West Seattle, Washington
29 Saturday
Interested in audio stories? Two podcast episodes of note:
ABOUT THE BRIDGE: Local historian/journalist Clay Eals points out this recent episode of Podcast West Seattle, “When the Ship Hit the Span,” in which he was one of the notable interviewees:
Andrew Stuckey has been producing Podcast WS for two and a half years – all archived here.
THE CASE OF THE SUITCASE MURDERS, AND BEYOND: Boston public-radio station WBUR produces a podcast called “Endless Thread,” riffing off things found on Reddit. A recent episode looks at Randonautica, the Reddit-born app that factored into why a group of teens went to Luna/Anchor Park, where they found a suitcase containing the remains of two murder victims. The case plays a significant role in the podcast, whose hosts interviewed your editor along the way. (No new info about the murders, though; the latest public comment from SPD was when Chief Carmen Best noted during the city’s recent West Seattle “town hall” that it wasn’t considered a West Seattle murder case because the victims were killed somewhere else.) The “Endless Thread” episode is here.
The sun’s not fully out (yet), so maybe you’re inside, looking for entertainment. Here’s a West Seattle creation: The team behind the annual Halloween animatronic extravaganza Skeleton Theatre has something new – online. Team spokesperson Maia Low explains, “We finally launched the side project we teased at the last Skeleton Theatre. It’s a YouTube web series called ‘Two Old Skeletons Talking’ (or T. O. S. T.). Two of our skeletons drive around Seattle talking about various subjects.” Above is the trailer for the first episode; you’ll find the series – episodes and trailers – here.
BACKSTORY: In case you’re new around here – while Skeleton Theatre, staged in an Admiral-area yard each year for more than a decade, happens at Halloween, it’s not spooky – it’s geared for laughs, not shrieks.
10:51 AM: Thanks for the tip: SW Alaska is closed between 44th and California right now for road repair work. No advance announcement, so we don’t know exactly what they’re doing or how long it’ll take, but we’re headed over to check.
11:05 AM: This work is closing the westbound side of SW Alaska in that block but NOT the eastbound side. The crew, from SDOT, says it’s scheduled road-repair work and will take much of today, with plans to continue next Saturday (we’ll check with SDOT Monday to narrow that down).
7:41 PM: We went by a little while ago. That section of westbound SW Alaska is still closed off – so the concrete can dry.
Two weeks from today, the oldest house in West Seattle – and the entire city – opens up, virtually, for you to see. Here’s the announcement:
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s annual “If These Walls Could Talk” historic-home tour has gone digital! Join us online to support SWSHS and explore the history of the oldest house still standing in Seattle –the Maynard House on Alki. Lovingly restored in 2018, you will get to experience the updated interior of the home and learn how the house has changed in its 100+ year history.
This tour will be a YouTube 360 experience, so you can explore the interior of the home while learning about the lives of Doc and Catherine Maynard. A recent donation of personal letters from the Maynards will illuminate new insights into one of Seattle’s most interesting figures. After registering, you will receive a link to the video to explore at your leisure. This will be sent to you on the morning of August 15th. The video will be about 15 minutes of recorded content about the Maynards with the ability to pause and move around the 360 space. The experience is available for a suggested donation of $10-20.
For a deeper experience, register for our live VIP session where local historians will discuss the Maynards in greater depth. You will get a chance to hear some letters read, including never-before-seen firsthand accounts of the Battle of Seattle! This VIP panel session will be held on August 15th at 11 am PST. The price for access to this exclusive conversation is $50. Our panelists include:
Ken Workman, the Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson of Chief Seattle. He is a retired Systems and Data Analyst from Boeing’s Flight Operations Engineering Department, a former Duwamish Tribal Council member as well as a former Duwamish Tribal Services 501(c)(3) President. Ken is a member of the Duwamish Tribe, the first people of Seattle. Today Ken enjoys retired life on a river, in the mountains, east of Seattle and he serves as a member of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society’s Board of Trustees.
Phil Hoffman, a graduate of Georgia State (Atlanta) and Wayne State (Detroit) Universities holding a Masters of Urban Planning degree. He resides in Seattle’s Alki neighborhood. Mr. Hoffman is the retired director of the University of Washington Office of Institutional Studies. Upon his retirement, he established the Alki History Project. The Project’s mission is to document, explore, and interpret the history of Seattle’s founding neighborhood. Current research includes investigation of proposed and failed transportation improvements which would have forever changed Alki’s landscape and land use and an effort to identify ‘Watson,’ the suspected 1893 Herring House arsonist.
Greg Lange, a life-long Seattle resident and King County Archivist. He became interested in local history while selling northwest history books at used, antiquarian, and new bookstores. Greg is one of the original staff members of Historylink.org. He is a former member of the Pioneer Square Preservation Board and the Washington State Board of Geographic Names. He conducted a survey of houses built prior to 1905 for the city of Seattle and he has given many presentations on how to complete a history of a house. Greg has extensive experience researching early EuroAmerican settlement of Seattle and King County.
Registration is due by August 14th at this link.
P.S. Here’s our coverage of the gift the SWSHS received from the Maynards’ descendants half a year ag.
22 weeks ago tonight, King County’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced. We start tonight’s roundup with the numbers:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*15,197 people have tested positive, 158 more than yesterday
*647 people have died, unchanged from yesterday
*1,948 people have been hospitalized, 2 more than yesterday
*294,823 people have been tested, 3,747 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 14,047/638/1,866/265,108.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
STATE DATA FYI: From the Department of Health:
DOH experienced an outage with its reporting system today which caused interruptions in several functions. The data reported today is preliminary and only include cases through 7:00 pm on 7/30 (not 11:59 pm as is usual). DOH anticipates negative tests will be behind for a few days which will impact DOH’s ability to report out tests and percent positivity. Data dashboard visualizations will be impacted for a short time. DOH hopes to be back to normal by early next week.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 17.5 million cases, 679,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
NEW TESTING SITE ON THE WAY: While announcing today that the city is opening a new testing site in Southeast Seattle, the mayor also said a new “Southwest Seattle” is in the works too. No location disclosed yet, but the mayor’s office tells WSB it should be made public within a few weeks.
COVID CLOSURE: Chelan Café announced it’s closed because a cocktail-lounge staff member tested positive.
UPDATED RESTAURANT (ETC.) GUIDANCE: From the governor’s office:
The governor’s office today released updates to the July 24 guidance for restaurants, taverns, breweries, wineries, and distilleries as part of Washington’s Safe Start phased reopening plan. Changes include clarification about which establishments can offer indoor seating, temporary outdoor seating guidance and counter-style seating clarifications. Read the full restaurants, taverns, breweries, wineries and distilleries guidance document here and attached memo here.
NEED FOOD? Free lunches will be offered noon-1 pm tomorrow at West Side Presbyterian Church (3601 California SW).
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports tonight:
PROWLERS: From Steven in North Delridge:
A little bit before 1:30 am this morning (31 July) prowlers entered my property from the neighbor’s backyard. My decking contractor’s air compressor was stolen. They also surveyed the side and back yards, obviously looking for other items to steal. They also checked windows to see if they could easily gain entry into the house. This occurred on the west side of the 4800 block of 25th Ave SW. My CCTV system caught it all. The cameras are obvious, it is equally obvious they didn’t care about getting recorded.
Two males, one Black, the other unknown. The one with the blue hoodie, the word “EAGLE” is emblazoned across the top of the hood. Both were wearing work gloves. Non-hoodie one is wearing a baseball cap. Hoodie one is wearing a USA flag (red/white/blue) cloth face mask.
This is the second such event on this block within the past three weeks (that I know about). The first time the intruders also forced entry into the neighboring house. Fortunately the offenders decided to crash there for a while, the police were summoned and they were arrested. That house was (and still is) unoccupied, it just got sold and the new owners have not moved in yet.
A police report has been filed.
SCAM CALL: From WSCurmudgeon:
Today a bit after 2 PM, the following voice mail message was left on my mobile phone:
“… department is to inform you that there is a legal enforcement actions [sic] filed on your social security number for fraudulent activity. So when you get this message kindly call back at the earliest possible on [sic] our number before we begin with the legal proceedings. That is 833 972 ****. I repeat 833 972 ****. Thank you. ”
Versions of this scam have been around for years. You’ve mentioned these types of scams periodically, so thought you might want to do so again. The Social Security Administration (SSA) never initiates contact with recipients via phone regarding their benefits or problems with their accounts. A mailed notice always precedes any telephone contact.
I definitely did NOT call this number back. I reported this call to the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. It’s easy to do online.
Some beautiful photos have arrived in the past ~22 hours. First – an unidentified texter sent this early today:
The rest are views of Thursday’s sunset, which happened while we were out covering a protest. From Jan Pendergrass:
From Jim Borrow:
From Curry Gibson:
And from Kanit Cottrell:
Some wildfire smoke contributed to the color – weather analyst Cliff Mass explains.
(WSB photo, July 11th)
The totals are in – here’s how the shredding event and food drive co=sponsored by John L. Scott Real Estate-Westwood (WSB sponsor) went:
John L Scott Westwood & Evergreen Home Loans’ Shred Event was a huge success for the 2nd year in a row!
In a matter of 2 hours (on July 11), over 4.25 tons of shredding had been done!
With cars starting to line up an hour prior to the event kickoff, Confidential Data Disposal had to order a second truck to satisfy the demand! A big thank you to Confidential Data Disposal for providing tremendous service and acting quickly to provide an additional truck. Armed with gloves, sanitizer, and masks, our volunteers from John L Scott Westwood & Evergreen Home Loans were able to make shredding as easy and safe as possible! Thank you to our many volunteers!
Our White Center Food Bank Neighbors benefit BIG!
The White Center Food Bank tripled the amount of donations they received from last year’s event by receiving $4300 in cash donations and 1025 pounds of food. A huge shoutout to everyone who was able to give back to our local community!
Thank you to those who were able to participate in our event – we appreciate your effort in helping give back to the local community and environment.
THANK YOU
John L Scott Westwood
You of course can help the WCFB – which also serves southernmost West Seattle – any time; here’s how.
SDOT crews will be back on Sylvan Way this Sunday, cutting more trees and other vegetation to improve visibility. The work is planned for 9 am to 4 pm and will include lane reductions; uniformed officers wiil be there to direct traffic. Meantime, SDOT has reiterated that radar-equipped speed-limit signs are on order – as first reported here last week – with four planned, to try to slow down speeders on the increasingly popular route for bridge-detour traffic.
Received from the Chelan Café:
The Chelan Cafe will be closed until further notice.
On Friday, July 31st, a staff member from the cocktail lounge tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of this positive test and out of an abundance of caution, we are closing both the restaurant and the Ebb Tide Room temporarily.
During this closure, our employees will be tested and a company will be hired to conduct a deep cleaning. We will not be re-opening until all employees test negative. The well-being of our community, customers, and employees will always be our first priority, and we thank you for your support during this difficult time.
Thank you,
Mary Manning-Smith
Owner- Chelan Cafe
(WSB photo, earlier this week)
As stabilization work continues on the four-months-closed West Seattle Bridge, two notes today:
TOLLING-AND-MORE CONSULTANT SOUGHT: The city has launched another consultant search in relation to the bridge closure and repair-or-replace process. It’s for an up to $2 million contract to carry out a “traffic and revenue” analysis that would look at, among other things, how much money tolling could raise toward the funding that’ll be needed. Accompanying the announcement is an SDOT Blog post that explains in part:
We have not decided to enact tolling. Instead, this study provides a starting point for discussions about whether tolling makes sense as one of the ways to pay for the West Seattle Bridge Program. Most important, it could serve as a critical precursor to securing federal funding.
The plan to seek a consultant for this study was previewed during a meeting of the bridge project Community Task Force earlier this month.
‘RECONNECT WEST SEATTLE’ DEADLINE: Final reminder – the Reconnect West Seattle mobility survey closes today, as do the “prioritization” lists of potential projects in four areas affected by detour traffic. The main survey is here; the neighborhood-prioritization surveys are here (Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill), here (South Park), here (Georgetown), and here (SODO).
10:40 AM: Under way online, the Seattle City Council is meeting as the Select Budget Committee in two sessions today – one under way now, and a second session scheduled to start at 2 pm. After weeks of discussion, this afternoon is when councilmembers are considering specific Seattle Police-related amendments to this year’s budget. Those amendments finally started appearing in the system last night/this morning – here are the more than three dozen proposed SPD-related amendments:
After today’s discussions – which include other budget cuts too (here’s the full agenda packet), as the city deals with a nine-digit revenue loss because of the pandemic-sparked economic crunch – a final vote is expected next Monday morning. Contact info for the council is here.
P.S. To clarify, what the council is doing right now relates only to the 2020 (current) budget – an entirely separate process later this year will focus on next year’s budget, police and otherwise.
2:04 PM: The council has just convened the second session. Apparently the final vote, at least on these, will not be Monday – “discussion” next Monday and Wednesday has been mentioned. Also mentioned – by Councilmember Debora Juarez – the fact that the amendments came out late last night/early this morning, so no one’s had a ton of time to review then,
2:16 PM: Council staff says the amendments will be voted on next Wednesday (August 5).
5:53 PM; The council just adjourned. They have mire amendments left to discuss Monday, 10 am-ish.
Thanks to Stewart L. for the photo – he noticed the Water Taxi navigating through “at least 100 boats” around 6 am. This site indicates salmon fishing is allowed today in East Elliott Bay, so that’s the big draw.
6:21 AM: It’s Friday, the 130th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD WORK/CLOSURES
*The Delridge RapidRide H Line project continues major work along Delridge Way – here’s what is happening this week; here’s our overall update.
*No 1st Ave. S. Bridge northbound closure scheduled tonight, but the closures will resume Sunday, 10 pm-5 am. The West Seattle low bridge is open to all traffic during those hours.
CHECK THE TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
Here’s the 5-way intersection camera (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Here’s the restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River is the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here’s that camera:
The other major bridge across the river is the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s that camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed.
Check the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed for info about any of those bridges opening for marine traffic.
You can see all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
TRANSIT
Metro – Still reduced service and distancing – details here.
Water Taxi – Back to its “winter” schedule, with the 773 and 775 shuttles – see the schedule here.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
For the second night this week, a late-night protest took us away from the desk for a few hours, so the roundup is delayed, but here we go:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*15,039 people have tested positive, up 160 from yesterday
*647 people have died, up 3 from yesterday
*1,946 people have been hospitalized, up 11 from yesterday
*291,076 people have been tested, up 5,771 from yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 13,834/636/1,838/256,588.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 17.3 million cases worldwide, and the U.S. is at almost 4.5 million. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
WEST SEATTLE TESTING: Our weekly reminder – Friday is the weekly drive-up testing day in the north lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor), Despite the original announcement, it actually starts at 9:30 am and continues until 3 pm, and you’re advised to get there early if you can.
SPEAKING OF TESTING: The mayor plans a media briefing Friday morning to announce “the expansion of free citywide testing.”
ALSO TALKING ABOUT TESTING ... was the governor, issuing a proclamation that he says will safeguard personal information in the contact-tracing process.
WISH YOU HAD BEEN BETTER PREPARED … pre-pandemic? The city has a few questions for you.
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
9 PM: Back on Monday night, we covered a protest – the Every Day March – as participants rallied outside Madison Middle School and marched south to City Council President Lorena González‘s neighborhood in The Junction, where she came out to talk with them. Tonight, the group is back in West Seattle – thanks for the tips that they were gathering at Bar-S Playfield in Alki. Last night they went to Councilmember Andrew Lewis‘s neighborhood in Queen Anne; this time, they might be headed to Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda‘s neighborhood in West Seattle. We’ll be updating. (You can also look for a stream here.)
(Photo by Mike Jensen – marchers’ advance bicyclists blocking Alki ahead of them)
9:30 PM: They are eastbound on Alki Avenue.
(Photo by Colin, from comments)
10:02 PM: Texter says they’re now on Admiral Way, uphill from Alki.
10:33 PM: As commenters point out, the march is in King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s west Admiral neighborhood.
10:37 PM: He’s now speaking with them, about juvenile justice/incarceration.
11:04 PM: The conversation has concluded.
11:45 PM: We returned to HQ but have been monitoring via the stream (linked above). They’re on the move again. For context on the conversation with Constantine: The county’s new juvenile detention center has been a target of the “No New Youth Jail” movement for years. He recently announced that he wants to see it phased out by 2025, though this group wants that to happen now. He said he set the 2025 date as a way of “challenging the actors in the system” to make that change possible, describing the ‘actors” as judges, prosecutors, public defenders, etc. They challenged him to go into the facility and meet the youth who are held there.
Thanks to West Seattle preparedness advocate Cindi Barker for the tip on this: A survey that gives you a chance to reflect on what you wish you had known before the pandemic hit – how prepared were you for some of the challenges these past five months have thrown at you? As the city-conducted survey explains, “We want to learn more about impacts to our community so we can help people be more prepared in the future.” You can answer the survey by starting here.
Thanks to Trileigh Tucker for the tip – she says Orca Network is reporting whales in Elliott Bay! Let us know if you see them.
The photo and report are from the Highland Park Improvement Club:
Please Help – Someone has stolen the BLM banners from the Highland Park Improvement Club fence – we have recovered half of them but are still searching for the rest. The piece we have was found around 14th & Thistle. Please email with any leads – hpic1919@gmail.com
HPIC is a nonprofit community organization headquartered in a century-old building at 12th and Holden, and has been busy even with the pandemic putting gatherings on hold, offering free food for families, among other things.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
While the major road project under way along much of Delridge Way right now is officially the RapidRide H Line conversion project, that doesn’t quite cover what’s happening – rebuilding miles of street in concrete, replacing old water pipes and other utility connections … and, eventually, installing high-tech bus stops.
The work began in June and has more than a year to go. We met with SDOT project-team members online Wednesday to talk about major work coming up.
But first – the story of what’s not happening, thanks to neighbors’ pushback. It’s a reason to pay close attention to what shows up in your mailbox or on your doorknob. Residents were surprised last week to get flyers like this about a plan for “diverters” on 26th at Genesee and at Brandon:
One new report and two followups in West Seattle Crime Watch this afternoon:
PUGET RIDGE GUNFIRE: After a reader report about confirmed gunfire on Puget Ridge last night, we requested the incident narrative from Seattle Police. It happened around 9:30 pm; a vehicle described as a “dark-colored sedan” was seen in the 5500 block of 18th SW. One block north, police found five shell casings, all described as 9mm Luger, from two different manufacturers. The police report says no property damage or injuries were reported.
STOLEN CAR FOUND: Kelly confirms what a commenter posted this morning below the report about her stolen white Honda Pilot, taken Friday in Admiral – it was found in the 9400 block of 17th SW.
STOLEN BACKPACK FOUND: The backpack belonging to Tina‘s son, reported stolen at Lowman Beach, turned up today nearby. (Thanks to the finder who texted us so we could tell Tina!)
(Photo: Life as a Voyager, Brigit Stadler)
Outer Space Seattle, which had only been open for 2 months when the pandemic began, reopens Monday, with a different mission: Drop-off child care. From proprietor Caitlin Huertas:
Space Camp Drop-off Child care will be Monday through Friday for kids 3-10 years old, kids must be potty trained. Child care is an essential need for many parents, and we are delighted to serve the families in our community. Following Health Department and CDC guidelines, we will be limiting the number of children in our facility at a time, so reserve your spot by going to our website www.outerspaceseattle.com
Each child will have their temperature taken at check in, and must wear a mask for the duration of their stay at Outer Space Seattle. All children must have a waiver, intake form, and Covid-19 screening form filled out and on file before attending. Each 3 hour Space Camp session will be split into two groups of 8 kids, and will be supervised by one staff leader. Each group will be utilizing different locations of our facility at different times. Space Camp includes a space-themed craft and time playing on our indoor playground.
Outer Space Seattle is at 2820 Alki SW.
Another local summer tradition that’s a little different this year: WestSide Baby‘s “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive. No in-person bus stuffing this time around, but no shortage of need … as WS Baby explains, “So far this year we have already distributed over 1.1 million diapers, about the same amount that we typically distribute in an entire YEAR!” The goal of this summer’s “Stuff the Bus” is to raise enough money for 350,000 more diapers, and WS Baby is still 50,000 short of that. If you can give, there are multiple options here.
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