West Seattle, Washington
16 Sunday
Global Smoke and Vape just got robbed again, less than an hour ago. That’s according to police radio, after officers were sent to the 35th/Roxbury store to check out a report that someone there had pushed the panic button. Officers told dispatch the victim(s) described two robbers, one a Black man, in his 20s, 5’5″, wearing a black ski mask, armed with a gun with an extended magazine, the other described only as being 5’9″, wearing a black ski mask and all-black clothing. They were last seen running southbound on 35th.
Two daytime coyote sightings reported this week:
SUNRISE HEIGHTS: Received tonight from Ivy at 31st/Elmgrove:
wanted to report a coyote sighting this morning ~8:45 am, coyote was seen trotting northbound on 31st, on the sidewalk on the east side of the street, then turned right to head east on Elmgrove. I took the video from my car; it was unfazed by my vehicle as well as the person walking their dog on the west sidewalk of 31st.
This appears to be the same coyote that I saw the morning of July 12th, headed northbound on 31st just north of Elmgrove, trotting directly on the street, sadly with a small black dog in its mouth. It turned on Kenyon and headed east.
PIGEON POINT: From a texter on Monday morning:
Saw a coyote on the 3000 block of 21st.
What’s your best course of action if you see one? Here’s what the experts say.
(Photos by Oliver Hamlin for WSB)
While dozens of canoe families leave Alki Thursday morning to continue this year’s Tribal Canoe Journey, the Duwamish Tribe‘s canoe family will be heading out from Blake Island on the second day of their journey. As previewed here, they left Don Armeni Boat Ramp on Wednesday afternoon.
15 people were aboard the canoe Kikisoblu as they headed out.
After they took off, the canoe family passed a group of paddle boarders who raised their paddles in the air, “paddles up,” as a sign of peace and respect.
Then after passing Duwamish Head, they headed into open water and out of sight.
Thanks for the tip and photo. That police response in the 2800 block of SW Raymond this afternoon led to recovery of a stolen car, taken in an armed carjacking north of Columbia City. According to police-radio archives, the carjacking happened at MLK Way and South Adams around 2 pm; at 3 pm, some sort of tracking showed the car’s location and indicated it wasn’t moving. Police went to the location and found the car, which was empty; they deployed a K-9 to try to track whoever had been inside, but so far as we can tell, no one was found. The recovered car, described only as a “gray SUV,” was impounded. We’ll follow up with police tomorrow.
7:03 PM: Avoid the West Seattle low bridge – SDOT has just announced it’s out of service right now because of “mechanical issues.”
7:26 PM: It was one month ago today, the same time of the evening, that the bridge was out of service for about two hours because of “malfunctions.”
8:36 PM: Not fixed yet, and no updates.
9:04 PM: SDOT says it’s “operational” again. However, the live camera still shows red lights and gates down (could be a maritime opening).
9:22 PM: Now the camera shows green lights. We’ll ask SDOT tomorrow what went wrong this time.
The King County ballot drop box in front of the administrative building at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) is one of four official drop boxes in West Seattle, the best places to turn in your ballot before 8 pm next Tuesday (August 4). This is the primary election for most of the people on your ballot, with a few exceptions, including the Seattle Public Library levy, which will be settled in Tuesday’s election. Here’s info about who and what else you’ll see on your ballot.
(First four photos by Anne Higuera for WSB)
1:41 PM: If you’re interested in watching the Native canoe families arrive for the Alki stop on the 2026 Tribal Canoe Journey route to Nisqually, they’re landing now.
More than 20 have come ashore.
3:10 PM: Though dozens of canoe families are here, a few are still on the way. Two canoes from the Suquamish Tribe – who hosted last night’s stopover – and one canoe family identifying themselves as from “Alaska’s only Indian reservation – are the newest arrivals. The canoes will remain on the beach overnight – guarded by uniformed security from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, which is transporting the visiting canoe families to Auburn.
(Photos from here down are by Torin Record-Sand for WSB)
3:29 PM: The landings have concluded, with the Muckleshoot’s own canoe family paddling in, and the Samish arriving too.
The canoe families will depart tomorrow morning, headed for Puyallup, and then this year’s Canoe Journey destination, Nisqually.
(Backstory in our preview.) If you go see the canoes while they’re here, don’t touch, but do look for details like this:
(WSB photo, 2025 AMP concert crowd at Hamilton Viewpoint Park)
One more chance to enjoy outdoor music in a local park, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association! Tomorrow (Thursday, July 30), this year’s Admiral Music in the Parks series closes out with Driftwood Drive bringing classic tunes to Hamilton Viewpoint Park (1120 California SW)! As with this year’s two previous AMP concerts, there’ll be a bike/stroller corral for easy parking, plus a knitting circle, board-game library, and crafts. Show starts at 6:30 pm (and don’t forget to bring a chair, mat, etc.). WSB is a community co-sponsor of the series again this year; we’ll see you there!
(Photo by Bob Burns – players with disc instead of volleyball on Alki)
Here’s our list for the rest of today/tonight, with highlights mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – which you can preview any time:
SUMMER FOOD FOR KIDS: Local sites are open – see our story for locations and other information.
READING WITH TODDLERS: 10:30 am at Paper Boat Booksellers (4522 California SW; WSB sponsor).
SPRAYPARK’S OPEN: Daily-splashing season at the Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale), 11 am-8 pm.
SWIMMING POOL’S OPEN: Daily operations also continue at Colman Pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), noon-7 pm.
WADING POOLS: Two are scheduled today in West Seattle – Delridge, 12-5:30 pm (4501 Delridge Way SW) and Lincoln Park, 12-7 pm (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).
BETTER COMMUNICATION = BETTER CARE: 1 pm workshop at Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon).
BLUE ANGELS’ ARRIVAL: According to a Seafair spokesperson, the support C-130 “Fat Albert” will arrive at Boeing Field around 1 pm, with the Blue Angels’ main performing jets 1-6 due in around 2:30 pm. (If you think you hear them sooner, it’s likely Blue Angels #7, which was scheduled to arrive Tuesday for advance flights today.)
CANOE JOURNEY ARRIVALS: As we’ve been reporting, dozens of tribal/Indigenous canoe families will be landing on Alki Beach as part of this year’s regional Canoe Journey. Most are expected to land 1-3 pm but the time’s approximate so it could be earlier and/or later.
DUWAMISH TRIBE CANOE SENDOFF: Also as reported here, the Duwamish Tribe‘s canoe family will launch this afternoon as part of the Canoe Journey, expected to leave Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW) around 2 pm.
PLAY AMERICAN MAH JONGG: Play indoors this afternoon! 2-4 pm, join players at Missing Piece (4707 California SW).
SUMMER QUEST: Today, 3-5 pm at Delridge Library (5423 Delridge Way SW), learn about keeping a nature journal.
CLIMB AT CAMP LONG: Two special climbing sessions, 5 and 6:30 pm! Our calendar listing has details. (5200 35th SW)
FREE YOGA FOR 12-STEP RECOVERY: Wednesdays this summer, 5-6:30 pm at Inner Alchemy Studio and Sanctuary (3618 SW Alaska), no registration but MUST arrive no later than 4:55 pm.
FIX-IT WORKSHOP: The free (donations appreciated), 5:30-7:30 pm workshop is happening at West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center), and the library is open for borrowing.
WEST SEATTLE URBANISM: Talk about Seattle’s growth – current and future – at the weekly 6 pm meetup – location change this week, the future park site on 40th SW north of SW Edmunds.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT RUN: Join the weekly 6:15 pm group run with West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) tonight – all welcome, all paces.
PRACTICE YOUR SPANISH SPEAKING: New local group of Spanish-language learners, dedicated to practicing it, gathers 6:30-8:30 pm at Mission Cantina (2325 California SW) – details in our calendar listing.
LIVE MUSIC AT THE LOCOL: 6:30 pm. 21+. Rotating performer lineup. (7902 35th SW)
MAD CRAFTY: Bring your project to Revelry Room (4547 California SW), 7-9 pm.
MUSIC BINGO: Weekly music bingo at at The Good Society (California/Lander), 7 pm.
TRIVIA x 5: Five West Seattle trivia venues – Seaside Grill (2820 Alki SW) has 7 pm trivia on Wednesdays, tonight’s theme is “Glee” … Admiral Pub has trivia at 7 pm (2306 California SW) … Larry’s Tavern (3405 California SW) has Wednesday trivia at 7:30 pm … Quiz Night at 8 pm at Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW) … And trivia starts at 8:30 pm at Talarico’s (4718 California SW).
SKYLARK OPEN MIC: West Seattle’s longest-running open mic! 7:30 pm signups for the weekly event at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
SWING IT WEDNESDAY! Swing dancing and live music at 8:15 pm at South Park Hall (1253 S. Cloverdale, South Park).
KARAOKE X 2: In the south end, Megastar Karaoke with KDJ Mythikal at Max’s Triangle Pub (9454 Delridge Way SW), pm … In the north end, sing at Admiral Pub starting at 9, after trivia. (2306 California SW)
Planning an event, class, workshop, etc., that’s open to community participation/observation/visitation? Please send us info so we can add it to West Seattle’s only comprehensive event calendar! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
The photo, report, and request are from Victoria:
This is what I picked up on a single walk in Lincoln Park (last night).
This is the second time in the last week that I’ve gone for a walk in Lincoln Park and, instead of staying on the main path, walked closer to the shoreline. Both times I ended up collecting this much garbage.
I’m hoping it’s mostly being left by visitors to our beautiful Lincoln Park. If it’s from West Seattle residents… shame on you.
I’d like to encourage everyone to keep an eye out and pick up any litter they see before it makes its way into Puget Sound. Every little bit helps. And the best part: there multiple garbage cans in Lincoln Park. It’s that simple!
Next time you’re out for a walk, bring a glove or bag and pick up a few pieces of litter. If enough of us do it, we can make a big impact. And keep our waters clean!
8:05 AM: Crash reported at 26th/Roxbury.
Earlier:
6:02 AM: Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET
The forecast says we’ll see sunshine today with a high in the low 70s. Sunrise was at 5:43 am today; sunset will be at 8:47 pm.
(Tuesday photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
TRANSIT TODAY
Metro buses – Regular weekday schedule; one stop change for the eastbound C Line in The Junction this week as curb-ramp work continues on the southeast corner of California/Alaska (photo above, Tuesday concrete pour).
West Seattle Water Taxi – Regular summer schedule, with extra Friday/Saturday/Sunday runs including later-night schedule Fridays and Saturdays.
Washington State Ferries – Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route is on the regular three-boat schedule, with one note from the alert page:
Eagle Harbor Welders will return Wednesday, July 29, from 08:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to complete their work. During this time we will go back to single lane load/offload at the Fauntleroy Terminal.
This is a followup to unspecified maintenance at midday Tuesday.
BRIDGE TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Here are four bridge views from the SDOT map:
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 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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