West Seattle, Washington
09 Thursday
2:29 PM: If you’re seeing smoke from a distance – it’s a brush fire in High Point, near the pond, on a grassy slope.
Firefighters are here and taking care of it but the smoke was visible from a couple miles away. More to come.
2:38 PM: Engine 36 is the crew on scene and the flames are out, the smoke has dissipated, but they’re soaking the charred slope in a big way – as neighbors are observing, it’s really dry here, even just over the green embankments by the pond itself. This was stopped before it could spread to any buildings, and no injuries are reported. No info yet about how it started.
10:01 PM: Still awaiting the cause info but we do know that it burned a quarter of an acre and came perilously close to a fence. SFD planned to check back at the scene tonight to be sure no hotspots remained.
Maybe somebody in your family – or your neighborhood – could use this service this summer:
This summer, hundreds of sites across Washington State are providing free meals for kids and teens! Places like local high schools, elementary schools, community centers, parks and apartment complexes, will serve breakfast, lunch and snacks for kids under the age of 18. It is open to everyone!
There is no enrollment or registration is necessary. Meal times, and days of the week will vary among sites, along with the actual meals served. To find a Summer Meals site near you: Call 1-888-4FOOD-WA, visit parenthelp123.org or Text MEALS to 96859.
Listed below are some Summer Meals sites in the West Seattle neighborhood:
West Seattle Elementary
Through 7/31/15
M, T, W, TH, F
Breakfast: 8:30AM-8:55AM
Lunch: 12:00PM-12:25PMHigh Point Community Center
Through 8/22/15
M, T, W, TH, F
Breakfast: 8:30AM-9:30AM
Lunch: 12:00PM-1:00PMSanislo Elementary
8/17/15-8/21/15
M, T, W, TH, F
Breakfast: 8:30AM – 8:50AM
Lunch: 11:45AM – 12:15PME.C. Hughes Playground
Through 8/21/15
M, T, W, TH, F
Lunch: 12:00PM- 1:00PM
Snack: 3:00PM-3:30PM
(Photo and video by Laura James)
It’s beautiful – and sad. Protecting her eggs until they hatch is the last thing this Giant Pacific Octopus will ever do. But it’s an amazing sight to see, and “Diver Laura” James plans to check back on this one, in hopes of catching the hatching when it happens (she’s recorded the process before – see the end of this story). This octopus and her eggs are at Cove 2 near Seacrest off the West Seattle shore. Here’s the video version:
GPOs usually lay thousands of eggs. The survival rate is infinitesimal.
P.S. You can help this octopus, her future babies, and the rest of Puget Sound sea life (ultimately benefiting those of us on shore, too) by following the simple advice here.
Something to say about crime concerns and Seattle Police‘s work in your neighborhood?
Starting one week from tonight, a Seattle University research assistant who has been working for months with Southwest Precinct police is holding community meetings to hear from you.
Jennifer Burbridge has set a schedule of focus-group-style meetings in which she is extending an open invitation for community members to show up and talk about crime and police issues, particularly (but not exclusively) as they relate to the “micro-community policing plans” announced earlier this year. She explains:
The structure of the focus groups is that I will pose a series of questions about crime concerns, the micro-community policing plans in each area, how the community feels the police are addressing their concerns, and how the community feels the police can improve in their efforts. So I am looking for both specific concerns as well as generalities about how the community is feeling about the micro-community policing plans.
Burbridge says the community members who participate will not be identified by name. Here’s the schedule – ALL meetings will be in the community room at the Southwest Precinct:
-Wednesday, July 22nd: ALKI COMMUNITY, 6-7 pm
-Thursday, July 23rd: ADMIRAL COMMUNITY, 6:30-7:30 pm
-Tuesday, July 28th: WS BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS NETWORK, 6:30-7:30 pm
-Thursday, July 30th: WESTWOOD/ROXHILL/ARBOR HEIGHTS COMMUNITIES, 6:30-7:30 pm
-Wednesday, August 5th: PIGEON POINT COMMUNITY, 6:30-7:30 pm
-Thursday, August 6th: HIGH POINT/ALASKA JUNCTION COMMUNITIES, 6-7 pm
-Tuesday, August 11th: MORGAN JUNCTION, 7-8 pm
-Wednesday, August 12th: DELRIDGE COMMUNITY, 6-7 pm
The precinct is at Delridge/Webster; the community meeting room is right off the parking lot, which in turn is off Webster.
P.S. If you aren’t familiar with the micro-community policing plans – six are linked here. But again, that familiarity is not a prerequisite – if you have something to say about crime/policing, your participation is a plus. Burbridge already has been immersed in this work for months – we’ve seen her at many community meetings – and this is the next step.
(American Goldfinch – the Washington state bird! – photographed at Fauntleroy Park by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Wednesday! From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW TIDE: Today’s low-low tide is again out to -1.8 feet, at 11:06 am, and you’ll find Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists at Constellation and Lincoln Parks 10 am-12:45 pm.
JAMTOWN HOWDY BAND: Your 3- to 8-year-old can be in the band – just show up at Delridge Library, 11:15 am-12:15 pm, as explained here. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
COWORKING MEETUP: Noon at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor), our area’s only coworking center. Even if you love solopreneurial work, telecommuting work, whatever form of nontraditional work you’re doing, get on out for a bit and swap ideas, inspiration, and stories. (6040 California SW)
COLLEGE PREP WORKSHOP: 4-5 pm at High Point Community Center, free workshop for youth looking ahead to the college-application process, as explained here. (6920 34th SW)
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN FARMSTAND: Also in HP, 4-7 pm, the weekly chance to buy organic produce within view of where it was grown! (32nd/Juneau)
CANDIDATES’ FORUM: 5:30 pm at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor)’s Brockey Center, your last chance for side-by-side comparisons of the District 1 City Council candidates before ballots start arriving, co-presented with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, focusing on questions about business, jobs, and education. (6000 16th SW)
RUN WITH WEST SEATTLE RUNNER: 6:15 pm, meet at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) for a 3- or 6-mile run – details here. Free! (2743 California SW)
35TH SW PLAN: 7 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, be among the first to find out what SDOT is proposing to improve safety on 35th Avenue SW. (6400 Sylvan Way)
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), be there for another infopacked quarterly MoCA meeting – here’s our preview with the agenda. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
DELRIDGE GROCERY COOPERATIVE: Got ideas to get the word out about the “Delridge food revolution”? Come to Delridge Grocery Coop‘s public forum tonight, 6:30 pm, at Southwest Youth and Family Services. (4555 Delridge Way SW)
COMEDY NIGHT: Laugh It Off! with a big slate of comics at Feedback Lounge, 8 pm. (6451 California SW)
JUBILEE DAYS FIREWORKS: At dusk, a big professional fireworks show from Steve Cox Memorial Park kicks off the White Center Jubilee Days festival. Even if you’re not going, you might hear it from here. (14th SW/SW 102nd)
On the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center last night, they sat on the lawn and soaked up the sound of the West Seattle Big Band during this year’s Hi-Yu Concert in the Park – here’s a two-song section of the show:
Midway through, it was time for a special presentation – the band’s former longtime director Donn Weaver was honored with the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service in advance of this Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade:
Find out more about Weaver and the Orville Rummel Trophy in our Tuesday story.
He was presented with the trophy in view of neighboring West Seattle High School, where he taught music for decades, with students including his successor as WS Big Band director, Jim Edwards:
Edwards is also a co-coordinator of the parade, in which Weaver will ride toward the start with the trophy; the parade is this Saturday (July 18th), leaving California/Lander in The Admiral District around 11 am, headed southbound to California/Edmunds in The Junction. Meantime, after the presentation, the band played on:
And on the sidelines, a couple danced:
The Big Band’s main mission is to raise money for school music programs. You can track the band’s public gigs via its online calendar – next up, the Ballard Locks this Sunday (July 19th) at 2 pm.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
7:23 AM: No incidents in or from West Seattle so far this morning. If you’re using the Fauntleroy ferry dock, note that the north tollbooth will be closed 7:30 am-2 pm today, as the adjacent Barton Pump Station Upgrade Project wraps up – 2 pm celebration this Saturday, including the reopening of Cove Park north of the dock.
ALSO ON SATURDAY: California SW will close from The Admiral District to The Junction for the West Seattle Grand Parade, preceded by the Float Dodger 5K, reopening when the parade ends in early afternoon. Watch for no-parking signs on side streets that will be used for staging and for Metro rerouting (now posted on the Metro website); parade organizers advise paying close attention to what’s on the signs, as parking restrictions and reroutes will start earlier this year.
Meantime, big transportation news is hours away:
35TH SW PLAN: 7 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way), SDOT’s plan for 35th SW goes public. We’re told the mayor will be there. If you can’t make it to tonight’s meeting, a second one has been scheduled for tomorrow, 6 pm, at Southwest Library (35th/Henderson).
7:48 AM: If you’re headed northbound from south of the West Seattle Bridge, two problems right now – a crash blocking one lane on NB Highway 99 at Cloverdale, and a crash reported at 4th and Michigan (no specifics).
10:05 AM: Another NB 99 crash south of here – this time at West Marginal Way. Police are en route.
10:35 AM: Heads up for possible Fauntleroy Way southbound backups again this afternoon. Washington State Ferries says one of the conditions that factored into them is continuing today: “Due to emergent dock repairs at the Vashon terminal, single-lane loading and offloading will continue until further notice. Drivers and passengers can expect delays and are advised to plan accordingly.”
Thanks to Mark Ahlness of Friends of Lincoln Park for the photo of one of two new signs installed at the park, “part of an effort to raise awareness that the forest floor is alive, that the habitat (home to many creatures and essential to our well being) is in the process of being restored by Friends of Lincoln Park volunteers, and that it needs protection and ongoing maintenance.” He says FLP worked with the Seattle Nature Alliance, whose initial membership drive funded the signs, installed by Seattle Parks, as were two similar signs placed in Schmitz Preserve Park last September. (For more on why staying on the trails matters, see this story we reported and published last March, about a student researcher’s work with FLP on the issue.)
(First 5 photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Pluto time, it was, at the High Point branch of the Seattle Public Library tonight, as West Seattle’s own Solar System Ambassador (and WSB’s Skies Over West Seattle reporter) Alice Enevoldsen convened an informational celebration of the New Horizons Pluto flyby:
Not only did Alice draw a crowd, regional media even took note – TV on site, radio earlier:
With the spacecraft due to “phone home” about midway through the two-hour event – 21 hours after the flyby itself – she had activities ready to inform and entertain the younger participants:
New Horizons indeed “phoned home,” and Alice declared the event “amazing and awesome.” Here’s how the Mission Operations Center celebration in Maryland looked:
(NASA photo by Bill Ingalls)
What now? From the NASA coverage linked above: “New Horizons will continue on its adventure deeper into the Kuiper Belt, where thousands of objects hold frozen clues as to how the solar system formed.” You’ll find updates on NASA’s website for the mission.
Eight years and eight months after 26-year-old Matthew Tatsuo Nakata was hit and killed at 47th and Admiral, the intersection finally has a signal – a safety improvement that some were seeking even before his death. The then-City Councilmember for whom Mr. Nakata worked at the time, David Della, joined community leaders and city reps tonight at an event commemorating the completion of the signal and crosswalks at the intersection. Among them: Past and present leaders of the Admiral Neighborhood Association had advocated tirelessly for the signal, including a rally in November 2011, close to the fifth anniversary of Mr. Nakata’s death:
Earlier that year, SDOT had again turned down ANA’s request for a signal, but they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. Almost two years later, then-Mayor Mike McGinn proposed a “flashing beacon”; but Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and his council colleagues changed the budget to include funding for a full-fledged signal. Construction finally began this spring, and the light went into service last week. One more feature: RainWorks art by Peregrine Church :
It’s only revealed when the sidewalk is wet:
(ANA president David Whiting says they’ll be leaving a container of water nearby all week so you can test it for yourself.)
ADDED: Here’s our video showing what Whiting, Rasmussen, Della, and SDOT director Scott Kubly said, about 12 minutes followed by, in the last minute of the video, the water pour that “revealed” the art:
A corner on the north side of the intersection has another RainWorks creation with a similar theme:
Though Kubly acknowledged arriving at SDOT late in the process to get this project in place, he said it was one he heard about frequently:
The completion brought big smiles from Katy Walum and Don Wahl:
She was ANA president during the biggest push to make the signal reality; he has operated Alki Mail and Dispatch at the corner for many years and has seen and heard both crashes and close calls for too long.
Every year we publish a reminder about the White Center Jubilee Days fireworks show, in case you want to go see it, or just want to be forewarned about the booms in the distance. This year’s show is tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 15th) at dusk, at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center (1321 SW 102nd), where it’ll also be the first night of the Jubilee Days carnival.
Five months after we broke the news that Chipotle Mexican Grill was in the works for the ground floor of 4730 California, it’s weeks away from opening. Thanks to Kennedy for tipping us that its exterior sign was going up today; we just got the chance to go over for a photo. We also checked with Chipotle’s media-relations department to see if there’s an update on when they expect to open – the reply, “late August.”
(Firefighter Jeff Blevins with rescued cat; 2012 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
You might remember that scene from a fire near The Junction in 2012; the Seattle Fire Department has to revive/treat pets more often than you think, and that’s why a donation today is so welcome. Here’s the SFD news release:
Today, Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins received 20 donated pet oxygen masks from the Invisible Fence Brand of Seattle. The masks will be used to resuscitate animals overcome by smoke inhalation at fire scenes.
“I am very thankful for Invisible Fence’s generous donation,” said Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins. “These masks are another tool in our tool belt that firefighters can use to save pets overcome by carbon monoxide.”
In 2006, the Seattle Fire Department began carrying pet oxygen masks on Battalion Chief vehicles. The masks are used on animals overcome by smoke at building fires and other types of emergencies. Each mask contains a small, medium and large face piece. The cone-shaped design allows a snout to fit inside while a rubber gasket on the large end allows a seal to be maintained. They can be used on small animals like mice and guinea pigs too.
“When a family suffers the tragedy of fire, lives are turned upside down,” said Ed Hoyt, Director of Invisible Fence Brand.” Pets are valued family members, so we want families to know that their pet can be cared for if tragedy strikes.”
While the priority for firefighters is saving lives and property, the first responders are able to rescue and resuscitate trapped or injured pets.
Since the pet oxygen program began, the masks have been used at more than a half dozen fire scenes to successfully resuscitate pets.
On March 26, 2014, firefighters and paramedics revived two cats trapped in a burning home in the 3200 block of South Hudson Street in the Rainier Valley.
On March 22, 2013, Firefighter Blake Bidleman and other fire crews revived two cats after they were rescued from a burning North Seattle condo building located in the 11500 block of 15th Avenue NE.
On January 9, 2012, Firefighter Jeff Blevins revived a cat found inside a burning West Seattle home in the 3800 block of 46th Avenue Southwest.
There are steps that people can take to protect their pets during a fire or medical emergency. We have a fact sheet on our website.
(At right in our video, Donn Weaver directing the WS Big Band at 2013’s Concert in the Park)
By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.” – President Obama
When Donn Weaver, the 2015 recipient of the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community, received as a seventh grader the gift of a trumpet from his older brother, he certainly could never have imagined he would someday be honored for sharing his love of music with the West Seattle community.
Yet, honored shall he be, at tonight’s Hi-Yu Concert in the Park featuring the West Seattle Big Band, an organization for which Weaver served as director from its inception in 1996 until stepping down this past winter, and then he’ll carry the trophy in this Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, whose committee chooses the honoree.
The band initially was formed as a collection of a “baker’s dozen” of band alumni brought together to play at a West Seattle High School reunion.
“They asked for a band to play, so we contacted as many former members as we could. We had a rehearsal and played the reunion,” recalls Weaver. “At the end of the reunion, they got together in a huddle in the lunchroom and they told me they decided they wanted to have the band keep going. So I thought, “Well, we’ll just make it into a swing band,” and it’s been going ever since.”
The all-volunteer band quickly grew into the 18-piece unit that has been entertaining crowds throughout West Seattle ever since, while also raising thousands of dollars for the music programs of local public schools.
Born in Onalaska in southwest Washington, Weaver first arrived in Seattle to attend the University of Washington. where he earned his BA in music education in 1954. His career eventually brought him to West Seattle High School, where he taught from 1966 until 1978.
When Weaver first started at WSHS, there were just eleven students in the band. By the time Weaver moved on to new challenges, taking him to Franklin, Rainier Beach, and Ingraham high schools, the program was flourishing with more than 80 members.
“It was phenomenal how it blossomed,” says Weaver, downplaying his own role in helping build the school’s program. “High-school kids love a challenge.”
One person who does not underestimate Weaver’s contributions to not only the WSHS program, but also to the community at large, is former student Jim Edwards, who worked closely with Weaver in the West Seattle Big Band before succeeding his mentor as its director (he’s also a Rummel Trophy recipient, with wife Barbara Edwards, in 1998).
“Donn’s years at West Seattle High School, while a paid position, are not representative of your normal band director,” says Edwards. “He had a record of building strong programs wherever he taught. In 1978, his last year at West Seattle, his combined instrumental performing groups had a total of 72 performances out of a 180-day school year.”
It was Edwards, a member of the West Seattle Parade Committee and longtime co-coordinator of the parade, who nominated Weaver for the Orville Rummel Trophy before recusing himself from the decision-making process due to the long-term personal ties between the two men that has spanned several decades.
“When I first knew Jim, he was in elementary school and in the summer music program,” says Weaver. “I used to get a kick out of him because the trombone he played was bigger than he was!”
While there may be no more-fitting testimony to Weaver’s legacy than to have a former student nominate him for a prestigious community award while also continuing his work with the Big Band, Weaver always defers to the power of the music to move young and old alike, as seen repeatedly at his many performances.
“Music is worthwhile,” says Weaver. “If someone asked me to prove it was worthwhile, I wouldn’t know what to tell them, but I have seen it.”
****
You can applaud Donn Weaver for his decades of community service at tonight’s Concert in the Park – again, 7 pm, east lawn of Hiawatha (2700 California SW, but the concert’s on the Walnut side), free! – and when he rides in the West Seattle Grand Parade on Saturday, starting 11 am from California/Lander and proceeding southbound along California to the south end of The Junction at Edmunds.
****
ABOUT THE ORVILLE RUMMEL TROPHY: It’s named after the man who founded the parade in 1934, Orville Rummel – lots of background in the story we published the year we were honored with it, in 2010. The award was first presented in 1984. Click ahead for the full list of recipients from 1984 through 2015:
Read More
It’s the busiest community-council meeting in West Seattle – once a quarter, lots of talk about – so here’s an advance agenda alert for the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, July 15th), 7 pm, at The Kenney (WSB sponsor):
7:05: Special guest, Debbie Goetz from city Office of Emergency Management
7:25 MoCA Minute Updates
• 35th Ave SW Safety Design meeting July 16 at ** Library
• MoCA in the Hi-Yu Parade – July 18
• Morgan Bike Rack update
• Nazarene Church Rezone Update
• 2015 Morgan Junction Festival Wrap-up7:30 Old Business
Murray CSO Briefing
Morgan cut-through traffic study
Morgan Junction Business Mixer
NPSF Morgan Junction Sidewalk Improvement Grant
Nazarene Church Comprehensive Plan Amendment status8:10 New Business
SW Precinct Focus Group Interest
KAWS (Kulture and Arts on the West Side) Endorsement Request
Morgan Neighborhood Plan Update
SWDC Budget Recommendation
Land Use Updates
PICK A DATE Morgan Festival 2016: June 11 or 18 or 258:45 By Laws
Voting on Proposed By-Laws Changes
MoCA meets in the lower meeting-room area at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW), all welcome.
Check out the sea lion hitching a ride on a southbound ship between West Seattle and Blake Island on Monday! The photo, just texted to us, was taken from a tugboat escorting the ship; the texter says the ship was traveling very slowly and that the sea lion eventually jumped back into Puget Sound, no harm done. Thanks for the photo – editor@wsb.blackfin.biz or 206-293-6302 any time.
Jumping into Tuesday, (mostly) on land:
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: Today’s low tide is -1.8 feet at 10:26 am, and Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out until noon at Constellation and Lincoln Parks.
OPENING RECEPTION AT SSC: “Sightseeing through the Eyes of Northwest Landscape Artists” is the new exhibit at the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) gallery; its opening reception is noon-2 pm today – more info in our calendar listing. (6000 16th SW)
PORT COMMISSION: At the commission’s public meeting at 1 pm today at Pier 69 on the downtown waterfront, the agenda includes an item related to the modernization project for Terminal 5 in West Seattle, authorizing the Port’s CEO to spend $5 million more “test piles.” Details are linked from the agenda. (2711 Alaskan Way)
KALEIDOSCOPE PLAY-AND-LEARN: 1:30-3 pm at High Point Library, for kids 3-5 – explained here. (35th/Raymond)
PLUTOPALOOZA PHONE HOME! Also at High Point Library, today’s the day – the New Horizons spacecraft will “phone home” after its historic Pluto flyby, and that’s expected around 6 pm – this event with West Seattle’s own NASA Solar System Ambassador Alice Enevoldsen includes activities for kids (added: she’s prepping them now!) …
Sciencing my Pluto activity for this evening… #PlutoFlyby @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/0R1zH140gc
— Alice's AstroInfo (@AlicesAstroInfo) July 14, 2015
… as well as information for all ages while the “phone home” moment is awaited. (35th/Raymond)
TRAFFIC SIGNAL COMPLETION CELEBRATION: As previewed last week, the Admiral Neighborhood Association and SDOT are hosting a 6:30 pm event to commemorate the completion of the 47th/Admiral/Waite traffic signal/crosswalks project. (SW corner of 47th/Admiral)
JUNCTION NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATION: 6:30 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle – see the agenda in our earlier preview. (Oregon/California)
CONCERT IN THE PARK: 7 pm on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, enjoy the West Seattle Big Band‘s annual Hi-Yu Concert in the Park – free; BYO chair/blanket – and come cheer as WSBB’s longtime director Donn Weaver receives the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service in advance of this Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade. (2700 California SW)
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: Because of the traffic-signal event mentioned above, ANA’s regular 7 pm meeting will be at a different location, Alki Mail and Dispatch. (47th/Admiral)
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm FCA board business meeting – all welcome – at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse board room. (9131 California SW)
EVEN MORE HAPPENING TODAY/TONIGHT … see for yourself on our calendar!
West Seattle’s most populous elementary school, Schmitz Park, is getting three more portables for the coming school year, and Seattle Public Schools says they’ll be delivered later this week. One single portable classroom, transported in two sections, is scheduled to arrive around 4:30 am Friday (July 17th); the next day, Saturday around 5:30 am, two single portable classrooms, moved in four sections, are due. SPS says they’re coming from Olympic Hills Elementary in the north end and the route/date/time are all determined by SDOT for city streets, WSDOT for the I-5 portion of the move. You’ll see “No Parking” signs placed today where they’ll be needed.
According to the most-recent enrollment projections we found online, SPE is expecting 642 students this fall; that’s up more than 30 from last year and just a few under the capacity for which its new campus is being built on Genesee Hill (scheduled to open in fall 2016). Meantime, SPS also says portables will be moved to Pathfinder K-8 and West Seattle Elementary next month – more on that when it gets closer.
(Four WS-relevant views; more cams on the WSB Traffic page)
Good morning! We start, as we do most days, with transportation-related information:
TONIGHT – 47th/ADMIRAL/WAITE SIGNAL ‘COMPLETION CEREMONY’: As mentioned here last week, the Admiral Neighborhood Association and SDOT are hosting a 6:30 pm event to commemorate the completion of the 47th/Admiral/Waite traffic signal, which has been in operation for almost a week.
TOMORROW – 35TH SW PLAN: After years of concerns followed by months of controversy, what has the city decided to do with 35th SW? 7 pm Wednesday at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way SW) is the first of two presentations.
SATURDAY – WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE & FLOAT DODGER 5K: We’re reminding you all week that the West Seattle Grand Parade is Saturday (July 18th), preceded by the Float Dodger 5K, and California SW will be closed from Lander to Edmunds that day until early afternoon while it’s all under way -watch for transit info later this week, and watch for parking restrictions on the streets to which Metro will be diverting traffic – parade organizers tell us Metro will be diverting earlier than usual, so the parking restrictions will start earlier (6 am).
Meantime, we’re on traffic watch; if you see a problem affecting West Seattle through/outbound traffic/transportation, but it’s not reported here yet, we appreciate tips when they can be made safely/legally (if you’re riding, or if you’ve arrived where you’re going) – 206-293-6302, text or voice – thanks!
5:30 PM: See comments for two alerts – a stall on the southbound Viaduct, and backed-up traffic on southbound Fauntleroy north of the ferry dock. Thanks for sharing the info!
West Seattle Grand Parade co-coordinator Dave Vague joked that it must be like watching sausage being made, or paint drying, to sit in on the annual lineup meeting at which parade entry forms go from paper to pixels to a plan. Nonetheless, they let us sit in on it anyway (best place to get parade-preview info) – and tonight at Pershing Hall in The Triangle, (from left in the photo above) he, Doreen Vague, Michelle Edwards, and Jim Edwards crafted the tentative running order for this Saturday’s parade.
More than 90 entries right now, including ones in which you’ll see people, as they roll down the route:
*Trampolining
*Unicycling
*Bicycling
*Rollerskating
*Kayaking
*Drumming
…and of course dancing, marching, riding on floats, etc. Did we mention cannon-blasting, too? Yes, classic parade stars including the Seafair Pirates are back – along with other Seafair faves (Clowns, Commodores, Scholarship Program candidates including last year’s West Seattle Hi-Yu Queen Lorelei McFadden). And this year’s Hi-Yu royalty will be on their “Around the Sound” float.
The parade, presented by the West Seattle Rotary Service Foundation, starts at 11 am Saturday at California/Lander and continues to California/Edmunds in The Junction. But don’t just show up at the last minute – for one, the Vancouver (BC) and Seattle Police motorcycle units tend to start sooner; for two, before all that, you can cheer on the Float Dodger 5K runners (or even better, be one of them – then take your place to parade-watch – you can register here), who leave California/Charlestown at 9:30 am. More parade-day info as the week rolls on toward Saturday, and our morning traffic reports will include reminders about street/parking/bus changes too.
Another of this weekend’s many big events – WestSide Baby‘s “Stuff the Bus” diaper-drive kickoff event! If you can’t make it to the HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) parking lot at 41st/Alaska during the 10 am-2 pm event on Sunday (July 19th), you can drop off diapers there all week long, and at other spots including the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. The sizes needed most: Newborn, size 6, and all sizes of pull-ups. The reason this is so important, as WestSide Baby points out: Diapers can’t be purchased using food stamps or other forms of government assistance, but cost up to $150/month, and families can’t just go without – besides the obvious health and comfort implications, child-care providers require diapers, and without child care, parents can’t get to their jobs. P.S. If you need a reminder about Sunday, you’ll get it from WS Baby’s “Stuff the Bus” contingent in the West Seattle Grand Parade on Saturday (11 am, California/Lander to California/Edmunds).
(WSB photo from Sunday: Suspect seated at right, face hidden behind officers)
In our as-it-happened coverage of West Seattle Summer Fest‘s third day, we reported on something unscheduled – a robbery, and quick capture of a suspect. Today, we have a followup: The 20-year-old Sunrise Heights man who was arrested for investigation of robbery had a bail hearing this afternoon; the judge allowed him to go free on “personal recognizance,” according to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe, with another appearance set for Wednesday. In probable-cause documents, police say he is the robber who “forcefully grabbed” a bag containing $4,500 from the hands of a vendor on the west side of the food court and took off running. The vendor yelled for help; people ran after the suspect and tackled him a short distance south of the food zone. Police working the festival took him into custody shortly thereafter. We’ve checked King County records, and the suspect does not appear to have a felony criminal history.
We’re counting down all week to this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade – 11 am Saturday (July 18th), rolling southbound on California SW from SW Lander to SW Edmunds – and this afternoon, parade organizers have just announced this year’s Grand Marshal: West Seattle born-and-raised King County Executive Dow Constantine.
(Constantine in another parade of sorts – with Schmitz Park students headed to Log House Museum totem-pole dedication June 2014)
He’s a graduate of West Seattle High School – the campus is steps from where he’ll ride onto the parade route Saturday as Grand Marshal – and is midway through his second term as King County Executive, which was preceded by service on the King County Council and in the State Senate and House, to which he was first elected in 1996. He and wife Shirley Carlson are raising their 1-year-old daughter Sabrina in the same neighborhood where he grew up. (added) His reaction to the Grand Parade Grand Marshal news: “The West Seattle Parade has been a highlight of our family’s summers my whole life. I’ve walked the parade as a Scout, marched in the school band, and appeared as both a candidate and as an elected official. This is the community that raised me, so being asked to serve as Grand Marshal of the parade means a lot to me personally.”
As for the parade itself, a little more background from the just-in announcement:
At this time the parade is scheduled to have more than 80 entries, including parade floats, marching bands, and the only appearance of the Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team, as well as the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team.
The West Seattle Parade Committee is a community service committee of the West Seattle Rotary Club Service Foundation.
We’ll be counting down to the parade all week with more information – and remember that it’s preceded by the 11 am Kiddie Parade – just be at California/Genesee and ready to roll southbound! In addition to Grand Marshal Constantine, another parade VIP has been selected, as previously mentioned here – longtime West Seattle Big Band leader and former WSHS music teacher Donn Weaver, who’ll receive the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service at tomorrow night’s 7 pm Concert in the Park with the WSBB on the east lawn at Hiawatha. More pre-parade info to come!
You’re invited to the next meeting of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, 6:30 pm Tuesday (July 14th) at the Senior Center of West Seattle. From JuNO director René Commons:
Please join us for this coming Tuesday night’s meeting at the West Seattle Senior Center – Nucor room, 6:30 pm.
Guest Speakers:
6:35: Kelly Enright, Customer Care Director, Seattle City Light
Topic: Improving Lighting in West Seattle
What is Seattle City Light doing to review and improve lighting in the West Seattle Junction Urban Hub village? Can the city be accountable to address much needed lighting improvements for public safety in our neighborhood7:05 Jennifer Burbridge & Lt. Ron Smith, Seattle Police Department
Topic: SPD ‘Micro Community Policing Plans’
Jennifer & Lt. Smith will explain what MCPP is and lead us in ranking of priorities for improving safety in our Alaska Junction & Triangle neighborhoods. Can we ask for more boots on the ground? What are priorities for improvement?7:20 Miguel Edwards – Sculptor Photographer
Equity / Junction 47 Selected artist
*Miguel will present initial concept for his art installation at the new Equity building in the columns at SW Alaska & 42nd Ave SW
All are welcome – the Senior Center is on the southeast corner of Oregon and California.
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