West Seattle, Washington
13 Saturday
After Wednesday’s announcement of a statewide indoor mask mandate starting next Monday, some wondered about the specifics, such as – would musicians be expected to wear one? WSB reader Jessica points us to the document subsequently released with the details. (People “actively engaged in a performing-arts performance,” for example, are exempt.) Read it here or below:
7:25 PM: Thanks for the tip! 166 Seattle City Light customers lost power around 5:45, along Alki Avenue, on the west side of Duwamish Head [map].
MIDNIGHT: The outage map shows a few have their power back – the customer count is now 148. The cause, meantime, is labeled as “equipment failure.”
2:37 AM: Not fixed yet.
10:15 AM: Down to 54 customers now. City Light is working in the 1400 block:
We’re waiting to hear back from SCL’s media team about the outage’s cause.
1:42 PM: SCL spokesperson Jenny Levesque says the cause was “a failed underground cable.” She also says everyone’s back on, though the map shows those last 54 customers – but also says its last update was 4+ hours ago.]
1:54 PM: After we asked a followup question, she clarified those 54 are indeed still out.
3 PM: SCL says everybody’s back on.
(Part of the site, which also includes 2 ex-restaurants to the south)
We’re continuing to check on stalled development sites. Today, an update on 5242-5258 California SW, the site that includes a former strip mall plus two former restaurants (most recently Papa John’s, closed since 2017, and Thaitan, closed since 2019) north of Brandon. The site is listed for sale again, this time as a “permitted development site” approved for 32 townhouses. The asking price: $7.7 million.
The land is owned by entities traceable to Memphis-based Lexington Asset Management, which bought it in 2018 and 2019 purchases totaling $4.6 million, according to King County Assessor’s Office records. Development proposals for the site went through the city process in stages going back to 2017. The sales flyer for the site calls it “the largest permitted townhome opportunity in the heart of West Seattle in over 20 years,” though Rally – the townhome development at the former Charlestown Café site – isn’t far behind, at 27 units. The flyer also makes note of the closed bridge, observing that “West Seattle Bridge reopens in 2022, which will accelerate home value and rent growth (work is already underway).”
Meantime, the graffiti and trash at the site has led to complaints filed with the city, most recently early this year (we noted a crew placing new plywood over the windows in mid-March, but as our photo above shows, the tagging has been re-accumulating since then).
Early Wednesday, more than 8,000 Seattle City Light customers from Highland Park to Burien lost power. The image above, from SCL’s outage map, shows the outage zone at its peak; half the affected homes/businesses got power back after about three hours, and less than an hour after that, the outage was down to 585 customers. But the problem affected thousands more people because it happened along a highway, closed all lanes, and jammed traffic through much of the morning commute. So what exactly happened? We asked SCL’s Julie Moore, who responded today, explaining the cause resembled what took out ~2,000 customers last Friday/Saturday:
The outage cause was similar to the one last Friday. While doing a planned maintenance project, a piece of equipment failed and the overhead pulling rope dropped down on to our primary voltage electrical system, causing the lines to fault. We again needed a clearance – when we intentionally cut power to a particular area –for the electrical workers to safely remove the pulling rope from the primary lines and then we were able to restore the system to its normal configuration.
It is unusual for this piece of equipment to fail and we are looking into why it failed. The work being done is designed to replace and upgrade older static wire and replace with a new wire that has an optic cable capability. This work is still ongoing and the targeted completion date is the end of August.
One more theft to report today – this time, Derek‘s motorcycle:
My white 2000 Harley Davidson Road King police motorcycle was stolen at 1 am this morning on 11th Ave. SW and SW Holden St. Neighbors say they heard it take off around 1 am so I assume ignition was busted. I am offering a cash reward for information leading to my bikes recovery and/or an arrest.
Plate is WA 8G1755; police incident # is 21-215522.
P.S. Motorcycle theft is technically “auto theft” by state law, and that’s one of the categories of crime addressed in this month’s newsletter sent today by Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner:
As noted in our rwport last night about a visit to the West Seattle Bridge by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, their travels included a stop at under-construction Terminal 5. There, port and maritime reps touted their environmental efforts – from sea-noise reduction to shore power to trucking electrification – and pitched for more federal funding to help them make more progress. As a reminder of what’s at stake, Seattle Port Commissioner Fred Felleman presented Trottenberg with a framed orca photo of his:
(We talked with Felleman earlier this summer about orcas and T-5.) At right in the photo above is Edward DeNike of SSA Marine, the tenant for Terminal 5’s first modernized berth and operator of many other terminals. His remarks included a mention of what’s the most striking feature of T-5 right now:
DeNike said T-5 is now a holding zone for more than 8,000 containers. That’s up from the 6,000 we reported earlier this month. They’ve been trucked over from Terminals 30 and 18, which are already maxed out. Once T-5’s first berth opens early next year, they’re hoping it’ll take some of the pressure off. After the briefing, we asked DeNike about the status of a decision on which shipping line(s) will be first to use T-5. He said they’re talking with a few now and should have a decision within about a month.
Christina’s stroller was stolen Sunday afternoon in Gatewood and a security camera caught this photo of the thieves:
(Here’s the theft on video.) In case you find an abandoned stroller – here’s what it looks like:
Police reoport # is 21-213914.
(WSB file photo)
After skipping a year because of the pandemic, the Great Cross-Sound Race, to/from Alki is back this Saturday (August 21st). The Sound Rowers and Paddlers club organizes the race from Alki to Blakely Rock off Bainbridge, and back (seven miles). The course is far enough offshore that you’ll need binoculars to watch the start and finish, but the organizers and spectators are usually along the promenade by Alki Bathhouse. Racing begins around 9 am. The course record – which has stood for 15 years – is 49:44.
(American Goldfinch, photographed in July by Jerry Simmons)
Here’s what’s happening today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
UNDERSTANDING MEDICARE: Local broker Patrice Lewis is at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon) 11 am-1 pm for consultations; call to check if there’s any last-minute availability.
BENEFIT CONCERT: 6 pm at White Center Heights Park (7th/102nd), enjoy family music from Dani & the Bee, by donation to help the Community School of West Seattle – ticket link’s in our calendar listing.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE PICKUP: 6 pm at Fairmount Playfield (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW) – just show up and play!
WEST SEATTLE TIMEBANK: Join Timebank members at Puget Ridge Edible Park (5265 18th SW) 6:30 pm-8 pm tonight, or even show up early and helo at PREP! Info’s in our calendar listing.
BINGO: 7 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW).
6:05 AM: Good morning. Mild forecast for today.
ROAD WORK
26th SW– Northbound closure continues between Roxbury and Barton.
Delridge project – Here’s the plan for this week.
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules – except for the 26th rerouting. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations.
For ferries and water taxis, regular schedule. Watch @wsferries for updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
514th 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 – No camera for a few weeks (explained here)
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? The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed will tell you. (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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