West Seattle, Washington
22 Thursday
12:36 PM: There’s a postscript today to last week’s big controversy over a 19-year-old diver removing an octopus from popular Cove 2 at Seacrest.
West Seattle environmental advocate “Diver Laura” James – the first person to tip us last week – monitored the proceedings in Olympia before state Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting. In our coverage last week, we focused on plans to push for protection of wildlife at Cove 2, since otherwise, the octopus catch was completely legal. The state explained that public comment was welcome at commission meetings (today and tomorrow are the first ones since the incident). James reports that the octopus catcher, Dylan Mayer, spoke during the public-comment period of today’s meeting, “on behalf of closing Cove 2 for octopus and putting up clear signage.” She adds, “Massive props go to Craig Willemsen, the owner of Silent World Diving Systems, who met with him on Tuesday and discussed it as an option.” Mayer had defended his action in various discussions, including the WSB Forum, with several posts including this one. This morning’s meeting was webcast by TVW, and video will eventually be online here.
ADDED 6:37 PM: The official state news release about what happened today, including Mayer’s comments:Read More
(Photo by Doug B, whose work you can check out on Flickr)
Beautiful morning! And the Olympic Mountains’ snow frosting reminds us it’s getting colder – tonight’s low is expected to drop into the 30s. But no rain is expected today/tonight, so it’s still a great chance to be out and about, with the following highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
LIBRARY STORY TIME: 11:15 am, it’s Preschool Story Time at Delridge Library (Brandon/Delridge).
MDA FUNDRAISER ‘LOCKUP’: At midday today, as part of a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, various local business/organization leaders/reps will be “arrested” and “locked up” till they are “bailed out” by pledges/donations to MDA.
NEXT ELECTION RESULTS: King County plans to release new vote counts at 4:30 and 8:30 pm today/tonight. They say about 3,300 “on-time ballots” arrived with this morning’s mail.
BIKE MASTER PLAN WORKSHOP: Downtown last night, on Beacon Hill tonight – it’s your second chance to speak up for West Seattle’s needs in the city’s Bicycle Master Plan Update. 5:30-7:30 pm at NewHolly Gathering Hall, as explained here.
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: 6-9 pm tonight at dozens of venues around West Seattle! Here’s the list/map. Some highlights:
-Longtime WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli‘s internationally famous “big food/little people” work is part of a group show at ArtsWest in The Junction, and he’ll be there for the reception, 6-7:30 pm, as will Kristen Reitz-Green and Jere Smith, whose work also is part of “A Feast for the Eyes.”
–West Seattle Cellars (WSB sponsor) has its weekly free tasting 5:30-8 pm and is showing the work of Glenn Brewer.
–Heidi Horwitz DDS-Orthodontics for All Ages (WSB sponsor) at Genesee/California is participating, with jewelry designer Katherine Dancer.
-In The Admiral District, participants include Heartland Café featuring Nicole Melchior, and Zatz A Better Bagel (WSB sponsor) featuring
–Rachel Austin (whose work is featured on this quarter’s WSAW poster, above) is back at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in The Junction
-Also in The Junction, Kari-Lise Alexander is featured at Wallflower Custom Framing (WSB sponsor).
-Find lots more spotlights on the official West Seattle Art Walk website
DESIGN REVIEW DOUBLEHEADER: Two major West Seattle Junction projects go before the Southwest Design Review Board tonight for the second time. Both meetings are at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon – enter on the Oregon side and go upstairs); both will include public-comment periods (regarding design issues). Here’s the lineup:
–6:30 pm, 4724 California. This is the project proposed for the ex-Petco, now-Sound Ad Group site. The project passed Early Design Guidance back in May (WSB coverage here) and is now up for potentially final approval. Here’s our most recent report.
–8 pm, 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW. This is the megaproject which, as first reported here yesterday, will include a Whole Foods Market. It did NOT pass Early Design Guidance at its first meeting (WSB coverage here), so it’s back for a second round.
GENESEE-SCHMITZ NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Live in the Genesee Hill/Schmitz Park area? This is your neighborhood council, and they’d love to see you at their meeting tonight, 6:45 pm at the West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW).
Music and more in our other listings for tonight – and for many days/weeks/months ahead – on our calendar.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Helen, who wonders if anyone else got a call like this:
I got a most peculiar message on my land line last night. The message was from a young woman claiming to be with the King County Republican party, and she was calling to report that my ballot could not be counted because of a discrepancy with my signature. I didn’t listen to the rest of the message, but I found it very odd, especially since this came the day AFTER the election. I checked to ensure my ballot was received and counted here:
info.kingcounty.gov/elections/BallotTracker.aspx
My ballot was indeed received, verified and counted.
This morning I called the King County elections office and reported this. The number that my caller ID caught was 425-679-9085. According to the person I spoke with, the elections office is getting a pretty good number of complaints about this number.
The point of my message is this: If you got a call from these people, PLEASE report it, I don’t care what your political affiliation is. What they’re doing is a federal crime.
We have a message out to King County Elections to ask about this. We also called the number Helen mentioned – and it went to a voicemail greeting that self-identifies as the King County Republican Party, saying they are “currently reminding voters to return their ballot” as part of a “Get Out the Vote” effort, though a crossreference via Google does not list the number as anything official. We left a message. The official number for KC GOP is listed on its website as (425) 990-0404, and we’re also contacting them through official channels to ask about it. We’ll update this later as we find out more.
10:38 AM UPDATE: No replies yet to any of the aforementioned inquiries, but commenters say they received similar inquiries from someone claiming to be with the Democratic Party. As Helen notes above, you can check the county Ballot Tracker – but note that if you didn’t drop off or mail your ballot until the last minute, it may not have shown up yet.
(Live view from the only WS Bridge camera currently in operation; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
Wednesday turned out to be a busy day with traffic/transit effects … today is starting quiet but we’ll see what’s ahead.
The first of two city workshops for the city’s Bicycle Master Plan Update included plenty of input from members of newly organized West Seattle Bike Connections. And if you missed it, there’s another workshop tonight. WSBC’s Don Brubeck shared the photo with this report on how things went Wednesday night at City Hall downtown:
West Seattle was well represented at City Hall! We provided, and the SDOT planners sincerely welcomed, our input. Due to representation from neighborhoods all over the peninsula, and all types of bike riders, our contingent had incredible local knowledge of the streets and routes people need to travel. We were able to give SDOT feedback on their preliminary draft routes, eliminating some due to steep hills or potential conflicts with vehicle traffic or parking, and adding other possible neighborhood connecting routes on lower traffic streets. A bunch of us also sported new West Seattle Bike Connections shirts.
City Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen (from West Seattle) and Sally Bagshaw were present, along with the whole Seattle Bike Advisory Board and a large contingent from SDOT and their bike planning consultants, Alta Planning & Design.
The meeting tonight (Thursday) is 5:30-7:30 pm at the NewHolly Gathering Place, 7054 32nd Avenue S. on Beacon Hill (map).
If you have driven the newly reopened lower Spokane Street, westbound under the newly widened Spokane Street Viaduct, you have seen the designs painted on the columns – city-commissioned art that’s part of the project. The city has just announced plans for a formal dedication:
After three years of construction, the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project is nearly complete. At a public dedication scheduled for 9 a.m, Friday, Nov. 16, a unique set of artworks will be unveiled, along with new sidewalks and landscaping in the lower roadway reconstruction. Santa Monica, Calif. artist team merge conceptual design’s (Claudia Reisenberger and Franka Diehnelt) artwork, SODO, is a vast visual narrative that catalogues more than 200 years of SoDo’s history. Created in partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the artwork consists of stenciled and barcode designs painted on the concrete columns that hold up the existing and new portions of the Spokane Street Viaduct between Sixth Avenue South and East Marginal Way South. Nine different color and image schemes create separate zones that recollect the natural and cultural history of the area, the industries that flourished there, and wildlife that inhabited the site. In total, more than 500 column faces were painted.
7:26 PM: After months of meetings and revisions, the Seattle School Board has just unanimously approved the project list for the $695 million BEX IV levy they will send to voters in February, including expanding and renovating Fairmount Park Elementary to reopen in 2014, building a new Schmitz Park Elementary on the Genesee Hill site to open in 2015, and building a new Arbor Heights Elementary to open in 2018.
There were no amendments proposed before the vote but the list that passed (see it here) included the extra language we have reported here in the past few days – clarifying that the current Schmitz Park Elementary will be kept open as a school (either neighborhood or option, said assistant superintendent Pegi McEvoy tonight) and that the district will rebuild AH sooner if it can figure out a way. The levy will go to voters February 12th, as will the district operations levy also finalized tonight; between the two, they’re asking voters for $1.2 billion, acknowledged board president Michael DeBell, saying, “This is a bold package. We’re asking for a lot of money.” Tonight’s public speakers, pre-vote, included Vicki Schmitz Block and son Dietrich Schmitz, thanking the board for responding to the family’s request that the current school, on a site their family donated to the district decades ago, remain in operation as a school.
ADDED 8:10 PM: The district’s official news release, ahead:Read More
5:40 PM: Thanks for all the tips – we’re on our way to check out a police search in the 36th/Graham/Raymond vicinity. Police are looking for a suspect linked to a car in which, according to the scanner, a gun was found. More info as we get it.
5:45 PM: It’s a search for an assault suspect, according to Southwest Precinct Capt. Steve Paulsen, who confirms a gun has been found. Per the scanner, police have blocked off an extensive area for containment and a K-9 team is expected to be part of the search. Scanner traffic also indicates this is linked to an incident that happened yesterday.
6:11 PM: Police are reported to have a suspect in custody. (added) Capt. Paulsen says this is related to a road-rage case in which the suspect was reported to have pointed a gun at the victim.
Along the Metro Route 120 corridor, work has been under way to boost the busy route’s efficiency, and the county says another round will start in about a week:
King County Metro Transit launches another round of construction in West Seattle next week, focusing on improvements that will help pedestrians and bus riders for Route 120 – one of Metro’s top 10 busiest routes.
Up to eight weeks of work are planned starting as soon as November 13 at the intersection of Southwest Barton Street and 26th Avenue Southwest just south of Westwood Village.
(4755 Fauntleroy Way rendering, looking toward corner of Alaska/40th; store would wrap around this corner & run along Alaska)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:19 PM: Whole Foods Market has confirmed a new West Seattle location – right across SW Alaska from the spot where it once planned to open. Here’s the news release we just received:
Whole Foods Market – the world’s leading organic and natural foods supermarket – announced plans to open its seventh Puget Sound store location in West Seattle. The 41,000–square-foot store will be located within a mixed-use project at the intersection of Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Alaska Street. The store is scheduled to open in 2015.
The West Seattle store opening will create 150 new jobs throughout Seattle. Whole Foods Market has been ranked for the past 15 consecutive years as Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
“We’ve long wanted to be part of the West Seattle community and we’re grateful to all the residents who have reached out to support our efforts,” said Joe Rogoff, president, Whole Foods Market, Pacific Northwest Region. “Creating jobs, supporting local producers and lending a hand to area schools and non-profits are core to our philosophy and practices, and we’re eager to share this with West Seattle. And of course we’re thrilled to be expanding the selection of natural and organic food, sustainable seafood, humanely raised meats and housemade prepared foods and bakery items to the community.”
Whole Foods Market announced signing a lease with Weingarten Realty for West Seattle during its quarterly earnings call on November 7, 2012.
Robert Smith, Senior Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for Weingarten, commented, “We are extremely excited about this project which will be a signature property at the gateway intersection to the Junction area of West Seattle. Weingarten, Lennar and Whole Foods Market are substantial companies that are working intently together with the City to design a functionally well integrated project that is appealing to its customers and a positive reflection of the community. We believe this project fits the vision and objectives developed by the community and the City in their recently adopted Triangle Plan for this commercial intersection. This is an important project for us and reflects the growing trend toward more dense, urban, mixed use projects, desired by many metropolitan areas like Seattle.”
Once complete, Whole Foods Market will provide local shoppers with a wide selection of high quality natural, organic and local products. The company’s quality standards are outlined online at www.wholefoodsmarket.com.
ADDED 3:33 PM: We’ve just talked by phone with Lance Sherwood from Weingarten, who notes that the project still is in early development stages – it goes to its second Early Design Guidance meeting before the Southwest Design Review Board tomorrow night (at 8 pm – after the 4724 California review), a process that then will be followed by permitting as well as completion of financing and purchase before construction begins.
Whole Foods backstory: It was originally set as anchor tenant for what was Fauntleroy Place, announced in 2006 but stalled in 2008. While that project (which has NO link to this one) went through court battles in the ensuing two years, WF eventually announced in 2010 that its lease for FP was no longer valid, saying at the time that it was still seeking a West Seattle location. The former Fauntleroy Place, by the way, was sold at foreclosure auction last year, to Madison Development, which has filed plans with the city to develop it as Spruce West Seattle, with the former supermarket space instead changed to a fitness center that, according to the artwork with the filed plans, is expected to be an L.A. Fitness branch.
(WSB photos by Nick Adams, from last night’s OutWest Bar election-night party)
After a long night of result-checking, even before the 2nd round of King County results is announced today, it’s clear that marriage equality will be the law of the land in our state: Referendum 74‘s passage is being celebrated. And King County Executive Dow Constantine just issued a statement saying the county’s ready to start issuing marriage licenses at the first possible moment:
“Marriage equality is now the law of the land in Washington State, thanks to voters who have made our state, Maryland, and Maine, the first in the nation to recognize this civil right at the ballot box. We can all be proud that our state is on the right side of history.
“This is a journey that started back in 1971, when Faygele Ben-Miriam and Paul Barwick were denied a marriage license by King County. Faygele did not live to see this day, but I think he would be proud of what we’ve accomplished.
“I want to thank all the legislative leaders for their tenacity in keeping the issue in front of the state Legislature. I have one of the pens Governor Gregoire used to sign the marriage equality bill into law, and I look forward to using that same pen to personally issue the first marriage license to a same-sex couple in King County on the first day the law goes into effect, December 6.
We expect large numbers of applicants for marriage licenses in those first few days, so our King County Recorder’s Office will be open for extended hours for the issuance of marriage licenses on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 6 and 7, and even on Saturday, Dec. 8.
At West Seattle’s OutWest Bar last night, WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams photographed a few of the people it will directly affect, like Michale Farrar and Nathan Adams, who have been together for three years and say they will marry next summer:
And Teri Gawne and Kristin Baron, who say they too plan to marry:
The champagne was already flowing last night, courtesy of OutWest owners and staff:
Washington was one of four states where voters were considering marriage-equality measures last night – and as of this afternoon, the pro-equality side won in all four: Maryland voters said yes to marriage equality, with Question 6 passing; so did Maine voters, approving Question 1; and Minnesota voters defeated an anti-equality measure. Meantime, we’ll add the newest Washington vote totals here when they come out later today/tonight.
4:27 PM UPDATE: King County Elections is not expecting the next round of numbers to be out until about 6:30 pm due to some equipment problems. Meantime, the R-74 victory is being celebrated at the Washington United for Marriage campaign headquarters – County Councilmember Joe McDermott sent this cameraphone photo of himself and fellow West Seattleite Anne Levinson during the celebration:
7:15 PM UPDATE: The margin after the latest ballot counts were added remains 52-48.
The night after Thanksgiving – in other words, two weeks from Friday – Chief Sealth International High School plans its first-ever alumni basketball games. And the school is looking for more alums to be part of the big event. Here’s the announcement shared by athletic director Sam Reed:
– November 23, 2012 will be the date for the inaugural Chief Sealth alumni basketball game. In what hopes to become an annual event, the Nels Enquist Alumni Basketball Game will feature a number of former Seahawks in celebrating the school’s rich basketball history.
Both a men’s and women’s game is scheduled for that Friday evening at the Chief Sealth International High School gym, and will be played in succession with the traditional intersquad scrimmage for the current boys and girls teams that kicks off their respective seasons.
(Street-level view of 4724 California, along its namesake street)
Two major Junction-area developments go back to the Southwest Design Review Board tomorrow night, as first reported here last month. Last week, we showed you key points from the “packet” available online for 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW, which will have its second round of Early Design Guidance tomorrow. Now, we have new renderings for the project whose review will start the night, 4724 California (also known as the “ex-Petco” building). We talked about it with project rep Rob O’Dea, who says that while there’s a packet online for this project too, architects were still working on updates and what’s shown online may not reflect everything you see tomorrow night. It includes two views of the “passthrough” along the building’s north side – this one from California, looking toward the alley, with the apartment building’s entrance to the right:
Toward the right side of the rendering, the project’s lobby no longer will have a “grand staircase” to the second floor – access to the live-work units up there will be more utilitarian; the staircase would have taken lobby space out of commission -. Meantime, here’s the passthrough looking from the alley toward California:
O’Dea says the project team has continued to work on suggestions from community members, in conversations since the first Design Review meeting as well as since. There’s one “departure” – digression from what’s allowed by zoning – they plan to ask for. It would enable the project to have a “staging zone” for moving trucks fully enclosed on the lower level, with an entry off the alley, so that moving trucks wouldn’t block the alley. That would not, he says, enable the sort of curved parking-garage entry that was suggested at the first meeting – a straight-on parking-garage entry, which is the type that Mural has right across the alley, would be required, to facilitate the staging area and a utility zone between it and the garage entry. Also to be described/shown tomorrow night, proposed materials for the project, including some, O’Dea says, that are more expensive than originally envisioned, since the owners plan to hold this building for the long term.
Whether you have something to say about this project, about 4755 Fauntleroy Way, or about both, public comment is welcomed at tomorrow’s meeting, which starts with the 4724 California review at 6:30, moving to 4755 Fauntleroy Way at 8 pm. The meeting location is upstairs at the Senior Center of West Seattle, California/Oregon.
After five days of hard work by volunteers – with lots of community support, from food donations to West Seattle Tool Library tools – only finishing touches remain at Roxhill Castle, the new play structure in Roxhill Park, right next to where a skatespot is under construction. Volunteer coordinator Mat McBride tells WSB some site cleanup remains, and “one last punch-list work party” will be scheduled.
A few volunteers, plus a rep from Seattle Parks, are on site again today. They described it as 99 percent complete. McBride says they’re also planning to create a “Friends Of …” group for the playground, so be on the lookout for that.
In this video mentioned in WSB comments on an earlier story, he mentions how he got involved – someone commented on a WSB report during playground-design meetings that no kids had been there to offer their opinion. So he brought his. And the rest was history – to be enjoyed by the generations of kids ahead who will play on the new Roxhill Castle.
(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
10:57 AM: Fire crews are working right now between Fauntleroy Schoolhouse/Church and the Endolyne business district, because a work crew is reported to have cut a gas line at California SW/Brace Point Drive (map). They’ve called in police for traffic control – this is a major route between 35th SW and the ferry dock, too. No injuries reported, and Puget Sound Energy is reported to be on the way.
11:16 AM UPDATE: On the west side of this situation, traffic is blocked at 45th/Wildwood – and that’s affecting at least one Metro bus.
We’re checking on where it’s stopped on the east side. But again, don’t head west on Barton from 35th SW till this is cleared up, if you’re expecting to head to Fauntleroy Church/Y/Schoolhouse, the ferry terminal, or Endolyne businesses.
11:26 AM UPDATE: On the east side of the area where the line was cut, the road is blocked at 42nd/Barton.
12:03 PM UPDATE: Per a comment, pedestrians and cars are “being slowly let through.”
12:11 PM UPDATE: Per the scanner, PSE has turned off the gas, so the Seattle Fire units are clearing. And if you hear/see a helicopter, it’s a TV chopper checking out the scene.
5:29 PM UPDATE: Buses apparently still are not being allowed through, and there’s no update on when that will end.
6:57 PM UPDATE: The bus reroute has just ended, according to Metro.
(Great blue heron, photographed by Russ Walker, shared via the WSB Flickr pool)
Highlights for today/tonight:
ELECTION RESULTS: The next major update will be in the 4 pm hour today, when King County Elections will add another big batch of ballots to its totals. We’ll publish an update when that happens, and we’ll keep an eye on the major statewide races during the day in case any new totals emerge sooner. Our roundup of key races/issues is here.
SCHOOL BOARD’S BEX IV LEVY VOTE: The final vote on the $695 million plan that will go to voters next February is scheduled for the meeting that starts at 4:15 pm today at district HQ in SODO. Here’s the agenda. Public comment starts at 5; the BEX vote likely won’t be till after 6.
USO FUNDRAISER AT MERRILL GARDENS-WEST SEATTLE: 6 pm tonight, dinner, auction, and dancing to the Big Band sounds of Route 66 – all at Merrill Gardens-West Seattle (4611 35th SW; WSB sponsor). Tickets only $10; more info here.
DANCING AT THE SENIOR CENTER: Dance with Joe Ross and the Haggis Brothers Band, 6 pm tonight, Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon).
EXPLORER WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: 6:30 tonight, Explorer West (WSB sponsor) welcomes prospective new families to tour the school, starting with a presentation at 6:30 pm (10015 28th Avenue SW).
KENNEDY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Also at 6:30 tonight, the major chance this fall for prospective students and families to learn about Kennedy HS (WSB sponsor) – full details on their website (140 S. 140th, Burien).
INTERESTED IN A WEST SEATTLE CO-WORKING SPACE? 7 pm tonight at Uptown Espresso in The Junction, the co-founders of the in-the-works WS Office Junction co-working space are having another meet-and-greet meeting. Here’s our story from Monday. If you’re interested, please RSVP.
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL PTSA: All welcome to tonight’s meeting at 7 pm in the school library. Here are the details:
Please come to this important PTSA meeting. Christina Ruzzine, science teacher and WSHS activities director and Kris Green, YMCA after school activities coordinator will speak about the opportunities that WSHS offers for student leadership and enrichment, including ways to earn service learning hours. Get a school update from Principal Ruth Medsker and learn about a fabulous new resource for finding scholarships! It’s also a great time to drop off last minute auction donations.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL TALKS MARIJUANA: As previewed in this WSB story, two City Councilmembers are scheduled to talk about the medical-marijuana-zoning proposal at SWDC’s monthly meeting tonight. Is it a moot point in light of the marijuana-legalization vote statewide? Be there to find out, 7 pm at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) board room (6000 16th SW).
‘LEND ME A TENOR’ AT WSHS: You have just a few more chances to see the West Seattle High School fall production, “Lend Me a Tenor” – starting tonight at 7:30 pm in the school theater. Details on the Westside Drama website.
More for tonight and beyond, on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar!
Two notes this morning – one a crime, one something else that police handled overnight. First, from Chessa:
Our car was stolen in front of our house in Seaview (45th AVE between Juneau and Findlay) sometime between 10 pm and 6 am last night. It is a 1995 light brown (mocha?) Subaru Legacy wagon, license plate 704 YBN, WA plates. There’s a 2008 Obama-Biden on the left upper rear window corner, with some rust spots on the roof. We did, of course, file a police report. If any of your readers see it, we’d love to know!
Police ask that you call 911 if you spot a stolen car. Second note is not about a crime, but its appearance on SPD’s “Tweets by Beat” feed led one alarmed WSB’er to ask about it. Here’s the tweet:
Beat:W1, ANIMALS – INJURED, DEAD, DANGEROUS at W SEATTLE BR / DELRIDGE WY SW reported on 11/7/2012 5:42 AM
— SeattlePD William1 (@SeattlePDW1) November 7, 2012
This actually involved a case of police rescuing a lost dog, according to e-mail we received overnight from the dog’s owner, Betsy, who said her Siberian Husky broke out very early this morning but is home now:
Apparently she had made it from our house near Mount St. Vincent all the way to the high rise of the West Seattle Bridge. We are SO thankful for the Seattle police and a dog savvy citizen who was able to corral and catch her. We got a call from Officer Graham at about 5:30am while we were out combing the streets. He and his partner said they were both dog lovers and we are very, very thankful for everyone’s help. She immediately went to sleep when she got home.
(Live view from the only WS Bridge camera currently in operation; see other cameras on the WSB Traffic page)
6:34 AM: The morning commute is under way without anything unusual. Remember that we keep this story updated if anything notable happens at ANY point during the day – last night a crash backed up the evening commute home on the West Seattle Bridge, and the daily roundup is where we made note of it. Thanks for your ongoing participation with updates, too!
8:42 AM: Just got a text that a car has crashed into a pole at 35th/Avalon and “cars are backing up.” We’re headed that way to check, since the 911 log doesn’t list anything (which could mean no one’s hurt, or that no one’s been dispatched yet).
9:04 AM: The crash has been cleared – the car that hit the curb/pole managed to drive, with a flat tire, into the Taco Time lot so its driver (and other witnesses, it appeared) could talk with police. No traffic effects.
11:02 AM: The main route between 35th and Fauntleroy Church/Schoolhouse/Y, the ferry terminal, and the Endolyne business district is blocked right now because of a gas leak – details here.
4:05 PM: According to a text from Metro (rider alert, not a media announcement), the incident at California/Brace Point is still affecting buses – specifically Rapid Ride C Line and Sound Transit 560. The alert says “To downtown, use stops WB Roxbury/35th SW or WB Wildwood/45th. To Westwood Village, use stops EB 45th/Barton or EB Barton/35th.”
5:10 PM: Metro says it expects that reroute to last a while. Meantime, Washington State Ferries’ Chelan is out of service, and the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is down to 2 boats. Here’s the 2-boat schedule.
7:01 PM: The Fauntleroy bus rerouting mentioned above is over, and everything’s back on regular run. Also, the ferry route is back to 3 boats.
(WEDNESDAY MORNING NOTE: The statewide updates stopped around midnight, so as the day begins, this reflects where things stand)
12:17 AM UPDATE: State results continue to be updated; King County results, done for the night. We’ll have breakouts later on a few key races/issues, but for now, we’re continuing to update them here:
Nationally, in case you missed it – President Obama has won re-election. (Photo above, by Kathy Oman for WSB, is from Feedback Lounge party, when the presidential race was called.) In King County, he has 68 percent of the vote (numbers here). (added) “We are an American family,” he says of the nation, in his speech @ 10:39 pm, adding, “I want to thank every American who participated in this election.” Earlier, he acknowledged his victory via Twitter:
Four more years. twitter.com/BarackObama/st…
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
In state and local ballot measures:
(At OutWest Bar: Photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
Referendum 74, marriage equality, ahead with 52 percent approval. (See numbers here)
Initiative 502, marijuana regulation, ahead with 56 percent approval. (See numbers here)
Initiative 1240, charter schools, ahead with 51 percent. (See numbers here)
Initiative 1185, Tim Eyman’s tax-and-fee-approval measure, leading with 65 percent. (See numbers here)
King County Sheriff, John Urquhart is leading with 57 percent. (See numbers here)
White Center annexation by Burien, trailing at 36 percent yes, 63 percent no. (See numbers here)
State races: Jay Inslee leading for governor with 51 percent – see all the state executive-level races here.
Federal races: U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott far ahead with 81 percent. Here’s the statewide map through which you can check congressional results … Senator Maria Cantwell with 59 percent (numbers here).
Other ballot measures:
*Seattle seawall bonds winning approval, 77 percent (numbers here)
*King County levy for automatic fingerprint ID, 59 percent approval (numbers here)
We’ll update this till the vote-counting stops for the night.
(Photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
So far, OutWest Bar has the earliest West Seattle Election Night party crowd we’ve found – as this area’s only LGBTQ bar, its partygoers will be keeping close watch on statewide marriage-equality Referendum 74 when those results start coming in after 8 pm. Meantime, WSB’s Katie Meyer is at the Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) party:
(This photo and next one by Jill Schmieder for WSB)
The Feedback is filling up, she reports, with cheers for some of the national/other-state results that came in a few minutes ago at 7 pm. The decor: Patriotic.
WEDNESDAY MORNING: It all went so fast – we’re working on galleries to publish this morning instead.
(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
Unless we missed an unannounced visit, the only major candidate to visit the West Seattle-White Center-South Park area on Election Day was U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who stopped by the Machinists Union hall in SP this afternoon to lend her voice to a get-out-the-vote phone bank.
Until the 8 pm deadline, political volunteers are working to get out the vote. Michelle shares the photo of Elizabeth at Uptown Espresso, who she says was busy there, “coordinating volunteer door-to-door canvassers for Obama” around mid-afternoon. And Jena shares the next photo:
Those are students from her Tiny Tribe preschool, helping encourage voters earlier today in The Junction. Jena reports their message was: “Vote for our future!” Have an Election Day/Night photo to share? Send it when you can!
P.S. This just in from King County Elections – including an answer to a question some were asking earlier today, regarding ballot-signature challenges:
The first set of general election results are scheduled to be posted to the King County Elections website at about 8:15 p.m. Results will include tabulation of at least 520,000 ballots.
“This is a record-setting election for King County,” said Sherril Huff, Director of Elections. “Not only have we set a new record for number of voters registered this year, we will also have more ballots counted for tonight’s results report than in any previous election, including the 2008 presidential election when we still had polling places.”
There will be only one results report tonight. The Elections Department will update results again tomorrow by 4:30 p.m. and most subsequent weekdays until election certification on Nov. 27. Note that results may not be updated every day if there are not enough ballots to maintain voter privacy.
Voters have up until Nov. 26 to resolve any signature issues before the election is certified.
When Seattle Police overhauled their website and launched a list of unsolved murders, some wondered why it did not include the December 2010 death of Jeremy Peck, who disappeared after a visit to the Admiral Pub early Christmas Eve morning that year, eventually sparking a search that ended when his body washing up on Bainbridge Island in January 2011. We noted at the time that SPD had not classified his death as a murder; when an unsealed search warrant revealed new information in July 2011, police had reiterated that it was being investigated as a “suspicious death.” However, SPD has just added Peck’s death to their “Catch a Killer” page, making an indirect announcement with this tweet a short time ago:
Do you have information about the death of Jeremy Peck or any of Seattle’s other unsolved homicides? #Catchakiller spdblotter.seattle.gov/catch-a-killer/
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) November 6, 2012
The July 2011 revelations included word of two men having been seen dumping something off the “low bridge” and a car testing positive for blood believed to have been Peck’s. But no arrests have been reported, and police’s addition of the case to the unsolved-murders list indicates a new bid to ask the public for tips.
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