West Seattle, Washington
20 Tuesday
9:42 PM: Police are out with a K-9 right now in Highland Park, searching for a man suspected of shooting at another man. This is centered at 10th/Cloverdale, though the search is ranging further out – the suspect was reportedly last seen eastbound on Cloverdale. We haven’t heard a description yet. No injuries reported.
9:50 PM: Police have reported finding a shell casing – “.380 auto” – in the alley behind the house where this is reported to have happened.
11:10 PM: The search has wound down. The initial call was that a man had found an intruder in his neighbor’s house, and the intruder shot at him. The man chased the intruder a ways “with an ax.”
ADDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Here’s the police summary of the incident:
At 2125 hours, officers responded to a report of an interrupted burglary where the suspect had fired a shot at the victim. The caller reported that he had heard the burglary occurring at his neighbor’s house. The caller armed himself with an axe and confronted the suspect, who was in the process of piling stolen items on the back deck. When confronted, the suspect fled on foot with the caller following. The suspect turned as he was running and fired 1 round at the victim, who discontinued his chase and returned home for police response. Evidence of a shooting was located and submitted.
Thanks for the tip. A texter asked about the fire-alarm response at Spruce (39th/Alaska, the building with LA Fitness). They reported smoke coming out of a vent from the underground building. Shortly after calling for a specialty unit that clears smoke, firefighters told dispatch that they’d had multiple reports of the suspected source of the smoke – drivers “drifting” in the garage.
(King County video)
Four and a half years after construction began by the north end of the 1st Avenue South Bridge, the Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station is ready to be put into operation. Next big rainstorm, the King County Wastewater Treatment Division says, the quarter-billion-dollar facility [map] will start treating stormwater that otherwise would overflow, untreated, directly into the Duwamish River. Though it’s ready to do that job, the facility does have a little more work ahead, according to today’s announcement: “King County will install art features early next year. One will light up the facility as water moves through the treatment process. Another will recreate rain events inside a 35-foot-high clear cylinder.” Meantime, as we’ve been reporting, KCWTD has another facility in the works to protect the Duwamish River – a 1.25-million-gallon overflow storage tank in southeast West Seattle, near the south end of the 1st Avenue South Bridge. The West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility is being designed right now and expected to start construction in 2025.
West Seattle-residing U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal called a media briefing in Junction Plaza Park this afternoon to announce she’s asking the Federal Trade Commission to “closely investigate” the proposed Albertsons-Kroger grocery merger. The briefing location was chosen for being in line of sight to QFC (Kroger-owned) and Safeway (Albertsons-owned) stores.
(In background, Capco Plaza, anchored by QFC, and Jefferson Square, anchored by Safeway)
Among those joining her was Faye Guenther, head of the regional union that represents grocery workers, UFCW 3000. Here’s our video the entire 18-minute announcement and Q/A:
Rep. Jayapal opened by saying she and three other U.S. House members had moments earlier sent a letter to the chair of the FTC to request the investigation – you can see the letter here. She believes the $24.6 billion dollar merger would have “widespread and dangerous implications across the country,” affecting everything from prices to jobs. This is of extra interest to her as she’s been serving as vice chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law. Guenther said she hopes to testify at a hearing early next month in Washington, D.C.; “We want workers to be heard.” One of those workers, Naomi Oligario, said she’s a Safeway employee with 37 years of experience but almost lost her job in the Safeway-Albertsons merger. She said her biggest fear is that if the merger goes through, “they’re going to close stores again.” Shaun Scott of the Statewide Anti-Poverty Network said that would exacerbate food insecurity.
As Jayapal noted at one point, the merger also is under scrutiny from Washington state government; Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued to stop a “special dividend” from going out to Albertsons stockholders pre-merger.
In addition to the incidents we covered this weekend, police summaries reveal one we missed. According to SPD, a man reported to them at around 4:40 am Saturday that he’d been shot. They say he told them it happened about 20 minutes earlier in the “triangle’ area where Delridge, 16th, and Roxbury meet. He said several men came up to him and made a profane remark; then one of the men shot him in the knee. He was taken to the hospital; no suspects were found.
Looking to get your Christmas tree semi-early? As noted in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, today is opening day for Trees by the Sea (2530 Alki SW), which was finishing setup when we stopped by this morning. They’re open noon-7 pm Mondays-Thursdays, 10 am-8 pm Fridays, 8 am-8 pm Saturdays, 8 am-7 pm Sundays. They’re also planning to be open 8 am-noon Thanksgiving Day. West Seattle Nursery and Home Depot have trees already, too, and as listed in our guide, more locations to come!
Back in April, we reported an early-stage filing for 30 townhouses on the site of a building and parking lot long owned by West Seattle Christian Church. Its pastor told us at the time that it was part of a feasibility exploration for a potential sale. New documents in online city permit files indicate the project is proceeding, and the site plan now shows 31 townhouses proposed for the site. The official project address is 4425 41st SW; the developer is listed in city files as Jabooda Homes (whose website also shows the plan), working with Cone Architecture.
(Recent late-afternoon scene at Lincoln Park – photo by Shelley B.)
From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and year-round Event Calendar, here’s the lineup for today/tonight:
THANKSGIVING ORDER DEADLINES: More deadlines today if you’re planning on assistance with your holiday dinner/desserts – see the list atop the Holiday Guide.
TURKEY DISTRIBUTION: For those who need a turkey but missed getting one at the Saturday events, the West Seattle Food Bank (35th/Morgan) continues turkey distribution noon-7 pm today.
SANISLO ELEMENTARY DINE-OUT FUNDRAISER: Dine/drink at Puerto Vallarta in The Junction (4727 California SW) today/tonight, and Sanislo Elementary gets part of the proceeds. Special kids’ activities now until noon!
FREE COMMUNITY YOGA CLASSES: Every Monday night in November, 5 pm and 6:15 pm at High Point Community Center (6920 34th SW) with Ms. Maria “for all ages, shapes, and sizes.” Bring your own mat or borrow one at HPCC.
CRAFTING AND CREATIVITY NIGHT: 6-10 pm at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), explained in our calendar listing.
COMEDY AT OTTER ON THE ROCKS: Tonight’s headliner is Susan Jones. Check to see if tickets are still left! (4210 SW Admiral Way)
MEDITATION: Free weekly Zen sitting/meditation event at the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.
PLAY TRIVIA! Three scheduled options tonight for trivia players – 7 pm at Best of Hands (35th/Webster), 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7:30 pm at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Have a West Seattle/White Center event to list on our calendar or Holiday Guide? Please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Just added to the list of giving opportunities in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – a food drive starts today at Canna West Culture Shop, with an incentive to give. Here’s the announcement:
Canna West Culture Shop has teamed up with the West Seattle Food Bank (WSFB) to help the hungry this holiday season by initiating a food drive. Starting today visitors to the Culture Shop, located at 5435 California Avenue SW, can drop off non-perishable food items that they want to donate for the holidays. In return for their donations, they will be given a coupon for 20% off of a single item in the Culture Shop.
“Our goal is to donate over 1,000 pounds of food this year,” says Canna West Seattle and Culture Shop owner Maryam Mirnateghi. “The West Seattle Food Bank is such a positive force in our community. Participating in their holiday food drive means a lot to me and my employees.”
According to the WSFB website, over 10,000 people currently live below the federal poverty level in West Seattle, a community where the cost of living is 47% higher than the national average. In the year 2020 alone, the WSFB distributed over 2.57 million pounds of food and spent $338,774 on purchased food, providing services for over 15,000 individuals.
Each week during the food drive, the WSFB will pick up food donations at the Culture Shop and weigh the donation container’s contents. By the end of the food drive on December 31, the team from the Culture Shop and representatives of the WSFB will have an accurate measurement of how many pounds of food were donated during the Culture Shop’s food drive.
“As inflation and food prices have increased, we are seeing a growing need in the community for our services,” says Breanna Bushaw, Development Director at the WSFB. “We really appreciate our amazing West Seattle community and neighbors who help support the food bank.”
The Culture Shop is open daily from 10 am – 6 pm. After-hours food donations can be deposited at Canna West Seattle, located directly across the street. The Culture Shop will accept non-perishable food items that are unopened and in good condition.
6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, November 21st – three days until Thanksgiving.
WEATHER
Morning clouds, afternoon sun, high near 50. Still looks like serious rain is due to return Tuesday.
TODAY’S TRANSIT STATUS
–Metro buses are on regular schedules; watch @kcmetroalerts for trip cancellations/reroute alerts.
-The West Seattle Water Taxi is running its fall/winter schedule (still daily, all dayparts, but no late Friday/Saturday runs). Holiday note: NO Water Taxi service Thursday or Friday.
-Still a 2-boat schedule for WSF’s Triangle Route (check here for alerts/updates).
SPOTLIGHT CAMERAS
High Bridge – here’s the camera at the top.
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (if SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way).
Low Bridge: Or nearby, depending on where SDOT points the camera.
1st Ave. S. Bridge: The south route.
Highway 99: Here’s the northbound side at Lander.
All functional city traffic cams can be seen here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are also on this WSB page … Are movable city bridges opening for vessels? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
If you see trouble on the roads/paths/water, please text or call us (when you can do so safely) – 206-293-6302.
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