West Seattle, Washington
10 Tuesday
Announced by the Department of Neighborhoods‘ district coordinators – Mayor Ed Murray is making a quick conversation stop in West Seattle on Saturday (March 28), his second visit this month (first one was at the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting – here’s our coverage, with video). It’s a public event, 12:30-1 pm at Chaco Canyon Organic Café, northeast corner of 38th/Alaska.
Before we get too much further into the afternoon, four events to spotlight for tonight:
LAND USE 101 AT WSLUC: Ever wonder how to make your way through so much (or so little) information about development and land use? Hear tonight from two citizen/volunteer/neighborhood experts, Deb Barker and Cindi Barker (no relation), at the West Seattle Land Use Committee meeting. 6 pm, West Seattle (Admiral) Library, lower meeting room. (2306 42nd SW)
HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: 7 pm, SDOT traffic engineer Dongho Chang will be there to talk about the Vision Zero safety plan. HPAC also will hear from District 1 City Council candidate Lisa Herbold. More agenda details here. (12th/Holden)
OPT OUT OF TESTING? That’s one of the topics at a special meeting of the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA, 7 pm tonight – the hot topic of whether to opt out of the Smarter Balanced assessments. Also on the agenda, principal Aida Fraser-Hammer with items including an update on the budget for next school year. The PTSA also is electing an interim president. (2600 SW Thistle)
BENEFIT TRIVIA: 8:30 pm at Talarico’s in The Junction, the Wednesday night trivia is a benefit for the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) Annual Campaign, which provides scholarships for kids’ activities at many local schools – details in our event listing. (4718 California SW)
(UPDATED 6:07 PM after followup conversation with SPD)
(Reader photo texted shortly after the crash)
12:01 PM: “Why did it take 9 hours?” is the big question today, one day after a truck full of fish went sideways on southbound Highway 99 in the stadium zone, leading to a 9-hour shutdown that clogged traffic citywide. We have some early answers from Seattle Police:
Lincoln Towing responded to the scene with two large tow trucks and one standard-size tow truck.
Eventually Lincoln Towing personnel were able to raise the overturned trailer. However, the load of fish in the trailer’s container had shifted, causing the truck to become unstable. At this point the trailer was upright, but still blocking all southbound lanes. Lincoln Towing determined the trailer’s cargo of would have to be off-loaded in order to stabilize the trailer.
City officials ultimately had to rely on personnel from Seattle Tunnel Partners, and used their heavy equipment to off-load a portion of the container. Once about half of the container’s cargo was removed, the trailer was deemed stable enough to be moved from the viaduct.
STP is WSDOT’s contractor for the Highway 99 tunnel project. All of the above is from a long update published a short time ago on SPD Blotter; it also includes a dispatch-log timeline and aggregated tweets (some of which were featured in our as-it-happens coverage Tuesday afternoon/evening) about the incident.
We also have an inquiry out to Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Transportation Committee and has pursued extensive followups on earlier incidents, most notably last June’s 4-mile, 5-hour shutdown after a head-on crash on 99 just south of the West Seattle Bridge. Some of the changes promised in this September followup report/”after-action plan” (embedded below) were clearly in effect yesterday – SPD/SDOT communication, longer hours for the SDOT traffic-management center communicator(s):
But Tuesday’s truck mishap was a completely different type of incident, without a major criminal investigation to complicate things, so it brings up different questions. We’ll update this report with anything more we find out today.
P.S. We’ll mention again that SDOT leaders including director Scott Kubly were already booked for tomorrow night’s West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting, 6:30 pm Thursday at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, if you want to ask your own questions and/or hear the answers firsthand.
4:30 PM: Councilmember Rasmussen says he has the same info that you see above from SPD, plus, “I have already requested that SPD and SDOT prepare reports for the Council. We will be scheduling a presentation of their reports to the Council and are working on that date and time now.”
5:26 PM: We talked a short time ago with SPD’s media-relations/public-affairs Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, seeking answers to several followup questions:
First: Commenters asked, couldn’t they just drag the trailer/truck off the highway? No, says Sgt. Whitcomb, there was no way to do that. They tried towing it, dragging it, pushing it; it just wouldn’t work, it wasn’t stable enough, so finally they tried Seattle Tunnel Partners’ heavy equipment. “It was an engineering problem – getting the damaged, jack-knifed truck up on its wheels, stabilized, just took a great deal of time and consideration … determining that additional tools were needed was part of the problem-solving process.”
Could STP have been involved sooner? Maybe, but, “at the heart of it, this was a towing operation,” said Sgt. Whitcomb. The circumstances “would be hard to replicate – complicated by the damage (to) and the position of the truck. It was fortuitous that (STP) were just right there and could help when needed – a spirit of partnership between the state and the city.” (STP is WSDOT’s contractor for the tunnel project.)
He said it was cleared as soon as possible, in the end, and they were at one point afraid it could have taken even longer – “there was a two am conference call planned” at one point, to see what the prospects were for the morning commute. The mayor’s office was notified early on, and the information loop went all the way to the top at SPD, including consultation with Deputy Chief Carmen Best, #2 in command. Originally, he said, they had hoped it would be cleared by the evening commute, but at some point, everyone but those directly involved in the towing/clearing were “spectators.”
Sgt. Whitcomb didn’t have details handy on whose truck it was or what happened to the fish, though he recalled a truck spill in the past (full of Mountain Dew) in which the contents of the trailer had to be disposed of because once there had been a mishap, the items weren’t salable.
So what now? In addition to the reports about the 9-hour closure, the collision remains under investigation, Sgt. Whitcomb said. No indication of DUI, but, he pointed out, generally “somebody will be cited … ‘accidents’ don’t just happen, it’s either mechanical failure or operator error – a rule of the road has been violated and somebody will be cited.” And when it comes to commercial vehicle operation, that kind of ticket is “a big deal,” he notes.
Thanks to Norman for the tip via Twitter, and we see the Orca Network Facebook commenters are discussing it too: Orcas turned up along the Bainbridge ferry route earlier this morning and have now been seen heading south along West Seattle (Me-Kwa-Mooks, says Norman) – let us know if you see them!
Four West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports this morning:
STOLEN BICYCLE: That bike’s owner says it was stolen last night around 9:45 pm:
My bike (which happens to be my primary means of transportation) was stolen on the 42XX block of Admiral Way. It was locked to a bike rack in front of Vidiot (a small bar). A report has been filed with the police who drove around for a bit in search of the property. I saw the man ride away but unfortunately could not keep up with him. He was wearing street clothes, had a backpack, and had medium length curly hair. … The police mentioned that stolen bikes are typically ditched after a joy ride or end up in a pawn shop. I’m hoping that if someone sees the bike they can alert the police.
(added) STOLEN CAR: Got word of this just after we publishing this roundup, so we’re adding:
My car was stolen from in front of my house. On 40th Ave SW between Brandon and Findlay. 1994 Honda Accord LX, black with plates AFV7888. Has a sticker like this one on the right side back bumper, maybe a different color. I think I had a Sierra Club sticker in back window, or WTA sticker.
MAILBOX BREAK-IN: From a Highland Park resident:
I just wanted to let you know that we had our mailbox, which is a sturdy locked box, broken into. It looks like they used something to bend the metal, dislodging the locking mechanism. Mail was taken and discarded on the side of our property- I guess they didn’t want our medical bill or mortgage statement :) This happened this weekend while we were out of town. We live on the corner of 17th and Cloverdale.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON: In the 4400 block of 39th SW last night:
We had to call the police … At 10:00 pm, there was a man smoking either crack or meth on our front lawn. He knocked on my door and asked for water. When we asked him to leave, he danced and lit his pipe. We called 911. The police came but said they could not arrest him. They said they would monitor his activity.
ABOUT READER REPORTS: SPD does not routinely make public the detailed reports of most incidents – so unless we get a reader report or happen to cover an incident as it happens, we won’t hear about it, but it’s often helpful for your West Seattle neighbors to know what’s happening and where (not just your block – a stolen car, bike, etc., could turn up miles away). We hope you WON’T ever have anything to report, but if you do, editor@westseattleblog.com … provided you’ve already reported it to the police. For breaking news, 206-293-6302, text or voice, 24/7; thank you!
(Tuesday night WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
We went downtown last night for the 20th annual Global Reading Challenge finals, in which West Seattle Elementary‘s Reading Warriors (above) and Lafayette Elementary‘s Rad Radical Hyperactive Jellyfish (below) were among the seven teams that made the cut from around the city.
Even this event was affected by the southbound Highway 99 closure – our area’s teams made it in time, heading northbound, but the start time was postponed so everyone could arrive from the north end. Ahead – scenes from the competition:
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(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Just in case you missed it, yes, southbound 99 finally reopened late last night, nine hours after a truck toppled across the lanes by the stadiums. Not that you’re going that way this morning. (And remember this weekend’s *planned* closures.) So far, otherwise, this commute’s main challenge is the rain.
EARLY RELEASE DAY: Reminder that Seattle Public Schools are out two hours early today.
7:47 AM: Texter says a dump truck is stalled in the left lane on the eastbound bridge by Nucor, so things might be backing up from the Fauntleroy entrance.
8:04 AM: Now the word is that the truck apparently lost a wheel, so this is not just a stall. Looking at the video feed from the city map, the Fauntleroy entrance appears to still be moving OK, so this isn’t catastrophic, so far.
8:41 AM: Haven’t heard confirmation of clearing yet – the video feed shows slow going before the curve, before you’d reach this scene (which itself is out of camera range). (Added below – photo from Robert:)
Also, emergency responders are headed to a crash reported on northbound 99 near the bridge – checking for the exact location on this.
8:50 AM: Fire units are clearing that scene, but SDOT says two lanes are blocked, so backups could persist.
9:04 AM: Thanks to the commenters who’ve explained where the 99 crash is – just past the onramp from the eastbound West Seattle Bridge. Also a truck involved. One lane blocked.
9:16 AM: Fauntleroy access to the bridge is now back up to speed, per the video feed, so we’re thinking the truck’s been moved. We’re off to verify.
10:35 AM: It actually hasn’t yet been moved. Thanks to the texter who sent us an update, even before we made it to an East Admiral overlook from which we could see firsthand (without further complicating traffic ourselves!).
(WSB photo from January 2014)
Seems the Southwest Precinct is a place you just don’t leave forever. Its next commander, like two of its past three commanders, will be a Seattle Police leader who has spent time at the precinct before. That’s according to what the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network heard tonight from Operations Lt. Ron Smith, who told them his predecessor in that role, Capt. Pierre Davis, will return from the East Precinct to take over the SW Precinct in the aftermath of Steve Wilske‘s promotion to Assistant Chief.
Capt. Davis was SW Precinct operations lieutenant (second in command) for more than three years, and then served briefly in early 2014 as acting SW Precinct commander before Wilske’s arrival, which in turn followed Capt. Joe Kessler‘s second stint here, following 2 1/2 years at the helm for Capt. Steve Paulsen. … A formal citywide announcement of changes is pending. Lt. Smith told the Block Watch Captains it was fitting they be among the first to find out, given their volunteer service in keeping local neighborhoods safe. Their meeting also included a briefing on the new SW Precinct bicycle unit and tips on staying safe from cybercrime – we’ll write up that part of the meeting later.
(SOUTHBOUND 99 IS OPEN AGAIN AS OF 11:40 PM)
All lanes of the southbound Alaskan Way Viaduct at Atlantic Street are closed for a collision. Use alternate routes pic.twitter.com/Fzu0tQYz3E
— seattledot (@seattledot) March 24, 2015
2:39 PM: All lanes of southbound Highway 99 are blocked by an overturned semi-truck in the stadium zone. More to come.
2:55 PM: The southbound Viaduct is now closed at the north end of the Battery Street Tunnel, so if you are headed that way from north of downtown, you’ll have to exit on Denny Way. Otherwise, to head south from downtown, you’ll need to take I-5 or surface streets such as 1st or 4th. We’ll keep updating this since we’re heading into the pm commute.
3:14 PM: This is affecting buses too:
Transit Alert – The SB Alaskan Way Viaduct and the stop on WB Columbia St are closed; use the stop on SB 3 Av north of Cherry St.
— King County Metro (@kcmetrobus) March 24, 2015
3:22 PM: For those stuck on the Viaduct when this happened, here’s what’s being done:
SPD turning traffic stuck on SB SR 99/viaduct around and directing drivers off at Columbia & Elliott. pic.twitter.com/bkfg0xdC4d
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) March 24, 2015
We have another view of that courtesy of Chi Krneta:
3:43 PM: Still closed. And southbound I-5, we’re told, has a stall on the south side of downtown. Another alternative for getting back to West Seattle: The Water Taxi. Its afternoon schedule is just now starting up:
@westseattleblog water taxi has lots of room for first sailing of the afternoon
— axleyjc (@axleyjc) March 24, 2015
Here’s the schedule. Meantime:
Here's another look at the overturned semi blocking all lanes of SB SR 99 at Atlantic. **Avoid SB 99 in Seattle** pic.twitter.com/34ydE2x3cF
— WSDOT Traffic (@wsdot_traffic) March 24, 2015
And a view texted to us:
We’re still trying to find out if there’s any ETA for this being cleared. For now, just assume it’ll be hours, and plot your homeward alternative (or don’t leave until you hear it’s clear).
4:07 PM: SPD says a tow truck’s on the case – but that still doesn’t mean it’ll clear fast:
Tow truck working to clear SR-99 after overturned semi blocks all southbound lanes. More updates as we get them.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) March 24, 2015
4:19 PM: Keep in mind that there’s a domino/spillover effect in many other places. For example, if you click around on the live video cameras in the general downtown area accessible via the SDOT Travelers’ Map (lower right) – you’ll see scenes such as vehicles STILL clearing off the Viaduct backward – right now at the Columbia onramp, a bus can be seen backing toward 1st, and someone is directing traffic. Also, via Twitter, SDOT says they’re hoping to have at least one lane open within a half-hour or so.
5:40 PM: SPD now says two tow trucks are on scene.
5:45 PM: And the problem has finally been explained – “a very large load of fish” is what the semi was carrying.
6:11 PM: The Sounders FC/Club Tijuana match has been pushed back to 7:23 pm. And SPD has an update on the semitruck’s driver:
Driver of overturned fish-filled #SR99 semi taken to HMC w/non-life-threatening injuries. SPD investigating for any violations or citations
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) March 25, 2015
6:33 PM: Latest tweet from the scene – “Responders have separated the tractor from the overturned trailer and are attempting to put the trailer back on its wheels again now.”
6:57 PM: Making progress:
UPDATE: Almost back on its wheels. They have a tractor ready to haul it away, if the effort is successful. pic.twitter.com/YwuClVTnFw
— seattledot (@seattledot) March 25, 2015
7:12 PM: After 4 1/2 hours, the truck is right-side up again:
Truck is back on its wheels once more. We are getting closer to opening the roadway. pic.twitter.com/Xmnrd4Ki2O
— seattledot (@seattledot) March 25, 2015
7:47 PM: Now they’re moving on to cleanup.
8:19 PM: And that’s not so easy, tweets SDOT: “Trailer contents have shifted, making it unstable to transport. They will detach trailer from truck and pull it off roadway.”
9:30 PM: Now going on 7 hours since this happened. The trailer has to be unloaded before it can be moved. We asked via Twitter, just out of curiosity, what kind of fish? Answer: Salmon.
10:05 PM: Still closed while crews work with the trailer.
10:47 PM: According to discussion just monitored via scanner, the problem is that the trailer remains unstable. It’s about a third empty now and they might try to move it again once it’s half empty. We are now in hour 9 of the total southbound 99 closure from the Battery St. Tunnel southward.
11:34 PM: They’re about to start reopening southbound 99, now that the truck and trailer have been moved successfully. They’re reopening starting at Denny, and then from Columbia.
11:40 PM: Official confirmation, 9 hours after the closure began:
Thank you all for your patience. Contractors have cleared the semi and SR-99 has reopened for traffic.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) March 25, 2015
That’s almost twice as long as the much-dissected 5-hour closure in June of last year following a head-on crash south of the West Seattle Bridge. Different circumstances here – no life-threatening injuries, but the wreckage posed a major challenge to clear. Some of what was promised in reports following the June incident (most notably this one) has been implemented, notably longer coverage hours in the city’s Traffic Management Center. We’ll be following up on this tomorrow, and certainly we won’t be the only ones.
11:16 AM WEDNESDAY: We did indeed inquire with SPD this morning. No direct response but they’ve published a long report on SPD Blotter which includes photos and tweets from yesterday (some of which we featured in real-time in this report) – we’re writing a separate story on this.
2:18 PM: Thanks for the tips: West Seattle entrepreneur Dave Montoure has announced via Facebook that he is no longer running for the District 1 City Council position. That leaves 10 candidates. We are seeking comment; more to come.
3:01 PM: Via e-mail, Montoure confirms his withdrawal, and also gave us permission to republish the statement he posted on his personal FB page:
Friends, family and fellow small business owners. A little over six-weeks ago, I entered the campaign race for Seattle City Council District 1. It’s been a great experience and I have learned a lot from talking to old friends and new acquaintances. However, it is with regret that inform you that I have decided to withdraw from the campaign.
My passion for issues that affect small, independent businesses and the greater prosperity of West Seattle is strong as ever, and I have come to believe that right now, I’m a better advocate as a private citizen than as a politician. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work as simply, Dave.
Thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
3:37 PM: Added photo from Montoure’s original campaign announcement. And for the record, here’s where the District 1 race stands now:
CANDIDATES: David Ishii (back as of 3/9/2015), Pavel Goberman (declared 3/5/2015), Tom Koch (declared 2/19/15), Lisa Herbold (declared 2/11/15), Shannon Braddock (declared 2/11/15), Brianna Thomas (declared 2/11/15), Phillip Tavel (declared 2/4/15), George Capestany (declared 11/11/14), Amanda Kay Helmick (declared 10/20/14), Chas Redmond (declared 12/20/13). Filing deadline is May 15th; primary election is August 4th. Along with voting on the D-1 position, West Seattle/South Park also will vote on the two “at-large” spots, Positions 8 and 9.
The next District 1 Candidates’ Forum is scheduled for the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting on April 8th (7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy).
1:16 PM: We’re back at the Sea-Tac Airport Conference Center for the Port of Seattle Commission‘s regular meeting. Nothing regular about the meetings lately, as the public-comment period two weeks ago ran more than 3 hours, with almost 80 people commenting about the port’s controversial lease with Foss to host part of Shell‘s Arctic-drilling fleet on part of West Seattle’s Terminal 5. The gallery is full again today – more regional media has shown up than two weeks ago, too – and we will chronicle as it goes.
Public testimony is first on the agenda. #1 – A representative of the Building and Construction Trades says they support the lease because of the jobs it will provide and “the dreams of the future. … We would hope the port follows through with this lease so we can build for the future …” #2, Jordan Royer, representing the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, terminal operators and shipping lines. “This is important because it allows you to reinvest into the terminal, to be competitive on the world stage. … We lose the port, we lose manufacturing … My biggest concern is that if for some reason political winds take your eye off the ball and your core business, that it will be difficult to get other maritime businesses to look at this port as competitive.” #3, Emily Johnston from 350.org, refers to the taped comments by Commissioner Bill Bryant published by The Stranger: “‘You silly people,’ leave these decisions to the grownups – that is in effect what (supporters) are saying. … (But) the so-called grownups have failed us … Scientists have told us this is a catastrophic project and the regulatory bodies have failed to step in.” She mentions that the Obama Administration is likely to give permission for Arctic drilling, maybe even today. She says the lease is “supporting catastrophic climate change … You are all addicts, and this is your intervention. … All lives are on the line.” First applause of the meeting. #4, Cameron Williams, with ILWU Local 19, saying he represents about 3,000 dock workers. “I commend the commission for (moving forward with) the lease.”
#5, Paul Stevens, president/CEO of Foss, thanking the commissioners. He notes that 164 are “working to support our project at T-5,” including “101 at the facility,” a dozen of them Foss employees. “We have contributed $3 million in revenue to the port since signing the lease.” He mentions that they expect to bring non-Shell projects in, as well. And he says maritime competition is tough and faced by this area – and that the competitiveness is enhanced if there’s certainty that political pressure won’t affect deals. #6, a man identifying himself as an Edmonds resident. He says opposition to this and to drilling is “alarmism.” #7, Beth Smith of Foss says having local oversight of this project will make a difference. #8, a woman wearing a red T-shirt reading “The People vs. Shell.” She says Greenpeace has a ship in the Pacific “keeping an eye on Shell’s massive drilling ships as they head north” and promises to “shine a light on one of the most dangerous drilling projects in the world.” #9, Zarna, in the same T-shirt, saying she’s with the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy. She acknowledges that jobs matter, but “Shell and oil workers around the country are striking, and have been striking for 2 months, for health and safety reasons.” She says she has spoken to workers in Anacortes who told her about deaths on the job. “When you say this is about jobs, it’s not true – it’s about money” and says Commissioner John Creighton received campaign contributions from executives of Foss and its parent company Saltchuk. “How much money will it cost to buy you back?” she yells, and presents the commission with a symbolic “blank check.”
#10, another man in the same T-shirt. He says he apologizes to his brothers and sisters in labor, “but jobs go up and down, and particularly with wise leaders, we can increase jobs with good jobs, quality jobs, but the climate is on a descent straight down.” He says Commissioner Bryant’s remarks included ridiculing his kayak, and says he’s sorry that commissioners no longer seemed to be supporting the reasons he voted for them. “I have only a few more years to live. It’s not about me … (future generations) are going to live with (the results of this). We have a blessing here, and we’re destroying it for money – Shell profit. I like Foss, Foss has been around a long time, has done a good job, but Foss has sold their name to Shell.”
AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE CONTINUES AFTER THE JUMP:
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(WSB photos/video by Patrick Sand)
Are West Seattle kids getting enough healthy food? Kevin Concannon, the USDA’s Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, visited this morning to find out. We caught up with him at the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) Preschool (with him in the photo above is Emilia Holbik from the Y). They made a smoothie for him.
And here’s what he had to say about it:
The Y’s focus is on food as well as fitness, so they showcased this as an example of nutrition-focused activities in which their students regularly participate.
After his stop at the YMCA Preschool, Under Secretary Concannon was headed to West Seattle Elementary.
Thanks to everyone who tipped us on this one: Yes, there’s a film/video crew in West Seattle today. They’re working on a commercial, shooting at multiple Admiral spots, including West Seattle Coin Laundry and Shanti as well as the future home of Mioposto. We weren’t able to procure extensive details but did get an answer to the big question: A crew member said he was allowed to say it was a commercial for Virginia Mason.
P.S. We did subsequently contact VM’s marketing/media department to ask what they could tell us about it. Answer: Nothing right now; it’s top-secret. But they promised to let us know when they’re ready to tell the world.
(Photo by James Bratsanos – Olympic Mountains in the early-morning light)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, some of what’s up for the rest of today/tonight:
AUTHOR AT MADISON MS: Two assemblies today at Madison Middle School with best-selling young-adult author Marissa Meyer, as previewed here. First one was earlier but second one (families are welcome to attend too) is at 1:30 pm. (45th/Spokane)
PORT COMMISSION MEETING: 1 pm at Sea-Tac Airport, of local note because the Terminal 5 lease is expected to take centerstage in the public-comment period again. The agenda also includes a draft motion related to future decisions about the lease, and procedures regarding other future decisionmaking – see it here. (Conference Center at south end of Sea-Tac)
SCHOOL BENEFIT DINNERS: Two chances tonight to dine out while supporting local schools! 4-8 pm it’s Madison Middle School night at Marination Ma Kai (1660 Harbor SW); 5-8 pm, it’s a taco bar benefiting Hope Lutheran School at Pecado Bueno. (4523 California SW)
BLOCKWATCH CAPTAINS HEAR ABOUT BIKE PATROL, CYBERCRIME: 6:30 pm tonight at the Southwest Precinct, join the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network for the monthly meeting they’re previewing as follows:
1. Our special guest will be Sgt. Jim Britt who oversees the expanded SW Precinct Bike Patrol program, which will “roll” out any day now. He will talk about the program and what they hope to accomplish. He’ll also talk about which officers will be involved and which areas they will focus on. Bring your questions for him, as well as any issues you think the Bike Patrol might be able to help resolve.
2. Cybercrime is a growing issue for all of us and those we care about. Our second presentation will be about online safety by Community Police Team Officer Jon Kiehn. Learn about the latest crimes that are happening and how to stay safe online.
You don’t have to be a captain or even part of a Block Watch to attend – all are welcome. (Webster/Delridge)
GLOBAL READING CHALLENGE: Good luck tonight to the two local teams in the finals of the Seattle Public Library‘s Global Reading Challenge – the Reading Warriors from West Seattle Elementary in High Point and the Rad Radical Hyperactive Jellyfish from Lafayette Elementary in Admiral! You can cheer them on (but be warned, the seats fill fast) at 7 pm at the Central Library downtown. (1000 4th Ave.)
NIGHTLIFE … Tonight’s lineup includes the blues, karaoke x 2, and singer/songwriters – see the listings/venues here.
From egg hunts to religious services to brunch, the first draft of our annual page is live – you’ll see the link in our lineup of navigation tabs below the sunset header photo, or just go here. If you have any information to add – including restaurants for Easter brunch/dinner – please e-mail us so we can add it, editor@westseattleblog.com – thank you!
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:07 AM: The aftermath of a car-fire call at 35th/Fauntleroy, by the entrance to the bridge, is still causing a backup, we’re told via Twitter. The car-fire call itself is closed but if you’re heading to the bridge that way, you might wait a bit until the scene is completely clear.
Two advisories, meantime:
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC HOME GAME TONIGHT: 7 pm vs. Club Tijuana at CenturyLink Field, 39,000 people expected, so be aware of extra evening traffic/transit in the stadium zone.
VIADUCT/99 CLOSURES NEXT WEEKEND: Between the West Seattle Bridge and Battery Street Tunnel, the inspection closure is scheduled for 6 am-6 pm both days, Saturday and Sunday. But a stretch of 99 north of the tunnel will be closed around the clock late Friday to early Monday. Full details here.
7:20 AM UPDATE: What remains of the earlier incident is a car on the right shoulder of Fauntleroy just east of the entrance lane from northbound 35th, and a police car right behind it with its rollers going, so vehicles entering the bridge there are having to swerve a bit to the left to get around it, as shown on the live-video feed from the SDOT Travelers’ Map.
7:25 AM: Tow truck has arrived, so this should be clear shortly.
7:32 AM: All clear!
We now know at least three local students will be competing for the state Geography Bee championship this weekend:
Congratulations and good luck to Westside School (WSB sponsor) 6th grader Jean-Pierre Dufour. His dad Rene says this is Jean-Pierre’s second year in the competition! Read more about his achievement on the Westside website.
Also Bee-bound, Schmitz Park Elementary 5th-grader Aiden Houlette:
Congratulations and good luck to Aiden, who won the schoolwide competition at SP. Aiden’s mom Sarah says, “He has always had lots of questions about different regions of the world, been interested in maps, and enjoys his school’s ‘Passport’ program. For now he’s busy studying his geography books!”
Earlier, we featured Jack Crowley, a Madison student who’ll be competing at the state Geo Bee too. It’s happening this Friday (March 27th), 9 am-3 pm at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. The state champ will go to the national competition May 11-13 in Washington, D.C.
Thanks to Caryn Johnson for this report on today’s West Seattle High School varsity baseball game on a showery afternoon at Hiawatha:
Sophomore Carson Wright started on the mound and pitched 5 2/3 innings. He pitched well against a big-hitting O’Dea team. Giving up 11 hits, but only giving up 6 runs (4 earned). He struck out 3, hit one, and didn’t walk any. Freshman Anthony Coats came into pitch in the 5th inning and pitched the remaining of the game not giving up a hit.
Jamie Maples led the team on the offensive side of the ball with 4 hits and 2 RBI’s. Morgan McCullough also had a good outing with 3 hits and 1 RBI. As a team they had 9 hits.
Defense had their first test of the season against the big bats of O’Dea. Everyone on the field got into the action and recorded outs. The highlight on the defensive side was a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the 7th inning by Morgan McCullough, Jack Page and Alex Pastrana. This closed out the top of the 7th and gave West Seattle one more shot to score some runs. In the end they fell a little short, losing to O’Dea, 6-4.
WSHS is on the road for its next game, Wednesday against Cleveland at Rainier Beach HS.
Once again, there’s West Seattle news in the periodic report that SDOT director Scott Kubly will be presenting to the City Council Transportation Committee. His report for tomorrow’s committee meeting (9:30 am, City Hall) has been added to the agenda since its draft publication last week. Included in the report, some work updates including 19th/Webster stairway cleaning (before/after photos above) and dates for news on what the city plans to do to make Roxbury safer:
SW Roxbury Street:
*SDOT will announce preferred alternative and project implementation schedule at Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council meeting on April 7
*SDOT will host an open house about the recommended changes on April 9
*Implementation set for the week of August 17
Two other updates: Regarding enforcement on 35th SW – a big topic in discussion of what was presented at the two most-recent meetings (WSB coverage here and here) – Kubly’s report says, “SDOT grant funds will provide extra safety patrols on 35th – currently developing MOA with SPD for more than 100 hours of OT patrols on 35th SW.” Also, regarding the Fauntleroy Boulevard project, he reports, “CM Rasmussen did a tour of the site with Deputy Director, Barbara Gray, and Jorge Carrasco, Director of City Light.” That would be regarding including undergrounding in the project, for which construction funding is still not certain – it’s NOT in the Transportation Levy to Move Seattle proposal unveiled by the mayor last week (WSB coverage here). Read Kubly’s full report, including updates from around the city, here.
P.S. Kubly and other SDOT reps will be at the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s meeting this Thursday (March 26), 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way) – bring your questions.
(WSB photo, July 2012)
Sad news about someone we’ll miss seeing around The Junction. Even if you didn’t know his name, you’ve probably seen Don Smathers, shown at center in our photo from 2012, when Southwest Precinct officers helped him with one of the tasks he’s handled over the years – putting up the flags for the 4th of July. We got word today from Susan Melrose at the West Seattle Junction Association that Don has died:
Don Smathers has been a familiar friend in The Junction for many years. This morning he passed away peacefully in his home in the Campbell Building, where he had lived for 25 years. We will have a memorial in Don’s honor, but for now, we can take a moment to remember this kind soul.
We’ll let you know when that is scheduled.
ADDED SUNDAY: 5 pm Wednesday, April 1st, in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska).
APRIL 1, 12:52 PM UPDATE: Because of weather uncertainty, this will be at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska) instead.
Back on Friday, thanks to a tip, we reported on the looming deadline for telling the Port of Seattle what you think about a Terminal 5 issue that’s not directly related to the Shell drilling-fleet controversy: The fact the port has declared the long-term modernization project will be environmentally non-signficant and therefore doesn’t require an environmental-impact study. Some West Seattleites disagree and are sending in their comments by today’s deadline, including a letter that we’re told represents more than two dozen residents in East Admiral, just upslope from T-5. One of their points:
The road traffic resulting from simultaneously unloading two post-Panamax ships will cripple the already congested West Seattle bridges. We do not have an answer to this, nor does the Port. Therefore, we recommend an environmental impact study be done to understand the traffic solutions before reaching the point of no return.
They also suggest the port is gambling a quarter-billion dollars or so on this without knowing whether the market might change irreversibly in the few years T-5 will be closed. Here is their full letter:
They’re also sending it to city and county leaders and asking for their support. As explained in our Friday report, the documents about the “non-significance” decision are here, and comments can be sent to SEPA.p@portseattle.org.
(WSDOT photo)
A third big piece of the Highway 99 tunneling machine was lifted up from the repair-access pit today – and that means just one BIG lift to go, the cutterhead, for which Seattle Tunnel Partners will use that large red assembly you’ve been seeing next to the Viaduct. It’s shown in this next photo shared with WSB by Gatewood photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen (taken before today’s lift):
The previous two lifts were on Thursday – with the big half-circle piece you see toward left center of the LBN photo – and on Saturday. No exact date announced yet for the cutterhead to be brought out. STP has said that if repairs go well, it hopes to be tunneling again in August.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When we first reported on Sunday about the early-morning shooting on Alki that left one person hurt, we had little information. We have since been contacted by a witness who recorded almost a minute of the chaos and gunfire and wanted to make it public, saying, “I believe that this will show many why we need more police and why our youth/young adults should be monitored closely at these hours of the night.”
ALERT: This is unedited phone video (except to fix it from vertical to horizontal fit) and you will hear lots of profanities in the audio **if you choose to play the clip.** The gunshots are audible and muzzle flashes are seen, but the person who was shot is not:
In a long text conversation with the witness who recorded that while at a restaurant/bar across the street, we agreed to keep them anonymous (we don’t even know their name). They had already shown the video to police, who, they say, showed up quickly, within “three or four minutes” of the gunfire.
From the witness’s view, it started as “a very large group of young adults yelling and using derogatory terms as well as throwing things at this vehicle, which led to a fistfight in the middle of the street.” Then, the witness says, one person kicked off the black car’s driver’s-side mirror, and another punched out a passenger side window, followed by shots from a passenger, and then toward the end, someone “returned fire” after the black car sped off westbound.
As noted in our Sunday report, there was no “assault with weapons” large Seattle Fire medic response, because police found no victim at the scene. Seattle Police say they were later contacted by Everett Police after a 17-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the leg turned up at a hospital there. Police have since talked to the victim; on Sunday, they told us he was “uncooperative” with investigators. The incident also is now detailed on SPD Blotter.
As far as we can tell from WSB archives, this is the first incident in 2 1/2 years in which someone has been shot in the Alki area. Not the first case of gunfire, but the first case with a victim, since this case in August 2012.
Even before this, local police had promised more presence at the beach this year via both the new Southwest Precinct bicycle patrols and a new mobile-precinct vehicle that is on the way after the precinct went years without a replacement for the one SPD lost in an arson attack. That is what the lifelong West Seattleite who shared video of Sunday’s shooting is hoping for: “I hate that these hoodlums are ruining my neighborhood.”
ADDED 2:11 PM: A few additional details are in the Southwest Precinct summary of what happened, which we obtained from precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith:
On 3/22/15 at 0109 hour, Officers were dispatched to a fight disturbance/shots fired incident in the 2600 block of Alki Av SW (just west of Marine Av SW & Alki Av SW). Initial report to 911 has it that: two people were down and that someone has a leg wound.
Upon officers arriving in the area, the suspects involved in the fight/shots-fired were GOA [gone on arrival], possibly in vehicle/s. There was no “scene” other than the spot where the incident occurred. Officers checked the area and did not locate any evidence such as shell casings or blood to indicate that someone has been shot. A baseball cap was located and submitted into evidence. During a canvas of the bar across the street, an officer located a witness who had recorded the shots fired incident on his cell phone. The video was sent to the police and submitted into evidence.
Based upon the on-scene investigation, it appears that at least 6 people were surrounding a vehicle. One of the 6 people kicked the vehicle’s left rear view mirror and damaged it. The front passenger from the vehicle fired at least 3 shots at the 6 people as the 6 people were surrounding it. The 6 people then scattered, running away. A white male is then seen getting into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and drove it away, on Alki Av SW.
At 0345 hour, Everett PD called SPD 911 and reported that they have a “victim” with a non-life threatening gunshot wound in the leg. The “victim” was uncooperative and was with his girlfriend. The Everett PD Officers will complete a report under their case number, DD 15-5308. This incident was screened by phone with our Homicide/Assault unit.
Lt. Smith, who is acting precinct commander, confirms that patrols, including officers on bicycles, will be increased. The mobile-precinct vehicle has not yet been delivered.
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