West Seattle, Washington
30 Saturday
(Tonight’s sunset, photographed by Lynn Hall)
Beautiful end to a recordbreaking day – with a high temperature of 89 degrees, 12 degrees over the previous record high, 77 (in 1962), and 30 degrees above the usual high for this date, 59. Tomorrow’s forecast is for another recordbreaking day going into the 80s. If you want to go swimming, your only options this time of year are indoors – pools at fitness facilities including the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor), or, if you aren’t a member someplace with a pool, city-run Southwest Pool has public swim sessions – see the schedule here.
Without fanfare, the city’s wading-pool and spraypark schedule for this year has been made publicly available – we found it via web search; see it here. Our area’s lone spraypark, Highland Park, opens May 28th. The first of West Seattle’s four wading pools to open, Lincoln Park, will start up on June 25th, followed by Delridge on June 27th, and E.C. Hughes and Hiawatha on June 29th. Once again this year, Lincoln Park is the only seven-day-a-week wading pool in West Seattle.
The last day of spraypark and wading-pool season will be September 5th – with some closing much earlier – and one Seattle resident thinks that’s too early. Sacha Davis has started a change.org petition asking the city to extend spraypark season and asked if we would mention it. You can read Sacha’s rationale, and sign the petition if you’re interested, by going here.
P.S. Summer outdoor-swimming season, of course, also includes Colman Pool on the Lincoln Park shore. Its schedule is out too; the historic 75th-anniversary season starts May 28th.
Congratulations to the West Seattle High School track team for success at a big meet over the weekend. Here’s the report from WSHS track and field head coach Will Harrison:
The most prestigious high-school track meet in the state was held over the weekend, and West Seattle HS Track put their program on the map. The Pasco Invitational, hosted by Pasco High School on Saturday, April 16th, included 105 teams and over 1500 athletes. West Seattle had two individual winners at the event – Lani Taylor secured a victory in the 400m Dash in 56.11 seconds, and Chaaka Trahan won the Long Jump with a leap of 22 feet, 9.75 inches. Those marks put both athletes in the No. 1 spot in the current 3A state rankings. Taylor also placed 5th in the 200m Dash, and Trahan placed 6th in the 110m Hurdles and 9th in the 300m Hurdles. The Wildcats also had school record performances in the Boys’ High Jump (Nuradine Abdi at 6’2”) and Girls’ Triple Jump (Natalie Fuller, 35’9”). Other notable performances included Lexi Ioane taking 9th in the Shot Put and Cass Elliott placed 10th in the 300 Hurdles.
(See the full results here.) Your next chance to see the WSHS track-and-field athletes close to home is April 28th, at Southwest Athletic Complex, vs. Sealth and Lakeside.
Tonight we know the locations where King County Elections is proposing to add more than three dozen fixed ballot dropboxes, including West Seattle (where the last one was removed more than five years ago), White Center, and South Park. Each would get one dropbox before primary voting starts in mid-July, if this plan is approved. Read the full news release here.
Toplines for our area:
In West Seattle, the location would be High Point Library (35th/Raymond); in White Center, it would be the White Center Library (the address listed in the county report is for the current one on 16th, though the new one on SW 107th is scheduled to open soon, so we’ll be doublechecking on that tomorrow). The South Park Library is proposed for a dropbox by the November general election. A 132-page report including how and why these locations (and the others around the county) were chosen – and why some other locations were not chosen – can be seen here.
The county says it will spend $239,695 to have the boxes made, wrapped, and installed. Assuming approval is received from the King County Council and all property owners, this would put 91.5% of the county’s population within three miles of a dropbox, the county says. A public hearing is planned before the County Council’s Government Accountability and Oversight Committee at 9:30 am Tuesday, April 26th, in the council chambers downtown.
(Texted photo)
5:35 PM: Thanks for the tips. We are en route to Alki and Bonair to check out a rescue response, reportedly involving jet skiers.
5:52 PM UPDATE: Two people on a jet ski went into the water. One was in a state of reduced consciousness when rescued, we were told by emergency personnel at the scene; both are being taken to Harborview.
As high-tech as our lives have become, there are many reasons to celebrate pencil and paper – and DRAWTASTIC, coming up later this month in West Seattle, is a big way to do just that. Organizer Tony White has joined the WSB sponsor team to get the word out – here’s his announcement:
Pencil April 30th into your diary for Seattle’s most ‘drawsome’ festival of Drawing & Animation, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle!
DRAWTASTIC is the brainchild of British award-winning animator, author and educator, Tony White. With the unceasing rush to modern technology in this digital world it is easy to devalue the most wonderful hardware we have ~ the humble pencil!
Although the creative world fully embraces every technological resource available to it these days, it is almost certain that every idea either begins with pencil sketch, or as a result of years of drawing practice, or even through a full-time application of this most wonderful piece of hardware ~ which even comes with its own rubber ‘undo’ button at the other end!
White therefore is seeking to put the pencil back on its pedestal where it belongs. DRAWTASTIC is a ‘Pencil-fest’ that embraces all the artistic worlds that the pencil touches. Speakers include a top Simpsons animator from LA, an Australian living in New York who has made his own drawn movie and who is flying in to present it for its Seattle premiere, a caricaturist who is acknowledged as the very best the industry offers, and a respected game industry professional who acknowledges like everyone else how the pencil is so fundamentally important to their work.
Additional DRAWTASTIC events include the screening of 62 animated shorts from around the world ~ all vying for a prestigious ‘Golden Pencil Award’ ~ together with a vendor hall where indie work is shown and sold. Other drawing-based events will take place, including a ‘how to caricature’ session and ‘how to draw an animated flipbook.’ White himself will reflect the huge interest in drawing that he’s found through his online ‘Animator’s Sketchclub’ ~ currently possessing over 6,000 worldwide members ~ by hosting his own drawing for animation ‘Happy Hour.’
Entry is FREE to the festival, although there is a small charge for the speaker presentations to cover basic costs. The event runs from 11:30 am until 5 pm on Saturday, April 30th, with a ‘Meet ‘n Greet’ get-together afterward ~ where speakers, vendors and visitors can all meet and chat (presumably about the pencil) in a friendly and relaxed manner. White hopes that the event will once and for all prove the maxim that… ‘Pencils are Drawsome’!
We thank Tony White and DRAWTASTIC for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
For five months – since a windstorm last fall – the iconic cow atop John’s Corner Deli at 35th/Webster has been more like a side of beef. Until today! Thanks to Patricia for sending the photo, which came in before we could follow up a tip from West Seattle Autoworks (WSB sponsor) across the street. Patricia declares the sight, “Udderly marvelous!”
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this afternoon:
WARNING FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES: Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) proprietor Dave McCoy says two thieves hit his store on Saturday, “worked as a team, distracted our one employee as the other hid and stashed in his fanny pack some high end merchandise.” – three Hardy fly reels, two Featherweight 4/5s and a Marquis 2. The only description is 20-40 years-old, dark complexions, no surveillance photo at this point; we’ll add any additional descriptive information we get.
STOLEN SUBARU: Melinda reports a stolen car in the North Shorewood area:
I would like to report our 2005 Silver-Gray Subaru Outback, 920ZID, stolen last night from the 112th and 26th Ave SW area (a few blocks south of Westwood Village). Last seen around 11:00 pm in our driveway in front of the house. Inside the car was assorted baseball gear belonging to our son and associated with West Seattle Baseball Club and Baden baseball club.
And from Sunrise Heights, Jay reports:
One of my neighbors had a TORO brand mower stolen off the top of their van between 5:00 am and 6:00 am this morning. The van was parked on 35th in front of Trinity Church, and the mower was well-secured with straps that were cut. It’s believed that the person(s) that took it headed north on 35th, but we have no information to go on at this time.
Again, as we’ve been mentioning, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council’s next meeting is tomorrow (Tuesday, April 19th) night, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct (Webster/Delridge) – bring neighborhood crime concerns and questions for local police. There also will be a discussion of parking enforcement – so if you have questions/concerns about that, bring them too.
(WSB photo: From left, Metro’s Victor Obeso, KC Marine Division’s Paul Brodeur, WSDOT’s David Sowers, SDOT’s Jon Layzer)
11:55 AM: We’ve just left the downtown waterfront, where media reps were invited to an update and Q&A with city, county (Metro and Water Taxi), and state transportation reps on the first weekday since the big announcement that the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunneling-related closure will start April 29th. We recorded it all on video that we’ll add here when uploaded (12:54 pm update – here it is):
(Also), here are a few toplines beyond what we and others already have reported:
*Extra Water Taxi parking: The biggest added temporary lot off Harbor Avenue will be Pier 2, with its entry across from the 7-11 in the 2400 block of Harbor and room for 200+ cars. It will be open for vehicle entry/exit 5:45 am-9:15 am weekday mornings and 4 pm-7:15 pm afternoon/evenings – it’s a secured lot so at midday, it’ll be closed and you won’t be able to get to your vehicle, so it’s not a good choice unless you are headed out for a full workday. It’s also expected that 120 cars will be able to park along Harbor south of Seacrest, on the water side, because of temporary overnight parking restrictions. And about 40 spaces will be available on the SW Bronson Way street end south of Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor).
*Larger Water Taxi shuttles: In addition to a special shuttle that will run continuously during those hours between the Pier 2 parking lot and Seacrest, the WT shuttle buses on routes 773 and 775 will be upsized to 39-passenger buses.
*Speaking of Water Taxi shuttles: A commenter had asked why the Morgan Junction leg of the route is only at midday. The King County Marine Division says that’s the only time of day they can run it because of the gap between Water Taxi runs from Seacrest.
*Special Viaduct-closure-related brochure with West Seattle Water Taxi-specific info: See it here.
*In case more buses are needed: Metro will have 11 more buses with 22 scheduled operator shifts, and a potential of 135 added hours, depending on how things go.
*UberHop: This new vanpool-type alternative will have a pickup/dropoff point at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, the county says.
*The biggest message: Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead. And if you possibly can shift out of commuting during the usual peak hours – via a temporary schedule change, working from home, whatever – please do. And even if the first day doesn’t seem so bad (it won’t, because people really will try something different), don’t just go back to your old ways on day 2 or day 3. They’re continuing to promote 99closure.org as the multi-agency with info you need to plan, now and when the closure’s under way.
We also asked the SDOT rep why, now that the date is set for this, they aren’t considering delaying the Fauntleroy Expressway-related bridge and lane closures until the Viaduct closure is over. SDOT’s rep first said they didn’t think there would be a problem because the bridge closures are at night only. We noted that the surface Spokane St. lane closures UNDER the west end of the bridge include some daytime work and he said he would “take that back” (to HQ) for consideration.
12:54 PM: Video of the briefing/Q&A, unedited, is now added toward the start of this story. As the closure approaches, we’ll continue with previews and updates, and if you have questions, we’ll do our best to get and publish the answers.
(Local photographer Patrick McCaffrey sent us this – taken from the Kingston ferry, but you have to love the Mount Rainier view)
Good morning! Calendar highlights for this almost-summery Monday:
TEENY TUNES: New music classes for infants/parents and toddlers/parents start this morning, 10:30 and 11:30 respectively, at Delridge Community Center – see our calendar page for both listings. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
AFTERNOON BOOK GROUP: 2 pm at Southwest Library, all welcome. “A Visit from the Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan is this month’s book. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
HIGHLAND PARK PLAYGROUND & HP ELEMENTARY PTA: 2 meetings in one at the school tonight, of interest to the entire HP community: “Not only is this the first day back to school after Spring Break, but it is also the monthly PTA Meeting. Come out to hear about upcoming events, including the city’s plans for Highland Park Playfield, HPE’s annual Earth Day Clean up, updates on the HPE playground project, and more! City Park presentation at 5:30 followed by PTA meeting at 6:00. Snacks will be provided. Both Spanish and Vietnamese interpreters will be available. All are welcome!” (1012 SW Trenton)
TINKERLAB: 6 pm drop-in science/tech/engineering/math (STEM) fun for all ages at Delridge Library – details in our listing. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
DENNY PTSA: 7 pm tonight in the Denny International Middle School library, all are welcome at the PTSA meeting, with topics including looking ahead to summer learning opportunities, and volunteering for the school’s first-ever walk-a-thon. (2601 SW Kenyon)
SPRING COCKTAIL CLASS: 7 pm tonight at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) – call ASAP to see if there’s a spot! (1936 Harbor SW)
PUB QUIZ: Play tonight at Shadowland in The Junction, 8 pm. (California SW/SW Oregon)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:03 AM: Welcome to what’s expected to be a sunny, very warm Monday. Spring break’s over and everybody’s back in school, so be watchful for everything from beacons to bicycles to buses.
Two big reminders of what’s ahead:
11 DAYS TO VIADUCT CLOSURE – ANY QUESTIONS? In case you missed it, last Friday brought the two-week warning of the tunneling-related Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. Before the morning commute on Friday, April 29th, Highway 99 will be shut down from the Battery Street Tunnel to the West Seattle Bridge so that the tunneling machine can go beneath The Viaduct; that’s expected to take about two weeks if all goes well. As we’ve been reporting for months, local transit/transportation agencies have made all kinds of plans to try to help you get through it. Do you have any questions? We’re going to a media briefing/Q&A event later this morning with WSDOT, SDOT, Metro, and Water Taxi reps and would be happy to take yours along.
9 DAYS TO BRIDGE CLOSURES AND MORE: Also announced Friday, specific dates and times for bridge and lane closures related to the Fauntleroy Expressway bearing-pad re-replacement project. The west end of the bridge will be closed overnight many nights starting April 27th. Some lane closures are planned for Spokane St. *under the high bridge*, too. Here are all the details.
6:46 AM: Alert from Metro:
Metro Transit Alert – Route 50 is currently rerouted off of S Lander St between 1st Av S and SODO Busway, due to a blockage.
6:57 AM: And now Metro says it’s back to normal.
8:46 AM: Two more reminders:
30TH/YANCY CLOSED ON THE WEST SIDE OF AVALON … as the pedestrian-safety project at that multi-point intersection continues; the work switched from east to west last Thursday.
OVERNIGHT 99 CLOSURE NORTH OF DOWNTOWN: Tonight through Thursday night, the nightly Highway 99 closure north of downtown, 10 pm to 5 am, will be for all lanes of SB 99 between the Aurora Bridge and Thomas Street – full details here.
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