day : 02/07/2020 13 results

Three West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports:

PICKUP QUICKLY RECOVERED: The report and photo are from Michael:

I placed a 911 call this morning for a vehicle theft in progress at 35th and Graham. It was a white Ford pickup … Police recovered the vehicle in front of Providence Residence on 35th shortly after.

BIKE STOLEN AGAIN: From MD:

Please BOLO for my black single-speed beach cruiser w/high-rise handle bars and black fenders stolen last night.

A couple weeks ago it was stolen and abandoned a couple blocks away. This time my search in the Alki area has not yet produced any result. It is probably abandoned somewhere within a couple miles as it is difficult/impossible to ride uphill. It is not worth much but in good mechanical condition and I used it daily. Thanks.

PACKAGE TAKEN: From Matt P:

I wanted to report a stolen package that happened yesterday around 5:30 pm. Here’s a link to the video of the incident . This is near Raymond and California. I was home at the time, but the delivery person didn’t make any noise. The thief literally came in 1 minute later on the video, so I suspect she was following him around. Easy to identify with that pink hair unless she dyes it again.

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CORONAVIRUS: Thursday 7/2 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

No mask, no service. That’s one of the gubernatorial announcements starting our second nightly roundup of July:

‘MASK UP, OPEN UP’: In a mid-afternoon media briefing, speaking through his face-covering (screengrab above), Gov. Inslee said it’s time to ratchet the mask mandate to the next level: Starting Tuesday, businesses statewide have to refuse service to people flouting the law. He and Secretary of Health John Wiesman also announced that bar service would be removed from what’s allowed in Safe Start Phase 3, and that all county applications for advancing to the next phase would be paused for at least two weeks. The reason for all this? Here’s what they showed:

More details here.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:

*10,596 people have tested positive, up 251 from yesterday

*589 people have died, unchanged from yesterday

*1,606 people have been hospitalized, up 6 from yesterday

*175,993 people have been tested, up 4,267 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 9,612/585/1,561/153,505.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.

WEST SEATTLE TESTING TOMORROW: Weekly reminder – Friday is the weekly drive-up testing day in the north lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor), 10 am-3 pm.

WORRIED ABOUT INSURANCE COVERAGE? The state insurance commissioner has extended the order waiving deductibles and copays for coronavirus testing.

NEED FOOD? Updated info about meals for kids/teens at two local parks starting next week – read this.

PHOTOS? TIPS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302 – thank you!

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REOPENING: Salty’s, Alki Café, The Lodge

July 2, 2020 8:52 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Coronavirus | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Three more restaurant reopenings to report:

SALTY’S ON ALKI (WSB sponsor): The waterfront restaurant at 1936 Harbor Avenue SW reopened today, for outdoor and indoor dining. Salty’s says 2,500 people responded to their pre-opening survey about safety.

ALKI CAFE: Thanks for the tip on this! A hotline caller said a note on the door announced the restaurant is opening tomorrow; we went down to confirm:

As the note says, Alki Café (2726 Alki Avenue SW) will reopen tomorrow for takeout. (206-935-0616)

THE LODGE: The West Seattle location (4209 SW Alaska) reopened this week.

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UPDATE: Police response after gunfire in White Center

July 2, 2020 6:30 pm

| 42 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police | White Center

6:30 PM: Thanks for the tips. Lots of SPD just south of Holy Family and Guardian One overhead. It’s a very active scene. SPD says one person was hurt in a shooting. They are questioning people at a house near 18th/98th and trying to get someone to come out. More…

6:52 PM: The possible suspect has come out. G-1 is gone. The sergeant at the scene tells us it turned out no one was hurt.

7:31 PM: SPD update via Twitter: “Officers investigating probable shooting at residence. No victims located at this time. One person contacted, but refused assistance. Officers collected evidence, this remains an active investigation.”

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ROAD-WORK ALERT: What’s planned for the Delridge Way project next week

July 2, 2020 5:34 pm

| Comments Off on ROAD-WORK ALERT: What’s planned for the Delridge Way project next week

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

Lane closures continue along much of Delridge as the project paving the way for the RapidRide H Line continues. Here’s SDOT‘s preview of what’s ahead next week:

What to expect the week of July 6

We will work in all three zones at the same time, from north to south on Delridge Way SW. No
Parking signs will be posted on both sides of the street in each phase of work to shift traffic
around the work zones.

Work by zone

Zone A (West Seattle Bridge to SW Findlay St)

o Demolition work from SW Charlestown St to SW Dakota St
 We will be completing demolition, concrete and electrical work in the roadway and sidewalk between SW Charlestown St and SW Dakota St. Lanes will be shifted around the work zone.

 Next week, we plan to begin moving to the east side of Delridge Way SW to demolish curb ramps at SW Andover St. We will then pour and install new curb ramps later this month.

o Waterline improvements at SW Genesee St
 Next week, we will begin preparing for improvements to the waterline at SW Genesee St. This work is expected to last through July.

 Water may be shutoff temporarily during this work. Please contact Seattle Public Utilities for information on impacts.

o Concrete work for bus pads throughout Zone A
 We will begin installing bus pads and completing electrical work to prepare for the arrival of RapidRide on the corridor

 This work will include demolishing and pouring concrete in the roadway, as well as some electrical work, at bus stop locations

Zone B (SW Findlay St to north of SW Orchard St)

o SW Findlay St to SW Juneau St
 We will continue installing utility pipes. Please expect traffic to be shifted to one side of Delridge Way SW.

Zone C (North of SW Orchard St to White Center)

o We will continue connecting catch basins throughout this zone

If you experience issues with your water service during construction, please contact Seattle Public Utilities’ 24/7 service line at 206-386-1800.
Also in SDOT’s update, a preview of what’s ahead beyond next week:

 Demolition of the roadway median between SW Dakota St and SW Genesee St will begin later in July. This work is expected to last for several weeks. Please follow posted traffic signs.

 Upcoming overnight closure of the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Genesee St for several nights to install and connect a new water line. We will provide notice before this closure takes place.

 Upcoming temporary driveway closures near SW Juneau St. We will notify specific properties prior to this work starting.

For an overview, and contact info, see the project website.

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LAST CALL! Design a West Seattle Bridge T-shirt, win $

July 2, 2020 4:03 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

You have one more day to enter the West Seattle Art Walk‘s West Seattle Bridge T-shirt design contest (first mentioned here two weeks ago). The goal as explained here, is “to generate three different shirt designs for sale this summer. The artists of the three chosen designs will each receive $500 for their work.” The guidelines:

We would like all artists to consider the following as they create their designs:

*Capture the essence of the situation
*Raise awareness about the importance of the bridge closure to our community
*Convey the love we have for West Seattle

We recognize that art is a very personal expression and you may have mixed emotions about the Bridge closure. While we do not want to inhibit creativity, we do aim to find a balance among sentiments conveyed in the designs that will appeal to our community, with a suggestion of:

*Humorous
*Proud
*Encouraging

Designs can be all illustration, all text, or a mix of both. One submission per artist.

Please note: While we welcome all submissions, artwork needs to be family-friendly to qualify for voting and selection.

More details here; the form for submitting your design is here. The community will get to vote on the qualifying designs to choose the winners! Then the T-shirts will be sold to raise money both for the merchants who sell them and for the nonprofit West Seattle Junction Association.

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West Seattle Local Foods: Welcoming a new WSB sponsor!

July 2, 2020 2:28 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Eat and drink local! Here’s another way to do that – ordering from West Seattle Local Foods, which has joined the WSB sponsor team. Here’s what they want you to know about what they offer:

West Seattle Local Foods is a website where you can order the food made by talented local chef entrepreneurs who share a love of food and have the courage to bet their livelihood on the food they make. Our chefs are from all over the country and have landed in West Seattle, where they are making some of the best food right here in your neighborhood. We are constantly evolving to improve on our current products and innovating new recipes and culinary delights.

Each of our companies is a stand-alone business, but we have come together in the spirit of symbiotic survival and cooperation to create West Seattle Local Foods, a one-stop shop for all of our tasty food and beverages. Some of our chefs have been cooking in this kitchen for years, and some of them only a few months, but we have a great group of people who challenge each other on a daily basis so we all grow together.

The most common compliment we get is about the food and how tasty and fresh it is, perhaps due to people eating so much frozen and processed food that they are blown away by our products. People often become repeat customers because the food is excellent. Every one of our chefs pours countless hours into their creations every day because they take great pride in their work, and find joy in customers loving their food enough to continuously support our small businesses. We find that people feel better about their food when they know the people who create it and can connect with them. We don’t just have robots creating your pot pies, chocolates, cheesecake, or coffee. We don’t have famous names or cooking shows, we just make great food because we are passionate about great food and we want people to enjoy it.

The businesses are:

Ace Laboratories
Byte Food Truck
Girls Gone BBQ
Green City Kitchens
Hot Chocolat
Jet City Beignet
NW Texas BBQ
Panchito’s Lunch Box
Pot Pie Factory
Precise Catering
Renee’s Roca
Seattle Sorbets
Seeking Kombucha
Sifted Tea
Temple Pastries
Town & Country Coffee Co.

West Seattle Local Foods is a chef community within the West Seattle community, and with your help, our businesses will survive this virus season and you will get to enjoy fresh, local food with your friends and family. Our commercial kitchen has been in West Seattle for over 25 years and we plan to be here for another 25 years with your support. Here’s where to order!

We thank West Seattle Local Foods for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.

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U.S. CENSUS: Good job, West Seattle – so far!

July 2, 2020 1:12 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Responded to the U.S. Census yet? If so – you’ve helped our area beat the national average! We received this sampling of stats from Census rep Toby Nelson:

West Seattle neighborhoods are currently eclipsing both the city and statewide response averages.

*In Tract 96 (roughly corresponding to North Admiral), 75.5% of households have responded

*In Tract 97.01 (roughly corresponding to Alki), 75.2%

*In Tract 97.02 (roughly the area between Schmitz Preserve Park and California Ave. SW) – 84.4%

*In Tract 98.01 (roughly the area between Harbor Ave SW and California Ave SW) – 80.3%

*In Tract 98.02 (roughly the area between the West Seattle Bridge and California Avenue SW) – 80.3%

Overall, Seattle is the second-best responding major city (defined as the top 50 cities for population) in the United States, edged only by Louisville. Approximately 71% of Seattle households have responded to the 2020 Census. The national response average is 61.8 percent.

Washington

Washington state today hit a major milestone in the 2020 Census. As of (Wednesday) — and with three months left in the national headcount — Washington has now equaled its self-response rate from the 2010 Census, ten years ago, making it the second state to do so. Approximately 2.2 million Washington households, or 67.1% of the state, have submitted their census questionnaires. This also makes Washington the sixth best-responding state in the United States and the best-responding state west of the Rockies.

If you haven’t answered it yet: “The Census Bureau strongly encourages the public to respond online at 2020census.gov. Households can respond online in English or 12 other languages or by phone. Households can also respond by mail using the paper questionnaire.”

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CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle HS bowler makes All-American team

July 2, 2020 12:02 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

Not only is Evan Smith celebrating graduating from West Seattle High School, the bowler also has a national honor to celebrate – mom Bri’Anna Smith sends word that Evan made the High School All-American Team presented by Dexter Bowling – here’s how the announcement describes her achievements:

The senior, who took honors classes in biology, language arts and world history, also is part of the concert and marching bands at West Seattle High School. She led the charge to have a bowling team at her school and helped the team to the state tournament in its first year in 2019-2020, where she finished 12th in the individual standings. She also serves as a director on the Greater Seattle USBC board.

As noted here in April, Evan signed with Texas Southern University. Her achievements go back years – as a 9th grader, she won two major titles.

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UPDATE: Parks’ plan to discourage fireworks this year – city and port

July 2, 2020 11:16 am

| 31 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

11:16 AM: The announcement is from Seattle Parks – we’re just mentioning the local fields on the list:

Seattle Parks and Recreation will turn on field lighting on ballfields throughout the city on the evening of Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 to protect the surfaces. The ballfield lights will be turned on at approximately 8:30 p.m. and most will be turned off at either 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., depending on the field.

The lights will be turned on to discourage the use of fireworks. Fireworks are illegal in the city of Seattle and will destroy the artificial turf on the fields or surrounding facilities. The approximate replacement cost for the synthetic surface based on per average full-size field (110,000 square feet) is $1.2 million. All the fields have been renovated in the past several years and benefit field users including players of soccer, football, baseball, Ultimate Frisbee, and lacrosse.

The fields will be monitored by security from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Lights at the following fields will be turned off at 11 p.m.:

Delridge Playfield, 4458 Delridge Way SW
Hiawatha Playfield, 2700 California Ave. SW
Walt Hundley Playfield, 6920 34th Avenue SW
West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. SW

4:11 PM: The Port of Seattle has a plan too – received from spokesperson Peter McGraw: “Port police will be closing T105, T107, and Jack Block Parks around 3 p.m. this Saturday to prevent possible property damage related to firework use. The parks will reopen on Sunday morning.”

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SATURDAY: Start your 4th with a community cleanup @ Alki

July 2, 2020 9:00 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Environment | West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Your neighbor Jessica is organizing community cleanups at Alki Beach every first Saturday, 10 am-2 pm. Yes, THIS Saturday – the Fourth of July – too! “Meet outside 2452 Alki Ave SW. Help pick up garbage before it ends in the ocean. Bring gloves, mask, and a bucket or garbage bag with handles for ease. I have 10 pick sticks provided by City of Seattle. Please RSVP at 206.769.6330. Supervised children welcome. FRIENDLY LEASHED Pets welcome but cannot be on Beach. Let’s keep Alki clean.”

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ROAD WORK, TRANSIT, TRAFFIC: Thursday pre-holiday notes, 15th week of West Seattle Bridge closure

July 2, 2020 6:07 am

| Comments Off on ROAD WORK, TRANSIT, TRAFFIC: Thursday pre-holiday notes, 15th week of West Seattle Bridge closure

| West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

6:07 AM: Good morning and welcome to the 101st morning without the high-rise West Seattle Bridge.

ROAD WORK

Lane reductions continue for the Delridge Way project – here’s what they’re working on this week.

TRAFFIC

Here’s the camera for the restricted-daytime-access low bridge:

The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) – which has up to 14 overnight closures planned later this month. Meanwhile, here’s that camera:

The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map) – this camera shows the SP-side approach:

If you’re going through South Park, neighbors have reminders for you.

P.S. Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.

You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.

TRANSIT

Metro – Some service has been restored – details here.

Water Taxi – Some service has been restored on the WT too, plus the 773 and 775 shuttles – see the schedule here.

HOLIDAY TOMORROW

Since July 4th is on Saturday, Independence Day will be observed Friday – no Water Taxi, and Metro will be on its Sunday schedule.

Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Police search; bike theft; 2 car prowls

July 2, 2020 1:12 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Four West Seattle Crime Watch notes:

POLICE SEARCH: We don’t have many details but a search is under way in the Lowman Beach/Lincoln Park area, with K-9. Radio communication indicates it’s related to a burglary.

STOLEN BICYCLE: From Jana – “Bike was stolen (Tuesday) night from 3200 block of 45th Ave SW. Thieves ripped the lock off the car rack. Bicycle is white, Specialized brand (looks similar to picture), standard handle bars, had a little bell that says “coffee” on handlebar, and needed a new rear tire.”

CAR PROWL #1: From Elizabeth: “We’re Gatewood residents (37th and Austin), and sometime between 11 PM and 9 AM, our new car was broken into. It appears the only things stolen were the temporary license plate off the back window, and the screws from the license plate holder on the front of the car. We also had two screws stolen off the license plate on our other vehicle. We think we accidentally left the car unlocked, as there’s no damage to the windows or locks. I wanted to reach out and provide a heads-up in case other folks in the neighborhood have had any similar experiences recently. Whoever did this dumped everything in the center console on the front seat and left it – including expensive sunglasses, along with masks and hand sanitizer. Very strange! ”

CAR PROWL #2: This was just blocks from the previous report. Via text:

Car prowler at 3:22am on July 1, 2020. Caught him on video in my driveway at 39– SW Austin Street. Both of my cars were locked and he headed east on SW Austin in the Gatewood neighborhood after trying to get in my cars.