West Seattle, Washington
14 Friday
Thanks for the tips! Three large West Seattle fitness centers have announced they’re reopening tomorrow (Monday, August 10th) – West Seattle Health Club (2429 SW Andover), 24 Hour Fitness (Westwood Village), and LA Fitness (3900 SW Alaska).
Reopening comes with a long list of new rules at each center – WS Health Club, for example, has posted its new rules online, including “Masks Required – unless you are exercising vigorously”; the protocols for 24 Hour Fitness say, “Wear a mask in the club at all times”; LA Fitness (whose rules are in a message to members, sent to us by a reader) says, “Members are required to wear face coverings while in the club, except when they are exercising and are able to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others.” WSHC locker rooms will remain closed, as will those at LA Fitness.
The reopenings follow new state-issued guidance for fitness operations; you can read it here. Many smaller fitness businesses were able to reopen weeks ago.
Last time the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council met, it was mid-February, pre-pandemic (WSB coverage here). But this group is ready to get going again, online – as we first noted in last week’s District 1 Community Network report – and will do so one week from Tuesday, at 7 pm
August 18th. The WSCPC has always been a chance for community members to hear from, and bring concerns to, local police. At this meeting, you’ll get to “meet” the Southwest Precinct’s new commander Capt. Kevin Grossman and operations Lt. Sina Ebinger. It’ll be conducted via Microsoft Teams. at this link (we’ll be checking on a call-in option).
That billboard just north of the South Delridge 7-11 [map] features art by Madison O’Neal, who was a Denny International Middle School 8th-grader when her work was chosen as a winner of the Champions Together Hope & Resilience contest. The contest was citywide, asking youth to create art or poetry with a message of hope and resilience to get through the pandemic. The Southwest Seattle Youth Alliance provided the photo; Denny principal Jeff Clark tells WSB, “We are very proud of her and the many other Denny scholars who are stepping up to lead for positive change in many different ways! Go Dolphins!”
We begin with road-work reminders:
(Saturday work on Delridge Way, photographed by Jonathan Vogel)
CLOSURES & MORE: SW Genesee between 25th and Delridge is scheduled to remain closed all day … so is westbound SW Alaska between California and 44th … you might encounter crews elsewhere per this SDOT alert (thanks to the texter who sent word of the Saturday work at 16th/Holden) … Tonight, 10 pm-5 am, deck-replacement work is again scheduled to close the 1st Avenue South Bridge’s northbound side. (The West Seattle low bridge is open to all 9 pm-5 am, so that’s your alternative.)
Now, our weekly list of online church services:
ADMIRAL UCC: Today’s worship video is viewable here.
ALKI UCC: 10 am online service via Zoom – info and link on church’s home page.
ALL SOULS SEATTLE (WSB sponsor): Online worship will be viewable here.
BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH: Livestreaming for West Seattle here at 9:30 am.
CALVARY CHAPEL: Today’s service is here, plus 6 pm all-church prayer and 7 pm evening worship (info on home page, as well as word that in-person services have resumed too).
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: West Seattle Ward has Sunday services via Zoom at 10 am, one hour long, all welcome. They last an hour. Here’s the link.
EASTRIDGE CHURCH: Livestreaming here at 9 am and 11 am.
FAUNTLEROY UCC: Service at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST SEATTLE: Today’s online liturgy is here.
GRACE CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10:30 am.
HALLOWS CHURCH: Streaming at 10 am via the church’s YouTube channel.
HOPE LUTHERAN: Today’s worship service and children’s story are viewable here.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 10 am, here. (In-person Saturday Masses have been added – registration required.)
PEACE LUTHERAN: Livestreaming at 10:30 am on YouTube.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Viewable on YouTube: All-Ages Sunday School at 10 am, Morning Prayer at 10:15 am (here’s today’s bulletin), Kids’ Club at 11:30 am.
TIBBETTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (WSB sponsor): The video service for today is here.
TRINITY CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10 am. (In-person services too.)
WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: The video service for today is viewable here.
WEST SEATTLE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: Livestreaming here, 9 am.
WEST SIDE PRESBYTERIAN Livestreaming at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.
WESTSIDE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION: Livestreaming at 10:30 am – information’s here.
WESTWOOD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: Online worship at 6 pm; info here.
Any other churches to add? Please email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Also today/tonight:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week. (Enter at California/Alaska)
DONATION DRIVE: 10 am-3 pm, food and more will be collected outside Alki UCC. The announcement:
Collections will be taken outside our building at 6115 SW Hinds; social distancing observed
Feeding hungry kids is our focus this summer. In addition to regular contributions of non-perishable food and other items, special requests include fruit cups and rollups, Gogurt, peanut butter and jelly, protein bars, mac and cheese, cereal, noodles and pasta sauce.
Toilet paper, diapers (all sizes), Similac formula, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and baby wipes are always welcome.
Donations are distributed through the White Center Food Bank.
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Open 11 am-4 pm – need a tool to fix or improve something? (4408 Delridge Way SW)
FREE TO-GO DINNER: White Center Community Dinner Church will serve to-go meals at 5 pm, outside, near the Bartell Drugs parking lot in White Center, SW Roxbury St. & 15th Ave. SW (9600 15th Ave SW)
On the second Saturday night of August, here are tonight’s virus-crisis toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard – but with a caveat from the county, “Negative test results from 8/6-8/7 are not accurately reflected in this update; data will be corrected over the next day”:
*16,472 people have tested positive, 200 more than yesterday
*675 people have died, 5 more than yesterday
*2,025 people have been hospitalized, 7 more than yesterday
*322,412 people have been tested, 606 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 15,399/649/1,957/298,173.
ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: One of the newly reported deaths is in the 98146 zip code – part of which is in West Seattle; 98146 now has 9 deaths.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 19.6 million people have tested positive, and more than 726,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa – same as the past 3 weeks. See the breakdown, nation by nation,
DONATION DRIVE TOMORROW: Reminder – 10 am-3 pm Sunday, food and more will be collected outside Alki UCC. The announcement:
Collections will be taken outside our building at 6115 SW Hinds; social distancing observed
Feeding hungry kids is our focus this summer. In addition to regular contributions of non-perishable food and other items, special requests include fruit cups and rollups, Gogurt, peanut butter and jelly, protein bars, mac and cheese, cereal, noodles and pasta sauce.
Toilet paper, diapers (all sizes), Similac formula, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and baby wipes are always welcome.
Donations are distributed through the White Center Food Bank.
SAFE SOCIALIZING: Public Health Insider breaks down the rules.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Thanks to Jim Borrow for the photo. If you were out looking for orcas from the shore of Elliott Bay this afternoon, your binoculars might have shown you that gigayacht instead. Bravo Eugenia, owned by football mogul Jerry Jones – who owns the Dallas Cowboys – and named for his wife, has been anchored in the bay for a few days. MarineTraffic.com shows it sailed here from Auke Bay in Alaska; British Columbia news sites noted it passing Vancouver Island despite COVID-19 travel restrictions. The 357-foot gigayacht was built by Oceanco, noted this report touting its fuel efficiency, among other features. (Two helipads, says this report.) How much longer will it be here? No hint in regional-media reports so far!
(Renderings by Ankrom Moisan)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Five months into the pandemic, the city’s Design Review program has joined the online-meeting world, and a West Seattle project was first up.
The Thursday afternoon meeting for 4406 36th SW – one-half of a two-building megaproject planned by the Sweeney family, longtime Alki Lumber owners – went smoothly, and concluded with the Southwest Design Review Board voting unanimously to advance the proposal to Phase 2.
The online meeting followed the same four-segment format of in-person Design Review Board meetings, with just one alteration – signing up to comment was supposed to be done within the first half-hour.
All five board members (a volunteer position) were present – chair Crystal Loya introduced members John Cheng, Alan Grainger, Matt Hutchins, and Scott Rosenstock; all are West Seattle residents. Three city reps to – planner Sean Conrad, assigned to the project; Lisa Rutzick, the program manager; and Daniel Kopald, handling the tech.
Here’s how the meeting unfolded:
As previewed, SDOT was back on SW Alaska west of California SW today, continuing work to repair bus-battered pavement. The westbound side of that block is closed to traffic as a result. In previous discussion of the project, WSB readers noted that SW Edmunds, one block south, has markings suggesting upcoming work, so we asked SDOT about that. Spokesperson Kari Tupper responded, “There are another 14-16 concrete panels that we are planning to replace in the vicinity of 44th Ave SW & SW Edmunds. This work has not been scheduled as yet. These repairs are a high priority and we are planning to complete them in 2020. Please keep in mind, however, that schedules might be altered by circumstances beyond our control. These circumstances would include budget and crew resource constraints, COVID-19 impacts, and so forth. If we are able to complete this project, the work will be completed over 2 to 3 weekends due to the high number of panels involved.”
Reader report:
I live in Arbor Heights, and my Honda Metropolitan was stolen from my driveway, from inside my carport last night, Friday, 8/7, between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am Saturday morning. It has Washington plates, and a slight hole in the seat. If anyone has seen this, please contact the police, or Jena at (206)383-6999.
We’ll add the plate #/incident # when available.
After a year and a half, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s CEO has left, and the organization will be looking for a new one. Here’s the announcement sent by the Chamber today:
The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce announced that Julia Jordan is leaving her position as the CEO of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce effective immediately.
“In these unprecedented times, the Chamber is adapting to the ongoing pandemic, the closure of the West Seattle Bridge, and the looming recession. The Chamber Board’s review has given rise to new goals and a new direction for the Chamber. We thank Julia for all of her efforts and wish her the best in her future endeavors.” said Abby Fisher, chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce will be launching a search for a new CEO in the coming months.
Jordan had been in the job since the start of last year, succeeding Lynn Dennis, who held that role for almost five years.
11:14 AM: Transient orcas are back in the area and heading this way. Kersti Muul says they are southbound off North Bainbridge, toward the west side of the channel, so you’ll need binoculars to look for them.
1:31 PM: Update from Kersti – the orcas are in Elliott Bay, between West Point and Alki, headed southwest as of about 15 minutes ago – “long, long down times.”
4:41 PM: Thanks to Jamie Kinney for the above three photos, from the orcas’ pass by Constellation Park. (added) And thanks to Dan Ciske for the photo below, showing a research boat with the orcas (which were off The Arroyos, still southbound, at last report).
If not for the pandemic, this year’s Delridge Day would be happening in the park outside Delridge Community Center today. The organizers – VieWS (Visualizing increased engagement in West Seattle) decided to put together a “virtual” version – here’s the announcement!
As the date for this year’s Delridge Day festival approached, we the VieWS organizers were a little sad not to be preparing for another great day of community-building with you… and we quickly realized we weren’t the only ones missing out on this year’s festival. So we decided to try something just a little different!
While we will be happy to sleep in, we’re sad we couldn’t be up early at Delridge Community Center preparing to welcome you and all of our great performers, community groups, and musicians for another great Delridge Day neighborhood festival. But if you tune in when the Festival would normally begin at 11:00 am, we will have a few video messages to share with you along with some memories from previous festivals.
We invited some of our longtime sponsoring organizations and volunteers to tell us what they miss about not attending the Delridge Day Festival this year, and how they and their organizations have been adapting to the challenges of the pandemic.
Are you excited to check them out? Visit our temporary YouTube channel to check out the playlist now!
We also wanted to let you know that the festival may have gone virtual this year, but our sponsors helped us to ensure that our annual support of the community didn’t also go virtual.
Thanks to generous support, VieWS was able to donate $1,200 each to Southwest Youth & Family Services, the West Seattle Food Bank, and the White Center Food Bank to support our neighbors in need – which we all know is especially critical especially this year! If you have the means, take a moment to visit one of their websites – or all three – and make a donation right now in honor of Delridge Day and our community!
Stay tuned in the coming months. We have a few more virtual ideas in mind before we mark our calendars for the next Delridge Day – Saturday, August 14, 2021!
See our coverage of last year’s festival here.
We start Saturday – a busy day for road work – with a reminder that SW Genesee is closed all weekend between Delridge and 25th SW as part of the big RapidRide-readiness project. It’s scheduled to reopen by 5 am Monday, with another closure next Friday-Sunday. SDOT says its contractor is expected to wrap up work by 10 each night (but has a noise-variance permit if they miss that cutoff – note that you might hear nighttime noise from unrelated private construction). SW Alaska – temporarily reopened – and SW Andover are west-east detour routes. Metro Route 50 is being rerouted.
Also closed this weekend, and several other upcoming weekends – the Delridge Community Center parking-lot entrance. Road-rebuilding work is happening on that side:
Starting next Wednesday (August 12), paving operations will move to the east side of Delridge in that area, between Genesee and Alaska. SDOT says it will “connect with residents in this area to share information on how to access their driveways during this work” – but if you have any concerns/questions, you can reach the project team at DelridgeTransit@seattle.gov or 206-775-8739.
For the full rundown on what’s happening with the Delridge project during the coming week, read this.
10:54 PM: Closing time at Alki tonight looked a lot like last night in one way – quiet, no fires, not-so-summery weather. But in another way, it was different: No police. As reported here this morning, red tape strangled the plan for three officers on overtime to help Seattle Parks at closing time Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays, with Parks covering the cost, after just one night (here’s our Thursday night coverage). Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman said today, “I learned yesterday that any movement of funds from one city agency (e.g., Parks) to another (e.g., SPD) requires city council approval. So until that issue is resolved, the dedicated Alki emphasis patrols will be paused. This is a disappointing development — both for my officers and for the neighborhood.” So what happens now? We immediately inquired with both Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office and Parks. Herbold legislative assistant Newell Aldrich told us in the morning they were “looking into it” and then at day’s end sent this update: “We haven’t got answers from Parks to our questions; they’ve indicated the answers are more complicated than they anticipated. They are working on getting us answers.” So it appears the ball is in Parks’ court right now (we haven’t heard back from them yet at all). Meantime, Capt. Grossman added that he has “directed that our available on-duty resources conduct patrols on Alki when not otherwise committed”; no officers were in sight as we drove the length of Alki, including Don Armeni, before and after the 9:30 pm closing time tonight. There was a Parks vehicle on the promenade, headed west right at 9:30, but it then headed out of the park; by then, light rain was falling.
2:24 AM: Commenters say the fires started later in the night tonight. Here’s a photo sent by a reader:
23 weeks ago tonight, King County’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced. Tonight’s roundup starts as usual with the numbers:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*16,272 people have tested positive, 134 more than yesterday
*670 people have died, 7 more than yesterday
*2,018 people have been hospitalized, 12 more than yesterday
*321,806 people have been tested, 2,880 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 15,197/647/1,948/294,823.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 19.2 million cases, 719,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
STATEWIDE SITUATION REPORT: The state Department of Health issued this overview of where things stand statewide. Its announcemnt notes, “The report suggests areas of improvement are likely driven by behavior changes like wearing face coverings and staying six feet apart when away from home.”
NEED FOOD? Free lunches will be offered noon-1 pm tomorrow at West Side Presbyterian Church (3601 California SW).
DONATION DRIVE: (corrected day) This Sunday, 10 am-3 pm, food and more will be accepted outside Alki UCC. The announcement:
Collections will be taken outside our building at 6115 SW Hinds; social distancing observed
Feeding hungry kids is our focus this summer. In addition to regular contributions of non-perishable food and other items, special requests include fruit cups and rollups, Gogurt, peanut butter and jelly, protein bars, mac and cheese, cereal, noodles and pasta sauce.
Toilet paper, diapers (all sizes), Similac formula, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and baby wipes are always welcome.
Donations are distributed through the White Center Food Bank.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
The annual Taste of West Seattle was already in for one big change before the pandemic arrived – its presenting nonprofit, the West Seattle Helpline, merged with the West Seattle Food Bank earlier this year. But the WSFB has found a way to make it happen. Here’s the announcement:
The West Seattle Food Bank has updated the 2020 Taste of West Seattle to celebrate the community while keeping each other healthy and safe.
The Taste has always been about bringing neighbors together, promoting local restaurants/businesses, and, ultimately, strengthening the West Seattle community. Now, more than ever, we see the importance of coming together (while staying physically distant) and supporting local businesses.
We are excited to announce that this year’s Taste of West Seattle will be a Taste Tour of West Seattle, where participating businesses donate 10% of sales on special Taste Menu items to the West Seattle Food Bank. From Sunday, September 20th to Thursday, September 24th neighbors can dine in or get take-out and enjoy delicious meals from West Seattle’s favorite eateries including restaurants, bakeries, wineries, breweries, and know that their money is supporting their local favorites and the West Seattle Food Bank mission to end hunger and homelessness.
If you are a eatery interested in participating or a business interested in sponsoring, please email development@wshelpline.org
Updates when it gets closer!
5:41 PM: Thanks for the tip: SFD is dispatching to a reported 2-car crash at 36th/Barton. Texter tells us this area has seen a “tremendous increase in traffic since the bridge closure.”
(Reader photo)
6 PM: One damaged car is on the scene blocking the westbound lane. Police are investigating this as a hit-and-run.
6:33 PM: Just went back through; scene is cleared.
ADDED SATURDAY: We’ve heard from the victim’s brother: “He says all he saw was a ‘flash of silver, maybe an SUV, airbags and smoke, then someone was opening my door.’ The offending car was gone. We want to see if anyone in the neighborhood might have cameras that point to that intersection, or perhaps drivers that May have witnessed the incident. He can be reached at Pete 206.383.7185.”
The report is from Sam:
Our 2004 Prius had its catalytic converter stolen Monday or Tuesday night. We finally got it into Alki Auto this morning to diagnose it. And we were one of three vehicles they got today with stolen catalytic converters. Seems like this isn’t going away anytime soon.
Checking our Crime Watch archives, this type of theft has been going on for the entire 12+-year span we’ve been publishing West Seattle news – thieves are after the metal content.
As reported last year, the project to remove the failing seawall on the north side of Lowman Beach Park will also remove the park’s tennis court.
As noted at July’s Morgan Community Association meeting, community members are proposing a new racket-sport court elsewhere in the park, and they have announced a “virtual open house” for later this month. It’ll be at 6:30 pm Wednesday, August 26th.
Details for participating in the meeting are on this flyer.
2:25 PM: Thanks for the tips. Big Seattle Fire response for a “major natural-gas leak” in west Admiral, 3300 block of 48th SW. They’re calling for traffic control on Admiral, though this is a few blocks south. Updates to come.
2:31 PM: SFD log has just made a big correction – this is actually in the 2300 block of 48th SW, so it’s NORTH of Admiral Way [map]. SFD just reported to dispatch that the leak has been shut off. The response is being downsized.
2:57 PM: Our crew is at the scene and confirmed that no one was hurt and the response is winding down. We’re told a construction crew breached the line, and they’re the ones who called it in. (added) Same area, by the way, as this 2-alarm fire in April.
In addition to the two projects noted in our morning roundup – the SW Genesee closure west of Delridge and the SW Alaska closure west of California – the city has just sent word of even more work this weekend. Here’s the announcement:
This weekend (August 8-9), SDOT crews will be working throughout West Seattle, including at the 16th Ave SW and SW Holden St intersection.
At the 16th Ave SW and SW Holden St intersection, SDOT will be putting in new turn pockets so drivers can make protected left turns to go east and west on SW Holden St. To limit the cut-through traffic on 20th Ave SW, SDOT will be installing new signs to better identify the arterial streets near the intersection. In addition, SDOT will also be making signal timing adjustments to help people get through the intersection better.
SDOT will also be tree trimming on West Marginal Way, Sylvan Way SW, and SW Orchard St. This tree trimming work will improve roadway and sign visibility for people commuting.
During all of this work, there will be temporary lane closures, traffic control, flaggers, and uniform police officers working in the street. Please plan ahead for additional travel time and delays if you are going through any of these areas. Thank you for your patience while SDOT makes these improvements.
Since this isn’t time specific – please let us know when you see the crews, if you can, but NOT while you’re driving or pedaling … when you get to where you’re going! We’re always reachable, text/voice, at 206-293-6302.
(SPU-provided images)
The photo above shows the site of Seattle Public Utilities Pump Station 38 in the 1400 block of Alki SW [map]. An overhaul is in the works next year, with an art installation as part of it:
That’s the initial concept by artist Sarah Thompson Moore, who’s been commissioned for the work. This flyer has details, explaining that the inspiration is an old topographic map of Alki.
Right now, SPU is looking for feedback on both the art concept and the project itself, which is currently being designed. The project website explains, “SPU will convert the current pump station from an airlift type station to a more standard pump station. This conversion will improve service reliability, improve system performance, and reduce maintenance requirements and costs.” According to this overview, construction is expected to start early next year and could last up to a year; SPU tells us the project is estimated at $1.2 million, with the art project coming in around $50,000. You can answer the feedback survey by going here, by next Friday (August 14).
(Blue-Eyed Darner dragonfly, photographed in West Seattle by Mark Wangerin)
Notes for the rest of today/tonight:
COVID-19 TESTING: Until 1 pm, weekly testing in the north lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor).
NEW FOOD TRUCK SITE: Tat’s Truck has announced a move as of today:
We are now setting up at our commissary kitchen on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for lunch and dinner service. Plenty of parking and tables and chairs to eat onsite!
New location: 3808 18th Ave SW (off W Marginal under the bridge)
Dates: Every Fri-Sat-Sun 11:00 am – 6:30 pm unless scheduled elsewhere. Check website.
DEMONSTRATION: As announced:
Please join us to show support for Black and Brown friends, family, and neighbors, to #SayTheirNames, and to remember that people are encountering injustice every day. We welcome people to come and discuss why people support Black Lives Matter, and to discuss what defunding the police means and what it might look like.
What: BLM and #SayTheirNames
When: Friday, August 7th, from 5:30-6:30 pm
Where: Pedestrian overpass on Delridge at the Delridge Community Center/Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, south of Genesee St.
Please remember to wear your masks!
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