West Seattle, Washington
01 Monday
Family and friends gathered this weekend to remember Bjorg Orlob, who died last week at age 71. Here’s the remembrance looking back at her life:
Bjorg Olea Orlob passed away on 12/5/2014. Born Bjorg Solheim in Andoya, Norway, in the midst of the Nazi occupation on 9/26/1943, she emigrated to the USA at an early age. She grew up learning both American and Norwegian cultures and values, and embodied the best of both. She attended school in Bothell, and graduated Bothell HS in 1961. She already began collecting friends she would keep for life before she got her dream gift – a one-way ticket to Oslo – for her high-school graduation.
Once in Norway, she continued to make friends. She spent time working in Belgium as well as Oslo, and always took the time to love the places she visited and the people who inhabited them. Her travels took her many places, including much of Europe and parts of Africa.
Once she returned to the USA, she was introduced to the cousin of a high-school friend, and quickly fell in love with Carl Orlob, a US Naval Aviator.
Just under one more hour to get over to Luna Park Café and meet Cartooning Santa – who will draw something for you, as he did for the young men in the photos Lindsay shared (thank you!).
The drawings are free, by the way! Luna Park is at 2918 SW Avalon Way.
4 PM: Ian reports an overnight car theft:
Just wanted to spread the word about my stolen vehicle this morning. It was reported to the police, wasn’t impounded. Vehicle is a dark blue, 1991 Honda Accord, License Plate #ABE3499. Last seen at the corner of 14th Ave SW and SW Kenyon Street at about 8:30 PM last night. Was stolen sometime between 8:30 PM last night and 7 AM this morning.
As advised by the SPD @GetYourCarBack Twitter feed, call 911 if you see it.
10 PM UPDATE: Ian confirms what Cynthia mentioned in comments – she found his car! He says, “It was found and is in good shape. It was found about two blocks away from where it was taken, around 13th and Elmgrove. No windows broken. I’m guessing that they must have had a key of some sort. They went through the glove box and the trunk but there was nothing of value in either of those. The audio deck wasn’t taken. It being a 1991 Accord makes it an easy target to a certain extent. I am lucky to have made a habit of leaving nothing of value in my car.”
Changes ahead at three locations along a one-mile stretch of 35th SW:
‘NEW BEGINNING’ AT RED STAR PIZZA: Fans of the Sunrise Heights pizzeria have noted an inconsistent schedule for a while, and as first noted here back in May, the location’s future has been up in the air, with plans for the site to be redeveloped as the new home of Clearview Eye Clinic. Last week, the Red Star Twitter account announced closure until further notice, but possibly a “new beginning” ahead. Then today, co-proprietor Shannon Cross e-mailed WSB to say she now owns Red Star along with her West Seattle-native uncle Bill Bent, and that they plan to “rock 7514 35th until 5/31/2015, then we will move location to another part of West Seattle. Red Star is here to stay… Go, Hawks!” (Added: They expect next Wednesday to be their “grand re-opening,” with hours Wed-Fri 4 pm-10 pm, Sat. 2-10 pm, Sun. 12-9 for starters.)
JC’S DELI TO CLOSE: Jeanette Cummings says she’s closing her sandwich shop/deli at 35th/Henderson after this month. It’s been there for 2 years and 2 months. She cites slow business, but we note that this building also is up for sale, offered for $675,000 in a listing that touts “three well-established tenants” as well as redevelopment possibilities (it’s zoned for development up to four stories).
HALLOWS CHURCH: The church at 35th/Cloverdale – formerly Calvary Lutheran, then Gatewood Baptist, then Life Church, but idle the past two years – is now launching as Hallows Church, according to a postal-mail postcard that points to a website which shows that it’s branching off from a church of that name in Fremont. (Side note: Property records show the building’s ownership is still in the name of Gatewood Baptist, as it has been since 2006; court records show a lawsuit between people associated with GB, regarding the future of the property, was dismissed earlier this fall.)
(WSB photo from Alki, while we awaited the Christmas Ship visit Saturday night)
Happy Sunday! From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and ongoing regular calendar:
ARTS/CRAFTS FAIR: C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair, 9 am-2 pm again today. Local arts and crafts!
Photo above shared on Saturday by Jen from Village Mouse. (5612 California SW)
CHRISTMAS MUSICAL: The youth of West Side Presbyterian Church present the musical “The Night I Heard the Angels Sing,” 9:30 am and 4:30 pm. Admission free, all welcome! (3601 California SW)
CARRIAGE RIDES: As part of Hometown Holidays in The Junction, 10 am-2 pm.
(WSB photo from last Sunday)
“Take a carriage ride down California Avenue pulled by beautiful Belgian Draft Mules. A treat the whole family and friends will enjoy. Stop off at the Farmers Market for complimentary hot apple cider.” (California/Alaska)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, fresh local food/drink year-round. (44th/Alaska)
PATHFINDER’S HANDMADE WREATHS: Right around the corner from the Farmers’ Market, it’s the last of three Sundays that Pathfinder K-8 is raising money for Outdoor Education Programs by selling holiday wreaths “handcrafted by our students, faculty, and parents with locally donated greens. 100% of what we make goes directly into the classroom.” 10 am-2 pm. (SW corner of California/Alaska)
SANTA PAWS Pet-photo opportunity at West Seattle Windermere, 11 am-1 pm, bring a nonperishable-food donation. (4526 California SW)
COAT DRIVE AND SANTA PHOTOS: Mountain to Sound Outfitters in The Triangle, noon-4 pm. (Photo added, sent by Greg @ M2SO:)
“Bring a coat to donate and get a picture with Santa Claus. We will be accepting donations of coats (any size) to benefit the West Seattle Helpline. There will also be hot cocoa and photos with Santa on our chair lift.” (3602 SW Alaska)
BRIDGE ANNIVERSARY: The Bridge is celebrating its first anniversary in its new location with door prizes and more, through today’s Seahawks-49ers game, which kicks off around 1:25 pm. (California/Graham)
GIFT WRAPPING: Furry Faces Foundation will “Wrap It Up” again! Gift wrapping for donations, first of several sessions is today, 2 pm-7 pm at Beveridge Place Pub. It’s a nonprofit fundraiser and they’re still welcoming volunteers – details are in this post in the WSB Forum. (6413 California SW)
FINAL PERFORMANCE FOR ‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE’: 3 pm matinee is the closing performance for Twelfth Night Productions‘ “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” at Kenyon Hall. Buy your ticket(s) online at brownpapertickets.com/event/917572 or an hour before showtime at the venue box office. (7904 35th SW)
‘JUDY’S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS’: 3 pm matinee at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Buy tickets online here. (4711 California SW)
HANUKKAH TASTING EVENT: 3-6 pm at Metropolitan Market-Admiral, including latkes and brisket. (41st/42nd/Admiral)
LADIES’ MUSICAL CLUB: Free concert at West Seattle (Admiral) Branch Library, 3 pm, featuring the music of Schubert and Brahms. (2306 42nd SW)
FAUNTLEROY CHRISTMAS CONCERT: 4 pm at Fauntleroy Church: Choirs from Fauntleroy UCC and Peace Lutheran, plus local instrumentalists. (9140 California SW)
CARTOONING SANTA: 5-8 pm at Luna Park Café. Third year for the “Santa” who also happens to be the café’s artist/muralist. He’ll be there “in his Santa chair, drawing cartoon pictures of elves, snowmen, and reindeer, and he’ll even take requests! Personalized pictures signed from Santa. … There is NO CHARGE, and never a very long line! We play Christmas music, hand out Christmas cookies, and the staff dresses up in their red and green best.” Food and drink specials for the occasion, too. (2918 SW Avalon Way)
GINGERBREAD-HOUSE BUILDING: Annual tradition @ West Seattle Christian Church Activity Center, 5 pm. (4400 42nd SW)
WINTER/HOLIDAY CONCERT: Carmina Angelorum: songs for harp & treble voices, 7 pm at Holy Rosary Church: “An evening concert of elegant music celebrating winter and the holiday season, featuring harpist Juliet Stratton and the young women of Prime Voci and Cantamus of Seattle Girls’ Choir. Works by Benjamin Britten, Zoltán Kodály, James Bingham, and Paul Carey to be performed.” Details in our calendar listing. (42nd/Genesee)
‘THE CHRISTMAS POST’: Last chance to see “The Christmas Post,” annual dessert theater at Westwood Christian Community. 7 pm. Admission free, as are the desserts. Child care for babies/toddlers. (9252 16th SW)
HOLY ROSARY TREE LOT’S FINAL WEEKEND: Until 9 pm tonight, or while the trees last, it’s the last scheduled day for the Holy Rosary Tree Lot (WSB sponsor), north of the school.
(WSB photo from this year’s first weekend @ Holy Rosary Tree Lot)
Part of this lot’s proceeds benefit West Seattle Helpline, Hickman House (domestic-violence shelter), and West Seattle Food Bank. (41st/Dakota)
LOOK INTO THE FUTURE … via the Holiday Guide and regular calendar!
Reminder that southbound 35th SW will be closed for at least part of the day south of Avalon, as crews finish the tower-crane installation work at the 4435 35th SW mixed-use project. Here’s the Metro reroute info for the C Line, 21, and 50. One northbound lane has been closed, too; here’s our Saturday coverage – we’ll be checking in again today.
10 AM: Just went by – road is fully open again, crane complete.
(TOPLINE: Power restored after a little more than one hour; ‘cable failure’ blamed)
11:01 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s been calling and texting – as of a few minutes ago, more than 4,100 homes/businesses have lost power in north West Seattle. Don’t know why yet. More to come.
11:08 PM: Just added screengrab from City Light map showing where the power’s out. Commenters and texters report something that resembles a possible transformer explosion preceding the loss of power.
@westseattleblog we live next to Delridge substation, heard what sounded like two explosion with bright flashes.
— Lindsey Hurd (@lindseyhurd) December 14, 2014
City Light site guesstimates restoration by 2 am but remember – that’s just an estimate, could be sooner, could be later.
11:13 PM: Denny tweets that the apartment-rich zone along Avalon is affected:
@westseattleblog power out here on 35th & Avalon. Lots of cars not able to get into their parking garages. Hope no one's stuck in elevators
— Denny Lee (@DennyJLee) December 14, 2014
11:24 PM: In fact, the SFD 911 log indicates a couple “elevator rescue” calls, on Avalon and Alki.
11:29 PM: City Light just tweeted for the first time, but no information beyond what we’ve already gotten from the outage map – “early estimate” of restoration ~2 am, no cause verified yet, not even with all these reports of an explosion preceding it.
11:43 PM: From City Light’s site, “what to do in case of an outage.” We’d add from experience – unplug major appliances unless you have great surge protectors; last outage, a computer we didn’t unplug was damaged when the power surged back on. One other point while we await updates – while the outage affects more than 4,100 “customers,” it affects many more people; a “customer” is an account, a home, a business, sometimes an entire multi-unit building.
12:04 AM: Multiple reports that the power’s back on.
12:12 AM: The map now shows everybody back on – so if you’re not, please call City Light, 206-684-3000. The only indication of its cause appeared on the map in the past 20 minutes or so – “equipment failure.” We might not be able to get further details until Monday.
12:18 AM: Scratch that; we do have a little more information from SCL via social media: “Cause was underground cable failure leading from substation.”
(Lowman Beach photos by Trileigh Tucker)
A night of lights and song on two West Seattle beaches. First – it was barely dark enough to see the star shine on the Christmas Ship as it arrived at Lowman Beach around 4:20 pm. Despite the massive Murray CSO Control Project construction setup across the street and in part of the beach park, a sizable crowd made its way to the beach just north of Lincoln Park:
While the Dickens Carolers were serenading the Lowman spectators from the Christmas Ship, Alki visitors were getting ready for the ship’s next stop. Just inland from West Seattle’s biggest beach, the Log House Museum (61st/Stevens) extended its hours to welcome visitors for “Cookies and Cider on the Porch”:
The museum also showed off gift ideas from its gift shop (open during the museum’s Thursday-Sunday hours, noon-4 pm), including the recently published “Apron Strings” cookbook:
From there, it was on to the beach, to await the Christmas Ship and the decorated boats accompanying it – some official, some unofficial. Seattle Parks and Recreation staffers and volunteers from around the department’s Southwest division organized entertainment and treats at Alki Bathhouse, for a party that started before and continued after the ship’s visit. That included bonus entertainment:
Along with those musicians from Seattle Lutheran High School, other performers included the Endolyne Children’s Choir (WSB sponsor). Inside the bathhouse, holiday treats:
And then, just after 5 pm, the Christmas Ship came into view, rounding Alki Point.
Lots of families among the spectators who lined the beach and seawall in the Bathhouse vicinity to hear the Dickens Carolers – the lineup rotates, as the Christmas Ship schedule shows – perform Christmas classics from the ship, amplified toward the shore.
(Hear a bit of the music via Instagram.) After 20 minutes, with the announcer’s cheery “Ahoy to the world!”, the boats headed off toward a downtown marina for a break (and new passengers) before the night’s next two stops. The Christmas Ship will be back in West Seattle for an encore on Monday night (December 15th), 9:15-9:35 pm, just outside Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor).
According to an alert sent tonight to King County Water Taxi riders, the regular West Seattle Water Taxi vessel, Spirit of Kingston, is going in for annual maintenance, so for the next two weeks or so, starting Monday, Melissa Ann will be on the West Seattle run, and Victoria Clipper III will fill in for Vashon. Side note: We talked recently with Greg Lerner of the King County Department of Transportation Marine Division, and he says construction of the two new Water Taxis is on schedule; Sally Fox, the Vashon vessel, is set for delivery first, to be followed by the West Seattle vessel, Doc Maynard.
Arbor Heights has for some reason been a hotbed of mail theft, which ratchets up the radar for reports like this: Andi says, “Just wanted to let you know when my husband and I were driving home tonight in Arbor Heights, we saw a man riding a bike south along 30th around 7 pm rummaging around in some mailboxes that are located streetside. I called 911 and gave a description, which wasn’t much since it was dark. The best we could manage was: White, 30s, 6ft tall, wearing a checkered gray winter coat, gray pants, black stocking cap, and a black backpack. Hope they’re able to track this guy down; we’ve had some mail theft problems recently in this area.”
Since summertime, we’ve been reporting on the new local junior roller derby league, Southside Revolution. Tonight, a milestone – their first bout! As previewed here earlier this week, the hew league hosted teams from NWO Junior Roller Derby in Chilliwack, B.C.. We happened to stop by Southgate Roller Rink during a warmup period.
In the fluorescent green shirts are members of the Rebels, one of the first two SSR teams (the other, the Cadets). They bouted with the NWO league’s Honey Badgers and TNT. Don’t know yet how it turned out, but keep an eye on the Southside Revolution Facebook page for that and for info on your next chance to cheer them on.
Arriving at Alki for Christmas Ship (due after 5 pm), music and treats at and around bathhouse pic.twitter.com/fBBSdzWRSg
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 14, 2014
4:53 PM: Beautiful night, mostly clear sky, as a crowd gathers to await the Christmas Ship on Alki, due to arrive just after 5 pm, after serenading Lowman Beach. The party organized by Seattle Parks will continue after the ship sails on, until about 6 pm. You’re also invited to stop by the Log House Museum, just a bit inland at 61st/Stevens, with “Cookies and Cider on the Porch” (and gift-shop deals) until 6:
At Alki for Christmas ship? Walk to Log House Museum (61st/Stevens) for cookies, cider, gift shop deals, totem pole.. pic.twitter.com/1uic7hEOdd
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 14, 2014
Watch our Twitter and/or Instagram feeds for updates – and photos/video here later tonight – hope you’re here to enjoy it in person!
5:36 PM: The Christmas Ship and its fleet have moved on, but the celebration continues until 6 pm. We’ll have more photos/video later, but first a short phone-video clip, including the walking Nativity seen here most years:
P.S. If you missed tonight’s stops, the Christmas Ship’s final West Seattle visit this year is Monday at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 9:15 pm. Here’s the full schedule.
(“Trailer” for Sarah A. Fox’s book “Downwind“)
Next Monday at 7 pm at Skylark in North Delridge, it’s your chance to support a local writer whose decade of work has finally culminated in a book. Here’s the announcement:
Local historian and author Sarah Alisabeth Fox is asking for your help. Her recently published book, “Downwind: A People’s History of the Nuclear West,” is the culmination of a ten-year research project, yet some of the most important work spreading the word about the book still remains.
As a first-time author published through a university press, she received no advance and no institutional support for a book tour. Royalties are 1% (15% for ebooks), paid out once a year. All book events and travel expenses come out of Sarah’s personal funds, and she must often take time off work to commit to these events.
“Downwind” explores the human and environmental cost of nuclear testing and uranium extraction in the American West through the stories of “downwinders,” the residents of the Great Basin region affected by radiological pollution.
Ahead, the announcement continues with more about the book and how you can help at Monday’s event:
ORIGINAL REPORT, 11:40 AM: With so much construction and utility work around town these days, the crew working outside Salon 08 on SW Genesee east of 42nd might not have drawn a double take this morning. But the reason for its presence was unusual – a hit-run driver crashed into the gas hookup out front and did a little damage to the bricks in the facade. It happened sometime before 4 am – that’s when the Seattle Fire Department was called out to investigate a possible gas leak; the tipster who sent us word of it said the driver would have been a “silver hatchback” that “fled the scene on 3 wheels.” The salon, however, is open for business as usual.
ADDED 6:30 PM: In comments, Rich says the suspected hit-run car ended up near his Lowman Beach-area home. We’ve also received a photo via text and e-mail showing what’s said to be the car in question:
Rich says police told him they knew whose car it was – we are checking to find out if a suspect was arrested.
That’s just some of what comprised a big donation for YouthCare, from West Seattle Girl Scouts, this past week. Rosina shares the story and photos:
On Monday, December 10th, Cadette Troops 40890 and 42780 (middle-schoolers) co-hosted the 5th Annual “Brownie Girl Scout Christmas Cookie Exchange.”
More than 70 Brownie Girl Scouts (2nd – 3rd graders) attended. They exchanged cookies, learned about some Girl Scout traditions, made some crafts, decorated and ate some cookies, and sang some songs. And at the end of the evening, we had over 80 dozen cookies, a box full of handmade Christmas cards, and a trunk load of toiletries to donate to YouthCare. YouthCare is an organization that provides shelter and services to the homeless youth in Seattle.
It was a fun evening of celebrating the holidays with sister Girl Scouts AND spreading the holiday cheer to our young neighbors in need of love and support, especially at this time of year.
Still lots of chances for you to reach out and offer holiday help, too – see the list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!
(2012 WSB photo by Nick Adams)
The Christmas Ship makes two West Seattle stops today/tonight! That’s on our list of highlights from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and our regular calendar:
C & P CRAFT FAIR: C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair, 9 am-3 pm.
(Added: Photo shared by Melanie)
Local arts and crafts! (5612 California SW)
SANTA AT JF HENRY: Santa Al will be at JF Henry (WSB sponsor) 10 am-1 pm; bring your own camera or get a photo for $5. (4445 California SW)
CHOIR CONCERT: Endolyne Children’s Choir (WSB sponsor) presents its “Winter Fantasy” concert, 11 am at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. Tickets $7 adults/$5 children, at the door. (California/Hanford)
SANTA AT CAPERS: Noon-3 pm, DIY Santa Photos at CAPERS in The Junction, with “ex-Westwood Santa.” Bring cameras/phones, kids/friends, and a donation for the West Seattle Food Bank. (4525 California SW)
‘THE CHRISTMAS POST’: annual dessert theater at Westwood Christian Community. 1 pm & 7 pm. Admission free, as are the desserts. (9252 16th SW)
(added) HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, THE BRIDGE! The Bridge is celebrating its 1st anniversary in its new location starting at 3 pm today, continuing through tomorrow’s Seahawks game, with door prizes and more. (California/Graham)
CHRISTMAS SHIP MAKES 2 WEST SEATTLE STOPS: Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship in West Seattle! 4:20-4:40 at Lowman Beach, 5:10-5:30 pm at Alki, where you’ll find these onshore festivities:
The Seattle Parks Department and Advisory Councils of the Southwest Geo district are proud to host the annual Argosy Christmas Ship arrival at Alki Beach. Music, cookies, and hot drinks will be served at the Alki Bathhouse. Music is provided by the Endolyne Children’s Choir and Hope Lutheran Church Choir. The music starts at 4 pm and the ship arrives at 5:10 pm and will perform for 20 minutes. After the ship departs, live music continues in the Bathhouse until 6 pm.. The entire event is free to the public.
(60th/Alki)
‘COOKIES AND CIDER ON THE PORCH’: Before, during, and after the Alki Christmas Ship visit, stop by the Log House Museum, 4-6 pm. Refreshments at the home of West Seattle history and a discount on items in LHM gift shop during the event! (61st/Stevens)
ROLLER DERBY DEBUT: First bout for Southside Revolution Junior Roller Derby – it’s the new league’s “Holiday Bash,” 5:15-9 pm, Southside Roller Rink. (9646 17th SW)
PARTY WITH A PURPOSE: RISE Now hosts this 6 pm fundraiser with performances, small plates and drinks, and more at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – details in our calendar listing. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
FAUNTLEROY CHURCH CHRISTMAS CONCERT: 7:30 pm at Fauntleroy UCC, featuring choirs from Fauntleroy UCC and Peace Lutheran, plus local instrumentalists. (9140 California SW)
‘JUDY’S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS’: Go back to 1959 with Judy Garland and fellow stars in the holiday show at ArtsWest in The Junction, 7:30 pm Buy tickets online here. (4711 California SW)
‘IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY’: Second-to-last performance for Twelfth Night Productions‘ holiday show, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.” 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall. Buy your ticket(s) online at brownpapertickets.com/event/917572 or an hour before showtime at the venue box office. (7904 35th SW)
‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, 8 pm at OutWest Bar. Details on this Facebook event page. (California/Brandon)
VELVETEEN LOTHARIOS: 9 pm, go retro at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) – details here. (6451 California SW)
METEORS! Peak of the Geminids – as explained in Alice Enevoldsen‘s most recent “Skies Over West Seattle.”
LOTS MORE on the calendar!
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Intense night of early-season high-school basketball last night as West Seattle High School hosted Chief Sealth International High School. Above, fans rushed the court after the WSHS boys pulled out an overtime win, 56-47, in the last game of the night; the WSHS girls also went home with a win, 83-40.
CLICK/SCROLL AHEAD for 17 more photos, plus summaries from both games:
(SCROLL DOWN for updated info/photos)
(WSB photo, taken Thursday)
6:31 AM: That’s the construction site at 4435 35th SW, the mixed-use project where tower-crane installation is set for this weekend, with a permit to close 35th between Avalon and Alaska both days for that work. In case you missed our earlier mentions of this, here again is the message from the contractor:
We are approved by the City of Seattle to close all 4 lanes on 35th AVE SW adjacent our jobsite (4435 35th Ave) to erect our tower crane. The plan is to roll on site at 5:30 am Saturday with our mobile crane so we can start work by 8:00 am. Weather permitting, we’ll have the crane put together on Saturday and come back Sunday to remove our mobile crane. Though we are permitted to work until 10 PM with the lane closures, we are confident (weather permitting) we will be out of there by noon. Again, we apologize in advance for any inconveniences this may cause to your weekend commutes.
The published reroute for Metro’s RapidRide C Line and Routes 21 and 50 in that area says only southbound is affected; we’ll be checking later in the morning to see if that’s true.
9:31 AM UPDATE: One northbound lane is currently open, so the bus reroute IS just for southbound.
ADDED 11:56 AM: We’ve added photos from this morning, above and below.
This will be the third crane currently at work in West Seattle, following Junction 47 at California/Alaska/42nd and the Alliance project at 40th/Edmunds.
ADDED 3:10 PM: Thanks to Eddie for this view:
P.S. We went back just before sunset; crane-building wasn’t done yet:
We’ll check its status on Sunday morning.
2 stolen-car reader reports to share, so you can help be on the lookout:
From Fabiola:
My black 1997 Honda Accord 4 door #ALL3193 was stolen Monday night from the Highland Park neighborhood. The front bumper is slightly broken with the front pushed up and the sides hanging.
From Lauri:
I got my car stolen late (Wednesday) night behind Hotwire Coffee in the parking lot. It is a blue Nissan 2001 Xterra, the usual bumper stickers, Luna Park and Hotwire “Obey the Bean.” Plate 244XSB.
If you’ve seen either one, call 911.
(WSB photo: June 3rd raid at 28th/Yancy)
Six months after police raided an indoor marijuana farm in North Delridge, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged its owner with three felonies. This was originally reported in a Seattle Times (WSB partner) story that a WSB reader pointed out to us; we have since obtained the court documents.
After the June 3rd raid at the building alongside Longfellow Creek at 28th/SW Yancy, we spoke by phone with owner Matthew Segal, who told us in that interview that he had been growing 2,500 plants, of which police allowed him to keep 45. At the time, he owned two medical-marijuana dispensaries under the Rain City name, and told us he had been growing at the North Delridge site for three years (records showed he had bought it for a million dollars last March). Police said they also raided two houses, one in the Morgan Junction area.
The charges filed Wednesday against Segal and four others, all described as having no criminal history, allege violations of the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act – three charges against Segal, one each against four people alleged to have been working for him, “paid to maintain the marijuana grows, receiving salaries and a share of profit from the sales.”
One week has now gone by since WSDOT disclosed new “settling” of, and near, the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the hole being dug to reach the Highway 99 tunneling machine for repairs.
After the ensuing week of various updates, discoveries, and concerns, today’s update is out, and in it, WSDOT says “to date, no significant settlement has been observed beyond the initial settlement we reported publicly on Dec. 5. The viaduct remains safe for travel.” The update also says that so far, ground-based radar hasn’t shown any “voids” under the crack scrutinized on King St. in Pioneer Square on Thursday. (E-mail from WSDOT to reporters adds, “The crack in the middle of King Street has been there for some time, as seen in a Google Maps picture from 2011. Given the absence of prior settlement data on this particular street, it may take a while to fully understand what may have caused pavement to shift.)
Meantime, the City Council‘s agenda for next Monday morning has been revised to start with WSDOT execs’ updating the council on the “settling” at 9:30 am, followed by a 9:50 am discussion with state and city officials about what would happen if the Viaduct had to be closed, short term or long term. The agenda section for the latter item includes this existing document that discusses closure in the context of an earthquake.
HomeStreet Bank is celebrating its 1st anniversary at 40th/Alaska in The Junction, and Santa was the star of the party (pictured above, manager Melodie Van Houten with “Santa Al”). They’re just wrapping up three hours of free photos, photographed by longtime local pro Gail Ann. A decoration on the tree caught our attention:
We’re told that little Seahawks “piggy bank” is available if you stop by and show a ticket to a Seahawks home game – if you hadn’t already figured out from Melodie’s jersey (it is “Blue Friday,” after all), the ‘Hawks are big at HomeStreet – you can also get team-themed checks and cards.
P.S. Next place to see “Santa Al” – JF Henry Cooking & Dining (4445 California SW; WSB sponsor) 10 am-1 pm tomorrow (Saturday, December 13th), bring your own camera, or $5 without one.
(WSB photo from Thursday – part of the tank pit’s new slab)
The big pour is over, but two more notable pours are on the way for the Murray Combined Sewer Overflow Control Project million-gallon-storage-tank site across from Lowman Beach. The 17-foot-thick slab that will hold the tank is now in place; the county’s update today says two smaller pours are set for December 23rd and 29th, with 10 trucks an hour, half the volume of the three-day slab pour last Friday and this past Tuesday and Wednesday. The county also wants people in the area to know that there will be Saturday work on December 20th, for rebar installation and form-building to shape the bottom of the tank. The project will be idle on Christmas and New Year’s Day, according to the calendar on its main webpage. The project continues to have a 24-hour hotline for problems/concerns: 206-205-9186.
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