West Seattle, Washington
31 Saturday
Every year, we assemble a list of West Seattle restaurants planning to be open on Thanksgiving Day. (We say “planning” because sometimes their plans change after we finish making phone calls.) If you don’t want to cook, go here to see what’s on our list so far. We have nine, and can add if you know of somewhere we missed – westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
P.S. You can also stay out of the kitchen by going to one of the free community dinners at The Hall at Fauntleroy (noon-3 pm) or the West Seattle Eagles (2-5 pm).
(Photos by Tom Trulin. Above, one of the last of this year’s 34 spawners)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog
After two years of amazingly high numbers of coho spawners in Fauntleroy Creek (244 in 2021, 254 in 2022), this season’s 34 isn’t all that impressive unless, like veteran counter Dennis Hinton, you take the long view.
“Since the first spawners in modern history arrived in 1994, we’ve had 13 years with 10 or fewer, including some years with none,” he said. “A glut of fish draws a lot of attention, but when that happens in this small creek, late arrivals dig the redds of earlier fish and we lose hatch potential.”
(Veteran salmon-watch volunteers Pete Draughon, Dennis Hinton, and Mark Sears)
On October 22, 20 volunteers began watching the spawning reach in the lower creek during the five hours after high tide. Mark Sears led a special cadre of volunteers to relocate drift logs on the beach to ensure spawners could reach the mouth of the creek.
Watchers recorded the first robust spawner on November 4 and the last a week later. They also recorded two cutthroat trout in to snag what salmon eggs they could.
Harbor seals and other predators in Fauntleroy Cove were especially active eaters this year. Most carcasses above the spawning reach soon disappeared, likely in the jaws of raccoons.
By November 18 when the watch ended, watchers had invited at least 88 visitors down to creek level from the fish-ladder viewpoint across from the ferry terminal. Another 136 came during an “open creek” on November 12 to talk salmon and habitat.
If creek conditions continue to be favorable, eggs will hatch late January/early February, and fry will emerge from the gravel a few weeks later. Area schools will get eyed hatchery eggs in early January to rear and release as fry in May through the Salmon in the Schools program.
Lauren reports her car was stolen from her garage in Gatewood just before 1:30 this afternoon: “It’s a black Subaru Crosstrek. License place is BWV1276; has a “life is good” magnet on the back. The incident # is 23-335354.”
UPDATE: Found – see comments.
Another highlight just in for the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – Thunder Road Guitars (6400 California SW; WSB sponsor) has a monster event planned for Black Friday:
So let’s recap that: Buy a $10 raffle ticket at TRG on Friday starting at 10 am and not only are you entered in the guitar drawing, you get lunch (burger and shake) from the Dick’s Drive-In truck, which will be there noon-2 pm. (One lunch per person, though you can buy more raffle tickets if you want!) Holiday sale continues Saturday and Sunday too! Shop local, shop musical at this one-of-a-kind West Seattle shop.
(WSB photo – 2022 Alki Arts pop-up in The Junction)
A recently vacated business space on the north side of Morgan Junction has a new tenant: Alki Arts is opening a gallery in the former Launchpad coworking/event space at 6030 California SW. Alki Arts proprietor Diane Venti has long been part of the local art scene – she tells WSB, “This is our 14th year selling local affordable original art, which all started in West Seattle on Alki … since then we have had 3 long-term locations, 4 pop-up locations, and 2 collaborations with other galleries … all in the aim of keeping rent low enough to be able to make a viable business of accessible original art for everyone. In keeping with our business model since day one, we will feature monthly musical performances for local musicians and will also be renting our space out for private events, giving a deep discount to nonprofits.” Alki Arts plans a soft-opening this Friday (November 24) and grand opening Saturday, December 2nd – regular hours will be Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-6 pm and by appointment. (The original Alki Arts location was at 2820 Alki SW, where Outer Space Seattle is for now.)
Thomas reports, “My car got stolen this morning around 8:30 am. In front of my apartment, the address is 4208 Beach Dr. The stolen vehicle is the 2015 Lexus CT200, white with black top. Please help me find the car.” We’re still awaiting the plate and report #s and will add when we have them.
Overdose responses are sadly not rare. Those with multiple patients are. That’s what brought the sizable Seattle Fire response to Roxhill Park this past half-hour. According to SFD radio communication, a woman and man, both 33 years old, were found “unconscious and unresponsive” after “suspected opiate overdoses.” They were able to revive her, and thought that – after many efforts including 10+ rounds of CPR – they had revived him, but he’s just been declared dead. The woman, meantime, will be taken to a hospital.
From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, to which we’re adding more events and info every day – the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship sets sail the day after Thanksgiving, and its three West Seattle visits will be on the same schedule as last year:
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24: Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1220 Harbor SW), 5:35 pm.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25, WS STOP 1: Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor), 5:35 pm
ALSO NOVEMBER 25, WS STOP 2: Alki Beach Park (usually near the Bathhouse), 8:35 pm, with a bonfire
So far, the forecast looks clear and dry for both nights. If you haven’t seen the Christmas Ship before, it’s a brightly lit boat (used for tours the rest of the year) with a choir on board (and paid passengers), stopping offshore for a free 20-minute mini-concert of holiday songs. Again this year, the singers for all three West Seattle performances will be The Dickens Carolers. See this year’s full regional Christmas Ship schedule here.
(Southwest Branch, WSB file photo)
We’ve just learned that the Southwest Library HVAC work wasn’t finished in time to reopen the branch today as planned. We’re told that insulation work is a major component of what remains. They’re not sure yet if they’ll reopen before Thanksgiving. So if you need to visit a library this week, here’s a reminder that Seattle Public Library has four other area branches – High Point, Delridge, West Seattle (Admiral), and South Park; the King County Library System has the White Center branch, too. All libraries will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving.
Here’s an opportunity for pre-Thanksgiving giving – to help West Seattle High School students and their families:
Support WSHS Families This Holiday Season
Our Care Coordinator, Stacey Fernandez, is organizing a Thanksgiving & Holiday Gift Card Fund. Your donations will go directly toward providing WSHS students and families with items to meet their basic needs, including food, warm clothing, and personal hygiene supplies. No donation is too small. Give today! Questions? Stacey Fernandez 206-252-8800 stfernandez@seattleschools.org
6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, November 20th, three days until Thanksgiving.
WEATHER AND SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Partly sunny, high in the upper 40s. Sunrise today is at 7:21 am; sunset, 4:27 pm.
TRANSIT TODAY
Metro – Regular schedule today; check advisories here.
Water Taxi is on its regular schedule too. Advance holiday alert – the Water Taxi will be out of service Thursday (Thanksgiving) and Friday.
Washington State Ferries – The usual 2-boat service on the Triangle Route. Check alerts for changes, and use Vessel Watch to see where your ferry is.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Henderson), cameras are also 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:
1st Ave. S. Bridge – southeastern 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 feed on Twitter/X shows whether the city’s movable bridges (including the West Seattle low bridge) are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see trouble on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if applicable). Thank you!
(Added 5:15 am: Photo of van being towed, sent by @WestSeaWX)
3:58 AM: Rush Hour, the Junction shop hit early Friday by crash-and-grab burglar(s) driving a stolen Silverado, has just been hit again. This time a Kia Sedona (registered in Kent, not yet confirmed stolen) was used – someone saw it lodged in the building, and called it in just after 3:30 am. Police are there now investigating. Dispatch told officers that there was a report of a gray SUV leaving the scene after the van was abandoned. Rush Hour already was planning a move to a new location in two weeks.
ADDED MONDAY NIGHT: As linked in comments, a crowdfunding campaign has launched to help Rush Hour recover.
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