West Seattle, Washington
22 Saturday
Not much drama in Wednesday night’s 34th District Democrats‘ endorsements-focused meeting, with five weeks to go until ballots are mailed for the August 6 primary, Someone observed toward the meeting’s end that it was likely one of the shortest ever, less than two hours. Holding it online no doubt increased the efficiency, compared to paper ballots and counting tables. Also, endorsements for some key state/federal offices – most notably governor (they’re supporting Bob Ferguson) – were made in a block vote at a meeting earlier this spring.
Last night’s meeting also featured a block vote, in which the organization endorsed candidates including the incumbents for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction.
Two votes were contested – City Council citywide Position 8 and state Attorney General. The council race is for the final year of the unexpired term to which Teresa Mosqueda was elected (she decided to leave the city council to run for County Council, successfully). Councilmembers appointed Tanya Woo to fill the seat until the upcoming election. She is one of four people who filed to run for the unexpired year (after which the position will go back to voters for a full four-year term). All four candidates – Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Saunatina Sanchez, Tariq Yusuf, and Woo – were nominated for consideration, and all four made short pitches to the group. None is a West Seattleite, though Woo said she had attended Schmitz Park Elementary. The 34th DDs’ rules require 60 percent support for an endorsement; no one got that on the first ballot, which was split 32 for Mercedes Rinck, 21 for Woo, 9 for Sanchez, 3 for “no endorsement,” 1 for Yusuf. That sent Mercedes Rinck and Woo to a second ballot, from which Mercedes Rinck won the endorsement, 43 to 25 over Woo.
The other contested endorsement was for state Attorney General, with West Seattle resident and former regional U.S. Attorney Nick Brown vs. State Sen. Manka Dhingra, a King County senior deputy prosecutor. In speeches by those who nominated them, both were hailed as fighters who were ready to defend the people of Washington against whatever the future might bring. After two votes that were near-ties – with Brown a couple votes ahead of Dhingra both times – the group decided on a dual endorsement.
The third position that was the subject of a standalone vote was state Public Lands Commissioner, which Hilary Franz is leaving after two terms to run for Congress. Though he’s not the only Democrat in the race, King County Council chair Dave Upthegrove was the only candidate nominated for 34th DD endorsement consideration. He was the only candidate of the night to have anyone speak in opposition to him, a person who seemed to be blaming him for non-inclusive politics in Burien. Longtime 34th DDs member Chris Porter took issue with that, saying Upthegrove had long been intent on bringing more voices to the table. Ultimately, 67 voters supported endorsing Upthegrove, 10 voted for no endorsement.
WHAT’S NEXT: The West Seattle Democratic Women are having a forum with the four City Council Position 8 candidates at their meeting next Thursday. We haven’t heard of any other local forums yet.
Just got a note from Dave: “Brown water from our faucets tonight near Belvidere & Hinds.” No emergencies shown on the Seattle Public Utilities water-trouble map. Sometimes this can be first word of a problem – if it isn’t related to fire-hydrant testing – so always report it to SPU at 206-386-1800.
With a week and a half to go until the 2024 West Seattle Garden Tour, organizers say that if you haven’t already bought your ticket(s), it’s too late – that’s one of three community messages they asked us to share tonight:
Tickets for this year’s West Seattle Garden Tour are sold out. There are no more tickets available either online or at retail partners. We are grateful to everyone who has supported the West Seattle Garden Tour and our beneficiaries through the purchase of their ticket book and are looking forward to an incredible day in the gardens on Sunday, June 23rd.
For those who are interested in placing a bid in the auction on this year’s winning artwork, Pam Lustig’s Garden Pose (above) is on display at West Seattle Nursery along with the four finalists from our 2024 Art Competition until Thursday, June 20th. To learn more about the winning artist and Garden Pose, visit our website at westseattlegardentour.org/art-competition.
If you or someone you know works with a nonprofit organization in the greater Seattle area, we encourage you to apply for a grant. The deadline to apply for a grant from the West Seattle Garden Tour in 2025 is just four weeks away on July 15th. Eligibility, guidelines, and our application form can be found on our website at westseattlegardentour.org/apply-for-a-grant.
6:19 PM: The June West Seattle Art Walk is happening right now, all over the peninsula! Here’s the map/list of this month’s participants, with detailed previews here, and this month’s Art of Music lineup – three free mini-concerts 6 pm-7:45 pm – here. Our first stop of the night, West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW) in North Admiral:
Bri High is the featured artist – she works in acrylic on canvas. Also at WSG, Lora Radford with her Wild at Heart pop-up:
She’s selling a variety of slip-cast-concrete items – functional art. A bit further south at 2237 California SW, Hawthorne Massage and Self-Care is featuring multimedia artist Cat Brooks:
To Cat’s left is a digital painting titled “Lilies from the Market” – created, Cat says, with tech tools “while I was sitting on the couch!” We’re off next to The Junction. Most Art Walk receptions – including the ones we’ve stopped at so far – are on till 8 pm, though some run later.
7:02 PM: We stopped at Great American Diner & Bar (4752 California SW) for a bit of Dublin Abbey‘s music:
They and the other two Art of Music performers are scheduled to keep playing until 7:45 pm.
P.S. The next Art Walk is the biggest one of the year – the West Seattle Summer Fest Eve Art Walk, where streets in The Junction are closed for festival setup and hosting special events including sidewalk cafés and entertainment. That’s on Thursday, July 11 – set that night aside! And speaking of Summer Fest …
… any time you’re in The Junction, walk through “Mural Alley” (the cut-through on the west side of California between Alaska and Edmunds) and revisit the ocean murals created during past festivals by community members working with artist Stacey Sterling!
In recent weeks, Southwest Precinct police have mentioned at community-council meetings that the precinct would soon change commanders. Today we’ve finally been able to confirm that. Capt. Krista Bair will take over next Tuesday (June 19). Online research indicates she is a 20+-year veteran of police work, with SPD roles including positions in the Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Unit (updated: which she currently commands) and Office of Police Accountability. Capt. Martin Rivera, who has led the precinct since October 2021, will become “the new commander of the Violent Crimes Section,” according to SPD’s media team. Capt. Rivera tells WSB, “I am sad to go and will miss this beautiful community and the connections I have made.” He also confirms that Captain Bair will be the first female commander of the Southwest Precinct, which covers West Seattle and South Park. She was featured on the national website for the 30X30 Initiative aimed at advancing women in policing; read their Q&A with her here.
2:47 PM: You’ll recognize this stolen car if you see it. Reported by Emma:
Our Kia Soul was stolen last night, sometime between 11 PM 6/12 and 7:30 AM 6/13 from our neighborhood near the West Seattle Bridge. It’s a very distinctive blue car with a flame paint job and roof rack on it; we’re hoping that helps us recover it quickly. Please call 911 if you see the car.
Year/Make/Model: 2017 Kia Soul
Color: Blue with flames
VIN: (ends in 8518)
License Plate: BQU7212
Case number: 2024-160559
5 PM: As noted in comments, it was found in High Point along with another stolen car. Emma confirms it’s theirs and they’re headed over.
Thanks to Alison for the tip! Last year, the boba-and-more tea chain Happy Lemon opened a shop at Westwood Village (in the spot long held by Vatsana’s Thai Restaurant). 15 months later, they are opening another West Seattle shop, according to signage that just went up in the windows at 2718 Alki Avenue SW. That space has been vacant for six years, since Alki Cleaners ended its 19-year run. It’s had at least two preliminary plans since then – in 2021, a potential market, and last year, early-stage documents in city files suggested a pet store. Neither of those advanced, and now the Happy Lemon signage has turned up (no permit applications yet, though, but the new location is listed in the city business-license database). We have an inquiry out to Happy Lemon requesting details. The Happy Lemon website shows 20 Puget Sound-area locations already, from Lynnwood to Olympia.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
LATE-NIGHT GUNFIRE: Police confirm this morning that officers found evidence after responding to 911 calls about possible gunfire heard in the 6900 block of Delridge Way SW just after 11:30 last night. SPD says officers found casings in the street; no injuries and no damage. If you have any information, the incident number is 24-160321.
STOLEN MERCEDES: Elaina reports this black 2011 Mercedes C300 was stolen from outside Admiral Safeway on Wednesday.
Plate is CKG0382; police report # is 24-159934.
RACK THEFT: From a reader via email:
Our brand new Kuat Sherpa 2.0 car rack was stolen right off our vehicle parked on Fauntleroy Way in front of the Maris Apartments. It’s a very high hit zone as our car window was broken into parked on the same street a few months ago. The rack itself was locked into the tow hitch; it seems the criminals had some sort of tool to cut the lock off the tow hitch clean. Thankfully my car was not damaged but lesson learned, do not keep your rack attached, as annoying as it is to take it up with you. This happened between 2-8 am.
No report number yet on that incident. (ADDED FRIDAY: It’s 24-933130.)
(Bald Eagles off West Seattle, photo sent by Carol Ann Joyce)
Here’s the highlight list for the rest of your Thursday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar!
SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE GARDEN CENTER: Need plants? The center is open Thursdays-Saturdays 10 am-3 pm, north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus.
LEVY LUNCH: The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly lunch meeting – 11:30 am at West Seattle Golf Course (4470 35th SW) – spotlights the city’s upcoming transportation levy, with reps for SDOT and Councilmember Rob Saka‘s office.
E-BOOKS ARE BACK: As announced by the Seattle Public Library on Wednesday, e-book access returns at noon today.
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.
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Tasting room/wine bar now open Thursdays-Saturdays 1 pm-6 pm, north end of the South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) campus. Food too – drop by to sip and nosh!
STRONG BODIES, STRONG BONES: 2:30 pm class at what’s now the Center for Active Living (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 C. Davis Texas BBQ.
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK, WITH THE ART OF MUSIC: 5 pm “until late,” dozens of venues open their doors around West Seattle so you can visit, enjoy art, learn about local businesses – the Art Walk website has the artist/venue lineup, and we focused on a few stops in this preview. One major highlight: Three mini-concerts presented by The Art of Music, 6-7:45 pm – one in Admiral, one in The Junction, one in Morgan Junction – get full details on artists/venues here.
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 Good Society (California/Lander) at 6 pm for a 3-mile run.
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. (Walking option, too!)
BLUES NIGHT: 6:30-9 pm at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way), every Thursday you can listen to the blues.
RUB AT EASY STREET RECORDS: Rub performs live to celebrate their vinyl release, 7 pm, all ages, no cover.
OPEN MIC: 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), all genres welcome.
VINYL AND BEER: The Beer Junction hosts River Barrel Distributing with tunes spun by Nick Weitzel, 7 pm. No cover, just come on in! (4511 California SW)
TRIVIA: 7 pm at Burger Planet (9614 14th SW).
‘CLYDE’S’ AT ARTSWEST: 7:30 pm pm performance for the new play at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) – “In this 2022 Tony Award®-Nominated Best Play, creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truck-stop cafe.” Find the ticket link and more info in our calendar listing.
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!
(WSB photo, Bubbleman at 2022 Morgan Junction Community Festival)
Saturday’s the day for this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival, presented by the Morgan Community Association, in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW), 10 am-2 pm. This morning, two updates:
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES: This year, the festival expands back into the lot behind Whisky West and Zeeks Pizza, south of the park, where community organizations and businesses will be set up, including these booths/tables promising interactive activities for kids as well as info on what they do:
Poogooders, The Whale Trail, 34th District Democrats, Southwest Seattle Historical Society, Emergency HUBS, Gatewood Elementary School PTA, West Seattle Wonder Dogs, West Seattle Tool Library, Southwest Precinct
Families will want to be at the festival right at the start at 10 am – that’s when the legendary Bubbleman makes his Morgan Junction Community Festival return, followed by Magician Raymond at 10:50 am. (The full entertainment schedule is on the festival webpage.)
FESTIVAL PARKING: If you’re driving to the festival, we got word this morning that O’Neill Plumbing (WSB sponsor) is opening their nearby lot to festivalgoers, on the northeast corner of California/Graham. Here’s the plan, from proprietor Tim O’Neill:
A flagger and attendant will assist vehicles to enter on California Ave and exit out onto Graham St. We will have a sandwich board out on display also.
We will be on hand to open @ 9:30 and will be asking drivers to return to their vehicles by 2:30 so we can resecure our lot.
The festival zone is also right on multiple bus routes – including RapidRide C Line, 128, and 22. See you there! (WSB is the festival’s media sponsor.)
6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, June 13 – one week until summer solstice (1:50 pm June 20).
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Mostly sunny, high in the upper 60s.. Today’s sunrise was at 5:11 am again – earliest of the year, and won’t change until June 22 – while sunset will be at 9:08 pm.
BOAT RAMP ALERT
Might get busy this morning at/around Don Armeni Boat Ramp – spot-shrimp fishing will be open again, just for a half-day, 9 am-1 pm.
LAST FULL DAY OF SCHOOL FOR MANY
Tomorrow is the last day of school for many local parochial and independent schools, and it’s generally a short day. (A few schools are already out, including Explorer West Middle School [WSB sponsor] and Summit Atlas.)
ONGOING ROAD WORK
*SDOT’s Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon:
*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work.
STADIUM ZONE
Mariners host the White Sox one more time, 6:40 pm, going for a sweep of the series.
TRANSIT NOTES
Metro today – Regular schedule; check for 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 last-minute changes. Use the real-time map to see where your ferry is. … Note that WSF is holding two online systemwide community meetings next week.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Low bridge: Here’s the main view:
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, Delridge/Oregon, and video-only (so you have to go to the map), Delridge/Holden and Delridge/Thistle.
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
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 open for vessel traffic.
If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call our hotline (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene) – 206-293-6302. Thank you!
| 5 COMMENTS