day : 08/05/2022 10 results

We’re still checking countywide and West Seattle COVID stats at the end of each weekend, so here are the current trends: Cases are up countywide for a seventh week, at a slower rate; hospitalizations are barely above the previous week; deaths continue decreasing. Here are the specifics, from the Public Health – Seattle/King County dashboard:

*16 percent more cases countywide in the past week than the week before
*Currently averaging 946 new daily cases countywide (up from 796 when we checked a week ago)

*1 percent more hospitalizations countywide in the past week than the week before
*Currently averaging 11 new hospitalizations daily (up from 10 a week ago)

*6 percent fewer deaths countywide in the past two weeks than the two weeks before (the dashboard doesn’t offer a one-week increment)
*Currently averaging 1 death daily (same as the two-week average last week)

For West Seattle, we have two-week comparisons (these are the combined totals from two “health reporting areas,” labeled West Seattle and Delridge):
*687 cases between 4/18 and 5/02, up from 435 between 4/3 and 4/17
*5 hospitalizations between 4/18 and 5/02, down from 6 between 4/3 and 4/17
*No deaths between 4/18 and 5/02, same as between 4/3 and 4/17

And checking vaccination rates:
*80.9 percent of all King County residents have completed the initial series (unchanged from a week ago)
*85.7 percent of all King County residents ages 5 and up have completed the initial series (up .1% from a week ago)
*48.8 percent of all King County residents have had the initial series plus a booster (up .2% from a week ago)

*In West Seattle, here are the zip-code vaccination rates for ages 5 and up (reminder, 98106 and 98146 are not entirely within WS):
98106 – 88% completed initial series (up .1% from a week earlier), 52.9% have had a booster
98116 – 92.8% completed initial series (up .1% from a week earlier), 64.6% have had a booster
98126 – 83.5% completed initial series (up .1% from a week earlier), 54.7% have had a booster
98136 – 93.7% completed initial series (up .1% from a week earlier), 67.8% have had a booster
98146 – 83.1% completed initial series (up .1% from a week earlier), 47.8% have had a booster

VACCINATION AND TESTING, UPDATED HOURS: No pop-up clinics on the near-future schedule, so you can look for vaccination locations via this statewide lookup. If you want to get tested and don’t have a kit at home, public testing sites include the city-supported site at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle, 9 am-5:30 pm Mondays-Saturdays), the Curative kiosk at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1220 Harbor SW, 9 am-3 pm Monday-Friday), and the Curative van at Summit Atlas (35th/Roxbury, 8 am-noon Tuesday-Friday). … If you need to report self-test results, that’s explained on this page.

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FOLLOWUP: Police hiring goes back to City Council committee Tuesday

May 8, 2022 10:59 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police | West Seattle politics

Two weeks ago, we reported on a discussion of Seattle Police‘s staffing/hiring struggles in the City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, chaired by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold. This Tuesday, the issue is back on the committee’s agenda, as are measures proposed by Herbold and by citywide Councilmember Sara Nelson. Herbold is proposing covering moving expenses for hires in SPD and some other city departments, while Nelson is proposing a resolution supporting hiring incentives such as bonuses. Both measures could be voted on at this meeting. Also on the agenda: An SPD report, as required by the council, on the department’s “efforts to identify a non‐sworn response for 911 call types that the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform categorized as appropriate for a civilian response.” The report notes that’s not so simple, as most calls turn out to be something other than what they were dispatched as, so SPD says it’s launched a project “to develop a risk assessment matrix to help determine which calls can be safely off‐loaded to an alternative response (though risk will never be completely eliminated).” This and the two councilmembers’ hiring-related proposals are on the agenda for the 9:30 am Tuesday (May 10th) meeting, which also explains how to watch/listen, and how to comment.

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SIX DAYS AWAY: West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day returns next Saturday!

May 8, 2022 9:30 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| Community Garage Sale Day | West Seattle news

From Sale #141 in the north to Sale #326 in the south, from Sale #119 in the west to Sale #317 in the east, the 16th West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day will bring together neighbors peninsula-wide next Saturday, May 14th. As announced here last night, the map/list is ready, with addresses and descriptions for all 320+ registered sales. The online-map page includes info on how to use it, including how to search for keywords in sale descriptions – if you’re looking for, say, toys, or antiques, or camping gear, or plants, etc. Over the next five days and nights, we’ll spotlight sales including unusual items, benefits, block sales, and more – also keep checking the map page before sale day as that’s where we’ll note any map changes (such as last-minute cancellations) and other helpful info. We’ll be spending the week telling everyone for miles around about WSCGSD – if you have family/friends/co-workers who would enjoy spending the day on our peninsula, invite them over too!

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SPORTS: Two high-school playoff games Monday

May 8, 2022 7:48 pm

| Comments Off on SPORTS: Two high-school playoff games Monday

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

The spring season for high-school sports is coming to an end, and that means it’s playoff time. The Metro League schedule shows two games tomorrow for local teams that are having great seasons – at 4 pm Monday, the Chief Sealth International High School boys’ soccer team plays O’Dea at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle); at 7 pm Monday, the league-leading West Seattle High School baseball team plays Bishop Blanchet at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center (1321 SW 102nd).

P.S. Softball playoffs start Tuesday at NCSWAC, but the bracket doesn’t yet show which teams are playing which games.

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WEST SEATTLE WILDLIFE: Otter gone fishing

May 8, 2022 6:11 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

Thanks to Carl Furfaro for the photos of a River Otter on the beach at Lincoln Park this morning, enjoying a breakfast of fish. This gives us the opportunity to remind you of two things: One, yes, what you see here in and near West Seattle waters are River Otters, not Sea Otters, which are more common in the open ocean. Two, you might see a River Otter crossing a local street – especially streets by the water, like Alki Avenue – to get to an inland den, so while driving, be watchful for wildlife as well as people. This one, however, headed back into Puget Sound, perhaps for a second course:

P.S. Carl has a website with photos of other local wildlife – see them here.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen silver Ford van (update: found); hit-run damage; car break-in

May 8, 2022 4:14 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Three reader reports in Crime Watch this afternoon:

STOLEN VAN: From Kristina:

My brother-in-law’s van was stolen last night/this morning near the Highland Park Corner Store. Silver 2002 Ford E350, dent on driver side door, Thule box on top. Florida plate 60JMU. Police report # 22-115372.

4:46 PM: Update from Kristina – the van’s been found.

HIT-RUN DAMAGE: From Lindsay:

At approximately 4 am our car was involved in a hit-and-run (crash) while parked on the street. We live on 42nd Avenue between Hinds and Hanford. Our neighbor heard the crash and called the police. The police came and said it looks like our SUV was hit by someone going in reverse since there were pieces of tail lights on the street. If anyone sees a vehicle with damage to the back or saw anything please call it in. Incident # 22-115321.

CAR BREAK-IN: From Jessica:

(Thursday) at 1:03 AM at 1156 Alki car prowlers broke into and tried to steal our car. We have some pictures of them from surveillance footage. They were here for about 10 minutes, left, and came back with a car and a third person.

She says they only ended up stealing sunglasses but: “The key hole on the driver’s door and the ignition were significantly damaged and now unusable.”

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UPDATE: Flipped-car crash at 15th/Roxbury

May 8, 2022 1:25 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(Image from SDOT traffic camera)

1:25 PM: Thanks for the tip. Police and SFD are at the scene of a flipped-car crash on the westbound side of SW Roxbury at 15th. Texter says everyone got out OK, which is why there was no big “rescue extrication” callout. Updates to come.

1:38 PM: We’re told at the scene that one woman is being taken to the hospital via AMR ambulance, which means her injuries weren’t life-threatening. No sign of another vehicle involved, but we can’t find out for sure as no other information is available on the circumstances – the only officer left at the scene is there for traffic control while they await a tow truck. An SDOT incident-response truck is there now, and westbound traffic continues routing around via one inside lane.

2:04 PM: The scene is clear and all lanes have reopened, as shown on the SDOT camera. Meantime, commenter Courtney has an eyewitness report.

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WEST SEATTLE ART: Here’s who will create ‘art interruptions’ along greenway

May 8, 2022 12:34 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Delridge | Highland Park | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(2017 WSB photo)

Remember those goats and other art under the bridge in 2017? Those were “art interruptions,” temporary installations as part of a city program. Next round is in the works, as this week the city announced the artists chosen to create some along one of West Seattle’s greenways:

The Office of Arts & Culture in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation has commissioned four emerging public artists to create temporary art installations along the Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway for Art Interruptions 2022. The artworks will be installed on city-owned infrastructure and offer passers-by a brief interruption in their day through moments of surprise, beauty, contemplation, or humor.

The artists selected are:

Va’eomatoka “Toka” Valu
Clare Johnson
Malayka Gormally
Tommy Segundo

Look for the latest artworks in Delridge-Highland Park Neighborhood Greenway summer of 2022! Artists were selected by a panel of artists, community members, and city staff. Art Interruptions is an ongoing program funded by the SDOT 1% for Arts Fund.

You can find a map of the greenway here.

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ORCAS: Sunday sighting

May 8, 2022 8:32 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

Kersti Muul reports orcas southbound passing Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook.

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WEST SEATTLE SUNDAY: 13 notes

May 8, 2022 6:34 am

| 6 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(At Lincoln Park, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

Happy Sunday, and Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s what’s on the list today:

ROAD-WORK ALERTS: Here’s what SDOT has planned for today:

On Sunday, we’ll be replacing two traffic signs on SW Spokane St in the westbound direction. We anticipate this work to begin as early as 7 AM and conclude as soon as 5 PM. We’ll need to reduce the two travel lanes to a single lane and there may be delays for people driving.

DONATION-ONLY YOGA CLASS: 9 am at Jet City Labs (4546 California SW) – details in our calendar listing.

CHURCHES WITH ONLINE SERVICES: We’re still listing these – see today’s list here.

SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN PEONY FESTIVAL: Again today, you can celebrate spring flowers at the garden on the north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus, 10 am-4 pm, with performances throughout the day, and more.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, find fresh food – produce, meat, fish, cheese, beverages, baked goods, and prepared food – at the weekly WSFM. (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)

FUNDRAISER PLANT SALE: 10 am-5 pm at 13257 5th Ave SW in Burien, a second day for the sale to support Weed Warriors’ restoration work at the Myers Way Parcels in West Seattle.

LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Does Mom enjoy history? Here’s someplace to take her today. The Southwest Seattle Historical Society has reopened its museum on Alki, and you can visit noon-4 pm, (61st/Stevens)

‘THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE’: Final performancee of Twelfth Night Productions‘ musical, 3 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW). Get tickets here.

‘ALMA’ AT ARTSWEST: First time Benjamin Benne‘s play is being performed in Seattle! 3 pm curtain at ArtsWest Playhouse (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor). Get your ticket(s) here.

NEED FOOD? White Center Community Dinner Church serves a free meal (take-away available) at 5 pm Sundays at the Salvation Army Center in South Delridge (9050 16th SW).

KUNDALINI YOGA & MEDITATION: 7 pm at Inner Alchemy Studio (7356 35th SW) – details here.

SUNDAY NIGHT JAZZ: Triangular Jazztet at The Alley (4509 California SW), 8 pm and 9 pm sets.

SUNDAY NIGHT KARAOKE: 9 pm to 1:30 am at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW).

Have an event to list on our calendar? We’re adding more daily – email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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