West Seattle, Washington
27 Tuesday
As of this writing, approaching midnight, the sky remains as clear as it was when JayDee took that sunset photo in Upper Alki a few hours ago, and that means that if you can get away from some of the city lights, you should have a good chance of seeing tonight’s Perseid meteor shower. Here’s the advice from Seattle Astronomy (recommended by our resident Skies Over West Seattle expert Alice Enevoldsen). And the sky will be even darker soon – if you have a view to the west right now, you can see the moon will soon set “behind” Vashon (the moonset/moonrise/sunset/sunrise times are always on the WSB West Seattle Weather page, and 12:19 am is the official time tonight). Let us know if you’re having meteor-watching success!
It’s been four months since we first told you about Seattle Public Utilities‘ plan for a large-scale flush of West Seattle water pipes, to tackle a persistent problem with “brown water.” Crews have been out many nights over those four months, methodically conducting flushing operations, and they’ll be out again tonight – which, SPU’s Ingrid Goodwin tells WSB, will be of particular note:
SPU is approaching a major milestone with the West Seattle flushing project. After tonight’s flushing, we will have completed unidirectional flushing for the entire area shaded in purple on the [above] map. This amounts to 21 miles of water pipes in West Seattle that have been flushed to remove sediment and build-up and minimize the occurrence of discolored water for many West Seattle customers.
Next week we will start reviewing and evaluating all of the data from this first phase of unidirectional flushing in West Seattle. This will help us determine our next steps and focus areas for other neighborhoods in West Seattle that might benefit from flushing.
We are also looking into utilizing some new technology that will allow us to flush certain parts of the water system discharging a minimal amount of water.
Tonight’s flushing is happening at three locations in Admiral. This May followup includes photos from a flushing site we visited late one night, to show you how the process works.
We first met Akiko Masker during last April’s West Seattle Art Walk, when we stopped by the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) gallery, where she’s the coordinator. She’s also an artist, and during tonight’s Art Walk, we photographed her at ArtsWest, during the artist reception for “Works,” her exhibition with Junko Yamamoto. Masker’s work is inspired by the Japanese “ukiyo-e” (“floating world”) art form, but a more “modern take,” as explained on the exhibition page: “I start with a material object such as a canvas. I then take a digital picture, manipulate that image, print it, and overlay it onto the surface. Finally, I incorporate industrial materials such as spray paint or string to give the object a sense of being both two and three-Âdimensional. In this way I attempt to create a world that is both alien and familiar where one exists both within and outside of us.” The exhibition continues at ArtsWest through September 4th; the gallery is open 1:30-7:30 pm Fridays and Saturdays, 11 am-3 pm Sundays, at 4711 California SW – admission is free.
Total Experience Gospel Choir is here with longtime accompanist Lou Magor, who you might know from Kenyon Hall. pic.twitter.com/prwLHbv644
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 12, 2016
If you need an energy boost, get yourself down to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (along Walnut, south of Lander) and catch the rest of tonight’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha performance by the Total Experience Gospel Choir, led by Pastor Patrinell Wright:
On piano is TEGC’s longtime accompanist Lou Magor, who you might know for his West Seattle venue Kenyon Hall!
They’re just a few songs into the show, which should go until at least 8 pm. Free – just bring a blanket or chair, lots of folks here but still lots of room. The Admiral Neighborhood Association presents the series, and we’ve co-sponsored it since the start – great place to be on a summer night.
ADDED: A few more photos. Including this one – part of the crowd that the ANA tallied at 600+!
Plus, we should mention that next Thursday (August 18th) is this year’s second-to-last concert: Duke Evers (here’s a sample).
It’s move-in week for Shiloh Henderson and her teacher colleagues at brand-new Genesee Hill Elementary, where the September 6th dedication day is now less than four weeks away. The new school housing what had been the Schmitz Park Elementary program could have more than 700 students by the time classes start on September 7th, principal Gerrit Kischner tells WSB.
History will be honored at that spot in the spacious entrance area – the bricks are from the old Genesee Hill school, demolished to make way for this one, and the squares will hold tiles from Schmitz Park. A plaque here will honor the history of what led to the new campus, which, we noticed while visiting, is full of light:
That’s the library, where books from Schmitz Park were awaiting unpacking, with additions on the way. Also in the library: Read More
3:15 PM: Thanks for the tip on a crash at 8th and Roxbury. Metro has just sent an alert that Route 128 is routed off 8th at the intersection; that generally means other traffic is too. We’re off to check.
3:36 PM: 8th/Roxbury just fully cleared as we went through a few minutes ago. Vehicles hooked to tow trucks were visible to the south on 8th but weren’t blocking.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes this afternoon:
ATTACKED ON 35TH: Mike says his mother-in-law was attacked while walking to a bus stop on 35th SW near SW 99th in Arbor Heights [map] around 9:20 this morning. Someone “violently knocked her to the ground, from behind,” he says, but she didn’t see the attacker, so there’s no description. Nothing was taken from her. He says she’s “not badly hurt, but was dazed from hitting her head on the sidewalk and she has cuts and scrapes on her face and body.”
ADDED 4 PM – MORE DETAILS: We had asked Mike a few followup questions. He says his mother-in-law, who’s 68, is at the hospital now being checked out. To be more specific about where this happened, he says she “was walking north on 35th Ave SW between SW 100th St and SW 99th St, on the sidewalk on the eastern side of the street. An assailant ran up from behind, striking my MIL from behind, knocking her to the sidewalk, then ran off. As my MIL’s glasses were knocked off her face during the fall, she did not see the assailant. There was no apparent robbery, as she still has her handbag and cellphone.”
(back to original Crime Watch roundup) DUMPED AT 32ND AND TRENTON: From David – “Just reporting recovery of possible stolen property. Today found a Franklin badminton and ping pong set including four rackets, paddles, shuttlecocks, net and instructions (Frankin item #3944, Intermediate BM Set) but without box. Looks new, old stock, never been used or used very lightly. Just left by our car. We’re at the corner of 32nd & Trenton.”
Along with the ongoing environmental review of the big proposal to “modernize” the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 in West Seattle, a parallel process is under way for possible deepening of the water nearby. One week from tonight, a public meeting is planned for information and comments about the tentative plan announced recently by the port. From the official announcement:
The Army Corps of Engineers and the Port of Seattle have agreed on a tentatively selected plan of -57’ Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) for both the East and West Waterways. This depth will allow the Port of Seattle, part of The Northwest Seaport Alliance, to handle the current and future generations of ultra-large containerships. Comments on the Draft Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment may be submitted by email, at the upcoming public meeting, or in written form.
Details of the plan are here; the meeting is at 5:30 pm Thursday, August 18th, at South Seattle College‘s Georgetown campus (6737 Corson Ave. S.) If you want to comment by e-mail – the address is SeattleHarbor@usace.army.mil and the deadline is August 31st.
(Steller’s Jay, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FAMILY STORY TIME: 10:30 am, for kids 1-5, at Southwest Library. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
LITTLE CRITTERS: 11:30 am at High Point Library – “educators from Woodland Park Zoo teach you about an animal through puppet stories, and then let you meet and touch that animal in real life!” (35th SW/SW Raymond)
DELRIDGE GROCERY CO-OP FARMSTAND: 4-7 pm, the Delridge Grocery Co-op sells fresh-picked produce next to the Delridge P-Patch. (Delridge Way/Puget Boulevard)
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: Here’s the map/venue list for tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk, 6-9 pm:
Among the venues spotlighted tonight:
ARTISTS’ RECEPTION AT ARTSWEST: During tonight’s Art Walk, 6-7:30 pm at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, you can meet artists Akiko Masker and Junko Yamamoto and see their new work. (4711 California SW)
Music tonight, too:
SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA: 6:30 pm on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, this week’s free concert features the Total Experience Gospel Choir. Presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with sponsors including WSB. Bring your own chair/blanket, and picnic dinner if so inclined! (Walnut/Lander)
And theater:
‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: 7:30 pm at ArtsWest Playhouse, the musical-theater students’ production debuts – details in our calendar listing. (4711 California SW)
YES, THERE’S MORE … for today/tonight/beyond, 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)
6:58 AM: Good morning! Not only are there no incidents in/from West Seattle so far, things are even looking better than usual around the region.
ONGOING ROAD WORK: The lower Spokane Street and Endolyne Triangle projects.
10:50 AM: Commenters are noting that the eastbound bridge is jammed. One says a C-Line bus is stopped by the 99 exit.
3:10 PM: Crash at 8th and Roxbury, a somewhat frequent trouble spot. No serious injuries reported so far.
[Wednesday night photo at Alki, by Don Brubeck]
4 big days/nights coming up, with excellent weather forecast – the West Seattle highlights include:
THURSDAY – SUMMER CONCERTS @ HIAWATHA: 6:30 pm Thursday on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, the mighty sound of the Total Experience Gospel Choir will fill the park. Free, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with sponsors including WSB. (Walnut/Lander)
THURSDAY – WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: 6-9 pm at venues all around West Seattle – listed and mapped here.
FRIDAY – MUSIC AT THE MOUNT: 6 pm at Providence Mount St. Vincent, The Haggis Brothers, live and free, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at 5:30 pm. (4831 35th SW)
FRIDAY – OUTDOOR MOVIE @ DELRIDGE CC: “The Peanuts Movie” screens in Delridge Community Center Park on Delridge Day eve, free, 8:30 pm. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
SATURDAY – DELRIDGE CC FUNDRAISING RUN: “Race for Recreation” is set for 10 am at Delridge Playfield, a perfect pre-funk to Delridge Day. $25 to enter. (4458 Delridge Way SW)
SATURDAY – DELRIDGE DAY: 11 am-3 pm with two stages – music, cultural performances, vendors, community organizations, food, law-enforcement demonstrations (including K-9s and horses), more, in the park by Delridge CC, and skating competition at Delridge Skatepark. Here’s our most recent preview with schedule updates. The festival is presented by VIEWS, with sponsors including WSB – see you there! (Delridge/Genesee)
SATURDAY – LAST OUTDOOR MOVIE @ HOTWIRE COURTYARD: This is the grand finale at the original home of West Seattle Outdoor Movies, which as of August 20th, and the 2017 season, is moving to the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) Festival Street. At dusk – 9 pm-ish – it’s “The Lego Movie.” Free; bring $ for nonprofit-benefiting raffles and concessions. (4410 California SW)
SATURDAY & SUNDAY NIGHTS – ‘BLOOD WEDDING’ @ ROXHILL PARK: As previewed earlier this week, a first-of-its-kind drama/dance/music performance at 6 pm at Roxhill Park. (28th/Barton)
This is not AT ALL a comprehensive list of what’s going on – just a few highlights as we head into summer’s last few weekends – see our calendar for more.
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