day : 02/05/2017 12 results

(Reader-texted photo from 35th/Othello last Thursday, final official day of SDOT’s ‘Pothole Palooza’)

It started loudly, and ended quietly. After commenter Bolo asked if SDOT‘s trumpeted Pothole Palooza had ended, we asked, and got the reply today.

Short version: Yes.

Longer, from SDOT spokesperson Sue Romero: “Our Pothole Palooza campaign has finished, although pothole-filling is always ongoing for our crews. During the 11-day campaign (April 17 to 27), crews filled about 8,400 potholes; in the 2-week period of the campaign that included Friday, April 28, crews had filled 8,700 potholes.” (No regional breakout.)

According to an SDOT video wrapping up Pothole Palooza, that’s close to half the number of potholes their crews fixed in the entirety of 2016 (19,074). SDOT workers got extra help from Seattle Parks workers during PP. And as Romero said, they’ll continue responding to pothole reports – you can file them online here (see the pothole-report map here), call 206-684-ROAD, and/or use the city’s Find It, Fix It app.

P.S. As for repaving instead of just pothole-filling – here’s our most-recent followup on the Roxbury and Avalon projects that are planned “as soon as 2019.”

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FROM SEAL SITTERS: Taffy in rehab; invitation for new volunteers

May 2, 2017 7:26 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Two notes from Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tonight.

(Photo by David Hutchinson – taken last Friday at very-long-lens distance)

First, harbor-seal pup Taffy, who we’ve told you about before, is now in rehab. From Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey:

Early Saturday morning we were finally able to capture seal pup Taffy, whose health issues were a growing concern, especially because of the potentially dangerous location of her chosen stretch of beach at Alki. After coming ashore almost every day for over a month (with the exception of a couple of weekends when the beach was so busy with activity), her health had begun to take a downturn. Thankfully, she started out as a quite robust, older and wiser seal pup, now estimated to be 8 or 9 months old. …

Thanks to the public for being tolerant of a semi-permanent tape closure of the small grass area along the sea wall, right above her favorite little nook. Because she was so wary and skittish, she was often scared back into Puget Sound by people standing too close above her. Even with the tape buffer zone, Taffy could not get undisrupted rest. It’s tough for wildlife to find quiet spots to rest and forage in urban areas.

Taffy spent the weekend being stabilized and treated at PAWS.

Robin was awaiting an update on Taffy’s injuries and possible infection and plans to update Blubberblog here.

Meantime, want to volunteer with Seal Sitters? Here’s your next chance to jump in!

Seal Sitters will be holding our volunteer training/Spring Session on Saturday morning, May 13th – RSVP is required to ensure seating.

For details about the training and to learn more about Seal Sitters and NOAA West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, please visit our website.

(Photo by Robin Lindsey)

The photo above shows volunteer Sarah, who enthusiastically protected Taffy and educated the public – even in the cold rain. We are always in need of additional great, reliable volunteers!

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Metro partnering with Diamond for new ‘park-and-ride’ spaces in West Seattle and elsewhere – but they’re not free

May 2, 2017 5:54 pm

| 66 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Metro announced today that it’s partnering with Diamond Parking to offer 250 pay-by-the-month “park-and-ride” spots at 12 locations around King County. Only four are in Seattle, and three of them are in West Seattle – the underground garage by Admiral Bartell Drugs (80 spaces, $39/month after one free month), by US Bank in The Junction (8 spaces, $76/month after one free month), and Jefferson Square (30 spaces, $91/month after one free month). From Metro’s announcement:

Metro provides service to 137 park-and-ride lots with more than 25,000 spaces in King County, but many are becoming overcrowded. Metro selected Diamond Parking Services through a competitive bid process to partner on a system that enables property owners to offer unused parking space for lease near bus routes and help meet growing demand.

The Park & Ride Partnership Project is funded with a grant from the Federal Highway Administration. This first-of-its-kind public/private partnership is designed to expand park-and-ride options by making use of excess parking adjacent to businesses, apartments and retailers. It helps Metro meet demand without the expense and time required to build or acquire new public facilities.

“This is the first time a transit agency has partnered with a network of private parking lot owners for transit customer use,” said Daniel Rowe, a Metro transportation planner and manager of the pilot project. ”It is one of many innovative and cost-efficient strategies that Metro is exploring to help the public connect to transit.”

Starting June 1, 250 spaces will be available to lease at 12 locations in King County. View this online map for locations and connecting bus routes. More locations are expected to be added as Diamond Parking, which manages the lots and customer transactions, continues recruiting property owners.

The announcement explains how it works:

Go to Parkbytransit.com to view available locations and prices. Customers who sign up will be mailed a monthly permit to hang in their car. The permit guarantees a spot in a designated area; individual spaces will not be assigned.

Diamond Parking will establish prices based on market rates for each location. The first month is offered free. Permits range from $32 to $173, compared to an average of $300 for monthly parking in downtown Seattle.

Properties were selected by Diamond in coordination with Metro. To be eligible for the project, properties must be near frequent transit routes that serve major employment centers such as downtown Seattle, have 10 or more available stalls between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., have safe walking conditions, and be within walking distance of bus stops. Diamond Parking enforces the parking rules.

Metro does not collect any revenue from the permit sales, but will benefit by gaining new riders on bus service.

In addition to the Park & Ride Partnership, Metro leases park-and-ride spaces on available properties near transit hubs (provided at no cost to transit riders) and launched a Carpool Parking Permit program in February that allows drivers with two or more regular transit riders (average of three days of ridership per week) to park in reserved spaces for free at six area park-and-rides.

Questions? This FAQ might answer them.

P.S. West Seattle has ~~two~~ three free park-and-ride lots – under the west end of the West Seattle Bridge along Spokane Street, near Olson/Myers, and (added) by Holy Family Church (20th/Roxbury).

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DEAL: Haven’t signed up for West Seattle 5K yet? Here’s an incentive

May 2, 2017 5:33 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news

(WSB WS5K file photo)

Kick off summer by running/walking the West Seattle 5K along Alki, from Statue of Liberty Plaza to Anchor Park and back on Sunday, May 21st. If you’re not already registered, here’s an incentive to do it right now – through tomorrow (May 3rd), use the (updated) code MAYDAY5 and you’ll save $5 off the registration fee. 100 percent of what you pay, by the way, goes directly to support educational programs at West Seattle High School. Top three male and female finishers win a prize from West Seattle Runner, Salty’s on Alki, or Coastal Surf Boutique. Sign up at WestSeattle5K.com.

(WSB has co-sponsored the WS5K every year since it began in 2009. WS Runner and Salty’s are WSB sponsors.)

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‘These are our neighbors, our parents, our friends’: Senior Center of West Seattle’s benefit breakfast exceeds goal

May 2, 2017 2:21 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(WSB photos. Above: Joyce Ditz, Meals on Wheels coordinator for the Senior Center)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

In this more-uncertain-than-ever time for nonprofits and the people they serve … you need to know who’s at work in our community, and what they do.

Toward that goal, more than 130 people gathered this morning in Hatten Hall, upstairs at the Senior Center of West Seattle, to celebrate what it does, and to raise money so it can keep doing what it does. Their generosity surpassed the morning’s $35,000 target, eventually totaling almost $40,000, executive director Lyle Evans told WSB this afternoon.

Never been to the Senior Center? It’s far from a stereotypically dour place with dour people. It’s a place with programs, services, and gatherings offering, among other things, food, fun, flexibility, and family – the one you find, as well as the one you were born into.

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CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Michael E. Maine pleads guilty to four charges

May 2, 2017 1:06 pm

| 26 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Just found this in a routine check of online court files today: Five months after he was arrested and charged, 39-year-old Michael E. Maine has pleaded guilty in a plea agreement. At a hearing last Friday, court documents say, he pleaded guilty to three drug charges and one count of attempted unlawful second-degree firearm possession. He originally was charged with four drug charges, three of which alleged he provided heroin last November to undercover police at his family’s Junction bar, the Corner Pocket; as a result of the plea agreement, one of those charges was dropped. The firearms charge was related to a handgun found in a safe in Maine’s home; he is not allowed to legally possess a gun because of felony convictions in the mid-’90s.

Maine is scheduled to be sentenced by King County Superior Court Judge Barbara Mack on May 19th. Court documents say prosecutors will recommend a sentence under the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative that would involve three to six months of residential treatment, plus two years of community custody (probation). The Corner Pocket, meantime, has been closed since the night of Maine’s arrest; the state Liquor and Cannabis Board was planning to pursue permanent revocation of its license, and we are checking on the status of that situation.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH UPDATE: Police standoff in High Point over

May 2, 2017 10:46 am

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| Crime | High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(Added: WSB photo)

10:46 AM: If you’re wondering about the police response along 32nd SW in south High Point – it’s a standoff with someone we are told is a suspect in a domestic-violence-related incident. No word of any injuries. But avoid 32nd for a few blocks south of Morgan until this is resolved. More to come.

11:01 AM: We’re trying to verify this, but it appears the situation is winding down. Our photographer saw one person taken into custody and officers subsequently went into the residence to be sure no one else was inside (and have already emerged).

11:09 AM: It’s over and the street’s reopening.

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West Seattle scene: Salmon-release season at Fauntleroy Creek

May 2, 2017 10:44 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

10:44 AM: Above, that’s Fauntleroy Creek volunteer Dennis Hinton with students from Genesee Hill Elementary, one of more than a dozen schools releasing salmon fry into the creek this spring. Before release season is out, creek steward Judy Pickens tells WSB, volunteers will have worked with about 750 students from all over our area. This is all a followup to a big day in January when volunteers delivered salmon eggs to local schools, who started learning about the life cycle by nurturing them until the fry are set free. More photos later!

11:54 AM: Added:

Shortly after arrival, there’s always a briefing. And of course, the stars of the show are along for the ride:

The GHES students also got to meet EarthCorps volunteers who are working this week in nearby Kilbourne Ravine:

From left, above, are EC’s Nathan, Imani, and Ellen.

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West Seattle Tuesday: Job-search help, WWRHAH’s future, WSCO’s free concert, more…

May 2, 2017 10:14 am

| Comments Off on West Seattle Tuesday: Job-search help, WWRHAH’s future, WSCO’s free concert, more…

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Seen off Alki this morning – photographed by Jim Borrow)

Highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

NEED A JOB? Your search can be easier with help. 2-4 pm today and every Tuesday, you are invited to drop by Neighborhood House High Point and get help, as explained in our calendar listing. And be sure to check the local-job listings here on WSB, too. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)

FREE CONCERT: West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Student Strings and Debut Orchestra are in concert at 6 tonight at the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium. Admission free, and of course donations are appreciated. Program includes “Harry Potter” highlights! (2600 SW Thistle)

DRINKING LIBERALLY: Drop in and talk politics – 6-7:30 pm at Pizzeria 22 in The Admiral District. (4213 SW College)

WESTWOOD-ROXHILL-ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY COUNCIL: Agenda for 6:15 pm meeting tonight, upstairs meeting room at Southwest Library:

6:15-6:25: Introductions & Community News

6:25-6:35: Seattle City Council Candidate Hisam Goueli; Intro and Q&A

6:35-7:45: WWRHAH and the Future: Let’s decide on interim leadership and acknowledge the group’s successes to date, and look to how to move into the future.

We need to think deeply and state openly: why we think we meet, how we think we can better serve our community/drive local engagement , and how can we might better utilize relationships to the other existing West Seattle community groups as our allies and resources.

(35th SW/SW Henderson)

WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: All welcome at this month’s West Seattle Bike Connections meeting, 6:30 pm at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. (41st SW/SW Alaska)

WEST SEATTLE BOOSTER CLUB: 7 pm, the club that works to help WSHS sports programs meets at the West Seattle High School Library. (3000 California SW)

TO LOOK AHEAD, ANY TIME ... just check our complete calendar!

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FOR THE BIRDS: With Lincoln Park event Friday, Seattle will take flight as Urban Bird Treaty city

May 2, 2017 9:00 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | Wildlife

(Song sparrow, photographed at Lincoln Park in February by Trileigh Tucker)

We told you recently about Lincoln Park joining Seattle Audubon’s Neighborhood Bird Project. This Friday, the park will again be on centerstage of the local birding world – as the site of a ceremony that will declare all of Seattle to be an Urban Bird Treaty City. And you’re invited. Here’s the announcement from Seattle Parks:

On May 5, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) joins Seattle Audubon, Audubon Washington, Heron Habitat Helpers, Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other partners to sign a treaty designating the City of Seattle as an Urban Bird Treaty City.

The treaty-signing celebration will begin at Lincoln Park in Seattle on May 5 at 11 a.m. Seattle Audubon volunteers will lead a bird walk prior to the treaty signing at the park at 10 a.m. The public is encouraged to attend both the bird walk and signing ceremony.

The event will recognize Seattle’s migratory bird conservation and education accomplishments, and celebrate the renewed commitment of partners to develop programs in Seattle to protect birds and their habitat, as well as connect people to the natural world.

The Urban Bird Treaty program is a collaborative effort between federal, state, and municipal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions to create bird-friendly environments and provide citizens, especially youth, with opportunities to connect with nature through birding and conservation.

“We recognize the important role urban areas play in conserving migratory birds,” said Seth Shteir, Conservation Manager at Seattle Audubon Society. “By becoming an Urban Bird Treaty City, we hope to inspire Seattleites to keep the city healthy and safe for birds and people.”

Today there are more than 25 Urban Bird Treaty cities across the nation working to conserve and restore bird habitat. Seattle will fill an important missing link as it joins San Francisco, Portland, and Anchorage as an Urban Bird Treaty City, thus protecting the Pacific Flyway – a migratory super highway for birds.

“Migratory bird conservation is only possible through collaboration with partners,” said Robyn Thorson, Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region. “We are proud to recognize the efforts of many diverse partners in the Seattle area whose work has led to this milestone signing, and eager to see what the continued power of collaboration will produce for birds in the Puget Sound area.”

“At Seattle Parks and Recreation, our mission is to support healthy people, a healthy environment, and strong communities. The Urban Bird Treaty program will help us achieve all three of these goals by encouraging Seattle residents to be active and connect to nature through birding opportunities at local parks and open spaces, and by providing educational programs and volunteer opportunities that bring together diverse groups of residents, especially youth,” said Jesús Aguirre, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation.

“I am pleased to collaborate with our municipal, academic, and non-profit partners to designate Seattle as an Urban Bird Treaty City. Seattle has been an environmental leader of historic proportions, and the Urban Bird Treaty program helps build upon our rich tradition of conserving urban wildlife habitats. This program not only helps protect the vital Pacific Flyway—a migratory super highway for birds along the West Coast—it also supports new education opportunities for residents, especially young people, so they can learn about the unique birds and ecosystems of our beautiful city,” said Debra Juarez, Seattle City Councilmember and Committee Chair to Parks, Waterfront, Libraries, and Seattle Center.

Launched in 1999, the Urban Bird Treaty program emphasizes habitat conservation through invasive species control, native plant restoration, bird-safe building programs, bird and habitat monitoring, and education programs.

The celebration will be held near Lincoln Park’s north play area.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; bridge closure again tonight

May 2, 2017 6:54 am

| Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; bridge closure again tonight

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)

6:54 AM: Good morning. No incidents in or from West Seattle.

BRIDGE CLOSURE AGAIN TONIGHT: The second overnight closure for streetlight work on the westbound west end of the high bridge is set to start at 9 pm tonight. Here again are the details from SDOT.

8:01 AM: Still no incidents in the area. Stadium-zone reminder for tonight: The Mariners are starting a home stand, playing the Angels at 7:10 pm at The Safe.

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SOCCER: Tryouts ahead as Highline Soccer Association Select program expands

May 2, 2017 2:00 am

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| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

More youth-soccer tryouts are coming up – starting in one week! Here’s the announcement:

The Highline Soccer Association is pleased to announce that our HSA Select program, which we started Fall 2015 to provide our youth players the opportunity to stay within our association and play at a higher level, has been a great success. This program is designed to fill the gap between our recreational programs (West Seattle Soccer Club and Highline Soccer Club) and our premier program (Highline Premier FC) with regards to competitive level, time commitment, and cost.

Due to this success, we are expanding the number of teams from 6 last fall to 9 teams this fall, and we have secured quality coaches for each level. Due to last year’s registration changes, our teams will be formed by what year the players were born. The age groups for our select teams this fall will be those boys and girls born in years 2004, 2005, 2006 ,and 2007, and boys born in 2003.

Each team will compete in a minimum of two tournaments in addition to the fall season. Team practices would begin in June. Training for field players will be conducted by the coaches, who may also opt to hire trainers. A limited amount of goalkeeper training will also be provided. The HSA Select program is ideal for any player desiring more competition and higher-level training, but not wanting the full-year commitment. HSA Select teams will play in the North Puget Sound League, which is a select league covering the Seattle and Eastside areas. The cost per player will consist of a $400 program fee, and each new player will purchase their HSA Select uniform at around $100. There will also be an additional $100-$300 team fee, which will cover equipment, training and tournaments.

The tryout schedule is listed below, by birth year:

Valley Ridge is at 4644 S. 188th St. in SeaTac; the other two fields are in West Seattle – Delridge at 4501 Delridge Way SW; Walt Hundley at 6760 34th Ave SW. To register for the tryouts ($10), please click here to register and/or create your account. Questions? hsaselect@gmail.com

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