West Seattle, Washington
17 Sunday
Two West Seattle Crime Watch cases to report:
PUGET RIDGE ARREST: Thanks to the texter who sent the photo of police in the 18th/Juneau vicinity this afternoon. That’s where they arrested a suspect in what was described as a felony domestic-violence assault; it appears to be the same suspect sought in a similar case last Friday (WSB coverage here). We will be following up with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office tomorrow. After arresting the suspect, police were searching for a gun he might have cast aside; they subsequently reported finding a gun along a staircase in the area. The victim was checked out by SFD medics.
NORTH ADMIRAL CAR PROWL: This is a reader report from James:
This happened on the corner of Atlantic Street and California in the North Admiral District at the Park Hamilton apartments. Between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on August 25th. my car had both passenger side windows blown out and a laptop and iPod was stolen. Neither were clearly visible and the car was parked in a parking space and not on the street. Estimated damage including theft was around $2,200.
Unfortunately, parking lots and garages are no more immune to car prowlers than the street – while we haven’t received a reader report, and it’s not on the official log yet, we also heard a dispatch very early this morning for a car break-in inside a parking garage at one of the Junction’s newer buildings.
(The webcam view 24 hours ago, when part of the repaired front end was still visible above the pit’s rim)
Just in from WSDOT:
Seattle Tunnel Partners and crane crews from Mammoet have successfully lowered the 2,000-ton front end of the SR 99 tunneling machine to a platform at the bottom of the access pit.
Crews will now use the crane to fine-tune the position of the piece. When that process is complete, they will begin reconnecting the piece to the portion of the machine that remains in the ground.
The effort to return the tunneling machine’s front end to the 120-foot-deep access pit began early Monday morning. Crews started by vertically lifting the piece, which includes the machine’s cutterhead, motors and the new main bearing assembly. The crane then moved horizontally on its rails to the north. When the piece was above the pit, crews rotated it to a semi-vertical position and lowered it partway into the pit before breaking for the evening. Work resumed early Tuesday morning, with the piece reaching the bottom of the pit Tuesday afternoon.
Three pieces of the machine’s shield that remain at the surface will be lowered and reinstalled in the coming days, according to STP’s latest schedule. After the machine has been reassembled, STP and manufacturer Hitachi Zosen will conduct a series of tests will follow reassembly to ensure the machine is ready to resume mining.
STP has said it hopes to do that in November, by which time it will be almost two years since the machine overheated and was stopped – longer than the tunnel-boring itself is supposed to take.
1:45 PM: A relatively brief power outage that closed Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy terminal is over, according to WSF, but it’ll take a while for service to get back to the normal three-boat schedule – one run had to be routed to downtown because of “an emergency medical transport.” That run was with the route’s biggest vessel, M/V Issaquah, so WSF says that until Issaquah’s back, “the Evergreen State and the Tillikum will provide non-schedule service.” (The “live” online VesselWatch map shows Issaquah now at Vashon, so that might not take too long.)
2:53 PM: WSF says that 3-boat service has been restored, as of the “2:15 pm departure from Fauntleroy, 2:20 pm from Vashon, and a late 2:45 pm departure from Southworth.”
After switching residential streetlights to LEDs – which cast light in a dramatically different way from their predecessors – Seattle City Light is working on arterials, as first announced two years ago. But West Seattle arterials aren’t scheduled for the change any sooner than 2017, according to the utility’s recent update. SCL says the new lights use up to two-thirds less energy and last up to four times longer, among other attributes. Our area’s busiest city road got them almost two years ago.
(West Seattle photographer/pilot Long B. Nguyen shares that view of the smoky Cascades, from 10,000 feet)
BABY STORY TIME: 10:30 am, bring your newborn-to-1-year-old(s) to Baby Story Time at Southwest Library. (35th SW & SW Henderson)
BIKEMOBILE: 1:30-4 pm, you’ll find it right behind Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, offering sliding-scale repairs, as explained here. (6400 Sylvan Way)
DREAM DINNERS FREEZER SALE: 4:30-7 pm, stop by Dream Dinners-West Seattle (WSB sponsor) to buy pre-assembled, ready-to-freeze-or-cook dinners, sides, breads, desserts, “at budget-friendly prices,” first-come, first-served. If you miss tonight, the sale continues 10 am-12:30 pm tomorrow, but better not to wait, in case there’s an early sell-out. (4701 41st SW)
50-STATE KARATE JOURNEY: West Seattle Karate Academy hosts Gretchen Carlson, who is on a journey to visit karate schools in all 50 states. She’ll be teaching tonight and tomorrow at 5 pm. In honor of her visit, students are filling backpacks for kids served by the West Seattle Food Bank. (35th SW & SW Roxbury)
FREE TRACK WORKOUT: Meet at 6:15 pm at WSB sponsor West Seattle Runner. (2749 California SW)
PARKS SUPERINTENDENT AT DELRIDGE CC: Have you been to any of the stops on new Seattle Parks Superintendent Jesús Aguirre‘s “listening tour” yet? Tonight at 6:30 pm, Delridge Community Center is his fourth West Seattle stop (here’s our coverage of his Alki CC event last week), and last one until late October. If there’s something to fix, something to add, or something to praise at your local Parks facilities, this is the time to take it directly to the new boss. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
OLD-FASHIONED VAUDEVILLE REVUE: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, mentalist Scotty Walsh headlines a vaudeville revue that also will feature Bob White accompanying a silent comedy on the hall’s Mighty Wurlitzer. Ticket details here. (7904 35th SW)
MORE! Find it all on our calendar.
Once again this year, the city has trees in search of homes – maybe even your neighborhood. From Katie Gibbons:
Could your yard use a beautiful new tree? You’re in luck! Through the City of Seattle’s Trees for Neighborhoods project, Seattle residents can apply for up to 4 free trees for their yard or planting strip. Participants receive free trees, water bags, mulch, and planting and care instruction.
While many of this year’s small ornamentals have sold out, you can still apply for 1 of 5 gorgeous conifers that will add beauty and grace to your yard. If you have the space, consider planting one of three native conifers we’re offering this year: the grand fir, the western hemlock, or the western red cedar. For small, narrow spaces, plant the graceful Serbian spruce. Consider the deciduous bald cypress and enjoy its changing color and soft beautiful foliage. Bald cypresses are excellent urban trees because of their adaptability, even winning the Society of Municipal Arborists’ Tree of the Year award!
To learn more about this year’s species, space requirement, and to apply, go here.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:30 AM: Good morning! No road-work alerts today. One transportation-news note to start with:
TUNNEL MACHINE’S FRONT END TO CONTINUE ITS DESCENT: According to WSDOT‘s online updates, contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners spent most of Monday slowly lifting and rotating the repaired front end of the Highway 99 tunneling machine, then starting the process of lowering it into the access pit. That process will continue this morning.
There’s also an early transit alert:
Transit Alert – Route 116 northbound to Seattle due to leave the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal at 6:40 AM has been canceled.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) August 25, 2015
6:36 AM: Now, a Water Taxi alert – The county says the 6:15 am departure was missed because the Spirit of Kingston is having “mechanical issues,” so backup boat Melissa Ann is taking over the West Seattle-Downtown route starting with the 6:45 run from Seacrest.
1:39 PM: A brief power outage that closed the Fauntleroy ferry terminal is now over, according to WSF, and operations are returning to normal.
3:37 PM: Water Taxi trouble again – a “fueling delay” has canceled the 3:45 pm trip from Pier 50; King County DOT says service will resume with the 4 pm trip from Seacrest.
Seattle Public Schools and its teachers union, the Seattle Education Association, resume contract talks tomorrow. The union has set a deadline for voting on either a contract or a strike: September 3rd, which is less than a week before the new school year starts on September 9th. The vote date was set at a union membership meeting downtown tonight. A union news release says that after 20+ negotiating sessions:
… The two sides remain far apart on:
Professional pay
Guaranteed student recess
Fair teacher evaluations
Reasonable testing
Student equity around discipline and the opportunity gap
The district’s proposal to make teachers work more for free
The district’s most-recent update was a news release on Friday, addressing some of those points. Excerpts:
Higher Standards
…The district is proposing to add thirty (30) minutes of instructional time to the school day for students, to support higher standards and state mandates. …
Equity and the Achievement Gap
Both the district and SEA care deeply about these issues. I am confident we will find common ground to address equity issues to close the achievement gap. …
Salary
…SEA has proposed a salary increase of 21% over a three year contract period. SPS has countered with a salary increase of 7% over the same three year contract period.
See the full district release here. The teachers’ current contract expires on August 31st.
(WSB photo from Friday night)
Bail is set at $500,000 for the man accused of shooting his brother in their Junction apartment just before midnight Friday night. The 19-year-old suspect appeared in court this afternoon for the first time since his arrest shortly after the shooting at the San Juan Apartments. According to probable-cause documents we obtained from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office after today’s hearing, the victim was found by a neighbor, who called for help and did what he could to try to stop the bleeding. The neighbor told police that the victim had said his brother shot him and that they were the only two people in the apartment when it happened. He also is reported to have told that to officers as well. They say the suspect, arrested when he emerged from the apartment, later confessed to shooting his brother with a .25-caliber pistol. There’s no mention of a motive nor of what preceded the shooting, but police describe the shooting as having happened “at point-blank range.” We asked Harborview Medical Center today about the victim’s condition; the hospital says no information will be released about him, as he and/or his family has requested, citing privacy laws.
(WSB file photo)
This Thursday night, you have a chance to find out all about Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in the historic Frank B. Cooper School building, courtesy of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly “After-Hours” event, which this month is open to everyone, not just Chamber members. The announcement:
Typically, After Hours is a members-and-their-guests-only event. However, in August, the event is open to non-members interested in learning more about the WSCC. Join us for drinks and appetizers and find out what all the buzz is about at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.
Founded by the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) in 2006, the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center is an inclusive, contemporary multi-arts space that incubates and inspires new arts participants, art-makers and organizations from our multicultural, intergenerational communities to engage in civic dialogue and meaningful community transformation.
Youngstown is home to groundbreaking arts education and is a hub of cultural vibrancy in Delridge. Youngstown provides office space for seven outstanding nonprofit organizations (Arts Corps, Nature Consortium, the Service Board, Reel Grrls, Totem Star, Twelfth Night Productions, and the West Seattle Tool Library) as well as a second-chance alternative public high school serving some of Seattle’s highest-need students. DNDA partners with Youngstown tenant organizations and others to drive forward collaborative programming for local youth and adults.
Rentable spaces at Youngstown include the Theater, Movement Studio, Kitchen, Recording Studio, and Classroom spaces, perfect for corporate events, weddings, performances, workshops and meetings. Rentals directly support programming. 36 affordable housing lofts for artists occupy the facility’s top three floors. The building is in the national register of historic spaces and hosts more than 30,000 participants annually.
The event is 5:30-7:30 pm on Thursday (August 27th); Youngstown is at 4408 Delridge Way SW.
Monetti Landscape Design and Construction, LLC, is reopening in West Seattle, and has rejoined the WSB sponsor team. Here’s how they’re sharing the news:
As some of you know, Mitch Monetti, owner of long-time West Seattle Blog sponsor Monetti Landscape Design and Construction, LLC, moved to Vermont two years ago with his family. While they all agree that it was an interesting adventure, Mitch says West Seattle is home and he is thrilled to be back with his family. Two cross-country moves (in two years) is enough for a lifetime, and he is ready to focus on helping West Seattleites transform their yards into outdoor living spaces.
If you dream of a water feature, a planting bed, a fire pit, a deck, a wall, a fence or a patio, we can do it all. With 15 years of experience, you have likely seen some of our projects in your neighborhood. Please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 206-938-5400 to discuss your landscaping needs.
The photo and report are from Tami:
My car was prowled last night in Seaview neighborhood in alley parking space off 46th Ave SW between Juneau and Findlay (5600 block). Nothing taken, but glove and other cubbies opened and rifled through. Reported for statistics to police.
This case isn’t on the map yet, but here are six that were reported in West Seattle over the preceding six days, going back to August 18th:
(There were none shown for the WS areas north or south of what’s on that screengrab from the SPD police-reports map.)
That’s the trailer for “Girl Rising,” an acclaimed documentary you’re invited to watch at either of two screenings planned this week at Fauntleroy UCC Church, with teenage advocate Alina Guyon hosting. The announcement:
“Girl Rising” is a groundbreaking documentary about the power of girls to change the world. The film journeys around the globe to witness the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to eliminate extreme poverty.
It tells nine short but powerful stories of nine ordinary girls from different countries. They overcome nearly impossible odds to pursue their dream of education and a better life.
Why educate girls? Educating girls can break the cycle of poverty in just one generation. In the poorest countries, education has a tremendous impact. It has been shown that for every extra year a girl is educated, she earns an additional 10-20 percent as an adult. An educated girl is less likely to be married as a child; she is healthier and less like to fall prey to human trafficking. She will value education for her children and create a better standard of living for the generations after her.
Around the world, millions of girls face barriers to education that boys do not. Removing these obstacles not only creates a better life for girls, it also creates a safer more prosperous world for all.
Alina Guyon will give a short talk about the film and her work with the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up. 100% of all profits will benefit adolescent girls through Girl Up.
DATES: August 26th (Wednesday) AND August 28th (Friday) 6:30 – 8:30 pm
WHERE: Fauntleroy UCC Church, 9140 California Ave SW
ADMISSION: $ 2.50
RESERVE TICKETS:
AUG 26th: brownpapertickets.com/event/2143134
AUG 28th: brownpapertickets.com/event/2143778RATING: PG-13 A parent is suggested to attend for girls under this age.
P.S. Movie snacks will be available.
If you’ve been southbound on the Alaskan Way Viaduct recently, you’ve probably seen the Highway 99 tunneling machine’s repaired/reassembled front end sitting by the “access pit,” as WSDOT’s contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners prepared it to be lowered into the pit for reattachment. This morning, WSDOT says STP has started the process, which could last at least 14 hours:
Contractor crews will use the super crane next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct to:
-Lift Bertha’s repaired cutterhead and cutter drive unit from its surface-level platform
-Move the entire piece horizontally over the access pit
-Rotate it into a vertical position
-Slowly lower the cutterhead and drive unit on to a platform inside the access pit
“Lifting more than 2,000 tons is a long, slow process,” notes WSDOT in its announcement. If you want to check in from time to time, here’s the link to the webcams, whose images update frequently. It’s been five months since the machine’s front end was brought out of the pit to be fixed.
That was part of the courtyard-filling crowd at this year’s last West Seattle Outdoor Movies event this past Saturday night, featuring the classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” replete with costumes, talkbacks, tossed birdseed (standing in for rice), and more. Here’s our preshow Instagram, featuring the gartered guest host:
Now that the six-show series is a wrap for 2015, movie-team leader Lora Swift from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) has shared the scoop on how fundraising efforts went each year. While the movies are free to watch, if you bring a bit of cash, you can help local nonprofits by buying concessions and/or raffle tickets, with different organizations benefiting each week. The tally:
We raised a total of $1,990 through raffle and concession sales for many of our neighborhood non-profits including: WestSide Baby, White Center and West Seattle Food Banks, West Seattle Helpline, Furry Faces Foundation, Log House Museum/ Southwest Seattle Historical Society [concessions], Rainier Roller Girls, and the Northwest Center.
The West Seattle businesses and organizations that signed on as sponsors (see the list on the right sidebar of the official WS Outdoor Movies website) also get a hearty round of thanks. (WSB was proud to be on the sponsor team again this year, too.) So now the projector and the popcorn machine and the rest of the setup goes into storage until next year – watch for the traditional call for suggestions, sponsors, and charities in spring 2016, and thanks again to everyone who spent one or more of their Saturday nights in the courtyard – from the preshow entertainment to the applause as the credits roll, the audience is a big part of the fun.
WSB’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies coverage is archived here, newest to oldest.
(Tern, with catch, photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
The air’s clearer, the week’s brand new, the month’s almost over. Here’s what’s up for your Monday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE: 1-7 pm, mobile blood drive at Our Lady of Guadalupe, walk-ups welcome. Closed 3-4 pm for break. (35th SW & SW Myrtle)
FAMILY STORY TIME: 6:30 pm – bring your kids of all ages to the High Point Library for Family Story Time. (35th SW & SW Raymond)
TWIN SHADOW, LIVE AT EASY STREET: 7 pm, free in-store concert at Easy Street Records, with Twin Shadow. All ages. (California SW & SW Alaska)
PUB QUIZ AT SHADOWLAND: Show what you know. 8 pm at Shadowland. (California SW & SW Oregon)
SEE WHAT’S UP TOMORROW, NEXT WEEK, NEXT MONTH … by browsing our full calendar.
SIDE NOTE: For those who track local government – no City Council meetings this week or next, full council or committees. They’re on hiatus until Tuesday, September 8th, the day after Labor Day.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Uneventful commute so far, both in West Seattle and on the major outbound routes.
FERRY CHANGES: From Washington State Ferries:
Starting (today), customers are advised to prepare for at least a week of longer-than-usual wait times due to a temporary vessel downsizing on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route. The temporary downsizing is needed to maintain a full, system-wide sailing schedule while the Tokitae and Elwha are out of service for necessary repairs and maintenance. The F/V/S route will be served by the 124-car Issaquah, 87-car Tillikum and 87-car Evergreen State.
4:52 PM: Thanks for the messages about some kind of bus delay downtown. Apparently a bus was stalled at 2nd and Columbia. SDOT says it’s cleared.
(Photo by Jim Clark)
That might have been the last red sunset for now. From the National Weather Service tonight (caps are theirs): “GOOD NEWS. DEVELOPING LOW LEVEL ONSHORE FLOW THIS EVENING HAS BEEN FLUSHING OUT THE SMOKE IN MUCH OF WESTERN WA WITH FRESHER PACIFIC OCEAN AIR. VISIBILITIES AND AIR QUALITY HAVE BEEN IMPROVING THIS EVENING.”
(Photo by Tiff Rivera)
Unfortunately, of course, while the air clears here, the fires rage on – almost 800,000 acres involved in “active” fires on the InciWeb list.
8:29 PM: Emergency response is heading to the 6000 block of Beach Drive for a water rescue call, but even as they’re arriving, they’re being told everything’s OK – two people in the water were picked up by a rowboat.
8:36 PM: Just talked to SFD crews who were about to leave and they verify everyone’s OK, no rescuing needed.
Most West Seattle community groups skip meetings in August, but not the one dealing directly with what many consider the peninsula’s biggest challenge. Next Thursday (August 27th), the West Seattle Transportation Coalition will hear from SDOT and SPD about the city’s new plan for traffic-incident management, detailed in a downtown briefing on August 3rd (WSB coverage here) and a City Council committee briefing August 13th (WSB coverage here). Also on the WSTC agenda, reps from the advocacy group Seattle Subway. The meeting’s at 6:30 pm Thursday at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way SW).
(WSB video of all runners and walkers as they left from the starting line)
Yes, it was a race, but the biggest winners in today’s Alki Beach 5K are the cancer patients helped by the organization that presents and benefits from the annual run/walk, Northwest Hope and Healing, whose unique work supporting breast-cancer patients is explained here. This year, 1,040 people were signed up by race time, according to NWHH executive director Shari Sewell.
At right, above, with Shari is Kristi Stone, who was today’s official race-starter. She’s undergoing breast-cancer treatment after being diagnosed late last year. Shari told us that in addition to all the usual fundraising from race participants, one person walked up with a check for $5,000!
(Updated) Full results are here. Below, the top runners, each shown in the photo under her/his name.
TOP THREE FEMALE FINISHERS
1. Kelly Lakeman, 30, 19:25:
2. Margaret Lang, 45, 21:18:
3. Emily Ehlers, 30, 21:20:
TOP THREE MALE FINISHERS
1. Kelly Spady, 28, 16:23:
(Our archives show Spady was also first finisher at the Alki Beach 5K in 2012.)
2. Travis Gradjian, 17, 16:47:
3. Michael Drogalis, 24, 17:02:
Other Alki Beach 5K sights – first, Team Saxby:
As always, it was an all-ages event:
This might just have been the tiniest participant:
Along with runners, walkers, pledgers, donors, and volunteers, major contributors to the Alki Beach 5K’s success include its sponsors – including West Seattle Runner (also a WSB sponsor), whose Lori McConnell and Tim McConnell were there as always:
See the full sponsor team here (it features two other WSB sponsors, Fauntleroy Chiropractic and Salty’s on Alki). This is one of three major fundraisers Northwest Hope and Healing holds annually, along with the “Style” fashion show in the spring, and Women Winemakers of the Pacific Northwest in the fall, coming up November 18th in Georgetown – go here to find out more. You can also donate to the organization any time by going here.
Big day for running! Just in from California – that photo and an update on young half-marathoner Miles Trius:
Miles Trius of West Seattle runs with dad again – at Santa Rosa (CA) 1/2 marathon this morning. He ran at 2:10:37. Running with his dad, Navy Chief Ernesto Trius, has become bonding time for father and son. Miles will start 5th grade at Our Lady of Guadalupe School.
Last December, as shown here, they ran the Seattle Marathon half.
Thanks to West Seattle Bee Garden founder Lauren Englund for sharing photos from one of this weekend’s big events – the first Puget Sound Beekeepers Association Kids’ Day at the WSBG.
Lauren reports, “It was jam-packed with learning and fun – kids were engaged in all of the activities (bee anatomy game, flower/pollination worksheets, pollination simulation, waggle dance, scavenger hunt, and especially the bee demonstration).”
She adds, “Good times and great people – I was very impressed by everyone’s eagerness to learn. Many thanks to the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association!” You can visit the Bee Garden any time on the north side of High Point Commons Park at 31st and Graham.
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