West Seattle, Washington
26 Thursday
(File photo, courtesy West Seattle Community Orchestras)
The West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ series of weekly concerts in Lincoln Park – open to community musicians – starts soon. They’re happening on four consecutive Tuesday nights, July 11th, 18th, 25th, and August 1st, with two open play-along sessions – “easy music” at 6 pm, “intermediate music” at 7 pm. You’re also welcome to just go listen, too. If you’re interested in playing, register in advance by going here so you can get the music a few days before you play in the park. WSCO plays in the meadow near the south end of the north parking lot (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).
One of your creative West Seattle neighbors wants you to know about his new album – here’s the announcement we received to share with you:
Wobble in the Moon is the new album from West Seattle singer-songwriter Will Rainier, released June 30. The album combines indie rock, folk, and Americana influences and features two singles with accompanying videos. The videos were filmed mostly in West Seattle, White Center, Georgetown, and South Park, with additional footage filmed on Lopez Island and in Singapore.
The album was written and recorded by Rainier in his West Seattle home studio with friends adding parts remotely. Wife and longtime collaborator Jen Garrett added vocals and cello, Christine Hager piano, Chad Yenney bass guitar and synth, Kevin Suggs pedal steel and baritone guitar, and Raymond Richards added pedal steel. The album was mixed by Raymond Richards and mastered by Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering. Album artwork and design by Vlad Verano at VertVolta Press.
You can stream and download the album and other Will Rainier music on his website here.
Check out the videos for songs Are You Waving Goodbye and To Supreme here.
5:21 PM: Seven months after heading out on deployment the Monday after Thanksgiving, the crew of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is homeward bound to Bremerton on the weekend before Independence Day. Thanks to Andrea for the tip; MarineTraffic.com shows the aircraft carrier passing south Whidbey Island right now. How long it’ll take to be in view from West Seattle depends on its speed, currently 15 knots (17 miles) per hour.
6:25 PM: MarineTraffic now shows the Nimitz passing West Point on the north edge of Elliott Bay, so it should be coming into view if you look north from Alki and vicinity. The Nimitz stopped in San Diego on its way home; Navy Times published this short story about the conclusion of its deployment.
7:14 PM: It’s now turned into Rich Passage on the final leg of the journey home.
Thanks to the neighbor who’s been keeping us informed with photos and updates from the scene of last night’s crash that took out a pole and power lines, cutting electricity to thousands. (Here’s our overnight/morning coverage.) Admiral Way has now reopened after a 14-hour closure to clean up the crash site – the pickup truck ended up at Aegis Living’s entrance – and replace the pole and lines. No serious injuries were reported. We don’t know the status of the driver, who was under investigation for DUI, but will follow up with police tomorrow. As readers have noticed, this is almost identical to an incident last September.
(2016 Mini-STP group; photo courtesy Don Brubeck)
West Seattle Summer Fest is headed our way fast – weekend after next – starting with Summer Fest Eve fun in The Junction on Thursday night, July 13th, then continuing with the full festival Friday through Sunday, July 14-16. If you have a bicycle, you can join a fun way to get to Summer Fest on the final day – the annual “Little STP Ride” with West Seattle Bike Connections! If you haven’t already seen it in our Event Calendar, here are the specifics;
Have you ever wanted to do the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride, but forgot to sign up – or train? Here is your big chance! Do it in 2 hours! Same weekend as Cascade’s big STP, so you can brag and post pix like the other one-day riders. Join West Seattle Bike Connections on a Cascade Bicycle Club free group ride starting at Hamilton Viewpoint Park. We will be riding from SW Seattle Street to SW Portland Street, and back north to Summer Fest at the West Seattle Junction, for a fabulous finish-line party. After an hour or two there, participants can ride home independently, or ride with a leader back to the start. 10-mile, somewhat hilly route at a leisurely pace. We invite and welcome everyone, including people of all ages, languages, ethnicities, genders, races, and abilities.
Online registration is required and is free. See more information and register at cascade.org/node/81260.
See this year’s festival map here.
If you walk or run in Gatewood, you’ve probably seen the chalked messages now and then, inviting you to “Art on the Corner” at 39th/Holden. Today Megan sent photos, including the chalkboard above with the schedule. Here’s the artist, Bonnie Bennedsen:
Megan explains: “All of the paintings are watercolors made by Bonnie herself. Ships, flowers, birds, ferries, Seattle landscapes and cityscapes and more. She also sells hand-painted greeting cards. Every penny goes to the West Seattle Food Bank.” Look for the chalkboard and banner to find Bonnie’s house “on the corner.”
Family and friends are remembering Marty Davidson, and sharing this with his community:
Martin “Marty” Swen Davidson of Seattle, Washington, beloved and cherished Dad, husband, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend, neighbor, and cat owner, passed away on June 25, 2023, at age 56, of heart failure.
Martin was born in Seattle to William and Beverly Davidson. A true Washingtonian, he grew up in Kent and graduated from Bremerton High School, where he was named Prom King and Class President. He attended the University of Washington and earned a degree in Accounting from Seattle University. Martin went on to become a Certified Public Accountant.
Over his career, Marty (as he has been known since college) has worked at numerous companies, including Price Waterhouse, AT&T Wireless, National Frozen Foods, PCC Community Markets, and Bartell Drugs. When he passed, he was Senior Director of SOX compliance at Rite Aid. Marty served on the Board of Directors for Camp Fire, a national nonprofit that connects young people to the outdoors, others, and themselves.
Family and friends were always the cornerstones of Martin’s life. When he was 7 years old, his father and Uncle David started to build “the round cabin,” at Hartstene Pointe, where he and his siblings and cousins spent summers and weekends together swimming, exploring the beaches, boating, building bonfires, and riding bikes. Hartstene Pointe was Martin’s “happy place” from early childhood, through high school and college, and long into adulthood, where Marty, Jamee, and Max obtained their own place and friends and family spent hours enjoying “the Barnacle” and being out on the boat.
Martin developed a tight group of lifelong friends in college with annual fly-fishing adventures including treks in the Northwest, Montana, and, recently, a trip of a lifetime to Patagonia. Also, avid music lovers, they seldom missed concerts by their favorite bands, starting with being Deadheads and attending many Grateful Dead concerts.Marty met Jamee Fields, his beautiful and loving wife of 20 years, at AT&T Wireless. Their marriage was full of love and adventure. They truly were best friends who built an incredible life together. They enjoyed travel, boating, playing pickleball, good food, fantastic wine with great company, daily games of Settlers of Catan, and spending time with those they loved most. The highlight of their life is their amazing 13-year-old son Max, whom Marty cherished with his entire being. The two enjoyed “hanging out,” challenging one another at chess, ping pong, and basketball, and talking about history, politics, favorite books, and TV shows.
Marty was a generous, thoughtful, kind-hearted, intelligent, engaged, and vibrant man of many talents. Known as the “Mayor of the Neighborhood,” he welcomed and showed up for everyone. He embraced life, spending hours gardening, tying flies for fishing, and socializing. He was proud of his Icelandic/Norwegian heritage, and his love of trivia and politics made him an excellent source of information about world events, current and past. He had an endearing sense of humor and was universally beloved by all.
Martin “Marty” was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Lee Wayne Davidson. He is survived by his wife and son; sister, Sandra Davidson; brothers Bob Davidson (Molly) and Steve Sorensen (Michele); nieces and nephews Jessie Davidson, Ford, Harpur and Marshall Davidson, Dane and Nicole Sorensen; and a large extended family that includes beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and close friends-turned-family.
A Raise Your Glass/Celebration of Life will be held on July 27. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Camp Fire Central Puget Sound, SonicGuild, Seattle Humane Society, Safecrossings Foundation, in Martin “Marty”’s memory. Forest Lawn Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
(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)
(Sweet-pea flowers – photo sent by Waikikigirl)
It’s the second Sunday of summer, and the second day of a four-day holiday weekend. Here’s what’s on the list for today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm; the market offers summer produce as well as flowers, cheese, fish, meat, baked goods, condiments, fresh-cooked food, beverages (from kombucha to beer/wine), nuts, plant starts, more. Here’s today’s vendor list. (California SW between Oregon and Alaska)
LOW-LOW TIDE: Out to -3.2 feet at 10:38 am. Find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists 9:30 am-12:30 pm at Constellation Park (63rd/Alki) and Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).
MOUNTAIN TO SOUND OUTFITTERS SALE: Today’s the final day – take 15 percent off your purchase of one in-stock item at Mountain to Sound Outfitters (3602 SW Alaska; WSB sponsor)
HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK OPEN: 11 am-8 pm daily through Labor Day, shine or rain. (1100 SW Cloverdale)
E.C. HUGHES WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (2805 SW Holden)
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm daily through Labor Day, except for chilly/cloudy days. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
COLMAN POOL OPEN: Also at Lincoln Park, this outdoor salt-water pool is open noon-7 pm daily through Labor Day. See the session schedule here.
FREE KIDS’ BOUNCY HOUSES: 11:30 am-2 pm at Junction Church (4157 California SW), all families welcome.
(added) CONCERT TRUCK AT ALKI: Seattle Chamber Music Society‘s Concert Truck will be by Alki Bathhouse (60th/Alki) at noon.
NO ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE TOURS TODAY: But they’ll be back next Sunday (July 9th).
HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH: 3 pm matinee at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor). Our calendar listing includes the ticket link.
SUNDAY NIGHT JAZZ: Triangular Jazztet at The Alley (4509 California SW), 8 pm and 9 pm sets.
(Saturday night sunset – photo by Jan Pendergrass)
WATCH THE SUNSET: It’s starting to get earlier – tonight it’s at 9:10 pm. (The sun actually vanishes behind the Olympics 10 minutes before “official” sunset time, so you’ll see that around 9.)
Planning an event – one-time or recurring – that can be on West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar? Please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
2:09 AM: Power flickered here in Upper Fauntleroy and that was first indication that others have lost power somewhere – apparently because of a driver hitting a pole on SW Admiral Way at Waite. Updates to come.
2:12 AM: Almost 4,700 customers are out. The driver is also reported to have hit the Aegis Living building.
2:23 AM: Above is a reader photo from the scene. Emergency responders are arriving at the scene. Haven’t yet heard whether the driver or anyone else is hurt. … Other areas report hearing “booms” just after the crash – The Junction and Delridge is who we’ve heard from/about – possibly some sort of chain reaction. … Note that you’re going to hear extra sirens in the early stage of any major outage, because fire alarms are often set off. (Daytime outages also tend to bring responses for people getting stuck in elevators but that’s not an issue right now.)
2:35 AM: Added above, also from our reader at the scene, the vehicle in which the driver hit the pole and building. Firefighters have told dispatch that he’s been evaluated and “does not want to go to the hospital.”
2:44 AM: Another reader photo added above – this one looking west/downhill at where the pole is blocking Admiral. It’ll be blocked for a while. There’s also a significant fuel spill from the crash, dispatch has been told; SDOT has to be summoned for that.
3:01 AM: From yet another reader (thanks to everyone texting photos – 206-293-6302 is our 24/7 hotline), a closer view of how the crash ended. … The driver is under investigation for DUI.
3:10 AM: About two-thirds of the outage zone has been restored – down now to 1,600+ still out:
4:40 AM: A few more customers have been restored, but the total out is still 1,600+.
8:41 AM: Everyone’s back on as of a little over an hour ago.
10:35 AM: Thanks for the texted photo and report that City Light brought in the replacement pole:
12:30 PM: As of about half an hour ago, Admiral Way was still closed and crews were still working at the scene.
2:37 PM: 12+ hours after the crash, the reader who’s been keeping us up to date just sent this new photo as SCL crews work to connect the lines:
4:30 PM: As noted separately, Admiral Way has reopened.
ADDED MONDAY: SPD says a 23-year-old man was arrested for suspicion of DUI but was not booked into jail.
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