BASKETBALL: West Seattle High School boys’ season ends with district-tournament loss
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
An exciting season for the West Seattle High School boys’ basketball team ended tonight with a district-tournament loss to Bellevue HS at Bellevue College, 54-34. The low point total was the result of cold shooting as much as anything; though they played largely tight defense, Bellevue kept managing to find a hole in it, often with someone then sinking a 3-pointer from a corner unchallenged. The cheering section that had traveled across the lake didn’t have much to cheer after the first quarter.
The Wildcats led the Wolverines 11-9 going into the second quarter. First to score in the game was freshman #24 Chase Clifton, who led all WSHS scoring with 12 points.
Next was senior #13 Vlad Salaridze … and those were the only two Wildcats in double digits. Third in WSHS scoring was sophomore #1 Isaiah Watts, with four points.
One other complication – the refs were not shy about calling fouls, and Bellevue wound up with many foul shots. One West Seattle player, senior #15 Xavier Giomi, eveb fouled out, with three minutes left in the third quarter. Overall, it just wasn’t West Seattle’s night – with a 23-14 deficit at the half, and 39-27 after the third.
(Seniors #3 Sage Nelson and #2 Abdi Jama)
The Wildcats never gave up, but by the fourth quarter, Bellevue could afford to just keep running down the shot clock, and time finally ran out. The team finished with a 13-12 record in head coach Dan Kriiey‘s first season:
That included a 6-game win streak in December.
CRIME WATCH: White Center shooting; West Seattle burglary attempt
Two Crime Watch notes tonight:
WHITE CENTER SHOOTING: Thanks for the tips on this. One person was found in White Center tonight with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, after deputies responded to a report of shots heard near 16th/Roxbury. The story’s on our partner site White Center Now.
BURGLARY ATTEMPT: We asked SPD about this early-morning incident near 34th/Morgan. Their summary:
Officers responded to the 6300 block of 34th SW for a reported burglary in progress at about 2:15 am this morning. According to the victim, an unknown person attempted to enter the house via the dog door. The homeowner was able to scare off the suspect before they got inside. According to the victim, the suspect, possibly two, fled the area before the officers arrived. Officers conducted a thorough search of the area, but did not locate the suspect(s).
Bricks, stones, and noise @ Alki Community Council
From last night’s Alki Community Council meeting:
FADED BRICKS AT ALKI STATUE OF LIBERTY PLAZA: The inscribed bricks at the plaza are harder than ever to read. Libby Carr, who led the original community campaign to create the plaza more than a decade ago, was at the ACC to discuss the situation. She said many things have been tried and proposed in recent years, since it’s a long-running problem; the bricks were treated in 2018, but that hasn’t stopped the deterioration. Potential coatings will be tried once the weather warms up. However, there’s also a possibility the bricks will have to be replaced. Carr said she had spoken with an Olympia engraver who told her about newer materials and engraving techniques that could last longer.
STONE HOUSE UPDATE: Members of the committee working to save and move the “stone house” from the future development site at 1123 Harbor SW provided an update.
Mike Shaughnessy said that they’re looking toward moving the house in June or July; that will cost about $60,000. It would be moved to a temporary spot on the industrial land east of Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) and would likely be held there about two years while work on restoration and permanent placement continues, including fundraising. They’ve continued talking with Parks; Shaughnessy says that’s been positive so far. While – as discussed at last month’s Parks Board meeting – a Parks site might be possible for the stone house’s permanent home, the committee is searching for other options too. In Q&A they were asked if the house is holding up well enough to withstand a move. Answer: Yes. The biggest question is its permanent placement, and finding a site that, for example, won’t be underwater in 50 years. The committee, by the way, meets weekly.
POLICE UPDATE: Lt. Steve Strand from the Southwest Precinct was there; he said the formal Alki emphasis-patrol plan will go into effect when the weather warms up. He said they’ve already been dealing with some seasonal problems – noise from vehicle enthusiasts, for example. He urged residents to keep reporting problems when seen/heard. He also noted that officers from here are among those citywide taking turns supplementing patrols downtown, though it’s being done in a way that’s not having much effect on day-to-day resources.
The Alki Community Council meets third Thursdays most months, 7 pm at Alki UCC.
AT ALKI: Super Plunge today, Polar Plunge tomorrow
More than a dozen Special Olympics of Washington supporters just spent a long soggy day going into the water at Alki twice an hour.
This was the Super Plunge, a preview of sorts for tomorrow’s Polar Plunge. Everybody participating – mostly law enforcers – raised at least $1,500 in order to qualify as a Super Plunger. There’s still time for you to be a Polar Plunger if you show up in time for the plunge at 1 pm Saturday.
Just look for the “igloo” by Alki Bathhouse!
Don’t want to swim but do want to support Special Olympics? On Saturday, in connection with the Polar Plunge, there’s also a beer and food-truck festival, 11 am-4:30 pm, as previewed here.
FOLLOWUP: Curious about Seattle Police staffing, recruiting? Here’s a preview of upcoming briefing
When District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold spoke to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce a week ago (WSB coverage here), she noted that the committee she chairs was scheduled for a February 25th briefing on Seattle Police staffing and recruiting. With that now four days away, the agenda has arrived, and it includes two documents you can preview. Above is the slide deck outlining what SPD is doing to recruit more officers and to diversify the force; below, the council staff memo with information including current SPD staffing levels
The memo also includes current levels of patrol staffing in SPD’s five precincts. Southwest – which covers West Seattle and South Park – remains the smallest patrol staff, at 89, compared to 116 for East, 127 for South, 153 for West, and 171 for North. The briefing/discussion will be part of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee meeting at 9:30 am Tuesday.
BIZNOTE: Junction salon owner moving, downsizing
After more than 20 years in The Junction, The Forsythe Studio is closing.
Sort of.
Proprietor Jessica Forsythe explains that while she’s closing the salon at 4456 California SW at month’s end, she’s not going out of business – she’s moving and “downsizing.” She and a partner will open Modern Roots in The Admiral District (the former Via space at 4217 SW College) on March 3rd.
Her Forsythe Studio stylists are moving on to new gigs, too, she says, and if you need to find someone, just call Jessica and she’ll point you to the right place(s). She says she’s keeping the Forsythe Studio’s longtime phone number, 206-935-1865.
99 TUNNEL: Southbound closure added next weekend for repairs
(WSDOT photo, February 14)
The weekly SDOT lookahead (PDF), which often brings first word of key WSDOT closures too, arrived with news of an added Highway 99 tunnel closure described as being for “repairs,” 10 pm next Friday (February 28) to 8 am next Saturday (February 29). We asked WSDOT spokesperson Laura Newborn if the repairs are related to the water leak from the southbound tunnel’s ceiling. She said yes, elaborating;
The purpose of the closure purpose is two-fold.
1. For the tunnel contractor to repair and reseal a small grout-port where water is leaking (the tunnel is under warranty).
2. To complete regularly scheduled tunnel maintenance from Friday, Feb. 14 as crews spent maintenance time creating a temporary repair for the water leak.
We want to emphasize this is considered a minor leak with a straightforward repair plan. The tunnel remains very safe for driving.
The repairs involve re-grouting the area near a grout port and resealing the grout port. During construction, these types of ports were used to add grout to the area between the ground and the outside of the tunnel wall.
Again, that’s next Friday night, NOT tonight. The NB tunnel, meantime, has a regular maintenance closure March 13 (10 pm)-14 (8 am).
WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Kayak stolen
From Kathleen:
My 17′ Vision (Current Designs) sea kayak was stolen in West Seattle (on Delridge Way SW near SW Andover St). It has a light blue faded top with a navy blue stripe above the white hull. I noticed it missing when I came home from lunch (Thursday).
The SPD report # is 2020-902478.
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Friday watch & weekend reminders
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:50 AM: Good morning! No current incidents/alerts in our area.
Weekend reminders:
1ST AVENUE S. BRIDGE CLOSURES: Tonight and Saturday night, the northbound 1st Avenue S. Bridge is scheduled to close, 9 pm-8 am both nights.
NEW TRANSIT PATHWAY STARTING TOMORROW: The new pathway into downtown for most West Seattle bus routes opens tomorrow (Saturday, February 22nd), as announced earlier this month. See the official service advisory for the affected routes here (PDF). The new pathway/stops map is also in our coverage of Wednesday’s media event there.
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