West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
(video of traffic detour added 10:41 pm)
Just got a text message that 35th is blocked at Dawson (map). 911 log says it’s a medic response, “7 per rule,” which signifies generally that a major injury is involved or suspected. En route to find out more. 9:25 PM UPDATE: On the south side of this incident, 35th is actually blocked off at Brandon (map) – that’s where police are turning people around. This is near Camp Long. 9:30 PM UPDATE: Just got word from Karen, who lives nearby, that it’s a car vs. pedestrian crash. 9:38 PM UPDATE: The person who was hit has been taken to the hospital already. Our person at the scene is trying to find out more about the circumstances of the collision. At least one TV crew is there too and we’re told a Seattle Police lieutenant will be briefing media shortly. 9:55 PM UPDATE: The area is blocked off as a crime scene; still awaiting those briefing details. We have no confirmation yet on the victim’s condition; depending on how seriously the victim was hurt, you can expect 35th to be closed for some hours to come. The last deadly crash on 35th was last fall, when 85-year-old Oswald Clement was hit and killed crossing at 35th/Othello near the fire station (WSB coverage included this story about a tribute to Mr. Clement’s remarkable life). The last deadly pedestrian crash anywhere in West Seattle was the one in February near Westwood Village that killed 55-year-old Teri Soike (WSB followup here). 10:12 PM UPDATE: OK, here’s the official info from Southwest Precinct Lt. Ron Smith: The pedestrian is a man around 40 years old, hit by a car when he ran out into the street chasing after his dog. He has head injuries but that’s the only information police will provide on his condition. The driver who hit him is apparently not hurt. The dog is reportedly OK. Police say more investigators are on the way and there’s no indication how long 35th will remain closed. Adding scene video momentarily. Will check back on the situation in the hours to come. 10:53 PM UPDATE: Added video – the clip at the top of this post shows where police are redirecting traffic (the vehicle involved in the crash, a silver SUV, was out of view at the time); this next clip is Lt. Smith talking about what happened, with a few more details:
We’ll let you know when 35th reopens. 11:38 PM UPDATE: Still closed, in case you were wondering. 12:28 AM UPDATE: Just a few minutes ago, the SUV was towed, the police cars cleared, and 35th reopened in both directions. Getting an update on the victim’s condition from hereon out may be difficult, but we will see what we can find out in the morning. 1:04 AM UPDATE: Lt. Smith tells us there’s no major update on the victim’s condition, aside from the description of his injuries as “extensive.”
Went down the hill to Thriftway in Morgan Junction a short time ago; as we got out of our car, the gentleman you see in the photo above was a few steps ahead of us, heading for a spot outside the store’s southwest-facing door. He identified himself as a paid signature-gatherer for petitions pursuing a referendum to cancel the 20-cent disposable-bag fee (and foam ban) just approved by the City Council (original WSB report, with 60+ comments, here). He said he wasn’t sure who’s sponsoring the referendum (we’ll be looking that up shortly), just that he’s got a contract to get paid to gather signatures. And from a quick look at the petitions (photo at left) after he’d been in business just about 15 minutes, he seemed to be having a success rate of almost one signature per minute. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: Still trying to figure out how to find out who’s behind this. Found the city rules for referendums, and they note that you do not have to file anything in advance to circulate petitions – and you’re not supposed to bring them in till you think you have at least the required number (almost 15,000) – so this wouldn’t necessarily be on record anywhere.
The Highland Park Improvement Club (NOT the same as the HP Action Committee, though HPAC meets at the HPIC’ historic facility) is having its big annual rummage sale right now, 12th/Holden, under way till 3 pm. (If you live in the area, you can also join in its potluck starting at 1 pm, but everyone’s welcome to come browse/shop!) HPIC, by the way, is the oldest community club in Seattle – founded in 1919, which is why its web address is hpic1919.org. We stopped by the sale site a little while ago to get some pix and found one that already had a story behind it, two hours into the sale:
Becca told us a man asked her how much she’d sell the bear hat for. She said, three bucks. He said, here’s five – gave her the money – and said “Just keep wearing the hat.” So who knows what you might find there; tere’s a map to the sale’s location.
Thanks to Kate for e-mailing to share news of a project that’s about to begin in the area on the map above:
I have received a “Bridging the Gap” door flyer from SDOT announcing that it will start construction this Monday, August 11, of a paved walkway on the north side of SW Forest Street from Walnut (Hiawatha Park) to Fairmount (top of Fairmount Ravine) to 39th SW. Here is the flyer’s text …:
– Location of work: SW Forest Street between Walnut Ave. SW and 39th Ave. SW
– Beginning on August 11, 2008, our crews will be working to install a new walkway with a concrete curb in your neighborhood.
– We will be placing temporary no parking signs in various areas.
– This project should be completed within 2 weeks, weather permitting.
– If you have any questions or concerns please call the asphalt paving crew chief at 206-233-2512.
– Thank you for your patience and understanding during our construction phase.
Kate also sent along the attached specs for what’s being built; click here to see them. It’s a $70,000 project, according to this city document (page 14).
(December 2007 photo by “H,” shot long-lens from a distance)
We mentioned it when the Seal Sitters announced it a week ago, and since it’s happening tomorrow, here’s a reminder: The first volunteer-training session for the Seal Sitters – who keep watch when baby seals turn up on West Seattle shores, to make sure mom/pup reunions aren’t threatened by people or other animals who get too close – is 3-5 pm tomorrow at Hiawatha Community Center (map). After that, your next chance is 9/9 – but baby-seal season could start at any time, so the Seal Sitters may need you ASAP.
Sad irony that the showing of a movie set almost entirely underwater has to be postponed BECAUSE of water … but … well … wouldn’t be too pleasant with soggy equipment, moviegoers, and concessions. So we’ve just confirmed that tonight’s showing of “Finding Nemo” is CANCELED. Philip Borgnes of Sidewalk Cinema tells us “Nemo” is being rescheduled to Thursday, August 21st; meantime, “Ghostbusters” is scheduled next Saturday (8/16) and “Galaxy Quest” the Saturday after that (8/23).
10 months to the day after we mentioned a store called Fresh Vitamins had filed for various permits indicating a plan to move into a Westwood Village storefront (original WSB report here) – it’s finally open. Noticed this during a detour through WV this afternoon; the “open” sign (not pictured) forced us to stop and scamper in to ask when they’d opened — answer: last Tuesday. A quick peek at the inventory (shelves aren’t fully stocked yet) reveals some natural-food items as well as vitamins and other supplements; the ad circular tacked up on a board by the door confirms the same company owns Natureway in The Junction. Posted hours for Fresh Vitamins (just west of Bed Bath and Beyond) are 10 am-6 pm, Mondays-Saturdays.
(3/26/08 WSB photo)
He vowed he would rebuild, and now he has: Four and a half months after the arson attack that shut down locksmith Michael Dein‘s business, Puget Sound Key and Lock on the north edge of Morgan Junction, he just sent word the shop is about to reopen – and planning to offer a special service:
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am re-opening my shop on Monday!!!
I got my keys back yesterday, and am taking this weekend to set up the shop, so i just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for their support in helping me to reopen my shop. I look forward to being able to continue to serve the community, which I have truly grown to love.
Many of you may not be aware of how serious a problem domestic abuse is in modern society, and in an effort to do our share in making the exit of an abusive relationship safer, we will provide, free of charge, rekeying services to the victims of domestic abuse who have obtained “no contact,” “restraining” or other such lawful decrees. This is an open-ended offer, and we are available 24/7.
Thanks again,
Mike Dein – Puget Sound Key & Lock
206-933-8882
To this date, no arrest has been made in connection with the March 21st early-morning fire that gutted Dein’s shop (6016 California SW); tips are still welcome at 800-55-ARSON. Dein told us the day of the fire that he had no insurance, and that moved WSB Forum Community members to action; a month afterward, they put on a well-attended fundraiser (WSB coverage here).
Thanks yet again to David Hutchinson for another update on plaza progress — along with that panorama of how the site looked as crews wrapped up work at the end of the week. (Panoramas are hard to appreciate in our formatted sizing, so click the image to see a full-size version.) He adds:
Forms are in place for the final pouring of cement on Monday. Work is in progress to drill holes for the hand railings for the steps. Scheduled for next week are the installation of the bench plaques and the beginning of the installation of the inscribed pavers.
The scheduled dedication ceremony for the new plaza – by which time the statue will be back, too – is four weeks from today. And looking ahead to that ceremony, Plaza Project co-chair Libby Carr is trying to track down any of the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, or Sea Scouts who were present at the 1952 dedication of the original statue. If you were among them, or know how to reach one or more of them, she can be reached at libby@carrbiz.com or 206-938-8721.
(Providence, RI, Park(ing) Day photo by Laurencia Strauss and Kate Field)
In our coverage of the last Alki Community Council meeting, we mentioned that a Feet First rep had previewed the upcoming Park(ing) Day, which the Seattle Parks Foundation describes on this webpage as “a one-day, global event to highlight the need for more urban open space, rethink the way green space can happen, and improve the quality of urban human habitat.” Specifically, regular old parking spaces – like the one in the photo above – are turned into temporary parks for a day; this year, that day is Friday, 9/19. We’ve been waiting to hear about a specific West Seattle plan; looks like one’s in the formative stages now, and reaching out to you – here’s what we hear from Todd Burley at SPF:
… we are working with the West Seattle Junction Association to create a “park” at the Alaska Junction because of our partnership with them to create Junction Plaza Park. We’d love to raise awareness about
this opportunity for folks in West Seattle and see if anyone is interested in creating other “parks” at the Junction …
Right now, Burley says, SPF will team with WSJA to convert one parking space, but: “If we can do more, we just might. Ideally we’d like to get multiple groups from W. Seattle together to create many parks at the Alaska Junction under one street-use permit (which makes it cheaper).” If you want to get involved, this page at the SPF site explains how; a training session is coming up next week for interested participants, but the SPF would love to hear from you sooner.
august 13th
When this thread popped up in the WSB Forums from High Point residents wondering when the long-closed Lanham/Morgan intersection by the southwest corner of Commons Park will finally reopen, now that nearby construction’s done and a light’s been installed (photo above), we went to the city to look for answers. SDOT sent us to the Seattle Housing Authority, which is responsible for High Point, saying the street-reopening decision is up to SHA — and SHA just sent us this update:
Seattle Housing Authority shares the goal of opening up the Lanham-Morgan connection as soon as possible, while keeping in mind the safety of the public as well as traffic convenience. This process is not solely up to the Housing Authority — it is a collaborative effort between us and our SDOT sponsors.
The final traffic sensors in the streets are being connected and inspected next week, after which SDOT will turn on flashing yellow lights for about another week. We expect that to happen on Monday, August 18 or sooner.
Once the lights are flashing, the barrier from Morgan to Lanham can be removed to allow traffic to enter and exit with caution. After that time, the signals will shift over to green, yellow and red lights at the intersection. The pedestrian crossing signals will also be operating at that time.
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we move toward the street opening. We understand that this has been a significant inconvenience, but both Seattle Housing Authority and SDOT staff are also concerned with the safety issues.
Just got a note about the citywide “Healthy Parks, Healthy You” launch, which is happening 8/23 at Green Lake — and until we read it through twice, we almost missed this very cool related program briefly mentioned in the same announcement: “Try It for $2” is a city initiative to offer various classes and activities at community centers citywide in September/October, for only two bucks. This city webpage lists specific activities and times offered for the $2 sampler fee (scroll all the way down to $2 Trial Activities and look for “South Locations” to see what’s on tap at the community centers in West Seattle), from yoga to cooking to art to martial arts, and more.
Just in from SDOT:
Motorists are advised to use caution when traveling southbound on Highway 99, before the West Seattle Bridge exit, south of downtown Seattle. Pavement is damaged in the middle lane. Seattle Department of Transportation crews are responding to make emergency repairs. The lane will be closed until repairs are completed, later today.
2:44 PM UPDATE: SDOT says it now expects the lane closure/repairs to happen around 3:30 and to take less than half an hour. 3:34 PM UPDATE: The repairs are done, so this shouldn’t be an issue for the rest of the commute.
A little more than halfway through this year’s Elliott Bay Water Taxi season, we just got word from King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office that ridership numbers for July were once again up double digits from the same month a year earlier – here’s the full news release:Read More
Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle, the folks behind last weekend’s first-ever Edible Gardens Tour of West Seattle (WSB coverage here) and volunteer tree-harvesting to collect food for those in need, is offering free canning classes this month, plus a Community Canning Kitchen, focusing on plums. The classes are at 10 am August 23rd at PCC and 6:30 pm August 27th at the Senior Center (Community Harvest says that one’s open to all ages). Here’s more info on the CHoSS website.
Per this story posted by the P-I tonight, West Seattle and South Seattle have air pollution that’s raising residents’ risk of cancer. This research apparently has been more than a decade in the making; the P-I doesn’t include a direct link to the full study – it mentions that Georgetown activists happened onto a “prerelease” version online – but does attribute it to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
After the Alki duplex fire two weeks ago tonight, someone commented on WSB that their initial call to 911 was routed to Kitsap County. West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen read that comment, noting it’s happened to him too, and decided to check into it. He and his staff found out what happens in cases like that, why, and one good way to make sure it doesn’t hold up emergency reporting; they shared their discoveries with WSB – read on:Read More
If you vote by mail, you may have cast your ballot already. If you’re old-fashioned in-person voters like us, 12 days till polling places throw open their doors for the August 19th primary. Here’s all the ballot info you could possibly want; we also included some highlights in this WSB update a few weeks ago. (If you’re not registered, it’s too late for the primary, but you can follow the links on that same page to get signed up in time for the November 4th general election.) Meanwhile, West Seattle’s largest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, reminds us that tomorrow night is their biggest fundraiser of the year — the Garden Party and Auction, 6 pm @ West Seattle Nursery. And if you feel like talking politics right now, the never-dull 2008 Elections section of the WSB Forums has a provocative topic in progress: “Why vote?”
That’s some of the cast of “Crazy for You,” which West Seattle-based Twelfth Night Productions is opening tonight at West Seattle High School‘s theater. With hours to go till the curtain rises, we get word from Twelfth Night that it’s donating part of the ticket-sales proceeds to the White Center Food Bank (which also serves a big chunk of southern West Seattle). Twelfth Night says it’s an annual tradition to choose a local nonprofit to receive part of the proceeds from its summer production; over the past decade-plus, that tradition has racked up almost $20,000 for groups from DNDA to ArtsWest to Habitat for Humanity. “Crazy for You” plays Thursdays-Sundays for the next two weeks, 7:30 pm each of those nights plus 3 pm 8/10 and 8/17. You can buy tickets online up till 4 hours before showtime (here’s the link), or at the WSHS box office before the performance.
Denny Middle School principal Jeff Clark sent WSB pix of the new Denny-sponsored All-City Junior Marching Band in the recent Kiddies’ Parade, with an update letting us — and you — know there’s been a lot going on at his school this summer (vacation? what vacation?). And that dovetails with updates on two opportunities to get involved with both the new Denny/Sealth campus and with plans for the future of the Denny site once its replacement is built on that shared campus (where major work is under way now, as we reported last week) – and tomorrow’s the deadline to get in on one of those opportunities. Read on for all the details:Read More
Thanks to Adam and KB for e-mailing about a house fire at 4825 Delridge (map). Adam advises Delridge is blocked in the area (from Edmunds northward for about 2 blocks) because of the fire trucks. Thanks to KB for the pix (re: the first one, he says 4825 is “the house with the ladder” at left). King County property records show this is a four-plex owned by the Seattle Housing Authority. Additional info from Adam – he says the fire had “… flames reaching about 20 feet in the air. We watched from across the street. Firefighters had to use chainsaws to cut a hole in the roof to access the house while spraying water from the hydrants outside.” 2:30 AM UPDATE: Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen gives this update on the media hotline: Firefighters found lots of smoke when they got to the scene and managed to put out the fire quickly; the fire was confined to the second story. Vander Houwen says one adult and four children got out of the residence on their own; nobody was hurt, and they are now getting Red Cross assistance. Too soon to say what caused the fire and how much damage it did; firefighters are continuing to investigate. 5:04 AM NOTE: No update yet on the SFD media line; we’ll check again in a few hours. 9:23 AM UPDATE: Not yet. However, we’ve heard back from Adam, who says the number on the building was 4845, not 4825; the latter number is what was both on the 911 log and the media hotline. 4845 is a privately owned duplex. 10:15 AM UPDATE: An update from the Fire Department — the cause is listed as “accidental electrical fire,” and damage totals $90,000. It was also noted that the people in the duplex were alerted by a smoke alarm.
King County Sheriff Sue Rahr may think the county should have regional responsibility for housing jail inmates (WSB was there as she made that pronouncement earlier this summer), but King County Executive Ron Sims apparently doesn’t agree: He issued a statement the other day saying “… the county does not have the ability to fund construction and operation of jail capacity for cities.” The statement came with this report, Integrated Regional Jail Initiative Phase 1, which contains more information on future projections of jail population – why the county says the cities need to step in — among other things. Next jail-related meeting: Highland Park Action Committee, 8/25; archived WSB coverage of the jail-sites issue is archived here.
This time last night, thousands of West Seattleites were out in the streets enjoying a summer night with their neighbors, as part of National Night Out. (Previous WSB coverage, with lots of pix, here and here.) Tonight – we have a few more photos to share, thanks to folks who sent pix from parties we didn’t get to. This one’s from the party Michal-Ann says was the “best ever” for the 4700 block of 25th SW:
That’s a homemade pinata that later yielded its treasure trove of candy. The block also got a visit from the firefighters of Engine 36:
And that meant kids got an up-close-and-personal look at Engine 36, too:
From another party last night, Luckie says her block’s turnout was the best ever — they expanded the invitation zone — and they were even visited by “royalty”: two little girls turned up in identical princess garb!
And from one of the parties we DID get to, Susie‘s block, one more photo – all 16 kids on the block posed for a group shot:
Beach Drive Blog, meantime, has not only a party photo, but also a recipe.
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