day : 13/08/2017 9 results

11:38 PM: Just confirmed by driving the eastbound bridge – and SDOT finally tweeted it too – the ramp to NB 99 is closed for a crash investigation. No other details. The crash initially was reported as involving a vehicle “into the barricade.”

12:24 AM: The ramp has reopened.

WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: 3 weeks away, 3 ways to help

August 13, 2017 9:19 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

A new parents’ group, Wildcats Touchdown Club, is rallying community support for the West Seattle High School football team, under its new head coach, as the new season approaches. Here’s what they want you to know – and how they hope you can help:

Are you ready for some West Seattle High School football? The coaches, players, and parents at WSHS are. The student athletes and the community are excited for the reveal of the 2017 Wildcats … and there is a lot to be excited about.

The players have been working hard since June to get ready for this season under new head Coach Marcis Fennell. Coach Fennell is developing a culture within the WSHS Football program that prepares young people for the rigors of life through education, technically develops athletes to excel in the sport of football, instills values that will assist in producing men and women of character, gets the team involved with the West Seattle community and continues to cultivate the long tradition of Westside Pride!

As the new coaching staff enters its first season, one of their driving initiatives is to provide a positive and safe experience for all students. To facilitate this, we are asking our community, friends and families, to donate to our program. Please understand that all proceeds will directly benefit the student athletes and their experience in the Wildcats Football program.

Right now, the team is in immediate need of the following: 

*Equipment (girdles, thigh pads, knee pads, etc.) for student athletes

*Operational equipment (agility bags, hand shields, pop-up bags)

*Team meals (pre-game team meals, halftime snacks, and fall ball double day snacks)

*Giant Tents for team halftime at SWAC (there are no locker rooms for the team at half-time)

*Funds for transportation to and from games 

The West Seattle Football team currently has three ways that you can help with our immediate and long-term goals:

Donate directly to the Football Booster club at our Booster Club for Cats Football GoFundMe page. 

Our awesome 2017 WS Football Kick-off t-shirt (you can get one with a blank back as well) for $25 each.

Our cool Elite West Seattle Wildcat socks for $24 a pair.  

  **To pre-order your T-shirt and socks, contact lildeerpaw@hotmail.com with cash or checks payable to the WS Booster Club.

Thanks, all supporters of the Wildcats football program! Every cent donated will assist the coaches and staff in pouring love and education into our young people through the sport of football!

We look forward to seeing you on Friday nights in the Fall!

Don’t forget to put on your calendars that the first game is September 1, 2017 @ 7:00 pm at SWAC!

The full season schedule can be seen here; if you missed our interview with Coach Fennell after the March announcement that he was joining WSHS, see it here.

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BEACH DRIVE SEAWALL: Construction expected to start next year

August 13, 2017 8:12 pm

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| Safety | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(2014 US Army Corps of Engineers photo of failing seawall)

From City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s newest weekly update – a milestone for the Beach Drive seawall project that’s been years in the making. How many years? For one – the 475-foot stretch of seawall itself, at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook, is 90 years old. For two – it’s been three years since the official public-comment period that accompanied an announcement from the Army Corps of Engineers of its agreement with Seattle Parks, and even that followed years of consideration, Beach Drive Blog pointed out earlier in 2014. Now, Herbold writes (sixth item here), a vote this past week puts the project on the road to construction starting next year:

The Council passed an agreement between the City’s Parks Department and the US Army Corps of Engineers to replace the seawall at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook Park (along) Beach Drive. The seawall was originally built in 1927, and is nearing the end of its useful life; it has a 30% probability of failure during a storm event, and by 2025 will have a 60% probability of failure. It’s 500 feet long, and supports important infrastructure, including a sewer main, a PSE gas line, a storm sewer main, and a water main.

The estimated cost is $2.8 million; the agreement provides for 65% federal funding, and 35% from Parks (approximately $1 million). After detailed design and permitting are completed, construction is anticipated for Autumn of 2018, with completion by Spring 2019.

I asked whether the design accounts for climate change and sea level rise; the Project Management Plan notes that the new seawall “will be two feet higher than the existing structure “to account for increased storm wave heights and future sea-level rise.”

Earlier this month, the Office of Sustainability & Environment released a Preparing for Climate Change report, which noted this seawall as being at risk from sea level rise.

The report notes that sea level rise increases the potential for overtopping of seawalls, and notes that “newer seawalls and other structures have been designed to accommodate projected sea level rise.”

Here’s a presentation and the Environmental Assessment.

Seattle Public Utilities has a map showing areas in Seattle most likely to be affected by sea-level rise.

Thanks to Councilmember Juarez, Chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries and Waterfront Committee, for shepherding the legislation through committee.

If you look back at our 2014 story (linked in the first paragraph), you’ll note the cost has gone up – still split two-to-one between federal and local funding, but it’s now estimated at $2.8 million, up from $2.3 million.

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MURAL RENEWAL: How Pigeon Pointers spent their Sunday

August 13, 2017 5:29 pm

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| Pigeon Point | Safety | West Seattle news

Thanks to Pete Spalding for the photos and report:

Parents from Pathfinder school and members of the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council did a repainting project today.

About two years ago this mural was painted in the intersection of 21st Ave SW & SW Genesee. Over the last two years the mural has faded with normal traffic wear and a nearby construction project a couple of months after it was first completed. So today it was “refreshed.”

We were fortunate that with the change in the weather the project was able to be completed.

Here’s our report on the original mural painting, in July 2015.

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UPDATE: 1 person to hospital after 3-car crash in Fauntleroy, possibly connected to 35th/Barton hit-run

August 13, 2017 2:37 pm

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| Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

2:37 PM: A three-car crash at 44th/Director [map], north of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, is sending at least one person to the hospital, we’re told at the scene – the driver of the red vehicle, which hit a pole. Police are also looking into a report that vehicle may have been involved in an earlier hit/run crash at 35th and Barton; we’re heading off to check that scene.

2:49 PM: The photo above is from 35th/Barton; the white car visible between the fire engine and police cars is the one struck by a hit-run driver suspected of involvement in the aforementioned crash. No serious injuries, we’re told.

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HAPPENING NOW: First of 4 West Seattle events for park-guidebook author Linnea Westerlind

August 13, 2017 1:22 pm

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| West Seattle books | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

As previewed in our West Seattle Sunday list, local author Linnea Westerlind is signing copies of her new guidebook “Discovering Seattle Parks” right now at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. She’s there until 3 pm, and it’s the first of four West Seattle events for her this month. This Wednesday (August 16th) at 11 am, she’s leading a free “kid-friendly park walk” at Jack Block Park – “stroller-friendly and about one mile round trip.” Details, including where to meet, are in our calendar listing. Also on Wednesday, at 6 pm, she’s presenting a talk and slideshow at Kenyon Hall – free admission – and selling her book. Then on Saturday, August 26th, starting at the north parking lot in Lincoln Park, she’ll lead a free guided walk through several local parks, about 4 miles round trip, lasting up to two hours.

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WEST SEATTLE WEEKEND SCENE: Obliteride 2-day bicyclists’ rest stop

August 13, 2017 11:02 am

| Comments Off on WEST SEATTLE WEEKEND SCENE: Obliteride 2-day bicyclists’ rest stop

| Health | West Seattle news

Spotted at the Marshall Reserve greenspace along Harbor Avenue across from Don Armeni, the West Seattle rest stop for two-day participants in the cancer-research-fundraising Obliteride. Again this year, Obliteride offered multiple options to participants, all the way up to a two-day route (see the map here), riding mostly along the eastern shore of Puget Sound today, including Alki and points south. All the riders are raising money for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and heading for the finish line at Gas Works Park on Lake Union.

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YOU’RE INVITED: Hate-Free Delridge plans to ‘stand for peace’ Wednesday

August 13, 2017 9:28 am

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

If you’re ready to rally after the ugliness of this past week – from Charlottesville to DC-vs-Pyongyang – Hate-Free Delridge has an invitation for you. Received this morning:

Hate-Free Delridge will be standing for peace on Wednesday, August 16, from 4:30 to 6:00 PM.

Come join us on the Delridge pedestrian overpass at Oregon Street.

Bring a sign — for example:

No War
No Nukes
Make Love, Not War
Negotiate, Don’t Escalate
A peace symbol

Tell your friends. We need to be heard. We need to speak out. See you there.

It’s been almost exactly a year since we first reported on the birth of Hate-Free Delridge in the wake of a racist attack on a local family.

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Options for your West Seattle Sunday

August 13, 2017 7:58 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Added: WSB photo @ Don Armeni, as this weekend’s salmon season continues)

It really did start raining overnight. So – welcome to a gray Sunday! Activity options from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar include:

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in the street in The Junction. (California SW between SW Alaska and SW Oregon)

‘DISCOVERING SEATTLE PARKS’ BOOK SIGNING: While you’re in The Junction, go meet Linnea Westerlind, the West Seattle author who wrote THE guide to parks here and around the city, as featured on WSB back in June. She’s at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) 11 am-3 pm. (4540 California SW)

UPDATE – NO WADING POOLS TODAY: As of 9:34 am, Seattle Parks has updated its wading-pool hotline to say that the pools will NOT be open today because it’s cloudy and below 70 degrees.

NO ALKI LIGHTHOUSE TOURS TODAY … they’ll see you next weekend!

POP-UP BOUTIQUE BENEFIT: 2-4 pm, shop a LuLaRoe Pop-Up Boutique with a percentage of proceeds benefiting WestSide Baby, and a match for $100+ donations – details in our calendar listing. (3444 California SW)

BEETHOVEN SONATAS FESTIVAL: 3 pm, presented by Music Northwest at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle – details in our calendar listing. (4105 California SW)

‘SHREK, THE MUSICAL’: First matinee for Twelfth Night Productions‘ summer show, 3 pm at West Seattle High School. Find ticket info in our calendar listing. (3000 California SW)

FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: GreenStage presents “Hamlet” at Delridge Playfield, 4:30 pm (we’re checking on rainout plans) – details here. (4458 Delridge Way SW)

YOUTH FASHION EXTRAVAGANZA: Free food and entertainment, all-ages, presented by Unified Outreach at West Seattle Christian Church Activity Center, 6 pm, doors open 5 pm. (4400 42nd SW)

P.S. – transit reminders:

WATER TAXI’S BACK IN SERVICE: After five days out of service for the downtown dock move (now it’s north of Colman Dock instead of south), the West Seattle Water Taxi returned to service on Saturday, and the Vashon WT will resume running tomorrow.

WSF TRIANGLE ROUTE ON 2-BOAT SCHEDULE: Washington State Ferries has two boats on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route again today; here’s the schedule.

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