West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
9:58 PM: Hours after last night’s announcement of King County’s first coronavirus (COVID-19) case, today brought news of three more, including the nation’s first death from the new virus. Here are the toplines of what’s emerged since:
KING COUNTY CASES: None reported in Seattle so far, though no location has been given for the one reported last night, a woman in her 50s with a “mild” case. The three additional ones reported today include the person who died, described by Seattle-King County Public Health as “a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions … a patient at EvergreenHealth Hospital [in Kirkland] but not a resident of the long-term care facility..” The other two “are associated with LifeCare nursing facility in Kirkland,” a health care worker in her 40s, currently in satisfactory condition at Overlake Hospital, and a woman in her 70s, a resident at LifeCar, now in serious condition at EvergreenHealth Hospital. Health authorities say they’re expecting more cases because “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.”
WHAT’S BEING DONE – KING COUNTY: King County Executive Dow Constantine activated the King County Emergency Operations Center “to coordinate the work of cities across the region.” His news release also announced, “King County Metro has also established an Incident Management Team to develop policy recommendations, operational strategies, and protocols for sustaining Metro operations in all contingencies.” At a media briefing downtown this afternoon, he said buses are being cleaned/vacuumed daily, and that any bus found to have “unsanitary conditions” will be taken out of service to be cleaned again.
WHAT’S BEING DONE – SEATTLE: Mayor Jenny Durkan said her Emergency Executive Board already has been working on the coronavirus response since January, and her news release said “the City will be activating its Emergency Operating Center to ensure continued coordination with our city, local, and state partners.”
WHAT’S BEING DONE – STATE: Gov. Jay Inslee said the state’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated since January; today he issued an emergency proclamation (PDF) “that directs state agencies and departments to utilize state resources and do everything reasonably possible to assist affected communities responding to and recovering from COVID-19 cases.”
WATCH TODAY’S MEDIA BRIEFING: Best archived unedited version we could find:
NATIONAL OVERVIEW: Here’s updated info from the Centers for Disease Control, including recommendations for what you can/should do.
WHICH IS WORSE, CORONAVIRUS OR FLU? The New York Times takes on that question here.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNNG: 2 more King County cases just announced, including one at a downtown Seattle hospital.
ADDED 6 PM SUNDAY: Another update – now 10 cases total, including 2 deaths, in King County. We’ll publish a wrapup of the Sunday developments later this evening. (Note: URL corrected)
Sound Transit and city reps are making the rounds of community meetings with updates on where the light-rail-planning process stands. We’ve covered a few of them already; this past Thursday, the Junction Neighborhood Organization hosted one, so we recorded it on video. Here’s the slide deck that was used by Sound Transit’s Leda Chahim and Jason Hampton:
(Or, see it here in PDF.) While ST reps recapped where the process stands – with the Draft Environmental Impact Statement due out early next year – city reps talked about station development and criteria through which planning will be run, including race and social equity. Questions included how the I-976 situation is affecting planning; so far, it’s proceeding unchanged, while the court action continues to play out.
P.S. If you’re hoping to catch one of these updates/briefings in person, ST is expected to be at the next West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting (March 26th, more details to come).
5:49 PM: Thanks for all the reports! Hail just hit many areas of West Seattle (though it seems to have bypassed us in Upper Fauntleroy – maybe not for long, since we just heard thunder). The photo above is from Rosalie in Admiral Below, some of the reports tweeted at us:
sizable hail here in admiral @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/UGkx6IRRlH
— liz murdock (@mizmurdock) March 1, 2020
Umm…this is quite a hailstorm. #Seattle #PigeonPoint @WestSeaWx @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/zVsFXxxp3l
— Dirty Ginger (@wickym) March 1, 2020
Hail in West Seattle @westseattleblog @KING5Seattle pic.twitter.com/IHn2yuVImE
— KellyD (@kdbokay) March 1, 2020
Thunderstorms were in the forecast we published last night – though NOT in the latest update.
6:03 PM: Must be north-to-south-moving hail – NOW it’s here (got a text from Gatewood, too).
ADDED: Two photos from David Hutchinson showing the skies right after the first wave of hail:
The photo and report are from Holly in Seaview:
Someone vandalized our car, slashing all four tires while it was parked at the corner of Findlay and 47th sometime between 1 pm on the 27th and 11 am on the 29th. No other cars in the vicinity were vandalized. We’ve reported the incident to the police, and it would be great if anyone in the neighborhood could provide information in the comments if they noticed anything.
(WSB photos)
The sun’s out! (For now …) Celebrate with ice cream at the Delridge Grocery Co-op‘s House Party, continuing until 4 pm.
You can see the future store space – where architect Parie Hines of LD Arch Design (WSB sponsor) tells us construction is now 80 percent complete. The “house party” theme today even includes furniture:
Some of the store’s future fixtures are in place – this will be the coffee/water station:
The party’s at 5444 Delridge Way SW. As the store works toward opening, the co-op is continuing to welcome new members – more on that here – and can help you have your own “house party” to get neighbors, family, and friends involved too.
(WSB photos)
Huge event continuing all day at Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – the state championships for VEX IQ Robotics! Hundreds of people are filling the gym for the competition:
More than 30 elementary teams (listed here) and a similar number of middle-school teams (listed here) have students participating.
The winners qualify for the national championships in Louisville!
You’re welcome to stop by the STEM K-8 gym and watch – finals are at 3 pm, awards at 3:45 (here’s the schedule).
The school is at 5950 Delridge Way SW; the gym’s on the south side of the building.
Need tools? Get over to the West Seattle Tool Library‘s big almost-spring garage sale! The WSTL’s Christina sent the photo and tells WSB, “We had a big rush this morning, but there are still so many tools looking for new homes! We’re going till 3 or so.” The nonprofit Tool Library – celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! – is on the northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW.
(WSB photos)
12:04 PM: Got a bike, parts, and/or accessories you don’t need any more? Bring them to the lot behind Hope Lutheran (42nd/Oregon in The Junction) by 1 pm for the Bike Works drive that Spencer Mueller is hosting!
40+ bikes so far.
12:29 PM: Added photos. Spencer attends school and church at Hope Lutheran and explained that a service project is required as part of confirmation – he’s “always been passionate about bicycling” and thought about trail-building but decided to do this instead, so Bike Works could fix up donated bicycles and get them to people in need. And thanks to generous WSB readers – Spencer’s dad told us he’s been asking donors how they heard about it, and most cited WSB.
Thanks for the tip. If you’re in the High Point area and without water service, that’s why – a break near the library. A Seattle Public Utilities crew is now on scene but has no estimate on how long repairs will take.
(Hooded Merganser, photographed at High Point Pond by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Leap Day! Here are the highlights:
STATEWIDE ROBOTICS TOURNAMENT: 8:30 am-4 pm (updated end time), Louisa Boren STEM K-8 is hosting the Washington State VEX IQ Robotics Tournament, with more than 40 schools competing. Spectators are welcome. (5950 Delridge Way SW)
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SALES CONTINUE: First weekend! Find your nearest cookie sellers here.
TOOL LIBRARY GARAGE SALE: 9 am-3 pm (updated end time), visit the West Seattle Tool Library on the northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center for some great deals. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
BIKE DONATION DRIVE: 8th grader Spencer Mueller is hosting a donation drive for Bike Works. Donate bikes, parts, accessories. 10 am-1 pm in the lot behind Hope Lutheran.(4456 42nd SW)
CROFT FOREST RESTORATION: 10 am-2 pm, join DNDA in the forest outside Croft Place Townhomes. Help the Longfellow Creek watershed! (Delridge & Holly)
3010-3014 AVALON PROJECT MEETING: 11 am at Delridge Community Center, your chance for early design feedback on a planned eight-story, 87-apartment building. Informal meeting, with coffee and cookies. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
WYATT’S JEWELERS OPEN HOUSE: Noon-3 pm at the locally owned jewelry shop (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village, meet the new owners and the pugs! (2600 SW Barton)
ICE-CREAM PARTY: 2-4 pm, hang out with Delridge Grocery Cooperative in the under-construction store space, enjoy ice cream, find out what’s up with the store and how to help get it open. (5444 Delridge Way SW)
PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT: Enjoy a night out and leave the kid(s) in the care of West Seattle High School students who are doing this as a fundraiser. Details in our calendar listing. (3000 California SW)
AUTHOR EVENT: At Paper Boat Booksellers, 6 pm, Matt Kracht, author of “The Field Guide To Dumb Birds Of North America.” (6040 California SW)
WEST END GIRLS: 7 pm drag spectacular at The Skylark. $13 admission. 21+. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
‘BOOGIE WOOGIE WIZARD’: That’s what they call Arthur Migliazza, who’s at the Kenyon Hall Steinway tonight, 7:30 pm. Ticket info’s in our listing. (7904 35th SW)
‘THE BOOK CLUB PLAY’: Second night for Twelfth Night Productions‘ play: “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)
BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL: 8 pm-midnight at Pacific Room on Alki:
Come party with us Brazilian style! En Canto is throwing a Brazilian Carnival featuring the irresistible dance rhythms of Northeast Brazil: Forró, Baião, Xote, and yes, even some Samba! Live music with En Canto, Seattle’s own Brazilian orchestra, and guest artist Felipe Hostins Accordion- a brilliant New York-based musician known for his tour-de-force performances. Daniel Santos of Bahia In-Motion will bring the spirit of carnival to the dance floor, leading everyone in fun moves. Joe Ferreira, “the Rio dancer” of Portland will perform a playful samba de malandro, and Lara Diniz of Forró in Seattle will give a lesson in forró dancing, and will also lead a carnival dance line! During band breaks, Lara as DJ will treat us to her top picks for dance songs. (Oh, and did we mention caipirinhas?!)
Get your ticket here. (2808 Alki SW)
(WSB photo)
12:21 AM: A Seattle Fire response is on the way to a house near 47th and Graham in Seaview. Updates to come.
12:24 AM: Units arriving confirm it’s a “working fire.”
12:28 AM: One person brought out of the house is being evaluated.
12:30 AM: The fire is reported to be under control.
12:42 AM: One person is being taken to the hospital by private ambulance (which indicates non-life-threatening injuries).
12:54 AM: The scene commander tells us that what caught fire in the house was “rubbish” and damage wasn’t major – lots of smoke, and smoke inhalation is why a man who was inside is being taken to Harborview to be checked out.
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