CORONAVIRUS: Tuesday 8/18 roundup
Tonight’s virus-crisis toplines:
KING COUNTY’S NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*17.980 people have tested positive, up 165 from yesterday’s total
*696 people have died, up 5 from yesterday’s total
*2,115 people have been hospitalized, up 6 from yesterday’s total
*327,109 people have been tested, up 4,343 from yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 16,830/679/2,053/340,150.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.
BRIEFING TOMORROW: To get the statewide status, watch the weekly media briefing with the state’s COVID-19 response leaders tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 pm; it’ll be streamed here.
NEED FOOD? Again this week, 2-5 pm Wednesday and Friday, drive up or walk up to get a free box of food at Food Lifeline‘s HQ (815 S. 96th).
GOT GRANTS: The county announced pandemic-aid grants for arts/culture/nightlife, and there are two local recipients.
GOT INFO? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
UPDATE: Evening March protesters in West Seattle again
8:53 PM: The protest group that’s been in West Seattle multiple recent nights, taking the Evening March to elected officials’ homes, is in the area again tonight, this time gathering at and heading out from Westwood Village. They have at least one streamer with them, so you should be able to watch the Seattle Protest Network stream.
9:16 PM: The group is now northbound on Delridge Way.
9:37 PM: The group is approaching the Southwest Precinct. In the nearby residential neighborhoods, their chanting focused on gentrification.
9:50 PM: They’ve gathered outside the precinct, in the plaza … writing on the pavement. The leaders told supporters not to damage anything. You’ll recall the precinct’s windows were boarded up weeks ago; the boards have since been painted black.
10:30 PM: Chalked messages cover the window boards by the precinct’s public entrance; streamers are showing some of them, including the names of people killed by police. They’re also spelling SUMMER in flower petals and tealight candles, after Summer Taylor, a group member killed during a protest earlier this summer. (added) The previous stream link has moved on to Portland, so if you’re interested in the Southwest Precinct demonstration, it’s still on ConcreteReporting.com.
11:15 PM: The group is leaving the precinct.
WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE CLOSURE: Contractor announced for potential replacement design
On the eve of the next West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting, an announcement from SDOT – they’ve chosen
Seattle Department of Transportation has reached a major milestone in our work to restore mobility to West Seattle, the Duwamish Valley, and other communities impacted by the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge closure. Following a competitive Request for Qualifications process, we have selected the infrastructure solutions firm HNTB Corporation to design the West Seattle Bridge replacement.
This does NOT mean the “repair now and replace later, or replace now?” decision has been made – SDOT reiterates this step has to be taken now regardless of what that decision turns out to be. HNTB’s many projects, SDOT notes, include the Highway 99 tunnel, South Park Bridge, and Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The SDOT announcement adds:
By bringing on a firm to design a replacement of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge now, we are ensuring that all of the pieces are in place to quickly pivot if it becomes clear that repairing the bridge is not advisable, and that we will not lose valuable time hiring a design team to begin the rebuilding process. It also prepares us for the inevitable need to replace this critical route, even if the original bridge can be repaired and reopened for some amount of time.
Read the full announcement here.
WEDNESDAY: Mayor to talk with West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force; here’s how to be there
(Partial bridgetop view from SDOT camera)
At noon tomorrow (Wednesday, August 19th), the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meets for the seventh time. We’ve just obtained the agenda and viewing instructions. The agenda starts with a notable guest, Mayor Jenny Durkan. Also included is a breakout-discussion period (1:30-2 pm), which means three different sets of viewing/listening instructions:
Full-group meeting – go here or call:
408-418-9388
Access code: 146 436 2216
Breakout Session A – go here or call:
408-418-9388
Access Code: 146 322 3340
Breakout Session B – go here or call:
408-418-9388
Access Code: 146 263 9282
After tomorrow, it’ll be three weeks until the advisory group’s next meeting on September 9th.
2 North Delridge recipients in King County’s arts/culture/nightlife grants
Just announced by the county:
King County provided $2 million in one-time grants to science, arts and culture organizations, and independent live music venues disrupted by COVID-19 across the region. The program is tailored to organizations that draw tourists and is designed to ease the economic burden of the pandemic while also increasing public health measures.
Story
With $2 million of funding backed by the federal CARES Act, King County awarded a total of 62 grants in three categories:
• Music venues (35 awards)
• Arts, culture and science educations organizations (21 awards)
• Science organizations (6 awards)
The grant funds will improve compliance with public health safety measures as these organizations reopen to support the county’s economic recovery and enhance residents’ quality of life.
Grants may be used to reimburse a variety of costs between March 1 and December, such as payroll, rent, mortgage payments (excluding property taxes), healthcare insurance for employees, and utility expenses necessary to sustain the business during and after the public health emergency.
In addition, the grants may also be used for public health measures necessary to prepare for safe reopening, including, for example, plastic barriers and floor markings or public outreach and education materials.
The list of recipients includes two in West Seattle, both in North Delridge – The Skylark ($19,500) and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association ($10,000).
West Seattle protest photo’s cameo – inaccurately labeled, and uncredited – in national spotlight
(Aerial photo courtesy Paul Weatherman)
It’s been 2 1/2 months since West Seattle photographer Paul Weatherman took that aerial photo of the June 6th Black Lives Matter protest in The Junction; we featured it in our coverage. But today, it’s turning up on some social-media feeds, mislabeled and uncredited. This first came to our attention last night when a reader pointed out that President Trump had retweeted someone’s tweet claiming the photo was from a protest about mail-in voting:
(Screengrab from our phone last night)
Though the original tweet was apparently meant as a joke – for one, our state has had mail-in voting for years, and for two, the tweeting account describes itself as humorous – the presidential retweet drew corrections, pointing out the photo had appeared in our June story.
We mentioned all this on the WSB Twitter account last night and were just going to leave it at that until we got an inquiry this morning from an organization identifying itself as a “Facebook fact-checking partner.” The email noted that the tweet has been reposted on THAT platform, and they wanted to verify the actual source/truth of the photo. So we thought we had better make a note here too.
TODAY/TONIGHT: From parks to police, schools to sign-waving, and more
(One more look at that stormy Sunday sunset – photo by Mark Dale)
5 things happening today/tonight:
WEST SEATTLE YMCA REOPENS: First day for the Y’s Triangle facility, open Tuesday-Friday from 7-11 am and 3:30-7:30 pm and Saturdays from 10 am-2 pm, by reservation. The pool reopens one week from today. More info here. (3622 SW Snoqualmie)
DEMONSTRATION: All are invited, as announced by organizer Scott again this week:
Black Lives Matter sign-waving
Tuesday, Aug 18th, 4 to 6 pm, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden
Thursday, Aug 20th, 4 to 6 pm, 16th and Holden
SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ‘TOWN HALL’: The district announced last night that the new school year will start for msot students on Friday, September 4th. Hear from Superintendent Denise Juneau in a live “town hall” online at 4:30 pm.
PARK BOARD MEETS WITH PARK DISTRICT OVERSIGHT BOARD: 6:30 pm online, with some big topics about Seattle Parks‘ present and future – see the agenda here, including details on how to view/participate in the meeting.
TALK WITH/HEAR FROM WEST SEATTLE POLICE: 7 pm online, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets for the first time in six months – bring questions and concerns, and “meet” the new Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman and operations Lt. Sina Ebinger. Attend via this link.
UPDATE: Flipped-car crash on Admiral
That flipped-car crash near the top of the east Admiral Way hill is from KH, who reports: “A car was speeding down Admiral, around the curve at the intersection of Olga and Admiral. The car was swerving, hit the embankment, and flipped over. ” By the time we got to the scene less than an hour after the 6:25 am callout, it was clear. We are following up with SFD and SPD.
ADDED: Photo above is by Veronika. SFD says no one was treated.
ROAD WORK, TRAFFIC, TRANSIT: Tuesday watch, 22nd week of West Seattle Bridge closure
6:12 AM: It’s Tuesday, the 148th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK/CLOSURES
*Another day of major work along Delridge Way for the RapidRide H Line prep project – here’s the bulletin detailing where crews are working this week and how that affects traffic/access.
*The 1st Ave. S. Bridge work is scheduled to continue tonight with another NB closure, 10 pm-5 am.
CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Here’s the restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here’s that camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s that camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed.
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 – No recent changes – still reduced service and distancing – details here.
Water Taxi – Still on its “winter” schedule, with the 773 and 775 shuttles running – see the schedule here.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
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