West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Whatever you’re concerned about, Mayor Bruce Harrell wants you to know he is working on it – or has just hired, or is about to hire, someone who will be.
That was the theme during his first guest appearance answering questions from the District 1 Community Network during its monthly meeting online tonight.
MAYOR HARRELL: This was the mayor’s first appearance at any public West Seattle community-group meeting. He opened by saying he’s trying to be “transparent in what we’re trying to do,” taking action “with kindness, with data … we don’t mince words … we work seven days a week.” D1CN prepared questions in advance to start with. First, he was asked about city neighborhood-district councils, which were supported by the city until two mayors ago. (D1CN is a hybrid successor to what were the Southwest and Delridge Neighborhood District Councils covering west and east West Seattle respectively.) Harrell said he hired Greg Wong as Department of Neighborhoods director to determine “in neighborhoods, what works best?” He said he hopes to have, “maybe by end of summer,” “a strong recommendation on what the new kind of neighborhood network should look like.” He asked for neighborhoods’ input on that.
Before the rain swept in, the warm spring weather was perfect for West Seattle High School‘s Field Day activities at Hiawatha Playfield next door. That included a performance by the student band Service With A Smile:
Service With A Smile members are Callan Barth, senior, vocals/guitar; Johanna Duncan, senior, bass; Mollie Slatkin, junior, vocals/guitar; and Wade Beeler, sophomore, drums (Wade’s proud dad Chad Beeler of The Bass Shop [WSB sponsor] tipped us about the show). Field Day fun also included food trucks:.
A trailer from Nintendo was there too.
ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY REPORT: If you got a city-issued parking ticket between September 1, 2021 and April 5, 2022, the city is canceling it – and if you already paid it, you’l get a refund. According to an announcement from the mayor’s office late today, this is because a mistake was made when Parking Enforcement Officers were transferred to SDOT last year. Long story short, as explained in the announcements, once they were no longer in SPD, the PEOs were supposed to get “special commissions issued by the Chief of Police” so they could keep enforcing the law. That didn’t happen – until the new administration noticed it and fixed it. But that meant uncommissioned officers had issued tickets to about 200,000 people, and those are being voided. To check if you got a ticket that’s involved, go here. The city says if you’re entitled to a refund, that’ll happen automatically, starting next week. If you’ve gotten a city-issued parking ticket since April 5th, you’re out of luck – that’s valid. The city’s announcement says they estimate refunds are due to 100,000 ticket recipients who had already paid, while 100,000 others have not-yet-paid tickets that will simply be voided.
ADDED THURSDAY EVENING: We asked mayoral spokesperson Jamie Housen two followup questions: First, how much this will cost; second, what kind of investigation is under way into who was accountable for the mistake? First answer: Just over $5 million including the cost of a third-party administrator. Second, “The mayor has requested additional information from the involved departments about the transition of the PEOs and the issuance of special commissions and will use this information to determine next steps and how to improve coordination between departments.:
(King County Assessor photo)
Just added today to the city’s Early Outreach for Design Review list, a plan for up to 140 “affordable” apartments at 8830 25th Avenue SW, currently the site of a driver-licensing office, across the street from the east side of Westwood Village. The description proposes “a mix of studios, 1-bedroom and 3-bedroom units for a total of 120-140 units [for renters] up to 60% AMI [Average Mean Income].” A site plan filed with the city says it’ll be a 5-story building with an unspecified amount of on-site parking, to be built by SRM Development. The “early outreach” phase mandates community feedback, so if you want to be involved with that, there’s contact info in the item on the city website. Online records show the almost-one-acre site was sold last year for $3.1 million. We’ll be asking the state about future plans for a new driver-licensing location.
Yet another summer tradition is returning this year for the first time since 2019: Night Out block parties to celebrate community safety. Southwest Precinct crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Danner just announced that registration is open if you’re interested in closing your (non-arterial) street for a block party – find the link here. Night Out is the first Tuesday in August, so this year that’ll be August 2nd. (Here’s our coverage of 2019’s Night Out around West Seattle.)
(Photos courtesy Westside School)
Student artists from Westside School (WSB sponsor) hope you’ll take a journey to explore a view into their journey. They’re hosting a four-school show at the Museum of Museums, titled “Emerging Attitudes.” Their announcement explains that it’s “based on the many different perspectives into the middle-school journey.” The exhibit also features work by students from SAAS, Lake Washington Girls School, and University Prep, in multiple mediums, and was organized by Westside’s middle-school art teacher Colleen Barry.
Westside students and family are getting their first look at the show tonight, and then it’ll be open to the public June 3rd-July 13 at MoM, which is at 900 Boylston Avenue, just east of downtown.
Thanks for the tip! Seattle Public Schools is offering regional COVID-vaccination clinics before school gets out for the year, and one is happening in West Seattle this Saturday. Noon-3 pm at Denny International Middle School (2601 SW Kenyon), students and staff are welcome to get vaccinated – whether initial series or booster shots. If you can’t book an appointment, they’re welcoming walk-ups too. Details are on this page of the district’s website.
P.S. As mentioned in our weekly trends update, there’s also a pop-up vaccine clinic Saturday at the Loop the ‘Lupe event, open to all, 10 am-3 pm at Walt Hundley Playfield (34th/Myrtle),
(Tuesday sunset, photographed by Hana Alishio)
Here are the highlights for today/tonight, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
COUNCIL COMMITTEE: The City Council’s first hybrid meeting is the Public Assets and Homelessness Committee, 2 pm today. The agenda includes a discussion with the Low-Income Housing Institute about its projects and sites, including the expansion of West Seattle’s Camp Second Chance tiny-house encampment.
WHITE CENTER PRIDE: The celebration begins with tonight’s 6:30 pm flag-raising ceremony at Triangle Park (Delridge/Roxbury/16th). ADDED: 5:30 pm youth march precedes it – see comment below.
POETS AT PAPER BOAT Writers Teresa K. Miller and Amanda Moore read their poetry tonight at 6:30 pm at Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW) – details in our calendar listing.
MAYOR @ D1CN: Tonight’s District 1 Community Network meeting features Q&A with Mayor Bruce Harrell, online at 7 pm. Our calendar listing has information on how to attend.
LIVE MUSIC: Locöl Barley & Vine (7902 35th SW) has live music 6:30-8:30 pm Wednesdays, no cover, 21+, rotating artists.
SKYLARK OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm signups @ West Seattle’s longest-running open mic – no cover to watch. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
LIVE MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: 8-10 pm on Wednesdays, Kimball and The Fugitive Trio play live at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW).
TRIVIA x 2: Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 8 pm; at 8:30 pm, trivia is back at Talarico’s (4718 California SW) with Phil T.
Have something to add to our calendar? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Family and friends are remembering Arthur Gunlogson, and sharing this remembrance with the community:
Arthur Gunlogson died May 4, 2022, in West Seattle, a few weeks after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was born in 1928 in Akra, North Dakota, the oldest of four siblings. In 1944 he joined the Navy, serving on the USS Duluth. While a reservist studying at North Dakota State, he was recalled to active duty for the Korean War, serving on the USS Bon Homme Richard. He completed his degree at the University of Washington and embarked on a long and productive career as a civil & structural engineer.
Art had an endless succession of projects, large and small, from constructing houses for his family to building a sailing dinghy to putting together his own computer. He was happiest when busy, and especially when analyzing, designing, and building – a true engineer. He took special interest in the West Seattle Bridge and was eager to see it back in operation.
Art married Anne Kriegel in 1956 and raised three children with her in West Seattle, where they lived until her death in 1990. In 1995 he married Anita Meyer, with whom he spent many happy years in the Chehalis area (with winter breaks in Arizona), until her death in July 2021.
He is survived by his sister Janice (spouse Jack Brandt), daughter Christine (Greg Carlson), and son Mark (Heidi Bornstein); his son John (Rosie) died in 2013. He leaves three granddaughters, Rachel, Grace, and Ellie, and an extended step-family.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)
6:03 AM: Good morning; welcome to Wednesday, June 1st.
WEATHER
Another cloudy forecast but the high could get into the mid-70s (Tuesday hit 70).
ROAD WORK AHEAD
*Seattle Public Utilities says that long-promised pavement-restoration work at California/Myrtle/Frontenac might finally start this week. No sign of heavy equipment by EOD Tuesday, though.
*The Highway 99 tunnel will be closed this Friday night for monthly maintenance.
BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES
Metro is on its regular weekday schedule; watch @kcmetroalerts for word of reroutes/trip cancellations.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.
Ferries: WSF continues on the two-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
800th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
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.)
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way (one of four new cameras!):
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Are movable city bridges opening for vessels? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed; 1st Ave. S. Bridge openings are tweeted by @wsdot_traffic.
All city traffic cams can be seen here; West Seattle and vicinity-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.
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