West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photos/video)
Like the West Seattle Food Bank, the White Center Food Bank – which serves part of WS too – is among the food banks getting help from the Washington National Guard. And today, the helpers got some help themselves – eight bicycles!
That’s Stephen Rowley from Cascade Bicycle Club. Today, he delivered loaner bikes to the WCFB for the National Guard members to use. Their leader, Sgt. Aaron Smith, explained:
Rowley told us that these bicycles are usually used in activities at schools, but since those aren’t happening right now, they were available.
The borrowers are expected to keep them for several weeks.
10:23 PM: Though this ss NOT related to a helicopter some reported hearing over the Admiral area a bit earlier, the Guardian 1 helicopter is currently over Highland Park/Puget Ridge, helping police track a suspect who is reported to be wanted for eluding. (The helicopter’s track before this was in south King County, so the Admiral reports remain a mystery.)
10:30 PM: According to radio exchanges, this all started in Kent. The search has now moved on to Westwood, where police have converged on a reportedly related vehicle.
10:42 PM: Kent Police are reported to be on the way too, and a possible hit-run crash along the way on Puget Ridge is factoring into all this too.
11:02 PM: One clarification in the Guardian One crew’s post-departure tweet – they report the suspect “abandoned [the first] car in West Seattle and got into another car.”
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: We asked Kent PD for more details, and Cmdr. Robert Hollis replied:
Around 2200 hours on 05/20/2020, a on-duty Kent Officer noticed a red vehicle driving at a high rate of speed eastbound in the 10200 block of SE 240th St. The officer was able to catch up with the vehicle and when he activated his lights and siren, the suspect vehicle started driving away at a high rate of speed. Officers pursued the vehicle until speeds became too great and stopped pursuing the vehicle. Because King County Guardian One was up and following the vehicle, officers determined they could stop and locate the suspect at a later time. … Our officer did take the suspect into custody for Eluding.
Here are the toplines of today’s local virus-crisis news:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary data dashboard:
*7,617 people have tested positive, up 35 from yesterday.
*530 people have died, up 1 from yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 7,221 and 514.
ANOTHER DATA DASHBOARD: The county announced today that it’s added this one, with info on “key economic, social, and overall health impacts.”
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING TOMORROW: Gov. Inslee‘s office says his next media briefing will be at 11:30 am tomorrow, and that he will “talk about restarting faith-based services and will speak to health care providers on the importance of seeking urgent medical care amid the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Thursday morning update: This has been canceled.)
CASE TRACKING/CONTACT TRACING: The state Health Department offers an update on how many people are getting trained to make this happen.
HAPPY HOMECOMING: A West Seattleite who survived an almost-fatal case of COVID-19 is back home tonight.
(Photo courtesy Wendy Hobson)
See the warm welcome Michael Flor got from his neighbors, here.
‘BUMMER SUMMER’: One commenter invoked that phrase again after Seafair‘s cancellation announcement today;
YOU CAN HELP: A new series of Saturday food drives launches this weekend.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
If you travel on lower Spokane St. – note that SDOT plans repair/repaving work at 6th/Spokane the next two days. The announcement says work is planned 9 am-4 pm Thursday and Friday, weather permitting, and that at least one lane will remain open each way. Also noted, “Though the project was planned before the closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge, we have accelerated the timeline since the pavement improvements will support increased traffic through the intersection. The improvements will help increase safety and mobility for people driving, riding bicycles, and using the crosswalks through this busy intersection”
5:17 PM: Just received this from Seattle Public Utilities:
Friday evening, May 22, Seattle Public Utilities will begin an emergency repair on a large, 16-inch water main that is leaking in West Seattle near SW Holly Street between California Ave SW and 39th Ave SW.
The repair work is expected to be completed by early Saturday morning, May 23, to avoid construction over the Memorial Day weekend.
In order to safely complete this work, crews must temporarily shut off water to about 65 homes in the area. Impacted customers will receive a door hanger from SPU on May 21 with information about the water outage, which starts at 9 pm on Friday, May 22 and ends at 5 am on Saturday, May 23.
The noisiest construction work will occur between 8 pm and 10 pm on May 22 when crews are breaking pavement to access the leaking water main. However, customers in the area may also experience some overnight noise while crews work to repair the pipe.
During the repair, if customers have questions about the work or their water service, they should contact SPU’s 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206-386-1800.
7:14 PM: We went over for a look and found the NO PARKING signs along Holly in the 41st/42nd vicinity, so looks like that’s expected to be the main work zone.
Two reader reports:
CAR PROWL: From Chris:
We live on 38th Ave SW, b/t Stevens and Lander, and I came out on Wednesday morning at 9:10 am to find our Traverse had been rummaged through. We must have left it unlocked when we arrived home around 4:10pm yesterday, since there were no broken windows and no alarm last night. Nothing much taken other than some change in the console, a multi-tool from the door, and flashlight from the glove compartment.
BACKPACK FOUND: Betty, who sent the photo, says it’s hard to tell whether this was stolen/dumped, or maybe just lost. But given the uptick in car-prowl reports lately, we’re featuring it here in case of the latter:
She says the backpack contains “kids’ water shoes, and there’s a charger and a folding knife inside.” If it’s yours, let us know and we’ll connect you.
“Superman” is Michael Flor, who survived a life-threatening case of COVID-19 and returned home to a spirited welcome from his West Seattle neighbors today.
His story was told by Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times two weeks ago, when Flor was discharged from Swedish Medical Center. (The story didn’t mention he lives in West Seattle, but a friend told us, so we linked the story in our nightly virus-crisis roundup.) He’s been recovering at a rehab facility since then – until today.
The photos were sent by Wendy Hobson, who reports, “All of the neighbors came out to welcome him home with signs, balloon, chalk drawings, and a power-washed welcome home in the intersection” (above).
A doctor told The Times that at one point, Flor – who is 70 – was near death, “as sick as you can get.” But he survived, and is now back home to do exactly what that window sign exhorts – “celebrate.”
Back on March 26th, we published video sent by Richard in the Fairmount Park area,spotlighting his neighbor Anton‘s nightly saxophone serenades. Today, Richard sent this update:
Pretty amazing dedication and spirit in our community. Every evening, rain or shine – Fairmount Park’s neighbors come out at 6 pm to enjoy Anton’s performances. We all observe “physical distancing” while his performances entertain us during this pandemic. Anton, with the support of his wife (Dawn), has been awesome: his first serenade was on March 24th – 57 straight days and going strong!
Any longrunning pandemic traditions in YOUR neighborhood?
(August 2019 photo by Monica Zaborac)
Announced today by Seafair:
As part of the Seattle summer experience, the non-profit Seafair has been creating lasting memories for the Northwest community for generations. Given the uncertainty surrounding public health safety, and combined with guidance from local and state governments, Seafair is rescheduling its major events to next year. Already, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels are confirmed for August 6-8, 2021, and the Fourth of July fireworks show will be back, bigger than ever.
“We are deeply disappointed but together we will get through this emergency,” said Eric Corning, President and CEO of Seafair. “Events will be an important part of our recovery, and we look forward to working with our sponsorship partners, volunteers, and stakeholders to produce a festival with the Blue Angels, fireworks, pirates, clowns, parades, and all of the neighborhood community events. We will stay active in the community this summer to bring people together to celebrate online and in-person, within the COVID-19 guidelines.”
Seafair will be in contact via email with all current ticket holders in the coming days to discuss their options.
As organizers of the largest community summer events in Seattle, bringing millions of Northwesterners together, Seafair is committed to be a catalyst to reunite community and celebrate what it means to live in the Puget Sound region in 2021. The team at Seafair, including board, staff, and the over 3,000 volunteers, are looking forward to doing just that for the community that we love.
Affected 2020 Seafair Festival Signature Events (produced by Seafair)
July 4 – Seafair Summer 4th – Gas Works Park and Lake Union Park
July 11 – Seafair Milk Carton Derby – Green Lake Aqua Theatre
July 19 – Seafair Triathlon – Seward Park
July 25 – Torchlight Run – Downtown Seattle
July 25 – Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade – Downtown Seattle
July 31 – August 2 – Seafair Weekend Festival featuring the Boeing Seafair Air Show and HomeStreet Bank Cup – Genesee Park / Lake Washington
The annual Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki wasn’t mentioned, though it’s usually in June, and large events are unlikely to be allowed by then.
Another way to help people who need food during the COVID-19 economic crunch: A new recurring food drive outside Admiral UCC Church (4320 SW Hill):
Food Drive Saturdays from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm beginning May 23rd. 2020:
There will be a Food Bank barrel to collect food under a canopy at Admiral Church with attendants to assist with the collection of food: non-perishable and canned food, pet food and cat litter, baking supplies, seasonings and herbs, and bagged fresh produce or home-grown organic vegetables.
The food drives will be from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Saturdays, May 23 and 30, June 13 and 27, July 11 and 25. Your food donations are needed as the number of people needing food has increased greatly due to the pandemic.
Here’s a map.
With everything else that’s been going on, you might be forgiven for forgetting that this is a major election year, too. Last week was candidate-filing week in our state, and the list of who’ll be on the August primary ballot has just been finalized. We have heard from a West Seattle resident who is running for statewide office – Joshua Casey is one of two challengers running against first-term state auditor Pat McCarthy. Here’s his announcement:
Joshua Casey, a resident of Seattle, has made the decision to join the race for Washington’s State Auditor. He is challenging the incumbent who, according to Casey, potentially put lives at risk by not understanding the risks of poor planning for a pandemic or disaster.
When asked why he joined the race, Casey said, “It has become apparent through this pandemic that the incumbent auditor’s lack of technical expertise has indirectly hindered state and local government’s response to COVID-19. Routine audits employed in the private sector, like comprehensive pandemic and disaster planning assessments, have been passed over at the auditor’s office—even as the budget increased by almost 20% in two years. As a result, state and local government were forced to work through issues in real time that, with better planning provided through an audit, could have been avoided.” Casey then said, “In many states, to be the state auditor, a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license is required, and when you see poor leadership like this, it is clear why this is the case. To become a CPA, a candidate usually must have an advanced degree, pass the CPA exam, have hands-on experience, and often pass an ethics exam. For this reason, in the private sector, a CPA license is required to sign audit reports—why should the public sector be held to a lower standard?”
Joshua Casey is the only CPA running for the office and is the only candidate with relevant financial and operational audit experience. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in information systems and operations management from the University of Florida. Also, he has over a decade of accounting and auditing experience, including leading and managing teams for two top global audit firms, Deloitte and PwC.
“If elected, in my first few days of holding office, I would identify high-risk areas that are not currently being audited, like a comprehensive disaster preparedness assessment, and add them to the schedule, while also leaving flexibility in the process to address emerging risks,” Casey said. “Then, as I’ve done with many clients, I would review the existing audit processes and identify areas worth modernizing with cutting edge audit technology like Robotics Process Automation (RPA) — with the aim to streamline existing processes and better utilize the existing budget to perform more efficient and higher quality audits.”
Joshua Casey brings a combination of expertise and leadership to his campaign for Washington State Auditor. Further, as a CPA he is required to be independent and objective in his audits—unlike his opponents. Casey looks forward to applying his knowledge in office while prioritizing the safety of all Washingtonians.
Incumbent McCarthy, who like Casey is running as a Democrat, is a former Pierce County Executive; the state website says there’s also a Republican in the race, Chris Leyba of Tacoma. This year’s statewide primary is August 4th.
Another local PTA invites everyone in the community to bid – and dine!
The Gatewood Elementary PTA 2020 Auction is going virtual!
Silent bidding will begin on Monday May 25.
Live streamed event is on Friday May 29 @ 7 pm.
Please visit www.gatewoodauction.org and click the online auction link to register for the event. Everyone has to register for online bidding. Anyone can participate – registration is free!
A special meal from Elliott Bay Brewery is available for purchase to be delivered in West Seattle on Fri May 29. Please order by this Friday May 22 at www.gatewoodauction.org.
Kid-made art, restaurant gift cards, Pearl Jam poster, vacation homes, and more!
Questions – please email gatewoodauctionchair@gmail.com
Thank you for your support of the Gatewood Community.
– Lauren Fabella and Matt Hoffman
Gatewood Auction 2020 co-chairs
6:07 AM: Good morning – the 58th morning without the high-rise West Seattle Bridge. Our morning notes start with the cameras for the 5-way intersection at West Marginal/Delridge/Spokane/Chelan, and the restricted-access low bridge (where SPD enforcement continues):
Since the main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map), that’s the next camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map) – this camera shows the approach:
Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.
You can see all local traffic cams, including the new ones in West Seattle, here; locally relevant cameras are shown on this WSB page.
TRANSIT
Metro – Reduced schedule; reduced capacity; check here for next departure
Water Taxi – Reduced schedule continues (note: NO SERVICE next Monday because it’s Memorial Day)
Sound Transit note – Link light rail and Sounder trains will start charging fares again June 1st
During the stay-home order, we’re not live-monitoring morning traffic, but we’ll update with word of incidents, so please let us know what you’re seeing – comment or text (but not if you’re drivingl!) 206-293-6302.
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