month : 07/2024 306 results

COUNTDOWN: Five days until Seafair Pirates Landing 2024 at Alki Beach

July 1, 2024 5:05 pm

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| West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

(WSB photo, July 2023)

After the 4th of July, you have two days to gird yourself for West Seattle’s next big summer event, the Seafair Pirates’ Landing at Alki. They’ll be storming the shore Saturday (July 6), usually near Alki Bathhouse (60th/Alki). Though their arrival is usually preceded by offshore cannon fire, and a whole lot of ferocious-sounding “arrrrr”‘s, once ashore, the Pirates are usually seen gruffly yet cheerily handing out stickers and posing for photos. It’s their 75th anniversary, and they’re expecting to land in the 1 pm-1:30 pm vicinity, according to the official announcement (which you can read in our calendar listing); they’ll be led by their newest Captain Kidd (Jay Albrecht). Once they’ve landed and mingled, they usually sail off on land instead of sea, via their trusty ship-on-wheels Moby Duck, which you’ll also see in the West Seattle Grand Parade two weeks later (Saturday, July 20).

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New leader announced for Delridge-based Southwest Youth and Family Services

July 1, 2024 3:19 pm

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| Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

More than a year after Steve Daschle left Southwest Youth and Family Services (as reported here) after more than 30 years as executive director, the Delridge-based nonprofit has announced a new leader who is no stranger to the organization:

Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS) is delighted to announce the appointment of Essence Russ as the new Executive Director. Essence succeeds Steve Daschle, who retired in 2023 after more than three decades of dedicated leadership.

Essence Russ brings over a decade of experience in management positions within the nonprofit sector. She currently serves as a Director for TAF@Saghalie, a school district where 80.1% of the student body is non-white, and 30.4% are multilingual learners. At TAF@Saghalie, Essence has been instrumental in maintaining programs and recruiting and training a dedicated staff team. She firmly believes in the core value that every student is capable of learning and succeeding, and she works to ensure that families are seen, heard, and valued as partners in their student’s education.

Before her tenure at TAF@Saghalie, Essence served as Program Manager of Statewide Initiatives for the College Success Foundation. In this role, she supported the WCAN (Washington College Access Network Team) as well as the Passport to Careers contract through WSAC (Washington Student Achievement Council). She supported alumni of foster care in finding success in their post-secondary endeavors. Her mission was to create a just and equitable society through education.

Essence’s career in the nonprofit sector has included several leadership positions in Seattle. Most notably, she served as Director of the Family Resource Center for SWYFS from 2017 to 2020. During her time at SWYFS, Essence learned about different cultures, supported families, and established lasting community partnerships.

“Essence’s deep commitment to equity, education, and community makes her the perfect fit for leading SWYFS into the future,” said August Rowe, Acting Executive Director. “We are excited to welcome her back to the SWYFS family and look forward to the innovative leadership she will bring to our organization.”

The new executive director starts in two weeks, on July 15. If you’re not familiar with SWYFS, its website explains the services it offers – including behavioral health, education, and family support.

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UPDATE: Death investigation at Junction Plaza Park

July 1, 2024 1:07 pm

| 20 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | West Seattle police

(WSB photo)

1:07 PM: Thanks for the tips. A man was found dead this morning on a bench at Junction Plaza Park. SFD was dispatched just after 11:30 am and verified that the man had died; police responded to the scene too. We don’t yet know anything about the circumstances of his death or the discovery of his body, but we’re not seeing any indication of a crime investigation. Official determination of the cause of death will be up to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (whose crew has arrived to take away the man’s body – that’s their van in our photo above).

4:24 PM: SFD says the man was in his early 50s.

ADDED TUESDAY AFTERNOON: According to the KCMEO, he was 52, and died of an unintentional overdose: “Acute drug intoxication including methamphetamine.”

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DECISION’S IN: Hearing examiner dismisses second Alki Elementary rebuild appeal

July 1, 2024 10:40 am

| 65 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(WSB photo, past and future Alki Elementary site)

As promised, deputy Hearing Examiner Susan Drummond has issued her ruling today on the second Alki Elementary rebuild appeal, a challenge to the city decision allowing less parking than zoning requires. This time, Drummond has dismissed the appeal. We recapped the backstory here; in short, Seattle Public Schools originally proposed building the new school with no parking, though zoning required 48; the city approved that, but in response to an appeal of that approval, Drummond told the district and city to revisit the parking situation. The district came up with a new plan for 15 spaces, the city approved that too, an appeal was filed, but Drummond’s ruling today says 15 spaces enough. Her decision concludes:

… The District substantiated that the anticipated parking demand can be accommodated on site with spillover parking on the street within 800 feet of the site, while still allowing adequate on-street parking capacity. The expert testimony supporting the approach was credible. The District’s experts arrived at similar if not the same conclusions and substantiated those conclusions. As District briefing noted, opposing testimony included irreconcilable or unsupportable conclusions, and did not meet the burden of proof required to reverse the Department’s decision. The School District and Department took the parking concerns seriously and balanced the issue against educational needs to ensure the code criteria were addressed. The Department’s decision approving the parking departure should be upheld.

The appellants now have three weeks to request judicial review of the decision. We’ll be asking if they intend to do that. Construction of the school – at the site where the old Alki Elementary was demolished after last school year – is still awaiting building permits that can’t be issued until the case is closed.

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Here’s the list for your West Seattle Monday

July 1, 2024 10:26 am

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| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

With a holiday in view, things are starting to get quiet – but you still have options for the rest of today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK: Daily operation continues – open 11 am-8 pm, free. (1100 SW Cloverdale)

FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Here’s the list of locations and times.

COLMAN POOL: The outdoor heated-salt-water pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) is now open weekdays too, noon-7 pm – session times are on the Colman Pool webpage.

LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL: Also at Lincoln Park, the 7-day-a-week wading pool is open today noon-7 pm, in the central upper part of the park near the north play area.

BABY STORY TIME: Bring little ones up to 2 years old to Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), noon-12:30 pm, for story time!

CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: 2 pm at City Hall, the weekly meeting in which councilmembers talk about their plans for the week ahead. Here’s the agenda. Watch live via Seattle Channel.

GET CRAFTY: 6-10 pm, Monday brings “Crafting and Creativity Night” at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.

D&D: Weekly D&D at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW). All welcome, first-time players too.

MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA! Four places to play tonight – 6:30 and 7:30 pm music quiz at Easy Street Records (4559 California SW) … 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander); 7 and 8 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at Three 9 Lounge (4505 39th SW); 7:30 pm with QuizFix at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)

MEDITATION IN FAUNTLEROY: All welcome at free weekly Zen sitting/meditation in the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.

MEDITATION IN ALKI: The Alki Dharma Community hosts meditation at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds), 7-8:30 pm.

MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: Live music with The Westside Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.

KARAOKE: 9 pm start for Monday night karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria (4718 California SW).

Have a West Seattle/White Center event to add to our calendar? Please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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Here’s how local kids can get free summer meals starting today

July 1, 2024 9:22 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

The city’s Summer Meals Program opens today at 70 sites citywide. Kids and teens ages 1 through 18 can get “free, healthy breakfasts, lunches, and snacks,” according to the announcement, which adds, “Each participant can receive up to two meals or one meal and one snack per day, to be eaten onsite.” The program will operate through August 23, and this page has multiple ways to find the site closest to you and the hours it’s open – West Seattle sites on the list include High Point Community Center, Highland Park Playground, Roxhill Park Playground, Salish Landing, and High Point Commons Park (opening July 8). If you have questions, email SFSP@seattle.gov.

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER, ROAD WORK: Welcome to July

July 1, 2024 6:00 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, July 1.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

Clearing, high in the low 70s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:16 am, while sunset will be at 9:10 pm.

ROAD WORK

*Some work on the Admiral Way Bridge seismic project could start this week, but SDOT hasn’t released detour plans yet and says they’re not needed because the early work does not require traffic control.

*SDOT’s Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.

*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch.

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. Meantime, extra daily weekday midday Vashon Water Taxi runs to downtown start today.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route, but now with the unscheduled “bonus boat” on weekdays when available; check WSF alerts for last-minute changes and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS (as of early this morning, most were functioning again(

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:

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!

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