West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
Thursday afternoon is when WSDOT and SDOT usually send out the next round of major closure alerts – and here are the biggies for our area for the next few weeks, highlighted by an all-weekend Alaskan Way Viaduct closure in two weeks:
– May 7-10, the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed nightly at SR 99. All westbound traffic will exit at Harbor Island and be detoured via the lower Spokane St roadway/low bridge to West Seattle. The southbound SR 99 ramp to West Seattle will remain open. [This starts at 9 pm each night.]
– Beginning May 9 at 7 PM, expect changes on the Alaskan Way waterfront overnight. Traffic will be moved off of Alaskan Way and will be relocated underneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct between S King St and Madison St. On the night of May 9th, S Washington St, Yesler Way, Columbia St and Madison St will be closed. Officers will be on-hand Thursday morning to assist traffic with the new road network and traffic patterns.
– May 18-21, the Alaskan Way Viaduct (SR 99) will be closed between Denny Way and S Spokane St in both directions Friday night through Monday morning. All on- and off-ramps will also be closed.
The May 9 mention is the one that goes with the ferry-terminal-reroute video we’ve been featuring here – the big change will kick in the morning of May 10th. Other areas of the city have various smaller closures too, and you can see the complete grid for what’s in the works by going here.
Just in case you haven’t seen this on regional news outlets: An Amber Alert is out for two little girls and their mother missing from Shoreline; the mother is suspected of stabbing their father, who is at a hospital in critical condition. An associated vehicle has already been found, but not the girls nor the suspect – our friends at KING5.com have the latest, including a photo of one girl. Here’s the webpage for the alert itself (but again, the vehicle’s been found).
It’s never too soon to teach kids a great “habit” – helping others. That’s the lesson Jena‘s students are learning at Tiny Tribe Preschool, which brought wee ones to Junction Plaza Park this morning for a Hop-A-Thon, an activity the Muscular Dystrophy Association is encouraging not only as a fundraiser, but also to teach kids about disabilities – “awareness, acceptance, assistance.” Tiny Tribe has already raised $600; we video’d the kids hopping in the chilly rain for two heartwarming minutes:
You can donate online to help the Tiny Tribe kids reach their goal – just go here.
A week and a half ago, we published that photo taken by Tom Foley while out on the Duwamish River. We thought it was a Steller sea lion; turns out it’s a California sea lion – and known to researchers. LG saw Tom’s photo here and sent the information to NOAA, which she says “got excited about it, and e-mails were quickly sent around between people at NOAA and the Alaska Fish and Game Department’s Steller Sea Lion program trying to identify the animal. Apparently Alaska Fish and Game has an extensive photo database specifically for identifying branded sea lions.” She then received e-mail from NOAA’s Sharon Melin, who told her it was OK for us to publish the e-mail, which follows:
Thank you for reporting the sighting of the California sea lion #8727. He was branded as a 4 month old pup in September 2006 at San Miguel Island, California. At the time, he weighed 23.0 kg and was large for his age. He has been seen regularly in Washington during the winters and at San Miguel Island during the summer breeding season but still is too young and small to be breeding.
San Miguel Island is the northern limit of the California sea lion breeding range and is the westernmost island in the Channel Islands chain off the coast of California. Each year, a population of about 100,000 California sea lions returns to the island to breed and pup. Pups are born in late May and June and are usually weaned in March or April of the following year. Each year we tag and brand 500 pups out of about 23,000 born and conduct long-term observation studies throughout the lives of tagged individuals.
The tagging program for seals and sea lions on San Miguel Island was initiated in 1975. We have had tag recoveries from as far south as Pta Colnette (Punta Colonet), Mexico and as far north as Southeast Alaska. The tagging program provides information for long-term studies on migration, movements, survival, reproductive success, and annual cycles of individual animals. Studies such as these help us to effectively monitor marine mammal populations.
Tag returns are an extremely important part of our studies and they provide valuable information required to understand the biology and status of marine mammal populations. Thank you for taking time to participate in our research effort.
Here’s a map showing San Miguel Island, which is off Santa Barbara, California – more than 1,000 miles away!
Nine days till West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2012, with 250 sales of all sizes all over the peninsula, north to south, east to west! The image at left is just **part** of the online version of the map (don’t draw any conclusions – it’s a work in progress!), which along with the printable version is now in the final stages of production, so we can keep our annual promise of making the map available one week in advance … among other reasons, so that sellers know their numbers and can promote their sales, and so shoppers can plan their routes and preview the listings. Not only will you find classic garage-sale highlights, you will also find sellers offering hot dogs, lemonade, bake sales, and other surprises. The clickable online map (from which the screengrab at left is taken) will likely be available slightly sooner than the printable map this Saturday, so check here, and/or the official WSCGSD website, the WSCGSD Facebook page – where sellers are welcome to post photos and other sale notes in the days before the sale, if interested! – and the WSB Facebook page. So don’t forget – tell your friends; non-West Seattleites welcome to come shop too! – 9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 12th, meet neighbors and new friends as you engage in the timeless tradition of person-to-person recycling, Alki to the Arroyos, Pigeon Point to Greenbridge, and beyond.
The home of West Seattle’s newest public school needs a little TLC, and a community-organized cleanup is set for this Saturday. The invitation:
Join us this Saturday, May 5 from 1-5 for the first K-5 STEM at Boren WEEDING PARTY!
Community members, STEM families, students, friends – come play in the dirt and meet other families coming to STEM!
SPS grounds crew will be there with supplies to support weeding out the planters facing the parking lot and facing Delridge. Feelfree to bring your own tools, gloves, water, sunscreen & snacks.
This event will be cancelled in event of rain.
The Boren building is in the 5900 block of Delridge Way SW.
West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media produced that short promotional video for one of tonight’s big events, cancer-fighting fashion show “Style ’12” – part of our highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
STYLE ’12: West Seattleite-led Northwest Hope and Healing‘s annual fashion show to raise money to help breast-cancer patients. West Seattle businesses participating too! Survivors take to the runway to model spring fashion – and you’ll hear inspiring stories, too, including that of keynote speaker, West Seattle three-time survivor Tracy Dart. Tickets available at the door – more info on the NWHH site. It’s at 7 pm at Showbox SODO (1700 1st Avenue S.).
Also today/tonight:
HOPPING TO FIGHT M.D.: The kids from Tiny Tribe Preschool plan a hop-a-thon at Junction Plaza Park this morning around 10:30 “to raise money and awareness about muscular dystrophy.”
MAYOR’S TOWN HALL: For the second time in less than two months, Mayor Mike McGinn is holding a Town Hall in West Seattle. This time, it’s at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon), 5-6 pm; here’s our original preview.
ALKI ELEMENTARY ART SHOWCASE: You’re invited to Alki Elementary tonight, 6-8 pm (3010 59th SW) – our calendar-listing page has details on what you’ll see.
ROXHILL ELEMENTARY MEETING ABOUT BEX-IV: It’s at Roxhill Elementary, but the entire community’s invited to come talk about West Seattle’s priorities for the BEX-IV Seattle Public Schools levy – which so far has included a potential proposal to close Roxhill and “merge” it into Arbor Heights Elementary, among other proposals. West Seattle’s school-board rep Marty McLaren will be there, among others. 6:30-8 pm, 30th/Roxbury; details here.
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER: The annual observance by Alki’s Statue of Liberty Plaza is planned for 6:30-8 pm; details on the calendar-listing page.
JOE CROOKSTON IN CONCERT: Tonight at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 7:30 pm.
Every few months, WSDOT convenes the “stakeholders” known as the South Portal Working Group to get a briefing on what’s up with the south end of the Highway 99/Viaduct/Tunnel project and everything that ties into it. They got together again late today at the usual meeting spot, Sound Transit‘s board room at King Street Station. Ahead, toplines of potential West Seattle interest:
SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT WIDENING PROJECT:
*Approaching 90 percent completion, says SDOT project manager Stuart Goldsmith. The project is now expected to be done in “early September.” The new westbound 1st Avenue South ramp won’t fully open till then.
*May 22nd is the date expected for reopening the 4th Avenue eastbound exit, and then closing the 1st Avenue South eastbound ramp for another 6 to 8 weeks.
*Exit confusion where the bridge meets 99 (and truckers going rogue): They’re still working on signage – covering the ones that point them to the Spokane St. Viaduct for I-5.
NEW HIGHWAY 99 BRIDGE (ELEVATED STRUCTURE) WHERE THE VIADUCT USED TO BE:
*WSDOT’s Matt Preedy says the first set of girders for the northbound bridge was set last night – right now both directions are running on the semi-recently-completed bridge that will eventually carry southbound traffic. They have met the milestone of “100 percent up out of the ground,” said Preedy, and are on track to complete the bridge and shift traffic onto it by fall of this year – earlier than what they thought last year.
SOUTH ATLANTIC STREET OVERCROSSING FOR 99
*Bids will be opened later this month; this overpass bridge is to be complete by end of next year. How will bicycles get along? Preedy was asked. The path back to West Seattle will be “detoured a little further to the west” during construction.
EAST MARGINAL WAY SOUTH REBUILD
*On track for completion by June.
AIRPORT WAY SOUTH BRIDGE
*Still expected to reopen by the end of the year.
HOW WOULD SODO BASKETBALL/HOCKEY ARENA AFFECT TRAFFIC?
*One group member pointed out that the possibility completely tousles what’s been under discussion here for a very long time – 4 extra “events” a week – and wondered if it had been adequately discussed among transportation managers.
*The arena came up, by the way, in a new “what’s on your mind?” section of the meeting. Some members including West Seattle’s Pete Spalding had suggested the group’s meetings needed more time to listen to actual concerns regarding the south end traffic situation, and less on presentations that might or might not directly affect them.
ALASKAN WAY – NOW, FUTURE
*Wednesday or Thursday of next week, the detour announced last week – with the demonsration video repeated above – will take effect, and will be in effect until at least early 2014, “possibly longer, depending on the city’s seawall-replacement schedule,” Preedy says. Traffic will be under the Viaduct all the way to Madison. If continuing north, you veer over, and by Spring Street, you’re back in the current Alaskan Way lans. Through traffic will be southbound one lane; northbound, part two, part one. They will implement “bumper to bumper” ferry queueing on the dock, which means 100 more cars, with the help of an on-dock supervisor. There’s 100 extra potential spaces using some street/curb space.
*East/west, they will feed people directly off the dock with more options including going straight through and accessing 2nd Avenue Extension. The bike path will be on the east side of the viaduct path from Jackson to Yesler, but north of that, the bike path will cross the detoured Yesler then cross again at Madison. West Seattle group member Vlad Oustimovitch worried that would be creating a lot of “bicycle/vehicle conflicts” in the short run. He called the detour-and-detour again plan “convoluted.” WSDOT says they’re most concerned about safety. The sidewalk on the west side of Alaskan Way will remain open, but it’s not wide enough to be the primary route.
ALASKAN WAY WIDENED FOR STREET PARKING
*About 66 on-street metered parking spots are being created between Spring and Pike along Alaskan Way. That’s about a third of the 200 lost under The Viaduct.
Chief Sealth International High School‘s spring-sports program now has two division champions!
SOCCER DIVISION CHAMPS: Tonight, the boys-varsity team clinched the Metro Sound Division title:
They shut out Nathan Hale 1-0 – with Kristian Nilssen on goal – at Southwest Athletic Complex tonight. (Stats here, from our partners at the Seattle Times.)
It was also seniors’ night; the graduating players were scheduled to be honored at game’s end – before the game, we caught up with students and parents who were putting together the postgame celebration (food, balloons, etc.):
From left, Noele, Tasha, Ryan, Claire, and “Coach Mom” Rosario.
SOFTBALL DIVISION CHAMPS: Even before tonight’s soccer victory, Sealth already had a division winner. Athletic director Sam Reed reports that the girls-varsity softball team concluded its regular season Monday by defeating Roosevelt, ending with a 15-5 record, the Sound Division title, and a look ahead to the playoffs starting next week.
GiveBIG TILL MIDNIGHT: If you’ve donated already, you’re part of a big philanthropic outpouring. Here’s the tally as of around 5 pm:
We’re thrilled to report that #GiveBIG has now seen more than $5 million raised for 1150 organizations! Nearly 23,000 donations in all!
— Seattle Foundation (@TheSeattleFdn) May 2, 2012
If you haven’t given yet, you still have time. This one-day donate-a-thon with participating organizations having a potential chance at some matching funds through the Seattle Foundation goes till midnight. You have to donate through a link on their site, but the money all goes to the nonprofit – we made a list early this morning of the West Seattle, White Center, and South Park participants, with their special donation links – see (and use) the list here. Speaking of WC:
‘DINE OUT FOR HUNGER’: In connection with this big day/night of giving, Proletariat Pizza and Zippy’s Giant Burgers are giving a share of tonight’s dinner proceeds to the White Center Food Bank. We found WCFB executive director Rick Jump at Zippy’s:
His organization went all-out today; Jump and others were at WC coffee shops 7 am-10 am to facilitate donations via laptops. By the way, Proletariat Pizza and Zippy’s are members of the new WSB sponsor we just welcomed this afternoon – the Rat City Business Association (meet the RCBA businesses here).
Thanks to those who have flagged us to this today via e-mail and phone, and it’s also under discussion at Seattle Schools Community Forum, with the exhortation, “Now is the time to pay attention”: Tonight’s Seattle School Board meeting includes the first look at a “Revision to Transportation Standards.” That means changing the scheduling of school buses, which in turn means changing the scheduling for schools’ start and end times.
You might recall, this all came up just last year – when another round of transportation changes and ensuing bell-time changes meant that some schools were starting as late as the 9:30 am vicinity; Sanislo Elementary, in particular, tried to fight it (here’s one of our stories from May 2011).
Last year’s changes were supposed to save money. However, it didn’t work out that way, according to district documents in tonight’s meeting packet – so now they’re looking at a new three-tier system, with bus arrivals at schools as early as 7:10 am, 15 minutes earlier than the earliest ones now, and longer bus rides. Here’s a screen grab:
No specific “which school would be in which tier” list already that we can find (and we’re asking the district just to be sure). The report on tonight’s agenda says this could save $1 million next year. For the current year, “transportation expenditures” may be almost $3 million over budget, the School Board has been told. Tonight’s board meeting (agenda here) is at 6 pm at district headquarters in SODO.
Two quick West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon: First, a business burglary – a concerned customer texted us this morning to say they had heard Tony’s Market, the produce stand at 35th/Barton, had been hit by crime; we stopped in to check and the staff confirmed they had been burglarized overnight, but, they told us, the burglar(s) didn’t get away with much.
Second, police had to be called to the Youngstown Flats construction site at 26th/Dakota on Sunday night, according to the development team, when young trespassers were caught trying to climb the crane. The developers’ update says they broke through a “perimeter chain-link fence” to get to the crane, and so site security is being beefed up including “an additional barrier around the crane.”
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Chief Sealth International High School‘s Cinco de Mayo assembly this morning included a high-profile guest: At right, that’s Washington Supreme Court Justice Steven GonzĆ”lez (with Seattle Police Officer Adrian Z. Diaz). Marta Sanchez in the Sealth office has known Justice GonzĆ”lez for years and arranged for him to speak at today’s assembly. He joined the state Supreme Court earlier this year, previously serving in King County Superior Court, where, just weeks before his move, we covered then-Judge GonzĆ”lez presiding over sentencing in a high-profile West Seattle case, that of “prolific burglar” John Novotny.
(Student journalist Nicholas Trost, on assignment for WSB, shot this video tour before ex-FS 37 was vacated)
Seven months after the City Council gave final authorization for the sale of city-landmark former Fire Station 37 at 35th/Othello – vacant for a year and a half – it’s on the brink of being bought. We’ve tracked the sale process through the listing and the March/April open houses; April 20th was the deadline for offers – but senior vice president Arvin Vander Veen from Colliers International, handling the sale of ex-FS 37 and another one elsewhere in the city, tells WSB they asked a small number of prospective buyers for a second round of offers, and those are due today. Why a second round? we asked. His reply: “Because several offers were high and very close to each other, so we went back to a few for a best and final offer.” (They had said they wouldn’t accept offers less than $250,000.) The circa-1925 building is expected to become a private residence, in no small part because – as pointed out in a city report we excerpted last year – the site is zoned for single-family housing. Proceeds from the sale are to go back into the city’s Fire Levy program.
(Thanks to Doug B for sharing his osprey photo with the WSB Flickr group pool – it’s linked to his original, on Flickr)
A few things of note as the day goes on, and then into the night, from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERT: Admiral Way paving continues north of the West Seattle Bridge; the bridge itself has inspection work happening today – details on both are here.
‘GiveBIG’ ONE-DAY DONATION DRIVE: Early this morning, we published a list of the special links for West Seattle, White Center, and South Park nonprofits that are participating in this one-day donate-a-palooza – with The Seattle Foundation offering a “stretch pool” that will make your donations go further. The list is here. Also note that your favorite nonprofit(s) may have extra matches going on – we know of at least two, West Seattle Helpline with a dollar-for-dollar match up to $2,500, and ArtsWest has its own matching fund too. And tonight if you dine at Proletariat Pizza or Zippy’s Giant Burgers, as part of “Dine Out for Hunger,” they are donating part of their dinner proceeds to the White Center Food Bank, which serves part of West Seattle too.
VIADUCT UPDATES: The every-few-months meeting of the Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group is at 4 pm today, Sound Transit Board Room at 401 South Jackson downtown, with working-group members to be briefed on a variety of projects, including the waterfront-traffic reroutes reported here on Monday, transit routing during 99 construction, and how the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project is going.
ALSO TALKING 99/VIADUCT … and transit routing, will be the Southwest District Council, reps from community groups and other organizations around western West Seattle, meeting at 7 pm tonight, board room at South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW).
DINNER/HAPPY HOUR EXPANDS AT LA ROMANZA: The newly renamed La Romanza Bistro Italiano (WSB sponsor) in The Junction is now serving dinner on Wednesdays, too, starting tonight. Happy Hour too, says proprietor Aimee Pellegrini!
PRIDE SKATE TONIGHT: At Southgate Roller Rink, 9-11 pm – here’s the Facebook event page.
Get a jump on the days and weeks (and months!) ahead – browse the full calendar here.
Dozens of local nonprofits are participating in today’s Seattle Foundation‘s one-day-only GiveBIG donate-a-thon. The foundation is offering a “stretch pool” of partial matching funds, to be distributed proportionately depending on how much each participating nonprofit raises on this single day, by 11:59 pm tonight. One BIG catch: You **must** donate through the nonprofit’s special page on the foundation’s website, NOT via the nonprofit’s own website. So we have gone through the foundation’s directory to find all those special pages for participating West Seattle, White Center, and South Park-based or -founded nonprofits (and a couple parent organizations). You can also use the special “go here” links below to find out more about any of these organizations – the links take you to pages on the Seattle Foundation website with background information and links to the organizations’ own sites, as well as the donation links to use for this one-day event. (P.S. Please let us know if we missed a WS, WC, or SP-based organization – post a comment or e-mail us!)
ANUNNAKI PROJECT – go here
ART FOR ANIMALS’ SAKE – go here
ARTS CORPS – go here
ARTSWEST – go here
CHIEF SEALTH PERFORMING ARTS – go here
COOLMOM – go here
DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION – go here
DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION – go here
DUWAMISH TRIBAL SERVICES – go here
ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION OF SOUTH SEATTLE – go here
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY SERVICE AGENCY – go here
FRIENDS OF SEALTH – go here
FULL LIFE CARE – go here
KNIT FOR LIFE – go here
KOL HANESHAMAH – go here
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM/SOUTHWEST SEATTLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – go here
LUNGEVITY FOUNDATION – go here
MARRA FARM COALITION – go here
MULTI-COMMUNITIES – go here.
NATURE CONSORTIUM – go here
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE – go here
NEIGHBORHOOD FARMERS MARKET ALLIANCE – go here
NEW FUTURES – go here
NORTHWEST CENTER – go here
NORTHWEST HOPE AND HEALING – go here
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL – go here
PONGO PUBLISHING – go here
PROVIDENCE MOUNT ST. VINCENT FOUNDATION – go here
SAFEFUTURES YOUTH CENTER – go here
SANISLO PTA – go here
SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN – go here
SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION – go here
SENIOR SERVICES – go here
SOUND CHILD CARE SOLUTIONS – go here
SOUTH PARK AREA REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – go here
SOUTH PARK INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTER – go here
SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION – go here
SOUTHWEST YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES – go here
TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION – go here
THE SERVICE BOARD – go here
TRANSITIONAL RESOURCES – go here
THE VILLAGE OF HOPE – go here
WEST SEATTLE FOOD BANK – go here
WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE – go here
WESTSIDE BABY – go here
WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION – go here
WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK – go here – and note, WCFB has added events today, as reported on our partner site White Center Now, including a portion of proceeds donated tonight if you dine at Proletariat Pizza or Zippy’s Giant Burgers in WC
YES FOUNDATION OF WHITE CENTER – go here
YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE – go here
YOUTH MEDIA INSTITUTE – go here
YWCA OF SEATTLE – go here
Over the past few days, we’ve received multiple reports of door-to-door solicitors – or people claiming to be – working this area. Ahead, some of those reports, and a reminder about the rules, in case somebody turns up at your door:Read More
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
ORIGINAL 5:29 PM REPORT: Even before seeing the 911 call, our crew saw the smoke from miles north – a house-fire call in the 8400 block of 20th SW (map). We’re on our way.
(Photo courtesy Lisa)
5:34 PM UPDATE: From the scanner – “heavy fire in the basement” of a one-story home; everybody got out of the house safely.
5:40 PM UPDATE: Our crew has arrived and is seeing the flames in the basement, plus lots of smoke, and firefighters on the roof working on ventilation. Via the scanner, we hear two more engines being requested. Adding photos as we get them.
(Photo courtesy Amber, view from the alley)
5:55 PM UPDATE: Flames have broken through the roof. We have two crews on scene.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
SFD says its crews are in a “defensive position” on the fire now – basically, making sure it doesn’t spread, and taking precautions to ensure firefighters’ safety. The department’s public information officer and investigators are being sent now too.
(Video by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
6:09 PM UPDATE: Not out yet. Firefighters are going back into “offensive” mode, per radio traffic.
6:21 PM UPDATE: One hour after crews arrived, the fire is now deemed under control, but that doesn’t mean it’s out. They’re asking for the Red Cross to help two residents, described as a woman in her 80s and a man in his 50s. Too soon to say how the fire started. (Thanks to those who have shared photos and who texted/e-mailed to be sure we’d heard about this!)
6:33 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the scene have just talked with SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore, who says the residents are an 85-year-old woman and her 59-year-old son. He was taken to the hospital with minor burns suffered while trying to put the fire out himself. (added) Here’s video of his briefing, in its entirety:
6:56 PM UPDATE: The fire is finally declared “tapped” after an hour and a half. According to Moore, crews will likely have to keep “fire watch” through much of the night, which means a crew will remain at the scene just in case of flare-ups.
9:13 PM NOTE: No word yet on the fire’s cause. In comments, Deborah says the fire survivors are her grandmother and uncle, and she is thankful to those who called 911, because her grandmother couldn’t get the call to go through when she tried.
10:27 PM UPDATE: SFD says its investigation determined that “improperly discarded smoking materials” sparked the fire; damage is estimated at $250,000. Here’s the department’s summary, via its Fire Line website.
Meantime – We have more visuals to share, both from neighbors and from our crew; click ahead if interested:Read More
(Police presence downtown – photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
As promised, we’ll be publishing updates on whether May Day marching/rallying is affecting the commute through downtown, and this way. (Right now, a bout of wild weather has hit – with a hail-infused deluge hitting West Seattle about 10 minutes ago and headed east – though it looks like the sun will return once it moves through). Stay tuned for toplines.
ONGOING COVERAGE: Our partners at the Seattle Times have been publishing quick, short updates here. … The Seattle Police SPD Blotter has published a roundup of vandalism damage and arrests (2 as of 3 pm) ad promises updates … (added 4:21 pm) KING 5 also has ongoing online coverage incorporating tweets, photos and other quick updates from their staff and other local media. … To check on Metro delays, you can watch their commute-updates website (we’re checking it too).
4:28 PM UPDATE: KING reports via Twitter that a group of marchers is at 1st and Bell. This would be separate from the prescheduled march that was to gather south of downtown half an hour from now. One other note: The Times mentioned school-bus delays; we checked with Seattle Public Schools and that’s ONLY the buses running in downtown/Capitol Hill – no effects here.
4:37 PM UPDATE: Only “minor” delays downtown for transit, Metro reports.
UNRELATED TRAFFIC UPDATE AT 4:57 PM: Just got a tip from Lisa that there is a car vs. semi crash at the west end of the “low bridge,” no injuries reported so far. We’re en route to check.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand – car is up against right side of the semi, right side of photo)
5:22 PM UPDATE: That incident is causing some trouble coming off the low bridge, but traffic’s being routed around it. Adding a photo in a moment. Meantime, we just got a text from someone saying southbound 99 is actually LIGHTER headed this way than usual. (Here’s a new SDOT camera we will be adding to the WSB Traffic page – looking north at the southbound Viaduct flow at King St.)
And from downtown, we are adding photos taken by WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says the biggest effect he noticed while downtown was the increased police presence.
5:46 PM UPDATE: Police now report eight arrests so far since this morning. The city, meantime, says it’s activated its Emergency Operations Center to help with public-safety concerns. The prescheduled march is heading eastbound on Pike from 4th as of right now.
6:25 PM UPDATE: The rally downtown is under way. We’ve been monitoring the scanner and the ongoing coverage from citywide media. Metro says marchers are northbound on 4th and that some buses are stuck in a jam downtown.
In our Monday followup on 4724 California, the 7-story, 100-unit mixed-use project proposed for the ex-Petco site in The Junction, we reported that the development team hoped to have its first Southwest Design Review Board session on May 24th. Today, the city’s online schedule has been updated, and that is indeed the date set for the meeting – 6:30 pm Thursday, May 24th, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
In Fauntleroy Park this morning, Westside School (WSB sponsor) second-graders were the first to visit Fauntleroy Creek this spring to release salmon fry they’ve been raising. The students arrived in vans; the salmon, in a bucket:
Another bucket nearby held a few of the smolt that had been released into the creek a year earlier; watershed steward Judy Pickens explained that they have been transporting smolt downstream that way because last year, so many of them died somewhere between the park and the fish ladder near Fauntleroy Cove. She joined teacher Laura Holmes (center) for a briefing at the park’s north-central entrance before everyone headed down to the creek:
Judy was presented with student art and poetry about the fish, and read the poems aloud before they were tacked up in the kiosk nearby:
Back to that first fish – as was the case with each student in turn, the boy in the black/white hat was instructed to hold his hand over the cup once volunteer Dennis Hinton had scooped up a fry to set free – then to carefully empty the cup into the creek, by a small footbridge a short walk from SW Barton … and then, off went the fry:
Each spring, Judy, Dennis, and other volunteers watch for smolt heading outbound – this spring, 105 so far – and then each fall, they watch for salmon returning home after about 3 years away.
Crews have been working on bus stop, roadway, and sidewalk changes along the West Seattle RapidRide route for the past few months – almost everywhere but at the Fauntleroy ferry dock, but the date for that work to start is now set. Just in from Metro:
Some big transit improvements are coming to the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock in West Seattle.
Beginning May 11, King County Metro Transit will begin a month-long project to install a variety of improvements to accompany the start of the RapidRide C Line this fall. Those improvements will include two new RapidRide stations, lighting, information kiosks displaying real-time bus arrival times and 5 electric charging stations for vanpool and public use.
Improvements will also make boarding the bus easier. An additional bus bulb will be added at the northbound RapidRide station to provide for a larger boarding platform. Other amenities will provide better access to and from the ferry terminal area for pedestrians and people with disabilities.
Construction work is expected to occur weekdays between the hours of 6:30 a.m. ā 4 p.m. and may cause periodic traffic disruptions. During intensive construction periods, flaggers or police officers will be on hand to keep traffic moving, especially during peak travel times.
While construction is underway, bus riders will be directed to a temporary southbound bus stop on Southwest Wildwood Place. While the northbound bus stop will be less affected, riders will occasionally need to use the bus stop just to the north on Fauntleroy Way Southwest at Southwest Trenton Street.
New features, such as shelters, benches and lighting, will be available for immediate public use when construction is complete. Other improvements, such as electric vehicle plug-ins and real time bus arrival information, will be phased in over the next several months.
The RapidRide C Line begins operation Saturday, Sept. 29.
ADMIRAL DISTRICT’S EX-BLOCKBUSTER … is about to be surrounded by paid parking on all three sides. Thanks to Eric for the tip on this one – he e-mailed last night to say he and his wife noticed orange striping delineating spaces around the building, and WELCOME painted on the pavement at each entrance. Public records showed no sign of a new owner/tenant at the building, so we went by this morning to look for clues, and found a man doing more painting around the lot. “All I know is, it’s going to be paid parking,” he told us – which had been our guess once we saw the freshly painted numbers on each of 33 parking spots around the building (our photo was taken at the northeast corner, by the alley). No pricing sign or pay station as of our stop; we’ll check back.
MORGAN JUNCTION’S EX-BLOCKBUSTER … is tentatively scheduled to open as Super Supplements‘ new home on July 13th, according to a company spokesperson. We first reported back in January that it would be the new home of the store that has to move out of The Junction since it’s on the future Equity Residential development site; banners went up on the Fauntleroy site last month. Super Supplements tells us the Junction store isn’t scheduled to close till July 7th, 6 days before the new one opens. Note that those are tentative dates; watch the store’s official webpage for updates.
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