West Seattle, Washington
12 Thursday
Two readers sent us this security video of a prowler seen early Tuesday in the 2300 block of Harbor Avenue SW:
One of the readers, Morgan, explained that in addition to the prowling, “He was confronted sleeping in an abandoned lots next to 2325 Harbor Ave and told to leave; during this time he provided his name as Eric Mason. He was walking north on Harbor Ave toward Alki. During his prowl he checked the doors of my truck and cased the entire property.” Both readers noted this WSB story from earlier this year, with the Tuesday video matching a charging-document photo in that story, in which we reported that Mason had just been charged in a Junction business burglary. A check of jail records shows he was released from jail on May 29, after 16 days; Judge Suzanne Parisien granted him release on personal recognizance. Meantime, records show he is still awaiting a competency evaluation, and is due back in court in two weeks for a check-in on whether that’s happened yet; documents from the previous two hearings don’t explain why the evaluation was delayed. That will factor into the cases in which he is still awaiting trial, including the Junction charges we first mentioned in May. Meantime, the SPD incident # from the Tuesday prowling is 24-219111.
After 13 years, Cary Kemp has sold Pizzeria 22. Here’s the announcement he sent us about the change for the Admiral District restaurant (4213 SW College):
It is with great excitement and a heavy heart that I announce the sale of my beloved restaurant Pizzeria 22.
I’m grateful and so happy to inform you all that I am selling Pizzeria 22 to our former Front of House and Bar Manager of 5 years Brandi Pierce. Brandi has remained on our books over the years and is very excited to take over the reins at Pizzeria 22 as the new owner. Please don’t fret, as Pizzeria 22 will continue on with the same name, menu, and most importantly, our amazing staff.
I want to thank the residents of Seattle, West Seattle, and North Admiral for supporting me and my family for the last 13 years. I have seen a generation of children grow up eating our pizza, some of whom have come to work their first job at Pizzeria 22. I have so many regular customers that have become family to me over the years. Both of my daughters have worked at Pizzeria 22 and my oldest daughter Plum will continue on working with Brandi in this new exciting era of Neapolitan Pizza.
Since our opening on June 30th, 2011, Pizzeria 22 remains the only VPN Certified pizzeria in West Seattle. We still import the Caputo “00†flour and world-famous San Marzano Tomatoes from Napoli and our wood-fired oven was also built and shipped to us from Naples as well. I can guarantee you that Brandi is dedicated to continuing these age-old traditions and will continue sourcing the best Italian ingredients.
Lastly, I would like to personally thank Chef Daniel, our head pizziolo at Pizzeria 22. Daniel has worked our oven and been our leader in the kitchen since the day we opened over 13 years ago. His dedication and commitment to making the best pizza in Seattle has been unparalleled in our business. Daniel is excited to continue executing the menu at 22, as well as developing our Monthly Special Menu which we started last year.
I hope you all will continue to support Brandi and Pizzeria 22 and again, thank you for continued support over the years. I won’t miss the stress, but I will surely miss seeing you at Pizzeria 22.
(Image: 2011 WSB photo of Cary from just before Pizzeria 22 opened)
Here’s our update of second-day numbers in the local/state/federal races we mentioned last night (plus one, by reader request), now that King County’s daily count (and many other counties) is in:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8 (citywide, full results here) – top two advance
Alexis Mercedes Rinck 52,762 47.00%
Tanya Woo 46,293 41.24%
Saunatina Sanchez 4,842 4.31%
Tariq Yusuf 4,442 3.96%
Saul Patu 3,532 3.15%
34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 1 – both advance
Emily Alvarado (D)* 21,769 85.23%
Kimberly M. Cloud (R) 3,703 14.5%
34TH DISTRICT STATE HOUSE POSITION 2 – both advance
Joe Fitzgibbon (D)* 21,593 84.1%
Jolie Lansdowne (R) 4,045 15.76%
GOVERNOR – top two advance
Bob Ferguson (D) 511,653 45.46%
Dave Reichert (R) 316,661 28.14%
Semi Bird (R) 106,338 9.45%
Mark Mullet (D) 66,254 5.89%
ATTORNEY GENERAL – top two advance
Pete Serrano (R) 463,891 41.88%
Nick Brown (D) 397,387 35.87%
Manka Dhingra (D) 245,655 22.18%
(Nick Brown is a West Seattle resident.)
STATE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS – top two advance
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) 245,924 22.55%
Sue Kuehl Pederson (R) 221,787 20.33%
Dave Upthegrove (D) 218,819 20.06%
Patrick DePoe (D) 145,986 13.38%
U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 7 – top two advance
Pramila Jayapal (D)* 99,387 78.51%
Dan Alexander (R) 11,043 8.72%
Liz Hallock (D) 9,868 7.79%
Cliff Moon (R) 6,026 4.76%
By request …
STATE SUPREME COURT, POSITION 2 – top two advance
Sal Mungia 426,675 42.2%
Dave Larson 374,072 37%
Todd A. Bloom 169,613 16.78%
David R Shelvey 36,295 3.59%
Next King County vote count is planned tomorrow afternoon.
(Monday sunrise photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
The weather pendulum swings again. On Tuesday our high temperature was nine degrees below normal for that date; now the National Weather Service says abnormally hot weather is on the way. It’s issued a “Heat Advisory” alert for noon Thursday through 9 pm Friday, with these details:
Hot conditions with temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s expected. This will pose a moderate to isolated major risk of heat-related illness. … Heat will significantly increase the risk of heat-related illnesses for those who are sensitive to heat, especially those without effective cooling or adequate hydration. … Areas of elevated smoke and haze are expected to move over western Washington Thursday and Friday. This could result in slightly lower temperatures than forecast.
The wading pool at EC Hughes Playground (2805 SW Holden) was closed when wading-pool season started six weeks ago, because of what Seattle Parks described as a pipe problem. Now it’s finally open again, but not for long; the pool is open 12-7 pm Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, and August 18th – one week from this Sunday – is the scheduled end of its season. Most other wading pools close in mid-August too; the only West Seattle wading pool open through Labor Day will be 7-days-a-week Lincoln Park.
The extensive discussion about the Alki Point Healthy Street in the past few years has focused almost entirely on its south stretch – Beach Drive from Alki Point to 63rd SW. Some of the “permanent” features installed on its north stretch – Alki Avenue from 63rd SW to the point – have led to a problem that multiple nearby residents have emailed us about.
The photo above, from Greg, was taken near the west end of the beach park. It shows a “no parking” sign at left – and cars parked past it, despite the “wheel stops” meant to reinforce the message. He explained that “people continue to park illegally, blocking the turnaround past 64th Place. 64th Place (which has many families with children) has now become an unsafe arterial. Even without cars parked illegally on Alki, most cannot make the tight radius turn and must back up. The most dangerous issue are those who don’t understand the traffic flow past the circle and they DRIVE in the bike lane.” Greg says he had reported it to the city without response before contacting us. So we took it to SDOT, whose spokesperson Ethan Bergerson tells us:
We are considering some adjustments to help address these concerns:
-There is currently a gap between the concrete wheel stops by the bike rack which is large enough for a vehicle to drive through or park. We could add another wheel stop to fill this gap and clarify this confusion.
-We are also considering moving the “Street Closed Ahead†sign to be more visible from a distance to drivers as they approach this cul-de-sac.
For a better view of the “cul-de-sac,” here’s a photo from Jennifer:
We’ll keep watch to see what happens.
Police are investigating three strong-arm robberies (no weapons) at West Seattle businesses reported within the span of less than an hour this morning, likely involving the same two robbers. The first one was reported around 7:15 am at the Chevron station at 35th/Holden. Two robbers walked in, pushed the clerk out of the way, went to the register and got away with $700 in cash. According to dispatch audio, the robbers were described as male, Black, in their late teens or early 20s, one 5’11” and stocky, the other a couple inches shorter and medium build, masked and wearing dark clothing. They left on foot eastbound on Holden; a K-9 team helped search but they weren’t found. Then just after 7:30, robbers matching the description went into the South Delridge 7-11, “forced their way to the cash register in a similar way,” and left with $500 in cash. Then while police were still investigating that robbery, a third was reported at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), same descriptions, same method, but that time they netted much less cash. If you have any information, the 35th/Holden robbery is 24-220072, the Delridge robbery is 24-220091, and the Highland Park Way is 24-220103; police say you can call the SPD tipline at 206-233-5000 or phone an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
(Photo by Peter Galli, surprised by this owl’s visit to his deck)
Here’s our list of what’s happening today/tonight in West Seattle and vicinity, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
DONATE FOOD! The almost-daily summer food-donation drive continues at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill) – you can drop off nonperishable items until noon.
TOP POT’S OPENING DAY: As previewed Tuesday, the new Top Pot Doughnuts shop is officially open as of today at 4709 California SW in The Junction.
FIREFIGHTER STORY TIME: 10:30 am at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), bring your little one(s) to meet firefighters and learn about safety.
TODDLER READING TIME: 10:30 am Wednesdays at Paper Boat Booksellers (6040 California SW).
SPRAYPARK: Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) is open every day, 11 am-8 pm, free.
COLMAN POOL: The season continues for the outdoor heated-salt-water pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), 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 noon-7 pm, in the central upper part of the park near the north play area.
DELRIDGE WADING POOL: Also open today, next to Delridge Community Center, noon-5:30 pm. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
FIX-IT WORKSHOP: Fix it, don’t toss it! Weekly event, free (donations appreciated), 5:30-7:30 pm at West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center).
KIWANIS CLUB OF WEST SEATTLE: Community members are welcome at the Kiwanis Club‘s dinner meeting at 5:45 pm at Great American Diner and Bar (4752 California SW) – “learn more about Akin, a merger of Childhaven and Children’s Home Society,” and how to help their work, as explained in our calendar listing.
FREE ART CLASS: Watercolor mixed-media class, at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 6-8 pm.
FREE GROUP RUNS: All runners are welcome on the weekly West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) group run, for all levels – meet at the shop by 6:15 pm.
TRIVIA x 4: Four places where you play tonight: At 6 pm, Locust Cider (2820 Alki SW) offers trivia … Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) hosts Wednesday-night trivia starting at 7:30 pm … Quiz Night begins at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW) … and at 8:30 pm, trivia with Phil T at Talarico’s (4718 California SW).
LIVE MUSIC AT THE LOCOL: 6:30 pm. 21+. Rotating performer slate. (7902 35th SW)
MUSIC BINGO X 2: Play weekly at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm … At Three 9 Lounge (39th/Oregon), you can play MINGO music bingo at 7:30 pm Wednesdays, hosted by Mingo Maniac.
YOGA IN THE PARK: Two West Seattle teachers lead Wednesday night outdoor-yoga events at Myrtle Reservoir Park (35th/Myrtle), 6:30 pm – follow the link for ticket info.
OUTDOOR YOGA AND MORE: Outdoor Kundalini Yoga, Breath Work, Meditation and Gong Bath, 7 pm at Solstice Park (7400 Fauntleroy Way SW), ticket info in our calendar listing.
SKYLARK OPEN MIC: Take a turn in the spotlight! 7:30 pm signups for West Seattle’s longest-running open mic. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
Planning a show, presentation, meeting, open house, reading, tour, fundraiser, sale, discussion, etc., that’s open to the community? Please send us info so we can get it onto West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Family and friends are remembering Roberta McKechnie, and sharing this remembrance with the community:
Roberta Wilma McKechnie
August 10th, 1952 – July 18th, 2024Roberta McKechnie (Bobbie to some) passed away peacefully in her home in the farm lands near North Branch, MI on the morning of July 18th, 2024 of natural causes.
Roberta was raised in the farm & ranch lands of Cle Elum and Ellensburg, Kittitas County, Washington and attended Easton High School. She was retired from the Seattle Department of Transportation, where she worked as a concrete finisher/mason and restored the historic cobblestone streets in Seattle. She moved from her lovely home in Lowman Beach area of West Seattle to be with her son Titus and daughter-in-law Cathy Preston and grandchildren near North Branch, Michigan.
She loved her cats, weaving, reading, gardening, cooking, and entertaining. She cherished the outdoors and hiking, fishing, and road-tripping the West in the camper van with her husband and family. Gardening, fixing breakfast and thick coffee for friends and family and being within nature made her feel most at home.
She is survived by her best friend and best husband Wes (Jr) McKechnie, children Titus Preston and Vivian McKechnie, and 6 grandchildren, Abby Zimmerman (Dean), Kailey Preston (Ryan), Emma and Lizzie Preston, David Stafford, (Katherine) and Cassandra Marie. She was preceded in death by her daughter Celeste Preston, her in-laws Wes (Sr.) and Berniece (Ryan) McKechnie, and father Robert Linza & mother Selma Hyde. Her special friends were Denise and Steve Worthington, Greg Whittle and wonderful cats B.C., Jack the Cat, Bessie, and Lady, they all gave her great comfort. God bless you in your well-deserved peace; we will keep your memory alive until we see you again, we love you, and miss you so.
There will be no services. In lieu of flowers, make a donation to your favorite animal shelter.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)
6:02 AM: Good morning! It’s Wednesday, August 7.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunny, high in the upper 70s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:55 am, while sunset will be at 8:33 pm.
(Tuesday night photo by Bill Schrier)
TRANSIT NOTES
Water Taxi today – Back to normal schedule for both routes.
Metro buses today – Regular schedules; check for advisories here.
Washington State Ferries today – 2 boats on the Triangle Route, and the unscheduled third boat may be available. Check that link before you sail.
EASTBOUND SPOKANE ST. VIADUCT’S NEWEST CLOSURE SCHEDULE
*The Spokane Street Viaduct resurfacing project continues. Here’s the newest closure schedule, including eastbound middle and right lanes closing tonight 7 pm-6 am (and the entire eastbound direction closes again this weekend).
OTHER ROAD WORK NOTES
*By request, an update on the East Marginal Way S. project, particularly of note for people who travel by bike between downtown and West Seattle:
WHAT: Updated detour route for people biking on East Marginal Way S
WHEN: Starting as soon as August 12 and lasting for several weeks
WHERE: People biking will be routed onto the street of E Marginal Way S in temporary protected bike lanes from S Spokane St to north of the Terminal 30 parking lot at approximately S Stacy St. At the T30 parking lot / S Stacy St, people will be routed back into the existing bike lanes and sidewalk on the west side of the street. Please note that the T30 parking lot is south of the main T30 entrance.
*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project is in progress. Fairmount Avenue is closed under the bridge for the duration of the project, at least into early 2025. Lane closures have begun on the top deck too. But SDOT now says it will NOT have weekend closures of the entire bridge.
*The Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project also continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.
*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch. Watch for no-parking zones and steel plates, plus flaggers.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS (Some important cameras are back but some others remain out)
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera:
Low bridge: Here’s the main view:
1st Avenue South Bridge:
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Genesee), cameras are also at Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, Delridge/Oregon, and video-only (so you have to go to the map), Delridge/Holden and Delridge/Thistle.
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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