West Seattle, Washington
14 Thursday
(WSB photos)
2:58 PM: Arriving at Don Armeni Boat Ramp to check on the aftermath of the boat rescue, we happened onto this – a big Seattle Police deployment gathered there, at least 10 vehicles plus the Mobile Precinct.
Police tell us this is in part because of a social-media rumor we’ve gotten a couple questions about – an alleged huge party at Alki Beach after 6 pm tonight, being organized on TikTok. Officers were gathering at Don Armeni for roll call and planning to fan out after that, though we subsequently found extra SPD vehicles already at the beach, too.
They said they’re also tasked with responding to street racing and other stunt driving, if it happens.
7:48 PM: Just drove Harbor and Alki Avenues to see how things were going. Definitely a crowd gathering. Police have spread out from Harbor/Spokane to 63rd/Alki, pulled over at intervals with rollers going, on foot too. Also still there, the special-purpose vehicles we noted earlier (the white truck now has a mast up with a camera). We’ll be checking back in another hour or so. (We’ll have a separate update late tonight – watch our Twitter feed for updates sooner.)
From Mike:
Our Mazda 2016 CX-5 (metallic blue with silver roof rails) was stolen out of our backyard during the night on 5/28. The location is 30th and Trenton.
License #: BEN 8375
Police Report #: 21-132069
If you see it, call 911.
UPDATE: Found.
1:29 PM: Big land and sea response to the Seacrest vicinity for a vessel in trouble: “21-foot gillnetter drifting into a barge, engine’s dead, 1 person on board” is the dispatch.
(Added: Photo sent by Brooke)
1:32 PM: Arriving crews say this is about 600 feet offshore and they’re going to try to tow the fishing boat closer in. They say the boat is not taking on water so it’s not a life-safety issue, and they’re downsizing the response.
2:34 PM: Went to the area for a status report, but found no SFD units on shore. Did find – unrelated – a huge SPD presence at Don Armeni; separate story up next.
Thanks to everyone who sends info if and when they find dumped-and-likely-stolen items, from bicycles to backpacks to mementos. There are reunions – like this one. The finder in this case wasn’t a WSB reader,, but when she told someone what she had found and that she hoped to get it back to whoever was missing it, WSB was suggested. After we published her report and photos – finding a bin of keepsakes and documents near West Seattle Stadium/Golf Course after she had visited to coach at a track meet – some readers found an obituary that almost certainly was related. One of the people named as survivors contacted us Friday, and we forwarded his info to finder Karen, who emailed this morning to report: “Success!! I called Harry Pierce yesterday and he picked up the bin last night. Their shed had been broken into and this was one of the items stolen. He was very grateful, as the memorabilia was irreplaceable.”
In West Seattle Crime Watch – two parking lots hit by multiple car prowls:
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL: This is from a case bulletin circulated by Southwest Precinct police:
On 5/20/2021, the above-pictured suspects broke out the passenger window of the victim’s parked vehicle at West Seattle HS (3000 California Ave SW). The suspects took the victim’s wallet, which contained the victim’s driver’s license, cards, and a check for $20k. The suspects were caught on cell phone camera prowling multiple vehicles in the parking lot. Upon realizing that they were being filmed, they fled the parking lot in suspect vehicles 1 and 2. There appeared to be a third suspect in the driver’s seat of suspect vehicle 2.
If you are aware of any other incidents involving these suspects or vehicles, or are able to identify either suspect, please email lauren.laumbattus@seattle.gov
The second vehicle, not shown, was a black 2008 Pontiac G8, plate starting with BLU.
WESTHAVEN APARTMENTS: The photo is from PP:
That’s one of three cars they reported Friday were hit by car prowlers in the complex (2201 SW Holden).
(Friday photo by Jerry Simmons)
The holiday weekend begins!
BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Alki Volleyball Association‘s Adult Open, 9 am-6 pm.
SALE DAY! Saturday means yard sales. Got some listed in the WSB Community Forums’ Freebies-Trades-Sales section:
-Arbor Heights (listing)
-Highland Park (listing)
EXPANSION SALE: As reported here last night, Alair Gift Shop (3270 California SW) is taking over the Coastal Surf Boutique space next door, starting with a sale today. Opens at 11 am.
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: The home of West Seattle’s history is open to the public again – noon-4 pm. (61st/Stevens)
WEEKEND WINE: Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) is open 1-6 pm for wine-tasting, glasses, and bottle sales. (5910 California SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE: 1:46 pm, one more chance to see a really low tide (-3.4 feet this time). Beach naturalists are at Constellation and Lincoln Parks for your questions, 11:45 am-3:45 pm.
ALKI BEACH FIRE RINGS: The park’s returned rings officially reopen for use at 4 pm today, according to Seattle Parks.
Something to add? Text us – 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Tonight’s pandemic headlines:
KING COUNTY NUMBERS: We start with the daily stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:
*109,380 people have tested positive, 184 more than yesterday’s total
*1,591 people have died, 3 more than yesterday’s total
*6,139 people have been hospitalized, 10 more than yesterday’s total
Now our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:
*1,436,146 people have received one dose (73.6% of everyone 12+)
*1,193,113 people have received both doses (61.1% of everyone 12+)
One week ago, the first three totals were 108,103/1,572/6,081, and the vaccination totals were 1,383,084/1,102,810.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 169.4 million cases, 3,523,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
ANOTHER POP-UP CLINIC: Announced today – next Thursday (June 3rd), 11 am-3 pm, people 18+ are welcome to get vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor). Make an appointment here.
SECONDD-TO-LAST SATURDAY FOR WEST SEATTLE HUB: As announced last week, the city will close West Seattle’s vaccination hub after June 9th. So tomorrow’s your second-to-last Saturday to get vaccinated at the hub, open 9 am-5:30 pm at 2801 SW Thistle.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
10:47 PM: Seattle Fire is on the way to a possible residential fire in the 8400 block of Delridge Way. Updates to come.
10:52 PM: The fire is out (“tapped”) and SFD is downsizing the response. No injuries reported.
Alair Gift Shop – the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s latest Business of the Year – is expanding, taking over the space next door. Proprietor Shandon Graybeal made this announcement tonight:
A year and a half ago, I was welcoming (Coastal) as our new neighbor at Alair. I was so excited to have those smiling girls next door, and have another place on our block for y’all to shop.
Recently, I got a call from our amazing landlord that our neighbors at Coastal made the difficult decision to close their doors permanently. We know that making this decision probably wasn’t easy and we are sad for them and wish them the very best with the new dreams they will start building now. You can follow along with them as they make any announcements and let you know what’s next for their brand.
While we are sad about the loss, we also get to celebrate the future- a future we weren’t sure we would have many times over the past year.
So, we are excited to announce that we are taking over the space next door! This is all very new, and we will make announcements as we figure things out and as we start the expansion of our storefront into their current space. For now, I can say for certain that there will still be clothing offered on that side of the building for everyone: women, men, and kiddos!
The loss of any business is devastating for our community, but I also think that nobody takes these decisions lightly. I hope you join me in wishing Coastal the very best and following along with what’s next for them.
Step one for us: we are opening the doors over there starting tomorrow for a huge clearance sale. We are selling pretty much everything at 50% off and will continue to announce open hours as we figure it all out. So tomorrow at 11, the doors will be open! Hope to see you there!
Alair and Coastal are at 3270 California SW. Coastal, which moved there from Alki in fall 2019, has been closed for some months; we have had an inquiry out to its proprietor for a while asking about its status, but to date, no reply.
7:43 PM: Just happened onto a traffic-stopping protest at California/Fauntleroy. Protesters have circled cars to block the intersection. Police are here telling them to move. The protesters are yelling about housing affordability. (Added) Looking at their signage, it’s a police-defunding demonstration.
7:50 PM: They’ve moved on and the intersection is open again.
8:02 PM: This is the City Council legislation the protest was about. It’s a police-funding bill that’s been debated for months; it’s due for a vote at the Tuesday afternoon council meeting (here’s the agenda). It basically would cut $5 million from SPD’s budget though in numerous discussions there has been some contention SPD doesn’t need the money anyway because it’s spending less on salaries after so many departures, but SPD contends it needs the money for other things.
That’s a photo sent recently by John, showing a beaver along Longfellow Creek, which parallels much of Delridge Way. In some areas along the creek, beavers are just part of the ecosystem – but Seattle Public Utilities says their work is posing a potential problem in one area, and is pursuing this project, announced in a recent Land Use Information Bulletin (note that the same notice covers the West Seattle proposal and a similar one elsewhere in the city):
Beavers have recently constructed dams immediately upstream of the pedestrian footbridge over Longfellow Creek … and dams in SPU’s Meadowbrook Pond Stormwater Detention and Flood Control Facility in the Meadowbrook neighborhood.
The dams may lead to localized flooding of nearby residential properties during the rainy season. This proposal would deploy beaver dam management interventions at the dams at both sites. Specifically, the proposed work would install four pond levelers by notching the dams and then installing exclusion fences. The fencing would extend 16-feet upstream from the top of the dam. Notching assists in
preventing beavers from detecting stream flow through the dam and the fencing prevents them from effectively plugging the notch.These interventions are intended to control water levels and flows in Longfellow and Thornton creeks and are preferred alternatives to relocating the beavers or removing or breaching an established beaver dam that maintains hydrology of a nearby wetland or pond. The proposed design provides unimpeded fish passage while preventing beavers from constructing effective dams at the pedestrian \ bridge at the Longfellow Creek site and in Meadowbrook Pond at the Thornton Creek site.
The Project includes the following major work elements:
1. Creating a notch in the beaver dam
2. Installation of metal t-posts and welded-wire fencing with a mesh size of 4 inches by 6 inches to create a box in the notch of the beaver dam.
3. Extend the wire fencing box 16-feet upstream from the beaver dam.
This is in/near the 2500 block of SW Graham [map], according to the city notice. What the city published, specifically, is a Determination of Non-Significance, meaning it doesn’t believe a formal environmental-impact study is needed for this. Here’s the full-length “checklist” document, below and here:
You can comment by June 3rd by emailing Kevin Buckley at SPU, kevin.buckley@seattle.gov; you can also formally appeal the Determination of Non-Significance, deadline June 10th, as explained in the notice.
3:56 PM: You might have guessed this already, but if not, the helicopter’s here for the traditional holiday-weekend-getaway-day flyover over the Fauntleroy ferry dock. No extreme backup, though, at last report from Washington State Ferries.
4:17 PM: Shortly after we published that, WSF tweeted that the Fauntleroy terminal now has a 90-minute wait. The helicopter, meantime, has moved on.
(WSB photo – Delridge/Orchard earlier this week)
Just in, the weekly preview of what’s next for the Delridge repaving/utilities work in advance of RapidRide H Line‘s launch next year. Crews will be off Memorial Day. Here’s the highlight list after that:
Final channelization and lane striping is beginning!
*Trucks will complete this work at night over the course of the next month starting at SW Dakota St and moving south
*Parking restrictions will be in place as a result of this workOverlay paving between the West Seattle High Bridge and SW Dakota St is complete
Intersection upgrades at SW Orchard St and Delridge Way SW are complete
Roadwork paving and electrical upgrades between SW Holden St and SW Thistle St continue
Intersection upgrades at SW Barton Pl and Delridge Way SW continue for several weeks
*SW Barton Pl and the 21st Ave SW slip lane from Delridge Way SW will remain closed during this work
Though SDOT had told us SW Thistle would reopen east of Delridge by now, that’s not happening: “The work has fallen behind and the east side of the roadway intersection remains closed. However, we still anticipate wrapping up this work soon – there are just a few outstanding tasks remaining.” As for other details – here’s the complete preview.
Thanks to Stacy for the photo and tip! Between now and 2 pm, the Seattle Fire Department’s Mobile Vaccination Team has a pop-up on Alki, just south of the bathhouse. We didn’t get advance word of this but as we’ve mentioned a couple times, they will be at two local brewpubs later this afternoon/evening.
The King County Assessor’s Office says two more areas of West Seattle will get property-valuation notices soon. These are valuations as of January 1st of this year, which will be used for the tax bills that property owners will get next year. The Assessor’s Office announcement says, “Median residential property values rose by 9.2% in Fauntleroy, and by 8% in North Central West Seattle,” adding, “Data indicates that home sale prices and overall home values have risen sharply in most King County neighborhoods, despite the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. No one knew what to expect a little over a year ago when this public health emergency began. Now it is clear that a primary impact on property values has been caused by homeowners not wanting to sell at this time, leading to reduced supply and big price and value increases.” (You don’t have to wait for the postcard to arrive by mail – if your new valuation has been finalized, it’ll show up online; one way to look it up is to use the King County Parcel Viewer to check – once you’ve gotten to the page for your address, click through to the “property detail” page.)
The photo and report are from Peter:
In case anyone is missing a float from yesterday’s weather, one has washed up at the very north end of the new seawall at the foot of SW Jacobsen, where the wall meets the rockery.
(For smaller lost-and-found items, we have this section of the WSB Community Forums.)
(Peekaboo rainbow, photographed Thursday by Susanna Moore)
The holiday weekend is in sight! But first …
LOW-LOW TIDE: At 12:58 pm the tide will be way out, to -3.9 feet, again today, before the low tides start getting higher. Today volunteer Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists will be out at Constellation and Lincoln Parks 11 am-3 pm.
NEED FOOD? Grab-and-go drive-up/ride-up distribution outside Highland Park Elementary, 2-5 pm.
GET VACCINATED AT A BREWPUB: A city Mobile Vaccination Team will be at The Good Society (2701 California SW) 3-5 pm and Future Primitive (9832 14th SW) 5:45-8 pm. All three vaccines. Free beer or non-alcoholic beverage for those who get vaccinated.
(This morning’s sunrise, photographed by Lynn Hall)
SUNRISE/SUNSET: Just a few weeks until the shortest nights of the year. Tonight’s sunset is at 8:55 pm; tomorrow’s sunrise, 5:17 am.
Family and friends will gather this summer to celebrate the life of Brian R. Casey. Here’s the remembrance they’re sharing with the community:
Brian Richard Casey
June 9, 1939 ~ November 24, 2020Brian Richard Casey of Seattle passed away in his sleep and at peace on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, two days before Thanksgiving, from natural causes at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife Peggy and their three children, Karen (Terry Burke), Chris (Lisa Casey), and Kelly (Dan Steen), as well as four grandchildren, Sean, Matthew, Bonnie, and Tyler.
Brian was born June 9, 1939, in Burns, Oregon, to Margaret and John Casey. They moved to Portland, Oregon, when Brian was four and lived there until he was married in 1963.
He attended Central Catholic high school, and went on to the University of Santa Clara and University of Oregon law school. He also became an Eagle Scout while in high school.
Brian practiced law for 10 years at his father’s law firm before going into sales while working with Lou Tice of Pacific Institute in Seattle. Peggy and Brian moved their three children to Seattle and gradually phased out of Pacific Institute in 1994. In November, 1994 with permission of Archbishop Thomas Murphy of the Archdiocese of Seattle, set up Good News Ministries of Seattle, a nonprofit charitable corporation for purposes of facilitating parish mission work throughout the country.
He wrote a book, ”Our Walk in His Footsteps,” and made recordings of his parish sessions. He also served on the board of regents for the University of Portland. Brian had been growing in his spiritual life for quite a few years when he began to feel the Lord calling him into full ministry.
There will be a Celebration of Life in Brian’s memory on Friday, July 16th at 11:30 a.m. It is located at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 7000 35th Avenue SW.
Then after the service, there will be a gathering at Christo’s on Alki, 2508 Alki Avenue SW. It starts at 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. We will serve pizza, salad, and drinks (2 tickets for 2 free drinks of beer/wine only). We will post the last-minute details of that special event and burial-site information as we get closer to that date.
Please join us to celebrate the life of Brian R. Casey.
To share your memories of Brian with his friends & family, please visit his Online Memorial: emmickfunerals.com/obituary/Brian-Casey
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
6:03 AM: Good morning. Still on our way to a sunny holiday weekend, says the forecast, but still some cloudiness today.
ROAD WORK UPDATES
Delridge project – This week’s plan includes work closing the west side of the intersection closure at Delridge/Barton/Henderson; we’re expecting the weekly update later today.
SW Yancy – Still closed west of 28th SW because of drainage/utility work related to construction.
FERRIES/BUSES, WITH HOLIDAY PREVIEW
Regular schedules today. (Watch @kcmetrobus for word of any bus cancellations, @wsferries for any major WSF changes.) The West Seattle Water Taxi will run on a reduced schedule Memorial Day – see it here; Metro will be on the Sunday schedule.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
432nd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are the views of other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: 20th week for automated enforcement cameras; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends, when the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available for some categories of drivers.)
Here’s a low-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:
Are bridges opening for boats or barges? Check 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.
(updated) Saturday at 4 pm, the recently returned Alki fire rings officially open for the season. Many nights in the meantime, beach fires have led to SPD/SFD responses. One earlier this week ended romantically, the Southwest Precinct reports:
At 2310 hrs, we performed a half-walking half-rolling PA announcement along the beach area to notify park-goers of the parks closing. All went well and the beach cleared as expected.
One beach fire was allowed to remain for a short period after closing as to not interrupt an in-progress marriage proposal. There were approximately 10 people in attendance and candles were added for romantic effect. The planners were quick to solicit police permission to remain after park close and promptly left after the ceremony was concluded. The would-be fiancé gave an affirmative response to the proposer’s inquiry and all rejoiced. Police provided a congratulatory PA announcement and we promptly cleared the area.
Congratulations to the future spouses!
Big day in pandemic news:
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: The average number of new cases each day is down 64 percent from the peak of the most recent surge, said Dr. Jeff Duchin. “Incidence rates among all groups are decreasing. … We’re moving in the right direction but not down as far as we want to be.” The B.117 variant remains the most common variant detected in our state – which means “the viruses out there are better at spreading person to person among the unvaccinated.” If you’re not vaccinated, you’re at “significant risk,” he said – higher risk than you were a year ago. See the briefing video here.
NEWEST NUMBERS: As for the exact numbers … here’s the update from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*109,196 people have tested positive, 251 more than yesterday’s total
*1,588 people have died, 10 more than yesterday’s total
*6,129 people have been hospitalized, 9 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the three totals we are now tracking were 107,871/1,566/6,072.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health dashboard.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 168.7 million cases worldwide, 33.2 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
BREWPUB POP-UPS: One in West Seattle and one in White Center Friday afternoon/evening.
OTHER VACCINATION OPPORTUNITIES: Use this lookup. Or call 833-VAX-HELP.
NEED FOOD? Grab-n-go distribution tomorrow at Highland Park Elementary.
CITY’S PLAN FOR FEDERAL RELIEF MONEY: Here’s what was announced today; for a few more details, go here.
GOT INFO/PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Three items in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight – first, two cars to watch for:
30TH SW: From Austin:
Please keep an eye out.
My mom’s green 4-door Honda Accord was stolen from 8800 block of 30th AVE SW Wednesday afternoon between 3-6 pm.
Forest green Honda Accord LX 1997 LIC# 705-HYN
Any information or if you see it, call 911.
SPD incident # is 2021-129716.
45TH/ADMIRAL: From Halina:
We need help locating our 2017 White Volkswagen Alltrack (Station Wagon) plate #BGC6085 (has a Seattle University Alumni plate holder).
We parked across the street from our house (on 45th Ave SW) last night at 5:20 pm between Admiral Way and Lander Street. Around 4 pm this afternoon we noticed our car was missing… There is construction on our street but we were parked well outside of the no parking zone. We called over 10 towing companies and the impound contact numbers listed on the street signs but it has not been impounded. We also connected with the site contacts for the two construction sites on 45th ave – both indicated they did not have any vehicles towed.
We really appreciate any information you may have to share, and your help keeping an eye out for our car – thank you!!
Email: halinamoran@gmail.com
SPD incident # is 2021-130545.
SWAT STANDOFF FOLLOWUP: Charges are now filed against the man arrested early Monday after an hours-long standoff at a house across from Lincoln Park. 39-year-old Kevin H. Harris is charged with four felonies – unlawful imprisonment, 4th-degree assault, harassment, and 3rd-degree malicious mischief, all with the extra label “domestic violence.” The charging documents alleging that Harris threatened his father and kept him from leaving the house and calling for help includes a note that prosecutors thought the initial $7,500 bail was too low:
Bail Request: The State regrets the decision of the Honorable District Court Judge Lisa Paglisotti on the Investigation Calendar to set bail in the amount of $7,500. The State had requested $25,000 based on the vulnerability of the defendant’s elderly and understandably frightened parents. His father is particularly vulnerable due to physical disability. After the offenses in this case, the defendant refused to come out for police for 6 hours. Under these circumstances, the current bail appears disproportionately low compared to the substantial likelihood that the defendant will commit a future act of violence against his parents, and that he will interfere with the administration of justice.
The jail register shows Harris is still there, and that his bail remains set at $7,500.
This afternoon’s low-low tide was the second-lowest of the summer – out -3.9 feet, and it’ll be matched tomorrow. Christopher Boffoli sent the first three photos from Constellation Park (Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint). That includes marine life revealed by the receding waters.
These are of course the reasons to tread lightly – many creatures on and between the rocks.
Constellation Park is also one of the two places in West Seattle where you’ll find volunteer Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists. But you can appreciate the low-low tide anywhere along the shore – even the heart of Alki Beach:
That photo’s from Theresa Arbow-O’Connor. Tomorrow’s low-low tide, -3.9 feet again, is at 12:58 pm, and the naturalists will be out at Constellation and Lincoln Parks 11 am-3 pm.
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