West Seattle, Washington

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day : 20/10/2017 12 results

VIDEO/PHOTOS: Playoffs next for Chief Sealth after homecoming victory over Bainbridge
October 20, 2017 9:49 pm
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 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

9:49 PM: That’s one of Chief Sealth International High School #8 Dontae McMillan‘s touchdowns tonight at Southwest Athletic Complex, where the Seahawks beat the Spartans of Bainbridge High School, 24-6. It was Sealth’s homecoming night and senior night, and we have lots of photos and details to come later tonight. This was also their last regular-season game of the year – ending with a 6-2 record – and it was announced that their first postseason game will be 5 pm next Friday at Memorial Stadium downtown vs. Seattle Prep. More to come!

ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: As announcer Eddie Snead (a 9th-grade social-studies teacher) put it, it was a fine defensive game. Both defenses dominated so much that the halftime score was only 6-6. And that was just two and a half minutes after Bainbridge got its only touchdown of the game. With seconds to go until halftime, they tried and failed to make a distant field goal – “way off,” Mr. Snead pronounced it. His announcing is a highlight of Sealth games but tonight he was really on a roll, so we stopped in for a photo:

During halftime, there was a pie-throwing contest – our video shows Ms. Parker from the independent living and hospitality program:

The cheerleaders of course performed – otherwise, it was a huddling-for-warmth kind of night, with a brisk wind in the stadium.

The band took the field:

We caught a bit of the “Munsters Theme” on video:

A few minutes into the third quarter, Mr. Snead observed that it had been a penalty-laden game, more than 80 yards worth for Sealth alone. “More flags than the United Nations!”

McMillan’s second TD (seen in the top video clip) broke the tie with 5:01 to go in the third quarter, giving Sealth a 12-6 lead.

#5 Diego Jackson got one with 10:18 left in the game – “no flags!” declared Mr. Snead jubilantly – and it was 18-6. Final Sealth TD was with just over a minute left, and that resulted in the final score, 24-6.

The game – which had started early, 5 pm, since it was homecoming night – was over, but not the festivities. Seniors were honored:

Head coach Ted Rodriguez read their names and their post-high-school plans. Then came the announcement of next week’s playoff game, and everyone headed out into the wind-chilled night.

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SUNDAY: Where and when to join Fauntleroy Creek drumming to call the salmon home
October 20, 2017 9:30 pm
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 |   Environment

judyporch2-2(WSB photo, October 2016)

With rain in the forecast, Fauntleroy Creek steward Judy Pickens tells WSB that Sunday’s annual drumming and singing to call the salmon home will be on her porch as it was last year – just down the path from the northeast edge of the Fauntleroy Creek overlook at Fauntleroy/Director (across and upslope from the ferry terminal). “If more people than last year brave the weather, we’ll move into the back under cover of our boat shed.” Start time is still 5 pm. “In addition to drumming and singing (led again by Jamie Shilling), we’ll make welcome flags for the spawners, which I’ll hang at the viewpoint during a break in the rain.” Judy adds, “The watch officially starts Sunday. State Fish and Wildlife is predicting a strong but somewhat late return of coho to the Sound, so we expect to watch into mid-November.” Seven spawners were counted last year – which was seven more than the spawner-less previous year. By the way, all ages are welcome at Sunday’s drumming/singing event.

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VIDEO: ‘2 miles of tunnel in 2 minutes’
October 20, 2017 7:59 pm
|      19 COMMENTS
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Highway 99 tunnel | West Seattle news

In case you haven’t already seen it – with the planned opening of the Alaskan Way Viaduct-replacing tunnel getting closer all the time (still estimated for early 2019), WSDOT has put together a two-minute video featuring a drone’s-eye view of what it looks like inside right now. It’s been six and a half months since the tunneling machine finished its part of the job. A short WSDOT update accompanying the video says the tunnel’s upper deck is 85 percent complete. For a more-detailed progress report, go here. And if you’ve forgotten details such as “how do you get from West Seattle to downtown once the tunnel opens,” this might help.

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WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: The sunset between the storms
October 20, 2017 6:56 pm
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 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

Thanks to James Bratsanos for the view of tonight’s sunset – a peek of golden sunshine before another round of stormy weather moves in. The National Weather Service has the entire county under a Flood Watch alert for Saturday afternoon through Sunday night – so check those storm drains in the morning!

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FOLLOWUP: 3 charged with murdering Derek Juarez-Lopez in Westcrest Park
October 20, 2017 4:03 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

The three suspects arrested in the September stabbing death of 15-year-old Derek Juarez-Lopez are all now charged with first-degree murder: 18-year-old Jonatan Islas-Martinez, 17-year-old Elizabeth Cabrera-Aparicio, and 16-year-old Diego S. Carballo-Oliveros, all three of whom live in West Seattle. (The latter two are charged as adults, so we are publishing their names.) The charging papers say that Carballo-Oliveros already was facing charges of robbery and attempted robbery in an unrelated case, and was due in court the day after the murder that led to these charges.

The narrative in the charging documents is largely the same as what we reported yesterday from the documents in Islas-Martinez’s probable-cause hearing, with a few additions: Prosecutors describe Cabrera-Aparicio as Carballo-Oliveros’s girlfriend, but also had written that she was the victim’s girlfriend. Also, the documents quote an unidentified witness as saying he went to Westcrest Park with Carballo-Oliveros with the expectation they were going to buy and smoke marijuana, and they awaited “the dealer.” The victim showed up with Cabrera-Aparicio and showed a glass jar that was in his backpack, “just enough of the jar that would clearly show that it was filled with marijuana, which, according to (the witness), is a common practice when purchasing an ounce of marijuana, which was the case in this transaction.” (The witness) said that as soon as Carballo-Oliveros saw the marijuana, “he demanded everything” from the victim, who resisted – and then, the documents say, was stabbed by Carballo-Oliveros, who had removed a “medium-sized knife” and flipped it open. The victim tried to run but was pushed down from behind. Islas-Martinez then grabbed the backpack and ran, the witness said, while the victim remained on the ground and Carballo-Oliveros allegedly said, “That wasn’t supposed to happen, I don’t want to have to kill you.” He then ran, said the witness,who did the same thing, saying he didn’t realize the victim was hurt.

Next steps in the case: All three defendants are scheduled for arraignment November 2nd. Bail for each is now set at $1 million.

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Early-morning noise in northeast West Seattle: Mechanical problem at Nucor
October 20, 2017 2:45 pm
|      25 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | West Seattle news

First thing this morning, several people asked us about a loud noise heard from North Delridge to Pigeon Point in the 4 am hour, described as crashing-type sounds. Most thought it was coming from the Nucor steel mill, so we checked with them first. Environmental manager Pat Jablonski called us back this afternoon to confirm that the mill was the source of the noise, which he attributed to a “mechanical problem” in their processing. They shut the mill down to fix it, and it’s back in operation now. Nobody was hurt. He says Nucor is concerned about being a good neighbor and has done all it can to be sure this doesn’t happen again.

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SCHOOL SAFETY: Sealth principal’s letter about homecoming night
October 20, 2017 2:44 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Safety | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Thanks to the parents who shared this letter sent to Chief Sealth International High School families:

Dear Chief Sealth families,

As you are probably aware, tonight is our Homecoming game and Dance. Homecoming is an exciting event for our students. There is increased activity around the school including more former and non-district students. We want to ensure that we have a safe and fun Homecoming celebration and have been developing plans to make this a wonderfully memorable occasion.

Yesterday after school a student alerted us to a rumors of a potential disruption at Homecoming. Although no specific threats were identified, we alerted the Seattle Police Department (SPD). Because of recent community violence, we wanted to make sure that the Southwest Precinct was aware of our student’s concerns, so that they could support our Homecoming. In an abundance of caution, SPD will be assigning additional officers to our event today. We appreciate their support.

Please know that we take safety on our campus very seriously, the well-being of our students is our top concern. We are committed to doing everything we can to keep our students safe during all school activities. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to speak with families and guardians directly. In the meantime, please join us for our wonderful Homecoming activities tonight.

Sincerely,

Aida Fraser-Hammer
Principal, Chief Sealth International High School

This time of year, we’re at Southwest Athletic Complex every Friday night, covering whichever team is playing a home game, so we can tell you that police are almost always on hand at SWAC games, whether there’s an incident or not. We usually see them in local high-school gyms during varsity basketball games, too.

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VIDEO: How mayoral, council candidates answered West Seattle Chamber, Transportation Coalition questions
October 20, 2017 12:57 pm
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Got your ballots yet? Ours just arrived. As voting begins, this fall’s candidates are still making the rounds to ask for your vote, and six citywide candidates were in West Seattle last night doing just that.

The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition hosted the mayoral and council candidates at American Legion Post 160, with more than 50 people braving the blustery weather to see and hear the forum in person.

If you couldn’t be there, we recorded it all, and have text highlights too – not full transcription, but the best we could do at capturing key points the candidates made. First, video of each faceoff:

Pete Spalding from the Chamber board moderated the forum, after brief remarks from Keith Hughes of Post 160 – who noted that the venue is an old schoolhouse gymnasium – and Deb Barker of the WSTC, reminding all that West Seattle’s bridges are the city’s busiest roads, followed Chamber board president Paul Prentice, who gave an overview of West Seattle’s business community. The peninsula is facing “serious issues” that require “serious leadership to resolve,” Prentice noted.

Now, our text highlights. Both sets of council candidates were asked the same questions. First up: City Council Position 8, the citywide position for which now-Mayor Tim Burgess was not running for re-election.

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ROAD WORK UPDATE: 2nd weekend of SW Edmunds work rescheduled
October 20, 2017 11:02 am
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 |   Transportation | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

As mentioned in our morning traffic coverage, we were checking with SDOT to see if SW Edmunds was indeed going to be closed again this weekend at 40th SW for continuing repaving work. Just heard back from SDOT’s Sue Romero, who tells us it’s being rescheduled since more heavy rain is anticipated, and they’re now expecting to resume the work October 28-29.

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FOOTBALL: Chief Sealth’s head coach Ted Rodriguez discovers post-retirement ‘adventure’ back on the field
October 20, 2017 10:30 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

(WSB photo: Coach Ted Rodriguez, last month)

By Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Tonight, Chief Sealth International High School head football coach Ted Rodriguez leads his players onto the field at Southwest Athletic Complex for their last regularly scheduled game of an already very successful season.

They’re 5-2. They have the Huling Bowl trophy for the first time in three years. Those are just part of this season’s highlights.

All this after Coach Rodriguez quietly took over the team at the start of the year. Along with leading Sealth’s football team, he’s also athletic director and house administrator next door at Denny International Middle School.

And he’s working after having come out of retirement – twice.

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West Seattle Friday: Dancing, skating, shopping…
October 20, 2017 9:00 am
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 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Sanderling, photographed at Constellation Park this week by Mark Wangerin)

From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

DUWAMISH NATIVE ARTS AND CRAFTS MARKET: 10 am-6 pm at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle – details in our calendar listing. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)

THE STORY WITH NIKKITA OLIVER: 3:30 pm-5 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Totem Star presents a youth-led conversation with Nikkita Oliver. (Adults are welcome too, to observe.) Details in our calendar listing. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

FOOTBALL: Chief Sealth International High School‘s last regularly scheduled home game – also homecoming and Senior Night – is at Southwest Athletic Complex, 5 pm, vs. Bainbridge Island High School … West Seattle High School is on the road vs. Bishop Blanchet (8400 Wallingford Ave. N.), 7 pm.

TASTING ROOMS: The Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) tasting room north of Morgan Junction is open 5-9 pm. (5910 California SW) … The Welcome Road Winery (WSB sponsor) tasting room south of Admiral is open 5-8 pm. (3804 California SW)

NATURAL WINE TASTING: 5-8 pm at Sound and Fog in The Junction. (4735 40th SW)

FRIDAY NIGHT SKATING: Skate at Alki Community Center, 5:45-7:45 pm! (5817 SW Stevens)

SQUARE DANCING & DINNER AT HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY: 6 pm dinner, 7 pm dancing, free! at Highland Park Elementary (but if you can make a donation, it’s also a fundraiser for the HPE PTA). All welcome. (1012 SW Trenton)

HARVEST DANCE AT THE Y: 6:30-8 pm, fun hoedown at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor), free to members, $10/family for nonmembers. (36th SW/SW Snoqualmie)

BOBCAT BOB: Live music with the one and only “Bobcat Bob” (Bob Rice) at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

AT PARLIAMENT TAVERN: Johnny & The Moles and Pistil Whipped Project, 9 pm-midnight, rock/jazz. $7 cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday watch; weekend previews
October 20, 2017 6:12 am
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 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

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

6:12 AM: Good morning! So far, no incidents in/from West Seattle.

WEEKEND PREVIEWS: The rain is forecast to get heavy again Saturday night … You might recall that SDOT originally announced paving at 40th/Edmunds would close Edmunds west of Fauntleroy again this weekend. We’re checking this morning to see if that’s still on … In the stadium zone, Sounders FC has a home match at 1 pm Sunday vs. the Colorado Rapids, as noted on SDOT‘s citywide weekend-event lineup.

7:14 AM: Still quiet!

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