West Seattle, Washington
18 Wednesday
(WSB photo – school bus on test run earlier this month)
School starts soon for most students in and near West Seattle – but for some it’s already begun! We’ve checked local schools’ start dates and here’s what we’ve found. For one – August 18 was the first day of school at Summit Atlas, West Seattle’s only charter school. Everyone else has yet to start. Here are the dates from schools’/districts’ online calendars:
August 30 – Holy Rosary Catholic School
August 30 – Seattle Lutheran High School
August 30 – Vashon Island School District (1st-12th grades)
August 31 – Kennedy Catholic High School
September 1 – Hope Lutheran School
September 1 – Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School
September 1 – Seattle Public Schools (1st-12th grades)
September 1 – Vashon Island School District (kindergarten)
September 2 – Highline Public Schools (1st-12th grades)
September 7 – Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School
September 7 – Hope Academy
September 8 – Highline Public Schools (kindergarten)
September 8 – Tilden School
September 8 – West Seattle Montessori
September 8 – Westside School
September 9 – Explorer West Middle School
September 9 – Seattle Public Schools (kindergarten/preschool)
September 27 – South Seattle College
8:41 PM: Seattle Fire has upgraded a response in the 2400 block of SW Myrtle to “brush fire/major.” This will also affect traffic on Sylvan Way. Updates to come.
8:48 PM: Thanks to the texter who sent the photo. Firefighters are using a hydrant at Home Depot, so the fire is west of there.
8:52 PM: Firefighters just told dispatch it’s under control after burning an estimated quarter-acre.
9 PM: Reader video from Austin Reimers added. Firefighters are now searching the woods to be sure no one was injured (added: after finding an encampment in the area). The address is also revised on the SFD log to 24th SW/Sylvan Way.
9:31 PM: Firefighters have reported to dispatch that the fire is “tapped” (out).
Sunday, the four-events-in-one Loop the ‘Lupe – an obstacle course, 5K run/walk, youth dash, and Senior Saunter – is back, and it’s not too late to be part of it. We asked race director Brian Callanan for updates – he had four:
REGISTRATION STILL OPEN! But – “There’s a $5 price increase that kicks in on Saturday, so get signed up soon – here. People aged 3 to 83 have registered this year, along with several top finishers from the Alki Beach Sunset Run. So, plenty of fun for people of all ages and elite athletes, too! School of Rock is providing live music, food and drinks are available, and we’re featuring a beer garden courtesy of Georgetown Brewing.”
PACKET PICKUP: Don’t wait till Sunday – get your T-shirt, bib, and swag bag during the packet-pickup event on Saturday, 3-5 pm at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor).
GET VACCINATED, GET A DISCOUNT! Brian says, “Through a partnership with Bird’s Eye Medical and the WA Dept. of Health, we’re offering COVID vaccinations onsite. bit.ly/Loop_Vaccination is the link for people to register (though we’re taking walkups, too). Pfizer and Moderna shots will be offered. Immunocompromised people can get their booster, but boosters are not available to the general public, as of yet. OLG is working on a second clinic within the next few weeks to make sure everyone who gets the vaccine gets their second shot. We’re offering a half-off race entry fee discount to anyone who registers for a vaccine; send confirmation of your appointment to loopthelupe@gmail.com.”
MASK REMINDERS: “The state recommends that fully vaccinated individuals wear a mask in crowded outdoor public places if 6 feet of distance cannot be maintained. If you are not fully vaccinated, you are required to wear a mask. While we will do our best to space out participants in waves during the event, please consider your safety and other participants, too.”
Again, you can register for Loop the ‘Lupe here; the four events are explained here (with start times between 11 am and 1 pm),. It’s all happening at Walt Hundley Playfield (34th and Myrtle) this Sunday. (WSB is a community co-sponsor.)
What’s being stuffed into that car is a bicycle stolen moments earlier – around noon today – from outside the south end of Admiral Safeway. The thief cut the cable lock, according to (update) a friend of the bike owner’s mom, Kelly. The bicycle is a blue 2021 Kona Kahuna, 29″ wheels, bought from Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor). The thief’s car had an Oregon license plate, starting with 990; the image is from video taken by a bystander who followed him after the theft (we don’t have the clip in a playable size). No police-report # yet.
(SDOT photo)
As first reported here two weeks ago, the Andover pedestrian/bicyclist bridge over the west end of the West Seattle Bridge is closed, and SDOT says today it will stay that way until after its upcoming earthquake-safety work is completed. Today’s update says the work will start next month; Mukilteo-based Combined Construction is the contractor chosen for the levy-funded $1.9 million project, expected to last up to three months. And SDOT promises the 60-year-old bridge will be reopened after the work is done. That work will include “installing new bridge expansion joints, which allow the concrete to naturally expand and contract without cracking, and strengthening the base of the east side of the bridge,” So what about the “illegal activity reported by community members” that SDOT blamed for the early closure? They say they’re “evaluating other long-term options such as fencing, gates, and other security measures to prevent illegal activity on the pedestrian bridge and to reduce trespassing onto the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge.”
With school starting next week for most local students, the city’s school-zone speed cameras will be activated starting Wednesday (September 1st) – and SDOT has just announced that for the first time in six years, there’s a new one in West Seattle. In addition to the existing automated cameras, SDOT says it’s added one on 35th SW between SW Willow and SW Othello, near Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School. That stretch has long had a warning about enforcement because SPD had on occasion deployed a mobile speed-camera van, but now there’s a permanent camera. It’s one of 15 around the city, also including sites on Fauntleroy Way SW near Gatewood Elementary, on SW Roxbury near Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School, and on Delridge Way SW near Louisa Boren STEM K-8. (SDOT confirmed, when we asked on followup, that the new camera will have a 30-day warnings-before-tickets period as has been the case in the past.)
(December 2020 rendering by Public47 Architects)
Three years after the first Southwest Design Review Board meeting about 3201 SW Avalon Way, the next one has just been scheduled for September 23rd. As we reported last December, the project at what’s currently the Golden Tee Apartments site has changed since the 2018 review – now 8 stories (taller), 144 apartments (fewer), 70 offstreet-parking spaces (fewer), with a different architecture firm, Public47. This document filed in December shows those new details. The full design packet isn’t available yet, and the city webpage still shows the old plan’s toplines, but what could be the final SWDRB meeting about the project is now set for 5 pm September 23rd, online; watch here for attendance details.
Today we welcome a new sponsor, Khadra Mohamud, who operates Sahra’s Family Day Care at 21st and Barton.
New WSB sponsors have the opportunity to tell you about what they offer. Currently Khadra has six openings available . She accepts children from infants up to age 8 and is open from 6 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday.
Khadra says, “I have a natural way with children. Children gravitate toward my empathetic nature. I find it easy and fun to care for children. My clients often say I’m clean, attentive and caring. My kind nature and willingness to help is what makes my clients come back. The security and safety they feel allows them to go to work in peace.” Khadra is a Seattle University graduate who likes to hike and explore the outdoors. Her day-care home is licensed and bonded.
If you are interested in an opening at Sahra’s Family Day Care, she asks that you use the form on her website or give her a call at 206-235-6844,
We thank Sahra’s Family Day Care for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Last week, we previewed a first-ever event coming up at Westcrest Park (9000 8th SW) – actually a series of events spread over nine days, tomorrow (Friday, August 27th) through Sunday, September 5th – transforming part of the park into a “Created Commons,” hosted and curated by Lelavision. The Created Commons will feature what the overview describes as “BIPOC-centered performances, kinetic musical-sculpture, eco-art installations and workshops, wellness offerings, and science panels to cultivate our health as a community.” Now that it’s almost here, we have updates.
The first event is at 6 pm Friday (calendar listing here), honoring the Duwamish Tribe, with other participants sharing “stories, music, and tales of their activism on behalf of the resident Orcas in the Salish Sea.” On Friday night, families in need can get free groceries at the park, thanks to Free Food for All. A highlight this Saturday (August 28th) is the Arts in Nature Festival Showcase presented by Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, 3-8 pm, a mini-version of the annual festival, promising music, poetry, and dance.
As you can see in the full Created Commons schedule on Lelavision’s website, this isn’t just a spectator event – there are opportunities for participation. That includes the vaccination pop-ups we mentioned yesterday as well as free wellness classes:
Those are just some of the events – we’re adding listings to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar too. And along with scheduled events, Lelavision will bring its kinetic sculpture Interspecies Communication (seen in South Park in 2017) to the park for community interaction, noon-8 pm all four weekend days (August 28-29, September 4-5). All events over the course of Created Commons are free, funded by grants and sponsorships.
(Wilson’s Warbler – a migratory bird that’ll head south soon – photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
Here’s what’s happening in the hours ahead, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and archives:
VACCINATION POP-UP: Get vaccinated at this one-day clinic today – open until noon and then again 1-7 pm – in the north parking lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor)
AQUATIC SCHEDULE: No wading pool today, since we’re not expected to hit 70 degrees. Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) is open 11 am-8 pm and Colman Pool at Lincoln Park is open noon-7 pm.
(added) LEMONADE AND BRACELETS: Thanks to Lisa for word of another team of young entrepreneurs in Arbor Heights:
Until 3 pm at 39th SW/SW 104th, you can buy lemonade and bracelets (made “with love” by Nora, Maddie, Addy, and Grace).
VACCINATION APPRECIATION: 11:30 am-8:30 pm, Copper Coin (2329 California SW) is offering a free drink today if you buy a meal and show proof you’re fully vaccinated.
ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Show up for pickup play at Fairmount Playfield (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW) at 6 pm.
BOARD GAME NIGHT: Meeples Games invites you in to play, 6:30 pm-10 pm on Thursdays. (3727 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE TRANSPORTATION COALITION: 6:30 pm online, all welcome to the WSTC’s August meeting, with guests from Sound Transit, SDOT, and the 16th Avenue Safety Committee. Our calendar listing has the link and number for participating via videoconference or phone.
Event coming up? Send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:06 AM: Good morning. We know you’ve heard this before, but there’s a chance of rain in the forecast – maybe this afternoon, probably tonight.
ROAD WORK
26th SW & beyond – Northbound 26th SW closure continues between Roxbury and Barton.
Delridge project – Lane striping continued overnight. Here’s what else is happening this week.
Beach Drive – Tree trimming for utility lines is scheduled to continue in the 5900-6500 blocks.
Highway utility work – If you’re traveling 509 or 99 south of West Seattle late tonight/early tomorrow, be aware of this.
Weekend reminder – Highland Park Way/West Marginal intersection work continues Saturday/Sunday mornings/early afternoons.
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules – except for the rerouting in RapidRise H Line work zones. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations.
For ferries and water taxis, regular schedule. Watch @wsferries for updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
521st 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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