West Seattle, Washington
23 Tuesday
Did you see the early-evening rainbow? Here are two of the West Seattle photos shared with us via Twitter – above from @kazzmere, below from @karinbeth in Delridge:
Lots of good news in the forecast and weather stats. With 2.31 inches of rain in September, an inch more than normal, we’re catching up from those ultra-dry summer months – now just two-thirds of an inch behind where we should be at this point in the year. More rain is expected off and on through Thursday – and sunshine next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!
Today brought the start of fall quarter at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). The campus on Puget Ridge is still relatively quiet, though, because most classes this quarter are being held remotely, as explained in this overview on the college website. SSC spokesperson Ty Swenson tells WSB that “our professional-technical and apprenticeship programs continue to offer in-person instruction, and we slightly expanded in-person college transfer courses.” He adds, “We have increased on-campus/in-person student services, currently offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Virtual assistance continues to be offered as well, so students have a hybrid support model for fall.” SSC hopes to offer more in-person classes in the winter quarter and beyond.
Thanks to Doug Eglington for the photo. A few people mentioned the odd sight at Don Armeni Boat Ramp over the weekend – an overturned. boat right at the launch. All we could determine was that there was no emergency response logged in connection with it. One texter said they’d reported it to the Harbor Patrol, but Sunday it was still there. Then today the tow truck showed up. We checked with SPD; no report written, but they did note that officers on Saturday “notified the registered owner of the boat that it could be impounded.”
As reported here Sunday morning, an overnight power outage lasted only two hours for 6,000+ affected in North Highline and Burien, but 10 hours for a West Seattle pocket at the east end of the Roxbury corridor. Seattle City Light spokesperson Julie Moore tells WSB what happened:
The cause was a failed cable. We were able to rule out issues along most of the route and restore power to the majority of customers pretty quickly. However, the last 40 took longer because we needed to patrol the overhead feeder that runs through a right of way to rule out other potential issues. Due to the terrain and other environmental conditions in that right of way, we needed to wait for daylight to do that patrol.
Part of the same area was affected by an outage the previous weekend; that one was blamed on a fallen tree.
Three reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
STOLEN PICKUP: Just got word today of this theft 4-6 pm Saturday, September 18th, near Fauntleroy/Alaska, a white 2002 Ford F-250:’
Plate C92452S, Glasslite canopy with cracked rear window, BFG K02 tires, yellow/black offroad lights in front, chrome trim missing from front right passenger well. Call 911 if you see it.
CAR WINDOWS SMASHED: Thanks for the tips on this – happened Sunday afternoon but took us until today to get some followup information. Multiple car windows were smashed along Delridge near Juneau – we photographed a few after hearing about it:
The police report says at least eight vehicles were damaged; one witness said he saw many more. Though archived radio transmission had it called in as a man swingiing a “sock full of rocks,” police say the windows were smashed with a chain, and that they seized it when they arrested the 34-year-old suspect. He was booked into jail for investigation of malicious mischief. Jail records show he spent two days in jail earlier this month after another malicious-mischief arrest. He remains in jail this afternoon pending a bail hearing,
GARAGE BREAK-IN: Sanwai reports a parking-garage burglary in the 3700 block of California: “A neighbor’s car window was broken; my car registration and stereo system was stolen.”
The city says it’ll open three new COVID-19 vaccination sites to help with boosters, now that they’re officially recommended for people in some groups. King County has already begun offering them at its sites. From today’s announcement:
Working with health care partners, the City of Seattle will be opening three additional vaccination sites beginning in October that will host weekly clinics to increase access to vaccinations. Sites are expected to serve West Seattle, South Seattle, and Central Seattle with partners, locations, and hours announced in early October. The City of Seattle will also relaunch mobile teams to focus on delivering boosters to older adults. To date, the City of Seattle administered nearly 260,000 vaccinations.
The city closed its West Seattle vaccination hub almost four months ago.
Seattle Public Schools‘ weekly COVID-19 dashboard update shows only about two-thirds as many new cases this past week as a week earlier. The new cumulative total is 276, up from 213 (the weekly total was adjusted downward by 1 at midweek last week, so while it was 214 last Monday as reported here, it fell later in the week to 213). That’s 63 new cases reported districtwide over the course of the week, compared to 96 new cases the previous week. Here are the school-by-school breakouts for our area, and changes from a week earlier – again, the numbers are cumulative for the entire school year this far:
Denny International Middle School – 10, up 4
Highland Park Elementary – 8, up 3
Chief Sealth International High School – 8, unchanged
Lafayette Elementary – 6, down 1
Roxhill Elementary – 6, unchanged
Gatewood Elementary – 4, up 1
Pathfinder K-8 – 3, unchanged
West Seattle High School – 2, unchanged
Madison Middle School – 2, unchanged
West Seattle Elementary – 2, up 1
Fairmount Park Elementary – 2, newly reported this week
Genesee Hill Elementary – 1, unchanged
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – 1, unchanged
Sanislo Elementary – 1, unchanged
Still no cases reported at Alki, Arbor Heights, or Concord International elementaries, according to the dashboard. The downward adjustment for Lafayette is unexplained, but one parent forwarded us a letter sent by the principal two weeks ago that said the district’s first report of cases at the school “showed cases that occurred during the summer.”
(Morning rainbow, photographed by Karen Leeds)
A quiet start to the new week so far. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
SHOE DRIVE: The Lafayette Elementary PTA “has partnered with Funds2Orgs to raise money for the PTA and repurpose shoes by sending them to developing countries around the world.” You can drop off “gently used” shoes at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) through mid-November; the store is open 10 am-6 pm today..
MAYOR’S BUDGET ADDRESS: Mayor Jenny Durkan sends the City Council her final budget proposal, kicking off a months-long review process. You can watch her address at 5 pm via Seattle Channel.
OPEN D&D: Drop-in play at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), 6:30-10 pm.
SPORTS: Chief Sealth International High School (2600 SW Thistle) hosts West Seattle HS in volleyball, with the varsity teams playing at 7 pm.
QUIZFIX TRIVIA: 7:30 pm at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), with prizes.
Anything we’re missing today/tonight? Text our hotline at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
6:01 AM: Good morning!
WEATHER
Showery, breezy, cool – high only around 60..
ROAD WORK
26th SW – Final week for northbound 26th SW closure between Roxbury and Barton; King County has set the date for directions to switch – next Monday, October 4th, they expect to reopen northbound and close southbound for about a month.
25th SW & Barton – More county-led RapidRide prep work.
Delridge project – No major work this week, so no roundup, SDOT says.
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules today – except for the rerouting in RapidRide H Line work zones. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of canceled trips.
For ferries and water taxis, regular schedule today. Watch @wsferries for ferry updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
552nd 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 – Update – we asked SDOT about the camera angle again last week, and it’s been readjusted:
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.
Here’s our delayed-by-breaking-news weekly collection of local pandemic updates, starting with the newest numbers.
KING COUNTY CUMULATIVE NUMBERS AS OF FRIDAY:
*148,953 people have tested positive – 3,291 more than a week ago (5,300 in West Seattle, up 98)
*7,942 people have been hospitalized – 132 more than a week ago (240 from West Seattle, up 3)
*1,854 people have died – 19 more than a week ago (70 in West Seattle, down 1)
VACCINATION RATE
79.9% of King County residents 12+ have completed their vaccine series (up .7% in the past week)
By West Seattle zip code:
98106 – 81.2%
98116 – 85.9%
98126 – 77.5%
98136 – 87.5%
98146 – 76,9%
(More COVID-related King County stats here)
THE WEEK’S PANDEMIC HEADLINES
Eviction moratorium extended – By order of the mayor, who also told utilities to keep refraining from shutoffs.
Seattle Public Schools cases – The second dashboard update of the school year added almost 100 cases districtwide. Next update should happen later today.
Boosters or not? Here are the new recommendations for certain categories of people who got the Pfizer vaccine (no booster recommendations for the other vaccines so far).
NEED TO GET TESTED IN WEST SEATTLE?
The UW Medicine testing service at the Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot (2801 SW Thistle) continues to operate; you can make an appointment here, though readers report walk-ups have been accepted. Meantime, the Curative testing kiosk at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW) is also still operating. In addition, both West Seattle Walgreens stores are offering drive-up testing (35th/Morgan and 16th/Roxbury) – more info here.
NOT VACCINATED YET?
Go here to see where you can change that. Also note a clinic next weekend: Chief Sealth International High School next Saturday (flu shots as well as COVID vaccine).
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