West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
An exciting day of 4th of July baseball! Congratulations to the West Seattle Little League‘s 8-9-10 (10U) All-Stars, who won the District 7 championship today in SeaTac and are headed for the state tournament. They won by beating Renton twice. In the photo, sent by Courtney:
From L to R: Jaxton Daily, Kye Ritzman, Coach Chris Kraynek, Cole Williamson, Andrew Nguyen, Ayla Moore (front), Eli Slatkin, Head Coach Mike Fahy, Henry Timmons, Ben Grimes, Coach Mike Timmons, Asher Straus, Mateo Garcia, Samuel Kraynek, Owen Fahy, Waylon Ryan
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
As night approaches, West Seattle’s shores are full of people enjoying the holiday – from the sandy stretch of Alki to the downtown-facing Harbor Avenue shore:
(WSB photo)
And police are out in force, ready for the crowd. The Alki Bathhouse even has a banner:
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
On the street side, lots of SPD presence:
(WSB photo)
We checked in with Southwest Precinct police who were there. You’re welcome to be on the beach until 11, which is when they’ll start clearing people. To clear traffic quicker after the 10:15 pm fireworks show across the bay, they’re using the same plan as last year. Speaking of fireworks = Kay sent this photo from Riverview Playfield:
No artificial turf there so it’s not among the fields where Seattle Parks plans to keep the lights on until 11. As for other fireworks deterrence – considering they’re illegal in the city – we’ve heard some dispatches on the scanner today, but the mayor did not make any statements about ordering SPD to step up enforcemen, as City Councilmember Lisa Herbold had requested. Herbold did finally get a response from the mayor’s office, as she reported in her weekly newsletter. No change from previous years, basically (read the response here). So if you’d like to see more enforcement next year, Herbold writes, you might consider contacting the mayor too.
Meantime, Herbold also calls attention to a new way Bellevue is handling complaints this year. And right over the city-county line, where fireworks are legal on the holiday, the King County Sheriff’s Office got funding for extra patrols in unincorporated areas.
That’s our video of everyone in today’s West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade, as it began this morning in North Admiral. You’ll see all ages from babies to seniors in the crowd as participants walked, rolled, pedaled, even pogo’ed westbound from 44th/Sunset, wearing and/or waving red, white, and blue gear, flags included. Right before the parade began, Leilani Nitkey sang the Star-Spangled Banner:
She’s sung the anthem in previous years, but this was the first time since July 4, 2015. This was the 25th annual parade, an all-volunteer effort, coordinated this year by Megan Erb and Nicole Lutomski:
The sea of paraders filled neighborhood streets:
Once everyone arrived at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, it was time for the family-fun afterparty finishing up the morning.
Sack races are always a highlight:
State Sen. Joe Nguyen was race announcer this year:
He wasn’t the only elected official on hand – all three City Council District 1 candidates co-sponsored the parade. Community co-sponsors help power it (this year they also included us as well as a longtime WSB sponsor, Dream Dinners). Community donations help too – if you can chip in, here’s how.
SIDE NOTE: We’re a little over two weeks from our area’s next parades – the West Seattle Grand Parade, 11 am Saturday, July 20th, which travels southbound on California from Lander to Edmunds, preceded in The Junction by the PAWrade (more on that here).
Thanks to Jim Spraker for the photo of sea stars under the Fauntleroy ferry dock, seen on this low-low-tide day, with summer’s lowest tides this week (as previewed here). Tomorrow will be mega-low, too – out to -3.0 feet at 1:31 pm Friday.
A message approved by WSB mascot Miles, 19, adopted from a shelter cage at the original Junction Petco when he was 5:
The WSB Lost/Found Pets page is one of those things you might not know about unless you’ve needed it. For more than a decade, our site has had the only West Seattle-wide lost/found pets page, visible to all, no membership required, no charge to use, with hundreds of reunions resulting. We hope you won’t need it but every year, fireworks noise leads to an uptick in lost/found pets, mostly dogs bolting and cats hiding. If you have one to report, email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 with a photo if available, description, area where lost/found, and contact #.
On this patriotic holiday, we note that the turkey has a unique American history – you can read about it here and here (among other places). So, it’s a great day for an update on The West Seattle Turkey, now in its third month on the peninsula. The top photo was texted to us this week; the next one, sent today by Christine:
The Turkey does enjoy finding new perches, as Joy discovered outside the West Seattle High School wood shop earlier this week:
Thanks to everyone for the ongoing photos and sighting reports. While we just call it The West Seattle Turkey, several have given it names – Rose, for example, has named it “Admiral Belvidere,” appropriate given the area in which The Turkey has settled.
(Last night’s sunset at Statue of Liberty Plaza, photographed by Marc Milrod)
Happy Independence Day!
First, transportation info:
TRANSIT: Metro is on a “Sunday with extra late-night service” schedule … The West Seattle Water Taxi is on a Sunday schedule (Vashon is not running) … Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is on a weekend schedule … Sound Transit express buses and light rail are on a Sunday schedule.
TRAFFIC CAMS: Check them here.
Holiday happenings:
GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: As previewed here, the Seattle Amateur Championship‘s final day will be played today at West Seattle Golf Course. Spectators are welcome. It begins with tee times between 7:30 am and 9 am. (4470 35th SW)
4TH OF JULY KIDS’ PARADE:Be part of West Seattle’s only 4th of July parade! Starts at 10 am from 44th/Sunset and travels west, then east, across a few North Admiral blocks before concluding at Hamilton Viewpoint Park (1120 California SW) with sack races and kid activities. Here’s our preview. (See the route here)
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: Explore the shore with expert advice from Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists, 10:30 am through 2:30 pm this time, at Constellation and Lincoln Parks. (Today’s lowest tide is -3.4 feet at 12:43 pm)
4TH OF JULY BASEBALL: The Highline Bears semipro summer team are back home for the holiday, 11:05 am vs. the Kent Bulldogs at Steve Cox Memorial Park. Ticket info here. (1321 SW 102nd)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Open 11 am-2 pm. Visit the home of West Seattle’s history! (61st/Stevens)
PARKS & POOLS: Here’s the city list of what’s open and what’s not.
Interested in holiday shopping?
AVALON GLASSWORKS: This Luna Park shop/studio’s famous “art-glass seconds” sale is always on the holiday, running 9 am-3 pm today. (2914 SW Avalon Way)
And finally … fireworks!
SEATTLE’S BIGGEST FIREWORKS SHOW: Only one major show within city limits, and that’s the Seafair Summer 4th at Lake Union. You can usually see much of the show from certain north-facing spots in West Seattle, including Hamilton Viewpoint, Belvedere Park/Viewpoint, and much of Harbor Avenue, including Seacrest Park. Don’t show up at the last minute unless you’re on foot – parking fills up early just about everywhere with a view. The show starts around 10:15 pm. (It’ll be live on TV on Channel 7, too.)
THREE TREE POINT FIREWORKS: South of West Seattle, this waterfront neighborhood presents a display fired from an offshore barge around 10 pm, funded by community/business donations. Where’s Three Tree Point, you ask? Here’s a map. Where can the show be seen outside Three Tree Point? Depending on where the fireworks barge is, you could watch from the west side of Marine View Drive in a few spots, if there’s a good southward view.
IF YOU’RE GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE OR CONSIDERING IT … Here’s the list of official fireworks displays around the state
WE’RE ON DUTY TODAY – 24/7/365 as always, so if you have a news tip, please text/call 206-293-6302 – thank you!
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