West Seattle, Washington
25 Monday
The class motto for West Seattle High School‘s newest grads was “We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust our sails.” Fitting, then, that their ceremony happened on a breezy night at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. Even principal Brian Vance noted the “June-uary” weather. But the joy of the night kept the shivers at bay, for spectators as well as grads:
ASB president Samuel Lewis spoke of the “unusual journey” he and his classmates had taken, particularly through the pandemic years, which brought “intentional and accidental” growth:
Staff speaker Kim Depew told her graduating students that she “got an education from YOU,” while marveling at their kindness and tenacity, and voicing confidence that their generation’s promise means “things are going to be all right”:
Exemplifying that hope, Cosmo Davis‘s “lessons of life” speech included his exhortation for classmates that “we have to fight to improve things … “we’re the future, not the adults; we need to start changing the world”:
The 250-plus graduates will do that in different places and different ways:
Some might even do it through music – this jazz performance was a highlight:
It was a summer-themed song, but the grads had a few last tasks before the first summer of the rest of their lives could begin. After their principal offered a few words of advice – including “perseverance” and “fail forward” – School Board director Leslie Harris declared “You are graduates!”
This was our area’s fourth and final Class of 2022 graduation. We covered the other three too:
Chief Sealth IHS
Seattle Lutheran HS
Summit Atlas
(WSB video/photos)
“Class of 2022, you made it!” That’s how Chief Sealth International High School principal Ray Morales greeted his first graduating class tonight at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex. He acknowledged what the 230+ seniors had experienced, with the pandemic dominating more than half their time in high school. But no one dwelled on that. Student speaker Joselyn Panganiban quoted the school’s namesake, Chief Seattle: “Take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints.”
Staff speaker Matthew Baudhuin speculated that students chose him for his “dad jokes” – and told a few – while also sharing words of inspiration, advising the grads to “go forth and be awesome.”
This was the shortest of the night’s two ceremonies at NCSWAC, but it included unique elements, starting with a land acknowledgment followed by a Native song:
As the graduates walked up for their individual moments of acknowledgment, many of their caps told stories, in some cases what’s next for the grads:
And in some cases, words of wisdom:
Whatever was or wasn’t on them, many of those caps went toward the sky after the tassel turn led by Jessica Hong:
School Board director Leslie Harris, asked by principal Morales if she would accept the class, declared, “Indeed I do!” Morales, meantime, was congratulated on his first year by also-first-year Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones:
(L-R, director of secondary schools Chris Carter, Harris, Morales, Jones)
In less than an hour, the ceremony concluded, with proud family and friends ready to greet the grads:
A short police summary from the weekend noted that, at 2 pm Saturday, “officers were searching for a suspect wanted for armed carjacking and eluding police … located the man mowing his lawn outside of his home and took him into custody.” Pursuing further information, we learned that the suspect was wanted for the May 12th shot-fired carjacking incident on West Marginal Way. 28-year-old James C. French was charged three weeks ago with first-degree robbery, and that’s why police had a warrant to arrest him on Saturday.
(WSB photo, May 12th)
The charging documents say French first caught police’s attention May 12th near 40th/Dakota, as what turned out to be a stolen vehicle was being loaded onto a trailer. Police caught up with the Ford Expedition towing the trailer under the West Seattle Bridge and tried to pull it over; the driver, believed to be French, didn’t comply. Police did not pursue but shortly thereafter happened onto a collision involving the Expedition and trailer (above) and another vehicle. French and others were photographed walking away from the scene toward a nearby gas station, where French is accused of stealing another vehicle at gunpoint, firing a shot in the process. Police found that stolen vehicle near 21st and Holly. The charging documents say that’s near French’s house, though police didn’t yet know that he was the suspect. They did find his ex-girlfriend, who said the Expedition was hers and that she already knew about it because someone had shown her, the charging document says, “a photo of her crashed white Expedition on the West Seattle Blog.” The investigation continued, and within a few days, police say, the carjacking victim identified French’s photo from a montage. He was charged May 24th but did not show up for his scheduled arraignment last week, so the warrant was issued. He’s now in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. According to court documents, he has no prior felony record.
Thanks to Brandy for sending the photo! That’s West Seattle muralist Desmond Hansen, working today on his newest signal-box portrait. It’s on the southwest corner of 35th and Trenton, and in case you don’t recognize the subject, we noticed in passing that the north side of the box now identifies him – Portland drummer Joe Plummer, known for his work with bands including Modest Mouse. (Added – commenter points out Plummer has Portland roots but calls West Seattle home!)
You might have noticed this response on your way to or from the 1st Avenue South Bridge: Seattle Fire was called to the transfer station on South Kenyon for what turned out to be a “smoldering garbage” fire. They put it out quickly, and no one is hurt.
(WSB photos)
Two months after we first reported that Alki Phở & Bar was on the way to 2808 Alki Avenue SW, it’s opening day.
The proprietors are Lynda Nguyen and Bien Phu Le.
They’ll be open 11 am-9 pm Sundays through Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Fridays and Saturdays.
You can see the menu here and here. The previous establishment in the space. J & J Public House, closed last November.
(WSB file photo, Delridge wading pool)
The city is finally out with this year’s schedule for wading pools. The list indicates four wading pools in West Seattle and South Park will be open:
JUNE 25-SEPTEMBER 5
Lincoln Park wading pool (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
7 days a week, 12 pm-7 pm
JUNE 27-AUGUST 21
EC Hughes Playground wading pool (2805 SW Holden)
Mondays, Tuesdays, Sundays, 12 pm-7 pm
JUNE 27-AUGUST 17
South Park Community Center wading pool (8319 8th Ave. S.)
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 12 pm-7 pm
JUNE 29-AUGUST 19
Delridge Community Center wading pool (4501 Delridge Way SW)
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Friday, 12 pm-5:30 pm
The Highland Park spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) is already open, 11 am-8 pm daily through September 5th.
You’ll notice that the Hiawatha wading pool is not on the list, likely because of work at the center and upcoming work at the play area, but its absence is not explained in the city announcement, so we’re following up. It hasn’t been open since 2019.
P.S. Take note, especially in this cooler-than-usual-so-far season, that the city generally opens pools on days when sunny/70-degrees-or-more weather is expected.
The biggest events tonight are both at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), where preparations are under way:
That’s the field where our area’s two biggest high schools will have their Class of 2022 graduations tonight – Chief Sealth International High School at 5 pm, West Seattle High School at 8 pm.
Also happening in the hours ahead:
LOW-LOW TIDE: Today’s tide was out to -3.2 feet just after 10:30 am, as previewed here last night, and that means prime beachwalking time for the rest of the morning and early afternoon.
CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: 2 pm, councilmembers look at the week ahead and recap the past week. No public-comment period, but the agenda explains how to attend/watch/listen.
WOMEN’S PERSONAL-SAFETY CLASS: 6 pm, online, free. Details, including the registration link, are in our calendar listing.
OPEN D&D: Drop in to play 6:30 pm-10 pm Mondays at Meeples Games (3727 California SW).
ZEN SITTING/MEDITATION: Free weekly event at the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm.
TRIVIA X 3: Three scheduled options tonight for trivia players – 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)
Have something coming up that should be listed on our calendar and in our daily previews? Please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
10:03 AM: Thanks for the tips. That big red SITE CLOSED sign is what you’ll see if you show up at the city’s COVID-testing site at 2801 SW Thistle. We went over to find out why; staff at the site told us the generator was vandalized, and crews from UW Medicine, which does the testing at the site, were on their way to assess. They’re not sure yet whether they’ll be able to reopen today (normal hours are 9 am-5:30 pm), so for now they’re directing everyone to the SODO site (3820 6th Avenue South, same hours). As we note in our weekly COVID-stats updates (like this one published last night), there’s also a Curative-operated testing kiosk at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW), open until 3 pm.
3:46 PM: UW Medicine says the site reopened later in the morning.
As noted, it’s the last week of classes for most local students. If your household includes a West Seattle High School student who’s planning on sports involvement this fall, you need to know what’s happening before school starts, with registration, tryouts, and practices starting in August. Fall sports include golf for both girls and boys; cross-country for both girls and boys; soccer, swimming/diving, and volleyball for girls; and football for boys. All the info you need is in this document sent by WSHS athletic director Corey Sorenson.
6:33 AM: The Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry route is down to one boat – the Kittitas is out for repairs.
7:27 AM: 2-boat service has resumed.
Earlier:
6:01 AM: Good morning; welcome to Monay, June 13th.
WEATHER
Breezy, partly sunny, chance of showers, high in the 60s.
ROAD WORK
Seattle Public Utilities‘ pavement-restoration work at California/Myrtle continues.
LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL
-Some schools are already out; Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) and Summit Atlas are out after Tuesday; Our Lady of Guadalupe is out after Wednesday; Westside School (WSB sponsor) is out after Thursday; for Holy Family and most Seattle Public Schools, Friday is the final day (for Chief Sealth IHS, it’s next Tuesday).
–Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex will see a lot of traffic tonight – the CSIHS (5 pm) and WSHS (8 pm) graduations are happening.
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
813th 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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