West Seattle, Washington
25 Wednesday
Thanks to John Hinkey for sharing that photo taken shortly after sunrise on this sunny Saturday – lots on the calendar, including these highlights:
TRAFFIC/TRANSIT ALERTS: Spokane Street repaving under the bridge till 7 tonight (which means bus reroutes, too), and the bridge ramp to southbound I-5 is closed all weekend.
GATHERING OF NEIGHBORS: After a morning of presentations and discussions, it’s an afternoon resource fair, including community advocates and volunteers with information about programs and organizations that enhance life in West Seattle and White Center – plus entertainment! 9 am-3 pm at the Chief Sealth International High School Galleria; we published the full program last night. (2600 SW Thistle)
HELP LINCOLN PARK: It’s the first Saturday of the month and that means the Friends of Lincoln Park are out removing invasives – your help can make a big difference. Details in our calendar listing. (Meet @ Fauntleroy/Rose, or if late, check kiosk for info)
EXPLORE THE JUNCTION AND TRIANGLE ON FOOT: Meet at 10 am at the Admiral area’s water tower for a Feet First-presented walk exploring the neighborhoods’ character and new development – details on this page (Charlestown/39th SW)
WSUU RUMMAGE SALE: Big sale this weekend at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation‘s church in Gatewood; today’s hours are 9 am-3 pm. (7141 California SW)
HELP CLEAN UP NORTH DELRIDGE: Meet at Skylark at 10 am to join the North Delridge Neighborhood Council cleanup of the walking path to Spokane Street- details on the NDNC website. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
RUN FOR LIGHTS 5K: First fundraising run of the season, 10 am at Lincoln Park, presented by Orphans to Ambassadors – details here.
FAMILY HIKE AT CAMP LONG: Join the “Family Matters” event organized by Fauntleroy Church, at Camp Long, 10 am – details in the calendar listing. (5200 California SW)
CLOTHES DONATION: Got clothing you don’t want/need? Today’s the day a local Brownie Troop is collecting it for charity – drop it off 11 am-1 pm at Gatewood Elementary. (Back lot on Frontenac just west of California)
JEWELRY LAUNCH AT CLICK! 11 am-5 pm at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in The Junction, it’s a two-part, one-artist jewelry event – “the introduction of Click!’s comprehensive collection of Konzuk engagement rings and wedding bands and the launch of Orbis, Karen Konzuk‘s new line of concrete and gold jewelry” – and you’ll get to meet the artist, too! (4540 California SW)
THRIFTWAY BARBECUE SEASON BEGINS: First fundraising barbecue of the season at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), 11 am-4 pm, burgers to benefit West Seattle Helpline! (4201 SW Morgan, intersection of California/Fauntleroy)
HAIRSTORM AT THE FEEDBACK: ’80s “hair metal” tribute band Hairstorm is back at the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), 9:30 pm. (6451 California SW)
Going to Saturday’s Gathering of Neighbors community-building event at Chief Sealth International High School? We just received the program that’s being printed for the event – see it in its entirety (PDF) here. One set of highlights: Here’s who’s participating in the noon-3 pm resource fair:
34th District Democrats
Alki Art Fair
Amerigroup
Delridge Grocery/Delridge Produce Cooperative
Delridge Neighborhood Development Association
King County Community & Technical Colleges
Morgan Community Association
North Delridge Neighborhood Council
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods/PACE LEadership
Seattle Foundation Neighbor to Neighbor Fund
Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund Program
Seattle Public Library
South Seattle Community College
Southwest Seattle Historical Society / Log House Museum
Southwest Youth & Family Services
West Seattle Be Prepared! – Emergency Communication Hub
West Seattle Democratic Women
White Center Chamber of Commerce
White Center Development Association
The morning starts at 9 am with refreshments, 9:30 am with welcoming ceremonies, and then a slate of workshops that will be held simultaneously at 10:20 am and again at 11:05 am – all detailed in the program. It’s all free; just head into the Galleria at Sealth, between the gym and the main school building, north of the parking lot at 2600 SW Thistle.
(Photo by @bpsnyder, via Twitter)
Two and a half days after the bicycle/truck crash that killed 54-year-old Lance David, about 100 people gathered this afternoon where it happened, at East Marginal Way and Hanford, in his honor. Many rode from his workplace, Expeditors International:
(This and subsequent photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Mr. David was on one of the five Bike-to-Work teams at Expeditors, according to Don Brubeck of West Seattle Bike Connections, who also observed: “Mr. David worked in the freight shipping industry. Just like the truck driver. I hope it will help the community understand that this is not ‘us’ vs. ‘them.’ It’s all ‘us.’ A bunch of people who work in jobs that are dependent on the port ride a bike to get to work. Bike riders depend on the port for jobs, and those companies have employees who ride bikes.” Many of those at this afternoon’s gathering signed a shirt with the company logo:
It was then put on the utility pole holding the ‘ghost bike’ placed at the crash site Wednesday night.
WS Bike Connections and WS Greenways are organizing a memorial ride from Seacrest on Tuesday (May 7, 5:30 pm, full details here). It’ll be some time before police put out a final report on the crash; their initial findings are included in our Thursday report, which also details some of the safety concerns at the scene and the discussion at Wednesday night’s monthly meeting of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.
Thanks to Cathie for asking about “heavy equipment” in the northwest corner of the West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) parking lot, then reporting a chat with construction workers yielded the news a freestanding ATM was on the way. We subsequently checked the city permit files, which reveal that it’s going to be a Bank of America ATM.
Looking to sell your home and/or buy a new one? One of the newest WSB sponsors, Prudential Northwest Realty, would love to talk with you. Here’s what managing broker/branch manager Don Bereiter wants you to know about their business:
Prudential Northwest Realty has been a part of West Seattle for more than 50 years. Sure, the name has changed from time-to-time, but the integrity and value has never wavered. We are a full-service real-estate office with 75 full-time brokers that range from just licensed to veterans with over 30 years experience. Our average broker has over 15 years in the business! While we do have 5 other offices in the Puget Sound area, West Seattle has always been the hub of the operation.
In the past, Prudential Northwest Realty has sponsored many West Seattle events, including:
*West Seattle Summer Fest
*Global Volunteer Day (Collecting food and cash for the West Seattle Food Bank)
*Admiral Neighborhood Association’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha
*West Seattle Garden Tour
*Sunshine Kids (Helping to fulfill dreams for kids battling cancer)
We are very proud to be a part of such a great area and most appreciative of our past and current clients that continue to refer their friends to us. Trusting in us to handle their real estate needs gives us great pride and we want to say “Thank you!” to each and every one of them. We are also excited to become a sponsor of the West Seattle Blog!
We thank Prudential Northwest Realty for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Legendary Seattle Mariners veteran Edgar Martinez was in West Seattle this morning, speaking to students and staff at Seattle Lutheran High School (autographing, too, as shown in our first photo). He was there to talk about a program he’s involved with called PX2, developed by West Seattle-headquartered The Pacific Institute, described in SLHS’s announcement as providing “training in effective decision making for young adults.”
SLHS says all its students have been participating in PX2 since January. Martinez’s appearance came during the last unit; after the students watched a video about taking responsibility for their actions, he spoke to them about the importance of finding what you love and setting goals
for yourself. He said that he started doing that when he was young, which helped him along on his way to being a professional ball player. He said he wasn’t alone in this – mentioning the same went for some of his former colleagues, including Ichiro and Omar Vizquel. Lively Q/A ensued, with the students asking both about Martinez’s advice, and about baseball in general.
11:40 AM: Got our first text that the carrier returning home to Bremerton after an 8-month deployment is visible in the distance from Alki, which seems to correlate with a Twitter mention that it’s off north Bainbridge.
11:59 AM: In view off Alki Point now, just before it rounds the turn off south Bainbridge. (Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand, added 12:02 pm.)
12:17 PM: It’ll be out of sight soon, disappearing behind south Bainbridge, into Rich Passage. Good day for ship watching in general – right now from our vantage point at Constellation Park, two large commercial vessels are also passing. (If you’re out watching them, the darker-hulled one is the Midnight Sun, the one with the containers is Evergreen Unison, according to MarineTraffic.com.)
Not to rush things along – but suddenly it’s May, and even summer’s big events are in view – like the West Seattle Junction Association-presented West Seattle Summer Fest (with WSB among the co-sponsors again this year). If you’re an artist/craftsperson and would like to be part of the Art Dive at Summer Fest, Twilight Gallery and Boutique is organizing it again this year, and is calling for applications:
Calling all local artists, craft vendors, upcyclers, jewelers, product makers, etc, etc. This is your weekend festival on the WEST SIDE!
2013 FESTIVAL DATES ARE HERE: (different than the deadline)
Friday, July 12, 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday, July 13, 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday, July 14, 11 am – 5 pmABOUT ART DIVE:
Art Dive is an artist flea market housed within Summer Fest. Art Dive consists of dozens of artists and crafts people selling goods to the public. Art Dive is sponsored by Twilight Gallery & Boutique.
Details continue ahead, along with the application link: Read More
(WSB reader “Wes C. Addle” shares the Longfellow Creek path photo, suspecting the creek’s beavers have been busy)
Highlights of what’s ahead today/tonight, including listings from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
TRAFFIC ALERT: In case you missed it in today’s traffic/transit tracker, the eastbound West Seattle Bridge ramp to southbound I-5 closes tonight at 10, to reopen by 5 am Monday, the final major closure scheduled as part of the Spokane St. Interchange Special Bridge Repair project.
USS JOHN C STENNIS TO SAIL PAST WEST SEATTLE: The carrier is en route back to Bremerton after an 8-month deployment, and due there around 2 pm, according to the Kitsap Sun – which means it should be visible off West Seattle shores in early afternoon. (Let us know if you happen to see it coming into view! Text/voice to 206-293-6302 – same number to use for breaking news any time!)
CARNE ASADA BOWL: The annual soccer match between Chief Sealth International High School and The World School is at 4 pm today, Southwest Athletic Complex. (2801 SW Thistle)
PATIO SEASON AT LA RUSTICA: Beach Drive’s only restaurant shares the news that its patio opens for the season tonight – maybe the earliest opening yet, says proprietor Giulio Pellegrini. (4100 Beach Drive SW)
MEET A MAYORAL CANDIDATE: One of the eight people running for mayor of Seattle (all of whom appeared at the area forum we covered, with video, Monday night) makes a stop in West Seattle tonight to meet with anyone interested in stopping by: Peter Steinbrueck will be at Beveridge Place Pub 5-6:30 pm. (6413 California SW)
FOOD BANK DINNER: The West Seattle Food Bank‘s annual Instruments of Change dinner/silent auction is tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 5:30 pm. Check with WS Food Bank to see if any tickets remain. (9131 California SW)
HIGHLAND PARK’S CORNER BAR: The monthly don’t-miss “pop-up bar” reappears tonight starting at 6 pm at Highland Park Improvement Club, including a Cuban music mix and “Havana Heat” special beverage. (12th/Holden)
GARY BENSON AT C & P: A solo folk-music performer, playing live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 6-8 pm. (5612 California SW)
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: Little Pilgrim School invites you to come watch “The Gruffalo” and “The Gruffalo’s Brother,” 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall at Fauntleroy Church. (9140 California SW)
(Photo by Glenn Gauthier for SSCC)
South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) recognized its scholarship donors and recipients last night at the annual Friends of the College Dinner. SSCC says 125 of its 240 scholarship-receiving students were in attendance; the awards totaled more than $600,000. More information from SSCC communications director Kevin Maloney:
South also announced a new endowment scholarship that was established in memory of Stephen K. Rockwood. This award will be given to students from South’s renowned Culinary program in his honor.
South alumnus John Titus, President and CEO of Aero Controls Inc., was recognized with the 2012-2013 Outstanding Alumni Award:
Titus was honored for his generous support and donation of aviation equipment for classroom use and as a member of the Aviation Technical Advisory Committee. Additionally, Titus made a surprise announcement that he will establish an endowment scholarship for aviation students at South.
The evening was capped off by recognizing 19 members of South’s faculty with annual development grants for their outstanding work in the classroom.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Welcome to sunny Friday! Since the weekend’s almost here, we start with reminders about two road-work projects:
SPOKANE ST. PAVING: This work will be under way west of the low bridge, under the high bridge, 7 am-7 pm both days this weekend – detour info and other details here.
RAMP TO SOUTHBOUND I-5 CLOSED: This is the last major closure of the I-5 Spokane St. Interchange Special Bridge Repair project, and it’s planned to be in effect around the clock from late tonight until early Monday. Here are the detour details.
ADDED 9:16 AM: Got a tip of a possible picket line at Terminal 18 on Harbor Island; the tipster wanted to get the word out in case that leads to truck backups.
Thanks to Deb for the tip – a city newsletter brings word of the artist has been chosen for a “1 Percent for Art” project for the Fire Station 32 reconstruction project in The Triangle:
Oakland, Calif.-based artist Sean Orlando will create a permanent artwork for Fire Station 32 in the West Seattle Junction. The new fire station will be built at the existing location, 3715 SW Alaska St., and will be the lead station for Battalion VII, which covers all of West Seattle, southwest Seattle, Harbor Island, and the industrial areas lining both sides of the Duwamish River. The fire station is expected to be completed in fall 2015.
Orlando is an installation artist and community organizer with an interest in collaborative and immersive, large-scale sculptural installation projects. He is a co-founder of the Five Ton Crane Arts Group and principle artist at Engineered Artworks. Orlando’s most recent collaborative group projects include the Steampunk Tree House, Raygun Gothic Rocketship and The Nautilus Submarine art car. His area of expertise includes the design and fabrication of large-scale public sculpture and leading collaborative teams to bring to life high-profile aesthetic visions that celebrate human ingenuity and exploration. He’s exhibited at venues throughout California including Port of San Francisco, Coachella, Chabot Space and Science Center, Burning Man and Worth Ryder Gallery.
A panel of arts professionals, Department of Finance and Administrative Services (DFAS) representatives, a firefighter, West Seattle community members, and fire station architects selected Orlando. The project is commissioned with DFAS 1% for Art funds.
Back in November 2009, the Southwest Design Review Board gave “early design guidance” thumbs up to 4435 35th SW (WSB coverage here), proposed at the time to be a development of about 100 condominiums over two floors of commercial. Three and a half years later, the project is tentatively scheduled to go back to EDG next month, essentially scrapping the first review, with a different plan: Six stories, 170 apartments, over 10,000+ square feet of commercial development, with 187 parking spaces. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm Thursday, June 13th, at the Senior Center of West Seattle.
Also penciled in for that same date, same place, at 8 pm: A third meeting for the 30-apartment, 30-parking-space proposal at 3829 California SW; the official city report details the concerns that led the board not to recommend final approval at its April 13th meeting.
(Photo by Eric Shalit – rough pavement at E. Marginal/Hanford; ‘ghost bike’ in background)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The bicycle rider killed in the East Marginal Way crash on Wednesday has just been officially identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as 54-year-old Lance David of Federal Way.
We also have learned that a memorial ride for Mr. David is being organized for this Sunday, 1 pm, from Marymoor Park – full details are on this Facebook event page.
Meantime, since the crash, safety concerns continue to percolate, with two crashes today leaving riders hurt.
First, what happened today: Just before 9:30 am in the 400 block of Alaskan Way, blocks from yesterday morning’s crash, a 53-year-old man lost control of his bicycle and crashed to the ground, the impact breaking his helmet, according to public-safety radio communications. So far, authorities have not reported any other vehicles involved; the man was taken to the hospital.
A few minutes before that, we later learned, a 32-year-old woman had fallen from her bike after colliding with a car on Delridge Way SW alongside the Boren school building. Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore says she “suffered minor scrapes and bruises” and didn’t want to go to a hospital, so firefighters took her home.
Bicycle safety was already on many people’s minds since the deadly crash on Wednesday morning. Many bicycling advocates are reaching out – May has long been Bike to Work Month and Bike to School Month, so some events already were scheduled; for example, tonight, riders can stop by the West Seattle Tool Library for free bicycle repairs, 6-9 pm (northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW). Says Stu Hennessey, “Our goal is to help our bicycle community ride smooth and safe.”
And there’s a bigger picture to safety, as discussed at last night’s Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board regular monthly meeting downtown – which began with a moment of silence in honor of Mr. David.
New details this afternoon about the paving work planned this weekend on SW Spokane St. under the West Seattle Bridge – previewed in our daily traffic update back on Monday. From SDOT:
Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will pave lower Southwest Spokane Street from Chelan Avenue Southwest to 26th Avenue Southwest this weekend. They will work on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.
Traffic on Southwest Spokane Street will be detoured between Chelan Avenue Southwest and Southwest Avalon Way using Southwest Genesee Street. Police Officers will be located at each end of the detour to assist traffic. The adjacent trail will not be affected.
For information on bus service, look for Rider Alert notices at bus stops, see Metro Online, www.kingcounty.gov/metro or call (206) 553-3000.
This weekend’s other major road work is a state project, closing the ramp from the West Seattle Bridge to southbound I-5, around the clock from late Friday night until early Monday morning.
After the case of Zipper the dog – rescued from a car in the Westwood Village parking lot – resurfaced in the WSB Forums, we checked today with Seattle Animal Shelter executive director Don Jordan to see if there’s anything new in the case. He reaffirms that, contrary to many headlines, they still don’t know for sure if Zipper was actually in that car alone the whole time the car was in the lot, and says they’d still like to hear from anyone with information to share:
At this time, I can’t offer too much information on the case around Zipper, as we are still conducting our investigation. I can tell you that we will continue to care for him at the Animal Shelter until the case is closed and we determine a course of action. As far as his condition, Zipper appears healthy, happy and energetic. While the police report indicated that the vehicle was parked in the lot for six days, one area of focus in our investigation, as you noted, is determining whether Zipper was actually in the vehicle during that time. We are still taking statements and would welcome any witnesses to contact us at 206-386-7387.
Police rescued Zipper on Sunday, April 21st, and reported the case via SPD Blotter three days later.
Who would you like to see win one of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s annual Westside Awards when they are presented June 6th? The nomination period is now open, and you can participate via this simple online form (even if you’re not a WSCofC member). Read on for more information about the awards and the breakfast at which recipients will be honored:
The image is courtesy of Seal Sitters‘ Robin Lindsey, who has an update on the sculpture in the works for their “Year of the Seal” project (first announced in January) – and your chance to come to a meeting about it on May 13th:
Seal Sitters’ educational outreach project Year of the Seal, made possible by a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods grant, is making great strides. Following a public Call to Artists and Selection Panel review, prominent Northwest bronze artist Georgia Gerber was chosen to create a full-scale sculpture of a harbor seal mom and pup. Georgia is shown here at work on the centerpiece of the project, which is designed to raise awareness about our fragile marine ecosystem.
Topping this West Seattle Crime Watch roundup: 
We’ve just confirmed another case of athletic-field wire theft. A tipster just e-mailed to say that a wiring theft took out the outfield lights at the Southwest Athletic Complex baseball field, which affected the start of last night’s Seattle Lutheran High School game. SWAC is owned by Seattle Public Schools; spokesperson Teresa Wippel confirms the theft, telling WSB, “we did receive a report of additional wire theft from 10 light poles … (4 softball infield and 6 baseball outfield poles). I’m told ‘a come-along’ was used to extract the wires from the poles and some of the wiring was also pulled out of the ground.” No arrests yet in last month’s Delridge Playfield case, by the way.
Also in Crime Watch: A stolen car was found relatively quickly this morning – just after 6 am, Ridge sent a note that his green Honda Civic had been stolen near 35th and 100th in Arbor Heights. Before we even got a chance to publish an alert, a note came in from a resident near 32nd and 108th reporting that someone abandoned a car in her neighborhood – a green Honda Civic. Car and owner have since been reunited.
And a reunion of sorts is what Julie is hoping for, regarding keepsakes stolen in a Puget Ridge burglary on Wednesday:
The only things stolen were a blue cardboard box of irreplaceable old pictures and a decorative tin box full of a lifetime of memorabilia, like concert ticket stubs, postcards and political buttons, etc. I’m hoping they’ll dump it somewhere and maybe it will be found. I live in the 65XX block of 18th Ave SW. They smashed my sliding glass door in the back to gain entry.
Notify police if you find any of those items – or anything else that might have been stolen from someone (the non-emergency number is 206-625-5011).
Before we get to more of the news that’s already in queue for today – four notes from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, plus two cool photos, starting with Thomas Marx‘s Alki gull-and-heron scene, above (scroll down for #2) …
SPANISH BUFFET LUNCH, ANYONE? You’ll have to call Betty ASAP at 206.934.7952 to see if reservations are still available (the seatings are at 11:30 and noon today) – South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) Culinary Arts students are presenting an international buffet lunch today featuring the cuisine of Spain. (6000 16th SW)
DAY OF PRAYER: A “National Day of Prayer” gathering is planned at 6:30 tonight at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. Details are in our calendar listing. (61st/Alki SW)
PUBLIC SAFETY FORUM: King County Sheriff John Urquhart is among the guests at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s public-safety forum at 7 pm tonight in White Center. It’s geared toward unincorporated-area residents but we’ve found, covering these forums for partner site White Center Now, that the information is often helpful to a wide audience – so we’re mentioning them here too. (1243 SW 112th)
NIGHT TWO AT ARTSWEST: 7:30 pm, it’s the second night for ArtsWest’s newest production, the Tony Award-nominated “33 Variations.” (4711 California SW)
BONUS PHOTO:
Last night’s “sundog,” photographed from Beach Drive by Jeff Johnson.
From today’s edition of the twice-weekly city Land Use Information Bulletin: Westside School (WSB sponsor) has applied for a land-use permit to convert the 74,000-square-foot current site of Hillcrest Presbyterian Church into its permanent campus, including a 22,000-square-foot addition (as first reported here last November). The city’s announcement starts the clock running on the public-comment period; the notice says that deadline is May 15th, and includes this comment form.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
No problems on the routes heading out of West Seattle right now, but there is a crash in the Alki area:
That’s a reader photo from the scene at 60th and Admiral, where the call went out as a “medic response,” meaning at least one person was reported as injured; we have someone headed that way to find out more and to see how traffic is affected.
7:08 AM: Our crew has arrived at the scene and says the crash is at the southwest corner of 60th/Admiral, in the eastbound lanes, but should be cleared before too long.
8:39 AM: Postscript on that crash – police at the scene say one person was taken to the hospital. Meantime, “Fed Up” in comments says the eastbound bridge is currently backed up from I-5 to 35th SW.
The West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) closed early last night because of a power outage on its block in The Triangle, and the Y’s Josh Sutton tells WSB it won’t be able to reopen until at least 9 this morning – we’ll update when there’s word it’s ready to open. (This is just the Triangle location; the Fauntleroy location is open as usual.)
| 1 COMMENT