Question for you: Should the West Seattle Car Show continue?
(WSB photo from last September’s West Seattle Car Show)
Though it was not by any means his only community project, the annual West Seattle Car Show was the creation, pride and joy of the late neighborhood advocate and entrepreneur Michael Hoffman, who died suddenly last month at age 47. Two West Seattle businesses are looking at whether to take it on – but first, they want to know your thoughts. If you can please take a moment to comment:
Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks would like to know from the community of West Seattle your thoughts on the annual West Seattle Car Show. Should the car show continue? Do you think that it brings and enhances a sense of community, and does it benefit our local businesses? Would it be missed if it did not continue? Your thoughts and feedback are very important to us – thanks!
The car show’s been held in The Junction in late summer each of the past six years; we’ve been a co-sponsor each year (and should note that both businesses mentioned above are WSB sponsors). Here’s our coverage from last year.
West Seattle scene: Summer-ish spring sunset
(WSB photos – this one, by Tracy Record; next two, by Patrick Sand)
Four hours after the thermometer hit 80, sunset color and clouds filled the sky over the Olympics, seen from Duwamish Head. Might have another photo or two to add shortly.
ADDED: Ferry on the Bremerton run:
And a crow hanging out at Don Armeni:
Should be another beautiful, warm evening on Thursday!
Police-activity updates: Guardian One over High Point; SPD on Alki
7:03 PM: Just in case you see the law-enforcement helicopter overhead: The King County Sheriff’s Office has been over High Point for a bit assisting with a search – but the person that was being sought has been found. So, according to the scanner, the helicopter might be Alki-bound, where, in an unrelated incident, we’ve heard about a guns-drawn stop in the 1700 block and are trying to get details on that. Thanks for all the tips and texts – 206-293-6302 any time!
7:08 PM UPDATE: The High Point search that’s now over was for a missing child, Guardian One has tweeted. Still trying to get info on the Alki situation. Thanks to Mike and Steve for photos and to @ohwellmaybenot for tweeting this one:
ADDED 12:38 AM: We finally have been able to get a bit of information about the nature of the Alki response, thanks to Southwest Precinct Lt. Paul Leung. He didn’t have access to the full report, handled by an earlier watch – we will see if we can track that down later this morning – but it was a “gun call” (no shots fired that we know of).
While the officers did stop the vehicle that was reported to them, they did not find the gun that had been the subject of the original complaint.
Construction starts tomorrow at Westside School’s new home
(First two photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Before construction starts tomorrow at the new Arbor Heights location of Westside School (WSB sponsor), its students have joined in a unique groundbreaking ceremony.
They traveled to the site at 10400 34th SW – formerly Hillcrest Presbyterian Church – on Tuesday afternoon to tour and celebrate.
It was a field trip, and yet it was also “heading home,” the theme for the year ahead, according to Westside’s head of school Kate Mulligan, who notes it was also the inscription on commemorative T-shirts:
(Photo courtesy Westside School)
The theme honors the fact that the ~330 students and ~60 staff members of Westside will finally have a permanent home.
Read More
In case you wondered too: Road crew at Delridge/Andover
Several questions this morning about the crew cutting up pavement and blocking a northbound lane on Delridge Way at Andover. Though there is a project on the drawing boards for that area, this is NOT related – SDOT‘s Marybeth Turner checked around and found out that Seattle Public Utilities was doing emergency sewer-repair work. (We haven’t been able to get back there in recent hours so not sure if the crew’s still there.)
What we’re enjoying about your West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day listings, as May 10th gets closer
Today we’re proofreading the 270+ listings that go with the sales signed up for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (only 10 days away, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday, May 10th, sales of all sizes all over WS!) – and we’re noting some creative ways people are using some of their 15 words, including:
“Miscellaneous accumulation from 50 years of too much shopping.”
“LONG-TIME JUNKERS PURGING!”
“BAGS OF MYSTERY!”
“Things we don’t even know what they are!”
“A handyman’s Disneyland!”
“3 Broke Girls With Nice Stuff!”
And a brand-new neighborhood nickname has emerged – “SOCLO (South of Cloverdale) Fauntleroy neighborhood alley sale.”
We’re still making our way through the listings, so there are likely gems yet to come. (Don’t get us wrong – simple, clear listings are great too!) The first map release is this Saturday (May 3rd) – too soon to say what time, but if there’s breaking news, it’ll appear first on the official WSCGSD site at westseattlegaragesale.com. We’ll be sending the “packets” to sellers tomorrow, which is also the deadline for getting canceled sales off the map – after that, the best we can promise is a notation on the relevant webpages. Questions about the 10th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (seventh one coordinated by us here at WSB)? garagesale@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
New Genesee Hill school: Demolition not expected before summer
(Rendering of new elementary at Genesee Hill site)
After several inquiries about the status/timeline for demolition at Genesee Hill Elementary – to be replaced by an all-new school – we checked with Seattle Public Schools. Tom Redman, who handles communications for SPS projects like this, says they’re not ready to set the date for demolition to begin yet, because they’re still finalizing permits:
The hazardous materials abatement and the archaeological survey have been completed. The building bid package was completed and advertised, followed by the pre-bid conference. The Master Use Permit (MUP) is being reviewed by the City of Seattle Department of Planning and Development. The contractor is scheduled to begin work this summer, pending appropriate permit approval by the city.
The bids are listed here (a bit lower than the estimate) – but the official winning bidder hasn’t been announced yet.
Arbor Heights fire followup: Cause ‘undetermined,’ for now
(Photos taken this morning by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
New information about last night’s house fire in the 10000 block of 39th SW in Arbor Heights (WSB as-it-happened coverage here): Its cause is currently listed as “undetermined,” but Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore tells WSB that could change: They haven’t been able to speak yet with the two residents, both in their 70s, who remain hospitalized, and it’s still not safe for investigators to go in and look for evidence of how it started.
You can see why, looking at our photos from a trip back to the scene this morning, with smoke still rising from the house:
As we reported last night, the house is considered to be a total loss; this morning, SFD estimates the damage at $350,000 for the house, $100,000 for the contents.
The fire was first reported around 7:40 pm; SFD says it was under control about half an hour after its crews started arriving.
West Seattle Wednesday: Walk on the beach; plan a playground; cheer for high-school ballplayers…
Eileen and Michael shared that view of a baby starfish seen during a round of low-ish tides earlier this month. With the weather getting even warmer, conditions will be perfect for beach-walking, if you can make the time. Lura pointed out that while they’re not mega-mega-low tides, the daily low tides during the next two days are fine for exploring: -1.5 feet just before 12:30 pm today, and -1.4 at 1 pm tomorrow. You can check tides on the WSB West Seattle Weather page any time, by the way. And from our calendar, more highlights:
BABY STORY TIME: 11:30 am, High Point Branch Library, intended for babies 4 months old to 12 months old. (35th/Raymond)
HOME OFFICE/CO-WORKING MEETUP: Noon-1:15 pm at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), details here. (6040 California SW)
CHEER FOR ALL FOUR TEAMS! 4 pm at Southwest Athletic Complex in Westwood, Chief Sealth International High School varsity teams host West Seattle High School teams in softball and baseball games. (2801 SW Thistle)
PATHFINDER K-8 PLAYGROUND, FIRST COMMUNITY DESIGN MEETING: All interested community members are welcome/encouraged to come kick off the next phase of the playground-upgrade process, including kids, 5:30-7 pm at the school on Pigeon Point. Read more about the project here; we also previewed the meeting here. (1901 SW Genesee)
OPEN MICROPHONE NIGHT … at Skylark Café and Club in North Delridge, 9 pm, 21+, with some unique features you can read about here. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
MORE! on the calendar.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Warm Wednesday
Bright sunshine as we look at the West Seattle Bridge above and, below, northbound 99 at the south end of the elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct:
More cameras, and other info, are on the WSB Traffic page. None of this morning’s regional traffic problems are in our area, so far. But forgetting the sunglasses could be a problem.
8:16 AM UPDATE: From “Enough” in comments: “Heavy eastbound today. Backed up from 35th.”
8:29 AM UPDATE: This won’t make things any better – right-side crash on northbound 5 just past the bridge exit, tweets KING 5’s Tracy Taylor. (A few minutes later – now described as two lanes blocked northbound near Olive.)
9:10 AM: Not blocking traffic, but @scruffydiver just tweeted a fender-bender report from The Triangle involving a classic car:
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