West Seattle, Washington
27 Wednesday
You’ve probably heard by now that we MIGHT see some snow next weekend. Too soon, stlll, to really go into all-out Snow Panic Mode, but not too soon to contemplate whether you’re ready for it. In particular, the video above points out one thing that often comes up in WSB comment discussion when things get snowy: If there’s a sidewalk adjacent to your residence or business, you need to be ready to clear the snow/ice. More specifics here. We’ll talk more about snow readiness if the flakes stay in the forecast as the week proceeds. P.S. Need inspiration? Here’s a fun February flashback.
(Added: WSB photo)
7:51 PM: Thanks for the texts. What started as a “full response” SFD callout in the 3100 block of SW Avalon Way has been mostly dismissed, but we are headed that way to check on it anyway.
8:10 PM UPDATE: Firefighters tell us this involved some items too close to a heater “smoldering.” No injuries, no major damage.
(Image: Seattle Channel)
“I take this oath in gratitude and service, inspired by the kind of city I want for my grandchildren,” declared District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) City Councilmember Lisa Herbold this afternoon, right after taking the oath to start her second term. Her grandchildren, Jamaya and Jamil, were right there with her – Jamaya administered the oath, and Jamil fastened the customary pin. You can see Herbold’s oath and speech starting at 10:45 into the official Seattle Channel video:
Councilmember Herbold said her priorities, as set by District 1 voters, include fighting homelessness by doubling the investment in permanent supportive housing, progressive taxation including the high-earners’ income tax “in order to make property taxes, sales taxes, and taxes on small businesses less regressive.” Since Herbold will be chairing the committee overseeing public safety, it’s also notable that she listed as a priority that “We’re going to get back in full compliance with, and out from under, the consent decree, ensure constitutional policing, while also meeting our goals for Seattle Police Department staffing.” She also vowed to “increase access to transit, make all transportation options safer, and work to deliver Sound Transit 3 on time, and to mitigate disruption of D-1 neighborhoods.” Supporting “truly transit-oriented development” in The Junction and Delridge was on her priority list too. She promised to continue “truly superior constituent services,” too. After listing priorities, she declared that her November victory was a result of “people power,” saying that, “If we continue to mobilize like we have, our voices will change the status quo, wherever and whenever change is most needed.”
Herbold will serve as acting council president for part of this month, once the new president, Councilmember Lorena González (a West Seattleite who holds citywide Position 9 and is midway through her 4-year term) goes on maternity leave; councilmembers serve monthly rotations as president pro tem, and this year, Herbold is up first. González’s unanimous election as council president makes her the first Latinx person to serve in that role (more on that here); she became the council’s first Latinx member in 2015.
(West end of Columbia Street plan – see here for other blocks’ configuration)
Many who ride Metro between West Seattle and downtown have been asking about the status of the new transit pathway involving Alaskan Way and Columbia Street. Last we heard from SDOT was a January estimate, so we’ve been asking them if that’s still accurate. We talked late today with city spokesperson Lauren Stensland. She says they don’t have a date yet but that “early 2020” remains accurate. The city and Metro are working out details as Columbia work gets finished, she says; Metro generally likes to give three weeks’ notice of routing changes, so at this point it’s not likely to happen before late January. Stensland said they hope to have a date set by the end of next week. When up and running, the new 2-way Columbia Street will be used by routes including 21x, 37, 55, 56, 57, 113, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, and C Line.
(WSB photo, December 2019)
One month ago, we published a followup on the status of the “Stone House” at 1123 Harbor SW, a stone-studded old bungalow that the Southwest Seattle Historical Society hopes to move to a new site, with redevelopment on the way to its current one. Today, news of the next step: A briefing at this Thursday’s meeting of the city Board of Park Commissioners. The agenda indicates the briefing will address the possibility of relocating the structure to Alki Beach; an early version of that plan was described at last June’s meeting of the Alki Community Council. Thursday’s Park Board meeting is at 6:30 pm at Parks HQ downtown (100 Dexter Ave. N.) and includes a public-comment period.
1:20 PM: Blustery weather continues – though there’s no wind advisory in effect, we’ve noticed some strong gusts, and one has apparently taken down some lines in Gatewood. Seattle Fire has checked out the report at 41st/Southern [map] and assessed one wire as electrical, so Seattle City Light is being summoned. No outage reported, though.
5:17 PM: Just got a chance to go back and look; tape’s down, road’s open.
Back in October, the city announced a big home-recycling change – no more plastic bags/wrap in your cart/bin. Now that the new year has begun, the change is in effect, so Seattle Public Utilities has sent this reminder, including best practices for how to handle what you CAN still recycle via pickup:
With the start of a new year, the King County Solid Waste Division and Seattle Public Utilities remind residents that recycling right is one of the best resolutions they can make to protect the environment and make recycling effective. Recycling right means keeping plastic bags and wrap out of curbside recycling bins and carts, and making sure all recycling is empty, clean and dry.
As of Jan. 1, garbage and recycling collection programs no longer accept plastic bags and plastic wrap in curbside recycling carts and bins.
Instead, customers should take those separated materials to one of the more than 100 drop-off locations in King County where these materials can be properly recycled. This includes plastic retail bags, sandwich bags, produce bags, dry cleaning bags, and the plastic wrap around bundled toilet paper and paper towels.
Find the full list of materials accepted at drop-off locations and a directory of drop-off locations at plasticfilmrecycling.org. King County and SPU are working to expand drop-off locations that accept plastic bags and plastic wrap for recycling.
While bringing plastic bags and wrap to a drop-off location is best for the environment, customers in Seattle and King County also can throw them in the garbage. It’s better to toss them out rather than contaminate other collected recyclables.
Plastic bags and wrap are often wet or have food waste on them when placed in the curbside recycling and contaminate other materials. Additionally, at recycling facilities, these plastics can jam sorting and processing equipment, leading to frequent shutdowns so workers can remove the tangled materials.
Bringing plastic bags and wrap to a drop-off location keeps the bundled recyclables cleaner and easier to manufacture into new products.
Other ways to recycle right include:
• Make sure your recycling is empty, clean, and dry before putting it in the recycling bin;
• When in doubt, find out – check your city or recycling collection company’s guidelines on which materials are recyclable and which are garbage; and
• Always recycle empty, clean, and dry plastic bottles, tubs, and jugs; paper; glass bottles and jars; metal cans; and cardboard.Find more information at these websites:
· Drop-off locations for plastic bags and wrap
· Seattle Public Utilities information on plastic bags and plastic wrap
Local dropoff locations listed via the lookup include Admiral and Roxbury Safeways and Westwood Village Target. The private service Ridwell offers home pickup of plastic wrap/film/bags, too.
(Cedar Waxwing at Lincoln Park, photographed by Trileigh Tucker)
A handful of highlights as everyone eases back into the post-holidays routine …
CITY COUNCIL OATHS OF OFFICE: November election/re-election winners will take their oath at this afternoon’s City Council meeting, including re-elected District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold, 2 pm at City Hall. (600 4th Avenue)
FAMILY STORY TIME: Bring kids of all ages to High Point Library tonight, 6:30 pm. Free as always. (3411 SW Raymond)
WEST SEATTLE QUILTERS: 7 pm meeting at the Senior Center of West Seattle. (4217 SW Oregon)
ZEN MEDITATION: 7 pm at Fauntleroy UCC, hosted by Puget Sound Zen. All welcome, whether or not you’ve meditated before – details in our calendar listing.
3 TRIVIA/QUIZ NIGHTS: Monday nights bring a trio of options:
*Best of Hands Barrelhouse (7500 35th SW; WSB sponsor), 7 pm, $2/person, 21+
*The Skylark (3803 Delridge Way SW), 7:30 pm, free, all ages
*Parliament Tavern (4210 SW Admiral Way), 8 pm, $2/person, 21+
WHAT ELSE IS UP TODAY, TONIGHT, BEYOND? Find out by browsing the full Event Calendar!
Another local youth-sports league has opened signups – Southwest Little League, for girls and boys 4-16. You can register online any time at southwestlittleleague.org, or do it in person on one o two dates next month – February 8th or February 15th, 10 am-2 pm at Steve Cox Memorial Park‘s “little log cabin” in White Center (1321 SW 102nd).
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:59 AM: Good morning! School is back in session starting today.
No current incidents, but we have these transit notes:
STATE FERRIES: The winter schedule is now in effect.
SOUND TRANSIT: If you use light rail, note that 2+ months of construction-related changes have just begun – info here.
Mark sent the video, saying that prowler was recorded in his “back driveway” around 1 am Saturday, near 35th/Holden in Gatewood. Checking the SPD tweet log (which you can scroll through any time atop the WSB Crime Watch page), we note that Saturday also brought two auto-theft reports in Gatewood, 4100 block of SW Monroe and 4100 block of SW Portland – haven’t heard from the victims, so no details.
The two-week winter break is over and it’s back to school tomorrow. Seattle Public Schools has two key dates this first week:
MONDAY – First day of registration for kindergarteners and other students who will be new to the district next fall. The sooner you register, the better, as schools rely on this information for planning. All the info is on this page of the SPS website, including dates for school tours.
WEDNESDAY – This is the date when SPS says it will exclude students if they’re not in compliance with immunization requirements, as explained here. In particular, state law no longer allows a personal exemption from the MMR vaccine.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
2020 will be the fourth full year on the Myers Way Parcels for city-supported tiny-house encampment Camp Second Chance.
The year’s first monthly meeting of the CSC Community Advisory Committee happened this afternoon at Arrowhead Gardens, a few blocks north of the encampment. Here’s what happened:
CAMP UPDATES: Co-founder/site cooordinator Eric Davis said 51 people are now at the camp, occupying 45 houses with five more being replaced. No one has exited to housing this past month, but Davis said at least four people are likely to be moving out soon, as they just got vouchers. Five of the 50 tiny houses are being replaced; Davis explained that they’re the oldest ones, donated to CSC from another village, Davis said, and had mold and other safety issues.
The 35th/Alaska closure has ended early, as did the one last month, and the detours are lifted. Just drove through to confirm. Still one lane each way. SDOT says it’s expecting a third closure but has not yet set the date.
Our video is from Constellation Park, south of Alki Point, at high tide, just after noon, and shortly after the sun overpowered what had been hours of drippy weather. Aside from the sunbreak, looks like more breezy/rainy weather for the start of back-to-school (etc.) week.
P.S. Though there’s been some talk of snow chances next weekend, the National Weather Service isn’t making much noise so far.
The family of Dorothy Louise (Johns) Nute is sharing this remembrance with the community:
Dorothy was born to Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Emil & Ellen (Olson) Johns on July 10, 1919 in Seattle, Washington.
She lived her whole 100 years in West Seattle where she will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband, Jack, at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Dorothy graduated with West Seattle High School’s Class of 1938. After graduating, she worked at Sears Roebuck & Company during the “Mail Order” days, and retired in 1981.
In 1940, she married the love of her life, “Jack” Nute. Dorothy & Jack were happily married for 45 wonderful years, until he preceded her in death in 1986. She is survived by their daughter, Ginny, and their sons, Bob, Bill, & John.
Dorothy also leaves her grandchildren, Michelle, Michael, Heather, and several Step-Grandchildren; her great-grandchildren, Valery, Shelby, Mitchell, & Odessa; her nieces, Sue, Sally, & Diane; and many dear Family members & Friends to cherish her loving memory.
Selfless to a fault, Dorothy took care of her invalid Mother before her passing, as well as her Husband, who was later disabled by a stroke.
Everyone who knew Dorothy knew that she always put the well-being of others before her own. For that reason and countless more, she will always have a very special place in our hearts.
A Private Gathering in her honor was held on Saturday, January 4th, 2020.
Share your condolences & memories of Dorothy with Family & Friends for generations to come by visiting her online memorial page at www.EmmickFunerals.com/notices/Dorothy-Nute
Care & Arrangements Entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home of West Seattle
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
Thanks to Robert Spears for the rainbow view from Saturday! Today’s forecast also suggests unsettled weather, though we know many if not most will be indoors watching The Game this afternoon. But you have other options, such as …
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: First market of 2020! 10 am-2 pm in the street in the heart of The Junction. (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)
LIBRARIES OPEN EARLIER: Starting today, Seattle Public Library branches open at noon Sundays, an hour earlier than before. (Here’s where to find one!)
EXPLORE LOCAL HISTORY: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum is open noon-4 pm today. (61st/Stevens)
CAMP SECOND CHANCE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Comments/questions about West Seattle’s only city-supported tiny-house encampment? This is the place to be. 2 pm at the community building on the east side of Arrowhead Gardens. Here’s our report on last month’s meeting. (9220 2nd SW)
FIGHTING HUNGER THROUGH MUSIC: At C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), Musicians for the West Seattle Food Bank perform 3-5 pm. Bring food and/or money to donate! (5612 California SW)
DAVID FRANCIS: Swing vocalist live at the Pacific Room (WSB sponsor) on Alki, 6-9 pm. No cover. All ages. (2808 Alki SW)
Two months ago, we reported on Rebellyous Foods‘ move to the West Seattle Triangle, where the startup is producing plant-based “chicken” as well as inventing new production tech, all in hopes of revolutionizing the nugget world. In that story, we mentioned in passing that the space Rebellyous has leased at 4600 37th SW is so vast, they’re open to subleasing some of it; now they’ve formalized the call for “roommates”:
Rebellyous is renting out some of our HQ space for mission-aligned small businesses in search of a place for food production.
*Flexible space which includes Cold Storage, Production Area & High Bay Warehouse
*Two dock high loading doors
*Racking included
*Short-term, month to month options
Contact info is in the image above.
If you’re a frequent WSB reader, you probably know we frequently feature bird photos with the daily “West Seattle (Today)” highlights lists, thanks to some fabulous contributors. Lately we’ve received several views of bald eagles at Alki Point that deserve a separate showcase, so here goes. Above, Larry Shaw photographed two mature bald eagles; below, Gary Jones caught a juvenile eagle tussling with an older one – and it won:
And another view of the two grownups, from Don Brubeck via the WSB Flickr group:
(Mark Wangerin also photographed two side-by-side, as featured here a week ago.) Think you know all about bald eagles? Here are some fast – and local – facts from Audubon.
P.S. Big thanks to everyone who shares photos – from wildlife to breaking news! Email (westseattleblog@gmail.com) works best but if you’re photographing with your phone, texting our hotline, 206-293-6302, works too.
Chief Sealth International High School also played basketball at home last night, vs. Lakeside. Here’s how the games turned out: The boys’ varsity won 61-59; girls’ varsity lost 45-27. Next up for both is a visit to Bainbridge Island – the Seahawk boys play there at 7:30 pm Tuesday (January 7th), the girls are there at 7:30 pm Wednesday (January 8th).
We continue spotlighting the community organizations that are returning to their regular meeting schedules post-holidays. This Wednesday (January 8th), all are welcome as the 34th District Democrats focus on a spotlight topic, as announced by communications chair Carla Rogers:
The program will be about Hate Crimes in Washington.
Our January meeting (1/8) will be held at The Hall at Fauntleroy in West Seattle. We start at 6:30 with a potluck and social 30 minutes. The short business meeting will begin at 7 and the program will start shortly thereafter.
Join Nina Martinez from the Latino Civic Alliance and Attorney General Ferguson’s Hate Crimes Working Group, and Kendal Kosai of the Anti-Defamation League of the Pacific Northwest, for a panel discussion on the prevalence of hate crimes in Washington State.
The Hall at Fauntleroy is at 9131 California SW.
Thanks to Mike for the tip: That sign is now posted at the Westwood Village USPS branch (2721 SW Trenton), with advance warning that its lobby will start closing from 7 pm to 7 am as of February 1st. It’s been almost two years since the West Seattle Junction post office made a similar announcement. That news in March 2018 followed a theft incident; we checked and haven’t found any such recent reports for the Westwood branch, but will be inquiring further on Monday.
(Dark-eyed Junco, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Welcome to the first day of the first weekend of the first year of the ’20s! First, a traffic reminder:
35TH/ALASKA INTERSECTION CLOSURE: Second day of this scheduled three-day closure – remember that if you’re heading south on 35th, you’ll be detoured at Morgan unless you live in the area. Full detour detalls are in this Thursday preview.
Now, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
‘GET FIT, WEST SEATTLE’ KICKOFF RUN: Be at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) for the first run in a free training program to get you from couch to half-marathon! (2743 California SW)
RACING PIGEON CLUB SHOW: Organizers say all are welcome at this event at the White Center Eagles‘ HQ, with bird registration at 9:30, judging at 10:30 am, talks at 11:30 am. (10452 15th SW)
FAMILY READING TIME: 11 am at Paper Boat Booksellers. Free. (6040 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE MEANINGFUL MOVIES:’Three videos about climate change – all welcome. Doors at Neighborhood House High Point open at 6:30, screening at 7 pm. Free, though donations are always welcome. More info in our calendar listing. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
PUGET SOUND MEDICINE SHOW: 7-9 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), “a trio bringing a mix of blues, folksy tunes, and rock and roll to life on guitar, ukulele, bass uke, mandolin, harmonica, and other instruments.” No cover. All ages. (5612 California SW)
AT THE PACIFIC ROOM: Clipper Anderson Quartet, live jazz, 8-10 pm at the Pacific Room (WSB sponsor) on Alki. Cover info here. (2808 Alki SW)
LOOK FURTHER INTO THE FUTURE … with our complete calendar!
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