West Seattle, Washington

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day : 28/07/2017 11 results

This time it’s definitely fireworks
July 28, 2017 11:03 pm
|    Comments Off on This time it’s definitely fireworks
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle news

Meant to mention this in the daily preview list … that’s a post-game Mariners fireworks show you might have been hearing in the distance just now. They have one more planned this season, September 22nd.

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AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE: Band Jam 2017 brings musical marching to Southwest Athletic Complex
July 28, 2017 7:12 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

That’s the Junior All-City Band, elementary- and middle-school musicians from all over the city, first up at Band Jam, which will fill the next hour and a half or so with marching-band music at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) – a free and fun showcase on Seafair Torchlight Parade Eve, hosted by the All-City Band and organized by its director Marcus Pimpleton:

Second up, the Gents Drumline:

Excellent crowd this year! No admission charge, still some room in the bleachers over here on the north side.

7:44 PM: From Burien, the Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band just wrapped up its set:

And the Rainbow City Band has marched onto the field:

Each band performs at least two songs.

8:24 PM: And sometimes the performances aren’t really songs – like the drumline-centered tour de force the Sumner High School Summer Marching Band (which includes middle-schoolers) is performing right now.

We’ll add video of that later – this is from a few minutes earlier:

The Sumner band has more than 100 people on the field! They’ll be followed in a few minutes by the hosts, the All-City Band, Seattle parade fixtures in their green polo shirts and white pants – grand-prize winners at last Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade.

8:52 PM: And with everything from flag-twirling to virtuoso baton-tossing – along with their signature chant, “Who are we? All-City Band!” they have wrapped up the show.

After a march to the fence at the bottom of the stands, and a standing ovation, they’re done, Band Jam is over, and it’s on for many of tonight’s musicians to tomorrow night’s Torchlight Parade downtown. We’ll be adding/substituting more photos/video back at HQ.

11:48 PM: The additions have begun.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Package-theft evidence dumped
July 28, 2017 6:59 pm
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

Received from Sheridan a short time ago:

Just witnessed two people in a vehicle dumping the boxes of stolen packages in the alleyway behind my house near 22nd SW & SW Cloverdale. Reported to Seattle Police along with car’s registration number. Was a light blue/silver Honda CRV.

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UPDATE: Driver/rider collision at California/Brandon, 1 hurt
July 28, 2017 5:40 pm
|      10 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

5:40 PM: A collision between a driver and motorcycle rider has California closed at Brandon. No info on injuries yet.

5:46 PM: The two-wheeled vehicle involved is actually a scooter, our crew says. The man who was riding it will be taken to the hospital but is not believed to have major injuries; he is alert and conscious. The car driver is reported to be unhurt. Because no one has life-threatening injuries, the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad will not be dispatched, and the scene is likely to clear within an hour.

5:49 PM: Southbound California has just been reopened; northbound remains blocked at the scene.

5:59 PM: Northbound California has now reopened too.

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VIDEO: See inside West Seattle’s first charter school, Summit Atlas, 3 weeks before it opens
July 28, 2017 4:38 pm
|      25 COMMENTS
 |   Arbor Heights | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Classes start August 21st at the former supermarket and church that is becoming West Seattle’s first charter school, Summit Atlas.

Today – six months after a ceremonial groundbreaking kicked off extensive remodeling, and days before work begins on an addition – we got our first look inside, with a tour that included future students and their families.

It’s been two and a half years since we broke the news of the charter-middle-and-high-school plan for the property at 9601 35th SW (southwest corner of 35th/Roxbury), discovering an early-stage proposal in city permit-application files.

Former owners Freedom Church/Jesus Center sold the site in 2015 to Washington Charter School Development for $4.75 million. WCSD is the regional branch of a California-based company that specializes in building schools for charter firms like Summit (also California-based) – this is their fourth in Washington, all repurposing existing buildings, WCSD’s James Heugas (a West Seattle resident) noted after today’s tour. (We got a look inside one of the others, Summit Sierra in the International District, a year ago.)

But before we show you what’s been done inside and what’s about to happen outside, some updates:

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Starting Saturday, don’t omit the area code
July 28, 2017 3:24 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

You might already use area codes in all the phone calls you make. But if you don’t – you’d better start. It’s mandatory in our state as of tomorrow (Saturday, July 29th), with a fifth area code soon to be added. This has been in the works for more than a year – lots of background info here.

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WEST SEATTLE DEVELOPMENT: Two Delridge updates
July 28, 2017 2:02 pm
|      15 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Development | West Seattle news

From the city Department of Construction and Inspections files:

REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL AT 5214 DELRIDGE WAY SW: An early-stage proposal has just appeared in city files to redevelop this site [map], which has been remodeled incrementally in recent years and now houses multiple small businesses. The new proposal is described as follows:

Demolition of existing commercial structure and construction of new 3600 sf mixed use building and (4) townhouse units. Mixed use building to include (2) commercial spaces and (4) Small Efficiency Dwelling Units (SEDU). Parking for (6) vehicles to be provided on site.

(SEDU is the city’s term for microstudio apartments.) Again, it’s an early-stage proposal, just beginning its journey through the potential permitting process.

SEE THE DESIGN PACKET FOR 8854 DELRIDGE BEFORE FIRST REVIEW: Two miles south, 8854 Delridge Way SW [map] goes to the Southwest Design Review Board for the first time on Thursday night (August 3rd). We first reported a year ago that a mixed-use project was planned for the site of a burned-out former auto shop. The design packet describes as “a new 4-story building over a below-grade parking garage level with 31 apartment micro-units, retail (café) space, and 15 enclosed parking stalls.” Here’s the packet by Sazei Design Group:

Or, see it here. Next Thursday’s review is for Early Design Guidance, so it focuses on “massing” – size, shape, placement on site – and is set for 6:30 pm at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon), including a public-comment period.

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SATURDAY NIGHT: See ‘LEGO Batman’ @ West Seattle Outdoor Movies
July 28, 2017 12:33 pm
|    Comments Off on SATURDAY NIGHT: See ‘LEGO Batman’ @ West Seattle Outdoor Movies
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle Outdoor Movies

From the same people who brought you the earworm “Everything Is Awesome” … it’s “The Lego Batman Movie,” and it’s what’s onscreen Saturday night at this summer’s second West Seattle Outdoor Movies event. You’re welcome to show up in the SW Snoqualmie Festival Street [map] on the south side of the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) in The Triangle as early as 6:30 pm; the movie starts at dusk, 9 pm-ish. Here’s some of what else will be going on between those two times:

*Diaper drive for WestSide Baby (especially in need of sizes 4-6 and training pants)
*Nonprofit-benefiting raffles for items including a Pagliacci gift card and Zippy’s gift certificate
*Kids’ giveaways from Curious Kidstuff
*Food truck (awaiting word on which one)
*Fundraising concessions
*Pre-movie kids’ activities courtesy of the Y

…and more. Admission is free; bring your own chair and/or blanket. (Or both … it was a little breezy by showtime last Saturday night.) See the full season lineup – every Saturday night through August 26th –
here.

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@ West Seattle Transportation Coalition: Who’s responsible for dealing with port-truck trouble?
July 28, 2017 10:30 am
|      23 COMMENTS
 |   Port of Seattle | Transportation | West Seattle news

(2015 photo by Don Brubeck)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

When port-bound trucks clog routes leading to shipping terminals, who’s ultimately accountable for clearing them, and preventing future problems?

That was part of what was explored in depth during port reps’ visit last night to the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, which also reviewed key points made by participants in its June workshop about light-rail routing.

First:

PORT TRUCKS: As they had done at this month’s Southwest District Council meeting, operations executive Zachary Thomas from the Northwest Seaport Alliance and Port of Seattle communicator Mick Shultz talked, and answered questions, about the truck traffic.

Thomas explained again about how the shifting alliances in the shipping business had led to the “additional volume (for) some terminals” and less for others. The “general shift of volume from Tacoma to Seattle” led to a 40 percent increase in volume at Terminal 18 on the east side of Harbor Island at one point this spring, Thomas said, noting that similar changes were happening around the world at the same time, “massive changes” that meant “for the first two to four weeks of the new alliance(s) … the vessels were just all over the place.” (Terminal 46, further north, didn’t see any change, though.)

At the time of that volume increase, “you would have seen a lot of trucks, no doubt about it.” The terminal operator, SSA, did take action in response to what was going on, Thomas said – though not enough to prevent backups. So that led to some grilling on who could have and should have done more.

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West Seattle Friday: Band Jam; Chief Sealth multi-class reunion; free teen swim; more…
July 28, 2017 9:04 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photos @ Alki Point, by Gary Jones)

We’re perched on the edge of the weekend, ready to fly into fun … here are the highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARK OPEN TODAY: Lincoln Park wading pool, 11 am-8 pm; Highland Park spraypark, 11 am-8 pm; Hiawatha wading pool, noon-6:30 pm; EC Hughes wading pool, noon-7 pm. (Find addresses here)

CHIEF SEALTH MULTI-CLASS REUNION: If you are a Chief Sealth graduate from the ’60s, ’70s or ’80s, you’re invited to tonight’s reunion! 5-8 pm at the Lincoln Park picnic shelters on the beach closest to the park’s south end. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)

HUNDREDS OF MUSICIANS, MARCHING: This is the most moving outdoor concert you’ll see all summer. That’s moving, as in forward, backward, sideways … marching bands all over the field at Southwest Athletic Complex for this year’s Band Jam! It’s mostly – but not entirely – a tune-up for Saturday night’s Seafair Torchlight Parade, as first hatched by Seattle Schools All-City Band director Marcus Pimpleton back in 2009. ACB hosts and dare we say stars in the showcase, with this year’s announced lineup also including Junior All-City Band, the Gents Drumline, the John F. Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band, the Rainbow City Band, the Sumner High School Spartan Marching Band. Gates open 6 pm and fundraiser concessions go on sale; 6:30 pm preshow entertainment; 7 pm, Band Jam begins. (2801 SW Thistle)

DIRECT FROM TEXAS … it’s Unwed Fathers, live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: Tonight at 7 at Camp Long, GreenStage presents “Comedy of Errors,” free. Details in our calendar listing. (5200 35th SW)

FREE TEEN SWIM AT SOUTHWEST POOL: 8-9:30 pm, youth 11-19 are invited to Southwest Pool for a free swim! (2801 SW Thistle)

MOVIE IN THE PARK: “Jungle Book” is tonight’s movie in the “park” next to West Seattle Church of the Nazarene, 9 pm. Free; refreshments provided. (42nd SW/SW Juneau)

THREE BANDS … live at Parliament Tavern, 9 pm-midnight; see the bill here. 21+. $5 cover. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

SEE EVERYTHING ON THE CALENDAR … by going here.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday updates; weekend notes
July 28, 2017 7:11 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday updates; weekend notes
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(HERE’S THE REVAMPED SDOT MAP with travel times/video links)

7:11 AM: We’ve checked around and there are no incidents of note in/from West Seattle so far. Looking ahead to tomorrow:

TORCHLIGHT RUN VIADUCT CLOSURE: The route includes the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which will be closed northbound 5-7:45 pm Saturday night, while southbound remains open.

HARBOR AVENUE PARKING RESTRICTIONS: As noted here on Thursday, both sides of Harbor Avenue between the bridge and the T-5 entrance have parking restrictions for tonight/tomorrow because of Torchlight Parade float storage. Seafair hasn’t responded to our request for schedule details but in past years the floats have headed out around 8 am Saturday, headed downtown, and that’s led to some traffic effects.

7:40 AM Stalled vehicle on right lane on NB Viaduct approaching Seneca.

8:02 AM: SDOT says that is now clear.

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