West Seattle, Washington
04 Friday
11:08 PM: A Seattle Fire “full response” is headed for the 6300 block of 38th SW [map]. First engine on scene says it’s a house fire.
11:13 PM: The fire is reported to be on the house’s 2nd floor. Firefighters have water on it.
11:19 PM: The fire is reported to be under control. Both occupants are reported to have gotten out OK.
11:22 PM: Fire now declared “tapped” (out).
ADDED 2 PM MONDAY: SFD says, “The fire started from a lamp in a closet that ignited nearby combustible material. Total estimated loss is $125,000.”
A short roundup as we wrap up the holiday weekend:
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*11,014 people have tested positive, up 230 from yesterday
*590 people have died, unchanged for a second day
*1,616 people have been hospitalized, up 6 from yesterday
*187,647 people have been tested, up 6.111 from yesterday
(corrected) One week ago, the totals were 9,901/586/1,574/159,551.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 11.4 million cases and more than 534,000 deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
NO SHIRT, NO SHOES, NO MASK, NO SERVICE: Remember that Tuesday’s the day that businesses statewide are supposed to start refusing service to those not wearing face coverings.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
4 bridge notes as the 16th week of its closure appraches:
RECONNECT WEST SEATTLE: Tomorrow’s the aay that SDOT has said it will go public with ballots to vote on potential projects that can help with bridge-closure-related traffic in four areas – Highland Park/Riverview/South Delridge/Roxhill, as well as South Park, Georgetown, and SODO. Each area’s ballot will ask you to choose up to 10 of the projects; voting will be open until the end of the month.
COMMUNITY TASK FORCE: This advisory group’s fourth meeting is scheduled for Wednesday (July 8th), noon-2 pm. We’ll publish the link for real=time viewing as soon as we get it from SDOT.
FEDERAL FUNDING? Our area’s U.S. House Rep. Pramila Jayapal – a West Seattle resident when not in D.C. – says she’s pushing for it. Last week she mentioned the bridge on the House floor, and tweeted the clip:
Speaking on the House floor today, I urged support for a deeply necessary investment in our country's infrastructure. This includes critical revenue for repairing and rebuilding bridges like the West Seattle Bridge in our community. pic.twitter.com/CbyzDwFeyV
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 1, 2020
In her latest weekly newsletter, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold says she’s working with Rep.Jayapal on that.
SPEAKING OF $: Seen on the city website, another “request for statement of qualifications” – this time for a consultant to handle communications, although the description targets “qualified engineering firms,” not communications firms. Whoever’s hired is expected to get $5 million over three years.
8:31 PM Thanks for the texted tips and photo – another crash on Sylvan Way near Sylvan Heights. Sam reports, “Driver hit a tree and took the entire tree down, then went up the embankment and knocked down a fence, then landed upright wrapped around another tree.” SFD has cleared the scene, no medic unit dispatched, so apparently no major injuries. Sam says two people were in the car.
8:48 PM: Sam says traffic’s being allowed back through, as site cleanup continues.
The reopenings continue.
EPHESUS: Thanks for the tip! The Turkish restaurant at 5245 California SW plans to reopen Wednesday (July 8th). For dinner reservations, call 206-937-3302.
IRASHAI: The Japanese restaurant at 2352 California SW (which changed ownership last year) has a big banner announcing it’s reopening Tuesday (July 7th).
The family of former longtime West Seattle resident Vernon “Don” Adams has announced his passing and is sharing this remembrance:
Vernon ‘Don’ Adams passed away peacefully on June 21, 2020, with his loving wife of almost 65 years, Tricia, and his daughter, Edie, at his bedside. Other family members were not able to visit due to the current pandemic.
Don was born on Valentine’s Day during the Great Depression times of 1936 in rural Wellington, Texas to David Wendell and Anna Dobson Adams. Dave and Anna worked a variety of jobs including farm labor and picking fruit. At the time of Don’s birth, Dave worked as a rural school bus driver. The young couple were assisted by a minister whose name was Vernon and, in gratitude, named little “Don” after the minister. Within a few years, when Don was six-months-old, the migrant family had moved to Auburn, Washington. At four years old, Don was recorded onto the 1940 census.
With his older brother, George, Don grew up in Auburn throughout the 1940s and – 50s. Like many young men of those times, his interests included cars, hunting, horseback clubs, and girls. Don “lettered” as a varsity basketball player and played other sports. He was also an avid outdoorsman all his life. He enjoyed camping, fishing, and hunting with his family, friends, and business partners.
According to Tricia, during his school years, he was really into horses: “I think he had at least three and he belonged to the Saddle Club.” The club went on trail rides and Don and his friends camped with their horses. “I remember Don telling me about camping out by the river, catching fish and cooking them over a campfire, and having sword fights with the big ferns”. Another time Don and his buddies were riding their horses up by Lake Tapps chasing some Indian ponies and Don’s horse ran into a wire and was cut. Don’s father Dave taught Don how to doctor the horse.
Then cars entered the picture. “When I first met Don, he had a little red Oldsmobile convertible with a white top he sold to get a ‘49 Chevrolet that ended up being our first car”. He always felt bad about being lured away from his horses by a car. He drove to school and worked on a water well rig and also in a slaughterhouse outside of Auburn but mostly at his father’s Auburn Texaco service station. Don cherished all the friendships he made and has maintained them from those early school days.
In 1954, Don was introduced to Patricia Wilson by his sister-in-law Hazel Adams (both young women were working for Patricia’s uncle in the main office of his downtown bookstore, which was part of a national chain). Love bloomed and they married July 30th, 1955, in Seattle. Don initially worked at Boeing but did not find that to his liking. Don had always been enamored of planes and was able to start flying lessons while working at Boeing. With a new family, he eventually had to stop the lessons, but later he was able to go back and fly solo.
Over the next few years, the couple followed construction to find work. For a few months in late 1956, they lived in Myrtle Point, Oregon while Don was working as an apprentice carpenter, helping build a school. The young couple lived in Myrtle Point until the construction job finished and they then traveled to Santa Rosa, California. While living in a mobile home park on the Old Redwood Highway, Don took a job at the Cadillac garage in Santa Rosa. Their first son, Michael, was born in Santa Rosa and the young father took his family home from the hospital in a borrowed Cadillac. Eventually, Don got homesick and lonesome for the beautiful green state of Washington and the couple went back to Washington, living in several small towns south of Seattle, before moving to West Seattle in 1963. While his children were small, Don had another job that involved driving a big truck from Seattle to Reno to Sacramento. For a while, he also was a relief milk truck driver for Kent Farm Dairy in Kent, Washington. Don always wanted to be a police officer and in 1960, he began working with the King County Sheriff Department. In 1961, he moved to the Seattle Police Department.
As a Seattle Police Department Sergeant in July 1972, Don was awarded the Seattle Industrial Kiwanis Club Police Officer of the Month for a heroic rescue action he performed during a March 18, 1972 gunfire standoff involving a mentally-ill individual who had been sniping at individuals from his upper story, downtown hotel window. In a Seattle Times article of the day, “Officer Honored for Actions against Sniper,” it was written that: “Police Sgt. Vernon D. Adams, 36, was honored at a luncheon today as Officer of the Month by the Industrial Kiwanis Club. Adams was chosen because of his role in taking command of police operations as a sniper at the Bush Hotel fired on police March 18. Adams was also awarded a department commendation by Chief George P. Tielsch.”
The Chief’s commendation was as follows: “Although you were aware that you were exposing yourself to deadly danger, you risked your life to rescue a fellow officer…” which “resulted in your sustaining a serious and painful gunshot wound. I have no doubt that your direction of this operation, although wounded yourself, and your courageous self-sacrifice minimized the potentially serious injuries and prevented the fatal injuring of the police officers at the scene.”
Thankfully, he recovered from his physical injuries, but trauma nevertheless was in fact sustained (today it would be called post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD). Also, although Don had always wanted to be a police officer, he became disillusioned with what might be called “politics” in the Department (i.e., watch out who you catch doing something wrong and arrest and who they might be connected to). He left the police department in 1975.
That period was initially a period of chaotic personal turmoil, facing the challenge of changing employment while having a family of six to feed. Also, within approximately a year of leaving police work, the family unexpectedly sustained a house fire, requiring him to face multiple challenges including several moves over the next year, while he commissioned a new house in the Schmitz Park area of West Seattle.
Although he initially considered small-town police department Chief positions during this period, he found an exciting change in the direction of real estate. He later felt that he owed a great deal to his mentor, the West Seattle real estate broker Ron Turner. Within short order, he was his office’s top producer and eventually sold multiple millions of dollars in real estate. His wife, Tricia joined him in the real estate practice, and together with another couple, they started their new business “Elliott Bay Realtors,” first operating out of the Admiral District and later building their own real estate office at California and Brandon street in West Seattle. They eventually sold their interest, left, and worked with Prudential Real Estate (the other couple later sold Elliott Bay Realtors to Prudential).
During Don’s later years as a real-estate agent, he resumed his young adult hobby of private pilot aviation and enjoyed several different aircraft. According to Tricia, during a hectic real estate market, Don discovered he could get away from the office and watch the planes and hide at Boeing Field. It was there he saw his first Ercoupe and the rest is history. The guy was rebuilding the one we bought and we had our choice of paint colors so we chose lime and white, just like the can of (a popular) shaving cream.
At one point, he also had his own small 22-foot sailboat which he would sail in Elliott Bay of Seattle. In a time of a busy market, these activities helped preserve his sanity!
After retirement in 2000, Don and Tricia traveled the United States in a fifth-wheel trailer revisiting historic sites of family history. After two years of this nomadic travel (and with some health issues), they settled down at their high-desert retirement home in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Through the connection of their daughter and son-in-law to the U.S. Army post-Fort Huachuca, Don and Tricia were introduced to Sierra Vista and it was there that they decided where their retirement years together would be spent. In Sierra Vista, Don was involved with the local radio-control-aircraft flying club, where he made many deep friendships.
Don was an engaged parent and grandparent and was constantly amazed by the large and small achievements of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Employment: Carpenter; Long-haul Truck Driver; Milk Man; King County Sheriff Deputy; Seattle Police Department Motorcycle Officer, Patrolman, Sergeant & Detective; Real Estate Agent, Broker and part-owners of Elliott Bay Realtors.
Children: Besides Michael Don Adams, two additional sons, Stanley David Adams and Jerrold Dennis Adams, and a daughter, Edith “Edie” Anne (Adams) Guild became part of their family.
Grandkids and Great Grandkids: Michael David Adams, Zachary Loberg Adams, Lauren Rae Adams, Kyran Park Adams, Bradley Adams, Kiana Jade Adams, Nicolle Rose Guild, Jessica Anne Guild, and Great-grandchildren James A. Segovia and Landon Rose.
The family plans to have a Memorial BBQ in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, please donate “In Memory of Don Adams” to your favorite animal rescue organization.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
In our coverage last night, we asked for photos of fireworks debris readers found today. First, from Phil at Westcrest Park:
2:07 PM: From Christie at Highland Park Elementary:
From a texter at Alki Beach:
Next one is from Therese in The Junction:
She notes, “Partial debris pile from ONE household’s “celebration” in the alley directly behind Courtesy Tire, which went on until after 2:30 a.m. The smell is terrible, and of course it is impossible to pick up all the little bits.” Toxic, too. Photos from other areas? Send them and we will add – thank you.
ADDED 5:20 PM: From Jackie, near White Center:
Jackie says, “t was 3 am before the bombing stopped. I’ve never before seen residential fireworks the size of a case of beer.” Next, from Kayoko, at North Shorewood Park’s parking lot:
And from Laura at EC Hughes Playground:
The first Sunday of the month usually brings the monthly Community Advisory Committee meeting for Camp Second Chance, West Seattle’s only city-sanctioned encampment. Because of the holiday, the CAC meeting is delayed a week to next Sunday, July 12th, 2 pm. Here’s how to join:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 858 5523 4269
Password: 9701
By phone: 253 215 8782
Our coverage of past meetings, and the encampment itself, is archived here.
(Photo by Lonita Weaver, who says, “My husband, Ray Weaver of Arbor Heights, made this picnic table for our resident squirrels in backyard.”)
As the three-day holiday weekend concludes, here’s our list of what’s happening today, starting with updated links for West Seattle churches’ online services – most livestreamed, some not:
ADMIRAL UCC: Find today’s worship video here.
ALKI UCC: 10 am online service via Zoom – info and link on church’s home page.
ALL SOULS SEATTLE (WSB sponsor): Online worship is viewable here.
BETHANY COMMUNITY CHURCH: Livestreaming for West Seattle here at 9:30 am.
CALVARY CHAPEL: Service will be viewable here, plus 11 am fellowship via Zoom, 6 pm all-church prayer and 7 pm evening worship (info on home page).
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS: West Seattle Ward has Sunday services via Zoom at 10 am, one hour long, all welcome. They last an hour. Here’s the link.
EASTRIDGE CHURCH: Livestreaming here at 9 am and 11 am.
FAUNTLEROY UCC: Livestreaming on the church’s YouTube channel at 10 am.
FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF WEST SEATTLE: Today’s online liturgy is here.
GRACE CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10:30 am.
HALLOWS CHURCH: Streaming at 10 am via the church’s YouTube channel.
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming in English at 8:30 am, en Español at 10 am, all here. (Adding in-person Masses July 11th – registration required.)
HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 9:30 am here.
HOPE LUTHERAN: Today’s worship service and children’s story are viewable here.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH: Livestreaming at 10 am, both here.
PEACE LUTHERAN: Livestreaming at 10:30 am on YouTube.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Viewable on YouTube: All Ages Sunday School at 10 am, Morning Prayer at 10:15 am (here’s today’s bulletin), Kids’ Club at 11:30 am.
TIBBETTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (WSB sponsor): The video service for today will be viewable here.
TRINITY CHURCH: Livestreaming here, 10 am.
WEST SEATTLE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: The video service for today is viewable here.
WEST SEATTLE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: Livestreaming here, 11 am.
WEST SIDE PRESBYTERIAN Livestreaming at 10 am on the church’s YouTube channel.
WESTSIDE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION: Livestreaming at 10:30 am – information’s here, 10:30 am.
WESTWOOD CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: Online worship at 11 am; info here.
Any other churches to add? Please email us – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Also today:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week. (Enter at California/Alaska)
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Open 11 am-4 pm – need a tool to fix or improve something? (4408 Delridge Way SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE: Out to -3.0 feet at 11:38 am.
FREE TO-GO DINNER – NEW LOCATION: White Center Community Dinner Church will serve to-go meals at 5 pm, outside, near the Bartell Drugs parking lot in White Center, SW Roxbury St. & 15th Ave. SW (9600 15th Ave SW)
From Dayanne: “Between Thursday night 10 pm and Friday morning at 7 am my dad’s car was stolen from in front of our house on 8th and Sullivan [South Park]. Please keep an eye out for a black Lexus IS 250; the license plate number is BNF6031. It’s all black with tinted windows and has the same wheels as the picture – we don’t have an exact picture of the car, but it looks identical to the one (here).” Call 911 if you see it.
10:35 PM: Many Fourth of July late nights, we keep an incident log, so we’re starting one now. Above is the SPD Mobile Precinct, seen at Alki around 7 pm. Around 9 pm, police radioed that they would be assisting Seattle Parks in closing the beach. Then came a call for police to help SFD with numerous illegal beach fires. And right now, police are handling a crash in the (corrected) 1200 block of Alki SW – the whole block is closed, per the scanner. This was originally dispatched as a rollover but we’re not sure if that’s what it turned out to be; more than half the originally dispatched SFD units have been dismissed. … Update: Erin just sent this photo. Definitely a flipped car.
One person is reported to be getting evaluated for possible injuries.
11:02 PM: Another Alki crash dispatch, 56th about half a block south of Alki SW. Also, a car fire at 6th SW/SW Cloverdale, which is close to a “brush fire” call last hour. The previous call was answered by Squad 40, a unit we don’t usually hear mentioned routinely. SFD explains that it’s “our brush truck used for wildland firefighting deployments. We have it staffed and in-service today for responding to extinguish spot/brush fires.”
11:28 PM: Alki SW is still closed at the flipped-car crash scene, which, as shown in the photo below sent by Michael, is outside the Infinity project site – took out the fencing:
11:35 PM: Now a “brush fire” call at Gatewood Elementary – which is barely half a block west of this evening’s apartment fire. Dispatcher says a tree is on fire. … And a minute later, a “rubbish fire” dispatch at Lowman Beach.
12:33 AM: Things have quieted down somewhat since that burst.
1:12 AM: What’s it been like on Alki? Two photos from David Hutchinson:
Up here east of Lincoln Park, we’re still hearing scattered booms.
2:28 AM: Finally quiet, at least here.
3:15 AM: Well, it was, till now. P.S. If you are among the kind souls who go out on the morning of the 5th to clean up … consider sending us a photo of what you find.
As public-health authorities warned, viruses don’t take holidays. So even on this Independence Day night, we have a roundup, though it’s short:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative numbers from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*10,784 people have tested positive, 65 more than yesterday
*590 people have died, unchanged from yesterday
*1,610 people have been hospitalized, unchanged from yesterday
*181,536 people have been tested, 1,892 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 9,819/586/1,574/157,623.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 11.2 million people have tested positive, and more than 530,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, Russia, India, Peru (last week’s #5, the UK, is down to #7). See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.
NEED PET FOOD? King County’s mobile pet-food bank has announced it’ll be at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center (1321 SW 102nd) noon-3 pm next Friday (July 10th).
FARMERS’ MARKET NOTES FOR SUNDAY: The market remains modified because of the pandemic, but it’s open tomorrow as usual, 10 am–2 pm. If you’ve ordered from the new online system, you can go directly to the north side of the market for pickup – California/Oregon. If you’re shopping the regular market, management wants you to know:
People needing ADA accessibility, those with mobility issues, and older folks are welcome to walk to the front of the market line [California/Alaska] for quicker entry. (This is a rule we’ve had in place verbally and through signage at market for months, but it seems more important than ever with the heat and longer lines.)
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westsettleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
6:04 PM: We just happened onto this and SFD has just arrived.
The fire was burning in shrubbery in front of the building and spread to balconies.
(Photo by Julianne Davidson)
(Texted photo)
Passersby were hollering for people to get out. More…
More firefighters have arrived. The flames were roaring up the side of the building before their arrival. No word of injuries so far.
6:19 PM: Under control, damage mostly exterior, says SFD. Cause under investigation.
6:34 PM: They’re evaluating the interior to see if it’s safe for residents to go back inside.
7:15 PM: California’s still blocked at the scene by SFD units.
7:30 PM: SFD says it was started by fireworks. $100,000 damage estimate.
8:49 PM: Added two short video clips we recorded just before and just after the first engine arrived. Meantime, the incident log shows only 3 units still on scene, so California is likely passable again.
From the Rotary Club of West Seattle:
Another Rotary Year Passes:
The West Seattle Rotary just had its New Year’s (July 1) change of Leadership. We would like to welcome our new President Dawn Schaper, who is also the Executive Director of Brookdale Admiral Heights.
This has been a busy year for outgoing President Dave Nichols; with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he took the weekly club meetings online in Zoom. As a club, we raised and donated almost $10,000 to three of our local nonprofits – West Seattle Food Bank, Senior Center of West Seattle, and WestSide Baby, who are supporting our community in this time of need. If you would like to help us, you may donate here.
One of the annual events presented by the Rotary, the West Seattle Grand Parade, is among the summer events that have to skip this year.
Somebody texted a while ago to report a beaver at Don Armeni. We suspect it’s the same critter Sharon Wada photographed earlier today, sending the pics and noting, “This guy looks like he’s surfing! So many people I talked to said this was the first time they’ve seen a beaver walking and swimming in the tideoools before swimming along the edge towards Elliott Bay. Feel free to post these pictures of what looks to be a beaver; however, some have asked if it was a nutria.”
11 years ago, a similar sighting in a Junction yard resulted in a commenter consensus of “marmot.” Here are infopages for beavers, nutria, and marmot (seems unlikely). Thoughts?
Right about now every Fourth of July, Southwest Seattle Historical Society members and friends gather at the Log House Museum on Alki for their annual picnic. Not this year. But the SWSHS is offering you the chance to celebrate by learning more about a chapter in American history – here’s the announcement:
Over the past year, staff at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society have conducted a series of oral histories with the West Seattle High School classes of 1944 and 1945. The purpose was to document the impact of WWII on the youth of West Seattle.
We had hoped to have a pop-up exhibit at the all-school reunion at WSHS (last month). However, the reunion was canceled due to the pandemic. So, we are bringing you a mini-online exhibit of War on the Homefront. Head over to our website for a glimpse of the rich stories our wonderful participants shared with us. We look forward to creating a more robust exhibit at the museum in the future.
(To explore the “mini-exhibit,” mouse over the bottom of the window that’ll come up on the SWSHS website, and you’ll see the arrows.)
(Photo by Brittany Philbin)
Good morning and happy Independence Day! Because of the pandemic, all the usual local events are taking this year off. So we have a few notes (interspersed with local photos of our national bird, the Bald Eagle):
TRANSIT: Metro is on the usual Saturday schedule.
PARKS: Here’s the city list of what’s closed/open.
ALKI CLEANUP: As previewed here, you’re invited to join in, 10 am-2 pm.
LOW-LOW TIDE: Way out to -3.0 feet at 10:56 am.
(Photo by Sharon Wada)
FIREWORKS: Not here (illegal, and city/port parks are trying to dissuade them), no shows visible from here (Lake Union show is canceled, Three Tree Point show is canceled, Bainbridge show is canceled, Vashon show is canceled).
LUNAR ECLIPSE, SORT OF: One will be happening tonight after 8 pm but even if the sky’s clear, you won’t see anything but the full moon, Space.com explains.
(Photo by Lynn Hall)
We’re working as always, so if you have a photo, tip, lost/found pet, westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you and stay safe!
(Sound Transit graphic from October 2019 board meeting)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Eight months after the Sound Transit Board decided to add the “Yancy/Andover Elevated” route to the list of possibilities, some of the West Seattleites who might be in its path are just learning about it.
A group of neighbors in the area west of Avalon Way, including 32nd SW, is meeting weekly to talk about it, and more than 50 of them had an online meeting with Sound Transit reps this past Monday night. We were invited to cover it.
They’re not trying to derail light rail – but they want to understand this potential alignment, how it would affect their neighborhood, and how best to get involved in the review process.
18 weeks ago tonight, King County’s first coronavirus case was announced. Most nights since then, we’ve updated virus-crisis local news in our nightly roundup:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*10,719 people have tested positive, 123 more than yesterday
*590 people have died, 1 more than yesterday
*1,610 people have been hospitalized, 4 more than yesterday
*179,644 people have been tested, 3,651 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 9,695/586/1,564/155,859.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 11 million cases, 524,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
CAN YOU GIVE BLOOD? If so, your help is urgently needed (note – looks like most of tomorrow’s slots are taken, but other days are available).
PICKUP MARKET: If you don’t feel comfortable shopping multiple booths at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, the new online-ordering system for one pickup point is up and running. Midnight tonight is the deadline for pickups this Sunday.
QUESTIONS FOR YOU: The COVID-19-forced changes in higher education have South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) asking questions in a community survey.
HAVE A SAFE HOLIDAY! Here’s how.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
It’s not even dark, and people are illegally setting off fireworks, scaring those you can’t calm with an explanation – particularly pets. 
The Seattle Animal Shelter‘s advice for helping your pets this time of year (published last year, but unfortunately perennially relevant) is here, with advice such as “Leave pets at home and inside,” “Create a home sanctuary,” and “Identification is essential.” No matter what you do, your pet might still bolt if s/he gets the chance; if you lose or find a pet, remember that we have had a Lost/Found Pets page on WSB for 12 years – send us info (westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302) and a photo, if available. But no matter how much care you take with pets, there are still animals affected because their “home sanctuaries” are those same outdoor spaces where people are setting off explosives – our beautiful birds, for example. Thanks in advance for your consideration. (WSB shop cat Miles, 20 and declining, thanks you too.)
Summertime = reading time! If you have a Madison Middle School student in the household, here’s an announcement from Madison librarian Stacia Bell:
Mark your calendars for July 29th and August 20th — Madison Middle School’s next two CURBSIDE BOOK PICK-UP days!
Ms. Bell and the Madison Library will be checking out books to Madison students from 3-5 pm on those two upcoming summer days. In order to reserve books for pickup, students need to place books on hold (you can check out up to 10 books at a time this summer) through our Madison Online Library Catalog at least one day in advance of a scheduled pick-up day.
To learn more about CURBSIDE BOOK PICK-UP and how to place books on hold, please watch this video. If you are an incoming Madison 6th grader, you cannot yet place books on hold yourself in our Madison Catalog. Instead, please check the catalog for availability and then send your specific book requests to Ms. Bell at smbell@seattleschools.org so that she can add the holds for you. Feel free to contact Ms. Bell with any questions or if you are not able to make it to school to pick up your reserved books. Happy reading!
Three notes this afternoon:
STOLEN PICKUP TRUCK: From M: “Parked in street at 32nd/Kenyon, stolen sometime last night, early today. 2014 dark gray Toyota Tacoma pickup, long bed with canopy. Has a dragon boat sticker in back canopy window, and a Hawaiian sticker.” We’ll add the plate when we get it. Call 911 if you see this pickup.
STOLEN E-BIKE: From Patricia:
Last night someone got into our garage and took our e-bike, near 35th SW and Thistle. The battery was charging, so it was not with the bike. Similar detail to the post on 2 July Gatewood car prowl with glove box contents scattered on passenger seat. Opened garage with the remote in the car, then took the ebike.
DUMPED TOTE BAG/GROCERIES: Also along Thistle, just east of California, we discovered this on the south-side-of-street planting strip, and are wondering if it was taken in a car prowl: A spilled bag of groceries – unopened cans of soup, a bag of pasta, bottles of sauces. There were drink cans when we first noticed this two days ago, but those are gone now. While using a grabber to pick up the remaining cans, we noticed a name written on the grocery bag, in childlike printing, first name starting with E and last name Baff— (we tried looking online for a match, no luck), and this striped mini-tote bag:
We’re leaving the items on the planting strip in case someone recognizes them. If we wind up having to dispose of the food (which is now in an otherwise-clean black bag), we’ll make an equivalent cash donation to the food bank that serves this area, hate to see it wasted.
Bloodworks Northwest sent this “urgent alert” for a donation event on the 4th of July:
Blood Donations Needed Over 4th of July Weekend!
Bloodworks NW has partnered with Seattle Seahawks and Seafair to host a Pop-up Blood Donor Center at CenturyLink Field. Tomorrow, July 4th, there are still 35 donor appointments available. Our state is in a blood crisis and your blood is needed to service our local hospitals and patients. Please make your blood donation for tomorrow at www.BloodworksNW.org and use code SEAF – All donors who sign up by the 11th receive a $20 grocery gift card and will be entered into win a Seahawks Swag Bag that includes a full-sized authentic helmet autographed by Tyler Lockett and a 12 Flag autographed by Bobby Wagner.
| 4 COMMENTS