West Seattle, Washington
29 Thursday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Our area’s three state legislators will appear together tomorrow for the second time in less than a week.
The 34th District Democrats are convening a “session in review” forum, 6 pm Wednesday (May 28), at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW) and all are welcome to come hear from/ask questions of Sen. Emily Alvarado, Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, and Rep. Brianna Thomas.
Last Thursday, the trio were guests at the West Seattle Democratic Women‘s dinner meeting. Here’s our hour-plus unedited video:
They remarked on very long hours and the work it took to balance the budget – $7 billion in cuts, $9 billion in new taxes, “none were easy.”
Nor, they said, was their working relationship with new Gov. Bob Ferguson, even though he, like all three of them and the majority of their fellow legislators, is a Democrat.
In that photo is a Hyundai stolen overnight downtown, found by police early this morning in Sunrise Heights. The texter who sent the photo, a resident near Walt Hundley Playfield, also explained what preceded it:
Woke right at 6 am to sounds of cars racing and maybe crashing. Go out to see a blue Hyundai sedan with 3 teens and a white Hyundai or Kia (small) SUV with maybe 4 teens in it, flying by, chasing each other, losing or tossing items from the vehicles. They raced up and down the blocks, sorta chasing each other like they were playing tag. As they went by, one kid yelled to me from the SUV something about a shotgun and something about a day off (weird). I called 911. At one point one of the cars came flying out of the alley next to my house, off gravel onto the paved street, at about 35-40 mph, nearly crashing into the park. Then both cars met up, sped off, and I thought I heard a crash in the distance. I got into my truck and drove a couple of streets over to see what happened and the blue car was pulled over by SPD. It’s the one that I thought crashed. Cops still have the car, punched ignition … they say likely it’s a yet-to-be-reported stolen vehicle. The white SUV was gone. It had Texas plates. Both cars had teens with hoods up and masks on, all of them. Some male, some female, is my guess based off the laughing I heard …
That was all from a text around 5:30 am. We subsequently asked police what their report said about how this all turned out.
According to the report’s narrative, they initially responded to a call about a hit-run crash near 31st/Myrtle, and as the texter told us, “The call was updated to show that a blue Hyundai sedan and a white Hyundai SUV with a Texas license plate were chasing each other. As I was driving to the last known location of the vehicles along 32nd Ave SW, I saw a blue Hyundai Sonata with the running lights on and a wheel on the curb. … The vehicle appeared unoccupied but I did a PA callout, then the other officer and I cleared the vehicle. No one was inside. Dispatch ran the license plate number. This vehicle had not yet been reported stolen, but based on the steering column and ignition damage, I suspected the vehicle was stolen.
They called the vehicle’s owner, who told them “he usually leaves the vehicle parked in a garage at work but he went to Oregon and came back late last night, so he parked it in front of his apartment building at 1XX Taylor Ave N. [near Seattle Center]. He last saw it about (10 pm Monday night).”
The owner came to West Seattle to try to reclaim his car. Inside it, besides various items – including a plastic cup and a charger – that didn’t belong to him, police also found a print on the rearview mirror, which the owner confirmed someone had moved, so it was dusted and the print was lifted for evidence.
The owner tried to drive the car away but its front suspension had damage preventing that, police wrote, “so he parked the vehicle and called his insurance company … (to order) his own tow.” Before that, though, according to the police report, they gave him a free steering-wheel lock.
Two “found, possibly dumped/stolen” reports:
BINOCULARS: Sent by Evan:
I found a pair of nice-looking Bushnell Binoculars in a leather case on the median outside our house near SW 17th and Trenton.
Evan took them in for safekeeping – if they’re yours, let us know and we’ll connect you.
SCOOTER: Brandon spotted this in front of Alki Dental (we don’t know its current status):
Reminder that for discoveries more likely to have been simply “lost,” we have a self-post “lost/found/nonpets” board in the WSB Community Forums; you need a log-in, which should be easily obtainable here.
(WSB photo of California Place Park concertgoers in 2024)
What started more than 15 years ago as Summer Concerts @ Hiawatha will be back this year for its second year as Admiral Music in the Parks (AMP) – three free July evening concerts in other Admiral-area parks! The Admiral Neighborhood Association presents AMP and series coordinator Meagan Loftin just sent the newly revealed lineup:
The Admiral Neighborhood Association, in partnership with our “Producer” sponsors Timeless Kitchen Design and West Seattle Grounds, is excited to announce the lineup for our summer concert series AMP: Admiral Music in the Parks!
Every year, we welcome family, friends, neighbors, and the community-at-large to our Admiral parks for 3 weeks of free family-friendly concerts. New this year, you can also join Seattle Yarn‘s knitting circle at each concert. Mark your calendars now for:
6:30 PM on July 17th @ Belvedere Park: Get your dancing boots ready for PNW country-tonk band Lookout Mountain Lookout
6:30 PM on July 24th @ California Place Park: West Seattle’s fan-favorite Michael Pearsall and Friends return for the second year at AMP!
6:30 PM on July 31st @ Hamilton Viewpoint Park: Enjoy the music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as we welcome The Flaming Pies to close out our 2025 season.
Which concert are you most excited for? Support your favorite by donating to one or all of our 2025 AMP concerts. Your donation funds local musicians while also providing free community programming to everyone in our neighborhood. AMPlify your summer and consider donating here today!
2 PM: Thanks to Derek for the photo. The painting happening today on the southwest corner of California/Alaska gave us the opening to check back on a story we’ve been working on for a while: The Missing Piece Cafe and Game Lounge is finally confirming that it’s moving to The Junction – in the ex-Pharmaca space – from 35th/Roxbury. Last time we asked proprietor Alex about the plan, the lease wasn’t finalized yet and he wasn’t ready to comment, but today he tells WSB, “We are going to have an expanded cafe offering when we move as well as a wider game selection. We’re very excited to be moving to such a great spot in the heart of West Seattle!” Mindful that renovations and permits tend to take longer than businesspeople hope and plan for, we are nonetheless following up on their hoped-for timeframe for moving (update: by “the end of summer“). The Missing Piece opened in an ex-dispensary space on the northeast corner of 35th/Roxbury five years ago. In addition to simply being open for eating/drinking/playing, it also hosts various regular and special events.
3:23 PM: In comments, A points out that the painting is part of a mural for the business next door to the future new home of The Missing Piece, Emerald Water Anglers, which is chronicling the mural-painting here. You might recall that EWA is there because of a move too, shifting to the former Bin 41 space last year from its original spot at 42nd/Oregon. (We’re checking on what kind of signage TMP plans.)
Constellation Park and Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook get most of the love during low-low tides, but West Seattle’s north shores provide some sights too. Above are the pilings only revealed near the diagonal-parking area when the tide goes this far out (-4.0 around 11:30 am today – added, Dave Townsend and our archives remind us that the remains of Luna Park emerge in these conditions); below, further north/west, the view toward the heart of Alki:
And the northeastward view from that same spot:
Tomorrow brings the lowest low tide of the year, -4.1 feet at 12:20 pm.
The Seattle City Council‘s Public Safety Committee just got an update on Seattle Police hiring and staffing. The summary from analyst Greg Doss: “Huge increase in hiring, but that takes a while to translate to cops on the street.”
Currently, Doss told the councilmembers, they’re hiring 14 officers a month, which he described as an “unprecedented” pace, “even in good years.” In the first quarter of the year, he elaborated, SPD had 12 more hires and 7 fewer separations than projected, and the department’s already “meeting its goals for the entire year.” (The reduction in number of departures was highlighted again late in the briefing.)
One area isn’t improving, though – increasing the number of women on the force. Applicants and hires are running about 15 percent female, Doss said, so new Chief Shon Barnes has directed that female candidates all get a “second look” to “be sure we’re not missing something.” The department at one point had a declared goal to have a 30 percent female staff by 2030 but is nowhere near that goal.
Other stats shown this morning included the staffing breakdown – the number of officers on “911 response” has held fairly steady, albeit at a level that’s two-thirds of five years ago.
There also were some precinct specific stats, including staffing (no elaboration, but it was mentioned that SPD is currently conducting a “precinct staffing study:):
And also response times, which in general are improving, in part because of a change in categorization of what’s a “Priority 1” call – in some, Doss said, they realized that callers in some categories weren’t necessarily in immediate danger. That meant more calls are “Priority 2,” and those response times are improving too – possibly, briefers said, because the availability of CARE responders means officers can turn some incidents over to them and get back to 911 responses sooner.
The increase in hiring and reduction in separations means that the years of “we have money for more positions than we can fill” are over – now SPD is hiring more than it’s budgeted for, but councilmembers were told SPD does not expect to ask for budget supplementation until later in the year. Right now, they’re still relying on overtime to reach minimum staffing on most if not all shifts, councilmembers were told. But the briefers say right now, the staffing level is on a road to recovery: This year’s hiring could re-fill as many as 70+ of the vacancies left when 300+ officers left in the early 2020s.
Committee chair Councilmember Bob Kettle wrapped up the briefing by saying he feels encouraged but wary of mixed messages to the public since, as noted above, increased hiring pace now won’t mean increased officer numbers on the street for a while. He also said it’s vital to keep up the pace on other things – particularly police reform.
(P.S. If you’ve got questions about Southwest Precinct operations, remember that its Precinct Advisory Council has an open community meeting next Tuesday (June 3) at High Point Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW), 6:30 pm.)
See today’s full briefing presentation slide deck, from which the graphics above were pulled, by going here.
Two humpback whales are visible from Constellation Park, headed southbound, Kersti Muul tells us. They’re west of midchannel, so you’ll likely need binoculars. Let us know if you see one or both!
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor, low-low tide wildlife revealed earlier this spring)
Here’s our reminder list for your Tuesday, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: The meeting under way now (started at 9:30 am) includes an update on police hiring (not likely to start any sooner than 10:10 am). The agenda explains how to watch.
POSTCARDS4DEMOCRACY: Weekly advocacy gathering, until noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor). Sign up here before you go, if you’re a first-time participant.
LOW-LOW TIDE: Out to -4.0 feet at 11:34 am. Pick a beach, and tread lightly!
ROTARY CLUB OF WEST SEATTLE: Noon lunch at West Seattle Golf Course (4470 35th SW), featuring Mathew Wright from ArtsWest.
CHESS CLUB: Tuesdays 1:30-3 pm, at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon). All levels welcome. (Questions? Email conwell@conwelld.net.)
HOMEWORK HELP: 4-5:45 pm at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), volunteers are available to help K-12 students with their homework.
CAMP SECOND CHANCE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: 4 pm online meeting is open to the public.
DROP-IN WINE TASTING: 5-7 pm Tuesdays at Walter’s Wine Shop (4811 California SW) – $10 fee, $5 off with bottle purchases.
DEMONSTRATION FOR BLACK LIVES: Long-running weekly sign-waving demonstration on the corners at 16th/Holden. 5-6 pm. Signs available if you don’t bring your own.
CROWN-MAKING PARTY: 5:30 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW), West Seattle Indivisible is making crowns for the June 14 “No Kings” rally.
WEST SEATTLE RUNNER TRACK RUN: More daylight means more time for evening runs – tonight at 6:15 pm, meet at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) for WSR’s free weekly track run.
MAKE POTTERY: Weekly 6:30-9 pm “girls’ night” at pottery studio The Clay Cauldron (5214 Delridge Way SW), sign up in advance to work on your project(s).
WOMEN’S MEDITATION CIRCLE: Weekly small-group event at Mama Be Well Healing Studio (4034 California SW), 7 pm. Our calendar listing has details on signing up before you go.
BINGO X 2: Play free Tuesday night Belle of the Balls Bingo at The Skylark, 7 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW) … Talarico’s Pizzeria also offers 8 pm bingo (4718 California SW).
TRIVIA X 4: Here’s the answer to the question “who’s got trivia in West Seattle tonight?” – The Beer Junction (4711 California SW) has Sporcle Pub Quiz with David at 7 and 8 pm … 7 pm at Ounces (3803 Delridge Way SW), free and hosted by Beat the Geek Trivia; 7 pm at Zeeks Pizza West Seattle (6459 California SW), hosted by Geeks Who Drink; 7:10 pm at Admiral Pub. (2306 California SW).
Organizing an event, class, performance, gathering, etc.? Tell your West Seattle neighbors via our event calendar, from which we draw our daily lists too – just email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Family and friends will gather Sunday (June 1) in honor of LaVonne Christopherson, and are sharing this remembrance with the community:
LaVonne Christopherson was born on January 21, 1933, in Sioux City, Iowa, to her parents, Louis and Claudia McClaflin. During her young childhood, her family moved to Valley City, North Dakota, where LaVonne became an avid ice skater.
During World War II, LaVonne and her parents moved to Gig Harbor, Washington, for work. Her father was a carpenter, and her mother was a secretary in the logistics department at the Bremerton Naval Shipyard.
After high school, LaVonne worked for Booth Fisheries, where she met and married John “Gordy” Christopherson. They lived in West Seattle in a house overlooking Alki Beach, where they raised two girls, Doreen and Laura.
When the girls were in high school, LaVonne went to work at Seaboard Surety Company in the Bank of America building. LaVonne was active in the community, volunteering many years to stage the West Seattle American Legion Parade.
Throughout her life, LaVonne always had an elegant sense of style. When she retired, LaVonne spent her time on her true passions – being with her family, shopping, and traveling.
LaVonne passed away peacefully on May 19, 2025, at Swedish Hospital, surrounded by her family.
LaVonne is survived by her daughters, Doreen Vague and Laura Souza; her grandchildren, Alexander Vague, Bryan Clarke, and Monique Robbins; and her great-grandchildren, Brayden, Arielle, Olivia, Owen, Declan, and Gianna.
In place of flowers, please honor LaVonne by buying a flashy new pair of shoes, visiting a casino in her name, or donating to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
LaVonne’s memorial service will be held June 1st at Haven of Rest Funeral Home, 8503 State Route 16 W, Gig Harbor, WA.
(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)
West Seattle High School students hosting a “beautify the school” event are inviting donations for their gardening project. Here’s the announcement they asked us to share:
West Seattle High School ASB members Sam Flynn, Jonah Pelander, Charlie Lewis, and Christiano Solis are putting on an event to add beauty and color to the surrounding premises of WSHS through plant life. We’re all very passionate about nature and our community and we would love if fellow community members could support us through donations, specifically to buy plants to plant. We thank you for your time and the impact you will have on the youth.
Here is the link for donations. Thank you for your time.
6:00 AM: Good morning! Welcome to Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunny today, high in the low 70s, and be ready for possible 80s tomorrow! Today’s sunrise was at 5:19 am; sunset will be at 8:54 pm.
ROAD WORK
-Beach Drive work that’s restricting parking by Lowman Beach Park is a continuation of the PSE gas pipeline project, which also has flaggers in action further north.
-At the other end of Beach Drive, in South Alki, street work for the Alki Standby Generator Project is in its next phase, centered at 64th/Beach Drive – details and maps are here, along with what’s next.
TRANSIT TODAY
Water Taxi – Regular West Seattle service; spring/summer schedule, with later-evening sailings Fridays and Saturdays.
Metro buses – Regular schedule today.
Washington State Ferries – Regular service on the Triangle Route, with M/V Kittitas and M/V Cathlamet. M/V Salish serves as the “bonus boat”.
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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