West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
Four reader reports tonight:
RECOGNIZE THIS SCOOTER? Abandoned vehicles of all types usually turn out to be stolen, so we’re featuring this here. From Charlie:
On Thursday evening, someone parked a silver Piaggio (Vespa-style) motorbike in the street out in front of our home near Morgan Junction. I have checked with neighbors and our Neighborhood Watch families to see if anyone living nearby belonged to the vehicle, to no avail. It seems to have been abandoned or ditched and I have filed an abandoned vehicle report with SPD. The tag [2A6034] expired in 2015. Maybe one of your readers will recognize this vintage ride!
LOCKER-ROOM THEFT: We’ve published reader reports before about car prowls in the LA Fitness parking garage. Now there’s word of an LA Fitness locker break-in – Susan told us via Twitter that it happened Monday morning; her purse, phone, and lock were stolen from the locker room and one of her credit cards was used at Target a half-hour later. She says the thief would have to be a member because of the gym policies.
DOOR KICKED: Richard on 26th SW in Westwood reported that someone tried to kick in his door while he was home this afternoon.
FURNITURE THEFT: From Cindy:
Bummer 3 stacking end tables were just taken from our side yard….. stolen!?!?
At 7:40 PM today 12/6/16 while moving stuff from my mothers home to our home (4601 SW Stevens), our son took three nesting walnut tables out of his car to the sidewalk’s edge/lawn on the 46th Ave SW side of our house. He brought in a box of books. Went back for the tables and they are GONE.
Attached picture from the internet is almost but not exact. Ours are walnut. Ebay value is about $600.
Police report filed – incident #2016-439271
FIRST REPORT, 7:14 PM: Beautiful sunset tonight – thanks to RS for the view from Constellation Park. The sky’s mostly clear and the temperature’s dropping, so it’ll be a cold morning, but you might be wondering, when’s the next chance of snow? The latest “forecast discussion” from the National Weather Service suggests Thursday afternoon/evening, and maybe toward the end of the weekend, though that’s far-enough out that it’s still “super-speculative.” No official alerts for any of this right now, though.
8:43 PM: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that the NWS has just issued a Winter Storm Watch. Excerpt:
…WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.
* TIMING…A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. COLD AIR WILL BE IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE WHEN PRECIPITATION BEGINS. THE PRECIPITATION IS LIKELY TO BEGIN AS SNOW…THEN CHANGE TO RAIN. AROUND 12 HOURS OF SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE AT MOST LOCATIONS IN THE INTERIOR LOWLANDS. FOUR INCHES OR MORE OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. THE HOOD CANAL AREA…WHERE STRONG EAST WINDS WILL ADD AN UPSLOPE COMPONENT TO THE SNOW…COULD GET SEVEN INCHES OR MORE. THE ONSET OF SNOW…AND THE CHANGE TO RAIN…WILL BE EARLIER IN THE SOUTH AND LATER IN THE NORTH. BY FRIDAY MORNING IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT SNOW WILL HAVE CHANGED TO RAIN EVERYWHERE.
Posters under the West Seattle Bridge aren’t unusual. This one is. Found out about it from a WSB reader’s text this morning – a poster along the Avalon/Admiral onramp, touting the white-nationalist group Identity Evropa with the exhortation, “Protect Your Heritage.” Though the poster appears new, the group has had a poster campaign under way in cities since mid-summer, according to online reports including this one and this one (the latter site also has a post specifically mentioning Seattle-area sightings in October, and the group’s own Twitter account showed a Seattle poster last month). The group rallied in San Francisco in October to protest its sanctuary-city policies, similar to those that Seattle’s mayor reinforced recently.
On Sunday night, we reported on a motorcycle crash in Highland Park that left the rider seriously hurt. Friends of the rider, who identified him as Joel Eggert, subsequently said he was not expected to survive, and today Harborview Medical Center confirmed to WSB that Mr. Eggert has died. We just checked with police and while the investigation remains in a preliminary stage, they believe Mr. Eggert’s motorcycle hit the traffic circle at 12th SW and SW Thistle, before crashing between 12th and 13th, and that no other vehicle was involved. One friend describes him as a well-known “huge supporter of local music.” He was 46 years old.
We’ve been talking about this for weeks – and now it’s one day away. Here are the final toplines for tomorrow night’s big city open house – offering info and taking comments on several major initiatives.
WHEN
5:30-7:30 pm Wednesday, December 7th
WHERE
Two locations that the city tells us will BOTH have the same departments, initiatives, programs represented, so you can choose either one:
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW in North Delridge)
Shelby’s Bistro and Ice Creamery (4752 California SW in The Junction)
FORMAT
Drop in when you can, for two minutes or two hours. No presentations – you’ll find maps, screens, easels, city employees
WHAT TOPICS YOU’LL BE ABLE TO ASK ABOUT/COMMENT ON
*The marquee project – the draft rezoning proposals for the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda‘s Mandatory Housing Affordability component (here’s our coverage of last week’s community-organized workshop) ADDED: Here are “simplified” versions of the rezoning maps for this area, showing only what’s being proposed
Also, as reported here previously (the links go either to recent WSB stories or city webpages):
*The “re-initiated” Fauntleroy Boulevard project
*City parking policy
*Seattle Parks Development Plan, Gap Analysis (is there enough park space near your home?), acquisition strategy
*Greenways, including the future West Seattle Greenway with planning tied to 35th Avenue SW Phase II
*RapidRide – Delridge is scheduled to get the next one in West Seattle
This is as close to an all-inclusive list as we’ve been able to get, but there could be more, so we highly encourage you to go or at least send a representative of your neighborhood to share comments and report back. Many of these programs also have ways to comment online but nothing says you care like showing up in person.
Some holiday-giving deadlines are coming up fast – longtime WSB sponsor John Moore of Northwest Insurance Group (6055 California SW in Morgan Junction) sent the photo and a reminder that his office is collecting donations of new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots through tomorrow (December 7th). If you can pick up something extra – maybe you’ll be out shopping tonight – drop it by, until 4:30 pm today or between 8 am and 4:30 pm tomorrow.
(SFD photo)
11:28 AM: One person is reported hurt in a crash just east of the low bridge, at 11th and Spokane, and Seattle Fire has sent a “heavy-rescue” response. Avoid the area; updates to come.
(WSB photo)
11:57 AM UPDATE: At the scene. A woman in her mid-thirties has non-life-threatening injuries after her car went beneath a heavy-equipment trailer. Avoid the area east of the low bridge – EB traffic is being routed onto Harbor Island, while the off-island ramp has a big backlog of trucks.
12:12 PM: The scene is starting to clear – the damaged car has been towed and more SFD vehicles are leaving.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
First, from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide:
CONCERT: West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Brass Ensemble and Debut Orchestra: Great Beginnings! “It’s WSCO’s gift to the community, especially for our young folks, featuring orchestral and brass classics, and holiday favorites!” 6 pm, Chief Sealth International High School auditorium. FREE – donations appreciated. (2600 SW Thistle)
And from the year-round WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
DENNY DINE-OUT FUNDRAISER: 2-9 pm at Shelby’s in The Junction, 10 percent of the proceeds go to help Denny International Middle School. (4752 California SW)
JUNCTION NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: As previewed here, HALA rezoning, City Light lighting, and a Residential Parking Zone proposal are on the agenda. 6:30 pm, Sisson Building/Senior Center. (4217 SW Oregon)
FREE COMMUNITY MEDITATION: 7 pm @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – details here. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
SONGWRITER SHOWCASE: 8 pm-11 pm at Parliament Tavern, “a night of songs and stories.” (4210 SW Admiral Way)
LOTS MORE … on the calendar!
Just out of the WSB inbox – Metro has just announced a pilot project offering mobile ticketing for buses, the Water Taxi, and other regional transit:
Riders who don’t want to pay cash to ride transit now have a new way to pay. King County Metro Transit is launching the Puget Sound region’s first-ever mobile ticket app – Transit GO Ticket – allowing riders to buy and redeem transit tickets on their mobile device without needing cash to ride. Under a six to 12 month pilot project, tickets can be purchased for use on King County Metro buses, King County Water Taxi, Seattle Streetcar and Sound Transit’s Link light rail and Sounder trains.
Currently, riders pay cash, purchase tickets or use an ORCA card to ride transit. Having an app is designed to be more convenient for infrequent transit riders – including visitors, sports fans or those who would otherwise pay cash.
Riders can simply use the app to purchase a Transit GO Ticket on an Apple, Android or Windows mobile device and show it to a transit operator, fare collector or fare inspector.
“Transit GO Tickets are the latest example of innovations that make transit easier for our customers,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “We look forward to hearing from the community about mobile tickets as we continue to make sure Metro and Sound Transit offer seamless, efficient service across town and across the region.”
Mobile tickets are the latest milestone in Executive Constantine’s efforts toward greater regional transit integration between King County Metro and Sound Transit. This includes joint regional planning and the bus and rail integration as Sound Transit extended Link light rail to Capitol Hill and UW.
Data gathered in the next year will determine whether Metro fully implements the service or makes adjustments.
“We are customer driven, and feedback will help make this new tool even more effective at serving the needs of riders,” said Metro General Manager Rob Gannon.
Water taxi customers also can pay to ride with their mobile device.
“A Transit GO Ticket is a flexible and convenient option for the casual water taxi rider, and could help visitors more easily travel to and from downtown during the holiday season,” said King County Marine Division Director Paul Brodeur.
How does it work?
Riders who don’t want to pay cash or purchase an ORCA pass can:
· Download the Transit GO Ticket app for Android, Apple or Windows mobile devices.
· Create an account
· Purchase one or more tickets through the app using a credit card or debit card.
· Activate the tickets needed just prior to boarding; there is no limit to the number of tickets that can be activated at one time.
· Show the mobile display to a transit operator, a water taxi fare collector, or have it available if requested by a fare inspector on RapidRide, Link light rail or Sounder.
· Transfers are allowed between Metro buses within a two-hour window.
The Transit GO Ticket app pilot project was created under contract by Bytemark, which has similar systems in use (or coming to) in Austin, Texas; New York Waterway; Massachusetts DOT, Atlanta, Toronto, and York. With its partners at Sound Transit, the City of Seattle and King County Marine Division, Metro will evaluate the performance of the app and gather rider feedback through November 2017. The results also will guide further developments of mobile ticketing.
The pilot project is budgeted at approximately $470,000 and 86 percent of the project is funded by Federal Transit Administration grant money.
Just received this announcement from Chief Sealth International High School principal Aida Fraser-Hammer:
Seattle Community Immigration Resource Fair
Saturday, December 10, 10 am to 1 pm
At Denny International Middle SchoolThe City of Seattle, Seattle Public Schools, Chief Sealth IHS and Denny IMS, along with several community partners, are hosting a Community Resource Fair on Immigration. You are invited to learn about Immigration policies, knowing your rights, safety, how to support your children at school and at home, and a parental toolkit.
Denny is at 2601 SW Kenyon.
(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)
5:59 AM: Good morning! A bit colder this morning than Monday but still above freezing. The National Weather Service canceled the potential-snow alert early today, so we’re mostly just looking for a chilly commute. SDOT‘s winter-weather map shows the bridge was treated early today, just in case (choose the “last 3 hours” view).
7:02 AM Still no trouble reports.
8:35 AM: Temps have dropped a few degrees since sunrise. What was moisture on cars parked on the street, for example, has turned to frost.
Two Crime Watch notes:
THIEVES HIT TWELFTH NIGHT PRODUCTIONS: This happened in SODO, but hit a West Seattle-based theater troupe hard. Anna from Twelfth Night Productions tells WSB:
$7,000 in sound equipment was stolen from our locked storage facility. We’re trying to spread the word far and wide that we need community support to recoup that loss. The sound equipment is essential for us and needs to be replaced by our next production in February. Thankfully, we’ve been able to borrow or rent what we need for the show that opens on Friday.
If you can chip in to help TNP replace what was taken, you’ll find the crowdfunding page here.
YARD LIGHTS LIFTED: From A in the 9000 block of 13th SW:
I see that someone made off with all my nicer solar yard lights. Birds of paradise, tulips, glowing globes….all the ‘upscale’ ones. They left the typical regular white pathway lights but took all the designer ones that made my front walkway so pretty. It would have taken more than a minute to gather them and not break anything while hauling away. Plus, the lights and the solar pack are two separate stakes and they are both gone for each. Barely any ground disturbance so they took their care….so they can do what with them now???
It’s disturbing. Who does this? :-(
I guess I’m now going to have to set up outside cameras like so many others are resorting to doing. Ugh.
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