Beach Drive slide zone: Slope work wrapping up; road repair soon
A little over one year after news of a settlement ending the Beach Drive legal mess born of a muddy mess, the resulting project is just about done. If you haven’t driven the 6000 block lately – the retaining walls, drainage, slope revegetation, and even street trees are in; the photo above is from Thursday – compare it to one of the photos we’ve taken in the past six years after recurring slides from that slope:
Homeowners along the water side of that area had sued, saying both the city and upslope homeowner/builder Peter Saladino were to blame. As part of the settlement, he agreed to fix the slope, and that work’s been under way all summer, following the granting of permits earlier in the year.
Now the big question – how soon will the badly rutted road in that area be repaired? SDOT had said that work would follow the slope project. We checked with the department today; spokesperson Marybeth Turner told WSB, “We tentatively plan to pave this area at the end of the month if weather is favorable … assuming the contractor at that location has finished everything.”
What the police response in Sunrise Heights is about
(Photos by Tony Bradley)
We’ve had some questions about a big police response in Sunrise Heights, near 32nd/Webster. Here’s what we have learned from Seattle Police Lt. Steve Strand at the scene: It started as a medic call – no details yet of the original call – but the person that needed help became combative toward the Seattle Fire crew, and police were called. While they were trying to get the combative man under control, he collapsed, police say. He has since been taken to Harborview; because he collapsed while police were dealing with him, that escalated the incident to a different level of investigation, which is what the SPD personnel on the scene are doing now.
We don’t have details so far about the person’s age or condition. But we’ll add anything more we find out.
West Seattle road work: Partial closures on SW Thistle next week
A major route between west and east West Seattle will be partly closed for road work four days next week, according to SDOT:
Seattle Department of Transportation crews will replace concrete panels on Southwest Thistle Street between 35th Avenue Southwest and 37th Avenue Southwest next week. The street will be closed to westbound traffic from Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 8 a.m. until Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. Then the street will be closed to eastbound traffic from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12 until 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13.
West Seattle development: 4730 California crane 1 week away
Judging by the number of people we see looking through the fence whenever we visit The Junction during the daytime, the 88-apartment, 14-live-work-unit 4730 California mixed-use project – aka the former Petco site – is quite the spectacle. The crane base is in now, almost three months after demolition/excavation began – our photo was taken before today’s concrete pour – so we asked the project team when the crane is going to arrive. The answer: One week from tomorrow – Saturday, September 14th. Assuming nothing happens to change the schedule, that means the crane will be up before the West Seattle Car Show, which – as noted here previously – is planned for the next day, Sunday, September 15th. 4730 California pis expected to be finished late next year.
Celebration of life Sunday for Karol Fern Sample, 1968-2013
Karol Fern Sample, gone too soon at age 44, will be remembered with a celebration of life this Sunday. Brad Johnson asked us to share the invitation, which includes some information about her life:
(The celebration is planned) on the lawn just outside Colman Pool in West Seattle this Sunday, 9/8, at 2 o’clock, right after the last noon swim of the outdoor season, where fellow swimmers and others … are asked to make arrangements so that you can join us as we celebrate the life of our dear and recently departed Karol Fern Sample, who, after two courageous years of fighting cancer, moved out into the universe to spread her fairy dust, positive energy, and bigger-than-life smile this past Monday morning, September 2nd.
The idea is for this to be a potluck where we share food, but more importantly to share in the warmth of community with hugs and remembrances of Karol’s short but vital, vibrant life. This near fixture of Lincoln Park, dressed typically in a white or green wool hat with ear flaps, either rode her classic bike or walked daily around the paths surrounding this park and pool, her second home, where she could also keep watch over any stranded seal pups or orcas magically appearing out in the sound. But what many didn’t know was that this very creative, bright shining star was a gifted and highly talented visual artist, a painter.
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Seafair Clowns bring school supplies, fun to Roxhill Elementary
You’ve seen them at big events like the West Seattle Grand Parade – but you might not realize the Seafair Clowns do a lot of community work too – and that’s what brought them today to West Seattle’s Roxhill Elementary, whose principal Sahnica Washington (top photo) gave them a warm welcome, as did the hundreds of kids to whom they gave out school supplies and backpacks:
The Seafair Clowns’ 9th annual School Supply Giveaway also brought out other community leaders – below, Seattle Police interim Chief Jim Pugel with West Seattle’s own Seafair Clown “Officer Lumpy“:
Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean and some of his crew members pitched in too – as did local TV personalities including KING 5’s Lori Matsukawa, below with Chief Dean:
Local sponsors helped make the event possible, too – read more about it here.
5 highlights for your West Seattle (and beyond) Friday night
Another lightning photo from overnight just came in: “This is looking west toward Blake Island, with transmission tower lights on the Kitsap Peninsula beneath the lightning and the lights from Bremerton reflecting in the clouds on the right,” explains the photographer, Mark Dale. (Thanks again to everyone who’s been sharing photos!) It’s looking a little sunbreaky in West Seattle as we write this – wanted to mention a few events for tonight before it’s too late:
ROTARY ‘FIRST FRIDAY’: 5-7 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), stop by and meet Rotary Club of West Seattle members who are gathering for a good time and a good cause (charity benefit/awareness-raising TBA). Details in our calendar listing. (6451 California SW)
‘ENDLESS SUMMER’ CORNER BAR IN HIGHLAND PARK: The Highland Park Improvement Club‘s monthly Corner Bar is back, all ages 6-9 pm, 21+ after 9 pm, live music, beverages, more. Details in our calendar listing. (12th/Holden)
ROSH HASHANAH: Kol HaNeshamah (WSB sponsor) has evening events beginning with Tot Shabbat at 6:15 pm – more details on the KHN website.
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: The season begins! Both of tonight’s games involving local schools are away games – Chief Sealth International High School (above, WSB photo of practice this week) visits White Center’s Evergreen High School, 8 pm; West Seattle High School (below, WSB photo of practice this week) is at Fife, 7 pm.
More events for today/tonight (and far beyond) can be found on our calendar!
West Seattle Bike Connections joins in Bicycle/Truck Safety Fair
Thanks to West Seattle Bike Connections president Don Brubeck for sharing photos from the Bike/Truck Safety Fair early this morning at Terminal 25 off East Marginal Way. T-25 is close to the scene of the May 1st bike/truck collision that killed a rider. Don reports:
Rain let up, and we had a good turnout. Very informative for cyclists to ride in a semi and experience the turning radii, mirror blind spots and stopping distance these truckers need. Great conversations between cyclists, truck drivers, Port of Seattle, SDOT, and BNSF representatives.
We really appreciate the work of Port of Seattle Transportation Planner Christine Wolf and public affairs representative Mick Schultz, and others from the Port in making this happen. Great to have Dongho Chang, Chief Traffic Engineer, Monica Dewald, and Jim Curtin there from SDOT. Our group had 7 volunteers staffing the event, and Cascade Bicycle Club sent Robin Randells, education trainer. Truck drivers Teo and Warren Aakervik were great.
The city is planning more improvements to the area by November, as updated here August 13th.
West Seattle Weather Watch: ‘Flood watch’ until 6 pm
What a night! The photos above are courtesy of Illex Photography – taken six seconds apart, the second during lightning that, the photographer says, “turned night into day.” Now the question many are asking: When will the rain stop? While the National Weather Service still has a “flood watch” in effect for our area until 6 tonight, after that, the rain is supposed to ease, in time for the weekend.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: September’s first Friday
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:03 AM: The downpour started before midnight – which means a potentially problematic morning commute. We’ll keep very close watch on this one. And an alert for tonight, assuming the weather doesn’t cancel the expansion-joint work – the ramp from northbound I-5 to the West Seattle Bridge is scheduled to close all weekend again, along with two adjacent ramps, 7 pm tonight until early Monday morning.
7:15 AM: WSDOT says that overall, the commute’s slow but “no massive backups” anywhere.
7:29 AM: If you’re bicycling this morning, the bike/truck Safety Fair is still on at Terminal 25 (East Marginal just north of Spokane) so far as we know, scheduled until 8:30 am.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand, added 9:30 am)
8:02 AM: If you’ve watched TV news this morning, you’ve likely seen a big sinkhole mistakenly reported as being in the Burien area – it’s just south of South Park, vicinity of S. 96th/8th S. Not a major route, but affecting truck traffic, says KING 5, which reported that the sinkhole is in a spot that had been repaired months ago, and then was weakened by the overnight deluge.
9:30 AM: Went over to check out the road sinkhole. The county has no idea when it’ll be fixed, but S. 96th is blocked in that spot TFN.
12:03 PM: Just in case you’d heard about this closure on 99 north of downtown – we’re passing along word that SDOT says, never mind:
The Seattle Department of Transportation announces the cancellation of the Sept. 6-7 closure of northbound SR 99 and Mercer Street due to impacts from rainy weather and availability of materials. A full closure of northbound SR 99 and Mercer Street is tentatively rescheduled for mid-September. Further information including closure dates will be provided as the work is confirmed.
West Seattle family behind area’s 1st San Gennaro Festival this weekend
One of this weekend’s biggest events in Seattle is a new event – the San Gennaro Festival. It’s happening in Georgetown – but the family behind it is from West Seattle, and wants to make sure you know you’re welcome! Angela Mascio contacted WSB to share that news, explaining:
We started a non-profit foundation called the San Gennaro Foundation of Seattle, which is planning the first annual San Gennaro Festival of Seattle to be held in Georgetown Sept 7th and 8th. It’s going to be a great festival with authentic Italian food, music, and wine :) There will be a kids’ area with different activities throughout the day. We chose the Puget Sound Blood Center to receive any proceeds from this first festival, and we’re also having a blood drive to celebrate the blood miracle of Saint Gennaro.
This festival began in New York as a way for immigrants to celebrate their culture. Today, that festival is about two weeks long and they close down all of Little Italy in New York. Many other major US cities have followed suite and have San Gennaro festivals, so we decided it was about time for one in Seattle.
10 am-10 pm Saturday and 10 am-6 pm Sunday, South Angelo Street in Georgetown will be closed for the festival. It’s where her family first started their businesses, and they still own a building there, Angela explained:
About 50ish years ago, my grandparents and my father and two of his sisters came over from Italy. My grandmother missed the fresh pasta from her father’s pasta company back in Italy, so she started making it in her basement. It grew into a business and their first location was on South Angelo Street in Georgetown. Mascio’s Pasta grew and my dad took it over eventually. It grew more, he sold his shares, and started his own company, again in Georgetown first (San Gennaro Foods, we manufacture Polenta). We’re currently in Kent.
Angela shared this link to her grandfather’s obituary from 1990. She also says her aunt has a business in Georgetown and revived the “Mascio’s Italian Specialty Foods” name. But enough about history – back to the festival. Here’s the entertainment schedule; here’s a map to the location.
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