Ferry-dock meeting, West Seattle Big Band, play along with WS Community Orchestras, more for your Tuesday

(Reader photo, Luna/Anchor Park)

Here’s what’s up for the rest of today/tonight, as listed on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (send us your event any time – westseattleblog@gmail.com):

FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Our calendar listing has information on where and when kids 1-18 can get free food.

POSTCARDS4DEMOCRACY: Advocacy from afar, 10:30 am-noon every Tuesday at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).

COLMAN POOL: Continued daily operations for the outdoor heated-salt-water pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), noon-7 pm – session times are on the Colman Pool webpage.

LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL: Also at Lincoln Park, the 7-day-a-week wading pool is open today, noon-7 pm, in the central upper part of the park near the north play area.

CHESS CLUB: Tuesdays 1:30-3 pm, at the Center for Active Living (4217 SW Oregon). All levels welcome. (Questions? Email conwell@conwelld.net.)

CITY COUNCIL: 2 pm weekly meeting, with public comment in person or online – the agenda explains how. Watch via Seattle Channel.

DEMONSTRATION FOR BLACK LIVES: Long-running weekly sign-waving demonstration continues on the corners at 16th/Holden. 5-6 pm. Signs available if you don’t bring your own.

FERRY TERMINAL COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP: 6 pm online, public invited to observe (but no Q/A/comment period) at the next meeting of the group providing feedback on the ongoing planning for replacing/expanding the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. You can register here to get the link.

PLAY ALONG IN THE PARK WITH WSCO: 6 pm at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), the second night this summer you can bring your instrument to play along with the West Seattle Community Orchestras – or just listen in! Off the north parking lot. Our calendar listing includes a link for players to preregister.

STORYTIME IN THE GARDEN: 6 pm Tuesdays all summer, bring the little one(s) to Delridge P-Patch (5078 25th SW) for storytime plus a garden activity.

SCRABBLE NIGHT: 6-10 pm tonight, play Scrabble at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW).

FREE TRACK RUN: All runners welcome! Gather at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) for this free weekly run at 6:15 pm.

MAKE POTTERY: 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).

WEST SEATTLE BIG BAND CONCERT: The West Seattle Big Band‘s annual free Concert in the Park, brought to you by the West Seattle Grand Parade, is at 7 pm at High Point Commons Park (Graham/Lanham) – bring your own chair/blanket/picnic!

BINGO AT THE SKYLARK: Play – free! – weekly Belle of the Balls Bingo hosted by Cookie Couture, 7 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)

WEST SEATTLE PFLAG: Third Tuesdays at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill), 7 pm. (Check with the church before you go in case there’s a summer schedule change.)

TRIVIA X 4: Four places to play Tuesday nights – 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).

Event coming up? Are community members invited? Tell your West Seattle neighbors via our event calendar – please email the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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Run the route! Parade-preceding Float Dodger 5K, starring you, just four days away

July 16, 2024 9:04 am

| 0 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | How to help | West Seattle news | WS & Sports

(WSB file photo, Float Dodger 5K)

Saturday brings the 10th anniversary of the 5K that’s the opening act for the West Seattle Grand Parade – the Float Dodger 5K. You can run or walk the parade route, from Admiral to The Junction and back, and then enjoy a root-beer float as parade time approaches. Costumes welcome for Float Dodger, too (but not mandatory). Best of all, your entry fee supports the West Seattle Food Bank – the 5K’s organizers at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) set it up as a fundraiser, so the more people are in it, the more $ for WSFB in its work providing not only food but also emergency assistance to keep people from becoming homeless. The Float Dodger 5K starts at 9:30 am Saturday, with a free Kids’ Dash before it, at 8:45 am. Register for either or both here!

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER, ROAD WORK: Tuesday begins

July 16, 2024 6:00 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Tuesday, July 16.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

The forecast: Sunny, high in the low 80s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:28 am, while sunset will be at 9:01 pm.

ROAD WORK

*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project has begun; here are more specifics. Fairmount Avenue is now closed under the bridge for the duration of the project, likely into early 2025.

*SDOT’s Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project also continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.

*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch.

SATURDAY CLOSURES FOR PARADE AND 5K

Early reminder – Saturday brings the West Seattle Grand Parade and Float Dodger 5K on California SW between Admiral and The Junction, and that means street closures (including some side streets for staging) – heed the no-parking signs, because those who don’t WILL be towed.

PSA: SCHOOL ZONES

A reader suggested the reminder that some school-zone beacons – and speed cameras – are operating throughout the summer, so don’t ignore them.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Back to regular schedules; check for advisories here.

Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route, and the unscheduled third boat may should be back, per WSF.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS (Minus the ones that were still down early today)

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.

South Park Bridge:

1st Avenue South Bridge:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are open for vessel traffic.

If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/water, please text or call our hotline (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if they’re not already on scene) – 206-293-6302. Thank you!

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WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Black BMW SUV taken in Alki carjacking (updated location)

July 16, 2024 1:32 am

| 3 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

1:32 AM: Police are investigating a carjacking reported a short time ago. A black 2009 BMW X5 SUV was reported to have been taken at gunpoint by four people described as Hispanic, male, all in black ski masks, all with guns. They are reported to have arrived at the scene in an “older model” tan Audi. No plate information yet. Police are talking with the victims in the 1000 block of Harbor SW but we’re still checking for confirmation of the exact carjacking location. This is the second West Seattle carjacking in less than a week.

2:07 AM: Location confirmed as 1000 block of Harbor. And dispatch has obtained and broadcast the stolen car’s plate #: CKG0766. If you have any information for the investigation, the incident # is 24-195654.

10:01 AM: We followed up with SPD, which tells us that although the call was logged as 1000 Harbor, it happened further west on Alki. Here’s the narrative they sent in response to our request:

On July 16, Seattle police responded to the 2600 block of Alki Avenue SW for the report of an armed robbery. The incident occurred at about 1:19 a.m. A 41-year-old man reported that he was parked in an SUV when a sedan with four men inside pulled up next to him. The victim said the four men exited the vehicle and one told him to get out of his SUV. The victim was held at gunpoint and the suspects demanded his keys and took his other belongings. The suspects drove away in his SUV and in the sedan. The vehicles have not been found.

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CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Suspect in home-burglary attempts remains in jail

July 15, 2024 10:33 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news

Over the weekend, we published video from a reader reporting a man had tried to get into their home in south Highland Park early Saturday morning. Via comments, we learned that wasn’t the only attempt in that area that morning, and that a suspect had been arrested. Today we followed up. First with police, who confirmed that they had responded to an attempted burglary report around 1:20 am Saturday in the 8100 block of 13th Avenue SW, after a woman “reported a man with knives tried to break into her front door.” An SPD spokesperson added, “Several other people in the area also reported similar incidents during this time. Officers found the suspect walking nearby and after a brief foot pursuit, a 33-year-old man was taken into custody and booked into the King County Jail.”

Tonight, that man remains in custody, in lieu of $7,500 bail. Court records show he was arrested and charged for similar break-in attempts in a South Delridge apartment building last December. After he spent almost two months in jail, the case was dismissed in February, for the lack of “a civilian witness,” according to the court file. He has a conviction from a case in late 2022 in which he was charged with harassment for threatening a woman in White Center, while on a vandalism rampage using a knife to damage cars. He eventually pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor and received a suspended sentence, though he already had spent months in jail. For the current case, the jail docket isn’t clear on whether his case is being handled by the City Attorney’s Office – Municipal Court – or the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – Superior Court. We hope to clarify tomorrow.

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PREVIEW: Two West Seattle outdoor concerts in the next three nights!

July 15, 2024 8:55 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks | WS culture/arts

Ready to take a chair, blanket, and/or picnic dinner to the park for a free concert? You have two chances in the next three nights:

(WSB photo, 2022 Big Band Concert in the Park)

TUESDAY – BIG BAND CONCERT IN THE PARK: 7 pm tomorrow (July 16), High Point
Commons Park (Lanham and Graham) fills with the swinging sounds of the West Seattle Big Band, directed by Jim Edwards. The park concert is a midsummer tradition, sponsored by the West Seattle Grand Parade. This is the 27th year!

THURSDAY – ADMIRAL MUSIC IN THE PARKS, CONCERT #1: 6:30 pm Thursday (July 18), one of this year’s three new venues (plus a new name) for the concert series presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association – this show is at Belvedere Park (3600 SW Admiral Way), with Troy Aylesworth and The Potholes. Also new, you can order a picnic spread in advance from Soirée, to be delivered to the park!

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BIZNOTE: After 35 years, Luna Park Café’s proprietor is ordering up a successor

July 15, 2024 4:45 pm

| 41 COMMENTS

| Luna Park | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

(File photo)

One of West Seattle’s longest-running restaurants has put in an order for a new owner. Luna Park Café owner John Bennett tells WSB that he’s put his legendary burgers-and-breakfast (among other things) restaurant on the market. “It was a tough decision to make after 35 years, but it’s time to pass the torch,” Bennett says. “I am looking for someone who will keep it going as it is for another 35 years or more. The restaurant is doing well and I think someone could step in and take it over without skipping a beat.” He’s keeping it open while it’s on the market so the “new owner can come right in and take over. I’ve got a great staff there and I want to make sure that they can stay and hopefully the restaurant will stay the same.” If somehow you haven’t been, it’s not just about the food and beverages (including famous milkshakes) but also the quirky decor.

(WSB photo, 2023)

(And the history!) If you’re potentially interested, you can contact Bennett at 206-227-1950 or bennettproperties@comcast.net. You can see the listing here.

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GIVING: Center For Active Living gets a gift from Impact West Seattle – plus, a new website

July 15, 2024 4:13 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| How to help | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

The report and photo are from Center For Active Living executive director Amy Lee Derenthal:

We were the fortunate recipients of a $18,400 gift from Impact West Seattle and we’re so very thankful for their support of the work we are doing in the community for people 50+. This funding will help pay for the 40+ programs and services we have happening in our building each week. Here’s our new website showing the programming they are supporting: wscenter.org.

Impact West Seattle is a coalition of women in West Seattle who use our collective giving and action to make an impact on the social, economic and environmental issues facing our region. They are always looking for more women to join, and they also meet here at The Center on a quarterly basis. We have a longtime relationship with these women, who are supporting so many of our local non-profits.

A huge THANK YOU to Impact West Seattle for this funding!

You can find out more about Impact West Seattle here. And you can donate to the Center For Active Living any time here.

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Diver to hospital after incident off Seacrest

July 15, 2024 2:18 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

In this morning’s traffic roundup, we briefly mentioned SFD units blocking part of Harbor Avenue because of a medical response at Seacrest. Though the callout was not listed as a water rescue, we later learned from readers in the area that the person who was treated by SFD medics had been diving. Dispatch audio indicated he was unconscious when brought out of the water around 9 am. Radio exchanges also indicated that he would be taken to Virginia Mason Hospital, which has a hyperbaric chamber. Seattle Fire spokesperson David Cuerpo tells WSB that the 63-year-old man was assessed as being in critical condition when transported to VM.

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New signs at Don Armeni Boat Ramp

July 15, 2024 1:21 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Thanks to Stewart L. for the tip and the photo above. Part of the city effort to rein in problems along Alki/Harbor Avenues has been signage, and here’s more. He says these signs were installed Friday or early Saturday at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, which has become more of a hotspot for trouble from stunt driving all the way to murder (two unsolved shooting deaths at or near the park in 13 months).

(WSB photo)

Police have been stationed at the park on some nights as well.

P.S. Our archives remind us that this isn’t the first time signage has been added in hopes of tamping down on some problems at the boat-ramp park.

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FOLLOWUP: Progress at Lincoln Park South Play Area

July 15, 2024 11:56 am

| 14 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

11:56 AM: Thanks to Tom Trulin for the photos taken today as the years-overdue Lincoln Park South Play Area replacement enters the home stretch. Seattle Parks most recently told us it would be complete this month. Tom’s photos show some of the marine-theme features in the design created with community input six years ago.

This past Friday marked seven years since the old south play area’s shutdown because of safety concerns from wood damage.

At the time in July 2017, Parks said it might take a year to fix or replace the damaged structure. We’re checking to see if they have an official projected opening date yet, now that this appears to be down to the final stages of construction.

4:56 PM: Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor replies, “We are working through some final construction items. We should have a better idea early next week on an opening date.”

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The list for your West Seattle Monday (updated)

July 15, 2024 9:40 am

| 0 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Prolific jasmine, photographed by Jerry Simmons)

As the summer fun and summer sun take a brief break this morning, here’s today’s highlight list, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

FREE SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Available different times and locations – here’s the local list.

COLMAN POOL: The outdoor heated-salt-water pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) is open noon-7 pm – session times are on the Colman Pool webpage.

LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL: Also at Lincoln Park, since it’s expected to be warm again this afternoon, the 7-day-a-week wading pool will be open today noon-7 pm, in the central upper part of the park near the north play area.

BABY STORY TIME: Bring little ones up to 2 years old to Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), noon-12:30 pm, for story time!

CITY COUNCIL BRIEFING MEETING: 2 pm at City Hall, the weekly meeting in which councilmembers talk about their plans for the week ahead. Here’s the agenda. Watch live via Seattle Channel.

GET CRAFTY: 6-10 pm, Monday brings “Crafting and Creativity Night” at The Missing Piece (9456 35th SW), info here.

D&D: Weekly D&D at 6:30 pm at Meeples Games (3727 California SW). All welcome, first-time players too.

HAND-BUILD CLAY ANIMALS: 6:30 pm at The Clay Cauldron (5214 Delridge Way SW) – registration info is in our calendar listing.

(added) COMEDY TONIGHT: From the folks at Cozy Comedy:

Where: Otter on the Rocks (4210 Admiral Way)
When: 7 pm show start
Who: A comedy show with 3 up and coming feature act comedians; all of which are comedy competition and comedy club veterans!
Link to tickets MONDAY NIGHT TRIVIA! Three places to play on Mondays – 7 pm at The Good Society (California/Lander); 7 and 8 pm Sporcle Pub Quiz at Three 9 Lounge (4505 39th SW); 7:30 pm with QuizFix at The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW)

MEDITATION IN FAUNTLEROY: All welcome at free weekly Zen sitting/meditation in the chapel at Fauntleroy UCC (9140 California SW), 7 pm-8:30 pm.

MEDITATION IN ALKI: The Alki Dharma Community hosts meditation at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds), 7-8:30 pm.

MUSIC AT THE ALLEY: Live music with The Westside Trio, 8 pm at The Alley (behind 4509 California SW), 21+, no cover.

KARAOKE: 9 pm start for Monday night karaoke at Talarico’s Pizzeria (4718 California SW).

If you have a West Seattle/White Center event to add to our calendar, please send the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

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TRAFFIC, TRANSIT, WEATHER, ROAD WORK: Post-festival Monday

July 15, 2024 6:03 am

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

9:24 AM: There’s a car-fire response at Highland Park Way and West Marginal, and per police radio, the response is blocking HP Way both ways. (Added – it was a truck – we passed by and saw the aftermath:)

9:33 AM: Harbor northbound is blocked near Seacrest because of an SFD medical response.

9:59 AM: Harbor has reopened. So has at least one lane on HP Way.

Earlier:

6:03 AM: Good morning! It’s Monday, July 15. Street closures and bus reroutes for West Seattle Summer Fest are over.

WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES

The forecast: Some clouds, then clearing, high in the low 80s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:27 am, while sunset will be at 9:02 pm.

ROAD WORK

*The Admiral Way Bridge seismic project has begun; here are more specifics. Fairmount Avenue is now closed under the bridge for the duration of the project, likely into early 2025.

*SDOT’s Delridge pedestrian-bridge earthquake-safety project also continues, with narrowing at Delridge/Oregon.

*Beach Drive: Gas-pipeline work continues at spots along the southern stretch.

PSA: SCHOOL ZONES

One reader wanted us to remind you that some school-zone beacons – and speed cameras – are operating throughout the summer, and that’s not a mistake.

TRANSIT NOTES

Metro today – Back to regular schedules; check for advisories here.

Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you need to see where the boat is.

Washington State Ferries today – The usual 2 boats on the Triangle Route, and the unscheduled third boat may should be back, per WSF.

SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS (Minus the ones that were still down early today)

South Park Bridge:

1st Avenue South Bridge:

MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: All functioning traffic cams citywide are here; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.

BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are open for vessel traffic.

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UPDATE: Hit-run driver injures pedestrian near Westwood Village

July 15, 2024 12:11 am

| 28 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle people | Westwood

12:11 AM: Police are investigating what’s reported as a collision near Westwood Village involving a driver hitting a pedestrian in the 25th/Barton vicinity in the past half-hour, then leaving the scene. The initial description of the vehicle was only “black sedan.” The pedestrian is reported to have a serious leg injury.

12:18 AM: Dispatch has been told they’re taking the victim to Harborview Medical Center.

10:01 AM: SFD tells us the pedestrian is a woman in her mid-30s and that she was in stable condition when transported.

ADDED WEDNESDAY: Here’s the SPD summary:

At 2347 hours, a witness called 911 Dispatch (CARE) to report a vehicle vs pedestrian collision in the 2500 block SW Barton St. Officers arrived in the area and located the victim lying in the roadway with obvious injuries. The witness stated he observed the victim crawling across the roadway when a dark colored sedan struck her and continued without stopping. SFD arrived and treated the victim who was transported to HMC.

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Artist seeking your words of support to prevent West Seattle sculpture from ‘becoming a corpse’ (updated Tuesday)

July 14, 2024 9:26 pm

| 18 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

The artist who created an iconic West Seattle sculpture is asking for support in his quest to save it from being demolished instead of replaced.

(Photo courtesy Don Fels)

That’s the Paragon, installed more than 20 years ago at what’s now known as həʔapus Village Park and Shoreline Habitat (formerly T-107 Park) along West Marginal Way near the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse. We heard from artist Don Fels over the weekend – he explains that this dates back to when he was the lead artist on the West Seattle Cultural Trail on Alki 25+ years ago – and continued it down West Marginal Way. He picks up the story from there, in the email he sent us explaining why he’s asking for community words of support:

I created three sculptures there, including the Geo-Slice, which tells the geomorphic history of the site, and the Paragon, which features a scaled-down wooden framework of a halibut schooner designed and built in Seattle in 1923. The sculpture is now in mortal danger!

The sculpture was a broad ranging collaboration between me, the Port of Seattle, the City of Seattle, the Center for Wooden Boats, Seattle City Light and people from the Croatian community of West Seattle. I obtained the plans for the original Paragon, which is still fishing up in Alaska, and then Michael Vlahovich, a third-generation boat builder, whose grandmother lived on the site, built the wooden ‘boat’ with his boat-building students at Bates Technical College.

Under the boat are several panels giving the history of the site- telling how the Native people who lived and fished there were forced out by destruction of the habitat, how immigrants from (the then) Yugoslavia, Greece, and Italy moved in, often squatting, to live and build boats. The Port bulldozed down their settlement, which even though the Port arranged to have the sculpture created on the site, they let me acknowledge in the text I produced for the sculpture.

Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture was charged with maintaining the wood boat structure, which they failed to do. There is now considerable rot and it is infested with carpenter ants. Suddenly, their solution to years of their neglect: tear it down. To counter that very real threat, I am organizing a rebuild of the wooden boat (the steel and concrete structure is sound). In very short order I have garnered support from the Center for Wooden Boats, the Burke Museum, the Port of Seattle, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, Allied Arts, and thanks to the great help from Ken (Workman), the Duwamish Tribe. I continue to reach out to other potential partners, and am certain there will be many others.

At present we are planning for a community rebuilding of the boat next year. I would WELCOME volunteers, donations of materials, etc etc. But for now I’m looking to get letters from the community sent to the Office of Arts and Culture from people who want the sculpture to remain and be fixed up. They can be directed to the Deputy Director, Kelly Davidson. Her email is Kelly.Davidson@seattle.gov.

Fels is meeting with her on Tuesday morning and adds, “If anyone feels compelled to write her, it would be wonderfully helpful if they did so before then, so that she sees there is real support to save the sculpture. I want them to take ‘deaccessioning’ (i.e. destroying it) off their agenda. This is very important ASAP, because once they officially stamp it ‘deaccessioned,’ the sculpture goes from being an artwork to a corpse.” If you can spare a moment to email Kelly Davidson, Don adds, please cc him, at donatofels@gmail.com.

ADDED TUESDAY MIDDAY: Here’s the statement we received from the Office of Arts and Culture:

The Office of Arts & Culture envisions a city driven by creativity that provides the opportunity for everyone to engage in diverse arts and cultural experiences. Deaccessioning artworks is always a last resort. The first priority of any public artwork commission is to ensure that there is no risk to the public if the structure were to break apart or collapse.

Don Fels’ Paragon has stood at həʔapus Village Park & Shoreline Habitat since 2001, honoring its surrounding communities. It is one of 400 art works in the Seattle Civic Art Collection, each of which requires maintenance. The Office of Arts and Culture has maintained the structure over the years, however, Seattle’s rainy climate, the passage of time (23 years) and the original materials used in Paragon have resulted in this very natural outcome. We look forward to meeting with Mr. Fels this week to discuss the options for potentially saving the current structure. (Indeed, we will be meeting with Mr. Fels later this morning). That said, the structure is currently a significant safety hazard that must be addressed as soon as possible.

Anytime people are moved by art, we consider our mission successful.That you all feel passionate about this artwork to write to us and save it makes us proud.

Gülgün Kayim
Director, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

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WEST SEATTLE WEEKEND SCENE: The peninsula’s own STP ride

July 14, 2024 6:59 pm

| 0 COMMENTS

| Fun stuff to do | Transportation | West Seattle news

Thanks to Al for sending the photo and report on West Seattle Bike Connections‘ “Little STP” ride today:

Here’s the photo from the end of today’s WSSTP … 27 people, 26 pedalers, and one fantastic time!

As previewed here, the “little STP” is WS Bike Connections’ annual riff off the Seattle to Portland (STP) ride that’s also happening this weekend – this one goes from SW Seattle Street in North Admiral to SW Portland Street in Gatewood, with the option for riders to then go back to The Junction to visit West Seattle Summer Fest.

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UPDATE: Gunfire investigation at 35th/Morgan

July 14, 2024 4:24 pm

| 15 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

4:24 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are converging for what SFD has classified as a “scenes of violence” response at 35th/Morgan. Updates to come.

4:28 PM: Police have just told dispatch they haven’t found a victim yet. So the SFD response has been closed. We have a crew en route to find out what the initial report was.

4:32 PM: The initial call appears to have involved gunfire, according to another radio exchange. A K9 team was on their way.

4:37 PM: Police confirmed to us on scene that they’re investigating gunfire but so far no one has been found hit/hurt. They’re investigating on the east side of the 35th/Morgan intersection, which is blocked, so avoid the area.

5:17 PM: Just went through 35th/Morgan on our way back from Summer Fest. The intersection is now fully open, no police in sight.

6:13 PM: Listening back to archived police radio from around time of this dispatch, we so far have not found descriptions of the circumstances or shooter/s, but a mention that officers found at least four casings, and that “suspects” were last seen southbound on 34th. The incident #, if you have any information, is 24-194122.

ADDED MONDAY: We followed up with SPD, and received this summary:

On July 14, Seattle police responded to the area of 35th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street for shots fired at about 4:12 p.m. It was reported one man fired a shot toward another man and they both left the area. A wall of a nearby building had several holes from the gunshots and shell casings were recovered. A King County Sheriff’s Office K9 was called to the scene. No suspect or shooting victim was located.

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UPDATE: Fire callout on 14th SW

July 14, 2024 4:18 pm

| 0 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

4:18 PM: Thanks for the tip! A midsize Seattle Fire callout is on scene in the 9200 block of 14th SW. Texter reports, “Fire Dept callout on 14th is a fire on the back deck. Fire escaped the grill and caught deck and nearby tree on fire.”

5:05 PM: The call is closed. We’ll follow up with SFD.

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AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE: West Seattle Summer Fest, day 3!

July 14, 2024 10:20 am

| 12 COMMENTS

| West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineup … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes … previous WSB coverage here)

10:20 AM: West Seattle Summer Fest‘s third and final day is on! Managing a festival involves a lot of tasks large and small – above, that’s Stacie Woods, event director for the West Seattle Junction Association (which presents Summer Fest) writing the stage lineup on a chalkboard out front of the Info Booth. We’re on the north side, WSJA volunteers with merch are on the west side, and SPD crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite is back with free steering-wheel locks (32 of them, while they last – they’re going fast!) and other swag until 1 pm.

If you don’t get to the festival today, you can email Jennifer to get one at the precinct. … If you’ve missed previous mentions, the Farmers’ Market is NORTH OF SW OREGON today, since there’s no main-stage music today, just the West Side Stage (in Junction Plaza Park) plus buskers – the band Better As Brass will be starting soon on the east side of California just north of Alaska. More coverage to come – the festival is on until 5 pm today!

11:11 AM: One more reminder – Farmers’ Market vendors are north of Oregon today – one block north of their usual spot. We just strolled through and saw all the usual favorites. Also along the way, the north face painter (there’s also one on the south block, both midblock) – busy!

Bringing your pup to the festival? They can cool off in the mini-pools outside Next to Nature on the west side of California a bit north of Alaska:

11:35 AM: Better As Brass is taking a break (after their last set included street-band versions of Britney Spears‘s “Toxic” and The Eurhythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams”) but will resume playing soon! We recorded a bit of their opening set:

12:01 PM: You have another hour and a half to go contribute to the community mural that Stacey Sterling is leading in Junction Plaza Park:

Stacey tells us you can help paint until 1:30 pm. After that, the mural-in-progress will be available for viewing only, until the festival ends at 5 pm. Also in the park, The Potholes’ second show of the festival is happening right now on the West Side Stage. … Up on the north block (between Oregon and Alaska), east side, look for the West Seattle Food Bank‘s booth to get your $10 raffle ticket that is also a discount coupon for some local venues, as we explained Thursday:

Back here at the Info Booth, SPD has now given away all the steering-wheel locks they brought (but, again, there’s more at the precinct, so contact Jennifer).

1:06 PM: Over at the Kids’ Zone, Tilden School (WSB sponsor) is in charge today:

If you’re just plugging into festival info today – new at the Kids’ Zone are the “foam party” and arcade games (courtesy of West Seattle Arcade, which is hoping to open its new Gary’s Place at 2820 Alki in September). … New shift for nonprofits here at the Info Booth – Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network on the east side….

… and WestSide Baby on the south side.

1:28 PM: Half an hour left to get to the Farmers’ Market, if you’re hoping to shop there today – their hours are the same as always today, until 2 pm, though the location is different. … On the West Side Stage this hour, we caught a bit of Cellobration – whose music is exactly what you’d guess from their name:

2:24 PM: Just two and a half hours left to get here if you haven’t already visited. We’ve enjoyed seeing so many people we haven’t seen in years – so much of our communicating is done via email and texts – and it’s been great to meet more of the people who send photos and tips, which is why we call WSB a community-collaborative news site. (westseattleblog@gmail.com and/or 206-293-6302, text/voice – we’ve had that number since launching WSB as a business in summer 2007). … Casey Freedom, second-to-last musical performer of the festival, is on the West Side Stage right now, and the final band, Annie O’Neill w/ Jim and Beth Wulff, is coming up at 3. … Roaming here at California/Alaska a few minutes ago, the robot you otherwise can visit in the Kids’ Zone (SW Alaska west of California):

The Kids’ Zone also has visitors from the Pacific Science Center today with an engineering-themed exhibit.

3:20 PM: Last musical act of Summer Fest (not counting the scattered buskers), Annie O’Neill with Jim and Beth Wulff, is onstage at Junction Plaza Park right now:

Meantime, the biggest food-related question we’ve received is where to find Dirty Dogs. They’re up near California/Oregon, where you’ll find a few additional food vendors beyond what’s in the “official” food zone on Alaska east of California. Another big food question – where to find ice cream – one local option is the Shug’s cart in the official food zone (visiting from Shug’s Mini at California/Charlestown); Seattle Pops is over in the Kids’ Zone; there are others too.

4 PM: Final hour of Summer Fest 2024! We just took one more stroll through the vendors. Stopped again at the Author Event Network booth (west side of the block between Oregon and Alaska), which – as we mentioned in Friday coverage – has been hosting independent authors all weekend. There right now – Irina Van Patten and Guy Morris.

You can read about Irina’s books here – she’s written memoirs about being an immigrant – and Guy’s books – which he describes as “intelligent thrillers” – here. … Not far from the Author Event Network booth, a nice shaded place to sit and enjoy a beverage – The Beer Junction:

If you’re here – music’s done – but the vendors and food/drink are still open for business!

4:58 PM: A final view looking north from California/Alaska:

It’ll take at least several hours to break down all the booths, cables, signage, and everything else that it took to build a festival, so the streets through the heart of The Junction will remain closed until late tonight. Thanks to everyone who was part of the festival, whether a vendor, visitor, volunteer, production crew member, and/or Junction business owner/staffer … it’s been another fun three-day extravaganza!

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