West Seattle, Washington
24 Sunday
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! We’re keeping watch as Thursday gets going. And as always, we have previews as well as transportation news:
WEST SEATTLE FLOAT DODGER 5K/GRAND PARADE CLOSURES: Saturday morning, California will be closed south of Admiral, south to Edmunds, for the %K and parade. Side streets on both ends of the route will be used for staging. Bus reroutes, too – check your route here).
IF YOU USE I-90 … getting home will be a challenge for about a week. Westbound 90 will have some major closures, starting tomorrow – details here.
DOWNTOWN BUS REROUTES THIS WEEKEND … because of road work; check your route here. 11:58 am note: Metro has just announced the 3rd Avenue work is canceled for this weekend and will resume August 2nd-3rd.
Transportation news notes:
SEATTLE TAX TO HOLD OFF METRO CUTS? The City Council, meeting as the Transportation Benefit District board, takes the sales tax/car-tab tax proposal up at 2 pm today – agenda here.
FOLLOWUP ON THE 4-MILE, 5-HOUR CLOSURE: Remember the five-hour Highway 99 closure after a crash in June? Here’s the second and final set of answers that Councilmember Tom Rasmussen wanted from city departments.
ADDED: Meant to mention this too – details are few, but The Seattle Times (WSB partner) says the president is coming back to Seattle for a fundraiser next Tuesday afternoon. Where/when/which airport NOT announced yet.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two nights after reporting on the abrupt ouster of the Senior Center of West Seattle‘s well-regarded longtime director Karen Sisson, we have an update.
SC-WS board president David Robertson had told WSB on Monday that he was awaiting the center’s parent nonprofit Senior Services‘ reply to questions about Sisson’s reported firing by the organization’s CEO Paula Houston.
When we inquired with Senior Services, spokesperson Karen Bystrom would only confirm that Sisson was no longer employed, saying that otherwise, it’s a “personnel matter.” Robertson said he understood it had something to do with an e-mail Sisson had sent “voicing her concerns regarding points brought to (her) attention in the future direction and management of the Senior Center of West Seattle.”
Today, Robertson told WSB that the Senior Center’s board has met to discuss the situation:
The Board of Directors of the Senior Center of West Seattle met in executive session on July 15 to review the termination of Karen Sisson as Center Director.
The Board reviewed the letter of explanation it received from Paula Houston (CEO of Senior Services of Seattle/King County).
The Board also considered the long-term quality of Karen Sisson’s work.
The Board unanimously voted full confidence in Karen Sisson as Center Director.
As President of the West Seattle Center Board, I can assure you, we will continue to pursue this issue and I will keep you updated as appropriate.
Sisson had been with the Senior Center of West Seattle for 25 years. She has not yet commented publicly on what happened.
The center is a nonprofit facility with a budget of more than half a million dollars per year, one of half a dozen operated by Senior Services, and within that, one of two that own their own buildings. Some of the funding for senior centers, including WS, comes from the city budget.
(WSB file photo: West Seattle Grand Parade spectators)
Continuing our countdown to Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle – a few more notes:
NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE MARCH: For the first time we can remember, an organized group of reps from community councils will be marching in the parade. At tonight’s Morgan Community Association meeting, MoCA’s Cindi Barker showed off the bright safety-yellow/green T-shirts at least some of them will be wearing, so you can’t miss them.
(WSB file photo: VPD motorcycle drill team)
REMEMBER, THE MOTORCYCLES START EARLY: While the official parade start time is 11 am at California/Lander, the motorcycle drill teams – Seattle Police and then Vancouver (BC) Police – launch up to half an hour earlier, so stake out your parade-route spot in plenty of time.
NEW THIS YEAR: ‘VEGAS’ MOST WANTED’ DRILL TEAM: Among the parade entries making their debut, a drill team/drum squad called Vegas’ Most Wanted. (As far as we can tell, they really are from Las Vegas!)
MAYOR JOINING THE PARADE: Last year, he walked with the 34th District Democrats as a candidate; this year, former West Seattleite Ed Murray will be in the Grand Parade as mayor.
If you missed our previous reports – retired Col. Bruce Crandall, Medal of Honor recipient, is this year’s Grand Marshal; Earl Cruzen, longtime community advocate/volunteer, is the Orville Rummel Trophy recipient; and West Seattle-residing personality Marty Riemer will emcee the parade for the first time – to hear him, stake out a spot near California/Alaska.
That’s also a good place to watch the Kiddie Parade, which starts from California/Genesee at 11 am while the southern part of the parade zone is awaiting everything else. And the Float Dodger 5K run kicks off the entire morning, leaving California/Charlestown at about 9:30. The countdown continues tomorrow …
Spirit’s running high for West Seattle Little League as its 11-12 (Majors) All-Stars win again in the state tournament WSLL is hosting at Bar-S on Alki Point. This afternoon, it was a 5-3 win over South Spokane.
This means tomorrow at 6 pm, they play the winner of tonight’s Pacific vs. Gig Harbor game.
They are two victories away from Saturday’s final, for which Federal Way already has qualified.
By the way, the game had a flyover of sorts:
Go cheer for the WSLL team at 6 pm tomorrow.
Two people have texted us to ask about a big cloud/smoke plume in the east.
Big plume of something @westseattleblog @KING5Seattle @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/qiy2JNSMeD
— Richard Anderson (@scruffydiver) July 16, 2014
Thanks to @scruffydiver for the photo. Northwest Cable News says it’s a wildfire near Leavenworth (here’s a map) that has closed Highway 2.
ADDED 6:25 PM: Here’s a somewhat-closer look from David Hutchinson:
Here’s a Facebook page with on-the-ground info in the fire zone (tweeted by Lauren – @nwtripfinder).
ADDED LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Ted Johnson shared this view from the EC Hughes Playground area:
The latest highway closures are here.
Big turnout for this summer’s second Firefighter Storytime in West Seattle, this morning at the Seattle Public Library branch in Admiral. The mission is to teach fire safety, but of course the lesson is folded up in a fun story:
“No Dragons for Tea,” which Lt. Joe Clegg is holding in the photo, is the classic Firefighter Storytime book. A little girl makes friends with a fire-breathing dragon; he accidentally starts a fire. What matters is how she and her family react. Afterward, everybody headed outside, where Engine 29 from North Admiral’s Station 29 was parked in front of the library.
The engine and its crew couldn’t stay too long – they were summoned to check out a fire alarm.
(WSB file photo: Mediterranean Fantasy Festival dancers at Hiawatha)
Before moving on to more of today’s news, we just wanted to take a few minutes to be sure this weekend’s major events are on your radar. Yes, we know these are not the ONLY events (you’ll find many other activities/events on our calendar), but they’re the big annual ones. Event names link to the official websites (or, if no official link, to our calendar listings):
FRIDAY
Hiawatha Kids’ Fun Fest: Noon-3 pm, with carnival games, bouncy toys, more at/outside Hiawatha Community Center
White Center Jubilee Days: Noon-“late,” carnival at Steve Cox Memorial Park
SATURDAY
*Float Dodger 5K – 9:30 am from California/Charlestown (online registration ends Thursday afternoon; same-day signups at 8 am
*West Seattle Grand Parade: California/Lander southward to California/Edmunds, motorcycle drill teams start ~10:30, full parade 11, Kiddie Parade from California/Genesee at 11
*Alki Art Fair – 10 am-6 pm (booths), music (schedule not out yet) and food continuing to 9 pm
*Mediterranean Fantasy Festival – 11 am-7 pm; dancer schedule here; vendor map/list here
*West Seattle Outdoor Movies; Movie at dusk but stake out your spot early, showing “Gravity” this week, Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard
*White Center Jubilee Days: 11 am-4 pm car show; 2:30 pm parade northbound on 16th SW from SW 112th-100th; street fair info here
SUNDAY
*West Seattle Garden Tour: 9 residential gardens, self-guided tour 9 am-5 pm plus noon guest lecture with Susie Egan at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), ticket info here
*WestSide Baby Stuff the Bus: 10 am-2 pm, drop off diapers at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) – most needed: newborn, 5, 6, pull-ups, sizes 3T-4T and 4T-5T, hygiene items such as diaper cream
*Alki Art Fair – 10 am-6 pm (booths), music (schedule not out yet) and food continuing to 8 pm
*Mediterranean Fantasy Festival – 11 am-5 pm; dancer schedule here; vendor map/list here
*White Center Jubilee Days: Street fair info here
There is an incident blocking all lanes of East Marginal Way SB just south of Spokane St. Use Alt routes pic.twitter.com/ivmFKEWfY9
— seattledot (@seattledot) June 10, 2014
(Above, SDOT tweet with traffic-cam screen grab shortly after crash happened)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Five weeks after the 5+-hour closure of a four-mile stretch of Highway 99 during a crash investigation, another city agency has answered City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen‘s questions about decisionmaking during the incident, which led to a domino-effect multi-neighborhood traffic jam.
We published the response from SPD – which had the decisionmaking authority – back on June 23rd, a week and a half after the councilmember’s original letter.
Now, Rasmussen has received and shared the SDOT response, which defers in spots to SPD, and adds that city agencies are working on “protocols” for interdepartmental coordination in any such future incidents.
Since this response was made inline to his original note, we are publishing the entire document below:
At dusk tonight, you might hear fireworks in the distance – if you’re not at White Center Jubilee Days watching them in person. The fireworks are part of the festival’s opening night; the WCJD carnival opens at 3 this afternoon in Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd), which is where the fireworks will be set off once night falls. You can find out more about the festival, which includes a parade Saturday afternoon and street fair Saturday/Sunday, at jubileedays.org.
(Wednesday morning fog, looking toward Harbor Island; photo by Eileen McHugh)
Busy calendar for today/tonight – just some of the highlights:
FIREFIGHTER STORY TIME: Bring the kids to the West Seattle (Admiral) Branch of the Seattle Public Library and firefighters will read to them this morning! 10:30 am. (2306 42nd SW)
CHEER THE 11-12 WSLL ALL-STARS: The West Seattle Little League 11-12 All-Stars continue on in the state tournament they’re hosting at Bar-S, after a dramatic win last night. They’re playing again today at 3 pm. (64th/Admiral)
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN: Second of 12 Wednesdays this summer/fall when you can visit the High Point Market Garden Farm Stand 4-7 pm and buy organic produce grown next to it. (32nd/Juneau)
FUNDRAISER FOR MT. RAINIER SEARCH AND RESCUE: Mountain-climbing legend Jim Whittaker is now part of this event at West 5 – details here – with raffle items including this bike:
Stop by 6-9 pm, have a beer, help the climbing rangers’ program. (4539 California SW)
CAREER IN REAL ESTATE? Find out if it’s for you by visiting the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor) event at 6 pm – details here. (4700 42nd SW)
(Tuesday morning fog; photo by Laura Goodrich)
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION’S QUARTERLY MEETING: 7 pm at The Kenney (WSB sponsor). Agenda includes a recap of the Morgan Junction Community Festival, updates on nearby development projects, the California/Fauntleroy intersection, Metro Route 128, Coalition for an Affordable Livable Seattle, Morgan Junction Business District, and more. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
MUSIC BINGO AT THE CASK: 7 pm at The Cask (WSB sponsor), guess the songs, play the game! Details here. (2350 California SW)
COMEDY AT THE FEEDBACK: West Seattle’s Mona Concepcion hosts tonight’s bill at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 8 pm – featured comics listed here.
MORE NIGHTLIFE! (etc.) … on our calendar.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports to share:
SUNRISE HEIGHTS BREAK-IN: On 34th SW between Othello and Webster, someone broke in at midmorning Tuesday, taking computers, tablets, jewelry, even money from kids’ piggy banks, according to a neighbor who shared the info on behalf of the victims – who couldn’t because their computers were gone.
INTRUDER ARRESTED AFTER MULTIPLE BREAK-INS: A Gatewood resident reports a burglar was arrested in her neighborhood on Saturday afternoon after breaking into her home and three others nearby – at least two, while people were home, as was the case at her house. One witness gave police a good-enough description to spot and arrest the suspect. At our tipster’s house, she says, “He broke in the back door, stole a laptop, mail, a Batman costume and a Coke and Gatorade.” Making his getaway, he dropped a backpack and ran – “into the arms of cops up the road,” who, according to the victim, said the suspect was under the influence. Since receiving this reader report, we also have obtained the police report, which says the burglaries that day began in the 8400 block of 42nd SW (map) and ranged southwestward across about four blocks until he was stopped in the 4300 block of SW Southern. The report says he tried to give a false identity, claimed to be suffering from heat stroke (Seattle Fire medics screened him and determined he wasn’t), and ultimately was booked into King County Jail.
(WS bridge and Highway 99 views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! Another warm day ahead. No traffic trouble in the area so far. Two weekend reminders to repeat again today and each day until the weekend:
WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE CLOSURES: Saturday morning, California will be closed south of Admiral, south to Edmunds, for the parade. Staging zones will be on side streets along both ends of the route, so watch for, and heed, no-parking signs that day. Bus reroutes, too (check your route here).
ONE WEEK OF I-90 LANE CLOSURES … westbound 90, starting this Friday – details here.
DOWNTOWN BUS REROUTES THIS WEEKEND … because of road work; check your route here.
ADDED 9 AM: Checked on The Junction and California midblock between Alaska and Edmunds is down to one lane each way again because of construction work, with no parking on the west side of the street (which does have a “free parking” lot behind it).
(WSB photo from early in Tuesday night’s game)
The West Seattle Little League 11-12 All-Stars play again at 3 pm today in the state tournament that WSLL is hosting at Bar-S – after a thrilling comeback in their Tuesday night game. It wasn’t looking good going into the bottom of the 8th: As tweeted by Cami MacNamara, the team was down 5-2, three outs away from potential elimination. But they rallied with four runs to beat Eastside 6-5, and will play Spokane South today.
(WSB photo)
8:33 PM: Firefighters are arriving at a house fire in Arbor Heights near 34th and 102nd (map), reporting black smoke and also that ammunition is going off in the house – so they’ll be fighting it from outside.
(Photo texted by Joe)
8:38 PM: Scanner now indicates they don’t believe there’s more ammunition in the building and they are changing firefighting tactics.
(WSB photo)
8:48 PM: Our crew is at the scene. No word yet on whether anyone’s been hurt. They believe everyone in the house got out safely.
Fire over the garage/Kitchen. @KING5Seattle @KIRO7Seattle @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/MZm4v2zkg5
— Colby Blanton (@colby_blanton) July 16, 2014
8:58 PM: Just talked again with our crew at the scene. The fire appears to be under control but there are still flare-ups of flames visible here and there. Way too soon to know what caused it.
Above this line, we’ve added a quick Instagram clip – you can see firefighters on the roof and hear the saws they’re using to ventilate the attic.
(WSB photo)
9:18 PM UPDATE: We’ve just talked again with firefighters. The fire began in a bedroom and spread up to the attic. The house has major damage and isn’t inhabitable. One person was inside when it started, and we’re told he got out OK, unhurt. The “ammunition going off” suspicion is now a mystery – we’re told the resident said there had been firearm(s)/ ammunition in there, belonging to a renter who moved out a few weeks ago, so whatever the bangs/pops were in the early going, they now don’t know. SFD’s investigator is en route to work on figuring out how the fire started.
ADDED 11:16 PM: From SFD: “Cause of West Seattle Arbor Heights fire is man using spray paint can & lighter to try and kill spider in the wall. Damage estimate $60k.”
That’s a quick clip from “In the Mood,” the Glenn Miller classic with which the West Seattle Big Band started tonight’s annual Hi-Yu Concert in the Park. They’re just a few songs in, so there’s lots of time to get to the east lawn of Hiawatha (Walnut south of Lander) for the rest of the free concert – bring a chair or blanket, picnic if you want, and enjoy the music.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING: More photos and video from the concert. It’s a tradition for Hi-Yu royalty to speak to the crowd at intermission:
Their upcoming public appearances include Hiawatha Fun Fest on Friday afternoon and the West Seattle Grand Parade on Saturday. Meantime, WSBB’s Jim Edwards, a former Hi-Yu president, and daughter Michelle Edwards, 2006 Hi-Yu Senior Court Queen, showed off the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service that’s been updated for this Saturday’s parade (they’re both part of the parade-coordination team too):
As reported here Monday night, this year, the trophy honors community volunteer/advocate Earl Cruzen, best known for West Seattle’s murals, a project that expanded to include the Walking on Logs art installation. He’s scheduled to ride with it in the parade.
Back to the concert – the band, with director Donn Weaver at left:
(We met a concertgoer who was excited to be there because she had been a student of Weaver’s in high school!) Next, vocalist Sarah Ackers:
Still working on the video.
Reader report – a flasher exposing himself to girls in the Admiral area:
At 3:15 today, my 13-year-old daughter and her friend were walking home from Hiawatha and spotted a silver SUV parked on SW Stevens street with its driver door open. As they were walking the man inside exposed himself to the girls and took off in his car. As they rounded the corner, he was there again, this time in the middle of the street with no pants on, masturbating and laughing at the girls. They ran home and we called the police and filed a report right away. He is approximately 5’9, large frame, scruffy looking with brown hair and wearing a red t-shirt. He was last seen driving north on 38th in a 2000s silver SUV. Please alert readers in the area to be on the lookout and to call police right away if they spot anyone matching this description.
7:05 PM UPDATE: We asked the person who reported this if there were any other description/location details; for the former, white, “short, scruffy brown hair and shadow of a beard”; for the latter, “he was on 39th SW and SW Stevens to start and ended up getting out of the car on 38th SW and SW Stevens heading toward Lander when he got out of the car.”
(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Linda Walsh has a clearance sale going right now at her West Seattle Junction shop, Clementine.
This isn’t just any old clearance sale. It’s also a moving sale: She’s leaving West Seattle and moving her shop to Pioneer Square.
It’s been eight years now since, in the early months of WSB, we noticed the “coming soon” sign on papered-over windows of what had been a tanning salon at 4447 California SW.
The shoes, handbags, and other accessories Walsh has sold in the ensuing years have received acclaim and attention citywide. Yet making a go of it as a bricks-and-mortar business in an increasingly digital world hasn’t been easy, as Walsh and the proprietor of nearby Carmilia’s, Linda Sabee, told us in this WSB story a year ago. Yet Walsh says she’s not ready to give up on in-person shopping … after eight years, she says, she feels like she finally has a handle on how things should work.
But she’s going to deploy the knowledge elsewhere soon. Walsh says her new Pioneer Square space at 310 Occidental (a former lighting store) just seems to be a better place for what she does and offers. Office workers will be there during the day. Tourists will be there during the summer.
Besides the location, her new storefront will bring a few changes – it’s bigger than her cozy Junction space, including some basement. And Walsh will change the name a bit – it will now be Clementine’s. (Her web address has always been clementines.com, anyway.)
In the meantime, the aforementioned clearance sale continues. She told us today, “I hope not to have to move a single shoe.”
She also hopes for a seamless move to the new space without much, if any, downtime, intending to open there by early September.
SIDE NOTE: Hers is the second business to announce it’s about to leave the block of California SW north of Oregon – as reported here two weeks ago, Shoofly Pie Company is closing in mid-August; no new location in this case – they say they’re just getting out of the retail business.
Followup on the story of Darrion Holiwell, the King County Sheriff’s Deputy jailed and charged with crimes including promoting prostitution and drug dealing: Sheriff John Urquhart has fired the 49-year-old West Seattle resident, according to this announcement we just received:
(WSB file photo)
Yes, the West Seattle Car Show is definitely a go for September 14th, and its new website has just gone live, announces Oliver Little, producing the show again this year, with new co-presenters Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks (both WSB sponsors), who stepped up to continue the legacy of car-show founder Michael Hoffman, who died in March, just 47 years old.
As always, you’ll be able to wander the streets of The Junction admiring hundreds of vehicles; admission will be free as usual, with optional raffles/drawings that will raise money for Pencil Me In For Kids, which provides school supplies to children in need. So mark your calendar – 10 am-4 pm Sunday, September 14th – and stand by for news of applications, plus sponsorship info, soon.
A group of transient orcas is in the area – northbound off Alki Point as of minutes ago.
That’s a “typical cross-section” from a brand-new update on the long-in-the-works Fauntleroy Way SW “Boulevard” project, focusing on Fauntleroy Way through The Triangle, between 35th SW and SW Alaska. Right now, the plan is more than halfway still in the early stages of the design process, and SDOT is stepping up the public communication. Spokesperson Maribel Cruz tells WSB they’re meeting with property owners and community organizations in the area. Here’s the brand-new fact sheet from SDOT:
(Click here if you can’t see the embedded version above.) While $1.3 million for design was worked into the current city budget (as reported here last year), the construction funding isn’t yet nailed down, nor is a timeline. But the design is scheduled for completion early next year, and a community open house is planned (no date yet) for this fall. Watch the official project webpage for updates.
(WSB photo from staging zone of 2010 Grand Parade)
We’re continuing to count down to the West Seattle Grand Parade this Saturday, 11 am, California/Lander southward to California/Edmunds. This morning – a request for convertibles! Keith Hughes, parade chair for the Rotary Club of West Seattle, says three convertibles/open vehicles are needed – for Grand Marshal Col. Bruce Crandall, for Orville Rummel Trophy winner Earl Cruzen, and for the Rotary’s new District Governor, West Seattleite John Enger. Classic convertibles would be awesome, but any would be welcome. If you can help, please contact Keith ASAP – keith@westseattlenaturalenergy.com or 206-941-6654.
(Photo by Don Brubeck, Seacrest Pier as seen from Alki Trail)
It might be a sweater morning, but the forecast promises a sunny afternoon. Three highlights for today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
POLLINATOR WORKSHOP: Learn about bees – and more – today:
The Urban Pollination Project (UPP) will be offering free pollinator identification workshop for kids or adults, at Delridge P-Patch garden, 3-4 pm. UPP is a non-profit citizen science initiative from the University of Washington, and their goal is to help get people excited about pollination, bees, and how local food depends on this amazing process. UPP will do a free 60-minute workshop. They will bring photos and specimens to help us learn to recognize our local pollinator biodiversity, talk about some of the fascinating life histories and adaptations of our local pollinators, and walk through the garden to identify them at work on our plants!
(24th SW/Puget)
LITTLE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The West Seattle Little League 11-12 All-Stars won yesterday at the state tournament WSLL is hosting at Bar-S, so they’re playing again tonight, 6 pm. (64th/Admiral)
CONCERT IN THE PARK – WEST SEATTLE BIG BAND, FREE! Bring friends, family, picnic dinner, etc. to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center at 7 pm for the FREE annual Hi-Yu Concert in the Park with the West Seattle Big Band. Always an awesome night of music. BYO chair/blanket. (2700 California SW is Hiawatha’s official address, but the concert zone fronts Walnut)
BELLY DANCING: Get in gear for this weekend’s Mediterranean Fantasy Festival at Hiawatha by checking out bellydancing in West Seattle tonight. It’s the monthly Alauda showcase at Skylark tonight, 7:30 pm, free. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
LOTS MORE for today/tonight on the calendar – see it all here!
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