day : 04/10/2021 8 results

This afternoon, Kersti Muul texted us as an FYI that a beluga whale had been spotted in Tacoma’s Commencement Bay. Then this evening, she got word of what’s probably the same one, seen off West Seattle.

The photo is by Shannon Felix, who was kayaking near Jack Block Park at the time of the sighting, around 5:30 pm. This is way out of the usual range for belugas, which – as explained in this NOAA fact sheet – are generally Arctic dwellers. But they can stray – we found this report of one off San Diego last year. Kersti says she’s consulted a beluga researcher to confirm that’s what this is.

WATER TAXI ALERT: No West Seattle service this weekend

October 4, 2021 7:16 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| King County Water Taxi | West Seattle news

(WSB photo from August, Water Taxi dock @ Seacrest)

No West Seattle Water Taxi service this weekend, because of dock work. Here’s what Al Sanders at Metro tells WSB:

The Water Taxi dock at Seacrest Park is in need of maintenance and will be closed this weekend, October 9th and 10th. Operations from West Seattle will cease after the 11 pm sailing on Friday October 8th and will resume again on Monday October 11th with the 6:15 am sailing. The weekend work will be separating two of the floats, replacing the rubber cushions and the connecting wires between the floats.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another would-be catalytic-converter thief gets the boot

October 4, 2021 5:26 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

That is an almost-stolen catalytic converter and the tool the would-be thieves had to leave behind when Edgar chased them off late last night:

Heard a clatter outside our house on the corner of 42nd and SW Brandon and found two young men taking liberties with my Lexus catalytic converter. Not my best moment but I ran out, swore at them and proceeded to kick the guy that was underneath my car and they took off in a sedan with Oregon plates. They threw their beverage at me on the way by.

A call to police ensued. SPD incident # is 21-261915.

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WEST SEATTLE LIGHT RAIL: Sound Transit seeking members for new Community Advisory Groups

October 4, 2021 3:28 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Sound Transit | West Seattle news

As Sound Transit gets closer to the next milestone in West Seattle-Ballard light-rail planning – publishing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement this fall – it’s just announced a plan for new Community Advisory Groups. Here’s the announcement:

Sound Transit is looking for people along the West Seattle and Ballard corridor who bring diverse perspectives and lived experiences to serve on a community advisory group (CAG). The CAGs will provide an additional forum for community members to help inform the Sound Transit Board’s confirmation or modification of the preferred alternative for the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project.

The CAGs will work collaboratively to highlight issues and tradeoffs to the community for the Sound Transit Board to consider as the agency works to deliver a project on time and within scope. Feedback from the advisory groups will be taken together with all the input gathered from the public comment period when Sound Transit releases the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the project, and shared with the Sound Transit Board before it confirms or modifies the preferred alternative early next year. In addition to participating on a CAG, community members will be able to engage in a variety of ways during the public comment period including at public meetings, by phone, mail, email and online.

The CAGs will include a balance of neighborhood and community interests and reflect the diversity throughout the corridor, including income level, race, age, physical and cognitive abilities, and lived experience. Each advisory group will be comprised of 10-15 community members, and organized by geographic area.

Sound Transit is seeking people who:

· Live, work and/or volunteer along the project corridor.

· Are a part of or have deep understanding of one or more of the communities along the corridor.

· Have knowledge and/or interest in public transportation, mobility and how transportation affects the lives of people in the region.

Sound Transit asks that members be prepared to:

-Act as a community ambassador, willing to share information with community members and bring forth community values, concerns, and ideas.
-Consider the community as a whole and go beyond personal interests.
-Participate collaboratively with group members whose views may be different from their own.
-Attend approximately six-monthly meetings from fall 2021 through early 2022, participating fully in the process.

Interest forms will be accepted through 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 27. Fill out an interest form at wsblink.participate.online/#cag. For assistance, contact the West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions project team at wsblink@soundtransit.org or 206-903-7229.

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YOU CAN HELP: West Seattle physical-therapy clinics’ annual food-drive challenge is on!

October 4, 2021 1:51 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

From the West Seattle Food Bank, news that the annual food-drive competition between local physical therapy clinics has begun! Here’s how you can be part of it:

For the 10th year, West Seattle Physical Therapy clinics are uniting for the month of October in a good-natured competition to celebrate National Physical Therapy Month with donations to the West Seattle Food Bank.

The participating PT clinics are:

Biojunction Sports Therapy – 3729 California Ave. SW

Dexter Physical Therapy – 6021 B California Ave SW

Highline Physical Therapy – 4700 42nd Ave. SW

Lake Washington Physical Therapy – 1309 Harbor Ave. SW

Life in Balance Physical Therapy – 5410 California Ave. SW

Kinetic Physical Therapy – 4828 California Ave. SW

Sea Pines Physical Therapy – 4617 37th Ave. SW

Sound Physical Therapy – 3823 Delridge Way SW

(added) Therapeutic Associates West Seattle Physical Therapy – 4532 42nd Ave. SW

Please stop by one of the above clinics before October 31 and drop off your donation! The Food Bank will be weighing each clinic’s donations throughout the month and let you know which clinic will be victorious, but we know for sure that our West Seattle neighbors in need will be the real winners!

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CORONAVIRUS: 69 new cases reported by Seattle Public Schools – here’s our local breakdown

October 4, 2021 12:29 pm

| 26 COMMENTS

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Seattle Public Schools‘ weekly COVID-19 dashboard update shows a case-increase rate this week that’s only slightly higher than the previous week – 69 new cases; last week’s increase was 63. Here are the school-by-school breakouts for our area, with the changes from a week earlier – again, the numbers are cumulative for the entire school year so far:

Chief Sealth International High School – 12, up 4
Denny International Middle School – 12, up 2
Roxhill Elementary – 8, up 2
Highland Park Elementary – 8, unchanged
Lafayette Elementary – 6, unchanged
Madison Middle School – 4, up 2
Gatewood Elementary – 4, unchanged
West Seattle High School – 3, up 1
Pathfinder K-8 – 3, unchanged
Arbor Heights Elementary – 2, newly reported this week
West Seattle Elementary – 2, unchanged
Fairmount Park Elementary – 2, unchanged
Genesee Hill Elementary – 1, unchanged
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – 1, unchanged
Sanislo Elementary – 1, unchanged

Still no cases reported at Alki or Concord International elementaries, according to the dashboard.

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WEST SEATTLE MONDAY: 7 notes

October 4, 2021 9:31 am

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Friday’s sunset cloudscape, photographed by Kanit Cottrell)

Here’s what’s ahead for today/tonight:

SHOE DRIVE: Here’s our weekly reminder that 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..

CITY COUNCIL: Today’s 2 pm agenda (which explains how to comment/watch) includes final votes on renaming “single-family” areas to “neighborhood residential” areas, as well as rental regulations and a resolution supporting decriminalization of entheogens.

OPEN D&D: Drop-in play at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), 6:30-10 pm.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: One local home match tonight – Chief Sealth International High School (2600 SW Thistle) hosts Rainier Beach in volleyball, with the varsity team playing at 7 pm.

READ THE KORAN IN 4 WEEKS: Rev. Ron Marshall‘s next series starts tonight, 7 pm, online – details in our calendar listing.

(added) GOOD SOCIETY TRIVIA:Monday Night Trivia at The Good Society Public House (California/Lander).

•Hosted by Jesse of ‘Trivia O Muerte’.
• 7-9 pm
•Teams up to 8 people welcome.
•$2/person entry – winner take all.
•proof of vax or negative test required to be inside/play

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 – otherwise, email upcoming event info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER, ROAD WORK: October’s first Monday

October 4, 2021 6:07 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:07 AM: Good morning!

WEATHER

Mixed forecast for today – with another 60-ish high..

ROAD WORK

26th SW – The closure between Roxbury and Barton is expected to shift to southbound this week. (Update: A texter confirms this is now in place.)

15th SW – Also as part of the RapidRide project, southbound 15th will be closed at Roxbury all week for underground utility work.

Delridge project – Some work remains but nothing big – we talked with SDOT on Friday and plan to publish that story tonight or tomorrow.

TRANSIT

Remember that the fall “service change” happened Saturday, so this is the first weekday for various changes, including the return of Routes 22 and 113. Also keep in mind 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.

HIGHWAY 99 TUNNEL

Tolls went up Friday.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

559th 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: (Note: If these next two cameras still appear frozen in date, please report to SDOT at 206-684-ROAD)

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 movable 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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