It’s almost time to start voting in the 2023 primary. The official voters’ pamphlets have been arriving, and King County Elections mailed ballots today – 1.4 million of them. Some may call this an off-year election but in our area, it’s more important than it’s been in a long time, with the incumbents leaving all three district-specific positions – City Council District 1, County Council District 8, and School Board District 6. None is exclusively West Seattle, but our community comprises most of each district, and the outgoing incumbents are all West Seattleites, as are most of the candidates. In addition to those three races, your ballot also includes one major levy. So here’s the quick refresher on those four major reasons to vote:

SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Now expanded to include areas including Pioneer Square, Georgetown, and SODO, as well as WS and South Park

Lisa Herbold is giving up the seat after two terms. The eight primary candidates are (in surname-alphabetical order, and with each name linked to the campaign website):

Preston Anderson
Lucy Barefoot
Stephen Brown
Maren Costa
Jean Iannelli Craciun
Mia Jacobson
Rob Saka
Phil Tavel

The only forum with all eight was the one we presented in collaboration with the District 1 Community Network on June 6th. You can see the video – plus brief written summaries of the eight candidates’ responses to the 17 questions that were asked – by going here. Less than a week later, the 34th District Democrats presented a forum with five of the candidates; here’s our coverage, with video. And days after that, a coalition of mobility and sustainability-advocacy groups held a D-1 forum with four candidates and one candidate surrogate; here’s that video. In your Local Voters Pamphlet, the D-1 candidates start on page 35. You can also see all eight candidates in the city’s Video Voter Guide. (And if you want to explore who’s raised how much and from whom, this site is where to start.)

KING COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Areas including West Seattle, White Center, Vashon/Maury Islands, Burien

Joe McDermott is leaving this seat after 12 years. Candidates are:

Sofia Aragon
GoodSpaceGuy
Teresa Mosqueda

The 34th DDs held a forum with Aragon and Mosqueda in June; here’s our coverage, including video. All three candidates are in the Local Voters Pamphlet on pages 17 and 18.

SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF DIRECTORS DISTRICT 6
West Seattle and most of South Park

Leslie Harris is leaving this seat after two terms. Candidates are:

Rosie McCarter
Gina Topp
Maryanne Wood

This is a district-only vote in the primary, and then a citywide vote in the general. All three candidates are in the Local Voters Pamphlet, on pages 74 and 75. Only Topp participated in the Seattle Video Voter Guide.

KING COUNTY PROPOSITION 1
Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy

We reported on this measure here. In the Local Voters Pamphlet, you’ll find the summary and pro/con statements starting on page 78, and the full text starting on page 90. Want to see what it would cost you next year, compared to this year? Put your address into the King County Assessor’s Transparency Tool.

VOTING: The county predicts 35 percent turnout – you can prove that wrong. The four decisions above aren’t the only ones your ballot will ask you to make, but they’re the main ones. Voting starts as soon as you get your ballot, and you have until August 1st to vote and send your ballot back to KC Elections, either by getting it into an official ballot dropbox (they open tomorrow – here’s where to find them) by 8 pm that night, or by getting it into the USPS mail (no stamp needed) in time for a postmark no later than August 1st. In the contested races, the two candidates who get the most votes will advance to the November 7th general election (the city’s new voting method does NOT start this year).

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Wonder Camp in the San Juans: New WSB sponsor

July 12, 2023 9:04 pm

| Comments Off on Wonder Camp in the San Juans: New WSB sponsor

| Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle news

Summer camp isn’t just for kids – and it’s not just in the neighborhood. Want to get away? Wonder Camp in the San Juans is sponsoring WSB right now to let you know what you can experience there:

Come out to the San Juans to enjoy the lakes, mountains and forests – plus explore your creativity at Wonder Camp in Moran State Park.

Family Camp is August 5-8 with 3-night lodging and meals. Sing, strum, drum, play, dance, read poetry and learn directly from island creatives. Wonder Camp is the perfect chance to take a dive into creative arts and the natural world. Campers can also choose from indigo dyeing, blacksmithing, painting, drawing, and wildcrafted body-care-product-making classes. Guided field walks include herbalism, mushroom ID, and wilderness survival skills. Adult and family packages.

Spark your imagination – Lots to explore!

The historic Camp Moran is Wonder’s homebase and a lovely setting surrounded by meadows, mountains, forest and lake. Cabin and tent site options.

Meet our instructors and learn more at orcaswondercamp.org

Wonder Camp also is offering a Writers’ Track:

Writers of all types are invited to join the summer Wonder Camp for our Writers Track, August 6th and 7th.

Guest instructors for the Writers Track are Abigail Morgan Prout and Quinn Bailey, who both grew up in the San Juans and whose writings capture the intricate balance of loving, observing, fearing for, and protecting these beautiful islands.

Read more about the Writers Track workshops here. Registration is at the same link – orcaswondercamp.org.

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WHALES: Orcas and humpbacks in the area

July 12, 2023 7:51 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Whales

7:51 PM: Just texted by Kersti Muul, orcas are northbound, midchannel, approaching the Fauntleroy ferry lanes – so if you’re up for sunset whale-watching, head to the shore with your binoculars!

8:32 PM: Kersti says two humpbacks are in the area too, southbound off Bainbridge.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen silver Sonata

July 12, 2023 7:49 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Arbor Heights | Crime | West Seattle news

Reported by Shelley:

My husband’s silver 2015 Hyundai Sonata, license # AUX7982, was stolen outside of Arbor Heights tennis courts between 4 and 5:45 today. Someone had tried to steal it a few months ago, and Hyundai supposedly fixed the easy-to-steal problem, but obviously that didn’t work.

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Brown water in Seaview again

July 12, 2023 6:43 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Seaview | Utilities | West Seattle news

Two days in a row for brown water reports from Seaview. Tuesday morning we heard about it from B; this past hour we heard about it from Suzanne. She called the Seattle Public Utilities 24/7 line – 206-386-1800 – and was told that it’s hydrant testing yet again. If brown water happens at your home/business, call to report it even if you think that’s what’s happening; sometimes it’s first word of another problem, like a line break.

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VIDEO: ‘Encampment fire’ response in southeast West Seattle

July 12, 2023 4:36 pm

| 34 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

4:36 PM: Thanks to Kelsey for the video. If you saw the billowing dark smoke in southeast West Seattle earlier this afternoon – that’s the source, near the 1st/Cloverdale Highway 509 interchange for West Seattle and South Park. SFD dispatched this as an “encampment fire” response; the last unit left around 4:06 pm, just under an hour after the initial dispatch. We’re checking with SFD for any additional information.

5:23 PM: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells WSB, “Our firefighters extinguished an encampment fire where multiple tents or tarps were involved. No injuries were reported.”

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UPDATE: Deputies, police, helicopter search for White Center robbery suspects in south Highland Park

July 12, 2023 2:13 pm

| 22 COMMENTS

| Crime | Helicopter | West Seattle news | West Seattle police

2:13 PM: Thanks for all the tips about Guardian One circling over south Highland Park and a police response on the ground. We’re working to find out what led to this and will update shortly.

2:18 PM: KCSO seems to be the lead agency and a deputy tells us on the ground that they’re looking for robbery suspects. Four, according to dispatch. We don’t yet know where the robbery was.

2:34 PM: ~~A commenter says the robbery was at 16th/107th in White Center~~; we’re going that way to check. Meantime, the ground search is focused near 12th/Barton (added photo above).

2:58 PM: The mini-mart on that corner told us it wasn’t them. (And the commenter now says that was a mistaken reference to a robbery earlier this year.) We have an inquiry out to KCSO’s media team.

3:19 PM: Finally found the incident in archived KCSO dispatch audio. The robbery was at the Top to Bottom clothing store in White Center, 9651 15th SW. The robber(s) were armed and got away with ~$500 worth of clothing. Still listening for more details.

3:43 PM: A tip led officers to detain at least one suspect at/near 15th/Roxbury. Seattle Police are involved again because in this case it started with a reported sighting on SW Cambridge.

3:55 PM: KCSO has provided a bit more information – the armed robbery was reported around 1:30 pm, with four people “reported to have entered the business at that location, displayed guns and stole about $500.00 worth of merchandise … 2 persons were detained close to the area in connection with the robbery, but it is not 100% sure if they were involved at this time. No injuries were reported and no firearms recovered as of yet. Some clothing items that have belonged to the suspects were recovered in the surrounding neighborhood. These were confiscated as evidence.”

4 PM: KCSO update on the previous two detainees: “The two detained were released as there was no evidence, or witnesses that could say they were 100% involved.”

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TOMORROW: Two more reasons to be in The Junction on Summer Fest Eve

July 12, 2023 12:37 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

West Seattle’s biggest party of the year – Summer Fest – starts Friday, after a pre-funk in the closed Junction streets on Thursday night. Since our first preview of Summer Fest Eve, we’ve heard of two more reasons to be there:

‘BEYOND THE LENS: On Thursday night, legendary Seattle music photographer Lance Mercer will be at Easy Street Records, where a mini-doc about him will premiere, ESR’s Matt Vaughan tells us:

Ryan Cory is the director of the film, “Beyond The Lens.” Ryan is one of Seattle’s great videographers, editors, and storytellers. He’s directed pieces for Brandi Carlile, The Head and The Heart, Orville Peck, Pearl Jam, and of course Easy Street, Thunder Road Guitars, and the West Seattle Junction. When Ryan asked me what should he be his next film, his next project, muse, etc… without hesitation, I said, ”It’s time for Lance Mercer to shine, to be recognized for all he’s done for this city and the bands he helped elevate and the scene he helped create…and still creates …. and he lives in West Seattle. He’s elusive, let me get him for you, the story must be told.”

The premiere screening is expected to start around 7:30 pm. Matt adds, “This will be the debut of the Easy Street projector/screen.” And if you visit Easy Street, you’ll see more classic music photography – Charles Peterson‘s exhibit continues. Plus: “DJ Marc Muller from Emerald City Social Club will be the DJ thru the night.”

And right across Alaska from Easy Street:

AURORA AVE.: Along with previously announced music – West Seattle band Aurora Avenue will be playing on California Avenue during Summer Fest Eve. From band member Henry Parker:

We will be playing off and on from 5:30-6:50 and 7:20-7:45 and (Art Walk) is 5-8. We have a large set list of our own originals and crowd-pleaser covers. We’ll also be selling our own merchandise at the event. We’ll be playing directly across the street from Easy Street Records outside Key Bank, and the Junction main drag on California Ave. will be shut down to traffic to provide lots of dancing and watching space :)

California north of Oregon will close sometime Thursday morning, and then the rest of the festival zone – California between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th – closes around 4 pm Thursday afternoon; the closure continues until Summer Fest breakdown and cleanup ends late Sunday/early Monday.

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Prime time for package thefts

July 12, 2023 10:39 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Quick alert sent by B less than an hour ago, of note since “Prime Day” has likely led to more deliveries: “Just witnessed a package theft from my neighbor’s porch on 11th SW and Holden. Black male passenger jumped out of an I30 Infiniti and right back into the car with a package, then they sped off down Holden toward 16th.” B says the car resembled this stock photo.

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WEST SEATTLE WEDNESDAY: 14 highlights

July 12, 2023 9:58 am

| Comments Off on WEST SEATTLE WEDNESDAY: 14 highlights

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(The Brothers, photographed by David Hutchinson)

Here’s the lineup for the hours ahead:

TODDLER READING TIME: 10:30 am at Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW).

HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK: Open 11 am-8 pm,. (1100 SW Cloverdale)

SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Here’s the list of local sites where free food is available for kids on weekdays this summer, 11:30 am-1 pm lunch, 2-3 pm snacks.

GIVE BLOOD! Bloodworks Northwest says it has openings for donors today at the West Seattle Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (4001 44th SW) – sign up here.

DELRIDGE WADING POOL: Noon-5:30 pm. (4501 Delridge Way SW)

LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL: Noon-7 pm. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)

COLMAN POOL: Also at Lincoln Park, this outdoor salt-water pool is open noon-7 pm daily through Labor Day. See the session schedule here.

FIX-IT WORKSHOP: Don’t replace it – repair it! Weekly event, 5:30-7:30 pm at West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center).

TRIVIA x 6: Here’s where to play tonight. At 6 pm, Locust Cider (2820 Alki SW) now offers trivia … at 7 pm, you can play trivia at the West Seattle Brewing Mothership (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW); Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 8 pm; there’s 7:30 and 8:30 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at The Lodge (4209 SW Alaska); trivia starts at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW); at 8:30 pm, trivia with Phil T at Talarico’s (4718 California SW).

LIVE MUSIC AT THE LOCOL: 6:30 pm. 21+. Rotating performer slate. (7902 35th SW)

MUSIC BINGO: Play weekly at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm.

SKYLARK OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm signups @ West Seattle’s longest-running open mic – no cover to watch. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

‘HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH’ Tonight’s performance of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) is at 7:30 pm – check here for tickets.

KARAOKE AT BENBOW ROOM: 9 pm-2 am – info in our calendar listing. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

Planning a presentation, meeting, performance, reading, tour, fundraiser, sale, discussion, or …? If it’s open to the community, send us info for West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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YOUTH SPORTS: West Seattle Baseball celebrates a regional championship and aims for two more

July 12, 2023 9:31 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS & Sports

All-Star Week may be ending, but the midsummer excitement continues for youth-baseball All-Star teams. West Seattle Baseball has just seen one team score a regional championship, and two others are taking a swing at the titles in their categories. Proud coach/parent Randall Hauk sent the report:

While the all-stars of Major League Baseball played this week in Seattle, some of West Seattle’s finest youth baseball players went to Olympia last weekend and brought home a championship.

The West Seattle Baseball 10U Red All-Stars emerged from the PONY Baseball Northwest Regional tournament as the 2023 champions after their 11-1 victory Sunday evening over the Maltby All-Stars in the championship game.

In the photo above are:
-front/on ground – Miles Cole and Lewis Kerns
-standing – Graham Mason, Canon Womac, Koa Perez, Henry Rice, Blake Tep, Robert Jauregui, Ari Beman, Jonah Hull, Nick Webber, Chase Cummings, and Henry Hauk
-coaches – Dan Womac, Randall Hauk, and Tim Kerns

West Seattle Red advanced to the final as the tournament’s number one seed, having won all three of their group-play games, out-scoring their opponents 53-18.

The team will travel to Norwalk, California as the Northwest Regional Champion to compete for the West Zone title starting on Thursday, July 20. West Seattle will first face the host team, Norwalk PONY Baseball in a first-round match set for 4:30 p.m. PDT.

West Seattle Baseball is also sending two other all-stars teams to represent the Northwest Region in West Zone play.

The West Seattle 11U Red All-Stars squad starts their quest for the West Zone Bronco-11 crown on Thursday, July 13 in Walnut, California, as they face Simi Valley at 3 p.m. PDT. The 11U is coming off a recent championship run in the Perfect Game 4th of July Blast-Off tournament, ending with a 15-0 win over Stilly Venom in the title match.

West Seattle Baseball’s 9U All-Stars will also be in Walnut, California this week to contest the Mustang-9 West Zone title, facing the host team, also at 3 p.m. PDT. The team most-recently competed in the Lee Johnson Firecracker tournament, going 3-1 before falling in the championship game.

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Wednesday notes + advance alerts

July 12, 2023 6:01 am

| Comments Off on TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Wednesday notes + advance alerts

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:01 AM: Good morning. Welcome to post-All-Star Wednesday, July 12th.

WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

Morning clouds expected, then clearing, high in the low 70s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:24 am; sunset will be at 9:05 pm.

WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST

In The Junction, the festival starts Friday, but parking restrictions start today, with street closures and bus reroutes starting Thursday. Here’s our preview.

ROAD WORK ALERT

Thursday and Friday in the Highland Park Way/Holden vicinity, work intensifies for the permanent signal. We saw the signboards on Tuesday and asked SDOT for details:

Construction will take place on SW Holden St, just west of Highland Park Way SW between 7:00 am and 3:30pm each day. There will not be any full street or intersection closures. Workers will only be doing construction in one part of the road at a time, and while work is occurring people will be directed to drive on the other side of the road. At some times, this may require a single lane alternating between two directions with flaggers to help safely direct traffic.

TRANSIT TODAY

Metro – Back to charging fares.

Water Taxi – Back to charging fares and regular schedule.

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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