West Seattle, Washington
07 Thursday
Swing Into Summer 2015
Not all the summer traditions are outside in the sunshine. Just in case you hadn’t seen it in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, the third annual Swing Into Summer swing dance with the West Seattle Big Band @ The Hall at Fauntleroy is now just a week and a half away, on Friday, June 17th, sponsored by the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor), Fauntleroy Church, and the Fauntleroy Community Association. Get your $15 ticket here, and then show up at 6:30 pm for a dance lesson, followed by dancing, listening, and spectating, 7-9 pm. Food and drink concessions will be available from DSquared. Free child care if you put in a request – 206-932-5600 or jackie@fauntleroyucc.org.
(Click to see full-size PDF)
11:17 AM: For the first time since the city Finance and Administrative Services‘ “draft recommendations” about the Myers Way Parcels came out – May 25th, as first reported here – we’re hearing from the group that’s been the loudest voice for keeping the site as open space.
The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition calls FAS’s three-part recommendation (update – here’s the PDF summarizing it) “short-sighted,” saying that the city has been less than thorough in evaluating the site’s ecology and its value, and in reaching out to the community. Here’s its statement:
The 33 acres of Myers Parcels is the largest plot of undeveloped land that the City of Seattle owns. It provides a wide range of benefits for the City of Seattle, and people in the White Center, Highland Park, South Park, Roxbury, Delridge and Georgetown neighborhoods. The City’s Finance & Administrative Services (FAS) Department issued a formal Notice of Excess Property for a large area of Myers Parcels on January 15, 2016. But it only distributed notice to a limited number of people. Then on May 25, 2016, FAS presented its draft recommendation for disposing of Myers acreage at the Highland Park Action Committee meeting.
The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition (SGSC) finds the draft recommendation short-sighted, and calls on FAS to withdraw it. It also calls on FAS to significantly increase engagement with the affected neighborhoods, and to re-assess the Myers Parcels ecology.
The FAS Department’s top-down recommendation runs contrary to Mayor Murray’s Equity and Environmental Action Agenda, which call for grassroots, community-driven planning.
FAS recommends breaking up and selling off parts of Myers Parcels, before it has assessed the current value of this forested area, which contains a watershed with two streams that feed clean water into the Duwamish River.
SGSC is working with numerous individuals and community organizations, such as White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA), Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association and others, to demand robust community engagement, and clear strategies to promote environmental sustainability and social justice.
The FAS recommendation presents nothing new. It does not take into account any of the 400+ comments sent to FAS, nor the more than 800 signers on SGSC’s change.org petition calling for the City to stop the sale until communities are fully involved in the future of this site, and new environmental studies are conducted.
FAS recommends using part of the land immediately south of the Joint Training Facility for an expanded parking lot, selling the flat portion of the site for a commercial warehouse operation, and keeping the unmarketable wetlands and critical slope, with the addition of a possible adventure park on the critical slope above SR 509. FAS does not take into account that Myers Parcels holds origins of Hamm Creek, part of the most fragile link in Chinook Salmon Recovery, and within the Superfund Site of the first five miles of the Duwamish River. Its plan does not keep that watershed healthy, or help to restore the Duwamish River and promote salmon habitat. While we are spending millions of taxpayer dollars to clean up the Duwamish River, it makes no sense to jeopardize this watershed. As a city we should be improving it, not building warehouses around it.
The land has healthy, mature trees that filter water, retain storm water run-off, control erosion, clean the air and help keep the city cool. They create a green buffer for the communities of South Park and White Center. Decreasing the green buffer by selling it for warehouse operations will degrade air quality with increased car and truck pollution. Increased hardscape will also increase stormwater runoff. The inclusion of an adventure park can also potentially degrade the forest and wildlife habitat.
FAS’s recommendation to “slice and dice” this land, selling off parts of it, fails to recognize the land’s value as a whole. In a true “balance,” clean water and clear air would clearly win out over more warehouses that South Park and White Center do not need.
Seattle Green Spaces Coalition demands meaningful community engagement and a valuation of all the benefits this land does and can continue to provide. If we are going to live up to the commitment of the Equity & Environment Action Agenda and our Climate Action Plan, important questions must be answered:
· What is the most environmentally friendly use of the land?
· What is healthiest for the neighborhoods?
· What ecosystem services will the proposed uses provide or reduce?
· Will wildlife habitat be enhanced or reduced?
· Will it be of use and used by the diverse communities?
· What will its value be in the future for different uses?
· How broadly will the land serve diverse community and the City?
· How will it impact the watershed and recovery of the Duwamish River?
· What are the land’s unique features and role in the ecosystem?
· What will be the interplay of planned upland development of housing and the land?
· Who will benefit from commercial development?
· Would alternate uses such as fee activities benefit or exclude neighboring communities?So far, over 850 people have signed Seattle Green Spaces Coalition’s online petition demanding a robust, transparent and inclusive community engagement so that all people can participate in the decision-making process.
The city’s webpage with information about the parcels is here. Two weeks before the draft report came out, we toured part of the site with FAS reps, community members, and City Councilmember Lisa Herbold – see that report here.
ADDED 12:49 PM: We checked back with FAS’s Hillary Hamilton, who provided electronic versions of the draft-recommendations map and summary, both of which you’ll now see above. She says a public meeting is still planned but that they’re not yet ready to finalize the announcement. Meantime, comments are still being taken, she reiterates:
Comments are taken continuously through the review process, and a full report of people’s names and comments will be provided to the City Council before any decision is made. People can send comments at any time; we will acknowledge receipt. Those who contact us can be sure to be on the mailing list for updates. Email or regular postal mail is encouraged to Daniel Bretzke, Real Estate Services, Dept. of Finance and Administrative Services. Email is Daniel.bretzke@seattle.gov. Postal address is Daniel Bretzke, FAS Real Estate Services, P.O. Box 94689, Seattle, WA 98124-4689.
(Violet-green swallow photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Tuesday! Here are a half-dozen highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: One more day of a low-low tide, with sunshine, if you have the chance to get out on the shore and explore at midday. The tide will be out to -2.8 feet at 1:09 pm. Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists will be available at Constellation Park (south of Alki Point) and Lincoln Park (near Colman Pool) 10 am-2 pm.
TINY TOTS MEET SENIORS: 10:30-11 am meetup at The Kenney for little ones and seniors to enjoy time together – details in our calendar listing. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
TERMINAL 5 HEARING: If you have something to say about the Port of Seattle’s proposal to upgrade West Seattle’s Terminal 5 as its primary “big ship” terminal, tonight is your first of two chances during the “draft environmental impact statement” stage of the project. The public hearing is happening at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor); another one is planned Thursday in West Seattle – information on both is here. (6737 Corson Ave. S.)
DINE OUT FOR HOPE: Coastline Burgers is donating part of tonight’s proceeds to the DC trip fund for nearby Hope Lutheran School during tonight’s dine-out fundraiser, 5-9 pm. Art sale, too! More info here. (4444 California SW)
INDOOR TENNIS IN WEST SEATTLE? 6-8 pm at Chief Sealth International High School, come hear about – and comment on – the proposal for an indoor-tennis center on the Seattle Public Schools-owned site that now holds outdoor courts just west of Southwest Pool. Organizer Lisa Corbin says the program will start around 6:15 pm and public comments will start around 7:15. Here’s a fact sheet about the project, and a document with FAQs. (2600 SW Thistle)
WEST SEATTLE BIKE CONNECTIONS: 6:30 pm at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, all welcome to join WSBC’s discussion of ongoing issues, events, etc. (4022 SW Alaska)
MORE! for today, tonight, beyond – just check our complete calendar.
(Added: WSB photo)
7:54 AM: Seattle Fire is already scaling back what was a “full response” to a possible house fire in the 9000 block of 39th SW [map] – it’s reported to be a “small electrical fire” that’s already out.
8:05 AM: Our crew is at the scene and confirmed that description of what happened. Remaining fire crews are making one last check of the attic at the house to be sure nothing’s smoldering. No injuries.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:30 AM: Good morning – no incidents in West Seattle or on the major outbound routes so far.
The west end of the West Seattle Bridge will be closed again tonight, 9 pm-5 am, as crews continue re-replacing Fauntleroy Expressway earthquake-safety cushions. Remember that on surface Spokane Street beneath the bridge, you might encounter daytime lane closures too, as setup work is done during the daytime.
6:59 AM: Still quiet. Another reminder: Tonight, 5-8:30 pm, is the first of two public hearings on the draft environmental-impact statement for the Port of Seattle’s proposed Terminal 5 project, at the Georgetown campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).
8:48 AM: We’re on the bridge right now (publishing from the passenger seat, of course) on the way downtown for a court hearing, so a quick traffic report: Slowdown starts just before the crest. We’re headed for the 4th Avenue S. exit, our preferred way to get into downtown.
After two years, it’s down to 20 minutes.
That’s the total amount of time allotted for both sides to make their respective cases tomorrow when they argue for and against the appeal of Lovett Chambers, the Gatewood man convicted two years ago of manslaughter for the Morgan Junction shooting death of Travis Hood.
Though the verdict itself was a charge reduced from the one with which Chambers, now 71, had been charged – second-degree murder – his appeal challenges it and six other points. The written arguments by Chambers’ lawyers say jurors shouldn’t have been instructed that manslaughter was an option, because there was no “factual basis for that charge.” They also argue that the search of Chambers’ home the night of the shooting was illegal.
Chambers has never denied killing Hood, who was 36, but contended that it was self-defense. He was sentenced to 11 1/2 years and has been behind bars now for 4 1/2 years, since the night of the shooting in January 2012. Tuesday’s oral arguments are on the morning docket for a three-judge panel of the State Court of Appeals meeting in Seattle.
(WSB photo)
The 80 “zone” signs installed on the West Seattle Bridge this past weekend comprise one of four projects SDOT has added to the action list for the West Seattle Bridge-Duwamish Waterway Corridor, a list originally shepherded by WS-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen during his final year in office, following the WS Transportation Coalition‘s 2014 list of priorities.. As our area’s first-ever elected-by-district Councilmember, Lisa Herbold has picked up the ball and run with it, and has just announced the release of the newest document in the project, a progress report (technically, the SDOT response to the council’s Statement of Legislative Intent).
When Councilmember Herbold announced on Friday that the progress report was out, it wasn’t available yet in digital format, but now it is – see the full progress report here – and the link’s been added to her online post about it. In that post, her overview of the progress report includes:
The report lists work completed so far, estimated costs for the 27 projects mentioned in the Whitepaper; implementation status, though some are listed as TBD (to be determined); which agency has primary and implementation responsibility for each project; resources directed so far, and timetables.
Here’s the table listing those 27 projects, in case you can’t remember them all:
Councilmember Herbold’s overview continues:
Of the 27 projects mentioned in the Whitepaper, SDOT proposes to focus on the 15 projects in the Primary West Seattle Bridge/Spokane Street Viaduct corridor (See map). In addition, SDOT added four projects from after the publication of the whitepaper in 2015, including installing additional locational markers on the bridge.
The report provides data for corridor traffic trends. Of note is that the West Seattle Bridge carried an average of 107,300 vehicles per weekday, and 29,300 transit riders. In 2015, there were 56 collisions on the bridge and the Spokane Street Viaduct, and 117 “incidents”, which averaged 47 minutes in duration.
The report notes the $500,000 approved by the Council in 2015 for Intelligent Transportation Systems improvements will mostly be finished by 2016, with the rest scheduled for 2017.
Also included are cost estimates and grant application status for the South Lander Street Grade Separation and RR Safety Project.
SDOT proposes to exclude some projects from future whitepaper reports, including 4th Ave Transit Ramp to Spokane Viaduct, Delridge Way Rapid Ride Transit, and Sound Transit expansion (which is subject to a public vote). This may be worth additional discussion.
Primarily, SDOT writes in the progress report, the items it suggests leaving out of future reports are items that are in other agencies’ jurisdictions, and/or outside the main bridge corridor. Here’s that list:
(It doesn’t mean they’re being shelved – just that SDOT wants to concentrate its tracking on the others.) Back to the list of four added projects we mentioned at the start of this update: Besides the “zone” signs on the bridge, the list includes repair and painting projects for the “low bridge” (South Spokane Street Swing Bridge), plus the Fauntleroy Expressway earthquake-cushion re-replacement work that is already under way.
What happens next? In addition to SDOT proceeding with the project list, it’s asking for the release of $100,000 – a pre-planned amount – for more traffic studies. Its revised timeline grid, on the last page of the project report, stretches as far out as 2022 (for studying another railroad crossover beyond Lander) and TBD (for “freight-only lanes on Lower Spokane,” “bicycle connection on W. Marginal,” and “Terminal 5 overpass to Alki Trail”). As pointed out in our previous reports on the project list, it’s mostly incremental; the only real big-ticket item is the Lander Street Bridge (which, reminder, has an open house event this Wednesday in SODO) – no ramp widening from the bridge to 99, for example.
P.S. Pages 9 and 10 of the report are where you’ll find the full data table that Councilmember Herbold mentions, with key numbers about local commuting, freight, and more.
At City Hall this afternoon, councilmembers voted unanimously to pass an ordinance that “prohibits rent increases on properties with unsafe housing-code violations,” as described by the announcement from the bill’s sponsor, Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who proposed it last year with then-Councilmember Nick Licata. All the documents related to the ordinance are here. From the slide deck, here’s how it works:
• Landlord provides written notice of a rent increase
• Tenant must respond in writing within ten days and describe defective conditions
• Landlord can cure the problem any time before rent increase is set to take effect.
• Tenant or Landlord may call SDCI to request inspection any time before effective date of rent increase
• If SDCI inspects and finds RRIO checklist failures, then rent increase delayed until defective condition is remedied
It will take effect 30 days after Mayor Murray signs it.
(Photo courtesy Michelle Taylor: Taproot students attend to a bag dispenser in Fauntleroy Park)
What Fauntleroy Creek/Watershed volunteers did in 2004 and 2008, students from Taproot School are doing now, according to watershed/creek steward Judy Pickens:
Continuing concern about pet waste left in Fauntleroy Park prompted students at Taproot School to take on the 2016 Poop Study.
The study documents the number and location of pet waste along a segment of trail in Fauntleroy Park that’s popular with dog walkers. After a baseline count earlier this spring, the students are reaching out to dog owners with information about why picking up after their pet is important and making compliance easy with free bags.
Located in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse Community Center, Taproot School makes almost daily use of the park as an extension of classroom learning for its 27 (K-5) students. Run in 2004 and again in 2008, the study initiated by the Fauntleroy Watershed Council aims to reduce the level of fecal coliform bacteria that Fauntleroy Creek conveys into Puget Sound.
Students will do a second count in July and a third in September, then compile their report, with an emphasis on what more they recommend doing to get dog walkers to scoop.
In West Seattle Crime Watch today:
ART THEFT: Artist Rebecca Woodhouse is asking you to be on the lookout for her stolen artwork. It’s an unusual theft case: She shipped 4 boxes containing 6 linocut-paintings to Ventura, California, for an art show and included the return shipping labels. The gallery didn’t tell her the work had been shipped back, and when it arrived at a mailing center here, it had someone else’s name on the labels. She says the center called that person, who then picked up the items and signed for them. She has been trying to reach that person for more than a week and since the messages have not been returned, it’s now being treated as a theft. “I was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt; he didn’t know what they were, took them home, works a lot, and didn’t prioritize calling the mailing center or the people who sent the boxes, but enough time went by, and with all the phone calls, it’s crossed the line to theft. The officer said it himself.” She says her name is on all of the art. We couldn’t post all the photos here so she has collected them on this page of her website as a gallery of stolen art. Let her and SPD know if you have information.
SEEN THIS MATH HOMEWORK? From another Rebecca, a car break-in report, with missing math homework:
Sometime between 5 pm Sunday and 6:45 this morning our car was broken into, and a blanket and 2 backpacks were taken from the back. One had school books, one had basic medical supplies in it (icy-hot spray and bandages for sports injuries). I am sure we left a back window open too far (it was hot!! we were tired). How they didn’t set off an alarm interests me, but so it goes.
Learning lesson, but also wishing there was a collection point for “oops, we stole some stuff that is of no use to us, so we can drop it here judgment free, since a semester of math homework probably means more to somone else than it sells for on the street.”
A police report is on file.
PACKAGE PROWLERS: The photo and report are from Patrick:
This is a photo of a package prowler I saw entering my neighbor’s yard as I was returning from work on Friday around 5:30 PM. This was on 34th between Webster and Holden in the Sunrise Heights neighborhood. The neighbor had packages and my wife had seen them driving slowly, stopping, and reversing back to the house. African American female driver, white tank top, African American male companion. Both late twenties to early forties. Car was a ’90s Chrysler or Dodge. Suspension completely blown, loud distinct rattle. Trunk appeared unlatched. Moments after posting this photo to the neighborhood FB page, another neighbor reported seeing the same car attempting to take a package before being confronted. It should be noted these people were doing this at 530, when most people are returning from work, with witnesses outside. Very brazen and most likely desperate. … Call 911 if you see suspicious behavior.
You might have heard about the big regional earthquake-preparedness drill that’s under way in a variety of places all week. Here’s how you can help: Join your West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs volunteers this Saturday! Above is the map of all “hubs” – explained here – in West Seattle, but just one needs volunteer help – read on!
Come see what your community is doing to be prepared in the event of a major disaster. Join us in a simulated earthquake neighborhood response drill of the Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs.
We would love for you to stop by as a “put me to work” volunteer or as a Citizen Actor (to give us tasks to perform, you will draw a short script from our bowl of misfortunes). This will help test how we accomplish our mission and to help you learn how you can be ready to help in the event of a disaster!Participating Hub drill location in West Seattle:
Neighborhood House High Point Center
6400 Sylvan Way SW
9:30 am – 11:30 am
Also on Saturday, separate from the simulation, but ready to meet neighbors and talk preparedness:
New Hub location holding an open-house booth:
Hope Lutheran Church
4456 42nd Ave SW
9:00 am – noon
New Hub! Info table onlyFor more information about how to be prepared and what the hubs do, visit us at West Seattle Be Prepared.
Sunday morning’s garage fire behind a house just south of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (WSB coverage here) burned big – as that photo from a neighbor showed – and briefly. We checked with Seattle Fire this morning to see what its investigator found out about the cause; SFD spokesperson Corey Orvold tells WSB that the fire was ruled accidental, sparked by “improperly discarded charcoal briquets.” No one was hurt, but the fire also burned a tree and damaged a car.
(Crab photographed during weekend low tide by Jamie Kinney)
Good morning! Highlights for this first Monday in June, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: The tide’s out as far today as it was on Sunday – today at 12:24 pm, it’ll again be out to -3.2 feet. So you’ll find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists out again at Constellation Park and Lincoln Park, 9:30 am-1:30 pm.
WESTWOOD-ROXHILL-ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITY COUNCIL: 6:15 pm at Southwest Library, drop by to see and hear what your community council is up to. As previewed here last night, scheduled topics include improvements for the SW Barton crossing at the RapidRide stop and the upcoming Find It, Fix It Walk in the Roxhill area. Everybody’s welcome. (35th SW/SW Henderson)
WEST SEATTLE HI-YU: 7 pm at Admiral Congregational Church, Hi-Yu members and supporters meet as summer’s busy season approaches. (California SW/SW Hill)
QUIZ NIGHT: 7:30 pm at The Skylark, free, all ages. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
SONGWRITER SHOWCASE: 8 pm, no cover, at Parliament Tavern. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
EVENT TO SHARE VIA THE WSB CALENDAR? Go there to see how!
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:30 AM: Good morning – one incident in the area so far; if you are headed to southbound I-5 from the West Seattle Bridge, you will face a backup from a crash that’s blocking two SB I-5 lanes at Albro.
BRIDGE CLOSURES CONTINUE: Again tonight, 9 pm-5 am, the west end of the West Seattle Bridge is scheduled to be closed as the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-cushion-re-replacement work continues.
6:46 AM: One of the two lanes on southbound I-5 has reopened; the HOV lane remains blocked, per WSDOT.
7:04 AM: And southbound I-5 is now all clear.
9:15 AM: Heads-up if you’re still heading out and you use 4th:
On NB 4th Ave S at S Holgate St, there is a collision blocking the left turn lane and the left lane. Expect delays. pic.twitter.com/PC04BMPMtl
— seattledot (@seattledot) June 6, 2016
9:58 AM: A reader texted to report a striping-truck sighting heading west on Admiral Way. So you might encounter striping – which is often refreshed this time of year – if you’re out and about. (Let us know of any sightings – we’ll be watching while making our rounds, too.)
(WSB photo from October 3, 2015)
Remember that scene in Delridge last October, when Mayor Murray brought an army of city department heads for the first-ever Find It Fix It Community Walk in West Seattle? The next one, in the Roxhill area, is approaching, and it’ll be one of the major topics at Monday night’s meeting of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council. Specifically, according to the WWRHAH agenda, a city rep will be on hand to “discuss how (community members) can be partners and stakeholders” for the July 25th event. Another major topic: Improvements planned for the SW Barton crossing between the Longfellow Creek Trail/RapidRide stop and Westwood Village across the street. And some discussion time is set aside for the “future of neighborhood districts” report (same one at the heart of this WSB report published a few hours ago). WWRHAH meets at the Southwest Library (35th SW/SW Henderson), upstairs meeting room, 6:15 pm, all welcome.
(Left, map of 13 Seattle “neighborhood districts”; right, map of 7 Seattle City Council districts. Both from seattle.gov)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When the city Department of Neighborhoods cut its staff of neighborhood-district coordinators 5+ years ago, neighborhood advocates were upset, to say the least.
Before the cuts, the city had one coordinator for each of the 13 neighborhood districts, including the two that comprise West Seattle – Delridge and Southwest.
It would be OK, city leaders assured local community leaders – while cutting three of those 13 jobs, they were restructuring the remaining coordinators into teams by region, with this area part of the South Region, to be served by three.
But in the years since – without any further announcements – it’s dropped to 8 coordinators for the 13 districts, and the regional structure has eroded, like a bluff falling into the sea as it’s battered by waves.
Now a potential tsunami is on the way – a formal review, stemming from City Council marching orders last year, looking at whether the 13-neighborhood-district system should realign with the new 7-district City Council map – and whether the district coordinators’ work as community-to-city liaisons should change.
Read More
Thanks to Joel Schoenberg for the photo from today’s low-low tide:
This is the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock right at the lowest point of today’s low tide. The pilings are completely out of the water. The other side of the dock where the ferries meet the dock was much deeper, of course. The ferry employees said that the biggest problem is actually that there isn’t enough water for the propellers to provide enough thrust, especially the reverse thrust needed while docking. So slowing down while docking becomes difficult and they risk slamming into the pilings instead of gently docking. Luckily our ferry fleet can float in just 12 feet of water.
If you can get outside at midday, it’ll be -3.2 feet – same as today – again tomorrow, at 12:24 pm.
Family and friends will gather on June 18th to celebrate the life of Mark Moore, 62. Here’s the remembrance that’s being shared with the community:
Mark Edward Moore, 62, of Seattle, passed away on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 with his loving wife, daughter, and son at his side.
Mark was born on August 3, 1953, to Elna and Dean Moore. He was the youngest of the couple’s four children.
He was a graduate of West Seattle High School and in 1979 married his wife, Susan Geary. Mark and Susan had two children: daughter Danielle, who was born in 1980, and son Kelsey, who followed in 1982.
For over 2 decades, Mark worked for Kings Command Food Inc., where he held multiple positions. Mark was a sports enthusiast. He was a die-hard Seattle sports fan and loved to watch the Seahawks, Mariners, and Sonics play. And on sunny weekends, you could often find him playing 18 holes at Foster Golf Course.
He was preceded in death by his father Dean and his sister Susan.
He is survived by his wife Susan Moore, daughter Danielle Ellis, son Kelsey Moore, mother Elna Brown, brother Douglas Moore, sister Cheryl O’Brien, and granddaughter Holly Ellis. Mark was a loving husband, father, son, and friend, and will be greatly missed.
Please join us to celebrate Mark’s life on Saturday, June 18th, between 1 pm and 4 pm at the White Center Eagles, located at 10452 15th Ave SW.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
In our photo, broadcasting live this afternoon from the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center parking lot, are KEXP’s Becky (at laptop), Evie, and DJ Quilty 3000. It’s the second year in a row that West Seattle has been home to KEXP’s Hood to Hood victory party – the prize for the neighborhood whose residents raise the most money during a special fundraising drive for the radio station. The afternoon included live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, and vendors, but though the Youngstown party wraps at 6 pm, the Hood to Hood revelry isn’t over – a live-music showcase starts at The Skylark at 6:30 pm, hosted by West Seattle-residing KEXP DJ Troy Nelson, who then moves to Shadowland in The Junction for a DJ set during the Hood to Hood afterparty at 9.
3:49 PM: The orca baby boom of the past year and a half is getting a proper celebration right now at Alki Bathhouse – with birthday cakes! Ella’s Cakes has just been announced as first-place winner, followed by Hot Cakes and BAKED. The Baby Orca Birthday Bash is on until 5 – get down here for more fun including Orca Bingo with The Whale Trail! June is Orca Awareness Month, so you can keep celebrating beyond today – and learning, too, which is a big part of what this event is about:
That’s just one educational point – without salmon, the Southern Resident Killer Whales won’t survive.
9:45 PM: A few more photos – first, our West Seattle-based orca advocates, Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail:
And Jeff Hogan from Killer Whale Tales:
Outside the bathhouse, Mike the inflatable orca, aka J29:
For more on Orca Awareness Month – go here.
Thanks to Kylee Schmuck for sending that photo of the car that caught fire at the east end of the Roxbury corridor a little while ago – 1st and Olson (map), according to the Seattle Fire dispatch. No word of any injuries but Seattle Police have been dispatched to handle traffic in the aftermath of the fire, so avoid the area for a while if you can.
(Kate, mom Denise, and son Alex, an Alki Elementary student, atop the Columbia Tower last winter)
One local woman out running today is on a quest – you may already have seen Kate Calamatta out along the Alki Trail if she kept to her original plan:
I’m a West Seattle resident originally from the UK. In March this year my Mum had a very serious road traffic accident in the South of England. I was running along Alki when I got the news. 24 hours later I was by her bedside at Southampton Neuro ICU in the UK. She was in a bad way and it was touch and go for the first few week. After nearly two weeks she began to awake from her coma and begin her long journey of rehabilitation. Now she’s in a specialist unit for traumatic brain injury. Progress is being made but it is a slow and hard fight. There’s no doubting she will be impaired for life.
After the accident my Mum was airlifted by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to Southampton. Had this service not been available there’s no way she would have survived. The Air Ambulance is a charity and not funded by the UK govt.
I have been running for only 8 months and after Mum’s accident I decided to do something substantial to raise money for the people who saved her life. So, (today) I will be running a half marathon that will begin at Queen Anne and end at my home in West Seattle.
So, if anyone sees (or saw) me, a hunkered down, slow, exhausted looking runner, jogging along Alki, please give me a cheer and some positive vibes! I’ll be easily recognizable by my slow pace, red face, black leggings, grey vest and a black headband! Also, if anyone is moved to do so, please look at my fundraising page:
I know this is a foreign charity for most of the people in WS but it is a very worthwhile cause that makes a real difference.
Just in case you were wondering – after a breakdown yesterday, the Highland Park Spraypark is back up and running today, in time for what’s expected to be an even hotter afternoon/evening than yesterday. We just went over to check firsthand, and that’s what we found. (We won’t be able to find out from Seattle Parks what caused yesterday’s problem until tomorrow.)
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