West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
We conclude tonight with the latest pandemic info:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the key points of the daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health:
*80,303 people have tested positive, 159 more than yesterday’s total
*1,321 people have died, unchanged from yesterday’s total
*5,001 people have been hospitalized, 4 more than yesterday’s total
*877,501 people have been tested, 208 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 78,863/1,299/4,909/862,969.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 106.4 million cases, 2,324,000+ deaths. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
MAYOR’S PROMISE: Mayor Jenny Durkan delivered a startlingly short State of the City address tonight – 6 1/2 minutes – focused on the pandemic and recovering from it, declaring that “we are writing the final chapters of this generational challenge.”
GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING TOMORROW: 2:30 pm Tuesday; the live stream will be here.
BACK TO SCHOOLS? Here’s how the Seattle Public Schools family survey turned out.
NEED FOOD? This week’s nearest Food Lifeline distribution is 2-5 pm Friday (February 19th) at 815 S. 96th.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
The community campaign to Save The Stone Cottage continues. Tonight, two notes – first, the results of the final “Story Stones” competition. If you missed the karaoke-style concert/trivia event last Friday night, here’s the first 15 minutes:
At about 6:40 in, you’ll see the first singers, Lora and Steve from the West Seattle Junction Association – then in the final minute, 14 minutes in, Caspar Babypants‘ guest performance. Everyone who showed up for the event on Zoom had the chance to answer trivia questions related to the songs. Winners were Dan and Joanie Jacobs, who get a gift certificate to a West Seattle restaurant and the coveted fourth and final “Story Stone.” Guest performers also included reps from local businesses both musical (including WSB sponsors Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop, and of course Easy Street Records) and not (Husky Deli, Beveridge Place Pub, Salty’s [WSB sponsor], and more). Now, an update on the plan to move the Stone Cottage before its longtime home at 1123 Harbor Avenue SW gets redeveloped:
(January photo by Mark Jaroslaw)
Jeff McCord from Save The Stone Cottage tells WSB, “We don’t know an exact move date due to the developer’s permitting still being underway. We will of course announce more details as we learn them, but we believe it may not occur until sometime in March (or possibly later) at this point.” They’re still actively crowdfunding to pay for the move and a temporary home for the historic stone-studded structure.
ADDED TUESDAY: See the entire concert/music-trivia event here.
This week is midwinter break for Seattle Public Schools – no classes, remote or otherwise. By early next week, the district has promised an update on the plan to offer in-person learning again for preschoolers through 1st graders, as well as special-education students on “intensive pathways.” The district has also finally released full results of its survey of families whose students are eligible to return to school buildings. They’re published here. The survey was open January 5th-19th; the district reports that of the 10,742 eligible students, 46.8 percent of families said they want their student to return to in-person learning, 40.9 percent preferred to continue remote learning, and 12.3 percent did not respond. Breaking the results into demographic groups, SPS says white families had the highest support for in-person learning, 56 percent, while Asian families had the highest support for continuing remote learning, also 56 percent. The district also surveyed staff and says 30 percent want to continue working remotely. The district says the responses from families and staff “were used to develop proposed instructional models and create sample illustrative schedules that have been proposed to Seattle Education Association in the ongoing negotiations.” A separate district update says those negotiations are continuing this week and that the district has requested a mediator’s help. (Here’s the union’s own latest update.) Once an agreement is reached, the district says, it will survey families again.
Two West Seattle pharmacies have been robbed in the past three days. The first one happened around noon Saturday at Bartell Drugs in Jefferson Square. We haven’t been able to obtain the police report yet but a store employee told us via email that the robber was “an armed Black male, about 5’7”, in dark clothing and a medical mask.” We do have the initial police report on a robbery at 12:25 pm today at Rite Aid in Westwood Village, describing the two robbers there “as two Black males, thin build, 5’5″ and 5’10, both wearing dark clothing, and one carried a black Adidas gym bag. One displayed a handgun.” The report says the two “jumped the pharmacy counter and demanded oxycodone from the pharmacist.” They were given “an unknown amount of pills,” police say, and left. No arrests reported yet.
(Photo texted by Jennifer Moore)
4:45 PM: Thanks for the texts. Seattle Fire crews are at the PCC/Luna Apartments building at California/Stevens, checking out what was reported as “automatic fire alarm, water flow indicated.” Multiple texters say the buildings have been evacuated as a precaution. No word of any fire so far; firefighters are investigating.
4:54 PM: They’re downsizing the response.
The transient killer whales that passed West Seattle southbound on Sunday are headed back northbound right now, reports Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch. They were “mid-channel, close” off The Arroyos as of a short time ago. Visibility’s not the best, though, with fog in the area, but they’re out there.
2:51 PM: Few details yet but avoid Delridge/Andover – multiple injuries are reported after a collision, at Delridge/Andover and also on Andover west and uphill. We’re on our way to find out more.
3:18 PM: We’re having difficulty getting close enough to talk with police, between the slush and the emergency vehicles. Nearby resident Mark sent photos of the two scenes – at Delridge/Andover:
And uphill to the west, at 23rd/Andover:
3:28 PM: Just in from our crew, a wider view – note that Andover is taped off, west of Delridge:
Here’s what police at the scene told us happened: The motorhome’s driver was heading eastbound up Andover and got stuck. A police officer was trying to help him get unstuck when the driver put the motorhome into reverse and hit both a pedestrian and two vehicles, including the one in the photo above, and this tanker (photo from Evan):
The only person who needed to be taken to the hospital was the pedestrian. No other serious injuries. We will be checking on the pedestrian’s condition.
3:42 PM: SPD adds via Twitter that the motorhome driver is in custody and the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is responding, so the area will likely be blocked off for a while.
3:58 PM: Commenters who were in the area have a different account, saying police were following/pursuing the motorhome before the crash. Meantime, SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells us the pedestrian is a 79-year-old man taken to the hospital in serious condition, and the driver of the car hit uphill on Andover was a 44-year-old woman treated at the scene.
ADDED 7:12 PM: Just received, the initial police summary:
A patrol unit initiated a traffic stop on an older, 20-foot RV near Delridge Way SW and SW Andover St. The adult male driver appeared to disregard the signals to stop and turned up the steep grade, which hindered the suspect’s escape near 23 Av SW. The suspect reversed down the hill, colliding with an occupied passenger vehicle and deploying its airbags before crossing the arterial and striking a petroleum tanker and then a pedestrian. The suspect driver fled on foot, but was arrested a short time later. The adult male pedestrian sustained injuries thought to be substantial. Other injuries were minor. TCIS responded. A DRE evaluated the suspect and detected signs of impairment. The suspect was arrested for Vehicular Assault, Hit and Run, Eluding, VUCSA, and warrants.
(DRE means Drug Recognition Expert; VUCSA is a drug-related allegation, Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.) The summary does not mentions the grounds for the initial stop attempt.
9:18 PM: More information about the suspect, from this SPD Blotter item posted tonight: He’s 47 and “police discovered he had a felony warrant for theft of a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment and domestic violence-related assault. Officers also found what appeared to be narcotics on his person …”
The photo and report are from Mark Ufkes:
The Scout Motto is “Do a good turn daily.”
One of the $5,000 White Center Welcome signs was so damaged by graffiti that it was unreadable and parts of another sign were stolen. Eagle Scouts Josh Paley (age 23) and Mark Ufkes (age 65), (Once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout!) spent the day replacing the damaged sign at 18th SW and Delridge Way, and cleaned and re-installed the White Center Rainbow and Welcome in 10 languages portions of the sign at 4th Ave SW and SW 108th that had been stolen.
They did this as their “good turn” and to remind everyone that White Center is spectacular, and to celebrate that just this month, we had 12 local girls who became the first group of female Eagle Scouts in American history. Many adult Scout leaders, including Ufkes, pushed Scouting for years to allow equal access to its exceptional programs regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
After years of advocating by hundreds of adult Eagle Scouts and parents, in 2018, girls and kids of any sexual orientation were included in Scouting programs and began the minimum two-year process required to complete the rather challenging requirements to become an Eagle Scout.
You can read about those requirements here.
While the snow’s been big fun for many people, it’s also caused some trouble, beyond stuck cars and delayed trash pickup. Bloodworks Northwest says 800 people have canceled appointments to donate blood because of the snow and icy roads. So if you can donate sometime soon, please do! If you can give by month’s end, Bloodworks NW says, “Give blood through February 28 and discover if you have COVID-19 antibodies. Positive donors could become convalescent plasma donors and help critically ill coronavirus patients directly.” A little further into the future, we note, you have another chance to donate without leaving West Seattle – the Senior Center in The Junction is hosting pop-up dates in March and April. It’s on the list of locations where donors can make appointments – go here or call 800-398-7888.
(Saturday photo by Jay Gewin)
It’s Presidents Day and we’re watching a foot of snow melt away. Here’s more hopefully helpful info, beyond the transportation info noted earlier:
ICYMI – NO TRASH/RECYCLING PICKUP: As we reported just before 8 am, no pickup today, and the city confirms the rest of the week will slide a day too (so if you have Tuesday pickup, it’ll be Wednesday, etc., assuming they can indeed make Monday collections tomorrow).
NO SCHOOL: Besides the holiday, this is midwinter-break week for Seattle Public Schools.
NO LIBRARIES: Curbside service is closed for the holiday.
NO MAIL: It’s a USPS holiday. (Added: Some readers note in comments that they ARE seeing mail delivery today, though.)
NO BANKS: It’s a Federal Reserve holiday.
(added) PARKS & OTHER CITY NOTES: West Seattle Golf Course is open for snow play again today (but not for golf). That and other city department post-storm notes are here.
WEATHER: Rainy and warmer – back into the 40s.
STATE OF THE CITY: Mayor Durkan gives her last annual address at 5:05 pm, streamed on Seattle Channel.
We’ll add to this list throughout the day if and when other announcements come in. Any info to share? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
UPDATE, 10:30 AM: Metro says some buses have returned to regular routes … Washington State Ferries remains on its “severe weather schedule” today, which means Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth is on the two-boat schedule with one boat, skipping everything that is scheduled for boat #2.
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6:34 AM: Good morning. The melt continues – with a rainy forecast – but still a lot of snow out there. Major streets are bare and wet.
ROAD MAP: While this map is primarily for showing recently treated (plowed when it’s actively snowing) roads, it also shows closed roads, including a few steep stretches in West Seattle.
TRANSIT: Check for Metro route status here. … Here’s the ST 560 express bus reroute … The Water Taxi is not running because of the Presidents Day holiday.
Now, our usual checks:
BRIDGES
Low Bridge: Sixth week for automated enforcement cameras, while restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily. Here’s a bridge view:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden – with a new left-turn signal for northbound HP Way, turning to westbound Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
The 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):
For the South Park Bridge (map), here’s the nearest camera:
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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