West Seattle, Washington
10 Wednesday
(Photo sent anonymously from south of Alki Point)
Thanks for the photos! Fog on the water this morning hinted at what might be on the way – rain.
(Photo by James Bratsanos)
The sky cleared up today, and sunshine’s in the forecast for tomorrow too, but what the National Weather Service calls “a weak front” arrives tomorrow night, with a chance of rain persisting through the weekend.
(Photo by Gene Pavola)
Not only has it been drier than usual – we’ve had many days with warmer-than-normal temperatures, too, like today, with 88 for a high, nine degrees above usual.
Tomorrow afternoon, as previewed here, the Sound Transit Board is expected to adopt a realignment plan – potentially delaying West Seattle light rail. 
Supporters of a transit alternative – a gondola system – have been trying to convince ST to seriously consider it as an alternative for the West Seattle spur of the system. They say a gondola line, which they call West Seattle SkyLink, could be built faster and cheaper than light rail between SODO and The Junction. So now they’re collecting signatures on an online petition with this request:
We ask Sound Transit to immediately commission gondola experts to conduct a technical engineering study on using a gondola as the West Seattle connection to the Link light rail spine.
We further ask the Sound Transit Board to use the results of the study to compare the gondola to light rail alternatives in reaching a determination on the best way to connect West Seattle to Link.
The gondola concept has been discussed for a few years, but the organized campaign under the name West Seattle SkyLink really revved up around the first of the year; we first talked with advocates in January. ST says it considered gondolas (see page 35) while planning ST3; SkyLink supporters think the transit agency should take another look. If you’re interested in signing their petition, see it here.
6:47 PM: Another crash on West Marginal Way – initially dispatched as a driver hitting a tree. Police have told dispatch that they have to close one lane in each direction. The crash is reported to be in the 5400 block.
7:35 PM: Response vehicles are blocking the southbound outside lane there. No traffic backup.
No changes of note in the second round of primary-election results, announced this afternoon. All local races still have the same two leaders as last night. Here are the full results from King County Elections, which has counted ballots from 19 percent of King County voters, 21 percent of Seattle voters, so far, and will continue daily counts until the election is certified:
MAYOR
Bruce Harrell – 39,173 – 38.02%
M. Lorena González – 29,467 – 28.60%
Colleen Echohawk – 8,872 – 8.61%
Jessyn Farrell – 7,752 – 7.52%
Arthur K. Langlie – 6,120 – 5.94%
Casey Sixkiller – 3,678 – 3.57%
Andrew Grant Houston – 2,570 – 2.49%
James Donaldson – 1,679 – 1.63%
Lance Randall – 1,525 – 1.48%
Clinton Bliss – 928 – 0.90%
Bobby Tucker – 244 – 0.24%
Omari Tahir-Garrett – 233 – 0.23%
Stan Lippmann – 220 – 0.21%
Henry C. Dennison – 213 – 0.21%
Don L. Rivers – 123 – 0.12%
CITY ATTORNEY
Ann Davison – 34,523 – 34.92%
Pete Holmes – 32,285 – 32.66%
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy – 31,734 – 32.10%
CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8
Teresa Mosqueda – 52,862 – 54.99%
Kenneth Wilson – 17,485 – 18.19%
Kate Martin – 12,018 – 12.50%
Paul Felipe Glumaz – 5,495 – 5.72%
Alexander White – 1,482 – 1.54%
Bobby Lindsey Miller – 1,245 – 1.30%
Jesse James – 1,225 – 1.27%
George Freeman – 1,036 – 1.08%
Jordan Elizabeth Fisher – 1,002 – 1.04%
Alex Tsimerman – 613 – 0.64%
Brian Fahey – 530 – 0.55%
CITY COUNCIL POSITION 9
Sara Nelson – 42,841 – 42.78%
Nikkita Oliver – 35,082 – 35.03%
Brianna K. Thomas – 14,127 – 14.11%
Corey Eichner – 4,066 – 4.06%
Lindsay McHaffie – 1,767 – 1.76%
Rebecca L. Williamson – 1,053 – 1.05%
Xtian Gunther – 818 – 0.82%
COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Dow Constantine – 141,289 – 53.64%
Joe Nguyen – 78,173 – 29.68%
Bill Hirt – 30,528 – 11.59%
Goodspaceguy – 7,801 – 2.96%
Johnathon Crines – 4,314 – 1.64 %
COUNTY PROP 1 (“BEST STARTS FOR KIDS”)
Approved – 157,953 – 59.28%
Rejected – 108,521 – 40.72%
County Executive Dow Constantine was the main champion of the measure, so we asked him about it during our interview last night in Georgetown:
As of the 6 pm check tonight, 32 percent of King County ballots had been received; 39 percent of Seattle ballots are in.
(SPD photo from High Point Night Out event last night)
Though National Night Out is usually on the first Tuesday in August (here’s our coverage from last night), some have chosen other nights for parties. That includes Westwood Village, which is teaming with Seattle Police for a Night Out event one week from tomorrow, 6-8 pm Thursday, August 12th. From the WWV announcement:
To promote police-community partnerships, members of the Seattle Police Department will distribute free giveaways to event attendees during Westwood Village’s National Night Out event, held on the north side of the shopping center in the parking lot near Bed Bath & Beyond. There will also be a live DJ and activities for children, including a face painter, balloon twister, and a kids chalk area where children can make their very own chalk masterpieces. This event is free and open to the public; no pre-registration is required.
The center is at 2600 SW Barton.
Three reader reports:
STOLEN PICKUP: From Brian:
Stolen: Green 1996 GMC Sonoma pickup last night – August 3. WA license: C19646W. It was parked on the corner of SW Beach Dr. / SW Carroll St. next to La Rustica restaurant.
The truck has a few more dents than this picture shows, has a cracked windshield, and there is a lot of paint splattered on tailgate.
Call 911 if you see it.
CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFT: From Benjamin: “Just reporting another cat stolen, off of my Honda Element near the Junction at 45th and Genesee; taken sometime last weekend.”
CC THEFT ATTEMPT: From Josh:
We’re just north of the intersection of SW 109th and 26th Ave SW. Somebody pulled up at noon and started cutting our neighbor’s cat out in broad daylight. I called the cops; they drove away without being caught (typical story…) but they were driving a white Chevy Equinox with a bright pink, large, Seahawks sticker on the back. 2 guys, one guy had a darker complexion with braided hair, white shirt, BRIGHT yellow shoes, The other guy was a white guy, had jeans and green shirt. This is the first in our neighborhood but I’m sure it won’t be the last.Thought you could post this and see if anyone has seen the same two guys.
(WSB June photo of soon-to-be-removed seawall)
We reported in coverage of last month’s Morgan Community Association meeting that Seattle Parks was close to choosing a contractor for the Lowman Beach Park project that will remove the seawall and tennis court and restore a more-natural shoreline. Announced today, the contractor is McClung Construction of Buckley, awarded a $1.2 million contract, according to Parks’ project manager Janice Liang. They’ll start mobilizing in early September, which means partial closure of the park; Parks says that “includes beach access, tennis court and trail access. Public access to a portion of the lawn and playground area will be maintained.” The failing seawall used to continue across the south half of the park’s shore, but that part was removed in the 1990s; the new work will not only expand the sandy beach area, but will also daylight part of Pelly Creek. (added) Construction is expected to last at least eight months.
Thanks for the tip! The Junction Plaza Park kinetic sculpture’s new wood framing has caught some attention. We asked Lora Radford at the West Seattle Junction Association. She says it’s related to the ongoing renovations at Alaska House, the apartment building whose south-facing wall it abuts – painting and other work is planned for the building, so this was done to protect the sculpture. In case you’re new – the sculpture, by local artist Troy Pillow, was installed and dedicated in 2016.
We have a followup this morning on a West Seattle Crime Watch reader report from Tuesday. Patricia reported that her lime-green Kia Soul was stolen by a burglar who broke into her home (in north Westwood) and took her keys, among other things.
This morning – her car turned up … outside her home!
Patricia’s wife explained in a text that they had quickly canceled cards and changed locks on their home and remaining car after Tuesday’s break-in and theft. Then early today, the stolen car turned up on their security camera, as they heard someone trying their door:
We were a little nervous going to bed on Tuesday. We made sure our phones had volume on and loud. When burglar came back, the Ring notification woke us up and we called 911. Police came within 5 minutes and were able to catch the guy. He was down the cul-de-sac, rifling through another car. Police saw his shadow and gave pursuit. We were shocked to say the least, that he came back in Trish’s car, essentially returning the car to us. After the police arrested him, we cleaned out Trish’s car. (Lots of junk he acquired in a day.)
By the way, for those who ask about this sometimes – the preliminary police report says security-camera video from both incidents is among the evidence factoring into the arrest. We’re working to find out more about the suspect and will add that when we have it.
SIDE NOTE: Police say a similar incident happened in Seaview this morning – a burglar broke into a home, stole keys, and took a car (hours after the above arrest, so not the same person). We haven’t heard from the victim in that case and don’t have a description of the vehicle but will publish a separate report if any of that comes in.
(Tuesday photo by Robin Sinner)
Reminders of what’s happening in the hours ahead:
CITY LIGHT PROJECT MEETING: Noon today online, Seattle City Light offers a community briefing about the next big underground-improvement project, in the Brace Point area, as previewed here. Register to get the link by going here.
FLUTES IN THE FOREST: Free outdoor concert in Schmitz Park (enter from Admiral/Stevens), 4-5 pm – details in our calendar listing.
(corrected) AT ADMIRAL PUB: Tom Hutyler, best known as “the voice of the Mariners” at their home stadium, performs at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), from 6 pm to 9 pm, “Americana and all your favorite classic tunes.”
BETTER PERFORMANCE WITH BEMER: Second day of three-day special event at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) – come early for 6:15 pm group run and try it out!
OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm signups, 8:30 pm performances for open-mic night at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW).
Got something for our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
In case you haven’t seen these in our West Seattle Event Calendar, two community cleanups are coming up, organized by your neighbors:
SATURDAY AT ALKI: Join Jessica‘s monthly cleanup at the beach, 10 am-1 pm Saturday (August 7th), whatever time you can give. Meetup location and RSVP info are in our calendar listing.
WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE BIKE TRAIL: One week later, on Saturday, August 14th, join Conrad and neighbors cleaning along the bike/pedestrian trail under the West Seattle Bridge, 11 am-1 pm. More details in our calendar listing; you can RSVP online here.
6:02 AM: Good morning, After a thunderous Tuesday night, today’s forecast calls for a dry day. Thanks to Greg Snyder for this photo from Tuesday’s sunset:
ROAD WORK
Delridge project – Two closures in South Delridge – the southbound closure of Delridge Way SW between Thistle and Trenton continues, and northbound Delridge closed between Cambridge and Henderson; details here.
26th SW – Major work is starting on NB 26th SW between Roxbury and Barton – details here.
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules – except for the South Delridge and 26th rerouting. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations.
For ferries and water taxis, all is normal. Watch @wsferries for updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
499th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are 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 here 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):
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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