West Seattle, Washington
19 Wednesday
Sunday night means it’s time for our weekly list of traffic alerts/notes for the week ahead – as announced so far. This week’s big highlight will be the long-awaited opening of the new westbound Spokane Street Viaduct on/offramp at 1st Avenue South; SDOT says that will happen by 6 am Friday. Here’s what else is ahead:
TONIGHT (Sunday 8/26)
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound, Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
MONDAY 8/27
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound, Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
TUESDAY 8/28
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound, Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
Spokane Street Viaduct: Not on the SSV itself, but beneath it, northbound 1st Avenue South will close 10 pm-5 am at S. Spokane (explained here)
WEDNESDAY 8/29
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound, Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
Spokane Street Viaduct: Not on the SSV itself, but beneath it, northbound 1st Avenue South will close 10 pm-5 am at S. Spokane (explained here)
THURSDAY 8/30
99/Alaskan Way Viaduct: Closed southbound, Battery St. Tunnel to West Seattle Bridge, 9 pm-5 am
Spokane Street Viaduct: Not on the SSV itself, but beneath it, northbound 1st Avenue South will close 10 pm-5 am at S. Spokane (explained here)
FRIDAY 8/31
Spokane Street Viaduct: New 1st Avenue South on/offramp from the westbound SSV is scheduled to open by 6 am today.
In case you need to refer back to this list during the week – it will remain linked atop the BIG STORIES list on the WSB sidebar.
West Seattle’s newest public school is one of the first to have its “back-to-school bash” – thanks to Robin and Kathleen for the info on today’s event for families assigned to the brand-new K-5 STEM at Boren:
Sunday, August 26th from 5 pm – 9 pm
WHERE: Lincoln Park Shelter 1 & picnic tables 1-22 are reserved
South parking lot by the zip line playgroundWHAT: Food, friends and fun including a water balloon toss, red rover, and feel free to bring things to play with (footballs, soccer balls, bubbles)
Please bring a potluck food to share and drinks, plates and utensils for just your family! If you can donate – PLEASE bring a uniform item (shirt / pants / shorts / skirt) to the back-to-school-bash. We will have a donation box there – and would love to have inventory for families before school starts!
1st day of school for Seattle Public Schools is one week from Wednesday, September 5th.
(Video of everyone as they started the 5K, first through last person across the line)
FIRST REPORT, 9:35 AM: Half an hour after they began, the runners and walkers are continuing to cross the line at the Alki Beach 5K, raising money for Northwest Hope and Healing, the West Seattleite-led nonprofit that helps breast-cancer patients.
Unofficial first results: Kelly Spady (photo above) was first male runner across the line, Karra Whitmire the first female:
Spectacular morning to run and/or walk along the beach. Video, more photos, and more results to come.
9:45 AM UPDATE: And now the official info on the top two F and top two M, from the timing booth:
*Females: 34-year-old Karra Whitmire of Bothell in 20:34 (chip time), 30-year-old Rebecca Martin of Seattle (21:09)
*Males: 25-year-old Kelly Spady of Mukilteo in 17:12, 17-year-old Jack Griffing of Mountlake Terrace (18:13)
Jack is #838, right in front in this photo shared by Alki’s David Hutchinson:
Almost 1,000 people were signed up as of just before race time – we’ll check back with NWHH. We’ll also be adding video from the start of the race (our traditional “all participants as they head out” clip), including what the special inspirational guest speaker, survivor Tami Hyldahl-Haan, told the runners/walkers just before the start. (Photo added) Here’s Tami, with, at left, race emcee Eric Radovich:
(video added) Tami spoke of the help she received from NWHH after she was diagnosed shortly after she was widowed:
Note: There were two medical calls before the end of the race – one in the 2800 block of Alki, one in the 1700 block. Police told us the person in the 1700 block collapsed with a possible heart attack; race organizers confirm they got word it’s someone who was registered as a walker. We don’t have any condition information so far.
ADDED 12:25 PM: Yet more scenes, as we go through our photos – Before the race, its eventual winner, Kelly Spady, was up atop the Statue of Liberty Plaza steps leading the stretch with West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) proprietors Lori and Tim McConnell (for whom Kelly works, we noted when he won the West Seattle 5K in May):
Here’s the crowd they were leading:
Once all of today’s results are available online, looks like this will be the link.
5:07 PM UPDATE: They’re up now.
Along with the Alki Beach 5K – previewed earlier – here are today’s highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERTS: This morning, Alki Avenue SW is closed for the Alki Beach 5K. Tonight, southbound 99/Alaskan Way Viaduct closes 9 pm-5 am.
LIBRARIES’ LAST DAY: After today, Seattle public libraries are closed till the day after Labor Day. If you need to get to a library before the shutdown, two are open in West Seattle this afternoon – the Southwest (35th/Henderson) and West Seattle (Admiral District) branches, 1-5 pm.
WSUU RUMMAGE SALE, DAY 2: 9 am-2 pm, the bargains continue, 7141 California SW.
CATS/KITTENS FOR ADOPTION AT NEXT TO NATURE: 11 am-3 pm at Next to Nature in The Junction, find your next furry friend.
‘TELLING OUR WESTSIDE STORIES’ OPENS: The Log House Museum opens its brand-new exhibit 1-4 pm – details here.
DESIGN OPEN HOUSE AT FIRE STATION 36: Come see, and comment on, the plans for upcoming work at the fire station on the north end of Delridge, 2-4 pm.
ARBOR HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY KINDERGARTEN PLAYDATE: 3 pm, incoming kindergarteners and their families are invited to the school playground 3-4:30 pm.
GARDEN PARTY FOR REFERENDUM 74: Alki UCC and Kol HaNeshamah co-sponsor a garden party 3-5 pm to support marriage equality.
ALKI ARTS EVENT: Live music with Eric Freeman and Westside Mojo, 6-9 pm. Details here.
Even more on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar!
Northwest Hope and Healing‘s annual benefit walk/run, the Alki Beach 5K, is happening this morning – so Alki Avenue SW will be closed from 63rd SW east/southeastward, approximately 8 am-11 am. You can still join in the 5K, too, even if you’re not signed up yet; on-site registration starts at 8 am, by the Alki Bathhouse.
Police are investigating a stabbing in High Point. Medic crews taking the victim to the hospital described her via emergency radio as 41 years old and suffering three stab wounds that are believed to have happened during a fight with someone she knows in the 6000 block of Lanham SW. We don’t have information so far about any possible suspect(s).
Police have a mystery on their hands. That car was found, flipped, at Ferry and California Way just before midnight. Officers told us at the scene that when they arrived, nobody was inside; they were trying to find out if anyone saw what happened, or who had been driving.
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
The Duwamish River represents much of West Seattle’s eastern border – and while it was in and around South Park, today’s Duwamish River Festival was for everyone in the region to celebrate the river, and each other. Above, Alki Kayak Tours (WSB sponsor) guide Jimmy Pasch on one of AKT’s free river kayak tours. Back on shore, the Duwamish Tribe‘s T’ilibshudub (Singing Feet), with Ashley Shelafoe in the forefront:
Also from the Duwamish:
The festival celebrated many cultures as well as the life in and around the river itself. The Rainier Vista Khmer Dance Group also performed:
So did Mexican folkloric dancers Flokórico Guelaguetza:
Children played games – Brian Coyotecatl reached for a disc during a fishing game:
Catherine Harris turned heads in her crab costume:
Back on the river, signs of the many cleanup and restoration projects under way:
And the tours continued:
They educated all ages – including, in the next photo, 7-year-old Rea Williams – about the river’s status as both habitat and industrial zone:
The festival featured lots of education onshore too, especially from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, which presented the festival. DRCC’s James Rasmussen spoke with Mayor McGinn:
The mayor will be back in this area next Tuesday (August 27) for a Town Hall at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle).
(Click image to see larger size)
Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand
Seattle Lutheran High School‘s football season starts one week from tonight.
This afternoon, the players, coaches, and cheerleaders took to the West Seattle Stadium field for a “Media Day” full of photo sessions and drills, under a perfect blue sky – SLHS blue, of course.
The invitation came from the Saints’ new head football coach, Jeff Scott, who posed with his staff:
(Screenshot from the City Light outage map)
5:43 PM: Thanks to Helen for the tip: There’s a small power outage around Fairmount Ravine – 21 homes, according to the Seattle City Light outage tracker – with a downed tree/wires reported to be to blame. (Bev says, via Facebook, Fairmount is blocked between Harbor and Forest.)
9:51 PM UPDATE: City Light has updated the marker to 13 homes, with power expected back for them around 1 am. We also have added a photo shared by Helen, showing the problem.
You are invited to the Camp Long Dessert Auction & Coffeehouse Concert Fundraiser, 6:30 to 9 pm on Saturday, September 22nd. (The entrance to the 68-acre park is at 5200 35th SW.)
This event will also celebrate completion of the new “Hub and Spoke” element, phase 2 of Camp Long’s Ropes Challenge Course installation. Attendees can explore the Hub and Spoke on the Challenge Course from the ground, and purchase raffle tickets for a chance to be the first to explore the Hub and Spoke element in the air. Here’s how Camp Long describes it:
The Hub and Spoke element is both physically and mentally challenging, consisting of high platforms, interconnected activities, routes on slim beams, wobbly steps, and swings and ropes to clutch or walk on. Trained facilitators lead participants, always harnessed in safety equipment, through the course … A hub and spoke course is built like a wheel; activities radiate from a center hub with a large platform to the outside poles, which are then connected together by other activities.
Phase 1 of the Challenge Course was officially dedicated and opened with a celebration in September of last year. The Sept. 22 event is $10; raffle tickets will be on sale the entire evening, while homemade and local-business-made desserts are auctioned and local musicians play.
Last year, racing individually in The Great Cross-Sound Race round-trip from Alki, Evan Jacobs and Tyler Peterson placed third and sixth respectively; today, rowing together, they finished first. Their announced time of 59:03 was 9-plus minutes over the course record they set together in 2006, but today, wind and waves factored into Sound Rowers‘ annual race, which drew more than 30 participants:
They headed out to Blakely Rock, off Bainbridge Island, and back, starting just after 9 this morning. Don Kiesling was second to finish:
Finishing third, Christian Roth and Josh Proctor. Among the sights at sea before the rowers started crossing the finish line, the U.S. Coast Guard was even out keeping an eye on things:
On shore, Peterson and Jacobs (who also are past North American Open Water Rowing champions) had a welcoming party:
And then some help getting everything back on shore:
You can watch later for full race results on the Sound Rowers website.
We’re an hour away from this year’s Duwamish River Festival – and this group of festivalgoers is paddling there. The Blue Heron Canoe left West Seattle’s Don Armeni Boat Ramp just after 9 am to head toward and down the river to Duwamish Waterway Park, where the festival (free!) is happening noon-4 pm – entertainment, education, boat rides, bouncy house, more. Shortly after leaving the dock, the canoe moved into sunlight sparkling off the water – that photo’s on the WSB Facebook page. Beautiful morning!
(Sign of imminent fall? Get out and enjoy the rest of summer! Photo by Machel Spence)
Happy weekend! From the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar (where you will find the full list of what’s happening today/tonight in and around West Seattle – these are just a few notes and highlights):
CITYWIDE TRAFFIC ALERTS: Here’s the SDOT roundup of what’s happening where this weekend.
ROWING RACE FROM ALKI: Sound Rowers‘ Great Cross-Sound Race is scheduled to start off Alki at 9 am, headed west to Blakely Rock and back – details here.
MEGA-RUMMAGE SALE: The Westside Unitarian Universalists are having another big rummage sale, 9 am-3 pm at 7141 California in Gatewood – details in the calendar listing.
SHREDDING FUNDRAISER: 9 am-noon at 3720 California SW, benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – details here.
DUWAMISH RIVER FESTIVAL: First come the 9 am-noon Walk/Bike/Paddle events to get there; then noon-4 pm at 7900 10th Avenue South in South Park, the festival! Entertainment schedule and event highlights are in our preview from Friday.
LOG HOUSE TO LONGHOUSE BIKE TOUR: A history lesson on two wheels! Meet at the Log House Museum on Alki (61st/Stevens) – ride scheduled to start at 10 am.
REC TECH TEENS SHOW THEIR WORK: Teens from Delridge Community Center and Southwest Teen Life Center invite you to a screening of their creations downtown, 11 am today – find out more here.
SEATTLE LUTHERAN FOOTBALL: New Seattle Lutheran High School football coach Jeffrey Scott says “Media Day” today is actually open to everyone:
As a way to show our appreciation to our fans and the community, the Seattle Lutheran football team will be doing a Media Appreciation Day at 1 pm at West Seattle Stadium. It is free to get in!! Please come out and meet the players and staff. We have invited special guests from the Seahawks, UW,WSU and a host of media outlets. We are inviting the West Seattle community to come out and enjoy media day with the Seattle Lutheran High School Football team.
‘TOP GUN’ WRAPS UP OUTDOOR-MOVIE SERIES: “Top Gun” screens at dusk in the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard at 4410 California SW, as the final West Seattle Outdoor Movies presentation of the season. It’s more than a movie – there’s preshow entertainment, free pizza, benefit concessions and raffle … detailed in our preview from last night with full details.
LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT: Several venues – see the listings on the calendar.
Tomorrow night, “Top Gun” is on the big screen in the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard (4410 California SW) as the grand finale to this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies season, and the weather’s looking good. We featured the movie’s trailer earlier this week – so the clip above is a different preview, the official music video for the big love song from the 1986 hit, Berlin‘s “Take My Breath Away” (with movie scenes as well as the musicians in a vaguely relevant setting). The movie’s co-sponsors are bringing something extra – Pagliacci Pizza will have free pizza; Jackson, Morgan & Hunt PLLC (WSB sponsor) has put together a “Top Gun” basket for the raffle benefiting WestSide Baby – including tickets to the Museum of Flight! – and there’ll be live preshow music by Jeremy Serwer and the Spaghetti Benders. The movie’s expected to start around 8:15 pm; come early, stake out your spot, get your pizza, buy raffle tickets (concessions will benefit WS Baby too), and enjoy summer’s last movie night.
Two West Seattle wildlife photos to share tonight – first, received a little while ago from contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli, a young bird he identifies as a juvenile bald eagle (commenters ID it as a hawk): “I just spotted this guy sunning himself on a utility wire over my alley near the Junction.”
Next, Alki photographer David Hutchinson spotted these two baby raccoons on the beach earlier this week:
Thanks to everyone who shares photos with the community via WSB – along with sharing by e-mail, you’re also welcome to contribute to the WSB Flickr group any time!
The city’s new rules about employer-paid sick leave and safe time are about to take effect, so the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring a workshop to help businesses be sure they’re in compliance. It’s next Tuesday (August 28th), 5:30-7 pm at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way SW). The workshop is free but the Chamber requests that you pre-register – you can use this link to do that online right now, or call 206-932-5685. (If you’re not sure whether the new law applies to your business – the city offers lots of info here.)
When SDOT announced late Thursday that the long-awaited new 1st Avenue South onramp/offramp from the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct would open next Friday (WSB coverage here), they hadn’t set a time yet – but now they have. Just heard from project spokesperson Paul Elliott that the ramp will be open by 6 am Friday (August 31st).
(WSB photo of boat rides during 2008 Duwamish River Festival)
Sunshine is expected again tomorrow, so it’ll be a great day to spend part of your Saturday a short distance east of West Seattle, at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park, for the annual Duwamish River Festival.
The day will start with the Walk/Bike/Paddle fundraiser to help support the festival and get you there in a fun way – starting at 9 am, with departures from West Seattle. Not too late to sign up! Check out the options here.
Once you get to the park (7900 10th Ave. S. – map), here’s the entertainment and activity lineup, courtesy of Alberto Rodriguez at the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition:
T’ilibshudub/“Singing Feet”, Duwamish Tribal Youth Dance Group – 12-12:30 p.m.
Flokórico Guelaguetza, Mexican folkloric dance – 12:45-1:15 p.m.
Rainier Vista Khmer Dance Group, the longest running Cambodian Culture Dance Group in Seattle that presents our Khmer heritage – 1:30-2:00 p.m.
Vicious Puppies Crew, mind-blowing break dancing youth group – 2:15-2:45 p.m.
Supersones, Rootsy, acoustic Cuban dance music from the Northwest’s premier Son band – 3-3:50 p.m.
We will have a bouncy house that will be going from 12:30-4:00 p.m., a dunk tank that will be happening for 10 minutes every half hour … we will have raffles inbetween acts, last year’s Seafair Queen (Veronica Quintero) will be our bilingual MC, a fire truck for the first couple of hours, boat and kayak tours, a free water taxi running from Georgetown to South Park, a bicycle repair shop (throughout the whole event), free lunch (tamales, hot dogs and salad), interactive educational booths and many other things.
If you have been thinking and/or dreaming of remodeling, you might as well take local experts up on their offer of free advice, no obligation. Award-winning Ventana Construction (longtime WSB sponsor) is hosting another free workshop at its West Seattle headquarters tomorrow (northeast corner of California and Findlay) and you’re invited – noon to 1 pm, with information about custom building too. Here’s the Facebook page for the event; just call 206-932-3009 ASAP to RSVP. (P.S. If your potential remodeling zone is the basement, check out what Ventana co-owner Anne Higuera shared with houzz.com.)
Before you check out for the weekend – a traffic reminder for Sunday morning. Alki Avenue SW will be closed approximately 8-11 am Sunday, from 63rd SW eastward, for the annual Northwest Hope and Healing-benefiting Alki Beach 5K. (In case you’d like to sign up – there’s registration info in our detailed preview from earlier this week.)
(Sanderlings on Alki, photographed by Danny McMillin, shared via Flickr; his first sighting since late winter)
Highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
BACK-TO-SCHOOL RESOURCE FAIR: 11 am-1:30 pm at Neighborhood House‘s High Point Center. Free backpacks and school supplies available for families who attend a workshop. More info here.
TAI CHI AT SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN: Drop-in class with Restita DeJesus from the Seattle Wushu Center, 4:30 pm. The garden is on the north end of the South Seattle Community College campus (6000 16th SW).
SUMMER CONCERTS AT THE MOUNT, SEASON FINALE – ALOHA! Rainbow of Hawaii performs at 6 pm at Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor) in the parking lot/courtyard area on the south side of the campus (4831 35th SW). The show is free; starting at 5:30 pm, if you’re interested, dinner/drinks can be purchased; tonight’s dinner entree is a jerk chicken sandwich with mango salsa, and hot dogs/hamburgers (including veggie options) are available too.
WINE TASTING: At Bin 41 in The Junction, 6-7:30 pm, “wacky wines with Greg from Cordon. … Greg shares our passion for being open minded and trying new things. … He’ll be pouring a Tokaji Furmint Sec from Hungary, a white made from Romorantin (local grape in the Cheverny appellation of the Loire Valley, a Carignan from the Languedoc Roussilon region, a hearty red from the Duoro region of Portugal and another fun red.”
SKATING AT ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER: 6:45-8:45 pm, the almost-weekly roller-skating event; more info in our listing.
NIGHTLIFE: At Skylark Café and Club, some of the folks who brought you Morning Glory Drag Brunch (which recently had its finale) are launching the West Side Glory variety show, tonight at 8 pm, details on this Facebook event page … Barbie Anaka sings at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 8 pm … At Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), Chloroformula and special guest Brad Yaeger & the Country Gentlemen perform, 9 pm … And announced by Bamboo Bar and Grill on Alki:
West Seattle resident DJ Aussie will be playing the hottest tunes, mixing them with your favourite old skool, 70s, 80s, 90s, today, and top 40 hits! GM John will be there with us, as well as Security. Come and enjoy an awesome night out with your friends partying, and ‘shaking ya tail feather.’ 10 pm-1 am
And at The Bridge:
Billy Joe Huels of the Dusty 45s playing with special guests. This guy is amazing and we are expecting quite a show on the dance floor! Lots of great swing dancers are expected to make an appearance. Honky Tonk Party!!!
(Photo courtesy Tina D)
FIRST REPORT, 11:29 PM: Via the scanner, police say southbound 35th is closed at Dawson right now (by Camp Long) because of a crash – described as a hit-run. They say witnesses report the vehicle that took off after the crash was a black Jeep Liberty likely to have serious front-end damage. (Call 911 if you have any information on that.) No word of injuries so far; we’re off to check it out.
12:22 AM: Back from the scene. Thanks to Tina for sharing the photo added atop the story; WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli was already there when we arrived to check it out – the next three images are his:
Witnesses told us the driver of the mangled Mini, hit head-on, was taken to the hospital, but did not seem seriously hurt; the scene, however, was aptly described by Christopher as a “car-parts explosion.”
The Mini’s engine wound up on the west sidewalk of 35th; other pieces and parts were in the planting strip and the street, the full width of 35th. There was word a car on the other side might have been “nicked.” One tree on the west side was knocked down, and witnesses told us two others were damaged.
1:36 AM: Added photos from Christopher. The wrecked Mini has been taken away on a flatbed tow truck; a standard tow truck arrived fairly quickly, but the car was in no shape to roll away with that kind of truck, so a flatbed had to be brought in instead.
9:38 AM UPDATE: Just checked with SPD to ask if there was any news of the reported second car having been found. According to media liaison Det. Mark Jamieson, while the final report is not available yet, information in the system matches what we reported above; officers checked 35th as far south as Barton for any sign of the other vehicle (that’s the direction in which it was reported to be traveling) and found nothing. SDOT crews had to be called to help clean up the scene, since the debris (including the downed tree) had spread so widely.
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