West Seattle, Washington
23 Friday
After a year and a half without a vehicle/vessel-licensing office in West Seattle, the new one opens one week from today, at 9 am Wednesday, June 30th, after a ribboncutting ceremony. We just got that word from operator Randy Lais. Here’s the backstory from King County, which administers the contracts for subagents like this one:
Seattle Auto License, Inc. will provide services as a private business appointed by the Department of Licensing and will operate as a county-contracted subagent. Seattle Auto License, Inc. will provide title and license services for vehicles, motorcycles, vessels, watercraft, travel and utility trailers. Customers can also renew registrations, get a report of a sale, get trip permits and disabled placards. Initially, customers will need to pay with cash or check until the credit card system is set up.
The new location in Westwood Village is easily accessible with plentiful parking, including ADA parking right in front of the office. The new licensing subagent is also close to the Washington State Driver Licensing Office.
King County partners with the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) to issue and renew vehicle and vessel licenses. Through this partnership, King County also contracts with local businesses, called subagents, to offer convenient locations to conduct in-person licensing. Visit dol.wa.gov to see the services that are offered online.
The new office is on the north edge of Westwood Village, near the SW Trenton entrance; we first reported on the new subagent seven months ago. The new office will be open 9 am-5 pm Mondays-Fridays, 10 am-2 pm Saturdays.
(WSB photo)
Alki Beach residents/frequent visitors have noticed a lack of progress lately on the restroom rebuild at 57th/Alki. We asked Seattle Parks‘ project manager Kelly Goold what happened. His reply:
We are waiting on structural steel to finish being fabricated, then goes to galvanizing, then is delivered to the site and assembled. After the steel roof structure is assembled on site, finishes and fixtures will be installed, followed by final paint and concrete work, and power reconnection by City Light. The current schedule is completion by July 26.
The steel fabrication and galvanizing date has changed multiple times in the past weeks. Structural steel in general (especially in the busy Seattle construction market) is very much in demand and difficult to get into production lines. The steel package for Alki is in a fabrication shop in Bellingham, and will be delivered shortly and then site work will resume until completion.
Construction began five months ago, almost a year later than planned pre-pandemic. The new three-stall comfort station replaces an old two-stall building that among other problems had accessibility issues.
1:36 PM: Since Puget Sound dead-ends, if whales swim by southbound, they’ll eventually have to head back northbound … and that’s what’s happening right now. Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch says transient orcas are northbound right now, visible from west-facing West Seattle (after swimming the other way yesterday) – look toward Southworth. Let us know if you see them!
2:04 PM: Kersti reports in a comment that they’re now off Blake Island.
West Seattle’s only bricks-and-mortar playhouse is reopening. The jubilant team at ArtsWest in The Junction has just sent the announcement of their upcoming season, and plans for open houses soon so you can get excited too:
ArtsWest has announced their 2021-2022 season WHEN WE WAKE, with six productions – three world premieres and three Seattle premieres – featuring plays by innovative and original new voices in the American theater. This is the first season programmed by a collective of ArtsWest Associate Artists in collaboration with ArtsWest leadership, demonstrating a new power-sharing model of season curation. The season will be presented with an in-person option, including socially distanced performances, as well as an online option.
Through a season of theater full of gods, monsters, myths and legends, WHEN WE WAKE asks us to reflect on who we are as we begin to emerge from a global pandemic – and a period of profound and mythological separation. What have we learned and what will we choose to do differently as we write the next chapters of our collective story? “I’m so proud of the work of the Associate Artists,†stated Artistic Director Mathew Wright. “They have curated what I think is the perfect season of theater to return to. It is at once full of joy and theatricality and profound in its vision of how we might create better lives for and with each other.â€
To celebrate reopening to the public, ArtsWest will hold Open Houses on July 1 & 2 from 4 pm-7 pm, July 8 & 9
from 4 pm-7 pm, and July 10 & 11 from 11 am-3 pm. Visitors will be invited to walk the theater space, reacclimate themselves to being together, take in some videos of ArtsWest’s 2020 digital work, and chat with ArtsWest leadership about what they can expect in the upcoming year, including this powerful new season of theater. WHEN WE WAKE opens the 2021 holiday season with the world premiere musical WE’VE BATTLED MONSTERS BEFORE, noted Seattle composer-playwright Justin Huertas’ latest addition to his canon exploring contemporary mythology and fantasy in the lives of everyday people.In the new year, ArtsWest will present the world premiere of Christian St. Croix’s haunting and humorous MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA, a tale of a father, a son, and the everyday American monsters we create. Next, from Australian Theater for Young Audiences playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer, THIS GIRL LAUGHS, THIS GIRL CRIES, THIS GIRL DOES NOTHING presents a moving modern fairytale of three powerful young women who take on the world and create lives for themselves, each in their own way. Kicking off the second half of the season is ALMA, Benjamin Benne’s story of a mother and daughter yearning for connection while holding vastly different ideas of what the “American Dream†actually represents. Next is the world premiere of miku, and the gods. by playwright Julia Izumi, a moving meditation on family, love, loss – and what it takes to become a god. The season concludes with the world premiere of HERE THERE BE DRAGONS, an original song cycle created by Valerie Curtis-Newton and co-produced by The Hansberry Project, celebrating the journeys of Black women and uplifting the words and music of some of Seattle’s most dynamic Black women recording artists.
WE’VE BATTLED MONSTERS BEFORE
Book, Music and Lyrics by Justin Huertas
November 26 – December 26, 2021When you’re the youngest sibling in a family of secret warriors who for generations have protected Seattle from monsters and demons, living up to your Lola’s expectations is, in a word, daunting. Adarna’s mistakes were cute at first, but when they begin to cost her family more than she ever imagined, she must decide what she would sacrifice to save them. Loosely adapted from the 16th century Filipino epic poem Ibong Adarna, playwright- composer-lyricist Justin Huertas returns to his Lizard Boy roots with a sweet and intimate actor-musician musical adventure.
MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA
by Christian St. Croix
January 27 – February 20, 2022When his husband dies, Remy Washington, a Black man, finds himself both the owner of a drive-in movie theater and a caregiver to his late husband’s straight, white teenage son, Pup. United by their love of classic American monster movies, the two have developed a warm and caring familial chemistry – but their relationship fractures when Remy discovers Pup and his friends have been bullying a gay teen at his school. Monsters of the American Cinema is a haunting and humorous tale about fathers and sons, ghosts and monsters.
THIS GIRL LAUGHS, THIS GIRL CRIES, THIS GIRL DOES NOTHING
by Finegan Kruckemeyer
March 17 – April 10, 2022Triplet sisters are left in the forest by their woodcutter father. From this fairytale beginning, three resolutions are made – one sister will walk one way, one the other, and the third will stay right where she is. Twenty years later, having circumnavigated the globe, and fought Vikings, and crossed oceans, and tamed wilds, and achieved greatness, the three meet again, as women. What they learn on their separate journeys will change everything, and at the same time nothing, in this moving and irresistibly charming modern-day fairytale.
ALMA
by Benjamin Benne
May 5 – May 22, 2022Working mom Alma has singlehandedly raised her daughter, Angel, on tough love, home-cooked comida and lots of prayers. But on the eve of the all-important SAT, Alma discovers her daughter isn’t at home studying. A schooling and la chancla await Angel at home—but so does a creeping realization that more’s at stake than just a test score. A sacrifice from Alma’s past weighs heavy on their present; now, Alma fears that her worst nightmare may soon be their reality. Will the American Dream cost them a life together?
miku, and the gods.
by Julia Izumi
June 16 – July 3, 2022Miku wants to be a god. Ephraim wants to be an Olympian. Grandma Seiko wants to remember. And minor god Shara just wants people to include him in the conversation, you know? As they journey from the schoolyard to the river to the underworld and back again, Miku and company will learn what it actually takes to become a god. As funny as it is moving, miku, and the gods. is an epic adventure that braids together friendship, death, memory, time, rhythm – and power beyond what one could ever desire.
HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
Conceived and Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton
Co-Produced by The Hansberry Project
July 28 – August 28, 2022Conceived and directed by the inimitable Valerie Curtis-Newton, and featuring the music and lyrics of some of Seattle’s most dynamic Black women recording artists, this brand new theatrical song cycle celebrates the joys, triumphs, and tribulations of Black women. As they confront the mystery of the unknown, they construct new legends with the confidence of all that has come before them. A unique fusion of musical styles and theatrical influences, Here There Be Dragons is a bold journey into uncharted waters and new possibilities.
The doors at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery have been closed since mid-March 2020 “and it has been really tough,” says managing director Laura Lee.
Burglars have struck again at Emerald Water Anglers (4502 45nd SW; WSB sponsor) in The Junction. We went over to find out more after a tip this morning. The EWA team tells us this happened around 5:30 am; they were still checking to see what was missing, but they first missing items they noticed were several Patagonia guide jackets. We’ll add the incident number when we get it.
When our hotline (206-293-6302, 24/7) got texts/calls this morning wondering about “a large group of soldiers” on Alki, we headed out to look. Here’s who we found:
That’s Lt. Stokes from the Washington National Guard unit based at Boeing Field. She said they go to various areas for group runs/walks and decided this time to head for not-so-far Alki Beach. (A Guard spokesperson tells us “physical training … is routine for all Guardsmen.”)
(Pigeon Guillemot, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Here’s what we have so far for the day ahead:
LOW-LOW TIDE: As previewed earlier this week, we’re in a stretch of low-low tides, which enables more beach exploring. Today at 10:22 am, it’s out to -3.2 feet. Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are available for your questions 9:30 am-1:30 pm at Constellation (Beach Drive/61st) and Lincoln (8011 Fauntleroy Way) Parks.
LIBRARIES REOPEN: As announced last week, two more Seattle Public Library branches in West Seattle reopen their buildings today: Delridge (5423 Delridge Way SW, 10 am-6 pm) and High Point (3411 SW Raymond, 10 am-6 pm).
SCHOOL BOARD: Today’s meeting of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors includes approval of construction contracts for two local projects, the additions at West Seattle Elementary and Madison Middle Schools. The meeting starts at 3:30 pm; the agenda has information on how to watch.
HPAC ON SPRING BREAK: Fourth Wednesday of the month usually would bring the monthly meeting of HPAC (community council for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge), but HPAC has announced it’s starting summer break early – meetings will resume in September.
Anything else, for today or beyond? Email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:11 AM: Good morning! A high in the 70s is expected again today – with a Friday-through-Monday heat wave on the way.
ROAD WORK
SW Yancy – Open again between 28th and Avalon.
Delridge project – Here’s this week’s plan, with closures including SW Henderson and SW Thistle east of Delridge.
FERRIES/BUSES
Regular schedule for buses and ferries.
(Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations, @wsferries for major WSF changes.)
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
457th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are the views of other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: 24th week for automated enforcement cameras; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends, when the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available for some categories of drivers.)
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
And 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? See the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed. (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.
Tonight’s local pandemic notes, with eight days at most until the planned June 30th reopenin:
BRIEFING TOMORROW: Any chance that vaccination goal will be met before the 30th? That’s one of the things we can expect to hear in state health officials’ weekly briefing at 8:15 am Wednesday. You can watch live here.
NEWEST NUMBERS: Checking the daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health:
*111,757 people have tested positive, 51 new since yesterday
*1,618 people have died, 2 new since yesterday
*6,314 people have been hospitalized, 3 fewer than yesterday (data correction)
One week ago, the totals were 111,242/1,616/6,285.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 179.1 million cases worldwide, 33.5 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
CAN YOU VOLUNTEER? Two ways to help fight pandemic-worsened food insecurity – meal delivery in High Point and various roles at the White Center Food Bank.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(WSB photo)
Two people from Snohomish County who “love to cook” have just opened Thai Togo, offering takeout and delivery from one of West Seattle’s bustling commissary kitchens, in The Triangle. They go by the nicknames Tata and Link, and they describe their short menu as “comfort food.” While you may zero in on the Pad Thai as your style of Thai comfort food, they’re also cooking up Khao Soi, a Northern Thai noodle dish, plus wraps and fish cakes. This is their first restaurant venture, but they’ve both worked in the industry for years. “Time to do something for ourselves, before we’re too old,” explains Tata. So why West Seattle? “It’s a nice community,” Link offers. Their hours/days may change when they see what the market wants, but for now, it’s Wednesdays-Sundays, 4 pm-9 pm, You can order online for takeout via their website, or order for delivery via Door Dash or GrubHub.
Thanks to Lynn Hall for the photo taken from the Bremerton ferry, looking back at Alki and downtown. A ferry ride will be one way to beat the heat that the National Weather Service warns us is on the way. The NWS has issued an Excessive Heat Watch alert for Friday afternoon through Monday afternoon. The alert says in part that we are likely to see “dangerously hot conditions with afternoon highs in the 90s and possibly near 100 Saturday and Sunday.” If your family includes little kids, two wading pools and a spraypark are opening just in time, starting Saturday. We will highlight other stay-cool options in the days ahead.
5:33 PM: Southbound transient killer whales are in view from Alki looking north – the orcas are passing Bainbridge Island’s Eagle Harbor now, says Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch. They’re toward the west side of the channel, though she warns that the heat rising off the water is a visibility challenge. Let us know if you see them!
5:55 PM: Kersti says they’re now crossing the Bainbridge ferry lanes.
8:17 PM: In addition to the various updates in the comment section below, Kersti just texted to say they’re passing the Fauntleroy ferry dock, closer to this side of the Sound.
One of Seattle Parks‘ best-known leaders in West Seattle has died. Sheila Brown was 59. Here’s the remembrance sent to us this afternoon:
Sheila Brown
1962-2021Sheila Brown, longtime West Seattle environmental activist and Education Program Supervisor at Camp Long for the past 17 years, has died. Sheila was responsible for initiating the partnership with 4H that resulted in the building of the Challenge course at Camp Long. She was active in race and social justice issues at the City, and committed to getting kids of all backgrounds to appreciate and experience the natural world. She helped create the Leaders in Environment, Equity, and Facilitation (LEEF) program for developing BIPOC youth leadership in environmental education. The program has recently been expanded so that youth leaders will be employed to lead environmental programming for the Parks Department.
Sheila’s career in environmental education and youth recreation included managing education programs for EarthCorps. She was known as a great mentor and courageous leader of teams. She was a Board member for the Common Acre, a nonprofit involved in community agriculture habitat restoration and bee keeping projects. Prior to working for the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, Sheila was a volunteer in the development of the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail, and in open space preservation in Delridge.
Her personal hobbies often involved music. She sang with the Northwest Chamber Chorus, and went to Eastern Europe on a tour with that group. She was a staff person at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop for many summers, and is remembered as the lively host of many open mikes that went into the wee hours. She was a longtime fan of the Vancouver Folk Festival, even when it involved sitting in the rain wrapped up in a tarp.
She was a seeker of spiritual truth and community all her life. She was active in a successful effort to save Camp Gallagher, a Catholic Youth Organization camp at which she worked in her 20s, which was transferred to a new nonprofit owner and reopened recently. She was also very involved in the Non-Violent Communication (NVC) community. NVC is a theory and practice of communication based in Buddhist principles and seeking to resolve conflicts in ways where everyone gets their needs met. She dreamt of promoting NVC and Awareness Through the Body (ATB) principles to help youth enhance self-knowledge and to facilitate reconciliation between people disconnected by vastly different perspectives.
Sheila lived in Rio de Janeiro during high school, and stayed in touch with many former students from the Escola Americana there throughout her life. She planned to attend the 40th reunion for her class of 1980 in Rio last summer that was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID.
Sheila received the news that her third bout with cancer was terminal late last year. She decided to leave a legacy by raising funds for the construction of a gateway at the eastern entrance of Camp Long, designed to match the main entrance on Dawson Street. Nearly 80 donors contributed over $22,000, and the new gateway will be installed later this year. Remembrances for Sheila can be made to the Gateway Project c/o Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. Donations will support trail and habitat restoration in Camp Long and the Longfellow Creek Watershed. Sheila’s memorial website is here.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(Texted photo)
2:11 PM: Avoid Delridge Way SW near SW Kenyon – a big Seattle Fire response is on the way for a reported break in a 2″ gas line. Updates to come.
2:14 PM: Firefighters are telling dispatch they’re evacuating adjacent residences as a precaution.
2:25 PM: They’re calling for medical help for one person.
2:30 PM: That’s now been canceled. Puget Sound Energy has arrived and firefighters say the leak “has been shut down.”
2:39 PM: Some of the SFD responding units have been dismissed. Now the crews on scene are testing the air in nearby buildings to be sure it’s safe for people to go back inside (including construction workers).
2:43 PM: Firefighters told dispatch it’ll be “at least 10 more minutes” before they can resume letting buses (and presumably other traffic) through.
Amanda hopes you will be on the lookout for her stolen car:
My 1993 Honda Accord LX was stolen from North Admiral.
1993 Honda Accord LX 4 door
Purplish-brown color with red pinstriping
License plate: ABE8926
Call 911 if you see it.
(WCN/WSB photo from June 2019)
If you’ve gone to a Highline Bears baseball game at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center, you know it’s a fun time, more up-close-and-personal (and affordable) than a major-league matchup. The Bears have to play mostly on the road this year because of the pandemic but they’re taking the opportunity in the meantime to get ready for a re-branding: They’re looking for a new name, and accepting suggestions through the Fourth of July. The full story’s on our partner site White Center Now.
Today we’re welcoming Fogue Gallery as a new WSB sponsor. When businesses join our sponsor team, they get the opportunity to tell you about themselves, so here’s what Fogue Gallery would like you to know:
Longtime West Seattle resident Patti Curtis has opened a new Fogue Gallery location at 4130 California Ave SW in West Seattle, just a couple blocks north of the Alaska Junction. Her desire to support the community led Curtis to open Fogue Gallery. The Gallery sponsors and participates in the West Seattle Art Walk, an event on the second Thursday of every month where artists and art-lovers gather from 5-8 pm to share work with their community.
Fogue Gallery has set out to phase out the age-out with a collaborative and supportive group of fifteen local Seattle artists, all over the age of 50. Life may not start at 50 years of age, but it sure doesn’t have to end there either. Curtis decided to embrace her age by calling it Fogue, a take on being an “old fogey.” Her idea was to give each artist, musician, or writer a voice and to have gatherings so the artists could share their art.
The artists display and sell their original fine art and jewelry in a 2-story storefront. “Whether they are emerging, established or reemerging artists, all the work is professionally executed, original, and affordable. Art should be accessible and not intimidating,†says Curtis. “It’s about connection and what speaks to the individual. You can’t go wrong with any of our selections.â€
Fogue Gallery also offers interior design and art consultations as an additional service. Receive personalized recommendations for art, décor, and lighting for your home and/or home office. Book an appointment online as well as shop for art in the comfort of your own home at foguegallery.com.
At the gallery, hours are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 12:00 pm-5:00 pm, AND second Thursday of the month 5:00 pm-8:00 pm for West Seattle Art Walk.
We thank Fogue Gallery 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.
Thanks to local artist/photographer Machel Spence for the photo – and happy birthday; she sent it with news that to celebrate her 50th birthday, she’s having a sale 12 pm-2 pm in her online shop. Here’s what else is happening today:
SCHOOL MEAL SITES: School is out for the summer but meals are available 11 am-1 pm today and every weekday (except July 2 and 5) at these four schools:
Arbor Heights Elementary – 3701 SW 104th St.
Denny International Middle School – 2601 SW Kenyon St.
Highland Park Elementary – 1012 SW Trenton St.
Roxhill Elementary – 7740 34th Ave. SW
LOW-LOW TIDE: As previewed last night, a week of low-low tides starts today. Low tide was at 9:37 am, -2.1 feet, but it still should be an interesting sight if you head out shortly after this is published.
ROTARY CLUB VISITORS DAY: 11:30 am-1 pm, the Rotary Club of West Seattle welcomes visitors to find out what they’re all about. Our preview explains how to be part of it.
DEMONSTRATION: Organizer Scott welcomes you to join streetcorner sign-waving for racial justice, 4-6 pm at 16th/Holden. Signs available if you don’t have one of your own.
POSITION 9 CITY COUNCIL FORUM: The MASS Coalition (Move All Seattle Sustainably) is hosting an online forum for candidates in this no-incumbent citywide City Council race at 5 pm. Register here for viewing info.
Something else for today – or beyond? Please email info – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
The White Center Food Bank, which serves part of West Seattle too, will soon lose the National Guard members who’ve been assisting during the pandemic, so its volunteer need is greater than ever. At a reader’s suggestion, we asked WCFB for more info about volunteering – here’s what they sent:
Interested in food justice? Volunteers know what goes on behind the scenes at the White Center Food Bank, and are critical to ensuring that our community is able to access the food they need. We are currently seeking volunteers for a variety of roles, and our need is high.
All volunteer shifts are during our business hours: Monday 9am-5pm and Tuesday- Friday 8 am-4 pm. If you can only help out once a month, or sporadically, please reach out, we’d still love to find a way to help you serve our WCFB community!
Volunteers 15 and older can volunteer alone, with a parent or guardian’s permission. Volunteers 8-14 are welcome to volunteer with a trusted adult in their life. Call or email Heather Crandall at 206-717-2527 or heather@whitecenterfoodbank.org to learn more, or you can apply to be a volunteer on our website at: www.whitecenterfoodbank.org/volunteer-application.
Volunteer Needs
Tent and Shelving Wranglers
Spend a few hours each week creating a friendly, organized grocery store by setting up for tearing down our farmer’s market style distribution. Hours are Monday 10 am-12 pm or 3:45-5 pm, or Wednesday through Friday 8-10 am or 1:45-3 pm.Grocery Rescue
Rescue food from grocery stores to provide diverse food options for customers as they shop at the food bank. Hours are Monday through Friday 9-11:30 amGrocery Store Clerks
Come for a regular shift and get to know our regular customers! Volunteers will welcome and chat with customers face to face as they shop for groceries, help customers find what they’re looking for, and will ensure our grocery store is well stocked throughout the day. Shifts available Mondays 12-4 (highest need!), or Weds-Friday 10 am-2 pm.Arms of Steel Team (Warehouse Support)
Volunteers who want to be more active and build/use some muscle can help us keep our warehouse organized, and assist with large donations of bulk items (either receiving or going out!). Shifts available Monday 12-4 pm, Tuesday 10 am-3 pm, or Weds-Friday 10 am-2 pm.Also:
Ride your bike with a purpose in your community by delivering groceries by bike for the White Center Food Bank: Every Thursday starting from 9:30 am to 11 am – 30 minute to 1 hour ride depending on route. The White Center Food Bank is looking for 7 volunteer riders to deliver bags and boxes of groceries to neighbors in and around the White Center and Southwest Seattle neighborhoods. The White Center Food Bank uses bags to package their groceries, so each volunteer rider will need to be able to carry at least two 20-pound bags of groceries on their bike. Having a cargo bike or bike trailer is prefered. If you don’t have a cargo bike or bike trailer, let us know – we have a whole fleet of bike trailers that we are more than happy to lend out! We’ll bring them to the food bank for them and you can drop them back off at the food bank after your delivery ride!
Interested in volunteering for this weekly grocery delivery and produce rescue ride?
Just follow these 2 steps!
Step #1 – Click here to fill out our simple volunteer sign-up form for this opportunity
Step #2 – After signing up a link to the route selection tool will be sent to you the Monday before the Thursday delivery rider that you sign up for!
6:12 AM: Good morning! A few degrees cooler today after Monday’s high (89) tied the (1992) record for that date.
ROAD WORK
SW Yancy – Open again between 28th and Avalon, after almost three months.
Delridge project – Here’s this week’s plan, with the Delridge/Henderson/Barton intersection remaining closed on the east side, and several other closures continuing including SW Thistle east of Delridge..
FERRIES/BUSES
Regular schedule for buses and ferries.
(Watch @kcmetrobus for word of bus cancellations, @wsferries for major WSF changes.)
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
456th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here are the views of other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: 24th week for automated enforcement cameras; restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily – except weekends, when the bridge is open to all until 8 am Saturday and Sunday mornings. (Access applications are available for some categories of drivers.)
Here’s a low-bridge view:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
And 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? See the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed. The 1st Ave. S. 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.
With 9 days at most until full reopening, here is tonight’s roundup of local pandemic-related information:
STATE OF THE PANDEMIC: The state Health Department released the latest every-other-week “modeling and surveillance” report, with these toplines:
*Statewide case counts and hospital admissions continued to decline as of June 3, but were starting to flatten slightly.
*As of June 3, case rates continued declining in all age groups except people 70 and older, among whom rates remained flat.
*As of the end of May, statewide transmission levels remained relatively high.
*While vaccination has helped to reduce transmission, increases in estimated population immunity have started to flatten as vaccination rates slow.
*Vaccination is clearly protecting people from severe COVID-19 illness, as demonstrated by the very different hospital admission trends we are seeing in unvaccinated populations.
*Variants of concern continue to pose additional risks for outbreaks and impacts to the health system, especially in places where vaccination rates are lower.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health daily summary:
*111,706 people have tested positive, 60 more than yesterday
*1,616 people have died, unchanged since Saturday
*6,317 people have been hospitalized, 3 more than yesterday
ONE WEEK AGO: Last Monday, the three totals we track were 111,164/1,615/6,275.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Check the state dashboard.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 178.7 million cases, 3,873,000+ deaths – 599,945 in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
VAX STATS: In King County, 77.4 percent of people 12+ have had at least one dose; 70.3 percent are fully vaccinated. In West Seattle, the most-vaccinated zip code is still 98136 – 88.7 percent of people 12+ have had at least one dose. (Maps and stats are here.)
3RD VACCINATION LOTTERY TOMORROW: Tuesday brings the third drawing for the “incentives” announced by the governor.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(Photo by Gill Loring, from May’s low-low tides)
With the full moon, another round of low-low tides is coming up in the week ahead, including this summer’s lowest low tide (minus 4 feet) on Friday. Here’s what’s happening, plus how to get expert advice for your viewing (most important advice is simple – please tread lightly and be mindful of the near-shore creatures not usually exposed):
LOW-LOW TIDES
Tuesday (June 22nd) 9:37 am -2.1
Wednesday (June 23rd) 10:22 am -3.2
Thursday (June 24th) 11:07 am -3.9
Friday (June 25th) 11:54 am -4.0
Saturday (June 26th) 12:41 pm -3.7
Sunday (June 27th) 1:28 pm -3.0
Monday (June 28th) 2:16 pm -2.0
EXPERT ADVICE
Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will be at Lincoln and Constellation (aka Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint) Parks Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, usually starting about an hour and a half after the lowest-tide moment. Here’s the schedule.
Tide walk – Thursday at 10:30 am, meet up with Seattle Parks’ Rec’N The Streets program for a free all-ages beach walk at Constellation Park (3521 Beach Dr SW). Organizers advise: “Bring some water comfortable shoes, water bottle, and cameras. Be ready to get wet and see some cool plants and animals.”
Thanks for the tips. Here’s why police were at 42nd/Morgan in Morgan Junction this past hour: They were dispatched to a report of a strong-arm robbery at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) – a shoplift turned violent, with the would-be thief/robber reportedly physically fighting with a store employee. Shortly after arriving, police arrested a woman at a bus stop just east of the store; SFD medics were called but weren’t commenting at the scene.
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