West Seattle, Washington
13 Friday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The ballots are arriving, so the voting is beginning. But 2 1/2 weeks of campaigning remain for Phil Tavel and Lisa Herbold in the City Council District 1 race – including debates. Next one is at 11 am Saturday – more on that after our report on the one the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce presented last night.
First, our video:
The debate was held at Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights, whose head of school Steve de Beer had words of welcome. The Chamber’s government-affairs committee chair Rik Keller moderated. The format was “Lincoln-Douglas-ish.” They began with opening statements; see the video for those. Our toplines below are summaries/paraphrases unless quotation marks are used.
Q: Regulation and compliance cost businesses more than taxes. How will you be a voice of moderation before more are enacted?
(Added: WSB photos)
6:56 PM: The thunderstorms that moved through this past hour have done some damage. Seattle Fire is on scene in the ~10700 block of Marine View Drive SW, where residents report lightning hit multiple houses; no fire, but some damage is reported. In that area, more than 200 homes are without power, according to the City Light map.
7:56 PM: We’ve been to two of the homes with lightning damage.
In both cases, glass was broken, but no one was hurt.
Some tree damage too. At one home, the damage was focused on a detached dwelling unit which had no one inside at the time.
9 PM: Photos added. The residents report the lightning strike was colorful – they saw red at one point – as well as powerful.
12:33 AM: Could be more overnight, says @WestSeaWx.
(Added: WSB photo)
6:37 PM: An emergency response is blocking most if not all of California at Dakota, north of The Junction. We don’t have details yet – we have a crew on the way – but at least one person is injured and being taken to the hospital, according to radio communication.
6:51 PM: At the scene, we’re told a driver hit a pedestrian. She was crossing California. She’s being taken to the hospital. The Traffic Collision Investigation detectives are on their way to investigate; California is closed in the meantime.
7:33 PM: SFD tells us the pedestrian is a 17-year-old girl, in serious condition when taken to the hospital. … Also note, Metro has sent an alert that bus routes 50 and 128 are delayed because of the closure.
8:08 PM: Metro says the buses have resumed normal operations so that suggests the road has reopened (we won’t be able to go verify for a while).
8:55 PM: See comments for updates on the street’s status.
(File photo)
Back in August, we reported on a months-long closure ahead for West Seattle’s only dog park, the Westcrest Park off-leash area, because of a drainage project. At the time, Seattle Parks was only planning to keep the “small/shy dog area” open as an alternative. Now they have a new plan, just announced:
Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is investing in the maintenance of Westcrest Park and the Off-Leash Area (OLA). Over the past few years, the maintenance project has grown from a simple drainage improvement project to a $505,000 project that will address drainage, access and erosion.
To address the impacts to the community during construction, SPR is proposing establishing a temporary OLA north of the P-Patch at the park. SPR will present the construction project and temporary off-leash plan on Wednesday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at the Highland Park Action Coalition (HPAC) meeting. The meeting will be held at the Highland Park Improvement Club, 1116 SW Holden St.
Due to the scope of the project and the nature of the work, the north parking lot and the entire OLA will be closed for the duration of construction. After initial outreach and discussions with the project team, SPR is working to accommodate a temporary off-leash area during the 6-month construction window and will also keep the shy/small dog use area open for everyone’s use.
Please join us at the upcoming HPAC meeting to learn more about the proposal. SPR anticipates construction will begin in the spring of 2020 and will run through the fall of 2020.
For more information please visit https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/westcrest-park-drainage-improvements
HPAC’s meeting also is scheduled to include SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe talking about the latest Highland Park Way/Holden safety-improvements plan.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Emotion and energy filled the fourth annual Chief Sealth International High School assembly for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
The assembly this morning spotlighted the crisis of missing/murdered Indigenous women in a very personal way: A student spoke about her cousin, missing since June 2017.
Lailani had to pause a few times as she told the wrenching story, but the students who filled the auditorium this morning called out in support, “You got this!” Her family has searched “nationwide” for her cousin, Ashley Loring HeavyRunner, but “is not giving up.” Ashley is one of ~6,000 missing/murdered Indigenous women, she noted. “They are important, they are sacred.”
The “strength and beauty” of women was celebrated at other points in the assembly, including its close, when Å¡É™qaÄib teacher Boo Balkan Foster brought the 30+ participants back on stage, holding slips of paper naming and honoring women who inspire them, and inviting the other students to do the same, for display at Chief Sealth.
The school’s namesake also was at the heart of another memorable moment, toward the assembly’s start, when educator Nancy Jo Bob gave a pronunciation lesson:
Nancy Jo Bob teaching Chief Sealth IHS students how to properly say their school's name pic.twitter.com/USJ6oUzLYt
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 18, 2019
Chief Sealth also is the city’s namesake. Art displaying his likeness hangs over the auditorium where this morning’s assembly was held.
Adjacent to CSIHS is Denny International Middle School, from which two 7th graders read a poem one wrote:
Solen, the poet, presented “Native” with Jayla. The poem dismissed stereotypes, reminding everyone that Native people are “doctors, artists, scientists,” and much more. “Indigenous people have voices!” they shouted in conclusion. Another duo, Daniela and Julisa from the Folklorico and Quinceañera Afterschool Program, presented the dance “Aguila Blanca”:
A group of boys with Island heritage – from Samoa to Ireland – performed a Mäori Haka:
From Island girls, a Samoan Siva:
From Joel, a Native Hoop Dance that carried extra meaning for the students on hand:
The hoop, he explained, represented eternity, and symbolized the many tests they’ll face throughout their lives.
Teacher Balkan Foster observed that the assembly “shared some intense things, while also talking about strength and beauty.” And she offered hope: “When we think about things that are good, our brains change.”
The city’s long-promised meeting about Camp Second Chance‘s future has finally been announced: 6:30 pm Thursday, November 21st, at the Joint Training Facility (9401 Myers Way S.), a short distance north of the encampment. CSC is now in its fourth year on the city-owned Myers Way Parcels. In September, shortly after announcing another six-month extension for its permit to be there, the city said that if they don’t reach an agreement with a potential “faith-based sponsor,” they’ll start planning to dismantle the camp. But in the meantime, there’s also a city proposal to dramatically increase the number of this type of “tiny-house village” encampments citywide. CSC started with tents, but with donated materials and labor, its dwellings were all converted to “tiny houses.” As of last month, 55 people were living at CSC.
That’s St. Bernadette Parish School in north Burien, hit earlier this week by arson which, according to this KING5 report, forced the cancellation of some classes. We’ve heard this morning from several readers who suggest that West Seattleites might want to help the school recover from the damage. Holy Rosary School has sent out this call for support:
One of our fellow Catholic schools has experienced a tragic fire that is impacting their ability to have their school open. We are sharing their information with you in hopes you will pray for their community. If you would like to support them with a donation of money or supplies, information can be found below.
The school (at Ambaum/128th) has about 200 students.
Missed the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce-presented City Council District 1 debate last night? Our coverage is coming up later today but in the meantime, you can also plan to spend an hour Saturday morning seeing the candidates answer questions side by side: The West Seattle Junction Association is presenting it, your WSB co-publishers are moderating it, 11 am Saturday at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon). Everyone’s welcome – out with the kids? Bring them too.
(White-throated Sparrow, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Almost the weekend! Here are highlights for the hours ahead – first, from our freshly published West Seattle Halloween Etc. Guide:
ALKI ‘GARAGE HAUNT’: “Nightfall Orphanage” returns, first night tonight, 7:30-10:30 pm – your first chance to get seasonally scared. Details in our listing, and even more on the official website. (2130 Alki SW)
Now, from the year-round WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BINGO: 11 am-2:30 pm, with a lunch break, at the Senior Center of West Seattle. 18+. (4217 SW Oregon)
JAPANESE STORY TIME: In the meeting room at High Point Library, community member Sayoko will lead Japanese-language story time at 11:10 am – details in our calendar listing. (3411 SW Raymond)
GIRLS’ NIGHT AT CLICK! 5-8 pm, the annual fun at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) – details here. (4540 California SW)
NADAFEST, NIGHT 1: 7 pm at The Skylark, “a yearly event where we showcase a bunch of the emerging or under appreciated local bands.” See the schedule here. $10 cover. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
CITIZENS OF EARTH: “Mostly acoustic trio,” 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), no cover, all ages. (5612 California SW)
‘SUNSET BABY’: Final weekend begins – 7:30 pm curtain tonight at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), “Sunset Baby” by Dominique Morisseau. Ticket info here. (4711 California SW)
TRIBUTE TO ROBERT HUNTER: First of two nights at Parliament Tavern, 9 pm. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
SEE MORE AND PREVIEW THE WEEKEND … on our complete calendar!
Thanks to everyone who’s sent info about trick-or-treating, fall festivals, haunted houses, and other seasonal events – this year’s West Seattle Halloween Etc. Guide is live. You’ll see more than 30 listings for events happening tonight through November 1st. Something to add? As with all our seasonal guides, we’ll be updating it daily, so let us know ASAP what you’re planning – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:35 AM: Good morning. No current incidents or alerts.
WEEKEND CLOSURES: Nothing major this weekend.
WATER TAXI NOTE: This is its final weekend of the year; after next Friday, it’s on the fall/winter schedule.
7:48 AM: There’s a one-engine Seattle Fire medical response for a person in what appears to be a stalled/stopped vehicle at the far north end of Delridge.
| 31 COMMENTS