West Seattle, Washington
17 Sunday
One more day to make sure hundreds of local families can celebrate the holiday with a traditional meal … First, the White Center Food Bank needs more turkeys, and you can bring them by 8:30 am-7 pm on Wednesday. If you can spare some time, they also need help distributing food Wednesday afternoon/evening:
Volunteers needed Wednesday, 4:30-8 pm. It’s holiday distribution time again at the White Center Food Bank and we are currently short volunteers for the afternoon/evening of November 25 to pass out food to clients. We get set up at 4:30 pm. We distribute food from 5:00 to 7:30 pm and then clean up. Families welcome. If you can help, please call Audrey at 206-762-2848 or e-mail audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org
WCFB is at 10829 8th SW.
4:52 PM: The election is certified but the Seattle City Council District 1 race still isn’t settled. The “final” count has Lisa Herbold over Shannon Braddock by 39 votes, 12,459 to 12,420, and that’s close enough to require a recount by hand. King County Elections says that will start December 3rd and be completed December 7th.
ADDED 5:23 PM: KC Elections has clarified the recount process after announcing two start dates:
The recount process will begin on Monday, Nov. 30 and be completed on Monday, Dec. 7. The first few days of the recount process will involve staff and observer training and ballot sorting in order to obtain the votes specific to this District No. 1 race. Ballots are not stored by district. Actual counting of the ballots is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Dec. 3 and is expected to continue through Friday, Dec. 4 and possibly the morning of Monday, Dec. 7. After the manual hand count and reconciliation is complete the Canvassing Board will meet to certify the recount on Monday, Dec. 7 at 3:00 p.m. Final results will be announced by 4:30 p.m. that day.
(SCROLL DOWN for updates – including video, photos added late Tuesday night)
(Added 3:45 pm, WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 1:42 PM: Thanks to David Hutchinson for photos from Alki showing north-wind-fueled waves against the seawall well before the 2:40 pm high “king” tide (previewed here last night).
He also shows us that Alki Bathhouse has sandbags out just in case:
This isn’t even the highest “king tide” of winter – but of course, without the wind, higher tides can be far more sedate. Updates to come.
2:54 PM: Just back from the totally swamped Alki boardwalk – water over the walkway, and the Bathhouse certainly needs the sandbags. This :15 Instagram video clip is only a taste:
And we do mean “taste” – if you are anywhere within a block of the water, you’ll taste salt spray. Felt like stronger wind/waves than the corresponding “king tide” + north wind event last year. Downloading more images when everything dries out. (Also – We were live on Periscope for about four minutes until conditions shut down our phone; the archived video is visible for 24 hours at this link.)
3:39 PM UPDATE: The National Weather Service has a “coastal flood advisory” in effect through 5 pm because of the overflow in areas like Alki.
4:15 PM: The West Seattle Water Taxi run is “temporarily suspended” until this calms down, according to text/e-mail alerts.
4:42 PM: And if you use Marine View Drive, beware of a tree hanging over 46th SW, according to Meg, who says it’s been reported to 911.
4:55 PM: King County Water Taxi service is canceled for the rest of the night, per the newest alert.
ADDED 10:21 PM: Video from “Diver Laura” James, “up close and personal” with the waves, as she put it:
From Kersti Muul:
And from Long Bach Nguyen, the next three beautiful scenes as blustery day gave way to night:
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Another “king tide” tomorrow – but without the wind.
Local high-school gymnasts finally have a place to practice – but it has to be paid for – so a crowdfunding campaign is under way. From West Seattle High School athletic director Trevor Leopold:
The West Seattle High School gymnastics team lost their practice facility when West Side Gymnastics Academy closed its doors this year. Because of the closure, we had to purchase a Spring Floor so the team could practice at the high school. The cost of the Spring Floor is approximately $21,000 and we are trying our best to raise the money. Currently we have about $5000 but are ending up short at this time. West Seattle is also helping the Chief Sealth team by allowing them to come practice at WSHS and use the spring floor as well. This is something which was a must-purchase; we need help. This is the link for SNAP fundraising where people can donate and help the team.
(Gulls on Alki Bathhouse roof – photo courtesy anonymous first-time contributor)
We’ll be publishing the list in two sections all season, so first, from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide:
HOLIDAY GREENS – LAST DAY TO ORDER: Today’s the deadline to place your order for holiday greens benefiting Seattle Lutheran High School. They’ll be available for pickup Saturday, December 5, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, in the SLHS Gymnasium at 4100 SW Genesee.
And from our regular year-round calendar:
FIRST ‘KING TIDE’: As previewed here last night, 2:40 pm brings a high tide, and north wind is forecast, so it *might* get a bit wild along the Alki Beach promenade.
LORENA GONZALEZ SWEARING-IN: 5 pm at City Hall, swearing-in ceremony for West Seattle resident Lorena González, who makes history as the first Latina/Latino member of the Seattle City Council. If you can’t be there, you can watch live via Seattle Channel – online or cable 21. (600 4th Ave.)
TRIVIA: Parliament Tavern‘s the place to find it tonight, 8 pm. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
In West Seattle Crime Watch this morning – one stolen car and two possibly stolen, abandoned bicycles. First, just out of the WSB inbox, from Grace:
My blue 1997 Geo Prism was taken from in front of our house on 11th Ave SW in Highland Park in the last few hours. If anyone should see it around, much appreciate their contacting SPD (case # 15 410052) so I might be able to retrieve it. License plate ANC 4242. Thanks.
Two bicycles have turned up, abandoned and likely stolen. First, Gary found this one left outside his garage door – “Body is painted over in blue and black. No sign of brand name.”:
And Patrick says the next one was abandoned in the 3200 block of Benton Pl. SW sometime last week:
Something for Crime Watch? Once you’ve reported it to police, e-mail us – editor@westseattleblog.com – unless it’s breaking news, in which case, please text or call 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(Six WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:40 AM: No incidents through/from West Seattle so far this soggy morning.
7:56 AM: Since it’s quiet so far, we’ll take a moment to preview transit plans for Thursday-Friday – The West Seattle Water Taxi will be out of service both days; Metro buses will be on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving, “reduced weekday” on Friday; Sound Transit Route 560 will be on the “weekend” schedule on Thanksgiving, “weekday” on Friday; Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, regular schedule.
8:23 AM: We’re at 50th/Alaska checking out a collision that involved a school bus and a car. Some kids were on board but no one was hurt and another bus has already picked them up to continue their trip to school (they won’t say what school, so we’ll have to check with SPS).
The (short) bus’s front end is a bit mashed up (photo added), as is the car’s right front end. (added) The district – for whom First Student is a contractor – says four students were on board, confirms none were hurt.
Thanks to James for sharing the news and the team photo:
The WS Red Bulls defeated the WS King Tigers 3-0, finishing up an unbeaten run through group play with a spotless championship game! We are very proud of our boys and look forward to making a run at the state championship! The WS Red Bulls move on to the next round of play to challenge the other 6 district champions for the Recreational Cup State Championship! We’ll keep you posted of our progress.
The WS Red Bull team consists of:
#2 Roman Centioli
#3 Jameson Yount
#4 Jack Nishimoto
#5 Charles Twombley
#6 Preston Ross
#7 Robbie Foisy
#8 Payton Kyle
#9 Dylan Roberts
#10 Kai Perala
#11 Aaron Johnson
#12 Jake Beardemphl
#13 PJ Barton
#14 Kaeden Quinn
#15 Chase Clifton
Head Coach Eric Beardemphl
Asst Coach Russell Nishimoto
Asst Coach Scott Roberts
Good luck to them in the next round!
(November 2014 photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
While the “s”(now) word has vanished from the city forecast, another force of nature is on the way: The first “king tide” of the season. The 2:40 pm high tide will be 12.3 feet, one of the highest of the season (here’s the full regional “king tide” chart for this month through January) – the state is again looking for photos of the tides’ effects. Tomorrow has a potential complication – wind from the north, 15-25 mph, which could bring the water over the seawall on the Alki promenade. Not likely anything resembling the famous December 2012 storm-surge-enhanced king tide – but depending on the wind, conditions could resemble what happened when high tide met gusty north wind a year ago.
Thanks to Scott for the photo and report:
Madison Middle School’s A team won the Seattle Public Schools A2 division (Saturday) night with a solid win over Jane Addams Middle School in the championship game at Ingraham High School Stadium. Madison made it to the final after beating the #1 seed Pathfinder in last weekend’s opening weekend of playoffs. Congratulations to the nine 8th graders and three 7th graders who played their hearts out … Go Bulldogs!
As a footnote, our B team took 3rd place in the B division playoffs with great wins over Hamilton Middle School and Eckstein Middle school after losing to eventual winner Southshore by one point in the earlier game. Congratulations to Madison kids for a great season.
(WSB photo from February)
Three landmark buildings in West Seattle are getting a boost from a county cultural-grant program.
(SW Seattle Historical Society photo from May: Dennis Schilling, Alki Homestead owner, with logs for restoration)
Here’s the announcement from West Seattle’s County Councilmember Joe McDermott, one day before county and cultural leaders gather to celebrate the list of grants that includes these three:
Renovation of the Admiral Theater and restoration of the Alki Homestead highlight a list of the projects in West Seattle and throughout King County that will receive funding to help maintain their buildings and preserve the arts and heritage programs that are held inside.
“As a lifelong West Seattle resident, I grew up going to the Admiral Theatre and Alki Homestead,” said Council Vice Chair Joe McDermott. “I am proud to promote the rich cultural history in West Seattle through the Building for Culture grant program.”
The Admiral Theater received $95,000 towards a renovation that will see the number of screens double from 2 to 4. The 111 year old Alki Homestead was awarded $83,000 towards its complete restoration, after a fire destroyed it in 2009.
The funding for maintenance, repairs, and preservation were allocated from the Building for Culture Program and unanimously approved by the County Council. Building for Culture is a partnership between King County and 4Culture, King County’s cultural services agency, using bonds backed by the hotel-motel tax to build, maintain, expand, preserve, and improve new and existing cultural facilities.
After the Council approved the creation of the Building for Culture Program, 4Culture put out a request for proposals to nonprofit arts, heritage and cultural organizations and eligible public agencies, as well as owners of national-, state-, or local-designated or eligible landmark properties. 4Culture then convened independent peer panels composed of arts, heritage, and preservation professionals, and other community representatives to review applications and make the final selections.
Facilities receiving funding in West Seattle are:
Admiral Cinema LLC – Admiral Theater Renovation – $95,000
Delridge Neighborhood Development Association – Elevate Youngstown – $100,000
Dennis Schilling – Restoring the Alki Homestead –$83,000$45,190 (correction from CM McDermott’s office on 11/24/2015)The bonds supporting these projects are made possible by early retirement of the Kingdome debt. State law requires that hotel-motel tax revenues King County collects this year after repayment of the Kingdome debt be directed to arts and cultural programs.
Read more about the grant program here.
The recount-bound race for Seattle City Council District 1 (West Seattle/South Park) is now a 36-vote contest, as of today’s count:
Lisa Herbold – 12,452 – 49.74%
Shannon Braddock – 12,416 – 49.60%
That’s 7 more votes for Herbold, 3 more for Braddock, since Friday. One final count tomorrow by 4:30 pm (they’ve actually been happening just before 4 pm), and then the election is certified. An official recount decision comes after that. Here are the rules; unless there’s some big burst of ballots before tomorrow – which would be against the recent trend – it would seem this race will wind up within the parameters for a mandatory by-hand recount, at public expense.
(Photo courtesy Mystery Made)
For 2+ years, Mystery Made has toiled quietly in Admiral: “Generally, we’ve kept the blinds up and just kept our heads down with work,” as proprietor Cory Côté puts it. But now, in time for the holidays, they’ve added something new and invite you to check it out:
We run Mystery Made. Mystery Made is a small design agency here in West Seattle (2727 California Ave) driven by three close friends with years of experience in action sports and brand design. As of last Friday we’ve opened up the front space to be the home to a small brick & mortar men’s-geared shop as well. We’ll also be selling online, but obviously nothing compares to the honest tactile experience so come check it out and try something on. There’s limited space so we’ve curated a small collection of some of the brands we’ve been liking such as the Roark Revival, Electric, Imperial Motion, Field Notes Brand, Draplin Design Co., UCO gear, Volta Sound Co. and our very own Mystery Made goods. We also currently have a curated collection of mounted photography of our good friend and associate photo editor for Snowboarder Magazine, Mike Yoshida. His imagery truly captures the experience of the Northwest winters in the hills.
Mystery Made’s storefront is open 2-7 pm weekdays, noon-6 pm Saturdays.
(WSB photo, midday Monday)
Seattle Fire crews are still keeping “fire watch” at the scene of last night’s house fire in the 5200 block of 18th SW on Puget Ridge (WSB coverage here). And SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl has just sent word of what investigators determined: The fire was accidental.
(WSB photo, midday Monday)
She adds that damage is estimated at “$250,000 loss to structure and $50,000 to contents. A lamp tipped over and ignited some clothing. There was a delay in calling the fire department as the resident tried to extinguish the fire twice.” As SFD reminds in this post on the SFD Fire Line site, please don’t ever wait to call for help:
… A resident used two fire extinguishers to fight the visible flames. When the fire appeared to be extinguished, he left the room. A short time later he returned to find a fully involved room fire. He and his roommates attempted again to put water on the fire but it grew too fast. Once they realized that they couldn’t conquer the rapidly growing fire, they called 9-1-1 and exited the building. Having a fire extinguisher in an accessible location can help keep your home fire safe. The most important step is to immediately call 9-1-1 at the first sign of a fire. Once you know that help is on the way, you can then decide if the fire is small enough to utilize your fire extinguisher. …
You’ll find even more safety information in the Fire Line update.
The water-main repair work that’s closed 47th SW south of Fauntleroy – previously mentioned in our daily traffic watch – will take a few more hours, according to Seattle Public Utilities. Rachel Garrett at SPU tells WSB, “The break is affecting about 20 residential customers along 47th Ave. SW, between SW Brace Point and SW Roxbury Street. SPU crews are onsite and have begun repair work, which we estimate will be completed this afternoon by around 3 p.m. The water line is currently throttled, and customers along SW 47th Ave. upstream of the break will likely have service impacts while repairs are completed.” She says it’s an 8-inch line and they’re still investigating the cause of the break.
(2014 ‘Lunches With Love’ photos courtesy of Lashanna Williams)
If you can spare some time and/or food and/or other items … here is your next big chance to give before Thanksgiving. It’s the third year of the grass-roots Lunches With Love project. Its leader Lashanna Williams has this invitation explaining several ways to help:
Hello my sweet Seattleites,
It’s time for Lunches with Love again. Last year we were able to feed many people around the sound and we plan on doing the same this year.
So far we have had donations from Stoneway Construction, The Cuddle Club, and Lafarge-Holcim’s Sales and Concrete Lab.
Volunteers spend the Wednesday before thanksgiving (11.25.15) making paper sack lunches and assembling care packs.
In the evening volunteers take lunches around town to those who need it. (Pike Market park, near the bus stop, outside of shelters, under I-5, alley stoops, along West Marginal … just in human hands)
If you, your officemates, your book club, etc., want to make some sack lunches or drop off lunch supplies – that would also be amazing.
This year our goal is 1,100 lives touched.
Pre-made lunches and supplies can be dropped off to my house – 9319 7th Ave S. – until about 6 pm Wednesday night.
Lunch hints: nothing that needs to be heated. (Sandwich, fruit, veggies, cheese, protein bar, sweet treat..etc)
Living Supplies: Clothes, gloves, blankets, tarps, tents, toothbrushes, reusable water bottles, garbage bags, batteries, flashlights, etc.
If you are interested in making lunches please feel free to come by any time from 11:30 am – 6 pm (Wednesday) and we’ll head out around the sound around 7 pm.
Questions? Email me or call me! Thank you so much for reading and participating if you can.
Lashanna :)
(your Summer Fest and Hometown Holidays face painter)lashannaw@gmail.com or call 206.715.5265
Three days to get ready for Thanksgiving! If you are looking for information including:
*Free community meals
*Restaurants/coffee shops/grocery stores open on Thanksgiving
*Thanksgiving Eve/Day services
*Ways to put the “giving” in Thanksgiving (and the entire holiday season)
… please take a few minutes and check the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide (Thanksgiving is right at the top!). It’s updated daily (if not more often) all season long, so if you have information to add, for Thanksgiving or beyond, please send it as soon as you can! editor@westseattleblog.com is the best way to get us info for the guide and/or our regular year-round calendar (plain text in the body of the e-mail, please, not as an attachment or image) – thank you!
(Five WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
6:03 AM: The Thanksgiving countdown begins. One change in traffic patterns today: No classes at Seattle Public Schools elementary and K-8 schools this week because of parent/teacher conferences. For other SPS schools, holiday break starts Thursday (with early dismissal Wednesday).
8:56 AM: Relatively quiet commute wrapping up; not unusual for a holiday week. One note – we have multiple reports of a water break in the 9300 block of 47th SW and are checking both at the scene and with Seattle Public Utilities.
9:19 AM: 47th is closed at Brace Point because of this. We’ll have a separate update as soon as we hear back from SPU.
As the weekend wraps up, two Denny International Middle School updates:
ONLINE AUCTION ANNOUNCED: The Denny PTSA‘s first online auction has just been announced. It’ll be open noon November 30th – one week from today – through midnight December 12th. More than 60 items are already ready to be previewed here. And you can boost that number by donating – follow that same link and click the “donate” button, or e-mail auction manager Cassandra O’Neal at dennymsauction@yahoo.com before November 27th (this Friday).
EAST AFRICAN FAMILY MEETING: From Denny IMS principal Jeff Clark, the report and photos from a big event Saturday:
Denny International Middle School and the Seattle Police Department Partner to Connect with Our East African Families
On Saturday, November 21, the doors of Denny were open as we welcomed our East African Families for a full-day meeting. In partnership with the Seattle Police Department, we offered sessions for adults and children on topics including: Academic Opportunities Now and For College, Family Cohesion, Identifying Concerns, and Public Safety in English and Somali. Thank you to all of our families for coming!
A special thanks to Sergeant Diaz and his entire team from SPD, to Denny staff: Ms. Farah, Ms. Amaral, Mr. Abdirahman, Ms. Moland, Ms. Nestor, Mr. Truong, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. Perdue, Ms. Nevius, Ms. Lehman, Alice from City Year, Ms. Clark from TRIO, and other volunteers, and to Mr. Robles, Ms. Fraser-Hammer, and Ms. Ernst for joining us!
A two-car crash and the emergency response to it has Harbor Avenue SW blocked both ways in the 1300 block [map]. No further details on the crash – no major injuries reported so far – just an FYI if you’re headed out from, or back toward, that area.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
7:05 PM: Seattle Fire is at the scene of a reported house fire in the 5200 block of 18th SW [map] on Puget Ridge. They’ve just called for two more engines and are reporting the fire is visible through the roof of one side of the house.
7:11 PM: Via scanner, it’s being described as a heavily involved attic fire.
(Added: Reader video, via text – thank you!)
7:14 PM: Also via scanner, they’re pulling crews out of the house and declaring it a “defensive fire,” apparently because of danger from a power line – they won’t go back inside until power is shut off.
(Added 7:18 pm: Thanks to Jon for the photo)
7:21 PM: Neighbors tell our crew at the scene that people were home when this started but made it out OK. Flames are still visible.
7:29 PM: Firefighters have gone back into “offensive” mode and report the fire’s “knocked down.” No word of injuries so far. SFD is calling for the Red Cross to come offer help to the residents.
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
7:46 PM: SFD spokesperson Lt. Sue Stangl has just briefed media. She says six people were home and all did indeed get out OK, as did their cat (photo above; rescuer was SFD Lt. Kym LeRoy). She said the fire was in the garage, living room, and attic when firefighters arrived, and discussed the electrical-line problems we mentioned earlier. She also confirms, no injuries. We’ll add video of her briefing once we upload it.
8:06 PM: SFD says all six of the people who were displaced are adults. The cause of the fire isn’t known yet – investigators are on scene.
8:53 PM: We’ve added the video of Lt. Stangl’s briefing. She also says via Twitter that “one elderly woman … was carried out of the house by a neighbor.”
This ribbon-cutting in South Delridge celebrated a project that was two years in the making: Completion of the first raingarden/cistern project at a Seattle mosque.
The installation dedicated this past Friday at AlNoor Mosque is not just functional for reducing the runoff that goes into the combined-sewer system, it’s also a teaching tool for the students of Hope Academy, a K-8 private school that’s co-located on the grounds.
Hope Academy’s Mohamed Ahmed talked about the project:
Teachers and students are now involved in maintenance of the raingardens – there are two on the grounds.
Along with runoff reduction and environmental education, the project is expected to help with basement flooding issues at the historic brick building on the grounds of what was once St. James Lutheran Church. Those on hand to celebrate Friday included reps from the project partners at ECOSS (Environmental Coalition Of South Seattle) the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, Seattle Public Utilities, and RainWise, which continues to offer rebates for cistern and raingarden installations in certain target areas.
Quick reminder: If you have something to say about the Port of Seattle‘s environmental review for the Terminal 5 modernization proposal, tomorrow (Monday, November 23rd) is the deadline. Start here. The key comments at this point in the process would be your thoughts on issues that should be reviewed – noise, traffic, air quality, etc. You can review recent coverage in the WSB Port of Seattle-related archives.
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