West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
The Port of Seattle has announced the new date for what was originally an October 23rd meeting to talk with South and West Seattle residents about concerns related to “existing flight procedures” – such as noise and flight patterns. The rescheduled meeting to include representatives of the FAA, port (which runs Sea-Tac Airport), and county (which runs Boeing Field) is now scheduled for 6:30-8:30 pm Tuesday, November 13, at the auditorium of Cleveland High School (5511 15th Avenue South; map).
“Drumming works!” So exhorted Fauntleroy Creek steward Judy Pickens late today, one day after leading the annual “drumming to welcome the salmon home” event at the creek overlook. As noted in our coverage of the event (photos and video here), Judy told the gathering that so far, seven spawners had tried to make it up the creek, but all turned into otter chow. However, today was a different story – in the early evening, Judy sent photos by volunteer Dennis Hinton and this report:
It’s dark now but Dennis and a new watcher, a Boy Scout after a merit badge, are still down there, which suggests the fish have continued to come from a late-afternoon high tide.
As of 5:30 PM, we had seen 10 spawners through and above the fish ladder, where they’ll have a chance to spawn and their offspring will have a chance to survive late-winter rains. The fish are a good 18″, robust, and beautiful. I’ve put out the call for watchers to get on the schedule and help document these beautiful fish.
Want to help watch? This story from last week explains how to sign up.
(13-month-old Nathan Boggs, photographed on Sunday by Nick Adams for WSB)
In our two reports here on WSB – “as it happened” coverage and post-event photo gallery – plus Facebook and Twitter updates, we showed you how successful the first-ever Junction Harvest Festival was, in many ways. The West Seattle Junction Association agrees it was spectacular, writes director Susan Melrose, in a note to say “thanks”:
The Junction Association was thrilled and amazed by the success of the Harvest Festival. What a day filled with smiles, friends, and fun. Our community embraced this event and each aspect flourished. I LOVED the parade led by the WSHS Marching Band! The best part is that this event made so many in our community happy and gave folks yet another reason to get together. When the Junction Association’s board decided to expand this event, the #1 goal was to give the neighborhood something great. I’m glad that we succeeded.
Big thank you to the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance for bringing the Harvest, community groups for bringing truly awesome activities, our volunteers for helping make it happen, and the businesses in The Junction who have made all this possible. Thanks to all who came and brought their energy, smiles and laughter.
Cheers to the First Annual Harvest Festival!
Susan Melrose
Junction Association Director
With eight days till the official nationwide Election Day (though voting-by-mail has been under way for a week and a half), three notes today:
DEADLINE REMINDER: In case you missed this in today’s daily preview, last chance to register to vote if you aren’t already registered in this state – get yourself to these locations downtown or in Renton by 4:30!
STUDENT MOCK ELECTION: When results of a national student “mock election” for president come out next Monday, they’ll include results from voting tomorrow right here in West Seattle, as announced by Chief Sealth International High School teacher Noah Zeichner:
Students and teachers at Chief Sealth International High School will be taking part in a national mock election on Tuesday, October 30th. Students will use a state-of-the art online voting system as they participate in a mock election program sponsored by the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI), a national civic education program based at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. With approximately one million students expected to vote nationwide during the two-week voting period from October 22-November 1, the YLI Mock Election is the largest secure, student-only online mock election in the nation. Results of the YLI National Mock Election will be available the morning of Monday, November 5, 2012.
BALLOT DROPOFF VAN: Still no dropoff box in West Seattle – but the county will bring back its dropoff van starting this Friday, same spot as the primary, southwest side of the West Seattle Stadium parking lot. 10 am-5 pm Friday-Monday (November 2-5), you’ll find it there, and 7 am-8 pm on Election Day (Tuesday 11/6).
The Roxhill Park playground “community build,” for a new Roxhill Castle, starts Friday. From volunteer organizer Mat McBride, one last call for help (including setup work tomorrow):
We need some tools and supplies
Most of the tools for the build are covered by the West Seattle Tool Library, because they are awesome. They don’t have everything though, and we need some specific tools, lumber, and other building supplies. The Tool Library has a list of what we still need, and you can lend or donate tools, or make a financial gift. Your gift to the library will help build the park, And it will still be at the library after. You might need it for Your next park project. You can email micah@wstools.org to talk about specifics, or just make a 501c3 tax deductible online donation; click here and they can buy it directly. The link to donate is at the bottom of the page, and any amount is welcome. I have tested the theory, it works great.We also need shelter, you know, in case it rains. The West Seattle Junction Association has set us up with a bunch of great pavilions, but we might need more. You know, in case it rains. Do you have a pop-up shelter?
We need help with set-up
Can’t wait to start working on the project? You don’t have to! We need to get the worksite ready for a horde of volunteers. We’re planning on Tuesday, October 30th. If you’d like to help set up, e-mail roxhillcastle@gmail.com. It’s like a VIP pass, no one else will be allowed in early.We still need volunteers
All kinds of tasks – light duty, general labor and technical work. We are building this park from scratch, not a kit. If you know folks who are good at building things from scratch, Well, have we got a deal. Seriously, tell your friends about this page, right here.A huge Thank You to everyone who has signed up for this project
It quite literally would not have happened without you. There’s a new page on the project website dedicated to that. Have a look, Roxstar. Note – this is a large project and some names (individuals are based on the Doodle signup page) may be missing or incorrect. Please update me if so, I think it’s important.
Check out the community website for the project here.
(Photo courtesy Jeff Hogan NWFSC, taken under permit #13136)
Jeff Hogan of Killer Whale Tales, first to let us know on Sunday about the latest sightings of orcas in West Seattle waters, shares that photo taken while he was on a NOAA research boat later in the the day. He reports:
We followed them from roughly Alki all the way up to Mukilteo. We had all the members of J Pod, K Pod and a few L-Pod whales as well. Didn’t see any foraging, but just lots of slow travel and socializing. Collected several fecal samples in addition to all the photo identification work.
He identifies the whale in the photo as K21, a male (if you didn’t already know that because of the large dorsal fin) born in 1986, according to this page on the Center for Whale Research website. J, K, and L pods are the “Southern Resident” groups who live in this region, though they sometimes forage much farther away.
(UPDATED 5:11 PM with new information following bail hearing – see end of story)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A repeat offender who gained regional infamy in 2009 for prolific West Seattle graffiti vandalism involving an anti-gay slur is back in jail right now, under investigation for an alleged hate crime.
While WSB policy is generally to not identify suspects until they are charged, the circumstances of this case and the history of the suspect have led us to make an exception. The suspect is 34-year-old Ryan J. Cox, arrested on Saturday and accused of hitting a man with a baseball bat on Friday as he and the victim were leaving a Metro bus in the Luna Park area. The man told police that he believed he was attacked because of his sexual orientation, and that Cox had been hurling insults at him on board the bus.
Though police could not find a suspect after the attack – in which the victim said he was hit four times, leaving raised welts on his back – they encountered Cox on Saturday at the Solstice Park tennis courts across from north Lincoln Park, an area he has been known to frequent, and the encounter led to the arrest. That part of the story was first told to WSB by a reader who asked for anonymity. He wrote on Saturday:
(Photo of Longfellow Creek, by Laura James)
Fairly quiet day on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar and the WSB Halloween page … time to recover from weekend activities including the first-ever Harvest Festival (our coverage is here and here), but we have a few things:
DINE OUT TO HELP A SCHOOL: All day/night, Endolyne Joe’s in Fauntleroy will donate part of today’s proceeds to West Seattle’s new K-5 STEM school.
VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE: The final deadline for voter registration is today – details on the King County Elections page.
FERRY DRILL: As mentioned here on Friday, an anti-terrorism drill is planned today on board a state ferry somewhere between Vashon and Edmonds – and if it happens to be off West Seattle shores at the time, you might notice unusual air/sea activity.
SPOOKY STORYTIME: 7 pm tonight at High Point Library (35th/Raymond), Halloween story time! Details here.
NIGHTLIFE: Pub quiz night at Shadowland, 8 pm … Flat Earth Society DJ’ing at West 5 features Jody McKane spinning tonight, 9 pm.
Check the calendar for a few more recurring events!
(Live view from the only WS Bridge camera currently in operation; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:52 AM: Wet weather is the main challenge for the morning commute so far. A few notes:
-The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its fall/winter schedule now (and using Melissa Ann for the next three weeks, with Rachel Marie getting some work done)
-Routes 120, 55, and 22 have some changes (see our story from last night)
Let us know what you encounter out there – we’ll also update this story any time there’s a traffic/transit note between now and the end of the evening commute.
8:16 AM: Crash just reported on northbound I-5 at I-90.
8:47 AM: A crash on northbound I-5 just south of the West Seattle Bridge is no longer blocking lanes. Haven’t heard of any trouble from the “near I-90” report.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Report #1, as-it-happened coverage with photos plus parade video, is here)
Thousands thronged The Junction on Sunday for its first-ever Harvest Festival – melding the West Seattle Farmers’ Market with business-district trick-or-treating. We covered it “live” as it unfolded over four hours, but there’s more to show, in these two-dozen-plus photos by WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams. Above, 4-year-old Joseph Cho (“The Flash”) awaits fruit in a market booth. Next, hay was a playground for a little dinosaur, 11-month-old Noah Wootton, and friends:
Grownups and pets got into the spirit too:
That’s Jim Rogers with Olaf, who is masquerading as Al Capone. 19 more festival scenes, ahead:
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