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West Seattle scene: The view from USS Stennis, passing by
December 2, 2014 4:50 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news

Monday afternoon, we showed you the USS John C. Stennis heading past West Seattle, going out for training after the carrier’s quarter-billion-dollar maintenance project.

(Photo by Guy Smith)
Today, we received a photo from Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Higgins in public affairs for the Stennis’s group. She wrote, “Thanks for covering USS Stennis’ departure from Bremerton yesterday! Attached is what our view looked like. Absolutely gorgeous day in the PacNW.”

(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Ignacio D. Perez)
Click either photo for a larger view.

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New leader for West Seattle-based Nature Consortium: Meet incoming executive director Merica Whitehall
December 2, 2014 2:52 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | West Seattle news

(Photo courtesy Nature Consortium)
Big news today from West Seattle-headquartered Nature Consortium, which focuses on forest restoration and environmental arts for youth: A successor to founder/executive director Nancy Whitlock. Meet (above left, with Whitlock) Merica Whitehall, who becomes NC’s new executive director on December 15th, a year and a half after Whitlock announced she planned to step back. Ahead, messages from both:

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City Light to start cleanup work at Dakota Substation site tomorrow
December 2, 2014 12:42 pm
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Genesee Hill | West Seattle news

Alert for Genesee Hill residents – cleanup work starts tomorrow at the former Dakota Substation. This is one of the “surplus” ex-substation sites whose fate has yet to be decided. Here’s the official announcement we received:

Seattle City Light will start work this week to cleanup the former substation located at 4918 SW Dakota Street. The work is expected to take approximately 2-3 weeks to complete. Planned work will remove soil, debris and some vegetation due to contamination. Pesticide contamination at the site is many times higher than the state’s required cleanup level. This work will not involve planned electrical outages.

Removal of soils in treed areas of the property is necessary; however, City Light plans to preserve the trees in these areas. To protect tree roots, City Light will use vactor trucks to remove the contaminated soil. The vactoring technique has been successful at each of the sites in which City Light has used it, including the Fauntleroy site in West Seattle. The utility has received recognition and thanks from community members for the successful protection of the trees on the Fauntleroy site.

Work will include operation of heavy equipment such as backhoes, dump trucks and vactor trucks. This vactor soil removal process will result in louder noise levels than conventional methods of excavation. Noise studies have been performed on this type of work and have indicated that sound levels are considered safe for residents near the work site.

A communications rep for the project tells WSB that notices have been circulated to neighbors already via e-mail, and that door-hanger notification is under way too. The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition, which began as a West Seattle-based group but has expanded to a citywide focus, has been working to find ways to keep sites like this one saved as open space.

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Update: King County burn ban lifted as of noon
December 2, 2014 11:41 am
|    Comments Off on Update: King County burn ban lifted as of noon
 |   Environment | Health | West Seattle news

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is lifting the King County burn ban as of noon, so fireplace and woodstove use will be OK again (as will outdoor fires where approved, including the fire rings at Alki Beach).

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West Seattle Tuesday: Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights council; WS Bike Connections; Blues To Do; more
December 2, 2014 10:03 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

This is our last freezing-cold morning for a while, so we’re sharing Karen‘s icicle photo (thank you!) along with today’s list of calendar highlights:

VIADUCT/HIGHWAY 99 ADVISORY GROUP: The quarterly-or-so meeting of the merged stakeholder groups is at 4 pm today at Safeco Field (entrance by the home-plate gate).

WESTWOOD-ROXHILL-ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY COUNCIL: Some councils are taking December off, but not WWRHAH – so if you live and/or work in any of those neighborhoods, don’t miss it! 6:15-7:40 pm at Southwest Branch Library. Agenda:

6:15-6:30: Introductions & Community News; New Business

6:30-7:10: Committee & Neighborhood Council Updates – Metro Committee, Infrastructure Committee (35th SW, bus-loop pavement issues), Bog Committee, Roxhill Park Committee, DNDC, SWDC

7:10-7:40: Housing Affordability: The Mayor’s Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda is a hot topic for the City. We will discuss this, as well as the Westwood / Highland Park Urban Village.

WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: Also meeting tonight, 6:30 pm at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Details on the WSBC website. (41st/Alaska)

FAMILY STORY TIME: 7 pm at Delridge Branch Library – songs, rhymes, AND stories. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

BLUES TO DO: 8 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), tonight it’s Sweet Billy Spaulding & His Soulful 88s. Details in our calendar listing. (6451 California SW)

MORE!!!! Full list of today/tonight events on our regular calendar, and ongoing listings including nightly light shows and tree lots are part of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide (which you’ll want to browse to preview the MANY, MANY, MANY events coming up next weekend).

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Golf on Maui or in SoCal! Dream trips to bid on, at benefit for Jasmin’s leukemia fight, 2 nights away
December 2, 2014 9:00 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle news

Update on a community fundraising effort first mentioned here last month, to help Jasmin Egan, a West Seattle native and mom of 3 fighting leukemia. This Thursday is the night you can go to Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and not only have a good time with some great music – Rocky Votolato is performing a special live acoustic set! – but also bid for some spectacular silent-auction items. Sarah, who’s organizing the benefit, points out for one thing, golfers might want to come bid for BIG items including a 6-day, 5-night golf trip to Maui (at the Kapalua Golf Villas) and “a chance to golf at the famous Lakeside Golf Club in California with Kiefer Sutherland, Oscar De La Hoya, and PGA pro Duffy Waldorf.” Other silent-auction items have been donated by more than 20 businesses in the area – listed at the bottom of the official flyer. Drop by The Feedback on Thursday night, any time after 6:30 pm.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday updates; ORCA card-reader woes
December 2, 2014 7:02 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:02 AM: Good morning! Freezing (or just below) temps out there again today, but it’s going to start warming up. No trouble reported in our area so far.

8:34 AM: Had trouble with an ORCA card reader this morning? Jeremy and Colleen did (see Twitter exchanges below), and Metro says it’ll check that out:

9:04 AM: Thanks to Flint for sharing this video of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry, time-lapsed to a minute and a half:

This was recorded in the Monday sunshine.

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Alki storm aftermath: Liberating Liberty from sand, driftwood
December 2, 2014 12:38 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle beaches | West Seattle news

Remember those wild waves at Alki on Saturday?

(Saturday photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
(More video/photos here.) Monday, it was cleanup time at Statue of Liberty Plaza:

(WSB photo)
We spotted those workers while catching a quick view of the USS John C. Stennis. Later, David Hutchinson shared a clearer look at what Seattle Parks had to pick up:

One inch of sand, David points out. Plus plenty of driftwood:

The afternoon high tides for the next few days are about as high as they were over the weekend – but without the strong north winds and extra stormwater, they’re just, well, high tides.

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West Seattle Crime Watch reader report: Westwood exposer
December 1, 2014 9:12 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

The person who e-mailed us this report asked to remain anonymous; it was reported to police, and we see an incident number logged. Though we won’t be able to follow up with them until tomorrow, here’s the reader report, just so you know:

I went up Thistle about 5:45ish and turned right onto 30th; there stood a white guy with his pants pulled down to expose his “nether region,” standing by a newish gray Ram 4×4 with license plate B83…didn’t catch the rest.

My kids screamed, “he’s got his pants down!” so I did a U-Turn when I saw him pull up his pants AFTER I drove by and yank them down again when another car behind me went by. I turned around to get the license # etc. After he did this AGAIN, I turned around again to call 911; then he got in and drove away. I was headed to Target so I was behind him anyway and told them where he drove. He turned right on Trenton.

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Doubleheader meeting: Seattle Public Schools’ interim superintendent in West Seattle, as board delays permanent-job vote; Marty McLaren’s community chat
December 1, 2014 6:11 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
6:11 PM: We’re at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, where Seattle Public Schools‘ interim superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland is about to start a “coffee hour” chat with community members. The district has just announced a one-week delay in the board’s vote on whether to offer him the permanent job – a sudden move that turned up in the agenda for Wednesday night’s board meeting. Under the new plan, the proposal will be introduced on Wednesday, then voted on during a separate special meeting one week later, 4:30 pm December 10th; details are on the district’s home page. (Comments? e-mail schoolboard@seattleschools.org )

Meantime, we’re covering tonight’s meeting (which will be followed at 7 pm by a community-conversation meeting with local school-board rep Marty McLaren, who is in the audience right now), and will add toplines as it goes.

6:31 PM: About 15 minutes into the Q/A, nothing about the superintendent’s job, but the first bit of news emerges:

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Update: Police/fire response on 17th SW in Puget Ridge
December 1, 2014 5:21 pm
|      37 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle police

5:21 PM: We’re at the scene of what was dispatched as an “assault with weapons” call in the 6000 block of 17th SW in Puget Ridge. Early word from police is that they suspect it’s a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but they are still investigating.

5:41 PM: One public-safety official tells us the victim did not survive.

(As always when mentioning suicide, we want to point out a local resource for those considering self-harm or otherwise in crisis: The Crisis Clinic has a 24-hour hotline, 206-461-3222.)

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‘We won!’ exults Seattle NERD after Hearing Examiner’s decision on 3078 Avalon appeal
December 1, 2014 3:28 pm
|      57 COMMENTS
 |   Development | West Seattle news

(Photo by Long Bach Nguyen – densifying Avalon Way SW is at center)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Appeals of city development decisions aren’t uncommon.

Rulings in favor of the appellants are.

(Keep in mind, the Hearing Examiner has to give more weight to the city’s original decisions, meaning challengers have steep hills to climb.)

Today, the West Seattle-based group Seattle NERD (Neighbors Encouraging Reasonable Development) is celebrating one of those rare rulings – reversing the city’s Design Review and Determination of (environmental) Non-Significance (DNS) decisions regarding a ~100-apartment building proposed for 3078 SW Avalon Way.

As Paul Haury exulted via e-mail, “We won! 2+ years and tens of thousands later. We won! A neighborhood that pulled together prevailed.”

We covered the three major days of testimony and presentation in the appeal hearing earlier this fall (here, here, and here).

A key point of contention regarding the DNS was one of West Seattle’s most-contentious current issues, parking impacts; this building is proposed with about 60 spaces, and is within a block of one built and two planned “microhousing” projects totaling about 200 living units with no planned offstreet parking.

You can see Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner‘s full ruling here as a PDF, or below:

We are still reading it and will add more to this story shortly.

ADDED 4:36 PM: First, note that this is not a ruling against development on the site. It is a ruling in favor of the challenges to specific decisions made during the process, and sending them back for reconsideration. We have asked DPD for comment on the decision and information on what happens next.

Reading the entirety of the 16-page ruling, key points from the Hearing Examiner’s conclusions, which start on page 11:

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West Seattle Crime Watch: Have you seen Aidan’s sketchbook?
December 1, 2014 2:55 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Crime | West Seattle news

After a car break-in over the weekend, Aidan is just hoping to get one thing back:

Saturday night (last night) our mini cooper was broken into in the Skylark Cafe/Bar parking lot. … They took my messenger bag and my coat, which had a number of things in it – a Surface tablet, my iPod, cash, etc. I’d just been picked up from the airport for Thanksgiving & went immediately to our friend’s band’s show at Skylark. … I’m messaging you because there was a black journal/sketchbook in the bag that is incredibly important to me. It’s a yearly book and I’ve had one per year since I was sixteen (aka over ten years). I will pay to have it returned. The inside of the book has my name and contact number/email all over it.

My boyfriend and I returned there (Sunday) morning to pick around the area to see if whoever broke into our car threw it to the ground or the dumpsters nearby, or anything like that, but we didn’t see it. The messenger bag was very important to me as well. Neither of these are worth any money to anyone except for me – the bag was made for me by a very good friend – and I’m more than willing to pay for them back!!!

We followed up with Aidan to ask for any further descriptive information:
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Seen from West Seattle shores: Carrier USS John C. Stennis
December 1, 2014 1:19 pm
|    Comments Off on Seen from West Seattle shores: Carrier USS John C. Stennis
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle news

(WSB photo)
1:19 PM: Thanks to Joseph for the tip – he just asked about an aircraft carrier seen heading out from Bremerton; according to our friends at the Kitsap Sun, it’s the USS John C. Stennis, headed out for training after 16 months and $240 million of maintenance work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

2:07 PM: Thanks also to those who’ve sent photos! First one added (top photo) is ours – it was still in view from Alki, looking north, by the time we headed downhill, but moving fast. Others got even better views:

(Photo by James Bratsanos)
Adding a few more. The Kitsap Sun reports the Stennis will be back before Christmas.

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Biznote: Zippy’s Giant Burgers opens Georgetown location during unplanned White Center closure
December 1, 2014 1:10 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Three months ago, we brought you the news that Zippy’s Giant Burgers planned to open a second location in Georgetown. Today, it’s open, weeks earlier than expected, a good thing for Zippy’s fans because the unplanned closure of their White Center location continues – they’re still working on repairs for a key piece of equipment that broke down last week. The Georgetown location is at 5633 Airport Way South (map).

ADDED: Zippy’s expects to reopen White Center on Thursday (December 4) morning.

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Beach Drive apartment-fire followups: Family’s request; firefighter’s condition
December 1, 2014 11:56 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

(Saturday photo courtesy of Michelle)
We’re following up today on the big fire that gutted a unit at a waterfront apartment building in the 3800 block of Beach Drive this past Saturday (WSB coverage here):

FIRE’S CAUSE: Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore tells WSB that investigators still have not determined how it started.

FIREFIGHTER’S CONDITION: As reported on Saturday, a firefighter had to go to the hospital Saturday for treatment of unspecified injuries. Moore says he was treated and released the same day.

FAMILY’S REQUEST: Kindhearted community members asked in comments here (and in the neighborhood) if they could do anything to help the family whose apartment was gutted. Patricia, who lived there with daughter Amanda, says there is ONE thing they do need help with:

Thank you so much for everyone’s concern and offers of help. We are truly blessed at the response of both friends and strangers to this disaster. We are doing well and have temporary housing, and mom has a permanent place coming up, but what is really needed right now is long-term housing for my 27-year-old daughter who was staying with me at the time of the fire and also lost absolutely everything. She works in West Seattle and needs a long-term, affordable place to live. If anybody has any ideas, that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you again for the outpouring of support… It means everything at a time like this! I can be reached at raisen@chico.com

The Red Cross was called in to help the family right after the fire; here’s an explanation of how that works.

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West Seattle Monday: What’s up for December’s first day/night
December 1, 2014 9:09 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | WS miscellaneous

(Junco, photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
Our featured photos today were shared over the weekend after our brief snowfall – but also serve as a reminder to check your bird bath(s) and feeder(s) on behalf of our winged friends, since temperatures have been (mostly) freezing/subfreezing for going on two days now. Meantime, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Holiday Guide:

TRASH/RECYCLING/ETC. RATES: Today’s 2 pm City Council meeting at City Hall downtown includes a final vote on rate increases for trash/recycling/yard waste and other solid-waste services – see the tables in the legislation. (600 Fourth Ave.)

HOLIDAY COOKIE DECORATING: Check to see if there’s room left in this 6 pm workshop at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) – details including contact info for reservations are in our calendar listing. (1936 Harbor SW)

(Hummingbird, photographed by Karen Richter)

INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT ‘COFFEE CHAT’: As previewed here earlier this morning, interim Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland, now suddenly up for the permanent job, will be at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, 6-7 pm, for a community “coffee chat,” scheduled before the new development regarding his status. (6400 Sylvan Way)

SCHOOL BOARD REP’S COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: In addition to joining Dr. Nyland during his “chat,” West Seattle’s school-board rep Marty McLaren will have one of her periodic community-conversation meetings immediately afterward, 7 pm, also at High Point Center. (6400 Sylvan Way)

WEST SEATTLE HI-YU: The summer festival’s work is never done, and they’d love to have your help and participation. Just stop by tonight’s monthly meeting, 7 pm at Admiral Congregational Church. (California/Hill)

(Hummingbird, photographed by Debbie Runke)
NIGHTLIFE: Trivia, pub quiz, karaoke … see the individual venues/listings on our calendar.

HOLIDAY GUIDE: Tonight – see the lights now that the major displays are all on! They’re part of what you’ll find in our guide, along with tree-lot locations, upcoming holiday parties/tree lightings/open houses/Santa photos/concerts, and more … we’re updating it at least once daily as events and schedules continue to be added.

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TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Post-holiday-weekend Monday updates
December 1, 2014 6:57 am
|    Comments Off on TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Post-holiday-weekend Monday updates
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(WS high/low bridges and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:57 AM: Good morning. It’s a cold post-Thanksgiving-weekend Monday morning – below freezing, so be careful of icy spots that might be lingering from the weekend, including sidewalks and planting strips as well as some roadsides that have been in the shade. (If you were out of town – in review, we had an inch-plus of rain Friday, followed by a temperature drop and about half an inch of snow Saturday morning, though the north-wind-fueled Alki surf eclipsed it visually.) No major problems in or from West Seattle, so far.

7:56 AM: Of note, the “low bridge” has opened for vessel traffic twice in the past 40 minutes, as logged via @SDOTbridges.

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Interim school superintendent in West Seattle tonight, two nights before sudden board vote on making him permanent
December 1, 2014 2:16 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

What was originally billed as a “coffee chat” tonight in West Seattle with Seattle Public Schools‘ interim superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland is suddenly being seen through a different prism: The School Board has decided to vote Wednesday on offering him the permanent job, rather than conducting a search to find candidates. The district didn’t even make an announcement – instead, the planned vote simply turned up on the meeting agenda published just before the long holiday weekend; it was first spotted and reported by Melissa Westbrook via her Seattle Schools Community Forum website.

West Seattle’s board member Marty McLaren has offered her explanation of why she supports giving Nyland the permanent job; if you didn’t see it via her mailing list, you can read it on her website. McLaren writes of Nyland, a former Marysville superintendent, that “in his 16 weeks in his job, he has demonstrated strong leadership, integrity, vast competence in his role, and deep awareness of the importance of relationships, among other vital skills.” If you want to ask her about this, or other current issues – such as the boundary-change concerns – she will be having a community-conversation meeting right after the superintendent’s “chat,” same location, which is Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way) – his meeting is 6-7 pm, hers starts at 7.

And if you’re interested in signing up to speak at Wednesday’s School Board meeting, signups start at 8 this morning, as explained on the right side of this document.

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Congratulations, Miles! 9-year-old runs Seattle Half-Marathon
December 1, 2014 1:20 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle people | WS & Sports

When 9-year-old Miles Trius returns to school at Our Lady of Guadalupe after Thanksgiving break, he has something big to talk about: His second half-marathon. The Seattle Marathon half-marathon on Sunday was the second half-marathon Miles has run with his dad, Navy Chief Ernesto Trius, who says they have run together for the past year and a half. Miles “looks forward to a marathon in his future when he is able to compete (age 12).” He runs cross-country/track for OLG in CYO Athletics. According to the Seattle Marathon online results, Miles finished in 2:17:39.

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West Seattle holidays: Menashe Family Christmas Lights, night 1
November 30, 2014 11:15 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Holidays | West Seattle Christmas lights | West Seattle news

Tonight was the first night for the 2014 edition of the Menashe Family’s big, bright Christmas lights (5605 Beach Drive SW). You can certainly admire the densely decorated display from down the block, or driving by, but you’ll want to walk right up to see and hear it all.

That includes listening to your fellow light-watchers, who might be heard asking such questions as “Where do they store all this during the year?” But mostly, what we heard were exclamations of wonder. See why, ahead:

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Traffic alert for next weekend: Overnight Viaduct closure
November 30, 2014 10:04 pm
|    Comments Off on Traffic alert for next weekend: Overnight Viaduct closure
 |   Alaskan Way Viaduct | Transportation | West Seattle news

Quick note looking ahead to next weekend, as this one concludes: The southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct is scheduled to be closed overnight next Saturday night, from 11:59 pm December 6th until about 5 am December 7th, according to the newest “construction lookahead.” The reason for the closure between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge is described as “… crews remov(ing) a crane from the adjacent job site.”

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Update: Woman hurt by hit-run driver at 15th/Roxbury
November 30, 2014 6:14 pm
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news | West Seattle traffic alerts

(WSB photo by Tracy Record)
6:14 PM: Westbound Roxbury is closed between 15th and 16th SW (map) after a hit-run crash that sent a woman to the hospital. Police told us at the scene that she was in the crosswalk when hit by what witnesses describe as a blue SUV. The road closure will last a while, since the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad has been called in. We don’t yet know the victim’s condition or age; the initial callout was on the 911 log as a simple medic response, but readers (thank you) alerted us to a major police presence and crime tape across the road, so we went over to find out what had happened. If you have any information about this crash, please call 911.

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
8:15 PM: That section of road was still closed when we went back over about 15 minutes ago; TCIS is on scene doing its work. At this point we might not be able to get any more information until tomorrow; we’ll add an update when the road reopens tonight.

9:22 PM: Police have just announced (as monitored via scanner) that the road is open again.

MONDAY 10:58 AM UPDATE: We’re following up today with SPD and SFD. We’ve heard back from the latter, with spokesperson Kyle Moore telling us the woman is 35 years old and was in stable condition when taken to the hospital, where she was to be checked for possible serious internal injuries. (That’s all the information we will get about her without knowing her name, so if anyone reading this knows how she is doing, please consider either commenting, or e-mailing us at editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you.)

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