day : 29/02/2024 10 results

READER REPORT: Missing a Kuat bike rack?

Sent by Johanna:

I found these parts of a Kuat bike rack behind my fence in the alley between 26th SW and 28th SW, 9400 block. They are quite expensive parts and I’m assuming taken off a stolen vehicle and dumped or some other nefarious circumstance. I’m hoping maybe their owner may see them on the blog so I can give them back even though they are just parts now.

If this might have been your bike rack, let us know and we’ll connect you.

COOKIE TIME: Girl Scouts start selling outside West Seattle businesses Friday

Girl Scout Cookie fans, tomorrow (Friday, March 1) is the day – local scouts open “cookie booths” outside local businesses. According to the cookie finder on the Girl Scouts’ website, 12 West Seattle businesses host Scout troops’ cookie booths tomorrow afternoon and/or evening. But before we get to that list, the list of cookies (updated per commenters) is here – 9 flavors this year, including one that is gluten-free (Toffee-tastic), and one that is vegan (Thin Mints); halal and kosher info is here.

Now – here’s where you’ll find our area’s first round of cookie booths tomorrow, according to the Girl Scouts’ website:

Roxbury Safeway 2 pm-8 pm
Junction True Value 3 pm-5 pm
Husky Deli 3 pm-7 pm
Marination Ma Kai 4 pm-6 pm
Menchie’s 4 pm-6 pm
West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) 4 pm-8 pm
Easy Street Records 4 pm-8 pm
Trader Joe’s 4 pm-8 pm
Junction QFC 4 pm-8 pm
Westwood QFC 4 pm-8 pm
Admiral Safeway 4-8 pm
Junction Safeway 4-8 pm

If you can’t cookie-shop until the weekend, you’ll find additional locations and different hours Saturday and beyond. Cookie-booth season continues through Sunday, March 17; you can also buy online – if you search for cookie sales in your area, the search results will match you with a local troop from which you can buy online, as well as the nearest booths’ locations and times.

WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen black CR-V

That’s Rose‘s black 1999 Honda CR-V, plate CKU4036, stolen from 34th SW near West Seattle Elementary in High Point today. Police report number is 24-057258 – if you see this car, refer to that report when you call 911.

Overnight overflow in Duwamish River after West Seattle pump-station malfunction

(Port of Seattle file photo of park near outfall that overflowed)

The King County Wastewater Treatment Division disclosed this afternoon that a pump-station malfunction caused a combined-sewer overflow into the Duwamish River during heavy rain overnight:

King County crews this morning stopped a combined sewer overflow that occurred overnight, caused by an electrical malfunction at a pump station. Employees initiated a cleanup by mid-morning.

The electrical malfunction — (compounded) by the heavy rainfall — caused a mixture of stormwater and wastewater to back up from maintenance holes and into two local businesses and overflow into the Duwamish River. Staff from Seattle Public Utilities discovered the overflow and alerted King County.

Crews from King County Wastewater Treatment Division responded just after 2 a.m. to the West Marginal Pump Station (7119 West Marginal Way SW). Crews determined that electrical equipment had malfunctioned and prevented the system from operating normally, causing sewer backups and the release of combined stormwater and wastewater into the river.

The combined flow was released from an outfall located near t̓ałt̓ałucid Park and Shoreline Habitat — formerly 8th Avenue South End Park [map] — along the south bank of the Duwamish River. County employees are working to determine the amount of combined sewer that flowed in the river. King County is working to repair the pump station equipment and clean up any affected property in the area.

The Wastewater Treatment Division reported the overflow to the Washington State Department of Ecology and is coordinating with Public Health – Seattle and King County to determine the impacts to public health, based on water quality testing results along the river. It is generally recommended that people avoid contact with local water bodies near a combined sewer overflow outfall for 48 hours following a discharge event.

FOLLOWUP: Here’s what Metro told HPAC about proposed bus-stop changes

(WSB photo, last week)

“We really bumbled out of the gate,” acknowledged Metro‘s Robbie Frankel at last night’s HPAC meeting, referring to how the proposed bus-stop closures in Highland Park/South Delridge were – and were not – initially communicated. As first reported here, the only initial notification was via paper notices posted at the stops, and they pointed would-be commenters to an email address that bounced. That emailbox – which apparently had been deactivated since the last time Metro gathered feedback on stops in this area – has since been reactivated, and Frankel said the feedback already has likely taken one pair of stops off the table for closure consideration: He says they’ve heard a lot about the importance of the SW Thistle stops, two of six stops proposed for changes on the original list.

Otherwise, Frankel stressed that the proposal is in the very early stages. As to why stop closures are being proposed at all, he said it’s because of the City of Seattle’s plan to give Metro money to beef up weekend/night service on Route 125, and to improve some of the stops – maybe adding shelters, benches, paved pads, etc. They wouldn’t want to waste that money on stops that might eventually be removed in a future Metro review of the route, so they stepped up the review (though otherwise their next look at local routes isn’t scheduled until 2026).

It was stressed to Frankel that 16th SW serves South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) and the community really wants to ensure the college is getting the support it needs to thrive, so that’s another reason to tread lightly with this route. It was also suggested that Metro will want to reach out to the 16th SW Safety Committee that’s been active in advocating for traffic calming and other concerns closer. Meantime, the extended deadline for comments is two weeks from today – March 14 – and you can email your feedback to busstopsw@kingcounty.gov.

P.S. More on the rest of last night’s HPAC meeting later.

‘Healthy Streets’ weren’t supposed to remove parking. Alki Point will. Wildlife advocates have a problem with that.

(Updated photo: Constellation Park section of Alki Point Healthy Street, today)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Two local wildlife advocacy organizations say the final design for the Alki Point “Healthy Street” – Beach Drive and Alki Avenue from 63rd to Alki Point – is an impediment to their work and the wildlife and people who benefit from it, as well as to Constellation Park visitors.

After what they say was a fruitless appeal directly to SDOT, Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network and The Whale Trail are taking their case to the mayor and asking for community support in a new campaign they’re calling “Alki Point for All,” with an online petition. Both groups have historically used Constellation Park, along the Beach Drive section, extensively, Seal Sitters for responding to beached, sick, and/or dead marine mammals, The Whale Trail for assisting land-based viewing when orcas are in the area.

While the “Healthy Street” designation has been on the stretch for almost four years, what’s new is the final design, reported here in December, removing more than 60 on-street parking spaces, mostly to add a 10-foot-wide “walking/rolling lane” adjacent to the waterfront sidewalk. That was a major change from the design proposal on which SDOT gathered feedback a year earlier, which did not include major parking removal. Regarding their challenge now, the Alki Point for All coalition explains:

An SDOT representative has informed our organizations that SDOT will not be reconsidering our request to keep the existing beach-side parking spaces around Alki Point as well as the public vehicle access. … We are disappointed by this decision since it not only impacts our organizations but many others who come to these parks and rely on the existing parking configuration.

We have asked to meet with the Healthy Street project manager, but that meeting has not yet been scheduled by SDOT.

Our coalition met with Councilmember Rob Saka and his staff regarding this matter. In addition, we sent a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell appealing this decision and asking that his office review the SDOT decision to designate Alki Point as a “Healthy Street” with very restrictive public access as well as removing sixty-seven beach side parking spaces around Alki Point.

We have established an online petition to allow the broader Seattle community to respond to the negative impacts this decision will have on public access to a premiere marine reserve and the city park. We invite West Seattle and the wider community to join us in voicing their concerns and join our campaign Alki Point For All!

The coalition points to this excerpt from SDOT’s most recent FAQ document regarding the Healthy Streets program:

(The question “Will the permanent Healthy Street take away parking spaces on my street?” is answered “No, permanent Healthy Streets will not remove any legal street parking spaces.”) What became “Healthy Streets” were originally announced in the early pandemic days as places where more people could walk, run, roll, etc. while safely “social distancing,” but were kept in place even after the pandemic ebbed. The Beach Drive section of Alki Point, however, was also an undeniable solution to a long-running problem about which nearby residents had complained for years – recklessness and noise related to driver gatherings – as acknowledged by police in 2020.

New ‘Screenagers,’ YMCA kickoff, music, more for your West Seattle Thursday

February 29, 2024 9:54 am
|    Comments Off on New ‘Screenagers,’ YMCA kickoff, music, more for your West Seattle Thursday
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Red-tailed Hawk, photographed by James Tilley)

Here’s what’s happening for the rest of your Thursday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

FREE PLAYSPACE: Drop-in space open at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (42nd/Juneau) until noon.

FREE CHOWDER: Duke’s Seafood on Alki (2516 Alki Avenue SW; WSB sponsor) continues celebrating its reopening with a bowl of free chowder for any guest who asks. Open 11 am-10 pm.

FREE PIZZA: Pagliacci is giving away two slices per person, 11 am-3 pm today, if you have their app. (4449 California SW)

BRAIN HEALTH & WELLNESS: 1 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon). RSVP requested.

NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Open 1-6 pm at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor).

WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome to this weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayerswsup@gmail.com for info on where they’re playing today.

STRONG BODIES, STRONG BONES: 2:30 pm class at Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon).

HPCS FOOD-TRUCK VISIT: Every Thursday, 4-8 pm, Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW) gets a food-truck visit. Tonight it’s Project Pizza.

FREE ECO-ARTS CLASS: 4-7 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW) – drop in!

WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION FC COMMUNITY MEETING: Got questions about the new team, its first season, or …? Drop in between 4:30 and 7 pm at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle).

VISCON CELLARS: The West Seattle winery’s tasting room/wine bar is open 5-9 pm (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) for wine by the glass or bottle.

WESTIES RUN CLUB: Meet at Future Primitive Beer Bar (2536 Alki SW) at 6 pm for a 3-mile run – more in our calendar listing.

YMCA FUND DRIVE KICKOFF: 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church Fellowship Hall (9140 California SW), as previewed here – RSVP requested.

NEW ‘SCREENAGERS’: The latest documentary in the series focuses on the messaging that students are getting about vaping, alcohol, and drug use. Free showing for anyone interested, 6:30 pm at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW).

HIGHLAND PARK RUN CLUB: 6:30 pm, meet at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW) for a 3-mile run through the neighborhood.

BLUES NIGHT: 6:30-9 pm at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way), every Thursday you can listen to the blues.

JAZZ NIGHT AT MY NECESSITEA: 7-9 pm. (3237 California SW)

THURSDAY NIGHT TRIVIA: Burger Planet (9614 14th SW) in White Center now has Thursday night trivia at 7 pm – prizes!

Planning an event that should be on our calendar and in daily preview lists like this one? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

GOT FURNITURE? West Seattle High School’s Student Council seeking some

This request was sent by Malia from the West Seattle High School Student Council:

We’re trying to jazz up our student community room and we could really use some help finding furniture and decor due to budgeting.

We’re on the hunt for some furniture donations to make our student community room super cozy and welcoming. We want it to be a place where students can hang out, study, and just enjoy being together!

If anyone out there has some gently used chairs, decorative lights, tables, couches, etc., we’d be so grateful. We’d be happy to swing by and pick up any donations. If you need more info or have any questions, just reach out to me at maliahbarker@icloud.com.

We asked Malia for a few specifics. The community room is about 200 square feet and “what we’re focusing on finding at least is 2 couches and 2 living chairs. Other decor is much appreciated as well!”

BIZNOTE FOLLOWUP: Bel Gatto now open in Fauntleroy

7:32 AM: After two tips that Bel Gatto in Fauntleroy planned to open first thing this morning, we just went down to 9253 45th SW, and indeed, it’s open. This is the new bakery-and-more eatery in the space where The Original Bakery closed a year ago.

Proprietor Peter Levy of Chow Foods – which also operates Endolyne Joe’s next door – announced earlier this month that Bel Gatto (“a handsome cat”) was close to opening, and provided these details on what it’s offering.

Hours will be 7 am-7 pm for starters, seven days a week.

9:56 AM: A few amendments to that in the early going. We heard back this morning from Peter Levy, who explains, “We are not yet fully operational and will have a limited menu given that we are still without a ventilation hood. We hope to be in full swing by mid-March.” And thanks to Loren for sending a pic of a sign now posted saying Bel Gatto will be closed the next two Mondays (March 4 and 11), hoping for that hood installation on the second one, which will enable them to offer bombolini.

TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Leap Day Thursday

February 29, 2024 6:03 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER: Leap Day Thursday
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, February 29 – Leap Day.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

More rain in today’s forecast, possibly some wintry mix and/or even thunder, high in the mid-40s. Sunrise will be at 6:50 am, sunset at 5:53 pm.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Regular schedule; check advisories here.

Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route. Check WSF alerts for changes, and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, 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:

Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene). Thank you!