West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
(SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: SDOT confirms the work finished way ahead of schedule & the bridge is fully open for the rest of the weekend. Next closure is scheduled Tuesday night)
11:22 PM: Just in case you forgot – or missed the past week-plus of warnings – the west end of the West Seattle Bridge is now closed, and scheduled to stay that way until just before midnight Sunday night. It’s the section known as the Fauntleroy Expressway, and it’s getting earthquake-safety upgrades, with closures required many recent nights so that the bridge deck can be raised a bit, with new quake-resistance pads slipped in. (See our mid-January story for a closer look at the work that’s been under way many recent nights.)
Here’s how it’ll affect you between now and the reopening on Sunday:
If you’re heading westbound on the high bridge, you will have to exit at Delridge. You can still get to the Admiral/Alki/Harbor Avenue area if you follow the signs to SW Spokane and head west under The Bridge from there.
If you’re heading eastbound and need to get onto the bridge, Admiral and Delridge are OK, according to advance info from SDOT. 35th/Fauntleroy is closed. If you’re headed toward the bridge on Fauntleroy, you’ll be pointed toward Avalon. So in either direction, give yourself some extra time. Again, this is scheduled to last until late Sunday night (we’ll let you know if it ends sooner). More Fauntleroy Expressway overnight closures are expected next week – but SDOT says that’s likely the last week for them, since the project is ahead of schedule.
8:22 AM: The bridge is currently OPEN, despite SDOT’s week-plus warning that it would be closed till late tonight. We are checking with them to see if it’s closing again later or if the work finished REALLY early.
8:45 AM: Just heard back from Marybeth Turner at SDOT – who confirms that the contractor finished before 7 am, and that’s the end of it for this weekend.
3:44 PM SUNDAY: 21-year-old Devan Hammond, reported missing last night, has been found safe. He turned up at a local fitness facility, which had been alerted by his mom to be on the lookout.
Our original coverage is after the jump:Read More
As Damien Jurado performed a free in-store set at Easy Street Records in West Seattle this evening, the art on his guitar seemed particularly appropriate:
He had told the Easy Street crowd that “home” for him was, once upon a time, about a block from The Junction’s iconic music store – and that the songs on his new album “Maraqopa” were written there, so this appearance was like “coming full circle.” The first one, “Nothing Is the News,” starts about 2 minutes into our clip, which caught the back half of another song, plus his explanation of “Nothing …”:
After his set, Easy Street proprietor Matt Vaughan told the audience his store was the only place in the world Jurado’s album was on sale – at the moment (it’ll be officially released next Tuesday):
And certainly the only place anyone could get one autographed tonight! Jurado also lists nearby White Center as a former residence, though now he is based in Shoreline.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
6:27 PM: Thanks to everybody who sent tips about the fire callout in the Genesee area. It’s a single-family-house fire call in the 4000 block of 52nd SW (map). More shortly.
6:36 PM UPDATE: From the fire scene, Christopher Boffoli reports for WSB: SFD confirms fire tapped. No injuries. House was unoccupied at the time. No word on the cause. Fire investigators coming out. (Christopher says there was lots of smoke when he got to the scene minutes after the initial call, though.)
7:03 PM UPDATE: Investigators are on the scene and suspect the fire started in or near the washer/dryer area.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Most of the remaining units are being dismissed from the scene now, as operations wrap up. It was a full-size callout originally, though, as this photo shared by Gary Mullin shows:
8:28 PM UPDATE: SFD confirms an electrical malfunction in the laundry room is to blame – details here.
1:52 PM: Jared the cat still looks a little stressed – and who can blame him? When last we saw him, he was wearing a special oxygen mask after being rescued from a fire at the house where local animal advocate Teri Ensley was fostering him. Now he’s ready for adoption, and he’s one of the 70-plus cats/kittens with which Kitty Harbor opened its two-day adopt-a-thon this afternoon. We dropped by early on – and of all the cats we photographed, we just had to share this one too – tailor-made for a caption along the lines of, “I’m ready for my closeup”:
The adopt-a-thon continues till 6 tonight and runs again noon-6 pm tomorrow, with other prospective adoptees including more than a dozen of the Auburn “camper cats.” Kitty Harbor is on Harbor Avenue just north of the West Seattle Bridge.
7:54 PM UPDATE: Delyn from Kitty Harbor told us just before 6 pm that 47 cats had found homes, and via Facebook, Stacey said the final count was 52. (We’re checking on Jared’s status.) That means still more to find homes tomorrow (Sunday), noon-6 pm.
8:33 PM UPDATE: Stacey ups the total to 54. And we’re also told Jared is still looking for a home. But the Siamese “Camper Cats” did. About 20 cats will be there tomorrow, awaiting you.
Before month’s end, you’ll have a chance to get the latest on two projects in Highland Park. The first one is ready for you to dig into:
WESTCREST PARK P-PATCH: From Brian Greer:
West Seattle residents have an exciting opportunity right now to be a part of the creation of a P-Patch community garden at Westcrest Park. Recently, funds from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy have been awarded for this project, and the timeline to get it in the ground is relatively short. We need you to come out and voice your values for the garden.
Anybody who has ever experienced the joys of a community garden or has a desire to be apart of this great community feature should come to the orientation and design criteria meeting that will take place this Tuesday the 21st. You don’t need any experience gardening or community organizing, just an interest in being involved.
When: Tuesday, Feb 21st, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm
Where: Highland Park Improvement Club, 1116 SW Holden St.
If you have questions about this meeting or want to help with the organization of this event please e-mail briancgreer@gmail.com.
SPRAY PARK: The third and final meeting about the project to convert Highland Park’s wading pool into a spray park (also including levy $) is once again combined with the monthly Highland Park Action Committee meeting – 7 pm Wednesday, February 29th. This time, Parks will present the final design, and discuss the construction timeline (at last report, the spray park is scheduled to be open for summer 2013). This meeting is also at HPIC (12th and Holden).
(From the WSB Flickr group pool, by “old desolate,” photographed near North Delridge’s Dragonfly Pavilion)
Holiday weekends tend to be quieter, so today’s list isn’t long. From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar (and inbox):
PARTIAL WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE CLOSURE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT, INCLUDING ALL DAY SUNDAY: The Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project, involving the west end of the West Seattle Bridge, requires a closure from 9 pm tonight through 11:59 pm Sunday. This mostly affects how you get onto and off the bridge in West Seattle. Unless there is some last-minute change, if you are headed out – eastbound – you will definitely be able to get onto the bridge from Admiral/Harbor (SDOT’s Marybeth Turner confirmed this in WSB comments last night) and from Delridge. (Though the advisory does not mention Avalon, we were able to access that way most nights this week – though there was a flagger right under the bridge – so we’ll see how the detour is marked when tonight’s closure begins.)
LOCAL HIGH-SCHOOL SWIMMERS IN STATE FINALS: Followup on some of the athletes we mentioned in our morning preview yesterday: Trisha Montemayor sends word that “Luke Asatainti will be swimming in finals this morning for his 100 breaststroke for West Seattle and (for Chief Sealth) Michael Stewart will swim in finals for the 200 freestyle and Morgan Montemayor will swim in finals in the 100 butterfly. This is an awesome accomplishment as only the top 16 swimmers advance to finals.” Good luck! (We’ll be checking on the gymnastics and wrestling results too, but anyone with word on those is welcome to e-mail us at editor@westseattleblog.com)
MARIMBA AT HIGH POINT CC: Zambuko Marimba Ensemble at 10:30 am at High Point Community Center. Enjoy the sounds of traditional and contemporary marimba of Zimbabwe. $5/person, $15 max per family.
CAT ADOPT-A-THON! As previewed here last night, Kitty Harbor has more than 70 cats – including famous rescuees – up for adoption this weekend, noon-6 pm both days. (Harbor Avenue just north of the West Seattle Bridge)
OCCUPY WEST SEATTLE: Occupy West Seattle‘s next General Assembly is today at 2 pm at the Seattle Public Library‘s High Point Branch (35th/Raymond). From their announcement: “We hope to see you there as we continue the discussion and continue the planning for our first direct action.”
DAMIEN JURADO, LIVE AT EASY STREET: Damien Jurado performs live in store at Easy Street Records in The Junction, 5 pm.
TRAVIS HARTNETT TRIO: Live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm. (Calendar here.)
ORGAN MUSIC: Tonight at Kenyon Hall: 7:30 – Legendary theater organist Dennis James, with hall favorites Connie Corrick and Hugh Hastings. From Kenyon Hall: “The hall has enjoyed a long association with Dennis, including his locating the organ that became our much loved Mighty Wurlitzer. It’s been all too long since he graced our stage, and we’re honored to welcome him back. Dennis spends the majority of his time traveling the world performing in solo organ, glass armonica, and piano concerts; for silent movies; and with major symphony orchestras.” Reserved table seats are $14. Row seating is $12 general and $10 seniors. With a reservation, row seating is only $10 general and $8 seniors. Elementary, middle, and high school students are $5. Pre-school children are free. To make a reservation, please e-mail kenyonhall@earthlink.net.
BYRD ENSEMBLE AT YOUNGSTOWN: Tonight at 7:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – full details here.
FIASCO AT FEEDBACK: 9:30 pm, live music at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), details on their home page.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports – another case of hit-and-run damaging parked vehicles, and trespassing that appeared to be on the brink of theft. First, this photo from Darlene, with word of what happened early Friday:
The photo shows what [one of] our cars look like after a drunk couple slammed into them at 3:30 a.m. (Friday). The police have impounded the car that hit ours and we have photos of the offenders’ vehicle also. We have also submitted the offenders’ license plate to our insurance company. Our neighbors saw the couple walking away up 56th. Prior to them walking away one of our neighbors spoke to the female, who said “we’re fixing a flat tire”. I want to thank all our neighbors who called the police and described this couple. They had a baby seat in their car; no one saw them with a child. The car is registered to an address in Kirkland.
And received late last night from DG:
My son just found someone on our property (near 32nd SW and SW Cloverdale) about an hour ago. He went outside and heard a sneeze, then found a man hiding in shrubbery just off our carport. The man was next to the lawnmower which had the board used to weigh down the tarp removed, bungee cords loosened and the tarp pulled nearly off the mower. The man was about 30, 5’10”, about 170 lbs, probably Caucasian, and wore a red or orange jacket with a reflective stripe and dark pants. He ran off of our property and headed east as my son gave chase. The place where the man was hiding is about 25 feet from the street and surrounded by fencing and clearly private. The carport where the lawnmower is kept is brightly lit and the mower is chained to a post.
By the way, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets this coming Tuesday, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Holden/Delridge), with guests including new precinct liaison Melissa Chin of the City Attorney’s Office and Jill Otake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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