day : 07/01/2014 13 results

Objects encountered by the SR 99 tunneling machine

(Photos courtesy WSDOT, shared via Flickr)
That’s one of three photos WSDOT shared late today along with an update on what’s being done to figure out how to get “Bertha,” the Highway 99 tunnel machine, going again, one month after it got stuck. The update says the steel and boulder are some of the items that passed through Bertha and onto its conveyor belt before it stopped moving forward in early December; this section of pipe was removed, too. They still aren’t sure the widely reported pipe is the whole problem. So they’re drilling to continue investigating, as you might have noticed to the west what’s left of the Alaskan Way Viaduct:

SR 99 tunnel crews drilling to look for obstruction

Read the entire update here. What this will cost in terms of time and money has not yet been determined, since they say they don’t know yet what it’ll take to get tunneling back on track, but KIRO TV quotes the state Transportation Director as suggesting the tunnel contractor could be held responsible for not clearing the way first.

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Remembering Lucille Brisky Dodd, 1930-2013

January 7, 2014 8:26 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Obituaries | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The family of the late Lucille Brisky Dodd is sharing this remembrance:

Lucille Brisky Dodd, 82, passed away on November 21, 2013, while recovering from hip surgery.

Lucille was born in Mount Vernon, WA on December 13, 1930, the youngest child (“Babe”) of John and Ella Lowman Brisky, and the sister of Maryl, Charlotte, and Billy. Beloved mother of Steve Dodd of Downers Grove, IL, John Dodd, Tom Dodd, Lynnea (Kirk) Manahan, and Donna Oslin, all of Seattle. Grandmother to Christy, Dani, Morgan, Emily, Cole, Clara, Tony, and Heather. Lucille was an independent and unique woman and will be greatly missed.

Special thanks to Admiral Heights Merrill Gardens and to the medical staff at Highline Hospital for their exceptional care and kindness. Remembrances may be made to the Humane Society or an animal charity of your choice.

As per her wishes, there will be no public service.

(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

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West Seattle safety: Sidewalk construction under way on 30th SW

January 7, 2014 4:50 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

Thanks to Joe Szilagyi from the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council (which meets tonight) and the West Seattle Transportation Coalition (which meets a week from tonight) for the photo – long-awaited sidewalk construction is under way on 30th SW, between SW 97th and SW Roxbury. It’s part of a safety project focused on helping kids get to and from Roxhill Elementary; the full scope of the project is described on this SDOT webpage. Joe says the crews on scene estimate the work will last four to six weeks, depending on the weather.

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Traffic alert: Motorcycle crash at 1st Ave. ramp to westbound bridge

January 7, 2014 4:05 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Photo tweeted by @shermanscorner)
4:05 PM: Thanks to the caller who reported a crash at the 1st Avenue South ramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge, just as the Seattle Fire medic call appeared on the log. The caller said a motorcycle rider had gone down; radio communications from SFD confirm that, and describe the rider as “conscious and alert.”

4:10 PM: Just announced via radio: “The on-ramp from 1st to the West Seattle Bridge is going to be entirely shut down.”

4:21 PM: Update – sounds like the ramp will NOT be closed for long. Added a tweeted photo; @shermanscorner says the people who were on the ramp when the crash happened (we don’t have info on the circumstances) were directed to back up to clear it.

4:36 PM: Fire units have cleared from the scene – we haven’t heard official confirmation but the ramp was expected to reopen once that happened.

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West Seattle Office Junction: Welcoming a new WSB sponsor

January 7, 2014 3:01 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

With outbound traffic like today, telecommuting might look more appealing than ever. But you don’t want to just sit around typing all alone. And even going to a coffee shop doesn’t solve the problem. So how about co-working? West Seattle’s first and only co-working space, West Seattle Office Junction – WSB’s newest sponsor – offers more than space – it offers camaraderie, collaboration, and inspiration. Here’s what else they’d like you to know:

If you’re considering co-working at West Seattle Office Junction, you can consider the question: “Would you rather work in a clean, quiet, professional office space with high-quality office chairs, high-speed internet, meeting room, fax, copier, scanner, color printer, free coffee, tea, and beer, plus a friendly community of independent professionals … or alone at home distracted by dishes and laundry?”

Most of our members sought us out because they felt isolated at home. They need less distraction, more structure and more human interaction. They keep coming back because we provide the essential office services that independent professionals, creative and telecommuters and entrepreneurs need plus a supportive community.

West Seattle Office Junction members tell us about a wide range of changes in their lives. These include increased productivity, new-found business relationships, skill sharing, new friends, and even personal growth. They say: “…this is a great deal.”, “…I love it.”, “I need to get out of the house.” and “Thank you!”.

We want to be known as a collaborative space where people come together, share, bounce ideas, get active, celebrate accomplishments, help each other. We want to be a home base for local business owners, community groups and home office professionals. We actively work against the ‘Seattle Freeze’ by bringing the community closer together and supporting local businesses.

The Office Junction is a member of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Seattle Collaborative Space Alliance, and West Seattle Women in Charge. We also support, and are part of, local PTAs and we host meetup groups to foster collaboration and networking for West Seattle professionals.

Some of the events coming up at WS Office Junction: We will continue to host our free, bi-weekly Coworking meetups every other Wednesday at noon (next – tomorrow, January 8th) to network, share, talk about business ideas, projects, get feedback, build community and make new friends and business partners. The 4-week Krypton Community College course ‘The Happiness Project’ just began, enabling groups of people to come together for brief, powerful, in-person learning experiences. Watch for future session info here.

Office Junction also offers periodic free-coworking days – next one on January 15th, 10 am-3 pm. And you can visit this Thursday (January 9th) during West Seattle Art Walk night. We have just installed new art from local artist Andrew Miller. Andrew will be with us for this opening. We will also use this evening to showcase several small, local businesses offering new and unique services to help you enjoy 2014. WS Office Junction is at 5230-B California SW.

We thank West Seattle Office Junction for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; see our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

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Gigabit Squared high-speed Internet service deal reportedly ‘dead’

January 7, 2014 2:18 pm

| 32 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle online

The plan for a startup called Gigabit Squared to bring high-speed Internet to neighborhoods including part of West Seattle is dead, the Puget Sound Business Journal says this afternoon. This comes days after GeekWire reported that Gigabit Squared wasn’t paying a $52,000 bill it had racked up for city engineers’ time, and shortly after Publicola pointed out a Chicago report that GB2 was on the rocks there. Last year, then-Mayor McGinn announced in his 2013 State of the City speech that the plan would expand to include part of West Seattle, and GB2 announced its pricing plan in July, but there had been no updates since then.

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Pre-construction meetings, survey for Westwood, Sunrise Heights ‘roadside raingardens’ sewer-overflow-control project

January 7, 2014 12:37 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Environment | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle news | Westwood

King County’s next major combined-sewer-overflow-control project, the Barton basin “green stormwater infrastructure” roadside raingardens on 15 streets in Westwood and Sunrise Heights, is close to starting construction. So the county has just announced two pre-construction community meetings:

Join King County at one of two community meetings to prepare the neighborhood for upcoming construction activities. At the meeting, you can:

· Learn more about the construction schedule and sequence of activities
· Meet representatives from the construction contractor, Goodfellow Brothers
· Hear how King County works with neighbors during construction
· Learn about anticipated construction impacts
· Bring the kids! A kids activity table will be set up in the main room both days

Thursday, January 23, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, Westside School, 7740 34th Ave SW
Saturday, January 25, 10:00 – 11:30 am, High Point Neighborhood House, 6400 Sylvan Way SW

Checking the project website, we also found this online survey for those in the neighborhoods affected.

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Followup: Denny, Sealth principals’ note about flasher incident

January 7, 2014 11:18 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

As reported here very early today, another local student has reported encountering a “flasher.” Her mother e-mailed us late last night, reporting that it happened while her daughter was walking from Denny International Middle School on Monday afternoon when it happened a few blocks west. Denny principal Jeff Clark just shared this letter he and adjoining Chief Sealth International Middle School principal Aida Fraser-Hammer are sending to families:

January 7, 2014

Dear Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth International High School Students and Families,

We are writing with an important safety update regarding walking to and from school.

An incident occurred yesterday, Monday, January 6: A Denny student was walking home between the times of 2:30 and 2:45 PM when a man in a car exposed himself to her. This lewd incident occurred near the intersection of 30th Avenue Southwest and Kenyon.

Our student did a great job by running away and calling her mother, who quickly informed the police, who are now actively investigating the incident. Today, Seattle Public Schools security staff will be in that same area after school during both Denny and Sealth dismissal times.

We would like to encourage all of our families to discuss personal safety walking to and from school with your child. Notifying parents, school staff, and the police right away is very important and is very much appreciated any time anything of concern happens. We are all here to help with whatever the situation might be. Thank you for all that you do in support of our students.

Sincerely,

Jeff Clark, Denny International Middle School Principal
Aida Fraser-Hammer, Chief Sealth International School Principal

So far, as noted in our first story, there is no description of the man.

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West Seattle wildlife: River otter sightings near 35th/Avalon

January 7, 2014 9:59 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

After two reports in the past half-hour, we’re putting this out as an alert. While river otters spend a lot of time on land, they’re not usually seen as far from the water as 35th/Fauntleroy/Avalon. One report was from Erin, who wrote, “I SWEAR I just saw a river otter running through the 7-11 parking lot on 35th and Avalon!” shortly after we got a note from Cait that began, “I know this might sound crazy but I’m pretty positive I just spotted an otter alone on Fauntleroy next to the WS Bridge.” So if you’re in that area – be on the lookout!

P.S. If you haven’t seen a river otter before – here’s what they look like. Learn more about them via another great state-produced Living With Wildlife info-sheet.

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West Seattle restaurants: Saigon Boat Café closed by health inspector

January 7, 2014 9:53 am

| 51 COMMENTS

| Health | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

9:53 AM: Just in from King County Public Health:

Saigon Boat Café, located at 2632 Alki Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116, was closed by a Public Health food inspector on January 6, 2014 at 5:00 pm for the following food safety violations:

Potentially hazardous foods at unsafe temperatures
Improper cooling of potentially hazardous food
Foods not protected from cross-contamination
Poor personal hygiene practices: handwashing
Equipment/utensils not properly sanitized
Handwashing facilities inaccessible and not working

The establishment will be reopened once the inspector confirms that all issues have been resolved.

We’ll check back, and you can also watch its status at the county website.

(Side note – the restaurant is located in a building set for replacement by a development project that goes to Design Review next month.)

ADDED 11:30 AM: A commenter reminded us that this is not the first time a Public Health inspector has closed Saigon Boat Café – the closure in February 2010 was attributed to a lack of proper permits/plans; the restaurant reopened two months later.

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West Seattle Tuesday: From co-working to claymation to community-council meeting…

January 7, 2014 9:22 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Brandon Husby, taken at Seacrest, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Caught up yet? It’s starting to get busy. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

FREE CO-WORKING: 10 am-3 pm, bring your computer, your work, your lunch to West Seattle Office Junction ‏(WSB sponsor) and co-work for free. (5230-B California SW)

CLAYMATION FOR TEENS: At Southwest Teen Life Center, teens can learn claymation for free, in a new series of classes starting 4:45 pm today; details in the calendar listing. (2801 SW Thistle)

WWRHAH: The Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meets tonight at 6:15 pm at Southwest Branch Library, with an agenda including followup on last week’s Roxhill Park/Westwood “transit hub” walking tour. (35th/Henderson)

WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: Monthly meeting at 6:30 tonight – details in the calendar listing on the WSBC site.

HIGH-SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Chief Sealth International High School boys host Lakeside, varsity game at 7:30 pm; West Seattle High School boys are on the road at Seattle Prep.

‘BLUES TO DO’ DEBUT: First night of the new Tuesday series at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm, live blues, streamed online too. First in the lineup: Polly O’Keary & The Rhythm Method with special guest Seattle Slim. Full details in our recent preview. (6451 California SW)

BIZNOTE: The Wash Dog (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction is closed today through Thursday for annual maintenance.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates, including bridge-crash backup

January 7, 2014 5:58 am

| 110 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Latest bridge and Viaduct views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
5:58 AM: No ice to worry about this morning – it’s been rainy overnight and well above freezing. Today’s traffic advisory is for anyone who drives along the downtown waterfront: Starting this morning, Alaskan Way surface traffic between Madison and Pike shifts to the new temporary road under The Viaduct, to make way for seawall-replacement work. It’s all explained here.

7:09 AM: ‘Fender-bender’ on the eastbound bridge, says a tipster. No fire/medic callout.

7:36 AM: As commenters are noting, major bridge backup. And now there’s an aid callout.

8:01 AM: To clarify – the aid callout is for a DIFFERENT crash. The “fender-bender” was earlier and did not involve a fire/medics callout. Then came this one, which is just west of the exit to 99, and DID require a callout. If you haven’t left the house yet, and can wait, we highly suggest you do.

8:11 AM: One of the bridge cams is focused on the crash but we don’t know for how long, so here’s a screengrab for posterity:

8:20 AM: Tow truck spotted headed that way. Live traffic cam currently shows fire and police staged across three lanes, routing traffic around to the right. Commenters note that buses were not routed off the high bridge for some time.

8:23 AM: And until the camera pulled back again, it appeared the scene was clearing! (few minutes later) Police are still in the bus lane.

8:33 AM: Hate to be the bearer of bad news but now there is apparently a stalled vehicle parallel with Nucor, blocking a lane, per police, heard on the scanner.

8:43 AM: Per comments, that’s in the left lane. Meantime, just for the record – One commenter says it took an hour to get from Upper Fauntleroy to the Trader Joe’s vicinity; to the south, no better, @catfishianne said via Twitter that it took more than a hour to get from Roxbury Safeway to 99.

8:53 AM: Looks like the crash scene before the 99 exit is clear after about an hour and a half – here’s a screen grab of the camera a few minutes ago:

No update on the stalled car.

9:02 AM: The low bridge was open for marine traffic and is now reported to be back open to vehicles. One more note IF you commute beyond 99 onto Elliott along the north downtown waterfront and beyond – there is a rollover crash at Elliott/Harrison (map) that emergency crews are dealing with right now.

9:15 AM: If you waited to leave – note from the cameras (more views on our Traffic page) that it’s still very busy, even without new incidents to complicate things, and it’s still raining. Wait a while longer if you can; if you can’t, drive slowly and safely! We will continue to update here IF any additional incidents happen – the daily traffic update is always linked atop the “TOP STORIES” list on the WSB sidebar.

10:02 AM: On the peninsula, a school bus was involved in a collision at 12th/Henderson. (Added – photo courtesy of Keith – note the pickup on the sidewalk under the tree:)

No reports of injuries – fire/medics were NOT called out.

11:02 AM: An exchange of note via Twitter, involving newly inaugurated Mayor Ed Murray:

4:26 PM: A crash has closed the 1st Avenue South onramp to the westbound West Seattle Bridge, though it doesn’t sound like it will be closed for long.

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Another ‘flasher’ reported

January 7, 2014 2:04 am

| 17 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

ORIGINAL REPORT, 2:04 AM: This note came in late Monday night. Though it corresponds to a “lewd conduct” call showing in the SPD log, we won’t be able to follow up with police for further details until later this morning, so we are passing the info along as-is for now, since families in the area might want to alert their kids:

My daughter attends Denny International Middle School. (Monday) she was on her way to meet me. She was walking up Kenyon toward 35th and when she got to 30th [map] a man in a 4-door silver or grayish sedan tried to get her attention. When she looked over the man was naked from the waist down and masturbating. I arrived literally a minute later. We called 911. He wasn’t apprehended. Just wanted to share this information with my community.

Thanks,
Anonymous Concerned Mother

No further description in the note – but again, we will follow up with police later this morning and publish an update with anything more we find out.

9:28 AM: Here’s what else we have found out – from ACM, it happened at about 2:37 pm. From the police report – They got the call at 2:40 pm and the first unit arrived in the area at 2:55 pm, at which point the vehicle was nowhere in sight; it apparently left shortly after the girl arrived in the area, as she is reported as having heard its engine start up. The car is described in the police report as “small, medium-sized four-door car with round headlights, round door mirrors, tinted front windows, and possibly no front grille.” The passenger door was open and the man was leaning back/reclining, so his upper body was not in view, according to the report, which says he tried to get the girl’s attention by calling out, “Pssst, pssst.”

11:38 AM: We have just published a separate followup including a letter to families from the Denny/Sealth principals.

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