West Seattle, Washington
27 Thursday
(Westcrest Park, reader photo by Jon from May 2021)
Two long-delayed West Seattle play-area projects are another step closer to finally happening. As we reported back in June, the Lincoln Park South and Westcrest Park play-area projects, bundled together, went out to bid. Bidding closed in mid-June with three bids received, but for weeks, the next step – awarding a contract – hadn’t been taken. Finally, the city bidding site shows, last week notice was given that the city intends to award the contract to the low bidder, LW Sundstrom, which bid $1,192,820. Seattle Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor told us that “Our best estimate at this time is that construction may start late summer. Means & methods are to be determined by the contractor, so we do not know at this time which play area will be first.” Lincoln Park South has been awaiting replacement play equipment for six years; the closed structure at Westcrest has been awaiting a replacement for two years. Our archives show LW Sundstrom’s previous projects include the High Point Play Area renovation in 2018.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This week, Seattle Public Schools starts a series of community meetings to talk about the concept of “well-resourced schools.”
Our area’s school board director, Leslie Harris, wishes district managers would just describe the conversation as what it’s truly about: “Closures and consolidations.”
She made that comment Saturday afternoon during one of her periodic community-conversation availabilities, at which she was joined by another member of the board, Vivian Song Maritz (whose district stretches from downtown to Ballard), in the upstairs meeting room at Southwest Library. Only four community members showed up during the course of the hour and a half Harris was there, and none were there to talk about the looming “closures and consolidations” issue. But it was threaded through the discussion anyway.
One more week until the primary vote is finalized and certified, but from here on out it’s down to a daily trickle of ballots, if that. So with today’s update in, adding just a few more votes, we’re going to take one more look at how Seattle City Council District 1 shook out:
Maren Costa 8,760 33.15 %
Rob Saka 6,360 24.07 %
Phil Tavel 5,311 20.10 %
Preston Anderson 2,213 8.38 %
Stephen Brown 1,650 6.24 %
Jean Iannelli Craciun 836 3.16 %
Lucy Barefoot 766 2.90 %
Mia Jacobson 472 1.79 %
Turnout in this district is at 36.7 percent and not likely to move much beyond that. Top two finishers advance to the November 7th general election, for which voting will begin in mid-October.
That’s a screengrab from a Seattle City Light map showing where it’s currently trimming back trees that are close to power lines. We received a call from a concerned reader about major trimming happening along California in South Admiral, so we checked, and learned about the map. As noted in the past, City Light’s pruning work can sometimes appear to be dramatic; this page explains the standards to which they trim to try to reduce tree/line conflicts, which are to blame for many power outages.
(Added: WSB photo)
If they have to cut a tree that’s on your property, you’re supposed to get advance notice. (And yes, there have been past problems – so contact the utility if you think a crew is going beyond the published standards.)
Looking for a job that’s close to home? The WSB West Seattle Jobs Offered section of our community forums has lots of new listings – 19 local jobs listed in just the past week – so we’re publishing one of our periodic reminders, in case you were unaware of its existence. For local businesses/organizations, it’s free to post a job. You do need a (free) log-in for the forum section – and if you don’t already have one, you can get that here. You don’t need a log-in to browse the section if you’re looking for work, though – just go here.
First, from the inbox this morning:
BROKEN-WINDOW CAR PROWL: Sent by Donnie:
Neighbor on SW Barton/ 31st Pl, reporting to warn others of what’s been reported a few weeks back in the spree of car windows being broken. At some point during the night, my car window was broken — car seemed to be rummaged through but nothing was stolen, including an iPad I forgot to bring in that was clearly visible. It was noticed this morning around 4:30 as I was leaving for work. Police report has been filed and I’ve attached a photo to warn others and if anyone has any suspects in mind.
Two more reader reports:
DUMPED ITEMS: Sent by Tom:
These items were dumped on 12th Ave SW just north of the intersection of SW Webster. These were from a stolen car because the ignition switch was lying on a WeatherTech floor mat. Seen on Sunday around 5:30 pm.
He wasn’t able to take possession of them so if they might be yours, check that area.
FOUND LAPTOP: This turned up on Chris‘s mailbox in the Delridge area:
Chris says the side not shown has “identifying marks” – if you think it might be your lost/stolen laptop, contact us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – and we’ll connect you.
One case of confirmed weekend gunfire:
ARREST NEAR ROXBURY LANES: As reported briefly on our partner site White Center Now, the King County Sheriff’s Office says it arrested a suspect after responding to a report of someone “shooting into the air” near Roxbury Lanes early Sunday. No injuries.
And a report from last week that we just found:
PRIDE FLAG ARSON: According to a brief SPD summary, this happened just after 11 pm last Wednesday (August 2nd):
Officers responded to a report of a bias crime in the 4600 block of Southwest Stevens Street. Unknown suspect(s) set a victim’s Pride flag on fire. The victim extinguished the flag and reported to police seeing several subjects in the area. The flag was damaged and a small section of an exterior wall singed.
We just checked the SFD 911 log and did not find an accompanying response. If you have any information, the SPD incident # is 23-220377.
SIDE NOTE: If you have used our Crime Watch page, you’ve probably noticed the absence of SPD “Tweets by Beat” incident categorizations, locations, and case numbers. It’s been down now for going on three weeks; SPD says the problem is known but they have no ETA for restoration. Prior to the full outage, some sectors around the city, including the F (eastern) ones in West Seattle, hadn’t been showing data for a while. SPD has a few other options for finding case numbers/classifications, but none are as thorough as Tweets by Beat was. You can find our archived crime reports here but as for current events, many calls aren’t dispatched by radio so your texts are more important than ever when you see a significant response – 206-293-6302 – thank you.
(Sunflower season! Photo sent by Janelle Otterholt)
Here’s what’s up for the rest of your Monday:
GLASS FLOAT HUNT CONTINUES: As of late last night, 28 floats found, 22 more awaiting finders, as the hunt continues.
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.
WADING POOLS OPEN: Noon-7 pm. Today’s scheduled pools in West Seattle: EC Hughes (2805 SW Holden) and Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).
COLMAN POOL OPEN: This outdoor salt-water pool at Lincoln Park is open noon-7 pm daily through Labor Day. See the session schedule here.
COMMUNITY PADDLE: Monday nights all summer long, get out on the water with Alki Kayak Tours, 6 pm. (1660 Harbor SW).
CRAFTING AND CREATIVITY NIGHT: 6-10 pm at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.
D&D: Open D&D starts at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), all welcome, first-time players too. $5.
FAUNTLEROY MEDITATION: Free weekly Zen sitting/meditation event at the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.
OPEN MIC: Weekly BedHead Open Mic continues at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (4201 SW Juneau), 7 pm (signups at 6:30) – info in our calendar listing.
PLAY TRIVIA! Here are three Monday night options for 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)
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!
The holiday season is still four months away, but The Christmas People would love to see you at a summer event in West Seattle later this month. Here’s the invitation just added to the WSB Event Calendar:
The Christmas People will commemorate 25 years of service to homeless people, seniors, and veterans on Sunday, August 27 from 3 to 8 pm at Alki Masonic Center, 4736 40th Ave SW.
Linda Norlander, RN.MS, Robert Wood Johnson fellow, will be guest speaker; Carnegie Hall soprano Claire Stadtmueller and Adam Creighton will provide entertainment. Buffet will be at 6 p.m.
No tickets, free will offering but reservations are required. Contact Rev. Fred Hutchinson, co-founder, at 206-719-4979 or pialley@jps.net. Seating is limited: first come, first served. All volunteers, Christmas Cookie bakers, drivers, and civic-minded community members are invited and encouraged to attend.
6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, August 7th.
WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Cloudy, showers possible, sun later, high around 75. Today’s sunrise was at 5:54 am; sunset will be at 8:35 pm.
ROAD WORK
On West Marginal, “quiet zone” work has begun – here’s the announcement.
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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