West Seattle, Washington
01 Friday
Big week – with vaccine eligibility expanding dramatically on Wednesday. But first, here’s our nightly roundup of local pandemic news:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health daily summary:
*87,567 people have tested positive, 185 more than yesterday’s total
*1,461 people have died, unchanged since Saturday
*5,303 people have been hospitalized, 15 more than yesterday’s total
*964,809 people have been tested, 5,251 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 85.629/1,452/5,220/949,161.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 127.5 million cases, 2,791,000 deaths – 550,000 in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
STILL IN THE DANGER ZONE: Here’s county health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin‘s advice, in a Twitter thread, on working to hold off a fourth wave.
TEST SITE NOT CLOSING AFTER ALL: One week after we learned the West Seattle testing/vaccination site was set to become vaccination-only as of this Wednesday, the city changed the plan today, and will continue offering testing there (Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot, 2801 SW Thistle) at least through April 17.
KING COUNTY VACCINATION MILESTONE: More than 1,000,000 doses administered.
VACCINE ELIGIBILITY: Announced today by the state Health Department:
Phase Finder, the state’s online vaccine eligibility tool, will no longer be required to verify COVID-19 vaccine eligibility starting March 31.
That means that people who want a vaccine should check DOH’s prioritization guidance webpage to see when they are eligible to get vaccinated. Those who are eligible can then use Vaccine Locator to find an appointment. After March 30, those who visit the Phase Finder site will be directed to Vaccine Locator. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has informed vaccine providers of this change. DOH has asked that providers no longer require Phase Finder to schedule an appointment or ask for it when patients arrive for their appointment.
LOOKING FOR A VACCINATION APPOINTMENT? Here’s our ongoing list:
*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)\
*The state’s Vaccine Locator (as mentioned above)
*The CDC’s Vaccine Finder
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics
NEED FOOD? This week’s nearest Food Lifeline distribution is 2-5 pm Friday (April 2nd) at 815 S. 96th.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
You might call this a hybrid Holy Week leading up to Easter (Sunday, April 4th) – some churches are having in-person services, some are continuing entirely online, some are offering both. We’re building a list, as.we do every year, and have some listings already; consider this your invitation to send info about any Holy Week/Easter services in West Seattle, online or in-person – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(Photo from seattleschools.org)
Friends of Roxhill Elementary is hoping you can help with this:
TODAY, teachers are walking back into their classrooms—many for the first time in a year—preparing for the physical return of their students. And we want to make sure they have everything they need to keep themselves and our children safe.
We are launching an emergency fundraiser to make sure the school has the support and supplies they need not provided by the district; such as classroom air purifiers, extra masks, thermometers, buckets to keep coats and clothing from touching, and so much more. We are facing new challenges daily and know we will need to be able to respond to these evolving needs and costs quickly.
Our immediate goal is $4,500. Will you help us today?
Here’s the link if you’re able to donate.
We asked the district what PPE they’re providing; the response just pointed us to this webpage, which says “Seattle Public Schools will provide staff with PPE in accordance with Labor & Industries safety and health rules and guidance” and also notes that masks are available for students who don’t already have them.
One week ago, we reported that the city was going to stop offering COVID-19 tests at the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot, to devote that site entirely to vaccinating. Today – with an ongoing countywide increase in cases – the city has changed its mind, and says it’ll keep offering testing there through at least April 17th. While our area is not described in the announcement from the mayor’s office as having a spike in cases, it is seeing a rise in testing demand at the West Seattle site. You can make a testing appointment by going here. (Vaccinations will continue there, too.)
So many have asked – via email, text, even in the WSB Community Forums – and now we have an answer: Yes, Sunfish Seafood – the fish-and-chips-and-more restaurant at 2800 Alki SW – WILL reopen. While Sunfish fans are used to its annual vacation closure, for example, this shutdown has been longer, so many were worried. In a brief conversation today, the restaurant’s owner, Michael Vassiliou, told us that while it’s been a tough year, keeping track of all the changing business requirements (among other things), he does hope to reopen Sunfish within a few weeks.
One West Seattle Crime Watch incident to report so far today: A shoplifting case classified as robbery because it turned violent/threatening. It was reported just after 10:30 this morning at the Westwood Village Ulta Beauty store. The initial police summary says three people – two female, one male – were in the store grabbing “many items” and stuffing them into bags. One threatened to shoot store staffers who confronted them, and then claimed he had COVID before lowering his mask as if he was about to spit on the staffers. The trio subsequently fled the store with an estimated $5,000 worth of merchandise. No description in the report we obtained, but police say the store has security video.
West Seattle’s wine scene continues to expand. Next up: The new Pine Lake Cellars tasting room at 5405 California SW [map] is almost ready to go. We contacted proprietor Rob McCall after a reader messaged us on Saturday that the tasting room appeared to have opened. He explained that was a low-key soft-open event, and they’re planning to do the same this Saturday, but they are not yet officially open. Once they are, the hours are likely to be 5-8 pm Thursdays, 4-8 pm Fridays, 1-7 pm Saturdays, and 1-5 pm Sundays. This is Pine Lake Cellars’ second West Seattle tasting room – they had a smaller one on Harbor Avenue several years ago. As you’ll notice in the photo, this one has outdoor space.
From today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin: A notice of land-use approval for a six-house project to be added on a site that currently holds one house on Puget Ridge, at 6550 21st SW [map]. You can read the decision here. The site is just over an acre. The city website says off-street parking is planned for 12 vehicles to go along with the six 2-story houses. The decision also notes that seven “exceptional” trees are on the site and that plans call for preserving all of them. The decision can be appealed – this notice explains how – with the deadline set at April 12th.
(February photo, sent by Conrad)
That photo is from the last community cleanup that Conrad organized under and around the West Seattle Bridge last month. He tells WSB, “I got so many requests to hold another event that I’m hosting a second one – people felt such a pleasant sense of community and neighborliness at the last event,” It’s happening next Saturday afternoon (April 3rd), 1-3 pm, and you’re invited to join – here qre the basics:
Once again, we’ll meet at the cul-de-sac on SW Marginal Place. This project will focus on litter abatement, and it will have a larger focus on removing invasive and overgrown vegetation. Our work on vegetation will make the highly trafficked area safer for pedestrians and allow us to remove trash that’s currently covered in blackberries. We’ll also send people to the nearby Riverside Memorial Plaza to rake leaves.
P.S. If you’ve been participating in Jessica‘s monthly first-Saturday Alki cleanups – she’s joining this one for April, but will be back hosting Alki events in May and beyond.
6:16 AM: Good morning! Sunshine in the forecast today!
ROAD WORK .
Delridge project – This week’s work plan includes closing the east end of Sylvan Way as soon as Wednesday.
TRANSIT
Metro is on its changed-for-spring regular schedule
The West Seattle Water Taxi is using the smaller Spirit of Kingston again this week
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
371st morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s how it’s looking on other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: 12th week for automated enforcement cameras; 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:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
And 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.
Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
(Kitsap Transit photo)
Kitsap Transit launches its third cross-Sound passenger-ferry route today, another one that’ll be in view off West Seattle – eight weekday round trips between Southworth and downtown Seattle. The system already runs passenger ferries to downtown >from Kingston and Bremerton, all authorized by a 2016 ballot measure. The Southworth run will use the same dock there as Washington State Ferries, using the M/V Enetai, the first of two bow-loading vessels built for Kitsap Transit. Crossing time is just under half an hour. It’ll be fare-free for the first month, then $2 eastbound and $10 westbound starting in May.
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