West Seattle, Washington
20 Sunday
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
7:08 AM: Good morning! Just got a text about a problem you might notice if you drive Roxbury to Olson to Highway 509 – a tree in “the uphill lanes.”
Meanwhile, another reminder about two traffic alerts for this weekend:
*Friday night/early Saturday, midnight to 5 am, all southbound lanes of I-5 under the Convention Center downtown will be closed for fire-system testing
*Saturday night, the Seafair Torchlight Run will close northbound Highway 99 from approximately 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm. There will also be bus changes downtown because of the run and the Seafair Torchlight Parade that follows.
8:17 AM UPDATE: The tree on Olson is cleared, according to a FB comment from Donn (thanks!). One more note: If you travel through/work in SODO, note that there’s a day game for the Mariners today.
Five reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch tonight.
First, from Paul in the 4100 block of 48th SW, where his motorcycle was stolen from in front of his home:
It was a (red) 2003 Honda RVT1000R, AKA an RC51. … I’ve spoken with all my neighbors and nobody saw anything.
Paul was awaiting police when he e-mailed us, so a report will be in the system soon.
In Fairmount Springs, a resident who doesn’t want to be identified is the victim of the type of theft we’ve never heard of in our years of West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
I wanted to let you know that we had an unfortunate and bizarre event take place last night (between Mon-Tue). Someone(s) had stolen the whole freakin’ windshield of our old 1989 Suburban truck. I couldn’t believe my eyes but indeed, the whole windshield was gone gone gone!!! We are on the 5900 block of 42nd Avenue, between Raymond and Juneau.
I had just moved the truck yesterday afternoon, so instead of being parked in an open space with great visibility on all sides it was parked under the neighbor’s cherry tree and lots of shrubbery around. We had tools inside the truck but nothing else was taken. Doors were still locked and nothing else had been touched as far as we can tell. Someone obviously needed an old Suburban windshield with a crack in it! Our neighborhood will be on the lookout moving forward, and let’s warn other owners of old Suburbans that someone is prowling for parts!
And Dave reports a case of package theft and vandalism in North Delridge:
We live on the 50xx block of 26th and we had a package stolen off our porch today between 2p and 330p. Adding insult to injury, some inflatable kids toys were popped.
Now two found items that might be stolen property – first, a bicycle found by Vanessa in Highland Park:
It turned up in front of her home overnight earlier this week, near the south side of Henderson/13th SW.
And a backpack, found by Zach, who has been trying to turn it in to police:
I found the Nike backpack on SW Brandon in the grass on the side of the road outside the golf course near the gate for Camp Long. The backpack has some light blue basket shoes, a leopard purse, and some other small items. In the backpack was a student ID; however, the wallet was completely empty when I found it at 6:30 am on the 22nd of July. … I’m going to try and drop it off at the police station again tomorrow morning.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Good turnout!” exclaimed René Commons as she walked into the lower-level meeting room at the Senior Center of West Seattle tonight, seeing 10 people who had come to help her re-launch the Junction Neighborhood Organization, more than a year after it went dormant.
Some of the meeting was about the business of organizing. Ed Pottharst (center in our top photo) from the city Department of Neighborhoods described how the Southwest District Council, made up of reps from community councils and organizations on the west side of West Seattle, works, and the issues it tackles, including reviewing community applications for certain city grants. The first question for him was, “What about eastern West Seattle?” As he explained, in Seattle’s 13-district system, the city has West Seattle split into two districts, Southwest and the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council. Pottharst and colleagues Yun Pitre and Steve Louie, working out of the Neighborhood Service Center at the Southwest Teen Life Center and Pool, serve as liaisons to the city for not just the district councils but also the individual community groups.
Second topic, raised by Commons: “Do we need more park spaces in the area, with our density?”
6:11 PM TUESDAY: Earlier today, we reported that The Residences at 3295, a 60-apartment mixed-use project completed last year at 35th/Avalon, is up for sale. This afternoon, WSB has learned that another building finished in 2012, Nova Apartments (WSB sponsor) at 4600 36th SW in The Triangle, has a new owner. Nova was the last West Seattle holding for Harbor Urban, which sold Mural in The Junction and Link in The Triangle last year, both built by Harbor Properties before its merger with Urban Partners last year. County records show the $17.5 million purchase closed today for Nova, an all-residential 62-unit, 36-parking-space building that started leasing last September. The new owner is Sea Apartment 1 LLC, which so far traces to a New York City-based LLC listed in state records here as ZREC.
ADDED WEDNESDAY MORNING, 9:09 AM: The formal announcement of the sale, just received:
(West side of 4755 Fauntleroy, rendering by Fuller Sears Architects)
One week ago today, the 4755 Fauntleroy Way mixed-use project’s path through the approval process hit a sudden pothole when Mayor McGinn sent a letter to SDOT, saying the department should recommend the City Council reject the project’s request for an “alley vacation” to facilitate 370 apartments, 600 underground parking spaces, and retail including Whole Foods Market. The “vacation” would involve the city agreeing to sell a section of alley on the property to the developers. The mayor cited concerns including most notably the proliferation of supermarkets in central West Seattle and the wages and benefits that non-union Whole Foods would offer its staff, points that had been made at prior hearings on the project by members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, which has recently become involved with an advocacy campaign called “Getting It Right for West Seattle,” focused on this project.
Our initial coverage a week ago, which you can see here, includes the mayor’s letter, Whole Foods’ response, project background (we’ve been covering 4755 Fauntleroy for a year), and 185 reader comments. Then last Wednesday, we published a followup including the developers’ response (see it here) and what happens next – the project’s referral to the City Council Transportation Committee for a public hearing on the alley vacation. (No date yet; SDOT communications director Rick Sheridan tells WSB, “In terms of schedule, the earliest a recommendation could be delivered is the fall.”)
In the past week, all this has circulated into regional media. And now there’s a followup – Getting It Right for West Seattle has sent a letter to the Transportation Committee’s chair, West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, and e-mailed us a copy late today:
"Getting It Right for West Seattle" letter to Councilmember Rasmussen
As you’ll see if you scroll through it, the letter is signed by representatives of more than two dozen local businesses, three unions including UFCW Local 21, 22 people identifying themselves as West Seattleites, four political/advocacy groups, and five clergy/faith-group representatives. If you can’t read the embedded document, the heart of the letter reads:
This project, if approved, would be the largest multi-use development ever built in West Seattle. While acquisition of a public right of way would greatly increase these developers’ profits, the project in its current form will:
• increase West Seattle’s traffic and congestion;
• degrade pedestrian safety;
• create low-wage jobs and housing unaffordable to those workers;
• drive away existing local, small businesses; and
• set a lower standard for future development in West Seattle.We are aware that the Seattle City Council has final authority over alley vacations. We urge you as chair of the Council’s Transportation Committee to let the Executive’s decision stand.
Once that committee has a hearing and takes a vote, the alley-vacation request would then move to the full Council. If it voted to approve the request, the mayor could veto it; if he did, the council could override it, and that would be the final say (pending legal challenges, etc.). Before this letter arrived, we had been working on a separate followup we expect to publish tomorrow, with other updates.
P.S. If you are just coming in on this – this project was first proposed a year ago for a site including the former Huling (and briefly Gee) auto property along Fauntleroy south of Alaska, plus the Shell station north of it, the Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home west of that (they are moving to a new location in Sunrise Heights), and another former auto-sales property at the corner of 40th/Alaska. It would abut the Alki Masonic Temple on two sides; the developers announced during the May Design Commission review that they would pay to improve the Masons’ parking lot.
Once again this month, the Seattle Police crime-prevention coordinator for the Southwest Precinct, Mark Solomon, has sent an alert about registered sex offenders moving into this area. Just out of the inbox:
In an effort to keep you informed, and in our constant attempts to reduce future victimization, we want to let you know about level 3 sex offenders that have recently moved into South(west) Precinct neighborhoods.
· Marcus Bright, 30 year-old African American male, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 2700 Block of 60 Ave SW. Mr. Bright is no longer under Department of Corrections supervision.
· Charles Landry, 28 year-old African American male, is a level 3 registered sex offender who has recently moved to the 9400 Block of 13th Ave SW. Mr. Landry is currently under Department of Corrections supervision.
Det. Fields from the Seattle Police Department’s Sex Offender Detail is assigned to check on these offenders and verify their information.
To learn more about these offenders and to see their photos, please visit the King County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender website and search by their names. You will also find personal safety tips and resources on this site. http://www.icrimewatch.net/index.php?AgencyID=54473&disc
According to the website, Bright was convicted of first-degree child molestation in 1998, and second-degree assault with sexual motivation in 2003; Landry was convicted of second-degree rape in 2004. If you are concerned about sex offenders living in your area, that same website also will show you who else is in the area. Meantime, Solomon’s e-mail continues with safety information:
Two weeks till Night Out – the annual event bringing neighbors out of their homes and into the streets coast to coast, for block parties to strengthen ties and take a stand for neighborhood safety and solidarity – and to have fun. They’re always the first Tuesday night in August, so that’s August 6th, two weeks from tonight, 6-9 pm. The photo above is one of many we took on Night Out last year, featuring neighbors at 13th and Cambridge in Highland Park. To get permission to close your (non-arterial) street for the night, you need to register your party via the Seattle Police Night Out site – start here. And then, we invite you to let us know about your party, since we’re planning as-it-happens WSB coverage as usual and hoping to drop in on as many parties as we can get to in three hours. Just e-mail the location (cross-streets or block number) to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
With at least half a dozen other projects along Avalon Way in varying stages of planning/construction, a recently completed building on Avalon is now up for sale.
Here’s the listing for 3295 SW Avalon Way, also known as The Residences at 3295, a six-story, 60-unit, 100-parking-space building which got its construction permits in 2006-2007, sat partially built for years, then finally was completed last year. Part of the delay was because it was originally in the portfolio of now-fugitive real-estate tycoon Michael Mastro (detained recently in France, which wouldn’t extradite him). Before that, it was supposed to be part of the Seattle Monorail right-of-way. While still unfinished, county records show that it sold for almost $4 million in 2010, and then again for $7.3 million in April of last year. It’s now owned by Randolph Street Realty Capital, headquartered in the same Chicago building as, and led by former executives of, Equity Residential, which owns the not-yet-begun Junction project site at California/Alaska/42nd.
Back to 3295 Avalon (which has a bit of history on its current owners’ website): According to the listing and accompanying documents, there is no set asking price for The Residences at 3295 – they are calling for offers this Thursday (July 25). The extensively detailed flyer for the property mentions that the building’s entire retail space is leased for five years; that would be the new Redline, whose proprietors we’re working to reach for an update on when they plan to open – we last talked with them in March.
P.S. Selling a recently completed project isn’t unheard of; three newer West Seattle projects – Mural in The Junction, Link in The Triangle, and the Admiral Safeway redevelopment – were purchased last year by American Realty Advisors, which is headquartered in Los Angeles.
Datapoint: The flyer for The Residences at 3295 quotes analysts as saying the vacancy rate in the West Seattle apartment “submarket” is currently 2.5 percent.
Lots of discussion of, and deliberation on, policies regarding our state’s legalization of marijuana in recent months – but here’s the first time we’ve seen this come up: An agenda just landed in the inbox for a special meeting of the City Council’s Housing, Human Services, Health, and Culture Committee this Friday at 2 pm. City Attorney Pete Holmes is scheduled to lead a 20-minute briefing titled “City Policies on Public Consumption of Marijuana.” We’re checking with the City Attorney’s Office for a preview; we’re wondering, though – what do YOU think those policies should be?
ADDED 1:19 PM: City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Mills says this is related to a request for an ordinance to be drafted, and sends along a statement from Holmes:
Thanks to Craig Young for the photo of last night’s moonrise (also shared via WSB-FB), taken from Elliott Bay Marina. Moonrise tonight is 9:13 pm, according to the moonrise/moonset/moon-phase section of the WSB West Seattle Weather page. To keep you busy in the meantime:
LOW-LOW TIDE: Not as low as yesterday but close – it’ll be -2.8 feet at 11:50 am – and another great day to get out and explore – gently – if you can! Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are out now, once again at Constellation Park south of Alki Point and near Colman Pool at Lincoln Park.
YOUTH PROTEST: A demonstration downtown against racial profiling and related issues will include students from Chief Sealth International High School and White Center’s Evergreen Campus, according to a news release sent this morning. They invite other youth to join them outside the King County Courthouse at 1:30 pm; here’s the Facebook event page. (3rd and James, downtown)
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Reminder that the WS Tool Library now has Tuesday evening hours, if you need to go check out something for a project – 5-8 pm, northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
JUNCTION NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION RE-LAUNCH: Tonight’s the night – 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle – if you live/work in or around The Junction, come help its community council re-launch. Development is certainly a hot-button issue, but that’s not ALL they’ll tackle:
Have you heard of your neighborhood community organization in the West Seattle Junction and Triangle ? It’s called JuNO- your West Seattle Junction Neighborhood Organization.
There are many topics and concerns about what is happening currently in our Junction and Triangle neighborhood that affect the way we live. Joining us tonight will be Ed Pottharst of the SWDC and the City of Seattle. He will be answering questions and telling our group more about ways the City of Seattle supports neighborhood organizations like JuNO.
Do you have an idea for our neighborhood? Want to kick start a fundraiser for a park or beautify a public area close to your home? Do you have a question about a development near you or a traffic or parking situation that you would like to see resolved? Join us and we can discuss best ways to get things moving.
We hope to see you tonight!
René Commons
wsjuno@yahoo.com
The Senior Center’s entrance is on Oregon just east of California; the meeting rooms are upstairs.
TUESDAY TUNE-UP AT SALTY’S: Independence Guide Dogs will benefit from tonight’s Tuesday Tune-Up event at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), with music by Victor Janusz and more, starting at 6:30 pm – details here. (1936 Harbor Avenue SW)
FAMILY STORY TIME: After a long summer day, bring your preschoolers and toddlers to Family Story Time at the Delridge Branch Library, 7 pm. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
Between The Junction and Morgan Junction, over the past year or so, California SW has been getting repaved a block or two at a time. Another section is on the schedule: According to the West Seattle section of SDOT‘s weekly “Construction Lookahead,” California SW will be repaved between Graham and Fauntleroy in Morgan Junction next week, Tuesday-Wednesday, July 30-31. That’s part of the stretch that the Morgan Community Association had pitched for repaving with city grant money (here’s our January story). Elsewhere on California SW, recently repaved sections include: Frontenac to Myrtle last month and Dawson to Findlay in April.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! We start today with a traffic alert if you’re driving on Roxbury today. SDOT‘s weekly “lookahead” says that between 7 am and 7 pm today, “Crews will close the curb lane of westbound SW Roxbury St. between 15th Ave. SW and 16th Ave. SW while replacing a concrete panel. One lane of westbound traffic will be maintained at all times.”
Also from the lookahead, two traffic alerts for next weekend:
*Friday night/early Saturday, midnight to 5 am, all southbound lanes of I-5 under the Convention Center downtown will be closed for fire-system testing
*Saturday night, the Seafair Torchlight Run will close northbound Highway 99 from approximately 5:45 pm to 7:45 pm
An Admiral resident created something she hopes will help people who, like her, need to carry medication around all the time, but would like to have it in something a little more stylish than the typical plastic box. Chris Boerner contacted WSB to share the story of her creation, called, simply enough, the Pill Holder. She explains why:
I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease,
Myasthenia Gravis, 18 years ago. I’m lucky enough to be doing really well, but I have to have my medicine with me all the time. Most of the portable pill containers out there aren’t the greatest quality, and they definitely aren’t beautiful. I use my Pill Holder more than almost anything in my daily life, and I want it to be functional and gorgeous! I’m looking forward to bringing that combination to other people who need their pills with them too.
The Pill Holder is made in the USA from stainless steel and comes in two widths, both about 2″ long, both ready to attach to a keychain; right now, she’s selling them online only. They’re also intended to help raise money to eradicate the reasons they’re needed – Boerner says she is setting aside five percent of the Pill Holder’s sales price to donate to researchers working on autoimmune diseases, which she notes affect 16 million people.
Just two nights until you can be part of history – the first-ever West Seattle Timebank orientation! Tamsen Spengler reminds us that it’s happening this Wednesday night (July 24th) at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon), with a potluck at 6:30, orientation 7-8 pm. Why would you want to be part of the Timebank? Tamsen shares a story shared at the Timebank table at West Seattle Summer Fest by a woman who now lives on Vashon Island:
“I became a big fan of Timebanks when volunteering after the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand. Because Lyttelton, where the epicenter of the quake was, had New Zealand’s first timebank, we were able to recover much more quickly than any other neighborhood. I became the right-hand person of the timebank coordinator, who had two cell phones going constantly. Because she had been the timebank coordinator for 7 years, she knew everyone, and everyone knew her, and she put people together who could help each other after the quake. Way better than any Red Cross or city or New Zealand government official could possibly do.”
Adds Tamsen: “That’s a powerful testimony. We say, ‘We build community, one hour at a time,’ but this shows it in spades. The network we put together, today, could pay our neighborhood back in many ways we never expected.” Questions before Wednesday’s event? E-mail info@wstb.tbanks.org.
The walk-in haircut chain Great Clips is opening a West Seattle outlet, according to that sign we spotted this afternoon in one of the remaining vacant spaces in the California-fronting retail strip built along with Admiral Safeway two years ago. The chain’s website says they have more than 3,000 outlets in the U.S. and Canada, and notes, apropos to this location, “… Our franchise hair salons are conveniently located in high-visibility strip malls …” There already are more than 60 Great Clips locations in the greater Puget Sound metro area. We have an inquiry out to corporate HQ to see when they’re planning to open.
What you see in our photo, next to the trophy Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) won for its entry (see it here) in Saturday’s West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade, is a very special beverage: The official Seal Sitters Coffee, a 12-ounce blueberry and mint dark-chocolate mocha. Hotwire is donating $3 from each and every one sold to Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The donation goes even further, since fundraising helps Seal Sitters qualify for the Neighborhood Matching Fund grant for its Year of the Seal: Sentinels of the Sound project. By the way, volunteer time helps toward the “match” too, and Seal Sitters has a volunteer-training session coming up this Wednesday night – details are in the announcement published here last month, including how to RSVP (to make sure they still have room).
One more charity effort this week at Hotwire – Gently used women’s shoes (or new, if you want to buy something to donate!) are being collected for a silent auction Saturday (July 27) benefiting local nonprofits including Furry Faces Foundation, in connection with the next West Seattle Outdoor Movies screening (“The Devil Wears Prada”) that same night. Drop off shoe donations by noon Saturday; later that afternoon, you’ll be able to preview the auction items – stand by for an update later this week.
Thanks to Bruce for the tip that a 106-year-old North Admiral home is being torn down today. The building at 1521 Sunset Ave. SW was most recently a rental four-plex, according to official records. (To see how it looked pre-demolition – including a stone fireplace inside – check out its webpage on the King County Assessor’s site.) According to the city Department of Planning and Development website, a new single-family home is planned on the site, which was sold in 2011 for just under $1 million. The year before that, as reported here in coverage of the March 2010 Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, community members had proposed that the city use Parks and Green Spaces Levy money to buy the site and keep it as open space. Preserving the site as an overlook had been discussed for years – it’s in the Admiral Neighborhood Plan. But the application for levy Opportunity Fund money in 2010 received a low rating, and the proposal didn’t make the cut for funding.
Three reader reports in West Seattle Crime Watch this morning, starting with a burglary attempt at an Admiral District restaurant. Pizzeria 22 proprietor Cary Kemp says it happened last night:
Burglars broke off our back door handle to the restaurant and tried to pry open the door, couldn’t get past deadbolt. Then attempted to enter through small window in front. Broke all the Italian pottery in the windowsill but could not fit through window.
We also have two car-break-in reports – first, from Jeff:
Our minivan was the subject [of a break-in], at 39th Ave SW and SW Austin Street in the Gatewood neighborhood. It seems the the prowlers were looking for items of value, rather than to steal the vehicle. The glove box had been emptied onto the passenger seat, and other things had been moved around enough for us to notice. Missing is our CD case, containing about $500 worth of music. Fortunately most of the CDs were copies; however, there were enough originals in there to make us pretty mad. A police report has been filed.
And from Mia:
My SUV was broken into Friday night around 7:45 pm at Lincoln Park’s south end lot. Please don’t leave valuables in the car even if they are covered. Although it is a busy parking lot, there are prowlers sitting in cars waiting for you to make that one mistake. Please be more vigilant, as my family and I learned the hard way. We came back to find a smashed window and two hidden purses with wallets gone.
SIDE NOTE: Just two more weeks till Night Out (Tuesday, August 6th) – registered your block party yet? P.S. – if you’re having one and are OK with us stopping by, please let us know – every year Team WSB hits the road for “as-it-happens” coverage, and we appreciate having a list of potential stops all over the peninsula – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
(May 2013 WSB photo from Roxbury/14th crash that sent 2 to hospital)
Three local neighborhood groups – the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council, Highland Park Action Committee, and North Highline Unincorporated Area Council – are asking the city and county for a safety study of the busy West Seattle/White Center road they share: SW Roxbury. More than 140 people have been hurt in crashes on or along Roxbury in the past four years alone, according to statistics the groups compiled for this letter they’re sending today:
Letter to city, county from WWRHAH, HPAC, NHUAC requesting Roxbury safety study
(If you can’t read the embedded letter, go here to see it as a PDF.)
As reported here last month, the city of Seattle plans two new school-zone speed cameras for Roxbury, near Roxhill Elementary and Holy Family School, but the groups say speeding isn’t the only issue along the busiest stretch of Roxbury, where they would like the study focused – between 35th SW on the west and 8th SW (the main entrance to the Greenbridge community) on the east. They also raise concerns about safety near the third school on Roxbury, the Community School of West Seattle.
The groups’ announcement is published in full on the WWRHAH website. As noted there, they are inviting other groups, as well as businesses and “representative(s) of the area,” to endorse their request by contacting WWRHAH at contact@wwrhah.org.
ADDED 9:44 AM: WWRHAH secretary Joe Szilagyi tells WSB says they’ve already received one reply, from SDOT, “saying they would respond to each concern within 60 days.”
Thanks to Eileen for the photo; she was among the West Seattleites in attendance at Saturday’s sendoff for “Bertha,” the Highway 99 tunneling megamachine, which the state plans to launch soon. Her photo shows visitors signing part of the tunnel liner, which will be installed behind “Bertha” as the machine proceeds. On to today; from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW-LOW TIDE: Tide’s out! Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are scheduled to be out at Constellation and Lincoln Parks 10 am-1:30 pm. The tide will bottom out at 11:03 am, at -3.1 feet. It was almost that low on Sunday, when we shared this photo via Instagram:
If the photo doesn’t show for you, go here. P.S. You can check tides any time on the WSB Weather page.
SET-BUILDING HELP: If you missed the volunteer-seeking announcement Friday, Twelfth Night Productions is building sets for its upcoming “Guys and Dolls” at West Seattle High School all week long and would appreciate volunteer help; they’re starting work at 10 am. (3000 California SW)
SPECIAL STORYTIME: Melissa at Westwood Village Barnes and Noble, which usually has storytime on Saturdays, sends word of a special one at 11 am today: “We’ll be reading ‘The Day the Crayons Quit,’ a story about what happens when one’s crayons feel unappreciated or overworked. We’ll also be having some treats and some fun with crayons, of course!”
TONIGHT’S NIGHTLIFE: Even on Monday night, there’s something going on; we have three trivia/quiz listings on the calendar.
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
7:15 AM: Heading toward the heart of the commute, nothing out of the ordinary right now. The weather is again expected to clear later in the day.
7:54 AM: Not sure if it’ll still be there when you see this, but we noticed the west-facing camera was turned toward the low bridge. And the east-facing camera on the high bridge is back. So we moved the latter to the top, and the former here:
8:01 AM: In comments, STB says an empty Metro Route 57 bus is stalled and slowing things a bit on the northbound 99 ramp.
Car by car, box by box, the diaper donations came, and tonight – following up on our in-progress coverage earlier today – we have the official wrapup for WestSide Baby‘s 13th annual “Stuff the Bus.” From WS Baby’s executive director WestSide Baby:
Thank you so much to the communities of West Seattle and Burien today for the amazing support of Stuff the Bus. As of today, the Stuff the Bus Campaign for WestSide Baby has raised 193,000 diapers! We still hope to reach 250,000 diapers but we see it in sight. We count our goal through a combination of physical diapers donated, cash gifts and sponsorships.
The West Seattle Bus brought in 35,595 diapers and the Burien Bus gathered 23,750 today!! We have special thanks for all of our staff and the 80 volunteers and board members who blanketed Seattle in yellow over the last 2 days to support our efforts.
Special call outs to Burien Toyota and Burien Chevrolet for hosting a record drive, gathering more than 12,000 diapers for a first-ever effort. AmericanWest Bank lent us their support, parking lot and an incredible group of energetic volunteers. First Student bus company, and especially Jerry our bus driver, rock for donating services and time. Much appreciation to Bright Horizons and Ages and Stages child-care programs for diaper drives and volunteer efforts. Local grocery stores at Safeway, West Seattle Thriftway, QFC and Albertsons offered incredible support, resulting in many diapers and gifts. There were many, many drivers, volunteers, and others who went out of their way to make our event a success. We will continue to recognize folks on our Facebook page, website and other outreach over the next couple of weeks. Thank you to everyone who gave!!
In the waning moments today, we photographed Nancy and daughter Mcinnis:
WSB is proud to be among the many community co-sponsors for “Stuff the Bus.” And it’s important to note, you can help WestSide Baby help local families in need ANY time of year – by donating diapers, other items they need, your time as a volunteer, and/or money – details on all of the above can be found on the WS Baby website.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
This edition of the WSBeat contains summaries written from reports on cases handled in the past several weeks by Southwest Precinct officers – generally cases that (usually) have not already appeared here in breaking-news coverage or West Seattle Crime Watch reports, but that might at least answer the question “what WERE all those police doing on my block?” It’s actually two rounds of WSBeat checks; we start with the most recent round:
*The customer at the bar had a sad story that he shared with a waitress: Home from Afghanistan on bereavement leave (his mom had died), he had nowhere to stay for the night until his plane left the next day. The waitress offered a cot for the night. While he was showering, she checked his phone for text messages. One said, “I heard you were back in Seattle. There is a restraining order. Do not go to (local area).” One text was signed “mom” (thereby poking holes in the dead mom story). She allowed him to stay, but the next day, when his behavior became erratic, she quietly asked some friends to come over. The husband told the man he had to leave and took him to the Fauntleroy ferry dock. Meanwhile, the waitress and friends checked her computer: Part of the browsing history had been deleted, but he had typed his name into a sex-offender registry database, where there had been a match. She decided to tell her story to officers, who advised her to call 911 if he contacted her again.
14 more summaries, short and not-so-short, ahead:
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