West Seattle, Washington
21 Tuesday
(Machinery photographed at Highway 99 tunnel launch-pit site by Don Brubeck)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Highway 99 tunneling machine is here, and being re-assembled. But once it goes into the ground, it won’t be “out of sight, out of mind” by any means.
Drivers and bus riders, in particular, might wind up noticing in a big way:
WSB has learned that the Alaskan Way Viaduct might close for an unspecified amount of time later this year when the machine arrives 80 feet below what remains of the elevated roadway, despite the work that’s been done to reinforce it so it could stay “safely open” during the tunnel construction.
Back on April 7th, we published Chief Sealth International High School football head coach Luther Carr III‘s call for pledges as his players prepared to participate in the MS Walk to help fight multiple sclerosis. Now that the big event is past, he wanted to share public words of thanks (and the team’s photo from MS Walk day):
Chief Sealth International Football would like to thank all of our community, family, and friends who assisted in our efforts to raise money for MS (multiple sclerosis). Along with thousands of others in the State of Washington we raised funds and walked on April 14, 2013, to find a cure for a world free of MS. At least 12,000 people in our Northwest community are living in chronic pain because of MS. Ridding the world of MS is a great cause, and our student-athletes learned a great lesson, giving back! Thank you again and Go Seahawks!!
According to the team’s page on the MS Walk site – where you can still make a donation – they raised more than four times their goal!
As part of its 25th-anniversary celebration, West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) gave away a shopping spree – and you’re invited to watch it happen this Saturday morning. Rob Dent gets four minutes at 10 am Saturday (April 20) to fill a cart (maybe more) with up to $500 in Western Family merchandise, and then it’ll be followed up by a ceremony with the West Seattle Food Bank receiving a check for the proceeds of the benefit raffle in which he won the spree – $2,200 donated by WS Thriftway customers. Go root for Rob *and* the Food Bank!
(Alki sunshine, photographed Monday by Flickr member wsLaura, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Busy Thursday! Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (where you’ll find yet more on the schedule for today/tonight, and way beyond):
WSB @ WEST SEATTLE CHAMBER: Your WSB co-publishers join Swift Media Solutions‘ Lora Swift (also proprietor of our inaugural sponsor Hotwire Online Coffeehouse) for a social-media presentation at today’s West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch, 11:30 am, The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW; WSB sponsor). Reservations required so if you haven’t already signed up, check with the Chamber office ASAP to see if there’s room.
COUNCILMEMBERS TALK MICROHOUSING: With several such developments on the drawing board here in West Seattle, following others around the city, City Councilmembers are gathering for a special brown-bag-lunch discussion of the trend’s implications, among other things. 11:30 am-1:30 pm; you’re welcome in council chambers downtown, or watch live on the Seattle Channel (online or Cable 21).
THIRD THURSDAY BOOK CLUB: A Lifelong Recreation event, 1 pm at High Point Community Center. Books provided! Want to be part of it? Call in advance – the info’s in the listing.
4755 FAUNTLEROY WAY @ DESIGN COMMISSION: West Seattle’s biggest proposed mixed-use project returns to the Seattle Design Commission for a second look at its “urban design merit,” as part of the city’s review to decide whether to grant an “alley vacation” for the 370-apartment, 598-parking-space, supermarket-and-drugstore-included site. 1:30 pm-3:30 pm in the Boards and Commissions Room, downstairs at City Hall downtown, 4th and Cherry. (Here’s our report on the commission’s first review last month.)
COMMUNITY ORCHARD OF WEST SEATTLE: Come join in the weekly work/planting party, 3-5 pm, north end of the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) campus – details here.
LGBT SOCIAL GROUP: This monthly group gathers at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon), and tonight, you’re welcome to join them in a Piano Bar setting, with food, beer, and wine, 6-8 pm.
TEEN AUTHOR READS AT C & P: Emerging teen author Samantha Ayala reads from, and signs/sells, her book “The Loudest Silence,” 6 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California; WSB sponsor) – details here.
ASK AN EXPERT/FIXERS’ COLLECTIVE: Double bill tonight at the West Seattle Tool Library (4408 Delridge Way SW), 6-8 pm – come to get advice and/or join the Collective in fixing something, with help! Details here.
ROBERT DeLONG LIVE AT EASY STREET: 7 pm, Bothell native Robert DeLong performs a free in-store concert at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska in The Junction) – details here.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Another fairly quiet morning so far! And if you’re wondering – no major closures planned this weekend. If you missed the announcements, two repaving projects are planned for West Seattle NEXT week: Tuesday-Wednesday (April 23-24) on SW 106th in Arbor Heights, and Thursday-Friday (April 25-26) on California SW between Dawson and Findlay.
(Morgan McCullough hits the ball)
Yet another win for the division-leading West Seattle High School varsity baseball team – 17-2 over Franklin on Wednesday afternoon at Hiawatha. Thanks to Greg Slader for the photos and summary:
Ben Wexler (photo above) gets the win by pitching 4.1 innings, with nine strikeouts, holding the Quakers to two runs. The varsity team started off strong, adding four runs in the first inning thanks in part to Sam Hellinger’s continued hot Hitting – 2 for 2, 2 doubles, and 3 RBI. The rest of the team contributed to the offense, as they continue to hit well. The Quakers get another chance on their home turf, Rainier CC, Friday @ 3:30.
Unless you live near the century-old Alki Point Lighthouse – or have been out on the water in the area this week – you probably haven’t noticed, but it’s shining less brightly than usual. Sarah, a lighthouse neighbor, noticed, and e-mailed us to ask about it. She feared it might be a permanent replacement, a dimmer LED-type light – and certainly, some lighthouses around the country have made that change, we discovered while researching. In this case, however, the U.S. Coast Guard tells WSB, it’s a temporary situation, one that’s even resulted in a special alert atop the USCG’s latest regional Local Notice to Mariners. According to the Coast Guard spokesperson we reached, there is a power problem at the lighthouse, so they had to put in a temporary light run by a DC battery, which means “the light can’t be energized enough to project a typical visibility range of 15 (nautical) miles – it is at five miles.” No estimate yet how long it will take to fix the problem so the full-power light can return to service. (2010 photo by Keri DeTore for WSB)
(April 1 photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
Two and a half weeks after two people shot each other during what police described as a robbery attempt, we’ve learned that the victim is out of the hospital. 27-year-old Rick Powell is the town-car driver found on Charlestown just off Avalon with life-threatening gunshot wounds late the night of April 1st; the man police say shot him during a robbery attempt, 19-year-old Juan Garcia-Mendez, was found with less-serious wounds about a mile away. In King County Superior Court today, Garcia-Mendez pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault; he remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, with another hearing set for early June. Meantime, this online update says Powell was released from the hospital last Friday; as you can see on the right side of that page, friends are still raising money to help with his medical expenses. They also have set up a web page at rickrighteous.com – after his stage name as a musician – as a reference page for benefits, both one-time and ongoing.
(11/30/12 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
One rainy night last November, we reported on a shooting at a South Delridge bus stop.
While it was over fast, and the victim survived his leg wounds, it apparently has reverberated ever since, according to what Seattle Police Gang Unit representatives told the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council last night.
Not only did an SPD Gang Unit detective attend, so did the lieutenant who is in charge of the Robbery and Fugitives Units as well as the Gang Unit, and a wide-ranging conversation ensued.
There was a relatively sizable crowd on hand, too, at least 30 people ringing the Southwest Precinct meeting room, and many brought questions including an increasingly common one – what to do when you think you hear gunshots?
Congratulations to the five seniors shown in the photo shared by Marilyn Mears, who explains that they “were honored by AAUW (American Association of University Women) at the annual AAUW Scholars Recognition dessert reception … for their achievement in one of three STEM fields. High-achieving senior girls from eight Seattle high schools were honored. The keynote speaker was AAUW member Karen Troianello, Title IX pioneer. AAUW is a national organization of college graduates. AAUW’s mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocay, education, and research.” From left in the photo are students Yessinia Rudy (West Seattle HS) – Technology; Sydney M. Sattler (Chief Sealth IHS) – Science; Janelle Maroney (Chief Sealth) – Math; Michiko Yoshino (West Seattle) – Math; and Kristin Lee (West Seattle) – Science.
(8/14 note: To check whether a business is still a current WSB sponsor, please go here)
Today, we’re welcoming Emerald City Smoothie, located inside West Seattle Athletic Club, as a new WSB sponsor. Here’s what they would like you to know about their business:
(WSB photo: Team member Ariaan at Emerald City Smoothie – West Seattle)
Emerald City Smoothie encourages healthy lifestyles by having a tasty blend of fruits, supplements, and protein in hand. Have particular allergies or diet restrictions? Are you diabetic, vegan, or have an ultimate fitness goal to reach? Emerald City Smoothie offers something for various diverse individuals. We would love the opportunity to meet and serve you!
Our love for Emerald City Smoothie bloomed more than 8 years ago, as we ourselves were repeat customers. We became owners of our first Emerald City Smoothie over a year ago in Covington and not too long after, we fell in love with the West Seattle community and took ownership of our second store inside the West Seattle Athletic Club facility.
As a new customer, you will experience an incredibly friendly, warm, and welcoming experience, with staff eager to help with immediate attention. Repeat customers love the enthusiastic energy that fills the atmosphere, and the personable customer service is worth the visit, not to mention the delicious and healthy smoothies you came for in the first place! Our smoothies are “none compared” to anything else, they’re simply “the best to replace a meal, change up to improve ‘poor’ eating habits, a substitution to coffee in the morning.” Whatever your desire is for coming in, we have something for you!
Emerald City Smoothie is inside the WS Athletic Club at 2629 SW Andover (you do NOT have to be a member to go in!); you can find their hours, menu, and other information online here – and a $1-off coupon on the WSB Coupons page.
We thank Emerald City Smoothie for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
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We’re getting questions about helicopter activity on the southeast end of the port – per seattlepi.com, it’s law-enforcement training. Here are more views via @ohwellmaybenot on Twitter.
If the weather’s OK, right after SDOT completes the previously announced Arbor Heights repaving next week, they’ll move on to the California SW work postponed from earlier this month. The announcement:
Seattle Department of Transportation crews plan to grind and pave California Avenue Southwest from Southwest Dawson Street to Southwest Findlay Street on April 25 and 26, weather permitting.
Traffic will be shifted to one side, leaving one lane open in each direction. A police officer will assist traffic at the intersection of California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Brandon Street. All crosswalks and sidewalks will remain open.
The crews will work from 9 a.m. to 6p.m.
For information on bus service, look for Rider Alert notices at bus stops, see Metro Online, www.kingcounty.gov/metro or call (206) 553-3000.
This is NOT affecting traffic now, but might later when it’s time for repairs – a car hit a streetlight pole (above left) on southbound Delridge Way SW across from the Boren/K-5 STEM parking lot, and veered off the road, onto the slope leading down toward Longfellow Creek:
City Light‘s been notified – one of its employees actually called in the crash – we’ll check on the repair timetable later; here’s the pole’s damaged base:
Police hadn’t yet sorted out why the driver – who was not seriously hurt – hit the pole and went off the road.
(Photo by David Ryder)
If you saw the smoke last night in the Admiral area – it was from that car fire in the West Seattle High School parking lot, caught on camera by photographer David Ryder. Because of conflicting incidents/events last night, we didn’t get there until the fire was already out and firefighters had departed, but followed up after getting questions today.
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore says it was a one-engine callout, but since there was nothing extraordinary about it, he has no information on its cause and says the fire crew that handled it is off-duty today, so he can’t check with them, but he notes that the fire marshal wasn’t called out – which would have been the case if there had been anything suspicious – and no medic unit was called, meaning no serious injuries, if any.
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: Moore has since been able to reach the crew, and says: “The driver of the car said smoke started in the steering column when she tried to start the car. The most likely cause of the fire was an electrical fire inside the steering column.” He also confirms that no one was hurt.
SDOT has now set the dates – weather permitting – for paving work in Arbor Heights (covering a few more blocks than first mentioned here last month). The official announcement:
SDOT crews plan to grind and pave Southwest 106th Street between 35th Avenue Southwest and 39th Avenue Southwest in the Arbor Heights community on April 23 and 24, weather permitting.
Westbound traffic will be detoured to Southwest 100th Street. Police Officers will assist traffic on Southwest 106th Street at 35th and at 39th avenues. All crosswalks and sidewalks will remain open. The crews will work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For information about bus service, look for Rider Alert notices at bus stops, see Metro Online, www.kingcounty.gov/metro or call (206) 553-3000.
Do you function best with deadlines rather than “hey, whenever”? Us too. So here’s help if you haven’t decided yet on whether to add your sale to the list for the 9th annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day on May 11th – the registration deadline is now one week away: When Wednesday, April 24th, is over, at 11:59 pm, so is our sign-up period – we need the ensuing time to get the map’s clickable online and printable PDF versions done so that, as promised, they will be available a week in advance of The Big Day. So far, 160 sales are on the list, all over the peninsula – and you can add yours by using this online registration form. REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT REMINDER: *Please* be sure you have gone all the way through the PayPal process for the registration fee, too, which will generate a second confirmation e-mail that comes directly from PP, or else you won’t be on the map. (If you don’t have your own space for a sale, check with the two official “group sites,” WSB sponsors Hotwire Online Coffeehouse and C & P Coffee Company – details on that are here.) Can’t wait for another great day of “person-to-person recycling,” deal-finding, neighbor-mingling, and all the other fun stuff WSCGSD is famous for – 9 am to 3 pm, Saturday, May 11th. Questions? garagesale@westseattleblog.com
(Thanks to Amanda Teicher for sharing this bubbly photo taken late yesterday along Harbor Avenue SW)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – four highlights for your West Seattle Wednesday:
‘EARLY DAYS’: This drop-in support group for new moms meets every Wednesday, noon-2 pm, at Nurturing Expressions (4746 44th SW, Suite 201; WSB sponsor) – details here.
HIGH-SCHOOL BASEBALL: Though Seattle Public Schools are out on spring break, both West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School have varsity baseball games today – WSHS vs. Franklin at Hiawatha, 3:30 pm; CSIHS vs. Rainier Beach at SW Athletic Complex, 4 pm.
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW; WSB sponsor), with an agenda including the California/Fauntleroy intersection (as previewed here) – see the full agenda here.
DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), with an agenda including the Duwamish River’s proposed cleanup plan and improvements along the Delridge corridor – details here.
34TH DISTRICT REPUBLICANS: The GOP group for the 34th Legislative District (which includes West Seattle, White Center, Vashon and Maury Islands, and part of Burien) meets on the third Wednesday of the month, 7 pm, at Round Table Pizza in Burien (15730 1st Ave. South).
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to Wednesday! Nothing of note to start with…
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
9:59 PM: Call it “moving day.” Or – night. At Burien’s Seahurst Park, the partial fin-whale carcass that washed up on Saturday is to be moved tonight.
WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there throughout the day as it was prepared for the move.
We’ll add more of Nick’s photos later tonight, as well as an update on tonight’s planned move.
11:23 PM UPDATE: Robin Lindsey from West Seattle-based Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tells WSB, “I just heard from NOAA and the whale is officially off the beach and the tow is underway…
“A good day today with a lot of education on the beach in a team effort. … The whale is being taken to a remote location for natural decomposition and collection of the skull at a later date for educational and research purposes.” Watch for a post on the SS site tomorrow.
10:21 AM WEDNESDAY: The city of Burien, whose park system includes Seahurst, says the removal operation cost it $3,100. Meantime, the aforementioned post by Robin is up; she writes that the whale’s remains are now at the location where they’ll decompose naturally.
We start this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup with an incident that brought several texts/calls tonight because of a big response:
Police responded to an assault call in the West Seattle Stadium area. According to Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis, a woman under the influence of the drug known as “ecstasy” attacked someone by hitting them with a skateboard. Lt. Davis says she’s in custody. The victim was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
Also tonight, two reader reports. First one is about attempted burglaries (these came up at tonight’s West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, too, and we’re working on the full report on everything discussed there). John in the 5000 block of 40th SW reports:
My back door was kicked in yesterday morning at 7 am, as was my next-door neighbor’s door. Nothing was stolen out of either house. My neighbor was home at the time, I was not. I understand a house two blocks from me had the same thing happen around 3 pm yesterday.
From Miranda, word of a stolen moped – the one in this montage:
She says it was stolen Sunday night or Monday near 59th/Alki: “The moped is a Motobecane; it has pedals but is missing it’s motor as we were working on updating it. The front wheel is bright turquoise and the back on is a maroon-ish color. It’s very unique so it’s hard to miss.” If you’ve seen it, call police.
Asked if tonight was a “soft open,” Pizzeria Credo proprietor Jacques Nawar said yes, but then “not too soft” – they are open to the public tonight until approximately 10 pm. Below, Nawar (center) with chefs Franco and Matt beside the wood-fired pizza oven at the front of the space; you’ll be able to see the fresh pizzas being created through the front window:
As noted in an interview with WSB last month, the space has been remodeled in a big way, including warmer colors “to brighten up the place” and lighting fixtures:
Nawar has planned a “smart” and “eclectic” menu, offering far more than the wood-fired pizza. Pizzeria Credo will also serve appetizers, salads, other entrees such as duck – a specialty, he says – and chicken. And yes there will be gluten-free pizza. Ingredients will be “as organic and local as possible”; Nawar says they are working with West Seattle Produce and looking for other local growers/providers with whom to partner.
Pizzeria Credo is located at 4520 California SW.
Though the official grand-opening celebration isn’t until this Saturday (newest details here), it’s “soft open” time for the community-built Roxhill Castle playground renovations! Val shares the photographic proof.
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