day : 02/05/2013 13 results

Thanks to Deb for the tip – a city newsletter brings word of the artist has been chosen for a “1 Percent for Art” project for the Fire Station 32 reconstruction project in The Triangle:

Oakland, Calif.-based artist Sean Orlando will create a permanent artwork for Fire Station 32 in the West Seattle Junction. The new fire station will be built at the existing location, 3715 SW Alaska St., and will be the lead station for Battalion VII, which covers all of West Seattle, southwest Seattle, Harbor Island, and the industrial areas lining both sides of the Duwamish River. The fire station is expected to be completed in fall 2015.

Orlando is an installation artist and community organizer with an interest in collaborative and immersive, large-scale sculptural installation projects. He is a co-founder of the Five Ton Crane Arts Group and principle artist at Engineered Artworks. Orlando’s most recent collaborative group projects include the Steampunk Tree House, Raygun Gothic Rocketship and The Nautilus Submarine art car. His area of expertise includes the design and fabrication of large-scale public sculpture and leading collaborative teams to bring to life high-profile aesthetic visions that celebrate human ingenuity and exploration. He’s exhibited at venues throughout California including Port of San Francisco, Coachella, Chabot Space and Science Center, Burning Man and Worth Ryder Gallery.

A panel of arts professionals, Department of Finance and Administrative Services (DFAS) representatives, a firefighter, West Seattle community members, and fire station architects selected Orlando. The project is commissioned with DFAS 1% for Art funds.

4435 35th SW going back to Design Review – 3 1/2 years after 1st meeting

| Development | West Seattle news

Back in November 2009, the Southwest Design Review Board gave “early design guidance” thumbs up to 4435 35th SW (WSB coverage here), proposed at the time to be a development of about 100 condominiums over two floors of commercial. Three and a half years later, the project is tentatively scheduled to go back to EDG next month, essentially scrapping the first review, with a different plan: Six stories, 170 apartments, over 10,000+ square feet of commercial development, with 187 parking spaces. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm Thursday, June 13th, at the Senior Center of West Seattle.

Also penciled in for that same date, same place, at 8 pm: A third meeting for the 30-apartment, 30-parking-space proposal at 3829 California SW; the official city report details the concerns that led the board not to recommend final approval at its April 13th meeting.

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Followup: Bicyclist identified as Lance David; crash brings safety concerns back into spotlight

May 2, 2013 3:40 pm

| 48 COMMENTS

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Photo by Eric Shalit – rough pavement at E. Marginal/Hanford; ‘ghost bike’ in background)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The bicycle rider killed in the East Marginal Way crash on Wednesday has just been officially identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as 54-year-old Lance David of Federal Way.

We also have learned that a memorial ride for Mr. David is being organized for this Sunday, 1 pm, from Marymoor Park – full details are on this Facebook event page.

Meantime, since the crash, safety concerns continue to percolate, with two crashes today leaving riders hurt.

First, what happened today: Just before 9:30 am in the 400 block of Alaskan Way, blocks from yesterday morning’s crash, a 53-year-old man lost control of his bicycle and crashed to the ground, the impact breaking his helmet, according to public-safety radio communications. So far, authorities have not reported any other vehicles involved; the man was taken to the hospital.

A few minutes before that, we later learned, a 32-year-old woman had fallen from her bike after colliding with a car on Delridge Way SW alongside the Boren school building. Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore says she “suffered minor scrapes and bruises” and didn’t want to go to a hospital, so firefighters took her home.

Bicycle safety was already on many people’s minds since the deadly crash on Wednesday morning. Many bicycling advocates are reaching out – May has long been Bike to Work Month and Bike to School Month, so some events already were scheduled; for example, tonight, riders can stop by the West Seattle Tool Library for free bicycle repairs, 6-9 pm (northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW). Says Stu Hennessey, “Our goal is to help our bicycle community ride smooth and safe.”

And there’s a bigger picture to safety, as discussed at last night’s Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board regular monthly meeting downtown – which began with a moment of silence in honor of Mr. David.

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West Seattle road work: Detour for Spokane St. paving

May 2, 2013 3:18 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

New details this afternoon about the paving work planned this weekend on SW Spokane St. under the West Seattle Bridge – previewed in our daily traffic update back on Monday. From SDOT:

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will pave lower Southwest Spokane Street from Chelan Avenue Southwest to 26th Avenue Southwest this weekend. They will work on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Traffic on Southwest Spokane Street will be detoured between Chelan Avenue Southwest and Southwest Avalon Way using Southwest Genesee Street. Police Officers will be located at each end of the detour to assist traffic. The adjacent trail will not be affected.

For information on bus service, look for Rider Alert notices at bus stops, see Metro Online, www.kingcounty.gov/metro or call (206) 553-3000.

This weekend’s other major road work is a state project, closing the ramp from the West Seattle Bridge to southbound I-5, around the clock from late Friday night until early Monday morning.

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Followup: Still seeking witnesses with info about ‘Zipper’ the dog

May 2, 2013 1:40 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Pets | West Seattle news | Westwood

After the case of Zipper the dog – rescued from a car in the Westwood Village parking lot – resurfaced in the WSB Forums, we checked today with Seattle Animal Shelter executive director Don Jordan to see if there’s anything new in the case. He reaffirms that, contrary to many headlines, they still don’t know for sure if Zipper was actually in that car alone the whole time the car was in the lot, and says they’d still like to hear from anyone with information to share:

At this time, I can’t offer too much information on the case around Zipper, as we are still conducting our investigation. I can tell you that we will continue to care for him at the Animal Shelter until the case is closed and we determine a course of action. As far as his condition, Zipper appears healthy, happy and energetic. While the police report indicated that the vehicle was parked in the lot for six days, one area of focus in our investigation, as you noted, is determining whether Zipper was actually in the vehicle during that time. We are still taking statements and would welcome any witnesses to contact us at 206-386-7387.

Police rescued Zipper on Sunday, April 21st, and reported the case via SPD Blotter three days later.

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Nomination time for West Seattle Chamber’s annual awards

May 2, 2013 12:40 pm

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| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Who would you like to see win one of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s annual Westside Awards when they are presented June 6th? The nomination period is now open, and you can participate via this simple online form (even if you’re not a WSCofC member). Read on for more information about the awards and the breakfast at which recipients will be honored:

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Sneak peek at ‘Year of the Seal’ sculpture; May 13th meeting

May 2, 2013 10:56 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

The image is courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who has an update on the sculpture in the works for their “Year of the Seal” project (first announced in January) – and your chance to come to a meeting about it on May 13th:

Seal Sitters’ educational outreach project Year of the Seal, made possible by a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods grant, is making great strides. Following a public Call to Artists and Selection Panel review, prominent Northwest bronze artist Georgia Gerber was chosen to create a full-scale sculpture of a harbor seal mom and pup. Georgia is shown here at work on the centerpiece of the project, which is designed to raise awareness about our fragile marine ecosystem.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: More sports-field wire theft; stolen car found; keepsakes taken

May 2, 2013 10:23 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Topping this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup: We’ve just confirmed another case of athletic-field wire theft. A tipster just e-mailed to say that a wiring theft took out the outfield lights at the Southwest Athletic Complex baseball field, which affected the start of last night’s Seattle Lutheran High School game. SWAC is owned by Seattle Public Schools; spokesperson Teresa Wippel confirms the theft, telling WSB, “we did receive a report of additional wire theft from 10 light poles … (4 softball infield and 6 baseball outfield poles). I’m told ‘a come-along’ was used to extract the wires from the poles and some of the wiring was also pulled out of the ground.” No arrests yet in last month’s Delridge Playfield case, by the way.

Also in Crime Watch: A stolen car was found relatively quickly this morning – just after 6 am, Ridge sent a note that his green Honda Civic had been stolen near 35th and 100th in Arbor Heights. Before we even got a chance to publish an alert, a note came in from a resident near 32nd and 108th reporting that someone abandoned a car in her neighborhood – a green Honda Civic. Car and owner have since been reunited.

And a reunion of sorts is what Julie is hoping for, regarding keepsakes stolen in a Puget Ridge burglary on Wednesday:

The only things stolen were a blue cardboard box of irreplaceable old pictures and a decorative tin box full of a lifetime of memorabilia, like concert ticket stubs, postcards and political buttons, etc. I’m hoping they’ll dump it somewhere and maybe it will be found. I live in the 65XX block of 18th Ave SW. They smashed my sliding glass door in the back to gain entry.

Notify police if you find any of those items – or anything else that might have been stolen from someone (the non-emergency number is 206-625-5011).

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4 calendar highlights for your West Seattle Thursday

May 2, 2013 9:35 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Before we get to more of the news that’s already in queue for today – four notes from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, plus two cool photos, starting with Thomas Marx‘s Alki gull-and-heron scene, above (scroll down for #2) …

SPANISH BUFFET LUNCH, ANYONE? You’ll have to call Betty ASAP at 206.934.7952 to see if reservations are still available (the seatings are at 11:30 and noon today) – South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) Culinary Arts students are presenting an international buffet lunch today featuring the cuisine of Spain. (6000 16th SW)

DAY OF PRAYER: A “National Day of Prayer” gathering is planned at 6:30 tonight at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. Details are in our calendar listing. (61st/Alki SW)

PUBLIC SAFETY FORUM: King County Sheriff John Urquhart is among the guests at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s public-safety forum at 7 pm tonight in White Center. It’s geared toward unincorporated-area residents but we’ve found, covering these forums for partner site White Center Now, that the information is often helpful to a wide audience – so we’re mentioning them here too. (1243 SW 112th)

NIGHT TWO AT ARTSWEST: 7:30 pm, it’s the second night for ArtsWest’s newest production, the Tony Award-nominated “33 Variations.” (4711 California SW)

BONUS PHOTO:

Last night’s “sundog,” photographed from Beach Drive by Jeff Johnson.

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Comment period under way for new Westside School site

May 2, 2013 9:07 am

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| Arbor Heights | West Seattle news

From today’s edition of the twice-weekly city Land Use Information Bulletin: Westside School (WSB sponsor) has applied for a land-use permit to convert the 74,000-square-foot current site of Hillcrest Presbyterian Church into its permanent campus, including a 22,000-square-foot addition (as first reported here last November). The city’s announcement starts the clock running on the public-comment period; the notice says that deadline is May 15th, and includes this comment form.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates

May 2, 2013 6:52 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
No problems on the routes heading out of West Seattle right now, but there is a crash in the Alki area:

That’s a reader photo from the scene at 60th and Admiral, where the call went out as a “medic response,” meaning at least one person was reported as injured; we have someone headed that way to find out more and to see how traffic is affected.

7:08 AM: Our crew has arrived at the scene and says the crash is at the southwest corner of 60th/Admiral, in the eastbound lanes, but should be cleared before too long.

8:39 AM: Postscript on that crash – police at the scene say one person was taken to the hospital. Meantime, “Fed Up” in comments says the eastbound bridge is currently backed up from I-5 to 35th SW.

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Power problem closes West Seattle YMCA until at least 9 am.

May 2, 2013 6:28 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Triangle | Utilities | West Seattle news

The West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) closed early last night because of a power outage on its block in The Triangle, and the Y’s Josh Sutton tells WSB it won’t be able to reopen until at least 9 this morning – we’ll update when there’s word it’s ready to open. (This is just the Triangle location; the Fauntleroy location is open as usual.)

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Deadly crash on southbound I-5 near West Seattle Bridge exit

May 2, 2013 12:00 am

| 23 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(WSDOT traffic-camera image)
MIDNIGHT: A day that began with a deadly crash near the West Seattle Bridge ended with another one. Right now emergency crews are at the scene of a multiple-vehicle crash on southbound I-5, described as “near Tully’s,” which would mean near the West Seattle Bridge offramp – we’re not sure about the precise location yet. At least one death has been reported via radio communications, and at least three medic units have been summoned for survivors. More as we get it.

12:12 AM: Medics have said via radio that six people were involved – one dead, five hurt (at least three of them seriously).

1:29 AM: The two right lanes, and the 6th Avenue S. exit, remain blocked by the crash. No further details about the victims – we’re likely to get some info about ages, vehicles, etc., in a few hours.

ADDED: Seattle Fire photos of the crash scene have been added to the department’s Fire Lines website.

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