West Seattle, Washington
18 Friday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
This Wednesday, Seattle School Board directors will hold the third and final “community engagement” session in their new series.
The second was in West Seattle, this past Wednesday evening, in Denny International Middle School‘s library.
Two board members showed up – president Gina Topp, who represents West Seattle and most of South Park, and Evan Briggs (arriving a bit late), who represents Northwest Seattle. Both are in their first term.
They heard a long list of concerns. Topp said that was the intention – a “chance for us to hear from folks, what’s on your minds, potential questions,” adding that the board hopes to do this monthly. Asked how the feedback/information would be put to use, she said they’re taking notes so they can be referred to. “I know it’s a lot to come here” with everyone taking time out of busy lives, she acknowledged.
Much of the gathering was spent just going around the room giving everyone a chance to introduce themselves and explain what issue or concern had brought them to the meeting.
One of the first to introduce themselves was Topp’s predecessor on the board, Leslie Harris, who listed three areas about which she’s “extraordinarily concerned” – the budget, the district’s handling of waitlists, and the board’s decision to operate under “student-outcome-focused governance” (SOFG).
Three of the next four people were district or city employees. Then a Denny staff member, who said she was there because “safety is #1,” explaining that parents keep asking her “what is the game plan?” for safety.
And again, three of the next four were district employees; one said they were “here to see what engagement looks like.” Then a student and a parent who said it’s difficult to communicate with the district, “hard to reach the division you need to reach.”
A Roxhill Elementary parent listed the budget as a key concern and described the previous year – which included proposals to close schools to save money – as “a rough rollercoaster.”
A school nurse said she wanted to know how SOFG could work with equity. A fourth-grade teacher, with 30 years in that occupation, said she doesn’t have the support she needs to help her students become successful.
Student success was a parent’s concern, warning that the “quality of education has plummeted,” noting that her child isn’t being challenged, “he’s not learning anything,” he’s getting perfunctory coursework and no homework. “How is this getting our kids college ready?” she asked plaintively, saying she was frustrated “because I moved to the area for its good schools.”
She was followed by a teacher from Roosevelt HS who had a very specific, urgent concern, a project installing new A/V equipment but in the process throwing out whiteboards and bulletin boards that she said teachers desperately need and students like using. She said they’d tried to stop the contractors and were told they’d be happy not to toss the boards as long as they got direction from district managers, saying that they were “fine saving it, but you just have to tell ‘downtown’ to tell us.” (We don’t know whether this was resolved.)
Another parent declared that communication with the district “is terrible.”
Then a former teacher – herself an SPS graduate – talked about cuts she said would displace assistant principals, particularly at option schools, because of “how enrollment was managed” – the waitlist issue to which former board member Harris had referred earlier.
Next, a Gatewood Elementary PTA board member who said she came “because I care a lot … public education is the foundation of democracy and it seems like it’s crumbling everywhere.” But, she said, as a poster in the library reminded her, “Everything is hard before it’s easy.” Finally she added that she too had concerns about SOFG.
A shift back toward redlining was what concerned a parent who said her kids were in elementary and middle school. With boundaries moving that way over the past decade, she said, schools were suffering.
Anybody want to run for school board? asked longtime district watchdog Chris Jackins, offering his help, since it’s now “filing week” and four directors’ seats are up this year.
Another parent with elementary and middle schoolers expressed concern about too much screen use in schools.
Two Pathfinder K-8 parents followed, saying that the assistant principal cuts threatened to take away an AP who had done an amazing job in the wake of an administrative shakeup at the school. “We need to fight for our AP,” one said. “Schools are being starved of APs,” warned another.
A Highland Park Elementary parent wondered if money the district was allotting toward capital projects could instead be spent on operations. (Short answer: No.)
The around-the-room continued with a Seattle Times education reporter, a parent of a special-education student, another Pathfinder parent, a West Seattle HS family with a specific problem involving a teacher.
Another Denny employee, parent of an adult SPS alum, declared herself “tired of asking for fully funding public education.” She also wondered why the 300-student enrollment difference between Denny and Madison MS hadn’t yet resulted in boundary-redrawing. Instead, she said, the district continued to “fill portables … it feels racist.”
When the around-the-room ended, the hour-and-a-half meeting window was two-thirds over. (Topp and Briggs stayed past the scheduled end, though, talking with attendees.) Topp noted printouts on the tables with suggested questions, including one regarding the search for Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones’s successor. Attendees were split into two groups, one to talk with Topp, the other to talk with Briggs; that’s the group we stayed with.
She first addressed a question about the superintendent search, saying the search firm was chosen “beccause of robust community-engagement strategy … (they have a) very multi-pronged approach so they reach as many stakeholders as they can.” Asked about the hiring timeline, she said it’s an “awkward time because most have a job for next year,” so if they don’t find the perfect candidate, they might “settle for an interim for a year and then start again in fall.” But whichever they chose, she said they’ll have someone in place by the start of August.
They’ll be meeting with the search firm May 14, she said, stressing that she understands families’ frustration, as she has three kids in the district. It was pointed out that you can read chosen search firm HYA‘s full proposal in the April 9 meeting agenda (starting on page 84).
One parent suggested the new superintendent should not be “hellbent” on shoehorning every possible bit of technology into the schools: “I don’t want another technocrat.” Another parent agreed they didn’t want to “go too high-tech.” The big question would be, it was suggested, what’s the vision? An interim superintendent could come in and do a deep dive into that. Support for teachers is crucial, someone declared, saying teachers are being thrown into situations for which they have none.
The topic of SOFG came up again. Briggs said she wanted to offer “a little context, saying it came about because the board needed “a policy-governed framework,” and that while SOFG might not ultimately be The One, it hasn’t even been “effectively enacted” yet, so “nobody knows what it would look like if we were doing it well.”
So how are they assessing the outome? Many complaints about testing ensued. One teacher said that students “know these tests don’t matter” and don’t provide “meaningful data … you’re sending our money down the drain” to the materials providers. She suggested the community should run the schools, and that it would result in greatness: “The most important thing you as school-board members can do is advocate for the community.”
What does Briggs consider helpful to hear? she was asked. She said she truly doesn’t know “because it’s a truly broken system,” mainly because “public education in our country is broken,” so “what we’re asking of schools and people who work in schools is impossible.” She said she asks herself sometimes if there’s any point to her work because “how do you fix something that’s so fundamentally broken? All these desperate people (herself included) … we’re trying to put Band-Aids on this big gaping wound and maybe that’s all we can do right now.”
But in the meantime, the next superintendent must be hired. Briggs said she’s hoping for a “systems thinker” and some fresh ideas. Someone suggested, for example, that the district sell its SODO headquarters and have central staff work out of the many (school) buildings. Briggs also said there’s the opportunity to learn from history, via work like this.
The next attendee to speak was a student who asked about Native-focused curriculum, such as Since Time Immemorial. Briggs said implementation could be a “funding issue.”
So what about making the schools a little less tech-dependent? it was suggested again. Briggs said she would like to see that, but it’s not simply up to her. Maybe start a petition, she suggested, and get “a lot of people (to) sign on.” Yet, she cautioned, she also hears from people who are resigned to it – “this is just our new reality now.” The counter to that, though, could be separating the screens into a lab that students use part of the time, rather than having it be pervasive. There’s a lot of research supporting a reduction in tech dependency, a teacher offered, saying that’s how they were able to move toward attendance schedules geared toward age groups’ needs – citing research.
Not long after that, with the clock well past the advertised 7 pm end, the gathering was officially ended – though conversations continued.
WHAT’S NEXT: The third “engagement session” is at 5:30 pm Wednesday (May 7) at Daniel Bagley Elementary School‘s library, 7821 Stone Ave N.
(WSB photo. L-R, Bob Carrasca, Michael Todd Smith, Ryan Ames, Keith Creighton)
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
There’s nothing like a bonk on a toddler’s head to get a parent’s attention. So how do you turn that bonk into a preventive product you can market nationally or internationally? The answer lies in a couple of businesses along a single block of California Ave SW in Morgan Junction.
For the West Seattle family who precipitated this collaboration, it was an unfortunate meeting of a coaxial cable connector and their infant son, who ran into the metal piece sticking out of the wall. Some blood was shed along with tears. But after the BandAids were applied, the dad went online, hoping to find a cover of some kind so that the cable connector would no longer be a danger.
The advice online: Duct tape.
“Shocked,” said Ryan Ames, after discovering that the thing he wanted did not seem to exist, not just in the US, but even on baby-proofing sites in Australia, the UK, and Canada. That’s when he started to think that he stumbled across an unexpected void in the arguably very full market of baby-proofing. “I had folks who worked with the big child-safety companies and I sat in their office and they couldn’t figure out why this hadn’t been done. There seemed to be a need, a market for it, and I would certainly want this product in my home.”
As Ames talked with more people, he realized he had an idea good enough that it should be patented. It’s easy to think big at this point: Big-box stores, celebrity endorsements, manufacturing numbers in the 6 figures. But where to start, how to plan and design and manufacture something like this? Ames is a banker by day, with no background in manufacturing or marketing. He did talk with some larger companies, but the team that he credits with getting his product to market was one he found behind a few storefronts in the 6000 block of California. “Does someone believe … in this product? And Bob [Carrasca] did.”
Tucked in between hair salons, financial investment offices, and attorneys are Carrasca’s Pillar Product Design, and a few doors down, Collective Seven, a branding and marketing firm headed up by founder Michael Todd Smith. After interviewing multiple firms, Ames chose both of them to help bring a product he now calls OutletGuard Solutions from concept to consumer. “I needed both of them for hand-holding, says Ames. “I knew they could get this out.”
All of this started to come together in the early 2020s, which was fortuitous from a “necessity is the mother of invention” perspective. “The timing on it was really interesting,” says Carrasca. “In the pandemic, the spare room becomes office space and a place your infant might be.” The consensus among the team was that covering the outlet would not just prevent injuries, but also ensure that dust and things like peanut butter wouldn’t get in, along with fingers that could cause expensive damage to components, “The product protects your kids from danger, but also protects the outlet, says Keith Creighton, a copywriter with Collective Seven.
With Carrasca designing the outlet covers, making them cost-effective, attractive, and UL-rated (for electrical compatibility), and Smith putting together everything branding — from logo and colors to SEO and website — Ames was ready to make the leap to initial production, working with a factory in China. “When we were working early on with Ryan, there are a million plugs out there [that could need a cover]. How do we differentiate this product from others? We don’t want this product to be 20 unique pieces. We want it to be 5 pieces.” And that is where the product has landed, in its initial production/marketing phase. Each piece can be rotated to be used in different orientations, and “fit tightly, but also match fluctuating tolerances,” since every outlet from every manufacturer is just a little bit different.
Ames has benefitted from the broad knowledge of his team, which includes background in the logistical and manufacturing challenges of large-scale production while also having sensible advice about how to bring a product to market without getting in over one’s head. “I lean more toward the safe side,” says Smith with Collective Seven. “I’d rather spend a little more—pay more for smaller order, go through the ordering process, a soft rollout. Businesses can blow up out of the gate because they’re not set up.” Carrasca added, “If you’re not fulfilling orders in 1-2 months, you’re out of business. Groups like us mitigate that risk, allow time to prototype, do market research … find the right target demographic. Then you’re ready to invest.”
Speaking of financing, before you think this sounds an awful lot like Shark Tank, there is no Mr. Wonderful on the team. Ames is funding the entire venture himself. The first run of OutletGuard parts were manufactured last year and are available now only on the myoutletguard.com website. Since August, several hundred have sold, shipping to 30+ states. The biggest surprise has been that most orders are for at least 2 packages. So far the team is pleased and optimistic, and fulfilling each order with a hand-written thank-you note. “They are in stock and tariff-free,” says Creighton.
Once they take the first baby steps of confirming there’s market demand, the next step will be to sell OutletGuard to retailers. Ames is excited to have a product with multiple free patents and a whole world of baby-proofing need. Asked if he can envision a time in the future when this might be his full-time work, he didn’t skip a beat. “I would love for it to be.”
They sauntered, rather than swaggered; moseyed, rather than marauded. Nonetheless, the Seafair Pirates made a grand entrance tonight at Mission Cantina in The Admiral District, the final special guests/event of Mission’s five-day Cinco de Mayo extravaganza. Arriving without their landlubbing vessel Moby Duck – and therefore without cannon fire – the Pirates walked up, offered a few “arr’s” for the patrons dining outdoors, and proceeded in, swordlessly:
They’ll be back in West Seattle at least twice this summer – the Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki Beach is set for Saturday, June 28, and the West Seattle Grand Parade rolls down California SW from Admiral to The Junction on Saturday, July 19.
Is jam your jam?
Sale #533 has it. Or maybe you love classic cars. We have two sales with those, including this one:
You’ll find that 1966 Mustang convertible at Sale #199. Those are just two of the photos we’ve received since inviting sellers to send us pics of their spotlight items for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day, this Saturday, May 10, 9 am to 3 pm. If you haven’t seen the map yet, here’s the link for the interactive online version, and here’s the link for the printable guide (37 pages this year!), with all 570+ sale listings in numerical order. Some shoppers spend the whole day going from sale to sale; some just see what’s happening near their home and wander over. It’s the 20th anniversary edition of the biggest community-garage-sale-day in the city, coordinated by WSB since the fourth WSCGSD in 2008, and we’re looking forward to another awesome day of “person-to-person recycling” and meeting your neighbors. More previews ahead!i
SDOT is still saying the Admiral Way Bridge seismic-strengthening work will continue into summer. But in the meantime, in case you’re wondering what crews are doing now, they offered an update today:
-Painting steel bridge components.
-Fixing sections of the bridge with cracked or broken concrete.
-Repairing corrosion damage on support structures under the bridge.
-Removing scaffolding on the north side of the bridge, and around support columns.In the coming weeks, crews will remove leftover concrete debris from recent repairs and place large rocks at the base of the bridge and along nearby slopes for added protection. They’ll also install drainage near the support columns to help manage rainwater.
SDOT says the work zone – determining which lanes are closed – could change “from time to time” on the bridge deck, but Fairmount beneath the bridge will remain fully closed until the project is complete. They say the timeline for completion stretched out because they decided to fully paint the bridge (which technically is two bridges).
3:30 PM: As we reported over the weekend, frustrated neighbors in North Delridge have organized a community meetup for tomorrow night (6 pm Tuesday, May 6, Cottage Grove Park) to talk about safety concerns, including multiple gunfire incidents. Now City Councilmember Rob Saka has just announced that he’s organizing a District 1 Community Safety Town Hall focused on that area among others, with Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes among the panelists. He made the announcement during the City Council’s weekly briefing, at which he’s still speaking as we type this; he said Wednesday, May 14, is the date, but did not announce a time or place, saying that’s forthcoming; we’re also inquiring. (Added) City Council President Sara Nelson just told Saka during the meeting that she’ll attend too.
5:09 PM: The council communications office tells WSB they don’t have any additional details yet.
7:47 PM TUESDAY: One more bit of info revealed today – it’ll start at 6:30 pm. Councilmember Saka’s chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko, representing him at tonight’s North Delridge community conversation, said the location is still being finalized but they’ll announce that tomorrow.
ORIGINAL 1:54 PM REPORT: From Anne in Fauntleroy:
We’ve just discovered that our family’s green Chevy truck has been stolen overnight. It was parked across the street from our house (on SW Barton St) between 38th and 39th.
Here are the details:
2002 Chevy Silverado
Dark Green
License Plate: PK04773
It’s been reported to police; we’ll add the report number when we get it (update: 25-120597). Call 911 if you find it.
ADDED 3:15 PM: Also from Fauntleroy, just received word from Donald of a home burglary:
Our home was broken into late Fri night, early Saturday morning. Stole jewelry and prescription meds. Items easily identified are silver bracelet with ABH engraved and Tiffany’s charm bracelet.
We’ll add the incident # for reference when we get it.
Want to run for one of the offices up for election this November? The official week to file with King County Elections runs today through Friday. The full countywide list is here; here are the non-judicial seats voters in our area will vote on in the primary:
*King County Executive
*Seattle Mayor (incumbent Bruce Harrell filed this morning)
*Seattle City Attorney
*Seattle City Council citywide Positions 8 and 9
*34th District State Senator (appointed incumbent Emily Alvarado filed this morning)
*34th District State Representative Position 1
*Seattle Port Commission (countywide) Positions 1, 3, 4 (incumbent Toshiko Hasegawa filed this morning)
Interested in running for something? Info’s here. Meantime, you can watch this page for at least two daily updates on who has filed so far. The primary is August 5; the general election is November 4.
10:37 AM: SFD has extricated one person from what’s reported to be a car on its side in the 5900 block of 44th SW. Updates to come.
(WSB photo by Torin Record-Sand)
10:59 AM: One woman is being sent to Harborview. Our crew was told she was the driver of the car that went sideways. She is reported to have hit at least one parked car. This is on 44th just south of Juneau, obviously blocked until the wrecked vehicles can be cleared.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli, who also shared video)
SPD told us there were no signs of driver impairment. Neighbors told us a second car was apparently damaged, in addition to the blue one shown in our first photo above.
11:58 AM: Officers just told dispatch the street has reopened.
(Seen during last week’s low-low tides. Photo by Rainer Klett)
Here’s our highlight list for your Monday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BABY STORY TIME: Southwest Library‘s noon story time is back on the schedule today. (9010 35th SW)
CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: See City Councilmembers preview what’s ahead for the week and get briefed on how the State Legislature’s session turned out, 2 pm. The agenda explains how to watch (no public-comment period at this meeting).
SPORTS: One high-school game on a local field – West Seattle HS boys’ soccer at 4 pm vs. Rainier Beach at Walt Hundley Playfield (34th/Myrtle).
HOMEWORK HELP: K-12 students can get free drop-in help at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), 4-5:45 pm.
CINCO DE MAYO, WITH PIRATES: Mission Cantina (2325 California SW) says their Cinco de Mayo festivities today will include the Seafair Pirates visiting “around 6 pm.”
GET CREATIVE: 6-10 pm, Monday is “Crafting and Creativity Night” at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.
D&D: Long-running weekly D&D at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW). All welcome, first-time players too!
LISTENING TO GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP: Be seen and heard. 6:30 pm at Mama Be Well Healing Studio with Listening to Grief. Registration/fee info here. (4034A California SW).
MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA: Four places you can play tonight! … Easy Street Records Music Quiz at 6:30 and 7:30 pm (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), 21+ … 7:30 pm with QuizFix at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)
MEDITATION AT ALKI UCC: Every Monday – doors open at Alki UCC at 6:45, meeting is from 7-8:30. (6115 SW Hinds)
MEDITATION IN FAUNTLEROY: More Monday night calming – free weekly Zen sitting/meditation in the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.
MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: The Alley has live music on Monday nights – jazz with The Westside Jazz Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.
MONDAY KARAOKE 9 pm Monday nights, singers welcome for karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria (4718 California SW).
Thanks to everyone who sends info for our calendar – if you have something to add or cancel (or otherwise update), please send the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
8:14 AM: Thanks for the tip. 4th/Spokane (surface) is blocked while police investigate a deadly crash.
9:04 AM: Police have just published an update – they are looking for a hit-run driver who hit and killed an 83-year-old woman who was “walking westbound in the pedestrian crosswalk when an SUV ran her over when making a right turn onto Spokane from 4th.” The SPD update did not include a description of the SUV/driver. (update) Audio from the early dispatches, however, described it as a Jeep, possibly dark red/maroon. The first callout was at quarter till 8.
9:17 AM: Collision at Highland Park Way/West Marginal, but police report no injuries, so SFD is leaving that scene.
9:55 AM: 4th/Spokane has reopened. No word of an arrest yet.
Earlier:
6:01 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, May 5, 2025.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunny and mid-60s expected today, mid-70s tomorrow! Today’s sunrise was at 5:45 am; sunset will be at 8:27 pm.
(Sunday sunset silhouette, photographed by Mike Burns)
ROAD WORK
-Street work for the Alki Standby Generator Project could start as soon as today on Beach Drive SW just south of 63rd – details and map here.
-The Admiral Way Bridge’s outside lane on the eastbound/southbound side is still closed.
TRANSIT TODAY
Water Taxi – Regular West Seattle service; spring/summer schedule, with later-evening sailings Fridays and Saturdays.
Metro buses – Regular schedule.
Washington State Ferries – Regular service on the Triangle Route, with M/V Kittitas and M/V Cathlamet, plus M/V Salish is serving as the “bonus boat”. P.S. Next round of community meetings – online, systemwide – have been announced for later this month.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera, followed by the Fauntleroy-end camera:
Spokane Street Viaduct:
Low Bridge – Looking west:
1st Avenue South Bridge:
Delridge cameras: In addition to 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 (including links to live video for most); for a quick scan of West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras, see this WSB page.
See a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water? Please text or call our hotline (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene) – 206-293-6302. Thank you!
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