West Seattle, Washington
13 Monday
By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
“Think about it as pledging to build a future that you want to see,” said board member Quinn Carr during Thursday night’s annual West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA annual-fundraising-drive kickoff. “We’re building legacies – you may have the next city councilmember or governor here [at the Y]. We’re all getting older, but because of that, we need to prepare the next generation to be the stewards we want to see, so that when it’s our time […] we know we’re in good hands.”
The Thursday night event at the Fauntleroy YMCA site represents the start of the Y’s fundraising season for 2026 into early 2027. This year, they are seeking around $131,250 for various programs.
Though, as event leaders from the West Seattle/Fauntleroy Cleveland King II (branch executive, above left), and Claiborne Bell (WS YMCA board member, above right) joked, they would be happy to take home “50 million dollars.” Dinner and refreshments were served to a full house of around 100 people, many from local West Seattle community organizations as well as the YMCA itself.
The speakers for the evening pointed to four key programs as defining pillars of community contribution from the YMCA. These programs were youth sports, aquatics education, camping and outdoors education, and a recent partnership between the YMCA and the Salvation Army to support survivors of domestic abuse.
The first of these speakers was Jonathan Lee, a coach for various youth sports at the YMCA, who spoke about their importance. He said he has been coaching for more than four years at the YMCA, sometimes even with his own son in the programs. “Coaching younger players at YMCA is a meaningful way to build foundation [for their lives],” he said. “I like to talk a lot about the three Es: energy, effort, and enthusiasm.” These three concepts, he said, were the solid foundation which youth sports provides – something applicable not only to games, but to the future life of the young people he coached. “You can win almost every game with great effort, energy, and enthusiasm. It is hard to win with two of the three, and rare to win with only one.”
The next speaker was Catherine Earley, the aquatics program executive at the YMCA. She provided grim, sobering statistics on the necessity of learning to swim, such as the disparity between racial demographics on the fatal drowning rate, and the fact that drowning is the 5th leading cause of accidental injury death across all ages. “Swimming lessons save lives – participation lowers risk of drowning by 88%,” she said. She noted that the YMCA is America’s largest swimming instructor, teaching more than 13,000 people each year how to swim.
Jason Lane, senior executive director for camping and outdoor programs, spoke about the outdoor programs briefly. He noted that the Greater Seattle YMCA served over 25,000 youth in outdoor programs in 2025, at their locations such as Camp Colman and Camp Orkila. “These programs give kids community awareness, social and emotional intelligence, self-confidence, courage, and wonder for the natural world. They create lifelong roots for an interest in the outdoors and healthy living.” he said. He also highlighted the direct impact fundraising can have: “For every 500 dollars we raise, it can send a single youth for a full week, and 300 dollars do the same for a 3- or 4-day program in environmental education.”
West Seattle/Fauntleroy branch executive Cleveland King stepped up next to talk about the YMCA’s recent efforts to partner with the Salvation Army to help support children and families affected by domestic violence. “For me, it was a no-brainer.” he said. He shared a deeply intimate and personal story about dealing with domestic violence in his youth, moving frequently from house to house in the Seattle area to avoid a violent father. This, he said, gave him a special impetus to look on how to create a partnership to help families suffering from the same issues he faced as a child. “We want these kids to have an escape – to go play sports, to go camping, to go and just learn how to swim. […] We also want these parents to have a chance to escape what they’ve been going through, to come to the Y, work out, relieve stress, and have peace of mind that their kid is safe. It’s really important for me to be able to help someone else, help someone who they don’t have to endure some of the things I had to endure as a child, and to give them a better way.”
Quinn Carr, board member, delivered the closing remarks, which once again highlighted the necessity of these programs. “The aquatics program, camping, domestic violence – all these things have something in common – you are funding and building a foundation for our children.” he said.
The dinner itself also highlighted the contributions of a local community figure. Not only is Claiborne Bell a board member for the West Seattle YMCA, he is also a local entrepreneur. The food was catered from his Distinguished Foods facility, headquartered across the street from the West Seattle Y.
If you’d like to give to the local YMCA as part of their annual fundraiser, you can find their donation page here.
Those soaring sounds provide a preview of The Byrd Ensemble‘s concert, 8 pm Saturday night (March 7) at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. And they’re sponsoring WSB today and tomorrow to amplify a ticket deal – use code WSBLOG when you order your ticket(s) here, and you’ll get a 30 percent discount! The Byrd Ensemble is a professional vocal ensemble directed by Markdavin Obenza and usually featuring about a dozen singers. Here’s what this concert, “Flemish Masters,” is about:
This program features music by seminal composers from the 15th and 16th century Franco-Flemish School: Josquin des Prez, Nicolas Gombert, and Thomas Crecquillon. Accompanying these works are two contemporary pieces by British composers Kerensa Briggs and Gabriel Jackson, whose compositions draws inspiration from Renaissance masterpieces.
Holy Rosary is on the north edge of The Junction, 42nd SW and SW Genesee. Get your ticket(s) here and don’t forget to use the WSBLOG discount code!
6:30 PM: Thanks for the tips. The huge King County Sheriff’s Office response at 25th SW and SW 107th in North Shorewood [vicinity map] is because of a shooting. A man is reported to have shot his brother after a family dispute. While someone left the scene with the victim – intending to go to a Burien hospital, but eventually contacting 911 and now being taken to Harborview with a wound to the abdomen – the suspect was believed to still be in the residence where it happened, and that’s what the big response is about.
7:20 PM: They’re still trying to get him to come out voluntarily, before deploying a warrant to go in. Avoid the area, as they’re keeping traffic away for a considerable distance.
7:48 PM: Though opening and closing doors have been interpreted by deputies as proof that someone’s in the house, now they are also following up on a tip that the suspect is actually in High Point.
8:12 PM: No change – they’re still strategizing outside the North Shorewood house, while following up in High Point (where the tip is reported to have come from the suspect himself).
8:15 PM: The suspect is in custody – near Neighborhood House in High Point, where he told KCSO they would find him. Deputies back at North Shorewood will be searching the house now to be sure all’s well inside.
8:37 PM: A couple of readers have asked about a concurrent KCSO expanded presence at Steve Cox Memorial Park. That was being used as a staging area for some units.
8:55 PM: Back at the original North Shorewood scene, deputies have given the all-clear to reopen the street. We’re trying, meantime, to find out how the victim is doing.
9:06 PM: KCSO isn’t commenting on that, and their official media updates included far less info than we’ve already reported. So we likely won’t have anything more until after the suspect’s first hearing, which would be tomorrow or Monday if he’s booked into jail tonight.
7:19 AM SATURDAY: We just confirmed that the suspect is 18 and is in the King County Jail this morning.
4:21 PM: More news from Highland Park Way hill today – this time, a power outage. More than 2,000 customers are out after, according to a 911 dispatch, tree limb(s) fell on wires at Highland Park Way and Othello. Updates to come.
4:38 PM: SCL confirms “tree/vegetation” as the cause.
5:24 PM: Thanks to Kay Kirkpatrick for the photo! City Light crews are on the scene clearing branches, she reports.
5:26 PM: And moments later, we’re getting reports of restoration. The SCL map shows everyone’s back on.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Ten years after a planned RV “safe lot” in Highland Park was scrapped, a much larger RV/tiny-house site yards away is on a fast track toward opening, and a community meeting last night revealed much more about how its operator plans to manage it.
Glassyard Commons – the site we were first to report on, after discovering the plan in city permit filings in January – will be Seattle’s only RV “safe lot” when it opens on state-owned land at 7201 2nd Avenue SW.
LIHI, which will add Glassyard Commons to its portfolio of tiny-house villages, organized the meeting, held at Georgetown’s New Direction Missionary Baptist Church (different from the similarly named church that is listed as sponsor for Glassyard Commons, New Hope Missionary Baptist). Among many other things attendees learned last night, if a shelter site is “religiously controlled,” it doesn’t need to be rezoned to host this kind of use.
(WSB photos by Macey Wurm)
The meeting’s location also provided a visual reminder of the homelessness crisis and its RV tensions along Seattle streets, with RVs parked across South Homer Street from the church, bordering a park – and lines of ecoblocks along properties to the west, a common preventive measure deployed in unofficial attempts to prevent RV parking.
Our full unedited video of the meeting is atop the story; if you don’t have time to watch, here’s our summary.
Marta Kidane, LIHI’s community-engagement leader, emceed. First speaker was the meeting-host church’s pastor Rev. Lawrence Willis, who said he’s worked with LIHI for 15 years, including five years on their board,
LIHI executive director Sharon Lee said her organization’s current shelter portfolio include 17 tiny-house villages – West Seattle’s Camp Second Chance among them – and five hotel shelters. She touted LIHI’s management of the Salmon Bay Village site for a year and a half, from December 2023 to May 2025 with 28 RVs and 11 tiny houses. (That’s considerably smaller than what’s projected for Glassyard Commons, 72 RVs and 20 tiny houses.) She said Salmon Bay was a success, forced to close because the land owners decided to turn the Interbay site into a pickleball facility.
City policy analyst Jon Grant revealed that Glassyard Commons will be the only RV safe lot in the city – for now – and apparently also the only one in King County. “People in RVs are suffering; they want a way to get out of them.” He described the site as a “stepping stone” for vehicle residents to get into permanent housing; the tiny houses will in some but not all cases be a bridge for people, whose RVs will be hooked up to power upon arrival, as well as drained of fluids, and modified so their bathrooms don’t work (they’d use the provided hygiene facilities instead).
LIHI’s senior construction project manager Matthew White offered more details of the site plan. Since they’re only using part of the WSDOT-owned property, he said, there will be two fences, interior and exterior. All entries will be via the front gate, with 24/7 security (these are paid staff members, Kidane confirmed when we asked, knowing that at sites like CSC security had been the responsibility of resident volunteers). LIHI staffers, including the site manager and three case managers, will have six offices to use. There will also be asphalt paths, security cameras, a kitchen, laundry room, and hygiene facilities with seven showers and eight toilets. And fire extinguishers would be available at least every 75 feet. Also, it’ll have outdoor community areas including smoking zones and picnic tables. Tiny houses, it was noted, all have heating and A/C. As for overall schedule, White said they’re “pushing very hard” to get this up and running in three months.
From operations and case management, Donna Anderson and Victoria Kent discussed details such as “We don’t allow visitors – they can’t come inside or park outside.” (Parking, and even camping, just outside the front gate had been a longtime problem at Camp Second Chance.) Regarding those who fear “this is going to bring crime to the neighborhood,” their contention was “when folks get in and feel safe, they start policing themselves” and even what happens nearby off the premises. Clients will have “individual service plans,” they said, touting that Camp Second Chance has seen 20 housing placements so far this year. Also at the mic were outreach managers Jen Manlief and Jonah Silverstein; they said they’ve been in the area daily, including Highland Park, Westwood, the nearby encampment site cleared on Monday.
The last section of the presentation somewhat dovetailed with Mayor Katie Wilson’s pitch earlier in the week for volunteerism to help with the homelessness crisis. LIHI volunteer manager Amanda Benson said there are multiple ways to support them, including painting and vegetation clearing; Kidane explained the Community Advisory Committee process and again promised one will be set up for Glassyard Commons – email her at marta.kidane@lihi.org
The Q&A period was constrained because, organizers said, they had to end the meeting after an hour because the church had another event scheduled shortly thereafter.
The first questions came from an adjacent property owner who asked about zoning – that’s where the “religious sponsor” information emerged – and contaminated soil on the site; White said they’d see what environmental reports revealed but didn’t seem to worried. Are the every-75-feet fire extinguishers enough? The intent is for them to buy enough time that people could get away from a fire. Other questions included the eligibility requirements; those would include no registered sex offenders, and no one under 18. They are not limiting the RV spaces to vehicle residents who have been in the general area (City Councilmember Rob Saka had previously mentioned some “set asides” but no specifics were offered) – but they expect nearby areas will ultimately see fewer RVs on the street.
Regarding turnover, though, there is no time limit for clients to get out of their RVs: “The goal is for them to come in and go to housing.”
It’s not going to be a completely drug-and-alcohol-free facility, it was disclosed. The only policy regarding drugs and alcohol is that they cannot be used in the public areas. What happens inside individual RVs and tiny houses is not “policed,” said LIHI reps. But recovery services will be available.
Have they done Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design for site planning? White said no, but “we can look into it” – generally their focus has been more on fire safety, and they have an SFD plan for that. Pressed again on the point of crime prevention, they stressed the plan for security staff and that they would have cameras, though no specifics about their location or monitoring plan were offered.
There are 11 businesses nearby – will they be able to visit the site and look around? Kidane promised a tour.
Regarding Glassyard Commons being the only RV lot in Seattle/King County, is that expected to remain true for a while?
Grant replied that “we want to see geographic equity … Our hope is that we can open up more RV programs in the future,” though he indicated they don’t have any target sites yet. “We know we need more.”
WHAT’S NEXT: The construction-permit application for Glassyard Commons remains under review by the city, with more documents filed today, including the full plan set (not available online) and the “religious sponsor MOU” document, which includes more on how the site will be operated
Thursday, we reported on Seattle Fire crews rescuing “two large dogs” from a 30-foot embankment in The Arroyos. It was in an off-the-beaten-path-enough area that there was no way we could get there for photos, so we asked SFD if their crew might make any available. Today, they did, above and below:
We asked SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty if she had any information about the circumstances: “The two dogs escaped from their fenced back yard. It is unclear how they got out of the fenced yard and ended up down the bluff.”
Checking the overnight police log, we noticed what was logged as a robbery response in the Harbor Avenue 7-Eleven vicinity. But as revealed by archived audio and the report narrative we subsequently requested and obtained, it wasn’t a store holdup. A man called police from there to say he’d been beaten and robbed by “acquaintances” he had gone to Alki to hang out with. The victim said he met up with them after taking a rideshare from his home in Des Moines. After they’d “hung out for a while,” the report says, they beat him up and stole his cell phone, shoes, and pants, along with everything in his pockets. They then took off in a vehicle – no description other than “sedan” in the redacted report narrative – and left him behind; he managed to make his way to the 7-11 and call 911. SFD evaluated his injuries, described as including a “laceration above his right eye,” but he didn’t want to be taken to a hospital, so SPD drove him home to Des Moines. If you have any information, the case number is 2026-062578.
11:56 AM: That’s happening on the uphill side of Highland Park Way right now, near the bottom of the hill – firefighters trying to put out what’s logged as a “car fire.” Police are en route to help with traffic control. Avoid the area.
NOON: The live traffic camera in the area shows firefighters appear to have extinguished the fire. Still hard to tell from the angle exactly what it was that burned – whether a trailer or something else. Of note, before it was out, firefighters said over the radio that the hydrant in the area was on the south (downhill) side of the street, so if this had been a protracted firefight, they would have had to shut down both directions of traffic to reach the hydrant with a hose.
A week and a half ago, we brought you Alki resident Charlotte Starck‘s story about her plan to journey to Detroit with a creation that had a place in automotive-industry history as well as family history – a 1930 Fisher Body Napoleonic model coach built by her late grandfather Irvin Starck, a Boeing machinist who put 18,000 hours into it over 55 years. Now Charlotte, her brother Jim Starck, and their special delivery, have arrived.
We asked Charlotte to let us know when she got there so we could publish a followup. She and her brother transported the coach in its container, which her grandfather also built:
Charlotte said the delivery was a two-site adventure:
First we met General Motors Director of Corporate Giving and Heritage Heidi Magyar at the new global headquarters for General Motors. They just moved in mid-January.
Then north 25 minutes to the new GM Heritage Center under construction that is the home for the coach now. We handed off to left to right in top photo) Rebecca Bushman and Chief of Heritage Kevin Kirbitz.
It is by far the most beautiful. They have a few others.
Charlotte adds that they were told theirs is the only known documented 193 inaugural-year coach, and that many historians think the early 1930 Fisher Body Guild coaches might have been the most technically sophisticated youth-craftsmanship-competition objects ever made in the U.S.
P.S. She’s been invited back when the Heritage Center opens.
(Three River Otters off Duwamish Head, photographed by Steven Rice)
Here’s what’s happening today/tonight – mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE GARDEN CENTER Spring gets ever closer! See what’s new at the center, open today, 10 am-3 pm at north end of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus (6000 16th SW).
STAY ‘N’ PLAY: Free indoor playtime for little ones and their caregivers is back at Arbor Heights Community Church (4113 SW 102nd), 10-11:30 am.
BABY STORY TIME: 11 am at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW).
FREE TAX HELP: Drop in at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW) 11 am-4 pm and get free help with your taxes!
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Visit the Log House Museum (61st/Stevens) to learn about and enjoy local history – open noon-4 pm today.
ENGLISH CONVERSATION CIRCLE: Winter session continues at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond), 12:30 pm-2 pm Fridays, no registration required.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE BOOTHS: Second weekend! Look for nearby booth locations and times here. Cookies $6/box this year, except for $7 gluten-free Toffee-tastic.
TASTING ROOM AND WINE BAR: Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) is open 5-9 pm Fridays. Stop in to sip, or buy by the bottle.
OPEN MIC AT THE COFFEEHOUSE: 6-8 pm, perform or watch at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).
LIVE AT KENYON HALL: Fox and Bones featuring Brittany Collins – “offbeat folksters” – 7 pm at Kenyon Hall (7904 35th SW), ticket info here.
HARRY STYLES LISTENING PARTY: 7 pm at Easy Street Records (4559 California SW), be one of the first to hear his new music! All ages, no cover.
CLASSIC BINGO: 7 pm at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), with “Richard, the sassiest host in Seattle.” Free to play. 21+.
LIVE AT THE SKYLARK: Live music with Greg Hoy and the Boys, Full Life Crisis, Square Peg, doors at 7, show at 8. $10 cover. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
SPINNING: Revelry Room is open tonight (4547 California SW), with DJ Tony H, 9 pm.
‘MAKE IT LOUD’ SKATING WITH MUSIC: Tonight, skate to live music with Whalien & Chonk, 9 pm at Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th SW). 21+. $20 cover/$5 skates.
If you have something to showcase on our event lists or ongoing calendar, please email what/when/where/etc. info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Among the spring high-school sports that get going this month is water polo, and the West Seattle girls’ club – which welcomes swimmers from any high school – is ready for another year, starting with their third annual Tread-a-Thon fundraiser – here’s what team supporters sent for us to share with you:
Now that the Super Bowl and the Olympics are over, fear not! West Seattle Girls Water Polo season is starting! The team started practices on Monday, March 2nd and will be having their annual fundraiser on Saturday, Marcj 7th, 3:30-5:10 pm at Southwest Pool. Players will tread water for 100 minutes without touching the bottom or sides of the pool and without using flotation devices. They will quickly pivot to competition, with their first game away at Ingraham HS on March 18th after they warm up during the Jamboree on March 14th.The girls formed this team two years ago and had a successful inaugural season after gaining permission from the league to play, but no funds were provided by the school or district for the team. Last year, the team placed 7th in state while all the teams in the district had to manage a 30% increase in pool rental fees. This year, the league has increased the number of home games each team hosts by 50%, so more water polo, but more expenses. Donations will fund scholarships, pay for pool-rental time, league fees, and equipment.
Girls from any high school are welcome to join the team. Head Coach Steve McKinnon and Assistant Coach Cam Rantz are ready to quickly bring new players to proficiency. Practices will be 2 mornings per week before school with home games on Thursday evening. Practices started this week and the season runs through late May with 12 players, including our first player from Vashon Island High School.
For more information, email wshswaterpolo@gmail.com.
Donations gratefully accepted at this link: https://paybee.io/@wswaterpolo@2
WSB was there three years ago when then-aspiring water-polo club founders made their pitch to our area’s then-School Board Director Leslie Harris, a big step toward making the club-creation dream come true.
8:55 AM: If you wondered about the Metro alert for a “fire response in Delridge” potentially delaying the H Line, that’s a medical response for a suspected overdose at Cottage Grove Commons on the northbound side of the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW and the patient is being transported so it’ll likely clear soon.
Earlier:
6:01 AM: Good morning! Welcome to Friday, March 6, 2026.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET + TIME CHANGE
More rain, says the forecast – high in the low 50s. Sunrise at 6:39 am; sunset at 6:01 pm. (Starting Sunday, sunsets will move to after 7 pm following the time change at 2 am that day to “spring forward” an hour!)
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
1ST AVENUE S. BRIDGE ALERT UPDATE
Two lanes are still closed on the NB side of this bridge, and the speed limit remains 25 mph. WSDOT delivered its update Wednesday with three main points: #1, the northbound bridge will be closed next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for temporary repairs; #2, starting sometime in the second half of April, a longer NB closure for the second phase of repairs; next year, full replacement of the NB bridge deck. Here’s our Thursday followup with more information, including closure-related detouring next week.
TRANSIT TODAY
West Seattle Water Taxi – Regular West Seattle service, winter schedule.
Washington State Ferries – Check WSF’s alert page for any changes to the 3-boat schedule.
Metro buses – Regular weekday schedule and routes.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
High Bridge – Here’s the main camera, followed by the Fauntleroy-end camera:
Low Bridge – Here’s the westward view. Also note, maritime-opening info is available via X (ex-Twitter):
1st Avenue South Bridge (see the expanded WSDOT alert above):
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!
Though they haven’t found any shell casings or bullet damage, police have confirmed that someone saw a person fire a gun from a silver car near 31st and Cloverdale [map] less than half an hour ago. No injuries reported, either. Moments before that report came in, 911 had received another report of possible shots – apparently just heard, not seen – near the 8100 block of 14th SW, though offices told dispatch that seemed too far awa to have been from the same incident.
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