West Seattle, Washington
17 Wednesday
GRIEF COMPOUNDED BY CRIME: As if dealing with the death of a loved one wasn’t tough enough, a reader’s family is also dealing with a burglary:
Our mom passed away (last week) and her home was broke into sometime (between Saturday night and Sunday night).
I’ve gone there every day since she died. She had a lot of meds in her house, I’m thinking that’s what they were after, which makes us think whoever did this knows our story. Police came, and were wonderful. They think (the burglar[s]) may have been scared off. Nothing was taken.
The reader just wants people in the area to be aware – this happened in the general Schmitz Park vicinity. P.S. Seems also worth noting that next Saturday is the twice-yearly Drug Takeback Day, 10 am-2 pm April 30th. If for any reason you have no-longer-needed medication, drop it off at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster) front desk, no questions asked.
JUNCTION GUNFIRE FOLLOWUP: Though the incident still isn’t in the publicly accessible online system, we finally got SPD confirmation that gunfire evidence WAS found in the investigation of Sunday morning’s incident in The Junction. We just talked to precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith and he said a report in the SPD system shows that officers recovered three 40-caliber casings in the street in the 4500 block of 42nd SW and noted a “possible bullet hole found on a nearby towing sign.” No one was hurt and no other damage was located, according to the internal report; no suspects were found or arrested, but two vehicles described only as silver and “dark” were seen leaving the area right afterward. Why this information wasn’t in the report checked by the officer with whom we spoke at the precinct yesterday afternoon, he didn’t know. (The incident number, 16-141399, does not currently show anywhere in the publicly accessible system.)
REMINDER – NEXT CRIME PREVENTION/SAFETY MEETING … is tomorrow night’s West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, focusing on car theft and car prowling. 6:30 pm at the precinct – full preview on the WSBWCN website.
5:09 PM: Thanks to Kyle for the tip – City Light is currently repairing a utility pole on 45th at Oregon in The Junction. We went over to find out more; police tell us a driver had brake trouble and hit the pole, knocking it sideways. With SPD directing traffic, vehicles are getting through the area, but we’d advise avoiding it for a while.
6:25 PM: Just went back to check; scene’s clear now.
Our area’s biggest day of person-to-person recycling is getting closer – Saturday, May 14th, is West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2016. More than 230 sales have signed up already, all over West Seattle, at apartments and houses and townhouses, in garages and carports and courtyards, schools and businesses and retirement centers … and more, with an amazing array of items on sale! As always, we’ll be spotlighting some once registration closes – and as announced last week, that’ll be 11:59 pm this Wednesday (April 27th). To register your sale – please go here.
IMPORTANT – IF YOU’VE REGISTERED BUT DIDN’T GET THROUGH PAYPAL – we still need your payment before we can get you on the map (which we start working on right after closing registration). A few sales show as registered but not paid; if that includes yours, you CAN pay without going through the registration form again – just go to this page to find the direct link to PayPal, which you can use without having to be a member – PP takes credit cards too. (We’re usually able to match the payment to the sale, especially if you use the same e-mail address with which you registered, but if you didn’t, just send us a note to garagesale@westseattleblog.com to let us know you paid separately. Same address if you think you paid but didn’t get a separate receipt from PayPal – we can sleuth that too.)
If you’re planning to shop – look for the map and listings, in online and printable versions, one week before WSCGSD, linked/featured here on WSB as well as the official WSCGSD website.
Thanks to the WSB reader who tipped us to this recently – we can’t find the original message so can’t credit by name but we did finally get a chance to look up the source info: This Thursday, if you have a view of Elliott Bay toward downtown, you’ll get to see the Clipper 70s racing yachts parading, and then presenting an ocean-racing exhibition, before they head out to the next leg of their round-the-world race. Boaters are invited to join in. That’s set for 1-5 pm Thursday (April 28th) – full details here.
P.S. If you’re interested in touring the yachts before they go, you can do that at Bell Harbor Marina on the downtown waterfront, until 7 pm today and again 11 am-7 pm one last time tomorrow.
(Rendering courtesy West Seattle YMCA)
The official groundbreaking celebration has just been announced for June 2nd, but some work for the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) expansion will start in The Triangle in early May. Here’s the official announcement:
The Board and Staff of your West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA invite you to attend a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration on Thursday, June 2, kicking off construction of an expanded West Seattle facility.
Your expanded and renovated West Seattle YMCA will include:
• A dedicated Family Wing with age-appropriate spaces where infants to young teens, can play, connect with peers, explore new activities and develop skills on their way to reaching their full potential.
• More than 9,500 square feet for fitness classes, strength/weight training and cardio equipment – nearly doubling the current space for Y members to be active and stay healthy.
• A new Community Meeting Room where youth, neighbors, service organizations and other groups can gather together to work on local issues, learn new skills and explore shared interests.
• A Healthy Eating Kitchen in the Community Meeting Room, supportingY members and participants, especially youth, to develop healthier eating habits through nutrition and cooking classes and free monthly cooking demonstrations.
• Five new Family Changing Rooms that will allow families of all configurations to privately help each other dress for swim and fitness programs.
• A welcoming new entrance on SW Snoqualmie Street, soon to be designated as a Festival Street that can be closed to cars for special community and Y events.
Funds for the project come from an $8 million capital campaign, with at least $4 million to be raised in the West Seattle community and the remaining funds provided by the YMCA of Greater Seattle. To date, volunteers from the West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA Board have raised $3.7 million locally.
“I’m inspired by the hundreds of generous people who have donated to expand and renovate our Y facility. They believe that the YMCA makes a huge difference in people’s lives, and that as the West Seattle community grows, the Y needs to be there to respond. Thanks to these donors we’ve already exceeded 92% of our local fundraising goal and are ready to go!” said Josh Sutton, Regional Executive Director. The Y expects to serve 3,500 more people with the expanded facility, growing our reach in West Seattle to more than 23,000 individuals each year.
The West Seattle YMCA building will largely remain open during construction, with improvements happening in phases and completion expected by the end of the year. The first phase will launch the week of May 9 when the old Youth Programs Building on the Y property will be torn down. Throughout the project, you’ll find the latest updates, images, construction progress and schedule changes on OurNewY.org.
The groundbreaking ceremony and celebration will take place from 4:30 to 6:00 pm on the Snoqualmie Street side of the West Seattle YMCA facility. Activities will include a bounce house, a photo booth where you can turn a gold shovel of dirt and wear a hard hat, games, donor recognition and a brief program at 5:00 pm.
In case you’ve missed our multitude of mentions since the Sound Transit 3 “draft plan” was announced one month ago (WSB coverage here) – tomorrow (Tuesday, April 26th) is the one and only Sound Transit public meeting planned in West Seattle before ST comes up with its final plan to send to regional voters in November. A West Seattle light-rail line is in the plan – for 2033. Yes, that’s a long time. But it could be longer, as there is some clamor elsewhere in the city to move it back and move other parts of the draft plan forward. But – it also could be sooner. Whatever you think about it, the more people show up for tomorrow’s 5:30 pm meeting at West Seattle High School, the more of a show of support there is. The latest voice exhorting you to be there is that of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, which just sent this:
Do you want less traffic on the West Seattle Bridge?
If so…come to this meeting on April 26th.
We need Light Rail and we need our voices heard.
IF YOU COME…THEY WILL BUILD IT!
Show up and make a HUGE difference.
Tuesday, April 26th at 5:30 pm at West Seattle High School.
The more people who show up for this meeting, the louder our voice is.
The louder our voice is, the more likely we are to get what we need: LIGHT RAIL TO WEST SEATTLE!!!
Just showing up is half the battle.
It’s no substitute for a big showing, but ST is also asking you to fill out the survey you’ll find online at soundtransit3.org. Tomorrow’s meeting, by the way, also includes a presentation about Metro’s Long-Range Plan – that and the ST presentation are at 6 pm, following a half-hour of “open house.” It’s not just a light-rail-yay-or-nay situation, by the way – if you would like to advocate for aspects of the plan, including tunneling or no tunneling, where the West Seattle stations should be, etc., this is the place. See you there.
(Red-Breasted Sapsucker, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – four unique events for tonight:
TACO BAR BENEFIT FOR WSHS SOFTBALL: 5-9 pm at Pecado Bueno in The Junction, it’s an all-you-can-eat taco-bar benefit with all proceeds going to the West Seattle High School Booster Club to help the WSHS softball team. $15 adults/$10 kids under 12. (4523 California SW)
SECRETS TO A HEALTHY PREGNANCY & EARLY PARENTHOOD: Free presentation at West Seattle Women’s Health and Midwifery, 5-6:30 pm. Details in our calendar listing, which also includes the number for RSVPing. (4727 44th SW)
TINKERLAB WITH LITTLE BITS: 6-7:30 pm, all-ages drop-in at Delridge Library to invent with LittleBits inventor kits, free, but space is limited. More info in our calendar listing. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
PARENT EDUCATION NIGHT – ABOUT ANXIETY: Parents are invited to a presentation tonight at Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) about dealing with children’s anxiety. Reception at 6:30 pm, presentation at 7, details in our calendar listing. No admission charge, but RSVP is requested – go here. (10015 28th SW)
MORE for today/tonight/beyond … here’s our complete calendar.
(Click any view for a close-up; more cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:34 AM: Good morning! No incidents in/from West Seattle so far.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Work is scheduled to start this morning on southbound 26th SW between Barton and Roxbury. And of course, Friday is the scheduled start of the two-weeks-or-so Alaskan Way Viaduct closure. Details on both, and a few other notes, are here.
9:13 AM: Commenters on the aforementioned story provide reminders of the two big meetings coming up this week related to West Seattle’s potential future light rail – the Sound Transit 3 open house (also featuring the Metro Long-Range Plan) Tuesday, 5:30 pm (presentations at 6) at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW), and the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s meeting focused on ST3, 6:30 pm Thursday at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way SW).
Thanks to Parris Sadow for the photo and report:
The Madison Middle School Ultimate Frisbee team took 3rd place in their division at the 2016 Spring Reign tournament this weekend in Burlington, WA. The team had a 3-0 record at the end of day one and entered day two in the winners bracket. They won their first game on day two, but came up just short of making it to the final in their 5th game. A decisive win in game six gave them 3rd place.
A great weekend overall in the rainy and wet conditions. Thanks to the coaches and parents and giant kudos to the players.
Most of the time, after publishing the initial announcement of projects that will at least temporarily affect how you get around, our subsequent reminders are in our weekday Traffic/Transit Today updates, first thing Monday-Friday mornings.
Tonight, we’re thinking an extra reminder is in order, because of the big week ahead. So here goes:
TOMORROW (MONDAY 4/25), 26TH SW BETWEEN ROXBURY AND BARTON: The pummeled pavement panels along this stretch of southbound 26th SW, in sorry shape after the past few years of dramatically increased bus traffic, will be replaced over the next week. The work will start on the south half, between Cambridge and Roxbury, as SDOT’s advisory says, southbound 26th will be closed to all traffic. There are no bus-stop changes, because the southbound side has no stops, but the rerouting to get around it will add a few minutes to trips, Metro says.
ALSO MONDAY: Delays are possible for Fauntleroy/Vashon ferry riders, because one of the two slips on Vashon will close during the day for ongoing work, tomorrow through the end of May. Explanation here.
ONE MORE THING FOR MONDAY: Not West Seattle, but some local commuters might be interested: The Highway 520 floating bridge will open to eastbound traffic early Monday morning, and that completes the phasing-in of the new bridge, both ways.
NOT HAPPENING WEDNESDAY AFTER ALL: If you missed our first word of this on Thursday and the city’s reiteration on Friday, SDOT finally decided to postpone the Fauntleroy Expressway seismic-pad-re-replacement work.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli from original Fauntleroy Expressway pad-replacement work in 2012)
It WAS supposed to start this Wednesday, with dozens of overnight closures of the west end of the high bridge as well as some lane closures on surface Spokane St., but has now been pushed back until at least mid-May, mostly because of what starts on …
FRIDAY: At some point between midnight and the start of the morning commute on Friday April 29th), WSDOT will close Highway 99 between the Battery Street Tunnel and the West Seattle Bridge. As of our last check with WSDOT, spokesperson Laura Newborn told us they have 12:01 am penciled in as the start time until they get a more concise time from contractor Seattle Tunnel Partners as to when they expect to start tunneling toward and under the Alaskan Way Viaduct. All week long, we’ll be taking closer looks at the plans for alternative ways to get around during the closure; if you still have questions about it, we’ll do our best to get answers.
Again, the closure is expected to last “about” two weeks, but it all depends on the progress the tunneling machine makes. That progress is set to be updated online at least once a day. Other closure-related info – detour maps, etc. – is here.
(Renderings from design packet, by Clark Design Group)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The tree was off the table.
At the start of the Southwest Design Review Board‘s doubleheader nightcap last Thursday, the third Early Design Guidance review of the mixed-use proposal for 4532 42nd SW, planner Katy Haima made that clear.
She declared that the issue of “tree removal on the site” – referring to what happened after the project’s last meeting in November, with an $11,000 penalty revealed recently – had been “referred to [the city] and had been resolved” and asked participants not to bring it up.
Only one did.
Compared to the lightly attended review at the start of the night (1606 California SW – see our report here), this one had more than a dozen spectators, though most were there to observe and not to comment. All five board members were present for this review – chair Todd Bronk, members Don Caffrey, T. Frick McNamara, Alexandra Moravec, and Matt Zinski.
At meeting’s end, they voted to allow the project to proceed to the second phase of Design Review. Here’s what happened along the way:
(Screengrab from SPU mapping tool you can use to figure out what kind of “service line” goes to your residence)
3:55 PM: Just out of the WSB inbox:
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) said today that two days of extensive testing in five Seattle homes confirms the city’s water continues to be safe to drink.
The utility started testing after learning last week that Tacoma Public Utilities had detected high levels of lead in four water samples taken from galvanized steel service lines.
In response to that information, SPU asked Seattle residents to run their water before using it if the water had not been run for a while. SPU then initiated its own tests to see if the problems reported in Tacoma exist here.
The Seattle test results announced today are well below the action level for lead of 15 parts per billion (ppb). The highest level recorded in Seattle’s tests was 1.95 ppb.
Seattle’s water quality experts worked with five homeowners, distributed throughout the city, with galvanized-steel service lines. They sampled water from the main to the tap, after allowing the water to sit overnight in the pipes.
“This sampling protocol was much more extensive than the standard federal test, and should give customers an added sense of confidence in their water,” said SPU Drinking Water Quality Manager Wylie Harper.
“Seattle Public Utilities is in compliance with U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations,” said Derek Pell of the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) Office of Drinking Water. Pell added Seattle’s testing protocol is supported by DOH.
If customers are interested in learning what kind of material — copper, plastic or galvanized steel — the service line that supplies their homes with drinking water is made of, they can use a new online Web tool.
You can navigate to the Web tool by clicking here.
SPU said the test results released today mean Seattle water customers can return to using water as they did before Thursday’s announcement. (EPA, DOH and SPU recommend running the water before drinking.)
SPU’s source water, supplied to 1.3 million people in the region, comes from protected mountain watersheds in the Cascades Mountains and is considered to be some of the best water in the nation.
Seattle regularly tests its water for lead and other contaminants, and has met all requirements of the federal Lead and Copper Rule since 2003.
The utility’s state-of-the-art water quality laboratory analyzes over 20,000 microbiological samples each year — more than 50 a day taken throughout the system — and conducts chemical and physical monitoring daily, 365 days per year.
SPU continues to work with key stakeholders and regulators including DOH, Seattle-King County Public Health, EPA and city departments.
A phone line has been set up for customers with questions: 206-684-5800. Customers can call today until 7 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
9:01 PM UPDATE: As discovered and discussed by commenters, there are some spots on the map where you won’t find the water-line information. We asked SPU, whose Andy Ryan replied: “We know there are some ‘blanks’ in the database. Records were not always well kept or complete and some parts of the city were annexed. If your readers have questions — such as, ‘I can’t find information for my address’ — please ask them to call 684-5800, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.”
2:44 PM: Thanks for the text. Seattle Fire has sent a big dispatch to a possible house fire in High Point, in the 3200 block of 31st SW.
2:49 PM: Before we arrived, the call’s been closed, meaning the SFD units have all been sent back. So, nothing major.
4:47 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli reports having caught the description via scanner before this call’s quick closeout: A small fire related to a bird’s nest in or around a chimney/heater outlet.
In West Seattle Crime Watch so far today:
SUSPECTED GUNFIRE IN THE JUNCTION: We’ve been checking on this after several inquiries about possible gunshots and arguing heard in the 3:30 am vicinity, near Capco Plaza at 42nd/Alaska in The Junction. No one texted or called when it happened, so we didn’t get to check it out in real time (so much is not on the scanner these days – 206-293-6302 is our 24/7 hotline), and the best we’ve been able to do is process of elimination: There were no medic calls on the Seattle Fire log, which means no one was hurt; no gunfire incidents on the SPD Twitter call log or SPD police-report maps. To go the extra mile in checking on it, we went to the Southwest Precinct to see if someone could check the report for us. The desk officer said he already had just checked on the incident at a caller’s request, and he said there’s nothing in the system about gunfire – which would mean no shell casings, no bullet holes – the final call designation was a noise disturbance related to a “party.” If we find out anything more, we’ll add it, but that’s all we have so far.
CAR BREAK-INS: Reader report from Kami:
Looks like WS was hit by more car prowls last night. Our car was broken into between 10-8am last night (in the 4000 block of) 36th Ave SW. Ping Zing 2 golf clubs were stolen in Bengals golf bag. Police said multiple other cars were prowled on the same block in the alley parking spots and garages. Remind neighbors to watch for cars entering the alleys that are not recognized and report anything suspicious.
Reminder – car prowls/thefts are the spotlight topic Tuesday night at the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting, all welcome, 6:30 pm, precinct meeting room at 2300 SW Webster.
At Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW), the rain’s not stopping the twice-yearly Recycle Roundup, on until 3 pm today. We stopped by in the first hour and found people dropping off everything from an old TV antenna to an exercise cycle.
There’s no charge to drop off your recyclables as long as they’re on the list; the church’s Green Committee coordinates this every spring and fall with recycler 1 Green Planet and will of course accept donations to cover their expenses, but that’s totally voluntary. They have one request: Please DON’T wait until the end of the day – after 2:30, there can be a long line.
(The Brothers, photographed by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Good morning! Still deciding how to spend your Sunday? From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, some possibilities:
BICYCLE-COMMUTE TEST RIDES: Thinking about commuting by bicycle during the impending Alaskan Way Viaduct two-weeks-or-so closure, now just five days away? West Seattle Bike Connections has announced test rides today, from three West Seattle starting points:
*Lowman Beach, 9 am (info here)
*Morgan Junction, 9 am (info here)
*The Junction, 9:20 am (info here)
Important – if it looks like rain, please check those links to see if there are updates with changes/cancellations.
RECYCLE ROUNDUP: Today’s your first of two chances this year to get those non-curbside-type recyclables out of the house and into the hands of recyclers, for free! 9 am-3 pm at the Fauntleroy Church parking lot. The list of what 1 Green Planet will take (with some mentions of what they won’t) is here. (9131 California SW)
‘SCREENAGERS’: 10 am at the Admiral Theater, the Alki Elementary PTA presents a showing of this film looking at the screen time in kids/teens’ lives and what parents really need to know and do. Ticket link’s in our listing. (2343 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE ROCK SHOW: 10 am-5 pm, second and final day of the free, fun 50th annual show, presented by the West Seattle Rock Club at the Alki Masonic Center in The Junction. Here’s our report from day 1. (4736 40th SW)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in The Junction, shop in the street! (California SW between SW Oregon and SW Alaska)
EARTH DAY SERVICE WITH ZARNA JOSHI: The organizer, activist, writer, and storyteller Zarna Joshi speaks during the Earth Day service at 10:30 am at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation – all welcome – info here. (7141 California SW)
PLAY GAMES! Eight groups are scheduled at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) today, noon until night, according to the schedule on the right side of the Meeples home page. Go play! (3727 California SW)
EARTH DAY STORYTELLING: 2-4 pm, free, at the Duwamish Longhouse. You’ll hear from storytellers Johnny Moses (Tulalip), Rebecca Hom from Shelton, and Blake Shelafoe (Duwamish), as well as from James Rasmussen of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, about the healing of the river. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
‘LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE’: 3 pm matinee at Kenyon Hall, as Twelfth Night Productions‘ Seattle-premiere performance continues. (7904 35th SW)
POP-UP PASSOVER SEDER: 4-7 pm at Delridge Community Center – celebrate with friends and neighbors as Passover continues. Details here. (4501 Delridge Way SW)
MORE! See today’s full list on our complete calendar.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
If you like to be the first to know – Wednesday night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting was full of looking into the future, including two major draft reports due out soon and updates from our area’s city councilmember. If you weren’t there, get ready to get informed on all of the above and then some:
TERMINAL 5 DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT OUT SOON: Paul Meyer from the Port of Seattle said he was at DNDC to get that message out. At one point, you might recall, the modernization project planned for Terminal 5 wasn’t going to have an environmental impact statement, which sparked a neighborhood protest including a petition drive. But then the port said it would need one after all because prospective clients for the new terminal were making it clear its operations would be more sizable than expected.
(WSB photos)
Though it’s truly a gem of a show, not everything at the West Seattle Rock Club‘s 50th annual show is sparkly:
That display near the entrance to the show at the Alki Masonic Center honors the 1975 designation of petrified wood as our state’s official gem. It’s one of many display cases showing a variety of treasures from the earth:
The displays are from collectors and enthusiasts of all ages. And the show is for everyone – admission is free, though you have the opportunity to spend a little or a lot, with vendors around the room as well as silent auctions toward the back – one geared for adults, one aimed at kids:
Participants are also ready to show and explain how they work with rocks and gems. Admission and parking are free; the show continues 10 am-5 pm Sunday at 4736 40th SW.
West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports – and a few more notes – tonight:
EARLY-MORNING CAR PROWL: From Katie:
Car broken into on 64th Ave SW, Alki neighborhood, at Hinds. A Hispanic man, 5’10”, found rifling through trunk, ran off when brother came out to his car. Had gotten into passenger cab and stolen a small bag with supplies and personal effects along with my paycheck. About 6 am today.
THIEVES HIT YARD, VEHICLES: Deanna says this happened “sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday”:
They went out into our backyard and stole lawn mower, weed whacker, step ladder, and a few small decorative items. 5000 block of Delridge Way SW. (Also) Our neighbors’ car was broken into parked next to our house, and our neighbors’ truck (a few townhomes down) was also broken into. They’re around 5100 Delridge
BIKE FOUND, BIKE STOLEN: First, Dawnee in Highland Park wonders if this might be your stolen bicycle:
Hers was stolen two days ago, not the first time she’s been hit by theft. Hers is a red, SE Palisade 21-speed women’s bike, taken from 18th/Cloverdale.
ITEMS FOUND ON GATEWOOD ROAD: A reader found these on Thursday:
On leaving my home at the top of Gatewood Road at 12:30 pm … I noticed two bags sitting on top of our rockery. There were multiple empty Trader Joe an Goodwill bags except for one which contained a set of keys (6 total including car keys and car alarm) and maybe house keys? Also eyeglasses and sunglasses in a case with a $5 bill inside; a headband was on the sidewalk also. Also a small Panasonic car radio remote and several items I can’t identify.
Sound familiar? Let us know.
OTHER FOUND ITEMS – MAYBE STOLEN, MAYBE NOT: In case you’ve missed previous mentions, we’ve added a new section to the WSB Forums since our technical changes earlier this year, a “West Seattle Lost/Found” section for everything but pets (who’ve had their own Lost/Found section on WSB for eight years), after frequent requests. While the mentions above seem to likely have been dumped by thieves, it’s not always easy to make that judgment, so if you find something and you’re not sure, that’s where to post. One item added today: An iPad found in Sunrise Heights.
NEXT CRIME/SAFETY MEETING: Another reminder that the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network meeting on Tuesday will feature, in addition to a crime briefing from Southwest Precinct leadership, special guest Detective Scotty Bach, with info about car prowls/thefts. Somebody from your neighborhood should be there, even if you are Block Watch-less. 6:30 pm Tuesday, precinct meeting room on the parking lot off Webster west of Delridge.
(WSB photo from past Recycle Roundup)
Getting ready for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (three weeks from today!) and realizing not everything is sellable, even at the low-low-low-make-an-offer level? Or, just de-cluttering in general? One more reminder – tomorrow is the spring edition of the twice-annual Recycle Roundup in the Fauntleroy Church parking lot at 9140 California SW. 9 am-3 pm. Drop your recyclables off for free, as long as they’re on this list (which also points out what the church Green Committee‘s Recycle Roundup partner 1 Green Planet definitely WON’T take). One more thing: The earlier you can get there in that six-hour window, the better.
Thanks to Chief Sealth International High School teacher Heather Griffin for the photos and report:
Ninth-graders in Ms. Griffin’s Language Arts class at Chief Sealth International High School are collaborating with a second-grade class at Roxhill Elementary School on a story project.
As part of our Healthy Communities unit, focusing on the Duwamish River, 9th graders will be writing short stories about the river and publishing them in an anthology, with the assistance of volunteers from The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas.
Our first session with the 2nd graders was to gather original research. What makes a good story? What makes the best characters fun? How are these stories written? How do they start? On June 9th, we’ll go back to present our anthologies to our 2nd grade friends.
Cool school news? editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
(WSB photo – today)
1:24 PM: Less than 48 hours after the “eyebrow” of their historic, almost-a-century-old building fell off (WSB coverage here), members, friends, and neighbors of the Highland Park Improvement Club are hard at work getting the debris out of the way. They have enough help, they told us, to be done this afternoon; that help included neighbors who didn’t wait for the announced 11 am start time, as well as someone passing by who asked if they could take some of the plywood off HPIC’s hands.
(Photo from today, by Dina Lydia Johnson)
Next step, shoring up the remaining awning, and they’re putting out a call to West Seattle contractors/construction companies to see if anyone’s willing to help (contact info is on the HPIC website, hpic1919.org). That’s on the south side of the building, along SW Holden, where the sidewalk remains closed until the awning is shored up:
(WSB photo – Thursday night)
In the short run, they’re hoping to put a brace on that remaining overhang. The building not only is used as a community center by Highland Park groups including HPIC – this Wednesday, for example, it’s scheduled for the regular fourth-Wednesday meeting of the Highland Park Action Committee – it’s also usually busy with classes, rentals, and events including movie nights and the first-Friday Corner Bar.
3:04 PM: As Alan said in comments, no work party tomorrow. Here’s the official message just in from HPIC:
Thanks to all that helped! We just wrapped it up. There will not be a work party tomorrow. Many hands made light work! We do have a small pile of metal next to the large dumpster in case anyone is interested in saving us from cutting it up to size for the recycle bin! It is yours for the taking.
We are also putting out the call for a bonded contractor to remove the awning that has not fallen. We are hoping to hire someone from the neighborhood.
7:11 PM: And the latest on the building’s status:
The debris from the fallen awning is cleaned up, a support post was put under the awning next to Holden and repairs were made to the handrails. We are now back open for classes and meetings. We still have a large dumpster in the middle of the parking lot for removal of the awning on the Holden side. We hope to have that awning removed soon but, until it is, we are not going to be able to support any large rentals or Corner Bar. Hopefully, we will get the rest of the awning removed very soon, as none of us want to miss Corner Bar!
(The next CB would be Friday, May 6th.)
(WSB photo: WSHS #14, sophomore Anabelle Watt, on the mound)
Cross-peninsula rivals West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School met on the diamond Friday afternoon. Final score in the game at Southwest Athletic Complex: Wildcats 19, Seahawks 9.
What’s ahead: Both teams have games on Monday (April 25th), both 4 pm at SWAC, against different teams – Sealth plays Cleveland and WSHS plays Seattle Prep.
Also on Monday, there’s an all-you-can-eat benefit for the WSHS Booster Club to help the softball team, 5-9 pm at Pecado Bueno in The Junction (4523 California SW). $15 adults/$10 kids under 12 for the all-you-can-eat taco bar, all proceeds from which will go to the fundraiser.
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