Tonight’s toplines:

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

*20,566 people have tested positive, up 126 from yesterday

*743 people have died, up 2 from yesterday

*2,288 people have been hospitalized, up 5 from yesterday

*386,709 people have been tested, down 229 from yesterday* (the county website explains this drop: “The column named
‘New since yesterday’ displays a negative number for people tested because of deduplication of negative PCR test results. This process resulted in the removal of 4,622 duplicate records.”)

One week ago, those totals were 19,915/730/2,242/373,284.

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

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 28.1 million cases worldwide, 6.3 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.

NEED FOOD? Tomorrow, 9 am-noon, free boxes of food are available in a drive-up no-contact distribution at Greater Seattle Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Seattle. (2620 SW Kenyon)

SMOKE & COVID-19: From the state Health Department:

When there is smoke in the air, and especially if you or members of your household are reacting to the smoke already, here are some things you can do to stay safe:

*Stay indoors, with just members of your household. Remember, it is much easier to spread COVID-19 indoors than it is outdoors. And, smoke can make you more susceptible to respiratory infections like COVID-19. Protect your family from the smoke by staying inside and from COVID-19 by delaying your get-togethers until the air quality is good enough for you all to be comfortably outside.

*Reduce outdoor physical activity. Save your walks, jogs, and yard work for a day when the air quality is better.

*Keep indoor air clean.

-Close your windows and doors to reduce intake of smoke. Open them back up again when the air quality is good to refresh the air!

-Improve filtration of indoor air in your home and create a clean-air room where you spend most of your time. A DIY box fan filter can improve indoor air quality in a single room. Filtering indoor air is an effective way to reduce fine particles from wildfire smoke.

-Avoid doing anything that may contribute to smoke or dust in the air, like burning candles or incense, smoking inside, frying or broiling, or vacuuming.

-Keep wearing your cloth face covering to protect yourself and others from COVID-19; unfortunately, they don’t help that much with smoke.

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

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TRAFFIC ALERT: Broken-down bus blocking westbound low bridge

September 10, 2020 9:38 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

Thanks for the tip! Just heard via police-radio dispatch, too: A broken-down Metro bus is blocking the westbound lane at the east end of the West Seattle low bridge, and that’s led to a backup.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Motorcycle stolen; gas siphoned; window-smashing suspect charged

September 10, 2020 8:27 pm

| 13 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two reader reports and a followup tonight:

STOLEN MOTORCYCLE: Gary sent that photo, reporting: “Stolen off the street in Seaview early Thursday, September 10, 2020. 2006 Harley Davidson Deluxe, metallic black paint. Notable: The front tire has a wide white wall, the rear tire is all black.” If you see it, call 911.

GAS SIPHONED: From Andrejs: “This morning, while returning a rental truck to U-Haul on 35th, the employee checking me in indicated that last night someone siphoned gas out of most of the trucks parked on their lot.”

Now, the followup:

(Sunday night photo by Jason Hubbard)

WINDOW-SMASHING SUSPECT CHARGED: The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 33-year-old Aikeem L. Roberts with malicious mischief and assault in last Sunday’s Junction QFC window-smashing rampage. The charging document includes more details on what police were told happened that night, beyond what we reported in our first followup:

… Roberts frequents the business on a regular basis. On this occasion Roberts entered the store carrying a backpack, blue reusable type bag, and two QFC paper bags which appeared to be full of product. Roberts walked throughout the store for several minutes. Roberts was approached by (the store manager) and informed that he would need to speak with store management if he was going to be inside of the store with store bags that were already loaded with merchandise prior to his arrival, and would need to leave the bags with store employees at the front while he shopped. Roberts was unhappy with this instruction and proceeded to walk toward the register where he started to check out a can of beans. Roberts decided not to buy the item and left it and walked out of the store.

At approximately 2114 hrs Roberts re-entered the store without his bags and approached (the manager) near store register #10. Roberts became increasingly agitated and proceeded to pick up multiple plastic bottles of seltzer water that were on a display and threw the bottles at (the manager), striking him in the head and arms. The bottles were also thrown at the checkstand computer screen and Plexiglas divider, damaging them. (The manager) and other store employees retreated to the back of the store to remove themselves from Roberts’ violent outburst. Roberts proceeded to throw several potted plants at the checkout registers. He made his way through the store and knocked over products from the shelves. He knocked over a display case of glass honey bottles. He picked up one of the honey bottles and threw it at a freezer door and shattered the door’s glass. He returned to the register area and caused further damage to that area by throwing around merchandise. He attempted to break out a store window by throwing a display case at it but was unsuccessful. Roberts then exited the store via the southwest exit and once outside, he picked up several stones from the ground and threw the stones at the store windows, breaking out 16 panels of plate glass. He also opened and slammed the automatic door several times, shattering the glass and rendering the door inoperable.

Roberts remains in jail tonight, bail still set at $5,000. In earlier coverage, we mentioned his record included stealing five cars from one night at an Eastside dealership; his eventual arrest in California made news.

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NEED FOOD? Drive-up, no-contact food distribution Friday in West Seattle

September 10, 2020 6:57 pm

| Comments Off on NEED FOOD? Drive-up, no-contact food distribution Friday in West Seattle

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news | Westwood

Need food? We have word tonight of a free distribution tomorrow (Friday, September 11th) open to all, 9 am-noon outside the Greater Seattle Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Seattle (2620 SW Kenyon, across the street from Denny International Middle School). Pastor Eddie General says you can just drive up and volunteers will load the box into your vehicle. It’ll contain apples, potatoes, and onions. Questions? 206-923-0887.

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Scenes from September 2020’s West Seattle Art Walk

September 10, 2020 5:14 pm

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| West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

5:14 PM: Indoor, outdoor, online – including the video playlist above – you have multiple ways to enjoy tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk! Participating venues and artists are spotlighted on the WSAW website – times and locations vary. We’re headed out to check on a few in-person stops – coverage to come.

5:44 PM: Outdoor stop! Ginny Conrow at Brace Point Pottery:

BPP is the southernmost stop on the Art Walk, 42nd/100th in Arbor Heights.

6:07 PM: Verity Credit Union (4505 California; WSB sponsor) is open until 8 pm, featuring 19-year-old artist Saiyana Suzumura:

Saiyana is quoted on the Art Walk website: “One day after drawing one of my friends, I just began to draw all kinds of black women, and black people in general, amongst other ethnics who are not portrayed beautifully in this society, but I want to capture the beauty of black beauty and love in my art. Since drawing with my new found style I’ve explored other ways of communicating social awareness through my drawings and paintings. I want my art to empower my people.”

P.S. Verity is a hybrid indoor/outdoor stop tonight – while it’s indoors, the entire front of the branch is open-air (folding doors).

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LINCOLN PARK: Beach comfort-station project about to start

September 10, 2020 4:46 pm

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Thanks for the tips and photos (the one above is from Shelley). A construction fence is up at Lincoln Park for the Beach Comfort Station Renovation Project, which is about to begin, Seattle Parks tells WSB. JEM Contractors will be handling this project and the 57th SW comfort-station project at Alki. For Lincoln Park, the city says, “This project updates the interiors of the comfort station to meet the accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The exterior area around the comfort station will be regraded to provide accessible routes to the entrances of the building.”

P.S. Wondering when – if – the Lincoln Park South Play Area project is ever going to get going? Parks now says construction is planned this winter. It’s been three years since Parks closed the play area for safety concerns.

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READER REPORT: West Seattle low-bridge reminder

September 10, 2020 2:47 pm

| 51 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news

Thinking about ignoring the West Seattle low-bridge rules? Eric has a reason to reconsider:

(Wednesday night) while riding my bike home, I saw the low bridge backed up due to all the cars in line to cross. Then, an ambulance tried to get through. Took nearly 5 minutes. A Seattle incident-response vehicle [photo above] was stuck in traffic because they could not get around everyone safely.

It’s not just saving time. What helps you with a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death to someone else.

Yes, we know, somebody in the photo may be permitted, But here’s a refresher of the low-bridge policy, if you’ve forgotten:

-All traffic allowed 9 pm-5 am
-Rest of the time: Transit (including employer shuttles and “essential worker” vanpools), freight (as in big trucks), emergency vehicles, placard holders (limited amount issued to local business groups, for example)
-Bicycle/pedestrian path open 24/7

Camera enforcement is expected to start this fall, but without monetary penalties until early next year; in the meantime, traffic-enforcement officers are still assigned to the bridge at random times. The policies continue to evolve and, as reported here last night, SDOT is suggesting a subcommittee of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force to focus on that.

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West Seattle woman launches Poogooder to ‘do some good’ – a solution to ‘dog-poo wars’ and ‘wasted waste’

September 10, 2020 12:51 pm

| 28 COMMENTS

| Environment | Pets | West Seattle news

A West Seattle woman has launched what she hopes will be a solution to the acrimony that is so often set off by the subject of dog waste – and ultimately a solution to its environmental effects. Lori Kothe has hatched the plan for Poogooder. After she mentioned it on Twitter, we invited her to email us so we could share the concept with you. Here’s her story:

My daughter Annika is a 3rd grader at Alki Elementary. Back when she started kindergarten, I was shocked to discover the massive “wayward” dog-poo issue around Alki Elementary and the beach. Dog poo was everywhere, and we were always at risk of stepping in some. So I started recording how many instances I’d find when I’d walk to the beach from the school and back to my car each morning. I talked to people with and without dogs about their poo stories. And EVERYONE had a poo story. I did research. Dog=poo wars are no joke — they cause crazy levels of neighborhood angst, pollute waterways and soil, spread disease, and ruin a person’s day if they step in some. But it’s still a persistent issue.

So I decided to do something about it with the hope of at least creating greater awareness and empathy so people might care more about their (often unintended) impact on each other, the shared community, and planet (that’s truly my bigger purpose and goal here, which is why the tagline is “Let’s do some good today.”).

On a grander scale, unfortunately right now in Seattle, “properly disposed of” tons of dog poo goes to the landfill, so if we can get people to start paying more attention to how and where they are disposing of dog poo, my hope is Poogooder becomes a catalyst for local governments to start implementing dog-poo composting capabilities (or other landfill-diverting solutions), ultimately making dog poo go from being a bane to a boon for society.

Big ideas, I know. But we’re talking TONS of wasted waste and community uproar. So back to the story, literally: My original intent was just to write a picture book for kids and work with educators, local governments, shelters/rescues where people adopt dogs, and orgs to create a program around it to help instill empathy and raise awareness and inspire action and behavior change. So I wrote and illustrated “Oh Poo! A Cautionary Tale,” which I self-published in June, and I thought that would be it. But then I figured I had to walk the walk, so to speak, and the Poogooder movement was born. First I put up 2 community dog poo bag dispensers near my home (49th Ave SW & Juneau in Seaview), and that was nice. People started using them. But then I realized I would truly have to commit to the cause and remove all barriers to proper dog-poo disposal, so in July I set up a community dog-poo bin in my front yard. I’d seen 2 others in West Seattle, which really impressed me. It’s funny to think how excited I was when I started getting poo in my bin! (This is 2020 after all, so everything is weird).

That’s when I decided to see if I could get others to steward nice-looking dog-poo bins & bag dispensers in their yards or nearby areas like Little Free Libraries, with the goal of recruiting 30 West Seattle volunteer Poogooders to steward bins the month of October for the first pilot program and collect learnings and see how things go. Ideally we then scale and partner with cities, orgs, schools, and shelters for a complete solution, including the city providing a voucher or free extra garbage can to offset Poogooder personal costs/garbage space for collecting poo in their bins. And of course, I’m hoping all shelters and rescues encourage a “Poogooder Pledge” as part of the adoption process to reframe the dog-poo conversation from a punitive action to a positive purpose. I’m not sure yet what kind of business model this will turn into or how it will be funded; my goal right now is proof of concept and inspiring a movement.

The Poogooder Approach:
Empathize > Engage > Educate > Enlighten > Enable

I’m just getting started. I’ve recruited about a dozen West Seattleites, with 5 confirming they will steward bins for the pilot so far, and interest is growing. I’m paying for everything out-of-pocket right now (and I’m woefully unemployed), which is why I set up the GoFundMe page, but I want there to be as little barrier to entry as possible at first so we can prove that people will actually willingly accept other people’s dog poo for the sake of the greater good.

I’m seeking volunteers, partners, sponsors, stewards, advisors, and connections to help bring this to fruition.

One way to help is via Lori’s crowdfunding page. You also can contact her via the link on the Poogooder home page.

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BIZNOTE: Second Gear Sports celebrating 7th anniversary, with a gift for you

September 10, 2020 12:01 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Support your local independent small businesses! In Morgan Junction, Second Gear Sports is about to celebrate its seventh anniversary with a sale intended to “bring in year #8 with a bang!” Tomorrow (Friday, September 11th) through Monday (September 14th), SGS says:

We will have TONS of deals throughout the store, including $2, $5, and $10 bins, 25-50% off anything from running shoes, baseball gear, to clothing. We usually have cake and coffee to help celebrate but this year since we aren’t able to do that, we are offering HUGE discounts in the store (more than we have ever done before) to say thank you to the community that has stood by us through everything 2020 has brought to our doors. We are also previewing a select ski selection at special pricing.

Second Gear Sports is at 6529 California SW.

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SMOKE STAYING: Air Quality Alert extended through the weekend

September 10, 2020 11:02 am

| 10 COMMENTS

| Health | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather

(This morning’s sunrise, photographed by Marc Milrod)

Last night, as we reported, the National Weather Service said the wildfire-smoke-fueled Air Quality Alert would probably be extended – and now that’s just happened. It’s in effect until 11 am Monday. The alert notes, “Expect conditions to be worse during the overnight hours through this period as calmer winds will allow smoke to settle.” And @WestSeaWX adds:

It's going to get bad this weekend, see attached smoke model.

Onshore flow will push all of the smoke to our south and west into our area over the weekend, esp on Saturday pic.twitter.com/aaMKpV0eEi

— WestSeattleWx (@WestSeaWx) September 10, 2020

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TONIGHT: West Seattle Art Walk, from Admiral to Arbor Heights – and online!

September 10, 2020 9:40 am

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| West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

It’s the second Thursday of September, so tonight’s the night to celebrate the end of summer with one more indoor/outdoor/online West Seattle Art Walk. As listed on the official WSAW website, 12 venues – from Admiral to Arbor Heights – are participating – including WSB sponsors Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW, in-person), Verity Credit Union (4505 California SW, in-person), and Canna West Culture Shop (5440 California SW, online). You can scroll through the online artist gallery now – or go here around the official Art Walk start time, 5 pm, to see the YouTube playlist. The Art Walk has been steadily building back – if your business is interested in participating next quarter, here’s how.

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ROAD WORK & TRAFFIC WATCH: Thursday 9/10 notes

September 10, 2020 6:16 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:16 AM: It’s Thursday, the 171st morning without the West Seattle Bridge.

ROAD WORK

*Permanent repairs on the Admiral Way sinkhole – we got an update from SDOT late Wednesday:

This work has not been delayed but will need to be extended into (Thursday), and possibly longer, as we continue to look for the underlying issue which caused the sinkhole in the first place, so that we can be sure it will not happen again.

This Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked with Seattle Public Utilities to do some work on the water pipes in this area. We have verified that there are no utility water leaks, however this still leaves the root cause of the sinkhole a mystery.

Thursday, an engineer with expertise on hollow underground voids will come to excavate around where the sinkhole was and look for clues about the original root cause. Depending on what we find – or don’t find – this work may run into Friday. We will keep at least one lane open each day, with flaggers on site to guide traffic through in one direction at a time.

*Here’s the newest Delridge project info about where work is focused this week, and beyond.

*1st Avenue S. Bridge: 1 more NB overnight closures is planned tonight, so if you are heading off-peninsula late at night/early in the morning, use the West Seattle low bridge or South Park Bridge.

CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO

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