West Seattle, Washington
23 Monday
(Added: Photo from Lora Swift at Hotwire group-sale site, #60 on the map – just one of ~40 tables!)
It’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, and the sales start at 9 am! After a bit of early morning rain, we’re seeing some clearing/blue sky to the west, so we have high hopes for the rest of the day. Individual and block sales are happening all over the peninsula, plus businesses, schools, and youth organizations. See the list of benefit sales here. 280 sales are on the WSCGSD maps – which you’ll find here (Web, printable, mobile links). The big group sites are Hotwire Online Coffeehouse/Ginomai (sale #60, 4410 California SW) and C & P Coffee Company (sale #213, 5612 California SW). Happy shopping/selling! 9 am-3 pm are the official sale hours; please check atop the map page before you head out, for updates including the handful of last-minute cancellations. We’ll be visiting some of the sales for ongoing coverage all day, but we can’t get to them all, so whether you’re a seller or a shopper, we’d love to get a photo from you – editor@westseattleblog.com (if you prefer Facebook, please share on the WSB page).
P.S. A full preview of everything else happening today/tonight is coming up too.
P.P.S. We heard late last night from the “Yard Sale Bingo Crew” who explain that every year they make up cards for a game while they’re out browsing sales. We’ve linked their cards to the official WSCGSD page.
3:25 AM: If you wondered about the sirens – Seattle Fire crews have responded to an address in the 1300 block of California SW (map) for a possible house fire.
3:37 AM: The call already has been closed/canceled (and a few minutes later, our crew arrived, verifying no one from SFD remained on scene).
Making it to 10 years in business is SO worth a party. So (from left) Drew Foster and Stefan Hansmire of NCompass Construction/NCompass Cottage Company (WSB sponsor) had a big one at Dakota Place on Friday night. So big, even West Seattle favorites Not Dead Yet performed:
The party also featured a food truck and a “construction and building trivia game” with multiple choice questions (we’re pretty sure the answer to “Section 505.1 of the 2009 Residential Washington State Energy code states …” was NOT #D, “Turn off the lights when you leave the room!”). Their business has evolved to address community needs, including, a year ago, certification as “aging in place” specialists.
Looking at the “futurecast” from our friends at KING 5, Saturday morning’s shower activity is way to the north. But some West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day sellers say they’re ready for anything:
That’s sale #45 (find any sale from #1 to #288 via the online or printable maps, both here). From sale #186, benefiting Boy Scout Troop #284, here’s a picture of just part of what they’re offering inside the Veterans’ Center (former American Legion post) in The Triangle:
And sale #42 shared a montage of just part of what they’re selling:
Wherever you are, if you’re not selling, somebody is. 9 am-3 pm are the official sale hours; even if you’ve printed out the PDF list, please check the map page for last-minute changes/cancellations (as happens every year, we’ve had a few). And we invite you to send pics, by e-mail (garagesale@westseattleblog.com) or via the WSB Facebook page. More updates to come – including something that just came in late tonight: Yard Sale Bingo!
That’s the varsity-soccer team picture shared by West Seattle High School soccer parents including Tim McMonigle and our season-long anonymous contributor, after the playoff game today at Bishop Blanchet. Final score: Blanchet 3, WSHS 1. Tim reports:
WSHS was ahead 1-0 at half, then Blanchet score shortly after halftime to tie. Then they scored two more goals in the last 10 minutes of the game to win and advance in the playoffs.
The future looks bright for WSHS, in that only four seniors are leaving the team, with the majority of the starters this year being freshmen and sophomores. This is the first time in five years WSHS has made the playoffs, with hopefully many more years to come.
(Top clip is the first hour, second clip picks up a few minutes later for final half-hour after our card change)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
As with most recent neighbor-petitioned comment meetings for West Seattle development proposals, last night’s meeting about the 40-apartment, 5-parking-space 4439 41st SW project (first reported here in March) included a big-picture component.
After the hearing’s Department of Planning and Development point person, Bruce Rips, began by saying he does planning on current projects, he also introduced Geoff Wendlandt as a colleague looking at “long-range policies.” While Rips is a fairly frequent West Seattle visitor as designated planner for multiple projects, Wendlandt was last seen here during the neighbor-petitioned meeting for 3210 California. He pointed attendees to the city website for background information including current zoning and future changes in the multifamily zoning code.
Rips continued: “This project, unlike those I’m usually (here for), doesn’t have a design-review component – Geoff will probably touch on that as well. … But it does trigger what’s called the State Environmental Protection Act. … My department made its initial reviews of the project.” He mentioned correction letters sent to the applicant, often from concerns raised in community comments sent to the Department of Planning and Development. They haven’t heard back yet from the developer yet, on correction notices sent a month ago, he said
Next, Wendlandt spoke. “There’s a lot of development happening here as you know … a lot of cranes in The Junction. It may seem .. like development’s happening very fast, very haphazardly, but we do want to say to you there’s a plan for where development can occur – that’s the City’s comprehensive plan … which (outlines) where development can occur over time.” He talks about its background, and how The Junction is designated a Hub Urban Village, which “allows single-family neighborhoods to stay single-family neighborhoods.” Fremont, Ballard, Lake City, North Rainier are other “hub urban villages” around the city, he says. He notes that the Comprehensive Plan update process dubbed “Seattle 2035“ is under way and encourages people to participate. (A West Seattle open house about it last month was sparsely attended.)
He explained that this project is in a “low-rise multifamily zone,” which generally means areas between commercial cores and single-family neighborhoods. He mentions the 2010 changes to low-rise multi-family zones, “to allow a little more flexibility,” specifically in the townhouse-development area. And he mentiond the low-rise development zoning changes that are under way now “to make sure we’re getting the outcome we expected. He said “the growth that’s occurring in The Junction is consistent with (the current city plan) and if you don’t agree, (get involved with the Comprehensive Plan changes).”
One attendee asked if the presence of a business improvement area (such as the West Seattle Junction Association) would have any effect on zoning, particularly in this case related to businesses and where their employees park.
Then, it was on to the community comments.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 5:18 PM: Just in from Southwest Athletic Complex, in postseason high-school soccer, it was Seattle Prep 4, Chief Sealth International High School 1.
The Seahawks now play a just-for-fun game against the World School in the annual “Carne Asada Bowl,” followed by a cookout featuring the namesake dish. Photos later.
9 PM: Photos added – above, from the game with Prep; below, we didn’t catch the carne asada itself but did catch the World School claiming the Carne Asada Cup after winning that game:
Just announced this afternoon on Twitter, King County Executive Dow Constantine and wife Shirley Carlson are parents:
Shirley and I are pleased to welcome a daughter, Sabrina Kyoko Adele Constantine, who was born early this morning -DC pic.twitter.com/ff8H33BYUg
— Dow Constantine (@kcexec) May 9, 2014
Twitter limits you to 140 characters, but the new dad added this on his official Facebook page: “She’s 6 pounds, 7.3 ounces.”
From sale #1 at the Masonic Center (40th/Edmunds) to sale #288 at 4400 SW 101st, West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day is hours away … just under 21 hours, as of this writing. The maps are here – online and printable PDF – both with details for each sale. A few other notes:
*Until the end of sale day (3:01 pm), any major updates – last-minute changes/cancellations, for example – will be on the official WSCGSD site and the map page here on WSB
*The official site is also the best place to find out about sale day-linked donation drives.
*Want to take a break AFTER sale day? Straight Blast Gym (5050 Delridge Way SW; WSB sponsor) is offering a Parents’ Night Out event Saturday night, 6-10 pm, games, activities, movies, pizza, crafts, $30 first child, $20 each additional. Contact info’s here. (SBG is also having a sale tomorrow – #26 – raising money for its scholarship fund.)
*Whether you’re selling or shopping, consider sending us a photo tomorrow – we’ll be stopping by some of the sales as part of our as-it-happens coverage but we can’t get to all 280+ – thanks in advance!
As mentioned previously, tomorrow is also Stamp Out Hunger Day! If you got a blue bag in the mail, before you go out to shop or sell, fill it up with nonperishable food and tomorrow, leave it by your mailbox or your door, if that’s where you get your mail. If you didn’t get a bag – use one of your own, paper or plastic. Ours is ready:
Donations stay in the local area – and Kristina at the White Center Food Bank, which also serves southern West Seattle, has suggestions for your donation choices:
Please donate items like canned meats, tuna fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal, peanut butter, and rice. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.
(Photo by Don Brubeck, via the WSB Flickr group)
Just a quick note that today, as we’re covering more news and previewing West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day tomorrow, we’ll point you to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar rather than calling out specific highlights here as we do most days. On the calendar page, click on any intriguing line to open it (and then “read more” for details, including maps in most listings) – you’ll see what’s up for today/tonight, including nightlife. One late addition that isn’t on the calendar page but was featured here in the news section – Chief Sealth International High School‘s “Carne Asada Bowl” soccer match this afternoon. Happy Friday!
(Rendering of new Arbor Heights Elementary)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
They say they’re not trying to stop it from being built.
But neighbors and others concerned about the new, larger Arbor Heights Elementary School say something is missing from the plan: A full-scale environmental review.
So they appealed the ruling that the project doesn’t need that kind of review, and their appeal led to a hearing that lasted much of the day Thursday in a meeting room at Seattle Public Schools headquarters in SODO.
It brought some surprises – including last-minute district research exploring some of the points for which the challengers said an environmental review was needed before the new school is built on the site of the old one starting this summer.
Appeal hearings don’t result in instant decisions, so a written report will be forthcoming. But here’s how the hearing unfolded:
(WS Bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Happy Friday! Aside from the breezy weather, nothing much of note so far during the commute. Weekend notes:
CITYWIDE TRAFFIC ALERTS: Here’s the weekly SDOT roundup of what’s happening around the city that might affect traffic. This also now includes construction notes (the weekend-long closure of westbound 520 is among them).
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY: Neighborhoods around West Seattle will be bustling 9 am-3 pm tomorrow with more than 280 sales of all sizes (as mapped here) in the 10th annual WSCGSD (coordinated by WSB).
And a bit of transportation news in case you missed it here Thursday:
LIGHT RAIL FOR WEST SEATTLE? See what Sound Transit is looking at in its study of the south “corridor” that could include West Seattle, White Center, and points south.
7:28 AM: Thanks to Mike for this note – if you drive SW Charlestown west of California SW, a car is partly blocking the road near 51st SW.
He says a note on it says a tow truck is on the way – but in the meantime, you have to go into the oncoming lane to get around it, precarious to say the least.
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.
(WSB photos by Tracy Record unless otherwise credited)
11:38 PM: Just back from North Admiral, where another hit-run crash has left three cars with major damage, and police searching for suspects. It’s also closed California SW near SW Atlantic (map). The car at right apparently smashed into the parked vehicles at left – pushing them into and onto the sidewalk, with a tree taken out and underneath the minivan at left:
Then two people inside the car that wound up totaled in the middle of the street got out of it and ran. Debris was strewn everywhere – hood, bumper, lights, more (and a beer can) – and an SDOT crew was standing by for cleanup after the vehicles are towed.
A K-9 team was helping in the search (as you can see in our Instagram video clip).
A bystander told us a witness saw people get out of the car and run, and tried to chase them. Meantime, one nearby resident told us this stretch is often used for racing.
(Photo by unidentified texter)
12:21 AM: Via Twitter, Philip says the road is open again, though debris remains, and that the car that caused the crash has been towed.
(Photo courtesy Andrew, who says skid marks suggest a 3rd vehicle narrowly missed)
2 AM: We haven’t been able to find out yet if the suspected driver was ever found; will update whenever we do get that information. We did want to thank everyone who texted, phoned, e-mailed, messaged, and shared photos.
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