West Seattle, Washington
26 Friday
10:55 PM: Lots of questions about the big emergency response in that area, with Admiral Way blocked at the bridge over Fairmount Ravine. Please avoid the area. Police are dealing with a person in crisis.
11:31 PM: The person is reported to be safe now. The scene isn’t clear yet, though, so continue avoiding that section of Admiral Way.
12:30 AM: The scene is clear and the road fully reopened.
A reminder: 24-hour crisis help is available via Crisis Connections, 866-427-4747
10:07 PM: Tonight health authorities announced two new presumed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in our state, including the first one in King County. So it’s time for us to start reporting on it. First, here’s what’s new. From the Public Health/Seattle-King County announcement:
Today the Washington State Department of Health announced a positive test result for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in a King County resident. The individual, a woman in her fifties, had recent travel to Daegu, South Korea. The resident is in home isolation and has mild illness.
Public Health – Seattle & King County is working to identify and contact those who may have come in contact with the confirmed case.
This is the first known case of novel coronavirus in King County.
Authorities did not say where in King County the patient lives. Also announced at tonight’s briefing, a new presumed case in Snohomish County, described as a juvenile patient whose school, Jackson High School in Everett, is closing for three days for cleaning. They don’t know how the teen was exposed to the virus.
The two cases announced tonight are the second and third in our state.
QUESTIONS? The state Health Department has set up “a call center to address questions from the public. If you have questions about what is happening in Washington state, please call 800-525-0127 and press #.
The state’s news release includes this advice:
How can you prevent the spread of COVID-19? Prevention starts with practicing good personal health habits:
-Wash your hands often with soap and water,
-Stay home when you’re sick,
-Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue,
-Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects.
-Getting plenty of rest, drinking fluids, eating healthy foods, and managing your stress can help you prevent getting COVID-19 and recover from it if you do.
Authorities stress that so far, risk is low, and – as with the aforementioned King County case – most cases are mild. Common questions are answered hee; The main Public Health-Seattle/King County infopage about the coronavirus situation is here. Lots of info from the state Health Department can be found here.
P.S. We’re creating a new coverage category, so any coronavirus (COVID-19)-related story we publish will be findable here.
11:25 AM: More King County cases are being announced today, including a death (on the Eastside, according to The Times).
1:25 PM: From today’s news release (we’ll likely publish a daily update later):
Public Health – Seattle & King County, Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reporting today four presumptive positive cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including one person who died.
Two of the confirmed cases are associated with LifeCare nursing facility in Kirkland, King County, Washington:
– One is a health care worker from LifeCare. She is a woman in her 40s, is currently in satisfactory condition at Overlake Hospital, and she has no known travel outside the United States.– The second case, a woman in her 70’s, is a resident at LifeCare and is in serious condition at EvergreenHealth Hospital.
In addition, over 50 individuals associated with LifeCare are reportedly ill with respiratory symptoms or hospitalized with pneumonia or other respiratory conditions of unknown cause and are being tested for COVID-19. Additional positive cases are expected.
The death occurred in a patient at EvergreenHealth Hospital but was not a resident of the long-term care facility.Public Health – Seattle & King County is current working with LifeCare to provide care for ill patients while protecting uninfected patients. The CDC is sending a team of epidemiologists to King County to support our efforts to identify, isolate and test all of those who may be at risk because of these new cases.
That’s Nathan Tavel, an 8-year-old second-grader at Arbor Heights Elementary School, who tore up Lane 10 at West Seattle Bowl tonight with pretty much two nonstop hours of bowling to raise money for the West Seattle Food Bank. His proud dad and mom Phil and Gina were among those cheering him on:
Phll told us Nathan’s been bowling since he was four years old. He’s been known to bowl at such a lightning pace, he can pack 32 games into an hour. Tonight, as previewed, he challenged teams to bowl against him for one or both hours – if his pin total beat theirs, they promised to donate at least $100 to WSFB. No word yet on the results but three lanes were competing with him while we were there!
James Bratsanos caught tonight’s sunset sunbreak in the view above; below, @WestSeaWx explained it via Twitter:
Back edge of cold front across the sound w/some ragged mammatus filling closely behind.@NWSSeattle @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/A2UZISq3ki
— WestSeattleWx (@WestSeaWx) February 29, 2020
As for the weekend ahead, the forecast suggests a varied menu – breezy overnight, more rain off and on, maybe even some thunderstorms tomorrow.
As noted in our daily highlights, this is Day One of this year’s Girl Scout Cookie sales. And the return of the rain is NOT getting in the way:
Thanks to @patrickgerding for tweeting that photo from Seacrest, where Troop 44428 is selling cookies right now. Meantime, while out on errands, we found Troop 41196 at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) – Mira and Margaret were by the south door:
Many other locations – use the lookup to find locations and times. New cookie this year, if you haven’t heard – Lemon-Ups have joined the lineup. This year’s cookie sales continue through March 15th.
Marked on those map are West Seattle’s Emergency Communication Hubs, designated sites where volunteers would coordinate communication in case of a catastrophe that disrupted normal methods. On this 19th anniversary of the 6.8-magnitude Nisqually Earthquake, memorizing your nearest Hub location – and ensuring your family knows it too – is one quick preparatory step you can take to prepare in case of The Really Big One. Not seeing one near where you live? Here’s how to change that.
That’s the design packet (PDF) by JW Architects now posted for the mixed-use project planned at 9037 35th SW [map]. It’s going through Administrative Design Review, so no public meeting, but it is open for public comment.The project is described in the packet as:
The project team is proposing to demolish an existing single family residence, in order
to construct (1) 13,919 sf apartment building with (25) SEDU units and 839.24 sf of commercial space on the ground level. Vehicle Parking provided in on-grade garage, with bike parking provided in centrally located secure bike room.Height: 55’
Parking: (6) Vehicle Stalls
(25) Bike Stalls – Long Term
(2) Bike Stalls – Short Term
SEDU means Small Efficiency Dwelling Unit, the city’s term for microapartment. Wayne Farrens is the assigned city planner, so if you have feedback, send it to wayne.farrens@seattle.gov. We noted the project’s previous phase of Design Review in June 2018; HALA MHA has upzoned the site from 40′ to 55′ in the meantime.
March 16th is when family and friends will gather to celebrate the life of Morgan Herzog, The Beer Junction‘s founder, whose passing was reported here last month. Here’s the remembrance his family is sharing with the community:
Morgan Herzog died peacefully at his West Seattle home on January 30, 2020 from Multiple Myeloma.
Born on May 29, 1981, Morgan was the youngest son of Rick and Diane Herzog. He attended King’s Elementary, Lake Forest Park Elementary, Kellogg Middle School, and graduated from Shorecrest High School in 2000. In high school, Morgan worked as a landscaper and saved to buy a truck to start his own landscaping business, which he continued while he attended college at the University of Washington.
Morgan graduated from UW with a BA in Business in 2004 and a Masters of Accounting in 2005. After graduating college, he moved to West Seattle, where his father and his aunt had been raised and where he had fond memories of visiting as a child. He began his career working at the accounting firm KPMG and earned his CPA license in 2009. At KPMG, Morgan would meet some of his closest friends and fall in love with his future wife, Allison. He was known for his sense of fun and the parties that he would throw on his deck near Alki. His time at the firm furthered his analytical thinking and patient leadership style, and he had deep respect for the partners and managers who mentored him.
After five years at KPMG, he continued to think back at the fulfillment he had running his own landscaping business. After a January day sampling beer at the Porterhouse in West Seattle with Allison, he thought about how there wasn’t a place to buy packaged craft beer in his neighborhood. By the end of March, he had signed a lease for a storefront, and on July 3, 2010, he opened The Beer Junction at its original location. For the first year, he ran the store largely by himself. He worked long hours and took a risk, combining his love for beer with his desire to run his own business, and he made his dream come true. Morgan would continue to grow The Beer Junction, moving to a larger location and adding draft beer in 2012. He treasured the friendships he developed in the Seattle beer community and the West Seattle community as a whole.
Morgan was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2017. He underwent treatments on and off since his diagnosis, but he wanted to continue his life as normal as possible. In late January, Morgan’s prognosis suddenly became grave. He took great comfort in the company of his loving family, and in being able to return to the home which he loved one final time. Allison and his brother, Nate, were there by his side at the moment he left us.
Morgan will be remembered for his sense of humor and endless knowledge of Seinfeld trivia, his laugh, his work ethic, and his kindness. He loved tennis, traveling, camping, grilling, his deck, 80’s movies, sandwiches and beer. He is loved and missed.
Morgan is preceded in death by his parents, Rick and Diane Herzog, and uncle, Dennis Drain. He is survived by his wife, Allison; brother, Nathan; and aunts and uncles Deborah & Steven Bessette, Dave Drain, Marsha Drain, and Dale & Tina Drain; as well as many cousins.
A celebration of Morgan’s life will be held at West Seattle Christian Church on Monday, March 16 at 4:30 p.m. Remembrances may be given to Fred Hutch for Multiple Myeloma research or Southwest Youth & Family 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)
(Red-necked Grebe, photographed by Matthew Olson)
Here’s what’s happening for the rest of today/tonight – highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (where you can always see even more):
WEST SEATTLE GARDEN CLUB: Today’s meeting at Daystar (WSB sponsor) is just starting, 10:30 am-2 pm, but you are invited to stop by for any part of it, including the featured discussion about carnivorous plants. (2615 SW Barton)
COUNCILMEMBER’S OFFICE HOURS 2-7 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, you can drop in to talk with City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. (4217 SW Oregon)
CIDER SALES: 4-5:30 pm near the Fauntleroy ferry line/south end of Lincoln Park, look for Taproot School students selling cider to raise money for Immigrant Families Together. (Fauntleroy Way SW/SW Cloverdale)
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SALES BEGIN: This afternoon! Find your nearest cookie sellers here.
2ND GRADER BOWLS TO FIGHT HUNGER: As previewed here, tonight at West Seattle Bowl, 6-8 pm, it’s 8-year-old Nathan Tavel‘s bowling challenge to help the West Seattle Food Bank. (39th SW/SW Oregon)
OPEN MIC LAUNCH PARTY: Tonight you can be part of the first-ever edition of Highland Park Improvement Club‘s new Open Mic, doors open 6:30 pm, performances 7-8:30 pm, with your host Dina Lydia. (1116 SW Holden)
GARY BENSON: 7-9 pm, live music at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), all ages, no cover. (5612 California SW)
‘THE BOOK CLUB PLAY’: Opening night for Twelfth Night Productions, promising: “Loads of laughter and literature collide in this smart hit comedy about books and the people who love them.” 7:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Tickets here or at the box office. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
NICOLE WALTERS: Live music at the Pacific Room on Alki, 8-10 pm. Show and cover info here. (2808 Alki SW)
*NEW DATE: MAY 1ST*
Got plans for Saturday night next weekend? Go back in time and help local students get ahead! Here’s the invitation:
Madison Middle School’s Roaring ’20s Gala
Come Join Us For an Evening of Fun, Food, and Fundraising!
Saturday, March 7th from 5:30-11:00 PM at the beautiful The Sanctuary at Admiral- we’d love to have you participate!
Visit our website for tickets, to make a donation, and learn more about our mission.
Thank you for supporting our group and our goals!
for questions, email: fundraising@madisonptsa.com
Fun fact– Madison Middle School & The Sanctuary both opened in the 1920s!!
(The venue is a former church, designated a city landmark in 2009.)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:10 AM: Good morning! No alerts or incidents to report.
TUNNEL REMINDER: The SB Highway 99 tunnel is scheduled to close 10 pm-8 am tonight into Saturday morning for repair work.
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