West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
11:24 AM: If you’re headed southbound on 35th SW, you’ll want to divert before you get to SW Barton. Police and Fire crews are on scene right now and the southbound lanes are blocked. Texters said someone appeared to be “lying in the road.” We’re here now and checking but wanted to get the alert out for starters.
11:28 AM: A lane is open again so southbound traffic can get around the scene. We talked to police, who say it does not appear anyone struck the man – this isn’t a crash investigation – but SFD is evaluating him to try to find out what’s wrong.
11:42 AM: A private ambulance was headed that way, indicating non-life-threatening injury/illness.
Marée Bistro and Bar – the successor to Cassis on Alki – has set the date: Grand opening tomorrow (Thursday, February 4th), 5 pm. Marée will be run by Andy Dekle, who was Cassis’s head chef, and Megan Hartz, also on the previous restaurant’s founding team. It’s at 2820 SW Alki. We had first word of their plan shortly after reporting the Cassis closure back on December 19th. Marée has described its theme as “seasonal, market inspired French cuisine with a Northwest flavor.”
The day began with a spectacular sunrise; the photo by James Bratsanos looking west to the Kitsap Peninsula shows the short-lived reflection of that sunrise glow. (Reminder – this, like most WSB photos now, can be clicked for a larger “lightbox” view!) Now looking ahead – here’s what’s on the calendar:
PAYING FOR COLLEGE: 10 am-7 pm, drop in for one-on-one help figuring out how to finance college, regardless of where you’re going or hoping to go. At the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Library – details in our preview. (6000 16th SW)
STORY TIME, TIMES 4: Wednesday is a big day for story times at local libraries: Preschool Story Time, 10:30 am, West Seattle (Admiral) Library at 2306 42nd SW; Toddler Story Time, 10:30 am, Southwest Library at 35th/Henderson; Baby Story Time, 11:30 am, High Point Library at 35th/Raymond; Somali Story Time, 5 pm, also at HP Library.
HOUSING LEVY: Centerpiece of tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting, 6:30 pm, is a briefing on the housing-levy renewal headed for city ballots later this year. We’ll get the details in an announcement from the mayor at noon, and then the official West Seattle discussion is planned tonight. All welcome; the meeting’s upstairs in the Sisson Building. (California/Oregon)
FLY FISHING FILM TOUR: 7 pm at the historic Admiral Theater, this national tour makes its local stop! Still time to get tickets at Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) at 42nd/Oregon in The Junction. More info here. (2343 California SW)
JIM PAGE: This “free-flow” singer-songwriter performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
BASKETBALL HOME GAMES: Girls-varsity basketball home games tonight – Chief Sealth IHS hosts Holy Names (2600 SW Thistle), West Seattle HS hosts Seattle Prep (3000 California SW), both at 7:30 pm.
‘REALLY REALLY’: Second-to-last week for ArtsWest‘s latest production starts with tonight’s 7:30 pm performance. (4711 California SW)
TRIVIA TIME: 8:30 pm, another edition of the longrunning trivia night at Talarico’s Pizza with host Phil Tavel. (4718 California SW)
Another local school is hoping you can help send its 5th graders to outdoor-education camp. Roxhill Elementary‘s counselor launched the crowdfunding campaign and the tax-deductible donations go through the Roxhill PTSA, whose co-president e-mailed to ask if we would share it:
The intention is to raise money to send Roxhill kids to camp and field trips since we do not have the funds to do so this year. Roxhill is a school in need. … 80% of our students are on free and reduced lunch. Many of our students have never had the chance to attend camp or other field trips that enrich their education.
The donation link is here.
(Click any view for a close-up)
6:55 AM: No incidents of note on routes in/from West Seattle so far this morning.
7:16 AM: In case you missed our mention last night – Metro is circulating another reminder of its systemwide changes next month. Biggest one for West Seattle is the RapidRide C Line/D Line separation, which will include the C Line going to and ending in South Lake Union.
8:16 AM: Still incident-free this morning.
11:04 AM: As Kara points out in comments, northbound 4th Ave. S. has police activity; it’s because of a shooting on board a Metro bus. NB Route 132 (which originates in Burien), we’ve confirmed with King County DOT. One person is in custody and another sought; a 22-year-old man has been taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound.
10:57 PM: Both varsity teams won tonight at Seattle Lutheran, including the girls’ team with a special incentive:
As reported here earlier, this was the last scheduled home game in the last of 35 seasons for Coach Bruce Carlson. A special photo included alums of his teams:
We’ll have video of the tribute and more photos later. As for the game itself, the girls beat Crosspoint, 46-22.
The SLHS boys also went home with a win over Crosspoint, 64-43.
#34 Josh Meyer (above) was top scorer with 26. More on this game later, too.
ADDED 8:35 AM WEDNESDAY: Video and photos:
Thanks to Sanislo Elementary librarian/teacher Craig Seasholes for sharing that photo as a followup to a lifetime-memory event from last month (WSB coverage here) – the day he and students hosted Holocaust survivor George Brady, his daughter Lara Brady, and Japanese museum curator Fumiko Ishioka sharing their story as told in “Hana’s Suitcase,” whose titular character was George’s sister. The book inspired a play that’s now at Seattle Children’s Theater downtown, where, Seasholes says:
Thanks to generous support from SCT and Biller Family Foundation, Sanislo Elementary School 4-5th graders got to see the SCT play today. It was a wonderful “encore” to the special events of last month. A Big Sanislo Thank You to all of you who helped make this memorable story come to life.
8:33 PM: Just an alert that WSB will have some downtime tonight starting around 11 pm. Last Saturday we had two rounds of downtime to switch to new server hardware, with space not only to hold our current 10-year archives but to accommodate the years ahead, following up on our recent software overhaul. But there’s one more step to take to move our live site onto the new hardware, and that’s happening tonight. Please bookmark (or otherwise save) our backup-site address, since we’ll use it for breaking news, if needed, while the work is under way – westseattleblog.wordpress.com – and of course our major social-media channels too, facebook.com/westseattleblog and twitter.com/westseattleblog. Thanks for your understanding as we continue evolving.
2:15 AM: Over now.
That photo tweeted by @jrush78 shows a sign up in The Junction, as Metro gets ready for its March changes – in particular, breaking RapidRide C away from D, and sending C to South Lake Union. We mentioned the plan back in December. Today, Metro issued a reminder of its March 26 systemwide changes, including RapidRide, as detailed here. For a summary of the other changes around the system, go here.
5:20 PM: If your phone rings at 6 pm, tonight or Thursday – here’s what it might be about:
Join us for the Mayor’s telephone town hall to talk about the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, or HALA for short. We will be calling over 50,000 people in their homes today and Thursday, but if you want to make sure you are on the call, just call the number below. You will have a chance to ask questions and learn more about the HALA recommendations.
Tuesday, February 2nd: (855) 756-7520 Ext. 31029# at 6 p.m.
Thursday, February 4th: (855) 756-7520 Ext. 31028# at 6 p.m.
City info about HALA is here. The Morgan Community Association hosted a West Seattle-focused briefing two weeks ago; our video of that is here.
5:35 PM: In related news, the mayor’s office just announced that details of the Housing Levy renewal will be out at a noon event tomorrow. Considering that the first official community discussion of the levy is at 6:30 pm tomorrow here in West Seattle, seemed the announcement was going to have to be made by Wednesday afternoon.
By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Tonight, Seattle Lutheran High School will hold a post-game ceremony to recognize its 35-season women’s-basketball coach at his final scheduled home game.
“But first we need to win a game,” says Bruce Carlson, tonight’s honoree.
A victory for Seattle Lutheran (6-1 conference, 11-6 overall) over visiting Crosspoint (1-6, 1-14) would keep the Saints within a game of first-place Evergreen Lutheran (7-0, 12-1), who will host SLHS in the season finale on Friday with a share of the SeaTac League title in play for the winners.
While the crowd in the gym tonight will certainly enjoy the elevated stakes in the basketball game itself, the stands will be filled with people there to pay tribute to a man who has led multiple generations of West Seattle athletes: “I’ve coached players who are children of some of my former players or of players I watched playing for the men’s team,” says Carlson. “That’s one way to know you’re getting old!”
In addition to coaching former players’ children, Carlson has “been blessed” to have had had players return to help with summer scrimmaging, with a few even serving as assistant coaches.
The West Seattle native decided a few years ago that he would depart with his current senior class:
(WSB photo)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Looking north down the sidewalk in front of Sleepers in Seattle, you wouldn’t notice the spot unless it was pointed out to you.
This morning, the owners of the shop at 4741 California SW used graffiti remover to get rid of a swastika written onto the sidewalk.
“We get tagged all the time, but not like this,” Max Alcabes, son of owners Carlos and Meryl Alcabes, said as we stood on the sidewalk, looking at the spot.
Here’s a photo provided by the Alcabes, taken before they removed it. (Our policy is generally not to fully show this type of vandalism unless requested by police for investigative purposes.) It wasn’t huge or bold. That’s not the point. It would have had the same effect even if it were tiny:
“We’re a Jewish family.”
Meryl had made note of that, calling us after reporting it to police and the regional Anti-Defamation League office. We happened to be in The Junction at the time, and went over to talk to her husband and son at the shop.
They say this is the second time it’s happened in less than half a year. The Alcabes didn’t report it the first time, but, Max says, “Twice in a year, it’s not random.”
He said he walked The Junction looking to see if the same kind of symbol had been marked anywhere else. He didn’t see anything – just what was marked outside the shop that serves as a showroom for their business, which they’ve owned for 25 years.
Here are the city and county codes for malicious harassment – the terminology used for a hate crime. If you have any information, contact Seattle Police.
ADDED TUESDAY NIGHT: Meryl Alcabes tells us that after seeing this story, people stopped in all day to offer support; she comments below, “Thank you so much for the support we are getting from all of you, our West Seattle neighbors.”
10:44 AM: Just went to Roxhill Park to check on the work to ready the “castle” play structure for the return of its turret – and discovered the turret had just been brought in and set in place! It was a handcrafted add-on to the community project but was removed in 2014 for fear the 2013-built “castle” couldn’t support it. After reinforcement work, it’s back, and a Seattle Parks manager at the site told us the play area could reopen later today.
3:22 PM: Just went back to check. It’s open!
(Photo by Danny McMillin, from the WSB Flickr group – click image for larger view)
Scanning the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for today/tonight, we see:
DRINKING LIBERALLY: Want to talk Iowa caucuses? New Hampshire primary? Upcoming Washington caucuses? Or? First Tuesday of the month, 6 pm, is the regular night for this sip-and-talk group to meet at Pizzeria 22. (4213 SW College)
WESTWOOD-ROXHILL-ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY COUNCIL: 6:15 pm in the upstairs meeting room at Southwest Library, WWRHAH talks about the future, both of the Westwood/Highland Park Urban Village and potential White Center annexation. More in our preview. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY KINDERGARTEN TOUR: Tonight between 6:30 and 8:30 pm, Highland Park Elementary principal Chris Cronas hosts tours for prospective kindergarten families. (1012 SW Trenton)
LINCOLN PARK NORTH PLAY AREA RENOVATION: 6:30 pm, be at Gatewood Elementary see the schematic designs and talk about what’s next for the project. (4320 SW Myrtle)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: Topics for the monthly meeting at 6:30 pm at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) include the Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway‘s status – find out more on the WSBC website. (41st SW/SW Alaska)
HIGH-SCHOOL BASKETBALL: All three local schools have home games tonight – Seattle Lutheran hosts Crosspoint, girls at 6 – with a special tribute to longtime coach Bruce Carlson expected around 7 pm – and boys at 7:30 pm (4100 SW Genesee); the West Seattle boys host Seattle Prep at 7:30 pm (3000 California SW); the Chief Sealth boys host O’Dea at 7:30 pm (2600 SW Thistle).
WEST SEATTLE CROCHET AND KNIT SOCIAL CIRCLE: This group asked to be added to our ongoing calendar to make sure you know about it, if you don’t already – all are welcome, 7-9 pm at Uptown Espresso in The Junction, whether you’re new or experienced enough to help others or somewhere inbetween. (California/Edmunds/Erskine)
OF COURSE THERE’S MORE … if you take a few minutes to browse the calendar.
First you have to get in … then you have to pay up. It’s the time of year when college plans are top of mind for many, whether you’re awaiting acceptance or finding financing. No matter where you – or your family member – will be going, South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) sends a reminder of an event tomorrow aimed at helping: “College Goal Washington,” 10 am-7 pm Wednesday, February 3rd, in rooms 217 and 219 at the SSC Library. Drop in for one-on-one help from SSC’s Financial Aid staff “to answer questions about scholarships, how to fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the WAFSA (Washington State Application for State Financial Aid) and more, in a one-on-one setting.” No charge, all welcome; more here. SSC is on Puget Ridge, at 6000 16th SW.
(Click any view for a close-up)
6:58 AM: Good morning – no incidents in/from West Seattle reported so far.
7:36 AM: If you take NB 509, note there’s a stalled semitruck blocking a lane at Cloverdale.
8:43 AM: That’s finally clear.
8:58 AM: The overnight work that’s scheduled to close SW Alaska at Fauntleroy again nightly in the 8 pm-6 am vicinity for a week or so has been delayed, we just found out; it was expected to start last night. We’ll update when we get word it’s going to begin.
Police have been searching in the California/Charlestown area after a reported armed robbery at an address that checks to the 7-11. According to scanner traffic, this is reported to have happened around 2:30 am. A K-9 unit was called to help search. The robber, last seen westbound on Charlestown, is reported to have had a dark bandana over his face, 5’8″, black jacket, blue jeans, sawed-off shotgun that may have been fired during the holdup. No injury reported.
Last night, we reported on vandalism in Gatewood, a car window apparently shot out by BBs. Since then, via comments and e-mail, we’ve heard of more window vandalism. For one, Aaron sent the photo at right, from the 4000 block of 21st SW on Pigeon Point:
He said, “Sometime between 8 and 10 (Sunday) three windows on the driver’s side of my truck (including canopy) were shot out by a BB gun. They also did quite a bit of body and paint damage to the side of the truck, I think they hit it about 15 times. Just wanted people to be on the lookout for idiots driving around with a BB gun wrecking other people’s stuff.”
Commenters reported incidents in areas including:
-7700 block 32nd SW
-Genesee (house window)
-4000 block 26th SW
-5600 block 26th SW
Via e-mail, Joellie reported that the rear glass was broken out of her purple PT Cruiser between 2 pm and 7 pm today in the 7300 block of 35th SW [map]. She says it’s the second time in a year it’s happened to her vehicle.
And just as we were finishing this, Sean left a comment on last night’s story, saying someone shot at their window in Seaview, 45th and Findlay, about two hours ago. If you see or hear anything potentially related, please call 911 right away – and get as good a description as you can.
(Click image for larger view)
That’s one rendering (by the architecture firm GGLO) from the new 42-page “packet” for this Thursday’s review of 4700 SW Admiral Way, the assisted-living center that Aegis Living plans to build where the old Life Care Center of West Seattle awaits teardown, three years after its closure, two years after Aegis bought the site.
The project is currently described as a 3-story, 80-unit complex with 36 offstreet vehicle-parking spaces and 20 bicycle spaces; 48 of the units are expected to offer assisted living, with the remaining 32 providing memory care. The packet notes, “The proposed project aims to use a stucco facade in keeping with the client’s vision of a Mediterranean oasis.” At 6:30 pm Thursday, the Southwest Design Review Board will take its second and possibly final look at the project, with the meeting including a public-comment period. The project’s first review was last July; here’s the official city report. This Thursday, it’s the only project the board will review, 6:30 pm upstairs at the Sisson Building (West Seattle Senior Center), California/Oregon.
(WSB photo from 2015 Neighbor Appreciation Day open house @ Station 37)
Announced today by the Seattle Fire Department – Station 37 in Sunrise Heights will have an open house again this year for Neighbor Appreciation Day. Set your calendar for 11 am-1 pm Saturday, February 13th. It’s the only West Seattle fire station participating this year. Station 37 is at 35th SW and SW Holden and is only five years old; it’s currently home to Engine 37 and Medic 32, the only SFD medic unit based in West Seattle fulltime.
(WSB photo, 35th SW between Graham and Morgan)
5:03 PM: Two traffic alerts as the heart of the evening commute approaches – one, a crash reported at 35th and Morgan; second (thanks to Roxy for the tip), police activity has closed 4th Avenue South by the I-90 ramp. More as we get it.
5:24 PM: The crash on 35th is blocking southbound lanes just south of Graham, which is where police are diverting traffic westbound on Graham – 36th SW, south of Graham, southbound, is jammed as a result. No serious injuries in the crash, SPD tells us. Meantime, the 4th Ave. S. situation continues – not a crash, but some kind of police activity – and is backing up alternate routes including 2nd, says SDOT.
5:47 PM: And here’s what SPD says the 4th Avenue S. situation is about:
Three teenaged suspects in custody near 4th Ave S in connection with 1/26 greenbelt homicides and shootings. More details to come.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) February 2, 2016
SPD says they’re 13, 16, and 17 years old.
5:49 PM: And now there’s a crash at Highland Park Way and Holden. (added) Reported to be “3 or 4 vehicles.”
6:04 PM: Texter says the crash is stopping traffic headed uphill; SPD says Holden is subject to closure until it’s cleared.
6:22 PM: We are at the HP scene.
(photo added) 2 people have been taken to the hospital, police tell us. Uphill traffic has to go right onto westbound Holden.
6:48 PM: On our way back from HP Way, we doublechecked 35th/Graham; that scene is clear, and SDOT says two lanes have reopened on 4th Avenue S. at the earlier arrest scene. As for the current West Seattle incident – please let us know if you go through HP Way/Holden and it’s clear, as we won’t be able to get back there to check any time soon – thank you.
7:28 AM: Thanks to Sage K. for reporting in comments that HP Way is now clear too.
(UPDATED 8:01 PM with information about 2011 personal-expenses benefit)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Puget Sound Susan G. Komen Foundation says it is confident that all the money raised for its breast-cancer-fighting efforts in the name of West Seattleite Tracy Dart and her local associates went to the foundation.
We inquired with Komen today after receiving numerous inquiries over the weekend about this report by the West Seattle Herald quoting an unidentified source as saying Dart may have fabricated some part or all of her reported three-time, seven-plus-year cancer fight.
Senior public-relations manager Christi Ball Loso told WSB via e-mail:
Komen was notified of the situation last week and has been in contact with Tracy’s family. We have not been contacted by law enforcement.
Our records show that Tracy personally raised $28,541 for Komen starting in 2006, and that her Seattle and California teams raised more than $414,000 since 2006. This money has been used as intended – for Komen’s research and community health programs. And, we can assure the community that Tracy did not receive any funds from Komen. The organizations that receive Komen funding go through significant vetting to assess their program impact.
The biggest question people asked us: Is the fabrication allegation true?
As we told those who contacted us in various messaging channels this weekend, that question so far has not been answered on the record by anyone. But today, the Komen Foundation discussed the fundraising questions on the record.
(WSB photo)
1:18 PM: Police are converging on Westwood to look for a black 4-door Mercedes sedan reported to possibly have an armed person inside making threats about shooting someone. There is no report of anyone having been hurt, or actual gunfire, so far, but if you are seeing an increased police presence in the area, that’s what it’s about. The car may have up to six people inside; the person with a gun was described as a black man in his late teens or early 20s, and was last reported to have been seen near 26th SW and SW Barton. We’ll update with anything more we find out about.
1:37 PM: We’ve talked to police at the scene. So far, their investigation indicates this started as a dispute in the McDonald’s parking lot, with the threat stemming over jealousy related to a romantic relationship. They’re still looking for the car and suspect(s).
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