West Seattle, Washington
24 Sunday
Two notes tonight as the August 1st primary election gets ever closer:
ONE WEEK TO VOTE: We’re now just one week from the voting deadline. If you need a reminder about the four big reasons to vote, here’s our explanation. So far, in City Council District 1, just under 10 percent of ballots have arrived back at King County Elections – among the seven council districts, ours is second-to-last in turnout so far, ahead only of North Seattle’s D-5.
COUNCIL-CANDIDATE FORUM WEDNESDAY: Reminder that Wednesday afternoon brings a last-minute chance to see all eight D-1 candidates – the Senior Center of West Seattle is hosting a forum at 2 pm, organized by one of its members. If you can’t be there in midafternoon – we don’t know if the center plans to stream and/or record it, but we’re definitely planning to get it on video and expect to publish that Wednesday night.
Sent by Lisa:
Stolen 2013 Nissan Altima, license plate BFK3128, champagne color, in the Gatewood area on 7/25 (today) between 4:30-5:30 pm. Police report # 23-211051. Please email lenclistads@gmail.com if you have any information.
In an 8-1 vote this afternoon, Seattle City Councilmembers passed the bill that could give the green light to speed-enforcement cameras in so-called “restricted racing zones.” The bill designates 10 streets around Seattle as racing zones – including Alki Avenue, Harbor Avenue, and West Marginal Way SW in West Seattle; we first reported on the proposal more than a month ago. The state Legislature gave cities the power to make these designations. But it doesn’t automatically mean these streets or any/all of the other seven will get cameras – it’s up to SDOT to make a plan, and ultimately up to the mayor to figure out how camera installation would be funded. Nonetheless, especially in the aftermath of the July 16th Alki driver-rescued-from-water crash, the local residents who’ve been pushing for more safety action see this move as hopeful. Steve Pumphrey, an organizer of the Alki-Harbor neighborhood group, says they had seven people speaking in favor of the proposal at this afternoon’s council meeting. They are also continuing to advocate for more traffic-calming measures such as additional speed humps along Alki and Harbor.
(WSB photo of float at Avalon Glassworks)
The second of two West Seattle scavenger hunts that start next week is also an encore – another search for hidden glass floats. It’s again a collaboration of the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. If you haven’t already seen it in our calendar, here’s their explanation of what kicks off August 5th:
Are you ready to go on a West Seattle scavenger hunt? Back by popular demand, the 2023 West Seattle Glass Float Hunt kicks off on Saturday, August 5, 2023. This year’s theme is “GO WEST.” inspired by the stunning sunsets of West Seattle, as well as the neighborhood’s geographical direction. Beginning Saturday, August 5th, the West Seattle Junction Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invite everyone to search for glass floats hidden throughout West Seattle. 50 floats will be hidden on August 5th, with 50 more the morning of Saturday, August 12, 2023. A total of 100 floats will be hidden both indoors – in beloved local businesses – and outdoors.
Each 2023 glass float is individually hand blown by Avalon Glassworks in stunning red and yellow hues reminiscent of West Seattle sunsets. Each 4-inch sphere is stamped with a heart and “WS” on the sealing button. Float hunters should look high and low for colorful round balls peeking out through the mesh of a knotted net bag. Labels encourage the lucky finders to register the float, as well as tag the local business where it was discovered on social media.
Chris Mackay, Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Association, shared, “We are thrilled to bring back our Glass Float Scavenger Hunt this August! This engaging event is for participants of all ages who want to discover new businesses and nature areas as they search for gorgeous glass floats. Come one, come all and have fun combing the area for yellow and orange glass balls!”
Whitney Moore, Executive Director of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, added, “We’re so looking forward to our community exploring more of the peninsula and local businesses for the second year of the Glass Float Scavenger Hunt in West Seattle! We hope you delight in this two week search for beautiful, custom-made glass floats. Happy hunting!”
Details for the 2023 West Seattle Glass Float Scavenger Hunt are available at https://wsjunction.org/float-hunt.
Two West Seattle-wide scavenger hunts start in early August. First, on August 3rd, Summer Scramble, brought to you in part by the creator of Winter Wander. Here’s the announcement:
Registrations are now open for a unique community oriented augmented reality pirate adventure that is coming to West Seattle from August 3rd – 6th this year. The Summer Scramble yARrrr Pirate Adventure is a mashup of Pokemon Go, Geocaching, and the prior Winter Wander events. Similar to prior years, team members will solve clues to discover the pirate locations. But this time, they must “capture” the pirates there using their phones to discover where the treasure chests are hidden.
This AR adventure is sponsored by over 20 West Seattle businesses, run by veteran community event organizer Alice Kuder, and developed by West Seattle mixed-reality designers Robert and Laura Peckyno.
Each treasure chest is directly sponsored by one of the local businesses and contains a unique discount or offer for participation. Teams that find all 20 treasure chests will be entered into a special drawing for one of three physical treasure chests filled with swag donated by local businesses.
Charge your phones, grab your pirate hats,
batten down the hatches, and hide the catnip!!
The hunt begins on August 3rd!!—
To participate and learn more about Summer Scramble, register your team today @ bit.ly/Summer-Scramble
To learn more about the yARrrr Pirate Adventure and see all of the participating local businesses, visit: pecknotes.com/pirate-adventure
We’d also like to put out a few more treasure chests…! Any businesses wishing to participate can still do so by contacting Alice Kuder directly before July 30th at: wssummerscramble@gmail.com
As covered here last night, more than 4,700 homes and businesses lost power in West Seattle last night for up to three hours. Today, Seattle City Light spokesperson Jenn Strang explains what happened: “Last night, crews determined the cause to be two wires that had become disconnected from their insulators and were laying on the cross arm at SW Brandon & 30th Avenue SW. This could have been the result of any number of factors – wind, weather, bird/animal, or environmental – but at the time last evening, we were not able to determine the exact correlation. Our staff and crews did a great job isolating the problem and restoring power to a large group in just a few hours.” This was the second sizable West Seattle outage this month; the previous one, early July 2nd, was caused by a suspected DUI driver hitting a pole and taking out lines at 47th/Admiral.
1:49 PM: Strang says on followup, “When crews were on site, they found two of three blown fuses, which is likely the cause of the outage.”
(Monday night sunset – photo by Mike N.)
Here are highlights for the hours ahead, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
JOB FAIR: Under way all day, until 6 pm, at Providence Mount St. Vincent (4831 35th SW).
HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK: Open 11 am-8 pm, whatever the weather. (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.
E.C. HUGHES WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (2805 SW Holden)
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (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.
CHESS CLUB: Tuesdays 1:30-3 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon): “Are you looking for a new activity to keep your brain sharp and clear? The Senior Center Chess Club welcomes both novice and experienced players. Join us at 1:30 p.m. for lessons, short tutorials, and chess for all levels of expertise.” (Questions? Email conwell@conwelld.net.)
SPEED CAMERAS FOR RACING ZONE? The first step toward potentially using these cameras in areas including Alki/Harbor Avenues gets a vote at today’s 2 pm City Council meeting. The agenda includes information on how to attend the meeting and/or comment, in person at City Hall or online.
FREE COVID VACCINATIONS: The Southwest Library (9010 35th SW) is partnering with Othello Station for the last of three free clinics, 2 pm-5:30 pm, no health insurance or appointment required. If you have questions, call the branch at 206-684-7455 or go to the Public Health – Seattle & King County website.
DEMONSTRATION FOR BLACK LIVES: Long-running weekly sign-waving demonstration at 16th/Holden. 5-6 pm. Signs available if you don’t have your own.
STORYTIME IN THE GARDEN: 6 pm stories and activities for kids at the Delridge P-Patch, weekly throughout the summer starting tonight. (5078 25th SW)
PLAY ALONG IN THE PARK: The West Seattle Community Orchestras welcome you to play music with them tonight, at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) – 6 pm easy music, 7 pm intermediate music. Audience welcome too! More info in our calendar listing.
SCRABBLE NIGHT: 6-10 pm, you can play Scrabble at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW).
OPEN MIC: All genres welcome! 7 pm at Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way).
MORE TRIVIA: Three places to play Tuesday nights – 7 pm at Ounces (3803 Delridge Way SW), free and hosted by Beat the Geek Trivia; 7 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW); also, 7:30 and 8:30 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at The Lodge (4209 SW Alaska).
BELLE OF THE BALLS BINGO: Play bingo with Cookie Couture at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), 8 pm. Free, all ages!
You can look into the future any time via our event calendar – if you have something to include on it, please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Two months ago, we published this report on athletes from West Seattle’s Rain City Ropeworks making the national jump-rope team. Now we have an update on local jumpers’ achievements at the national and world championships; the report and photos were sent by Zack Hill:
Rain City Ropeworks, a West Seattle-based jump rope team coached by Rene Bibaud, has had a busy summer performing and competing. In June, 10 members competed at the National Jump Rope Championship in Milwaukee, competing against 30-plus teams from across the US.
Rain City competitors included Mara Garrison, Grace Muller, Avery Forcum, Ethan Im, Alia Lundburg, Riley Hill, Ava Wheatley, Madeleine Garrison, Halle Morgan, and Calla Freeman.
Grace and Madeleine both medaled in Single Rope Freestyle, earning a 3rd place spot, and Ethan and Alia together medaled for their partner routine.
Riley, Ava, and Madeleine [seen above at worlds] were crowned National Champions in Double Dutch Single Freestyle. The team was recognized by their peers and other coaches for excellence in choreography and musicality and is making a name for themselves as a new team on the scene at the national and international level. You may have seen Grace and Alia along with some of their younger teammates in the West Seattle Grand Parade last Saturday.
Five of these incredible athletes — Riley, Ava, Madeleine, Halle, and Calla — were named to the United States National Jump Rope Team, and last week made their first-ever appearance at the World Jump Rope Championships in Colorado Springs, CO.
The double dutch team of Riley, Madeleine, Halle, and Calla earned 5th place in their division of the international open tournament. Congratulations to all of these athletes and Coach Rene on their success!
6:02 AM: Good morning. It’s Tuesday, July 25th.
WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunshine returns, high in mid-70s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:38 am; sunset will be at 8:53 pm.
TRANSIT TODAY
Metro – regular schedule – check here for advisories.
Water Taxi – regular schedule.
Washington State Ferries – 2-boat service. Check Vessel Watch to see where the boats are.
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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