West Seattle, Washington
10 Saturday
(SFD response at Safeway; photo by Christopher Boffoli)
10:52 PM: Police are searching for a suspect after a stabbing was reported in the Admiral area. The victim, a 19-year-old reported to have a stab wound in the back, is at Admiral Safeway – so that’s where Seattle Fire is responding to – but the attack – possibly a robbery attempt – was reported near 46th/Stevens. More as we get it.
10:58 PM: No clear description of a suspect. Police are now saying via emergency radio that it appears to have been an assault, not a robbery attempt. They’re still trying to get more information on exactly where it happened; the initial 46th/Stevens report was from one passerby.
11:07 PM: Police are searching with a K-9 in the 45th/46th area. Meantime, the victim has been taken to Harborview Medical Center.
11:16 PM: Christopher Boffoli is at Safeway covering this for WSB and learned that a second male victim is being treated for a “small puncture wound to the back.” He will be transported by private ambulance.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
11:31 PM: Christopher talked with SPD at the scene. Both victims are teenagers; neither has life-threatening wounds. Police are still trying to sort out the circumstances and location, but have now cleared the Safeway vicinity, which is where the victims went to call for help..
Thanks for the texted tip and photo! Tonight’s featured lights are in the 5400 block of 49th SW, southwest of The Junction. Got a tip, with or without photo? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text to 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB photos/video unless otherwise credited)
At the end of a gray day that was part of 49 consecutive hours of rain, suddenly and quickly, a splash of pink spread across the southwest sky. And that’s how Alice Enevoldsen‘s Winter Solstice sunset watch concluded, with the ~20 in attendance admiring the surprise show.
Until then, it was a gathering much like the dozens of others over which Alice (above with her 8- and 3-year-old daughters) has presided over her decade as a volunteer NASA Solar System Ambassador. As always, she explained what the solstice and equinox are – specific points in the Earth’s annual orbit around the sun. Here’s how part of it went:
But no two sunset watches are exactly alike, depending on who shows up and what they ask about; this one morphed into a discussion of systems of timekeeping.
This gathering, like Alice’s others, was at Solstice Park, just northeast of Lincoln Park, highlighted by stone markers and paths lining up with where the sun sets on the solstices and equinoxes, when you can see it:
The actual winter-solstice moment is at 8:19 pm our time this evening. From here, the days start getting longer -a whole second more tomorrow between sunrise and sunset! P.S. The sunset was so beautiful (see our Instagram video recorded as the color deepened), here’s a bonus photo courtesy of Kanit Cottrell in Gatewood:
Feel like baking cookies, but don’t have anyone to bake for, and/or can’t eat them yourself? Or … baking cookies and have the bandwidth for an extra batch you could donate? Now’s the time to bake for The Christmas People, who again are putting out the call for thousands of homemade cookies that they can include with holiday meals to be delivered to people in need. You can drop off cookies 9 am-5 pm Monday or Tuesday, and starting at 9 am on Christmas Day, at Alki Masonic Center (4736 40th SW). They’re also asking for volunteers to help prepare meal trays those days – and if you know someone in need of a no-cost holiday dinner, they’ll offer a full buffet, same location, noon-4 pm on Christmas Day. (Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay)
The rain has stopped – for a while. For the first time in two days, the National Weather Service has recorded an hour in Seattle with no more than a trace of rain. Despite 3+ inches Friday alone, no major problems in our area – but it’s definitely left its mark. Above, a reader just texted that photo of trees down across the bluff trail at Lincoln Park that leads to/from Colman Pool. (Slide risk is high because of the rain, so be watchful if you’re near a slide-prone slope.) Below, what Longfellow Creek looked like from the SW Yancy footbridge at midday:
Here’s how the creek looked Friday, as tweeted by Mark from a point a short distance south:
@westseattleblog Longfellow Creek near Dragonfly Pavilion pic.twitter.com/EJIXRxmUCC
— Mark Tiedemann (@pdxmark77) December 20, 2019
We’re off now to enjoy the break in the train by covering Alice‘s winter-solstice sunset watch (a quarterly tradition even when the sun doesn’ show up).
2:27 PM: Thanks for the tip: SPD and SFD are arriving at a crash toward the west end of the West Seattle Bridge. At least one vehicle is reported to have hit the jersey barrier. Injuries are said to be minor.
3:01 PM: SDOT reports the scene has cleared.
As The Junction bustled with shoppers today, there was a musical surprise outside Carmilia’s Boutique at midday – caroling by the Byrd Ensemble. They’re a chamber vocal group whose artistic director Markdavin Obenza is a West Seattleite. The ensemble was out “Caroling for a Cause,” collecting donations to support Seattle Music Partners’ musical education for kids; if you missed them in The Junction, you can still donate by scrolling down the group’s home page.
The family of Wes P. Jensen is sharing this remembrance with the community:
Wes passed December 8, 2019 at Homecomings, his adult family home in West Seattle, at the age of 101.
Wes was born in Hedgesville, Montana in 1918 to Hans Christian and Esther Jensen. He was raised in Medina, WA, and graduated from Garfield High in 1937. Wes got a job at ADT, which served him well during WW2 while serving in the Army, stationed in Australia and New Guinea, often working as an electrician. After returning to the states, he met and married Helen Lausten. They started their life in Medina, then moved to West Seattle in 1950 to raise three children, all while continuing his career with ADT. Wes was a hard worker and always helping others. He was dedicated to Scouting and the Burien Elk. An avid golfer, he was very proud of his hole-in-one while in his 80s. He was fortunate to have not one but four loving families. The last of which were his tremendous caregivers at Homecomings AFH in West Seattle. He will truly be missed and loved forever by everyone who knew him.
Wes was preceded in death by his loving wife, Helen, brothers Nathan Jensen and Carl Jensen, and sisters Lois Rounds and Anna Petry. He is survived by sisters Ellie Coleman and Mary Lou Howard, daughter Virginia Cooper (Tom), sons Tom (Charlaine) and Chuck (Laura), six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, as well as the Childs and Hellstrom families, and Homecomings AFH.
Wes’ claim to fame was that he was a passenger on the airplane hijacked by D.B. Cooper in 1971. The best part of that story, for him, was that he was pretty much oblivious to the drama while it was happening and afterward resented all the fuss made over it. But such was Wes, unflappable and selfless. He was a man who lived his life well, a model of kindness, decency, and great humor that inspired all around him, and always will.
At his request there will be no funeral services.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(Steller’s Jay, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and Event Calendar:
HALF-PRICE TREES @ HOLY ROSARY LOT: Last day at Holy Rosary Tree Lot, north of the school, and they’re selling at 50 percent until the trees are all gone, 9 am to (UPDATE) 7 pm. Part of the proceeds go to Hickman House (Salvation Army), West Seattle Food Bank, and West Seattle Helpline. (Off 42nd SW north of SW Genesee)
SANTA PHOTOS: At CAPERS, 9 am-noon, DIY photos with $20 suggested donation benefiting West Seattle Food Bank. (4525 California SW)
HILL TEAM FOOD DRIVE: Bring donations to the Keller Williams office 10 am-noon to help the West Seattle Food Bank. (4452 California SW)
FAMILY READING TIME: 11 am at Paper Boat Booksellers. (6040 California SW)
CAR-WASH TICKETS: Support West Seattle’s Vietnamese Cultural Center by stopping by today, noon-3 pm, and buying Brown Bear Car Wash tickets for $7. (2236 SW Orchard)
TOY GIVEAWAY: Noon until toys ere gone, at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)
SELFIES WITH SANTA: Find him today at Westwood Village, 2-4 pm. (2600 SW Barton)
MERMAID PHOTOS: Meet Garland the Holiday Mermaid at Ounces in North Delridge, 2-5 pm. (3809 Delridge Way SW)
TALK WITH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: New Seattle School Board member Lisa Rivera Smith will fill in for Leslie Harris this time, 3-5 pm at Delridge Library. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
WELCOMING WINTER: Alice Enevoldsen‘s quarterly change-of-seasons sunset watch welcomes the winter solstice this time around – be at Solstice Park, upslope from the tennis courts, at 3:45 pm, rain or shine. (7400 Fauntleroy Way SW)
ROO AND THE FEW: Live music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. No cover. All ages. (5612 California SW)
JARED HALL QUINTET: Live jazz at Pacific Room (WSB sponsor) on Alki, 8 pm. Cover (and other) info here. (2808 Alki SW)
ROCK ‘N” ROLL: Kline 57 (feat. Joey Kline), Nurse Ratchett, and Ezrael Sarmiento, 9 pm at Parliament Tavern. $8 cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
SEE THE REST … by browsing the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and Event Calendar.
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