WS breaking news 1274 results

Just out of the WSB inbox, from LyndaB — the photo above and this info:

Yet ANOTHER car collision at 35th and Juneau. Southbound. Occurred at approximately 5:40 pm today. Both drivers appear to be ok.

Here’s a map of where it happened.

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Reader report: Train derailment

| Transportation | WS breaking news

From Garrett:

Train slightly derailed, zig zag fashion, right under the intersection of 99 and spokane st viaduct. Don’t know if this will affect any West Seattle Bridge traffic!

8:45 UPDATE: John from WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits forwarded a city traffic alert e-mail that says: “All lanes on S Spokane St are blocked by a derailed train at E Marginal Way S. Seattle Police are providing traffic control.”

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Reader report: Trouble at Delridge/Sylvan

November 27, 2007 6:02 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| Delridge | WS breaking news

From the inbox (thanks to “AA”):

Looks like either a glass truck lost its load, or someone t-boned it. There is glass ALL over the intersection and the police have a big blockade around it and a traffic arrow. The backup was almost a half-mile down Delridge when driving North to South. There is no backup driving South to North. Sylvan is blocked west of Delridge. The glass truck is parked in the Arco parking lot and there are people milling about. Worth letting people know if they can take an alternate route to the South Delridge area, it’s probably a good idea.

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Columbian Way-WS Bridge-I-5 ramp update: It’s over

November 15, 2007 9:50 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| WS breaking news

Can’t tell so far from the sound of the scanner transmissions HOW it ended, but the incident that closed the West Seattle Bridge ramp to NB I-5 *is* over and police and DOT crews are in the process of reopening everything.

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Power-line problem in Morgan Junction

November 9, 2007 3:06 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| Utilities | WS breaking news

And not weather-related that we know of: Our WSB Sales Guy just passed through and reports that there’s some kind of problem with a power line between Morgan Junction Thriftway and the Shell station/strip mall-let area along the east side of California Ave to the south, so it appears some of the businesses (we don’t know how many) may be experiencing power trouble. 3:12 PM UPDATE: The line is busted on the pole right over the BECU ATM between Thriftway and the Shell station; as the photo below shows, City Light crews are on it. The folks at Thriftway say they’ve been without power for more than an hour but with generator help you can still make purchases, and they’ve been told the power should be back on soon. 4:52 PM UPDATE: Power’s back on, all’s well.

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Update: Bridge lanes open again, but beware the backup

November 6, 2007 6:23 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

6:35 PM UPDATE: All westbound lanes of the high bridge are open again, after being closed for 4-plus hours just past Admiral because of a motorcycle accident that injured two men. Check the “live” cameras in the post below for the latest views of the backup that will take a while to clear. EARLIER: We also have received e-mail about an accident on Delridge near the currently empty ex-Boren Junior High – the 911 site shows crews have cleared but that doesn’t mean the road is cleared, so if you are planning to head that far on Delridge, beware.

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Bridge update: Camera showing the backup

November 6, 2007 4:09 pm

| 12 COMMENTS

| Transportation | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

The SDOT camera that points west shows the backup being directed off at the Admiral/Avalon exit right now (the bridge is still closed westbound just beyond that point because of the motorcycle crash). Here’s the link; refresh this page for the latest image – NOTE: the city moves this camera from time to time so if you are seeing a blank image, we have no control over that – if it doesn’t come back soon, we’ll take the camera off this page but you can keep checking the WS CAMS tab at the top of this page, which has links to freeway cameras all over the area:

One report quotes the city as saying the westbound closure just past Admiral is expected to last a few more hours — so alternate routes are highly encouraged. Remember that you can head south on 99 and then up through White Center to double back into West Seattle, in addition to other alternates such as the “low bridge.” (If you have other advice for your fellow westbound drivers, please leave a comment on this post! We’ll keep it at the top of the page till this is all cleared up, with updates as available.) ADDED 5:30 PM: The city bridge cam looking east (toward 99 and I-5) is important too – showing what a mess this still is, and is likely to be until at least 7:30 pm, according to the latest reports:

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Meet your new State House Representative

November 5, 2007 2:33 pm

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | WS breaking news

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Within the past hour, the King County Council confirmed Sharon Nelson a short time ago as State House Representative for the 34th District (West Seattle/Vashon Island). Rep. Nelson was appointed to the seat left open when Joe McDermott was confirmed as State Senator, succeeding Erik Poulsen, who resigned for a job in the private sector. Congratulations, Rep. Nelson! (Photo showing Rep. Nelson being sworn in by King County Superior Court Judge Mary Yu is courtesy of the Office of King County Councilmember Dow Constantine.)

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Seal safety alert: New net trouble

November 5, 2007 9:55 am

| 2 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | Wildlife | WS breaking news

For a while, it looked as if the fishing nets vs. seal pups situation from last month might have been resolved. Maybe not. This alert just in from the same folks who sounded the alarm about that:Read More

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Another crash closes 35th SW

November 2, 2007 10:30 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

This one is just a few blocks north of the scene of last Saturday’s deadly crash: 35th SW is closed between Willow and Myrtle because of an accident that appears to have involved two cars, at least one with heavy front-end damage; didn’t look like serious injuries. Map:Read More

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Avoid California south of Morgan Junction for a while

October 22, 2007 7:21 pm

| 11 COMMENTS

| West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Big fire/police response right now because of a report of “assault with weapons” at 7010 California. From the scanner traffic we just heard, though, sounds like it may have been fatal but NOT a crime; however, what’s overheard on the scanner is never considered to be an official report, so, keeping that in mind, know that police will keep investigating. 7:35 PM ADDENDUM: Photo of all the police units filling Cali in front of this apartment building (right across from Caffe Ladro, if you are having trouble placing it). The major fire units were starting to leave while our camera-carrying team member was there, which would seem to align with the report of this involving a death rather than a life-saving situation:

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34th District Democrats’ leader drops State House bid

October 14, 2007 1:12 pm

| 1 COMMENT

| West Seattle news | West Seattle politics | WS breaking news

Last night, we mentioned the 34th District Democrats are supporting West Seattle’s State Rep. Joe McDermott for the appointment to succeed ex-State Sen. Erik Poulsen, and we mentioned there’s a big slate of candidates who would in turn be pursuing McDermott’s House job. This afternoon, one major name is off that slate: 34th DD chair Ivan Weiss. He explains why in this statement on the 34th DD website, in which he throws his support to Sharon Nelson, chief of staff to West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. She (like Weiss) is from the less urban part of the 34th District, Vashon Island.

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Updates: Fatal shooting at 59th/Admiral

October 13, 2007 4:12 pm

| 17 COMMENTS

| Crime | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

8:50 PM SUMMARY: 59th is still closed at the scene, according to neighbors who have left comments on this post. Police have not updated their official information since 6 pm, so as far as we know, the killer is still on the loose. Regarding one comment asking whether this was random — the Seattle Police spokesman said in an earlier interview that it was not; the killer and victim were in the same car and so apparently knew each other. The P-I mentions one small additional detail – the victim is believed to have been in his 30s. We are continuing to monitor all available sources of information and will add details here as we get them.

Earlier coverage below:

ADDED AT 6:13 PM: Scene photos – we added the white arrow to the first one, to point out the black car at/in which the shooting took place. Latest information, from our first update to our most recent one, below the photos:

ORIGINAL 4:12 PM POST: A police search is under way in the Schmitz Park area — we don’t have details yet but online 911 dispatch says it’s an “assault with weapons” incident at 59th/Admiral. More to come. 4:50 PM UPDATE: A few more details on the P-I site: they quote the Fire Department as saying a man was taken to the hospital after being shot “a couple of times,” apparently inside a car. 4:55 UPDATE: In the comments, Tom says an officer “with a riot gun” has been at 57th & Hanford for a while. Thank you! 5:05 PM UPDATE: Very brief TV report says no one is under arrest yet, and says the victim and suspect were apparently together in a car described as a black Nissan. 6 PM UPDATE: TV says the victim died at the hospital. Had been shot at least twice in the chest. 6:15 PM UPDATE: We now have information directly from Seattle Police confirming that the victim is dead and that the killer is not in custody, though homicide detectives and CSI members “remain on the scene.”

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING AFTERMATH, POSTED EARLIER AT 5:25 PM: This report from reader “Soosan,” elaborating on what she mentioned in comments:

I stumbled upon the scene today heading home from a run. Walking up 59th from the beach, got to Admiral and a police car stopped right across the street, cops came out guns drawn to approach a black car with the driver side window glass blown out.

Basically the scene was between me and home (I live on Genesee Hill) so I didn’t have much choice but to walk a little closer and then try to get quickly out of the way.

There were two bikers there, and a guy in a red SUV, all kind of stunned and watching.

The guy in the driver’s seat of the car did not look good…head lolling back, clearly had been shot. I turned to walk up Hanford, thinking to myself, “Uh-oh, I wonder where the shooter is.”

At the top of Hanford (where it dead-ends at the park) another police car sped up and stopped, there was a dad-and-kid hanging out there and the cop quickly told them to get back in their house, pulled out a supersize gun and headed into the park. I turned to keep trying to get home and a little later the same police car drove up the street.

It was one of my quickest walks ever up that very steep hill.

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House fire at 4050 45th

October 8, 2007 8:25 pm

| 9 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | WS breaking news

If you’re in, around, or north of The Junction, you may have heard all the sirens. Numerous fire crews rushed to a reported house fire at 4050 45th (Dakota’s the nearest cross-street). Our first word at the scene comes from WSB frequent contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says it appears to have been a kitchen fire, and he’s not seeing any obvious signs of anyone having been hurt.

Christopher sends these two pictures of firefighters responding.

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Bulletin: GEE closing TODAY

October 5, 2007 2:54 pm

| 33 COMMENTS

| Triangle | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

Shortly after we posted the pix in the post below, a PR person for GEE wrote back to confirm we weren’t seeing things:

Yes, Gee Automotive has to close its door at the end of business today, as they do not have enough staff available to keep it open until October 7. It is no surprise that many of their employees have found positions with other dealerships in the area, as they are great people.

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Avoid the bridge

October 2, 2007 1:46 pm

| Comments Off on Avoid the bridge

| WS breaking news

Lots of police activity on the high bridge right now – 911 site mentions a “motor vehicle accident” – avoid it for a while if you can. 1:50 UPDATE: Just got a note from WSB frequent contributor Christopher Boffoli, who says it was aÃ‚Â “three-car accident caused by road debris.” As of a few minutes ago, he says, traffic wasn’t moving, which our eyewitness verified too.Ã‚Â 2:30 UPDATE: No new eyewitness reports but the bridge cams look good, so it appears to have been cleared.

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Gee threatens to close

September 27, 2007 1:48 pm

| 55 COMMENTS

| West Seattle businesses | WS breaking news

Somebody texted us with this last night; we called Gee immediately, they denied it (one of the people we talked to said, “that’s a popular rumor”). Apparently they lied to us, according to newspaper and tv reports just posted online (big thanks to all the people who sent us the links while we were offline for the past hour, and our apologies to the person who went out of their way to text us – next time we’ll just go with it). If they really go through with the shutdown, they will have lasted less than nine months.

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Update: Seal untangled, doing OK

September 24, 2007 6:03 pm

| 8 COMMENTS

| Wildlife | WS breaking news

Just got an update from Brenda Peterson of the Seal Sitters.

Happy ending for the seal pup on Beach Drive who was tangled up with his back flipper. West Seattle’s own Lien Animal Clinic responded by calling a direct line to Animal Control dispatch who quickly arrived on the scene.

Expertly Animal Control was able to disentangle the pup, only 4 weeks old, from what turned out to be an unraveled cassette tape that had twisted around his back flipper. This could have eventually caused great harm as the plastic might have cut off circulation to that flipper leading to a slow death.

But thanks to the quick response of Lien Animal Clinic and Animal Control, we now have a very healthy, plump pup who can return to his mother without any harm from humans. Thanks to all who helped, including theÃ‚Â seal sitters on the scene standing guard.

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Alert from the Seal Sitters

September 24, 2007 5:21 pm

| 4 COMMENTS

| Wildlife | WS breaking news

Just in. If anyone out there can help -Ã‚Â the Seal Sitters, and this pup,Ã‚Â need help NOW:

We have a pup on the beach at 64th and Beach Dr., S.W. whose back
flipper is tangled in fishing wire.Ã‚Â Otherwise the pup seems healthy and plump.
His mother is just offshore, so he is viable and under her care. We need a
volunteer who has some kind of wildlife rehab training who can come out
and using gloves try to disentangle the pup from the fishing wire. Because
it is on his back flipper, it will not be affecting his immediate ability to
fish and forage, but over time it may limit his foraging ability. If anyone
can help out, we seal sitters would be very grateful. Please come to the
beach at 64th and Beach Dr., S.W. Bring wire cutters, padded gloves and be
very careful as there are diseases that go between seals and people.

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Fire at 38th & Admiral

September 23, 2007 9:03 pm

| 10 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | West Seattle video | WS breaking news

Thanks to the tipster who texted us to make sure we had heard about this big callout – fire in a house at 3809 Admiral, affecting traffic in the area for a while too. One WSB reader says she was dining across the bay and could see the smoke and flames from there, at the height of this fire. 10:03 PM UPDATE: TV reports say the house is gutted inside, the couple who lived there got out OK, and investigators don’t know what started the fire. Meantime, here are two photos sent to us by WSB readers who snapped them as smoke poured from the house — first one from Mark (thank you!!!!):

Second photo is from Jess (thank you too!!!!) — you can really see how traffic was blocked off on Admiral (if you didn’t happen to get caught in it yourself):

Here’s some video of crews mopping up — mostly flashing lights — we’ll check back on the scene in the morning too:

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Fire at La Rustica

September 21, 2007 1:17 pm

| 6 COMMENTS

| West Seattle fires | WS breaking news

Big fire/rescue callout so we rolled down to check. Fire crews are still there; heavy smell of smoke in the air, no external damage visible. No details yet about what happened; will be checking later how this affects business for tonight — let us know if you hear sooner.

Ã‚Â

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Bulletin: Water Taxi extended another month

September 14, 2007 12:59 pm

| 7 COMMENTS

| Elliott Bay Water Taxi | WS breaking news

Just confirmed by King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office: The Elliott Bay Water Taxi won’t end its season September 30th as scheduled, but will continue with weekday commute runs, plus runs on two Seahawks home-game Sundays (10/14 and 10/21), through Friday, November 2nd. The shuttle will be extended too. Here’s the weekday schedule for the extended season; scroll down below it to click ahead to the full text of the official announcement.

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More Fauntleroy fire scene photos

September 10, 2007 2:06 am

| Comments Off on More Fauntleroy fire scene photos

| Fauntleroy | West Seattle fires | WS breaking news

These photographs just in from Christopher Boffoli show you more of what it was like at 45th/Wildwood at the height of the Fire Department response a short time ago: