West Seattle, Washington
18 Monday
(A Blue Angels jet with Mount Rainier in the background on Thursday – photo by Jamie Kinney)
Here’s the lineup for the rest of today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
GARDEN CENTER OPEN: Need more plants for your garden, containers, etc.? You can shop at the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) Garden Center, open with a wide variety of student-grown plants, until 2 pm. (North end of campus, 6000 16th SW)
OPENING DAY: Future Primitive opens its Alki tap shack today, as announced earlier this week. (2536 Alki SW)
SPRAYPARK OPEN: 11 am-8 pm daily, Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) is open daily.
SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Here’s the list of local sites where free food is available for kids on weekdays this summer, 11:30 am-1 pm lunch, 2-3 pm snacks.
DELRIDGE AND HIAWATHA WADING POOLS OPEN: Noon-5:30 pm. (4501 Delridge Way SW and 2700 California SW)
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
COLMAN POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm on the shore at Lincoln Park; session schedule here.
SCRABBLE CLUB: You’re invited to play 12:30-1:30 pm at Margie’s Café inside the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon).
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: 1-6 pm on the north side of South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor), student-produced wine by the glass or bottle.
BLUE ANGELS: Today their scheduled airshow (which will affect other air traffic routing) is set for 3:20-4:30 pm, per the Seafair website.
VISCON CELLARS: Tonight, visit Viscon Cellars (WSB sponsor) for wine by the glass or bottle, 5-9 pm (5910 California SW).
KIDS’ NIGHT OUT: Outer Space Seattle (2820 Alki SW) offers a three-hour drop-off, ticketed event for kids 3 to 12 – more in our calendar listing.
COFFEEHOUSE MUSIC: John Quinn performs at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm.
SUMMER SUNSET SOUND BATH: 7:30 pm at Solstice Park (7400 Fauntleroy Way SW), $35.
LIVE AT THE SKYLARK: Fishing Trip, The Slurps, doors 8 pm, music 9 pm at The Skylark – $10, all ages. (3803 Delridge Way SW).
OUTDOOR MOVIE: “Spirited Away” is tonight’s monthly outdoor movie at Maarten Park next to West Seattle Church of the Nazarene, all welcome, 8:49 pm. (42nd/Juneau)
Something to add to our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
As that photo sent by Amber shows (along with others emailed by readers – thank you!), it’s a busy day on Elliott Bay. The question: What’s everyone fishing for? The answer, salmon. Two types, according to Mark Yuasa with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who tells WSB, “Pink salmon are starting to arrive into Puget Sound,, and with almost 4 million expected to return, this should really generate a lot of anglers onto the water. This weekend inner-Elliott Bay also opens for Chinook salmon fishing.” That’s today through Monday (August 7th); for more on the pink-salmon season, go here.
Long before classes start for the new school year, tryouts and practices begin for fall high-school sports. West Seattle High School has sent its list of first practice/tryout dates for six fall sports:
Wildcat Football
First Day of Practice: August 16thWildcat Girls Volleyball
First Day of Tryouts: August 21stWildcat Girls Soccer
First Day of Tryouts: August 21stWildcat Girls & Boys Golf
First Day of Tryouts: August 21stWildcat Girls Swim & Dive
First Day of Practice: August 21stWildcat Girls & Boys Cross Country
First Day of Practice: August 21st–
Times and locations vary – all those details, along with other information about what to do and who to contact before tryouts/practices begin, can be found here.
6:00 AM: Good morning! It’s Friday, August 4th.
WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunny, high in the low 80s. Today’s sunrise was at 5:51 am; sunset will be at 8:39 pm.
ROAD WORK
On West Marginal, “quiet zone” work has begun – here’s the announcement from last week.
WEEKEND
-Highway 99 tunnel closed both ways 10 pm Friday night to 6 am Saturday night.
-I-90 does NOT close for the Blue Angels.
TRANSIT TODAY
Metro – regular schedule – check here for advisories.
Water Taxi – regular schedule.
Washington State Ferries – 2-boat service. Check Vessel Watch to see where the boats are.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Henderson), cameras are also up at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Orchard, and Delridge/Oregon.
High Bridge – the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
Low Bridge – east-end vicinity:
1st Ave. S. Bridge – alternate route across the river:
Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander.
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see trouble on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities). Thank you!
(Sea Scouts’ Yankee Clipper, sponsored by West Seattle Lions Club in 7/22/23 Grand Parade)
The bands played, the flags waved, the floats rolled, the dancers twirled … And then, in the days and weeks after the West Seattle Grand Parade, the bills march in. Total cost of the July 22nd parade was $10,600, according to Keith Hughes, chair of the West Seattle Grand Parade Association. The biggest cost is renting the street-closed/no-parking signs – $6,200 – and the parade permit, which runs $2,000. Sponsorships are covering $8,500 so far – leaving more than $2,000 still to be raised. So Keith has put out a call for help:
To the West Seattle Business Community:
The West Seattle Grand Parade was truly grand this year, with over 75 entries. However, the number of sponsors was down and the street permit fees and barricade fees were both up significantly. The result of this is that the Parade Association has a shortfall and needs your help to pay the bills and be able to continue the Parade next year. If your company is able and willing to be a Grand Parade Sponsor at $250, $500, or $1000, please let me know and I will send you the Sponsorship packet so you can see how your sponsorship will be recognized and shared with the public. Thank you.
We asked if smaller donations would be accepted too: “Yes, small donations will be greatly appreciated. They can mail a check to WS Grand Parade, 3618 SW Alaska St., Seattle 98126, or they can call me and I can take credit card donations via Square. 206-932-9696.” (For business sponsorship info, you can call or email khughes3247 (at) gmail.com.
Hate to bring it up, but Seattle Public Schools‘ summer break has just five weeks left. And next week, the district starts having community meetings to talk about the “well-resourced schools” concept that’s expected to lead to school closures. So in advance of that, and whatever other SPS issues are on your mind, our area’s School Board Director Leslie Harris is having a community meeting Saturday (August 5th). 2 pm, Southwest Library (9010 35th SW). She’s promising her legendary lasagna, too. Drop in with questions or just to listen in.
(July photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
With one of only two state-ferry docks in the city of Seattle – the only one in a primarily residential neighborhood – West Seattle has a unique role in the system. So Washington State Ferries is hoping you’ll answer a survey about when, how, and where you use its boats. It’s part of a passenger-demographic study that WSF plans to send to the state Legislature in December. You can take the survey in English or in Spanish. This survey is open through the end of the month.
ADDED FRIDAY: The phone option is working now – 877-586-1133.
Thanks to a reader who asked us about this incident; we asked SPD and they in turn have just posted about it on SPD Blotter:
Yesterday, police responded to an attempted luring of a minor in the 1100 block of Southwest Cloverdale Street within Highland Park playground.
Officers arrived just before 5:00 p.m. and spoke with the victim’s mother, who reported a man grabbed hold of her four-year-old son near the bathrooms of the park.
The male suspect was described to be a White male, who was approximately 70-80 years old, wearing a red shirt, black shorts, and black tennis shoes. He was also clean-shaven and bald with sunspots on his head. The suspect had left the area prior to police arriving at the location.
If anyone has information about this incident, please call 911 and reference incident #2023-220035.
The newest numbers from Tuesday’s election are just out. Here’s how the top three contenders for Seattle City Council District 1 are doing now:
Maren Costa 8,363 32.95 %
Rob Saka 6,143 24.20 %
Phil Tavel 5,130 20.21 %
In short – Costa’s percentage has risen, while Saka’s and Tavel’s have fallen. This is with (corrected) 34.8 percent of D-1 voters’ ballots counted, up from 25 percent yesterday; as of mid-afternoon today, King County Elections says it’s received 36.4 percent of D-1 voters’ ballots. (That’s just a fraction of a percentage more than yesterday, so from hereon out it’s a daily trickle of new ballots.) Next update, Friday afternoon.
After a year as acting and then interim chancellor of the Seattle Colleges system, Dr. Rosie Rimando-Chareunsap is now its permanent chancellor. The system includes West Seattle-based South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), of which Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap served as president before taking on the role of running the system. She was one of three finalists after a nationwide search. From today’s announcement:
Dr. Rimando-Chareunsap has dedicated much of her career to Seattle Colleges. She stepped in as acting chancellor in July 2022 while maintaining her role as president of South Seattle College. She previously served as vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion for the district, and has held other important roles across the system for more than 20 years. She was recognized as a rising star in 2019 by the Aspen Institute, which selected her for its prestigious Presidential Fellows Program.
She holds a B.A. in English and Ethnic Studies from Washington State University (WSU), a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, and a Doctorate of Education from WSU.
So what’s next for SSC leadership? Here’s how today’s announcement answers that question:
The search for a new interim and then permanent president at South Seattle College will commence shortly. Dr. Jean Hernandez, an educational leader with nearly four decades of experience, joined South Seattle College as interim president on Nov. 30, 2022, and served in the role through the academic year.
Along with SSC, the Seattle Colleges system includes North Seattle College and Seattle Central College, plus five specialty centers.
(Seattle Parks photo)
Right now, Delridge Community Center is open Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 am-6:30 pm. The city announced today that its hours will expand starting Monday, September 11th, to Mondays-Fridays, 9:30 am-9 pm, plus Saturdays, 9:30 am-6 pm. It’s one of eight community centers around the city that will get added hours with Seattle Park District funding; it’s one of West Seattle’s only two city-run community centers currently in operation, as Hiawatha CC is closed for eventual renovation and Alki CC has only been in use for child care.
(Photo by Jamie Kinney, from Blue Angels’ Seattle arrival on Wednesday)
12:26 PM: Particularly if you’re in south West Seattle, you’ve likely noticed the increase in air traffic the past hour and a half or so. No, it’s not just the Blue Angels, but it’s because of them – route changes for Sea-Tac takeoffs. Today is the longest practice day for the Blue Angels, so this will be happening through 3 pm or so. (And for those who have asked, no, the practices do NOT require I-90 bridge closures any more, so this isn’t affecting traffic on the ground.) The full Seafair airshow, with other visiting aircraft, happens Friday-Sunday – schedule here.
ADDED THURSDAY EVENING: A closer look from Alki photographer David Hutchinson, in a popular viewing spot – the Costco parking lot:
Thanks for the tips. Demolition has begun at Alki Elementary. First to go, the old portable on the north side of the school. The work is not affecting traffic on the adjacent streets (at least so far), though debris hauling might change that. This is proceeding though the city Hearing Examiner’s Office has yet to issue its decision on appeals of some of the project’s zoning exceptions; as we reported, the appeals were argued in a daylong hearing last week, and a ruling is promised by mid-August. The project will demolish and replace the main school building but not the gym, which it shares with adjacent Alki Community Center.
10:17 AM: Thanks to everyone who sent pics/questions after a large, dark plume of smoke started billowing from Bainbridge Island. According to an alert from Bainbridge Island city government, it’s from a “working structure fire” in the Falk Road area (map). No other details.
12:42 PM: The Kitsap Sun has since published a story saying the fire was at a two-story house and is blamed on oil-soaked rags.
(Steller’s Jay, photographed by Jerry Simmons)
Here’s the list of what’s up for the rest of today/tonight, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
SUMMER SCRAMBLE STARTS: This is Day 1 of the scavenger hunt, but it’s not too late to join! Here’s an update from organizers:
From the West Seattle Time Bandits to the Scurvy Sea Cats and the Meowrmada of Mischief, over 50 teams have already registered for the West Seattle Summer Scramble yARrrr Pirate Adventure, which begins today – Thursday the 3rd – and runs through midnight on Sunday the 6th. Explore West Seattle Parks and hunt for augmented reality pirate kittens (and hidden physical caches!) using your wits and your phone.
Register your team and download the clues at:
wondersinaliceland.com/summer-scrambleNot sure how to hunt pirates? Avast! We’ve made a short training video called “Learn how to Hunt Pirates in 100 seconds”
Get some exercise, try out some new technology, and earn prizes!! Twenty West Seattle businesses have sponsored a treasure chest and filled them with a freebie, a discount, or some other goodies especially for the Scramble. Find all 20 and be entered into a drawing for 1 of 3 Grand Prize Treasure Chests. Start yARrrr adventure today!
SPRAYPARK OPEN: Daily operations continue through Labor Day at Highland Park Spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale), 11 am-8 pm.
BLUE ANGELS: They’re practicing today, so you’re likely to see/hear them – photographer Jim Clark posted this schedule in Wednesday’s comment thread:
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Blue Angels #1-#4 Practice Flight
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Blue Angels #5-#6 Practice Flight
2:20 PM – 3:20 PM – Blue Angels #1-#4 Practice Flight
SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS: Here’s the list of local sites where free food is available for kids on weekdays this summer, 11:30 am-1 pm lunch, 2-3 pm snacks.
HIAWATHA WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-5:30 pm. (2700 California SW)
LINCOLN PARK WADING POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
COLMAN POOL OPEN: Also at Lincoln Park, noon-7 pm – here’s the schedule of sessions.
DROP-IN ASSISTANCE: Neighborhood House has resources to help with a variety of things – noon-1:30 pm today, drop in to talk about rent assistance. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE: -2.9 feet at 12:44 pm.
WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome to this weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayerswsup@gmail.com to see where they’re playing today.
THURSDAY FOOD-TRUCK POP-UP: 4-8 pm at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), Birrieria Pepe el Toro will be visiting.
HIGHLAND PARK RUN CLUB: Also at HP Corner Store, meet up at 6:30 pm for a 3-mile run!
WESTIES RUN CLUB: Meet at The Good Society (California/Lander) at 6 pm for a 3-mile run – more in our calendar listing.
SILENT BOOK CLUB ON THE BEACH: The Silent Book Club of West Seattle is changing things up for August, with two events, night and day – the first is tonight, 7 pm, at Alki – see our calendar listing for details.
THURSDAY NIGHT CORNHOLE: Go play at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW), 7 pm.
JOKES IN THE JUNCTION: 8 pm comedy show at Great American Diner (4752 California) – check here for tickets.
There’s even more in our calendar!
Family and friends will gather August 12th at a funeral mass for Sofia Escandar. Here’s the remembrance they’re sharing now:
Born on December 14, 1930 to Soren and Anna Hovsepian in Tehran, Iran. She was a proud housewife, mother, grandmother, and a great-grandmother.
Sofia also ran a small specialty embroidery bedsheet business from home, an entrepreneur way ahead of her time. She attended a Catholic nuns Boarding School in Isfahan, Iran for six years, the best years of her childhood. She returned to Tehran teaching elementary French class and later meeting Alexander Escandar.
After moving to the states, with her adorable accent, she managed to get involved with a few volunteer groups and keep herself busy. Mom was a very social person, enjoyed her friends, her Church, and the YMCA Community and her coffee dates with her friends. Mom especially loved her neighbors. Most of all, mom’s greatest joy was cooking, especially when she had her family around her to enjoy.
Sofia leaves behind her oldest daughter, Stella Shahbazian (Hermes and grandchildren – Niko & Armand). Also, her son, Edgar Escandar [Wilma and grandchildren – Emmanuelle (Henry and great-grandchildren – Chloe and Vivianne), Talia, & Darius (Andrea)]. She also leaves behind her youngest daughter, Jacqueline Espinosa (André and granddaughter – Alexandra); and Grandchildren – Vida & Tiffany from Pierre, her late son. Sofia passed away peacefully on August 1, 2023 with her family at her side. She has joined her beloved husband Alexander, her beloved son Pierre, and her only sibling Adolf.
A funeral Mass will be held at Holy Rosary on Saturday, August 12th, at 10 am. Any memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Sofia’s favorite charity, or Holy Rosary Church.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries and memorial announcements by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to westseattleblog@gmail.com)
6:01 AM: Good morning! It’s Thursday, August 3rd.
WEATHER & SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Sunny, high near 80. Today’s sunrise was at 5:49 am; sunset will be at 8:41 pm.
(Thanks to Ryan Osher for sending this photo of Alki’s Wednesday-afternoon waves)
ROAD WORK
Drove West Marginal on Wednesday afternoon and it appears “quiet zone” work has indeed started north of the Duwamish Longhouse – here’s the announcement from last week.
TRANSIT TODAY
Metro – regular schedule – check here for advisories.
Water Taxi – regular schedule.
Washington State Ferries – 2-boat service. Check Vessel Watch to see where the boats are.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Henderson), cameras are also up at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Orchard, and Delridge/Oregon.
High Bridge – the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
Low Bridge – east-end vicinity:
1st Ave. S. Bridge – alternate route across the river:
Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander.
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges Twitter feed shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see trouble on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do it safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities). Thank you!
Past and present 6955 Delridge Way SW residents were exuberant at the grand opening for the Seattle Housing Authority‘s newest property. Above is Fatuma, one of the new residents. Some of her new neighbors also lived there when it was the Lam Bow Apartments before a three-alarm 2016 fire – and have moved back now that it’s an all-new complex called Salish Landing.
Speeches, a ribbon-cutting, and Native songs highlighted the grand opening event on Tuesday afternoon.
As you can see in that photo, dignitaries were part of it – Mayor Bruce Harrell, SHA executive director Rod Brandon, City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, 34th District State Rep. Emily Alvarado. But the stars of the show were past and present residents – all who lost their homes in the 2016 fire were offered apartments at Salish Landing, SHA says – and two spoke, Briana and Theresa. This affordable housing is what saved her from living unsheltered, Theresa said.
Salish Landing has 31 more units than Lam Bow did – 82 in all, a mix of 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. They’re all spoken for, the SHA tells us – and speakers at Tuesday’s event underscored the need for much more housing like this. We recorded them all:
Some of the funding for construction came from the Seattle Housing Levy, which is expiring, with a renewal/expansion set for the November ballot.
(Thursday note: Story corrected to reflect that Fatuma was not among those who lived at the Lam Bow pre-fire.)
THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE: The missing teen mentioned here yesterday has been found safe.
Earlier:Read More
Two weeks after performing in the West Seattle Grand Parade, the folkloric dance group Joyas Mestizas is on the schedule for this Saturday’s Duwamish River Festival – which includes not only performances but also art activities, vendors, kayaking, and more. For the second year, you’ll find the festival at its new home, Duwamish River People’s Park (8700 Dallas Avenue S. in South Park), noon-5 pm Saturday (August 5th). The Duwamish River Community Coalition coordinates the festival, celebrating Seattle’s only river and the ongoing cleanup work (on which you can comment while there). Here’s the schedule of events.
3:37 PM: King County Elections’ second round of results is out. For Seattle City Council District 1, the results are the same as day 1, Maren Costa first (30%), Rob Saka second (25%), Phil Tavel third (21%). Still many ballots to count – this represents 25 percent of D-1 ballots, while the county has received 36 percent so far.
4:38 PM: We were away from the desk when the update came in, so the first mention was brief, but here’s a bit more info: First, the full results update is here. Second, for the record, here’s the full D-1 lineup after today’s count:
Maren Costa 5,625 30.34 %
Rob Saka 4,678 25.23 %
Phil Tavel 3,941 21.26 %
Preston Anderson 1,545 8.33 %
Stephen Brown 1,185 6.39 %
Jean Iannelli Craciun 596 3.21 %
Lucy Barefoot 571 3.08 %
Mia Jacobson 358 1.93 %
Next results update will be tomorrow in the 3:30-4 pm vicinity. Counting will continue until final results are certified August 15th.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo above – he sent it just before 2 pm, noting, “Just watched the Blue Angels circle out over Puget Sound and fly past Alki Beach on their way back toward town.” About an hour before the U.S. Navy demonstration team’s fighter jets arrived, their support plane Fat Albert touched down – Jamie Kinney sent this from Boeing Field:
This is the first time that Blue Angels’ history-making #3 pilot Lt. Amanda Lee, will be flying over Seattle. The Blue Angels go up for practice tomorrow, then airshows Friday-Sunday – the schedule is on the Seafair website.
ADDED: One more view from Jamie Kinney at Boeing Field, as #1-#6 arrived:
Back in May, we brought you first word that White Center’s Future Primitive Brewing would open an outpost at 2536 Alki Avenue SW. Thanks to Ian for the tip that Future Primitive has just announced it’ll open there this Friday (August 4th). Hours will be 11 am-10 pm seven days a week.
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