ELECTION 2019: 20 questions for City Council District 1 candidates @ West Seattle Summer Fest forum
(View from the stage during Sunday’s forum)
Later this week, King County Elections will mail ballots for the August 6th primary, and you can vote as soon as yours arrives.
With that looming, the three contenders in our area’s highest-profile race, Seattle City Council District 1, spent an hour answering questions Sunday afternoon on the West Seattle Summer Fest Community Stage – Lisa Herbold, Brendan Kolding, and Phil Tavel. Your WSB co-publishers (Tracy Record and Patrick Sand) moderated the forum, which we presented in partnership with the West Seattle Junction Association (which brings you the festival each year). We chose the questions, some ours, but mostly from readers, as solicited here last week. Here’s how the hour went:
(One caveat about our recording – about halfway through, internal condensation blurred the center of the lens, so it’s more useful as audio than video from that point, fourth camcorder we’ve worn out in 12 years.)
As with our recent video interviews, we are not transcribing the questions and full answers – you’ll have to watch/listen for those – but rather, summarizing. Words are only exact quotes if you see them inside quotation marks. We had each candidate answer each question, with a :30 hard cutoff, plus a closing question and closing statement for which we allowed 1 minute each. Ahead, summaries of the 20 questions and answers:
Read More
WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE: New place to watch and listen!
(Vancouver, B.C. Police Motorcycle Drill Team in 2018 West Seattle Grand Parade – they’re back this year)
We’re counting down to Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, which starts at California/Lander at 11 am and heads south to The Junction. Tonight we sat in on the lineup meeting, during which the parade’s longtime volunteer coordinators arrange the order of entries – there’s an art to everything from making sure the marching bands and drill teams are evenly spaced, to deciding who’s parading immediately before and after the Seafair Pirates! (Earplugs ahoy.) And we learned about a new feature this year: An extra “reviewing stand” at California/Charlestown. Traditionally the only place you can hear the parade announced as it passes is in the heart of The Junction – that continues this year, with Brian and Christa Callanan your announcing team there, but they’ve also added announcing at California/Charlestown, where Ron Zuber will be at the mike. ~75 entries in the parade – more previews every day this week!
FOLLOWUP: OutWest Bar sets final night
When we reported a week ago that OutWest Bar (5401 California SW) would be closing, proprietor Bob Lunke hadn’t yet decided on the final night. Today, we got word that he has – this Sunday (July 21st), 4-10 pm. The big farewell party is still on for this Friday (July 19th), as previously announced. Lunke cited a variety of factors in his decision to close West Seattle’s only LGBTQ+-focused nightlife venue after 8 years.
BIZNOTES: 2 potential new tenants for Westwood Village
Documents in city files show early stage plans to fill two empty spaces at Westwood Village – one big, the other relatively small.
First the big: A site plan has just been filed showing a proposed Ross Dress For Less outlet in the former Barnes & Noble space next to Target.
Second: Another site plan shows America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses in the works for the space next to Ulta Beauty. The chain currently has one other store in Seattle city limits, in Ballard, but has several around the greater metro area, including Southcenter.
Site plans are filed toward the start of the process seeking permits for remodeling (etc.) and don’t yield other details, but we will be contacting both companies to try to find out more.
TUESDAY: Concert in the Park 2019 with West Seattle Big Band!
(Video courtesy Ralph Lane Productions)
That video is from yesterday, when the West Seattle Big Band played to a big crowd at the Ballard Locks – and tomorrow night, you can see them right here at home, during their 24th annual Concert in the Park. Free! Just BYO chair/blanket to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, along Walnut south of Lander – the music starts at 7 pm Tuesday (July 16th).
(WSB photo from WSBB Concert in the Park 2018)
The WSBB is directed by Jim Edwards, also a coordinator of the West Seattle Grand Parade, and the concert has another connection to Saturday’s parade – presentation of the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community. As reported here last week, this year’s honoree is philanthropist Adah Rhodes Cruzen, and you can applaud her at tomorrow night’s concert. Side note – its past winners include WSBB director Jim and wife Barbara Edwards, who as the video clip above shows, just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary!
P.S. Don’t let today’s rain worry you … tomorrow’s forecast looks dry. All ages are welcome to come enjoy the WSBB’s outstanding music. You can even get up and dance if you feel like it.
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 16th SW gunfire
Bryan sent that photo Saturday night but we had just missed police by the time we got there, so we pursued followup information today: SPD confirms gunfire on 16th SW near SW Holden around 8 pm Saturday. Multiple calls came in to 911 from people who heard it; one witness reported seeing someone in a vehicle firing a gun “into the air.” No one was hit/injured and no property damage was found, but officers did find shell casings. One area resident told us police were also canvassing the neighborhood to see if anyone had security video of the incident.
4 for your West Seattle Monday
(Fauntleroy Park woods, photographed last week by Mark)
Before we get much further into Monday, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FUN ANIMAL HATS: At Delridge Library, 1:30 pm:
Create your own 3-D animal hat! Join Guatemalan artist Jose Orantes to learn animal facts and make your own 3-D animal hat to take home with you. For ages 7-8.
Free. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
AFTERNOON BOOK GROUP: 2 pm at Southwest Library. This month’s book is “Claire of the Sea Light” by Edwidge Danticat. (9010 35th SW)
WEST SEATTLE QUILTERS: The group behind the cool raffle quilt you might have seen – and/or bought a ticket for! – at West Seattle Summer Fest has its next regular meeting tonight. All welcome. 7 pm at the Senior Center/Sisson Building. (4217 SW Oregon)
MUSIC UNDER THE STARS: At the Seattle Chinese Garden on the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus: This is the 3rd of 4 Monday nights with free mini-recitals before, and at intermission of, a live broadcast from the Seattle Chamber Music Society Benaroya Hall concert. 7:30 pm. All welcome, bring a chair or blanket to sit on the grass. (6000 16th SW)
UPDATE: Pedestrian hit by driver on Admiral Way
9:25 AM: Emergency responders are on westbound Admiral Way near 57th. We’re told a pedestrian was hit by a person driving a pickup truck. Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation detectives will be investigating. More shortly.
9:30 AM: Don Brubeck, who lives nearby, tells us the pedestrian is a man in his 80s who “was crossing the street to catch the bus to go to his gym.” He was conscious as medics were treating him, Don says. The driver, who was in the black pickup shown in our photo, is talking with police.
10:18 AM: SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley says the pedestrian is “approximately 70 years old” and was in serious condition when taken to the hospital. Meantime, TCI is on scene, and the westbound side is blocked – they’re expected to be there until noon or so:
While this stretch of the street was part of the Admiral Way Safety Project, the 57th SW intersection is one where “left turn access” was kept, the SDOT map on the project page (which also shows the bus stop) notes.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Monday watch
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:56 AM: Good morning.
FERRY ALERT: The Kittitas is still out of the mix on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route, so that’s meant more cancellations – updates are here.
7:35 AM: Kittitas has returned to service.
8 AM: Stalled bus on NB 99 exit pre-tunnel.
| 57 COMMENTS