West Seattle, Washington
09 Monday
A new way to see undersea! “Diver Laura” James is shooting with 360-degree video equipment and shares two clips with us. You can benefit from the full-surround perspective by putting your cursor in the video and clicking/dragging it around, to look up, down, all around. Above, she was off Constellation Park with jellyfish; below – in the Alki Pipeline shallows with perch:
If you have any trouble with fully exploring the clips via the embedded versions above, their YouTube pages are here (jellyfish) and here (perch).
(WSB file photo)
Are you ready? Monday morning, the 22nd annual West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade walks and rolls through North Admiral. New coordinator Emily Williams shares the route, reminders, and schedule for how it’ll all unfold. First, please don’t park along the parade route, shown below – from 44th and Sunset, it goes southwest on Sunset to SW Atlantic, east on Atlantic to SW Ferry and back north to Hamilton Viewpoint Park:
If you’re not planning to participate or watch, do note that the parade crosses California SW at Atlantic, and SPD will stop traffic while that happens. Metro Route 128 will be re-routed, too.
Here’s the schedule:
10 am at 44th and Sunset, before the parade gets going, gather to hear from the West Seattle Hi-Yu Junior Court and scheduled guest speakers Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine, plus 12-year-old Aine Molloy singing the national anthem.
Then – parade time! All non-motorized, except for the SPD escorts at the start and finish, plus a Seattle Fire engine and the “neighborhood blue truck” at the start. Decorate your scooter, wagon, stroller, bike, hat, etc.!
10:50 am: Hamilton Viewpoint Park games – highlighted by the gunny-sack races – start after the parade arrives. SPD and SFD vehicles usually stay so you can get a closer look. This is also where to drop off your diaper donations for the WestSide Baby drive! And bring a few $ for concessions sold by the Admiral Neighborhood Association. Speaking of $ – the crowdfunding campaign to cover parade costs needs just a bit more to make the goal. Help if you can! And – we’ll see you in Admiral on Monday!
P.S. For even more of what’s happening in West Seattle on the 4th, see our guide.
This morning’s “West Seattle Friday” preview was shorter than usual, because of everything else going on. Here are three more things:
FOOD TRUCK AT LINCOLN PARK: John e-mailed to share the news that “a new food truck has a permit to sell on the beach walk in Lincoln Park Thursdays-Sundays”:
“Lil J’s Super Dawgs is selling Bavarian Meats fresh-grilled dogs, brats, and sausages, with a variety of toppings, along with fries, nachos, and chili. First time food available in Lincoln Park, cold beverages too!” Hours are 3-7 pm Thursdays-Fridays, 11 am-7 pm Saturdays-Sundays. (See the menu here.)
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BEER JUNCTION! The 6th-anniversary celebration at The Beer Junction (4511 California SW) is under way. Proprietor Morgan Herzog tells WSB, “A local Seattle brewery – Cloudburst Brewing – brewed our 6th Anniversary beer called Brontosaurus Supernova IPA, which will be released today. We also have lots of rare beers on tap.” More info here.
MUSIC STUDENTS AT SKYLARK: Thanks to Mia for the heads-up that West Side Music Academy‘s summer campers are performing at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), free, 5-8 tonight. She’s been coaching them on drums and sent this photo:
Skylark has a comprehensive event calendar on its website – peek at all of July by going here.
(WSB photo, Memorial Day 2016)
Decorating the West Seattle Junction for Independence Day is dependent on volunteers … can you spare a little time to help place and/or remove the flags? Neighborhood volunteer Tom Bucy is leading the effort on Monday but needs helpers – for an hour in the morning and/or an hour in the afternoon. You’ll meet on the northeastern corner of California/Alaska (by Cupcake Royale) – 9 am, to bring flags up from the basement storage under CR and install them; 5 pm, to take them down and return them to storage. If you can help, please call Tom at 206-351-1048 to let him know.
Fireworks danger was the main topic of the Harborview Medical Center media briefing we attended after finding out it would include an update about this morning’s deadly incident by the bridge. So here are the fireworks-related toplines, from hospital, SPD, and SFD officials. Assistant Chief Charles Cordova, newly promoted and appointed Seattle Fire Marshal, spoke for SFD. Some numbers:
*Statewide, 481 fireworks-related injuries and/or fires reported last year, 11 percent more than 2014
*At Harborview, 54 people were treated for fireworks injuries last year, ranging from “finger amputations to fractures to burns to faces and hands,” says SFD, with 11 so far this year
*If there’s a fireworks-related fire or injury on the 4th, *do* call 911. For other fireworks violations, you’re asked to call 206-625-5011
SPD’s advisory is here; SFD’s advisory is here. And as we mentioned earlier this week, it’s not just about safety … it’s about the mess, the damage, and the noise, especially its effect on pets.
P.S. Nationally, fireworks were blamed for at least 11 deaths last year.
9:35 AM: Continuing the coverage we began just after 8 am in our morning traffic watch:
Two workers were rushed to Harborview Medical Center after a truck driver hit the lift they were in, working by the west end of the West Seattle Bridge.
One worker, described as a 40-year-old man, has life-threatening injuries, and that’s why the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad was called out.
This happened alongside the bridge, on the exit from surface Spokane Street headed up to Admiral Way, and that area is blocked off right now. This is where the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-cushion work has been under way but we haven’t yet verified with SDOT that the crew was associated with that project. We will update this report with any further information about the investigation, the victims, and the road closure, which we’re hearing may expand to block off more of the Spokane/Manning/Admiral intersection.
10:08 AM: The turn from Avalon to cut under the bridge toward Admiral is also blocked off.
11:14 AM: We are just back from the briefing at Harborview, but as commenters point out, SPD Blotter was updated in the meantime. They confirmed to us at Harborview (where SFD had a fireworks-safety briefing pre-scheduled, and we then found out SPD and SDOT would be answering questions about this incident, so we headed there) that the crew was working on the Fauntleroy Expressway project, and that the truck we had photographed on Admiral Way (above) was the one involved. SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan told us at the briefing that it’s too soon to say if this will delay the completion of the bridge work, which has been under way since May. More to come, including video of the briefing.
12:10 PM: Harborview spokesperson Susan Gregg confirms what a commenter had reported earlier – that the man who fell the furthest has died.
1:18 PM: We’re just back from checking on what’s still closed off. TCIS was clearing the Avalon/Harbor intersection while we were there, but the scene itself, westbound lower Spokane to Admiral, was still closed. We’ll check back at midafternoon.
2:52 PM: Per both scanner and Twitter, the scene has fully cleared.
UPDATE: Incident on SW Spokane St at SW Admiral Way has cleared. All lanes open.
— seattledot (@seattledot) July 1, 2016
Four highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for the rest of today/tonight:
FIND IT ON FRIDAYS: Starting today, the High Point (35th/Raymond) and South Park (8604 8th S.) branches of the Seattle Public Library are now open again on Fridays, 11 am-6 pm, and SPL is celebrating with “Find It On Fridays” – explained here.
VISCON CELLARS WINE RELEASE: Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) is releasing three new wines today and tomorrow. From Ben Viscon: “We are releasing a 2015 Viognier called “Perseverance.” Artwork on this label is from Jesse Link. Also a 2015 Rosé of Syrah, and our new 2012 Red Wine Blend.” The tasting room is open 5-9 pm tonight and 2-7 pm Saturday. (5910 California SW)
CORNER BAR: Highland Park Improvement Club‘s monthly Corner Bar is tonight, starting at 6 pm. Live music by Squirrel Butter. More info in our calendar listing. (12th SW/SW Holden)
KOTO JAZZ: Chris Kenji and Koto Jazz, live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) tonight, 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
LOTS MORE … on our complete calendar.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:57 AM: Good morning and happy Friday. No incidents in or from West Seattle, so far. Here’s what you need to know as the holiday weekend arrives:
NEXT BRIDGE CLOSURE, TUESDAY NIGHT: The Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-safety work is done for the week, and because of Monday’s holiday, the next overnight closure of the west end of the West Seattle Bridge isn’t scheduled until Tuesday night-Wednesday morning.
HOLIDAY TRANSIT CHANGES: They’re in our one-page West Seattle 4th of July guide.
MONDAY PARADE: Later this morning, we’re publishing an update on Monday’s 4th of July Kids’ Parade in North Admiral. If you’re not participating or watching, main thing to remember in terms of traffic is that the parade crosses California SW at Atlantic while en route to the endpoint at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, and police stop traffic at that point. Metro Route 128 will be rerouted, too.
CITYWIDE ALERTS: Here’s the SDOT roundup for the holiday weekend, including the M’s schedule at Safeco.
8:01 AM: We’re hearing a dispatch for an emergency response on or near the West Seattle Bridge – the medical response is being sent to the Nucor vicinity, possibly a construction worker falling from a lift; we haven’t yet heard what they’ve found, but if you’re seeing a response in the area, that’s what’s going on.
8:09 AM: According to the scanner, a construction worker fell at least 30 feet from a lift and is being rushed to the hospital – there is reported to be a second victim on the ramp to Admiral from lower Spokane St. We’re still not clear on how this happened nor how it is affecting traffic but are headed to the scene to try to find out.
8:13 AM: Per scanner, a truck hit the lift, causing the fall. The victim is reported to be 40 years old and has multiple injuries. We will likely break this out to a separate report shortly but for now it appears westbound lower Spokane to Admiral is where the traffic effects are. Police are investigating.
8:49 AM: SFD has clarified that the two people who were hurt and taken to the hospital are both workers. One has life-threatening injuries. The other is seriously hurt, per SFD. The major incident-investigation squad TCIS has responded so the ramp to Admiral – again, this is the ramp from surface Spokane, not from the bridge itself – will likely be closed for hours.
9:35 AM: We’re continuing our coverage of the lift/truck incident in this just-published story.
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