West Seattle, Washington
11 Sunday
(Click here for full-size PDF version)
WSDOT wants to make sure you know about the big I-5 work this weekend, shown on the map above. This alert is specifically for people in our area:
Our “Revive I-5” project begins at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 20, with major lane and ramp closures on northbound I-5 between the West Seattle Bridge and Olive Way. The work will go all weekend until 5 a.m. Monday, April 23.
The big thing to note is that travelers on northbound I-5 that are headed toward West Seattle will not be able to use the off-ramp to the West Seattle Bridge/Spokane Street/Columbian Way. They will have to follow the signed detour via Edgar Martinez Drive and 1st Avenue South.
(Click here for full-size PDF version)
They should consider using alternate routes such as such as state routes 99, 509, 518 and 599. However, those headed from West Seattle will be able to get onto northbound I-5, but should expect long delays and consider using SR 99 as an alternate route through the city.
The info is all on the WSDOT website, too.
(May 2013 aerial of Dragonfly Garden/Pavilion, by Long Bach Nguyen)
We’ve been spotlighting some Earth Day-related events (with more to come!) and here’s a heads-up for Sunday: You’re invited to join Friends of Dragonfly Park and Gardens for a potluck brunch in the park on Sunday, 11 am-2 pm. Laura Bruco says, “Kids and dogs (on leashes) are welcome. Bring a dish of some sort, a camping chair or blanket, and hopefully your sunglasses. We’ll give an update on the mission of our group this year, and folks who want to can pitch in with some basic weeding in the park.” It’s on 28th SW in North Delridge, between Yancy and Adams (map); here’s some backstory about the park and the group in this item from last October.
Just a friendly fast reminder that West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day is Saturday, May 12th, and after two weeks of registration, we have one more week for you to sign up – the deadline is next Thursday night (April 26th). Whatever size your sale is – wherever you’re having it – whatever you’re selling, here’s where to go to register. We are up to 170 sales so far for what will be the 14th annual WSCGSD (11th one that we have coordinated here at WSB); registration closes early so we can get the map and list ready for everyone to see a week in advance!
8:17 PM: Thanks to Carolyn Newman for the photo of the Norwegian Sun, maneuvering before sailing away tonight for a two-and-a-half week cruise to Florida (after a stop in Victoria), first cruise ship to visit Seattle this year. We previewed the upcoming season on Wednesday. Next scheduled ship: Ruby Princess, April 28th (one week from Saturday).
9:19 PM: As a commenter and texter point out, and as MarineTraffic.com confirms, the ship is back in the middle of Elliott Bay. Don’t know why, but we’re trying to find out.
9:31 PM: And now it’s headed back out of the bay, up to 11 knots per MT.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Though the details of a city “head tax” proposal haven’t been finalized yet, city councilmembers are trying to make the case for it, and that’s why two of them talked with West Seattle Chamber of Commerce members this morning.
West Seattle-residing Councilmembers Lorena González and Lisa Herbold co-chaired the task force that came up with the idea,
About 50 people were at the Disabled American Veterans hall in Delridge to hear them out and ask questions. And there were multiple mentions of the letter that Mayor Jenny Durkan has sent to the council, urging some caution:
The chamber offered the councilmembers a chance to speak beforetaking questions. Herbold opened by thanking attendees:
Six notes this afternoon:
POLICE IN JEFFERSON SQUARE AREA: This isn’t a crime situation but we’re mentioning it since some are asking – they’re dealing with a person in crisis in an apartment.
STOLEN PICKUP: From a reader:
Our ’97 red Ford F-250 with black axle dump trailer attached (filled with pavers) was stolen at 5:35 am (driving away caught on camera). We live in West Seattle, Belvidere area. We filed a police report.
If you see it, call 911.
CAR BREAK-IN #1: Via e-mail:
Our family member’s car was broken into (Tuesday) night (in the 6500 block of) 37th Ave SW sometime between 7:00-9:00 pm. There were 10 boxes of family heirlooms, books, etc taken as our Aunt is in the middle of moving. Anyone see any plastic containers dumped anywhere? Surprised and disappointed as this happened so early in the evening on a pretty busy street.
CAR BREAK-IN #2: From Molly:
I wanted to report to the West Seattle Blog that our car was broken into Saturday morning at 2:00 AM. The car was parked outside our house in the alley between 40th and 41st and Alaska and Oregon. The person wore a hood and was not deterred by our motion detector light or camera. The person went through our car and left it in shambles, and left the light on so the battery died.
CAR BREAK-IN ATTEMPT: This car prowler was caught on video a month ago by Jon in Upper Morgan:
He brought it up during last night’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting and shared the video with us afterward. Nothing taken – though several neighbors did note items stolen from their cars that same night – but he also notes that his car is a 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback and we’ve reported this week on several thefts involving cars like that.
GUN/DRUG SUSPECT CHARGED, OUT ON BAIL: Following up on last week’s report of two 25-year-olds arrested after a police sting operation to buy stolen wheels – the male suspect has been charged, and is out on bail; the female suspect is out of jail and has not been charged. The former is Benny P. Saeteurn, a Highland Park resident, who posted bond and was released yesterday after six days in jail. His bail was raised to $30,000 when he was charged with one count of first-degree unlawful firearm possession and one count of felony drug possession. Charging documents say Saeteurn told police he was there and armed because he was acting as protection for the woman during her meetup with what she thought was a buyer for stolen wheels she claimed to have received from a third party. Prosecutors say he should not have had a gun because he has a felony record, for burglary and attempted robbery.
12:00 PM: Thanks for the tips about the Seattle Police motorcade that headed westbound over the West Seattle Bridge a little while ago. They’re now at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) and we are told that they’re escorting Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who just yesterday was on the East Coast meeting with President Trump.
1:21 PM: Our photographer went back over to await the departure and to find out the reason for the visit.
(Gerry Kingen of Salty’s, right, with SPD Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis)
Salty’s proprietor Gerry Kingen told WSB that apparently the local embassy consulate was asked for dining recommendations and his establishment emerged!
1:51 PM: Prime Minister Abe has moved on.
(Update: Photos added.) His jet, by the way, is a 747 – here’s Twitter video posted after it landed.
Judy thought you might want to know, if you are heading to Alki any time soon, that the sign above was up for a while this morning after Seattle Parks sprayed herbicides in the 2800 block:
This morning the parks department sprayed roundup and another chemical on the new landscaping by the obelisk. Picture attached. The worker pulled up the signs after 30 minutes for the inexplicable reason that people panic if they forget and leave them too long. Talked to Brad, the parks employee, listed on the sign. He said he was spot hitting the weeds that popped up. Noticed on the sign afterwards that he also sprayed the sidewalk.
The city has said it is working to use less herbicides and pesticides.
Though physically headquartered in The Junction, Thunder Road Guitars (4736 California SW; WSB sponsor) has a lively online presence, including Instagram photos like the one above that guitar lovers go wild for. TRG asked us to let you know that the Junction store will be closed Saturday “as we will be attending the Tacoma Guitar Festival at the Tacoma Dome all weekend with a large amount of our inventory,” explains proprietor Frank Gross. Back to regular days/hours next week.
P.S. TRG is again signed up to be part of May 12th’s West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, which includes business sales as well as individual, group, block, nonprofit, etc. sales! One more week to register if you’re planning to be part of it.
(Thinking summer yet? Photo by Jim Edwards @ Colman Pool, where pump work is under way to prepare for May 26th season start)
Highlights of what’s happening for the rest of your Thursday:
ART FOR PRESCHOOLERS: 11:30 am at Delridge Library, for 2- to 5-year-olds and their parents/caregivers. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
WEST SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD GREENWAY: 4:15-5:45 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, it’s the second and final drop-in session where you can find out about the greenway project and some of its newly revealed components, including the extension into North Admiral. Also be sure to respond to this survey, which has specifics on features and routing. (2306 42nd SW)
ADOPT-A-STREET CLEANUP: Join the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce at 4:30 pm for a cleanup – perfect weather! Details in our calendar listing. (California/Charlestown)
EC HUGHES PLAY AREA RENOVATION: What’s important to you when the play area at EC Hughes Playground gets overhauled soon? Be at the first Seattle Parks meeting, 5-6:30 pm at Southwest Teen Life Center. Bring the kid(s)! And be sure to complete this survey, too. (2801 SW Thistle)
DESIGN REVIEW FOR 2-BUILDING PROJECT: 6:30 pm at the Senior Center/Sisson Building, the two-building project at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW and 4721 38th SW gets its second look from the Southwest Design Review Board. See the design packets in our preview. The meeting will include a public-comment period. (4217 SW Oregon)
ENVIRONMENTAL SLAM: Students from five schools – three in West Seattle – will be making presentations during this event at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; mixer at 6:30 pm, presentations at 7. Details here. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
NO TIMEBANK MEETING: The West Seattle Timebank wants to remind members that it’s NOT having a general meeting tonight after all.
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL: 7 pm at Alki UCC. The agenda is in our calendar listing. (6115 SW Hinds)
LIVE IN-STORE CONCERT: 7 pm at Easy Street Records, see Sir Coyler & His Asthmatic Band / Second Hand Suits perform! All ages, free. (California/Alaska)
SOUTH SOUND TUG AND BARGE: 8 pm at Parliament Tavern, no cover, 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
AND SO MUCH MORE! Go browse our complete calendar.
(WSB photos by Leda Costa)
It’s a special spot in West Seattle, unlike any place in the entire city … Schmitz Preserve Park, a 53-acre forested oasis with old-growth trees, streams, and more. So special that it draws visitors from many miles around … including this high-school group from Scriber Lake High School in Edmonds:
Their visit to the park on Tuesday with teacher Chris Brown included work to assess the value of a tree – from a variety of viewpoints. And studying their value leads to appreciation for preserving them. Brown has a special link to this forest – he’s a member of the Schmitz Family, whose donated land created the park more than a century ago. And so another Schmitz Family member dropped by the park to say hi while Brown’s students were doing their work in the woods:
Standing in front of Brown are, from left, Vicki Schmitz Block, Jack Block, and Bruce Stotler – the Schmitz Park neighbor who made news recently for selling his home to the city, far below market price, so it will become part of the park when he’s gone. Its enduring importance was exemplified by the students’ project; Brown explained that the students spent 10 weeks “combining environmental science with art, PE, and (other disciplines).” After we talked with them briefly, they continued northbound on the main park trail to Alki:
If you’ve never visited Schmitz Preserve Park – its main entrances are on the east side of Alki Community Center and from Admiral Way east of the historic bridge. (Here’s a map.)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:01 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit advisories for West Seattle and vicinity so far.
7:07 AM: Crash on the eastbound bridge at the Admiral entrance, blocking the bus lane according to a texter.
7:52 AM: That crash is not yet clear, per SDOT.
8:05 AM: And now it is.
Toplines from Tuesday night’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting at the Southwest Precinct:
CRIME TRENDS: Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis presented the report. As always, property crimes are the main problem in our area. Car prowls are ticking upward but a bigger spike is in burglaries; as noted in a recent precinct bulletin, outbuildings (such as sheds) are a big target, and thieves are also going into fenced yards, looking for bicycles and other items that can be fenced quickly. If you store anything outside, be sure it has some kind of unique marking so it can be matched to you if it’s taken and subsequently found. He also said there’s some investigation around the growing number of what he called “RV hubs” – central places where multiple RVs are parked. Police are checking to see if there’s a correlation between “hub” locations and criminal activity nearby. As always – if you see something, say something.
BIAS CRIMES: The meeting’s featured guest was Detective Elizabeth Wareing from this unit. She presented an overview explaining bias crimes, which fall into these categories:
– Malicious harassment – Harassment of person or group based on religious, racial, or sexual bias, for example (see the full list of protected groups/statuses here).
– Crimes with an element of bias – e.g. an assault, but during the assault, the attacker called the victim names. She said that these are investigated to see whether or not the attacker is troubled with mental issues or addiction, which can sometimes factor into this kind of crime
– Non-criminal bias – People may have seen or heard something and become concerned, though a crime might not have been committed.
Det. Wareing said she works out of the homicide and assault division and last year more than 400 incidents were reported to her branch. She said a large portion of her job is to do outreach to communities who could be affected by bias crimes, to talk about how to report those crimes and what avenues people have to redress problems, not only with the police, but with other city agencies.
The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets third Tuesdays most months, 7 pm at the Southwest Precinct. Next month’s scheduled guest is Jim Curtin from SDOT’s Vision Zero team.
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