West Seattle, Washington
13 Sunday
A few reminders for the rest of your Friday:
(WSB photo: Animated Café proprietor, Melanie “Ana” Robbins)
OPENING DAY: As previewed here, Animated Café is now open on the northeast corner of 35th/Barton.
WYATT’S JEWELERS EVENT: 4:30-7:30 pm wishlist event, as previewed here, at Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village – email socialmedia@wyattsjewelers.com or call 206-937-9200 to see if there’s still room.
WINE: Taste, drink, buy wine @ the Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) tasting room, open 5-9 pm. (5910 California SW)
LIVESTREAMED SINGLE-RELEASE PARTY: As previewed last night, West Seattle musician Zoser has a free livestreamed 2-single-release party online at 6 pm tonight.
DJ NIGHT: 6-10 pm at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way)
‘MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA’: The new world-premiere play at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) continues its run at 7:30 tonight. Read about it here; buy your tickets here.
Something for our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
The White Center Food Bank, which also serves south West Seattle, needs your help, if you can donate food. Here’s the announcement we received:
We are running low on the following items and need our community to help fill the shelves:
Soup (pop top)
Broth
Peanut Butter
Rice
Sugar (in a box)
Condiments (BBQ, mustard, mayo)
Oil
Flour
Coffee & Tea
Soy Sauce
Mac and Cheese
Ramen Noodles
Salt
Black PepperDonation hours at the food bank are 8 am-3:30 pm M-F, 10829 8th Ave SW.
Please get in touch with a staff member when you arrive and they can help load in.
If those hours or location are not convenient, we have donation barrels located at:
– BECU in Roxbury Safeway
– Moonshot Coffee (White Center)
– Good Day Donuts (White Center)
– Future Primitive Beer (White Center)
– White Center and Fauntleroy Starbucks locations
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When you hear about “public-safety alternatives,” what does that really mean?
The spotlight topic at this month’s District 1 Community Network meeting, online Wednesday night, sought to answer that question.
Guests included both providers of those alternatives and a proponent of them, West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee again this year.
Herbold opened by acknowledging that crime in the city rose in 2021 crime, including categories such as gunfire and aggravated assaults, though homicides were down from 2020. Police Chief Adrian Diaz has said there’s no single cause; it has to be addressed with a public-health response, she said. The council has fully funded SPD’s hiring plan, she said, noting that SPD’s budget is down but $41 million of the cuts are because functions that used to be part of SPD are no longer part of the department – the 911 center, parking enforcement, emergency management. “The council has not made any cuts that have resulted in layoffs, but the staff is down because 350 officers have left.” Also, Herbold said, 170+ officers are on disability or extended leave in SPD, an “unusually large number” – many of them because of the vaccine mandate, many who may be “on their way out of the department.” 12 new officers were hired by year’s end but attrition is higher – in that same period, 13 more left. She supports a hiring incentive program but contends the city needs to continue developing alternatives to traditional policing.
Toward that, here’s the presentation into which she segued:
6:02 AM Good morning!
WEATHER
Today’s forecast is again breezy and potentially rainy, with a high in the 40s.
WEEKEND ALERTS
Tunnel closure – The 99 tunnel closes both ways tonight through Saturday morning, 10 pm-6 am, for regular maintenance.
West Marginal paving – As announced Friday, city crews will repave West Marginal both days this weekend, between 2nd SW and Highland Park Way, with work starting as early as 1 am each day and finishing by 1 pm, with only southbound traffic allowed on that stretch,
BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES
Metro is on its regular weekday schedule. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of reroutes/cancellations.
West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi routes are on regular schedules.
Ferries: WSF continues the two-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
682nd morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras are still 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:
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? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed; 1st Ave. S. 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 roads/paths/water? Text or call us (when you can do so safely) – 206-293-6302.
Thanks to Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Ernest Policarpio for sending the photos and report tonight:
Big shoutout to our girls bowling team, who missed state by just a few pins! Elsa Chao and Katie Kaisaki are Chief Sealth’s first individual bowlers to go to state and represent our school!!
Big shout-out to our girls wrestling team, who have won back-to-back-to-back Metro Championships!!! They are headed to Kent Meridian for sub-regionals on Saturday while we host the boys Metro Championships this weekend. Congratulate the athletes when you see them tomorrow.
Individual Metro Champs – Eden Lopez, Alyssa Reyes, Sophia Andreini, Delaney Graves, Miriam Faust, Saleen Kelly, Puna Faga
2nd Place – Jenny Brown and Elyse Ledger
3rd Place – Amelia Wright
You might know Zoser from his busking gigs at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market … or maybe you know him as a neighbor right here on the peninsula … or in his work with Delridge-based nonprofit Totem Star. Even if you don’t know him, you’re invited to his livestreamed Double Single Release Party online tomorrow night (Friday, February 4th). Zoser will be at Metropolist in SODO, you’ll be wherever you choose to connect to the stream, starting at 6 pm Friday. Zoser has recorded two albums – Genesis in 2019 and Evolve in 2020 – and is now releasing singles “Ain’t Basic” and “It Is What It Is,” looking ahead to a new album later this year. The announcement describes Zoser as “a singer/songwriter and music bender whose music has no boundaries (… shifting) seamlessly between pop, hip-hop, soul, and folk.” The livestreamed event is free but they’re requesting that you RSVP, which you can do here.
Thanks to Ian for sending the photo. He happened onto this streetcorner signwaving tonight just outside Dakota Place Park north of The Junction. Ian didn’t catch the specific reason for the demonstration, but we note that in addition to February being Black History Month, this week is Black Lives Matter at School Week throughout Seattle Public Schools.
Just announced by SDOT:
On Saturday and Sunday, we will be repaving West Marginal Way between 2nd Ave SW and Highland Park Way SW. We anticipate to begin this work as early as 1 AM and conclude by 1 PM on both days. During work hours, we will be limiting the area to southbound traffic only. People driving northbound will follow a detour route that continues north on 2nd Ave SW to Highland Park Way and connects at the Highland Park Way/West Marginal Way intersection. The road will be fully open outside of work hours, but please anticipate traffic delays and navigate the area with caution.
Another major combined-sewer-overflow storage tank is planned for our area, this time on the east edge of West Seattle, near the 1st Avenue South Bridge. This is the West Duwamish Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Project, and its aim is to comply with orders to reduce the number of overflows into the Duwamish River – specifically one outfall on SW Michigan Street that overflows an average of 4.6 times a year and one at Terminal 115 that overflows an average of 1.7 times a year. The new facility near 2nd SW/SW Michigan will be on 60,600 square feet of T-115, which is owned by the Port of Seattle, centered on a 1.25 million gallon underground tank – 140′ x 110′, 26′ deep – and related pipes. Here’s the King County Wastewater Treatment Division map:
For comparison, the storage capacity is 25 percent more than the big tank built across from Lowman Beach five-plus years ago, now known as the Murray Wet Weather Facility. The West Duwamish project will also include an above-ground 5,300-square-feet “facility building and outdoor odor control area” plus landscaping including a “stormwater bioretention facility.” The project also includes associated facilities such as a “diversion structure” near West Marginal Way and Highland Park Way SW.
Construction is not expected to start until 2025, but another key comment period is open now. Through February 14th, comments are being taken on the environmental checklist for the project – you can see it here. You can comment via email at WTDSEPA@kingcounty.gov. You’ll get a chance for a briefing and Q&A about the project at an upcoming HPAC meeting – watch hpacws.org for word of that.
3:15 PM: With the pm commute approaching, SDOT has just issued an advisory about a road closure that has stretched on for hours since a crash this morning:
The Seattle Department of Transportation closed SR-99/E Marginal Way between S Royal Brougham Way and S Hudson St [map] in both directions due to a damaged utility pole. A vehicle hit a utility pole that caused the pole to fall and is now supported by the wires across the roadway. The road will remain closed until further notice and will be reopened once SDOT crews verify that the area is safe to travel through. SDOT encourages travelers to find alternate routes if you are driving in and around the area.
Travelers on SR-99 SB coming out of the tunnel must exit at S Royal Brougham Way. Travelers on SR-99/SR-509/E Marginal Way NB are encouraged to use 1st Ave S and 4th Ave S.
We’ll update when there’s a change.
3:40 PM: Per SDOT, “Northbound lanes reopened to traffic on SR-99 at S Hudson St. Southbound lanes remain closed from S Royal Brougham Way to S Hudson St.”
4 PM: And now southbound has reopened too.
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:
UNUSUAL DUMPED/LIKELY STOLEN ITEM: HA emailed to say they “found an industrial heater/fan just off Delridge, south of SW Hudson. Based on the model number, it retails for about a thousand dollars. Rather than leave it where abandoned, I brought it home.” If you’ve had that type of item stolen (or otherwise lost), email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com and we’ll connect you with the finder.
MAIL THEFT TARGETING CREDIT CARDS: From MR:
I wanted to report repeated mail theft that strikes me as a bit odd and thought that perhaps others are experiencing the same. (I have filed police reports for both of the following incidents.)
My Capital One credit card was expiring, so they mailed me a new card. It never got to me, but I received notification from Capital One that someone was attempting to use it at a Shell gas station and also on the Square payment app in late January. I cancelled the card and Capital One sent me a replacement card.
I had not received the card, but this morning I was notified that someone was attempting to use the replacement card to make a very large purchase at a grocery store in White Center.
The thieves apparently were not able to activate the card in any of the cases and I was able to reject the charges and cancel the cards without them being able to use the cards.
What is odd is that I have a keyed mailbox which doesn’t show any indication that it’s been forced open or tampered with. Also, I signed up for the USPS Informed Delivery service after the original theft, and the Capital One envelope showed up on the scan on 2/1, but it was apparently stolen before it made it to my mailbox.
Thanks to West Seattle High School activities coordinator Angela Ferda for sending the photo and report:
Both our competition Cheer Squad and Ladies Bowling will be competing in state competitions.
Bowling will be traveling today to Narrows Plaza Bowl in Tacoma for the WIAA 3A state competition. Bowling is coming off a 13-0 undefeated season and this will be their 2nd time competing at the state level.
Cheer will be traveling on Friday to Battle Ground High School to compete in the WIAA High School State Championships in the no-tumbling co-ed category. This will be their third time visiting state since starting their competition squad.
Best of luck to all!
(Snoozing seal at Lincoln Park, photographed from a distance earlier this week by Susan Romanenghi)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and inbox:
GOVERNOR AND LOCAL LEADERS: Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Council President Debora Juarez, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and other local leaders from around the state will join Gov. Jay Inslee for his next media briefing, 2:30 pm. The livestream will be here.
BOREN STEM K-8 OPEN HOUSES: Online open houses for Louisa Boren STEM K-8 tonight – 5:30 pm for elementary, 6:30 pm for middle school. Details (and other dates) are in our calendar listing.
LIVE/WORK IN WHITE CENTER? Or anywhere else in North Highline? Your community council, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, meets online at 7 tonight. Agenda and participation info here.
‘MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA’: The world-premiere play at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) starts its second week at 7:30 tonight. Read more about it here; buy your tickets here.
BATTLESTAR KALAKALA: Monthly night of “rare funk grooves” at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), 9 pm.
Something for our calendar (where you’ll find even more for tonight)? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Three fun ways to help local schools, which need community help more than ever as the pandemic has dampened the usual fundraising:
VALENTINE SHOPPING WITH ALKI ELEMENTARY PTA: Through Sunday (February 6th), pre-order from the online shop benefiting the Alki PTA:
Cupid’s back with an offering to delight your sweet tooth and make your valentine’s heart flutter. Rose Bouquets (WS delivery available)
Franz Chocolates
Kid Valentine Gift boxes
Brush and Mallet Valentine Cards
Fizz Drink Kit complete with family activities and delicious Cupcake Royale cupcakesAdditionally, a Staff Fund will be available to contribute funds for Cupid to drop treats off to our amazing Alki Staff!
Presale ends THIS SUNDAY so don’t delay. We have Valentine’s Day covered for you!
Go here to browse/order.
LINCOLN PARK CO-OP DINE-OUT: This Sunday is also the day you can dine/drink at Lady Jaye in The Junction (4523 California SW) – dine-in, shop, or takeout – with proceeds benefiting Lincoln Park Cooperative Preschool. There’s also a take-and-bake dish you can preorder by Friday to benefit the preschool. Details on all of the above are in our calendar listing.
WSHS JUNIOR ASB DINE-OUT: Next Wednesday (February 9th), you can get food from Chipotle in The Junction (4730 California SW) and help out the West Seattle High School junior class ASB. Just tell the restaurant you’re there for WSHS. Our calendar listing includes a code you can use – that day, 5-9 pm only – to order online for the fundraiser.
Got a fundraiser, school or otherwise? Let us know – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
11:44 AM: A crash on East Marginal Way at Diagonal has led to a multi-hour closure, now stretching as far north as 99 at Royal Brougham. We don’t have details but this started a few hours ago.
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6:03 AM Good morning!
WEATHER
Today’s forecast is breezy and rainy, with a high in the 40s.
BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES
Metro is on its regular weekday schedule. Watch @kcmetrobus for word of reroutes/cancellations.
West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi routes are on regular schedules.
Ferries: WSF continues the two-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
681st morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras are still 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:
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? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed; 1st Ave. S. 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 roads/paths/water? Text or call us (when you can do so safely) – 206-293-6302.
Every Monday, once the Seattle Public Schools COVID-19 data dashboard has been updated, we publish an update listing the changes in local schools’ cumulative case counts. This past Monday, one school – West Seattle HS – showed a startling change, with the new cumulative count more than double what was shown a week earlier. Since we hadn’t seen an anomaly like that before, we asked the district about it. Here’s the explanation from SPS spokesperson Tim Robinson:
The issue here is one of a reflection of data availability, not trend shifts.
The dashboard was updated 1/24. The next day, dozens of rows were added to the WSHS database used by nurses entering the information. Consequently, the dashboard reflected older cases that had not yet been entered, which gave the appearance of a significant case jump.
The actual data from WSHS tells a positive story of decreasing cases. WSHS week-to-week data:
9/4/2021 – 9/10/2021: 1
9/11/2021 – 9/17/2021: 1
9/18/2021 – 9/24/2021: 1
10/23/2021 – 10/29/2021: 1
11/20/2021 – 11/26/2021: 1
11/27/2021 – 12/3/2021: 1
12/11/2021 – 12/17/2021: 5
12/18/2021 – 12/24/2021: 10
12/25/2021 – 12/31/2021: 3
1/1/2022 – 1/7/2022: 15
1/8/2022 – 1/14/2022: 55
1/15/2022 – 1/21/2022: 39
1/22/2022 – 1/28/2022: 7
Dashboard users can see and adjust the week-to-week data by using the sliding date filter in the upper left corner of the dashboard. (Pro tip: click on the date rather than use the slider, as that brings up a calendar that allows you to enter the specific date.)
Lastly – please see the note in red type at the bottom of the dashboard: “Due to high community transmission, contact tracing efforts have been prioritized to focus on notifying confirmed cases. Data continues to be processed as it becomes available so counts displayed here are subject to change.” While there may be a data lag on the dashboard, necessary action of communicating to those who require information is prioritized and does not lag.
The end dates on the time spans above are Fridays – each Monday’s dashboard update reflects case counts through the preceding Friday. Comparing the totals shown in the two previous weeks to the adjusted data, the January 24th increase was 30 below what it should have been, and the January 17th increase was 50 lower than the real number.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s almost Girl Scout Cookie time, and this year some local Girl Scouts are making special sales that will provide the tasty treats to hundreds more local families than usual.
(L-R, Cascadia’s Jillian Moore & Jeremy Vrablik, mom Kari Scheff & Scout Kyla Scheff, WSFB’s Lester Yuh & Karla Marifjeren)
Cascadia Produce is owned and operated by a West Seattle couple, Jillian Moore and Jeremy Vrablik. Their produce-packing business made a big pandemic pivot to help ease food insecurity. They now specialize in emergency food boxes – creating and distributing about 10,000 a month. This year, they plan to buy hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies from local Scouts and add them to the boxes.
One place through which they provide boxes is the West Seattle Food Bank. On Mondays, they provide boxes that are picked up by DoorDash drivers and taken to recipients who can’t come to WSFB to get them. These boxes are funded by Food Bank donors, but Cascadia also packs boxes paid for by state funds. The funding for those boxes runs out soon, but Gov. Jay Inslee‘s supplementary-budget proposal includes $74 million to extend that funding through the state Department of Agriculture. The proposal is currently before the state Legislature.
We talked with the Cascadia duo on Monday just before their weekly distribution at WSFB, joined by one of the West Seattle Scouts from whom they plan to buy cookies, Kyla Scheff from Troop 45180. The eight-year Scout says she and her troopmates appreciate Cascadia Produce’s support; her troop will be selling cookies online this year, and pre-ordering is already under way
Cascadia, meantime, is working on the logistics of their bulk Girl Scout Cookies purchases. They look at it as another way of locally reinvesting the funding they get from the state, as they do with whatever’s in season, when their suppliers include many women- and BIPOC-owned farms. Side note – they also fight food insecurity in their own North Delridge neighborhood, with Carrot Man’s Carrot Stand, stocked with box leftovers free to anyone who needs it:
(Photo courtesy Jillian Moore)
If you want to support their work, you can ask legislators to back continued funding for food insecurity relief. Contact info is here – we’re in the 34th District, and you can find contact info for local House Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon and Sen. Joe Nguyen there. And if you want to buy cookies – Scouts are selling to friends and family now, and official sales start February 11th. (New flavor this year – Adventurefuls!)
With balloons and banners, West Seattle High School celebrated National Signing Day, with two student athletes signing with colleges. At left is Reuben Leiataua, who will be playing football at Central Washington University. He’s planning to major in business or sports medicine. At right is Maddox Brent, who will be playing baseball at Wenatchee Valley College, and plans to major in business. Thanks to WSHS athletic director Corey Sorenson for the photo and info, and congratulations to the student athletes!
5:04 PM: That’s the SDOT camera image just moments ago from the scene of a crash on northbound 35th SW just north of Morgan. Avoid the area for a while. (Thanks to Kersti for the tip – and (added) photo!)
5:32 PM: Camera view now shows police still blocking the outside northbound lane, but the inside NB lane is open. SFD has closed out its involvement in the call; no medic unit, so apparently no major injuries.
Thanks to Tom Trulin for the tip and photo! Sunfish has reopened on Alki after an extended hiatus, usually an annual tradition for the fish-n-chips-and-more restaurant. Haven’t been there before? 2800 Alki SW.
Another stolen pickup truck to watch for – this one belongs to Miles, who sent the photo and report:
My truck was stolen this weekend parked on the corner of 42nd Ave SW and SW Andover St. The license-plate number is C28337Y (The old plates from the previous owner were in the cab, those plates had the number C56269K.) Gray 1999 GMC Sierra.
Call 911 if you see it.
(Photo courtesy Carmilia’s – L-R, Linda Walsh and Linda Sabee)
Almost nine years ago, we sat down for a chat with those two entrepreneurs – “The Lindas” – for a chat about being small independent retailers. Since then, Linda Sabee‘s boutique Carmilia’s has continued in its longtime home at 4528 California SW; Linda Walsh has long since moved her boutique Clementines to Pioneer Square. But today “The Lindas” are announcing a new West Seattle collaboration: Walsh is the new owner of Carmilia’s; Sabee will remain as buyer and support for events/customer connections. Their announcement says Walsh will be “adding her touch to Carmilia’s while keeping the same brands and styles that has made it a neighborhood treasure since 2002.” Walsh says the Pioneer Square home of Clementines – best known for shoes – has a “major rebranding” ahead but in the meantime the Carmilia’s collaboration has her “returning to the West Seattle neighborhood to partner with Sabee, her longtime fashionista friend.” As the new Carmilia’s partnership ramps up this month, they’re looking ahead to “doing events in the Spring to show off their spring goods and new partnership.” You can get word of those by subscribing to the Carmilia’s email list if you’re not already on it – shopcarmilias@gmail.com.
(P.S. If you’re not into in-person shopping, note that you can shop Carmilia’s online – Sabee gained citywide fame for that pandemic adaptation.)
10:08 AM: Seattle Fire is sending a “rope rescue” response to Lincoln Park. SFD says someone fell “40 feet down a slope.” Updates to come.
10:27 AM: Took a while for our crew to find out where in the park this was happening. It’s toward the far north end. The incident commander tells us the person who fell is a woman and she seems to be not seriously hurt. They’re still working to bring her out.
(WSB photo)
10:38 AM: We’ve talked with firefighters above the rescue scene but the victim has just been brought down to crews on the shoreside road, according to emergency radio.
(Added: Texted photo)
She’ll be taken to Harborview.
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