West Seattle, Washington
08 Friday
(House Finch, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
A new week! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
THINKING ABOUT STUDYING HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT? 1 pm informational session at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) – find out about this bachelor’s-degree program. (6000 16th SW)
LEARN ABOUT NATIVE BEES! Seattle Public Library‘s Summer of Learning continues at Delridge Library, 3 pm – details here. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
EVENING BOOK GROUPS: Talk books at the library! 6:45 pm, West Seattle (Admiral) Library is reading “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” by Richard Flanagan (2306 42nd SW); Southwest Library is reading “Run” by Ann Patchett. (9010 35th SW)
MUSIC UNDER THE STARS: Second of four Monday nights this summer – new location for the West Seattle events in this series presented by the Seattle Chamber Music Society – 7:30 pm at the Seattle Chinese Garden on the north side of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. The evening begins with a live mini-recital, and then the speakers switch to the live broadcast of tonight’s Summer Festival concert from Benaroya Hall. Free. (6000 16th SW)
TRIVIA: 7:30 pm, free trivia with prizes at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
AND MORE TRIVIA: $2/player, 8 pm at Parliament Tavern. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
GOT SOMETHING FOR OUR CALENDAR? From community events to live entertainment at bars/restaurants, our listings are free – just send us info via email at least a week in advance – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
10:21 AM: Two humpback whales are in the area, reports Kersti Muul. “East of shipping channel, off Alki,” but no direction determined yet. Let us know if you see them! (Not sure you’d know what humpbacks look like? Here’s their page in The Whale Trail‘s species guide.)
1:58 PM: And now orcas are in our area too, Kersti reports – a group of transients southbound off Bainbridge.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:57 AM: Good morning!
Alerts for this week:
AVALON/35TH PROJECT: The latest weekly update went out last Wednesday because of the holiday; among other key points, tonight’s work will include a water shutoff.
SUMMER FEST ROAD CLOSURES/BUS REROUTES: Thursday night (6-ish) through Sunday night, streets in the heart of The Junction will be closed for West Seattle Summer Fest – SW Alaska between 42nd and 44th, California SW between SW Genesee and SW Edmunds (with SW Oregon remaining open for west-east traffic). Metro hasn’t posted the bus reroutes yet but we’ll link them when available later this week, and they’ll be linked in our coverage throughout the festival too.
8:04 AM: SDOT reports a crash at Delridge/Holden blocking the NB lane.
Cbief Sealth International High School is seeking a new golf coach. From Debbie Taylor with the CSIHS Athletic Department:
Longtime Golf Coach Davie Hendrix retired at the end of the 2019 school year.
This is a golden opportunity for our community area golfers to lend their talents mentoring the Chief Sealth Golf Team.
Hendrix coached golf at Sealth for more than 20 years.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The east side of Myers Way is being resettled by unauthorized campers, for the first time since last fall’s major sweep, the Camp Second Chance Community Advisory Committee heard today.
While that side of Myers Way is not part of the camp, nor is it an official part of the CAC’s scope, it’s a frequent topic at the committee meetings.
Chair Willow Fulton, who lives near C2C, was first to mention it during the Sunday afternoon meeting.
That sign represents one of two things you need to know about next Sunday, which will be the third day of West Seattle Summer Fest 2019: The West Seattle Farmers’ Market will be back in its original location, the lot behind KeyBank/Bin 41/Pharmaca, since festival booths will be occupying its usual space. Same time, 10 am-2 pm.
Speaking of time, the official Summer Fest start time will be 10 am on Sunday, not 11 am as in past years – people start showing up at 10 am anyway, because of the Farmers’ Market, so the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association decided to go ahead and make that the official Sunday start time (as it is for Friday and Saturday, both with 10 am-8 pm festival hours and music running later, though on Sunday everything wraps up at 5). WSB is a Summer Fest co-sponsor again this year and we look forward to seeing you again in the heart of The Junction, starting Thursday night for Summer Fest Eve once the streets close!
That was the scene off Alki Point last August as Rose Filer became the latest swimmer to complete the Amy Hiland Swim between Bremerton and Alki Point, named for the woman who was first to do it, 60 years ago. Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak sends word the next attempt is planned for later this month:
Our first Amy Hiland Swim (Bremerton-Alki) swim of the summer is set for Saturday, 20 July 2019, and the whole crew is local.
Stephanie Zimmerman has been training at Alki for the past two years. She will be supported from the boat by Rose Filer (31 Aug 2018) and Amanda Winans (date set for September). The swim will be officiated by Lauren Boilini (26 Aug 2017).
Splash time at the Turner Joy in Bremerton is 8:30 am; anticipated finish is 2 pm at Alki Light. Tracking will be (here).
Zimmerman and Filer were among the panelists at an event we covered back in March featuring female open-water swimmers telling their stories. If successful, Zimmerman will be the sixth to complete this swim since Hiland herself (the others are listed on the NOWSA website).
Don’t know how long ago this appeared on the southwest side of Myrtle Reservoir Park, but Giles – who sent the photos – is the first person who mentioned it to us. It’s near similar-sized boulders lining the edge of the buried reservoir, and on its side:
Looking up that word brings us here – ” shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore.” (Certainly appropriate for one to “appear” over an underground reservoir.)
(2013 photo – the lighthouse’s centennial year – by Dustin T. Smith)
Toured the historic Alki Point Lighthouse yet this year? It’s something you can only do once a week, in the summer, courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers. Next week, they’re offering a special tour after the day’s regular tours end! From Debra Alderman:
Special women’s-history-themed tour at the Alki Point Lighthouse
Sunday, July 14th, 3:45-4:30 p.m. led by US Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer docents. Come learn about women’s role in running lighthouses here in the Northwest and beyond, plus visit our 106-year-old active lighthouse and view artifacts and displays about Alki Point Lighthouse’s history.
Entrance to site is located at: 3201 Alki Avenue SW. There is a small public parking lot right outside gate. Street parking may be found south of the lighthouse along the beach. Give yourself extra time to find parking. Please arrive by 3:45 so the tour can begin promptly at 4 p.m.
Tour and site info at: www.cgauxseattle.org or contact the lighthouse tour team: alkilighthouse@cgauxseattle.org
(Wilson’s Warbler, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Your Sunday highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WATCHING THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINAL: USA vs. Netherlands, 8 am. We’ve been asked who’s open early for viewing. We’ve looked around – not enough time to survey 100+ possible venues but here are some we’ve found:
The Lodge (4209 SW Alaska)
Whisky West (6451 California SW)
Great American Diner & Bar (4752 California SW)
West Seattle Brewing (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW)
The Westy (7908 35th SW)
The Bridge (6301 California SW)
Anywhere else? Comment or text us (206-293-6302) so we can add – thanks!
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: First, a reminder – NEXT week, it’ll be in the parking lot behind KeyBank/etc. because of West Seattle Summer Fest. TODAY, regular location in the street, 10 am-2 pm. Blueberries and peaches are expected to appear today along with all the other freshness. (California SW between SW Alaska and SW Oregon)
LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: West Seattle Little League is hosting the 10-11-12 All-Stars District 7 Tournament, continuing today, with the WSLL team scheduled to play at 11. At the Bar-S fields.(64th SW & SW Admiral Way)
TOUR THE ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE: 1-4 pm, the historic lighthouse on Alki Point is open for tours with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. Be there by 3:45 pm. (3201 Alki SW)
CAMP SECOND CHANCE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Got a question or concern about, or interest in, West Seattle’s city-sanctioned encampment? All are welcome at this meeting. 2 pm in the community room on the east side of Arrowhead Gardens. (9200 2nd SW)
DARRYN RAY: Spinning 78’s at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. No cover, all ages. (5612 California SW)
SEATTLE SWING DANCE CLUB: Dance and/or learn! 4-9:30 pm at Alki Masonic Center. (4736 40th SW)
AT THE SKYLARK: Long Distance Operator, Dravus, and Lights Out, doors at 5, music at 6. $5 cover. All ages. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
AT C & P: Evening music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), too – 7-8 pm, singer/songwriters Nelson Wright, Steve Beck, and bassist Brian Cutler. No cover; all ages. (5612 California SW)
Six days until the start of West Seattle Summer Fest! So many reasons, big and small, that you will want to visit at least once – like this tradition, the annual quilt-raffle fundraiser!. Stina Lane-Cummings from West Seattle Quilters shares the photo and announcement:
If you love bright, modern colors, this year’s West Seattle Quilters’ Raffle Quilt is the quilt for you! Purchase your tickets (still only $1 each) at the 2019 West Seattle Summer Fest (July 12 – 14) outside the Stop ‘N’ Shop. After Summer Fest, tickets will be available at the Senior Center reception desk. Ticket sales go directly to the Senior Center. The drawing for the winning ticket takes place during Rainbow Bingo, September 27, 2019; you don’t need to be present to win.
Titled “Westside Staircase,” this year’s quilt is a striking zig-zag design in vivid batiks against a pale teal background. At 65″ x 80″, it’s a perfect throw for your sofa or bed.
West Seattle Quilters meet at the Senior Center on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7 pm to share quilting ideas and projects. Quilters of all ages, abilities, and quilting styles are welcome to join us!
Look for WSQ – and the quilt – on the east side of California just south of Oregon (maybe on your way to/from the main stage and beer garden, which are just north of Oregon). More Summer Fest previews ahead!
With 7.1 and 6.4 magnitude quakes in Southern California the past two days, you might be thinking about preparedness, since we’re in quake country too. So here’s one simple thing to do: Know where your nearest Emergency Communication Hub is. The map above shows the ones in our area. These are spots where community volunteers will set up alternative ways of communicating, from amateur radio to paper-and-pen message boards, if we’re hit by a disaster that disrupts regular communications. They can be rendezvous spots too, so know where yours is, and be sure your loved ones know too. If you wish there was one closer to you – get involved and make it happen.
P.S. For more preparedness info, plan to visit this year’s Delridge Day festival five weeks from today – Saturday, August 10th, at Delridge Community Center Park – which will include the next Urban Survival Skills Fair, just like the one at the West Seattle Bee Festival back in May.
Thanks to Jamie Kinney for the aerial views of an algae bloom off Fauntleroy.
The state Ecology Department tracks these blooms and wants to hear about it if you spot one. Ecology also produces a periodic report on serial and surface surveys of the Sound (here’s the latest report).
4:56 PM: Police have blocked 9th SW between Trenton and Henderson as they try to get someone out of a residence there. We don’t know yet exactly what happened that led to the call but police are using a bullhorn to ask that someone come out so they can resolve a no-contact-order violation. avoid the area TFN.
5:28 PN: The suspect has emerged from the residence and is now in custody, per police radio.
5:37 PM: They’re now getting ready to reopen the road.
ADDED: The 60-year-old man taken into custody was booked into the King County Jail.
2:19 PM: From the treacherous waters of Elliott Bay, the Seafair Pirates have arrived at Alki – landing shortly after 1 pm, aboard the trusty Prudhoe Bay (once again commandeered from West Seattle’s own Global Diving and Salvage, who surely know where to find Davy Jones’s Locker). This might be the only port o’ call where people run (wade) toward pirates instead of running from them:
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand from here down, unless credited otherwise)
Even if you missed the landing, the beach festival with vendors, kids’ rides, and treats continues until 5 pm:
ADDED 4:23 PM: More photos!
The tide was low, so the required wading was a little shallower than usual. On shore, a change – no roped-off area, so pirates and fans moved about at will:
Though they were of course wielding swords, we observed more smiles than shrieks:
The traditional welcome ceremony ensued:
The welcoming party included King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seafair royalty:
From left with the KCE are this year’s King Neptune, Rich Gray; Queen Alcyone, Kim Holcomb; and Miss Seafair, Andrea Diaz. (Read more about them here.) Meantime, we’re told the Pirates have left the Bathhouse in their landlubbing “vessel,” Moby Duck:
Two weeks from today, they will be back to “sail” down California Avenue SW in Moby Duck during the West Seattle Grand Parade (which starts at California/Lander at 11 am and heads southbound to The Junction).
Next Tuesday, all are invited to the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s twice-monthly meeting at The Sanctuary at Admiral, 6:30 pm July 9th at The Sanctuary (42nd SW/SW Lander). ANA’s announcement:
At this month’s meeting, we’ll be discussing:
1. The Seattle Planning Commission’s Neighborhoods For All report;
2. July 4th Kids’ Parade;
3. Neighborhood Outreach Survey; and
4. The Hiawatha Summer Concert Series (starts July 18th!)
Come and meet your neighbors and discuss issues and events in our area!
Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip: Orcas are visible from West Seattle. Currently, midchannel southbound, north of Elliott Bay. Let us know if you see them!
(Honeybee nn sea holly, photographed by Jim Borrow)
First Saturday of July! Here’s what’s happening, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
TAI CHI AT THE BEACH: 9 am, by Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, taught by Caylen Storm. Free but donations accepted. All welcome. (2701 Alki SW)
HELP RESTORE LINCOLN PARK’S FOREST: 9 am-noon, get your weekend started during a fun morning with Friends of Lincoln Park. Meeting place and more are in our calendar listing. (Fauntleroy Way SW & SW Rose)
HIKE IN THE WEST DUWAMISH GREENBELT: 10 am, hike with the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Group and learn about native plants:
Join us at the trailhead at 14th Avenue SW and SW Holly to learn plant identification from Steve Richmond, an expert in controlling invasive plants and restoring native plant communities. Steve will also give an overview of greenbelt natural history and resulting restoration challenges. Please wear sturdy shoes or boots and be prepared for the elements. Total distance will be 1 to 2 miles.
(14th SW/SW Holly)
SEAFAIR PIRATES LANDING: The party starts around 10 am but the Pirates aren’t due until (approximately – could be earlier or later!) 1 pm-ish; when you hear the cannons, you’ll know they’re near. The Alki Bathhouse vicinity is the epicenter of it all. (2701 Alki SW)
LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: West Seattle Little League hosts the District 7 12’s All-Star tournament at Bar-S starting today. Here’s the bracket; first games at 11 am. (64th SW/SW Admiral Way)
Update: Multiple readers report they’ve gone to SSC and this is NOT happening. PLANT SALE: It’s the peak of gardening season and the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Garden Center is a great place to get plants. It’s open 11 am-3 pm today on the north end of the campus. (6000 16th SW)
EXPLORE AT LOW-LOW TIDE: 12:30 pm-3 pm, Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out again at Constellation and Lincoln Parks. Today’s low-low tide moment is 2:19 pm, out to -2.2 feet.
NORTHERN BALLARD: That’s who’s performing at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) tonight, 7-9 pm. All ages. No cover. (5612 California SW)
‘THE LAST WORLD OCTOPUS WRESTLING CHAMPION’: ArtsWest‘s current production is a hot ticket, but a few were left when last we looked. 7:30 pm curtain. (4711 California SW)
DEADGRASS: Bluegrass-style Grateful Dead tunes. 9 pm at Parliament Tavern. $7 cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
Two days, two consecutive West Seattle Little League district championships! Tonight, the 9-10-11 (11’s) won, and they’re on the way to the state tournament in Woodinville starting July 13th; the 10’s, whose district championship we reported last night, are in state competition in Gig Harbor, which starts tomorrow. Also this weekend, WSLL’s Kathy Powers tells WSB, “Our 12 year old team will compete in the District 7 tournament which will be held at our own Bar-S field starting tomorrow. We invite the community down to the field to enjoy some baseball!” Here’s the bracket; Bar-S is at 64th SW and Admiral Way on Alki Point.
From West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) executive director Shalimar Gonzales:
Due to continued construction in the area, the city will be shutting off the water supply to businesses in the Fauntleroy Triangle, including the Y. We will be closing the West Seattle branch at 8:00 PM on 7/8 (2 hours early than normal), and we will reopen at 6:00 AM on 7/9 (30 minutes later than normal). Fauntleroy is not impacted and will operate as normal.
This is the same water shutdown mentioned in the most-recent Avalon/35th project update.
8:30 PM: That SDOT image shows the north side of the 35th/Fauntleroy intersection at the southwest end of the West Seattle Bridge. A crash is partly blocking the intersection, so you will want to avoid the area for a while.
8:48 PM: The car that was blocking part of westbound Fauntleroy at the scene has been towed north and it appears the scene will clear soon. No major injuries.
(2016 photo by David Hutchinson)
One more warning – tomorrow’s the day to “keep a weather eye on the horizon” as the Seafair Pirates are expected to storm the shore at Alki Beach in early afternoon. Come early/stay late for general revelry including kids’ activities, vendors around the Bathhouse, and music. Seafair estimates the pirates will arrive between 1 and 2 pm, but the time can vary – last year it was around 1:40 pm. Current forecast, partly sunny. No road closures associated with the event but be ready for crowds, and if you will need to park, get there early.
(June 2018 WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says it’s not filing charges “at this time” against 25-year-old Nickolas Osborne, arrested Monday in connection with the June 2018 Alki Avenue stabbing death of 28-year-old Jonathan Pecina. Here’s the KCPAO’s statement:
We appreciate that Seattle Police Department has worked hard on this investigation, taking extraordinary measures to identify the previously unknown participant in this fatal encounter. Since that arrest and over the past several days, this office has made a thorough review of available evidence trying to determine whether the state could disprove a claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law. At this time we have concluded that we cannot file a charge.
A lengthy memo provided with the statement concludes in part:
In this case, the suspect has a plausible claim of self-defense. Even though Osborne disavows any memory of the incident, the evidence from independent, unconnected witnesses is that he was surrounded, taunted and baited by two men; that the men “kept pushing him and pushing him for a fight”; that the men were both using their belts as weapons; that they were assaulting Osborne with their belts, so much so that a witness commented “the guy is pretty tough because he’s taking some pretty good whacks”; that the assault went on for a while until Osborne “finally took a blow at them”; and that there was no doubt that the two men were the aggressors.
We’ll add the rest of the memo text once the names of witnesses can be redacted.
ADDED 4:27 PM: Below is the text of the KCPAO memo, with witnesses’ names redacted. Be aware that there are some graphic descriptions of the stabbing scene.
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