West Seattle scene: No problem, just practice for Ladder 11
Thanks to Anand for sharing the photo of Seattle Fire Department‘s Ladder 11 at Link Apartments in The Triangle earlier this afternoon – right across the street from L11’s home base at Station 32. Noting that no fire calls were on the log for that area OR for L11, we checked with SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore, who verified that the crew was practicing: “Ladder 11 was drilling on aerial placement and rooftop ventilation. This is a relatively new building, so the crew worked with the building’s management to practice, in case a fire ever occurs at the property.”
Puerto Vallarta liquor license in 2nd day of state-ordered suspension
After Puerto Vallarta Restaurant owner Eduardo Morales-Cardenas was charged in November with trafficking in stolen liquor, we asked the state Liquor Control Board what that meant for the restaurant. At the time, a spokesperson told us, the LCB had taken no action. But today, we received a reader tip that Puerto Vallarta’s license had been temporarily suspended, and we have just verified that with the LCB. It’s a ten-day suspension – 3 pm yesterday until 3 pm January 12, according to a flyer posted in the restaurant’s window. LCB spokesperson Mikhail Carpenter tells WSB that the penalty is for “liquor purchase from an unauthorized source,” and that the penalty was either a thousand-dollar-fine or a 10-day suspension, and the latter was levied, he said, because “the fine wasn’t paid on time.” Carpenter says additional penalties are possible pending the outcome of the criminal case; Morales-Cardenas, arrested in September, is one of five people charged. We just checked the online case files, which show his next hearing set for January 13th.
Tunnel-trouble update: Crews think they’ve found at least part of what’s blocking Bertha
While WSDOT says they’re not saying this is the only thing that stopped the tunnel-boring machine four weeks ago – they’ve gone public this afternoon with a discovery. No, not a huge boulder, or train car, or UFO, or whatever your favorite guess might have been. According to this brand-new update, they have found a pipe that was submerged by WSDOT itself more than a decade ago. From the update:
On Jan. 2, the water pressure was low enough and enough soil was removed from the excavation chamber to inspect the top 15 feet of the chamber.
This inspection showed an 8-inch-diameter steel pipe protruding through one of the many openings in the cutterhead. We believe the steel pipe is a well casing installed by WSDOT in 2002 after the 2001 Nisqually earthquake to better understand how groundwater flows through this area. The location of this pipe was included in reference materials in the contract.
We also believe at least some of the obstructions found by the exploratory holes are pieces of the 2002 steel pipe, which could be a contributing factor in the delay of boring.
So while the tunneling contractor and WSDOT are taking pains to say this might not be the ENTIRE problem, they are also figuring out now how to remove that pipe for starters. As the full update says, they don’t know yet what this means to the schedule, which had projected tunnel completion by the end of 2015 and Alaskan Way Viaduct teardown starting after the tunnel opened.
6:30 PM: More followup on today’s disclosure, via Seattle Times (WSB partner) transportation reporter Mike Lindblom.
New year, new progress for public schools/public library collaboration
Seattle Public Schools campuses don’t resume classes until Monday, but this school librarian was busy this week encouraging students and families to make reading even more of a priority in this brand-new year. He’s Craig Seasholes, librarian at Sanislo Elementary School, and he spent New Year’s Eve afternoon hosting a drop-in event at Delridge Branch Library to continue evangelizing the collaboration between the Seattle Public Library and the public-school libraries at Sanislo and Roxhill. Events ahead include an author visit via Skype and the annual Global Reading Challenge competition; ongoing programs include weekly “Raising a Reader” book bags that go home with kindergarteners every week, plus a boost of 500 SPL books at the Sanislo library, and students helping out before school as part of the Library Club.
West Seattle Friday: What’s up this afternoon and evening
Look! A sunbreak! That’s what we found at Seacrest, checking out this morning’s extra-high tide (the next two mornings bring the highest tides of the year!). And while the calendar doesn’t really start revving up until next week, we have items of note for this afternoon/evening:
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: School’s not back in session until Monday but our area’s two biggest high schools hit the court tonight – playing each other. A full afternoon/evening of basketball with West Seattle High School visiting Chief Sealth International High School begins with girls’ junior varsity at 3:15 pm, continuing with boys’ JV at 4:45 pm, girls’ varsity at 6:15 pm, and boys’ varsity at 8. (2600 SW Thistle)
‘WORDS, WRITERS, WEST SEATTLE’: The series of monthly appearances by West Seattle authors continues 4-6 pm today at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village with Robert Spector, author of “The Mom and Pop Store.” Here’s our most-recent preview; here’s the home page for the series on the Southwest Seattle Historical Society website. (2800 SW Barton)
FRIDAY NIGHT SKATING: Checked out Alki Community Center‘s weekly roller-skating session? 6:45-8:45 pm, per Seattle Parks‘ quarterly brochure. (5817 SW Stevens)
LIVE MUSIC: Find it tonight at The Cask in The Admiral District, with Jamie Tippett and Adam Ludwig, 8 pm … And at Skylark Café and Club in North Delridge (3803 Delridge Way SW), it’s Seacastle and Something in The Trees, 9 pm.
And outside West Seattle, but featuring local businesses:
REMODELING EXPO: If you’re going to this big event today (noon-8 pm) through Sunday at the Convention Center downtown, look for West Seattle firms including (updated) three WSB sponsors – Ventana Construction (booth 313), Potter Construction (booth 518), and NCompass Construction (booth 811).
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: 2014’s first Friday
(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
After a rainy night, the weather‘s supposed to keep getting better as the weekend gets closer. So there’s a promising note with which to get the day going. Traffic-wise, a messy crash wreaked havoc with northbound 405 in Bellevue overnight, so if you commute out that way, check here for updates. No road-work advisories today, but if you missed our mention last night – late-night/early-morning closures are planned next week on I-5; details are here.
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