West Seattle, Washington
18 Sunday
The photo is from Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who explains: “Heard a siren a bit ago and looked outside expecting to see law enforcement or a medic – instead it was the Moby Duck with what appeared to be some of the sailors from the Seafair Fleet on board.” P.S. Here’s the schedule for the remaining Seafair Fleet Week tours of the sailors’ own ships.
(WSB photo from 2017 Summer Concerts at The Mount)
Now that it’s August, Providence Mount St. Vincent is about to launch its 2019 series of four free outdoor concerts! They start tomorrow (Friday, August 2) on the south side of The Mount’s campus at 4831 35th SW. If you haven’t already seen it in our calendar, here’s the lineup:
August 2nd — Danny Vernon, The Illusion of Elvis
August 9th — Loose Heels – Country covers and originals
August 16th — The Abbagraphs (Abba tribute band)
August 23rd — The 85th Street Big Band
The concerts are free – so are popcorn and snow cones – but you have the option of buying dinner and drinks starting at 5:30. Music starts at 6. Bring your own chair/blanket.
6:52 PM: “My favorite place to play is outside!” enthused Alec Shaw between songs as tonight’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha show got going. It’s a great place to be tonight whether you’re onstage or on the lawn (east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (Walnut south of Lander) to be specific) – the stage and most of the lawn are in the shade already and the rest will be soon. The show’s on until about 8 – free – bring your own blanket/chair.
Alec Shaw at Summer Concerts @ Hiawatha. Beautiful night, hundreds here, all ages. pic.twitter.com/lSFqaoqufu
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 2, 2019
7:57 PM: Concert’s wrapping up – last song.
ADDED 11:11 PM: More photos!
You can find out more about Alec Shaw’s music here. Next week at Hiawatha – Ranger and the Re-Arrangers, 6:30 pm Thursday (August 8th).
The weekly update on the Avalon/35th paving-and-more project is in. From SDOT:
Last week, crews worked to excavate the road in Zone A and are getting ready to begin work in Zone C as early as the week of August 5.
Zone A (SW Avalon Way from SW Spokane St to SW Yancy St)
We are continuing work on SW Avalon Way between SW Charlestown St and SW Andover St, including:-Paving at SW Charlestown St as soon as August 5
-Pouring new curb ramps at SW Charlestown St, which will remain closed until the week of August 16
-Paving SW Yancy St, which will remain closed until the week of August 5
-Pouring the new transit island north of SW Yancy St
-Weekend work on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4As crews wrap up paving, please use extreme caution if you are riding a bike through Zone A as the roadway is uneven.
Zone C (SW Avalon Way from SW Genesee St to 35th Ave SW)
We anticipate beginning work in Zone C as soon as August 5, including:-Saw cutting and excavation on the north side of the road, followed by base repairs and then asphalt paving
-Two to three weeks of work on the north side of Zone CZone E (35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Alaska St)
We are continuing work on 35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Alaska St, including:-Excavation of the road. Driveways will be temporarily impacted during this work, but we will place steels plates to provide access when safe and feasible.
-Beginning concrete paving in certain areas towards the end of the week of August 5Upcoming intersection closures for 35th Ave SW and SW Avalon Way
Crews will use multiple weekend closures of 35th Ave SW and SW Avalon Way to rebuild the intersection. While dates have not yet been scheduled, you can expect work to take place during the weekend in early to mid-August to reduce traffic impacts. You can also expect detours to be provided during this work.
Today we welcome a new WSB sponsor, NODE. Here’s what they want you to know about what they do:
NODE is delivering sustainable homes through a process that focuses on customer delight and backing it up with a guaranteed price. People come to us because building is hard, and risky. We offer a one-stop shop for sustainable, well-designed backyard cottages. We make the process simple for folks by taking care of everything and guarantee the price. A lot of people don’t build because they are overwhelmed by the process, or they have built before and know that budget and schedule is a moving target.
Why should you consider adding a backyard cottage (formally known as a detached accessory dwelling unit, DADU)? In addition to adding resale value to your property, a DADU has many potential uses. For some folks, it’s so their parents to age in place in their own home, yet literally be in the backyard. For others it’s a way to secure extra income through long-term rentals or short-term, Airbnb-type rentals. And for others, they don’t want to move, but want extra space for guests or a home office. Seattle’s just liberalized the rules, making it easier than ever for folks to build DADUs. Our clients love the design and our commitment to sustainability and nature.
NODE offers tours of some of their existing homes; sign up here. Want more info? Here’s how to contact NODE.
We thank NODE for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Pianos in the Parks is back, with 11 art-covered pianos placed temporarily around the metro area, including this one in Junction Plaza Park (42nd SW/SW Alaska). The artist for this piano is Mindi Katzman; the community partner is West Seattle Community Orchestras; Pianos in the Parks is presented by One Reel. You can see this piano – and play it! – through August 18th.
As previewed in our daily highlight list, today’s low-low tide was the last one out to -3 feet (-3.1 to be precise) before summer ends. A few minutes after the 11:41 low-low-tide moment, we were out at Seacrest for a look at the exposed pier supports, and caught a Blue Angels flyby. As for a closer look at the sea life:
Though starfish have reappeared elsewhere, they weren’t in view here. (For comparison, see our 2009 view here.) One more low-low-tide view a bit to the northwest:
It takes a tide this low to show the remains of what used to be off Duwamish Head – which bustled a century-plus ago with docks, industry, even the legendary Luna Park amusement park. Meantime, if you couldn’t get out on the beach today, tomorrow’s almost as low, -2.9 feet at 12:27 pm Friday.
As noted here last month, Stephanie Zimmerman was set to make the Amy Hiland Swim (Bremerton to Alki Point) on July 20th, after 2 years of training, but a last-minute problem with the escort boat forced a postponement. Northwest Open Water Swimming Association president Andrew Malinak tells us the boat’s been repaired and the swim is rescheduled for this Saturday, August 3rd. With a local support crew on board – including Rose Filer, who made the swim last year – Stephanie’s scheduled to start from Bremerton at 8:30 am Saturday, and is anticipated to reach Alki Point around 2 pm. You’ll be able to check the tracking page here.
(Myrtle Reservoir Park, photographed by WSOwl, shared via WSB Flickr Group)
Highlights as we welcome a new month:
BLUE ANGELS: They’ll be flying for two practice sessions today, first one starting at 11 am. Remember that the I-90 floating bridge will NOT be closing while they’re up, and that if you’re going to go watch the takeoff preps at the Museum of Flight, they’re parked in a different area that requires admission, unlike years past.
LOW-LOW TIDE: Out to -3.1 feet at 11:41 am, so Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out at Lincoln and Constellation Parks 9:30 am-1:30 pm.
FIREFIGHTER STORY TIME: 11:30 am, bring the little ones to meet firefighters and learn about safety at Southwest Library. (9010 35th SW)
AVIATION PROGRAMS OPEN HOUSE: Learn about what you can study at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), 6 pm. (6000 16th SW)
SUMMER CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA: 6:30 pm on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, this week’s free concert is headlined by Alec Shaw. Bring your own chair/blanket. Presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with community co-sponsors including WSB. (Walnut/Lander)
BILL DAVIE: Singer-songwriter at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. No cover. All ages. (5612 California SW)
HIGHLINE BEARS: Third-to-last home game of the season is a fundraiser to fight cancer, 7:05 pm vs. Puget Sound Senior Baseball League at Steve Cox Memorial Park. (1321 SW 102nd)
THAT’S JUST THE START: See the full list on our complete calendar!
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:59 AM: Checking in on the morning commute later than usual – no incidents or alerts in our area.
TUNNEL REMINDER: The NB Highway 99 tunnel is scheduled to be closed 11 pm Friday-noon Sunday for “joint and pavement repairs.”
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