photos – the ones we’ve had till now (except for Roy’s, atop the story) were from the WSB BlackBerry. Here’s a closer look at where the Rachel Marie hit the seawall – right where the ironwork at the historic Washington Street Landing is:
Here are Coast Guard boats getting the injured people to shore:
2:49 PM UPDATE: The damaged Rachel Marie has been pulled away from the seawall, Christopher reports. He says it’s now tied up to its dock at Pier 50, while Seattle Police photograph damage to the seawall. Christopher says the impact appears to have taken out at least one piling. We’ll be checking with King County DOT regarding both the Rachel Marie’s condition and how, if at all, tomorrow’s Water Taxi schedule will be affected, since the Melissa Ann serves Vashon Mondays-Fridays. Meantime, Jason Grotelueschen just sent this photo of the Melissa Ann just arriving at Seacrest, with passengers disembarking:
3:34 PM UPDATE: We just added our video of the full briefing by USCG Lt. Jon Lane, following the entry two hours ago in which we summarized it. He said 73 people were on the Rachel Marie when this happened, including the crew, and it was reported to have been going about 6 knots at the time.
ADDED 4:17 PM: Two photos from Christopher, showing damage to the Rachel Marie, including the broken window, from outside:
7:43 PM UPDATE: Water Taxi service will be normal tomorrow, according to the latest from King County:
Water taxi service between West Seattle and downtown Seattle will operate on a normal schedule Monday, Sept. 27 between Seacrest Dock and Pier 55, according to the King County Department of Transportation.
Service was briefly suspended Sunday when the vessel Rachel Marie struck a waterfront landing adjacent to its regular docking location along Alaskan Way in downtown Seattle. Preliminary reports point to a mechanical malfunction. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently investigating the incident.
Tonight we also have Christopher’s video of the Rachel Marie being pulled back from the collision scene:
ADDED 9:04 PM: West Seattleite Andrew Harms also was on board the Rachel Marie when it crashed into the seawall/historic pier and is sharing photos tonight – including one from the police boat that took him and more than 30 others to shore:
This is the piling mentioned earlier as having been taken out:
And from inside the Rachel Marie, seats tossed about:
We aren’t likely to get more details on the damage – to the seawall/pier as well as the Rachel Marie – till tomorrow.
(Amanda Nokes, photographed during WSB interview at Uptown Espresso in The Junction)
Story and photo by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
“Cookies have become sophisticated — they’re not just for kids any more.” If you needed permission to eat more cookies, Amanda Nokes of Manderin Cookie Company may just have granted it — provided of course that you are indulging in her freshly-baked and delivered traditional cookies with a twist.
A self-professed “food junkie,” Amanda creates recipes in her head that combine the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors and textures. She adds caramel to the peanut butter cookie and dried cherries to the oatmeal raisin cookie. Her next cookie creation tentatively called “Bean’s Kitchen Sink Cookie” will combine goldfish crackers with vanilla Oreo cookies, butterscotch chips and malted milk balls. She says, “I love desserts and want to find new ways to deliver them to my thighs.”
All her cookies are given family names — “Bean” is her daughter’s nickname and son Max has his own mega-chocolate cookie: “The Max.”
Amanda’s cookie venture began a year and a half ago as something to do while looking for work.
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: In addition to the Fauntleroy Church/YMCA dedication (previewed last night) at 2 pm, today’s list also includes free Sunday Yoga at Sound Yoga (WSB sponsor) 11 am-12:15 pm; Bowling for Bullies, a benefit to raise funds for, and awareness of, what organizers call “the amazing Pit Bull ‘breed'” and rescued dogs who need a second chance, partial proceeds to Bullseye Dog Rescue with rescue dogs on hand for adoption, 1:30 pm at West Seattle Bowl … and as always, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm, The Junction (44th/Alaska), with apples and wild mushrooms among the new items on today’s Ripe and Ready list.
Thanks to Julie for the tip (which we just verified with a late-night drive) that 16th SW is now fully open again, after two months of a northbound detour for the latest round of road-rebuilding work. The original projected completion date was September 27th, and SDOT had reconfirmed for us this past week that they expected to be done “by the end of the month” – but it’s all open again now, a bit ahead of schedule. (We’ll check with SDOT Monday to see if there are still any final touches ahead.)
Two great photos just landed in the WSB inbox – first, Rolly Francisco shares the view of Mount Rainier as seen from 40th/Andover around 5 pm (you just never know how many more times this year we’ll see it!) – second, Trileigh was out star/planetgazing last night and captured multiple moons:
Trileigh explains:
Although in the photo you can see three moons surrounding Jupiter (the bright white spot near the middle of the picture), with a spotting scope you can actually see four.
And I don’t know what that funny blue thing is to the lower left of Jupiter. It was in each picture I took, several minutes apart, and appeared to move first further away to the lower left each time and then back closer. Could it be a satellite, I wonder?
Tonight should still be clear, I believe – people with binoculars or a spotting scope should get out and see five moons at once, including Earth’s!
While this morning’s community celebration of the Chief Sealth International High School overhaul was under way, we added a photo to an earlier story – now, a couple more: Top, Sue Daley and Lisa Sattler were at the Sealth PTSA table; the PTSA has its own website, by the way – with info including the date for this year’s fundraising auction (November 18th). Next photo – one of the true showpieces of the work on campus, the Galleria between the renovated Sealth and the in-progress Denny International Middle School:
Meantime, there’s another big event ahead at Sealth: This Thursday night, Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and other top district officials will be there for a “welcome back” community meeting – not just for Sealth families, but for all SPS families in the West Seattle area – that’s set for 6:30-8 pm Thursday (September 30th).
As noisy and dusty as demolition can be, it can sometimes lead to fleeting scenes you might even consider beautiful. Dianeshared these photos from the Admiral Safeway site, taken last night – note the old clock suddenly front and center:
Also revealed, curving framework:
And then the newer facade, still standing:
Another look:
As we’ve noted the past few days, you can now check in on a webcam focused on the site – see it here. P.S. Looking further back into the week, Christopher Boffoli got this video as the major demolition began a couple days ago – coverage of other stories got in the way of publishing it till now:
Thanks to Sara for the tip via 
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