West Seattle, Washington
15 Tuesday
More basketball home openers tonight. One went so fast, it was over before our photographer arrived. It took less than an hour for the Chief Sealth International High School boys to dispose of the Australian travel team that visited tonight, 81-45. That was just one night after they opened the season on the road, 84-72 over Mount Rainier High School (Des Moines) Tuesday. Next up for head coach Colin Slingsby‘s Seahawk boys: They play at Rainier Beach, 7:30 pm Saturday.
Two tales of package theft – and the first one turns out to be linked to an earlier Crime Watch report.
THIEVES ON VIDEO: From Emily:
We were out of town for Thanksgiving and 5, yes 5, packages arrived ahead of when they were scheduled. We got home Sunday afternoon Nov 26 and it took a day or so to sort out what happened. I then pulled our security camera footage.
At 8:12 am on Sunday, the thieves drove by our house in what appears to be an older model white Lexus sedan. Two men jumped out of the car (there must have been a third, the driver) and climbed up our front steps, over our gate, and took the packages. I don’t think they even noticed the cameras.
Our newspaper still being on the step and packages sitting out early, before most deliveries would occur probably signaled we were not home. Also, our dog (big loud) was with friends.
The positive in all of this was the fact that yesterday, Tuesday, I received an email and phone call from another West Seattle resident (someone near Schmitz park – we live in SW Admiral). He had found the 80 page Photobook created for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in a pile of leaves, recognized its emotional worth, and tracked me down via internet. Miraculously, given the rains, it was only slightly damaged. I picked it up from him yesterday.
Also, another good Samaritan (unknown person) returned one of the boxes (with its contents) to our door – the thieves had ripped open a corner, recognized what it was, didn’t want an Xmas wreath, and discarded it. We don’t know who did it, but THANK YOU.
And after sending that, Emily checked prior Crime Watch reports and discovered the “found star” item from yesterday – so she’s connecting with “Grandma and GiGi.” (By the way, one other item in that Crime Watch roundup is resolved – if you missed the comment, Ketsy‘s Land Cruiser turned up, near Lincoln Park, early today.)
PACKAGE THIEVES FOLLOWING TRUCK? From MW in the 7700 block of 17th SW: “Just a reminder for the neighborhood. UPS truck was getting followed by thieves today. Packages were stolen of our porch within minutes of delivery.”
The second phase of West Seattle Junction decorations went up today – garlands of greenery across many storefronts, making it ever-more-festive for Hometown Holidays, as Saturday’s Night Market and Tree Lighting are only three days away.
From the Junction Association, here’s the list of who you’ll find at the Night Market, 3-7 pm Saturday:
-Holy Rosary School with wreaths and garlands
-Darigold with eggnog
-Erose Creations with handmade crafts
-Dream Dinners with gift cards and gift items
-Jon Boy Caramels
-Honest Biscuits
-Timber City Ginger Beer
-Basilic with hand-painted baby clothes, original art, and prints
-Sketches by the Sea with illustrated prints, cards, stickers, totes
-Heidi Fish Swimwear
-Bakery Nouveau
-Funky Jane’s with accessories
-Pinned & Penned with holiday cards, gift tags, and packaging
-Alki Beach Glass with wire-wrapped Alki Beach glass and stone jewelries
-Hope Lutheran with ornaments and cocoa
-It’s Cathy Wu with greeting cards, stickers, art prints
-Westside School with pine cones
-Seola Bee Company with honey
-Snooter-Doots with knitted items
-Alki Art Fair with T-shirts
-Dreke Designs with handmade wood-turned wine stoppers, bottle openers, coffee scoops, plates, bowls, etc.
-WestSide Baby – bring diapers!
-Whole Foods – cider and cookies
-Santa! Photos throughout the Night Market
This will all be in closed SW Alaska between California and 42nd, alongside Junction Plaza Park (42nd and Alaska), where the tree-lighting event will start at 5 pm, hosted by Sundae + Mr. Goessl, continuing until the tree is lit at 5:30 pm, with stage performances continuing until 6:15 pm. Find more Hometown Holidays info here! (WSB is media sponsor again this year.)
5:46 PM: Thanks for the tips on this – a multiple-vehicle crash is causing some trouble at Fauntleroy/Oregon as the evening commute home peaks. We’re told it’s on the westbound side, which is the busiest this time of night. We’re on our way to find out more. No medic unit has been dispatched – just a single SFD engine – so if anyone is hurt, it’s not major.
5:59 PM UPDATE: Right now the most serious effect is on Oregon – you can’t turn onto it from WB Fauntleroy. A tow is awaited for the vehicle that remains on scene (top photo). Police confirm no serious injuries.
On Mayor Jenny Durkan‘s second day in office, she made her second visit to West Seattle, taking her first step toward fulfilling one of her campaign promises – two years of free community college for all Seattle high-school graduates. The program she calls Seattle Promise is set in motion by an executive order she signed at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), which for almost a decade has been home to a program called 13th Year Promise. That program offers a free year at SSC to graduates of certain Seattle public high schools – currently including Chief Sealth International High School, and starting next year, to also include West Seattle High School.
Durkan’s plan is for ultimately all Seattle graduates to be able to get two years of free community college. But the order she signed at SSC – read it here – first guarantees a second year for those in the 13th Year Promise program this year, and then sets up a process for figuring out how to pay for expansion, with a plan due by next March:
Identify how existing resources and funding sources, including federal, state or regional
funds, the Families and Education Levy and Seattle Preschool Program Levy renewal, the
Seattle Public school local levy renewal, and philanthropic resources, can be deployed to
maximize student access to the Promise Program.
To underscore the mention of the levies, two paragraphs later, the mayor’s order directs two departments to “immediately consider the Seattle Promise College Tuition Program for inclusion in the proposal for the renewal of the Families and Education Levy and the Seattle Preschool Levy in 2018.”
This afternoon’s announcement was held with a gathered backdrop of SSC students – who were hailed as the real “dignitaries” at the event – plus others including City Council President Bruce Harrell (who spoke), Councilmember Sally Bagshaw (who did not), SSC and Seattle Colleges leaders including the system’s chancellor, Dr. Shouan Pan.
Dr. Pan said this program will be a “gamechanger” for many. (Added) He was the first speaker; here’s our video of the full event:
We also saw former SSC president Gary Oertli, who was beaming, saying the 13th Year Promise program “was my baby” and expressing pride that it’s up for expansion. Speaking of expansion, the event was held in the foyer of newly opened Cascade Hall on the northwest side of the SSC campus. While classes are being held there now and some faculty members have moved into offices, its formal dedication is still a few months away. It’s headquarters to the SSC nursing program, and we got a quick peek this afternoon into classrooms such as this hospital simulation area:
SIDE NOTE: So far, no third-day-in-a-row plan for a mayoral visit tomorrow – she has announced a visit to Capitol Hill, where she’ll tour small businesses (as she did during a campaign visit to West Seattle a few months ago) before announcing the creation of a Small Business Advisory Council.
(WSB photo: Looking west on Trenton from east of 14th SW)
Jeff asked us on Twitter about the speed-hump installation on SW Trenton, so we checked out the work and checked in with SDOT. From 18th SW eastward, they’re going in on an average of one per block, along with other features to make the street more walking/biking friendly, as an extension of the Highland Park Greenway. SDOT’s Dan Anderson says it’s a continuation of the work described in this alert that was sent to area residents a while back.
The speed humps on SW Trenton St are part of an extension of the existing neighborhood greenway to Highland Park Elementary School and playground. … SW Trenton St and 11th Ave SW will get our typical neighborhood greenway traffic calming treatment of about one speed hump per block. We’ll add pavement markings in about a month – weather permitting – and we’ll be adding stop signs for side streets and other wayfinding and safety signage.
The speed-hump installation is moving eastward – when we took a look earlier this afternoon, SW Trenton was closed east of 13th, while work west of there continued with the road remaining open.
Two big events are coming to Arbor Heights because of this partnership that Westside School (WSB sponsor) has just announced:
Westside School is excited to announce our temporary partnership with Town Hall during their reconstruction project.
We are honored to host Beverly Tatum, who will present her research on Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting In The Cafeteria Together this Sunday, December 3 from 2 – 4 p.m. in Westside School’s theater. This event is open to the public and is sold out (320 tickets).
We have contacted SPD Lieutenant Smith to send a traffic officer or two, during arrival time on Sunday to ensure positive traffic flow. Westside will put out no-parking signs in front of the houses located directly across from our site to keep people from inappropriately parking. Additionally, Westside School staff will be present to assist in directing people to the site.
We are super excited about this Town Hall partnership and we expect this event to be positive for the West Seattle community.
The second Town Hall event set for Westside School will be at 7:30 pm January 22, “The German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children” with Sara Zaske. Ticket information and other details are on the Town Hall website.
Today we welcome Alchemy in the West Seattle Junction as a new WSB sponsor. Here’s what Alchemy and its parent company – soon to open its second Junction venture – would like you to know:
We are F2T Hospitality. Our goal as a company as a whole is to provide a food and beverage program that utilizes locally sourced ingredients to stretch our customers’ palates while also making you feel as comfortable as if you were sitting in your own living room with friends. Our menus are familiar, playful with just a hint of culinary and mixologist playfulness.
Alchemy is the first of two ventures that will be popping up around the West Seattle neighborhood. The second being Vine & Spoon on California Ave. We love it here. From the beginning, our motivation has been not to change but enhance this vibrant neighborhood in our own special way. Grow as our community develops and get to know everyone who walks through our doors.
We invite you to stop in, introduce yourself, and try some of our delicious items. And please, don’t be intimidated. Our entire staff is here to help you along the way. We know craft cocktailing can be a foreign language to even the most avid drinker, and our menu’s play on some of childhood memory dishes and comfort foods may not read as simple at times, but we assure you you will love it all as much as we loved preparing it for you, and we LOVE talking about it because we are passionate about what we do. You will no doubt meet Katie Benjamin walking around chatting with tables. She loves to talk about our food and drinks so don’t hesitate to chat her up about our menus or whatever else you are thinking about.
So pop in and see us. Grab a cocktail in some flip flops, in your suit straight from the office, or on date night. We are all about your experience, whatever it may be, and can’t wait for you to try us. And if you have already, please come see us again soon! 4717 42nd SW.
We thank Alchemy and F2T Hospitality for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
(Photo by Kersti Muul, originally shared here – orca K33 seen from West Seattle Tuesday afternoon)
No whales so far today, sorry, but we do have six highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide:
BABY STORY TIME: 11:30 am at High Point Library, for babies up to 12 months old. (3411 SW Raymond)
WEST SEATTLE LIGHTS: The holiday spirit shines bright with these music-synched lights, 5-9 tonight; bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank. (3908 SW Charlestown)
LINCOLN PARK SOUTH PLAY AREA MEETING: 6-7:30 pm, everyone interested in the renovation of the Lincoln Park South Play Area, where safety concerns led to the removal of the play structure last summer, is invited to come find out about the project and offer design ideas. Lower meeting rooms at The Kenney. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
‘ANTI-BIAS EDUCATION IN CHALLENGING TIMES’: As previewed here, this free parent-education with Debbie LeeKeenan is intended to “provide families with a framework and practical tips on how to respond to children’s comments and questions about differences and how to have courageous conversations about potentially challenging topics.” 7 pm at Alki UCC, presented by West Seattle Cooperative Preschools. (6115 SW Hinds)
BASKETBALL: Home opener for the West Seattle High School girls-varsity team, 7:30 pm vs. Bothell HS. (3000 California SW)
THE BILLY JOE SHOW: 8-11 pm at Parliament Tavern. No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
AND THERE’S MORE … on our complete calendar!
UPDATE, DECEMBER 1ST: Metro says it’s canceled the dates reported below and will set new ones in January. Meantime, the survey remains open.
ORIGINAL STORY: Read More
(Added: Photo from Andrew, as shared in comments)
8:16 AM: Police have taken two people into custody after following a stolen car westbound over the bridge and into the Fairmount Ravine area. More information as we get it.
8:52 AM: The area where this all ended is a narrow hillside dead-end over the ravine and we can’t get there; the car will be towed and impounded. We still hope to obtain and add follow-up information later.
9:09 AM: Just talked with Det. Patrick Michaud in the SPD media office. He confirms that what we’ve reported above is what this came down to – a stolen car was spotted in the South Precinct, police followed it as the driver continued over the bridge, into the Admiral area, then into the dead-end hillside area over Fairmount Ravine, and took two into custody (on Brook SW). The car is a silver Honda Civic.
{Picketers at South Park bus yard – photo from Al)
5:57 AM: As announced Tuesday afternoon, drivers for First Student, which provides yellow-school-bus service for Seattle Public Schools, are out today on a one-day strike. That means no buses for about 12,000 students around the city. School IS in session, so those students’ families have to get them to their schools some other way. Teamsters Union Local 174, which represents the drivers, says the strike is a protest of “First Student’s unilateral change and implementation of an inferior medical plan for its employees,” adding, “Bus service should resume on Thursday, November 30; however, a longer strike can be called at any time if a deal is not reached.” The district says it expects to confirm the end of the strike with messages to families and the public later today.
12:08 PM UPDATE: The district says some buses did run this morning, though it doesn’t say where, and that those buses will run again this afternoon. (You might have seen video of one bus going through the picket line in South Park; we have a version of that – added above.) Affected families will be notified directly by phone, according to the district. Meantime, the district still says it’s expecting full service to resume tomorrow.
5:42 PM: If your child(ren) use yellow-bus service to get to Seattle Public Schools, you likely have already received a message with the district confirmation that First Student yellow-bus service is expected to be back to full strength tomorrow after today’s one-day strike.
Between a slow start and a close call toward the end, the Chief Sealth International High School varsity girls played some exciting basketball on their way to a season-opening home win Tuesday night, 39-30 over Kennedy Catholic HS. It was a promising debut for new head coach Cartiea French-Toney.
The first quarter had Sealth down 6-1 at one point – but the Seahawks fought back, and by its end, they were up 10-7.
#2, senior Jasmine Smith, was top scorer. But Sealth’s defense against the Lancers was vital too. A dramatic double-teaming moment with two minutes left in the first half forced Kennedy to turn the ball over, and that was extra momentum propelling Sealth to a 19-13 halftime lead.
The second half was barely 30 seconds old when #1, senior Aundra Tuchscherer, got the first basket.
The lead kept growing, with a three-pointer by Smith just about a minute later giving the Seahawks a double-digit lead.
Kennedy wasn’t giving up, though, and with less than two minutes left in the game, pulled to within three points. Sealth’s resolve toughened and they piled on a few points in the next minute, then a few more, and the final score was 38-30.
Next scheduled game for the Sealth girls: 6 pm Saturday at Rainier Beach.
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