day : 06/12/2021 11 results

This roundup has two weeks of info about COVID-19 cases at Seattle Public Schools, since we skipped one weekly update because of the holiday/conferences-shortened school week. So the count for the past two weeks – since our last update – is 112 cases, slightly below the 115 in the two previous weeks. Here are the school-by-school breakouts for our area, cumulative school-year totals plus the changes from two weeks earlier:

Denny International Middle School – 24, up 3
Chief Sealth International High School – 20, unchanged
Roxhill Elementary – 15, up 3
Arbor Heights Elementary – 13, up 2
Highland Park Elementary – 13, unchanged
Madison Middle School – 11, unchanged
Genesee Hill Elementary – 11, unchanged
Louisa Boren STEM K-8 – 10, up 2
Lafayette Elementary – 10, up 2
Gatewood Elementary – 9, unchanged
Concord International (Elementary) – 8, up 1
West Seattle Elementary – 8, unchanged
West Seattle High School – 6, up 2
Fairmount Park Elementary – 5, up 2
Pathfinder K-8 – 5, up 1
Alki Elementary – 5, up 1
Sanislo Elementary – 4, unchanged
BRIDGES @ Roxhill – 1, unchanged

DEVELOPMENT: 9218 18th SW finishes Design Review in three meetings

December 6, 2021 9:39 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| Delridge | Development | West Seattle news

Southwest Design Review Board members’ final meeting of the year was their third look at 9218 18th SW, a mixed-use proposal for a triangular site in South Delridge.

The meeting carried on despite the four participating board members – all West Seattleites – dealing with power flickers related to that night’s big outage. Board chair Scott Rosenstock was joined by members John Cheng, Alan Grainger, and Johanna Lirman. From Caron Architecture, Radim Blazej gave the presentation, explaining that they’re planning a “very lively street-level” commercial aspect on the ground floor, fronting both streets. Changes made during the Design Review process cut the number of units from 56 to the current 48. He said that they received a last-minute “zoning correction” that changed how the entry will work. He also listed changes made in response to board feedback in the previous meeting (WSB coverage here), including window additions to the east and south facades to lessen “blank facade” problems. No parking is required, but they’re providing underground parking – 28 spaces. He also noted the new public-art installation that’s adjacent to the project site, saying it’s sort of a “mini-park.”

Most of the board discussion focused on the entrance revision, and agreeing that if it led to a requirement for a zoning exception, they would support that. They also wanted to ensure there’s differentiation between the residential and commercial entry spaces, perhaps some combination of plantings and lights. No public comments were offered, either before or during the meeting. But if you have something to say about the project – not just design, but any other aspects – you still have time to email comments to assigned city planner David Sachs, at david.sachs@seattle.gov.

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WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: Treetop tradition

December 6, 2021 7:15 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Holidays | Sunrise Heights | West Seattle Christmas lights | West Seattle news

(Photo by Laura M)

Tonight’s West Seattle Christmas lights photo is from Sara, who wanted to be sure the man behind the famous Sunrise Heights treetop lights got a shoutout this season:

I wanted to see if you may be able to give some recognition in the Blog to my neighbor, Jeff Knudson. Jeff has been climbing up (updated) 3 trees (2 firs, 1 hemlock) every year for the past THIRTY years, putting up/maintaining holiday lights at the very top of the trees at the corner of 32nd and Othello [map]. It’s such an amazing, unique, and beautiful tradition for all in the neighborhood to witness!

Sara says one of the trees is on Jeff’s property, and the other two belong to neighbors. We’ve featured the light-topped trees before but did not previously know who was responsible. If you go see them – note that 32nd has some great ground-level displays nearby too (including this one we featured last week).

P.S. If you have, or see, lights that you want to share with the community, email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com, with or without photos – thank you! Every display we feature is listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide. You can browse the archives (past years, too) here.

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VACCINATION: No shots for kids at city’s West Seattle clinic, for now

December 6, 2021 5:37 pm

| 21 COMMENTS

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Thanks to the reader who told us today that they had received a notice that their child’s vaccine appointment at the city’s West Seattle clinic this weekend was canceled because there was no “pediatric provider.” Instead, they were offered an appointment at the city’s downtown clinic.

This turns out to be related to what we reported last Friday, that Seattle Fire had taken over the clinic from original provider Pliable, which hadn’t reached an agreement with the city for continued operation. At the time the city didn’t mention the resulting gap in pediatric coverage. So after the tip today, we asked Anthony Derrick, the program’s spokesperson in the mayor’s office, what was going on. He responded that “SFD crews are currently not administering the pediatric vaccine because the dosage procedure is different than other vaccines or boosters and would require additional training.” He added, “We are working to identify an alternate provider who can step in to assist with pediatric vaccines at our West Seattle clinic.” The city is still offering pediatric vaccinations at the downtown and Rainier Beach clinics, Derrick says, adding that at the latter, “more appointment slots will be added in the coming days.”

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THURSDAY: Dr. Julie Pham talks about Vietnam War ‘Hidden Histories’@ Words, Writers, Southwest Stories

December 6, 2021 4:34 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle books | West Seattle history | West Seattle news

What you probably don’t know about the Vietnam War, you can learn Thursday with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s next online presentation. If you haven’t already seen it in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here’s the announcement:

‘Words, Writers & Southwest Stories,’ a speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, is excited to announce that it is hosting Dr. Julie Pham for a live Zoom presentation on Thursday, December 9 at 6:00 PM. Pham will deliver a presentation titled “Hidden Histories: The South Vietnamese Side of the Vietnam War.” Registration is required. Please register HERE.

The Vietnam War is seen by much of the Western world as being fought between the Americans and North Vietnamese Communists, with the South Vietnamese largely absent. Yet many Vietnamese refugees who came to America after the war served in the South Vietnamese military, and there is little recognition and understanding of their contributions and role in the war. In fact, in American and Vietnamese Communist histories, the South Vietnamese are painted as corrupt, apathetic sidekicks to the Americans.

How did the South Vietnamese military really experience the Vietnam War? Historian Julie Pham draws from interviews she conducted with 40 South Vietnamese military veterans in the United States, and illuminates how people can remember historical events differently.

Julie Pham (she/her) is the CEO of CuriosityBased, a consulting practice focused on fostering curiosity in the workplace. Her family owns Northwest Vietnamese News. She published “Their War: The Perspectives of the South Vietnamese Military in the Words of Veteran-Emigres“ in 2019. She earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Pham lives in Seattle.

The ‘Words, Writers, and Southwest Stories’ speaker series is a program of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society in partnership with Seattle Public Library. This presentation is part of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau The Historical Society is grateful to Humanities Washington for their support.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Maced by car prowler; another vehicle break-in; two West Marginal business burglaries

December 6, 2021 2:38 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Four incidents in West Seattle Crime Watch – first, two reader reports:

MACED BY CAR PROWLER: From Chris:

On Tuesday around 3 pm, I was moving out of an apartment located at 6317 42nd Avenue SW. I was there about 30 minutes and decided to take the last of my recycling out when I noticed someone rummaging through my car. I was parked off the alleyway in a designated spot. Upon seeing that the man had a bag of my belongings I confronted him immediately and aggressively. Before I knew it I was being sprayed with bear mace and experienced two days of pretty significant pain.

While it felt great to reclaim my items (about $1200 worth) and tackle the individual (prior to him getting away) in retrospect it was definitely not worth the potential risk. I am very happy and fortunate that the encounter did not lead to more significant injuries. I am sharing with the hope that my experience might help someone out there.

Lastly, thank you to the person driving by that called 911, the neighbor that provided me with water to wash my face off, SPD, and the fire department for keeping me calm. I felt especially bad for the man that called 911 as it was confusing and tough to decipher what was going on.

Chris describes the attaker as a white man in his early 20s, short light brown hair, blue eyes, blond beard stubble, slight build, gray zip-up hoodie and well-worn baggy light-blue jeans.

ANOTHER CAR PROWL: Christy e-mailed this afternoon to report: “I wanted to let folks know there is a car prowler down on Beach Drive. I live (in the 3800 block of) Beach Dr SW and my boyfriend’s window was broken last night. There were pry marks on his door. Thankfully they didn’t finish the job and steal anything. I have lived here 4 years and never had any issues. I did not see any other vehicle damaged, so hopefully they got scared off.”

The next two reports are from over the weekend, both burglaries reported at shipping-business yards on West Marginal – our summaries are from the police-report narratives:

5600 BLOCK OF WEST MARGINAL: Just after 11 pm Saturday, police got a call from a security guard reporting that two men were seen heading toward a shipping business’s fence, possibly associated with a vehicle seen nearby. After officers arrived, they were told that the two had cut through barbed wire/chain-link fencing and broken in. The guard told police he saw them headed for a maintenance building that had recently been burglarized. More officers arrived and searched the yard. They found and arrested one suspect, a 54-year-old man who is still in jail today; the jail roster shows this is his fourth booking this year. Police think the burglars’ intent was to steal “large spools of copper wire.”

7200 BLOCK WEST MARGINAL: At 6 am Saturday, officers were dispatched for a burglary report, also involving forced entry to a shipping business’s yard via its fence. The employee who called them had security video of one intruder, and reported finding damage to the fence and to shipping containers, which had their locks cut off. Nothing seemed to be missing, but the burglar apparently left his backpack behind – the employee found it and turned it over to police. It was described as “filled with various tools and glass/plastic pipes.” (No indication in the report if the intruder resembled the person who was arrested in the other case hours later.)

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VACCINATIONS: West Seattle pop-up clinic Saturday

December 6, 2021 1:19 pm

| Comments Off on VACCINATIONS: West Seattle pop-up clinic Saturday

| Coronavirus | Health | West Seattle news

Another pop-up clinic has been announced for West Seattle this Saturday (December 11th). Here’s the info:

The Community School of West Seattle is hosting a COVID vaccine clinic!

Saturday, December 11, 2021 from 3-6 PM!
9450 22nd Ave SW (corner of Roxbury and 22nd)

What’s available:

-All adult vaccine types
-All adult vaccine doses
-Pediatric (5-11 years) 1st and 2nd doses.

Appointment links:

Adult (12 years +) – all vaccine types, all doses:
prepmod.doh.wa.gov/appointment/en/reg/6069129814

Pediatric (5-11 years):
prepmod.doh.wa.gov/appointment/en/reg/4962198650

We asked about walk-ups. For adult boosters, yes; for pediatric vaccinations, no – those will be by appointment only.

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Big Seattle Fire presence by the bridge, but it’s not an emergency

December 6, 2021 11:16 am

| 4 COMMENTS

| Development | West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(WSB photos)

Thanks for the tips! Lots of SFD firefighters on Harbor Avenue SW just north of the West Seattle Bridge, but it’s not an emergency – it’s “live-fire training.”

The house-turned-office building on this site is set for demolition as part of the 115-apartment project planned for the site (3417 Harbor SW, which cleared Design Review a year ago, and got land-use approval last spring). Property owners sometimes provide access to awaiting-demolition buildings for SFD. training, especially to help new recruits get experience; the department put out a call for properties earlier this year.

The crews at today’s site were too busy to offer many details but we have an inquiry out to downtown and will add any other details we get.

ADDED: SFD responded shortly after we published this. It’s set to continue tomorrow (Tuesday, December 7th) as well. And spectators are welcome as long as you stay on the sidewalk.

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Here’s what’s up for your West Seattle Monday

December 6, 2021 10:32 am

| Comments Off on Here’s what’s up for your West Seattle Monday

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and year-round Event Calendar:

DONATION DRIVE: Dave Newman State Farm Agency (WSB sponsor) continues collecting warm clothes, 9 am-5 pm weekday dropoffs at the office (3435 California SW).

FESTIVAL OF TREES: Brookdale Admiral Heights (2326 California SW) has a lobby full of donated, decorated trees – stop in 8 am-8 pm through Thursday, which is when they’ll be auctioned off as a charity fundraiser.

WINTER WANDER SCAVENGER HUNT: Alice Kuder‘s “free, live, 10-day” holiday adventure around West Seattle continues, and you still have time to jump in and get started. 19 teams are already participating – Alice shared one of the selfies already sent in:

Go to her website to see how to play!

SAFETY CLASS: Free women’s personal-safety class online, 6 pm – registration link and other details are here.

TRIVIA X 3: Here are Monday nights’ three options – 7 pm at Best of Hands (35th/Webster), 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7:30 pm at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)

Something for our calendar/holiday guide? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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MUSIC: West Seattle Community Orchestras return to the stage

December 6, 2021 9:31 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| Holidays | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(Photo courtesy West Seattle Community Orchestras)

For the first time since pre-pandemic, you can see the West Seattle Community Orchestras perform onstage again. Just one big change – their usual performance venue, Chief Sealth International High School, isn’t available because of district COVID policies, and no place else in West Seattle has a big-enough stage, so they’re performing in Burien. WSCO hopes you’ll make the trip! Here’s the announcement:

Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7:00 pm three WSCO orchestras will be on stage in their first performance since December of 2019!

Music will include contemporary pieces as well as classical selections by Bach, Tschaikovsky, and Copland, along with holiday favorites.

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW VENUE! We will be at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien, 401 South 152nd Street.

Admission is FREE!
Doors open to the public at 6:30 PM
Concert begins at 7:00 PM
“Intermissions” will occur during stage resets (approx. 7:25 & 8:00)

Reminder: Concertgoers must provide proof of vaccination OR a negative COVID test result from the past 24 hours.

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TRAFFIC, WEATHER, TRANSIT: Monday watch

December 6, 2021 6:03 am

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:03 AM Good morning!

WEATHER

Chilly, off-and-on rainy – all week.

BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES

Metro is on its regular weekday schedule. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of trip cancellations.

Ferries and Water Taxi: WSF is still running a two-boat schedule on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run. Check here for alerts/updates. The Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

623rd 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.)

The 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):

South Park Bridge:

West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:

Highland Park Way/Holden:

The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):

Are movable bridges opening for vessels? The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed can tell you; 1st Ave. South Bridge openings are also 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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