day : 24/03/2021 10 results

Tonight’s pandemic news:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals – note that if you look at the SKCPH source page, the “new since yesterday” numbers are wrong again, so the “more than yesterday’s total” numbers below are from our math:

*86,037 people have tested positive, 304 more than yesterday’s total

*1,456 people have died, 1 more than yesterday’s total

*5,241 people have been hospitalized, 9 more than yesterday’s total

*953,472 people have been tested, 2,893 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, the four totals we track were 84,574/1,444/5,188/938,453.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find all the numbers, county by county, on the state Department of Health data page,.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.

VACCINATION ELIGIBILITY: The state is reported to have confirmed it plans to comply with the federal mandate to open eligibility to everyone by May 1st. (Everyone 16 and up, that is – so far, there’s still no vaccine approved for children.)

IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE AND LOOKING FOR AN APPOINTMENT … here are links to try:

*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here. (Note: Commenters say they’ve been told at this site that if you’re eligible, you can just show up during the day without an appointment. We have not verified that as official policy. We have verified the practice of offering “leftover” vaccine at day’s end – to the oldest people in line first.)
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)
*The state says it’s improved its own lookup tool
*Here’s another multi-provider search to try
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS’ BRIEFING: The weekly briefing by Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah and other top state health officials is scheduled for 9:30 am tomorrow. It’ll be livestreamed here.

PANDEMIC RELIEF: King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a $600 million spending plan for mostly federal and state funding today.

GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!

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ONE NIGHT AWAY: WestSide Baby ‘Beyond the Basics’ Thursday night

March 24, 2021 7:33 pm

| Comments Off on ONE NIGHT AWAY: WestSide Baby ‘Beyond the Basics’ Thursday night

| How to help | West Seattle news

One night to go until your chance to help local kids and their families by partnering with WestSide Baby in going “Beyond the Basics.” The live online event on Thursday night is the largest WS Baby fundraiser of the year – it’s also a celebration of the organization’s work, best known in the beginning for supplying diapers to families in need, but over the years moving to add much more. You can join as early as 5 pm for a pre-func – then at 5:30 pm, it’s the main event, including a conversation between executive director Sarah Cody Roth and storyteller Mia Birdsong. You can register for free by going here. (WSB is among the event’s community co-sponsors.)

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UPDATE: Deadly collision in Georgetown

March 24, 2021 5:57 pm

| 46 COMMENTS

| Georgetown | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

5:57 PM: Thanks to the texter who points out that this will affect people who use Michigan in Georgetown to get between I-5 and the 1st Avenue South Bridge: A deadly crash has closed Corson/Michigan and it’ll likely stay closed for a few hours. Police say the crash involved a semi-truck and pedestrian.

8:16 PM: All lanes are clear. Commenters who were in the area say the victim was a bicycle rider, not a pedestrian; we will update when police release more information about the crash.

ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: As noted in comments, SPD Blotter now has a summary, including confirmation that the victim was riding a bike when hit.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another catalytic converter stolen; 2 back in jail; afternoon arrest

March 24, 2021 5:08 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:

ANOTHER CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT: Just got another reader report, from D, who says thieves took the catalytic converter from her 2003 Honda Element in an apartment parking lot near Avalon/Genesee. Elements are a hot target right now – you might recall our recent report about this happening to four in two days, including ours. Catalytic-converter theft is a nationwide problem, the Washington Post explained earlier this month, largely because of low supplies of, and high prices for, a metal called rhodium.

ARRESTED AGAIN: Two familiar names are on the King County Jail roster right now. Repeat mail-theft suspect Jason A. Turner was booked this morning for investigation of theft. We haven’t been able to find out details of the arrest yet. This is his seventh jail booking since the first of the year. He was charged last month with four felony counts of stolen-mail possession. … Also on the jail roster since last night – though it appears he’s in the process of getting released – Jerry S. Plute Jr., one of the two men charged in last month’s Westwood Village burglary. The reason for his booking is listed as a failure-to-appear warrant in a domestic-violence assault case. As reported here last week, he and burglary co-defendant Rafael Meyers did not appear for arraignment in the Westwood Village case two weeks ago but the judge decided not to issue warrants.

ADDED 6:02 PM – AFTERNOON ARREST: A texter asked earlier about a sizable police presence near 35th/Morgan. We went over to check – all gone. But we just received some information from SPD: A person under Department of Corrections supervision had allegedly failed a drug test, a violation of supervision rules, so DOC was searching their vehicle. In it, they found “a Grendel 380 handgun and a small quantity of narcotics,” the summary says, so they called in SPD, which seized those items and arrested the suspect.

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WHALE-WATCHING: Northbound orcas off West Seattle

March 24, 2021 3:04 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Whales

Thanks to Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch for another alert about whales heading this way – they’re northbound, south of Fauntleroy, right now. These are transient killer whales again. Let us know if you see them!

P.S. Kersti warns of “choppy seas,” so not optimal viewing this time.

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FOLLOWUP: Why West Seattle’s city-run site is getting out of the testing business

March 24, 2021 2:25 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Two days after we reported that the Southwest Athletic Complex testing/vaccination site will stop offering testing after next Tuesday (March 30th), the city has officially announced the change. Dropping testing services, the mayor’s office says, will enable another 3,000 vaccinations a week, just as eligibility expands. And the testing demand Is lower – dropping in recent weeks to 200 or fewer per day at West Seattle (with more than 78,000 tests given since it opened). The city says it can scale testing back up if demand increases. The announcement notes, as we did on Monday, that a Curative testing kiosk remains open at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW), with numerous appointments available, and adds the reminder that there’s a drive-through test site in SODO (3820 6th Ave. S.). You can find out more about the city’s vaccination program – including getting on the notification list – by going here, or by calling 206-684-2489.

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ROAD WORK: Next round of West Seattle speed humps

March 24, 2021 1:26 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

Work will start as soon as tomorrow for some of the 70+ new speed humps on the way to Highland Park/South Delridge as part of the Reconnect West Seattle Home Zone plans. The map and announcement are from SDOT:

SDOT will be installing speed humps on SW Henderson St between 10th Ave SW and 12th Ave SW to discourage speeding.

• Construction is anticipated to begin around March 25. The date may change depending on weather and crew availability.

• Work hours are approximately 9 AM to 3 PM to avoid peak commute times.

• We will put up “no park” signs near the speed hump locations in advance of the construction.

• A flagger will direct traffic around speed hump locations while they are being built.

• It will take a few hours to build each speed hump and let them dry/cool down before people can drive on them.

• Temporary chevron markings will be put on the speed humps. They will be replaced with permanent markings after one month once the speed humps fully “cure” (harden).

The full plans for this area and the rest of Highland Park/South Delridge/Riverview were shown at a meeting earlier this month – here’s our coverage.

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FOLLOWUP: Yes, West Seattle’s new vehicle-licensing office is still on the road to opening

March 24, 2021 11:29 am

| 17 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

We’ve answered some hotline calls recently from people wondering if the new West Seattle vehicle/vessel-licensing office is still on the way. In our previous coverage, the plan was to have it open in the former liquor-store location on the north side of Westwood Village by March 1st. So we checked back with new sub-agent Randy Lais. He tells WSB, “We are truly disappointed we did not meet the March 1st opening date. Covid has played an enormous role in slowing this process. We are in the final stages of signing the lease for this suite … On my side, we are immediately ready to set this office up to open. Although I do not have a specific date, we are going to work vigorously to have our Grand Opening within 30 to 60 days. The specific date will depend on the expedited coordination between King County, the DoL and our team. We all are working extremely hard to make this happen for everyone.” We first reported last November that Lais had been chosen as the new sub-agent for this area; he already has a licensing agency in Port Orchard. The former West Seattle sub-agent closed at the end of 2019. Meantime, you can handle many transactions online, but if you want to visit a licensing office, the nearest ones are in Georgetown and Burien; the full King County list is here.

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Public safety and public art @ HPAC, and more for your West Seattle Wednesday

March 24, 2021 9:58 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Colorful sunset last week, photographed by Lynn Hall)

Coming up in the hours ahead:

WSHS DONATION DRIVE: Noon-2 pm, as previewed here – West Seattle High School students are collecting food and essential supplies for families. Take donations to the north entrance at 3000 California SW.

SCHOOL BOARD: 3:30 pm, the board’s regular twice-monthly meeting includes items related to in-person learning, such as approval of the new elementary/K-8 schedules, plus other proposals including renaming the Southwest Athletic Complex in honor of longtime grounds manager Nino Cantu. The meeting agenda explains how to watch/listen.

HPAC: 7 pm online meeting of the community council for Highland Park, South Delridge, and Riverview, with two spotlight guests focusing on public art and public safety:

Guest – Kristen Ramirez from the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs will talk about public art being planned in conjunction with the Highland/Holden intersection improvements.

Guest – District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold will discuss City Council thinking on Public Safety budgeting and alternative programs being developed to support police work in the community.

The HPAC website has details on how to attend via video or by phone.

CHIEF SEALTH PTSA: 7 pm online, the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA meets, with updates on reopening as well as the organization’s future. Register here to attend.

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