West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Very busy Thursday evening ahead, starting just before sunset:
DEMONSTRATION: Scott‘s twice-weekly sign-waving for racial justice, endorsed by Hate-Free Delridge, 4-6 pm at 16th/Holden.
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: 5 pm, some participants are online, some in-person, and there’s also some art you can enjoy right now simply by scrolling through the images featured on the official WSAW website – it’s all here.
GOVERNOR’S ADDRESS: Two days after state and health officials’ dire warnings about the pandemic, Governor Jay Inslee and wife Trudi Inslee will speak to the state live at 5:30 pm. The announcement we received described it as an update on the pandemic but did not hint at whether any new restrictions will be announced. The stream will be here (and we’ll feature it here on WSB once it begins, too).
WEST SEATTLE ELEMENTARY ADDITION MEETING 6 pm tonight online, an update/Q&A meeting is planned for community members; attendance info is in our preview.
MADISON MS ADDITION MEETING: This project also has a community-update meeting tonight, 6 pm online – our preview includes attendance info.
POLICE-BUDGET TOWN HALL: “Police defunding” advocates are having town halls with City Councilmembers regarding the status of the SPD budget. Tonight’s guest is West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee – 6 pm online. You can go here to register to attend.
TRANSPORTATION HISTORY: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s monthly Words, Writers, SouthWest Stories series rolls into “Washington on Wheels: Odd and Innovative Transportation Ideas from the Pacific Northwest” tonight at 6 pm, with broadcaster Harriet Baskas, live online. Our preview includes attendance info.
(Added: Photo by Rick Rasmussen)
8:55 AM: Another chance to see orcas – Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch says they are southbound off Eagle Harbor!
9:14 AM: Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail called to confirm they’re in view, and we’ll repeat her reminder from Wednesday – if you’re going, wear a mask and keep your distance.
9:42 AM: Update from Kersti in comments – off Lincoln Park.
Family and friends are remembering Diane Creighton, and sharing her story with the community here:
Diane Lovell Creighton passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack on July 18 at her home in West Seattle.
Born in Seattle on Oct. 19, 1938 to Alfred and Anna Finch, Diane spent her entire life living, working, and raising her family in the West Seattle area. Growing up, she attended Lafayette Elementary School, James Madison Junior High School, and graduated from West Seattle High School in 1957.
It was in history class at West Seattle High where Diane met her future husband, James “Jamie” Creighton. She spent many weekends and evenings cheering him on at football games, both in high school and into his college career.
Although Diane pre-dated Title IX opportunities her own daughters benefitted from in sports, she was a fierce competitor on the high school bowling team, as well as on the ski slopes and in the water, waterskiing with friends.
Much of Diane’s youth was spent working alongside her mother at her parents’ grocery store (Al’s Market) on California Avenue. The lessons of hard work and business management helped shape who she was personally and professionally.
Diane worked for more than 40 years as the office manager for Southwest Pediatrics in Burien. There, she enjoyed watching generations of families come through the office.
An active gardener, Diane spent countless hours working in her yard, creating a haven for hummingbirds, which she enjoyed watching from her kitchen windows. She also loved watching football with Jim, cheering for (and critiquing) the Huskies and Seahawks.
Diane and Jim were married for 57 years, much of the last 10 spent with Diane caring for Jim in the final stages of Parkinson’s disease. Her dedication is a testament to their love and commitment to one another – in sickness and in health. They were devoted parents, raising strong and independent women reflective of their own upbringing in West Seattle.
Diane is survived by her two daughters, Jocelyn (Chris) McCabe and Jennifer Creighton; and grandson Ryan McCabe. She was preceded in death by her husband, James N. Creighton; her parents Alfred and Anna Finch; and her brother, Alfred (Al) Finch.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Medic One and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
A joint memorial for Jim and Diane will be held in West Seattle when it is safe for all to gather and remember these two remarkable people – hopefully sometime soon.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
6:12 AM: Welcome to Thursday, the 234th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK
Delridge project: 23rd SW remains closed at Delridge. This week’s other major work zones are detailed here.
CHECK TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River, the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here are two cameras:
The other major bridge across the river – the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s the nearest camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed. (Same goes for the other detour-route neighborhoods, like Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.)
Checking for bridges’ marine-traffic openings? The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed is working again.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page (we’ve added the new Highland Park Way cameras).
TRANSIT
Metro – Fare collection has resumed.
Water Taxi – Also charging again.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
Tonight’s local pandemic-related toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*31,948 people have tested positive, 372 more than yesterday’s total
*816 people have died, unchanged from yesterday’s total
*2,753 people have been hospitalized, 9 more than yesterday’s total
*579.089 people have been tested, 3,575 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 28,948/809/2,621/550,631.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
COVID CLOSURES: Two more local restaurants are temporarily closed as of today after positive COVID-19 tests: Zeeks Pizza told its West Seattle staff that an employee had tested positive; Haymaker said its West Seattle and Eastlake locations are both closed after a staff member’s positive test.
NEED TESTING? West Seattle has one of the major citywide free testing sites, in the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot at 2801 SW Thistle, open 8:45-5:30 Mondays through Saturdays. Go here to get an appointment.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
A mostly gray day ended with some flourishes of color. Thanks to Gill Loring for the photo above. The sunset arrived as Southern Resident Killer Whales passed by, and Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch shared the next three photos:
Kersti says the paddleboarder is Brian, admiring K21 aka “Cappuccino.” Some shore-based whale-watchers too, as the day ended:
Now back to the weather – one headline tonight: That possible windstorm we mentioned last night seems to have fizzled, the National Weather Service noted in its evening Forecast Discussion about half an hour ago. The Friday night storm will be windy, they’re predicting now, but nothing out of the ordinary for November in Seattle. The strongest winds that night are expected to be south of Olympia and along the seacoast.
The Seattle-founded outdoor wear/accessories company KAVU has opened a “pop-up” outlet store in South Delridge. In email, the company explained:
Throughout the holiday season (maybe longer) we will have a pop-up location that will serve West Seattle/South Seattle with KAVU at discounted outlet prices. We are really excited to be able to help our south and west side communities, especially with the bridge down and during the holiday season. Great affordable way to support a true outdoor brand born in Seattle and get gifts in this pandemic that is creating a lot of struggle. The pop-up is open every week Thursday-Saturday, 12 pm-6 pm.
The store is at 9064 Delridge Way SW.
Our second report of the day about a West Seattle restaurant temporarily closing following a positive COVID-19 test: The sign at Haymaker in The Junction simply announces a closure for today and tomorrow, but the restaurant explains it online:
Out of an abundance of caution and commitment to do the right thing, we will be closing both Haymaker East and West after an employee tested positive for Covid 19. While the individual has not been in either restaurant for several days, our top priority remains the safety of our guests and team. We are taking this time to assist our staff with testing, and will reopen when it is safe to do so. We will continue to carefully follow all virus safety guidelines, and will be fully sanitizing both locations. We believe it’s important to be transparent in these times and will keep you posted with any updates.
(Haymaker East is in Eastlake, formerly called Le Messe.)
The West Seattle location of Zeeks Pizza would usually be open for the day by now, but it’s closed and dark. No note was on the door when we went by about 2:30 pm, but according to email sent to staff, the restaurant is closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The company has not returned our phone message seeking comment, but its website says the West Seattle location is “temporarily closed.” The email to staff says it’s closed for a “deep clean” and that all staff will have to get tested before they can return to work when it reopens.
12:52 PM: Might be some whale sightings from West Seattle this afternoon – Kersti Muul from Salish Wildlife Watch says Southern Resident Killer Whales are southbound, headed this way, passing Shoreline at last report, and close to this side of the Sound. She says photos indicate they include members of J-Pod and K-Pod.
1:10 PM: Kersti says they’re now south of Carkeek Park, still southbound, “spread east to west across the channel.”
1:34 PM: Now in view from Alki, Kersti reports in a comment.
2:49 PM: Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail is at Constellation Park, waiting for the orcas to come into view south of Alki Point. She says visibility and light is excellent. She also has an important reminder: If you’re going to go whale-watch, WEAR YOUR MASK and socially distance.
3:12 PM: Both Donna and Kersti say they’re now stretched out between north Blake Island and south Bainbridge. Donna says the visibility is so good, you can even see them without binoculars.
(WSB photos)
In honor of Veterans Day, flags are up in the heart of The Junction. The volunteers who placed them this morning were from organizations including Boy Scouts, the Lions Club of West Seattle, Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, and local Key Clubs.
In observance of the holiday, there are some changes today in addition to what was mentioned in our morning transportation watch, including:
*No classes for most schools
*Most government services are closed, including the Seattle Public Library
*Banking holiday
*USPS holiday
One event happening tonight:
LEGISLATIVE TOWN HALL @ 34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: 7 pm online, our area’s largest political organization meets. A “town hall” with local state legislators is at the heart of the agenda, which is here, and includes a registration link if you’re interested in attending.
10:28 AM: In case you heard the sirens: Seattle Fire has responded to a natural-gas leak in the 5400 block of 36th SW [map], east of Fairmount Park. Firefighters told dispatch it’s a 1-inch line, and they’re closing 36th until the leak is dealt with.
10:47 AM: The incident commander reports they’ve evacuated homes “to the north and south” as a precaution and are still waiting for Puget Sound Energy to come shut off the gas.
11:19 AM: PSE has arrived and stopped the leak.
(WSB photo)
7:59 AM: Thanks for the tips about a police response at The Whittaker (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW). One texter mentioned “the bomb squad.” We got there just as police were wrapping up a short time ago. Officers getting ready to leave told us a “suspicious package” had been removed. No damage/injuries reported, and no other details so far.
(Added Wednesday evening: Photo tweeted by MTK)
11:31 AM: We’ve just received answers to our followup questions from SPD: “Officers responded and requested Arson/Bomb squad detectives to respond as well after seeing the items on a table in a common area. As a safety precaution, the immediate area was evacuated. ABS arrived and determined the items to be non-threatening, and removed them for further investigation. The owner of the items was contacted and interviewed. It does not appear that there was any malicious intent on the subject’s part, and no charges will be filed.”
ADDED FRIDAY: Just posted today in the SPD Blotter Significant Incident Report files, a summary that explains exactly what the “items” were:
On 11-11-2020 at 0537 hours, a janitorial staff member in a business in the 4700 block of Fauntleroy Way SW called 911 when she discovered several suspicious items inside a freezer located in the 7th floor apartment common area. Among those items she described a hand grenade and a metal pipe. SW patrol personnel arrived, interviewed the apartment staff member and evacuated the immediate area. The Sergeant notified the Arson Bomb Squad. ABS arrived and determined that the grenade was a novelty item filled with ice and that the other items were also benign. SW patrol personnel later located and interviewed the owner of the items, who apparently didn’t understand why those types of items would raise someone’s concern as he uses them to create art and furniture.
6:07 AM: Welcome to Wednesday, Veterans Day, the 233rd morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
TRANSIT
Metro – Regular weekday service today.
Water Taxi – No service today.
State Ferries – No schedule changes, but a moment of silence is planned at 11:11 am, followed by the sounding of vessels’ whistles.
ROAD WORK
Delridge project: No work planned today on the Delridge project.
CHECK TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
West Marginal Way/Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden:
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 are two cameras:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s the nearest camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed. (Same goes for the other detour-route neighborhoods, like Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.)
*Note – SDOT has fixed the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed, so you can check it for bridge openings.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page (we’ve added the new Highland Park Way cameras).
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
A warning tops tonight’s pandemic-news roundup:
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, OR ELSE: State and local health authorities gathered online for a mid-afternoon briefing to all but beg people to stop flouting pandemic precautions, as case numbers are rising sharply. With Thanksgiving two weeks away, they especially emphasized avoiding gatherings. Our as-it-happened coverage has video and notes; here’s the state Health Department summary.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Meantime, here’s today’s daily summary from Public Health – the cumulative totals:
*31,576 people have tested positive, 332 more than yesterday’s total
*816 people have died, 4 more than yesterday’s total
*2,744 people have been hospitalized, 101 more than yesterday’s total++++
*575,514 people have been tested, 1,552 more than yesterday’s total
++++The dashboard page says this increase is because of a “data lag regarding hospitalizations over the past two weeks. … This change added 75 hospitalizations that were not previously counted. Many were from the past week, but some hospitalizations took place earlier.”
One week ago, the totals were 28,329/809/2,599/549,500.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 51.4 million cases worldwide, 10.2 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
HELPING: Today we featured two ways to help local food banks.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(Last Friday’s windblown waves at Alki, photographed by Marc Milrod)
That chilly north wind had barely stopped blowing when rumblings began about a POSSIBLE windstorm on the way this Friday night. No alerts so far, but weather-watchers have been talking about it. Cliff Mass, for one, wrote about it last night, but he warned of “considerable uncertainty.” And even in tonight’s Forecast Discussion, the National Weather Service notes “confidence in wind potential remains low” regarding the storm. (Its Seattle main page currently features the phrase “Wind event possible.”) As with most forecasting around here, things seem to be – pardon the phrase – up in the air until a day or two out. But we’re mentioning it so you can be mindful of charging and other preparations, always smart at this time of year anyway.
So, travel is a little dicey right now. But this is a great time to read about it. Here to help with that: Gatewood-based writer Pam Mandel, who has just published a book, “The Same River Twice,” billed as “a memoir of dirtbag backpackers, bomb shelters, and bad travel.” It’s not just a travel tale, but also “a memoir of going away and growing up,” as explained on the book’s webpage. This is Pam’s first book, but we’ve known about her writing for years; in the early days of WSB, when we had a page linking other West Seattleites’ blog-format websites, we included her site Nerd’s Eye View, which she still updates – after 16 years! Among the posts – her account of getting the book deal a year ago. It’s gritty and honest; her book is from the heart, too. You can buy a signed copy from West Seattle’s own independent bookstore Paper Boat Booksellers, Pam tells us. And she has a story to go with that: “I had still not received my author copies when I got email from Paper Boat telling me my book was in. It was Monday, they were closed, but when I asked if I could come down and hold it in my hands, they said they’d be in the shop for another hour. I bolted down Gatewood hill — they unlocked and they piled them on the counter for me. It was a beautiful thing to see the book in person for the first time in the place where it’s meant to be — an independent bookstore.”
Seattle Public Utilities is repairing a water line at Delridge/Hudson. That’s affecting more than 140 homes and businesses, according to the SPU water-outage map. We don’t know if it’s related to the Delridge road work, but an advisory about it was sent to a text-message list associated with that project, saying service might be affected until tomorrow morning.
At Monday’s City Council briefing on the West Seattle Bridge (WSB coverage here), SDOT mentioned more details of the stabilization work – one-ton brackets, 300-foot-long steel ropes. Today, the department released a video tour of the work inside the bridge, with a firsthand look at those components and more – see it above (or here).
As mentioned in our pandemic roundup and daily preview, state and local health authorities are having a media briefing on COVID-19 response, announced as “urgent.” Watch it live above.
2:39 PM: State health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy says the surge has been particularly striking in the past two weeks, on both sides of the state. She says that the number of tests has remained flat, so this is not a case of {ore tests, more cases.” She suggests bluntly that people “stop socializing” for a few weeks. … Dr. John Lynch from Harborview Medical Center says keeping people healthy is not just a matter of keeping hospital beds available, but because they don’t want a rerun of spring when even important non-COVID-related care was deferred – they want to keep all aspects of the health-care system available, up and running.
2:47 PM: Also stressed: Any gathering is risky – but if you feel you have to have a Thanksgiving gathering, have it outside, and quarantine for the two weeks prior (as in, starting immediately). Participants are all acknowledging that while everyone is weary after eight months of this – “we may feel ‘done’ with COVID, but COVID’s not done with us.” Dr, Lynch noted that people in all age groups are still getting very sick – the hospitalized patients are NOT just older, high-risk patients
3:02 PM: King County Public Health’s Dr. Jeff Duchin says, “We’re here because we’re worried.” He says the hospitalization rate in King County has gone up 30 percent in the past week. “At this time we all need to cut back on non-essential activities … and contacts outside the home.” He says “the status of our health-care system … in the coming days” will determine whether any additional directives are needed.
3:10 PM: In Q&A, Dr. Lofy was asked, so how much time do we have until additional measures would be required, and what might those be? She said “everything’s on the table,” and there’s no specific timeline, but stressed that they really want to be able to avoid further crackdowns, so everyone needs to realize that’s possible IF they take this seriously – wearing masks, avoiding socializing, etc.
3:21 PM: So what’s stopping the governor from announcing new restrictions? Nothing’s “stopping him,” was the reply – “it’s not like he has some secret plan, this IS the plan” – urging more responsible behavior. They really don’t want to have to shut down the economy, said Gov. Inslee’s chief of staff David Postman. Echoed King County’s Dr. Duchin, they would rather see people take action voluntarily. He also noted that the current high numbers aren’t even an accurate number of infections – there’s probably “four to five times” the number of cases out there. “You and everybody have the power to avoid more onerous restrictions,” reiterated Postman.
3:36 PM: The briefing has wrapped up; the archived video should be available soon in the window above. State Secretary of Health John Wiesman summarized the message to everyone in the state: “Take action today,” so government doesn’t have to.
4:38 PM: Video’s now available above.
Over on partner site White Center Now, we have news of changes in three restaurant/bar spaces, all in the same block of 16th SW just south of Roxbury. See the story here.
Two reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
CAR PROWL LOOT TO LOOK FOR: From Todd:
I wanted to let the community know my car was broken into sometime after 2 am on November 8th. It was parked on SW Charlestown St. between 44th Ave SW and an alley. The driver’s-side lock was drilled out and contents were stolen from the trunk: Large baseball duffle bag full of golf balls, black Adidas hoodie with spot of blue paint, black standard-size Adidas backpack, and 2 wooden baseball bats.
We would be interested in getting the stolen items back if anyone has seen them possibly dumped nearby.
Police report # is 2020-925469.
GUNFIRE INCIDENT: The summary is from the SPD Blotter Significant Incident Reports page; SPD tweeted the photo:
On 11-9-2020 at 0405 hours, a male stated that earlier he was at 15 Ave SW/SW Roxbury St involved in a drug transaction with multiple subjects. The victim stated that during the drug transaction, one of the subjects pulled a gun on him. The subject stated that he took the gun, and someone shot at him. The subject stated that he ran to the 9700 BLK of Myers Way S and during the process cut his wrist on a fence. The subject stated that the subjects involved in the drug transaction located him at the 9700 BLK of Myers Way S. The subject stated that he fired a couple of rounds in self-defense because he was scared for his life. Officers checked different locations for a crime scene and evidence, but they weren’t successful. The local hospitals were clear of any new gunshot wound victims. The firearm was recovered, and it came back clear. The firearm was submitted into evidence and the subject was transported to the hospital.
In the tweet containing the photo, police described the man as appearing to be “in some form of crisis.”
(Monday sunrise, photographed by Jerry Simmons)
A busy Tuesday is under way:
CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING: This is the second round – where proposed changes that made it through the first round are considered for final passage. The 9:30 am meeting is happening now, with a second session planned at 2 pm; documents are all linked to the all-day agenda. Watch via Seattle Channel.
COVID-19 BRIEFING: As previewed in our pandemic roundup last night, state/local health authorities have called an “urgent media briefing” for 2:30 pm to stress action to “flatten the curve” and get the current spike under control. You can watch here.
DEMONSTRATION: The weekly announcement from organizer Scott:
Black Lives Matter sign-waving
Tuesday, Nov 10, 4 to 6 pm, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden
Thursday, Nov 12, 4 to 6 pm, 16th and Holden
Come show support for BLM and ending systemic racism. Hold signs, meet neighbors, and stand for racial justice. Scott at PR Cohousing, endorsed by Hate-Free Delridge. Signs available.
WESTSIDE SCHOOL LOWER SCHOOL INFO NIGHT: 5 pm online, find out about preschool through 4th grade at Westside School (WSB sponsor). To get the link for attending, email tedh@westsideschool.org.
(Weekend sunset through ginkgo on Fauntleroy, photographed by Angie Marcelynas)
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Board meeting online at 7 pm, community members welcome. Go here to register to attend.
Got an event, online or in-person distanced, to announce? Email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
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