West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
If you see work vehicles parked atop the West Seattle Bridge, here’s why – the explanation is from SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson:
We want to let you know that over the next few weeks there will be work vehicles parked on the shoulder of the West Seattle Bridge as our contractor Kraemer North America works on the inspection platforms inside the bridge. This is the final checklist item to finish before we close out their contract.
We would like to reassure the public that there is no cause for concern and the bridge’s structural health monitoring system indicates that the repairs completed in 2022 continue to be holding strong.
Here’s the followup we published last September 17, the two-year anniversary of the bridge’s reopening following a two-and-a-half-year closure.
We start today’s list with a holiday holdover …
(WSB photo by Jason Grotelueschen)
FAUNTLEROY FESTIVAL OF TREES: This morning is your last chance to see the Fauntleroy Church Festival of Trees – some heartwarming, some humorous – and “vote” for your fave(s) with nonperishable food donations. (See the stack on the tree in our photo above, as an example.) Visit the Fellowship Hall before noon today. (9140 California SW)
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME: rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>10:30 am at West Seattle Library (2306 42nd SW).
WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome to this weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayerswsup@gmail.com for info on where (and if!) they’re playing today.
STRONG BODIES, STRONG BONES: 2:30 pm yoga class at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon).
HPCS FOOD-TRUCK VISIT: First of three events tonight at this venue – every Thursday, 4-8 pm, Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW) gets a food-truck visit. Tonight it’s Llama Fusion.
WINE TASTING WITH CLARK: A regular Thursday feature at HPCS, 5-7:30 pm – details here.
HIGHLAND PARK RUN CLUB: You also can run or walk the neighborhood with the Run Club, leaving from HPCS at 6:30 pm – info here.
VISCON CELLARS: The West Seattle winery’s cozy tasting room/wine bar is open 5-9 pm (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor). Stop in for wine by the glass or bottle – including sparkling wine!
WESTIES RUN CLUB: The 6 pm weekly run departs from Future Primitive on Alki (2536 Alki SW).
WALKING FOR WELL-BEING: Meet at 6 pm at 47th/Fauntleroy for a walk in the park.
FREE FITNESS PROGRAMS – INFO NIGHT: At West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor), it’s Info Night for two free fitness programs – 6:30 pm, Get Fit, half-marathon training program for beginners, and 7 pm, Full Fit, novice/intermediate group training for full marathon.
LIVE AT THE SKYLARK: Doors 6, music 7, for Static, Raved by the River, Blue Light, Femmes Eat Fruit. $10. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
WEST SEATTLE BOOK CLUB: Your chance to drop in and read at multiple locations, some with food/drink specials! 7 pm – see the venues in our calendar listing.
TRIVIA: 7 pm at Burger Planet (9614 14th SW).
DJ NIGHT: The weekend starts early at Revelry Room (4547 California SW), with DJ Marc Muller at 8:30 pm.
Planning an event that should be on our calendar and in our daily preview lists? Please email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
8:16 AM: Rescue extrication callout for 6400 block of West Marginal. UPDATE: This was a 2-car collision, but everyone got out of the vehicles before SFD arrival, so the response was dramatically downsized.
Earlier:
6:00 AM: Good morning! Welcome to Thursday, January 2nd, 2025.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
The forecast suggests afternoon rain with high in the mid-40s. Sunrise/sunset – 7:57 am and 4:29 pm.
TRANSIT
Water Taxi – Regular schedule.
Metro buses – Regular schedule.
Washington State Ferries – 2-boat service on the Triangle Route with M/V Issaquah and M/V Cathlamet, plus M/V Tillikum as the “ghost boat.” Check here for last-minute changes.
TRAFFIC FACTORS
*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project shifted traffic flow to the outside lanes on Tuesday as planned, and removed the temporary crosswalk at 39th.
*Amazon workers are expected to be back in the office 5 days a week starting today.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera, followed by the Fauntleroy-end camera:
Spokane Street Viaduct – This view usually looks westward, with eastbound lanes at left and westbound lanes at right:
Low Bridge – Looking west:
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.
See trouble 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!
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
By dusk tonight, all candles on the Torah Learning Center of West Seattle‘s giant menorah at Alki Beach were lit. On the last of Hanukkah’s eight nights, it took Rabbi Eli Duban two tries to get the flames to take – facing toward the south finally worked.
(WSB photos/video from here by Tracy Record)
The rabbi noted that the Hanukkah story shows that even a “small light can dispel a great darkness.”
More than 50 people gathered for the waterfront ceremony organized by Ilana Duban, with music, crafts, and donuts.
After the menorah-lighting, everyone was invited to stay for a “fire show” – a performer dancing with small torches on the promenade.
The Torah Learning Center sponsored other Hanukkah-related activities in the days and weeks leading up to tonight’s gathering, including a story hour and a crafts event.
(Aerial photo by Sly Stewart)
It was as much shrieking as swimming when more than a thousand people ran into and out of Puget Sound along Alki Beach this morning during the 2025 edition of the West Seattle New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim. Here’s our video of what it looked and sounded like, starting with organizer Mark Ufkes leading the countdown through his trusty megaphone:
(WSB video by Tracy Record)
But if you haven’t done the Polar Bear Swim before, these participants’ faces might tell you more of the story:
(This WSB photo and next five are by Dave Gershgorn)
Many participants “swam” in groups – we found athletes from the Chief Sealth International High School girls’ gymnastic team under a canopy pre-swim with coach Chris Troupe – and a portable heater:
(This WSB photo and next two are by Lora Radford)
And of course organizer Mark went in too, as he always does, and was all smiles afterward:
Not everyone just ran in and ran out, though! Some had to stop and pose in the 49-degree water (nine degrees warmer than the air):
(This WSB photo and next two are by Dave Gershgorn)
And some went for total immersion:
(WSB photo by Dave Gershgorn)
P.S. Special Olympics of Washington is bringing its (unrelated except in spirit) Polar Plunge fundraiser back to Alki this year – set your calendar for March 8.
One of the region’s first babies of 2025 was born to a West Seattle couple before the new year was even an hour old! Providence Swedish shared the photo and announcement with WSB:
Mary and Bill Belcher of West Seattle welcomed their second child – an 8.54-pound, 20.5-inch-long baby boy, named Wilder Oak Belcher – at 12:47 a.m, which earned him the distinction of being the first baby born at Providence Swedish First Hill in 2025.
The arrival of Wilder was preceded by 6,231 births at the 114-year-old, nonprofit hospital in 2024.
The Belchers, who have been married for six years, are also parents of a two-year-old daughter named Willow, who was being cared for by her grandmother, Sharon, while Mary labored and delivered in the hospital. The family shared that Mary’s 60-minute labor went smoothly and included a minute between contractions, which allowed them to experience a memorable countdown to midnight with their Labor and Delivery caregivers. The couple added, “We’re overjoyed with the birth and excited to introduce Wilder to his big sister, Willow.”
On New Year’s Eve, USA TODAY reported, “Babies born in 2025, and for the 14 years following, will make up the newest generation, called Generation Beta. Members of Gen Beta, for short, will be the children of younger millennials and older Gen Zers and by 2035, they are estimated to make up at least 16% of the global population. Additionally, many Gen Beta members will likely live into the 22nd century. Babies born in 2025 will be 76 years old when the year 2101 comes around.”
With everything else going on in the area, we have whales too – multiple tips indicate southern residents southbound and transients northbound off west-facing West Seattle.
(WSB photos by Tracy Record)
11:19 AM: Roxbury Safeway isn’t allowing customers inside right now because of a police standoff. At least eight SPD cars are here (though it’s in KCSO jurisdiction). We’re waiting to talk with police about what happened; employees are going in to work in the south side of the store – the situation, which involved an armed person making threats per an employee, is happening in the north end of the store.
11:31 AM: People showing up to shop are still being told the store’s closed because police are holding the suspect at gunpoint. Employees are clearing out again and an officer with a shield has gone in.
11:49 AM The suspect is in custody. A county fire medic unit has arrived.
1:21 PM: Police have released more information. They say it started “nearby” with “a violent assault involving a female victim” and that he “pulled a knife on the victim and threatened her with violence” while “under the influence of methamphetamine.” He turned up inside the Safeway and when police responded, that’s when the standoff started. They say he was arrested for investigation of “felony assault, harassment, and indecent liberties” and after medical evaluation he’s expected to be booked into jail.
2:40 PM: SPD spokesperson Det. Eric Muñoz just answered our two big remaining questions: #1, despite the store being outside the city limits, this was an SPD call because the original incident happened across the street (9400 block of 27th SW), which is inside the city limits; also, the suspect needed medical attention because he “sustained minor injuries during the arrest; less-than-lethal force was used by officers including a Taser deployment. No other people were injured during the arrest.”
(Stadiums’ New Year’s Eve colors, photographed by Doug Eglington)
Welcome to 2025! Here’s some info we hope will be helpful on your New Year’s Day holiday:
BUSES: Metro‘s on the Sunday schedule. (The free rides were just for New Year’s Eve, so fares ARE being collected today.)
WATER TAXI: Not running today.
FERRIES: Weekend schedule on Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route – check for alerts here.
MORE TRANSPORTATION NOTES: No charge for street parking in areas of the city with pay stations … West Seattle-relevant traffic cameras are here; see all cameras citywide via this map.
COFFEE AND RESTAURANT/BAR HOURS: This year, we made lists, though closures for New Year’s are far fewer than for Christmas; open coffee shops are here, open restaurants/bars are here.
GROCERY HOURS TODAY: Three grocery notes for today: Trader Joe’s is closed; PCC West Seattle (WSB sponsor) opens later and closes earlier (9 am-9 pm); Whole Foods opens an hour later, at 9 am.
NEW YEAR’S DAY WALKS: Emerald City Wanderers are hosting New Year’s Day walks, starting at St John the Baptist Episcopal Church. The 5- or 10-kilometer walks are noncompetitive, starting between 9 and noon. There is no fee, though contributions to help cover costs are welcome. Hot soup and snacks will be available after the walks. St John’s is at 3050 California Ave SW.
ALKI POLAR BEAR SWIM: You’re invited to join in the annual tradition of running into Puget Sound with hundreds of others at 10 am sharp, from the beach across from Duke’s, or really, anywhere along the sand – here’s our most-recent reminder.
HANUKKAH’S FINAL NIGHT: The Torah Learning Center of West Seattle will light its giant menorah one last time at 4:30 pm east of Alki Bathhouse, all invited.
OTHER NOTES: Seattle Parks closure info is here … Libraries (city and county) are closed … Solid-waste pickups are on one-day delay for the rest of the week.
If you see/hear news, please text/call 206-293-6302 – we appreciate your tips 24/7/365!
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