West Seattle, Washington
06 Sunday
That’s video from West Seattle High School‘s come-from-behind win over Franklin HS at Hiawatha on Monday, with Kit Lui at the plate – the hero of the game, Porter Hammer reports:
After trailing by as much as 6 to 1 in the 4th inning, the West Seattle varsity baseball team came from behind to win in extra innings, playing 9 innings before beating Franklin 7-6. The team is now 4-1 on the year.
Down 6 to 4 in the final frame of regulation, West Seattle senior 3rd baseman Kit Lui hit a 2 RBI double to tie the game at 6 each, forcing extra innings.
Then, in the bottom of the 9th inning, Kit Lui again came up big, hitting a two out double to drive in West Seattle senior 1st baseman Anthony Coats from second base, completing the come from behind in walk-off fashion.
Kit ended the day with 4 RBIs, going 3-for-3 at the plate with 2 doubles. Kai Osaka, Nathan Villegas, and Anthony Coats all also contributed a double in West Seattle’s effort. Starting pitcher was Matt Morin, who went 4 innings, giving up 6 runs. Relieving Morin was Eli Markham, who pitched 5 strong innings, giving up only 2 hits and no runs.
The next game is tomorrow at 4 pm vs O’Dea at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.
Here’s the full WSHS season schedule, including results of games earlier this season.
10:45 PM: A Seattle Fire “full response” is arriving at Delridge Way SW/23rd SW after a report of a possible house fire. More to come.
10:51 PM: We aren’t on scene yet to see for sure but what’s being described on the scanner sounds like the long-long-long-vacant house at 3804 23rd SW. SFD reports no smoke/flames but “signs of charring.”
10:55 PM: Some units are being dismissed while SFD is continuing to investigate.
11:10 PM: The call closed and all responders departed before our crew arrived. (added) A nearby resident said via Twitter that SFD pulled out a smoldering item that looked like a trash can.
9:08 PM: Thanks to Jonathan for the tip that the tower-crane base arrived this morning at the Luna Apartments/PCC project site (2749 California SW). We’re waiting to hear back from a spokesperson for Madison Development Group to find out when the rest of the crane is expected to be installed. It’ll be the third one currently in West Seattle, after The Foundry (northeast corner of Fauntleroy/Edmunds) and the YMSA site (1300 block Harbor SW).
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: MDC’s spokesperson says the crane is scheduled for installation one week from Saturday, on April 7th.
A stolen pickup truck to watch for, as reported by Steve:
My black GMC Sierra Truck was stolen around March 19-22. Was parked in secure parking garage, new building on California Ave, west side of street… The apartment building garage is on alley side between Charleston and Andover St. License #C98796G.
If you see it, call 911.
For the first time in eight years, there’ll be an open seat in our area’s 34th Legislative District – State Sen. Sharon Nelson announced today that she will not run for re-election. The Maury Island resident has served in the Legislature for 10 years, first in the House, where she won Legislator of the Year after just one year. In fall of 2010, she moved up to the Senate, where she became Majority Leader earlier this year. In a note to colleagues in Olympia today, she said, in part:
… Five years ago, when I became leader, my goals were to build a strong caucus and to retake the majority and to show what that majority meant to the State of Washington. Because of each of you, my goals have been achieved. … it is time for me to return next year to being a wife, mother, grandmother and daughter (yes, my mother is 89 and still a big part of our family). Simply said, I am not running for re-election to the Senate and looking forward to time with my family while all of you are in session next year!
Sen. Nelson’s focuses have included environmental and consumer protection. So who will run to succeed her? No word yet. The official filing week starts May 14th.
ADDED WEDNESDAY: The first person we asked about potential candidacy was 34th District Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, who worked for Sen. Nelson before his election. His reply: “I have not yet decided if I will run for Sen. Nelson’s seat. I am taking input from friends regarding in which chamber they think I can be most effective for our district and our priorities. I will be making a decision soon.”
(Sound Transit Link file photo, Capitol Hill)
In our ongoing coverage of the planning for West Seattle (and Ballard) light rail, we’ve mentioned that Sound Transit promised its first series of “neighborhood forums” would start in late April, with one in West Seattle. Details have just gone public: 10 am-12:30 pm Saturday, May 5th, at the Masonic Hall in The Junction (4736 40th SW, same site as the February open house). Here’s how it will work, Sound Transit says:
· Sign in and check out project maps and background info (10 minutes)
· Watch a brief presentation that covers the project overview and new concepts from early scoping (20 minutes)
· Break out into small groups to discuss neighborhood-specific topics and share your insights (2 hours)
If you’re not already on the ST e-mail list, here’s the full update sent this afternoon, including plans for the non-West Seattle neighborhood forums.
Our most-recent coverage of light-rail planning, from the Stakeholder Advisory Group‘s March 14th meeting, is here.
Just learned from the Department of Neighborhoods‘ e-mail newsletter that an SDOT project has grown: The West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway, previously planned for a route from SW Edmunds to SW Roxbury, will “extend the route all the way to SW College St.” That’s according to the city calendar listings for two upcoming “drop-in” meetings about the route extension, which to our knowledge has not otherwise been announced. So if you’re interested, here are the dates/times/places on the city calendar: 4:30 pm-6 pm April 9th at Uptown Espresso in The Junction (California/Edmunds/Erskine) and 10:30 am-noon April 14th at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, also in The Junction (4410 California SW). We have an inquiry out to the project team to ask more about the extension plan.
P.S. If you’ve missed coverage of other greenways – the concept is explained here.
The biggest tea party of the season needs a big venue, as well as hundreds of big-hearted community members to fill it, and this year, that party – WestSide Baby‘s CommuniTea – will be closer to home than ever! It’s moved to the downtown Seattle Sheraton (1400 6th Ave.), which is less than half as far from the heart of West Seattle as its previous home at the Hilton near Sea-Tac. The CommuniTea is now less than a month away, 2-4 pm Sunday, April 22nd, and there’s still time to RSVP for your ticket(s). Your contribution helps more kids than ever, since WestSide Baby, headquartered in White Center, has grown in recent years to help children around the county, by filling needs from diapers to car seats. Going to the CommuniTea is a way to help make all that happen – while also enjoying beverages, bites, and good company.
We checked in with SDOT today to see when the promised school-zone beacons would be installed on SW Admiral Way near Alki Elementary. Spokesperson Dawn Schellenberg replied, “The flashing beacon equipment has arrived. Installation to complete the work will happen in the next few weeks.” And she added this update on the 49th SW/SW Admiral Way intersection:
In addition to the other improvements planned at this intersection, our pedestrian program decided to upgrade the curb ramps on the side where the crosswalk is being moved and the flashing beacons are being installed. We’re completing the curb ramp design based on this updated improvement. The addition, however, will delay the installation somewhat. We still expect to have everything complete in 2018.
After her reply, we went by 49th/Admiral for a photo and discovered an SDOT crew had just arrived on scene:
The school-zone beacons were not part of the original SW Admiral Way Safety Project plan, but resulted from a discussion with Alki Elementary parents.
The latest reader report on a stolen vehicle to watch for – from Diana:
My 1993 Green Honda Accord Wagon was stolen yesterday, Monday, March 26th, in West Seattle. It was parked on 39th SW, the backside of Trader Joe’s and West Seattle Bowl. Somewhere between 2 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. License plate ATS6628.
If you see it, call 911.
P.S. Year to date, vehicle theft is up 3 percent citywide, according to last week’s SeaStat briefing.
(Brant, photographed by Katy Coffey. Enjoy the view before they go!)
Blustery Tuesday so far, but that’s no reason to stay home … check out our highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
DINE OUT FOR MADISON MUSICIANS: 4-10 pm at Mioposto in Admiral, part of the proceeds will benefit the Madison Middle School band program. (2139 California SW)
MUSIC WITH A VIEW: 5-8 pm at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), Justin Kausal-Hayes plays “acoustic hits of the last 4 decades.” No cover. (1936 Harbor SW)
REP. JAYAPAL’S WEST SEATTLE TOWN HALL: 6-7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, as previewed here, our area’s U.S. House Rep. Pramila Jayapal plans a town-hall meeting to find out what’s on your mind. (9131 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS’ NETWORK: 6:30 pm at the Southwest Precinct, get an update from police and hear City Attorney’s Office precinct liaison Joe Everett explain “the structure of the criminal court system” as well as what he does. Here’s the full preview on the WSBWCN website. All welcome, whether you’re involved with a Block Watch or not! (2300 SW Webster)
MEDITATION & DISCUSSION: 7-8:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – details in our calendar listing. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
HOLY WEEK SERVICES LIST: See it here – now with 11 churches’ schedules, plus the Easter Sunday sunrise services, and other seasonal events like Saturday’s egg hunts. (Something to add? Send it as soon as you can! editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!)
WSDOT has just gone public with two new videos of/about the Highway 99 tunnel, as its completion and opening approach. The video above is described as work as the double-deck highway inside it was finished. Below, a narrated clip explains the next phase of work:
Now crews are installing and testing the tunnel’s operational and safety systems. It’s a big job. Inside the tunnel there are:
*More than 300 cameras to monitor traffic and security at all times as part of an incident-detection system.
*Automatic ventilation systems designed to keep air quality and visibility high.
*Automated sprinkler systems designed to put out a fire quickly at its source.
Together, these systems will make the SR 99 tunnel one of the “smartest” tunnels ever built. This video explains how the critical air quality and fire safety systems work together:
Read more here.
As we’ve been reporting, and as WSDOT reiterates today, the tunnel *might* open as soon as this fall. When it’s pronounced ready to go, the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be shut down and two to three weeks of work to finish connections to the tunnel will commence. (We reported more about that – and the status of tunnel-toll-decisionmaking – recently here.)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
6:52 AM: Good morning. One transit alert so far this morning – an after-the-fact alert – Metro announced at 6:25 am that the 6:02 am Route 55 bus “did not operate.”
As for traffic incidents, none yet in or from West Seattle.
7:38 AM: Stalled vehicle in outside lane on EB bridge at exit to I-5.
7:55 AM: SDOT says that has cleared.
8:45 AM: Crash reported at Delridge/Orchard. (Added) Metro says this is delaying buses.
The Seattle School Board has announced its three finalists for superintendent, and wants you to be part of the process of figuring out who gets the job.
From left, in district-provided photos, are former Montana state Superintendent of Public Instruction (now a consultant) Denise Juneau, Harrison School District 2 Superintendent Dr. Andre D. Spencer of Colorado, and Ann Arbor (Michigan) Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift. Short bios for all three are here.
On April 4th, the school board expects to vote to start negotiating with its preferred candidate. But before they decide who that will be, here’s how they invite you to weigh in:
*This Thursday (March 29th), 5-8:15 pm, the three finalists will “present and answer questions … sequentially,” as explained here, in a public forum at district HQ (3rd/Lander in SODO). If you can’t be there in person, you can watch on cable channel 26 or via a district-website livestream.
*You’re then asked to use these short survey forms to send in your evaluations of the three:
–This one for Denise Juneau
–This one for Dr. Andre D. Spencer
–This one for Dr. Jeanice Kerr Swift
Here’s more background on the search for a successor to Dr. Larry Nyland, who has been superintendent since 2014, when José Banda left after 2 years.
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