day : 03/08/2020 10 results

PROTEST: Evening March in West Seattle for 5th time in 11 nights, returning to Councilmember Lisa Herbold’s neighborhood

| Highland Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle protests

8:53 PM: For the fifth time in 11 nights, the Evening March protest group is in West Seattle again tonight. Last night, they were in North Delridge, outside City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda‘s home; before that, dating back to Friday, July 24th, they’ve been to the homes of City Councilmembers Lisa Herbold in Highland Park and Lorena González in The Junction, as well as County Executive Dow Constantine in west Admiral. Each of those elected officials came out to talk with them. Tonight, they gathered at and just left from Highland Park Elementary, which might mean a return to Herbold’s home. A livestreamer with them is being featured here. Updates to come.

9:13 PM: They’ve been winding through side streets, cars and marchers, about 100 strong per tonight’s streamer. Headed toward 9th/HP Way south of Holden.

9:22 PM: They are at Herbold’s house and she is coming out to talk with them – for the second time in a week and a half.

9:42 PM: She’s seated on the pavement talking with the group’s leaders. Main topic is what happened when armed neighbors blocked them from going to SPD Chief Carmen Best‘s house in Snohomish ~~last~~ Saturday night. (added) Herbold noted that in her work as a community organizer in other states many years ago, she had organized protests at the homes of “people in power.”

10:03 PM: The conversation turned to the council’s proposed SPD cuts/changes and Herbold is explaining why they can’t cut as drastically and quickly as activists want. (added) As other councilmembers have told the group, the process of determining next year’s budget starts in six weeks, and that’s where they might be able to do more.

10:24 PM: The conversation has wrapped up.

10:55 PM: They’re now marching back to the school, where they started the evening. (Cars and bikes caravan with them.)

ADDED: Here’s the video that Malcontentment Tango streamed, including the conversation with Herbold.

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CORONAVIRUS: Monday 8/3 roundup

August 3, 2020 8:45 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Here’s what’s new in the virus crisis:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here’s today’s daily summary from Public Health – the cumulative totals:

*15,634 people have tested positive, 124 more than yesterday’s total

*656 people have died, 7 more than yesterday’s total

*1,983 people have been hospitalized, 20 more than yesterday’s total

*304,242 people have been tested, 3,713 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, the totals were 14.619/643/1,896/279,762.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

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

NEW GUIDANCE: The governor didn’t have a briefing today, but did issue this:

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced updates for Phase 2 and Phase 3 fitness guidance as part of Washington’s Safe Start phased reopening plan. The guidance is effective August 10, 2020.

Updates include:

Clarification on when facial coverings are required in indoor fitness facilities
Changes to calculation of occupancy limits for large facilities
Allowance for fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes

Read the full fitness guidance document here.

NEED FOOD? As the pandemic economic crunch continues, so does help to prevent hunger. Free boxes of food are available at Food Lifeline‘s South Park-area HQ on Wednesday and Friday again this week, 2 pm-5 pm (815 S. 96th).

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

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WEST SEATTLE BIRDS: Gone fishing!

August 3, 2020 7:47 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Before we get back to The News – a bird break! Three beach photos:

The Bald Eagle above was photographed by Raul Baron; the next two photos are by Larry Gilpin – an Osprey:

And a Great Blue Heron:

(Sorry, we don’t know what The Catch Of The Day was!)

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WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE CLOSURE: Here’s how to view Wednesday’s Community Task Force meeting

August 3, 2020 5:59 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

ORIGINAL MONDAY POST: Your next chance to see what’s up with the four-months-closed West Seattle Bridge is this Wednesday (August 5th), when the advisory Community Task Force next meets, noon-2:30 pm. We requested the meeting link from SDOT today so you can make your plan early if interested. Note that it will include breakout discussions 12:45-1:45 pm, and those links will be different, but they’re not available yet. The meeting will start and end at this link; if you would rather listen in by phone, the number will be 408-418-9388, access code 146 147 9496. Wednesday’s topics will include early results from the just-concluded Reconnect West Seattle surveys; SDOT says it received almost 17,000 responses.

ADDED TUESDAY: Here are the links for the breakout groups – A here, B here.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Camping gear stolen

August 3, 2020 3:29 pm

| 16 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

WSB readers have done a great job lately finding stolen items reported here – documents, a backpack, even a car. So maybe you can find some of what a thief took from Makenzie:

I wanted to report a break-in this morning on 46th and Walker. My car was broken into, and about 400 dollars worth of camping equipment was stolen. I wanted to put the word out in case anyone in the neighborhood finds the contents somewhere, or knows anything about it. The stolen property includes; a REI hiking backpack (around 25 liters), two Nalgene water bottles, a pair of down-filled pants (Mont Bell brand), a Patagonia rain jacket, and a map of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

If you find any of this, let us know and we’ll connect you.

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BIZNOTE: Harbor Avenue’s first self-storage facility opening

August 3, 2020 1:50 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Five years after we first reported on the plan for a self-storage facility at 3252 Harbor Avenue SW, it’s about to open. Everett-headquartered West Coast Self-Storage says its West Seattle facility officially opens Wednesday (August 5th). It was designed by Magellan Architects of Redmond and built by Issaquah-based Seacon Construction, with 857 storage units ranging in size from 5 x 5 to 10 x 25, and its ground level has a drive-in bay. The company says it has a 40-camera security system, plus a retail store selling moving boxes and packing materials. The company says it “plans to offer U-Haul moving truck rental services in the future as well.”

This is the first self-storage facility completed on Harbor Avenue SW; another is proposed at 2316 Harbor (the site where an old building was gutted by fire in June). There also had been a proposal at 2501 Harbor SW, but the file doesn’t show any activity on that since 2018.

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ELECTION 2020: Vote by tomorrow night!

August 3, 2020 12:01 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

Reminder – tomorrow’s the voting deadline for the August 4th primary election. If you use a dropbox, you have to get your ballot into one by 8 pm Tuesday; if you use postal mail, your ballot must be postmarked by tomorrow. (The nearest dropboxess are in The Junction, High Point, White Center, and South Park.) What are you voting on? Quick summary: No local ballot measures; among candidates, our area’s State House representatives, Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon, are both running for re-election unopposed. Our area’s U.S. House Rep. Pramila Jayapal has four primary opponents. The ballot also includes statewide offices – at the top of the ballot, Gov. Jay Inslee has 35 primary opponents.

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VIDEO: City Council continues considering police cuts/changes

August 3, 2020 10:39 am

| 21 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle online | West Seattle politics

10:39 AM: You can click in to the live Seattle Channel stream above to watch the City Council, meeting as the Select Budget Committee, continue what they started Friday afternoon – considering proposed 2020 budget amendments that would affect the Seattle Police Department. According to what budget chair Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in the briefing meeting before this one, they are starting (after public comment) with Amendment #40 in this packet.

The meeting could run until 1 pm. No voting is planned today – the amendment votes are expected on Wednesday, when the budget meeting will start at 11 am (which means public-comment signup will start that day at 9 am). The final votes on these and other 2020 city-budget changes are planned next Monday (August 10th).

11:06 AM: The public-comment period has ended (20+ commenters, all but four voicing support for defunding), and the amendment discussion has begun.

1:12 PM: The budget meeting is wrapping up; we will replace the video window above with the archived video when it’s available. One change announced: The Wednesday budget meeting will start at 10 am after all (which means 8 am signups for public comment).

4:09 PM: Video added at top.

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YOU CAN HELP: Neighborhood House diaper drive

August 3, 2020 9:48 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| High Point | How to help | West Seattle news

Announced by Neighborhood House, which serves many local families from its center in High Point:

Neighborhood House, a community organization that serves 16,000 people in King County, is hosting a diaper drive to meet a critical need.

Did you know that diapers are not covered by public benefits such as WIC or food stamps, even though they are essential items for families with young children?

We live in a region that is powered by one-day deliveries and bulk purchases but the reality is that many people cannot afford and do not have access to these services.

Join Neighborhood House in making sure families and children have diapers right now.

$25 covers 2 weeks of diapers for one child.
$50 covers 1 month of diapers for one child.
$150 covers 3 months of diapers for one child.

You can even host your own campaign. Reach out to arturom@nhwa.org to learn more. To make a donation, please visit www.nhwa.org.

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ROAD WORK, TRAFFIC, TRANSIT: Monday watch, 20th week of West Seattle Bridge closure

August 3, 2020 6:16 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:16 AM: It’s Monday, the 133rd morning without the West Seattle Bridge.

ROAD WORK/CLOSURES

*The Delridge RapidRide H Line project continues major work along Delridge Way, with weekend closures ahead – here’s a look ahead to what’s planned this week.

*Another 1st Ave. S. Bridge northbound closure is scheduled tonight, 10 pm-5 am. The West Seattle low bridge is open to all traffic during those hours.

CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO

Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):