West Seattle, Washington
08 Tuesday
This is a followup as well as a traffic alert – that crew is working on 26th SW between Roxbury and Barton right now, as part of investigative work previewed here last week. As explained in the notice featured in that preview, the crew is “drilling 6 geotechnical boreholes in the roadway” to learn more about the pavement failure that neighbors say shakes their homes when buses go by. Metro says new paving is expected as part of the RapidRide H Line conversion, though I-976 might affect funding availability. This work is expected to continue through tomorrow.
Thanks to Mike for the tip – the Westwood driver-licensing office (8830 25th SW) is closed today, and its website attributes the closure to a “facility issue.” We checked with the Department of Licensing and were told the office is closed for water-line repairs and that they’ll assess at day’s end whether it will reopen tomorrow. So if you were planning to go there tomorrow – check first!
(WSB photo)
If you’ve traveled 26th SW between SW Roxbury and SW Barton, you’re familiar with its problematic pavement. It’s been an issue for years, with the road serving as a busy bus corridor, and nearby residents complaining the traffic shakes their homes. Some road panels were repaired in 2016. But the problem continues, and resident Richard tipped us that neighbors have just gotten this notice of upcoming testing:
SDOT pointed us to Metro for more information. From spokesperson Travis Shofner:
Those notices went out from our contractor to notify residents of the area of upcoming work. As part of the permitting process with the City of Seattle, before any paving work can be done, we have to perform environmental testing of the existing conditions of the pavement. Our goal is to pave the center travel lanes of that section of 26th as part of the H Line, pending funding availability. Partial funding for the H Line project comes from the Regional Mobility Grant that was impacted by I-976. It’s unclear if those funds will be available or not. However, we’re moving forward with the environmental testing for the project.
The H Line project is the conversion of Metro Route 120 into a RapidRide line, also scheduled to include paving work on much of Delridge, starting next year, although the H Line launch isn’t planned until September 2021.
The holiday season at Westwood Village kicked off tonight with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s monthly After-Hours event. In our photo above are board chair Lauren Burgon with new Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) co-proprietor Lauren Wiggins; attendees started the evening at Wyatt’s and roamed to other businesses. The Chamber has an even-bigger holiday event coming up – featured in our West Seattle Holiday Guide – Mix, Mingle, and Jingle on December 5th.
P.S. One big change at WWV this holiday season – no Santa photos, except for two Saturdays you can come take “selfies with Santa,” 2-4 pm December 14 and 21st.
Family-owned Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village has a new family in charge.
After 15 years, Joni and Kirk Keppler (above center/right) have sold their shop to Lauren Wiggins (above left) and her husband Tyler.
Kirk explains:
Joni and I have loved being a part of the greater West Seattle community – and honored to have been a part of literally 10,000 people’s celebrations and special moments. But after 15 years, it’s time for new adventures!
Lauren and her husband Tyler will be a perfect fit for West Seattle. Lauren comes from the Estate Jewelry world and she along with her two pugs will be wonderful caretakers of Wyatt’s Jewelers.
We met the pugs:
Kirk continues:
We are also thrilled that Lauren and Tyler will continue Wyatt’s Jewelers’ presence in the community and involvement with charity. Especially our tradition of changing watch batteries for a donation, primarily White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby.
Lauren says that tradition “is dear to her heart.” She also has some backstory to share:
My father gave me my first opal ring when I was 12, and I cherished it, but that wasn’t the beginning. I have loved jewelry since I was little. It’s my passion to help people find just the right piece for them. The piece that invokes that special feeling, that creates that memory, that means something special.
I am so fortunate to have met Kirk and Joni. They have built this business from scratch that has turned into something so amazing for both them and the community. My husband and I are so honored to be a part of this community, and look forward to taking over the legacy of Wyatt’s.
She told us the name will stay the same (one of the Kepplers’ sons is the namesake). Wyatt’s Jewelers is in the heart of Westwood Village, open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 am-6 pm.
(WSB photo, September 2017)
Two years after the murder of 25-year-old Edixon Velasquez outside his home in Westwood, his accused killers are on trial. The victim’s former girlfriend, 23-year-old Anna Kasparova, and 21-year-old Abel Linares-Montejo are charged with murder in the deadly shooting. He is accused of pulling the trigger, after she allegedly lured him outside his house. Kasparova was arrested less than a week after the murder; Linares-Montejo was arrested the following month. Recently revised charging documents accuse the two of first-degree murder committed in the course of attempted robbery. The trial is currently in the first phase, jury selection.
(WSB photo)
ORIGINAL SATURDAY REPORT: Roxhill Bog was one of more than a dozen sites where hundreds of volunteers devoted several hours today to Duwamish Alive! work parties, supporting the river and its watershed. These volunteers were preparing for followup plantings later this fall.
(WSB photo)
Roxhill Bog is where Longfellow Creek begins; it’s chabneled underground until emerging just east of the Chief Sealth International High School campus, and continues north-northeast until emptying into the Duwamish.
P.S. There’s also a spring edition of Duwamish Alive! – watch for word of that early in the year.
ADDED SUNDAY: More, from the Duwamish Alive! Coalition:
The 13th annual fall Duwamish Alive! event was held on Saturday, bringing communities together from Seattle to Auburn, in an effort to restore critical salmon habitat at 19 urban parks and open spaces supporting the environmental health of the river, its salmon, and the endangered Southern Resident Orca. Starting at 10:00 am, hundreds of volunteers worked at multiple locations throughout the Green-Duwamish Watershed in a day of major cleanup and habitat restoration in the ongoing effort to keep the Green- Duwamish River healthy for local communities, salmon, and the Puget Sound orca. The Green-Duwamish River is home to 5 salmon species including the critical Chinook salmon which the Southern Resident Orcas depend upon for food. October is the height of the river’s salmon runs and best viewing.
(Duwamish Alive! Coalition photo)
The returning salmon spawn not only in the river but also in its streams and creeks, including the 3 mile Longfellow Creek which runs from Roxhill Bog, north through Delridge and out to the Duwamish River. Longfellow Creek’s Coho salmon have declined in recent years due to loss of salmon habitat and high levels of pollution in the creek causing pre-spawn mortality. This is where the salmon die before releasing their eggs into the stream bed.
(Duwamish Alive! Coalition photo)
The event focused on improving salmon habitat, with State House Representative Joe Fitzgibbon joining volunteers with King Conservation District to help a local residential owner remove invasive plants along Longfellow Creek which runs through their property in an effort to improve the health of the creek. Also: Planting of trees next to the creek in White Center Heights Park with King County Councilmember Joe McDermott:
(Duwamish Alive! Coalition photo)
And improving the Green Wall in Georgetown which will help reduce air pollution by filtering particulates, and improving salmon habitat along the Green-Duwamish River:
(Duwamish Alive! Coalition photo)
If you happen to see a pickup truck with a Seattle Public Schools logo – take a closer look, because it might be the truck Derek has reported as stolen:
On the morning of 10-17-2019 between 4-7 AM, my work truck was stolen from the field of the Southwest Athletic Complex. The truck is a white late 1990s to early 2000s Chevy two-door with a Seattle School district logo and #319 on the back; the windshield is also smashed and the license plate number is 56489C.
Thanks all for your help in returning our work truck.
As always, police advise calling 911 ASAP if you find/see a stolen vehicle.
(King County Assessor’s Office photo)
That house at 9256 26th SW, on the corner of Cambridge, south of Westwood Village, is proposed for demolition, to be replaced by 10 rowhouse-style townhouse units and 7 offstreet parking spaces. The block of single-family houses was upzoned to Lowrise 1 by the passage of HALA Mandatory Housing Affordability. It’s an early-stage proposal; here’s the site plan (PDF).
We took the photos on Thursday after a tip about a cleanup under way in a yard off an alley in the 9200 block of 25th SW, just south of Westwood Village. Though police and city personnel were involved, it was on private property, so it took a while to research.
The property’s online history shows eight complaints in the past three and a half years, filed with the city Department of Construction and Inspections, which verified that this was an “abatement” action. The complaints included camping in the backyard and trash around the house. SDCI spokesperson Wendy Shark explains that the property owner had been cited repeatedly and, “When we are not successful in resolving the issues per the citations we send the case to Law to get an Order of Abatement so that the City can remove the violations stated within the citations. In this case SDCI issued and posted an ‘Abatement Cleanup Schedule’ on the property which was scheduled for yesterday.” (Law is a reference to the City Attorney’s Office.)
Shark added, “A Housing Zoning Inspector was on site the entire time to manage the cleanup with the Conservation Corps. The inspector planned for a one-day cleanup and accomplished what was needed yesterday.” The officers on site told us they didn’t know how many people had been camping there.
P.S. We asked her if property owners are billed when the city has to step in like this: “After the abatement is completed, the Conservation Corps will send us an invoice and we will pay them for the services rendered. We will then get an SDCI invoice that we will mail to the property owner on record for payment. The property owner is aware of this because it’s listed in the ‘abatement order’ issued by the judge.”
Seen on the north side of SW Barton alongside Westwood Village, a new raised curb extension flanking a crosswalk. This is where a 78-year-old woman was hit and killed by a driver three months ago. Neighborhood advocates had long campaigned for safety improvements there; finally some are being made. SDOT will be talking about the plan at Thursday night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting, 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House High Point. The new addition alongside Barton was mentioned by an SDOT rep at July’s WSTC meeting.
Two garden parties that might interest you this weekend in West Seattle:
SATURDAY AT BARTON STREET P-PATCH: 4-7 pm in the community garden at 34th/Barton:
Need last-minute plans for dinner? Want to get outside and enjoy the last sunny evening of the summer? Then please come and join us for an early evening of handcrafted and wood-fired pizza at the esteemed Barton Street P-Patch in West Seattle. This fundraiser benefiting GROW is organized as an inclusive, family-oriented social gathering to bring gardeners, their families, and the community together while also supporting a nonprofit organization that advocates to keep green spaces and p-patches in our neighborhoods. Check out the creative art and garden beds hand-crafted by the dedicated Barton Street gardeners while feasting on wood-fired pizza and music by Citizens of the Earth.
Tickets are available online or at the garden when you arrive.
SUNDAY AT PUGET RIDGE EDIBLE PARK: Sunday, you’re invited to tour the park at 18th/Brandon for this free event, 2-5 pm:
We would like to share with you the work being done for the 3rd season at PREP (Puget Ridge Edible Park). .. Growing local and eating seasonal is one of many things we can do to combat the threat of the climate crisis. This is not a work party but if you pull a weed or two, we won”t mind.
The Baja Taco Westwood Village location is closing. Checking out a tip (thank you!), we inquired there today, and were told that Saturday (August 24) will be the last day. We reported back in March that MOD Pizza had filed plans with the city to open a second West Seattle location, with the site plan showing they would combine the Baja Taco space and the former Giannoni’s Pizza spot next door. We checked back with MOD today and they’re still not commenting on the plan or timeline. Baja Taco, meantime, says the Jefferson Square location (which changed ownership last year) will remain open.
Just in from Erin @ Southwest Pool:
Southwest Pool will be closed for repairs all day Friday, August 9th and Saturday morning August 10th. All group lessons, personal lessons, and drop in programs are cancelled. Lesson participants will receive full refunds. The pool will reopen for regular business at noon on Saturday, August 10th.
The pool was closed for two months of maintenance work earlier this year.
6:51 PM: The drums are booming and the spectators are cheering at Southwest Athletic Complex as the 2019 Band Jam marching-band showcase proceeds.
Before Seismic Sound, the drumline that’s on the field right now, the Junior All-City Band performed:
Among the other bands coming up at this free event, the award-winning All-City Band themselves, whose director Dr. Marcus Pimpleton hatched the idea for this pre-Torchlight Parade showcase a decade ago. In the SWAC lot right outside the stands, something new this year, food trucks, so even if you haven’t had dinner yet, grab the family and come on over (2801 SW Thistle). You’re also invited to buy 50/50 raffle tickets to support the ACB.
7:11 PM: The band from nearby Kennedy Catholic High School followed – they were in West Seattle just last Saturday for the WS Grand Parade, as was the group on the field now, the Rainbow City Band (with their flag team Spinout), which so far has gone from Lady Gaga to Macklemore to Bruno Mars.
7:40 PM: Yet another band seen in the Grand Parade last Saturday, from Sumner High School in Pierce County, followed:
The event is in an intermission right now, with the Seahawks’ drumline Blue Thunder due to play at 8 pm, and the All-City Band to follow.
8:05 PM: But first – Sounders FC’s Sound Wave is on the field.
8:35 PM: Also from the stadium zone, Blue Thunder:
8:44 PM: And the grand finale, the hosting All-City Band, is taking the field.
($505 raised for them by tonight’s raffle, too!)
12:30 AM: We’ve finished adding visuals above.
TUESDAY: Thanks for the tip. A texter reported a “major police presence” at Tony’s Market (35th/Barton) so we went over to check. The police had just left as we arrived, but proprietor Joey told us it was a break-in attempt. He interrupted the would-be burglars; they took off, and he called 911. We’ll be checking tomorrow on the potential security video (and the police report).
ADDED WEDNESDAY: No updates. We did talk again with Joey, who explained that he happened to have eyes on his business while pumping gas at the 7-11 across the street when he saw the break-in attempt.
(Photo courtesy Young Shakespeare Workshop)
It’s not your first chance this summer to see a Shakespeare play in a West Seattle park – but it’s the only one featuring the national-award-winning Young Shakespeare Workshop: 6 pm Sunday (July 21st) at Roxhill Park (29th/Barton), you’re invited to see YSW’s production of “The Merchant of Venice.” From YSW director Darren Lay (a Vashon resident):
The Revolving Company of the nationally awarded Young Shakespeare Workshop presents a free performance in the birch grove at Roxhill Park. Bring a picnic dinner if you like and dine with the Doge, no Gondola required.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
“Tell me where is fancy bred, or in the heart, or in the head?”
– a question posed in song in this curious and complex play in which Shakespeare also explores the antithetical question of where is loathing bred, and of course some silliness by way of the clown Launcelot Gobbo.
This event is made possible with funding from Arts in Parks by Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Free, all ages welcome. YSW is in its third decade!
Documents in city files show early stage plans to fill two empty spaces at Westwood Village – one big, the other relatively small.
First the big: A site plan has just been filed showing a proposed Ross Dress For Less outlet in the former Barnes & Noble space next to Target.
Second: Another site plan shows America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses in the works for the space next to Ulta Beauty. The chain currently has one other store in Seattle city limits, in Ballard, but has several around the greater metro area, including Southcenter.
Site plans are filed toward the start of the process seeking permits for remodeling (etc.) and don’t yield other details, but we will be contacting both companies to try to find out more.
Seattle Parks confirms that West Seattle’s only city-run indoor pool, Southwest Pool, reopened today. It was originally scheduled to reopen right after Memorial Day after a monthlong closure to replace the pool liner, but the work took an extra month. Here’s the swimming schedule.
THURSDAY: The photo and report are from Joey:
My fiancée’s truck was stolen from Westwood Village while she was shopping inside at Rite Aid today at about 5 pm. We reported it to the police. We found the tailgate dumped onto the side of the road a couple blocks away. They most likely took the tailgate off because of all her bumper stickers.
The truck is a 1991 Nissan D21 regular cab. The color is black with a thin red decal strip on the side. Chrome bumpers. Again, it has no tailgate on it currently. Call 911 if seen.
ADDED SUNDAY: It was found in Lake City.
The planned reopening of Southwest Pool – our area’s only city-run indoor pool – has been pushed back again. First it was supposed to reopen, after a month of work including getting a new liner, on May 27th; then a “partial reopening” was announced for June 12th; now the pool’s website says it won’t reopen at all until June 24th:
We promise we’re getting there! Just a couple more repairs are needed to the pool shell. We will post a grand reopening schedule by Wed., June 12. It will include a series of free drop-in swims that will take place during the first week, as a thank you for all your patience.
Outdoor Colman Pool, which has been open on weekends for a month, starts its seven-day-a-week summer operations next Saturday (June 15th) – see the schedule here.
Shredding events are always popular, so we do our best to share the announcements as soon as we get them. Just got word that John L. Scott Westwood (WSB sponsor) is presenting free shredding one week from tomorrow – Saturday, June 15th, 10 am-noon in the northwest parking lot at Westwood Village (2600 SW Barton). Bring a nonperishable food donation for the White Center Food Bank. See the event flyer here.
We spotted that SDOT crew on SW Thistle at 30th SW this afternoon. They’re marking the spot for another crossing island that’s part of the West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway project. As shown on the project page map, the greenway runs on 30th north to SW Kenyon, where it jogs up to 34th SW; a crossing island is in the works at 34th/Morgan, too, and one is already installed on SW Trenton at 30th.
| 1 COMMENT