West Seattle, Washington
27 Wednesday
You’ve probably heard reports about more sea lions shot to death in this region, since we first reported Seal Sitters‘ 
announcement that the sea lion found at Lincoln Park was a shooting victim. (Photo is from 1/23, taken by WSB reader RyAnn as the sea lion drew onlookers.) Tonight, Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey has new information: “Radiographs show that the West Seattle sea lion was also shot in the head in addition to the left lung lobe.” Robin says that although different numbers are in circulation, as of tonight, there are EIGHT confirmed deaths of sea lions and seals from bullet wounds. She’s publishing the newest, most accurate information to the group’s “Blubberblog” site, with “the latest information from our stranding experts and biologist … (We) will keep everyone updated as information is released to the public.” See the newest update here. (P.S. As Seal Sitters mentions in their update, a $10,000 reward to solve the killings is being offered by the Sea Shepherd Society.)
Before you can see pirates and floats and royalty and classic cars and community groups strolling and rolling down the West Seattle Grand Parade route in midsummer, it takes a lot of work by West Seattle’s American Legion Post 160 parade coordinators – andm again this year, it’s going to take some monetary help from the community.
You might recall that last year was the first year that the city required organizations like Post 160 to cover the costs of no-parking signage along the parade route. It’s not cheap. This year, they’ll have to do it again. So Dave Vague asked us to share the request for your help:
The West Seattle American Legion Grand Parade is set for Saturday, July 21, 2012. Like last year, we are needing to turn to the West Seattle community to raise funds to help us put the parade on. We are trying to raise $5,000 this year to cover the expenses of putting up the street barricades, city permits, and trophies for the winning entries.
Donations can be sent to:
West Seattle American Legion Post 160
3618 SW Alaska St
Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 935-9407
or you can donate online at the parade website: thewestseattleparade.com
The parade doesn’t charge entry fees – if it did, it would have to pay a much higher price for permits, which would wipe out any benefit and any way of making a dent in this cost. They secured some community sponsorships last year, but individual donations also can make quite a difference in keeping this decades-old tradition alive. (The online-donation link goes to a page with a PayPal button; you can use PayPal without having a PP account – just scroll till you see the “pay with credit card” option.)
(Spokane Street Viaduct construction photo, from presentation at Wednesday meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Get ready for another traffic crunch on the Spokane Street Viaduct section of the West Seattle Bridge. That was one of the toplines from Wednesday’s meeting of the South Portal Working Group, an advisory group convened mostly on behalf of the ongoing Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel work, but typically briefed on other major road projects affecting our side of the city, so we usually cover this group’s quarterly meetings as a place to get MEGA-EARLY heads-up.
First – if you want to cut to the chase, here’s the entire 42-page presentation given to the group, covering the north and central area progress on 99 as well as components of more interest here. Tons of information.
Now, back to that aforementioned crunch: According to SDOT, sometime next month, all Spokane Street Viaduct traffic will have to be shifted onto the new north-side structure, so that work can be done on the old south-side structure for at least six weeks. When that happens, there will be three traffic lanes – one eastbound, and two westbound.
More on that – and other toplines from the meeting, including some discussion of last week’s eastbound bridge-closure backups, ahead:Read More
Working on a couple of transportation-related stories to publish before the day’s done, we happened onto another one: February 18-19 are the dates set for repaving three blocks of SW Myrtle just south of High Point Community Center and Walt Hundley Playfield, east of the work just done on 35th itself between Myrtle and Othello. From SDOT:
Crews will be grinding and re-paving SW Myrtle St between 35th Ave SW and 32nd Ave SW through the weekend. Expect lane closures. Sidewalks will remain open. Buses will be rerouted around the area.
This is from the SDOT Seattle-Area Construction Lookahead – which has lots of other dates and locations of upcoming work, including the ongoing overnight West Seattle Bridge closures; see it here.
(UPDATED 2:51 PM with new information on injuries, circumstances)
12:19 PM: South of Morgan Junction, California SW is partly blocked near SW Myrtle (by Caffe Ladro; map) because of an incident involving a bicyclist. We’re at the scene to find out more.
12:25 PM UPDATE: Police tell us the bicyclist was heading southbound on California – uphill – south of the intersection when he collided with a car door. The rider was going to be transported by private ambulance, but then was moved to a medic unit. We don’t yet know the extent of his injuries.
12:32 PM UPDATE: The scene is clearing, and California SW is fully open again, according to our crew at the scene.
2:51 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kyle Moore tells WSB the bike rider is 30 years old and “was traveling approximately 25 miles an hour down the street when a car door opened in front of him causing him to flip over the door. He was not wearing a helmet. He remained conscious and responsive but could not remember the accident. He also had some facial lacerations. Our medics treated him and transported him to Harborview in stable condition.”
Thanks to Bob A. in North Admiral for photographing the destroyer USS Shoup in Elliott Bay. Our partners at the Times reported earlier this week that the Shoup is heading home to Everett this week after seven months of work at Vigor Shipyards on Harbor Island.
Also from land-use land this morning: The Southwest Design Review Board finally has another meeting more meetings on its schedule 
(which has been sporadic since development slowed a few years back). It’s tentatively scheduled to meet March 8th to discuss what’s described on the city website as a three-story, 20-unit residential building proposed for 9051 20th SW (map). The site currently holds an old house that went through foreclosure in 2010 (county photo at left) and was bought by the developers for $137,500 last year. No meeting location listed yet. (added) Since first publishing this story, we also discovered a March 22nd date set for the second design review on the DESC project at 5444 Delridge Way SW (see this earlier story).
10:59 AM:The main point of the big sign that’s up on the site of the planned 66-unit DESC homeless-housing project at 5444 Delridge is to let people in the area know that the land-use-permit application is officially in, and that this is their chance to send the city comments. And in fact, the only West Seattle item on the Land Use Information Bulletin circulated this morning by the city is official electronic notice of this – including a February 15th deadline for comments. Here’s the notice; here’s the e-mail comment form. One other update: The North Delridge Neighborhood Council website now features the newest information on the community advisory committee that will “gather input and prioritize the neighborhood’s concerns …” The date for its first community meeting is not finalized yet, though.
11:46 AM UPDATE: The date for the DESC project’s next Design Review meeting IS tentatively set, however, we just discovered – 8 pm on March 22nd. (No location listed yet.)
Heard fragments of this one on the scanner late last night, and now Seattle Police have just published details on SPD Blotter: One arrest followed a “home-invasion”-type robbery in the Westwood area:
The victim is a licensed medical marijuana grower and user. On February 1st at 9:45 pm, he answered a knock at the door of his home in the 8600 block of 24 Av SW [map]. Upon opening the door, he was suddenly “bum rushed” by four males who stormed inside. One of the suspects described as a white male was armed with a handgun and threw the victim down onto the ground.
The victim was ordered to place his arms behind his back and he was immediately handcuffed. The suspects demanded money and marijuana. The suspect placed a knee in the victim’s back holding him down onto the ground, while the others went through the house. The suspect repeatedly told him not to move or he would shoot him.
More ahead:Read More
Happy Thursday! From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
BRIDGE CLOSURES CONTINUE TONIGHT: Same pattern as the last three weeknights – Fauntleroy Expressway (info here) and eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct (SDOT announcement here), both scheduled for 9 pm-5 am. Especially with the Fauntleroy Expressway (west end of the bridge) work, the closure zones and effects sometimes shift, so just be sure to allot some extra time if you are planning to use the high-rise bridge in other direction late at night/early in the morning.
LIBRARY STORY TIMES: Three toddler/preschool story times at three library branches in West Seattle between 11 and noon this morning – times/locations on the Seattle Public Library calendar.
WEST SEATTLE MONTESSORI OPEN HOUSE Open house tonight at West Seattle Montessori School (WSB sponsor), 6:30-8 pm. From the announcement: “We currently have five preschool/kindergarten Montessori classrooms, three Montessori first-through-third grade classrooms, a transitional Montessori fourth & fifth grade classroom, as well as a high-school preparatory sixth-through-eighth grade middle school.” All welcome. (11215 15th SW)
MADISON OPEN HOUSE: 6:30-8 pm open house tonight at Madison Middle School (3429 45th SW)
WSHS STUDENT-DIRECTED PLAY: West Seattle High School Drama Club presents “Year of the Duck,” student-directed by Tessa Jinneman, 7:30 pm at WSHS Theater, admission $7 at the door. (3000 California SW)
DENNY MEET-AND-GREET: Denny International Middle School parent and guardian meet-and-greet event at Endolyne Joe’s from 7-9 pm. Sponsored by the Denny PTSA. (9261 45th SW)
NIGHTLIFE: At The Bridge: Free Poker on Thursdays … From Beveridge Place Pub – Full Sail Brewing is featured for “Thirsty Thursday,” with head brewer John Harris on hand, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm.
(Nearest SDOT cam, 4th/Michigan, looking toward 1st S Bridge)
8:33 AM: We’re getting heads-up from commuters out of West Seattle that this is causing trouble for those who use 4th Avenue South, south of downtown: Seattle Police just tweeted that all lanes of 4th in the 4800 block are still closed for a crash investigation. (The crash went out before 7 am as an “automobile rescue,” though the Seattle Fire portion of the call has cleared.) So if you drive that way via the 1st South Bridge or otherwise – consider a different route. (And if you come through the area and find it reopened, please let us know – once you can safely text, call or e-mail. Traffic updates and breaking news always welcome 24/7!)
11:11 AM UPDATE: Seattle Police and SDOT both say all lanes are open again.
11:39 AM UPDATE: Thanks to Debora for sharing the Seattle Times (WSB partner) link with some details on the crash – a woman had to be rescued from her wrecked car after crossing the center line and hitting two trash trucks, the Times reports.
Wednesday was a day to celebrate athletics, academics, family, and community at Seattle Lutheran High School – all in one assembly. Above, three generations of West Seattle’s Menashe family were at SLHS as its gym was dedicated as the Menashe Family Gymnasium. Jack and Linda Menashe have been involved with SLHS since its start, with four children, one daughter-in-law and seven nieces and nephews going there; Jack, Jacob and Jack Jr. all have coached at Lutheran, per SLHS’s Bil Hood, who says, “We are honored to have our gym named after this great family.”
In that very gym, at the same Wednesday assembly, two-time state Soccer Player of the Year, Ashley Shaw, ceremoniously signed her Letter of Intent to play for Seattle Pacific University:
That’s proud mom Teresa watching as her daughter makes the college commitment. And the four additional pictures ahead are in honor of academic awards given out at the same assembly – read on:Read More
For the second consecutive night, West Seattle High School hosted Chief Sealth International HS for a varsity-basketball matchup. Tonight, the girls played – and as with last night’s boys’ game, Sealth came away with the win. Details ahead:Read More
Thursday night, Madison Middle School welcomes prospective families to come visit for an Open House, 6:30-8 pm. If you go, you might want to ask about their new high-tech acquisitions – here’s the update the school wanted to share:
There are some exciting new advances in technology happening at Madison Middle School this year. Thanks to funding from Madison Middle School, Madison PTSA, the Frazier Foundation, and the Gerston family, Madison got a brand new Mac computer lab for their multi-media communication class taught by Curt Gerston. The 32 brand new Mac computers are all loaded with the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop, i-Movie, and Microsoft Office. They also have three class sets of digital cameras for photography and video.
Thanks also to a grant from the Madison PTSA, the Madison Middle School library now has new e-Readers that will be available for student use. With this funding, Madison will also be purchasing a mobile lab of Netbooks that can travel around to classrooms for research use and word processing. This mobile lab will not only allow teachers to access technology when the library computer labs at school are already occupied, but it will also give the librarian at Madison the chance to bring her library services, including teaching research and information literacy skills, directly to the classroom. Staff at Madison are very excited about the great opportunities this new technology is opening up for students at Madison Middle School.
Madison is at 3429 45th SW.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The city’s work to replace undersized water mains in Arbor Heights – a problem spotlighted by water-supply trouble during a house fire last August – is expected to start this month.
That’s part of what Seattle Public Utilities told more than 60 residents who gathered for a community briefing/Q-A session last week at Arbor Heights Community Church, barely a block from the home that burned August 27th.
The first work will be on a relatively small stretch along Roxbury:
But the rest of it – see the full map here – won’t happen until this fall. Why the gap? That’s part of what was explained.
In case you haven’t heard – the marriage-equality bill has just passed the State Senate, 28-21, and now goes to the State House. It was announced at the Southwest District Council meeting that we’re currently covering at South Seattle Community College – and generated a round of applause. Our state would become the 7th to legalize same-sex marriage; more from our partners at the Seattle Times.
ADDED 8:33 PM: Local leaders are starting to share their reaction – first, West Seattle-residing King County Executive Dow Constantine – read on:Read More
(UPDATED THURSDAY AFTERNOON with fire cause)
(WSB reader video added 5:38 pm, courtesy Lola Peters)
5:16 PM: Fire crews have just arrived and already are saying the fire is under control. It’s in the 5600 block of Fauntleroy, near Fairmount Park. Fauntleroy is being blocked off at Findlay because of the fire units. More to come.
5:22 PM UPDATE: The response is being downgraded to what SFD calls a 2 + 1 + 1 – they’re canceling several of the units. Still avoid the area for a while. No injuries are reported.
5:38 PM UPDATE: Southbound Fauntleroy Way has just reopened.
5:55 PM UPDATE: Fire crews tell us at the scene that this started as a kitchen fire, and the flames spread to the roof. Nobody was home when it started. Investigators aren’t sure yet what caught fire in the kitchen – it’s not safe for them to go onside yet.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: From Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore:
(The fire) was caused by unattended food on the stove, according to a Seattle Fire Investigator. The kitchen fire caused an estimated $45,000 in damage to the home located in the 5600 block of Fauntleroy Way SW.
Ladder Company 11 arrived at 5:08 p.m. to find smoke coming from the roof of a locked 1-story home.
Engine Company 37 and 36 joined firefighters from Ladder 11 to perform an aggressive attack on the fire and quickly contained the flames to the kitchen area. The fire burned the kitchen cabinets and extended into the attic. The flames were completely extinguished in 10 minutes.
Firefighters remained stationed outside the home until 11 p.m. to ensure the flames did not reignite.
4:15 PM: Metro has just published its revised proposal of route changes for this September, timed with the debut of West Seattle’s RapidRide Line C. The list starts here; we’re reviewing now to add the highlights for West Seattle, but wanted to make sure you knew it was live, so you can do the same. The first public briefing on the changes is scheduled for tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting, South Seattle Community College board room (6000 16th SW), 7 pm. There’s also an online survey, and (as reported here earlier) two West Seattle open houses ahead, as well as some informational tabling (here’s the calendar with all locations and dates).
UPDATED 4:51 PM: Some toplines of what Metro says has changed from what was proposed last fall:
For Route 22:
Change from November 2011 suggestion
Metro is no longer proposing to completely replace Route 22. During public outreach in November 2011, we heard that loss of transit service in Arbor Heights would negatively affect many riders, and the steep slope between California Avenue SW and Fauntleroy Way SW, will make the RapidRide C Line inaccessible to many Gatewood residents.
For Route 37:
Change from November 2011 suggestion
*Keep some service on Route 37.During public outreach in November 2011, Metro heard that this service is important to riders along Beach Drive SW and Alki Avenue SW because steep grades and distance make it difficult to reach alternative service. Metro will continue to analyze ridership patterns and the overall transit network, and may consider more changes in this area in the future.
For Route 55:
Change from November 2011 suggestion
*Operate trips during peak hours to downtown Seattle in the morning and to the Admiral District in the afternoon to prevent overcrowding on the C Line.
For Routes 56/56X:
Change from November 2011 suggestion
Increase the speed of Route 56 Express by skipping the stops at SW 26th Street and Chelan Avenue SW.
8:27 PM NOTE: We’re currently at the Southwest District Council meeting, where Metro is doing its first community briefing (as previewed earlier). Highlights to come. Outreach continues all month; Metro’s final recommendation has to go to King County Executive Dow Constantine in mid-March, and it will go through the County Council, with an expectation that they would “take action” in May.
(May 2011 photo by Debra Salazar Herbst)
Again this year, the West Seattle 5K and “car-free day” Seattle Summer Streets events will be on the same day at Alki – and this year, that day is May 20th. May sound far away, but registration for the fundraising run/walk is open now! Denise Lathrop shares the news:
West Seattle High School PTSA is proud to sponsor the fourth annual West Seattle 5K Run/Walk on May 20, 2012 at Alki Beach. Funds raised from the West Seattle 5K will support music, arts, communications and other emerging needs at West Seattle High School. This is a great community event and provides an opportunity for everyone to participate.
Online registration is now OPEN! For more information or to register for the West Seattle 5K or donate go to: http://westseattle5k.com/
If you are interested in helping to plan or sponsor our event contact Denise Lathrop at: delathrop@comcast.net or 206-941-3924
(WSB is a 5K co-sponsor again this year.)
Just in from King County – your next chance to get an update on plans to reduce sewer overflows into Puget Sound by building “green stormwater infrastructure” like rain gardens in neighborhoods feeding the Barton Pump Station:
People are invited to learn about King County’s progress on a project to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) from the Barton Pump Station in West Seattle through green stormwater infrastructure.
A public meeting is planned on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Westside School, 7740 34th Ave. SW. from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The announcement continues ahead:Read More
We checked back with SDOT to ask where they’re at on the promised plan for how to make sure you have more notice of future major bridge closures like last weekend’s eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct closure, which backed up traffic in a big way for most of Saturday, but wasn’t mentioned on electronic-message signs (like the one at right, photographed Saturday by Craig). They’re already taking smaller steps – like promoting the mailing list you can join for alerts about the SSV Widening Project (the e-mail signup has always been on the official city info-page, but it used to be buried at the bottom – now it’s at the top). And they’re promising to let everyone know within a day or two what else they’ll be doing in the future to try to reduce the surprise factor. Meantime, as we noted, we’re doing our best to keep daily reminders atop the BIG STORIES list on the WSB sidebar, and when we get advance word of daytime/weekend major closures, we’ll give them a permalink too. (No weekend/daytime closures on the horizon – see the list here.)
(TOPLINE: Short-lived scare in The Junction, all over now)
11:30 AM: A fire call in the 4500 block of 42nd SW has some evacuations under way. We’ll be there shortly.
11:35 AM UPDATE: 42nd is blocked off north of SW Alaska, as you can see in the photo above, sent by Dale (thank you!). Scanner traffic has mentioned a “suspicious package”; we’re checking with authorities on scene. We’ve also just talked with Leon Capelouto, owner of the building, who says he believes the first report came from a manager at Altamira Apartments in the building.
11:40 AM UPDATE: Police confirm it’s a suspicious package – they heard about it around 11 am. The caller reported what looked like “a box of dynamite.” The Arson and Bomb Squad has just arrived, according to SPD spokesperson Det. Mark Jamieson.
The evacuations are just as a precaution. Patrol units are there, helping with traffic control. Evacuees are gathered in various spots nearby.
Det. Jamieson says the “package” is apparently inside the building.
11:51 AM UPDATE: All clear, police and fire tell us at the scene – the “suspicious package” turned out to be a box of road flares. The road is reopening and those who were evacuated will be allowed back inside.
(Pileated woodpecker digging for termites in a Highland Park utility pole; photo by Mike York)
Our daily preview is often about what’s likely to make news today/tonight, in addition to activities/events from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, traffic alerts, etc. And indeed, a news preview tops today’s list:
REVISED METRO PROPOSAL DUE OUT TODAY, DISCUSSED IN WEST SEATTLE TONIGHT: Sometime today, Metro is expected to publish its revised “restructuring” proposal for West Seattle’s route system, meant to take effect this September when Rapid Ride Line C launches here. The first proposal circulated late last fall and stirred some controversy by proposing to cut service in some areas; a Metro rep told the Admiral Neighborhood Association in December that the cuts in North Admiral would be softened a bit for this revision, but we haven’t heard any other previews, so we’re awaiting Metro’s release of the full revision (watch here). THEN – Metro is on the agenda to talk about it at tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting, public welcome, 7 pm at the board room at a target=”_blank” href=”http://southseattle.edu”>South Seattle Community College (which is in the Robert Smith building front-center on the campus at 6000 16th SW).
ALSO ON THE SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL AGENDA: Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who chairs the Parks and Neighborhoods Committee (renamed/refocused from last year), is scheduled to visit.
BRIDGE CLOSURES CONTINUE TONIGHT: Same pattern as Monday and Tuesday night – Fauntleroy Expressway (info here) and eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct (SDOT announcement here), both 9 pm-5 am.
AND SPEAKING OF BIG ROAD PROJECTS: The Alaskan Way Viaduct South Portal Working Group meets for the first time in a few months, for a briefing on/discussion of how the tunnel and South End projects are affecting this side of the bay, 4 pm, Sound Transit board room downtown.
EARLY DISMISSAL FOR SEATTLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS STUDENTS: Today is a two-hour early-dismissal day for school staffers’ professional-development work.
ON STAGE IN THE JUNCTION: At ArtsWest – All Through the Night, 7:30 pm. Purchase tickets online, or through the ArtsWest Box Office: 206-938-0339.
GET GROWING: At the West Seattle Tool Library tonight, “Introduction to Indoor Winter Gardening,” 7-9 pm. From the announcement: “There’s no reason to let the cold weather stop your veggie gardening. Learn how to grow an indoor winter garden quickly and easily, as well as how to get things started for the spring ahead.” Instructor is Christina Hahs. Sign up online: http://wstoollibrary.org/calendar/introduction-to-indoor-winter-gardening/
NIGHTLIFE: At 8 pm, it’s weekly Quiz Night at Beveridge Place Pub, explained by BPP as: “This is a weekly event we have been hosting at the pub for about 10 years, it is a great mix of regulars, new players, tough questions and good times. $2.00 a person, teams of 2-6 people. Winning team takes 80% of the pot, 2nd place the other 20%. There’s even a prize for last place, AND beverages that get you “bonus points”!”
TIME TO BUY! Tickets are scheduled to go on sale for Northwest Hope and Healing’s STYLE ’12 tenth annual Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good! fashion show, 7 pm Showbox SODO. nwhopeandhealing.org.
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