West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
Tonight’s toplines in the pandemic:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: First, from the Seattle-King County Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*58,750 people have tested positive, 474 more than yesterday’s total
*1,022 people have died, 10 more than yesterday’s total
*3,909 people have been hospitalized, 14 more than yesterday’s total
*721,289 people have been tested, 575 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 55,212/954/3,765/703,210.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
STATE BRIEFING: We’re on a “downward trend,” state health officials said. Still way higher than anyone wants to dee, and “not out of the woods” yet, but statewide there’s a downturn – “hopeful numbers going in the right direction.” No post-Thanksgiving spike, so they’re urging everyone to keep up the safety measures for Christmas too. See the full briefing here.
VACCINE UPDATE: Thousands of people have been vaccinated, per the state’s update:
Last week, providers across the state began administering initial doses of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk health workers, and now, more than 30,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered. We are thrilled with this progress in such a short time. This week, we allocated 44,850 Pfizer doses and 127,900 Moderna doses. That includes:
*153,925 doses distributed to more than 220 sites in 37 counties
*18,825 doses distributed to support long-term care facilities as well as 14 Tribes and Urban Indian Health Programs
During the aforementioned briefing, officials said it’ll be “several weeks” until vaccinations move on to the next eligible group.
EVICTION MORATORIUM EXTENDED: The city moratorium was extended a week ago through the end of March; today Gov. Inslee announced the same extension for the entire state.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
On Christmas Eve-Eve, two more displays:
Thanks to Ryan for that photo from 29th SW, near Camp Long. Next one is Nic and Michelle‘s display at 50th/Charlestown:
Michelle explains, “We are new to the area and wanted to spread some Christmas cheer.” We stopped by for a closer look:
We’re adding these to the list in our WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide; even if you don’t go out light-viewing, you can see all the places we’ve spotlighted by scrolling through our archive.
Among the Christmas Eve/Day information we’ve been compiling in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: Grocery-store hours for the next two days. Here’s what we’ve found: West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor; 4201 SW Morgan), closing at 9 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day … Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor; 41st/Admiral), open 5 am-6 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day … PCC WEST SEATTLE (2749 California SW), closing at 7 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day … Whole Foods (4755 Fauntleroy Way SW), open 7 am-7 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day … Trader Joe’s (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW), closing at 6 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day … Safeway (all 3 West Seattle stores), open 5 am-6:30 pm Christmas Eve, 8 am-5 pm Christmas Day … QFC (both West Seattle stores), closing at 7 pm Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day. … Again, this is also in our Holiday Guide, along with restaurant and coffee lists that we’re continuing to add to (info appreciated at westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!).
5:51 PM: Skywatching expert/educator Alice Enevoldsen says the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is visible from West Seattle right now, to the south/southwest, until 6:30 or so, though they’re not as close together as they were a few days ago, when clouds rendered it impossible to see.
ADDED: Bill Schrier tweeted this photo:
And Dan Ciske sent this one:
These items are generally too big to be simply “lost” so we’re mentioning them here rather than in our Lost/Found (non-pets) forum board:
T. found that bicycle abandoned on a Fauntleroy sidewalk. Older bicycle with a blown tire. Recognize it? Let us know and we’ll connect you. Meantime, in Seaview, Gwyneth found this:
She says, “It doesn’t seem like it’s in the best of shape but it got dumped on my corner either last night or this morning and in case someone is missing it, it’s sitting on the corner of Raymond and 47th SW.”
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Tiffany at Trees by the Sea (2538 Alki SW):
We are done for the season and have some trees and wreaths left over. If there is anyone who is in need then they can help themselves. We have left the lot open for people to have access to it. We want to thank you and all of our customers for another great season and look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
Just in from Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch – orcas in the area! She says a small group is “milling” off the north end of Vashon Island. Let us know if you see them!
(Republished with permission from the Fauntleroy Community Association’s December 2020 newsletter Neighbors)
By Judy Pickens
When the Fauntleroy Children’s Center opened as the Fauntleroy Day Care Center in September 1978, Kim Seaman Sheridan wasn’t there to welcome the eight children as they entered a room at Fauntleroy Church.
But she was there the following year as a teacher, and she has been there every year since as the center’s director, welcoming nearly 5,000 infants and children over her 42 years of service.
Come January 1, Kim will begin the next chapter of her life – one not so abundantly populated with children.
She sees a change in directors as a plus for the center, enabling new leadership to run with new ideas. Also, she said, “After 42 years, it’s time to be home.”
Thanks for the sunrise photos! (Above, from Chris Frankovich; below, from Susan Romanenghi.) Though the days are getting longer now that the solstice is past, all the time is gained on the other end of the day, until January 6th, when the sun starts rising earlier.
The forecast is for sunshine later, and tomorrow too, with rain likely to return Friday night.
6:07 AM: It’s Wednesday, December 23rd, the 275th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Watch for ice on streets and paths, after a very cold night.
ROAD (ETC.) WORK
Delridge project: Work is planned through Thursday. Here’s the weekly lookahead.
TRANSIT
Metro – Regular schedule today (Sunday service on Friday).
Water Taxi – Regular schedule today (no service Friday).
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) – see the closure advisory above. 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.)
To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
You can view all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
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