West Seattle, Washington
12 Wednesday
Thanks to John for the tip: Demolition is under way at the site of Junction Landing, the four-story, 62-apartment, 26-offstreet-parking-space project approved earlier this fall for 4417 42nd SW. It’s been exactly two years since we first reported on the plan; the building will replace three 1930s-built houses at 4417, 4421, and 4423 42nd SW. The site is between the West Seattle Eagles parking lot and the West Seattle Christian Church-owned house at 4411 42nd SW – those two properties are not part of it.
That’s Brenden‘s bike. His wife Jill hopes you’ll be on the lookout for it:
My husband’s Rad power bike was stolen from our double-locked shed in our alley on the night of either 12/10 or 12/11 (44th between Genesee & Dakota). Please let me know if you have seen anything, or might have security cameras near the area. We’re incredibly bummed as it is used for transportation/ commute nearly every day.
It’s been reported to police.
(Downy Woodpecker, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Welcome to Wednesday! West Seattle highlights for the rest of today/tonight:
BABY STORY TIME: Geared toward up-to-1-year-olds – and, of course, parents/caregivers. 11:30 am at High Point Library. (3411 SW Raymond)
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: 1 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle. This week’s movie: “Saboteur” (1942). $1 members, $2 nonmembers. (4217 SW Oregon)
TRIANGLE ROUTE TASK FORCE: 4:30-7 pm at Fauntleroy Church, the committee convened by Washington State Ferries looks at the proposed Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route overhaul – the newest proposal went public last night. (9140 California SW)
GET A DEGREE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT … right here in West Seattle, at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor). 5-6 pm information session today at Northwest Wine Academy on the north side of the SSC campus. (6000 16th SW).
10 CHEFS AND CAUSES: First-ever gathering/fundraiser presented by the Diversity Center of Washington, 6 pm at The Sanctuary @ Admiral, as previewed here. Check to see if tickets are left! (2656 42nd SW)
WRITING CIRCLE: 6-7:30 pm with writer Jeanine Walker, “Seattle Writes” at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. (2306 42nd SW)
HARK! Community party at Bethany West Seattle, 6 pm: “Join us for HARK! A Christmas Celebration! We will celebrate the season with fun activities, some Christmas tales, a little singing — and of course, there will be cookies and cocoa! This Christmas party is open to the community, so bring a friend along for the festivities! This event is family-friendly with lots of kids’ activities.” (9600 9th SW)
FREE GROUP RUN: 6:15 pm, meet at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) for a free group run. (2743 California SW)
ANOTHER COMMUNITY PARTY: 6:30 pm, annual Christmas party at Trinity West Seattle: “Free pictures with Santa, live music, an ugly Christmas sweater contest, lots of other things for your family to do.” Doors open at 6:30 pm. (7551 35th SW)
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS PARTY: Instead of the monthly meeting, our area’s biggest political organization gathers tonight for its annual holiday party, 6:30 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy. (9131 California SW)
POETRYBRIDGE: 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), with featured readers Brandon Pitts and Robert Lashky. (5612 California SW)
MORE … in our Holiday Guide and year-round Event Calendar!
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:11 AM: Good morning. Trouble at the east end of the eastbound bridge – a crash partly blocking the ramp to southbound I-5.
7:39 AM: As commenter NH pointed out, the 56 was skipped last hour – Metro’s alert was almost an hour after the fact.
7:47 AM: SDOT says the bridge-ramp crash scene is now clear.
7:57 AM: Reminder about tonight’s Triangle Route Task Force meeting, 4:30-7 pm at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW), focused on proposed change in Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry schedule – here’s the new revision proposal.
Before the night ends, a quick look ahead to a peak week for the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays (with WSB among the community co-sponsors)
COAT DRIVE, WITH COCOA: Set aside new or gently used coats and/or hats and/or gloves between now and Sunday and bring them to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market for this giving opportunity:
Just look for the West Seattle Kiwanis tent at the south end of the market, California/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm. And while you’re there …
SANTA BUS ENCORE! Missed the Santa Bus hosted by Quail Park Memory Care of West Seattle (WSB sponsor) last Sunday? Or, had so much fun you want to do it again? Also 10 am-2 pm this Sunday, also at the south end of the market, another round of free rides!
And before then:
HOLIDAY ART WALK: 5 pm “until late” on Thursday (December 13th), this is a fun night to browse and buy art, and enjoy food and drink specials. The official West Seattle Art Walk website has the previews.
MURAL UNVEILING: At 6 pm Thursday, be at the breezeway (west side of California SW between Puerto Vallarta and Northwest Art and Frame) for the unveiling of the community-created Summer Fest mural!
(WSB photo, July 15th)
Artist Stacey Sterling will be there.
SHOP LATE THURSDAY: Also Thursday night – second-to-last Shop Late Thursday – here’s a preview of which businesses to visit! The Silver Belles will be caroling 6-8 pm, so keep an eye (and ear) out for them, too.
CASPAR BABYPANTS: Saturday night (December 15) at 6:30 pm, Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor) presents the family-rock powerhouse at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska), free admission.
Check the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide for even more holiday happenings!
7:02 PM: As previewed here Monday, the Washington State Ferries Triangle Route Task Force meets tomorrow with one hot topic on the agenda – the first major revision to the route’s schedule in years. And on the eve of that meeting, WSF has released a revised version of the proposed schedule change:
(You can also see that here in PDF.) WSF also has just released this summary of comments previously received, and says it’s taking comments on the new revision for one week, through December 18th. Tomorrow’s meeting is at Fauntleroy Church‘s Fellowship Hall (9140 California SW), 4:30-7 pm.
9:33 PM: We asked WSF spokesperson Hadley Rodero for the quick-take version of what’s different:
WSF has made significant adjustments to the schedule to respond to what we heard. Such as:
o Adding a direct sailing from Vashon to Fauntleroy in the evening to avoid layover sailings that would have sent Vashon customers to Southworth on their way to Fauntleroy.
o Adding another morning sailing from Southworth to Fauntleroy during the morning commute period.
o Adding one 4:10 p.m. direct sailing from Fauntleroy to Southworth during the evening commute.
We’ve also asked Steve Stockett, a leader of the Vashon advocacy for a “pendulum” approach, for his thoughts; he’s analyzing the new version.
ADDED 7:53 AM: Stockett’s analysis of the new revision begins:
In trying to advantage Southworth even more while swatting at some symptoms that Vashon and Southworth folks, including me, have pointed out as absurdities in their previous schedule they have made it even worse.
They honestly just don’t understand the concepts of clearing the dock at Fauntleroy via an all stops (Pendulum Schedule). Your can’t have 16 direct Southworth stops, add 5 boats to Southworth and cut runs to Vashon and then do more dual loading during rush hour too. The reason Pendulum results in more, better spaced runs for everyone at every dock is because you are co-loading every boat and thus they leave fuller and have adequate time between boats at each dock to fully load. You can’t mix the 2 concepts.
They have actually reduced average dwell time by an extra couple of minutes at rush at Fauntleroy and added a direct boat for Southworth. They will average 30 or more empty space on every rush hour boat with people spilling on to Fauntleroy – even worse then now. It is so messed up I cannot coherently explain all the problems.
He wants to see the changes put on hold and “a transparent collaborative workshop (to) fix this.”
When The Kenney (WSB sponsor) first announced its “new and different” expansion plan two years ago, the rental properties it owns to the southwest of its campus were envisioned for redevelopment as an apartment building. Now apparently that idea’s been scrapped, as the sites, which currently hold 15 units (three triplexes, one fourplex and one duplex), are on the market for $5.2 million, under the umbrella “The Kenney Assemblage.” The retirement complex appears to still be pursuing plans to build new townhouse units to the east of the land that’s up for sale, as they’re being marketed prominently on The Kenney’s website and have been going through the permit process since last spring. It’s now been seven years since The Kenney, under different management, scrapped a $150 million redevelopment plan.
(WSB photos)
2:47 PM: Ever since King County announced that the West Seattle Water Taxi would add service when the Alaskan Way Viaduct shuts down for the tunnel transition, we’ve been asking about schedule specifics. Today – with exactly one month to go until the AWV is closed forever on January 11th – the schedule is out. It was released along with other transit-related announcements at a media briefing at Seacrest, led by County Executive Dow Constantine and Mayor Jenny Durkan. We were only able to drop in briefly after getting sidetracked by breaking news, but we did get the info you need to know:
Scroll through that document (or here in PDF) to see the new Water Taxi schedule, which will continue not only through the three-week Highway 99 closure, but all the way until the WT’s seven-days-a-week spring/summer schedule begins in late March. It also includes the expanded Route 773 and 775 shuttle schedules. Also, there’s word a new on-demand app-based ride service will start serving parts of West Seattle, Ride2:
(Ride2 van on display at today’s briefing
The new mobile app Ride2 Transit will make it possible for commuters to hail an on-demand van to and from two locations in West Seattle – the Water Taxi dock at Seacrest Park and the Alaska Junction – that will provide first- and last-mile transit.
Here’s the map of the area that Ride2 will serve:
The county says the Ride2 pilot program will start December 17th and last a year. Find out more here. Meantime, today’s new county info also includes this reminder about expanded parking for those who choose to get to the Water Taxi that way:
Harbor Ave SW will have overnight parking restrictions south of Seacrest Park on the southeast (water) side to allow open morning parking for approximately 120 cars.
SW Bronson Way is an unpaved parking area south of Salty’s restaurant which holds about 40 cars.
The Pier 2 parking lot is a secured parking facility holding more than 250 cars. It will be staffed Monday through Friday from 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cars will not be accessible outside of these hours. We suggest you park here 20 minutes before sailing time. The shuttle will run the .6 mile route continuously between Pier 2 and Seacrest Park.
Again, the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes forever on January 11th, for about three weeks of work required to “Realign 99” with the new tunnel. Ramps to and from 99 in the stadium zone will close a week before that, on January 4th, and the new NB 99 ramp into downtown won’t open for two to three weeks after the tunnel (as first announced last June), so West Seattleites headed north are facing more like a six-week squeeze.
3:23 PM: Added photos. Also, if you’re interested in the official news release about today’s event, read it here.
12:28 PM: Seattle Police and Fire have a “scenes of violence” response right now at California/Juneau. More shortly.
12:33 PM: Per scanner, a suspect is in custody.
12:38 PM: Police say this started as a robbery. We’re told at the scene that a woman has a head injury but is alert and conscious.
12:40 PM: Per radio communication, the victim was stabbed. This is reported to have happened at the Juneau Street Market, which as reported here was hit by a burglar less than a week ago. Avoid the area for a while, as California is blocked southbound by the emergency response (photo added above).
12:52 PM: The suspect was arrested about a block south, on the other side of California, after what police describe as a “brief foot pursuit.”
12:55 PM: Police on the scene confirm the robbery and attack did happen inside the market, with the aftermath visible from the front door:
Again, avoid California/Juneau for a while. Metro has sent an alert that buses are rerouted.
1:39 PM: The street is open again. Police are still at the market.
4:21 PM: SPD has released a little more info via SPD Blotter. The victim is 71. The suspect is 51. From their writeup:
At approximately 12:20 pm, officers responded to an assault call in progress in the 5900 block of California Avenue SW. The call indicated that a male was assaulting a female inside the store and that the woman was screaming for assistance. A delivery driver and another customer happened to walk into the store while the assault was occurring and pulled the victim to safety. The suspect then retreated to the back of the store and ran out the back door just as officers were arriving.
Officers gave chase and took the 51-year-old suspect into custody several blocks away after deploying a Taser.
The victim’s family has posted comments below and says she “is doing well.”
8:18 PM: We stopped by the market earlier this evening to ask if there’s any community help needed. Not at this point; the owner planned to close early to go visit the victim in the hospital.
(Bushtit, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
For the rest of your soggy Tuesday, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide::
ANOTHER TOYS FOR TOTS FINALE: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor) is hosting this drive – final day today! Details here on donating new, unwrapped toys, with bins in their office lobby on the 6th floor AND on the building’s ground floor. (4700 42nd SW, Suite 600)
TRUNK SHOW AT CANNA CULTURE: Seattle-based jewelry artist Shannon Koszyk has a trunk show at Canna Culture, 4-7 pm:
Shannon Koszyk’s jewelry pieces are made in her Seattle studio, using only the highest quality materials: semiprecious and precious gemstones, heavy sterling chain, 14k gold, leather, sterling silver, bronze and diamonds. All rings and medals are wax cast using only the finest quality sterling and bronze and all materials are locally sourced. Koszyk’s designs are often referred to as edgy, sexy, dark, and dangerous; with a strong rock ‘n’ roll influence.
(5435 California SW)
FREE TRACK WORKOUT: West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) invites you to join in its weekly free group track-workout run – meet at the shop at 6:15 pm. (2743 California SW)
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: As previewed here, ANA meets at 6:30 pm, with agenda items including the city’s Department of Neighborhoods director Andrés Mantilla and potential changes to the site of Admiral Congregational Church, where tonight’s meeting will be held. All welcome. (4320 SW Hill)
TIE ONE ON: Fly-tying at Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, 7 pm:
Guest tier Cole Cook will be tying a world famous Steelhead fly, the Fish Taco. This is an excellent winter Steelhead pattern that has a large profile but is lightweight and easy to cast. If you do not have a few of these in your fly box, YOU NEED SOME!
Register here. (4502 42nd SW)
FAMILY STORY TIME: 7 pm at Delridge Library. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
Got something for the calendar or Holiday Guide? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Queen City Futsal just sent this announcement – with an invitation for you:
Queen City Futsal just finished up its first season and it was a total hit. Some beautiful futsal was played, friendships were formed, community was built, all while having a ton of fun!
Now we’re getting ready for season 2 and we’re just so excited. This second season will be coed again (ages 18+), 3 women/2 men on the court at a time, and the games will be played Sunday evenings at the Salvation Army in West Seattle.
There’s one more week to register and the spots are filling up quickly. We’d love to have more West Seattleites be a part of the league/futsal family. It’s such a great way to meet people, practice skills, and get a workout during the cold winter months.
So come join us! For more info and/or to register go HERE!
Also, here’s a recap video of the first season to get a vibe of the Queen City Futsal fam: QUEEN CITY FUTSAL SEASON 1 RECAP!
If you have any questions, know of any players that might be interested in playing, and/or know of any businesses that might want to sponsor us or be a part of our league, you can email us at queencityfutsalsea@gmail.com.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:11 AM: Good morning. One problem reported as we start the day – a lane blocked on NB 99 at Western.
7:26 AM: All clear, says SDOT.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One year into her term, Mayor Jenny Durkan hasn’t clarified what kind of relationship she wants to have with neighborhood groups – particularly what remains of the neighborhood-district-council system the previous elected mayor tried to dismantle.
So some have decided to not waste any more time waiting to see what Durkan might decide to do.
Members of West Seattle’s two neighborhood-district councils, Southwest and Delridge – which have remained active despite the loss of city support – are joining forces with community leaders from South Park to form the District 1 Community Network.
That working title emerged at a recent gathering that explored that idea of “getting together on issues that affect the whole peninsula,” not just specific-neighborhood-based, as described by Amanda Sawyer of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, co-chair of the SW District Council.
Many Christmas-light displays use fences. Few are as creative as this one. So tonight we feature the lights on this fence along SW Admiral Way in Alki, east of 63rd SW. (Got a suggestion for other lights to showcase? Send us the location! Photos welcome but not mandatory – if you don’t have one, we’ll take one. Scroll through our archives here to see what we’ve shown already.)
The Southwest Design Review Board finally has something on its calendar: A January 24th meeting is penciled in for the second and possibly final review of an 18-townhouse project, 9 units at 5242 California SW and 9 next door at 5248 California SW. The “early design guidance” meeting for the project was in November of last year. This project would replace a fenced-off vacant strip mall; separate residential projects are planned for the two restaurant sites to its south, but they’re not part of this review. The SWDRB meeting is planned for 6:30 pm January 24 at the Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon).
We received a few questions about an early Saturday morning full-code police response in Admiral. We matched it to an incident number that accompanied a Tweets by Beat listing described as “assaults, firearm involved,” but there was no related medical call. So we requested the report today. Below is the police narrative. The victims’ names were redacted, so we refer to them as A and B:
(A) and (B) are boyfriend/girlfriend and currently homeless; they live inside their 1995 Honda Accord, which is registered to someone else. (West Seattle patrol officers have contacted the couple in the vehicle in previous occasions.)
On 12-08-18, at approx 0210 hrs., (A) was operating the Honda, with (B) in the front seat. He had been traveling northbound on California Ave SW and made a left turn onto westbound SW Seattle St. He pulled over curbside in a posted no-parking-anytime zone. (He) was going to retrieve some items from the trunk and then park there to sleep for the night. Before he had a chance to exit the Honda, the unknown suspect approached and arrived at the Honda from the east, opened up the driver’s side door and stuck a silver-tone handgun in (A’s) face. The startled (A) pushed the suspect’s arm away, but the suspect stuck the handgun in (his) face a second time. At the same time, while the suspect was mumbling incoherently,
(redacted) and (redacted) were yelling. The suspect stepped back, slammed the driver’s door shut and then walked off with a large creme-color dog, in an eastbound direction across the intersection. On the NE corner of that intersection is the Villa Andora Apartments … The suspect was last seen walking into the alley behind the apartment building.(A) drove away from the scene and called 911. He stopped at (a business parking lot a few blocks south) to wait for officers. … Upon my arrival, I spoke with the couple and obtained the above account. (A) surmised that the unknown suspect possibly did not want to see homeless people in the neighborhood. (He) described the encounter as the suspect pointing the handgun within inches of his face. I confirmed with both (that) they were not injured. It is unknown if they would be able to identify the suspect if seen again. A search of the area was made; the suspect was not located.
If you have any information, the incident # is 18-457416.
Is this the flip side of the small-apartment boom? Now there’s a third self-storage project on the drawing boards in West Seattle. We’ve already reported on two in the works for Harbor Avenue SW; this one is proposed for 6045 West Marginal Way SW, at a site that currently holds a landscaping-materials yard and has been on the market for five months. The proposal says the building will be four stories, approximately 109,700 square feet, with 16 parking spaces. Documents suggest the prospective operator is StorQuest, which has only one facility in this region right now, in Federal Way.
(WSB photo, Fauntleroy ferry dock, October)
The Washington State Ferries Triangle Route Task Force has been meeting for more than a year in relative serenity. But its next meeting, this Wednesday (December 12), is expected to draw a crowd.
The all-volunteer committee was originally launched almost two years ago to consider potential solutions to the problems that plague the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, particularly during peak pm outbound periods, backing up traffic along Fauntleroy Way some days, while boats leave without full loads.
The task force’s current focus is on the first major change in the route’s schedule in years. WSF says a change is necessary for a variety of reasons, including an upcoming increase in capacity on the route’s assigned vessels, and faster growth on the west end of the route. After several task-force discussions, the ferry system published and sought comment on a draft revised schedule. But a Vashon citizens’ group is unhappy with the proposal – saying it has a better idea that’s been ignored – and it’s calling for a big show of island residents – and anyone else interested – at Wednesday’s meeting, set for 4:30-7 pm at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW). The schedule change is currently planned to take effect in March.
Thanks to Marisa for the tip. After a days-long closure, Baja Taco has reopened in Jefferson Square, under new ownership (but apparently the same staff). We don’t know exactly how long it was closed after the planned shutdown at the end of November – Marisa’s tip came in yesterday; we went right over to check but it was closed, so we went back today, and found it open.
Our West Seattle Holiday Guide rolls on through New Year’s Day … and that includes New Year’s Eve.
December 31st is only three weeks away, so we’re sending out the call – if your venue/group is having a public NYE event in West Seattle/White Center/South Park, be sure we know about it so we can get it into the guide! Just send the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – we have a few already, but are ready to add more. And of course we’re still adding Christmas-season events too, from shopping events to light shows to church services, and beyond.
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to the guide as the one-stop local list of what’s up during the most festive of all seasons!
(Great Blue Heron, photographed in Lincoln Park by Mark Ahlness, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Here are highlights as the week begins, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide:
LAST DAY! Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) is collecting new, unwrapped toys in their office – today’s the final day!
“We are accepting new, unwrapped toys for children of all ages. Please stop by and see our beautiful tree and leave a gift for the kids. We would love to visit with you.” (5431 California SW)
WALK WITH SOUNDSTEPS: Weekly Lincoln Park walk – meet at 10 am at the south end of the north parking lot. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
LIBRARYLAB: Learn how to paint and sculpt on the iPad. 4-7 pm at Delridge Library. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
COOKIE-DECORATING CLASS AT SALTY’S: 6-8 pm, cookie decorating at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) – reservation required; details are in our calendar listing. (1936 Harbor SW)
EVENING BOOK GROUPS: Two tonight! Both meet at 6:45 pm. At Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), this month’s book is “The Tusk that Did the Damage” by Tania James; at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW), this month’s book is “Brick Lane” by Monica Ali.
FREE TRIVIA: All ages, 7:30 pm, at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
7:15 AM: No traffic incidents or transit alerts reported for our area so far.
FOOTBALL TONIGHT: Stadium zone alert – the Seahawks play the Vikings, 5:15 pm tonight.
8:24 AM: Stalled vehicle blocking 1 eastbound lane on the bridge by Delridge.
9 AM: Trouble on NB 99 – Seneca closed at 1st for “energency utility repairs.” Metro is rerouting.
Thanks for the tip that activity’s been sighted in the empty-almost-7-months ex-Fresh Bistro space on the ground floor of Mural (4727 42nd SW). That’s led to a discovery in city permit files: A site plan for a new restaurant called Agave. Same company that has Mexican restaurants on Queen Anne and on the Eastside? The city file says yes. We’ll be following up to find out more.
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