Wrapping up the last weekend of July, here are tonight’s virus-crisis updates:

KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: First, the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:

*14,433 people have tested positive, up 178 from yesterday

*640 people have died, unchanged from yesterday

*1,891 people have been hospitalized, up 14 from yesterday

*271,301 people have been tested, up 562 from yesterday

One week ago, the totals were 13,159/632/1,803/242,860.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 16.2 million cases and more than 647,000 deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: The federally funded extra $600 is expiring, and what, if anything, will replace it isn’t clear yet, but Congress is supposed to work on it tomorrow.

FOOD FOR KIDS/TEENS: Seattle Public Schools continues meal distribution at its designated sites 11 am-1 pm weekdays, as well as distribution by bus – full details here.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

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TUESDAY: Alki Avenue traffic alert

| Comments Off on TUESDAY: Alki Avenue traffic alert

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(Photo sent by Stewart L.)

Heads up if you travel on Alki Avenue in the Duwamish Head area – the construction project at 1250 Alki SW has sent word of a traffic alert for Tuesday:

1250 Alki Ave will be placing its structural foundation on Tuesday, July 28th.

Starting early in the morning, all vehicular traffic within ¼ mile on either side of the project will be reduced to one, alternating lane.

Wait time should be minimal (less than 5 min) through the morning hours, but traffic typically increases around 10:00 AM, and could lead to a few additional minutes through the early afternoon.

SINGLE LANE CLOSURE OF ALKI AVE

Traffic control signage will be set up early on the morning of the 28th.

The Eastbound lane will be closed and all vehicular traffic (in both directions) will use the lane on the north side.

The North side lane will be controlled by a team of Uniformed Police officers and a traffic control team. They will use an alternating pattern to control vehicular traffic past the project.

Extended working hours

Concrete placement will begin between 5:45 – 6:00 AN. We anticipate the concrete placement will last approximately 8-9 hours and the completion will be around 6:00 PM.

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UPDATE: Junction crash takes out mailbox

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

7:07 PM: Avoid 42nd/Alaska for a while. SFD and SPD have responded to a crash; one car is up on the sidewalk by the Jefferson Square sign. The driver wasn’t hurt but knocked over the USPS mailbox. The scene will clear after the car’s towed.

7:29 PM: SFD has cleared from the scene but the traffic camera shows police are still directing traffic.

7:59 PM: Scene’s now clear.

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Imagine a West Seattle Bridge replacement partly built of wood

July 26, 2020 5:58 pm

| 60 COMMENTS

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With ~3 months to go until SDOT makes the “repair or replace?” decision about the West Seattle Bridge, there’s still time to suggest alternatives. This week, a Seattle architect is pitching one: a “mass timber” replacement bridge.

(Renderings by B+H Architects)

Matthias Olt is with B+H Architects. While his firm didn’t apply to be part of the official process to pick a consultant to work on a potential replacement, he says, “We think the bridge is such an iconic thing in Seattle, someone should be a voice at the table for design.”

It’s not just a design vision he’s pitching – it’s the material. Including Northwest-grown timber in the mix could make it an icon of sustainability, top, he says. And it would be lighter – as you might recall, part of the challenge posed by the construction of the current bridge is that most of its “load” is its own weight.

What Olt proposes is a hybrid bridge – part steel or carbon fiber, wrapped in wood, with concrete piers. The arches in the arch design would be made of steel. The hybrid material could be half the weight of concrete.

In our conversation, he explained that this also could be slightly less expensive than the traditional concrete construction, and would take up to 25 percent less time – the “mass timber” features, potentially comprising up to 25 percent of the bridge material, would be pre-fabricated at factories in the region (he says there’s at least two in our state) and shipped to the construction site. The use of regional material an builders would mean the project wouldn’t be dependent on, for example, steel from China.

“Mass timber” isn’t a new building material, Olt says – it’s been used in buildings as well as bridges. For examples of the latter, he mentions a few in Quebec, Canada – the Mistissini Bridge and Montmorency Forest Bridge. Also of note: B+H’s sister firm SMEC has major bridge-building expertise.

So what’s next for this idea? Olt says B+H has submitted a “comprehensive design-concept packet” (you can see it here) to the city, and they’re publicizing the idea – talking with us and others – in hopes of sparking some support early in the process. They’ve also started an online petition you can “sign” here if you’re interested in their concept.

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5 MORE DAYS: Answered the Reconnect West Seattle survey(s) yet?

July 26, 2020 4:18 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

While SDOT says they’re “thrilled” that more than 10,000 people have answered the Reconnect West Seattle mobility survey in the first week, that still leaves tens of thousands more voices to be heard, and Friday’s the deadline, both for the main survey, and for the “prioritization” lists of potential projects in four areas affected by detour traffic. So if you haven’t offered your opinions yet, this might be prime time, before the new week begins. Our original story is here; the main survey is here; the neighborhoo-prioritization surveys are here (Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill), here (South Park), here (Georgetown), and here (SODO). Other languages? Go to the Reconnect West Seattle site. Paper ballots? Call 206-400-7511 or email westseattlebridge@seattle.gov. Just get it done by Friday (July 31st).

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WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: ‘Heat Advisory’ alert for Monday

July 26, 2020 12:55 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(Recent Lincoln Park sunset, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

One day after we noted that Monday’s high temperature could rise into the 90s, the National Weather Service has issued an alert: Our area has a “Heat Advisory” for 9 am-8 pm Monday, with the NWS saying it could get up to 93 degrees. Read the full alert here.

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UPDATE: Artists finish West Seattle Junction’s Black Lives Matter street mural

July 26, 2020 11:05 am

| 13 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

11:05 AM: Happening right now at California/Alaska – art!

(WSB photos)

As we’ve previewed, today is the day 9 artists commissioned by West Seattle Art for Social Justice are finishing the Black Lives Matter street mural.

They’re working in two shifts – 9 to 11 and 11 to 1 – so they can safely distance while painting. Artists including two family groups were working during our first stop, at the west and east ends.

The mural creation, in partnership with the West Seattle Junction Association, WS Art Walk, and WS Farmers’ Market – is crowdfunded, to compensate the artists as well as to pay for the supplies and to fund future maintenance.

The artists are:
Adonis Piper
Gloria Cropper
Jasmine Iona Brown
Jaymin Brown
Jolyn GC
Lashanna Williams
Raquel Stewart
Saiyana Suzumura
Vanessa Musonwa

Each artist was assigned one or two letters and artistic license to paint them. Organizer Stevie Kramer says it’ll be complete no later than 2 pm so it’ll be dry before the farmers’ Market barricades come down at 4 pm. We’ll be going back for updates.

12:33 PM: Just back.

We’ll return one more time to see the finished mural.

3:56 PM: A few closeups:

Still to come … the list of which artist did which letter(s), plus a video tour of the entire mural (the SDOT traffic camera is unfortunately turned the wrong way for an overview). ADDED: Here it is:

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WEST SEATTLE SUNDAY: Traffic reminders, online church services, and what else is up today/tonight

July 26, 2020 6:30 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle religion | WS miscellaneous

(California Scrub-Jay, photographed by Mark Wangerin)

We start our Sunday list with two traffic reminders:

S. MICHIGAN CLOSURE: Just off the 1st Avenue South Bridge, S. Michigan is scheduled to remain closed between E. Marginal and 4th Ave. S. until early Monday.

1ST AVENUE SOUTH BRIDGE NORTHBOUND CLOSURES: Tonight, 10 pm-5 am, the second week of deck-replacement work begins on the 1st Avenue South Bridge’s northbound side, which will fully close. (The West Seattle low bridge is open to all 9 pm-5 am, so that’s an alternative.) Full details here.

Now, the list of online church services:

ADMIRAL UCC: Today’s worship video will be here.

ALKI UCC: 10 am online service via Zoom – info and link on church’s home page.

ALL SOULS SEATTLE (WSB sponsor): Online worship will be viewable here.

BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH: Livestreaming for West Seattle here at 9:30 am.

CALVARY CHAPEL: Service info is here, plus 11 am fellowship via Zoom, 6 pm all-church prayer and 7 pm evening worship (info on home page).

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: West Seattle Ward has Sunday services via Zoom at 10 am, one hour long, all welcome. They last an hour. Here’s the link.

EASTRIDGE CHURCH: Livestreaming here at 9 am and 11 am.

FAUNTLEROY UCC: Service at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.

FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST SEATTLE: Today’s online liturgy is here.

GRACE CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10:30 am.

HALLOWS CHURCH: Streaming at 10 am via the church’s YouTube channel.

HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 8:30 am and 10:30 am here. (In-person Masses have resumed too, registration required.)

HOPE LUTHERAN: Today’s worship service and children’s story are viewable here.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 10 am, here. (In-person Saturday Masses have been added – registration required.)

PEACE LUTHERAN: Livestreaming at 10:30 am on YouTube.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: No St. John’s service again this Sunday, so you are encouraged to watch “The National Cathedral, available from 8:00 am on, or St. Mark’s here in Seattle, at 11:00 am.”

TIBBETTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (WSB sponsor): The video service for today is here.

TRINITY CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10 am.

WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: The video service for today is viewable here.

WEST SEATTLE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: Livestreaming here, 9 am.

WEST SIDE PRESBYTERIAN Livestreaming at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.

WESTSIDE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION: Livestreaming at 10:30 am – information’s here, 10:30 am.

WESTWOOD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: Online worship at 6 pm; info here.

Any other churches to add? Please email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

Also today/tonight:

LOCAL BUSINESS IN ONLINE ARTS/CRAFTS SHOW: Olive Branch Body Care is among the participants in the nnline Best of the Northwest Summer Show, open for shopping until 11 pm tonight.

MURAL WORK CONTINUES: Starting at 9 am, California/Alaska, West Seattle Artists for Social Justice‘s Black Lives Matter street mural continues, with the 9 featured artists transforming the letters that were outlined last week.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week. (Enter at California/Alaska)

MEGA-YARD SALE FOR RENT RELIEF: 10 am-4 pm at 756 S. Kenyon in South Park, a big yard sale is raising money for Concord International Elementary Families’ Rent Relief.

WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Open 11 am-4 pm – need a tool to fix or improve something? (4408 Delridge Way SW)

FREE TO-GO DINNER: White Center Community Dinner Church will serve to-go meals at 5 pm, outside, near the Bartell Drugs parking lot in White Center, SW Roxbury St. & 15th Ave. SW (9600 15th Ave SW)

FREE FOOD TRUCK: 7-8 pm outside Delridge Library, a free vegetarian-food truck hosted by Northwest SHARE. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

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