(Added: Photo sent by Jessie McClurg)

9:33 PM: SPD and SFD are responding to a report of a flipped-car crash in the Westwood Village parking lot near QFC and Rite Aid. The car is described as a “blue Hyundai sedan.” One person is reportedly trapped, one ejected, per dispatch. Updates to come.

9:39 PM: The flipped car is described as “in the bushes” and firefighters told dispatch that one person is indeed in the vehicle – they’re working to cut that one out – one outside. Neither is believed to have life-threatening injuries, in early assessment.

9:47 PM: Added a reader photo just sent. Firefighter have told dispatch they’ve gotten the trapped person out of the car (further described as a Hyundai Sonata). SFD describes both injured people as in stable condition.

(Added: Photo sent by Tim Durkan)

9:50 PM: Added another photo we just received. Meantime, an officer at the scene has just told dispatch, “This will be a medically related collision.”

ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: SFD tells us the 56-year-old woman rescued from the vehicle was taken to a hospital; the other injured person, a 43-year-old woman, did not need that level of treatment.

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Westside Neighbors Shelter changing to year-round overnight operations

March 22, 2025 9:31 pm

| 15 COMMENTS

| Triangle | West Seattle news

By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

As warmer temperatures arrive, Westside Neighbors Shelter announced this week that they are changing what has been a cold-weather-only overnight shelter to one that is open year-round, at a lower capacity.

The shelter, in the American Legion Post 160 building (3618 SW Alaska), was already providing a daily “warm-up” service every morning, but has only consistently offered a place to sleep overnight from November to March.

Operator Keith Hughes told WSB that the ability to do this is a case of the “stars aligning … It’s been my goal since I opened the shelter. There just wasn’t enough staff to do it.” Now volunteer Tim James is stepping up to be the shelter’s operations manager 4 1/2 days a week, which will free up Hughes and make it possible, with the help of other volunteers, to provide dinner and cots for three dozen people who would otherwise be sleeping outside in spring and summer.

Hughes says this year there was more need for shelter over the winter than they could sustain, despite being able to physically fit everyone in the building. “We had 60 people or more for more than 6 weeks [over the winter]. We put people where we could put them.” But the impact of everyone seeking help spilled over into the neighborhood, causing a variety of complaints and accusations from neighbors about everything from garbage and drug use to too many people at nearby bus stops. “We didn’t have the staff to manage that many people,” Hughes acknowledged, adding that they are working to be sensitive to the neighborhood with the changes they are making.

One of the biggest changes is that, as of last Wednesday, the shelter has been limiting overnight beds to 36. They also have new protocols for checking people in and are continuing to adjust things as needed, while still focusing on providing a safe, dry, and warm place for unhoused people in the community. “Some of the things that were happening in January have been fixed: No garbage on the property, no one living on the front porch. We don’t have 60 people occupying the bus stops when we close at 11 am. We have a more stable group of people here now.”

With stability, there’s the opportunity to bring help directly to people who either stop in for the morning warm-up or who are there overnight. Hughes is in the process of talking with two other nonprofits that he says should be able help transition people from simply finding a place to stay overnight to getting off the streets permanently. “We should have services in house to move them into temporary housing, and then into permanent housing. We never had the ability to do that until now.” And some of that is already happening. Hughes says just last week one person was able to move out of the shelter into low-income housing, while two others are currently in rehab.

While the expansion in services at the shelter is happening at the same time the city has started making CARE Community Crisis Responders available in West Seattle, Hughes says that timing is entirely coincidental. He said they have only had a CARE team visit the shelter once, and it remains to be seen how frequently those services will be needed for people at the shelter, but potentially, “We will have a way to get more people more help.”

Hughes is still working out how to pay for the expansion. The vast majority of the shelter’s funding comes from individual donations from people in the community. Just the morning warm-up services cost $4,000/month, so additional fundraising will be needed with 8 new months of dinners and showers to support. With the full program in the winter, the shelter costs $12,000 a month to run. Hughes hopes more people see the value of what he and other volunteers are doing and pitch in. “Homeless people don’t evaporate. All they do is change places.” He says when shelters are only open part of the year, it’s difficult to provide meaningful support that will get them off the streets. “If you run them out of your park, they go to another park in another neighborhood. You can either help me support these people in my shelter or you can have them sleeping in your doorway.”

Westside Neighbors Shelter accepts donations of food and other supplies listed on its website 7 days a week from 7 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 10 pm. Here’s the most-recent wish list sent to us:

Instant hot chocolate packets
Instant oatmeal packets
ground coffee (don’t need to be fancy, Folgers is fine)
Powdered coffee creamer (like coffee mate canisters)
20 oz cups (like Dixie Ultra)
heavy-duty plastic spoons and forks
paper napkins and paper towels
Swiffer wet jet refill liquid and cleaning pads
Stocking caps, gloves, sweatshirts/hoodies, socks, men’s underwear and T-shirts

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CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle High School cheer teams win All-State championships

March 22, 2025 7:43 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle schools | WS & Sports

Congratulations to the West Seattle High School Cheer Squad – member Alice Herron sends the photo and news that their teams won Washington State Cheer Coaches Association championships today!

We competed today at the WSCCA All-State competition and both teams from WSHS won first place!

In All-Girl Intermediate Stunt, Alice Herron, Ava Murray, Sophie McNamara, Amaya Stagi came in first for their division!

In Coed Advanced Stunt, Christiano Solis, Mia Casillas, Sadie Stover, Eva Tatman came in first for their division!

Both are coached by Nadine Nguyen at WSHS.

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SUNDAY PREVIEW: West Seattle Kiwanis seed giveaway at Farmers’ Market

March 22, 2025 6:11 pm

| Comments Off on SUNDAY PREVIEW: West Seattle Kiwanis seed giveaway at Farmers’ Market

| Gardening | Kiwanis Club of West Seattle | West Seattle news

Last fall, the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle said it would again give away vegetable and flower seeds in spring so that educators and parents could help kids learn about growing plants. Spring is here, and Kiwanis members have announced that they will be at the market tomorrow with the seeds:

Free seeds will be distributed this Sunday, 3/23, at the Farmers’ Market from 10 AM to 1 PM, as part of the Kiwanis Seed Project. Those who requested seeds in November and December can pick them up. There are extra seeds for those who would like to grow vegetables and teach youngsters how food is grown. Seeds for classrooms will be distributed also.

Look for their booth at the south end of the market, California and Alaska.

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SUNDAY PREVIEW: West Seattle Indivisible’s two-part meeting

March 22, 2025 4:54 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics

The leaders of West Seattle Indivisible say their membership is continuing to grow, so they’ve announced a two-part meeting for tomorrow (Sunday, March 23):

West Seattle Indivisible Meeting
Sunday, March 23
South Seattle College CAB cafeteria [campus map]
Newcomers: 1:30-3:20
General Meeting (newcomers welcome!) 3-4:30
Use north entrance
Free parking in North Lot
Free, but donations are needed and welcome

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About the emergency response at Seacrest

March 22, 2025 4:15 pm

| 5 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news

The photo is from Dave, who was first to report an emergency response at Seacrest around 11:15 am today. We’ve since confirmed that it involved a diver, but he was already at the surface when he suffered a medical problem, so it was not dispatched as a “water rescue.” SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty tells WSB, “Crews were dispatched to the 1600 block of Harbor Ave SW for a report of a diver onshore having a medical emergency. The diver had been doing exercises in the water prior to the incident. Crews treated an approximately 54-year-old male in critical condition. The patient was transported to the hospital by medics.”

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Stolen silver Lexus GS 350

March 22, 2025 2:32 pm

| 3 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

The report and photo were sent by Jamie:

We are sad to report that our car got stolen last night from in front of our house near West Seattle High School. . I have made a police report and please ask anyone call 911 if they see it. It has an orange Defensive Driving School sticker on the back. Fingers crossed the police will find it soon. We are keeping perspective and are grateful everyone is safe. 2013 Lexus GS 350. License plate CMA5157.

We’ll add the police report # when we get it. (Added: 25-76697)

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WEST SEATTLE WEEKEND SCENE: Resource fair at Westwood Village – educational as well as helpful

March 22, 2025 11:37 am

| 8 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle police | Westwood

11:37 AM: The doors are open at a first-of-its-kind event inside the biggest vacant spot at Westwood Village (former Bed Bath Beyond/Spirit Halloween) – a Resource Fair organized by Seattle Police, primarily their Community Service Officer team. They have gathered more than 40 organizations, agencies, and other participants here, until 3 pm; we obtained and published this full list last night. We’ll add more info when back at HQ.

ADDED 12:15 PM: If you approach from the southwest WWV parking lot, you’ll see the Care-A-Van, but most of the medical services – blood pressure/blood sugar check, sign up for vaccinations, etc. – are provided inside. And just inside the main entrance, you can meet some of the SPD CSOs making this happen:

CSOs are non-enforcement, non-sworn officers, and connecting people with resources is what they’re all about. In our photo are CSOs Heslin, Phelps, and Masyr. We walked the aisles of tables and it’s truly a wide array of possibilities (even info on how to get free vaccinations for pets). We also learned about some agencies/organizations we’d never heard of before. Here’s one example – they’re at the table where you can get free Narcan, no questions asked, so you can have it on hand in case you encounter someone overdosing:

This table answers the question a commenter asked after one of our previews – “what service is the Medical Examiner’s Office going to offer?” In short, this is one way to try to reduce the need for the ME’s main job (investigating deaths). At left is Emily Dalgo, coordinator of the ME’s Overdose Fatality Review (based on a national model) team. People are dying of overdoses every day, and OFR talks about strategies to fight that. One is community outreach, and that’s why she’s at the Resource Fair, along with volunteers from the Public Health Reserve Corps (we hadn’t heard of that either).

Other people we talked to included a rep from State Labor and Industries, offering lots of info about workers’ rights. Even if you don’t think you need “resources,” this is an interesting educational event, again, continuing until 3 pm.

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UPDATE: 15-hour power outage in Brace Point

March 22, 2025 8:24 am

| 7 COMMENTS

| Utilities | West Seattle news

8:24 AM: Thanks for the tips. 319 Seattle City Light customers in Brace Point are reported out of power this morning, in an area hit by outages before.

9:54 AM: The SCL map shows the number of residences affected has since been halved, to 160 (screengrab added above). … Our archives show this is the first Brace Point-only outage in almost a year, since last April.

12:41 PM: As noted in comments, now the number of affected customers is back up to 319. The map also attributes the outage to “equipment failure” (historically, that’s meant trouble with the underground cable in the area – we will be following up with SCL).

2:40 PM: Area neighbor Nathan, one of the original tipsters (thank you!) about this, sent that photo of an SCL crew with whom he spoke this past hour: “Just talked to the crew working at 47th and 98th, they are still testing to locate exact location of the failed line.”

9:59 PM: After almost 15 hours, the power is back. We’ll be following up with SCL on Monday, including whether the years-overdue upgrade project in the area is really on track to finally start soon, as its website suggests.

ADDED: SCL says “a damaged cable and fuse” were to blame.

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WEST SEATTLE SATURDAY: 39 opportunities!

March 22, 2025 6:07 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Cascades from Hamilton Viewpoint, photographed by David Hutchinson)

Dozens of happenings around West Seattle (plus reasons to visit Georgetown and White Center today too), mostly from our West Seattle Event Calendar:

WEST SEATTLE LITTLE LEAGUE JAMBOREE: 9 am-6 pm today and tomorrow at Bar-S Fields (6425 SW Admiral Way), cheer for WSLL players as they start their season! Details in our calendar listing.

SATURDAY GROUP RUN: Start your weekend on the run! Meet up at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) at 8 am for the regular Saturday morning run.

HEAVILY MEDITATED: Free community meditation, 9 am at Inner Alchemy‘s sanctuary/studio (3618 SW Alaska).

MINDFUL MOVEMENT HEALING CIRCLE: 9:30-11:30 am at FoRest Wellness Collective (3225 California SW).

INTRODUCTORY WALK: First of two sequential weekly walking events – meeting at the same spot, 47th/Fauntleroy, first at 9:30 am for a flat-terrain 1-mile walk.

WALKING FOR WELL-BEING: Then at 10 am, join others for the full weekly walk in Lincoln Park (also meet at 47th/Fauntleroy).

SCOUTING FOR FOOD: Two-part food drive! If you got a door hanger from Pack 793, put out your bag of food! If not, you can bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank to the east side of Hiawatha (Walnut south of Lander), 10 am to noon, and drop it off.
‘
FIFTH GRADERS’ BAKE SALE: 10 am-1 pm outside Arbor Heights Elementary (3701 SW 104th), fifth-graders are selling baked goods to raise money for outdoor-education experiences. Gluten-free and vegan options!

HIGH-SCHOOL SOFTBALL: 10 am at Nino Cantu SW Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle), Chief Sealth IHS vs. Highline HS.

TILDEN SCHOOL BOOK FAIR: Make a purchase at Paper Boat Booksellers (4522 California SW) through Sunday, mention Tilden School (WSB sponsor) at checkout, and part of the proceeds will benefit the school.

MOUNTAIN TO SOUND OUTFITTERS CLEARANCE SALE: Continuing this weekend! “We’re offering our best discounts of the season on all of our winter gear!” says Mountain to Sound Outfitters (3602 SW Alaska; WSB sponsor). Plus, sale has expanded to add demo skis and boards! Open 10 am-6 pm today.

MORNING MUSIC AT THE COFFEEHOUSE: Susan Pascal, Jamie Findlay, Chris Symer with “mid-century vibes,” 10:30 am-noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).

STILL-LIFE SESSION: At Low Tide Arts, 10:30 am – registration info is in our calendar listing. (9140 California SW)

GRIEFSHARE: If you have lost someone close to you, this is for you. 13-week series continues today, 10:30 am, Grace Church (10323 28th SW).

FREE WRITING GROUP: 10:30 am – “This is a free, weekly, in-person active writing group grounded in the Amherst Writers and Artists method. It is a safe, critique-free space. Writers of all levels welcome, 16 and up.” Our calendar listing has location and RSVP info.

FAMILY STORY TIME: 10:30-11 am at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), meant for kids 0-5.

HUGE RESOURCE FAIR: Need services or info? The 40+ organizations, agencies, departments, companies participating in today’s 11 am-3 pm resource fair at the ex-Bed Bath Beyond space in central Westwood Village (2600 SW Barton) probably have it. All welcome.

POPWEED POP-UP PARTY: 11 am-3 pm, you can help out at Beyers’ Bulldog Garden, a community site that has quite a backstory. (54th SW & SW Edmunds)

FREE TAX HELP: 11 am-3 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW).

FAMILY READING TIME: 11 am family reading time is back at new home of Paper Boat Booksellers (4522 California SW).

GEORGETOWN BITES AND SITES: Special day for eating, drinking, shopping in Georgetown, 11 am to 5 pm, explained in our calendar listing. (Tickets sold at 5813 Airport Way S.)

SPRING EQUINOX RITUAL WORKSHOP: 11 am-1 pm with Linh Le, explained here, which is also where you can register.

FITNESS TOGETHER OPEN HOUSE & NUTRITION SEMINAR: Two events in one visit to Fitness Together in The Junction!

We are excited to invite you to our Open House & Nutrition Seminar! Come check out FT and learn from West Seattle’s own Michelle Babb MS, RD, CD, a registered dietitian who has written multiple books and helped many in West Seattle with their nutrition needs.

Location: Fitness Together, 4546 California Ave SW (Above The Matador)
Time: 11:15 AM – 1:45 PM

(The seminar starts at 11:30.) FT-West Seattle is a longtime WSB sponsor; find out more about them here.

LOG HOUSE MUSEUM OPEN: The home of West Seattle history is open for your visit, noon-4 pm – see the newest exhibit, about the West Duwamish Greenbelt! (61st/Stevens)

VIETNAMESE CULTURAL CENTER OPEN: The center is open to visitors noon-3 pm, as explained here. (2236 SW Orchard)

SOUL SISTERS SONG CIRCLE: 1-3 pm, sing with “kind, fun women” – our calendar listing has details, including how to get the location.

COMMUNITY DRUMMING CIRCLE: 1-3 pm at Inner Alchemy Sanctuary/Studio (3618 SW Alaska), all welcome, by donation.

MAKE CERAMIC EGGS WITH FRANCES: 1 pm at The Clay Cauldron (5214 Delridge Way SW), $50 – details in our calendar listing.

VISCON CELLARS TASTING ROOM/WINE BAR: Tasting room open – wine by the glass or bottle – 1-6 pm at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor).

BUNNIES AT OUNCES: 2-5 pm, all ages welcome to visit with bunny rabbits at Ounces! (5214 Delridge Way SW)

FREE MASSAGE: Walk-in clinic at Nepenthe (9447 35th SW), 3-5 pm.

EVENING MUSIC AT THE COFFEEHOUSE: Friends and Folk, folk trio performing 6-8 pm at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), all ages, no cover.

CONCERT AT ALKI ARTS: 6 pm, $20 at the door at Alki Arts:

Christopher Reyne is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and audio engineer from Portland, Oregon who crafts his brand of indie folk rock almost entirely on his own. With a sound that is both fresh and familiar, his music has drawn comparisons to such artists as Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, and Elliott Smith. This is a seated ‘living room style’ concert with refreshments served.

(6030 California SW)

MEANINGFUL MOVIE: “Razing Liberty Square,” about climate gentrification, is the West Seattle Meaningful Movie this time, doors open at West Seattle Unitarian Universalist Congregation (7141 California SW) at 6:30, movie at 7, discussion at 8:30.

LIVE AT EASY STREET RECORDS: 7 pm, Shaker Bloomheart album-release show. No cover, all ages. (4559 California SW)

LIVE AT THE SKYLARK: Tonight – Bandmixers Community Roulette, four mini-sets, four genres! Doors 7, music 8, 21+, $10 cover. 21+. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

LIVE IN WHITE CENTER: 8 pm, Tim’s Tavern (16th/98th, White Center) hosts three performers – Wes Watkins, Carrie Jennings, Kate Dinsmore. Tickets here.

REVELRY ROOM DJ: Spinning starts at 9 pm with DJ WD40 at Revelry Room. (4547 California SW)

KARAOKE AT TALARICO’S: Want to sing on your Saturday night? 10 pm at Talarico’s Pizzeria. (4718 California SW)

West Seattle event coming up? If community members are welcome, your event is welcome to be listed on our calendar! Please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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