West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
As we start the seventh (local) month of the pandemic, here are tonight’s virus-crisis notes:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*19,480 people have tested positive, 119 more than yesterday
*720 people have died, 1 more than yesterday
*2,224 people have been hospitalized, 1 more than yesterday
*355,434 people have been tested, 721 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 18,570/708/2,150/338,397.
WEST SEATTLE TREND: Here’s our weekly check of this stat, with numbers accessible in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard, checking the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas.” In the past 2 weeks, 42 positive test results were reported; in the 2 weeks before that, 62; in the two weeks before that, 115.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 24.9 million people have tested positive, and more than 841,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, India, Russia, Peru (which just passed South Africa to take over #5). See the breakdown, nation by nation,
IF YOU CAN HELP … many are in need, and tomorrow’s donation drive is one way to help them.
NEIGHBORHOOD INSPIRATION: Seen in a Gatewood planting strip that holds stepping stones with varying chalked messages:
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
The next outdoor (and distanced) donation drive at Alki UCC, collecting food and more, is tomorrow (Sunday, August 30), 10 am-3 pm:
Feeding hungry kids is our focus this summer. In addition to regular contributions of non-perishable food and other items, special requests include fruit cups and rollups, gogurt, peanut butter and jelly, protein bars, mac and cheese, cereal, noodles, and pasta/sauce.
Toilet paper, diapers (all sizes), Similac formula, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and baby wipes are always welcome.
Donations are distributed through the White Center Food Bank. Next month’s Sunday Food Drives are September 13 and 27.
The church is at 6115 SW Hinds.
Three weeks ago, thanks to reader tips, we mentioned the Christian Science Reading Room in The Junction had cleared out and the space at 4310 SW Oregon was for lease. It quickly found a new tenant: “West Seattle’s only men’s boutique,” as Mystery Made describes itself, is moving from Admiral. Co-proprietor Cory Côté tells WSB, “We’re excited to bring some new life and added energy to The Junction and a slightly larger footprint with it. Allowing us more space for considered goods and styles our customers have come to appreciate over the years! Super excited to meet new friends, and get to know our new neighbors as we continue to push and support all our local retailers if we can. Our retail shop will still be maintaining our online business at www.mysterymade.com as we transition to our new home! Excited for everyone to stop by and check it out … going to be a fun spot for sure with plenty of good times ahead and even greater goods.” They hope to be in the new Junction space around mid-September, which will be almost five years after they added retail to what had been th company’s focus as a “small design agency.”
Maybe that “cactus” (outside Fleurt) is exactly what your desk or living-room table is missing. It’s one of the unique items we saw while visiting the West Seattle Junction’s sidewalk sales, which continue until 4 pm. On the same block (east side of California between Oregon and Alaska), longtime WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits is participating too:
On the west side of California, Pegasus Book Exchange is a popular stop – in honor of Independent Bookstore Day!
Nearby Easy Street Records, as we’ve mentioned, is celebrating Record Store Day. They and some other businesses are also utilizing curbside space:
Lots of room to roam – again, this is on in The Junction until 4 pm.
1:38 PM: Orcas are off Constellation Patk, southbound, fairly close to shore, Kersti Muul reports. Let us know if you see them!
2:16 PM: Kersti says they’re now passing Lowman Beach.
2:40 PM: And now, she reports, approaching The Arroyos.
10:50 PM: Tonight Kersti sent some of her photos from the visit, including the scene discussed in the comments – standup paddleboarders who got an incredibly close view:
Kersti followed along by land as the orcas headed south and says they dove for 10 minutes at a time, and the boarders just happened to be there.
She says the passing orcas were T137A (male) and T137B (female) – brother and sister. She adds, “T137A has fully recovered from a horrendous injury he had last year near his tail. It was a big gash that was most likely from a sea lion. He was unable to hunt for himself and he lagged behind his family as they helped him. I’m always happy to see him!”
The T’s are transient orcas, who, unlike the residents, eat sea lions and other marine mammals as well as fish.
12:42 PM: A reader mentioned that West Seattle activist/writer/comedian Georgie Bright Kunkel is about to turn 100 years old … and today, two days in advance of her milestone birthday, we happened onto her pandemic-style celebration! Driving through Westwood, we saw signs and a canopy, and pulled over for a photo. (Last year, we covered her 99th birthday gathering here.) Among Georgie’s many achievements, she was a “Rosie.” If you’d like to congratulate Georgie on becoming a centenarian, drive by the 3400 block of SW Trenton before 1:30 pm!
4:12 PM: Mark Jaroslaw sat down with Georgie a few years ago to talk about her work as a writer, and emailed the link today:
Yet another incident in which a catalytic converter was targeted – but this time, Steve reports, the would-be thief/thieves failed:
This morning a little after 5 am on the 3900 Block of SW Rose Street, my neighbors and I were awoken by my car alarm. The windows of my Prius were not smashed but my catalytic converter was cut and damaged. The culprits were presumably scared off by the alarm before they could take it.
A neighbor told me he saw an older powder-blue BMW next to my car (which was out of place) and which had two male occupants, one was possibly Caucasian or Asian. Another neighbor also saw this vehicle near mine with two men, although she couldn’t make out any specific attributes.
The SPD incident # is 2020-253114.
(Friday sunset. photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Good morning! Saturday notes:
TRAFFIC ALERT: As noted again here last night, Delridge Way is closed this weekend between 18th and Barton, and significant work will slow things down through the Delridge/Orchard intersection. SDOT was also planning to work on 44th SW north of Edmunds.
E-RECYCLING: 10 am-2 pm, 3R Technology in Georgetown invites you to a free e-recycling event, as described here. (5511 1st Ave. S.)
JUNCTION SIDEWALK SALE: Noon-4 pm, it’s a big afternoon of outdoor shopping in The Junction! See the list of participating merchants here. It’s also Record Store Day at Easy Street:
(Photo added above – that’s Easy Street proprietor Matt Vaughan with the early-morning line outside Easy Street, photographed by Jason Grotelueschen, who says it stretched down the block – distanced – at 8 am, an hour after ESR opened.)
KENYON HALL PRESENTS: 7:30 pm, another online concert presented by Kenyon Hall:
Tom Collier is a West Seattleite through and through. He’s graced the stage at Kenyon several times during the last few years. He’s a wizard at the vibraphone, and his performances are imbued with his impish personality. The concert is free, and you’ll be given the opportunity to donate to Tom and Kenyon Hall either during or after the performance.
To attend Tom’s concert Saturday, please click on this link. If you’re unable to attend (tonight), you can visit the site at anytime and watch it at your leisure. Ain’t life grand!
In September we’re delighted to welcome two more solo artists to our virtual stage:
Saturday, September 19, at 7:30 – Del Rey
Saturday, September 26, at 7:30 – Orville Johnson
P.S. See the WSB Community Forums for late-summer yard sales!
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