West Seattle, Washington
30 Thursday
Just in from SDOT, heads-up if you travel anywhere near the stadiums (including the Alaskan Way Viaduct) during your commute home – Thursday night might be dicey:
The Seahawks will play the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday evening, starting at 5:20 p.m. with an estimated attendance of 67,000 fans. Drivers can expect heavy congestion in the areas around the stadium, in the downtown area, and on major routes to the stadium (I-5 and I-90). Seahawks fans are advised to arrive early. Commuters leaving the downtown area may also want to leave early, or wait to leave downtown until after kickoff.
Rezoning for the West Seattle Triangle and part of the adjacent area – including increasing some parcels to a maximum of 85-foot-high development – is back on the agenda tomorrow morning for the City Council’s Committee on the Built Environment (9 am, CIty Hall downtown). They are scheduled to discuss potential changes to the plan presented two weeks ago, and they may vote on whether to send the plan to the full council for final action. The information package, including proposed map and text amendments – with an area of Fauntleroy between Alaska and Edmunds proposed for 85-foot zoning on the east side as well as the west side – is linked from the meeting agenda, which begins with a public-comment period for anyone interested in speaking to the members about this.
Note the missing bulbs, off to the right of the photo, which is from Dan, who explains:
Yesterday we saw a squirrel run off the deck with a bright yellow object in his mouth..and came out to see he had chewed through the wires (and they were turned ON) and grabbed a yellow LED light from the deck railing.
Then today he (or someone he told about it) was back and grabbed another yellow…this time with them unplugged…and later we spotted him with a green one in his mouth running across the deck.
We had no idea that they were nutritious …!
Thought this was very strange, til we found online that this is somewhat common… and most report that the red ones are not ever taken.
12:38 PM: Traffic is blocked by fire units in the northbound lanes of Delridge near Hudson. It’s because of a fire call that started big but reportedly has turned out to be “food on the stove” – we’re still en route to the area to make sure.
1:18 PM: Still haven’t confirmed the cause of the problem – there was smoke visible in the area when we got there – but Delridge is now reopened both ways.
(No orcas in this pic but they’re out there somewhere – shot around 1 pm, light on the Olympics)
11:48 AM: We’re getting reports of orcas in the area – they were first spotted from the Bainbridge ferry about an hour ago; Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail called to say they appeared to be heading this way; and now we’ve just gotten a phone call from someone who saw them from a ferry “between Alki and Blake Island.” We’re out looking – let us know if you spot ’em!
11:55 AM: Just talked to Donna south of Alki Point – the whales are much closer to the Bainbridge side right now, so you’ll need really good binoculars/camera at this point – updates to come if that changes.
1:24 PM: They’re now visible from Lincoln Park, according to wildlife watcher/photographer/writer Trileigh Tucker. Donna also has checked back to say they’re between here and Vashon. Please share photos if you get ’em! Thank you!
Under the direction of Rob Duisberg, that’s the West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ Symphony Orchestra, rehearsing Bartok’s “Rumanian Folk Dances” last night in the auditorium at Chief Sealth International High School. Tonight, that’s where you will find them and the WSCO’s Flute Ensemble in concert, 7 pm. The program also includes works by Dukas, Grieg, Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Liszt, and “A Christmas Festival” by Leroy Anderson. The concert is free; a $5 donation is suggested (WSCO is a nonprofit all-volunteer community organization).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Monday night’s Seattle Public Schools “capacity-management” meeting at the Denny International Middle School Library provided a visual metaphor of the problem it was meant to address.
Every chair in the library was filled by the time the meeting began … and people just kept coming, requiring extras to be brought in, until the room was full, wall to wall.
Six elementary schools in West Seattle are perceived to have a “capacity-management” – overcrowding – problem so serious that something must be done before next year. A seventh school in the area – Chief Sealth International High School – is stuffed too, but while the district is only putting it on a “watch list” for now, its teachers are circulating a petition to get portables, which happen to be among the options proposed for the brimming elementary schools.
If you would like to see and hear the meeting for yourself, here’s our unedited hour-and-a-half video:
And/or, read more details ahead:Read More
Police are investigating the crash that left this car upside-down on SW Kenyon just west of 35th SW – right next to Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor). Nobody hurt, they told us at the scene – the driver got herself out of the car quickly, and firefighters called as a precaution had already left by the time we got there minutes after the 911 call. A car on the other side of the street had front-end damage, and police said it appeared the flipped car had nicked that one. Traffic on 35th wasn’t affected, but SW Kenyon was blocked on the west side of 35th till the car could be taken away.
In addition to the burglaries and break-in attempt featured in our West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports earlier today, we had an inquiry out to police about two other possible incidents heard on the scanner. In response to it all, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen confirms there’s a “notable increase” in home burglaries tracing back to last week – a surprise during a holiday week, he says – and shares these details on trends:
The neighborhoods that are being affected the most are:
· East of Delridge from Spokane St to about SW Holden St, West of the Duwamish.
· South of SW Morgan to the City boundary Line, West of 35th SW.Days and Time:
· Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
· 7 am to 6 pmCurrent trends include 2-3 subjects in a large car (old-retired taxis have been used) in order to put large objects in the trunk or back seat area. The suspects are knocking on the front door, waiting for an answer. If no answer, they are forcing entry via a non-visible door/window.
Our West Seattle folks are doing a great job by calling 911 when they see suspicious circumstances in their neighborhoods. I would also like to remind our citizens to closely work with their neighbors, watching out for each other particularly during times when their homes are vacant during the day.
I don’t want to take the fun/joy out of the Holidays, but criminals will target homes for the gifts lying under the tree. Also, while shopping, please be aware of your personal surroundings as you walk to your car with gifts…It is not unusual for subjects to approach shoppers and forcibly take their packages as well as break into parked vehicles at shopping centers.
There’s more holiday crime-deterrence advice in the latest newsletter from SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Mark Solomon, published here a week ago.
In the back yard of the Menashe Family home on Beach Drive SW, the familiar Christmas characters were ready this afternoon to march (or be marched) into their places out front. A rain-free day meant prime time for serious work on West Seattle’s most famous Christmas lights-and-more display:
Family and friends worked on decking the house, with ladders and the customary cherry-picker:
It’s the most festive work zone in West Seattle:
… with just about every Christmas character imaginable:
There’s a new feature this year – this big star:
Josh Menashe tells WSB that if all goes as planned, they will officially turn on the lights at 5 pm this Thursday (December 1st). There’s no cross-street near where they are, so this map is the best way to find them. P.S. The cable TV show that debuted last year featuring the Menashe Family display, “Invasion of the Christmas Lights 2,” will be shown again on TLC this season – it’s currently scheduled for this Saturday, December 3rd.
(Photo courtesy WSHS)
Drug and alcohol education is standard fare for high-school health class – but 100 students at West Seattle High School got information from two special visitors today: Miss Washington, Brittney Henry, and Washington National Guard’s anti-drug task-force Specialist Brian Eagen. Teachers Sarah Orton and Craig Richardson report that the two visitors discussed the “Effects of Drugs and Alcohol” through “personal stories, surveying students on their knowledge, and teaching the students about drugs and the short/long-term effects of drugs on the body.”
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Public money is paying for it, so where’s the public process?
That is the still-unanswered question roiling the waters of concern over the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) plan to build a 75-unit apartment building in the 5400 block of Delridge Way SW for currently homeless people living with challenges such as mental illness and substance abuse.
Put another way: A city-park playground project, for example, costing a few hundred thousand dollars and taking up less land than the average single-family homesite, might involve at least three public meetings about the site, the design, and a litany of community requests/concerns, with a city-assigned project manager and opportunities to comment by e-mail, phone, or postal mail, as well as in person. But here’s a $12 million project, publicly funded – including more than $4 million city dollars – and no clearly outlined public input process on anything beyond Design Review (by the way, the “design packet” for that 12/8 meeting has just been published to the city website – see it here).
For the second time in two weeks, concerned Delridge residents gathered for an invitation-only discussion at a private home to talk about the project and their concerns, not only neighborhood-specific, but relevant to the big picture – perhaps resulting in changes for other areas who find themselves in a similar situation in the future.
There were several differences from the first meeting, which was held at the home of Betsy Hoffmeister 12 days earlier (here’s our report).
(See ’em in the distance? From @sudsymaggie via Twitter)
The Port of Seattle says three “Super Post-Panamax cranes” have arrived in Elliott Bay, and will be delivered to Terminal 18 tomorrow morning. According to port spokesperson Peter McGraw, “These cranes reach 24 containers wide, and will allow port facilities to handle the largest container vessels made.” The arrival is apparently a bit earlier than expected; this Seattle Times (WSB partner) story from August said they’d arrive in January. ADDED 5:38 PM: A closer photo, from Danny McMillin:
Thanks to Danny and Maggie for sharing photos!
If you follow Seal Sitters‘ updates on their “Blubberblog” site, you know that seal-pup season in West Seattle is still going strong, and volunteers are still getting calls to come out and guard pups on the beach. We in fact got a call earlier today (and referred them immediately to the SS hotline at 206-905-7235). Not sure if this is the same pup, but photos just came in, with this note:
I am just here visiting family in west Seattle. While out walking along the beach today i found a little white seal pup stranded on the rocks off of Alki Beach. He has apparently been seen stuck in this spot before. I called Seal (Sitters) and they came right away and set up a perimeter to help keep him safe.
Thanks for sharing the photos!
In addition to this morning’s 3-report West Seattle Crime Watch roundup, we just got this, from Chloe, victimized by burglar/s near 35th/Roxbury this morning:
It happened about 9:30-11:30 today. My house was rummaged through, PlayStation, games for it, some DVDs, a lap top and possibly a camera. Roommate came home to it in this state. No one was hurt and sadly no one saw anything. An officer just left after taking fingerprints. This is the second tine this has happened this year.
Thanks to everyone who shares their reports, to help keep the greater neighborhood informed. The police are always the first, most important call, but their reports are not made public for quite some time, so in cases like this, our best source of info is you. (The WSB Crime Watch page has the most recent links, plus various crime/police-related resources.)
Driving through The Junction this morning, we noticed the crews out decking the storefronts with holiday greenery – so of course we had to stop for the photo op. It’s Hometown Holidays (co-sponsored by WSB) time, with Shop Late Thursdays resuming this week, followed by the Junction Tree Lighting this Saturday night at Junction Plaza Park, also looking lovely in the sunshine:
The day after the tree is lit, it’s the first Hometown Holidays Sunday (December 4th), including Junction-presented Santa photos 11 am-3 pm at City Mouse Studio and Store (suggested $15 donation goes to local charities). But you don’t have to wait till the weekend, or even till Shop Late Thursday, to enter The Junction’s $3,500 Holiday Raffle:
Boxes like the one we found this morning at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) await you at more than 30 businesses throughout The Junction (listed here) – it’s free to enter. Meantime, the full Hometown Holidays schedule is here; West Seattle-wide holiday info (events, trees, Christmas ships, giving opportunities, more) is on the WSB Holidays page.
Five years after a deadly crash at 47th/Admiral – which stretches between the corners holding busy Life Care Center and Alki Mail & Dispatch, and is within a half-mile of two elementary schools – neighborhood leaders are still campaigning for a pedestrian signal. So this morning, the Admiral Neighborhood Association led a rally at the five-way intersection – in memory of 26-year-old Tatsuo Nakata, killed there in November 2006 (the 9th pedestrian killed in Seattle that year, it was pointed out at the time).
Speaking during the rally were former Seattle City Councilmember David Della, for whom Mr. Nakata had worked, and current Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Transportation Committee, as well as ANA president Katy Walum and vice president Karl de Jong – who lives across the street and heard the crash:
As Councilmember Rasmussen noted, “There have been a lot of changes at this intersection” since the deadly crash, “but I don’t think it’s enough.”
The light request is a frequent topic at ANA meetings (usually the second Tuesday of the month, 7 pm, Admiral Congregational Church at California/Hill); this past March, Walum read an SDOT letter turning down the request, but the group vowed not to give up. That was about nine months after they stepped up the campaign (June 2010 WSB coverage here), including a pitch to Mayor McGinn and Council President Richard Conlin at a meeting of the 34th District Democrats, whose chair Tim Nuse joined in this morning’s rally.
Just announced and potentially of interest to local families as well as educators: Holy Family Parish School is hosting a forum on “dual language immersion,” 8 am-3 pm this Saturday, and principal Frank Cantwell says the public is invited; it’s not specifically about his school, but about this educational philosophy/method in general:
Seattle and Highline Public Schools have been operating immersion schools for a number of years, and have agreed to come and discuss their programs. In the afternoon, we will have a panel of experts who will answer questions on the subject. We are inviting the public to come and listen to the speakers. This is an opportunity to learn more about this new and exciting way to teach languages. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the principal of Holy Family, Frank Cantwell, at 206-767-6640.
Here’s a flyer with more information.
Hope you had a festive holiday weekend. As we start the week with sunshine promised, here are highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
LIFE’S JOURNEYS: Mondays through December 19th 1-2:30 pm at West Seattle Senior Center. From organizers: “This group will explore the territory we find ourselves in when involved in a significant transition. Are you in a changing time – relationships, housing, health, mobility, losses, retirement, etc? Are you looking for ways to make new connections?” Facilitated by Laurie Becharas, Licensed Marriage and Family therapist, and D’vorah Kost, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Cost: $20/month donation; no one turned away for inability to pay.
REOPEN SCHOOLS? MORE PORTABLES? OR? Those are some of the questions Seattle Public Schools faces in the “capacity management” process under way now, with decisions for next fall to be made soon. Tonight, hear the district’s latest proposals and offer your opinions at Denny International Middle School, 6 pm. Details here.
WEST SEATTLE RESERVOIR PARK: An update is on the agenda for the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, 7 pm at Parks HQ downtown.
TRAFFIC REMINDER IF YOU TRAVEL THROUGH GEORGETOWN: The big Airport Way project is scheduled to begin today – with a 14-month closure projected.
Two reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch, one about a burglary this past weekend, one about a break-in attempt last week while residents were home – read on (added 9:55 am, gas siphoning interrupted in progress):Read More
(Photo courtesy Admiral Neighborhood Association)
Admiral Neighborhood Association leaders gathered at Alki Mail and Dispatch tonight to make signs for tomorrow morning’s safety rally in tribute to Tatsuo Nakata, hit and killed while crossing at that intersection (47th/Admiral) five years ago this month. They’re hoping everyone who shares safety concerns about the area will join them there at 7 am tomorrow (Monday); they’ve been asking the city for a signal there, to improve pedestrians’ chances of making it across OK. (More in the preview published here yesterday.)
Thanks to Trileigh Tucker (above) and Greg (below) for sharing their photos of tonight’s intensely colorful sunset! It started closer to the hue in her photo … then just kept deepening. Also note one bonus feature in Trileigh’s photo, taken from a Lincoln Park bluff:
Two eagles kept flying back and forth across the sunset, and they’ve both been hanging around the nest this fall – great news for the chances of an eaglet this spring! This photo with the eagle and the ferries and the sunset reminded me (though it’s hard to forget) that West Seattleites really do live in the most beautiful place on earth!
Latest forecast says we may see fog tomorrow morning – then a mostly sunny day.
7:55 PM: WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli checked out this crash that happened a short time ago at 35th/Fauntleroy. No major injuries, he reports, but it’s blocking part of the road, as you can see, so slow going till it’s cleared.
ADDED 8:14 PM: More info from Christopher, who was on the scene right after it happened: He says the BMW station wagon was just off the bridge and collided with a minivan going the other way; both drivers, who appeared to be alone in the cars, got out of the vehicles right afterward. Bystanders pushed the BMW out of the main traffic lanes but the minivan wasn’t so easily dealt with – since it lost its driver’s-side rear tire.
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