Scenes from West Seattle Summer Fest Eve & Art Walk

July 14, 2022 6:30 pm

| Comments Off on Scenes from West Seattle Summer Fest Eve & Art Walk

| West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)

6:30 PM: If it’s on the Easy Street marquee, it’s happening – and the heart of The Junction is now indeed the hub of activity to get ready for West Seattle Summer Fest, first one since 2019. So people are here walking in the now-closed streets. There’s music too:

Naby Camera at KeyBank Plaza for The Art of Music pic.twitter.com/EHrOOBHFMv

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 15, 2022

Naby Camera is playing until 7:40 pm at KeyBank Plaza (California/Alaska, SW corner) as part of The Art of Music, complementing tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk. More on the art in a moment. First – look for orcas on the west side of California, midblock between Alaska and Edmunds:

That’s where you’ll find Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail tonight and all weekend – kids can get a scavenger-hunt card to follow The Whale Trail all around The Junction through the festival (explained here) in celebration of Springer’s rescue. (FRIDAY UPDATE: Come get maps at the Info Booth Fri-Sun.) Back to the Art Walk – one of the places you can visit in The Junction is Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor), having a group show with store-alum artists tonight:

(Read about the Click! show here.) More from the Art Walk – venue list/previews here – and festival preps shortly.

Reminder, California SW is now closed between Genesee and Edmunds (with Oregon left open to through traffic) and SW Alaska is closed between 44th and 42nd for Summer Fest setup (here’s bus-reroute info) – here’s a live SDOT cam:

The festival starts at 1 pm Friday.

7:20 PM: At John L. Scott Real Estqte on the west side of California just north of Oregon, one amazing show decks the walls throughout the office:

Bob Willoughby photographed many Hollywood stars in the classic era’s heyday. See them tonight, with his son Christopher Willoughby and widow Dorothy there to answer questions, until about 9 pm.

ADDED 8:32 PM: More artists we stopped in to see – Sonya Rupnick at Fogue Gallery (4130 California SW; WSB sponsor):

Dan Rosen at Verity Credit Union (4505 California SW; WSB sponsor):

Many artists’ work is displayed at the businesses all month long, so if you didn’t get out tonight, check out the venues some other time. Meantime, we have one more Art of Music scene – harpist Alyvia Miller played at Welcome Road Winery in South Admiral (thanks to linda McKelvey for the photo):

During Summer Fest, main-stage music is scheduled 3 pm-10 pm Friday, noon-10 pm Saturday – and stage setup was the first thing to happen as street closures began this afternoon:

See the music schedule here. We’ll see you at Summer Fest – starting at 1 pm Friday!

Share This

WEST SEATTLE LIGHT RAIL: Sound Transit Board committee backs Junction tunnel and Andover station options

July 14, 2022 5:29 pm

| 31 COMMENTS

| Sound Transit | West Seattle news

This afternoon, the Sound Transit Board‘s System Expansion Committee gave its unanimous support to a recommendation for the light-rail “preferred alternative” from West Seattle to SODO. As for the rest of the West Seattle/Ballard stretch, various studies will push back that part of the Final Environmental Impact Statement, so West Seattle to SODO will basically have its own FEIS. The “preferred alternative” supported by the committee today includes the same options in the “example” shown to another board committee one week ago (WSB coverage here) – these two slides (here’s the full deck) tell the story:

Support for the DEL-6 option comes despite the Seattle City Council passing a resolution saying it can’t support any of the Delridge options, Meantime, the proposal (read it in full here) that received committee support today also keeps in play possible modifications including a Junction-station entrance at 42nd and removal of the Avalon station:

While removing the Avalon station could save $60 million, that savings is not needed for the West Seattle segment to remain “affordable,’ ST staff clarified at the request of West Seattle-residing board member Joe McDermott of the King County Council. McDermott also asked the board to reiterate that this decision still sends all the previously studied alternatives ahead in the Final EIS – the others just wouldn’t have the same level of engineering study as the “preferred alternative.” That was as he voiced concerns about the two organizations that say they and their clients would be displaced by the Andover station option, mental-health/supportive-housing provider Transitional Resources and child-care provider Alki Beach Academy. McDermott expressed hope that some sort of design modification might be possible to spare them.

WHAT’S NEXT: Today’s vote was a recommendation to the full board, which meets on July 28th. They will decide on the “preferred alternative” to send into final environmental studies, which would be followed by a decision next year on what to build. The West Seattle segment is projected for completion in 2032.

Share This

FOLLOWUP: Results of city’s ‘geoclean’ amid Harbor Avenue RVs

July 14, 2022 4:13 pm

| 52 COMMENTS

| Environment | West Seattle news

Since learning last week that the city planned an “intense one-day ‘geoclean'” of the Harbor Avenue RV area this week, we checked the area every morning and afternoon, looking for signs of “intense” activity. Monday morning, we saw a truck doing junk pickup, and police standing by. Today, Seattle Public Utilities confirmed that Monday was the “geoclean” day – spokesperson Sabrina Register told WSB, “Crews collected 5,000 lbs. of trash and debris from Harbor Ave SW & SW Harbor Lane.” This was not a sweep like the most recent Andover/26th cleanup, however; nine RVs remain on Harbor at our last count, though some have moved from the north side of the street to the south side,

Share This

WEST SEATTLE WILDLIFE: Three reports, from Puget Sound to Longfellow Creek to Belvidere

July 14, 2022 2:52 pm

| 15 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

We’re taking a quick mid-afternoon break from the rest of the news to show you these wildlife sightings:

LUNCH AT LOW TIDE: Dianne sent this photo of a Great Blue Heron lunching during this morning’s low-low tide:

We’ll have more low-low tide photos in a separate roundup tonight – thanks to those who’ve sent theirs so far!

BEAVER SIGHTING: Manuel sent this video from Longfellow Creek:

This was just south of West Seattle Health Club, he reports.

SKUNK SIGHTING: Rose shared the link this video:

Rose explains that she “had a surprise visitor to the Wild Reiki Spa the other night. I had no idea we had skunks in the Admiral/Belvidere area!” (Here’s what the state says about skunks.)

Share This

TRAFFIC ALERT: West Seattle Summer Fest street closures begin

July 14, 2022 1:03 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

As we’ve been reporting, West Seattle Summer Fest street closures are starting earlier than past years – and the first one is in place now: California SW is closed between SW Oregon and SW Genesee.

This block is where you’ll find the main stage on Friday and Saturday, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on Sunday. Meantime, the other street closures – California between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th – are scheduled to begin around 4 pm. (Oregon itself will remain open as an east-west corridor.)

Share This

WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Auto-theft attempt; stolen plants

July 14, 2022 12:19 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

AUTO-THEFT ATTEMPT: Erika has a report that also serves as an alert:

I live in a relatively quiet, but not dead street in Delridge neighborhood near Home Depot. Yesterday around 4pm, broad daylight and while we were home, someone (s) attempted to steal our Kia Sorento. In a span of 30 mins( time span caught by security camera in the neighborhood) they managed to smash my back window in, rip the steering column cover off to attempt to hotwire the car and also attempted to steal the catalytic converter.

My neighbors and I are a little shocked ( maybe naively) that this happened in broad daylight, on a street that has fairly consistent traffic ( cars, bicyclists, dog walkers, etc) and they boldly did this without concern of being caught.

I have reported to the police and they have the video footage, but they said there has been an uptick in daylight thefts occurring so wanted to make the community aware.

STOLEN PLANTS: Erin sends an alert for gardeners:

I’m writing to report that some Gatewood neighbors on 37th and Ida had several very healthy tomato plants in pots in their parking strip stolen in the middle of the night earlier this week. This is an especially cruel form of unneighborly crime and I am so disheartened to know anyone would stoop so low as to steal another human being’s future summer bounty. Watch your plants, neighbors!

Share This

Summer Fest Eve, West Seattle Art Walk, low-low tide, much more for your Thursday

July 14, 2022 10:39 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

Looking ahead to the rest of today/tonight – first, the spotlight event:

SUMMER FEST EVE: Streets close this afternoon in The Junction for West Seattle Summer Fest setup, starting with California SW north of Oregon around noon, which is why the No Parking signs are out. California between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th, is then scheduled to close around 4 pm. As has become a tradition, you’re invited to come wander the streets and enjoy the evening. Look for The Whale Trail‘s table to get started on the festival’s orca activity. And, as noted in our previous preview, that includes the Junction venues participating in the West Seattle Art Walk, which is where our list for today/tonight continues:

JULY’S WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: That’s the venue list – not just businesses where you’ll find art and/or artists, but also food/drink specials for Art Walk participants. For previews and details, see the WSAW website. While The Junction has always been at the heart of Art Walk, you can enjoy art all over the peninsula, from Alki to Arbor heights, “5 pm until late.”

THE ART OF MUSIC: To complement the visual-art feast laid out across the Art Walk map, two live performances are planned tonight, both 6-7:40 pm – Naby Camera at KeyBank Plaza (California/Alaska) and Alyvia Miller at Welcome Road Winery in South Admiral:

Read more about tonight’s featured musicians – with links to video previews – by going here.

And all that is just pqrt of what’s up!

BLOCK DROP: As previewed here, you’re invited to participate in Block Drop mini-cleanups – today, equipment is available at 26th and Brandon until 5 pm

LOW-LOW TIDE: Today the tide is out to an ultra-low -4.0 feet again, at 11:55 am. Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are out until 2 pm. (We have no update yet today on the water safety between Alki Point and Andover but we’re checking.)

WADING POOLS OPEN: Sunny and warm today, so the city will open the pools that are scheduled for Thursday operations. In West Seattle, that means Delridge (4501 Delridge Way SW), noon-5:30 pm, and Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), noon-7 pm. Highland Park Spraypark at 1100 SW Cloverdale is also open, 11 am-8 pm.

COLMAN POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm, go swimming in the saltwater pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).

SOUND TRANSIT BOARD COMMITTEE: At 1:30 pm, discussion of possibly modifying the “preferred alternative” routing for West Seattle/Ballard light rail is on the agenda for the Sound Transit Board‘s System Expansion Committee (hybrid meeting – public comment will be taken in person and online).

PARK DISTRICT PUBLIC HEARING: As previewed here yesterday, the City Council, meeting as the Park District Board, holds a public hearing at 5:30 pm on the next six-year funding cycle for this property-tax-levy-funded source of supplementary funding for Seattle Parks and Recreation (hybrid meeting – public comment will be taken in person and online).

ALL-AGES OPEN MIC AT THE SKYLARK: 5 pm signups start this special all-ages open mic at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), sponsored by neighboring Mode Music Studios (which is also a WSB sponsor).

BLUES NIGHT AT THE SPOT: 5:30 pm blues music at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way).

ULTIMATE AT FAIRMOUNT: 6 pm, Thursday night summertime Ultimate pickup games are back at Fairmount Playfield (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW).

OPEN MIC AT C & P: Come share your talent with the world at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), 7 pm.

One more note:

BASTILLE DAY QUIZ: West Seattle resident Julia Douthwaite Viglione is offering a trivia quiz, with a prize, in honor of Bastille Day today. Find it here.

Have something to add to our calendar? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

Share This

CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle Rotarians of the Year announced

July 14, 2022 9:31 am

| Comments Off on CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle Rotarians of the Year announced

| Rotary Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

Another comeback this summer – the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Rotarian of the Year award – given to two people this year to make up for the skipped year. Here’s the announcement from club president Alan Mitchell:

During normal years, West Seattle Rotary ends its year in late June with an evening Installation Banquet during which we recognize both outgoing and incoming officers of the Club and the Service Foundation, members who passed away, and our most outstanding member – our Rotarian of the Year. However, due to COVID, these past two years have not been normal. As we ended 2020-21, we had no Installation event. As we recently ended 2021-22 on June 28th, we had a Zoom-only noontime Installation Celebration.

Because we had no Rotarian of the Year awarded in 2020-21 and we had two worthy of the award in 2021-22, we awarded two Rotarians of the Year on June 28th: Kjersti Stroup and Christine Peak. However, being a Zoom-only event, presentations of their award plaques were virtual. Shortly afterward, 2021-22 President Alan presented them with their actual award plaques: outdoors on July 1st to Christine over wine at Pine Lake Cellars and outdoors on July 7th to Kjersti over lunch at Endolyne Joe’s.

Among Christine’s award-worthy accomplishments in 2021-22 were organizing outstanding speakers for every Tuesday Club meeting (despite COVID and hybrid functionality) and co-founding our newest Service Committee, the Peacebuilders Service Committee.

Among Kjersti’s award-worthy accomplishments in 2021-22 were leading the creation and execution of our new Spring for Kids project for underserved local area elementary school children and overall leadership of our Service Foundation (despite COVID and a new baby).

Of course, there were many more noteworthy members and service projects in 2021-22, including those which granted over $19,000 in scholarships to local area graduating high school students. Please go to our website to learn more about West Seattle Rotary, www.westseattlerotary.org.

Share This

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Summer Fest Eve begins

July 14, 2022 6:03 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:023 AM: Good morning; welcome to Thursday, July 14th.

WEATHER

The forecast is for another sunny day, high possibly into the low 80s.

SUMMER FEST EVE

West Seattle Summer Fest road closures start this afternoon, earlier than past years – California north of Oregon are expected to close at noon today for stage setup, while California from Oregon to Edmunds, and SW Alaska from 42nd to 44th, are scheduled to close at 4 pm. Closures then continue until everything is cleared post-festival Sunday night. (See this Metro webpage for bus-reroute info – although it’s not currently listed to take effect until 6 pm, which conflicts with the earlier closure plans.)

BUSES, WATER TAXI, FERRIES

Metro buses are on their regular weekday schedule until the Summer Fest reroutes kick in; watch @kcmetroalerts for word of other reroutes/trip cancellations.

The West Seattle Water Taxi is, so far, back on its regular schedule.

Ferries: WSF continues on the two-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth – and WSF says that probably won’t change before next spring. Check here for alerts/updates.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

844th 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.)