West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
11:58 PM: Police and fire are arriving at a reported flipped-car crash at California/Fauntleroy. Everybody’s reported to be out of the car, no serious injuries.
(WSB photo)
12:26 AM: This is on the southbound side of California by Morgan Junction Park. Northbound vehicles are getting by.
(Photo sent by Bryan)
12:51 AM: Officers at the scene just told dispatch that they’ll be “reopening the road shortly” and are calling for a tow for the flipped car.
ADDED MIDDAY SUNDAY: As noted in comments, two damaged cars remained parked at the crash scene this morning.
The second round of the high-school basketball postseason has begun!
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Tonight at West Seattle High School, the Wildcats won their first game in the district tournament. Strong defense as well as offense took WSHS to a 60-41 victory over visiting Mercer Island.
Top Wildcat scorer on the night was #5, senior Ryder Mackay (above), with 20 points. Not far behind at 18 points was #24, senior Chase Clifton.
#3, junior Bo Gionet, was next with eight points. Head coach Dan Kriley‘s Wildcats (13-9) move on to play Eastside Catholic Tuesday night (February 14th), 8 pm at Bellevue College (3000 Landerholm Circle SE).
Ticket info for Tuesday’s game is here.
Thanks to Troy Sterk for the photo of tonight’s pastel sunset, following a day with a generous amount of sunshine. Next week, the forecast suggests, we might see a bit of snow – the ever-popular “wintry mix” is a possibility late Monday night and early Thursday. We’re still running behind normal rainfall, by the way – the four inches we’ve seen since the first of the year is just a little more than half of what’s normal.
We’ve reported before on West Seattle filmmaker Amy Benson‘s work, including the award-winning “Drawing the Tiger.” This time, she’s telling a personal story – which is also one that’s ahead for us all, one way or another:
I am making my first personal documentary about my mom, Patsy Benson, a 92-year-old retired actress and homemaker who lives at The Kenney on Fauntleroy.
The film is called “The Last Act: A short documentary about Life and Death.” It follows my mom’s journey of deciding it is no longer safe to live on her own and finding a retirement community she can afford and feel at home — all while her best friend of 60 years is in hospice. It is a film about aging and preparing emotionally for the final stage of life. It is half verite documentary and half theatrical performance. Throughout, my mom performs monologues that we captured on the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center stage.
We are currently running a Kickstarter campaign for finishing funds for the film. We need to raise $14,300 by February 22. The campaign is going really well and I believe we will make our goal. Once we do, we plan on making a stretch goal to fund free screenings at senior settings in greater Seattle accompanied by a curriculum for seniors and their adult children/care partners.
We are on target to have the project completed by May. My mom and I will premiere it at The Kenney over the summer, as well as Kenyon Hall. It is edited by West Seattle resident Kristin Ougendal.
Even if you’re not interested in donating, check out the Kickstarter page to watch a two-minute video about the project, in which you’ll meet Amy’s mom and also hear from Amy, who explains she’s telling the story because she feels her mom’s approach to this stage of life is “both comforting and contagious.” (As somber as the subject matter may sound, the video is likely to make you smile.)
If you’re one of the many bird fans out in WSB-land, Seattle Parks environmental educator Nicole Parish-Andrews has an invitation for you:
Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Environmental Education Unit will be hosting 2 bird-watching events for the Great Backyard Bird Count on February 17th and 18th in West Seattle. One at Westcrest Park on the 17th from 3-4:30 pm (meet at the picnic tables near the P-patch), and one at Camp Long on Saturday the 18th from 10-11:30 am. You can attend just one or both. No previous birding experience? No problem! We will have naturalists there to help guide you and your family and also provide binoculars to borrow. Join us as we explore the wonderful world of birds in our beautiful local parks!
Free, no pre-registration required – just show up.
Everyone knows about 911. What about 211? People in West Seattle’s five zip codes made 2,200 calls to the help hotline in the past year, according to stats you can check here. Today’s an awareness-raising day for the service, according to this news release we received:
Saturday, February 11, is 211 Day, celebrating the go-to resource 211, which has helped over 5 million Washingtonians, since its inception in 2006, providing “No Wrong Door” access to needed services with professional live assistance.
211 is an essential component to the continuum of service provided through Washington’s three three-digit dialing services. The readily recognized “911” handles emergencies, the recently instituted “988” responds to possible suicides and mental health crises and “211” assist callers with overcoming the many other life crises such as housing uncertainty, job loss, loss of electric and other utilities, health care and legal issues.
The 211 service not only provides personalized assistance to our safety net, it also collects information about the many demands on a community’s social and health resources. Visit WA.211counts.org to review demand for services in your Washington community such as by school, legislative or congressional district.
“211 is a critical state resource that connects people in need with live, in-person skilled assistance”, states Dona Ponepinto, CEO of the United Way of Pierce County; “however, to meet 211’s significant call volume growth these past few years and boost our capacity to serve more people, additional resources are needed from the state to meet the demand.”
This week, advocates for the 211 service have been talking to legislators in Olympia about correcting historic underfunding of the program. Call volume for 211 has doubled since the start of the pandemic and yet funding has been stagnant, causing an increase in call response times. Advocates seek sufficient funding to increase operating hours to be consistent with 911 and 988 (24 hours, 7 days a week), decrease call wait times, and enhance the 211’s extensive community resource database used to make service referrals.
211 provides referrals to local agencies around the state – here that would include agencies such as the West Seattle Food Bank, which offers emergency assistance to help people from becoming homeless.
Two notes:
PACKAGE GRABBER: Around 8 am today, this package thief struck in Highland Park:
Mike, who sent the video and report, says this happened near 12th SW and SW Kenyon.
MEETING REMINDER: You’re invited to hear from and talk with police at the Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council meeting this Thursday, in person or online. The featured guest will be from the city’s Unified Care Team, which deals with encampments. The meeting’s at 7 pm Thursday (February 16) at the precinct (2300 SW Webster); online and phone attendance info is in our calendar listing.
(Driftwood logs at Lincoln Park)
February’s second weekend has begun, and we have some options for you today/tonight:
SATURDAY MORNING ULTIMATE: 8 am at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW), just show up to throw with the West Seattle Ultimate Frisbee Family.
SOFTBALL PITCHING CLINIC: Softball players registered with West Seattle Little League are welcome at today’s clinic at the Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex fields (2801 SW Thistle), 9-10 am rookies/minors, 10:30-11:30 am majors/juniors. More info in our calendar listing.
POTTERY SALE: 10 am-3 pm today. (4111 47th SW)
SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN: 10 am-5 pm, the garden’s centerpiece courtyard is open, while the rest of the garden’s grounds are accessible dawn to dusk. More info here. (5640 16th SW)
GRIEFSHARE RECOVERY GROUP: Continuing at 10:30 am today, “Grace Church will host a 13-week GriefShare recovery support group for those who have lost a loved one by death. There is a one-time charge of $20 for the GriefShare journal.” Meeting in the church basement. (10323 28th SW)
MORNING MUSIC: 10:30 am-noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Marco de Carvalho and Friends perform. Find out about Marco’s music here.
FREE WRITING GROUP: 10:30 am in West Seattle, registration required – see full details in our calendar listing.
VIETNAMESE CULTURAL CENTER: The center is open to visitors noon-3 pm, as explained here. (2234 SW Orchard)
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Visit the home of West Seattle’s history is noon-4 pm Saturdays. (3003 61st SW)
VISCON CELLARS: 1-6 pm, the doors are open to the tasting room at Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) – selling wine by the glass or bottle. Learn about their wines here! (5910 California SW)
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: You can visit the tasting room on the north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus 1-6 pm today.
‘THE CLAW’ AT ALKI ELEMENTARY: The 1 pm and 6:30 pm performances of the Alki Elementary production are officially sold out, but a “limited number of walk-up tickets” is noted on the website. (3010 59th SW)
AT C & P: Live music with Levi Said, 5-7 pm at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).
BASKETBALL: West Seattle High School boys’ district-tournament game vs. Mercer Island, 7 pm at WSHS (3000 California SW). Get tickets online here.
THE BYRD ENSEMBLE: Choral concert by this acclaimed professional vocal ensemble, 7:30 pm at Holy Rosary (4139 42nd SW). Get your ticket(s) here; use WSBLOG30 code for 30% discount.
‘AN ENDLESS SHIFT’: This solo show at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) continues tonight, 7:30 pm: “Created from verbatim accounts of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Seattle nurses who were there, “An Endless Shift” is a tribute to the everyday heroes who were confronted with what would become the longest shift of their lives.” Get your ticket(s) here.
AT THE SKYLARK: 7 pm doors, 8 pm show at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), with Glass Beaches, Fairground, De-Esser, Rainezra.
If you have a show, event, meeting, seminar, field trip, fundraiser, or ? for our calendar … please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
| 12 COMMENTS