West Seattle, Washington
09 Friday
(Lelavision’s Interspecies Communication sculpture, hovering over the Created Commons stage)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“I’m not going to die like this.”
That is what Alexia Jones told herself, at the moments when she couldn’t see her way out of the depths to which drug addiction took her.
And indeed, she did not die. She has been in longterm recovery for 26 years, Jones said as the continuing Created Commons art/science celebration at Westcrest Park commemorated International Overdose Awareness Day.
Jones, the host of Tuesday night’s event, leads R2ISE, a Georgia-based organization that explores recovery through art.
She opened by proclaiming the night “a space and a place to remember,” a night about “those who didn’t make it” as well as “those who are out there trying to make it back home.” Here’s our full video of what happened onstage for more than an hour:
Here’s why this is a matter of life and death:
The alert is from Seattle Public Utilities: Starting next week (probably on Wednesday) and continuing for up to two weeks, a section of 44th SW will be closed north of SW College while crews fix a broken sewer mainline. The notice explains that the problem “was discovered by a private side-sewer contractor who notified the City of Seattle.” Crews will work Tuesdays through Fridays, 7:30 am-4 pm; sewer services is not expected to be disrupted during the work. Here’s the full notice.
Gatewood Elementary was vandalized overnight with what the principal described in email to families as “horrific racially-charged graffiti.” Principal Kyna Hogg wrote that, before students arrived for the day, “Our team took immediate action and covered the graffiti (until it can be permanently removed), we called 911, and informed the SPS Safety and Security team.”
(Added: WSB photo, part of the area where vandalism was covered up)
District spokesperson Tim Robinson tells WSB the work order for permanent removal is already in and work should happen soon. Gatewood has been hit with racist crime before; we reported earlier this year on the fourth theft of a Black Lives Matter banner from the school fence, The racists won’t win, Hogg assured families: “I believe it is important to continue to emphasize that Black Lives Matter at Gatewood Elementary School and throughout Seattle Public Schools.”
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
STOLEN BICYCLE: Via email – the theft was discovered at 5:30 am today:
Stolen from Fauntleroy Way SW across from Fairmount Park Elementary. Please be on the lookout for a mountain bike “Ultra TreK,” mostly silver and blue with brand-new BMX tires and just metal handlebars. The seat is original and has a piece ripped out; it is yellow foam.
FOUND FIGURINES: Sent by Lisa:
I found this in front of my house and I’m assuming it’s been dumped? Looks brand new; happy to get it back to its owner. Call of Duty Ghosts toy figurines.
If it’s yours, contact us and we’ll connect you.
BURGLARY ARREST: Police report arresting a suspected burglar Wednesday after a break-in in the 1000 block of California Lane SW (west of Hamilton Viewpoint Park). They answered a 911 call around 5:30 pm about someone running through back yards; before they detained the suspect, a home had been broken into. The suspect was booked into jail for investigation of burglary as well as a warrant.
Several readers have asked about a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and boat appearing to have been searching off West Seattle’s west-facing shore in the past few hours. We just checked with USCG Public Affairs. They explain they were called in because of an unoccupied “dinghy” – they found it and via a cell phone in it, traced its owner to Manchester (near the Southworth ferry dock). The owner said that the dinghy had gotten loose; it’s since been returned to its owner.
(WSB photo from August tour atop the West Seattle Bridge)
Last time the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force met (WSB coverage here), and in other meetings, there’s been recurring discussion about ways SDOT could communicate what’s been going on in the past year and a half since the bridge closed. One suggestion was a video recap. SDOT produced one and has just made it public.
There’s no new information in the 5-minute video, but that wasn’t the point – SDOT says the video is meant to help people:
*Learn more about the West Seattle Bridge closure
*See how SDOT is responding in partnership with community members
*Learn what you can do to help reduce congestion and impacts on your neighbors
It’s viewable with subtitles in English, Spanish, Somali, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Khmer, Oromo, and Vietnamese. Speaking of which, SDOT’s announcement about the video also notes:
SDOT has also recently implemented a new phone system that offers in-language messaging options so you can speak to someone in Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Somali, Khmer, or Oromo – in addition to English – about the West Seattle Bridge? Call 206-400-7511 to use the new phone service, and someone who speaks your language will then call you back to talk about the bridge.
There was a big, though brief, emergency response around 8:30 am at 42nd/Oregon in The Junction. It was all over by the time we got there but we followed up with Seattle Fire and just received the information – so, for those who were wondering: SFD spokesperson Kristin Tingley says, “This was reported as an approximately 21-year-old female who fell from a balcony 10-feet. She was transported via AMR in stable condition to the hospital.” Witnesses say the ground-floor awning at the AJ Apartments broke her fall.
King County has just expanded its mask order – starting next Tuesday, face coverings will be required at large outdoor events too. From the announcement:
As new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin has issued a Local Health Officer Order requiring masks at any outdoor event with 500 or more people in attendance. This requirement applies to all people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, 5 years of age and older. The Order strongly recommends that masks be worn in all other outdoor settings where people cannot remain six feet apart from non-household members.
Read the full Local Health Officer Order here. This is in addition to the ongoing requirement for indoor masking (both countywide and state orders were issued on that).
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Here’s what’s up in the hours ahead, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
AQUATIC SCHEDULE: Just confirmed that wading pools and sprayparks will be open today, so that means Highland Park spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) is open 11 am to 8 pm and Lincoln Park wading pool (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) is open noon-7 pm. Colman Pool, also at Lincoln Park, noon-7 pm.
PICKUP ULTIMATE FRISBEE: Join the Thursday night West Seattle Ultimate Frisbee pickup games, 6 pm, Fairmount Playfield (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW).
BOARD GAME NIGHT: Meeples Games invites you in to play, 6:30 pm-10 pm on Thursdays. (3727 California SW)
LUMENAWESOME: Last chance to see this walk-through art display/experience, 7-10 pm, as explained here and covered here. All welcome. Free. (3426 59th SW)
BINGO NIGHT: Play bingo at Admral Pub (2306 California SW), 7 pm.
LIVE MUSIC: First Thursday means Battlestar Kalakala at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), featuring members of West Seattle Soul, doors at 8, music at 9, $10 cover, 21+.
Got something for the calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:03 AM: Good morning! Our gentle warming trend might continue today.
BACK TO SCHOOL
The biggest back-to-school week continues. It’s the first day for Highline Public Schools immediately south of West Seattle; it’s the second day for Seattle Public Schools. Reminder that school buses, school-zone flashing beacons, and speed cameras are all in operation now.
ROAD WORK
Spokane Street Viaduct – The “deck scan” is scheduled to continue today, 8 am-5 pm, with lane reductions and rolling slowdowns.
26th SW & beyond – Northbound 26th SW closure continues between Roxbury and Barton.
Delridge project – Most of the current work involves curbs, sidewalks, and landscaping.
TRANSIT
Buses are on regular schedules – except for the rerouting in RapidRise H Line work zones. Lots of trip cancellations Wednesday, so watch @kcmetrobus for word of those.
For ferries and water taxis, regular schedule – but note that the West Seattle Water Taxi will be on a reduced schedule Monday. Watch @wsferries for updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
528th 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.
One month after Junction Hot Yoga announced it would reopen the 4747 California SW studio under new owners, the grand-opening weekend is days away. Here’s the plan:
Yes, the world needs more yoga, and Junction Hot Yoga at 4747 California Ave. is opening its doors Saturday, Sept. 4. Here’s a look!
The beautifully remodeled studio will be hosting an open house and complimentary yoga Sept. 4-5.
Pre registration for these and all classes is highly recommended.
The studio will open with limited capacity so people can social distance. Proof of vaccination status and picture ID are required.
To learn more, register for classes, and purchase Grand Opening Packages (available for purchase thru Sept. 30) www.junctionhotyoga.com.On Saturday, the studio will have a 9:30 a.m. Ghosh Lineage 26 class. After that, an open house until 5 p.m. On Sunday, they will have a Ghosh Lineage Flow class, an open house from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m., and a 4:30 p.m. Fusion class and 6 p.m. Yin Yoga class.
The studio that formerly occupied the space closed one year ago.
Until 10 pm, James Stipes is hosting the first of two nights of LumenAwesome at his Alki home, as previewed here earlier this week. It”s part of Art Compass Northwest, a consortium of artists marking what would usually be the “Burning Man” week by bringing art experiences to their neighborhoods.
Among the participating artists, Ron Smith of OctoEyes:
LumenAwesome is open to all ages, masked, no admission charge. The address is in our calendar listing. Note that much of this incorporates flame/light, as the name LumenAwesome suggests, so it’s likely to look even more impressive than it did during our daylight visit in the early going!
ADDED THURSDAY: Thanks to Ron for sending this photo of how the tree looked after dark:
6:15 PM: Thanks to Kersti Muul for the tip: Transient orcas are reported in Elliott Bay, close to the Alki shore, headed westbound (and out of the bay). Let us know if you see them!
7:26 PM: Added photos sent by David Hutchinson from the whales’ pass by Constellation Park.
The King County Fire Chiefs Association announced today that the Stage 2 burn ban has beeb lifted. The announcement explains, “Recent precipitation and cooler weather have allowed wildland fuels to recover moisture, and the local wildland fire danger has reduced to a level where it is safe to resume small recreational fires.” The biggest effect of this in our area means the Alki Beach fire pits are open again; Seattle Parks lists their hours as 4 pm-9:30 pm daily. The Stage 2 burn ban had been in effect since August 13th.
4:07 PM: Michelle says this happened at 1:30 pm today:
Truck stolen from Arbor Heights – (9800 block) 37th Ave SW – from inside our locked gate. It’s a 2001 F350 Ford truck, white. License C82519W
Call 911 if you see it.
5;46 PM: Same goes for this stolen car – the report is from Emily:
Our car was stolen early this morning. It is a red 1990 Miata. It was stolen at 4:53 AM; the person walked north on 46th Ave SW on the west side of the street between Hill and Holgate, walked right to our car and took it within 30 seconds. In North Admiral. License Plate is BZE4444
We’ve mentioned a few times that the Morgan Community Association was hoping to present a scaled-down version of its annual festival on September 11th. Now MoCA has decided to cancel that plan. Here’s the announcement:
The Morgan Community Association (MoCA) has been closely monitoring the situation with COVID-19 and the increase in cases among vaccinated persons. It is with an abundance of caution that we have decided to cancel the ‘mini’ Morgan Junction Community Festival on Sept. 11, 2021. We were looking forward to hosting the Bubbleman and Gary Benson in a reduced-scale festival, but we do not want to risk anyone’s health and wellness given that that Washington state is not done with COVID‐19 or the delta variant.
We hope to be able to host the Morgan Junction Community Festival in June, 2022. Please contact mocacnc@gmail.com if you’d like to participate in Festival planning or in the event itself.
Thank you for your understanding.
ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY REPORT: Some of West Seattle’s closed bus stops will reopen starting October 2nd. That’s the date announced today for Metro‘s next twice-yearly “service change,” and as we first reported two months ago, it includes the return of Route 22 through Gatewood and Arbor Heights. (The other route with bagged bus-stop signs, Route 37, will remain “suspended.” The full service-change plan, route by route, is here. Changes on routes serving West Seattle include:
Routes 56 and 57: One Route 56 AM trip, and one Route 57 PM trip will be deleted due to decreased STBD funding. (timetable here)
Route 60 – Several trips will be added to Route 60 to meet increasing demand due to the ongoing closure of the West Seattle Bridge. (timetable here)
Route 120 – Several trips will be added to Route 120 to meet increasing demand due to the ongoing closure of the West Seattle Bridge. (timetable here)
Route 125 – Two AM trips will be deleted due to decreased STBD funding. (timetable here)
Route 131 – Routes 131 and 132 will no longer be connected to Route 26X, which will be deleted. The existing connections with Route 28X will be maintained. To provide continued service through downtown Seattle, trips that are not connected to Route 28X will proceed to and from a new terminal at 3rd Ave and Bell St. (timetable here)
RapidRide C Line – On weekdays, several trips will be added to RapidRide C Line to meet increasing demand due to the ongoing closure of the West Seattle Bridge. On Saturday and Sunday, several trips will be deleted due to decreased STBD funding. (timetable here)
(STBD is the Seattle Transportation Benefit District, voter-approved funding that the city pays Metro for extra service.) The Metro overview also mentions deleted trips on Route 21 but it’s not on the service-change page, so we’re following up on that, as well as asking if a Route 22 timetable is available.
ADDED FRIDAY: First, here are the Route 21 changes:
We are planning to operate 12 fewer Route 21 Saturday trips starting Oct. 2 as we adjust service levels for STBD. That means instead of 104 trips on Saturdays, we will operate 92.
Also from Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer, here’s the Route 22 timetable for its return – with weekday service – this fall. And note that as discussed in comments, Route 113 is returning too.
Youth sports are back this year and one local organization is advertising on WSB to get the word out about its upcoming tryouts and season. New sponsors get the opportunity to tell you what they do – here’s what the West Seattle Reign wants you to know:
We are a small but mighty organization of passionate athletes and youth advocates. We work hard to provide a great athletic experience as well as creating a well-rounded athlete on and off the court. Our participants love the focus on fundamentals and individual as well as team growth. We often get feedback that they are happy that we are able and willing to provide a comfortable, flexible, and safe environment for their youth athletes to play volleyball and basketball in this time of uncertainty.
The West Seattle Reign is currently recruiting for 5-6th grade, 7-8th grade, and 16U boys’ and girls’ competitive basketball teams. Tryouts for 5th-8th grade are September 8th and 10th from 6-7:30 pm and tryouts for 16U are September 8th and 10th from 7:30-9 pm – both are at Westside School in Arbor Heights.
The Reign is also NOW registering athletes for our volleyball co-ed skills academy sessions. The sessions will run from September 6th through October 16, with outdoor practices at the Alki Beach volleyball area and indoor practices at the Salvation Army Center on 16th SW.
Outdoor practices for 10-12U will be Tuesdays 4:30-5:30 pm and Wednesdays 3:30-4:30 pm with the 3-18U group on Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 pm and Thursdays 4:30-5:30 pm. Indoors, the 10-12U and 13-18U are Saturdays 4-6 pm.
You can find more information on our website – westseattlereign.com, or call 206-717-3885.
We thank West Seattle Reign 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.
(Seen at Alki last week, photographed by Lynn Hall)
Here’s our breaking-news-delayed preview list for the rest of today/tonight:
NEW LIBRARY HOURS: Seattle Public Library branches are expanding their hours and days starting today. Local branches’ info is in our story from last night.
DISTRICT 1 COMMUNITY NETWORK: 7 pm online, this coalition of community advocates from West Seattle and White Center has its monthly meeting. Public safety, community service, and transportation topics are on the agenda, as previewed here. All are welcome – connection information is nour calendar listing.
LUMENAWESOME: Walk-through art display/experience, 7-10 pm tonight and tomorrow, as previewed here. All welcome. Free. (3426 59th SW)
OPEN MIC: Starting with 7:30 pm signups at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW).
(Added: Video by Rob Jacobs, just before firefighters arrived)
FIRST REPORT, 8:44 AM: Thanks for the tips. There’s a big fire in White Center – the fire-response log says it’s a 2-alarm commercial fire near 17th SW and SW 98th [map]. Homes are being evacuated west of there. We’re on our way to find out more; avoid that area.
8:55 AM: We’re on scene. This is the long-vacant commercial building between the Gerber auto shop and dental office.
9:10 AM: No reports of injuries so far.
9:21 AM: We talked to firefighters at the scene, Most of this is “knocked down” but there’s one hot spot in debris inside the building that’s still smoldering, so that’s where their attention is now. They confirm no one is hurt. Meantime, checking property records, the exact address for the building is 9811 17th SW.
9:39 AM: The building’s past incarnations include Atlas Electric and the White Center News newspaper; it was listed for sale last year and sold early this year.
10:05 AM: Thanks to the readers who note this building also caught fire two years ago; we covered that on our partner site White Center Now – the 2019 fire was ruled arson, We’ll be checking back at today’s scene in a bit.
11 AM: Just back from there. Still smoldering; streets still blocked. The Gerber auto shop next door is closed while they assess potential damage, as the north end of their building is adjacent to the one that burned.
6:07 AM: Good morning! Might see the 70s today – Tuesday’s high was 67, nine degrees below normal for this time of year.
BACK TO SCHOOL
This is the big day. Those returning to school include 1st-12th graders in Seattle Public Schools. School buses, school-zone flashing beacons, and speed cameras are all in operation as of this morning. Also note that while SPS will continue early Wednesday dismissal this year, that does NOT apply today.
ROAD WORK
Spokane Street Viaduct – The “deck scan” starts today, 8 am-5 pm, with lane reductions and rolling slowdowns. It’s expected to continue tomorrow and possibly into Friday.
26th SW & beyond – Northbound 26th SW closure continues between Roxbury and Barton.
Delridge project – No side street closures this week but work continues on curbs, sidewalks, landscaping, more.
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
527th 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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