West Seattle, Washington
04 Wednesday
Big day tomorrow at Southwest Athletic Complex too. From Chief Sealth International High School activities director Mike Wentzel:
Tomorrow will be our annual “Carne Asada Bowl” vs. The World School at the SWAC stadium, at 5:00 PM (immediately following the Sealth Boys Varsity playoff game vs Eastside Catholic). Soccer teams from the two schools will compete for the “Carne Asada Cup,” which gets held by the winning school until the next year. Players, families, and fans will be invited to share in a Carne Asada feast after the game in the Sealth Galleria.
Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 pm at Bishop Blanchet, it’s the first playoff game for West Seattle High School‘s boys-varsity soccer team in years, according to a proud parent who sent us the update (along with other reports during the season): “It has been a hard up-and-down season for the Wildcats,” reports our correspondent, “but with great coaches and faith, in the end they pulled it off and made it to the playoffs.” Season highlights include the team’s youth – 7 freshmen on the varsity squad, five of them starters including their goalie; their first victory over crosstown rivals Chief Sealth International High School in years; “Alizar Gilay leading the team with 6 goals …” Even the defense scored goals – our correspondent mentions Cole Nofsinger and Brian McMonigle, and, we’re told, “to top it off, goalie Akili Kasim scored the winning goal last week – an 80-yard goal.” (The photo above shows teammates congratulating him.)
6:42 PM: Thanks to the folks at CAPERS in The Junction for sending a photo of Lisa DeFaccio “showing her fabulous water forms – do not miss.” Don’t let the natural water forms falling from the sky keep you at home (it’s lighter than it was earlier!) during tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk – lots of places and artists to check out (see the list/map/previews on the official WSAW website) between now and 9 pm.
ADDED 9:57 PM: We stopped at HomeStreet Bank in The Junction, where 17-year-old artist Charles Lenny was featured tonight:
The Art Walk website preview notes that he’s a Chief Sealth International High School senior who works mostly in watercolor layered with ink – and has work on display elsewhere, too. Next Art Walk will be June 12th.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Will West Seattle really get light rail someday?
We have new information today about a study taking a serious look at how it might happen – a precursor to determining if the money, and the will, exist.
It’s in the slide deck above, part of a progress report on Sound Transit’s West Seattle and vicinity light-rail (and more) study, presented to the ST Executive Committee, chaired by King County Executive Dow Constantine. The presentation was given a week ago, but we only heard about it last night, courtesy of Charles B, via Twitter.
To follow up we obtained the slide deck today from Sound Transit, which has the entire meeting on video (not embeddable but you can watch it here – this discussion starts just before the 51-minute mark).
Before taking a look at the toplines – which include four possible light-rail routes and two possible bus routes – consider some context from Sound Transit spokesperson Geoff Patrick, who explains that they represent “high-level, conceptual information on the potential alignments, cost ranges, travel times and ridership levels of future high-capacity transit extensions, including light rail as well as bus rapid transit services.”
The discussion in the video elaborates on what you can see in the slides – among the most interesting points, ST has been studying the possibility of light rail generally assuming a new bridge across the Duwamish River would have to be built for it, instead of assuming it could study one or both of the current West Seattle Bridges for repurposing – not that the latter has been ruled out.
West Seattle is part of what Patrick explains is the “corridor between downtown Seattle, West Seattle, Burien, Tukwila and Renton (called the South King County HCT Corridor Study),” with funding for the study provided by the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, adopted in 2008, provided funds to complete. It’s under way now, he says, “as Sound Transit moves forward with a process to update its Long-Range Plan, which will update the projects that may be included in future ballot measures.”
For further context, Patrick explains:
When the Long-Range Plan was last updated in 2005, the Seattle Monorail Project was assumed to provide future service to West Seattle. With the cancellation of that project, the Board is expected to consider adding a high capacity connection between downtown Seattle and the West Seattle Peninsula to the plan. In June Sound Transit will publish a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Long-Range Plan Update, and kick off a public comment process.
That update will be done later this year, and could pave the way for a November 2016 ballot measure if the Sound Transit board decides to pursue one, though it would not be obligated to include anything on this particular route or any other; Patrick says that part of the discussion would likely begin in 2015 – and that there’s a catch: “Sound Transit would need to secure additional authority from the Washington State Legislature for funding sources that could be part of a ballot measure before moving forward with any major package.”
One last word from Patrick at ST: “It is very important to note that the Sound Transit Board would not select a detailed project or alignment until after a public vote providing the engineering and construction funds, as well as completing a detailed environmental process that would involve the public in examining the benefits and impacts of different options.”
This, by the way, is the study that was mentioned last June by former Mayor Mike McGinn when he came to West Seattle for a media briefing on the area’s potential transit future. In all, ST has been studying nine corridors, shown on a map included in our story last June. This is also related to the survey linked here last November, which is reported to have received a strong response from West Seattle.
NEXT STEP: As ST’s Patrick mentioned, a public-comment process for the long-range-plan update is expected to start next month; we’ll publish updates when that happens.
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
1:53 PM: Seattle Fire has a house-fire-sized response headed for an address in the 5200 block of Delridge Way SW (map). Smoke can be seen from the house. More as we get it.
2:08 PM: SFD tweets that it was a “room fire” and it’s out now. Nobody hurt. Investigators will be working to figure out how it started.
2:14 PM: Our crew at the scene says Delridge is closed because of the fire vehicles, and they expect to be there another 45 minutes or so. The fire apparently started in/on a mattress, and nobody was home, according to the incident commander. (Added: Closure zone is roughly Findlay to Hudson.)
4:27 PM: Added a photo of the aforementioned mattress (what’s left of it). Thanks to everyone who’s provided updates on the road status – as of 4 pm, says Betsy, it’s open (we just drove through, too, to confirm) and the Red Cross is there to help.
That’s what 280+ garage sales, all sizes, all over West Seattle, look like before you zoom out on the map! This Saturday (May 10th) is THE day – the 10th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. It’s grown into the largest one-day event of its kind in the region, befitting West Seattle’s status as the city’s largest neighborhood. Some updates/reminders:
*Current forecast: Improved! Partly sunny. (WSCGSD has had good weather each of the past five years; the first year after we took it over, 2008, there was a morning shower and then the weather cleared.)
*How to find sales that list item(s) you’re looking for: Go to the map page; to the left of the top of the list of sales on the map’s right side, click SEARCH; in the dialog box that opens, you’ll see “name” – click that and choose DESCRIPTION instead, then put a search term (such as, tools) in the box, and the list will sort to just the sales whose descriptions (listings) mention the word you were looking for. Or, open the printable map and use your browser’s “find” feature to look for a certain word (or street, or …).
*Sale sizes: The majority of WSCGSD sales are individual neighborhood sales, and we hear every year about how delighted sellers and buyers were to meet neighbors they hadn’t met previously (or hadn’t seen in a long time). There are also two official group sites – Hotwire Online Coffeehouse/Ginomai in The Junction (sale #60 on the map) and C & P Coffee Company between Alaska and Morgan Junctions (sale #213 on the map) – that offered space to individual small-scale sellers.
*Shopping as a good deed: We’ve been talking about the sale-day donation drives (such as your chance to join the WestSide Baby Kids’ Shopping Squad) but you can also help local organizations/schools by shopping at benefit sales, which include Delridge Grocery (sale #30), Log House Museum (sale #138), Scout Troop 284 (sale #186), West Seattle High School (sale #69), Masonic Family (sale #1), Straight Blast Gym scholarship fund (sale #26), Lincoln Park P-Patch (sale #236), West Seattle Eagles benefiting charities (sale #54), Taproot School (sale #216), South Seattle College Landscape/Horticulture Program (sale #31), American Cancer Society (sale #83), Breathe Deep Seattle (sale #91), JDRF Beat the Bridge (sale #120), Humane Society (sale #206), bake sale benefiting WS Baby (sale #255), Chamwino Connect (sale #169), Bella Mente (sale #198), and some other nonprofits at the Hotwire Coffee/Ginomai courtyards (sale #60).
More updates ahead – again, it all unfolds 9 am-3 pm this Saturday; map (online AND printable [PDF] versions) here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Southwest District Council‘s increased focus on development/land-use issues was a key topic of its monthly meeting last night, along with the plan for neighborhood organizations to pursue a higher profile in this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade, and an SDOT briefing on Safe Routes to School-related projects in the council’s area of emphasis (western West Seattle). Wondering what might be coming to a school zone for you? Read on for full details, including a look at the city’s list:
(Pacific Starflower at Lincoln Park, by Dennis Cheasebro, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and previously published previews/announcements, five events of note for today/tonight:
GREENING YOUR AUTO-REPAIR BUSINESS: Last-minute registration is open until 10 am for the 11 am-1:30 pm workshop to help auto-repair shops get greener. Workshop at Our Lady of Guadalupe, including lunch and a tour of Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor). Go here for details, including the signup link. (35th/Myrtle)
TOTEM-POLE TALK AT CHAMBER LUNCH: Featured speaker at today’s monthly West Seattle Chamber of Commerce meeting is Clay Eals, executive director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum, talking about the historic Belvedere totem pole that is about to go up at its new home on the museum’s east side. If you don’t already have lunch reservations, call the Chamber to see if there’s any last-minute room. The Kenney (WSB sponsor), lower-level meeting room. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: Dozens of venues welcome your visit 6-9 pm to see their newest art displays, most of which will have the artist on hand to meet you, and often free refreshments too. Here’s the map/venue list for this quarter:
Browse the official website at wsartwalk.com for artist/exhibit info.
COMMUNITY MEETING FOR 40-APARTMENT JUNCTION PROJECT: If you’re interested in local development, particularly in The Junction area, you’re urged to attend tonight’s community-petitioned comment meeting for the 40-apartment, 5-parking-space project at 4439 41st SW, whose neighbors – including several local churches – say it’s too big for its block. Here’s our preview; the meeting’s at 7 pm, upstairs at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (California/Oregon)
‘HAIR’ AT ARTSWEST: 7:30 pm, groove to the classic musical “Hair” at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor). Here’s how to get tickets. (4711 California SW)
MORE FOR TODAY/TONIGHT … can be found on the calendar’s home page, here.
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:08 AM: On commute watch as usual, and nothing out of the ordinary so far.
7:18 AM: Via Twitter, Paul reports police are back on the bridge for bus-lane enforcement again today.
Busy night for police. Now they’re at the scene of a confirmed drive-by shooting – no injuries – in Westwood. Per scanner, they have found shell casings at 29th and Cambridge, which maps to just west of Roxhill Park.
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