West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
Just a few days left to get your nomination(s) in for this year’s Westside Awards, presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Here’s the original announcement, explaining this year’s focus:
Every year in the Spring, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce gathers to celebrate four categories of businesses, individuals and non-profits that have made notable contributions to the West Seattle business community.
This Spring, the Chamber recognizes that 2020 was an incredibly difficult time for businesses and individuals alike. For that reason, we are changing our annual Westside Awards business-nomination process to honor stories of hope and perseverance in 2020!
At a time when individuals may not have the job, home, or food security they deserve, and when businesses have been forced – through legislation or circumstance – to close doors, there are uplifting stories of those who soldiered on, to help others and to help support their West Seattle community.
Businesses and individuals are thinking outside the box, tightening their belts, and acknowledging that now is not the time for “business as usual.” These businesses and individuals deserve our recognition.
If you know of a business, non-profit, or individual that deserves recognition for personal or business actions taken in 2020, please let us know by filling out a nomination form. Click this link to take you to the form site.
Monday (March 15) is the nomination deadline. Last year’s winners are listed here.
Demolition has begun at 2715 California SW, across from Hiawatha, clearing the site where the long-planned Admiral Station mixed-use development will be built. We reported on the project’s land-use approval two years ago, when it was described as a “4-story, 49-unit apartment building (44 units and 5 small efficiency units) with retail and office” and 46 off-street parking spaces. The view above is from the alley on the west side of the site. Here’s a rendering from when the project went through Design Review in 2017:
(Rendering from design packet by architect for project’s second Design Review Board meeting)
The site held three small commercial/residential buildings; construction is expected to last about a year. (Thanks to the reader whose recent tip about activity at the site put this back on our watch list!)
From the WSB inbox:
Announcing the West Seattle Rotary Past Presidents’ Scholarship Fund – a brand-new $6,000 scholarship was developed to support an individual’s post-high school education. This scholarship fund is the largest yet of the scholarships provided through the Rotary Club of West Seattle and has the most flexibility for applicants to qualify for funding.
The West Seattle Rotary Past Presidents Fund began many decades ago when a gift of $25,000 was donated by a local doctor as the start to the fund. The Past Presidents added to the fund throughout the years through special fundraisers and memorial gifts to a point where the proceeds have been donated to causes that support children in West Seattle.
What makes this new scholarship flexible is that there are four categories a person can fall under to be able to apply for the $6,000 scholarship:
• You are a graduating senior from a high school in the West Seattle area who wishes to earn a 4-year degree.
• You live in the West Seattle area and are graduating from a high school outside of the West Seattle area and wish to earn a 4-year degree.
• You live in the West Seattle area and are transferring from a 2-year program to a 4-year college/university seeking a bachelor’s degree.
• You live in the West Seattle area and have recently earned a bachelor’s degree and wish to work toward a higher degree.
Note: West Seattle area encompasses West Seattle as well as neighborhoods to the south that have not been included in the application qualification in the past. [Examples: White Center, South Park]. Also: Rotarians or a member of a Rotarian’s immediate family are not eligible for this scholarship.
Apply for the scholarship here: westseattlerotary.org
Deadline: April 15, 2021
(Photo by Machel Spence)
Here’s what’s happening, with nine days until spring:
PANDEMIC BRIEFING: As noted in our nightly pandemic-news roundup, state health officials’ weekly briefing/media Q&A is at 9:30 this morning; you can watch here.
(added) GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING: Just announced this morning, Gov, Inslee’s having a briefing/media Q&A too. 2:30 pm – watch here.
DEMONSTRATE FOR BLACK LIVES: Second of this week’s two streetcorner sign-waving events:
Black Lives Matter sign waving
Thursday, March 11, 4 to 6 p, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden
Come build awareness that will help tear down the systems that have oppressed Black lives for over 400 years on this continent. Hold signs, meet neighbors and stand for racial justice. Organized by Scott at PR Cohousing, endorsed by Hate-Free Delridge. Signs available.
CO-OP PRESCHOOL PIZZA FUNDRAISER: 4-9 pm, get food at/from Proletariat Pizza (9622 16th SW) and mention Lincoln Park Co-op Preschool – they’ll get a share of the proceeds!
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: You can enjoy art in person and/or online again this month – official hours are “5 pm until late” but Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor) is starting its artist reception at 4 pm – see the official Art Walk preview for all the ways and places to see art this month. (WSB is a community co-sponsor of the West Seattle Art Walk.)
BAR-S CLEANUP: Again tonight, 5:15-6:15 pm, be at Bar-S (64th SW/SW Admiral Way) to help prepare it for the West Seattle Little League season – details in our preview.
WORDS, WRITERS, SOUTHWEST STORIES: This month’s speaker, presented online by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society at 6 pm, is T. Andrew Wahl with “Comic Book Reality: Superheroes and the Power of Representation.” Free! Our calendar listing has registration info.
What are we missing? Send your event info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
9:19 AM: Crash blocking Cloverdale in South Park at 8th, so if you need to get to the South Park Bridge, wait a while. SPD and a Response Team are on scene.
Earlier:
6:12 AM: Good morning! More sunshine today. .
ROAD WORK
1st Avenue South Bridge – Southbound lane closures continue today:
*Through noon Monday (March 15th), two southbound lanes closed around the clock
*The entire southbound bridge is scheduled to close Sunday night (March 14th) and Monday night (March 15th), 9 pm-5 am both nights
Delridge project – The current week’s plan is here.
West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway – As noted Monday, work has begun on Phase 2, so you might encounter crews on streets including 42nd SW south of The Junction.
TRANSIT
Metro and the Water Taxi are on regular schedules.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
353rd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s how it’s looking on other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: Ninth week for automated enforcement cameras, while restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily. Here’s a bridge view:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden – with a new left-turn signal for northbound HP Way, turning to westbound Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
And the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) – remember those southbound lane closures:
For the South Park Bridge (map), here’s the nearest camera:
To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
The city’s vaccination acceleration tops tonight’s pandemic headlines:
1ST MASS VACCINATION SITE: The mayor, governor, and county executive teamed up at Lumen Field Event Center to announce its first day as a mass vaccination site will be Saturday (March 13). It’ll operate a few days per week at the beginning but can scale up to 7-day operations once vaccine supplies increase – potentially 150,000 shots a week.
GET ON THE LIST: If you’re currently eligible for vaccination, you can get on the city’s notification list for the new Lumen Field site, plus the West Seattle and Rainier Beach community sites, by going here.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Now, from the Seattle-King County Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*83,471 people have tested positive, 197 more than yesterday’s total
*1,429 people have died, 8 more than yesterday’s total
*5,156 people have been hospitalized, 6 more than yesterday’s total
*924,499 people have been tested, 3,701 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the four totals we track were 82.507/1,404/5,109/910,371.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find all the numbers, county by county, on the state Department of Health data page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS’ BRIEFING: The weekly briefing by Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah and other top state health officials is scheduled for 9:30 am tomorrow. It’ll be livestreamed here.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(SDOT camera view of low bridge earlier this evening)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Two months after enforcement cameras switched on, and one month after the port’s announcement that Terminal 5 won’t open until next year, SDOT is still keeping West Seattle low-bridge access tightly restricted.
There’s been only one recent change – allowing on-call health-care providers to use it. A few other loosenings are under consideration, but still at least a month away, the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force was told today, at a meeting that began with news of a high-bridge repair-planning milestone (we covered that separately here). An intense discussion ensued (see it here on video), with some members of the task force telling SDOT staff that changes should be made sooner.
First, SDOT’s bridge-project leader Heather Marx< showed traffic-volume changes on the low bridge since enforcement began: Read More
(January photo by Mark Jaroslaw)
From the “in case you wondered too” file: We received a question about what’s up with the Stone Cottage, the little old stone-studded bungalow awaiting its move off the to-be-redeveloped corner parcel at 1123 Harbor SW. So we asked Save the Stone Cottage, whose Jeff McCord tells WSB there’s no official date yet for the move, but they’re expecting news “soon.” The crowdfunding campaign continues, too – they’re about 55 percent of the way to the $110,000 goal for the first phase of moving and storing the Stone Cottage while a permanent new home is found.
You’re invited to get out and enjoy art tomorrow night, during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk – the last one of winter, but the weather’s looking good. From Art Walk organizers, here are sites where the artist is expected to be present (distanced and masked, of course) tomorrow night:
CLICK! DESIGN THAT FITS
4540 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Amanda Whitworth INDOORS + RECEPTION 4 pm-6 pmWEST SEATTLE RUNNER
2743 CALIFORNIA AVE SW, SUITE #101
Art for the Tender INDOOR+RECEPTION 5 pm-7 pmVERITY CREDIT UNION (ART WALK PARTNER)
4505 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Marie Skoor INDOORS + RECEPTION 5 pm to 8 pmBRACE POINT POTTERY & GALLERY WITH ALKI ARTS
4208 SW 100TH ST
Group Show: James Lopresti, Genna Draper, Carol Pierce INDOOR+RECEPTION 5 pm-8 pmFOGUE GALLERY
4130 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Group Show: Michele Harps, Carolyn Autenrieth INDOORS+RECEPTION 5 pm to 8 pmSNIP IT’S HAIRCUTS FOR KIDS WEST SEATTLE
4506 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
BaGua B INDOORS + RECEPTION, 5 pm-8 pmWEST SEATTLE CELLARS
6026 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Mark MacDonald, INDOORS+RECEPTION 5 pm-7 pmWEST SEATTLE GROUNDS
2141 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
Jenna Roby INDOORS + RECEPTION, 5-9 pmCAPERS
4525 CALIFORNIA AVE SW
PA Mathison INDOORS, 5 pm to 7 pm
Other participants are offering virtual art, displays without artist receptions, or displays during business hours; the Art Walk team will be out live via social media, too. For all those details, and more on the receptions/artists listed above, check this month’s official preview!
(Governor’s Office photo from today’s announcement)
When the city announced its West Seattle community vaccination site last week, it also announced a “mass” site would open soon at the Lumen Field Event Center on the south side of downtown. Today, with the mayor, county executive, and governor there for the occasion, the city announced it will open this Saturday.
Also part of the announcement: If you’re eiigible for vaccination, you can get on this list to get notification of available appointments there or at the West Seattle and Rainier Beach community sites. Back to Lumen Field (the former CenturyLink), it will initially be in operation two or three days a week, vaccinating up to 5,000 people a week, but has the capacity to inoculate up to 150,000 people a week when supplies allow (here’s how). The site is a partnership between the city, Swedish, and First & Goal, which is providing the space rent free, as well as free garage parking for people going to vaccination appointments there. The mayor says it will be the “largest civilian-run vaccination site in the country.”
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
At the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting that’s happening right now (video above), SDOT is announcing a milestone in the preparations for repairing and reopening the bridge: Now that the repair plan is 30 percent designed, they’ve officially launched the search for a contractor.
“It’s the point where we can start to see light at the end of the bridge,” observed task force co-chair Greg Nickels.
Today’s milestone – just under two weeks before the closure’s 1-year anniversary – also brought new information about the scope and projected cost of the high-bridge and low-bridge work ahead, which, as announced last month, are being bundled together in the same contract. We got a preview in a pre-meeting media briefing. Here are the highlights:
SDOT’s Heather Marx and Greg Izzo led the briefing. Here are the cost numbers:
That $175 million includes, SDOT says, not just the high- and low-bridge repairs, but all the costs incurred since the bridge closure, including traffic mitigation and stabilization work that’s already been completed. (Updated: Marx said during the meeting that $124 million of it is secured so far; she told the Task Force today that they’re seeking an INFRA grant from the feds for up to $21 million, and some other federal funding is already in hand, plus they’re seeking help from other “regional partners.” More financial info is promised at next month’s meeting)
The projected date for reopening remains “midyear” 2022 – the contractor will be expected to be done by June, and then, as we’ve reported previously, the bridge will be reopened in phases.
Marx said the phasing-in will be done “over the course of a couple weeks” to “be cautious.” Not only will they have a schedule, she said, they also will have a plan so that “everybody doesn’t rush” to use the bridge when just those initial lanes are open.
The method of choosing a contractor, GCCM (General Contractor/Construction Manager) – which has been in the plan for months, noted here when the mayor announced the repair plan in November – will make the process more “collaborative,” but won’t necessarily speed up the work. Marx said SDOT is wary of “making a promise we can’t keep.” So the deadline for prospective bidders to submit their qualifications is April 12th; SDOT expects to make a choice in late May, and the work should start in November. The months inbetween will include finalizing design, “negotiating maximum allowable cost,” and seeking subcontractors.
Also noted during the briefing, the work will go beyond additional strengthening with carbon-fiber wrapping and steel post-tensioning, which has been done as part of the stabilization project “to keep the bridge from falling down,” as Marx described it. The ground around Pier 18 will be “stiffened” with grout/slurry injection, to make it more earthquake-resistant. This pier is being targeted because it’s an “expansion pier,” and they’re considering the same thing for the ground around Pier 15. This part of the work will take about a month and a half but does not have to be completed before the high bridge reopens to traffic, SDOT says.
They are also considering “additional repairs,” which Marx explained would be “regular maintenance activities” that they would like to get done before the reopening, such as concrete work and expansion-joint replacement; those would not add to the $175 million cost estimate, she said, because they would be covered by already-allocated money designated for bridge maintenance.
Asked whether the low-bridge work will result in significant closures before the high bridge is open again, Marx said no – “any closure of the low bridge is going to be brief,” and they would aim for weekend/holiday periods. The low bridge work overall is expected to continue until fall 2022.
We are expecting more information as the WSBCTF meeting continues, and will add to this report.
ADDED 2:56 PM: Here’s the SDOT post about today’s milestone. The other major topic at the WSBCTF meeting was the status of expanding low-bridge access; we’ll publish a separate report on that.
Two threat cases in West Seattle Crime Watch:
WESTWOOD VILLAGE THREAT: An incident last night involved a death threat, police say. Their initial report outlines the incident as follows: Just after 8 pm, one man approached another who appeared to be car-prowling in the parking lot near Rite Aid, following him into Ross and confronting him there. That led to the suspected car-prowler hitting the other man; a fight ensued, and police say, “the victim wrestled with the suspect until the suspect gave up. They went their separate ways. The victim encountered the suspect near MOD Pizza in the Westwood Village parking lot again. The victim said that the suspect punched him again and they started to wrestle. The suspect pulled out a firearm from his pocket and pointed it at the victim’s head. The suspect asked him if he wanted to ‘live or die.’ The suspect left the area.” No description in the report.
HARASSMENT SUSPECT CHARGED: Last week we reported on an incident on 53rd SW in which a suspect was subsequently arrested on Beach Drive. The suspect, 49-year-old Nathan R. Calvin, is now charged with one count of felony harassment. Charging documents say 911 was called on the afternoon of March 2nd about a man “walking through various residential back yards.” In one of those yards, a woman found him “carrying a green metal fence post” and lifting up a boat cover. She told him to stop and leave; he “became angry and started yelling at her and calling her names (and then) took the metal fence post and began swinging it like a baseball bat and told (the victim) that he was going to kill her.” She went back into her house and called 911. Officers found him down the hill. Calvin remains in jail, bail set at $5,000. Charging documents say he has a felony theft conviction and misdemeanor assault and harassment convictions, along with 21 warrants in 10 years, some from outside King County.
(Photo by Machel Spence)
Here’s what’s happening in the hours ahead:
WEST SEATTLE BRIDGE UPDATES: At noon online, the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meets, with updates on bridge-repair planning, low-bridge access, and more. Here’s the agenda; here’s where to watch.
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD: 3:30 pm online, the board holds its regular twice-monthly meeting, as the district edges toward returning some students to in-person learning. The agenda has viewing information.
BAR-S CLEANUP: 5:15-6:15 pm, you’re invited again this evening to show up at Bar-S (64th SW/SW Admiral Way) to help prepare it for the West Seattle Little League season – details in our preview.
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: 7 pm online, our area’s largest political organization has its regular monthly meeting. Register here to get the viewing/participation link; preview the agenda in this month’s newsletter.
What are we missing? Send your event info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:07 AM: Good morning! Another mixed forecast today. .
ROAD WORK
1st Avenue South Bridge – Southbound lane closures are set to start today to enable repair work:
*Noon today-noon Monday (March 15th), two southbound lanes closed around the clock
*The entire southbound bridge will close Sunday night (March 14th) and Monday night (March 15th), 9 pm-5 am both nights
Delridge project – Here’s this week’s work/closure plan.
West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway – As noted Monday, work has begun on Phase 2, so watch out for crews on streets including 42nd SW south of The Junction.
TRANSIT
Metro and the Water Taxi are on regular schedules.
BRIDGES AND DETOUR ROUTES
352nd morning without the West Seattle Bridge. Here’s how it’s looking on other bridges and routes:
Low Bridge: Ninth week for automated enforcement cameras, while restrictions are in effect 5 am-9 pm daily. Here’s a bridge view:
West Marginal Way at Highland Park Way:
Highland Park Way/Holden – with a new left-turn signal for northbound HP Way, turning to westbound Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
The 1st Avenue South Bridge (map):
For the South Park Bridge (map), here’s the nearest camera:
To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
See all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
Trouble on the streets/paths/bridges/water? Please let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
Our nightly roundup of local pandemic news:
BACK TO SCHOOL: Seattle Public Schools and its teachers’ union made a joint announcement today that they are close to agreeing on resuming in-person instruction at month’s end for special-education “intensive pathways” students and preschoolers. Meantime, Highline Public Schools to our south announced today that it has reached an agreement with its teachers union to start phasing in some in-person classes starting this Thursday, and by April 1st they expect to have preschoolers through 5th graders all in “hybrid” mode.
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Checking today’s daily summary from Seattle-King County Public Health – the cumulative totals:
*83,274 people have tested positive, 78 more than yesterday’s total
*1,421 people have died, 5 more than yesterday’s total
*5,150 people have been hospitalized, 3 more than yesterday’s total
*920,798 people have been tested, 2,307 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 82,363/1,399/5,120/910,070.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 117.5 million cases worldwide, 29 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
VACCINATION SITUATION: If you’re eligible, here are some places to look:
*65+ Seattle residents are eligible for the city-run West Seattle and Rainier Beach sites, at least through Saturday – go here
*Your health-care provider (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)
*Pharmacy chains big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Quick bird break – two pheasants! For all the bird photos we’ve published over the years, this is the first time we’ve featured a Ring-necked Pheasant; two people sent us photos – the one above is from Stewart L., who saw it at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (the other sighting was near Alki Point). Below, a pheasant we’ve seen a few times over the years – Josh Niederberger photographed this Golden Pheasant near Hillcrest/Genesee:
Thanks again to everyone who shares bird photos – we have some others in queue for a gallery next weekend!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
More than 70 locations for speed humps/cushions are part of the final plans for “Home Zone” traffic-calming in Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge neighborhoods besieged by detouring drivers since the West Seattle Bridge closed a year ago.
The plans were presented last night – along with side notes about a new stretch of greenway and the bridge itself – at an online meeting led by SDOT and Department of Neighborhoods reps.
THE PLANS: First, the definition of Home Zone:
SDOT did traffic counts at more than 39 locations and took three walking tours while coming up with the draft plan presented in January. They also offered a survey that brought 542 responses. 59 percent of respondents felt the draft plan was missing something that would make them feel safer – 300 suggestions came in. “About 30 percent were things we can accommodate in the Home Zone plan or look into further,” said SDOT’s David Burgesser. The rest were too general, not feasible, too expensive, or put aside for future consideration.
SOUTH AREA HOME ZONE PLAN
West Seattle’s own South Seattle College Co-op Preschools are presenting a four-concert kids’ music series this spring – no charge but if you can donate, that’ll help support scholarship funds for West Seattle families in need.
The Spring Virtual Music Funfest has concerts planned March 20 (Squirrel Butter), March 27 (Bruce & Bonnie), April 10 (Gabrielle Macrea), and April 24 (Eli Rosenblatt), all at 10 am – here’s the flyer.
If you’re not familiar with the schools, the announcement explains:
The SSC Co-Op Preschools have been serving West Seattle and beyond for over 75 years. We’ve always been committed to making early childhood education accessible to anyone in our community. In the past, money for scholarships has been raised through in-person fundraising efforts (such as concerts and movie nights). Clearly, these aren’t possible due to COVID-19.
COVID-19 also means that more families in our community need help than ever before. We want to be able to provide West Seattle families with affordable early childhood education, community support, and parent education, regardless of their current financial situation.
So, the Parent Advisory Committee organized the online concert series! To get tickets, with or without a donation, go to tinyurl.com/SSCMusicFest, select one of the event names, and then follow the “Tickets” link.
Today we’re welcoming back Outer Space Seattle Preschool & Childcare as a returning WSB sponsor. They’re serving kids 3-10 years old, with morning and afternoon programs available. Proprietor Caitlin Huertas explains, “We want to be here for families in the future, which means we need families enrolled in our program now!” Here’s information on the programs at Outer Space Seattle:
Preschool, 3 to 5 years old
Our play-based preschool program is perfect for your active little one. We use a combination of child directed play mixed with teacher led activities. Our custom-built indoor playground provides open-ended play for the kids to use, rain or shine, and Alki Beach offers lots of outdoor activities.
Childcare, kids 6 to 10 years old
Our half-day childcare program offers in-person support for elementary-school students, designed to help families balance work and remote learning throughout 2021 and beyond.
Also offering private event rentals
2-hour rental for up to 10 people.
For Outer Space Seattle enrollment/information, go here!
James sent that photo, wondering about the status of the latest closure of that pier at Jack Block Park. Inquiring with the Port of Seattle (which owns and operates the park), we have learned that it isn’t going to reopen any time soon – and might even have to be rebuilt, according to port spokesperson Peter McGraw:
Deficiencies found in the most recent inspection of Jack Block Park pier in late 2020 led to closing the pier to the public out of an abundance of caution.
The Port’s goal is to address the present conditions of the pier, preserve public shoreline access and the open space public-use areas it provides; while balancing environmental, financial, and community stewardship goals of the Port of Seattle.
The Port is considering several potential park improvement alternatives to address the pier’s closure including its replacement, or shoreline and/or interior enhancements, and will be reaching out to communities and neighbors to gather input. Participation in the Jack Block Park survey will help inform the Port as to what current and potential park features are most important to users of the park.
Following survey analysis, the Port will host a virtual Open House outlining survey results and the proposed modifications for the Park. Stay tuned on further details later this month.
Those details will include how to participate in the survey, which isn’t open yet. The pier was closed in December, at least the third closure in a year and a half. The first of those closures, in 2019, was attributed to damage from an unidentified vessel hitting the pier. The rest of the park (which is at 2130 Harbor SW) remains open.
(Photo by Stewart L.)
Washington State Ferries has been somewhat vessel-challenged lately, but in case you wondered – as did a few readers who contacted us – the scene above is not a new breakdown. M/V Wenatchee passed north-facing West Seattle with tugboats this morning on its way from the WSF maintenance facility at Eagle Harbor to Vigor shipyard on Harbor Island in West Seattle. At Eagle Harbor, Wenatchee was painted; at Vigor (where it was built), it will go into drydock for stern-tube repairs. It’s expected to return to service sometime this spring.
Seattle Public Schools just announced progress in its talks with the Seattle Education Association, in the dispute over the district’s unilateral declaration that some staff is “essential” and must return to campuses this week to offer in-person learning for Special Education “intensive pathways” and preschool. The district just tweeted that it’s canceling that order, as the union had asked. Here’s the text of the tweets:
It is in the best interest of our students, staff, and families that SPS and SEA are unified in our approach to a return to in-person learning. We are close to a tentative agreement on the return of PreK and Special Education Intensive Service Pathways.
Together, we commit to bargaining an agreement so these students can begin in-person learning services on March 29th. In response to this joint commitment, SPS is rescinding its order from February 25 designating additional staff as “essential.”
Staff that support these students will return to buildings as early as March 22 to receive health and safety training, set up classrooms, and prepare for students. SPS and SEA will continue negotiating the return of K-1 grade students as directed by the School Board.
SPS and SEA also said in an emailed, jointly issued news release:
Today, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries and an independent HVAC contractor, together with SPS and SEA leaders, reviewed the readiness of multiple SPS school buildings. While this was not a required reopening step, it was an important one to help ensure staff and families are confident in the district’s adherence to Washington State Labor & Industries, Washington State DOH, Public Health – Seattle & King County, and federal CDC guidance and recommendations.
At the conclusion of this walkthrough there were no major issues identified. However, SPS and SEA together agreed that school staff could benefit from additional time to prepare to offer the safest, most equitable in-person learning environments possible in every SPS building. SPS and SEA’s bargaining teams are negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement this week and allow the time needed to ratify the agreement.
So bottom line, the first group of students to return won’t do so before March 29th.
(Photo by Leslie Allen – someone adorned Luna Girls on Alki with flowers last weekend)
Checking the calendar for the rest of your Tuesday:
SSC SPEAKER SERIES: 1-2 pm online, South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) faculty present the first installment of the “Artist as Storyteller: Adaptation, Resiliency, and Environmental Justice” series. All welcome, free. Find the viewing link here.
DEMONSTRATE FOR BLACK LIVES: The twice-weekly streetcorner sign-waving continues:
Black Lives Matter sign waving
Tuesday Mar 9, 4 to 6 p, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden
Thursday Mar 11, 4 to 6 p, corner of 16th SW and SW Holden
Come build awareness that will help tear down the systems that have oppressed Black lives for over 400 years on this continent. Hold signs, meet neighbors and stand for racial justice. Organized by Scott at PR Cohousing, endorsed by Hate-Free Delridge. Signs available.
BAR-S CLEANUP: 5:15-6:15 pm, show up at Bar-S (64th SW/SW Admiral Way) to help prepare it for the West Seattle Little League season – details in our preview.
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm online, community members welcome at the FCA board’s monthly meeting. Here’s the agenda. Go here to register to attend.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: Second week of this year’s sale, all online; our list includes links for local Scouts offering contact-free local delivery.
What are we missing? Send your event info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
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