West Seattle, Washington
31 Saturday
Proud dad David Chang shares this story of Fourth of July giving and gratitude:
We want to thank our community for overwhelming support during the 4th of July parade.
With your help, Sophia Chang, Mallory Browne, both 8 years old, and Gavin Chang, 11 years old (Sophia’s cousin visiting from Cherry Hill, NJ), were able to sell over 270 watermelon popsicles.
As planned, the proceeds were delivered to Seattle Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, totaling $266.48. Mr. Dondi Cupp, Senior VP, Chief Development Officer, graciously accepted the donation from our West Seattle community to help those in need of medical care at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
The kids sold the popsicles from a sidewalk stand. David explains, “A former classmate of Sophia recently needed care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, which prompted her to think about donating the proceeds to help children who are hurt and sick.”
Starting in exactly one week, work will be under way to convert the heart of The Junction into a festival zone for West Seattle Summer Fest!
The festival itself doesn’t officially start until 1 pm Friday (July 14th), but the night before has become Summer Fest Eve, a fun night to come to The Junction and walk in the closed-to-motorized-vehicles streets before the weekend wildness begins. Summer Fest Eve also coincides with the monthly West Seattle Art Walk, which is not a Junction-only event but has many Junction participants. You can preview them here – and if you’re up for live music that night, one of two Art of Music performances, 6 pm-7:45 pm, will be in The Junction:
Hopscotch will perform in the pop-up ground-level Senior Center of West Seattle space on the southeast corner of California/Oregon. Also planned for Summer Fest Eve – DancePowered‘s flash mob at the Walk All Ways crossing around 7:15 pm, buskers at KeyBank Plaza, and “tons of colored chalk lying around” for sidewalk/pavement art. See you in The Junction next Thursday! (Festival previews start tomorrow – you can also browse the festival website to preview vendors, activities, and of course the Friday/Saturday music schedules.)
West Seattle’s next big summer event will bring a crowd to Alki Beach on Saturday (July 8th) for the Seafair Pirates’ Landing. We’ve checked with a spokespirate to get details. Like last year – unlike pre-pandemic years – this will be “just” a landing, not a daylong festival. They’re aiming to arrive around 1 pm, but we’re warned it could be a little earlier, or later. As usual, you’ll hear offshore cannon fire as they approach. On the beach, look for the taped-off area by Alki Bathhouse for the path they’re expected to follow on arrival. On the street, you’ll see their legendary parade boat, the Moby Duck; their spokespirate says they’re also planning to visit Christo’s on Alki, El Chupacabra, and the Benbow Room while in West Seattle.
P.S. Two weeks after the landing, you are invited to breakfast with the Pirates at Brookdale Admiral Heights – 8:30 am Saturday, July 22nd, before the West Seattle Grand Parade – details in our calendar listing.
In the comment section for this morning’s traffic watch, Ellen posted an alert about an “injured peregrine falcon” on the low-bridge path. A short time ago, we received this report and photo, sent by Tracy, explaining how the situation turned out:
This morning at 5:30 am on the Spokane Street Bridge bike path, a small group of morning bike commuters assisted in helping a fledgling peregrine falcon that had flown down from the nesting sites on the higher West Seattle Bridge.
We were able to place the young bird into a box with the help from volunteer Jenn from the Urban Raptor Conservancy. Patti from URC said, “She is now at PAWS to eat quail and grow her wings. We hope to release her to her parents in a few days.”Thanks to everyone who stopped to help this morning.
Something similar happened in 2020 (see that WSB story for more background on the bridge-nesting falcons). As for what’w happened since then, the URC’s 2022 report tells a mostly sad story.
Hyundai Elantras remain a popular target for car thieves, and AimeĂ© is looking for hers after it was stolen from an apartment-complex parking lot in the 6900 block of Delridge Way SW overnight. It’s a 2017 black Hyundai Elantra, license plate CCL2178, police report # 23-189708.
(Hazy early morning view, photographed by Ann Anderson)
Here’s what’s on the schedule for the rest of today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
UNDERSTANDING MEDICARE: 11 am presentation at Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon).
SPRAYPARK OPEN: Daily operations continue at Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale), 11 am-8 pm.
HIAWATHA WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-6:30 pm. (2700 California SW)
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
COLMAN POOL CLOSED TO PUBLIC: Swim meet today, so no public sessions.
WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome to this weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayers@gmail.com to see where they’re playing today.
LOW-LOW TIDE: -3.0 feet at 1:47 pm. Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are out too.
THURSDAY FOOD-TRUCK POP-UP: 4-8 pm at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), Tacos El Guero will be visiting.
HIGHLAND PARK RUN CLUB: Also at HP Corner Store, meet up at 6:30 pm for a 3-mile run!
DESIGN REVIEW FOR 1116 ALKI: As previewed here, the Southwest Design Review Board meets online at 5 pm to review the proposed 60-unit building at 1116 Alki Avenue SW. Here’s the design packet; the links to attend – and info on commenting – are here.
WESTIES RUN CLUB: Meet at The Good Society (California/Lander) at 6 pm for a 3-mile run – more in our calendar listing.
THURSDAY NIGHT CORNHOLE: Go play at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW), 7 pm.
HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH: Second week for the return of this hit musical at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor). Our calendar listing includes the ticket link.
JOKES AT THE JUNCTION: 8 pm comedy at Great American Diner (4752 California SW) – ticketing and other info in our calendar listing.
There’s even more in our calendar!
9:11 AM: Thanks for the tips. Police have closed 18th SW near the 7100 block [vicinity map] as they attempt to arrest someone who we are told is a suspect in a carjacking. The suspect is believed to be armed and at a particular residence. SWAT has been called in. Avoid the area.
9:47 AM: Going back through archived police-radio audio, the original incident was reported around 8:10 am as an attempted armed carjacking, nearby on 18th SW, with the would-be carjacker leaving the scene on foot.
10:25 AM: Not resolved yet. We’re continuing to monitor and will add updates when we have them.
10:54 AM: Just received video from an anonymous resident who says it shows the attempted carjacking – a grocery-delivery driver was dropping off the items when in the background, you see the person run up and get in the car. Though the video cuts off, the resident says the driver subsequently pulled the would-be carjacker out to keep him from stealing the car. (Video removed for now per request of the resident.)
11:10 AM: Police are closing off Dumar as well between 16th/Delridge.
12:43 PM: Still not resolved. Also of note, the road closures are rerouting Metro 128.
2:04 PM: Not resolved yet.
3:09 PM: Seventh hour.
4:14 PM: Eighth hour.
5:22 PM: They’ve declared the house “clear” – we’re going back over to verify. Meantime, what took all this time were the steps it took to get to that point. They had to get a view inside the house, which required breaking windows to get a drone inside. They also used various devices – from flashbangs to “pepper balls” and gas – with the aim of temporarily incapacitating anyone inside. The house has multiple levels, plus an attic/crawl space, so each of those levels took time to investigate. The SPD SWAT team was assisted by K-9s and by equipment from the King County Sheriff’s Office. Another time-consuming component is that a search warrant is required, so they have to get one drawn up and signed by a judge.
5:40 PM: Our crew has verified at the scene that no one was found in the house or its outbuildings. Streets in the area, including Dumar, have reopened.
8:49 AM: WSP reports the ramp from West Seattle Bridge to northbound I-5 is closed because of someone “throwing debris.” Also, there is a police response in Puget Ridge, on 18th SW – we’re on our way to find out more.
8:58 AM: Update from WSP, the debris suspect is in custody, and they’ll reopen the ramp once it’s cleaned up.
Earlier:
6:02 AM: Good morning. Welcome to Thursday, July 6th.
WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Another hot day: Sunny, hazy, high in the upper 80s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:19 am; sunset will be at 9:09 pm.
TRANSIT
Metro – Regular schedule, with trip cancellations and temporary route suspensions possible.
Water Taxi – The West Seattle WT is on its regular schedule. (Here are changes planned for the upcoming All-Star Week.)
Washington State Ferries – 2-boat schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. 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 – alternate 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: The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see trouble 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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