Ten nights till Christmas, counting tonight, so we’re stepping up the holiday lights spotlight – the ones we’ve featured already are archived here (newest to oldest), and tonight, we have a photo from the famous Ducky Reserve on the south edge of Lowman Beach (map) – Dr. Ron Sterling is well-known for his year-round displays of toy ducks in seasonal garb, but this year the Christmas ducks are more must-see than ever – they’re best viewed by parking and walking up, so tonight you’d need an umbrella. The ducks, as you can see, already have one. And if you can’t get down for a look, here’s a Sterling-produced video with an up-close view of every ducky detail:
The main ducky display faces Beach Drive, but the side facing Lowman Beach Park is festively lit too – and there are some nice lights across Beach Drive as well.
Another followup in the story of the man who filed a lawsuit challenging the city ban on guns at certain Parks Department facilities by taking a concealed weapon into Southwest Community Center a month ago (and alerting the city in advance, which meant a security guard was there to meet him, as seen in our 11/14 photo at left): Bob Warden sent the media the documents that he’s filed seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the city from enforcing the law. Here’s the court document; we asked Warden if he has a court date set yet – he said no. The request for an injunction says in part, “If plaintiff went to the Southwest Community Center with his pistol tomorrow, there is no reason to suspect that the rule would not be enforced” and goes on to state as part of its argument, “banning armed good guys likely makes a place less safe from bad guys …” (Our partners at the Seattle Times are covering this story too – here’s the link.)
After the holidays, it’s time for many families to start making major decisions – if they haven’t already – about school for fall 2010-2011. With that in mind, a West Seattle Preschool Fair is being organized, and they’re inviting preschools to participate – here’s the official invite:
Build visibility in the West Seattle community for your preschool program!
West Seattle Preschool Fair
February 22, 2010
5:30 – 8:30pm
Location: TBA
Featuring the Families Read Workshop by Page Ahead: Children’s Literacy Program from 6 – 7:30pm
In the Families Read Workshop, parents learn methods to develop their child’s literacy skills. This interactive workshop includes a model read-aloud and a hands-on activity. Parents receive literary resources and a free children’s book.
Schools or Childcare Agencies interested in requesting a registration form, please contact:
Tana Dorsey
206. 465.3501 mlk.vista@soundchildcare.org
Register by Dec. 31st to reserve your table.
All fees cover the operational cost of the event and are not for profit.
Limited tables available; registration based on first come, first serve.
Parents interested in attending, mark your calendar and look for more announcements to come. This event is free for the community.
Though the maps have been announced, families still have many questions aboutSeattle Public Schools‘ new Student Assignment Plan – focusing on “neighborhood schools” – and there are two opportunities in the next 24 hours for you to get answers from West Seattle’s school board rep Steve Sundquist. Thanks to Westwood Neighborhood Council‘s Donn DeVore for sending word that Sundquist will be at a meeting at Roxhill Elementaryat 5 today (the Roxhill office says that meeting’s open to the public and it’s scheduled for the school library); and from the WSB Events calendar, he has another of his community chats tomorrow morning, 10 am, at Delridge Library.
(AirlineReporter.com video of the takeoff, link found in Seattle Weekly compilation) ORIGINAL 10:42 AM REPORT: You probably watched the Boeing 787 Dreamliner take off for its first flight – whether online or on TV – but if you want a closer look when the test flight concludes this afternoon, it’s reported to be coming in to the airport closest to West Seattle, Boeing Field [map]. So far the landing is expected to happen at or after 3 pm. We know many WSB’ers have Boeing ties; congratulations to you all. Here’s the official Boeing “first flight” website. 11:26 AM:Here’s the flight tracking from FlightAware (thanks to @mcneight for the link via Twitter) – and here’s iPhone video with the perspective from the media sidelines as the 787 took off, shot by @flightblogger:
1:28 PM UPDATE: And now it seems the Dreamliner’s arriving at Boeing Field earlier than projected – any minute now. KING5.com is streaming. Around 1:35 pm for landing, according to various Twitter sources.
4:18 PM: A couple of landing visuals which show the excitement just before and after this afternoon’s touchdown – this is video @codyrh shared via Twitter:
The change in plans meant not everybody got to Boeing Field in time. But “westseattledood“‘s photo from “vehicle approach” shows the interest:
Another new development this morning in the saga of the stolen West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole. The other pole found along with it in Oregon last week, with information provided by the West Seattle man arrested in the case, is no longer a mystery: We’ve learned it was stolen from Renton.
In this case, as with West Seattle, some non-official sleuthing was involved. According to information shared by Alex Pietsch from the City of Renton, it started when Renton Municipal Arts Commission member Fred Lund brought up concern about the condition of a totem pole on the property of Fred Meyer at Rainier and Sunset, which had been there since 1975. After a subsequent discussion about some possibilities, Lund visited Fred Meyer – and noticed the pole was gone. At first, as a variety of parties started checking into what had happened to it, the possibility of theft didn’t even occur to anyone – they thought perhaps the Duwamish Tribe had it for restoration, since they had talked to a tribal artist about the possibility. Then last week they heard a radio version of the story about the recovered West Seattle totem pole, and the fact a mystery totem pole was found with it. They looked at the photos (same ones we ran here), and comparing them to archived clippings from the pole’s dedication, made the match. They contacted authorities and yesterday, Seattle Police met with store management to confirm. Now the city of Renton will be talking with Fred Meyer and the Duwamish about the pole’s restoration and return. We are working on more details and will add to this story as we get them – we may also have a separate story later today as we continue working on other aspects of the West Seattle pole’s story.
Yes, at long last it’s another video from the creators of one of West Seattle’s most-talked-about Christmas-lights displays this season, the synchronized-to-music Helmstetler Family show across from the Charlestown water tower. (Here’s our original report, with the first video from the show.) Jim Winder has actually published three more videos in all – they’re all linked here. And that’s just one option for your Tuesday night (and beyond) – here’s our West Seattle Holidays page with tons more, including live holiday music tonight at The Mount (and planning ahead, check out the West Seattle Big Band plan for a Thursday night holiday concert at Grace Church.) Back to tonight, a non-holiday highlight: The monthly “Alauda” belly-dance showcase at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor), 7:30 pm.
A Gatewood resident who wants to be anonymous is sharing news of a crime on her block:
A neighbor just came by our house to alert us to the break in at a neighbor’s home, on SW Rose St, between 35th & 37th Ave SW [map], around 10 am today. Apparently the burglars broke in through the back door and stole numerous valuables — inlcuding a digital camera, jar of coins and other items.
I don’t have any other details, but thought I should alert others of this incident.
By the way, though tomorrow’s the third Tuesday, the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council is NOT meeting – it’ll resume regular meetings in January.
Though the King County Council appointment drama isn’t over yet, and we’re not leaving the courthouse till it is, we’re moving on to add some more news to the site while they continue meeting behind closed doors: This Thursday night, the Southwest Design Review Board takes up two projects in a meeting at Youngstown Arts Center. Last week, the design proposal for the 6:30 pm review, the new Transitional Resources building, became available at the city website, as we reported here; tonight, the packet for the 8 pm review, the Admiral Safeway redevelopment project, is available – you can download it here (20 MB PDF). This could be the final review for what Admiral Neighborhood Association leaders call “maybe the biggest development project in this neighborhood, ever,” if board members give the plan their blessing.
(the meeting is now adjourned – as-it-happened updates below)
(photo added 8:42 – all eyes on the door to one of the areas where council members strategized) ORIGINAL 3:34 PM REPORT: We’re at the King County Council‘s chambers on the 10th floor of the County Courthouse downtown, where county councilmembers are about to move on to the agenda item that will result in their vote on a new councilmember to represent West Seattle and other areas of the 8th District, now that Dow Constantine has become County Executive. You can watch live on Cable Channel 22 or online at the county website; councilmembers have just called a recess until 3:50, at which time they will take up this agenda item. We will publish word of the decision as soon as it’s made, as well as any in-progress toplines, depending on what happens before the vote is taken. 3:53 PM UPDATE: It’s just been announced the recess will continue till 4:30 – they’re waiting for an absent councilmember to arrive. 4:35 PM: And the recess is extended to 4:45. A sizable 34th District Democrats contingent is here to show support for State Sen. Joe McDermott, who the group supports for the job – they’re handing one of these buttons to everyone who arrives to join the show of support:
5:25 PM UPDATE: They’re now out of recess. Joe McDermott‘s name has been proposed as the appointment, for starters. Councilmember Julia Patterson is saying, “This was a difficult choice.” She says that one of the things that made the difference for her is the fact that Sen. McDermott has lived in the 8th District for his whole life, and “the people of the district have leaned on (him) to represent him” over the past 9 years (in his legislative roles). She describes McDermott as a skilled consensus-builder. Now Councilmember Larry Phillips says he concurs with Patterson regarding Sen. McDermott, and appreciates everyone who came forward “to help us sort through this.” Councilmember Larry Gossett expresses appreciation for McDermott’s advocacy for racial and sexual minorities. Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer is now speaking and says he’s been very impressed by Sen. McDermott and even more impressed by all the people who have expressed support for him. But he says he will vote for the caretaker position (which would mean either Drago or Nelson), not “against” McDermott. And the vote to appoint McDermott failed – 4-4 tie (no one spoke against his appointment before the vote).
(that’s video of the first vote, the first deadlock re: appointing McDermott)
There is now a recess (with several councilmembers having gone behind closed doors). In addition to Rep. Nelson and Sen. McDermott, Councilmember Drago is now here.
5:56 PM: It’s just been announced the recess will continue till 6:15. Several other journalists are here; from the politics-watching-specialty world, Erica C. Barnett from PubliCola says the 4 Republican-leaning councilmembers (though the positions are now technically nonpartisan) want to give the job to Drago as a one-year caretaker. We talked with Drago for a few minutes after the recess started; she had just completed her last meeting on the Seattle City Council, after 16 years (she ran for mayor instead of running for re-election). The gallery’s abuzz with how a tie will be broken if the councilmembers stay deadlocked.
6:21 PM: They just announced the recess will continue till 6:45. The lone TV photographer here is packing up.
6:30 PM: Now they are out of recess, and they are nominating Jan Drago. Reagan Dunn says he is leaning toward the caretaker role and believes Drago has the experience. Councilmember Larry Phillips restates his support for Sen. McDermott. The Drago vote deadlocked again. No one proposed an amendment so they’re going to recess again. “Has anyone talked to Greg Nickels?” someone quips, stirring laughter from the otherwise somewhat nerve-wracked audience.
6:54 PM: Still in recess – here’s our video of that second vote, in which the councilmembers deadlocked on the Drago nomination:
7:13 PM: They are out of recess. Dunn is now nominating Dr. Arun Jhaveri , former Burien mayor, “one of the applicants who went through the committee process.” There is a call for another recess, to confer. Someone in the back row suggests frequent candidate Goodspaceguy.
7:22 PM UPDATE: They’re out of recess to discuss this, the third nomination motion. Councilmember von Reichbauer is asking if Rep. Zack Hudgins had ever said definitively whether he would run for the permanent job. “That opens a whole new view of the candidates,” he said. They’re taking a quick break to call him to clarify whether he’s interested in the caretaker role or not. Meantime, here’s more context on Dr. Jhaveri. Much buzz in the gallery about whether pizza should have been ordered for delivery – some of the 34th District Democrats members here to support Sen. McDermott have been here since the council meeting began at 1:30 pm (McDermott was here at 9:30 when the council Committee of the Whole first took up the motion).
7:41 PM: Councilmember Dunn came out to the Chambers and muttered loudly, “They’re going down the list.” (Here, by the way, is the original list of 11 nominees, culled to 4 by a panel of community members – Rep. Nelson, Sen. McDermott, Rep. Hudgins, Councilmember Drago, all of whom were interviewed by the council last Monday.
8:03 PM: Still in recess … 8:11 PM: Most of the council came out of the door to the right of their half-moon dais, and trooped over to go into the door at the left. … 8:26 PM: After 7 hours, Rep. Nelson just left (has to catch a ferry home). No hint of how much longer the recess will last. Meantime, Councilmember Drago has just gone into the closed-door gathering. 9:02 PM: Members are trooping back and forth between the left and right doors. Dunn just strode from left to right smiling, wagging his finger and proclaiming “I got an idea!” … 9:35 PM: Hour 7 now. Still in recess. Conserving remaining battery power so check @westseattleblog for updates till they reconvene (the iPhone’s not dead yet).
9:39 PM: Had to turn the computer right back on – now they’re reconvening. Dunn withdraws amendment for Hudgins, saying that while he was willing to be a caretaker, it might affect his legislative status. Now Pete von Reichbauer is proposing consideration (hasn’t moved this yet, just suggesting) of a cooling-off period while the council is in recess. He explains the impasse, saying there are technicalities that would keep them from bringing up McDermott or Drago again. Councilmember Larry Phillips says, “We are deadlocked at this point … we will go on to deliberate another day … I hope everybody has a good holiday.” Reagan Dunn suggested that they ask the review committee for two more names to suggest. The council does not reconvene till January 4. Bob Ferguson says he’s “optimistic” this will be resolved then. “Sometimes in government and politics there are deadlocks, and for tonight there’s a deadlock, ultimately we will reach a consensus on a deadlock.”
9:53 PM: 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse says, “It’s very disappointing. The district needs representation. We’ve got the right choice with Sen. McDermott … (for now) they’ve clearly put politics ahead of the interests of the public. But we stayed here all night, we’ll be working for the next two weeks, and when they reconvene, this room will be packed.”
That’s the stolen-then-recovered West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, which we photographed a short time ago at the Parks Department facility – we agreed not to identify the location – where it’s now being kept, after a trip “home” from Oregon over the weekend. (Thanks to the tipster who gave us the heads up it had been picked up and driven back to Seattle.) Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter says it “will stay at our facility until Parks has formulated a plan for inspection, needed repairs if any, and re-installation of the totem. There may be a need to wait until the turf recovers before we allow another heavy truck at the site.” She also says a local firm that often helps with the city’s art collection has offered to help with the reinstallation, and Parks is mulling the offer; meantime, the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which donated the pole and the park to the city in 1976, has a fund going too (you can donate here). As for the mystery pole found along with this one, after the theft suspect told police where to look following his arrest last Wednesday, Potter says it’s being turned over to the SPD evidence unit. (No new information yet today from police/prosecutors regarding the case/potential charges; if you’re just catching up with this story, all the background links are in the first part of this update.) 4:50 PM NOTE: Just verified, the case is not yet in the hands of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so no charges yet.
A heads up to anyone that receives a black marble bench or a floral table and chairs patio set for Christmas or knows someone selling them – West Seattle Nursery was broken into on Saturday night and had these pieces of yard art stolen. This is stolen merchandise and not a kind gift!!
We went down to WSN to find out more; they told us the stolen bench is similar to the one shown in the photo above. The break-in happened sometime after they closed Saturday night at 8; someone got in through the back fence, and in addition to the items that were mentioned, also took “some religious statuary.” The value of the stolen items so far totals about $700, though they are still checking to see what else might be missing.
One other break-in report from over the weekend – if you are in the High Point area, you might have seen flyers about this (thanks to Marco for reporting the flyer sighting) – the e-mail is from Dave, who’s near 34th/Myrtle (map):
On Thursday night thieves smashed in our door and ransacked the house. The couch and beds were overturned, and every drawer emptied on the floor. After the mess was cleaned up, the current tally is a Toshiba laptop, red iPod Nano, 70mm Nikon FE2 camera, and a 50s era 28mm Kodak Retina camera. They also stole an Omega watch and some heirloom jewelry that has been in the family for generations and has more sentimental than financial value.
The next day, I went asking around the neighborhood to see if anyone had heard or seen anything. Some items were found at the HighPoint Community Center men’s room, and other objects were found outside.
On a Coen Brothers-esque note, also found at the assumed time of robbery were three crates of kale, collard greens and mustard greens, abandoned on the parking strip. Their connection to the crime is still unknown.
After interviewing the four community-committee-recommended finalists for appointment to the King County Council seat left vacant by Dow Constantine‘s election as County Executive, councilmembers are scheduled to decide today who will hold the job for the year remaining in his term. It’s a two-step process today, starting with their meeting as the Committee of the Whole at 9:30 am, then finalization during the official council meeting this afternoon. The four finalists are 34th District State Sen. Joe McDermott of West Seattle and 11th District State Rep. Zack Hudgins of Tukwila, both of whom have said they would run for the job next year, and State Rep. Sharon Nelson of Maury Island and Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago of Pioneer Square, who have said they would not. You can watch live on cable channel 22 as well as online. 9:43 AM UPDATE: The Committee of the Whole meeting has just begun. Councilmember Reagan Dunn has just announced they won’t make a recommendation till the full Council meeting this afternoon.
First, a flashback: After the first serious night of snow in December 2008, this WSB as-it-happened story from 12/14/08 chronicled (with photos) what we all woke up to on this day exactly one year ago. THIS year – sorry to disappoint snow fans — it wasn’t looking even remotely likely: The 4 am city-forecast update now no longer includes the word “snow”, and it’s not in evidence on the radar. (The city was apparently taking no chances, though – a salting/sanding-type truck just headed eastbound on Thistle from California.)
TOTEM POLE NOTE: For everyone awaiting updates in the saga of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, stolen two weeks ago tonight, here’s where it stands as we start the new week: As of the close of business Friday, charges against the suspect, arrested last Wednesday, had not yet been filed. The totem pole — found in Oregon Thursday — also had not yet been returned to Seattle; we spoke with Josh Sutton from the Rotary Club of West Seattle over the weekend – they had no new updates on its status. We’ll be checking in with Parks, police and prosecutors again today. The Rotary, meantime, is taking donations for the Totem Pole Restoration Fund, so it can be ceremoniously reinstalled – go here to help. 10:56 AM UPDATE: Just received, and confirmed, a tip that the totem pole actually is back in Seattle, in Parks Department “custody.” Will publish a separate item with more details soon.
(back to original 4:21 am report)STOLEN CAR: Via Facebook, Kim wants you to be on the lookout for the pickup stolen from her home Saturday night – 1995 Nissan Extended Cab, teal green, with canopy, license B61774A. (We don’t have info yet on what neighborhood – awaiting reply to the followup question. 10:57 AM UPDATE – Seaview, near 44th/Findlay.)
Meantime, the latest in an ongoing case of serial vandalism:
GRAFFITI SCRUBBED: A WSB’er who wants to remain anonymous photographed six incidences of the notorious “homophobic graffiti” vandalism along Admiral on Sunday afternoon before cleaning it up and reported it to police, with the photos. (We’ve blurred it out in the one above, which was black lettering on a retaining wall; the other five places it was marked/painted included road signs and signpoles and a bus-schedule sign.) Our tipster often “patrols” that area for vandalism; last week was the first time we’d heard of the happening beyond the area where the vandal’s struck repeatedly before. As previously reported here, police continue looking for the man who was arrested and charged earlier this year, though the charges were dropped when he was deemed incompetent to stand trial. And they want to hear from you about any graffiti vandalism you spot (206-625-5011 is the non-emergency number if it’s not in progress), not just this type (and if you plan to clean it up/paint it out, be sure to photograph it first).
RAFFLE TO HELP VAL KLEITZ:Aaron’s Bicycle Repair proprietor Aaron Goss shares that photo with word that its subject, longtime shop worker and friend Val Kleitz, is fighting cancer, and, “While his prognosis is good, his medical bills are adding up” – so a fundraising raffle’s been arranged. A new turquoise 2010 Redline 925 donated by Seattle Bike Supply and assembled by Aaron’s will be raffled off at 1 pm Dec. 20. Till then, anyone 18+ can buy $5 tickets to get in on it – all proceeds to help with Val’s medical bills. They’re on sale at the shop (6527 California SW), or you can simply make a medical-bills-fund donation from the raffle-info page on Aaron’s site.
SUCCESSFUL CELL-PHONE DRIVE CONCLUDES:Megan Wilson Tutty sends word via Facebook that the cell-phone collection drive at Easy Street Records (to help domestic-violence victims, as first reported here in October) is over, so please don’t take any more phones there. She says the drive to help the Victim Support Team, with which she volunteers, collected 138 phones!
MERRILL GARDENS’ FUNDRAISING TOTAL FOR OFFICERS’ FAMILIES: After last Wednesday night’s fundraising pasta dinners at both West Seattle locations of Merrill Gardens (WSB sponsor), we reported their $1,500 total – but those were only two of 21 MG locations participating. Now we know that the fundraiser’s grand total is $25,000, including an MG corporate donation of $5,000. They expect to make a presentation to the officers’ guild soon. If you missed this fundraiser and the $126,000 Papa John’s two-day event, you can still donate directly to the Lakewood fund by going here.
Bainbridge Island-based SoundWave caroled it from the Christmas Ship – “Let It Snow.” Didn’t happen during the Spirit of Seattle‘s final visit of the season to West Seattle shores, though, at Don Armeni Boat Ramp tonight – just a little mist – latest “forecast discussion” isn’t very snow-hopeful, either. The night also saw the weekend’s only Christmas Ship bonfire, since the now-ended burn ban was still in effect last night:
The Parks Department also set up the traditional tent with cookies and beverages (they apologize that the hot water was a little late) – and added extra decorations, including some luminarias along the shore, and the inflatables you see alongside Gayle, Rebecca, Mulryan and Jim from Parks:
(photo courtesy Rebecca Hall – substituted 12:41 am for our original photo which just had 1 Parks person)
One other sight from tonight – in addition to the lighted boats accompanying the Christmas Ship, two kayakers paddled out to watch (also seen in the top video clip):
While that’s it for the West Seattle stops this year, the Christmas Ship continues nightly trips to various Puget Sound/Lake Washington/Lake Union beaches through Dec. 23 – the schedule’s here; you can buy tickets to ride along, with part of the proceeds going to theSeattle Times (WSB partner) Fund for the Needy (donations welcome here). We also covered the Christmas Ship’s Seacrest (here) and Lowman Beach (here) stops last night (it also visited Alki) – thanks to everyone who contributed photos to enhance the coverage (don’t miss these).
With 12 days to go till Christmas, it’s prime time to expand your giving to the nonprofit donation drives and Giving Trees around West Seattle/White Center. Many are listed on our West Seattle Holidays page. And here’s an update just in from Nancy Woodland at WestSide Baby, along with the accompanying photos:
To try to fill our shelves before Christmas, WestSide Baby will hold special Holiday Donation hours of Mon-Friday 9-4pm and Thursday evening 7pm-9pm now through December 22. WestSide Baby will also host an After Hours volunteer sorting event on Thursday December 17, 7-9pm at our facility in White Center. Volunteers ages 14+ will gather to sort through donations of gently used clothes and enjoy a festive “holiday” evening. If you can attend, please email our Volunteer Coordinator at sarah@westsidebaby.org.
Many families and businesses in the area are benefitting WestSide Baby as they gather together to celebrate the holidays. THANK YOU!! Friday evening, kids and parents carrying diapers and bags of warm clothes filed into the new West Seattle Little Gym [WSB sponsor] for a party hosted by two local families. 2500 diapers were collected and 6 bags of winter clothes for children 0 to size 12 appeared to fill the very scarce shelves at WestSide Baby! The Little Gym generously donated space while their staff and owner, Birgit, donated time (and smiles) as they successfully corralled, somersaulted and flipped more than 50 children while parents mingled in the lobby. Local efforts at businesses, schools and private gatherings have resulted in 50 winter coats and thousands of diapers for little ones in King County just this month. See WestSide Baby Donation Drives for details of places where you can drop off your items out in the community if our location or open hours are not convenient.
Also note that WestSide Baby has set the date for its annual tea – February 6 – tickets are on sale now here, and tomorrow’s the deadline to sign up if you’d like to be a Table Captain.
One big difference between this winter and last – Metro has added more ways to get the word out about bus trouble, if and when necessary. With the possibility snow might affect the morning commute in some areas of the county, Metro’s Linda Thielke has just sent out a reminder about its new alert systems – read on:Read More
Thanks to Nathan for the tip about a water-main problem at 35th/106th (map) in Arbor Heights. 106th west of 35th is closed at that spot, where a backhoe-equipped crew is working, but 35th traffic is not affected – except for one thing to keep in mind later: Southbound lanes are wet for a few blocks south of 106th, and that could be trouble as temperatures drop, though we also spotted an SDOT truck nearby, so the situation should be on their radar.
* Short Term – to be installed in the first quarter of 2010:
o Both the east and west crosswalks at the intersection of 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St will be repainted and widened to improve crosswalk visibility for drivers and pedestrians and align the crosswalk markings with the existing curb ramps
o The signal at 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St will be equipped with new “Stop for Pedestrians When Turning” overhead signs
o The signage for the mid-block crosswalk at the Longfellow Creek Trail (just west of 26th Ave SW and SW Barton St) will be upgraded to our new standard fluorescent yellow-green signs
o “Stop for Me – It’s the Law” signs will be installed on SW Barton St on the eastbound and westbound approaches to Westwood Village
o SDOT will review speed limit signage to ensure that SW Barton St is properly signed
o SDOT will enroll the neighborhood in the Arterial Traffic Calming program for SW Barton St – this will start the data collection process to evaluate speeds on SW Barton St
o Westwood Village will paint stop bars at the shopping center exit to provide additional guidance for drivers by designating the location where they should stop
Read on for the “long term” list as well as other improvements recently decided, including those for walk routes to Roxhill:Read More
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency just announced it’s lifted the burn ban because “The current weather pattern has brought improved mixing and dispersion of fine particle pollution. As a result, air quality has improved sufficiently to allow lifting our Stage 2 burn ban.” Maybe that’ll mean a bonfire for the Don Armeni Christmas Ship stop at 7:10 tonight, as originally scheduled? Meantime, here’s the newest forecast from the National Weather Service, as of less than an hour ago:
REST OF TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE 30S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.
TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.
MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW…MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS NEAR 40. SOUTHWEST WIND TO 10 MPH BECOMING NORTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON.
2:15 PM UPDATE: As commenters are noted, a few flakes have been seen – extremely light flurry where we are, with sunshine to boot. One more note – via Facebook, we’re told there WILL be a bonfire at the 7:10 pm Christmas Ship stop at Don Armeni tonight.
Another followup in the story of the man who 
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