day : 22/05/2023 11 results

The photos and report were sent by West Seattle High School music director Ethan Thomas:

The West Seattle High School Music Program traveled down to Southern California last Saturday. The Marching Band and Orchestra had performances at Disneyland and California Adventure yesterday and are participating in Studio Soundtrack Session Workshops today.

We will be wrapping up our tour by visiting Hollywood and Santa Monica tomorrow [Tuesday] before heading back to Seattle tomorrow evening. The Orchestra is under the direction of Taylor Fritts and Band is directed by Ethan Thomas.

Steve Daschle leaving Southwest Youth and Family Services after 35 years leading ‘quiet … but effective’ organization

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people

(WSB photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After 35 years with Southwest Youth and Family Services, executive director Steve Daschle is saying goodbye.

This Wednesday (May 24th) will be his last day on the job.

Even if you’ve never met him, his work likely has touched your life in some way – if not his work with SWYFS, then certainly his many other community endeavors.

First – about SWYFS, if you’re not familiar with it. “We’re sort of a quiet organization, but effective,” Daschle summarizes. It’s a regional human-services nonprofit headquartered in a blink-and-you-miss it beige building at 4555 Delridge Way SW. That’s adjacent to Delridge Playfield, which Daschle’s office overlooks. But SWYFS wasn’t there when he started in 1988 – it was at 35th/Henderson, and then moved to Delridge, in a former Parks building, in 1996 (the building was vacated when Delridge Community Center’s current building opened in 1994).

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READER REPORT: Dumped/likely stolen items. Are they yours?

May 22, 2023 7:51 pm

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| Seen around town | West Seattle news

From Ben, in the Westwood area:

Some items were dumped on my property this afternoon.

If all or some of them are yours, email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – and we will connect you with Ben.

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No, it wasn’t just you. Brief power loss

May 22, 2023 6:20 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news

6:20 PM: Various areas of West Seattle just lost power for a minute or two. You? (So far, no widespread outage reported, but it was more than a “flicker.”) … So far we’ve heard from North Admiral, South Admiral, The Triangle, Gatewood, Upper Fauntleroy (us). Also High Point, which reported “booms” around the same time, and South Delridge. No SFD calls so far, though.

7:06 PM: The booms seem to have been along SW Graham. LyndaB near 36th/Graham believes balloons might be the culprit. (Added: Texted photo)

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POLICE STAFFING: Southwest Precinct rebounds from last year’s low, and response times speed up

May 22, 2023 4:46 pm

| 21 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police

Tomorrow morning, the City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee gets its latest periodic briefing on Seattle Police staffing. Here’s what we learned from the briefing presentation, which was posted today:

The Southwest Precinct (West Seattle and South Park) ended the first quarter with 54 officers and 10 sergeants. That’s up from 50 and 8 a year earlier, one fewer than the 56 and 9 from a year before that. (Those two charts were shown here.) Overall, the entire department ended the quarter with 1,029 fully trained officers, and 949 in service; SPD had projected it would make 31 hires during the first quarter and actually hired 26, while they projected 27 more officers would leave, and separations totaled 28. They’re now expecting the year will end with 33 officers fewer than they have budgeted for, and they expect that money will instead have to be spent on overtime, 80 percent of which SPD says goes toward meeting minimum staffing levels. Meantime, most of the $3.8 million budget for recruiting and retention has remained unspent; the meeting presentation attributes this mostly to the mayor’s office working on a “new marketing plan.”

Other numbers of interest in the presentation slide deck include response times. For the Southwest and West Precincts, they improved in all categories, though other precincts saw response times increase in some categories. For Southwest, the average response time for a “Priority 1” call is now 10 minutes, a full minute faster than a year earlier, though still well above the department’s 7-minute goal. Average response times for “Priority 2” calls in the SW Precinct fell from 44 to 41 minutes.

Tomorrow’s meeting is at 9:30 am, at City Hall and online; you can see the full agenda, and commenting info, here.

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Changeup for HPAC: Different date, location this month

May 22, 2023 2:53 pm

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| Delridge | Highland Park | Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Another chance for community involvement before the holiday weekend. HPAC – the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – is meeting on the fourth Thursday this month instead of Wednesday, so that’s 7 pm this Thursday, May 25th. Also different: This meeting is happening in person, and at a first-time location, Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery in South Delridge. That’s especially appropriate because this meeting will focus on the South Delridge Action Plan, as HPAC leadership explains:

The meeting is open to all residents and business folks in the area. Learn what progress has been made on the City planning so far, and give thoughts on their efforts to work with the South Delridge Community.

What unique issues does this southernmost area of West Seattle face? What can we learn from successes and failures of growth plans elsewhere? How can we keep our homegrown spirit vibrant and healthy, providing food, housing, and community for all – while dealing with the wave of development speeding our way? What City services are lacking? How can the City work more closely with unincorporated White Center/ King County to better integrate community services currently provided?

Head to 9414 Delridge Way SW on Thursday night to discuss all that and more.

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THEATER: ArtsWest announces five Seattle-premiere plays for 2023-2024 “Sometimes I Dream …” season

May 22, 2023 1:03 pm

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| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

West Seattle’s ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) plans five productions – including Seattle premieres, a world premiere, and a Pulitzer winner – for 2023-2024, and has just raised the curtain to reveal the lineup. Here’s the announcement:

ArtsWest has announced its 2023-2024 season SOMETIMES I DREAM…, with five productions – all Seattle premieres – featuring the work of Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights, new collaborators, and the premiere of a brand-new holiday show specially built for Seattle. This is the third season programmed by a collective of ArtsWest Associate Artists in collaboration with ArtsWest Artistic Director Mathew Wright, with this year’s Associate Artist roles taken on entirely by ArtsWest staff.

Pithy and joyous quotes inspiring us to pursue our dreams have resounded across space and time – but it can be a difficult path, especially when the world seems to have other plans for you. Dreaming big takes courage, curiosity, and imagination – but it often takes support from the outside world as well. What would it take to create a world in which everyone is free to pursue a dream? In one of their boldest outings yet, ArtsWest explores the pursuit of dreams through five distinctly different lenses in a season of searing comedy, beloved music, and touching humanity, designed to subvert expectations at every turn.

SOMETIMES I DREAM…opens this fall with the Seattle premiere of MATT & BEN (September 7-October 1), award-winning writer and comedian Mindy Kaling‘s NYC Fringe hit about Hollywood’s most famous bromance – which originally starred Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers in the title roles – in a biting satire on the Hollywood dream machine.

Fresh for the holiday season, December will see the world premiere of SNOWED IN (November 30–December 23), created by Mathew Wright and Corinne Park-Buffelen, a holiday special reinvented for the 21st century and starring some of Seattle’s most-beloved musical theater talent.

In the new year, ArtsWest will present the Seattle premiere of Liz Duffy Adams‘ BORN WITH TEETH (February 1–February 25), a queer-punk-inflected encounter between Christopher Marlowe and the young upstart William Shakespeare in which they attempt to write a history play together before they either fall in love or kill each other.

April will see the Seattle premiere of this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner in Drama, ENGLISH by Sanaz Toossi (April 4–April 28). Co-produced by Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble, ENGLISH is a deeply moving and brilliantly funny meditation on language and identity in an Iranian TOEFL classroom.

Rounding out the season is two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage‘s latest Broadway triumph, CLYDE’S (June 6–June 30, 2024). Presented in partnership with The Hansberry Project and directed by Seattle luminary Valerie Curtis-Newton, CLYDE’S explores the dreams of the workers at a truck stop café – and the ways in which we can act as obstacles or aids to each other in the pursuit of those dreams.

More about next season’s ArtsWest plays is here. You can lock in your tickets by buying a subscription here. Meantime, ArtsWest’s current production “Zach” continues through this Sunday, and the season finale “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is onstage June 28-July 23; more on this season here.

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Brown-water reports in West Seattle Junction area

May 22, 2023 11:59 am

| 9 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news

We’ve received multiple reader reports this morning about discolored water in the West Seattle Junction area. No water breaks reported so far; a frequent cause is fire-hydrant testing, and as Seattle Public Utilities confirmed to us last week, a recent change in procedure may be stirring up more sediment (mostly rust) in the lines when that’s done. If it happens to you, be sure to report it to SPU at 206-386-1800.

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WEST SEATTLE MONDAY: 11 notes

May 22, 2023 10:07 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Post-rain photo sent by Al)

Here’s the list for the rest of today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

BABY STORY TIME: Noon-12:30 pm at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW).

MONDAY MOVIE: 1 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon), “Terry’s Greatest Movies You’ve Never Heard Of,” today featuring “In Her Shoes.” Free popcorn! Contact SCWS to register in advance.

CRAFTING AND CREATIVITY NIGHT: 6-10 pm at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.

OPEN MIC: Weekly BedHead Open Mic at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (4201 SW Juneau), 6:30 pm – info in our calendar listing.

D&D: Open D&D starts at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), all welcome, even first-time players. $5.

ALKI ELEMENTARY PROJECT MEETING: Seattle Public Schools convenes a community meeting at 7 pm in the school lunch room (3010 59th SW) to talk, and answer questions, about the upcoming rebuild/expansion. Online-participation link is promised on this page sometime pre-meeting.

FAUNTLEROY MEDITATION: Free weekly Zen sitting/meditation event at the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.

ALKI MEDITATION: Free twice-monthly Dharma Community meditation, 7-8:30 pm at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).

PLAY TRIVIA! Three options on Monday nights for playing trivia – 7 and 8 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at Three 9 Lounge (4505 39th SW); 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7:30 pm at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)

YOGA AND SOUND BATH: 7 pm at Sacred Growing Space (7358 35th SW), $35.

MONDAY MUSIC: Live music with The Westside Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.

Have a West Seattle/White Center event to add to our calendar ? Please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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YOU CAN HELP: Alki Elementary PTA’s online auction open for all to bid

May 22, 2023 9:00 am

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| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

With a little over one month left in the school year, fundraising season is winding down, but you still have opportunities to help local PTAs/PTSAs support their schools. Here’s the latest announcement we’ve received to share with you:

Alki Elementary PTA’s auction is online this year and is now LIVE – Click Here to begin bidding! Online bidding will close at 9:00 pm on Thursday, May 25th.

This year’s auction features artwork created by the K-5th grade classes, a 2-night/3-day stay at Suncadia, roundtrip tickets to Victoria B.C., dance & music classes, and so much more!

Your generosity will support vital programs and community-building events that enrich the lives of our students and make Alki Elementary the thriving community that it is! Funds will support purchasing library books, class field trips/supplies, all-school assemblies (guest speakers), ensuring all students have access to yearbooks, school supplies and recess equipment to name a few.

Thank You in advance for supporting Alki PTA’s largest fundraiser of the year!

Additional details can be found on the Alki PTA Auction website. Contact: Auction@alkipta.com

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Monday info; counting down to Memorial Day weekend

May 22, 2023 6:00 am

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| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

8:32 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter, Patrick reports trucks backed up on the westbound bridge.

Earlier:

6:00 AM: Good morning. It’s Monday, May 22nd, five workdays to go until Memorial Day weekend (unless yours starts earlier!).

WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

The weather pendulum has swung. Today’s forecast: Partly sunny, some drizzle, high in the mid-60s. Sunrise was at 5:24 am; sunset will be at 8:49 pm.

TRANSIT

Metro – Regular schedule, but trip cancellations are still happening.

Water Taxi – Continuing the spring/summer schedule, including late-evening runs Friday and Saturday nights.

Washington State Ferries‘ Triangle Route continues on the 2-boat schedule; sailing cancellations remain possible on short notice, so check here for alerts/updates and see Vessel Watch for boats’ locations.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

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

High Bridge – the main camera:

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

Low Bridge – east-end vicinity:

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

Highway 99: – 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: Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed to see if the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities). Thank you!

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