West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Thanks to commenter Bryan for reporting that the signs came down today on the South Alki beaches affected by a sewer leak from the Harbor West condos on Beach Drive. Seattle Public Utilities confirmed to WSB tonight that “Samples show acceptable levels and in consultation with Public Health-Seattle & King County, Seattle Public Utilities staff have removed the warning signs and reopened the beach. It’s been almost two weeks since first word of the leak.
(Texted photo)
Both outside his California/Charlestown 7-11 and inside, memorials are growing for Victor Henley, who died suddenly on Friday.
(WSB photo)
Thanks to everybody who’s tipped us about this. Victor was much-loved by customers – one person who emailed us described him as “a human that could reach out and make you smile,” His page on the Emmick Family Funeral Home (WSB sponsor) website has a message from his family:
Victor’s celebration of life will be a public event and will take place in West Seattle, the community he loved very much. Our family appreciates the outpouring of kind words and memories of Victor that you have been sharing. The love you have shown is immeasurable; there are no words to describe how special you have made us feel.
Victor was 50 years old.
In our report on this month’s Alki Community Council meeting, we noted a Seattle Parks manager mentioning a problem with “illegal food vendors” at the beach. Some readers wondered why King County Public Health hadn’t done anything about that. Now the agency has, according to an announcement we just received:
A Public Health food inspector found 5 food establishments operating at Alki Beach in Seattle without a valid food establishment permit on Saturday, July 24th and were directed to immediately cease food and beverage services. These establishments include:
Botanas Locas closed July 24, 2021 at 12:20 pm
Chopped N Skewed closed July 24, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Marco Morales Stand closed July 24, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Nieves De Garrafa closed July 24, 2021 at 2:10 pm
Ivonne Pineda’s Stand closed July 24, 2021 at 2:40 pmThese establishments will be allowed to reopen once the person in charge of each business completes the 3-Step Plan Review process to secure a mobile food services permit (which also applies to food carts and stands) per the instructions online at kingcounty.gov/foodsafety/mobile
This came in too late for followup questions tonight but we’ll be pursuing a few tomorrow.
In West Seattle Crime Watch, the topic is bicycle theft:
STOLEN E-BIKE, MINUS BATTERY: Tom‘s Rad City 4, black with orange trim, no battery, was stolen from West 206 Apartment’ cyclone-fence bike cage overnight last night. He says it was last seen there last night; then early this afternoon, he noticed it was gone, and found the cut lock and cut fencing, plus “a box that may have been a package theft from up the street.” A large black aluminum basket, also manufactured by Rad Power Bikes, was mounted on the front of the bike; Tom says it had a dog bed inside.
DON’T BUY A STOLEN BIKE: About the same time Tom emailed us, we got this note from Jay:
Last night I spotted a teenager riding my wife’s bike, which had been stolen from our apartment’s bike storage. I chased him down and verified that it was in fact the stolen bike. After a confrontation and intervention from SPD, I recovered the bike. The owner was unaware that purchasing stolen goods doesn’t give the buyer ownership.
Bike theft, particularly from bike storage areas, is really prevalent in West Seattle right now. Thieves often store bikes for a year or more before selling them, so that the owner isn’t actively looking. This is what happened in my case. The bike was stolen on April 20, 2020, and the person riding it had purchased it from the thief on OfferUp two months ago.
OfferUp is the most popular website for selling stolen goods. A large portion of bikes on the app are stolen. But there is a way for honest buyers to tell if a bike they’re buying is stolen. Bike Index is a site where people register their bikes and report them as stolen. If the buyer had checked, they would have found my wife’s bike there. They could have looked it up by make and model or serial number and then contacted me.
That site’s been mentioned here many times before, but not in the context of checking there before you buy a bike.
Two Washington State Ferries notes this afternoon:
CREW SHORTAGE: WSF says one of the Triangle Route (Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth) ferries is going out of service for at least the next few hours:
Due to a shortage of Coast Guard Documented Crew, the #2 Issaquah will cancel the following sailings on July 26:
3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. from Vashon to Southworth
3:55 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. Southworth to Vashon
4:35 p.m. Fauntleroy to Vashon
(Added: As of 10:15 pm, no official updates from WSF. But the VesselWatch tracker shows the Issaquah back in service.)
CATHLAMET FOLLOWUP: On Saturday, we reported on one of the Triangle Route ferries, M/V Cathlamet, going out of service after a mechanical problem caused a smoky scare.
(WSB photo of Cathlamet and emergency-response boats, seen Saturday from Fauntleroy dock)
On Sunday, Cathlamet was seen headed from Vashon to the WSF maintenance facility at Eagle Harbor. Today we asked WSF a few followup questions. Spokesperson Justin Fujioka tells WSB that Cathlamet was scheduled to go there for regularly scheduled maintenance starting today anyway. “That maintenance layup was scheduled for four weeks through the weekend of Aug. 21-22. It is unknown yet if Saturday’s incident will extend this scheduled layup period.” As for what went wrong, Fujioka says it was a problem “with the clutch on the #1 end reduction gear overheating, which caused smoke, but no fire. There were no injuries reported.” That is the same part that had trouble July 9th, taking Cathlamet out of service for about six hours.
2:41 PM: Police are responding to a report of a driver hitting a pole, with downed wires, at 37th/Charlestown, and the City Light outage map shows 123 customers out as a result. Updates to come.
3:10 PM: We found the pole and wires, but no police and no car. There was no SFD callout so apparently no injuries.
3:38 PM: Thanks to Carolyn for texting to report that the Genesee/Avalon signal is flashing red.
4:36 PM: For some reason police have just been re-dispatched to this; this time the dispatch described the vehicle as a “white flatbed crane.”
4:45 PM: Commenter Linda, in the neighborhood, says the vehicle in question has stayed on scene since the incident 2+ hours ago.
5:17 PM: Commenters report the power’s back, and SCL’s map says the outage is down to 21 customers.
10:34 PM: Those 21 customers are still out.
After more than four months, SW Thistle east of Delridge has finally reopened. This is one of the side streets that’s had work done as part of the repaving/utility project in preparation for next year’s conversion of Metro Route 120 to the RapidRide H Line. But now there’ll be another east-west pinch point – SW Trenton was scheduled to close east of Delridge as soon as Thistle reopened. The southbound Delridge closure is also moving southward, to Trenton-Henderson (with SB Delridge reopening Holden-Trenton), but that hadn’t happened yet when we checked Thistle at noontime; we’ll be making a full corridor check later this afternoon,
Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip – transient orcas are back in central Puget Sound, southbound, passing the mouth of Elliott Bay at last report. She says they’re mid-channel. Let us know if you see them! (Note: Most-recent updates are in comments below.)
(Added: WSB photo)
Seattle Parks says the Delridge wading pool – the only one scheduled to be open in West Seattle on Mondays – is closed today for repairs. Parks says it needed “an emergency concrete repair that requires a day to set.” They expect it to reopen tomorrow. If your kid(s) need somewhere else to cool off, Highland Park Spraypark is open until 8 pm as usual (1100 SW Cloverdale).
(Terminal 5 and vicinity, photographed by Long Bach Nguyen)
One major event of West Seattle significance is on the calendar for tonight: As previewed here earlier this month, it’s the next step in reviewing/updating Seattle’s policies regarding maritime and industrial lands. (See background on the process here.) West Seattle is home to a major stretch of those lands, from Terminal 5 and Harbor Island south along the Duwamish River. Before changing policies, the city has to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; tonight, it’s having what’s called a “scoping meeting” as part of the process, to determine what should be studied regarding four alternatives (including “no action”) for proposed changes. Here are three concepts they’re looking at:
But first, the question is – what should be considered before changes are made – and should changes be made at all? Tonight’s online meeting is at 6 pm; the participation/viewing link is on this page. Whether or not you attend the meeting, once you’re ready to comment, you can do that by email at PCD_Industry_And_Maritime_Strategy@Seattle.gov by August 9th. You can also offer input via this survey, which includes maps and toplines on the potential alternatives.
One of West Seattle’s newest businesses invites you to an open house Thursday night (July 29th). It should be a beautiful evening to enjoy the newest Lake Washington Physical Therapy (WSB sponsor) location at 1309 Harbor Avenue SW. Mark Bouma and Laura Bouma lead the first business located in what’s now called the Denali building, across from Don Armeni Boat Ramp.
Come and celebrate Lake Washington Physical Therapy’s newest location opening in West Seattle! Stop by and meet the Physical Therapists and staff for a tour of the gym and rooftop views! Raffle Prizes will be awarded such as apparel, accessories, and a free golf-swing analysis by Laura Bouma!
Food and beverages too. The open house is set for 6-8 pm Thursday.
6:03 AM: Good morning, Today’s forecast – more sunshine and an 80-ish high.
ROAD WORK
Delridge project – Sometime today, SDOT says, southbound Delridge between Holden and Trenton will reopen – as will Thistle and Henderson east of Delridge – and then the contractor will close southbound Delridge between Trenton and Henderson, as well as closing Trenton east of Delridge.
SW Genesee – Genesee is scheduled to continue as one lane, alternating, between 26th and 30th, because of vehicles working on the nearby “pond.” The announcement said this should wrap up early this week (we’ll check on it later today).
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules – except for the South Delridge reroutes. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations.
For ferries, be aware of possible impacts from the M/V Cathlamet trouble on Saturday, though as of very early this morning, it appeared three boats were on the run (Issaquah, Kittitas, Sealth). Watch and @wsferries for updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
490th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are the views of other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras remain in use; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends; the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available for some categories of drivers.)
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 draw/swing bridges opening for boats or barges? See the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed. (1st Ave. South Bridge openings also are tweeted on @wsdot_traffic.)
See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also 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.
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