West Seattle scene: WSHS Wildcat Summer Basketball Camp wraps
Thanks to West Seattle High School boys’ basketball head coach Keffrey Fazio for the photo – today, he reports, was the final day of this year’s Wildcat Summer Basketball Camp, hosted by his program. And it was a big camp – “70 kids, grades 4th – 9th.” What’s next for WSHS basketball after this? we asked; Coach Fazio says the annual WSHS Alumni basketball game is Saturday at 1 pm.
FOLLOWUP: Councilmember Lisa Herbold on Mayor Murray’s plan to cut off neighborhood-district councils
(WSB photo: Councilmember Herbold on May 12th community-group-reps tour she coordinated for Myers Way Parcels)
One day after Mayor Ed Murray announced that he plans to cut city support for neighborhood-district councils and come up with a different way of “engaging” neighborhoods, reaction continues to churn. As one of our followups, we asked our area’s City Councilmember Lisa Herbold for comment. Her reply ties into the other big mayoral announcement made two hours later – that the city will keep the Myers Way Parcels – which also cut short what was expected to be a longer process of discussion and decisionmaking.
The fact that this announcement came on the same day as the Myers Way announcement was interesting. The Myers Way decision is evidence that when Councilmembers, geographically-based neighborhood groups, and citywide issue-based groups all work collaboratively and effectively, we can potentially address items on our shared agenda. We have about 70 Boards and Commissions that are not geographically-based and are either subject matter based or demographically based – they are all appointments made by the Mayor and Council. We have 13 geographically-based, self-selected councils. Surely we have room for both.
One person writing to the Council said, when you look around your holiday dinner table and realize that you have the same people at the table every year, you don’t disinvite them, you invite more people. I like that analogy. The 2009 audit (attached) had numerous recommendations that had they been implemented any time up to now would have us in a very different conversation. I don’t believe that there is anything inherently undemocratic in a District Council system and that – in addition to identifying and implementing brand new methods of engagement – the improvements to our current system in diversity and representation could have instead been addressed by:
a. creating new expectations/metrics for outreach, membership, and involvement
b. city support to District Councils so that they can meet these new articulated expectations
c. consequences for failure to meet these expectations
Whether City Councilmembers plan to challenge the mayor’s plan remains to be seen; it will include legislation for them to consider, regarding formally cutting off city support for district councils (which are NOT the same as City Council districts, as explained in our story from yesterday, nor are they neighborhood-level community councils). The Myers Way Parcels work mentioned by Councilmember Herbold had included groups such as the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, White Center Community Development Association, Highland Park Action Committee, Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, Seattle Green Spaces Coalition, TreePAC, and others.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash on westbound Admiral east of California
Thanks to the texter who sent those photos of cars involved in a crash a short time ago on westbound SW Admiral Way just east of California SW. No major injuries reported – Seattle Fire has a one-engine response.
No other info but we are mentioning because with commute time approaching, might be backups here until the wrecked vehicles are cleared.
CONGRATULATIONS! 2 titles for teen bowler Evan Smith
Congratulations to West Seattle’s Evan Smith for winning two titles on the Junior Bowlers Tour! The photos and report are from proud mom Bri’Anna Smith:
Evan Smith, an incoming 9th grader at WSHS, won the Junior Bowlers Tour (JBT) Touring Players Championship last weekend in Las Vegas! She bowled various JBT events throughout the Pacific NW to qualify for the end of season event in Nevada.
Her 6th-place finish for the season awarded her the title of 2015-2016 Pacific NW Conference Handicap Division Rookie of the Year. No other bowler has ever won Rookie of the Year and the Touring Players Championship in the same year! She bowled 10 games on Saturday and finished the day in 8th place. The top 60% advance to Sunday. On Sunday, the tournament cuts to the top 10 bowlers after 5 more games. She ended in 4th place after that cut. The top 10 bowlers then bowl 8 games of match play and again cut to the top 4 for step ladder finals.
Evan went into the finals in 2nd place. She bowled two more games to win the whole tournament! She bowled a total of 25 games and earned a total of $2,155 in scholarship money over the course of the weekend. It was back to back wins for female bowlers, the Pacific NW, AND West Seattle Bowl! (Zoe Mahn, 2016 Vashon Island High School graduate, won the event last year.) The championship match will be available for viewing soon on YouTube at JBT900.
A BIG thank you to Coach Tom Favre at West Seattle Bowl for all of his time and support! We are proud of Evan and all of the hard work she puts into practice and picking up spares year-round! She has had a fantastic year earning scholarship money doing what she loves! To learn more about JBT, please visit: www.bowljbt.com.
YOU CAN HELP: Make ‘Lunches with Love’ on Saturday, and/or donate ingredients now
Another round of “Lunches with Love” is happening in West Seattle this Saturday. We’ve told you about this volunteer community effort before – most recently, last fall. This announcement, along with the photo, is from Karen Crane of West Seattle Art Nest:
Are you looking for a way to give back to your community, to a stranger, or to commit a random act of kindness? Please join us this Saturday from 10-12 at West Seattle Art Nest (4138 California Ave SW). Community members will gather, prepare sack lunches for our homeless neighbors, and then those who can, will set out around the sound to make deliveries.
If you are not able to make the event but still want to help, we need the following items: brown paper bags, ziplock sandwich bags, peanut butter, jelly, oranges,bananas and soft snack foods. Donations can be dropped at West Seattle Art Nest anytime! Thank you!
VIDEO: 34th District Democrats endorse ST3, engage in Q&A with Mayor Murray
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
At a full-house meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy last night, the 34th District Democrats had an hour of Q&A with the mayor, plus a major endorsement:
34TH ENDORSES ST3: The group voted to endorse the Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, shortly after the chair of the Sound Transit board, County Executive Dow Constantine, got up and told the 34th DDs that he never thought he’d be standing before the group and able to say, “Light rail is coming to West Seattle.” He gave a short, raucous speech – including his note as a UW alum that light rail would mean a ride to Husky Stadium – urging the group to give it their support. Constantine is scheduled to talk about ST3 at this afternoon’s lunch meeting of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and we’ll include his 34th DDs speech in that report.
MAYOR MURRAY: We recorded his entire appearance on video:
He started by saying he wants to keep his speech short, so he can answer more questions. But first – “the events of last week – in Minnesota, in Louisiana, in Dallas. … This is a pivotal moment in our history as a country. The unfinished business of racism is once again at the forefront of our discussion, and it’s a good thing if we are able to engage in that discussion.” He recapped local communities with whom he spoke in the past week – both “communities of color” and the “police community,” both experiencing pain and fear. He talked about his plans to change the Office of Police Accountability and auditor positions, which recently made citywide headlines. But, he warned, “We did not get here overnight and we are not going to get out of this overnight.” And he warned that this all must be dealt with in the context of the other issues with which police deal, including domestic violence and sexual assault. And the fact “there are bad police officers, the same way there are bad politicians.”
Next, he acknowledges “the growing homelessness crisis in this country,” and says other cities are dealing with it too, not just Seattle.
Read More
Save Puget Sound & save money: Free workshop for you and your car!
Just got word from Seattle Public Utilities that there’s room at this FREE event one week from Saturday at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor):
Oil and other automotive fluid leaks reduce the life of your engine and find their way to Puget Sound and other waterways where they pose a risk to wildlife and habitats. Seattle Public Utilities’ Automotive Maintenance Program wants to help you make sound choices.
Attend a FREE Auto Leaks Workshop to have your car inspected by a certified expert, learn how to find and fix leaks, and get a free Vehicle Maintenance Check Kit.
Upcoming class:
Saturday, July 23, 9 am-1 pm
To register go to www.seattle.gov/util/autoleaks
If you can’t make that date – check out a couple more (same link) later this year.
Seafair fleet: What you’ll see sailing past West Seattle
The U.S. Navy has announced which ships you’ll see sailing past West Seattle (and along the downtown waterfront) during this year’s Seafair Parade of Ships.
It’s set for Tuesday, August 2nd – the official time is 1 pm, but that’s usually the downtown sail-by, so you’ll be looking for the ships off West Seattle shores closer to noon. The U.S. Navy is sending the amphibious assault ship USS Somerset (LPD 25):
And the guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101), which was here last year (photo below is from our coverage of the 2015 Parade of Ships):
They’ll be joined by a Royal Canadian Navy ship and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel. Free ship tours are planned Wednesday-Sunday:
The ship on Pier 66 will be open for public visitation Wednesday, August 3 – Sunday, August 7 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The ship on Pier 90 will be open for public visitation Wednesday, August 3 – Thursday, August 4 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.; on Friday, August, 5 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.; and then Sunday, August 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be no ship tour at Pier 90 on Saturday, August 6. Times for tours may vary from day-to-day. More information will be released on exact times for each day as Fleet Week grows closer.
You can watch this page on the Seafair website for details (including the tour rules). On Parade of Ships day, best place to watch is near Duwamish Head, as the ships get a little closer to shore while heading toward the downtown waterfront, but they’re visible from Alki Beach too.
COUNTDOWN: West Seattle Garden Tour this Sunday
From “the small garden of a botanist who was head gardener at Seattle Center for 20 years” to “a tranquil space for authentic connection to the land” to a garden at the home of the person who created the white-rocks ALKI sign on Admiral Way – that’s what you’ll see on this Sunday’s West Seattle Garden Tour. Your ticket gets you self-guided visits to 10 gardens between 9 am and 5 pm Sunday as well as the lunchtime lecture at The Kenney featuring Steve Hootman, curator of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way. With three days to go until tour day, you’ll want to buy your ticket book in advance, at Junction True Value or West Seattle Nursery. Or you can buy online – but you’ll have to pick up the book on tour day (the BrownPaperTickets.com page explains where and when).
7 highlights for your West Seattle Thursday
(Cooper’s Hawk, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BALLOTS START ARRIVING: Watch your postal mail – ballots for the August 2nd “primary” election should start arriving today. We say “primary” because some things will be decided in this vote, including two ballot measures to be considered by Seattle voters: The Housing Levy (Seattle Prop 1) and the citizen initiative for an elevated park on the downtown waterfront. And remember that West Seattle now has a permanent ballot dropbox, on SW Raymond east of 35th SW alongside the High Point Library.
CURIOUS KIDS SCIENCE: 10 am drop-in event at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center. Today’s theme: “Amazing Animals.” Details here. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
LIGHT RAIL @ WEST SEATTLE C OF C: 11:30 am at The Kenney, this month’s West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch features County Executive and Sound Transit board chair Dow Constantine talking about West Seattle light rail and what else is in the ST3 November ballot measure for this area. Call the Chamber office ASAP to see if there’s still room, if you’re not already registered. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
DELRIDGE GROCERY FARMSTAND: 4-7 pm, fresh produce next to the Delridge P-Patch, presented farmstand-style by Delridge Grocery Co-op volunteers. (Delridge Way/Puget Boulevard)
POP-UP ART MARKET: 5-8 pm in the Luna Park business district. Since there’s no West Seattle Art Walk tonight (it was a week early for Summer Fest Eve), check this out instead! Details here. (2940 SW Avalon Way)
OPEN MICROPHONE AT C & P: 7-9 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), it’s your time to show off to the world, in a cozy coffeehouse atmosphere. (5612 California SW)
RIPPIN CHICKEN: Get funky at Parliament Tavern with Rippin Chicken live, starting at 9 pm. No cover. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Thursday updates; weekend preview
(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)
6:52 AM: Good morning! No major incidents in/from West Seattle so far. Now that it’s Thursday, it’s time to look ahead to the weekend, including:
ROAD CLOSURE FOR JUBILEE DAYS STREET FAIR: Saturday and Sunday, 17th SW between Roxbury and 100th will be closed for the White Center Jubilee Days street fair.
METRO 120 REROUTE FOR SUNDAY PARADE: The Jubilee Days parade on Sunday (July 17th) will bring a reroute of the 120 between 10 am and 1 pm, on 16th SW from SW 100th south to SW 116th – details here.
BOEING CENTENNIAL: In comments earlier this week, “Trickycoolj” mentioned signage for the East Marginal Way closure south of the South Park Bridge this weekend because of the Boeing Centennial festivities. Still haven’t found anything official, likely because the celebration is not a public event, but better forewarned than not.
8:01 AM: Still quiet. Checked the West Seattle-vicinity live video feeds from the SDOT “travelers’ information map” to verify.
8:35 AM: Trouble on the eastbound high bridge. Just in from SDOT:
(Thanks also to Matt and Mike for telling us about this crash.)
8:55 AM: Also a crash on the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge.
8:58 AM: Just checked in on the camera. West Seattle Bridge crash still blocking the center eastbound lane right after the curve. Police and incident response are there.
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