West Seattle, Washington
24 Sunday
A food-truck roundup is the latest addition to the lineup for this year’s Delridge Day, now less than two months away. Just in from organizers:
The Delridge Day Planning Committee is on a roll, with several updates for the Delridge Day Festival on August 18th from 11 am-3 pm.
The newest feature to the festival is the Delridge Day Chow Down. It is the first Delridge Food Truck roundup, set to feed festivalgoers. The trucks are: Athena’s (Greek), Jemil’s Big Easy (Cajun), and Full Tilt Ice Cream!
More ahead:Read More
The legacy of a couple who spent their retirement years in West Seattle will live on, thanks to more than $1,000,000 in donations announced by their family today.
The donations from the estate of William C. Sanders and Mildred Krahmer Sanders, both longtime Boeing workers, include money for the Seattle Fire Department to buy two new medic units, and for Research to Prevent Blindness to build a lab for advanced eye research.
Read on for more about the couple and their gifts:Read More
(Sunday afternoon photo from Lincoln Park’s north beach)
Happy Monday! Remember that school is now out for just about everyone, so while on one hand that means no “school zone” speed limits, it also means, be extra careful for kids of all ages out and about. Meantime, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: No bridge or Viaduct closures tonight, but during the day today, there will be some restrictions NB/SB through the 4th Avenue South/S. Spokane St. intersection, on the surface, related to the bridge-widening project. Details on our combined list of this week’s closures, broken out day by day.
MONDAY ARTISTS: If you’re a watercolorist – even a beginning one – you’re invited to check out Monday Artists, a group that meets Mondays, 9:30 am-noon, at Island View Apartments across from West Seattle High School (3000 block California SW). Details here.
MADISON SIGNBOARD COMMITTEE: As previewed here last night, tonight’s the first meeting of a committee deciding whether to recommend a zoning “departure” (exception) for installation of a digital illuminated signboard on the east facade of Madison Middle School’s gym. 6:30 pm, school library (45th/Spokane).
NIGHTLIFE: At West 5, it’s “Flat Earth Society” DJ Night on Mondays – tonight at 9, Catbutter spins … Mondays are also Pub Quiz nights at Shadowland, 8 pm.
WADING POOLS THAT *WOULD* BE OPEN … whenever the weather starts getting into the sunny/70 mode, Lincoln Park would have already had its opening day (it’s the one open every day, weather permitting), and today would be opening day for the Hiawatha pool. More info here.
STILL SEEKING SUMMER-CAMP OPTIONS? Over the weekend, we added to our list of local camp programs that have said they still have room. Some start this week – others, later in the summer – see the list here.
When we toured the almost-done Colman Pool renovations last Wednesday with Seattle Parks‘ project manager Garrett Farrell (here’s the resulting story), he insisted we would want to come back to see the final phase of work – labor-intensive hand application of new plaster over almost every square inch of the pool’s surface. And he was right – it was quite a sight when we returned Sunday afternoon. Contractor Orca Pacific‘s president Aaron Kimura told us they had lost a day and a half to the summer downpour – they could have worked through a light rain, he said, but the heavy, steady rain of Friday afternoon and much of Saturday would have washed away their work. However, they are still on track for next Saturday’s opening. It’s a one-of-a-kind pool, as he put it, and a one-of-a-kind jobsite, so we have more photos after the jump:
ORIGINAL REPORT, 10:58 PM: California SW is closed right now between Lander and Admiral as half of the doublewide portable being installed at Lafayette Elementary is currently spanning the full width of the road by the Admiral Safeway entrance.
11:29 PM UPDATE: Added photos during a quick stop at HQ, and going back to check on it. Maneuvering the first of the portable’s two sections (top photo and below) into the parking-lot entry on the north side of Lafayette appeared to be posing quite a challenge, though crew members on scene would not comment on whether it was going according to plan or not. One end of the portable was hanging over the sidewalk right in front of Umpqua Bank on the east side of the street, with little room to maneuver.
We’re heading back to check on how it’s going. Last time we covered a Lafayette portable delivery, it was in daylight – but that was long before the Admiral Safeway redevelopment reconfigured the streetscape, and we’re guessing (pending confirmation tomorrow) that this was scheduled to minimize business impact.
1:26 AM UPDATE: As Gina notes in comments, by 1 am – which is when we went back to check – the first half was out of that precarious street-straddling position and had arrived in place on school grounds, with the second half subsequently being maneuvered into the entrance. So this should all be wrapped up, and the street reopened, long before dawn.
(updated) SIDE NOTE – OTHER SCHOOLS THAT ARE OR WERE SLATED FOR PORTABLES: According to city DPD files, current plans sites for which portable permits were sought this year include 2 single-classroom portables for Schmitz Park Elementary, a double portable for Gatewood Elementary, one single-classroom portable and one double for West Seattle Elementary, a portable (the permit doesn’t specify single or double) for Pathfinder K-8, and two double portables for Chief Sealth International High School. (Monday morning note: We’re crosschecking with the district.)
The years-old proposal for an illuminated, digital sign on the east facade of the Madison Middle School gym hasn’t been settled yet. Tomorrow night, neighbor Claudia informs us, there’s a committee meeting that will include public comments on the proposal, which would require approval of a zoning “departure.” She writes:
Neighbors in the community are very worried that the departure will be accepted and that Seattle Public Schools will add a digital reader board on the Madison Middle School gym. As I’m sure you know, the intersection of 45th Avenue SW and Spokane is a very dangerous corner. We have seen countless automobile accidents (including roll-overs) and many near misses with pedestrians and bicyclists. We do not want to add to driver distraction. This is a very residential neighborhood and we would like to keep it beautiful and safe. Neighbors are currently signing a petition.
Here’s the official public notice for the meeting, which is at 6:30 pm Monday in the Madison library. P.S. We last wrote about the same proposal almost three years ago – at which time a commenter noted that “money for (the sign board) was raised by parents” and said that the proposal already had been in the works for some time by then. West Seattle HS and Chief Sealth IHS both have illuminated digital signs of varying sizes, but unlike Madison, the signs aren’t facing single-family-home neighborhoods.
Seen that wagon? Megan photographed her son and his friend out for a ride one day – and now hopes the photo will help find the culprit who stole it, or at least, will help find the wagon:
I am a single mother with a toddler and no car. To get groceries, or anything else for the matter, we take the wagon. It is impossible for me to carry groceries and keep my two year old from running out in the road. Our wagon was stolen within the last couple of days, from the parking lot in an alley behind my apartments, on 44th, close to (Skate Church).
We bought this wagon from the Senior Center. It is unique, and not a new model by any means. It is called a “Woody Wagon,” which is written on the side. The base is wood, and the walls are red and removeable. When we bought it, the screws started falling out. I took it to the local True Value to get some screws and the GREAT people there replaced all of the nuts/bolts/screws for me.
My son and I ran that wagon up and down the Alaska Junction several times a week, for function and for play, and it was (our) only mode of transportation! It’s just not right!!!
Any info? Let police know.
MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: We’ve been receiving e-mails from people who missed our mention of this in the comment section, so we’re adding it here too: Many kind people offered to buy, give, or loan a new wagon to Megan and her son. She has agreed to accept the offer of the first person who contacted us – moments after this story was published – and that person says it’s on the way. Megan also has posted a comment with words of appreciation, and let us add ours, so happy to see the community open its arms and do what it can to help.
ORIGINAL 3:22 PM REPORT: We’ve just confirmed a reader report that West Marginal Way SW is closed at Highland Park Way. Seattle Fire responded to a “med 6” call in the 5900 block, near Alaska Marine Lines, about an hour ago; another reader tells us she drove by the scene and saw a crash that appeared to involve a motorcyclist thrown off her/his bike. We are working to get more information.
3:36 PM UPDATE: Police near the scene confirm to WSB that the motorcyclist did not survive. We don’t know anything about him/her at this point. West Marginal Way is closed in the 4100 block on the north side (at SW Dakota) and at Highland Park Way on the south side.
3:57 PM NOTE: As far as we can tell from our archives, this is the first deadly crash in West Seattle in nine months, since September 2011, when 53-year-old Bradly Gilmore of Olalla died after swerving his motorcycle to avoid a car on the WS Bridge. We don’t know anything about the circumstances of today’s crash yet.
6:46 PM: Road was still closed when we went by about half an hour ago, though a commenter says some prep has been under way to reopen it – we’ll check back again around 8 but please let us know (in comments or editor@westseattleblog.com) if you see it open again before that.
7:10 PM: SPD Blotter has now published information on the crash, saying witnesses reported the motorcycle appeared to have been “racing” with a black car, but they haven’t yet found that car:
On 6/24/12, witnesses stated that at approximately 2:00 p.m., a motorcyclist and a black car were racing northbound on West Marginal Way.
The motorcyclist either failed to negotiate the curve or was forced off the road by the car. The motorcyclist died instantly after hitting a light pole. The search for the car is ongoing and there are no suspects at this time.
Suspect Vehicle: Black import car with tinted windows, two hood scoops, and a rear spoiler.
Anyone with information about this incident or the above described vehicle is asked to call 911.
This is an active and on-going case. No additional information is available at this time.
(From left, AH principal Christy Collins, Mark Ahlness, 1st-grade teacher Ms. Wilson)
As the school year wound down to its Friday finale, we have featured several farewell celebrations for beloved retiring teachers. In most cases, the celebration plan was announced in advance, and we were honored to be invited to be there to take a photo. At Arbor Heights Elementary, they had to surprise one retiring teacher who by all accounts was hoping to leave (after 21 years there) without much fuss. But we’re glad that a parent volunteer shared the photo, because we wanted to say a special word of thanks to AH’s third-grade teacher Mark Ahlness. As far as we recall, he’s the first West Seattle teacher ever mentioned on WSB – we discovered some of his work almost five years ago, no surprise because one of his many accomplishments was making Arbor Heights one of the first schools to have a website! And the first to publish all its student newsletters online – on Friday, he was also onstage to honor this year’s “Junior Seahawk Reporters”:
He’s coached countless students through online writing – the archive’s at roomtwelve.com – and writes online himself (some of his retirement reflections are here). Over the past few years, he has also from time to time updated us – and therefore, tens of thousands of West Seattleites and other WSB readers – on Arbor Heights students’ achievements, also including the annual Earth Day Groceries Project (a now-international activity, which, like the AH website, was launched in 1994). We know AH Elementary’s community has many more memories of him, but since we didn’t get a chance to sign the banner – we wanted to publicly say “thank you, Mr. Ahlness” too!
Two reader reports for West Seattle Crime Watch: a two-bike theft in Hansen View (south of Providence Mount St. Vincent) with another bike found nearby, and a hit-run in The Junction. Read on for both:Read More
Happy first Sunday of summer! From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
BENEFIT CAR WASH: The Chief Sealth International High School cheerleaders are raising money for cheer camp through a car wash 10 am-2 pm today at the John L. Scott lot in the 5200 block of California SW.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Summer fruit is in the spotlight. 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska.
VCA WEST SEATTLE OPEN HOUSE: The veterinary clinic at 5261 California SW is having an open house 11 am-2 pm – details here.
IF IT WERE SUNNY AND HEADED FOR 70 … this would be the second day of operation for the Lincoln Park wading pool. Just FYI. Whenever that warm weather DOES arrive, it’ll start the season.
SUMMER KICKOFF BARBECUE: Noon-4 pm, free barbecue at Super Deli Mart (35th/Barton), details here.
(added) DUWAMISH LONGHOUSE EXHIBIT OPENS: From the announcement about today’s opening reception, 1-3 pm:
“Taqw-seblu”, Skagit tribal elder Vi Hilbert (1918-2008), is credited with saving Lushootseed– the language spoken by Chief Seattle. In a series of legacy albums produced by Paul Eubanks, the cultural future was permanently preserved in the ancestral stories and wisdom of Taqw-seblu and other tribal elders. It was their wish that the culture be preserved by sharing it – with the goal of making the material available to all who seek it, now and in the future. Paul Eubanks, an adopted grandson of Taqw-seblu, honors these elders with photos, prints and a series of presentations that illuminate the background stories regarding the production of these legacy albums.
The longhouse is at 4705 W. Marginal Way SW.
BLOCK-BY-BLOCK BIOSWALE MEETINGS IN WESTWOOD: King County is having the Westwood editions of its block-by-block meetings about the Barton CSO Project – proposing bioswales for parts of Sunrise Heights and Westwood, to divert runoff – at 1 and 3 pm today; locations here.
WEEKEND DAYTIME MEETING FOR WEST SEATTLE COOKING CLUB: If you’ve been meaning to check out the West Seattle Cooking Club but couldn’t make it to their usual Monday afternoon meetings – here’s your chance, 1 pm, Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW), with the theme “Breakfast.”
TOUR THE LIGHTHOUSE: Just another reminder that the Alki Point Lighthouse is open for tours 1-4 pm on summer Saturdays and Sundays.
Once again for the coming week, we are melding the two lists of major highway/bridge (and related) closures – one from the city, one from the state – to create a day-by-day/night-by-night reference list. This one is for today (June 24th) through next Saturday (June 30th). You’ll find it linked throughout the week atop the WSB sidebar’s “BIG STORIES” link list.
Sunday, June 24 (today)
*No scheduled closures
Monday, June 25
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – No scheduled closures
*Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project – From the city: “North/south traffic at the intersection of Fourth Avenue S and S Spokane Street will likely be limited to one lane in each direction at times between 9 am and 2 pm for construction activity that will proceed across the intersection. One lane of traffic will be closed at a time while construction is done in that lane, before the work shifts to the next lane.”
Tuesday, June 26
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – Closed southbound between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
Wednesday, June 27
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – Closed southbound between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
*Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project – From the city: “The eastbound lanes of surface S Spokane Street will be closed between Fourth and Sixth Avenues S, beginning Wednesday, June 27, at 5 am and continuing until 5 am, Friday morning, June 29. The closure will permit the Union Pacific Railroad to rebuild their rail crossings at S Spokane Street.”
Thursday, June 28
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – Closed southbound between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
*Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project – Eastbound S. Spokane St. closure between 4th and 6th continues all day/night
Friday, June 29
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – Southbound closes 11 pm tonight (to reopen 9 am Sunday)
Saturday, June 30
*Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 – Southbound closed all day
A memorial service is scheduled Tuesday for Anne Hollister, who spent 20 years of her life in the West Seattle/Burien area. Her family shares this remembrance:
Anne K. Hollister (Frederiksen)
Anne was born to Danish immigrant parents, Soren and Margrethe Frederiksen, in Granite Falls, WA on May 7, 1928. She died peacefully at the Norse Home in Seattle on June 18, 2012.
She was proud of her Danish heritage and was active in the Danish community in Seattle for more than 50 years. She was a long-time member of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church and the Danish Sisterhood and gave many hours of service. Her greatest joy was her family—especially her nine grandchildren.
Thanks to Debra Salazar Herbst for the beautiful photo from tonight’s sunset. She notes that, following today’s deluge, logs and other debris have been floating by. (The evening tide is relatively high – 12 feet – per the chart, so that might also play into it.) Tomorrow’s forecast is “mostly cloudy, chance of showers” – but that was what TODAY’S forecast was (no hint of the multi-hour deluge), so you might just want to keep the rainjacket and/or umbrella close by.
ADDED SUNDAY MORNING: Another sunset view, in which you can see the logs if you look very closely at the water. Thanks to Bill Bacon for this photo:
And as of this writing … we have sun!
We’ve seen a lot in the past of Lincoln Park’s owls – tonight, two of Fauntleroy Park’s owls:
Thanks to Gary Pro and Luli Weatherwax, who live by Fauntleroy Park, for sharing that photo of a baby owl, spotted sitting on their backyard bench this morning.
Meantime, Fauntleroy Park steward Steven Hodson forwarded this photo:
It’s by Kristian Nilssen, who’s not only a photographer and park volunteer, but also goalkeeper on this year’s high-achieving Chief Sealth International High School soccer team.
(1st three photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
One event that did NOT get rained out today – the Alki Bathhouse celebration of the 10th anniversary of Springer the orca’s family reunion, hosted by West Seattle-headquartered The Whale Trail. Above, a Springer likeness at the kids’ activities table; attendees of all ages listened to memories of what it took to get Springer safely home to her family in Canada, after she was found hundreds of miles away in Puget Sound:
As recounted on The Whale Trail’s website, “Two governments and hundreds of people worked together to get the little whale home. But the final step was up to the orcas – Would her family recognize her? Would they accept her back?” They did – and that is why the achievement, and Springer’s ongoing life with her family, is cause to celebrate:
Springer is a northern resident orca, belonging to a group separate from her Puget Sound cousins, southern resident orcas. The northern residents are believed to number more than 200, more than twice the size of the southern residents, which are officially listed as endangered. Groups like The Whale Trail are working to educate people about how to help them survive; that’s why, as part of today’s event, TWT dedicated new signage you’ll find in West Seattle – placed along the shore, where you can watch whales in a way that impacts them the least:
The Whale Trail provided that photo, noting that, “George Taylor, sons and members of the Le-La-La First Nations dance company performed a killer whale mask dance and other traditional ‘Kwakwakakw dances. Members of the group from a canoe in Dong Chong Bay greeted Springer with the same mask when she returned home 10 years ago.”
ADDED 11:55 PM: Thanks to Alki photographer David Hutchinson for this view of the mask as the dancers performed inside the bathhouse:
P.S. If you weren’t here and/or don’t remember the coverage of the rescue and reunion – there’s some archive video in this recent story by Canada’s CTV that’s viewable via YouTube.
Update on the Kits Cameras closure at Jefferson Square (first reported here yesterday) – we got a note from Kalani Gamble, a Kits employee, who says:
We are here packing and cleaning. Please let everyone know that they can pick up their orders from us in WS until Tuesday. … Thank you WSB, and we thank West Seattle for their loyal business over the years, we’ll miss being here!
(TOPLINE: Festival started in filtered sun, then came hours of rain/wind, and it ended early)
(Plushies are at Pink Gorilla booth; in the background, plants @ Furry Faces Foundation)
ORIGINAL 11:36 AM REPORT: “Filtered sunshine,” dry weather, warm-ish temperature! Turned out to be start off as a fine day for a festival here in Morgan Junction. We’re behind Feedback Lounge/Zeeks Pizza with about 20 other booths – and that’s just part of the festival; there’s live music in Morgan Junction Park just steps away, north of Beveridge Place Pub, and kids’ activities across California SW alongside Washington Federal – featuring Young at Art:
Key festival info:
*The entertainment schedule (mostly live music, but including The Bubbleman at 11:30)
*“Bark of Morgan” dog parade and contests, starting at 2 pm
*Here’s the festival site map – the Metro RapidRide bus is here all day; Seattle Fire Engine 37 is due here at 12:30 pm
And we have an update on the “Bite of Morgan.” Five local food/beverage places are offering free samples (stop by the Morgan Community Association booth in the park for your guide) – north to south, it’s Little Prague Bakery with kolach and strudel, Kokoras Greek Grill with stuffed grape leaves, the Feedback with pan-seared barbecue pork chops, Zeeks Pizza with cheese or pepperoni pizza, and Domino’s with mini parmesan bites. You can also visit the West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) barbecue tent outside the store for a $7 lunch, proceeds benefiting the festival (which is an all-volunteer production).
12:09 PM UPDATE: Showers, off and on. The festival continues. The Bubbleman (who is now a West Seattle resident, by the way!) just performed – video:
12:29 PM UPDATE: Serious rain. Some intrepid festivalgoers are still here in jackets and umbrellas. Here’s hoping it’ll dry out later (about to check the radar).
1:21 PM UPDATE: Some booths are folding up – the rain was one thing, but the chilly wind kicked up too, and that seems to have pushed some over the edge. We’re checking with organizers for the official word.
1:40 PM UPDATE: The rain’s lightening a bit but the booths are down to about half a dozen – organizers gave vendors the option to fold up – our neighbors, selling jewelry, say they don’t mind the weather, but since nobody’s coming to visit, there’s no point. We’re continuing to hang out. The band schedule is going moment-to-moment, depending on the electronics and the weather. The dog parade for 2 pm is still on – depending on who shows! SFD and SPD are here too:
2 PM: Furry Faces Foundation hasn’t folded up its plant sale:
But if you want to buy a plant, you’ll have to go find Teri inside the Feedback.
2:25 PM: Speaking of “furry faces”… yes, there was a dog parade!
(added – two more photos – note that this dog didn’t want to look at the camera when posing with its people but did then have something to say to Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker!)
And even though NOW the rain and wind are lifting … the vendors are almost all gone.
3:10 PM UPDATE: The festival has officially come to an early end. Bands cut short, all festival zones being cleaned up/folded up. Thanks to everybody who came out, even in the downpour! We’re among the last to fold up but we’ll be gone shortly since the Feedback/Zeeks back parking lot has reopened to traffic.
Block Watch Captains take on a big responsibility for their neighborhood – but don’t get paid, and don’t always get appreciated. Last night, the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network‘s first-ever BW Captains Appreciation Party was an attempt at remedying that – inviting captains and their guests to a free catered dinner, with music, and dancing. And words of gratitude, from Mayor Mike McGinn – who thanked the captains, saying, “You answered the call for your community” – and police (for whom the mayor had appreciative words too, as he went on to discuss the May 30th shootings):
Among those in our clip (unintroduced, since they were hosting!) were WSBWCN’s leaders, two women who are captains themselves, Karen Berge and Deb Greer:
They made last night’s party happen, too, along with a committee of other volunteers lining up grants and sponsors (WSB joined in, which is why our banner’s in the background of this next photo).
Speaking of banners, WSBWCN has a new one too, shown off at the party (which was at the VFW Hall in The Triangle):
No Block Watch in your area? Here’s how to form one. To get involved with WSBWCN, keep an eye on their website for meeting info – (updated) next one is Tuesday, June 26, 6:30 pm, at the precinct (Delridge/Webster).
(See this RapidRide bus up close and personal @ Morgan Junction Festival today)
Lots going on, no matter what the weather does! From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC REMINDER: Yet another reminder, the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 is closed for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon (till 3:30 pm) and that’s just one of a multitude of closures, as well as bus detours, so if you’re leaving the peninsula … expect the unexpected.
LOOKING FOR YARD SALES? HAVING ONE? Check out the WSB Forums’ Freebies/Deals/Sales section – posting is free. (Be sure to include the date/s in the subject line.)
WEST SEATTLE KIWANIS POKER RUN: The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle is raising money for Children’s Hospital, with its annual Motorcycle Poker Run, Classic Car Show, and barbecue. Check-in 8:30-9:30 am at 40th/Edmunds (and if you didn’t pre-register, no worries, you and your bike can just show up!), then they’re off! Details here.
HELP CLEAN UP AT THE LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: As previewed here earlier this week, volunteer help is appreciated today at West Seattle’s only museum – the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Log House Museum – 9 am to noon. Just show up (61st/Stevens)!
SANISLO WETLAND WORK PARTY: Factoid from Steve Richmond: “Did you know a mature cedar tree can intercept more than 400 gallons of rainfall per year, reducing polluted stormwater runoff that will otherwise foul Puget Sound? Evergreen trees intercept twice the rainfall as deciduous trees, particularly during winter.” 10 am-1 pm today, you can help take care of native plants at the Sanislo School Wetland, 1812 SW Myrtle. Help appreciated even if you have as little as an hour to spare. Meet in front of the school. Bring gloves, hand pruners if you have them (write your name on yours), =and wear sturdy shoes/boots and long sleeves/pants. Snacks and water provided (bring a bottle).
MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: Clouds and showers won’t stop the free fun – 10:30 am-7 pm, live music/performances (The Bubbleman at 11:30 am is a fave with the kids), the “Bark of Morgan” dog parade/contests at 2 pm, ongoing “Bite of Morgan” food sampling, dozens of booths with community organizations and businesses (we’ll be reporting live; come say hi!) – details, map, schedule here.
CELEBRATE SPRINGER ON ALKI: Native dancers, kids’ activities, stories about the amazing work a decade ago that reunited Springer the “orphan orca” with her family … it’s all part of the celebration that The Whale Trail is hosting today (including unveiling their new signs), 11 am-3 pm at Alki Bathhouse. Details on TWT’s website.
HAM RADIO FIELD DAY: Go learn about amateur radio and say hi to local “hams,” during their round-the-clock marathon in the field on the southeast side of the South Seattle Community College campus (6000 16th SW), 11 am today till 11 pm tomorrow. They’re not just hobbyists – they’re a vital link in the local emergency-preparedness ecosystem, too – and they invite you to come check out what’s going on. More info here.
WALK FOR THE BABIES: As previewed here earlier this week – a 5K walk around the track at West Seattle Stadium 3-5 pm today to raise money for a one-of-a-kind facility that helps newborns, between hospital and home, recover from prenatal drug exposure. You’re welcome to join in and/or pledge.
BOWLING FOR BOOBS: Fight breast cancer with a charity bowl-a-thon at West Seattle Bowl (39th/Oregon), starting at 6 pm, benefiting two nonprofits. Details here.
SALSA ON ALKI – WEATHER PERMITTING: If the weather isn’t too wet, it’s the second edition of this summer’s salsa-dancing sessions on Alki (near the bathhouse). Organizers advise checking the Facebook event page around noon to see if it’s on. If it is, it starts around 6 pm.
BLUEGRASS AT KENYON HALL: The Convergence Zone Bluegrass Band (appropriate name for a day like this) plays Kenyon Hall at 7:30 pm.
AFTER THE FESTIVAL – DJ @ THE FEEDBACK: Tonight at 8 pm, segue from the Morgan Junction Community Festival into the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) for DJ SheZaHipChick.
Just a reminder if you are headed out of West Seattle today – the northbound Alaskan Way Viaduct/99 is closed because of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, and scheduled to remain closed till 3:30 pm. (Here’s the full list of race-related closures.)
This weekend, King County Wastewater Treatment Division will send staffers to Sunrise Heights and Westwood for 29 separate block meetings over the course of two days to discuss details of the plan for “green stormwater infrastructure” to reduce combined-sewer overflows (CSO) downhill – officially known as the Barton CSO Control Project. The schedule and locations are shown here, on a flyer distributed to residents recently to get the word out about the meetings, and listed in this news release. The county says the bioswale project will divert enough rainwater out of the combined-sewer system to reduce the number of overflows into Puget Sound from the Barton Pump Station in Fauntleroy – a reduction required by the state and federal governments.
Meantime, one group of skeptical Sunrise Heights neighbors has launched a website to spotlight their questions and concerns about how the bioswales will affect their neighborhood. We reported their story in March (our report details their concerns about the bioswales); last month, they met with county staffers downtown, at which time they were told these block meetings were in the works. Their new website is westseattleraingardens.com. Its front page exhorts neighbors, “If you have questions or concerns about the Barton CSO project, please don’t remain silent. Silence implies acceptance. Please attend the Open Houses, ask the hard questions and carefully note how your questions are answered – or not.” The site includes a “Take Action” page which links to an online petition asking King County Executive Dow Constantine to stop the project, currently scheduled to start construction next year.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
As always, the WSBeat summaries are from reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers, incidents of note that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block (whenever)?”:
*Beware of scammers and the “Pigeon Drop” scheme. If someone approaches you, claims to have inherited money in a foreign country, but needs your help in donating it to a good cause, just say no. On the 7th, a woman was approached at a Westwood Village coffee shop and before the day was done she had driven (with the suspects) to her bank and handed them $20,000 worth of cash and jewelry. Both suspects were described as black females, one with her hair in a “greasy” curly perm who carried a green satchel with three zippers. The other wore purple-framed glasses, a gray leather coat, lots of silver-colored rings and carried a black purse with a circle design.
*In the evening on Saturday the 9th, an alcohol and marijuana-impaired Montana resident was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault after he yelled profanities at children in a High Point park. When an older child told him to leave them alone, he began yelling at her, screaming nonsense, claiming she was his girlfriend. As the children left the area, the suspect followed them until he was confronted by a parent. He punched the parent in the shoulder. In return, the parent punched him in the face, knocked him down, and called 911.
Six more summaries ahead:Read More
| Comments Off on Delridge Day updates: Festival adds food-truck roundup