day : 26/06/2017 14 results

(Photos courtesy Clay Eals)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“It has drama, it has charm, it has youthful exuberance.”

So enthuses Bob Kendrick about “Legends of the Road,” the locally produced documentary that will be screened at the historic Admiral Theater tomorrow night to raise money to restore its murals.

Most of all, it has history – history that Bob knows well. He is president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, visiting West Seattle to be part of the screening, which is the story of a Chief Sealth (pre-International) High School teacher and his students who made a groundbreaking 5,100-mile bicycle trip at the turn of the millennium to recreate the leagues’ “barnstorming” trips.

(Bob Kendrick and Gary Thomsen)

That since-retired teacher, Gary Thomsen, was part of our conversation today with Bob and with Clay Eals of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which is presenting Tuesday night’s event.

Even if you’re not a baseball fan – or history buff – there are reasons to go see it. Read More

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Hit-run crash; dumped bicycle

June 26, 2017 9:00 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight.

HIT-RUN VICTIM LOOKING FOR INFO: The report is from Becky:

Our friend Bobbie was involved in a hit and run on Genesee between 42nd and California this morning between 11:05 and 11:15. She had a parked white Subaru Outback on Genesee when a Republic recycle truck employee witnessed a white box van try to go around my friend’s car and ended up sideswiping her car and dragging off the bumper and fleeing the scene. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Bobbie’s # is 206-851-0526 and my name is Becky, 360-471-3373.

The SPD incident number is 17-230397.

DUMPED BICYCLE: From Mark:

A stolen Manhattan-brand mountain bike with a small Stanford Univ sticker was discarded in the 1500 block of Alki Ave (along the water). For details contact msjseattle@gmail.com

P.S. If you want to hear firsthand from Seattle Police about the latest crime trends – and find out about the revived Community Service Officer program – be at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting Tuesday night, 6:30 pm at the precinct (2300 SW Webster).

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ROAD-WORK ALERT: 4th Avenue S. closure next weekend

June 26, 2017 7:26 pm

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| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Since so many people use the 4th Avenue South route to get between downtown and the West Seattle Bridge, here’s a heads-up about a closure next weekend:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) advises travelers that crews will be closing Fourth Ave S between S Washington and Jefferson streets from Friday, June 30 through Monday, July 3. This closure is needed to complete work as part of the Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project.

From 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., Friday, June 30 through Monday, July 3, travelers can expect:

• Fourth Ave S to be closed to all traffic between S Washington and Jefferson streets

• Noise and construction activity

• Detours for pedestrians, bicycles, vehicles, and buses

SDOT would like to thank the public for its patience while this work is completed.

The Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project will improve the safety and reliability of the Yesler Bridge while preserving its historical elements. For more information, please visit the Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project webpage.

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‘Assault with weapons’ call west of The Junction

June 26, 2017 6:30 pm

| 22 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)

Lots of questions about the police and fire response for an “assault with weapons” call in the 4500 block of 48th SW, near Ercolini Park. We have just talked to responders at the scene, and they tell us a person died by suicide inside a home.

As we always mention in coverage of suicide: If you or someone you know is contemplating self-harm, the Crisis Clinic‘s 24-hour hotline is 206-461-3222.

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Brown water again: West of The Junction this time

June 26, 2017 5:33 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

Last night we published a reminder about calling Seattle Public Utilities if your tap water is discolored – 206-386-1800. Just heard from a resident west of The Junction who says she called because of brown water, apparently resulting from nearby fire-hydrant use she saw earlier.

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HALA REZONING: Public hearing, open house at City Hall on Thursday

June 26, 2017 5:10 pm

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| Development | West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

Semi-quick reminder: While the public-comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda‘s proposed rezoning is only about halfway over, the biggest public event is just three days away: A public hearing and open house at City Hall downtown (600 4th Ave.). As announced when the DEIS went public earlier this month, the event starts at 5:30 pm Thursday (June 29th), with public comment to follow a short briefing at 6:30 pm. The full document is linked from this city webpage, which has information on other ways to comment until the July 23rd deadline. If you haven’t been following the process until now, the rezoning would affect commercial/multifamily property throughout the city, as well as single-family property in urban villages (West Seattle has four – Admiral, Morgan Junction, West Seattle Junction, and Westwood-Highland Park), some of which would see expanded boundaries. The DEIS looks at two options for rezoning – you can use this interactive map to see whether/how each would affect your neighborhood.

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TRAFFIC ALERT UPDATE: Semi-truck cleared from Avalon bridge ramp

June 26, 2017 4:17 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

4:17 PM: Thanks for the tips and photos. Police and SDOT are at the spot where you head to the eastbound West Seattle Bridge from Avalon – a semi-truck is stuck. Police tell us it could take up to an hour more to clear.

4:25 PM: And … the intersection is clear, according to Twitter and scanner traffic. Sorry to have missed early word on this one. Harbor SW was also blocked for a bit while the damaged trailer was moved to the tow yard just north of the intersection.

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FOLLOWUP: SDOT moves Thistle stairway work to next year, and other updates

June 26, 2017 3:01 pm

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| Transportation | West Seattle news

Late last year, we reported on SDOT‘s plan to replace the SW Thistle stairway in Upper Fauntleroy. At the time, the work was expected to be done this year. Now, project manager Greg Funk says it won’t happen before next year:

We’re now planning to replace this stairway in 2018. We had originally scheduled this stairway replacement to happen this year, but our engineering cost estimates came in too high for our maintenance crews to construct (the steep hillside and narrow right of way add to the project scope). This means we need to go through a formal design and bidding process. We are also going to look at the possibility of rehabbing the existing stairway rather than doing a full tearout and replacement.

Two other updates – first, a survey:

Our 2018 stairway survey is now live. This map shows the stairways we’ve prioritized for improvements in 2018. The survey closes on July 10, 2017 and we will use the input to inform design and better communicate with the stairway neighbors during construction.

You can answer that survey by going here – note that it includes three West Seattle stairways, two in the north, one in the south. And we have one other update:

Update on SW Holly St & Beveridge Pl SW: This stairway was scheduled for replacement last year; however, there were concerns about the project, so we have decided to re-hab this stairway and put it on our list of stairways that we will keep for historic purposes. We will reset the existing stairway and upgrade the wood rail to standard steel rail. We may have time to complete this work in 2017, if not 2018.

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WEST SEATTLE CHURCHES: New leader for St. John the Baptist Episcopal

June 26, 2017 2:18 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle religion

After six years without a permanent rector, St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church will have one starting this fall. And she has served this church before, according to the official announcement:

The Vestry of Saint John the Baptist Episcopal Parish today announced that the Reverend Kate E. Wesch has been called to serve as Rector of the parish. Rev. Wesch will join St John’s on October 2, 2017 and will deliver her first sermon as Rector on Sunday, October 8, 2017 during services at 8 and 10:15 a.m.

Rev. Wesch is no stranger to St John’s; she was ordained at this parish in 2007 and served as Associate Priest alongside the parish’s former Rector, the Very Rev. Peter DeVeau. Rev. Wesch and her family have called West Seattle home since moving to Washington State in 2006. Most recently, Rev. Wesch has served at Epiphany Episcopal Parish in Madrona in the capacity of Associate Priest.

Of her new parish, Rev. Wesch notes, “According to its history, St. John’s Parish was established ‘for a broad-minded and liberal churchmanship, which should not only develop the spiritual side of life, but also encourage the social welfare in the most thoughtful and progressive minds of this community.’ This parish has done that now for generations in a community that continues to grow and thrive on this peninsula across the bay. The holy ground at the corner of California Avenue and Hanford is a gracious and serene place to gather to praise God, share your lives, do good works, and study the Gospel.”

The community is invited to meet Rev. Wesch at a special welcoming event on Sunday, October 8, 2017 (details will be made available closer to the date). St. John the Baptist is an Episcopal Parish is celebrating its 125th anniversary in West Seattle, and is a member of the Diocese of Olympia of the Episcopal Church.

The previous rector, Rev. DeVeau, left in late 2011 for Kansas City.

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West Seattle scene: School’s out!

June 26, 2017 1:31 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Thanks to SBRE for today’s in-bus photo – as we remind you again that Seattle Public Schools are getting out an hour early today, last day of classes. Summer vacation continues until the first day of classes, September 6th (for kindergarteners, September 11th). And schedules will be different next year, as announced on June 15th, including weekly early dismissals on Wednesdays. Happy summer to all!

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CRIME WATCH: What Saturday’s big Seattle Police pursuit was all about

June 26, 2017 11:41 am

| 11 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

We heard it – and others saw it: A dozen-plus Seattle Police units (per three readers’ counts) pursuing a car southbound on West Marginal Way just after 2 pm on Saturday afternoon. And today we know why. We also know it started outside West Seattle, thanks to this video from Patrick O’Connor:

He sent that to us on Sunday, explaining that it was recorded on 1st Avenue South in Pioneer Square, but we suspected it was the same incident, given the ~2 pm time frame and proximity to West Seattle. At the time of the pursuit, we heard the sirens from Puget Ridge, where we were covering the Seattle Chinese Garden Kite Festival. We opened a scanner app just in time to hear that whatever it was, was ending, with the pursued vehicle apparently having crossed the city-county line.

We couldn’t find out anything more over the weekend, so today we followed up with SPD’s media-relations team. Det. Mark Jamieson tells WSB, “This was a pursuit of a stolen car involved in several robberies from different jurisdictions. The pursuit was called off as it went across the county line.” He also sent the narrative, which has these additional details:

The officer who wrote the report was on patrol with his partner at Rainier and Graham (map) when they saw a silver Nissan Sentra pull into a gas station. The officers noted that the car resembled one to which they had been alerted the day before, with information from Bellevue Police saying the car was stolen and linked to thefts and robberies in Bellevue and Kirkland. They started to follow the car and then sought authorization for a pursuit, which the report says was eventually ordered terminated by a sergeant.

The officer writing the report noted that he felt a pursuit was warranted because, “Based on recent crime statistics, there has been an increase in robberies (strong-armed and armed) and other violent crimes in the Seattle area. Based on my training, experience, and research of the recent calls, I know that robbery suspects are commonly armed or threaten to use weapons during the commission of these crimes. Knowing that this vehicle was stolen and used in prior robberies and thefts, I felt that if these suspects were not immediately apprehended, they would be a greater danger to the public than if we had let them drive away.” The officer also wrote that further research suggested the same vehicle was linked to four Seattle incidents too.

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What’s up for your West Seattle Monday

June 26, 2017 10:28 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Jamie Kinney – humpback encountered between Alki and Bainbridge on Sunday)

Highlights for the rest of your West Seattle Monday:

WADING POOLS OPEN TODAY: Seattle Parks says Lincoln Park will be open 11 am-8 pm and Delridge will be open noon-6:30 pm. Highland Park Spraypark is open 11 am-8 pm, too. (Addresses are here)

LOW-LOW TIDE: Not quite as low as the weekend’s low-low tides, but still very low, at -3.1 feet at 1:12 pm, with Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists out at Constellation and Lincoln Parks from 11 am to 3 pm.

COLMAN POOL: Noon-7 pm, the outdoor saltwater pool on the shore at Lincoln Park is open – here’s the schedule. Access via foot/bicycle.

LADIES’ NIGHT STAND-UP PADDLEBOARDING: 6-8 pm on Monday nights from Alki Kayak Tours at Seacrest Pier – details in our calendar listing. (1660 Harbor SW)

ALL-AGES QUIZ: 7:30 pm Mondays at The Skylark, all-ages quiz, with prizes. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

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WEST SEATTLE 4TH OF JULY: Special event/hours? Let us know!

June 26, 2017 9:31 am

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| Holidays | West Seattle news

Independence Day is just one week from tomorrow, so we’re working on the annual WSB West Seattle 4th of July page. Got a public event planned? Will your business be closed, or open special holiday hours? Please let us know (if you haven’t already) ASAP so we can include it when we publish the page late tonight – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Last-day-of-school Monday edition; westbound West Seattle Bridge pickup crash

June 26, 2017 7:02 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

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

7:02 AM: Good morning. No incidents reported in or from West Seattle. If you see trouble, let us know when you can do so safely (when you get to where you’re going, unless you’re a passenger) – text or call 206-293-6302.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: Seattle Public Schools‘ last day of classes is today, with one-hour early dismissal.

7:14 AM: Emergency crews have been dispatched to a “heavy rescue” on the westbound bridge at Delridge. No other details yet.

7:18 AM: The camera shows a pickup truck across all lanes of the westbound bridge just west of the Admiral exit. So you won’t be able to get to Fauntleroy from the westbound bridge, TFN. The eastbound side from Fauntleroy is also affected, down to one lane.

7:32 AM: SFD has left the bridge-crash scene just as SDOT arrived to clean up what was described on scanner as a fuel spill and debris.

Tow truck and @seattledot cleanup crew just arrived at bridge crash scene pic.twitter.com/5Y83gT41xZ

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) June 26, 2017

As our video of the SDOT feed shows, tow truck has arrived too. We haven’t heard yet about injuries, if any.

7:44 AM: The SDOT crew, by the way, also is there for the jersey barrier, which is the major reason why this is affecting the eastbound side too. Again, this is all from/to the Fauntleroy end, so if you are getting onto the EB bridge from some point further east, this won’t affect you – aside from heavier volumes from people detouring.

8:05 AM: All eastbound lanes from Fauntleroy are open again.

8:14 AM: Progress in getting the wrecked truck hooked up and towed, too, as you can see on the top-left “live” camera on this page.

8:40 AM: SDOT reports that the westbound bridge is open again.

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