West Seattle, Washington
20 Tuesday
10:47 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are arriving at 26th/Barton for a report of a person on board a Metro bus with a gunshot wound to the arm. Whether they were shot aboard the bus isn’t clear; police had been on their way to check out a report of shots heard at another location when this call came in.
11:07 PM: Thanks to Regina for the photo. The victim, whose wound is in the forearm, is being taken to Harborview. Meantime, a texter reports they live near Westwood and heard the shots” and adds, “A man who was on the bus told us that the shooter was intoxicated and had been arguing with the victim, then pulled a gun and shot 4 times into the bus. Unclear if the shooter was still on the bus or had exited.”
11:45 PM: They’ve been searching with a K-9 team, and now it appears the Guardian One helicopter is headed this way to help look, too.
3 AM NOTE: No further information tonight; we’re following up later this morning.
ADDED THURSDAY: The King County Sheriff’s Office (which includes Metro Transit Police) is handling the investigation and says there’s nothing additional to report, aside from confirming no one’s been arrested. SFD says the victim is a 26-year-old man, in stable condition when taken to the hospital.
The texter who sent that photo is one of several who pointed out the new signage at 5048 California SW, the former vehicle-licensing office. As we first reported last October, it’ll be the home of Till Dawn. In February, we got a few more details from co-proprietor Andrew Spence (who’s also a co-founder of South Delridge’s 2 Fingers Social) – who described Till Dawn as a “super-nerd bar,” for “beer nerds, coffee nerds, gaming nerds.” We checked in with him today; he says they’re ready to go, just waiting on inspections. And yes, he confirmed that as the window signage suggests, Boon Boona Coffee will be their roaster.
Before the elections next year for Seattle’s seven by-district City Council seats, the boundaries for those seven districts will be redrawn, to reflect population changes. For months, a volunteer commission has been working on drafting new boundaries – we reported on their initial four draft maps in February. Now the commission, chaired by Admiral resident and former mayor Greg Nickels, has come up with one final draft, and is seeking opinions. Above is the section including the proposed new boundaries for District 1, which currently spans West Seattle and South Park, but would expand to add SODO, Georgetown, and part of downtown. See the full citywide draft map here in PDF, or here in an interactive format. From the city’s announcement:
Over the past five months, the Commission has hosted or participated in more than 50 community information sessions, a community survey, and seven public forums to gather feedback from the public about the redistricting process and its potential impact on neighborhoods. This process has resulted in the Commission adopting a draft map of new City Council District boundaries. Members of the public are invited to submit public comment on the draft map and its proposed district boundaries. …
The Commission’s draft map was generated at an open public meeting of the Seattle Redistricting Commission on August 2 and was informed by the public comments submitted over the last five months. The map follows City Charter and state-mandated criteria using geographic information system (GIS) expertise and 2020 Census data to draw new boundaries and establish districts that are compact, contiguous, and approximately equal in population. The map also accounts for additional factors such as – to the extent practical – following existing district boundaries, recognizing waterways and geographic boundaries, and preserving Seattle’s existing communities and neighborhoods.
Public Comment
A discussion of the final draft map will now begin and both public comment and participation are requested by the Seattle Redistricting Commission. Members of the public can review the final draft map and offer feedback at seattle.gov/redistricting/how-to-participate.
The designated public comment period is open from (today) until the date the Commission files the final district plan, which is currently scheduled to be November 8, 2022, and shall be no later than November 15, 2022.
If you would like to obtain a physical copy of the draft map, please contact Logan Drummond at Logan.Drummond@seattle.gov. You can also find a copy at the customer service desk in Seattle City Hall, located at 600 Fourth Avenue.
Public comment can be made:
In-person at one of three Public Forums
–Public Forum #1: Tuesday, August 9th, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Physical Location: Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, Boards & Commissions Room L280
Virtual Link: us06web.zoom.us/j/84697105761
-Public Forum #2: September – date and time TBD
-Public Forum #3: October – date and time TBD
-In-person at any regularly scheduled Seattle Redistricting Commission meeting. Check the Seattle Redistricting Commission website for dates and times.
-In writing using the Seattle Redistricting Commission’s public comment submission form.If you would like more information or to request interpretation services for any of the public forums, please contact Elsa Batres-Boni at Elsa.Batres-Boni@seattle.gov or 206-256-6198.
To compare the proposed boundaries with the current ones – which reflect how the districts were drawn for the first by-district elections in 2015 – see the current map here.
No changes in who’s leading the six races in which our area voted this primary. King County Elections is out with the second round of results. First four races below are from the full King County result list, last two are from the statewide results linked to the race tutle, all percentages rounded:
34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 1 (no incumbent)
Emily Alvarado (D) – 52%
Leah Griffin (D) – 32%
34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE REP. POSITION 2
Joe Fitzgibbon* (D) – 83%
Andrew Pilloud (R) – 17%
34TH DISTRICT STATE SENATOR
Joe Nguyen* (D) – 83%
John Potter (R) – 10%
DISTRICT 7 U.S. HOUSE REP.
Pramila Jayapal* (D) – 84%
Cliff Moon (R) – 8%
U.S. SENATOR
Patty Murray* (D) – 54%
Tiffany Smiley (R) – 33%
WASHINGTON SECRETARY OF STATE (no incumbent)
Steve Hobbs (D) – 41%
Julie Anderson (NP) – 13%
As of tonight, the county has received almost 38 percent of West Seattle/South Park ballots; countywide, almost 37 percent, with more than a third of those still to be counted, along with whatever’s received by mail in the days before the election is certified.
ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY REPORT: A man is in jail for investigation of hate crimes and assault after an incident at Westwood Target on Tuesday afternoon. Police say they got first word around 1:12 pm when a store manager called 911 to ask for help with a “previous shoplifter who had returned and was causing a disturbance.” Target security asked him to leave; the police summary says the man then “made racially biased comments and indicated he intended to fight with someone.” Target security offered him food to try to “de-escalate” while escorting him out, but the man, police say, “began randomly assaulting people, apparently based on their race, resulting in one person being (choked) and four being assaulted by various means.” That’s when police arrived and took him into custody. Seattle Fire says no one suffered major injuries; SFD treated one person, a 36-year-old man, for what they called “minor injuries.” The photo is from a person who texted us about this yesterday; we didn’t get details until today. The texter says they and others inside the store at the time intervened to keep things from getting worse before police arrived. We don’t yet know the suspect’s name so we don’t know whether he’s still in jail.
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: We’ve obtained the probable-cause documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – in essence a far-more detailed version of the police report. Here’s the narrative, with the 36-year-old suspect’s name redacted as he is not yet charged (though the KCPAO tells us a charging decision could happen later today):
At 1312 hours on 08/02/2022, a disturbance call was generated at 2800 SW Barton (Target store). The following was advised: “INSIDE, MALE SHOPLIFTING, STATING THAT HE WANTS TO HURTS PEOPLE AND “IS WILLING TO GO TO JAIL THE RIGHT WAY”, NO ASLT, NO WPNS SEEN.”
Upon arriving to the location, it appeared the store had been evacuated as dozens of people were standing outside the front door. Officers were guided to the location of (suspect) who appeared to be waiting for police around the checkout area. He was detained by officers without incident.
Store security provided a recorded statement relating the following: He observed (suspect) steal two energy drinks earlier in the day, exiting the store without payment. Store security observed (suspect) reenter the store, talking to himself. Store security approached (suspect) who related he was in his predicament due to privileged white people. Wanting to get (suspect) out of the store peacefully, store security offered to provide (suspect) with food if he’d leave. (suspect) remarked that he wanted to hurt people. Store security was alarmed, raised his palms in defense, and made a, “whoa,” remark. (suspect) replied he would not harm the store security officer because he was a person of color. (suspect) then remarked loudly that he wanted to hurt white people. While in the store, (suspect) approached a family of four adults, yelling it was all their fault whilst kicking their cart and trying to get the family to fight. (suspect) threw an open energy drink in the face of one, causing the liquid to enter his eyes and struck the same subject in the lower left hip with an avocado from a distance of between 5-15’, causing significant swelling. The victim’s father was struck in the back of the head by what he believed to be a muffin which did not cause injury.
(suspect) approached an adult male and punched him in the back of the head without any provocation, causing pain. (suspect) threw a full, unopened plastic water bottle which struck an adult female in the back of the head, causing pain. (suspect) approached an adult male, placed his hand around his throat and squeezed for a duration of approximately ten to fifteen seconds. The victim (name redacted), related he did not think he lost the ability to breathe but had visible redness/bruising around his throat and stated it hurt to swallow; he was seen by SFD medics on scene. All of the aforementioned victims appeared to be either Caucasian or of fair complexion. (suspect) was placed under arrest for investigation of hate crime and investigation of assault. I am additionally requesting charges for the four other victims of assault in the fourth degree.
(suspect) was advised of his “Miranda Rights,” which he stated he understood. (suspect) wouldn’t speak at length with me, but when asked why he assaulted the people inside the store, he related they knew why. He declined to speak further. (suspect) was transported to KCJ for booking.
The suspect’s bail was set at $25,000, as requested by the KCPAO.
ADDED 3:50 PM: The KCPAO has just charged the suspect, Kevin Parkman Jr., with one felony count of hate crime. The documents filed with the charge have the same narrative as published above. The document also mentions Parkman has “five active warrants and seven convictions for violating court orders.”
(July photo sent by John Bennett)
You might have forgotten, but the concrete drivers’ strike never really ended – drivers just decided to go back to work in April while continuing to negotiate, and that enabled a restart of stalled aspects of the West Seattle Bridge repairs. Then this week, a reminder that the drivers are still working without a contract – the drivers, represented by Teamsters Union Local 174, voted down the newest contract proposal this week. The union called it “subpar” but so far has not announced another work stoppage, Still, the prospect is certainly a source of concern. With less than six weeks to go until the week that SDOT is hoping to reopen the bridge – the week of September 12th – how much concrete is still needed, and for what? we asked SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson. Reply: “The remaining concrete work to pave the bridge deck and parts of the Spokane St Viaduct and Fauntleroy Expressway leading to the bridge requires about 450 cubic yards of concrete over the coming weeks.” We asked what’s being done to try to avoid having that interrupted. Bergerson said, “Anticipating potential risks and making contingency plans for unexpected factors beyond our control has always been critical to the West Seattle Bridge project. Our construction contractor is currently working with concrete suppliers to attempt to speed up the concrete delivery timeline. We are trying to order as much concrete as we can, as soon as possible.” For now, though, as reported here last week, “the week of September 12th” remains the estimate, with a promise that we’ll get a more specific date when they’re 30 days out.
A man charged with raping a Highland Park woman will be arraigned tomorrow and is also facing possible charges in another rape two weeks earlier. So far, 46-year-old Sonny Borja (Department of Corrections photo at right) is charged in a July 14th attack, in which he is accused of breaking into the 38-year-old victim’s apartment while she slept and raping her repeatedly. According to the charging documents, his apartment was in the same block as the victim’s, and he had approached her multiple times in the days before the attack, including following her to a park and asking her to unnecessarily jump-start his car. Borja was arrested July 20th and charged two days later, at which time his bail was set at, and remains at, $1 million.
At the time of that incident, Borja had been out of jail for eight days, having spent five days there for allegedly raping another woman on June 30th, this time in his own Highland Park apartment. Court documents say he was released in that case because prosecutors did not yet have the evidence required to consider chargesm, but the case remains under investigation. In the documents for the charges on which he’ll be arraigned tomorrow, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office says Borja has a “shocking and extensive” history of violent crimes. The cases comprising that history happened in Thurston and Pierce Counties, as far back as 1999, when Borja was in his early 20s. One of those cases began with a rape charge but ended with a plea to a reduced charge of assault.
.@BlueAngels cruising in to #Seattle about 10 min ago. @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/sjyCUjD6Xw
— Kevin Freitas (@kevinfreitas) August 3, 2022
1:10 PM: Thanks to Kevin for the photo (and Gill for the tip by phone) – the Blue Angels are back in Seattle. A few reminders: They’re based at Boeing Field but near the terminal, NOT in the publicly viewable areas of years past, because of the bigger new jets and the equipment required for them … They’ll be practicing Thursday (added: times)
Thursday, August 4
11:00 AM – #1-4 Practice Flight
12:00 PM – #5-6 Practice Flight
2:20 PM – #1-6 Practice Flight
3:20 PM – Fat Albert Practice Flight
And they’ll be flying their performance routine Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (3:05 pm is the scheduled time those three days) … no freeway closures but you’ll likely notice different air-traffic patterns over West Seattle when they’re flying … the Museum of Flight has a special (admission required) Jet Blast Bash event (with pilot-autograph sessions promised) all weekend.
They’re here! pic.twitter.com/4Xr9oKarVF
— The Museum of Flight (@museumofflight) August 3, 2022
ADDED 2:53 PM: Thanks to Monica Zaborac for sending these photos:
(That middle photo is “Fat Albert,” the Blue Angels’ support plane.)
10:58 AM: Seattle Fire has a “rescue extrication” response headed to the 2100 block of Arch SW (map) for a report of a car into a ravine. This will affect traffic in the Fairmount Ravine area – access to the incident area is “tight,” as firefighters are pointing out to dispatch. Updates to come.
11:01 AM: Firefighters confirmed to dispatch “We have a car in the ravine.” Now they’re trying to determine the status of occupant(s). … Update: “One patient, appears to be fine.”
11:09 AM: They’re still working to get that person out of the car.
11:20 AM: The person is out and described in “stable condition.”
11:42 AM: SFD is wrapping up its response, so most emergency vehicles should be cleared out of the area soon.
(Squirrel photographed at Camp Long by James Hiersche)
Here’s what’s up in the hours ahead, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WADING POOLS OPEN: The city says wading pools will open, since a sunny, warm afternoon is forecast. In West Seattle today, the pools scheduled to be open are Delridge (noon-5:30 pm) and Lincoln Park (noon-7 pm). (Also, Highland Park Spraypark at 1100 SW Cloverdale is open 11 am-8 pm.)
COLMAN POOL: The outdoor pool at Lincoln Park will be open today as its 7-days-a-week schedule continues, noon-7 pm.
BLUE ANGELS ARRIVE: According to Seafair, the six performing jets are due at Boeing Field around 12:30 pm.
EAT BURRITOS, SUPPORT STUDENTS: Chief Sealth International High School‘s football program is benefiting from a dine-out fundraiser at Chipotle in the West Seattle Junction (4730 California SW) 4-8 pm today. See our calendar listing for information on how to ensure your purchase is counted.
NETWORKING: Wind Down Weekly networking at Junction Plaza Park, presented by Work and Play Lounge, 6-8 pm. (42nd/Alaska)
GET FIT, WEST SEATTLE: You can do it! Go from couch to half-marathon with this free training program courtesy of West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor). Find out about it in tonight’s 6:30 pm info session at the shop (2743 California SW).
LIVE AT LOCOL: Locöl Barley & Vine (7902 35th SW) spotlights live music 6:30-8:30 pm Wednesdays, no cover, 21+, rotating artists.
MUSIC BINGO: Now weekly at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm.
KUNDALINI YOGA, MEDITATION, SOUND BATH: New night and location – Inner Alchemy now presents this at Solstice Park, 7 pm Wednesdays. (7400 Fauntleroy Way SW)
SKYLARK OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm signups @ West Seattle’s longest-running open mic – no cover to watch. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
TRIVIA x 4: Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 7:30 pm; also tonight at 7 pm, you can play trivia at the West Seattle Brewing Mothership (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW); trivia starts at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW); at 8:30 pm, trivia is back at Talarico’s (4718 California SW) with Phil T.
THEATER: The new ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) production, “Here There Be Dragons,” has a performance at 7:30 pm. (4711 California SW)
Calendar event to add? Please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
if you’re looking for somebody to sing with – the Boeing Employees Choir might be the group you’re looking for, even if you’re not a Boeing employee! Here’s the announcement:
After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, the Boeing Employees Choir is singing again and planning a fun and challenging musical concert season! We typically provide 6-8 afternoon concerts to retirement homes and community centers each winter and spring. We are looking for adult singers who read music and have some choral experience. A low-stress audition is required (after you have checked out a few of our open rehearsals). It’s not necessary to be a Boeing Employee to sing in our 75-year-old choir. We invite you to attend an open full rehearsal on Tuesdays, 9/13/22, 9/20/22, and 9/27/22 from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the West Seattle American Legion Hall, 3618 SW Alaska Street, in West Seattle. Be prepared to laugh, sing, and make new friends! Please bring your updated Covid vaccination card.
6:01 AM: Good morning! It’s Wednesday, August 3rd.
WEATHER
Today’s forecast says we’ll have sun by afternoon again, high in the 70s.
FERRIES, BUSES, WATER TAXI
Ferries: WSF is on the 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates – always subject to change.
Metro buses are on their regular weekday schedules; watch @kcmetroalerts for word of reroutes/trip cancellations.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
864th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. 39 days until the week SDOT hopes to reopen it.
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 – camera malfunctioning, as are a few others in eastern West Seattle (they’ve been reported to SDOT, no estimate yet on when they’ll be back)
Highland Park Way/2nd SW (one of four recently installed cameras):
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, many with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are also on this WSB page
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Please text or call us (when you can do so safely) – 206-293-6302.
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