day : 11/08/2022 9 results

David Liguoy is spending the night in West Seattle tonight, another stop along his two-continent journey aboard a solar-powered recumbent bicycle, from Argentina to Quebec. Brian sent the photo, explaining he happened to meet Liguoy while at Angle Lake Cyclery in South Delridge, where Liguoy had stopped for a new tire. Brian explains that Liguoy is a peace and climate activist from France who’s stopping in the Seattle area “to meet with some well-known philanthropists.” He’s seeking support for initiatives that are explained on his website. He’s headed to Canada next; tonight he’s staying in a camper at Brian’s house, and Brian plans to “help him fit up some panniers to cross Canada.”

LOW-LOW TIDE: Today’s scenes from West Seattle’s shore

August 11, 2022 10:06 pm

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| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Low-low tides are back this week – not as low as earlier this summer, but low enough to get out and explore the shore, with some expert help. Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists were out at Lincoln Park and Constellation Park; the latter is where Susan Romanenghi photographed some of the turnout. For the three wildlife photos below, Michael Ostrogorsky was nearby, in the Alki Point vicinity:

Tomorrow’s low-low tide will be -3.0 feet at 11:41 am; the naturalists will be at Constellation (60th/Beach) and Lincoln (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) 10:15 am-1:15 pm tomorrow, and 11 am-1:30 pm Saturday – their last scheduled day this summer.

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DEVELOPMENT: West Seattle’s first tower crane in a year-plus, and 2 other notes

August 11, 2022 8:35 pm

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| Development | West Seattle news

Three development notes tonight:

TOWER CRANE: For the first time in more than 14 months, West Seattle has a tower crane. The last one to come down was for the 1250 Alki SW Infinity Shore Club (WSB sponsor) condo project; as of this week, this one is up for the 4508 California 7-story mixed-use project. Work at the site has been under way for almost three months.

DESIGN REVIEW: A little more than one block west, the 4515 44th SW project is going into the next phase of Design Review, though without a public meeting, as it’s going through Administrative DR. It’s a four-story building with 43 microapartments and no offstreet parking. The design packet is linked from this city webpage; you can comment to the city’s assigned planner at theresa.neyton@seattle.gov.

AEGIS LIVING PROJECT: We reported last month that Aegis Living is buying and planning to develop the long-idle, much-vandalized 5242-5258 California SW site. Now it’s appeared in the city’s Early Outreach for Design Review pipeline, with a few more details via this description:

Construction of a 95-100 unit, five level Assisted Living Community. In-building parking for 40-50 cars. Project will pursue living building challenge environmental certification.

Aegis already has a location in West Seattle, at 4700 SW Admiral Way. The new site holds a former strip mall/office bulding and two former restaurants.

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UPDATE: August’s West Seattle Art Walk, with music

August 11, 2022 5:22 pm

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| West Seattle Art Walk | West Seattle news

5:22 PM: We didn’t get a chance to publish an event list today – but it’s time now to get out and enjoy the night’s biggest event, this month’s West Seattle Art Walk. Here’s the venue list:

And here’s the list of restaurants/bars offering food/drink specials for Art Walk-ers:

To see who’s hosting artists, and who’s where, scroll through this month’s update on the official Art Walk website. For places staying open late and/or having artist receptions, hours will vary but most generally run until about 8 pm. Tonight also features two live performances for The Art of Music, 6-7:45 pm in The Junction and Admiral – here are the details on those. We’re headed out soon to make some stops and will add updates!

ADDED 6:22 PM: At Mystery Made in The Junction, you can create art:

Buy a T-shirt and tie-dye it outside!

ADDED 6:50 PM: We stopped at California/Alaska to enjoy the music:

Roz & Nathan in ⁦@WSJA⁩ for ⁦@WSArtWalk⁩ until 7:45 pic.twitter.com/lcRZl5nfUD

— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 12, 2022

ADDED 7:20 PM: At Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor), Rodolfo Rios Garza is tonight’s featured artist, with work focusing on trees:

ADDED 7:35 PM: One more stop for us – Verity Credit Union (4505 California SW; WSB sponsor) is hosting photographer Julija Naskova, who’s showing images of Buddhist temples in Asia:

Even if you didn’t get out tonight, many businesses keep the art up throughout the month, so you can still see it – and in many cases, the artwork is for sale, too. Art Walk is always the second Thursday, so next one is September 15th.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Gunfire damage; ‘prolific shoplifter’ arrested; two thefts – catalytic converter and bike battery

August 11, 2022 4:49 pm

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| Crime | West Seattle news

Four items in West Seattle Crime Watch:

GUNFIRE: From today’s police summaries – just before quarter till 10 this morning, an officer checked out a report of damage in the 3200 block of Harbor SW. The summary says, “The officer saw damaged windows and a damaged wall” and collected evidence of gunfire. Two businesses were affected, SPD says – but the incidents happened 5 nights apart, with the second one last night/this morning.

‘PROLIFIC SHOPLIFTER’ ARRESTED: Also from today’s summaries, a suspect described by police as a “prolific shoplifter” was booked into jail after two West Seattle incidents this morning. In the first one, he’s accused of trying to steal $50 worth of beer and swinging a bottle at people who tried to stop him, turning the incident into a robbery. Later in the morning, an officer who had investigated that incident was flagged down about a theft at the Marshalls store in Westwood Village. The summary says, “The officer recognized the suspect from the earlier robbery and placed him in custody for both crimes.”

Also today, two reader reports:

CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT: From Lyn:

Reporting another catalytic converter theft in the neighborhood. My CR-V was parked off 45th and Glenn overnight and had the catalytic stolen, along with subsequent damage to the underside of my car.

BIKE BATTERY THEFT: From Ryan, a report with a warning:

I wanted to give you all a heads up that our Rad Powerwagon bike battery was stolen last night. It was locked to the bike but there was no sign of damage. Apparently there is a way to get the battery off without the key or with a different key. I know there are a lot of Rad Bikes around West Seattle so everyone should be aware and cautious. The person who stole my battery did it very quickly and I have no doubt they are living in the area. It was stolen near Alaska Junction on California ave. You may want to keep an eye on your bike battery or take it with you. A replacement is $500.

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BIZNOTE: West Seattle Junction wine shop Bin 41 closing at month’s end

August 11, 2022 1:59 pm

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| West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS beverages

Tonight, you might want to visit Bin 41 at 4707 California SW during this month’s West Seattle Art Walk. Not only is proprietor T. Frick the featured artist, she’s just made a big announcement: After 12 years, she’s closing her wine shop. Sunday, August 28th, will be the last day. In the meantime, she’s having a sale, and also mentioned to us in a brief phone conversation that if you have a gift certificate for Bin 41, now’s the time to use it. Store fixtures will be available too. For now, the shop remains open its regular hours, 1-6 pm Thursdays (open until 8 tonight for Art Walk) and Fridays, noon-5 pm Saturdays and Sundays. Providing inventory isn’t sold out sooner, the shop will be open daily its last week (starting August 22nd), 1 pm-6 pm Monday-Friday, noon-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Any late-breaking changes, Frick says, will be announced via social media.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE SPACE: Before Bin 41, the space held children’s-clothing store Georgia Blu for 2 1/2 years. We noted here last year that the building was purchased last August by owners associated with the Maharaja restaurant/bar, who also had purchased the building a few doors south that formerly held Taqueria Guaymas. We spoke briefly today with Sam Virk from the ownership group; he said he hasn’t started seeking a new tenant yet, but said there are no plans to redevelop the building. (We also asked Virk about the status of the ex-Guaymas space, where a new restaurant, Indochin Wok, is planned. He told us they had more work to do inside the space than expected, but it’s still on the way.)

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WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE: SDOT announces September 18th reopening date

August 11, 2022 10:30 am

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| West Seattle Bridge Safety Project | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, Tuesday, looking west at part of the bridge repair-work zone)

Two months ago, SDOT announced it expected to reopen the West Seattle Bridge “the week of September 12th.” (That was a revision from the previous “midyear” estimate, first cited in early 2021.) Since the “week of September 12th” announcement, they’ve stuck to that projected timeframe, with a promise that they’d get specific with about a month’s notice.

This morning, they’ve finally announced a specific date: Sunday, September 18th, which will be five days short of exactly 2 1/2 years since the bridge’s sudden closure on March 23, 2020 because of growing cracks. Today’s announcement was foreshadowed two days ago, when we toured the repair-work zone atop the bridge with SDOT and learned from project director Heather Marx that this would be the day they’d announce a date. Today’s announcement also contains this caveat regarding the September 18th reopening date: “This will depend on the successful completion of remaining work, including finishing epoxy injections, carbon fiber wrapping, paving, safety inspection platform installation, and robust safety testing.”

(Photo by Mike Burns, looking north from Andover foot/bike overpass)

(Our Tuesday report includes details of what’s happening now and what’s yet to come.) Today’s announcement (read it in full here) also notes, as has been reported multiple times, “All restrictions on the Spokane St. Swing Bridge (also known as the West Seattle low bridge) will end on the same day” that the high bridge reopens.

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THIS WEEKEND: 9th annual Alki Beach Pride

August 11, 2022 9:22 am

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| Fun stuff to do | West Seattle news

This weekend’s biggest event is just two days away – the ninth annual Alki Beach Pride celebration, spanning both Saturday and Sunday, at multiple locations. Each day features a slate of live music and DJs, Saturday (August 13th) at Blue Moon Burgers (2504 Alki SW) and Sunday (August 14th) at Marination Ma Kai (1660 Harbor SW) – you can see the slates on the ABP website. Those are the two locations where wristbands will be available for discounts at participating venues. Other planned events include: Drag brunch at Arthur’s in The Admiral District, 11 am-3 pm Sunday; a wheels parade (skating, bicycling, etc.) from Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza at 1 pm Sunday; yoga at the beach at 6 pm Sunday; and an outdoor movie at Alki Playground – “The Birdcage” – at 7 pm Sunday. Organizers again this year are Stacy and Jolie Bass-Walden and they’re excited to get the party started.

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Thursday notes

August 11, 2022 6:03 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, August 11th.

WEATHER

Today’s forecast is for sunshine and a high around 80.

FERRIES, BUSES, WATER TAXI

Ferries: WSF remains on the 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.

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.

And if you see this boat –

(Photo by David Hutchinson)

That’s the new Des Moines passenger ferry to/from downtown Seattle.

BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES

872nd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. 31 days until the week SDOT hopes to reopen it. (The exact reopening date is expected to be announced today.)

Low Bridge: Automated enforcement cameras remain in use until the high bridge reopens; 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.)