West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
6:01 AM: Good morning. Welcome to Thursday, September 8th.
TRAFFIC NOTE
As of right now, Admiral is still closed at this morning’s crash scene (46th-48th).
9:13 AM: Here are the repair crews:
10:35 AM: Just went back over to check. Still working.
2 PM: Now open.
WEATHER
Sunny, breezy, upper 60s predicted .
SCHOOL UPDATES
*Classes are canceled again today at Seattle Public Schools as the strike by its educators’ union continues.
*Other local schools are in session.
FERRIES, BUSES, WATER TAXI
Ferries: WSF continues the 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
Metro buses are on their regular weekday schedules; watch @kcmetroalerts for trip cancellations/reroute alerts.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
900th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. 10 days until SDOT expects to reopen it – on September 18th.
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.
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge – ALERT: “Expect intermittent single lane restrictions on South Park Bridge between S Orr St. and East Marginal Way S from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 9. Two-way traffic will be maintained at all times. The lane restriction allow crews room to inspect the underside of the bridge using a large under bridge inspection truck.”
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 currently functional 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.
1:40 AM: Seattle City Light map shows 4,600+ customers out of power in West Seattle. Possibly a driver vs. pole crash in west Admiral, per emergency radio. Updates to come.
1:50 AM: The crash is at 47th/Admiral. Police have just told dispatch they’re blocking Admiral both ways. They’re summoning City Light. … “The pole’s been completely disconnected. Wires everywhere,” officers radioed.
2:20 AM: Update on the closure zone, Admiral between 46th and 48th. Too soon to know how long it’ll take to restore power – the estimate that appears on the SCL map is always little more than a guess.
2:32 AM: Officers at the crash scene just told dispatch that SCL is there.
2:46 AM: Thanks to the commenters who provided photos of the scene. The one above is from SusanLP.
3:17 AM: As noted in comments, some have had power restored.
The SCL map shows 1,600+ still out – just about a third of the original number.
7:10 AM: 325 still without power.
9:27 AM: Those 325 are still out. City Light crews continue working at the scene.
(Thanks to Charlene for the photo)
9:48 AM: Police confirm to WSB that the driver who hit the pole was booked for investigation of DUI.
10:35 AM: Intersection’s still closed, with SCL still on scene.
1:26 PM: SCL reports everyone has their power back now. We’re headed over to check whether the intersection has reopened.
2 PM: It’s open.
We told you last week about local service clubs’ West Seattle-wide food drive coming up Saturday, September 10th. Now we know where you’ll be able to donate food that day.
Your donations will be collected by volunteers from the Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary and the Kiwanis-supported Key Clubs at Chief Sealth IHS and West Seattle HS. They’ll be outside these stores 9 am-1 pm Saturday:
Metropolitan Market (41st/Admiral)
PCC (California/Stevens)
QFC in The Junction (42nd/Alaska)
QFC at Westwood Village
West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy)
Trader Joe’s (4545 Fauntleroy Way SW)
Donated items go to the West Seattle Food Bank; see this list of what they most need (including some non-food items)
As reported here earlier, the Seattle Education Association went on strike first thing this morning. While talks are continuing, at this point it looks like the strike will continue for a second day Thursday. Here’s the information we have so far:
(Photo sent by BJ: Lafayette Elementary strikers this afternoon)
UNION: As of an early-evening statement, SEA says, “The Bargaining Team met with SPS in joint session with the mediator today starting at 10:30 a.m. and continues to make progress. SEA remains united for student supports, reasonable workloads, and respectful pay.” That followed negotiations through much of the night, according to SEA president Jennifer Matter, with whom we spoke at Sanislo Elementary this morning shortly after picketing began. The union statement says: “Unless the district comes to an agreement tonight, the 6,000 Paraprofessionals, Substitutes, Office Professionals, and teachers will be forced to continue the strike and picket again on Thursday from 7:30 – 3:30 pm.” When an agreement is reached, Matter told us, they will be able to call a general meeting “quickly” online to consider it. The union’s bargaining-info page, including a comparison of proposals, is here.
DISTRICT: Seattle Public Schools says that from here on out, it will update families daily by 3 pm. Today’s update, as we noted briefly earlier, officially canceled classes again tomorrow (Thursday, September 8th), which would have been the second day of the 2022-2023 school year. The SPS update also mentions that a mediator is participating: “While we don’t yet have an agreement, both the district and SEA are committed to working on our shared challenges. We are certain that an agreement can be reached that both values educators and serves students.” The district’s bargaining-info page is here.
MEALS: Again tomorrow, the district will offer sack lunches for all students at certain schools. Early this afternoon, we stopped by the Chief Sealth International High School/Denny International Middle School distribution site, which is in the dock area on the east side of the campuses:
The full list of meal sites is on this district webpage.
CITY RESOURCES: The city has published an update on various resources to assist families – see it here. Key point – If needed, starting on Monday, the city will offer eight community centers – two in West Seattle – as “recreation activity hubs”:
Starting Monday, September 12
Hours of operation will be 9:00 am to 5:30 pm at designated centers
Age group 5-12 (school age)
Designated community centers
Offering free recreational programs and activities
Families will be able to register online via ActiveNet starting Thursday, Sept 8th
(Here are the two West Seattle) designated community centers:Alki Community Center
High Point Community Center
We’ll update if any other information emerges tonight.
Last weekend we reported that Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor) might permanently close if its prospective buyer couldn’t reach agreement with the building’s owner on a new lease. Click! proprietor and co-founder John Smersh has just sent word that a deal was not reached. Here’s his announcement:
It’s official – the potential new owner of Click! has been unable to negotiate a sustainable lease with our landlord, and as such our last day open will be tomorrow, Thursday, September 8th. We will continue to liquidate our remaining inventory and will be offering store fixtures and other items at garage sale prices.
We will be open until 6 pm today (Wednesday) and 11 am-8 pm Thursday, staying late during West Seattle Art Walk for last-minute sales and fond farewells. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the last 18 years with us!
If you’re on the Click! mailing list, John promises “one more email newsletter next week with information on how to stay in touch going forward.” He put the shop on the market in May; it was in The Admiral District for its first six years before moving to The Junction,
Just as the West Seattle Bridge reopens, one of the businesses that’s practically next to it has announced a temporary closure. Just received from Luna Park Café proprietor John Bennett:
We recently have felt the after-effects of Covid and have done our best to stay open as much as possible to serve all our faithful customers. Unfortunately we came to the decision to temporarily close in order to do some much-needed systems updates. We don’t know how long this will take us since we want to be the best we can be when we do reopen!
We will be continuing with our current hours (8 am-3 pm) through Sunday the 18th so we encourage everyone to come see us and order their favorite shake, hobo, or Luna special before we take our break!
We look forward to reopening and having another great 30+-year stint!
Luna Park marked its 33rd anniversary earlier this year.
With a week and a half to go until the scheduled reopening of the West Seattle Bridge, four things to tell you about:
(Bridge work zone during our last visit, August 25)
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW: We asked SDOT if a key final step – load testing – has been taken yet, and what’s happening in general. From spokesperson Ethan Bergerson:
The final load-testing event, which will involve driving specialized heavy trucks over the bridge and measuring how the structure responds, is currently scheduled for Tuesday, September 13. In a sense, load testing has already been occurring for several months now as our intelligent monitoring system has been continuously recording data from the bridge 24/7. The bridge has responded as predicted throughout the repair process, as well as in response to changing weather conditions from the hottest days of summer to the coldest nights this past winter without showing any cause for concern. This ongoing stream of positive data under various extreme conditions gives us a lot of confidence that the final testing event next week will go according to plan.
This week, we are pouring concrete to close the last access points in the bridge deck that were created to allow crews and equipment to get into the bridge’s girders. We also began removing equipment and materials from the construction site that are no longer needed for remaining work activities. We plan to remove a few of the worksite trailers this week, which served as onsite storage facilities and breakrooms for crew members.
Crews are also continuing roadway preparation work to get the corridor ready for vehicles. This work includes pouring concrete for road barrier openings, striping lanes, and replacing guardrails. Permanent inspection platform installation is still underway inside the girders as well.
Meantime, three biznotes looking ahead to the reopening:
COUNTDOWN SIGN: Service businesses with a regional customer base are especially excited about the reopening of the high bridge. O’Neill Plumbing (6056 California SW; WSB sponsor) just moved that sign to its Morgan Junction property, after initially placing it by their Admiral/Avalon sign. Tim O’Neill (pictured) says, “We’ll be in line on the 18th, ready to go!”
COLLABORATIVE BREW: The photo and announcement are from The Beer Junction proprietor Allison Herzog:
To celebrate the opening of the West Seattle Bridge, several members of the West Seattle beer community collaborated on brewing a beer! Reunited is a West Coast IPA brewed at Good Society in collaboration with Beveridge Place Pub, Ounces, The Beer Junction, and Best of Hands Barrelhouse. We are planning to concurrently release our collaboration beer on Sunday, September 18th to coincide with the bridge reopening date and to welcome non-West Seattleites back to our beautiful peninsula. We plan to have the beer on tap all through the week of September 18th through the 24th, so stop by for a pint to celebrate!
PARTY PLAN: Another of those collaborators – the closest one to the bridge, in fact – has announced a party plan! From Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW) co-proprietor Laurel Trujillo:
WS Bridge Opening Party at Ounces!
Saturday 9/17: 2-9 pm & Sunday, 9/18: 11 am-8 pmWe’re throwing a 2-day event to celebrate the last day on the WS Island and the Opening of the bridge! Woohoo! Event features food trucks, desserts, live music, and so much more! We’ll also be tapping Reunited IPA [explained above]. Event is FREE and family/dog friendly. Full event details and a schedule of events can be found here: ounceswestseattle.com/wsbridgeopen
The Saturday theme will be “Last Day on the Island”; the Sunday theme will be “Welcome (back) to West Seattle.”
Is your business among those doing something special in connection with the bridge reopening? Please send us the info so we can include it in updates like this, as well as our Event Calendar – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
DAYTIME CAR PROWL: From Galen, who says this happened around 11:15 this morning:
38th Ave SW and SW Olga St. (Admiral) – Dark gray Toyota Sienna 2010/2016 (3rd generation). I was on my front porch and saw this man pull up and park. Didn’t think anything of it and went into the backyard. My neighbor then watched them because they began acting odd (opened the back of his car and shuffled things around all the while NOT looking at what he was doing but instead looking around the street). Walked over to my minivan and proceeded to look inside rather intently (tinted windows makes it hard to see in) before driving off.
The suspect’s vehicle has Oregon plates starting with 477; Galen described him as, “White male, late 20s, dark hair.”
CATALYTIC-CONVERTER THEFTS: Michelle forwarded this alert from her condo board, saying they’d heard reports of catalytic-converter thefts around Alki, including one Monday night at the Lighthouse Point building. (UPDATE: We also got a texted report today of a cc theft in the 1700 block of Alki SW.)
WEEKEND ROBBERY: Among the SPD report summaries from the long holiday weekend was this one we should note for the record: Just after midnight Sunday morning, a man summoned police to Alki and told them he’d been robbed at gunpoint outside the Harbor Avenue 7-11 about 15 minutes earlier. He said he was approached by two people who asked for a light; one then pointed a handgun at him and demanded his jewelry before they ran away. The report describes the suspects only as “two males,”
(WSB photo, Sanislo Elementary)
9:54 AM: Hours after the Seattle Education Association announced a strike – authorized in a vote announced 12 hours before that – many of its members are out picketing. We stopped at three local schools in the first hour. Above, Sanislo Elementary on Puget Ridge drew TV crews because SEA announced that’s where president Jennifer Matter would be in the early going. We talked with her briefly there; she said negotiations are continuing and had been for much of the night:
The union has dubbed this the “Strike for Student Supports” because a key issue, as Matter noted, is staffing levels as the district moves special education into a more-inclusive model; one of the hand-lettered picket signs on view at Sanislo said the school has a nurse one day a week, From there we went to adjacent Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School. Sealth picketers walked along busy SW Thistle and drew frequent honks from passing drivers.
To the north, Denny picketers walked a line in a mostly residential neighborhood.
(WSB photos above and below, Denny IMS)
The union says picketing will continue 7:30 am-3:30 pm daily for as long as the strike – their first one since 2015 – lasts. The two sides have been negotiating since early June. Union bargaining info is here; district info is here. We’re headed out to some other West Seattle schools shortly.
11:51 AM: Just back from four more schools. Picketing video from each of the seven schools we’ve gone to this morning is on our Twitter feed at @westseattleblog. Our fourth stop was Alki Elementary:
At Alki we talked with building strike leader Julie Calkins, a fifth-grade teacher who is in her 16th year at the school. “We are feeling unsupported,” she said.
She spoke of issues including the need to keep caseload caps. And yes, salary is an issue, she said, but primarily for the lowest-paid workers in the union, office staff and paraprofessionals – the higher-paid educators are “looking out for” them. She added, “We want to be in our building … (but) we feel we have no choice” but to strike. She encourages people to read information on the SEA website about where they stand.
Next we went to West Seattle High School:
Teacher Jennifer Hall told us she and colleagues had worked through the Labor Day weekend to set up their classrooms so things are ready to go whenever this ends.
She also spoke about the importance of keeping caselaad caps – “if caps are removed, we can’t give the students the services they need” – and the need for more support in areas such as mental health. Hall described WSHS as a “very unified school” where educators are determined to fight for respect. “This isn’t lots of fun.”
From there, to Madison Middle School:
Sixth-grade teacher Kara Kreider – who’s been teaching for 20 years – talked with us about the perception that the district isn’t supporting the priorities it has given voice to. “We’ve had so many district trainings” about inclusion, for example. But teachers feel the contract proposal doesn’t offer support for turning training into reality. Also a concern, collaborative planning time – two hours a month, Kreider said – that would be taken away. “We need inclusion to be done in a thoughtful way.” As with other schools we visited, striking educators had support from students, some there to picket with them.
Before heading back to HQ, we stopped by the West Seattle Elementary interim site at Schmitz Park:
WSES is here for a second year while the addition to their High Point building is completed. … One more photo, texted by Althea, showing the Fairmount Park Elementary strikers:
If the strike continues tomorrow, we’ll visit some of the West Seattle schools we didn’t get to today. We’re continuing to monitor for updates from the two sides regarding bargaining and day-to-day school status – no updates today yet.
4:15 PM: The district says negotiations continue but classes are officially canceled Thursday too. (We’ll have a separate update this evening.)
(Monday sunrise, photographed by Marc Milrod)
Here’s what’s happening, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, inbox, and previews:
DROPOFF FOOD DRIVE: Take nonperishable food to Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill), 11 am-1 pm.
LUNCH PICKUP AT SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS: As noted in coverage last night, Seattle Public Schools will be offering sack lunches for pickup at many schools 10 am-1 pm – the list is on this page. A note for those picking up at Chief Sealth IHS and Denny IMS – “We will be serving lunches off the back dock on the east side of both campuses. (Families/students) can drive through or walk and we will be back there from 10 am to 1 pm.”
SPRAYPARK OPEN: Wading pools have closed for the season but Highland Park Spraypark at 1100 SW Cloverdale will be open 11 am-8 pm.
CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS LIQUIDATION SALE: As reported here, this shop (WSB sponsor) at 4540 California SW is having a sale while its future is decided. Open 11 am-4 pm today.
MOUNTAIN TO SOUND OUTFITTERS CLEARANCE SALE: As previewed here, this shop (WSB sponsor) at 3602 SW Alaska is having a change-of-seasons clearance sale. Open 11 am-6 pm today.
ALKI ARTS POP-UP, DAY 2: The pop-up art shop at California/Oregon is in day 2 today (here’s our Day 1 report), open noon-5 pm.
LIVE AT LOCOL: Locöl Barley & Vine (7902 35th SW) spotlights live music 6:30-8:30 pm Wednesdays, no cover, 21+, rotating artists.
INJURY PREVENTION FOR RUNNERS: Clinic at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) with Sea Pines Physical Therapy, 6:45 pm.
DISTRICT 1 COMMUNITY NETWORK: A West Seattle Bridge update – with 11 days to go until reopening – is part of what’s on the District 1 Community Network‘s online meeting tonight, 7 pm. Our calendar listing has information on how to watch/listen/participate.
MUSIC BINGO: Now weekly at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm.
TRIVIA x 4: At 7 pm, you can play trivia at the West Seattle Brewing Mothership (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW); Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 7:30 pm; 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.
SKYLARK OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm signups @ West Seattle’s longest-running open mic – no cover to watch. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Have a calendar event to add? Please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:07 AM: Good morning. Welcome to Wednesday, September 7th.
WEATHER
Sunny, breezy, low 70s predicted .
SCHOOL UPDATES
*Classes are NOT starting today at Seattle Public Schools – its educators’ union is on strike.
*Classes ARE starting today at Westside School and Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsors) and Tilden School.
FERRIES, BUSES, WATER TAXI
Ferries: WSF continues the 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
Metro buses are on their regular weekday schedules; watch @kcmetroalerts for trip cancellations/reroute alerts.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
899th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. 11 days until SDOT expects to reopen it – on September 18th.
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.
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge:
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 currently functional 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.
4:40 PM: Seattle Public Schools just announced in a message to families and staff that even though talks continue, it’s called off the scheduled start of classes tomorrow:
Seattle Public Schools will not start school as planned on Wednesday, Sept. 7, because of a planned work stoppage by Seattle Education Association (SEA).
Student meals will be provided at several school sites. Free sack lunches are available for all students and will be available for pick up from approximately 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. We are also reaching out to community childcare providers to help support our families. We expect after-school athletics will continue, even if there is a delay in the start of school. We will publish details about student meals, child care, and additional resources. Please visit our Family Resource webpage for locations and details.
Seattle Public Schools respects our educators and staff. We are optimistic the bargaining teams will come to a positive solution for students, staff, and families. Negotiations with SEA are ongoing. We are looking forward to beginning school and welcoming students and staff for the 2022-23 school year.
This announcement comes four and a half hours after the Seattle Education Association announced that its members had voted to authorize a strike if no deal was reached. It has not yet announced one, though.
4:58 PM: West Seattle sites for students to pick up meals 10 am-1 pm tomorrow are listed as:
Arbor Heights Elementary School: 3701 SW 104th St.
Boren K-Stem K8: 5950 Delridge Way SW
Concord Elementary School: 723 S. Concord St.
Denny Middle School: 2601 SW Kenyon St.
Highland Park Elementary School: 1012 SW Trenton St.
Madison Middle School: 3429 45th Ave. SW
Roxhill Elementary School: 7740 34th Ave. SW
Chief Sealth International High School: 2600 SW Thistle St.
(added) A note for those picking up at Chief Sealth IHS and Denny IMS – “We will be serving lunches off the back dock on the east side of both campuses. (Families/students) can drive through or walk and we will be back there from 10 am to 1 pm.”
5:38 PM: SEA is still rallying at district HQ. Speakers have included bargaining-team members who say talks are still under way right now, and union leadership just said that though the district has canceled classes for tomorrow, it’s not too late to avert a strike.
8:34 PM: No public updates since then on whether bargaining is still under way and/or whether SEA is officially striking. It would be the first SEA strike since 2015, which in turn was the first one since 1985.
12:17 AM: The strike is on, according to this announcement just received from SEA:
Educators want to be in the classrooms with their students and needs SPS to give those students the supports and adult attention they deserve. At this hour Seattle Public Schools has failed to agree to a contract that adequately staffs Special Education and Multilingual Learners, that limits caseloads and workloads so that each student gets adequate attention, and that provides pay that allows educators to live in the city where they work. The SEA Bargaining Team is continuing to work at this hour and SEA calls on SPS to share our urgency and reach a contract agreement that brings us back to classrooms as fast as possible. The 6,000 office professionals, paraprofessionals, and certificated teaching staff united in SEA will strike beginning Wednesday morning for a contract that meets student needs.
The announcement says picketing will start at schools at 7:30 am today and continue daily until 3:30 pm “until SEA members ratify a tentative agreement.”
Picketing at Sanislo Elementary. pic.twitter.com/vc5VsAwhHb
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) September 7, 2022
8:30 AM: Picketing has begun. We’ve been to three West Seattle schools so far and will be heading back to others. At Sanislo Elementary, we talked with SEA president Jennifer Matter, who says bargaining resumed at 3 am and continues this morning. Separate story to come.
That’s a texted photo of the RV that nearby residents report was towed away from one of the SW Brandon encampment areas today. When we went over for a look, we saw this A-board sign left behind as official announcement of the towing, as had happened when the city swept the 26th/28th/Andover encampment.
Alsp in view:
A cleanup crew’s truck was there too:
Nearby residents say they’re still concerned about RVs on 29th SW as well as a large structure someone has built around a tree in the Longfellow Creek greenbelt nearby.
Thanks to the reader who called to tell us about this so we could go get a photo: Avery, Maisi, and Bailey are running a lemonade-stand fundraiser right now at 36th/Holden in Gatewood. There with them is Shadow the cat – fittingly, as they’re raising money for Emerald City Pet Rescue. They told us they’ll be there until 4:30 or so.
It’s the first day of business for this week’s Alki Arts pop-up in the former Bellevue Rare Coins space on the Senior Center of West Seattle‘s ground floor at California/Alaska. As we showed you last week, murals mark the spot:
The murals are on the plywood covering the storefront’s still-to-be-replaced windows. Above is the one Brooke Borcherding was working on last week; below is the one Steffanie Lorig painted more recently:
Both murals will be for sale after the windows are replaced (with half the proceeds benefiting the Senior Center). Meantime, Alki Arts’ Diane Venti will open the pop-up daily through Sunday (September 11th), noon-5 pm each day except Thursday, when they’ll be open until 8 pm for the West Seattle Art Walk.
Artist Reeve Washburn (who also happens to be Art Walk coordinator) will be doing some live painting inside the pop-up this week too.
12:07 PM: The Seattle Education Association has just announced that its members have voted to authorize a strike if no agreement is reached by tomorrow. The union says 75 percent of its 6,000 members voted, and that 95 percent of them voted to authorize a strike, But contract talks are still under way right now, they stress, so a strike is not yet a sure thing. Updates to come as their briefing continues.
12:10 PM: A member of the bargaining team joined the briefing for a moment to say, “We’re prepared to stay all night if that’s what it takes.” Union leaders did not take questions and ended the briefing after less than 10 minutes, noting again that they’re planning a rally at district HQ at 4:30 pm. The SEA contract expired August 31st. Tomorrow is the first scheduled day of classes for most Seattle Public Schools students.
1:26 PM: So far no word from either side so far on any kind of cutoff time for a decision on what happens tomorrow. We will of course update as soon as we hear anything.
4:42 PM: The district has announced no school tomorrow, though talks are continuing. We’re updating separately here.
After less than an hour of Q&A this morning, SDOT director nominee Greg Spotts won unanimous support from the City Council’s Transportation and Public Utilities Committee. His nomination now goes to the full council for a final vote, likely one week from today (September 13th). The council asked most of its questions in writing (as reported here over the weekend, here’s the document with the answers), but there were a few during the meeting,
West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold had two questions, including one she attributed to a constituent – how he would do the job without an engineering background. Spotts replied that he would rely on the professionals in that area and others, and that he sees his role as “shaping” their work, comparing that role to an orchestra conductor. He talked about his background overseeing a portfolio of $10 billion in megaprojects in the Los Angeles mayor’s office, and added that more recently, he had overseen the StreetsLA engineering division for eight nonths, during a transition time. But, he added, he’s not planning to micromanage “individual details of individual projects.” Herbold also asked if Spotts had yet familiarized himself with Seattle’s sidewalk problems, both neighborhoods without them and the many areas where they’re in poor condition. He said he’d been reading reports/audits on the situation and that he’s heartened that the city has mapped its sidewalk conditions, as the first step toward fixing a problem is understanding its extent. In his opening remarks, Spotts noted that he has already received more than 40 invitations for “listening tours.” He also said that if Seattle Public Schools start as scheduled tomorrow, he’s planning to join Mayor Harrell in walking students to school in West Seattle. (We’re awaiting details on where that would be happening.) Tomorrow is also his first day as interim SDOT director, pending final confirmation. ADDED: Here’s video of the meeting:
The Senior Center of West Seattle is bringing back its in-person benefit breakfast. The event is September 20th but this Friday is the deadline for RSVPs – so if you’re not already signed up, here’s the announcement:
The community is invited to attend the Senior Center of West Seattle‘s annual Fundraising Breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Alki Masonic Hall.
The event is the Senior Center’s largest annual fundraiser and will feature live music, stories and highlights from the Senior Center’s programs, and an opportunity to give. All funds raised support the fun, engaging programs and critical services the Senior Center provides West Seattle residents as they age.
Attend:
Advance RSVP is required. RSVP by Friday, Sept. 9: fundraise.givesmart.com/form/NGMyzA?vid=twoy5
Tuesday, Sept. 20; Doors open 7:30 am. Program 8-9 am.
Alki Masonic Hall is located at 4736 40th Ave SW.Donate:
Can’t make it to the in-person event but want to support the community’s seniors? The Senior Center is accepting online donations before the event to help reach its goal to raise $75,000 through September.
Your gift supports:
$2,500 = Funds 800 hot, nutritious lunches open to the community
$1,000 = Supports 33 home visits to vulnerable seniors by our social workers
$500 = Covers one month of digital equity classes and services to all seniors who need technology help
$250 = Funds fitness classes for one month to help seniors stay active
$100 = Sponsors two memberships for seniors who can’t afford to payMore event info:
Thank you to our sponsors. See our business supporters on our event website. sc-ws.org/2022-annual-breakfast
(Seal, photographed at Constellation Park earlier this week by Marc Milrod)
Busy Tuesday – here’s what you should know about, mostly (but not entirely) from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BLOCK DROP DIY CLEANUP: 9 am-6 pm today, West Seattle High School‘s north-side entrance (3000 California SW) will be the pickup/dropoff spot for equipment and bags for your DIY cleanup.
SDOT DIRECTOR NOMINEE:9:30 am, the City Council’s Transportation and Public Utilities Committee will question SDOT director nominee Greg Spotts and potentially vote on his nomination. The agenda has information on viewing and commenting.
POSTCARDS TO VOTERS: 10:30 am politics-at-a-distance volunteers’ weekly gathering at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).
SPRAYPARK STILL OPEN: Wading pools are now all closed but Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) remains open 11 am-8 pm daily through September 18th.
SCHOOL STRIKE VOTE ANNOUNCEMENT: At noon, the Seattle Education Association plans to announce its strike-vote results in a media briefing.
ALKI ARTS POP-UP IN THE JUNCTION: First day for this pop-up art shop – with murals – on the southeast corner of California/Oregon, noon-5 pm, as previewed here.
COVID VACCINATION POP-UP: 2-7 pm at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW), vaccinations (Moderna) will be available.
CITY COUNCIL RECONVENES: 2 pm, the first council meeting post-end-of-summer break is happening online and in-person – here’s the agenda, with inforation on how to comment.
DEMONSTRATION FOR BLACK LIVES: Longstanding weekly 4:30-6 pm sign-waving demonstration at 16th/Holden. Signs available if you don’t have your own.
STORYTIME IN THE GARDEN: Bring your little one(s) for a story followed by a garden activity, at the Delridge P-Patch, 6 pm (5078 25th SW).
TAE KWON DO: 6 pm, first West Seattle Tae Kwon Do class of September, at High Point Community Center. (6920 34th SW)
SCRABBLE NIGHT: 6-10 pm, go play Scrabble at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW).
FAMILY GAME NIGHT: Meeples Games (3727 California SW) welcomes families 6-8 pm to this weekly hosted game-playing night.
WEST SEATTLE TOASTMASTERS: You’re invited to their online meeting tonight – learn to become a confident communicator! – starting at 6:30 pm.
TRIVIA X 3: Three of the venues where you can play Tuesday nights – 7 pm at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW), 7 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), 7:30 and 8:30 pm at The Lodge (4209 SW Alaska).
BELLE OF THE BALLS BINGO: Play bingo with Cookie Couture at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), 8 pm. Free, all ages!
(Last Friday’s Alki sunset, photographed by David Hutchinson)
ALKI BEACH PARK CHANGES: Tonight is the first night the closing time goes back to 11:30 pm; also, no beach fires starting tonight.
You can always see more on our calendar – and if you have something to add for the future, please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:03 AM: Good morning! Welcome to Tuesday, September 6th.
WEATHER
Sunny, breezy, mid-70s predicted .
BACK TO SCHOOL
First day of classes for Holy Rosary Catholic School and Holy Family Bilingual Catholic School
FERRIES, BUSES, WATER TAXI
Ferries: WSF continues the 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. Check here for alerts/updates.
Metro buses are on their regular weekday schedules; watch @kcmetroalerts for trip cancellations/reroute alerts.
The West Seattle Water Taxi is on its regular schedule.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
898th morning without the West Seattle Bridge. 12 days until SDOT expects to reopen it – on September 18th.
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.
1st Avenue South Bridge:
South Park Bridge:
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 currently functional 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.
At the very end of this long holiday weekend, here’s our weekly roundup of local COVID numbers via the Public Health – Seattle/King County dashboard:
*14 percent fewer cases reported countywide in the past week than the week before
*Currently averaging 349 new daily cases countywide (down from 403 a week ago)
*31 percent fewer hospitalizations countywide in the past week than the week before
*Currently averaging 10 new hospitalizations daily (down from 13 a week ago)
*27 percent fewer deaths countywide in the past two weeks than the two previous weeks (the dashboard doesn’t offer a one-week increment)
*Currently averaging 3 deaths daily (same as last week’s two-week average)
For West Seattle, we have two-week comparisons (the combined totals from two “health reporting areas,” labeled West Seattle and Delridge, together comprising the entire peninsula):
*280 cases between 8/15 and 8/29, down from 371 between 7/31 and 8/14
*3 hospitalizations between 8/15 and 8/29, down from 13 between 7/31 and 8/14
*4 deaths between 8/15 and 8/29, down from 6 between 7/31 and 8/14
VACCINATION: Checking vaccination rates:
*82.5 percent of all King County residents have completed the initial series (up .1% from a week ago)
*86.8 percent of all King County residents ages 5 and up have completed the initial series (unchanged from a week ago)
*52.5 percent of all King County residents have had the initial series plus a booster (up .2% from a week ago)
*In West Seattle, we’re now showing the vaccination rates for all ages, by ZIP code (reminder, 98106 and 98146 are not wholly within WS), compared to a week earlier:
98106 – 83.4% completed initial series (unchanged), 52.6% have had a booster (unchanged)
98116 – 90,1% completed initial series (up .1%), 65.4% have had a booster (up .1%)
98126 – 79.6% completed initial series (up .1%), 54.6% have had a booster (up .1%)
98136 – 90.2% completed initial series (up .1%), 67.9% have had a booster (up .1%)
98146 – 78.9% completed initial series (up .1%), 47.7% have had a booster (up .2%)
GETTING VACCINATED: We’ve been mentioning upcoming pop-ups at local libraries – at Delridge (5423 Delridge Way SW), the list includes a Moderna vaccine pop-up 2-7 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, September 6th).
TESTING: If you want to get tested and don’t have – or want to get – a home kit, here’s info on West Seattle’s two public testing sites: The city-supported site at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle, 9 am-5:30 pm Monday-Saturday this week) and the Curative kiosk at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1220 Harbor SW, 9 am-3 pm Monday-Friday this week). … To report self-test results, this page explains how (click “What should I do if my test is positive?”).
The scheduled start of Seattle Public Schools classes for all but kindergarteners is just ~36 hours away. But the district and its educators’ union haven’t reached a contract agreement yet. Here are tonight’s notes:
MEDIATION: Though the district said Friday that the union had rejected its suggestion for mediation, the Seattle Education Association‘s media update tonight said, ” The SEA Bargaining Team met with SPS on Sunday and met with a mediator today to continue work toward an agreement.”
STRIKE VOTE: The union’s media update also noted that members’ strike-authorization voting ends at 9 am tomorrow. They will announce the results during an online media briefing at noon. They’re then planning on a rally at district headquarters at 4:30 pm.
DISTRICT: No new update since Sunday’s statement that they wanted the union to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to continue talks while starting school as scheduled. A line atop the district website promises, “If the first day of school is delayed, we will update families and staff as soon as possible.”
SPECIAL-EDUCATION ISSUES: This was called to our attention today by a reader who thought the wider community should know, The Seattle Council and Special Education PTSA issued a joint statement Sunday saying they wanted the public to see the recommendations of the Special Education Task Force – what they consider a “road map” both sides should be following to an agreement. You can read them here.
A vandal’s damage to the mural wall on the south side of Easy Street Records didn’t stand for long. The wall, including its portrait of Chris Cornell, was restored this afternoon by its artist, Son Duong, with whom we caught up as he was close to finishing:
He and his daughter worked all afternoon to restore the art. (Thanks to the texter who tipped us that the restoration work was under way.) In an odd side note, he mentioned that this mural and the Desmond Hansen signal box at 35th/Alaska weren’t the only Chris Cornell portraits that had been vandalized – one by Silver Platters in SODO had been defaced too.
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