West Seattle, Washington
23 Monday
Earlier this month, we linked to a short newspaper report about a West Seattle entrepreneur’s big victory in court. His business is one of a kind: Making plastic wishbones so everyone gets one on Thanksgiving (or Christmas, or whenever else you serve turkey – or, so you can have one even if you DON’T serve turkey; face it, no wishbones in Tofurky or Field Roast). Having never met Lucky Break Wishbone Corp. president Ken Ahroni, we envisioned perhaps a slightly wild-eyed eccentric, oh, say, toiling out of an artsy spot at a facility like ActivSpace. But when he agreed to chat with us for a followup on the court case and what’s next, we discovered we were way wrong:Read More
WSB has learned tonight that the mayor plans to announce next week that there will definitely be a “Car-Free Day” at Alki this summer. This information comes from CoolMom, whose leaders are helping organize part of the event on Alki next week 
at which details will be announced. We were first to report that a day like this was expected to be included in the city’s “Give Your Car The Summer Off” campaign (here’s our report from June 12th), but when last we checked with SDOT, it wasn’t a done deal – till now. We don’t have the exact date, but CoolMom’s been told that it will be for six hours, on a Sunday. One other important note: Apparently it won’t be 100% vehicle-free — a lane reportedly will remain open for the Water Taxi shuttle and for local residents on the stretch of Alki SW whose homes (particularly the condo buildings) cannot be reached any other way. More info on the Alki “Car-Free Day” as we get it. (CoolMom, by the way, is a moms’ group founded to support lifestyles with lower ecological impact; we told you in April about its West Seattle chapter, which meets monthly; contact info is here.) 11:57 PM ADDITION: Since we first published this, we’ve learned the Alki “Car-Free Day” date is expected to be Sunday, September 7th.
(Photo by David Hutchinson)
Just posted beneath our second report on last night’s 56th/Alki duplex fire (first report here), this message from the duplex tenant:
I would like to thank the Seattle fire dept, they did an amazing job in taking care of myself and my family in this difficult time.
I would also like to remind people that the fire dept could have had an easier time if thay hadn’t needed to deal with all of the spectators. You might want to think in the future, how would I like people to behave if it were my house and my family in danger.
Sincere thanks to all the truly concerned people in my neighborhood!
We saw a small demonstration of that concern just this morning, while briefly stopping in the area for this short followup — one passerby stopped to ask a man outside the charred building if he lived there (he told her he was a friend of the tenant) and if everyone was OK. Meantime, the Seattle Fire Department tells WSB that investigators still need to talk with the duplex’s owner before they can officially determine/announce the fire’s cause. ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: Browsing YouTube, we just found video (posted by “carloberti“) from the fire that we hadn’t seen before – obviously from a cameraphone so low-quality but it shows two things from VERY early on: First, toward the start you can clearly hear authorities on a loudspeaker asking the crowd to make way (as mentioned above); shortly afterward, you see the flash as the growing fire takes out a transformer:
We’re counting down to Sunday’s annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive for WestSide Baby, 
which helps thousands of local families every year — buy 1 or more packages of disposable diapers, drop ’em off at the big school bus you’ll see parked by the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm Sunday (or a few satellite locations listed on the WestSide Baby home page). And as we mentioned yesterday – Costco is matching the first 14,000 diapers donated, diaper for diaper! Two other bonuses – first, ever wanted to honk a school-bus horn? You can do it when you drop off your donation on Sunday. Second, across Alaska at the Junction Wells Fargo branch, free car-seat inspections are being offered during “Stuff the Bus,” thanks to SafeKids-King County South (more info on this page). We’re planning in-progress reports on Sunday; see you there!
9 am-noon tomorrow, at South Seattle Community College (in Brockey Center on the southeast side of the campus; map), it’s the third of four city-organized public forums about the “final four” potential locations for a city misdemeanor-offender jail – the second one about the two sites that are in southeast West Seattle (map), and the first one to be held IN West Seattle (the previous one was a month ago in South Park, and got pretty testy at times; WSB coverage with video, here). If you haven’t been following the issue all along, here are resources: WSB coverage archive (newest to oldest), Highland Park Action Committee‘s “NO-JAIL” site, city website’s “Municipal Jail” info section. (Which says, by the way, that doors open at 9 am for tomorrow’s forum, but nothing will actually happen till 9:30 am.)
Would have written about this last night – but we got word of the Alki fire just as we were leaving the event – the Fauntleroy documentary (mentioned here in February) was previewed last night and will officially premiere as part of this weekend’s Fauntleroy Church (WSB sponsor) centennial celebration (which starts tonight) – read on:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox from “d“:
I wish I had had a camera with me this AM –
About 9, I was leaving the vet clinic across the street from the [Mural, ex-Petco parking lot] construction crane area and heard a baby eagle SCREAMING! It was perched at the end of the huge yellow crane – no mom in sight. I was so distracted by it as I drove by peering through my open roof that a construction guy yelled down to me to watch where I was driving! When I stopped and told him what I was looking at a few of the other construction guys gave me the impression that the eaglet has been hanging out there. Seems odd, but actually the crane has the same rough configuration of bare snags that eagles like to hunt from. I don’t know if the little guy (not so little actually) will be there again, but maybe folks could keep an eye out for it.
It was a VERY loud baby bird – probably calling on mom, as usual. :)
That’s what the burned 56th/Alki duplex looks like this morning from 56th, looking northeast. We just checked with the Fire Department again; still no official information on what investigators believe started the fire. (We published two multiple-update reports last night – with incredible contributions from witnesses, neighbors, many others, thank you again! – #1 is here, #2 is here.) AFTERNOON UPDATE: The Fire Department still isn’t announcing a cause; spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick told us they need to talk to the owner first (and as we reported last night, she’s out of town). MEANWHILE: Also this morning, the newest information on the Fauntleroy Place (future Whole Foods etc.) demolition:
Project manager Easton Craft from BlueStar tells WSB the final major demolition work – actually bringing down the building – is now scheduled for Monday, because clearing out the interior contents (see the piles in the photo) turned out to be a really big job. Craft says “… they have found more recyclable material (metal/steel, masonry, wood) than they anticipated.” The demolition work started Tuesday (previous WSB coverage here and here; the latest on the FP development, including the design that will be reviewed at a public meeting on August 14th, is here).
Given the fact some burglars seem to case their potential targets first by knocking on doors, the level of jumpiness is understandable, and when we get advance word of a legit door-to-door campaign, we want to share it. Like this one:Read More
(FIRST WSB REPORT WITH MULTIPLE UPDATES, LOTS OF PIX/VIDEO, CAN BE FOUND HERE)
Starting a new post to add more photos and any new information we get on the investigation of tonight’s fire at 2508 56th SW (map). Those two photos above were sent by David Hutchinson, who also contributed to our first 2 1/2 hours of fire coverage. The next photo is from D.S., who says it “was taken before the fire trucks got set up. Neighbors were hosing down the nearby house.”
At the scene, we talked with Shane Gilbert, who describes in this video clip what he heard just as the fire started:
And here’s an odd little scene we recorded around the corner – it’s not quite Nero fiddling while Rome burned, maybe more like taking advantage of a near-captive audience (since Alki Ave was blocked off at that point):
Still no update on the SFD media line (since the information we included in our first report); we’ll check again before taking our brief overnight break. 12:44 AM UPDATE: A tenant from the burned duplex had reported in comments on the first fire report that her cat was missing; now a followup comment says it’s been found. 3 AM UPDATE: Hotline now has an update – no cause determined yet, they need to “talk to a few more people, including the owner, who’s out of town” (as we reported in our first series of updates); the damage is estimated at $150,000 – $100K to the 86-year-old structure, $50K to its contents. Meantime, Logan Jenott sent along a gallery link and word of the unique perspective that afforded the chance to be shooting video as the fire trucks rolled up;
Here’s Logan’s story:
My volleyball team and I were playing a league game on Alki beach when my teammate Rob noticed a small fire burning on the covered deck of a house across the street. As the fire rapidly grew I grabbed my phone and called 911 while my teammates and I raced raced across the street. We were yelling that the house was on fire and my teammates Rob and Pamela pounded on the doors, trying to alert any occupants. One occupant was home on the ground floor and immediately evacuated. It took about 7 minutes for the first fire truck to arrive (my 911 call initially went to Kitsap County and they had to transfer me to Seattle, then I was on hold for about 1 minute before getting a dispatcher); by then the roof over the deck had collapsed, the fire had spread across the deck into the house and to the house next door. A large crowd had gathered and watched as a total of 5 fire trucks arrived and firefighters began battling the blaze.
From Logan’s gallery, you can play another clip that gives an even better picture of the number of spectators that gathered.
We’re checking this out on our way back from the Alki fire (still updating that coverage with more info and pix): Car hit parked car on southbound 35th near Holden, one person to hospital, two southbound lanes blocked. 10:59 PM UPDATE: Video of the scene – towing was imminent, but some cleanup also was needed for transmission fluid from one or both vehicles:
(scroll down and/or refresh for frequently added updates and photos – FIRST VIDEO CLIP AND PHOTO ARE COURTESY “ROCK STEELE”)
FIRST POST: Thanks to everyone who has called and texted. Lots of reports of big plume of black smoke visible from a long way away. Address is 2440 Alki (map), which checks out to an apartment building, though one caller describes it as “a house.” More than a dozen fire units called out. We’re on the way. Send photos if you have them (westseattleblog@yahoo.com) 9:07 PM UPDATE: (Second) photo above from gallery that TomA linked from the comments section (thank you), taken at 57th/Admiral. 9:12 PM UPDATE: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli has been at the scene – he says it’s either a single-family home or a duplex-type structure, residential for sure. It was fully engulfed in flames (as you can tell from photo above). No word yet if anyone was hurt; scanner says they’re searching the second floor to be sure no one was inside. Traffic as you would imagine is “a parking lot” as Christopher puts it (and co-publisher Patrick, who is heading there to be our second crew on the scene, confirms it) so if you don’t have to be in that area, stay away. Scanner has firefighters calling in additional reinforcements for “crew rotation.” Patrick reports a SFD fireboat is visible just offshore; (added later) here’s Christopher’s photo of that fireboat:
9:21 PM UPDATE: Patrick talked to an investigator – no injuries, at least so far as they can tell now. Just added photo at very top of post, street-level pic courtesy “Rock Steele” (thank you to everyone sending photos – we’ll add other ones here inline in the post) – Alki News Beacon editor Cami MacNamara reports this is “a house converted to a duplex … the upstairs owner just left for Arizona yesterday.” 9:26 PM UPDATE: More photos just in, from Dartanyon Race, including this one:
Meantime, Patrick reports the fire is considered to be mostly “out,” with hot spots — the incident commander tells WSB investigators are on their way to start figuring out how it started. 9:31 PM UPDATE: Pulling up important info from “rlv” in the comments: “… police have Alki blocked off and are diverting traffic up 55th, which is not a huge street and is thus pretty packed. Please do avoid the area!” 9:34 PM UPDATE: Just added video clip, also courtesy “Rock Steele,” at the very top of this post. Click here for direct link to it on YouTube. 9:37 PM UPDATE: Scanner says a “media camera unit Ford Explorer” is at 56th and Lander and fire crews need it moved. Just in case any of the TV stations are reading this – check on your crews before someone gets towed! Also, Christopher’s photos are coming in – here are a couple:
9:41 PM UPDATE: Briefing from Fire Department public-info officer – cause not known – fire crews will be on scene for some time to come – she confirmed, nobody hurt and nobody home when it happened. 9:51 PM UPDATE: More pics in, this time from David Hutchinson – he shot the first one before fire units arrived, the second one as the first fire units were getting there:
9:58 PM UPDATE: Patrick reports the fire department public-info person has left, but City Light is there now, and has taken down power to part of the surrounding block. We may not have an official cause for a while; one e-mail, plus observations from Christopher at scene, place unofficial suspicion on a barbecue on the second floor – Christopher says it’s a gas grill. Here’s another of his shots, a wide shot from behind the building:
10:10 PM UPDATE: Still more photos continuing to come in – and many capture different aspects of what it took to fight this fire, like these from Thomas Wagner:
And here’s another Christopher Boffoli photo, taking a closer look at a firefighter in action:
Meantime, this photo was sent by Ray Carter, who adds some narrative (beneath the photo):
From Ray:
Seemed like a long response time. I ended up directing traffic for a bit, neighbors were using garden hoses both to help and to prevent spread of fire to their own places, SPD was first on scene…
A good thing to emphasize in coverage might be that:
A) Pedestrian vs Firetruck=flat pedestrian. Do not test this hypothesis, lest you become flat. At a fire scene, DO NOT try and cross roads that are approach paths.
B) DO NOT slow down, look, and stare intently at the fire as you drive past at 5mph – you obstruct Fire/Police/Medical access, and can cost lives and vastly increase property damage. Remember, Fire moves fast,
and so must Emergency Services. Usually 4 minutes from ignition to fully involved.
10:27 PM UPDATE: One of the tenants from the building has posted a comment saying her cat is missing: “… she is a medium sized older cat with mostly brown fur, her right front paw has a limp and her name is Puss, if you have any information (or) find my cat please post it here, I’m still in the area looking for her.” 10:30 PM UPDATE: Listening to the Fire Department’s media-hotline recording, their official info has a different address from the 911 log – 2508 56th SW (56th/Alki) – also describes it as “a fully involved garage fire that extended into a duplex, there was one resident home at the time and a neighbor pounded on the door and got him out.” No cause yet, though. Property records say this duplex was built in 1922. 10:38 PM UPDATE: The King County Parcel Viewer map (screengrab) gives you a better idea of the location:
Also just in, this photo from Vanessa Hutchinson:
Vanessa also blogged about checking WSB for info (and finding it) as soon as she realized something was going on. Thanks for the mention! 11:12 PM UPDATE: We are processing more video to add shortly, including an interview with an eyewitness. Checked with SFD again, still no word on an official cause. 11:59 PM UPDATE: Started a new post for additional photos, some video we brought back from the scene, and any early-am info on cause, Alki Ave status, etc. You’ll find that post here.
Word just in from Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby (WSB sponsor this week in honor of the annual “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive): Costco has just agreed to match all the diapers donated in this Sunday’s drive, up to 14,000! So your contribution will count double. Bring diapers to the big school bus (photo at left from last Saturday’s Grand Parade) that’ll be parked by the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm Sunday, 44th at Alaska.
Near the expected southern end of the future West Seattle RapidRide bus route, we caught up this morning with a city delegation including Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Jan Drago (at right, with various SDOT and council administration staff, two of whom live in West Seattle, as does Rasmussen). Our last major update on RapidRide came from a briefing presented to the city council last month (WSB coverage here); as a bus service to be provided by Metro, RapidRide is a county operation, but city leaders are trying to keep close watch on the plans. As Drago — who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee — put it, “This is the first of three (RapidRide routes) in the city and we want to make sure it’s done right – it’ll set a precedent for a long time to come” During that briefing in June, she had expressed a lot of concern that RR wouldn’t really live up to the “rapid” in “bus rapid transit” because it will still have a fair number of stops; this morning, Drago told WSB her concern about that has lessened a bit, because there are far fewer stops between Morgan Junction and downtown, than along the southern stretch between MJ and WV. She also said the bus-route tour was eye-opening in one respect: “There’s a lot more development going on over here than I realized.” As we discussed that development — particularly in the booming Triangle area — for a few minutes, Rasmussen noted that he wants to be sure developers are involved in the discussion before the RR design and other aspects are finalized, since so much will be changing in the area in the next few years before RR is scheduled to be ready to go in 2011. Drago said the city is sending Metro a letter with many followup questions regarding this RapidRide route (you can see a map here – the late-spring version that the city delegation was reviewing this morning matched that one except for a few additional stops between the ferry dock and Westwood Village). She also revealed there’s some talk of leasing parking lots – where and whose, we don’t know – to alleviate the parking crunch that’s already been caused by “park-n-hiders” who drive to The Junction and leave their cars in neighborhoods, to catch buses downtown. As for what’s next from the city standpoint, Drago expects her committee to revisit RapidRide late this year or early next. And with that, the delegation re-boarded its van, and headed back to City Hall.
We met Denny Middle School assistant principal Mia Williams back during mid-winter break, when we covered the music camp at Denny. This afternoon, Seattle Public Schools sends word that after four years as assistant principal at Denny, Williams has been appointed interim principal at Aki Kurose Middle School. ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Here’s why AKMS needs a new principal.
Tough economic times mean more people to serve at the West Seattle Food Bank – and now there’s word the WSFB needs some behind-the-scenes help itself: Board president Pete Spalding says, “We have lost a couple of board members recently and are now trying to fill a couple of slots on the West Seattle Food Bank Board with some really committed West Seattleites.” He says the food bank’s mission is as follows:
The West Seattle Food Bank is committed to eliminating hunger in our area. We do this by:
– Securing and distributing quality nutritious food to clients
– Educating clients about good nutrition
– Increasing public awareness of hunger in our community
– Coordinating community services for clients
– Assuring continuity of services to clients through a convenient, accessible location
You can call or e-mail WSFB to find out how to get an application to join the board; contact info is here.
(2007 photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
The demolition of the ex-Schuck’s/Hancock building at Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th (continuing today) isn’t drawing many tears but other buildings can be a different story. As we wrote here in April 2007 when development plans for 6053 California (above) were first announced, we’ll be sad to see it go. It’s nothing fancy but its unique “Mission Revival” facade has been a semi-landmark of sorts at that California/Graham corner (across from the shuttered Chuck and Sally’s – nothing new on that, by the way – in one direction, the up-for-sale Strata in another). The demolition permit has just been issued. Here’s the project that will replace it, with “live/work” units and townhouses:
The West Seattle architect whose firm designed it, Brandon Nicholson, showed that rendering at the June “can townhouse design be saved?” forum as an example of non-cookie-cutter-architecture alternatives (it’s not a solid block of building – there’s a courtyard among other things). And the city ruled the old building didn’t warrant landmark consideration, despite some unique-for-its-time (1924) features. Nonetheless, we and others have memories, and some wistfulness will linger after the backhoes depart.
Our previous reports on the Admiral group proposing a kids’ play area for the tiny park shown above — California Place, at California/Hill next to Admiral UCC church (map) — have been greeted by some comments suggesting the space might be better left undeveloped. Nobody showed up at the group’s first community meeting last night to express that opinion in person, but those who feel that way will likely be interested to hear that the proposal isn’t what you might suspect — they’re not seeking to turn it into a playground, but rather, per a phrase offered by a Parks Department staffer who attended the meeting to observe, a “play space.” Here’s the explanation:Read More
We chased this one an hour ago but got there as fire crews were leaving — it had been a big “rescue/rope” callout on the 911 log, official address in the 3400 block of West Marginal. Couldn’t tell at the time what had happened but we’ve just gotten an update from a Seattle Fire spokesperson, who says a 50-year-old man suffered “minor trauma” while operating a crane at Terminal 5 (the West Seattle side of the container-ship area). Firefighters arrived, the spokesperson says, and discovered the man was “stable”; they used a harness to help him get down via the crane elevator. He was able to walk once he got down, but to be on the safe side, he was taken to a hospital to be checked out.
No same-night spoilers on the WSB home page for DVR denizens; the most Blayne-centric wrapup we’ve found so far is from a paper in his hometown (Yakima) so if you already know what happened or want to know, follow the link. (We caught up with Blayne here in West Seattle earlier today; here’s that link.)
Out for a walk tonight, we passed the west edge of the Gatewood Elementary playground along Fauntleroy, saw kids on the new play structure (recent photo above), and wondered if we were late to discover that it was finally unfenced and ready for use. Turns out, not so — moments later, we got e-mail from Steve White, announcing … the construction fence just came down today and the play structure is open! This is the culmination of a long process of planning, fundraising, and volunteer work (remember the goats?); a formal dedication/celebration isn’t expected, Steve says, till after the new school year starts.
Call it green beer – without the usual St. Patrick’s Day food-coloring angle. West Seattle-based Elliott Bay Brewery‘s head brewer Doug Hindman sends word that EBB has become the first certified brewer of organic beer in King County. Here’s the news release.
Tomorrow’s the day the Sound Transit board (members listed here) is expected to vote on whether to put a money measure on the November ballot. You can read about the proposal here; it would raise the local sales tax half a cent on the dollar.. West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine is on the Sound Transit board; he just sent a news release saying he’ll vote to send it to voters – here’s his statement:Read More
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