West Seattle, Washington
19 Tuesday
Back in August, we published an invitation for you to get involved with Gatewood Elementary‘s quest for a “green schoolyard.” It’s moving ahead, despite a recent setback, and your involvement is still heartily welcomed, says Sandy Lennon:
We’ve posted the final permaculture design proposal for a Gatewood learning garden/outdoor classroom (here). Take a look! We are currently soliciting feedback on the design from our school staff, community, and the school district.
· If you’re interested in the Gatewood project, or generally interested in green schoolyards, learning gardens, or permaculture in schools, you can sign up to follow our conversation at: gatewoodgreenschoolyard.org
· We learned recently that we were unfortunately not awarded a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant for green playground design work in this round of funding. We will be meeting this week on Thursday, November 3, 5:00-6:30 pm in the school library, to de-brief on City feedback, review the 2006 Gatewood conceptual master plan, discuss our current vision and possible staging of work, and determine next steps for both the playground and garden. Our principal, PTA leadership, and a representative from the school district will be participating. Gatewood families and interested neighbors are encouraged to join us.
Gatewood Elementary is at 4320 SW Myrtle.
(2012 Lowman Beach aerial photo – pre-Murray CSO Project – by Long Bach Nguyen)
If you missed it in our coverage of the latest Morgan Community Association meeting: Seattle Parks has a short survey for Lowman Beach Park fans, and it’s about to close. The questions are about how, and how often, you use the park – or, how often you did before all the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Project work. Results will help them determine the fate of Lowman Beach’s tennis court, among other things, when final decisions are made about the park’s compromised seawall. Find the survey here.
Today we welcome a new WSB sponsor, Emmick Family Funeral Services. Here’s what they would like you to know about what their business can do for you:
(Craig Emmick, Michael Emmick, Gayle Emmick)
Emmick Family Funeral Services is a fully licensed provider, specializing in cremation and burial services. Personalized service is what sets them apart – your loved one never leaves their care, as there is no part of the process that’s outsourced. They can help with any request, whether a full formal funeral or a small service – you can trust them to give their full attention to every detail of every burial or cremation.
Since Emmick Family Funeral Services is a small, local, family-owned company, their costs are lower, and they invite you to contact them for funeral planning. In our state, funeral plans and services are transferrable, so even if your loved one passes away in another part of the state, they can work with you here to take care of all the arrangements.
The Emmicks have deep West Seattle ties. Craig and Gayle, who grew up in Burien, have raised their kids here. Craig Emmick has been in this business for more than 30 years and is past president of the King County Funeral Directors Association. Michael worked for Howden-Kennedy before he and his dad opened Emmick Family Funeral Services. Craig and Michael are members of the West Seattle Lions Club and volunteers for the Southwest Seattle Historical Society; Emmick Family Funeral Services also belongs to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. They know West Seattle well and believe they are positioned to provide the best care when the time comes for it.
Emmick Family Funeral Services is at 3243 California SW, 206-935-2207, and online at emmickfunerals.com.
We thank Emmick Family Funeral Services 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.
Big police response this morning to a house northeast of The Junction where a burglar broke in while someone was home. It happened near 38th and Genesee. A quick 911 call led to an extensive search, including a K-9 team, but so far, they haven’t found the burglar. The partial description we heard via scanner was that it was a white man believed to be in his mid-30s, about 5-8, unkempt brown hair, light clothing, possibly barefoot when he fled. No harm to the person or people inside the house, police told us.
(Hummingbird colors with a backdrop of fall colors in Fauntlee Hills – photo by Jamie Kinney)
Happy Wednesday! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BABY STORY TIME: 11:30-noon at High Point Library, for babies 4-12 months old. (35th SW/SW Raymond)
LUNCHTIME MEETUP: Noon-1:15 pm at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), whether you’re a solopreneur, telecommuter, coffee-shop denizen, and/or aspiring coworker, come to our area’s only coworking center for a free lunchtime meetup and see who else shows up! (6040 California SW)
‘THE GREATEST MOVIES YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF’: 1 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle, with free popcorn! This week, 1984’s “Secret Honor” with Philip Baker Hall. (4217 SW Oregon)
SOMALI STORY TIME: 5 pm at High Point Library, stories and songs in Somali. (35th SW/SW Raymond)
KENNEDY OPEN HOUSE: John F. Kennedy Catholic High School (WSB sponsor) in Burien invites all interested students and their families to tonight’s Open House to meet faculty and find out about the school. (140 S. 140th)
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: 6:30 pm at the Sisson Building/Senior Center, with an agenda including “continued discussion about the district council moving forward, a short visit from Metro Transit Planner Dale Cummings, and a conversation about the history of local murals.” Also, nominations for next year’s SWDC executive committee. All welcome. (4217 SW Oregon)
‘A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY’: Third-to-last chance to see the West Seattle High School Drama Club production:
(Photo courtesy WSHS Drama)
Curtain time in the WSHS Theater is 7:30 pm. Full details on the Westside Drama website. (3000 California SW)
BILLY JOE AND THE RC’S: Live music at Parliament Tavern, 8 pm. No cover; 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
(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)
6:59 AM: Another rainy morning, with traffic trouble in multiple places. We start with word of a stalled vehicle blocking the right lane on the eastbound West Seattle Bridge, before Delridge, and a crash on the NB 1st Avenue South Bridge. About the latter, a texter says, “Traffic backed up Olson Place/Myers Way to Roxbury. Alternate routes completely advised.”
7:14 AM: WSDOT says the 1st Avenue S. Bridge crash has cleared but as always, backups will linger. As for the West Seattle Bridge, looks like a tow truck has arrived.
7:28 AM: At Delridge/Kenyon, police are responding to a 120 bus with someone reported to be harassing the driver. Haven’t heard whether NB or SB.
7:44 AM: High-bridge stall has cleared – backup of course will take a while – and low bridge is up. Wait a while before leaving if you can.
7:47 AM: This won’t help the bridge – now there’s a problem on NB I-5 just south of the I-90 exit.
7:57 AM: The low bridge has reopened.
8:24 AM: Still getting reports that most paths to the West Seattle Bridge remain backed up. Seems to be a multitude of incidents, earlier and current, affecting things – now there’s yet another NB I-5 problem on the south side of downtown, a stalled vehicle near Seneca Street.
8:44 AM: And another crash on the West Seattle Bridge, per scanner.
8:56 AM: Also via scanner – that’s now clear.
9:03 AM: New one from the scanner – stalled vehicle NB at Olson/Myers.
Here’s a ray of hope in the midst of what has been a disheartening election season, with six days to go until the vote-counting begins: Future voters learning that they have more choices that it seems, despite hearing so much this time around about only two parties and two candidates.
That’s what students at Chief Sealth International High School were learning as they voted in a mock election on Tuesday, according to senior Lilian Soto, assisting social-studies teacher Noah Zeichner with the project:
Results are expected on Friday afternoon.
P.S. Also related to the election, Zeichner told us, a group of 12th-grade students are working on a “virtual-reality documentary” finding out how their schoolmates feel about the presidential contest.
(WSB photo)
9:01 PM: Seattle Fire and Police have a big emergency response right now in the 4900 block of West Marginal Way SW [map]. Two cars have collided and someone believed to be seriously hurt will have to be cut out of one of them, according to what we’re hearing on the scanner. Part of the road is blocked; we’re on our way to find out more.
9:21 PM: We’ve just arrived in the area. Big emergency response still across most of the road. Three people are reported to be hurt.
(Seattle Fire Department photo, via Twitter)
9:34 PM: One person with major injuries – the one who had to be cut out of the car that hit a pole – was taken to Harborview by SFD medic unit, two others by private ambulance. The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is on the way, which means the road will be blocked for hours – all lanes are now blocked. Power lines are down on the roadway, too.
(WSB photo)
9:48 PM: No comment from police so far on what might have led to the collision. City Light is here to deal with the utility pole and downed lines.
5:37 AM: No formal all-clear was ever issued for this but it’s no longer on SDOT’s incident map; if you go through the area and find it’s not clear, please let us know.
11:08 AM: We have just confirmed with police that this crash resulted in an arrest. The 19-year-old driver of the Audi was released from the hospital early this morning and booked into King County Jail for investigation of vehicular assault. His bail hearing is not likely to be held until tomorrow; we will follow the case.
After this double-take crash off the west end of the West Seattle Bridge on Saturday, with the pickup truck’s driver surviving unhurt, the top question was “how did that happen?”
(WSB photo from Saturday)
While information about crash investigations isn’t always easy to get, we were able to get some followup details today from Seattle Police. Media-relations Det. Mark Jamieson told us the driver was given a citation for speeding – driving too fast for roadway conditions. The police report, he said, noted that the driver lost control, fishtailed into the inside jersey banner, and from there went over the railing, landing headlights-down in a backyard on SW Manning. Some debris hit a residence, but no one inside was hurt. The driver was not impaired, police determined.
After talking with Det. Jamieson, we checked with SDOT to ask whether the city bills people in incidents that result in damage to public infrastructure. While unable to comment on this specific case, since it’s just a few days old, SDOT spokesperson Sue Romero replied: “We make every effort to recover damage to public property due to traffic accidents. In most cases, if there is an accident report and the at-fault driver has insurance, we recover all our costs for the emergency response and the cost of the repair to the bridge. We have a special cost accounting system, set up in advance to accurately track the labor, material and equipment used to keep the public safe and restore the damaged infrastructure.”
Some candy collected last night raised concerns for a group of local families and they have reported it to police just in case. There’s no official warning and no word of illnesses, but it’s information the families wanted to share. They told WSB they were trick-or-treating in the Fauntleroy area last night, came home, and ate some candy. The candy included small boxes of Milk Duds; those candies, they say, left behind a numbing sensation, like topical anesthetic. The candy also smelled a little like cough syrup, they told us. They met with police today and turned over candy for testing. Results might take a long time, they were told, so they’ve circulated the word in their neighborhoods and let us know too – again, just in case.
When we reported four weeks ago that the mixed-use project at 9030 35th SW would go back to the Southwest Design Review Board on November 3rd, the new “packet” wasn’t available. Now it is; the rendering above is from the packet, and you can see it in its entirety on the city website. The project is on the east side of 35th, two parcels north of SW Barton, proposed as a four-story building with 40 apartments, ~3,100 square feet of ground-level retail, and 32 offstreet parking spaces. The packet says the development team intends to “provide market-rate housing with vibrant, small-scale retail activity at the street level.” It’s the only project on the SWDRB agenda Thursday night, 6:30 pm, at the Sisson Building/Senior Center at 4217 SW Oregon in The Junction.
(Photo tweeted by @Dja_Gomez)
Today’s development in the saga of the deer that appeared on Pigeon Point two nights ago and made its way west to North Delridge yesterday: Despite one commenter’s report that it had been picked up “by animal control,” it’s apparently still out there somewhere.
We published an update after M told us about a sighting outside the West Seattle Health Club yesterday afternoon, and that it seemed to be limping. By the time we got there to look, it was nowhere in sight.
Then commenter Mark47n said it had wandered onto the Nucor property – immediately north of the gym – and “through our scrap yard before being corralled and collected by animal control.” The comment came in too late for us to call the Seattle Animal Shelter last night, but we talked with acting SAS director Ann Graves this morning. She said it wasn’t her agency – our call was the first they had heard about a deer in West Seattle. She confirmed that if it was injured (or worse), SAS could be called for pickup. But if not, she warned, “putting it through the stress of a capture” could be worse than letting it be.
Our next call was to Nucor, to try to verify that they had seen the deer and find out what happened. We were pointed to safety director Oliver Lyles, who confirmed that the deer had turned up on their 50-acre site yesterday. He said they called the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, and though he spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to convince them to come get it, they told him that it should be left alone. So that’s what happened, and it eventually left the property. He thinks that was probably before the mid-afternoon sighting by the gym. It did indeed have a limp, he said, but it also seemed to be moving quite adeptly and quickly.
The photo above, tweeted at us overnight, was taken by the Dragonfly Pavilion along Longfellow Creek, south of the gym. We’re still waiting to hear back from tweeter Dja regarding what time it was taken.
Have you seen it? Let us know. And do please call Seattle Animal Shelter IF it seems to be injured or in distress – 206-386-7387.
Busy news day so far, and more to come, but we want to mention these five events happening in the hours ahead, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar. The art at left, by the way, was photographed by Shelley in Lincoln Park a few days ago:
WEST SEATTLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CLEANUP: As previewed here, meet at the California/Charlestown 7-11 at 4:30 pm to join the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce crew that’ll be picking up trash.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CELEBRATION: As part of the DNDA Cultural Events Series, you’re invited to a free community celebration of El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 5-8 pm. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
HOPE LUTHERAN SCHOOL KINDERGARTEN INFORMATION NIGHT: Find out not just about Hope Lutheran School (WSB sponsor) kindergarten, but also about how to know whether your child is ready for kindergarten, at tonight’s 6:30 pm event. (4456 42nd SW)
EXPLORER WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Considering Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) for 6th, 7th, 8th grade? 6:30 pm tonight, you’re invited to the second of this fall’s three open houses. (10015 28th SW)
SKELETON THEATRE: If the rain kept you home last night, tonight you get another (drier) chance to see Skeleton Theatre‘s animatronics-music-and-video extravaganza, “The Death of Rock.” 6-9 pm, 20-minute shows running continuously. (36th SW/SW Hanford)
Education has long been one of U.S. Senator Patty Murray‘s passions, as detailed on her official website – before her 24 years in the U.S. Senate, she was a preschool teacher, school-board member, and PTA president. Today, she visited Chief Sealth International High School to get a firsthand look at a tech-education program that is getting new support from education legislation she co-authored, the Every Student Succeeds Act.
The program, Technology Education and Literacy in School (TEALS), teaches computer science, with community partnership; we mentioned it a year and a half ago during a search for volunteers to help get it going at Sealth, where it’s in its second year.
(From left with Sen. Murray, Sealth teacher John Wright and principal Aida Fraser-Hammer)
Sen. Murray said she was pleased to see so many young women – about half the students – in the class. TEALS was founded by Microsoft employee Kevin Wang, who was there too (at left in photo below); his business card includes the title “Ringleader.”
P.S. In another Sealth classroom this morning, students were voting in a mock election – we checked that out too while at CSIHS and will publish that story later today.
Three reader reports:
HALLOWEEN ‘DIRTY TRICK’: That’s how Rebecca describes what happened to a neighbor on the 3900 block of SW Elmgrove [map] in Gatewood:
The neighbor came home Halloween evening to find the back door partially open, and glass shattered by a rock. Drawers in all rooms in the house rifled through with contents strewn about. The only things identified as missing so far are some pieces of jewelry and a few sentimental keepsakes. The pet in the house was shaken, but okay. This occurred sometime during the day. between 8:30 and 4:30. A couple of the neighbors on the street were home, but did not see or hear anything unusual. Police came to investigate within 10 minutes (!) and a report was filed. They said with the majority of recent break-ins, perpetrators are doing a lot of damage to the house, taking very little, if anything at all.
STOLEN BICYCLE: From Julia:
Last night I discovered that my bike was stolen from my back porch (in the 1700 block of Alki Avenue SW; map).
It is a 2010 GET Apache 3.0 – and in really good condition (pristine). Please have anyone who knows anything about this, or has seen it, contact me at 206-898-3415 or phippyj84 (at) gmail (dot) com.
The bike is scheduled on my renter’s insurance, but I would like to find it (hopefully) before I submit a claim!
CAR PROWL: From Haley: “North Admiral on 45th SW, car window bashed in Thursday night while parked on the street. From the glove compartment, took a 10-year-old Garmin and car registration/insurance card. Nothing else was inside the car to steal.”
Hope you NEVER have a crime to report … but if you do, after you’ve reported it to police, let us know so we can alert your neighbors around West Seattle – editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.
10:30 AM: If you’re headed out, avoid NB 99. A two-vehicle crash on the Alaskan Way Viaduct – one vehicle on its side – is blocking the road and already resulting in backups, as the webcam above shows.
10:44 AM: Update from SDOT:
UPDATE: Collision now also blocking SB left lane on the Viaduct. Expect heavy delays. pic.twitter.com/noP7sBjUz0
— seattledot (@seattledot) November 1, 2016
10:50 AM: Metro just texted that the C Line and Routes 120/125 are routed off NB 99, and will be diverting onto 1st Avenue S. instead.
11:10 AM: Via scanner, it’s confirmed that traffic is getting through, one lane NB, but that still means slow going.
11:59 AM UPDATE: Thanks for the photo, taken from Pike Place Market by an anonymous reader who says pieces of railing/siding fell away – which is why SDOT is still working at the scene, and one lane remains closed in each direction. No major injuries reported, by the way.
12:48 PM: Metro just texted to say the buses that use the NB Viaduct are all back on their regular routes.
2:38 PM: SDOT says the NB lanes are all open now; the left SB lane remains closed.
5 PM: Sorry, we had that backward; SDOT was working in the left NB lane – and still is, per this tweet a few minutes ago – while the SB lanes have all reopened.
(WSB photo)
If you noticed the SFD/SPD/SDOT response in the 1300 block of Alki SW [map] this morning … that’s what they were checking out, the first reported slide of the season. No damage to any buildings, and none threatened at this point. This follows an October so rainy that the National Weather Service described it as: “Two months of rain in one month for Seattle. Final October total 10.05″. Normal for October (3.48″) + November (6.57″) = 10.05″.” If you’re in a slide-prone zone, here’s city info you might want to check out.
Now that November is here, we’re looking ahead to the winter-holiday season … and that means time for the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
(WSB file photo: A Holiday Guide staple, the Christmas Ship!)
As always, we offer it as your go-to guide for all sorts of events – from bazaars to concerts to tree lightings to donation drives to services to light shows to holiday hours for restaurants/bars/coffee shops, and much more – for the entire season all the way through New Year’s Day. All we need is the information about what YOU are planning. Thanks to everyone who has already sent holiday-event info – we’re getting the listings into our year-round West Seattle Event Calendar too. The sooner you get us the info, the better. Just a few things to know:
-Listings are free, as is ALWAYS the case for our calendar and guides
-The event has to be happening *in* West Seattle, White Center, or South Park
-Please send the what/where/when/who/etc. info in plain text in the body of your e-mail, NOT in a doc, pdf, image, etc.
-If there’s a related photo/logo/flyer, you’re welcome to send that too, but it’s NOT required
-E-mail the info to editor@westseattleblog.com
-The sooner, the better!
We hope to launch the first draft of the guide this week. Throughout the season, we’ll continue to add to it, as always (and remove events once they’ve happened), as usual. Thanks again for sharing your holiday-event info with your West Seattle neighbors!
(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)
7:02 AM: Welcome to November! No incidents in/from West Seattle right now.
7:12 AM: After yet another rainy night, watch out for standing water – as of early this morning, Chuck and Justin e-mailed us to say, the Delridge ramp to the eastbound West Seattle Bridge was flooded, again.
10:25 AM: Crash on the northbound Viaduct is going to be trouble for a while. We’ll have a separate report up shortly.
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