day : 19/02/2021 12 results

If your power flickered a short time ago, this is likely why: A driver is reported to have hit a pole on Highland Park Way near West Marginal Way SW. The SFD dispatch says injuries are minor.

2021 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

51 weeks have now passed since the Friday night when the first King County case of COVID-19 was announced. Here are tonight’s updates:

KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Some data corrections in tonight’s stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:

*80,859 people have tested positive, 224 more than yesterday’s total

*1,345 people have died, 14 more than yesterday’s total

*5,062 people have been hospitalized, 20 more than yesterday’s total

*887,461 people have been tested, 2,907 more than yesterday’s total

Now, our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:

*301,938 people have received one dose

*125,444 people have received both doses

*466,575 doses have been allocated to King County

One week ago, the first four totals were 79,681/1,318/4,955/871,404, and the vaccination totals were 266,573/85,033/374,825.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 110.7 million cases, 2,452,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.

IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: The city’s West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle) continues to be open on Saturdays.

COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: Dr. Jeff Duchin led his weekly briefing/media Q&A – here’s the video:

He offered his theories about the falling case numbers as well as discussing the vaccination situation, including reassuring people that if their second-dose appointments had to be rescheduled because of delivery delays, they’ll be OK even if it takes a few more weeks. Meantime, though numbers are dropping, he stressed, “We can’t let our foot off the pedal” – precautions to stop the spread remain imperative.

GOVERNOR’S REMARKS: No big news, and most of his media event today was spent on bill-signing, but Gov. Inslee did answer a few pandemic questions – here’s the video.

NEED FOOD? One more reminder, the Greater Seattle Fil-Am SDA Church has free food boxes in West Seattle tomorrow, 2 pm-4 pm, 2620 SW Kenyon.

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

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Driver runs aground on 35th SW island

February 19, 2021 9:04 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Safety | West Seattle news

Thanks to Thomas B. for the photos – that happened about an hour ago on 35th SW at SW Snoqualmie, across from the entrance to the stadium and golf course. The driver crashed into the pedestrian-safety island. Apparently no major injury, as no SFD medic unit was dispatched, just an engine, but we’ll check to be sure. A tow truck had already arrived by the time Thomas took these photos:

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DEVELOPMENT: Next Southwest Design Review Board date set for 9218 18th SW

February 19, 2021 7:51 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Delridge | Development | West Seattle news

The Southwest Design Review Board‘s calendar has been empty for months, but now it shows the tentative date for a review meeting: The second Early Design Guidance review for 9218 18th SW [map] is set for 5 pm April 1st, online. The project is expected to be mixed use, 5 stories, 56 units, some retail space, and 28 offstreet-parking spaces, according to Caron Architecture‘s draft packet for the next review. Its first review was four months ago; the board told the architects to try again. Our report from the October meeting details the concerns voiced by board members. The meeting will include a public-comment period; when it gets closer, viewing information and the final design packet will be accessible on this webpage.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: 35th/Avalon investigation; stolen car (found), pickup; another catalytic-converter theft

February 19, 2021 5:41 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

(updated) Four reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:

35TH/AVALON ARREST: Thanks for the tip. Police are just east of the 35th/Avalon intersection; at the scene, they would tell us only that the incident they’re investigating was called in as a sexual assault, and that a suspect is in custody.

STOLEN CAR: The three for which we’ve received reader reports in recent days have all been found, so perhaps this one will be too: Cheryl‘s 1998 white Honda Civic was stolen from southwest Admiral today, between Hinds and Hanford on 47th. License plate AOE4525. Call 911 if you see it. … SATURDAY UPDATE: Cheryl says it was found a block away – a club kept it from being driven far.

(added 6:22 pm)

STOLEN PICKUP: From Susanna:

My truck was stolen this afternoon. 14th and Henderson. It is a 1990 Toyota 5-speed 4×4, lifted body, white exterior, blue interior. Has an oval “woof” sticker in rear window. Husky tool box in truck bed. License is B76570P. Seattle police incident #2021-42255. Please call 911 if you see it. Many thanks for your help.

ANOTHER CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFT: WSS reports, “Early Wednesday morning my Honda Element’s catalytic converter was stolen. Near 46th SW and SW Hudson St. Parked on the street.”

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VIDEO: From meditation to opinions at SDOT’s West Marginal Way open house

February 19, 2021 3:13 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

(Video recording of SDOT’s stream of Thursday night’s meeting)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Last night’s SDOT open house about the proposed West Marginal Way protected bicycle lane began with a guided “moment of meditation and reflection.”

As you can hear on the meeting video (6:20 in), attendees were urged to picture someone they love, and wish them health, happiness, freedom from suffering. It might have been ideal if SDOT’s project manager Brad Topol had also suggested that attendees picture someone who prefers a different mode of travel and wished them well, as the screen chat during the meeting veered into bikes-vs.-cars territory, though SDOT contends cars and trucks are not using the lane in question much anyway – their data has 20 percent of the southbound traffic in that area in the outside lane.

Here’s what happened during the meeting and what’s next. Read More

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HELPING: Food boxes available Saturday at Greater Seattle Filipino-American SDA Church

February 19, 2021 1:28 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news

If you or someone you know needs food, beyond the regular availability at the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks, there’s a special distribution in West Seattle tomorrow. It’s another of the periodic food-box availabilities at the Greater Seattle Filipino-American SDA Church, 2620 SW Kenyon (map), 2-4 pm Saturday. Anyone who could use the food is welcome, first-come, first-served; the boxes are expected to contain produce, dairy, bread, and other items.

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FOLLOWUP: West Marginal Way road repair planned for multiple weekends

February 19, 2021 11:25 am

| 17 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

As we noted on Twitter last night and in today’s morning traffic roundup, we learned during last night’s SDOT meeting on West Marginal Way (full meeting report soon) that the road is scheduled for pavement repair this weekend and beyond. We just obtained details:

Starting this weekend and lasting up to three weekends, our crews will be repairing pavement around these abandoned railroad tracks, about 1 mile south of the Chelan 5-way intersection.

(SDOT photo)

Starting this weekend, Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, February 21 from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. our crews will be repairing pavement at abandoned railroad tracks on West Marginal Way. This work may continue the two following weekends, February 27-28, and March 6-7. This work is weather-dependent.

The railroad tracks are located about 1 mile south of the Chelan 5-way intersection, just south of the intersection with SW Idaho St.

West Marginal Way will be reduced to a single lane in each direction at the project site. Traffic management will be in place for traffic to start merging as it approaches the work area. Please expect delays as we merge traffic to complete this work, as well as noise and minor vibrations.

During last night’s meeting, the initial mention of this emerged when an attendee asked if those unused tracks could be removed. SDOT’s Sara Zora said no, because they belong to “an adjacent property owner” who wants to keep them.

P.S. Reminder that this weekend also will see lane closures on the northbound 1st Avenue South Bridge 6 am-noon both days.

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YOU CAN HELP: West Seattle community cleanup Saturday

February 19, 2021 10:59 am

| 1 COMMENT

| Environment | How to help | West Seattle news

If you haven’t already seen this in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar: You’re invited to join neighbor Conrad for a community cleanup around the West Seattle Bridge tomorrow afternoon. He’s leading volunteers 1-4 pm in a cleanup delayed a week because of the snow:

We’ll meet at the cul-de-sac on SW Marginal Place. We’ll then disperse along W Marginal Way as it passes under Spokane Street (for both trash removal and overgrown vegetation removal), and to parts of the five-way intersection by the Chelan Café. Please wear a mask and get ready to clean up under the bridge.

Thank you to our partners Puget Soundkeeper, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, and We Heart Seattle! Puget Soundkeeper is donating all necessary equipment (trash grabbers, garbage bags, gloves, the scale for weighing trash), DRCC is providing Duwamish Dollars as an incentive for volunteers, and We Heart Seattle is providing a U-Haul truck to take the trash to the transfer station following the event.

RSVP by signing up here.

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EPA explains proposed Duwamish River cleanup change, extends comment period

February 19, 2021 9:49 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| Environment | West Seattle news

(EPA slide explaining ways in which people come into contact with pollutants)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The announcement for Wednesday’s online meeting about a possible change in the Environmental Protection Agency‘s Duwamish River cleanup plan declared that no decisions would be made that night.

But one was – EPA reps agreed to a request to extend the public-comment period on the change. So you now have until March 22nd to weigh in.

The proposed change involves a particular pollutant, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a “carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (cPAH).” Higher levels are now considered safe, the EPA says, so allowing for lower levels could remove about five acres from the cleanup area – the sum total of “scattered” areas – and cut about $1 million from the cleanup’s $340+ million projected cost.

The meeting began with this video presentation explaining it all: Read More

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UPDATE: Big SFD response, small fire at 26th/Genesee construction site

February 19, 2021 7:33 am

| Comments Off on UPDATE: Big SFD response, small fire at 26th/Genesee construction site

| Delridge | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

7:33 AM: Big SFD response for what has turned out to be a small fire at a construction site near 26th/Genesee [vicinity map]. The response has been reduced but avoid the area.

7:50 AM: Five SFD units remain on scene, about half of those that weren’t canceled before arrival. Their investigator has been dispatched to look into the cause. Metro has rerouted Route 50 off SW Genesee for now.

8:01 AM: Photos added. SFD tells us at the scene that no one was hurt. The fire was in a center building of a cluster of under-construction residences. … Officers told dispatch the fire is “suspicious.”

9:01 AM: Genesee is open; Metro says Route 50 is back to its usual route.

7:40 PM: SFD spokesperson Kristin Tinsley tells WSB that the fire’s cause has been ruled “undetermined,” with damage estimated at $20,000.

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WEATHER, TRAFFIC, TRANSIT: Friday watch, with weekend alerts

February 19, 2021 6:07 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

ADDED 8 AM: As noted in our separate coverage of an SFD response on SW Genesee near 26th SW, avoid the area. Most of the response has cleared but westbound is still blocked and Metro has rerouted Route 50.

Earlier:

======================

6:07 AM: Good morning. Another gray forecast today, so here’s a little sunshine from earlier this week.

(Photo from Hamilton Viewpoint, by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

TRANSIT: Metro is on its regular routes. … The Water Taxi has its regular vessel, regular schedule … The Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route has 2 boats but with Sealth filling in for Cathlamet, which will be out for about a month of work.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES: 333rd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s how things are looking:

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.

See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.

WEEKEND ALERTS: 1st Avenue South Bridge northbound lane closures 6 am-noon both Saturday and Sunday … West Marginal Way pavement repair work at the rail track that crosses the street north of the Duwamish Longhouse – this was briefly mentioned at last night’s WMW open house and we are pursuing details today.

Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.

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