In the spirit of “it’s not over until it’s over,” we usually wait until the last day of the year to look back on what’s happened. So, with hours remaining in 2017, here are the top 10 (11 again this year because of a tie) most-commented-on WSB stories of the year:
#10 – MAYOR MURRAY’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
February 21, 2017 – 127 comments
This was more than a month before first word of sex-abuse allegations against the then-mayor; the uproar was over taxes, especially a $55 million property tax proposed to fight homelessness. (He dropped the idea a month and a half later.)
#9 – FE-BRRRRR-UARY SNOWSTORM
February 6, 2017 – 133 comments
This was no mere snowstorm. Though just a few inches fell, the storm also included a big power outage and school closures, so there was lots of info for commenters to share with each other.
#8 – GREAT AMERICAN DINER & BAR COMING TO WEST SEATTLE
May 7, 2017 – 139 comments
Four months after Shelby’s Bistro and Ice Creamery closed at 4752 California SW, we learned the Great American Diner & Bar would become the sixth establishment in 10 years to inhabit the space. We had few details when we published this – a few days later, we interviewed the co-proprietors.
#7 (tie) – ADMIRAL STABBING SUSPECT CHARGED, BAIL QUADRUPLED
October 12, 2017 – 141 comments
The second half of 2017 brought two particularly shocking street attacks, including the one involved in this case. Kierra Ward, who had been living on the streets in Admiral, was charged with stabbing a woman out for a walk with her baby, and also charged with a second crime for threatening a man who tried to intervene. (Ward remains in the King County Jail, in lieu of $400,000 bail, as the case proceeds through the system, with her next case-scheduling hearing set for January 4th.)
#7 (tie) – BICYCLIST ESCAPES ATTACKER ALONG PATH; CITY PLANS ACTION
March 24, 2017 – 141 comments
Campers underneath the western half of the West Seattle Bridge escaped much official notice until this incident, in which a bicyclist riding home from work escaped someone who tried to grab her on the path under/alongside the bridge. The incident brought light to problems including non-functioning lighting, and various city departments sprang into action.
#6 – RYAN COX ARRESTED AGAIN, AFTER GATEWOOD STABBING
August 8, 2017 – 151 comments
Ryan Cox, a repeat offender who had been something of a fixture in recent years in the Morgan Junction, Fauntleroy, and Gatewood areas, was arrested and charged with stabbing a man. He remains in jail in lieu of $150,000, awaiting trial; we published this update on his case December 22nd.
#5 – WARNING – OR REMINDER? – TO KEEP DOGS OFF THE BEACH
April 18, 2017 – 167 comments
Someone put up a sign warning – and/or reminding – dog owners that they are legally required to keep their pets off the beach in Seattle.
#4 – ECLIPSE GLASSES
August 12, 2017 – 228 comments
With less than a week and a half to go until the solar eclipse, we published info gathered by our favorite expert skywatcher Alice Enevoldsen on what to wear to watch it and where to find special glasses. The comment section turned into a clearinghouse for people sharing information on where to find those glasses, once the originally mentioned sources ran out.
#3 – JORDAN THOMAS SHOT DEAD AT ALKI
May 23, 2017 – 231 comments
On the Tuesday night before Memorial Day, someone shot and killed 23-year-old Jordan D. Thomas at Alki. To date, no one has been arrested/charged, so it’s the only unsolved West Seattle murder of 2017.
#2 – WHOLE FOODS (TEMPORARILY) BAGS ON WEST SEATTLE AGAIN
March 27, 2017 – 265 comments
Those who had long awaited a Whole Foods Market in West Seattle had their hopes temporarily dashed when WF said in March that it would “indefinitely delay” its plans for a store at The Whittaker (WSB sponsor). But three months later, Amazon decided to buy WF, and three months after that, we broke the news that the West Seattle Whole Foods plan was back on.
#1 – SHELBY’S SUDDENLY SHUTTERS
January 3, 2017 – 339 comments
The most-commented WSB story of the year happened on the third day of the year – less than six months after opening at 4752 California SW, Shelby’s Bistro and Ice Creamery suddenly closed. (As noted earlier in this list, the space did not stay vacant for long.)
PREVIOUS YEARS: Here are our annual most-commented-stories lists, going back to 2011:
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