West Seattle, Washington
09 Monday
Two weeks after the latest West Seattle drop-off recycling/shredding event, we have the results! Forwarded by the West Seattle Junction Association, which organized the event in partnership with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce:
Still have stuff to recycle beyond the regular curbside items? Fauntleroy Church is bringing back the Recycle Roundup, 9 am-3 pm Sunday, April 25th – this flyer lists what will and will not be accepted at that event. And if you need to shred – Daystar Retirement Village (2615 SW Barton; WSB sponsor) is offering free drive-up shredding Saturday, April 17th, 10 am-1 pm – bring up to three boxes.
11:49 AM: Just in from Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch: Transient orcas are southbound, just north of Discovery Park, headed this way.
12:35 PM: Still headed this way, Kersti reports in a comment.
1:14 PM: Another update from Kersti – passing Alki Point.
Family and friends are remembering Ruth DeGabriele, whose 100th birthday was noted here last year. Here’s the remembrance they’re sharing now:
Ruth DeGabriele
June 13, 1920 – February 21, 2021Ruth was born on a farm near Frankfort, Kansas, on June 13th, 1920. She grew up in a family of two sisters and 4 brothers. She was 17 years old when the “Dust Bowl” hit the plains and forced the family to sell the farm. They loaded up their truck with all of their belongings and headed west, first to California, where they worked the fields picking beets, cherries, and hops, and then apricots in Oregon, where they eventually settled.
After graduating from Woodburn High School in 1938, Ruth went to Portland to participate in a New Deal government program offering young women the chance to learn marketable skills, a dormitory in which to live, and help in job placements. She taught volleyball for a few months at a recreation center before being recommended for a position as a live-in nanny and housekeeper for a family with two young girls.
At age 20, she moved to Portland, living in the Washington Hotel, becoming the first woman bellhop of the city.
“They couldn’t get any boys, because of the war,” she recalled. “They were looking for boys, and I said, ‘I can do it.’ It was a fun job.” A year later, she moved to Seattle to work at Boeing’s Protection Plant Department, fingerprinting for the FBI and processing photo badges for the next 10 years. Occasionally, she was also asked to be a photo model for some of Boeing’s advertising and promotional pieces.
Al entered her life in 1946, when she lived in an apartment above the West Seattle grocery store he started with his twin brother. It was the IGA store located in N. Admiral, “Ray & Al’s Fine Foods.” They remained as West Seattleites for years and are survived by four children, 5 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Ruth found life-long friends at her church, Seattle First United Methodist Church, and remained a member for 74 years; she was the Wedding Hostess/Food Service Director. She orchestrated many large weekly dinners and coordinated over 500 weddings. She also directed the food services at Camp Indianola and later served on its Site Council Board.
She volunteered for many organizations, including Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, Chief Seattle Scouting Council, and Seattle’s Juvenile Court Diversion Program, counseling many young struggling teens. She also was a champion of voting rights and continually advocated for our civic duty. She said, “It’s a privilege to be in this country and be able to vote. So many people aren’t registered that really should be.”
She will be remembered for her smile, sense of style, and love of color – especially turquoise.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(West Seattle tulip, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Welcome to the weekend! Here’s what’s happening, starting with traffic alerts:
WEEKEND ROAD WORK: More pavement replacement at 9th and Henderson in Highland Park, and speed-hump installation in South Park – here are details on both.
Also:
PASSOVER … continues.
HOLY SATURDAY: Here’s our list of Holy Week services, in person and online.
FOOD AND SUPPLY DRIVE: 9 am-noon, drop off donations at West Seattle High School; here’s what they’re collecting.
EASTER EGG EXTRAVAGANZA: At Brookdale West Seattle (4611 35th SW):
Drop by our Front Patio this Saturday with the kids and grandkids, and collect a dinosaur egg! Have your picture taken with our very special and cute-as-can-be East-Rawr guest. 11 am – 2 pm on the Front Patio of Brookdale West Seattle.
COMMUNITY CLEANUP: Join West Seattle neighbors cleaning up around the bridge 1-3 pm. RSVP and get info here.
VACCINATION REGISTRATION HELP: 2-4:30 pm, the Greater Seattle Filipino-American SDA Church (2620 SW Kenyon) invites you to stop by if you need in-person assistance registering for a vaccination appointment.
Are we missing something happening today? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Tonight’s pandemic headlines:
KING COUNTY NUMBERS: First, the latest stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:
*88,786 people have tested positive, 417 more than yesterday’s total
*1,471 people have died, 5 more than yesterday’s total
*5,354 people have been hospitalized, 9 more than yesterday’s total
*975,969 people have been tested, 3,723 more than yesterday’s total
On to our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:
*727,140 people have received one dose
*422,486 people have received both doses
*1,083,085 doses have been allocated to King County (not counting pharmacy programs)
One week ago, the first four totals were 86,536/1,459/5,261/958,183, and the vaccination totals were 628,239/348,784/935,435.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 130.2 million cases, 2,838,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: In his weekly briefing, Dr. Jeff Duchin warned that “cases and hospitalizations are climbing at a steady pace” and there’s no indication it’ll level off any time soon. He also talked about increasing numbers of variants – more than 600 cases identified so far. And he concluded with an extended baseball analogy, including that “it’s time to rally (against COVID-19) and shut it down for once and for all.”
NEED HELP FINDING A VACCINATION APPOINTMENT? Get in-person help in West Seattle on Saturday.
IF YOU’RE SEARCHING ONLINE – here are links to try:
*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all four of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine (one reader specifically recommends Valley Medical Center), Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*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
IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: Remember that the city extended the operations of the West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle), so you can still get tested there Saturdays (as well as weekdays).
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
The new start date for closing Sylvan Way’s east end is part of the weekly preview for the Delridge repaving-and-more project. Here are the main points, from SDOT:
*The Sylvan Way SW intersection closure has been rescheduled to begin as early as April 6. Local access will remain available for Home Depot, Sherwin-Williams, and ampm via the Sylvan Way SW and SW Orchard St intersection.
*Bus stop upgrades are happening throughout the corridor including at SW Hudson St, SW Holly St, SW Myrtle St, SW Graham St, and SW Holden St
*Roadway upgrades on SW Hudson St between Delridge Way SW and 25th Ave SW beginning soon
*The west side of SW Hudson St will be closed as a part of this work
‘*Roadway demolition on the west side of Delridge Way SW between the Longfellow Creek Green Space and SW Graham St is beginning next week
*Potholing for duct bank work resumes next week on the east side of Delridge Way SW between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St
See the full preview of next week’s work by going here. For project backstory and info on contacting the team, go here.
Driving through Alki around sunset, we noticed activity inside the months-closed Il Nido restaurant at the Alki Homestead (2717 61st SW), whose fans have been eagerly awaiting its reopening. Turns out tonight was the night. And something very different – no reservations! Il Nido offers patio and indoor seating, with “aperitivo hour” 4-5 pm, dinner 5-9 pm, Tuesdays-Saturdays.
If you or someone you know would like in-person help figuring out how to make a vaccination appointment, the Greater Seattle Filipino-American SDA Church has an event for you tomorrow (Saturday, April 3rd). 2-4:30 pm at the church (2620 SW Kenyon), in partnership with the city, you can get help registering for an appointment. The church asked us to let you know about the opportunity – just show up!
3:59 PM: Beach Drive is blocked just south of Me-Kwa-Mooks because of a crash investigation. And that’s why a helicopter is in the area. Details to come.
4:02 PM: We have learned at the scene that tbe crash killed a motorcycle rider. The SPD Traffic Collision Investigation Squad is on this way; Beach Drive will be blocked both sides of the park for hours.
4:28 PM: SPD tells us the collision also involved a motor-vehicle driver who was pulling out of a parking space on the street and “didn’t see” the rider before colliding with him. The rider, police say, is a 60-year-old man. He was riding a scooter-type small motorbike.
6:38 PM: Update from police via SPD Blotter:
At approximately 3:20 p.m., the driver of a sedan parked on the east side of Beach Drive Southwest pulled into the lanes of travel to attempt a U-turn. A man driving a motor scooter traveling north on Beach Drive attempted to avoid the car when it pulled out into traffic, but the two collided. Good Samaritans performed CPR on the 61-year-old victim until Seattle Fire Department medics arrived and took over. SFD pronounced the man deceased at the scene.
We’ll be checking back at the investigation scene soon.
7:48 PM: As first noted in comments, the street is open again – we just drove by.
ADDED: Two more details from an early police-report summary: The “sedan” is an Acura, and an evaluation of its driver showed no signs of intoxication/impairment.
We stopped by the Denny International Middle School/Chief Sealth International High School campus today after “Lunch Lady Doree” Fazio-Young (above left, with Aaron Smith) tweeted about the nutrition team’s seasonal decor.
They’ve made things festive for students throughout the year – fall, winter, now spring.
Meantime, an important note for families – after today, with more students returning to campus, this meal site and others around the district will have new hours starting Monday – opening earlier for grab-and-go food pickup, 10:45 am, continuing every weekday until 1:15 pm. (Sites are listed toward the bottom of this page.) The one meal-delivery bus route in West Seattle will only be in operation on Wednesdays
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch today:
ANOTHER CATALYTIC CONVERTER STOLEN: Cole reports, “We had the catalytic converter stolen from our 2009 Kia Sportage last night on Erskine @ Hudson.” As we’ve been noting, this is a type of theft that’s been spiking nationwide, fueled by astronomical prices for a particular metal they use.
LAWN/GARDEN TOOLS STOLEN: Kevin reports this happened after 7 am today near 34th and Morgan, He says the thief was in a black BMW, plate beginning with BDE, and believes they first cased the area yesterday.
11:11 AM: If you are eligible and looking for vaccine, a pop-up clinic tomorrow (Saturday, April 3rd) in West Seattle has openings. The clinic is run by health-care organization Pliable and will be at Neighborhood House High Point (6400 Sylvan Way). Organizers say the BIPOC community is the priority but the overarching goal is to make sure the appointments get filled, so they’re open to all. Register here. Note that they will be administering the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
2:42 PM: Organizers called to tell us this is fully booked.
It’s been a busy week in the West Seattle Jobs Offered section of the WSB Community Forums – 15 new job listings. So this is one of our periodic reminders, in case you didn’t know about this section of our site but are looking for work or looking for workers. Local businesses – West Seattle, White Center, South Park – are welcome to post job listings, free. Go here to see what’s listed; go here to get a login so you can post (not required for reading).
Thanks for the tips and pics! That submarine passed West Seattle before 8 this morning, headed toward Naval Base Kitsap. Same one that passed by going the other way last Friday morning?
6:07 AM: Good morning! Cloudy forecast today, with a high in the 50s.
ROAD WORK .
Delridge project – Last day of this week’s plan – we’ll find out today if the Sylvan Way closure is indeed on for next week, and more.
SW Yancy closure – The closure between Avalon and 28th is because of the housing-construction project and expected to last three more weeks.
Weekend road work – More 9th/Henderson road panels, plus speed humps for South Park – here’s what’s happening where and when.
TRANSIT
Metro is on its regular schedule
The West Seattle Water Taxi is using the smaller Spirit of Kingston again this week
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
375th 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.
Vaccination news tops tonight’s roundup:
VACCINATION SITUATION: An average of 56,000 people are getting vaccinated every day in our state, according to the weekly Department of Health briefing. And supplies are increasing – next week will see 460,000 more doses arrive. The state says the gap is closing between what providers are requesting and what the state is getting. (Here’s the latest detailed vaccine-distribution report.)
NEWEST NUMBERS: Here’s the latest on King County, from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard – today’s cumulative totals:
*88,369 people have tested positive, 302 more than yesterday’s total
*1,466 people have died, 2 more than yesterday’s total
*5,345 people have been hospitalized, 14 more than yesterday’s total
*972,246 people have been tested, 2.290 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 86.373/1,458/5,251/956,675.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 129.5 million cases worldwide, 30.5 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
BACK TO SCHOOLS: The Seattle district and teachers’ union announced a tentative agreement today for getting middle- and high-school students back to some in-person learning as of April 19th.
FREE FOOD ON FRIDAY: Two 2-5 pm food-box events tomorrow – at Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton) and at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th).
LOOKING FOR VACCINE BY PHONE: You can use this hotline – 800-525-0127.
LOOKING FOR VACCINE ONLINE: Try these links:
*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all four of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine (one reader specifically recommends Valley Medical Center), Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator) – you can also follow its tweets for instant notifications
*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
GOT INFO/PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
From the “you asked, so we checked” file: A reader note this morning reminded us that the mayor’s office had announced two weeks ago that the city was ‘developing a plan to reinstate the 72-hour parking ordinance that will be back in effect starting April 1, 2021.” That day has arrived, but no followup announcement ensued, so we asked about the status. The reply came from mayor’s office spokesperson Rachel Schulkin:
The 72-hour parking rule suspension included in the latest COVID-19 Executive Order ended yesterday (3/31/2021). We will not immediately resume issuing citations starting April 1 and will instead have a grace period in which we remind the public about the parking rules.
SPD and SDOT are finalizing an education plan. Typically, when there’s a change, the City has a period of education in which SDOT and SPD work together to get the message out in a variety of ways including social and media relations, coupled with Parking Enforcement “courtesy notices” letting people know about the new requirements and that they are technically in violation. After that period, the City will then start to enforce with citations.
Our question didn’t specifically address people living in vehicles, but the reply addressed that too:
Regarding outreach, the City has implemented a series of programs including SPU Purple Bag Program, SPU Pump Out Pilot Program, Scofflaw Mitigation Work, Safe Park for Vehicles, client assistance with diversion funds to help with vehicle repair and will continue its practice of providing outreach and connecting individuals living in their vehicles to services and shelter through City-contracted Outreach coordinated by the HOPE team.
The city announced the rule’s suspension in March of last year, for two weeks that became 12 months.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Tonight the five-story mixed-use proposal for 9218 18th SW won first-stage Design Review approval on the second try.
In the Southwest Design Review Board‘s first meeting of the year, present were the board’s new chair Scott Rosenstock and members John Cheng and Alan Grainger, along with the project’s assigned city planner David Sachs, and Design Review program manager Lisa Rutzick. The board had told the project team last October to give the Early Design Guidance phase a second try.
ARCHITECT’S PRESENTATION: Presenting from Caron Architecture was principal Radim Blazej, who brought a team including project manager Andrew Kluess. They described the 5-story project as apartments – about 56, with 28 offstreet parking spaces (though none is required) – over commercial space fronting both Delridge and 18th.
Thanks to Aaron Jennings for the photos and report – that “ghost sign” is uncovered on a building undergoing renovations at 5001 Delridge Way SW [map]. King County Assessor records say the building dates back tp 1925. We haven’t found other history yet, but the sign clearly notes it was once home to William Damaske‘s drugstore.
You can find lots of online references to “ghost signs” around the city, like this site; seldom are they as clear, however, as this one! (Here’s a West Seattle example.) If we find out anything more about the Delridge sign, we’ll add to this story.
In last night’s pandemic-news roundup, we mentioned the Seattle Education Association had told its members that an agreement about middle- and high-school in-person learning was close. Now, it’s official – a tentative agreement was just announced. From the news release:
Seattle Education Association and Seattle Public Schools have now reached a tentative agreement to provide in-person learning for grades 6-12 that meets the guidelines of the Governor’s proclamation. The agreed-to schedule does its best to finish this year strong keeping educators and students connected.
Students — in-person and remote learners — begin April 5 for 6-12th grade Special Education Intensive Service Pathways students and April 19 for all other secondary students….
The tentative agreement strives to keep students with their current educators and provides four full days of instruction for all students. Students in secondary schools regardless of learning model will receive synchronous remote classes in the morning four days a week.
In the afternoons, middle and high schools will offer all students both remote and in-person small group and individual instruction and support. Students that select the in-person instructional model will attend class two (2) half days per week. Students enrolled in an intensive service pathway will receive four (4) half days of in-person instruction. K-8 schools will determine whether secondary students receive in-person instruction in the morning or afternoon. Wednesdays will continue to be remote for all students.
More information will be distributed to families by email and on the SPS website. …
This tentative agreement is subject to approval by both SEA members and the school board. SPS will send families an intent to return survey. Families will be asked to select the 100% remote model or hybrid, in-person model for the remainder of the year.
The week of April 12th is the district’s spring break.
Two weekend road-work alerts from SDOT:
HIGHLAND PARK
On Saturday, April 3 and Sunday, April 4, crews will be replacing another set of concrete panels at the intersection of SW Henderson St and 9th Ave SW. This is additional work to what was started last week at this intersection.Some parking will be restricted nearby to allow two lanes of traffic to flow normally past the work zone. Traffic control and parking restrictions will remain in place until early on Monday, April 5, to allow the concrete time to fully harden. This work is weather permitting, and we will share updates if the schedule changes. If possible, we ask you to please plan your weekend travels accordingly to detour around this work and avoid the work areas.
SOUTH PARK
On Saturday, April 3, crews will start installing speed humps in South Park. Crews will install a total of 18 speed humps in the neighborhood over the course of several weekends, starting with installing 3 to 4 of the speed humps this Saturday. The speed humps are being installed as part of the Reconnect West Seattle Home Zone in South Park to discourage speeding and cut-through traffic throughout the neighborhood. Work hours are approximately 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We will put up “no park” signs near the speed hump locations in advance of the construction.
Three weeks ago, we reported that the pier at port-owned Jack Block Park in West Seattle [map] – closed for months because of safety concerns – might need to be rebuilt. Our report included the port’s promise that a survey would be launched to get the community’s thoughts about options. Today, that survey is open – starting here. It’s short, asking how often you visit the park, what you do there, and what you would consider important (or not); a potential new pier and/or new boardwalk are on the list. There’s also an open-ended question about what facilities and features you’d like to see. The survey will be open all month, and the port will come up with a proposal after that. Meantime, though the pier at the 15-acre park remains closed, the rest of the park is open, including the overlook with expansive views of Elliott Bay.
(Lincoln Park photo by Troy Sterk)
Here’s what’s up for the rest of your West Seattle Thursday:
DEMONSTRATION: Scott‘s twice-weekly sign-waving for racial justice continues at 16th/Holden, 4-6 pm. Signs available if you don’t have your own.
9218 18TH SW AT DESIGN REVIEW BOARD: The Southwest Design Review Board meets online at 5 pm, first time this year. It’s the second Early Design Guidance review for a 5-story South Delridge mixed-use project, 9218 18th SW. The design packet and participation/attendance information are all linked here.
RAISBECK AVIATION HIGH SCHOOL BENEFIT: This Highline district school has West Seattle students, and a local parent says everyone’s welcome to participate in the PTSA’s fundraiser. A silent auction is online now here, and tickets for the 7:30 pm live event tonight are here.
HOLY THURSDAY SERVICES: See our Holy Week list of West Seattle churches’ plans by going here.
Are we missing something happening today/tonight? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
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