| Arbor Heights | Environment | Fauntleroy | Sunrise Heights | Utilities | West Seattle news | Westwood

(RainWise photo: Fauntleroy Schoolhouse rain garden)

Got room for a rain garden? A site for a cistern? You might be eligible for RainWise rebates to help you get them, depending on where you live, because they’re returning to some West Seattle neighborhoods. Here are the details sent to us to share with you:

RainWise, a partnership between King County Wastewater Treatment Division and Seattle Public Utilities, has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

The West Seattle neighborhoods around Sunrise Heights, Westwood, Fauntleroy, and Arbor Heights are eligible for RainWise rebates – again!

In 2013, King County joined the RainWise program, and parts of West Seattle became eligible for rebates that pay for rain gardens and cisterns on private properties. By capturing the rain that falls on roofs, these installations help keep stormwater out of the sewer system and prevent overflows at the Barton Pump Station near the Fauntleroy ferry dock. After five years in the program, almost 150 properties put in rain gardens and cisterns that manage the equivalent of rain falling on five acres of roofs. In addition, 15 blocks of highly engineered roadside rain gardens were put in to let rain washing down streets and sidewalks to soak into the ground. All of this has really helped but as we look to a future of heavy rains and atmospheric rivers, we would love more help to manage the rain in this area.

How does RainWise help? During heavy rains, the sheer volume of polluted stormwater can cause our combined sewers to overflow. This negatively impacts human health and the health of marine life, such as salmon and orcas. We can reduce this water pollution by installing green stormwater infrastructure solutions, such as rain gardens and cisterns. This is where RainWise comes in.

What is RainWise? RainWise is a rebate program jointly run by King County Wastewater Treatment Division and Seattle Public Utilities. RainWise rebates help property owners manage the rain by installing cisterns and/or rain gardens on their private property. This not only helps reduce stormwater pollution, but mitigates flooding, adds attractive landscaping, and can provide water for summer irrigation.

You can check your eligibility for rebates at 700milliongallons.org/rainwise/eligibility. And, for addresses not eligible for RainWise, Green Stormwater Mini-Grants are available as well at 12000raingardens.org/gsi-mini-grants.

To find out more, please attend one of our upcoming events to talk with program staff and RainWise contractors. We are excited about being back in this area and look forward to helping you get started on your RainWise project!

How to Get RainWise Workshop
Attend this in-person workshop to learn about the program with a short presentation followed by a Q&A with staff and RainWise contractors.
Wednesday, March 1st, 6 – 7:15 pm
Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, 9131 California Ave SW
Register at RWworkshop1.eventbrite.com

Join RainWise at West Seattle Nursery
Come visit our table while you shop for your garden!
Saturday, March 4th, 10 am – 12 pm
Saturday, April 8th, 10 am – 12 pm
West Seattle Nursery, 5275 California Ave SW

How to Get RainWise Webinar
Attend this online webinar and watch a short presentation followed by a Q&A with staff and a local homeowner.
Thursday, March 16th, 5 – 6 pm
Online.
Register at bit.ly/mar16RW

Edible Landscapes with RainWise Webinar
Attend this online webinar to learn how edible rain gardens offer a green solution to pollution. There will be a short presentation followed by a Q&A with staff and gardening experts.
Tuesday, April 11th, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Online.
Register at bit.ly/ediblewebinar

(RainWise photo, cisterns at Peace Lutheran Church)

RainWise Garden Celebration at Peace Lutheran Church
Come to our RainWise Garden Celebration where you can talk to an array of RainWise, sustainability, and garden experts to learn about the program. There will be tours of Peace Lutheran’s RainWise installation, refreshments, and activities. This is a family-friendly event!
Saturday, April 22nd, 10 am – 1 pm
Peace Lutheran Church, 8316 39th Ave SW
Register at raingardencelebration.eventbrite.com

Not eligible? Feel free to reach out to us! We are happy to help provide you with resources. Check out 12000raingardens.org/about-rain-gardens/incentives to see what other programs are available to you.
Contact us for questions, comments, and concerns at rainwise@seattle.gov.

For more info about RainWise, visit 700milliongallons.org/rainwise

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Burglary arrest; stolen Chevrolet pickup

February 23, 2023 5:26 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Two more reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch:

BURGLARY SUSPECT ARRESTED: A 45-year-old man is in the King County Jail right now, accused of unlawfully entering a North Delridge home last night. The victim sent a report and security video:

I live (in the 4300 block of) 26th SW. A homeless man rang the Nest doorbell to my house, then when nobody answered, walked into the home with his belongings. I was asleep but woke up to see the Ring footage of him entering, thinking he was here to see my roommate (as I just saw him enter, I didn’t get a great look at him before he entered).

As we weren’t expecting anyone, I put some clothes on to make sure everything was okay and checked my 2nd-floor camera to see him walking around by himself. I got suspicious and pulled out my 9mm and loaded it and put it in my back pocket just in case. When I opened the door, however, I could hear him on the stairs to the fourth floor which is definitely not something my roommate would do as she lives on the first floor. I cocked the gun and pointed it at the guy, who I could clearly see was homeless. He was wearing a massive coat and was mumbling something about thinking this was his house. I told him he needed to get the f— out immediately. and he said okay. I followed him with the gun pointed at his back down three flights of stairs, made sure he exited the building and walked off. I then proceeded to wake up my roommate, who was sleeping with earplugs in so she was completely unaware of what transpired. We called the police; they found him by Youngstown apartments on 26th, arrested him and took him to jail.

A police officer came by this morning returning a stolen package from my front porch, said they found a bunch more taken from people’s porches, and that it was lucky I had my 9mm as he also was carrying a gun.

According to online records, the suspect – who is not yet charged, as that will be up to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office after they get SPD documents – has robbery and theft convictions from 2006 and a malicious-mischief conviction from 2021.

STOLEN PICKUP: Texted by Linda:

My husband’s beloved truck was stolen from our driveway near 16th and Myrtle. It’s a 2004 silver birch Chevy Silverado short-box single-cab. He heard it being stolen at about 3 am. WA plate B99375U. Incident # 23-051510.

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WEST SEATTLE WEATHER: Another below-freezing night ahead. 1 thing to do now for birds, wildlife

February 23, 2023 4:32 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle weather | Wildlife

(Photo by Coleman Smith)

That’s an example of what our colder-than-usual weather is doing to outdoors water sources – not just drinking fountains, but also bird baths, so West Seattle naturalist Ann Anderson sent this reminder about something helpful you might be able to do before the sun goes down and the mercury heads for the 20s again (and to repeat tomorrow morning):

If you are able, please provide water for wild birds and other wildlife after an overnight freeze. This is especially important if you normally offer up a bird bath or water source that they are used to frequenting. They are depending on your consistency during these uncommon cold snaps!

Birds are particularly in need of hydration first thing in the morning when their water supply is most likely to be frozen. Few birds can peck through even a thin layer of ice, and going out to search for new, unknown resources saps valuable energy acutely needed to keep warm, When humidity takes a dive in cold weather, wildlife (like us) become somewhat parched, and once dehydrated, they are very vulnerable to cold, illness, and disease.

TO HELP: Simply pour hot water into your frozen bird bath. This quickly loosens the ice, making it easy to pop right out. Then refill it with warm water. It’s that easy, and will make a huge difference to cold, thirsty wildlife.

The forecast suggests we have at least two more below-freezing nights ahead.

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POLAR PLUNGE: Two updates on Saturday’s ‘winter beach party’ at Alki

February 23, 2023 3:50 pm

| Comments Off on POLAR PLUNGE: Two updates on Saturday’s ‘winter beach party’ at Alki

| Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, 2020 Polar Plunge)

Just two days until this winter’s next big West Seattle event – the Polar Plunge “winter beach party” benefiting Special Olympics Washington at Alki Beach on Saturday (February 25th). Today, we have two updates – first, a last-minute call for volunteer help:

Special Olympics Washington is hosting its annual Polar Plunge fundraiser this Saturday at Alki Beach and Bathhouse and they are still looking for a few more volunteers. Roles include Set-up, Registration, Guest Control, Beer Garden Support (must be 21+), and Clean-up. Teens at least 14 years old can volunteer with set-up and clean-up but adults are needed for all other roles. Pre-registration is requested at 2023polarplungevols.my-trs.com. You can also visit that link for more information on specific shift times and role descriptions.

Second, if you’re not planning on “plunging” but interested in dropping by to cheer the plungers and/or enjoy the rest of the party, including food trucks, beer garden, and music, we asked for specifics on what people will find – here’s the information we got in reply:

FOOD: There will be seven food trucks: The Cheese Pit, Alaska Scallops, Whateke, Seoul Bowl, Theo’s Gyros, Off the Rez, and Kathmandu MoMoCha.

BEER: The breweries in the beer garden will include Big Time Brewing Company, Georgetown Brewing Co., Old Stove Brewing Co., Ravenna Brewing Co., Seattle Cider, Two Beers Brewing, White Claw, and Matchless Brewing.

MUSIC: DJ Shane, who is a former Special Olympics Athlete, will be the main DJ. DJ Harmony Soleiol, the DJ and Music Director/Assistant Program Director/on-air host with C89.5, will also be doing a set.

And it’s not time to register to plunge – you can go here for that. The event starts at 8 am and the plunging is set to start around 1 pm, after a 12:10 pm costume contest (if you’re there in the crowd, you get to help “judge”).

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SEEN OFF WEST SEATTLE: Paddlewheeler Emerald Queen

February 23, 2023 2:01 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Thanks to everyone who’s sent photos of that paddlewheeler being towed/pushed northbound along west-facing West Seattle shores and then eastbound into Elliott Bay. MarineTraffic.com does not identify it – only the tugs with it – but searching by image indicates it’s the Emerald Queen, a 1995-built 300-foot paddlewheeler that once housed the casino of the same name. It had been listed for sale. We’re checking around to find out more about its fate and destination; the tugs’ online track indicates it was brought up here from Tacoma.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Another gunfire investigation

February 23, 2023 12:23 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Crime | Puget Ridge | West Seattle news

Callers to 911 reported hearing gunfire and a speeding-away vehicle around 18th/Dawson on Puget Ridge just after 5 pm last night. Police were gone before we could get there but we finally have confirmation today that responding officers did find “evidence of a shooting” (in other words, casings) but did not find property damage or injured people, The police-report summary says one witness saw “shots being fired into the air from a moving vehicle (and a) second vehicle was also seen following the first and believed to be related.” The summary, however, does not include a description of either vehicle.

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UPDATE: Harbor Avenue RV-less, and what’s next

February 23, 2023 11:23 am

| 83 COMMENTS

| Safety | West Seattle news

11:23 AM: As reported here, a city rep told the Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Council last week that the Harbor Avenue RV zone would be swept toward “the end of the month,” and then we discovered no-parking signage last weekend announcing “remediation” for today and tomorrow. So we went by this morning and found the entire stretch of Harbor devoid of RVs and trailers (among other vehicles); eight RVs/trailers were there as of earlier this week. We went through first north/westbound at 9:40 am and noticed a few police/Parking Enforcement officers milling; when we went back the other way at 10 am to record the video above, even they were gone. (The work crew toward the end was not related – they were digging in the road, not alongside it.) As of earlier this week, eight RVs/trailers were on Harbor – so where did they go? We checked 16th SW immediately afterward; no change there from the past few days. We’ve received two unsolicited reports via our hotline so far this morning otherwise – one caller says someone was towed to Beach Drive near Me-Kwa-Mooks Park; someone else texted, “The pallet RV, semi, and newer RV from the Harbor Ave RV camp have been towed over to 26th behind the tennis courts of the Delridge playfields.” We haven’t verified those yet but will be checking later, and we also are inquiring with the city for formal word on city-ordered tows (if any) from Harbor.

8:55 PM: The city’s homelessness-response spokesperson Linda Robson answered our followup questions this evening:

Periodic outreach has been ongoing for many months, and the concerted outreach effort started on Jan. 18. In the lead-up to the remediation work done today, a total of 10 individuals were engaged and offered shelter, and while none of the shelter offers were accepted, all of the individuals voluntarily left the work zone area before 10 a.m. this morning when remediation work began. Our crews found two RVs, one bus, two motorcycles, four utility trailers and four vehicles on site this morning before work began, and all were voluntarily moved out of the work zone, so no vehicles were towed. Nearly 1,800 pounds of debris was removed from the site today.

Unified Care Team staff are still working with community members and exploring various strategies for managing parking along Harbor Avenue SW, including potentially extending the temporary no-parking restrictions, or possibly creating a Residential Parking Zone. There are numerous residents in the area, but also several businesses, so discussions in the community are ongoing as we work on identifying strategies that balance the diverse parking needs in the neighborhood.

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From politics to piano to play, options for your West Seattle Thursday

February 23, 2023 10:03 am

| Comments Off on From politics to piano to play, options for your West Seattle Thursday

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(View from aboard a ferry leaving Vashon during Tuesday’s unsettled weather – photo by Colie Southerland)

Here’s what’s happening, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN: 11 am online meeting – highlights and RSVP info are in our calendar listing.

WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome, weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayers@gmail.com to see where you’ll find them playing today.

SOUND TRANSIT BOARD: Noon-5 pm hybrid meeting – the agenda explains how you can comment/watch/attend online or at the board room downtown (401 S. Jackson). The “further studies” items for the West Seattle/Ballard light-rail extensions are back in the spotlight, though Ballard is expected to be the major topic.

RAPIDRIDE H LINE CONSTRUCTION QUESTIONS? Drop in online 5-6 pm to ask the team. Here’s the video link (meeting ID: 228 271 1759) and the phone # (253-215-8782)

THURSDAY FOOD-TRUCK POP-UP: 4-8 pm at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), the Tabassum savory-pies truck will be visiting.

HIGHLAND PARK RUN CLUB: Also at HP Corner Store, meet up at 6:30 pm Thursdays for a ~3-mile run.

(Photo courtesy Otter on the Rocks)

BETTY ON PIANO: 6:30 pm, Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way) welcomes back their “beloved 89-year-old pianist” for the “first time back in a number of months.”

‘AN ENDLESS SHIFT’: The one-woman play at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) has another bonus performance, 7:30 pm. Get your ticket(s) here.

If you have something to add to our calendar, please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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Remembering Terri Ann Geary, 1948-2023

February 23, 2023 9:00 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| Obituaries | West Seattle news

Family and friends are remembering Terri Ann Geary, and sharing this with the community:

Terri Ann (Warden) Geary
March 8, 1948 – January 28, 2023

Terri Ann (Warden) Geary, 74, of Seattle, passed away on January 28, 2023 in San Diego, California.

Born March 8, 1948, to Harry and Beryl Warden in Seattle, where Terri spent her youth, Terri grew up in West Seattle, attending and graduating from West Seattle High School in 1966. After graduation, Terri attended Western Washington University in Bellingham.

While in high school, Terri started modeling for Frederick & Nelson and working with a photographer in a photo studio. On a whim in college, Terri went to an interview with Eastern Airlines with a friend and was hired on the spot as a flight attendant. Setting out on a new adventure, Terri began training and working on the east coast for the airline.

It was in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1969 that Terri met and fell in love with Jack Geary. She spotted him on stage playing with his band at the Townhouse Restaurant one night. After a short courtship, the two married a year later on January 27th, 1970, settling in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Jack played music at night and worked a number of construction jobs during the day. Terri started her career as a restaurateur at Michael’s Harborside in Newburyport. On June 9th, 1971, they welcomed their only son, Colin. Colin was raised in Newburyport.

In 1991, Jack and Terri drove across the country to return to her hometown in Seattle to care for her elderly mother. In 1993, Terri, Jack, and their business partner, Declan Fury, became proprietors of the Owl N Thistle Irish Pub located in downtown Seattle. Eager to make this a family business, Colin answered his parents’ call to move to Seattle and help run the pub. Terri, Jack, Colin, and Declan strived to build a community place filled with music, supporting local musicians. To this day, the Owl N Thistle has been wildly successful and a staple in the community. Thanks to their hands-on approach and generous nature, many of their employees have gone on to be successful entrepreneurs, and musicians. Walking into the Owl N Thistle for the first time, there is a strong sense of community with patrons and locals and a rich connection to Seattle’s music scene, just as they envisioned. In addition to running restaurants, Terri made and sold leather goods, handcrafting handbags, vests, jackets, and other items. Terri was happiest with her family, sailing, crafting, or reading when she was not working.

Terri was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Beryl Warden, her husband Thomas “Jack” Geary, and their son, Colin.

She is survived by her sister Judy Wade and nephews Sean and Gavin Cassidy.

No public services are planned. Honoring Terri’s love of all animals, donations to the Seattle Humane Society in her name are suggested.

(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Thursday info

February 23, 2023 6:03 am

| Comments Off on TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Thursday info

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, February 23rd.

WEATHER

Cloudy early, clearing later, high in the mid-to-upper 30s. (Wednesday’s high was 38 degrees, 13 degrees below normal for this time of year.)

TRANSIT TODAY

Water Taxi – After service was suspended for much of Wednesday, Metro hopes to resume it today. We’ll update here with word of any changes.

–Metro is on its regular schedule, but still canceling some trips, so check notification channels such as @kcmetroalerts. (Here’s our report on Tuesday’s briefing, including the acknowledgment that they’re still short-staffed.)

–Washington State Ferries‘ Triangle Route continues on a 2-boat schedule; check here for alerts/updates and use Vessel Watch for boats’ locations.

SCHOOL STATUS

Midwinter break continues for Seattle Public Schools and some independent schools, but classes are back in session at our area’s three Catholic schools plus Highline Public Schools to the south.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Oregon), cameras are also up at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Orchard, and Delridge/Henderson.

High Bridge – the camera at the top:

High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):

Low Bridge – looking east to west:

1st Ave. S. Bridge – another route across the river:

Highway 99: – the northbound side at Lander.

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: Are movable city bridges opening for vessels? Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if needed) – 206-293-6302.

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