West Seattle, Washington
17 Sunday
(Click image for larger view; Tracy Burrows is the signholder in the center)
Another cancer-fighting “Team Tracy” has emerged in West Seattle – this time, rallying with the color purple, the official color of the fight against pancreatic cancer. The photo is shared by Madalyn, who explains the photo and its inspiration, as well as the namesake of this “Team Tracy,” who gathered for an event on Sunday:
Hi, my name is Madalyn Mincks and I live in West Seattle and I, like many of you, are friends and acquaintances of West Seattle’s Tracy Burrows. Tracy has been featured in our great West Seattle Blog on many occasions and she is extremely active with West Seattle High School’s PTSA, serving as President this year. In September, Tracy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has recently completed her third round of chemotherapy at SCCA Clinic.
Tracy is one of the most inspiring, intelligent, humorous and positive people most of us have ever met. Our friendships and her courage brought together over 80 participants in support of Team Tracy yesterday morning.
I would like to share a photo from yesterday’s PurpleStride Walk/Run. Magnuson Park was a beautiful location and over $222,000 was raised in the fight against pancreatic cancer. It was a powerful and inspiring day! The event was also a way to to kick off November as National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month!
When I asked if Tracy would be okay with my posting of the photo, she said yes and further commented that “Hopefully it will be inspiring to other folks who are in this cancer fight along with me.”
The PurpleStride event raised money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). According to the event website’s homepage, Team Tracy was a top-5 fundraiser!
As the state’s newly legalized recreational-marijuana industry gets closer to launch, the medical-marijuana industry says it’s fighting for its life – and a new group of growers is organizing, with its first meeting scheduled for West Seattle this week. The group is calling itself the Association of Cannabis Breeders and Growers, and organizer Chris Kelly of Green Lion Farms says they are inviting anyone and everyone interested in saving the medical-marijuana industry to come to its kickoff meeting at 8 pm Wednesday (November 6th) at the VFW Hall in The Triangle (3601 SW Alaska). (There’s a Facebook event page for the meeting here.)
(WSB photo, September 26, taken while law enforcers were searching Puerto Vallarta)
Six weeks after the arrest of Eduardo Morales-Cardenas, owner of Puerto Vallarta in The Junction, for allegedly buying stolen liquor, he is now charged with two felonies. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges against Morales-Cardenas and four others this afternoon; he is charged with trafficking in stolen property and attempted trafficking in stolen property. Prosecutors are asking that bail for Cardenas-Morales be set at half a million dollars, though he has no criminal history. He is scheduled to answer the charges in King County Superior Court two weeks from today. We just received the charging documents and are reviewing them now .
ADDED: Charged along with Morales-Cardenas are Amber Vincent, Shaye Glenn-Nitschke, Eric Olson, and Michael Jensen. Jensen, Olson, Glenn-Nitschke and Vincent are charged with 2nd-degree organized retail theft, with the victim named as QFC; Jensen, Olson, and Vincent face a second version of that charge, with the victim named as Safeway; Jensen and Olson face a third version of that charge, this time against Costco. The charges against Morales-Cardenas mention Safeway and QFC. Here’s what the charging documents say happened:
Thanks to Seth Leaptrot for sharing the photo and word of West Seattle’s newest champions:
I am very proud to announce that West Seattle’s SWAC Cougars Junior football team, after an amazing 8-0 record in the regular season, have finished their season as the UNDEFEATED Greater Seattle Youth Football and Cheer CHAMPIONS!!
They finished the season on Sunday with a perfect 10-0 record, capped by a nail-biting championship game against the Beacon Hill Cowboys. The Cowboys led for the entire game, and were up by as much as 12 points, but the SWAC Cougars persevered, with a come-from-behind victory in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter, and winning the championship with a final score of 19-18. On behalf of the entire SWAC organization, I would like to congratulate all the SWAC Junior players and coaches for their hard work, perseverance on the field, and a phenomenal season!
One more reminder that tomorrow night is your chance to get free, expert advice on keeping your kid(s) as safe as possible. It’s the special event with Savvy Parents, Safe Kids, 6:30 pm Tuesday at Hope Lutheran; here’s our original announcement. (Hope is at 42nd/Oregon in The Junction.)
Another day in court today for Michael S. Stanley, the convicted rapist who cut off his monitoring bracelet and fled Canada, turning up eventually in West Seattle, arrested for harassment and under investigation for sexual assault. 
The City Attorney’s Office has added another charge to the case that started with harassment, when Stanley was arrested in an Admiral alley two weeks ago – he is now also charged with resisting arrest, and pleaded not guilty this morning. We have an inquiry out seeking more information on the new charge and will add it here when we have it; meantime, Stanley remains jailed, bail still set at $100,000, and he’s scheduled to return to Seattle Municipal Court in two weeks.
Stanley is not yet charged in the alleged sexual assault of a teenager who reported it to police after the harassment arrest, but our partners at The Seattle Times reported last week that Seattle Police have completed their part of the investigation and referred it to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
While much of WSB’s development coverage in the past few years has focused on the largest projects, neighborhoods are taking a keen interest in smaller projects too. We’re watching city files more closely these days too, after hearing from residents’ concerns that the process is hard to follow and often leaves them finding out about a change for their neighborhood when it’s too late to even try to be constructively involved in the process. So we’re expanding our ongoing development coverage. First today, one West Seattle project from today’s edition of the city’s twice-weekly Land Use Information Bulletin (to which you can subscribe via e-mail – follow that link and use the sidebar box):
(3829 California rendering by Caron Architecture, from final design-review meeting)
3829 CALIFORNIA SW APARTMENTS APPROVED, BUT … The land-use approval for this 29-apartment, 29-parking-space project is in. The site, however, remains listed for sale (as first reported here in August, two months after it passed Design Review), price reduced to $1.45 million from the original $1.6m. That doesn’t necessarily affect the city process, so the clock is now ticking on the two-week window for appeals; here’s the official approval notice. (map)
Now, three projects in city files seeking boundary changes related to smaller projects:
2420 WICKSTROM PLACE SW, ALKI: Just east of the “Alki 11” proposal that is now the subject of an appeal (reported here October 24), there’s a new filing to split one lot into three. The city file for the site shows a plan for a three-unit rowhouse and demolition of a duplex. (map)
7313 BAINBRIDGE: Another application to split one lot into three homes – as is not uncommon, depending on what other approvals are required – after construction has already begun.
The photo above is from this site just north of Lincoln Park, taken on Friday; construction is approved at this site for three single-family houses where one has been demolished. It’s yards away from the southeast border of six new single-family homes at 47th/Othello. (map)
4022 19TH SW, PIGEON POINT: A lot-boundary change has been pending here to create the sites of two new homes for which the developer is seeking construction permits, at 4022 and 4024 19th SW, on the 8,200-sf site of a century-old house at 4022. (map)
Two highly visible sites (on busy streets) where you will likely see teardown activity soon:
4101 SW OREGON, THE JUNCTION: Just east of the close-to-completion 131-unit Oregon 42 apartments, applications were filed last Wednesday to tear down an 86-year-old house and replace it with two 2-unit townhome buildings. The 4,500-square-foot lot is zoned Low-Rise 3. (map)
5457 FAUNTLEROY, FAIRMOUNT SPRINGS: The permit application is in for demolition of the 103-year-old house on this five-unit-rowhouse project with attached garages, which was approved last week, as reported here. (map)
Project in your neighborhood that you’re wondering about? E-mail us! WSB development coverage is all archived at westseattleblog.com/category/development, newest to oldest.
(Photo by Candace Emmons, NOAA Fisheries)
Our area’s resident orcas were seen in nearby waters three times this past week – the photo above, in fact, is from one of those days. And now, without even taking your binoculars to the shore, you have a chance to find out more about our local killer whales, courtesy of The Whale Trail and NOAA:
Killer Whales in Winter – Recent Findings about Range, Diet and Behaviors
Presentation by Brad Hanson, NOAA Fisheries
Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 7 – 9 PM (doors open 6:30), C & P Coffee (5612 California SW)
$5 suggested donation, kids free
Tickets available brownpapertickets.com
Presented by The Whale TrailWhere do the southern resident orcas go during the winter? What do they eat? And how will that information help move this endangered population toward recovery?
Brad Hanson, NOAA Fisheries, will discuss the innovative research techniques that are being deployed to answer these and other key questions. Satellite telemetry and genetic analysis of prey and fecal sampling are providing new information about where the orcas are going, and what they are eating. LIke scientific detectives, Brad and his colleague are solving the mysteries that are critical to the orcas’ survival.
Join us on November 12 to hear first-hand about these research efforts, what the data are showing, and what it means for the long-term recovery of this population.
Brad is an ecologist with NOAA Fisheries Science Center, who studies the foraging and habitat use of Southern Resident killer whales.
This is the first in a new series of Orca Talks hosted by The Whale Trail in West Seattle.
The event also features updates from Robin Lindsay (Seal Sitters), and Diver Laura James (tox-ick.org and Puget Soundkeeper Alliance), and photography and art from Judy Lane.Buy tickets ahead of time and we’ll save you a seat! And hurry – this will likely sell out.
Dragon in the sky over West Seattle! In case you hadn’t seen that photo on the WSB Facebook page, we’re sharing it here too. Thanks to Viola from Wise Orchid Martial Arts for sharing it; she credits husband Rusel for the pic. Now, fiercely onward to highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
BALLOT-DROPOFF VAN: Why wait till the last day (tomorrow)? If you haven’t voted – or just haven’t sent your ballot yet – the ballot van is back in West Seattle today, 10 am-5 pm at West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th SW. (If you’re off-peninsula during those hours, go here to find the list of other places you can drop off your ballot.) No stamp required if you take your ballot to a van or dropbox; it IS required if you use postal mail.
BEGINNING KARATE: Alki Community Center starts a new series of classes for ages 7 and up, 6 pm tonight. Details in our calendar listing. (5817 SW Stevens)
FREE SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES: Seattle Integrated Martial Arts is offering two free classes tonight at 6:15 and 7:15 pm – details in the calendar listing. (4159 Fauntleroy Way SW)
FAMILY STORY TIME: 6:30 pm at High Point Library, free and fun. (35th/Raymond)
FINANCIAL GOALS 101: Free workshop in the “Family Matters” series at Fauntleroy Church, 7 pm – details in our calendar listing, including how to RSVP. (9140 California SW)
SPORTS TRIVIA TEST RUN AT TALARICO’S: How about some sports trivia with your Monday Night Football? Phillip, who hosts Wednesday trivia at Talarico’s in The Junction, is going to try out Sports Trivia tonight, starting around 8 pm during MNF: “$2 per person. Cash prizes. Three Rounds of trivia. Over before 10 pm.”
Not in West Seattle but of interest:
WEST SEATTLE PHOTOGRAPHER’S NEW EXHIBITION: Christopher Boffoli‘s new “Big Appetites” photography exhibition “Amuse Bouche” has just opened at Winston Wächter Fine Art in South Lake Union. Christopher (longtime WSB contributor) says, “The exhibition – a continuation of work with tiny figures and food – features all new photographs shot over the past year in my West Seattle studio, as well as a few classics being presented in super-sized mountings for the first time (like the 48×72″ version of Macaron Team, which features Bakery Nouveau macarons).” The studio is open 10 am-5 pm Mondays-Saturdays. (203 Dexter Avenue N.)
See more of what’s up today, tonight, tomorrow, and WAY beyond, on our calendar!
(East-facing camera on the West Seattle Bridge; see other cams on the WSB Traffic page)
And so we start the first full week of November! First, a reminder for Metro riders:
From Monday, November 4 through Tuesday, November 12, the bus stop westbound on Columbia St just east of 2nd Av will be closed at all times, due to construction.
During those times, board or exit the RapidRide C Line & route 125 to Westwood Village, and routes 21 Express to Arbor Heights, 55 to the Admiral District, 56 to Alki, 57 to the Alaska Junction and 120 to Burien at the temporary relocated stop southbound on 3rd Av just north of Columbia St.
Once leaving the stop on 3rd Av at Columbia St, southbound Viaduct buses will operate non-stop via their regular routing, with no other stops affected.
Another reminder: NEXT weekend brings a scheduled Alaskan Way Viaduct/Highway 99 closure, both ways between the West Seattle Bridge and Battery Street Tunnel, because of work on the Atlantic Street overpass, Friday night-Monday morning.
8:59 AM: Winding up the morning commute without anything out of the ordinary on routes to/through West Seattle. But remember that we add updates throughout the day if something DOES come up, and the newest daily report is always linked atop the WSB sidebar so you can find it to check.
For years, the city has been working on a plan to require earthquake-safety retrofits for unreinforced masonry (brick) buildings – the type that sustained the most damage during major earthquakes in 1949, 1965, and 2001. With the proposal getting closer to Seattle City Council consideration, and a presentation is planned in West Seattle at this Wednesday’s meeting of the Southwest District Council. According to documents on the city website, about 1,000 buildings in the city would be affected; they are primarily commercial and housing buildings, usually multiple stories, built with red bricks. According to a preliminary city survey, more than 50 of these buildings are believed to be in West Seattle; reviewing that list, we note that some are on development sites – including the California/Alaska corner building that’s just been demolished. The public is always welcome at Southwest District Council meetings; this one will be at 6:30 pm Wednesday (November 6), downstairs at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle).
As a followup to last month’s community meeting about youth drug/alcohol-use concerns, a special parent workshop is planned during this Wednesday’s West Seattle High School PTSA meeting, and all are welcome. Here’s the announcement:
Join the WSHS PTSA on Wednesday, November 6th, from 7 pm-8:30 pm in the West Seattle High School library. We will be hosting Mike Graham-Squire from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who will present a “Power of Parents” workshop – a parent guidebook that will help families talk to their kids while using positive parenting techniques that have been proven to help reduce underage drug and alcohol use will be distributed to attendees.
We’ll entice you with tantalizing details of the upcoming Reaching for the Stars auction! Have you donated your item and purchased your ticket? It will be a very fun night – and the best part is that it will benefit the students and staff at the school.
All are welcome. To access the library, enter the building through the side door in front of the visitor parking stalls.
That’s the main lot, at 3000 California SW. P.S. Regarding the WSHS gala – ticket deadline is just one week away; here’s where to get tickets and info.
The car carrier Tijuca is headed to Tacoma right now after being anchored off Don Armeni for a while yesterday/last night, catching the eyes of some WSB readers who asked us about it; we photographed it this morning. Tijuca wasn’t on the official Port of Seattle schedule, so we’re wondering if it came in to wait out the windstorm. It is passing western West Seattle right now, according to MarineTraffic.com. These types of vessels pass that side of the peninsula fairly often, but not usually after a detour into the bay.
Speaking of the windstorm:
David French shares that beautiful photo of Alki Point Lighthouse, seen from the Seattle-Bremerton ferry on Saturday.
And a scene from Seacrest:
Carolyn Newman caught sight of a sea lion chowing down on her/his catch. Thanks to Carolyn and David, and to everyone who sends photos to share!
Congratulations to Amelia – at right in the photo – who won Overall Champion in the children’s division of the Northwest Congress model horse show last weekend. Proud mom Karen shared the photo of her daughter with a show judge. Karen explains the competition, which, for kids, isn’t about creating the models, but working with them, in intricate detail. The show, held in Kent, involved people bringing their model horses and putting them, Karen said via e-mail:
… into ‘classes’ by what real breed the model is most like. The show is divided into OF (original finish model as you get them from the store) and CM (models that you customize by resculpting and painting.) The children’s portion of this show was only for OF models. But there is a lot that goes into it!! The kids first have to not play with and scratch up the model, which is not easy! Then , they have to assign a breed to the model based on what the model looks like, what color it is and how it’s moving. Often, the box will say it’s one kind of model but the color is wrong for a real horse, or the model is not really representative of that breed. Then the kids must get a show number and create a master horse list of the horse’s individual show number, the breed, the horse’s name (that they make up themselves) and what class the model will show in.
This is a very competitive thing at adult level. We met adult collectors … who had over two thousand models that they show. Shows are held all over the country and they have national championships once a year.
The show was well run and the children’s judge was great! She gave so much helpful advice to the kids and explained why she judged as she did. All of the kids there were such great sports, too! They listened and took in the advice, with good cheer and they all congratulated each other when they placed or won. It was an amazing day!
You can find out more about the model-horse-showing hobby here.
(35th/Webster signal still without power when photographed 2:30 pm Sunday)
11:52 AM: Seattle City Light says it’s down to fixing the smaller outage pockets now, from among the tens of thousands who lost power during Saturday’s storm. Among the hoping-to-be-fixed-soon pockets is a section of east Gatewood, where anyone driving California SW last night would have noticed the streetlights burned out for a two-plus-block stretch. Mariko just e-mailed to say, “We’re in the 7500 block of California Ave. We’re going on over 24 hours now. They’re reporting 1:40 for power to be restored!” This outage area has never been displayed on the SCL map and still isn’t shown, so we don’t know how many homes are affected.
12:26 PM UPDATE: Part of Sunrise Heights is affected too, east of 35th – Brian has been tweeting about it.
P.S. If you spot fire crews in Gatewood – that’s for a gas leak around 39th/Othello, not related to the power outage so far as we know.
3:01 PM UPDATE: 35th/Webster stoplight still out, too. But we just spotted City Light on California in the outage zone – not sure of their eventual destination, though. One resident says the “estimated restoration time” has been pushed back yet again – to 8:40 pm. SCL says via Twitter that fewer than 1,000 homes/businesses remain without power – but they are in more than 100 separate locations:
Crews still working. Still have est 658 customers without power with 119 reported outage locations. http://t.co/eMfXeQ9FPp has latest
— Seattle City Light (@SEACityLight) November 3, 2013
This area is not on the map, SCL tweeted earlier, because it’s part of the area with old 4-kilovolt equipment – as was an outage earlier this fall. We checked with SCL then and they say all that equipment will be replaced by 2015.
6:51 PM UPDATE: Anyone in West Seattle still out? If so, this SCL message is for you:
Crews continue to make progress. 470 left to be restored but have to respond to over 100 locations to complete work. If still without power call 206-684-3000 to make sure we know about your problem. At this stage have to rely on customer calls to know where problems are.
Calmer weather today – but we have two bonus photos from our windy Saturday, before our look at what’s up for your Sunday. Above, a dash through the spray at Constellation Park south of Alki Point, courtesy of Chaucer Wells Photography; below, taken in the same area, Tina Doherty‘s view of kites:
Today, as noted earlier, you just might see whales from that area instead! Now, the calendar highlights:
FARMERS’ MARKET BACK TO REGULAR SPOT: Just a reminder that after last week’s Harvest Festival setup in the middle of the street, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market returns today to its regular location, the parking lot at 44th/Alaska. Year-round, 10 am-2 pm.
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: Now at High Point for the fall season, 31st/Myrtle. 11 am, all welcome!
SOUTHWEST LIBRARY ARTISTS’ RECEPTION: 2 pm, it’s the reception for this year’s Community Art Show at Southwest Branch Library. (35th/Henderson)
COOKING WITH BEER: You’re invited to brew up a recipe including beer and bring it to today’s 3 pm meeting of the West Seattle Cooking Club. Find them at Beveridge Place Pub. (6413 California SW)
LIVE MUSIC: Acoustic soloist Zach Bellas at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)
For the third time this week, Puget Sound’s resident orcas are reported to be in the area. Just got an alert from Killer Whale Tales‘ Jeff Hogan; the Orca Network‘s Facebook page has word of the sighting too. They are reported to be visible off Blake Island, across the Sound from west-facing West Seattle, so you’ll need binoculars. Let us know if you see/photograph them!
Early this morning, Mary messaged us from Fauntleroy about some emergency utility work, with water running down Barton near 38th (map). This morning, Bob Powers shares photos of an apparent sinkhole spotted in its aftermath, and writes:
We noticed this morning that a sink hole is developing in the grassy area in front of the water tower at 38th Ave SW and SW Barton Street. Seattle Public Utilities were working on a broken water line situation very early this morning (about 1:00 a.m.) a few yards east of the sink hole. SPU was notified of the sink hole at 7:45 a.m. this morning and said they would send someone right out. The sink hole is about six feet in diameter and about five feet deep.
I don’ know if this will develop any further but I thought it might be good to alert the neighborhood.
We’ll go over to check later this morning.
Playing with a high-wind warning in effect for the area, Seattle Lutheran scored a win at West Seattle Stadium on Saturday afternoon, beating Manson High School – visiting from Lake Chelan – 42-35.
At Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, Chief Sealth International High School got off to a fast start against Bishop Blanchet – but had subsequent trouble handling the ball.
From a 7-7 tie, Sealth’s opponent did the rest of the scoring. Final score was Blanchet 36, Sealth 7.
(Added 1:03 am: Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
11:32 PM: Just outside West Seattle, a driver is reported to be seriously hurt after her vehicle went off the 1st Avenue South Bridge near/at the Michigan exit.
She’s been taken to the hospital, and Seattle Police‘s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad has been called out. SDOT cameras don’t show any effect on the bridge right now, but if you’re headed that way, on surface streets or the bridge, now you know what’s going on.
12:01 AM: Update from SPD via Twitter: “Preliminary investigation indicates excessive speed a contributing factor to crash. S River St will be completely shut down for about 2 (hours).” Police also say the driver was the only person in the car.
1:55 AM: A bit more information has just been posted on SPD Blotter, including:
… On November 2nd at approximately 10:36 p.m. officers responded to a one-vehicle collision in the 100 block of South River Street. Preliminary investigation indicates that a woman was driving her Honda Accord northbound across the 1st Avenue South Bridge. She entered the Michigan Street off-ramp at what appears to be a high rate of speed, lost control of her car and went over the concrete barrier, landing on South River Street below. The female driver was the sole occupant of her car. There were no other vehicles involved in the collision.
Fire department medics responded to the scene and transported the woman to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening head injuries.
Tuesday night is your deadline to vote – and if you want to save the cost of a stamp, you have two more chances to use the King County Elections dropoff van in West Seattle. Today was the first of three days in the West Seattle Stadium parking lot (4432 35th SW); by mid-afternoon, Cindy (above) and Sharon were almost up to 100 ballots. The van will be back 10 am-5 pm Monday and 10 am-8 pm Tuesday; those same days/times, you can also find one in White Center’s Greenbridge, just south of the city/county line (9720 8th SW). All the other options for returning your ballot are listed on this KC Elections webpage.
With everything else happening today – there was post-season high-school football too. In one of three games involving local teams, West Seattle High School played a 4 pm game at Memorial Stadium downtown; final score, Lakeside 41, WSHS 14.
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