West Seattle, Washington
27 Friday
We have new information about the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s essay contest for young writers, first announced in mid-December. Here’s the update:
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is pleased to announce that it is now accepting submissions for its first history essay contest in partnership with Paper Boat Booksellers. Submissions will be accepted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The theme of our competition is WOMEN HISTORY MAKERS OF THE DUWAMISH PENINSULA. We encourage students to write an essay that explores the contributions of a specific woman from the Duwamish Peninsula who has made an historical impact on the community, past or present, famous or not-yet-famous. Tell us how the woman you choose to write about inspires you.
This contest is open to all students. Winners will be selected in each grade category outlined below:
Grades 3-5 – 250 words maximum
Grades 6-8 – 500 words maximum
Grades 9–12 – 750 words maximum
Essays will be judged by a panel of SWSHS staff, volunteers, and community partners based on the following criteria:
-Demonstrated understanding of the woman as a person and the role she has played or is playing in the history of the Duwamish Peninsula
-Effective use of descriptive language.
-Correct punctuation, spelling, and grammar
-For grades 6 and up, appropriate citations in any reference style
To submit an essay for consideration, please visit loghousemuseum.org/blog/essaysubmissions . Submissions should include a cover letter indicating: the title of the essay, the student’s name, grade level, and contact information where the student can be notified of the contest results.
We encourage students to make use of the Historical Society’s archives and historians. Email Maggie, the museum Programs and Interpretation Coordinator at writingcontest@loghousemuseum.org.
Submissions will close on Monday, February 15, 2021 at 5 pm. Winners will receive a special certificate and gift from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and Paper Boat Booksellers. Winning essays will also be published on the Historical Society’s blog and West Seattle Blog. Best of all, winners will be honored at a special event hosted by the Historical Society and have the opportunity to read their essay at the event!
(Alki Lighthouse, photographed Friday by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
A few notes to start our Saturday:
ROAD WORK TODAY: As previewed Friday, work is scheduled today at 35th/Trenton and at two spots on the Delridge corridor.
HEALTH SERVICES AND MORE: Big outdoor event in the parking lots at Highland Park Elementary (1012 SW Trenton), 10 am-2 pm – flu shots, COVID testing, health-insurance enrollment, more. All welcome.
CLICK!’S BACK: Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) is back from winter break, open 11 am-6 pm today. (4540 California SW)
LIBRARY PICKUPS: The Seattle Public Library‘s High Point branch is open for curbside pickups noon-6 pm today (3411 SW Raymond).
WATCHING THE GAME: Here’s one place with outdoor viewing:
The Bridge (California/Graham) sent that photo of their remodeled outdoor covered patio with two firepits. They also have a “patio projector” they’ll use when the Seahawks face off with the Rams at 1:40 pm.
(Photo by Mike Burns)
SUNSET TONIGHT: 4:37 pm.
It’s now been 45 weeks since the Friday night announcement of the first King County case of COVID-19. Here are tonight’s updates:
KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:
*67,068 people have tested positive, 582 more than yesterday’s total
*1,138 people have died, 6 more than yesterday’s total
*4,375 people have been hospitalized, 2 fewer than yesterday’s total (state says, “Hospitalization data are incomplete today due to a data processing interruption”)
*767,530 people have been tested, 1,984 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 63,299/1,091/4,194/750,194.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 88.8 million cases, 1.9 million deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
PHASE 1 FOR WEEK 1: The first “Roadmap to Recovery” report since the governor’s announcement of a new reopening plan is out. It shows every region in the state will start out in Phase 1. The next review will be next Friday.
VACCINE DISTRIBUTION: Two developments today, both reported here – Seattle Public Schools superintendent Denise Juneau wants the state to move more district personnel higher up the prioritization list, given that a fifth of the district’s students will be eligible to return to in-person learning March 1st; the county, meantime, plans to launch high-volume vaccination sites and mobile teams.
EXTRA TESTING TOMORROW: COVID testing is part of a health-services event in the parking lots at Highland Park Elementary tomorrow – 10 am-2 pm, all welcome, 1012 SW Trenton. Here’s our preview.
NEW TEST SITE: In her weekly newsletter, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold announced that a mobile testing van is now visiting Holy Family Church (20th/Roxbury) 9 am-3 pm Tuesdays and Fridays.
TASTY GIFT: Two West Seattle mental-health-care providers just gave health-care workers and a local restaurant a two-in-one boost.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB photo)
A truly special delivery this afternoon at Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle gave a boost to both health-care workers and local restaurateurs. At left in our photo are Suzanne Roberts and Lisa Riebe, West Seattle mental-health-care providers. They paid Admiral District restaurant Circa – whose co-proprietor Gretchen Evans is at center – to cook up 85 dinners for front-line workers at The Mount. The staff doesn’t dine on site, so the dinners were foil-wrapped and ready for them to take home after work. There to accept the special delivery were, at right, Colleen Farrell and Molly Swain from The Mount. Evans tells WSB that Roberts did this last spring, too, buying meals from Circa to deliver to Harborview Medical Center employees. She added that it’s hoped “this may inspire those who want to support restaurants and frontline workers by going to their favorite restaurant and offering to buy meals for those working on the front lines in some regard. It’s a double dose of donating. It’s been amazing!”
P.S. The Mount team told us their recent outbreak is under control, with no new cqses in their most recent testing, and vaccination for caregivers and residents has begun.
Two notices about road work happening tomorrow (Saturday, January 9th):
35TH SW & SW TRENTON: From SDOT‘s weekly West Seattle Bridge email, this announcement of Saturday work:
This Saturday, Jan. 9, from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., crews will be working at the intersection of 35th Ave SW and SW Trenton St to add signal loop detectors. What are signal loop detectors, you ask? They are a traffic detection device that is cut into the road near a signal. Loops are what notify the traffic signal that a vehicle is waiting at the intersection for a green light. So, in this case, after Saturday’s work, when drivers along SW Trenton St pull up to 35th Ave SW, the traffic signal will be able to change such that those drivers can continue on their way a little more quickly.
TWO AREAS OF DELRIDGE: From the weekly Delridge project update:
Weekend roadway paving in Zones B and C on Saturday, January 9
In Zone B, we are planning to pour concrete between Croft Pl SW and SW Myrtle St. Concrete pouring will continue for approximately 1-2 weeks.
In Zone C, we are planning to pour concrete between SW Trenton St and SW Henderson St. Work in this area is expected to be completed next week.
(Tomorrow’s forecast looks good for winter road work.)
Two developments today as the COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues:
SUPERINTENDENT’S LETTER: Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Denise Juneau sent a letter to the governor and state/local health officials, asking them to move teachers and other school personnel higher up in the queue, as the district prepares to bring back 10,000 students March 1st. From the news release about her letter (which contains its full text):
The superintendent is urging prioritization of vaccinations for the following personnel who will be providing in-person instruction and services:
• Preschool educators
• Kindergarten educators
• First-grade educators
• Special-education educators*
• Principals
• Assistant principals
• Safety & Security personnel
• Nutrition Services personnel
• Custodial personnel* For students receiving moderate to intensive in-person special education services and students who require in-person services to meet goals outlined in their Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Her letter says limiting early prioritization to educators over 50 “does not make sense.’ She also offers the use of SPS facilities for vaccination clinics.
KING COUNTY PLAN: In a midday media briefing, King County Executive Dow Constantine and others announced plans for “high-volume county vaccination sites” starting around February 1st, and mobile teams ASAP, in hopes of stepping up the pace of vaccination administration. No specific locations yet, but South King County is the most likely general area. Constantine said the county will allot $7 million for this, hoping for eventual state/federal reimbursement but not waiting for it. One stat cited during the briefing: Only about 2,000 people are getting vaccinated in King County right now, a pace that would mean it would take close to 2 years before all of the county’s adults get it. Here’s more info on today’s announcement.
3:03 PM: Thanks to Collin for the photo and tip: SPD and SFD are just arriving at that crash scene at Olson/3rd, east end of the Roxbury corridor. Big traffic backup, he reports. Avoid the area for a while. Police have just radioed that they will have one NB and one SB lane blocked.
3:21 PM: Both northbound lanes are now blocked, per police radio.
3:39 PM: No medic unit sent, so apparently no major injuries; we’ll follow up with SFD.
If you can donate blood, Bloodworks Northwest invites you to make an appointment at its upcoming pop-ups in West Seattle. Here’s the announcement, along with an update on the most recent pop-up here:
Bloodworks Northwest is so grateful to everyone who attended our pop-up @ The Sanctuary at the end of December. 166 units of blood were collected over 4 days. Since one unit of blood can potentially help up to 3 patients, this means almost 500 local patients will benefit!
If you missed the Sanctuary pop-up but are still interested in donating blood, we have another West Seattle pop-up happening January 26 & 27 and February 2 & 3 at Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor Ave SW) in the lower-level Alki Room. And January is National Blood Donor Month, so what better time to make a donation and impact someone’s life!
Please use this link to sign up: schedule.bloodworksnw.org/DonorPortal/GroupLanding.aspx?s=437B
Your donation could put you in the driver’s seat! When you donate blood between now and March 17, you will automatically be entered for a chance to win a car! The lucky winner will have their choice among 9 pre-selected new vehicles from Haselwood Auto Group. There’s a Jeep for the adventurer, not one but TWO hybrids for the ecologically minded, a Mazda for the sportier types, and more! More info at www.bloodworksnw.org/winacar
All donations are by appointment only. The one-hour donation appointment is a safe and essential action to support local hospitals and patients. The pop-up centers are being conducted in accordance with social distancing guidelines. No walk-ins, guests, or people under age 16 are permitted onsite. All donors are required to wear masks during their appointment. Bloodworks has posted information addressing questions and concerns for blood donors at bloodworksnw.org/coronavirus. For questions about eligibility and to make your appointment, call 800-398-7888 or e-mail schedule@Bloodworksnw.org
Another utility project is set to start, affecting a local street. This time it’s 34th SW in Arbor Heights, near Westside School (WSB sponsor), between SW 104th and 106th. That’s where Puget Sound Energy will be “replacing a portion of the underground natural-gas main and select service lines.” 34th SW will be reduced to one lane in the work area. The work is expected to last about two weeks and may involve some service interruptions. Full details, and a map, are on a flyer (here and here) sent to neighbors, who have been told the work is expected to start Monday. (Thanks to Jodean for the tip!)
Another local youth-baseball league is registering players, to be ready for the possibility of playing this spring – here’s the announcement:
Registration is officially open for the West Seattle Baseball Spring Season! Be a part of the 60-year tradition in West Seattle. We welcome boys and girls ages 4-18. Please visit westseattlebaseball.com to reserve your child’s spot!
West Seattle Baseball, the largest youth recreational baseball league in the area, has opened registration for the coming 2021 Spring Season on its website westseattlebaseball.com. Parents of children between the ages of 4 to 18 are invited to secure their spots in what is certain to be a memorable season.
West Seattle Baseball has a 60-year tradition of serving the youth of West Seattle and its neighboring communities. As an affiliate of PONY Baseball, West Seattle Baseball does not have residency requirements for participation, so your child can play their spring baseball with friends from different parts of the area.
As was the case for so many, our volunteer-run organization was presented with many challenges in 2020 and is looking forward to giving the children of our community the best baseball season possible this year! In order to be prepared to start as soon as we are allowed, we have changed how parents will register their players this year.
Due to lingering uncertainty with regard to state-mandated restrictions:
-All registrants will be “waitlisted” until we have the go-ahead from local officials to play. Your registration is a reservation.
-NO MONEY will be collected until we know with certainty that we will be playing.
-The league will publish and follow a comprehensive safety plan based on state and local guidelines.
Family and friends are remembering Ann K. Dirks, and sharing this remembrance with her community:
Longtime West Seattle resident Ann Kimberly Dirks died peacefully at a local senior care facility on January 3. She was 82.
The mother of five boys, Ann was known for her spirited, outgoing personality and quick humor that helped her develop deep and lasting connections with neighbors, co-workers, friends, and within her large extended family.
Born in Bellingham, Ann moved with her parents, Clair and Alta Smith, to West Seattle as a child. Ann was a 1956 graduate of West Seattle High School and went on to attend Washington State College in Pullman for two years. She married Martin (Marty) Dirks at the West Seattle Baptist Church on October 16, 1959. Marty took an engineering job in New Jersey, where their identical twin sons Greg and Brian were born, but the couple missed their family and friends in Washington so much that they made the cross-country trip back home several months later in their compact sedan.
Ann and Marty had three more sons: John, Stephen, and Tom. Ann’s life became a hubbub of cross-neighborhood gatherings, Scouts, household duties and shepherding her boys to their various activities. In the 1960s, Ann and Marty built a two-bedroom cabin on Camano Island where the family spent most summer weekends and vacation time, even living there for a year. Ann also enjoyed numerous family camping and boating trips, along with family travels throughout the West Coast.
As her sons grew older, Ann took a job with the West Seattle Herald, where she typed up community news items and classified advertisements and greeted customers. While at the Herald, she served as volunteer coordinator for the West Side Story, the definitive book about West Seattle published in 1987, supervising a cadre of people who helped with its production and distribution.
Ann and Marty also became active volunteers in the Southwest Seattle chapter of Ryther, an organization that provides mental health and substance use services to youth. In their retirement years, Ann and Marty split time between homes in West Seattle and Camano Island. They also took numerous cruises, traveled around the world, and looked forward to their annual ski trip with family and friends to McCall, Idaho. Ann was an avid reader, loved taking long walks on the beach and telling stories to her grandchildren.
In addition to Marty and their five sons, all of whom live in the greater Seattle area, Ann is survived by nine grandchildren, a step-grandson, and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sister Jane. Her brother, Stuart Smith, lives in Gresham, Oregon.
An online memorial service is at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6 – please contact RememberingAnn@utsservices.net to be included. Ann will be interred near her parents and other family at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Ferndale. The family suggests remembrances in her name to Ryther or to the West Seattle Food Bank.
You may share memories of Ann and visit the full obituary page and online guestbook at emmickfunerals.com.
The family would like to acknowledge the caregivers and staff at Aegis Living of West Seattle for their tremendous care and support of Ann during her final months.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please email the text, and a photo if available, to editor@wsb.blackfin.biz)
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
MAIL/PACKAGE THEFT ARREST: Southwest Precinct police report this happened Thursday:
A witness in the area of 26th Ave SW and SW Findlay Street observed a male taking packages from the porches and mailboxes. Officers responded to the area very quickly and located the male. The male was found in possession of approximately 40 pieces of mail and three packages that did not belong to him. Officers arrested the male for Felony Mail Theft and then delivered the packages back to the rightful houses.
MORE MAIL STOLEN: We don’t know if there’s any connection with what was found in that arrest, but we also got this report from Deanna on Thursday: “Several mailboxes were looted sometime during the night of 1/6 or early morning 1/7 on the 9000 block of 14th Ave SW. Some mailboxes were left open after being (emptied) of their contents, including one locked mailbox that was wrenched open by the perpetrator. An incident has been opened with USPS.”
GARAGE BURGLARY: From Guy:
I wanted to report a break-in to my place (sometime on the night between 1/5-1/6). My garage (close to the intersection of Delridge & Thistle) was broken into and lots of my hiking & camping gear was stolen. I realize it’s a long shot, but perhaps anyone will spot any of these items for sale somewhere? Or maybe someone on the block has a street-facing security camera and caught anything on tape? The big-ticket items that were stolen include (photos linked):
Osprey Volt 60L, blue
Osprey Manta 34L, black
Patagonia Petrolia 28L, red
Northface Stormbreak 3-person tent, yellow
Exped Megamat 10, green
REI camping table
Ski Helmet & Goggles, light blue
These are the items that I figured might be easy to spot; the rest are all smaller hiking items such as gloves, hats, boots, etc.
6:12 AM: It’s Friday, January 8th, the 291st morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD (ETC.) WORK
Delridge project – Here are the toplines for this week.
California and Myrtle – Lane closures and a big middle-of-street tank are part of a sewer-repair project.
TRANSIT
Metro – On regular schedule
Water Taxi – On regular schedule
CHECK TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
West Marginal Way (substitute camera since the one at Highland Park Way has been out of alignment):
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am, with camera enforcement starting 1/11/21) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River, the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here are two cameras:
The other major bridge across the river – the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s the nearest camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed. (Same goes for the other detour-route neighborhoods, like Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.)
To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
You can view all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
Tonight’s virus-crisis update:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: The Public Health daily-summary dashboard did not post a 12/31 daily update, so we don’t have the week-ago numbers, only today’s cumulative totals:
*66,486 people have tested positive, 855 more than yesterday’s total
*1,132 people have died, 15 more than yesterday’s total
*4,377 people have been hospitalized, 37 more than yesterday’s total
*765,546 people have been tested, 2,240 more than yesterday’s total
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 88 million cases worldwide, 21.5 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED LIVES: King County has published results of a survey done lqte in the summer.
NEED FOOD? 2-5 pm tomorrow at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th) HQ, emergency food boxes are available.
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
When we reported last month that West Seattle Natural Medicine Clinic (3256 California SW) planned to close after 37 years, we noted that owner Dr. Katherine Oldfield was hoping to find a buyer. Tonight, she announced she has, and so the clinic will continue:
It is with great joy that I am able to announce that West Seattle Natural Medicine Clinic is not closing! Dr. Krystal Richardson, a friend and colleague, has bought the clinic, thus providing the stability and energy that we needed after a tumultuous 2020. … I first met Dr. Richardson many years ago when she was doing her residency with my friend Dr. Tamara Cullen Evans. She went on to purchase that practice from Dr. Evans. I can’t imagine a person better suited to take over the helm of WSNMC as she is an excellent clinician and a trusted business owner.
The new WSNMC owner has clinics downtown and in Fremont. You can read more about the change on WSNMC’s website, which says Dr. Richardson’s first day there is next Monday (January 11th). Dr. Oldfield had owned the clinic since 2002.
Even as Sound Transit figures out how to deal with a revenue shortfall, it’s warning that future projects such as West Seattle to Ballard light rail will cost a lot more than originally expected. The ST Board’s Executive Committee was told today about what board chair Kent Keel described as “unprecedented cost increases”: Among them, the cost estimate for the West Seattle-Ballard light-rail extension have risen by more than 50 percent – it’s now estimated to cost more than $12 billion, up from $7 billion when the ST3 ballot measure went to voters. The numbers were part of a presentation to the committee about revised estimates for multiple projects. Here’s the slide deck:
The West Seattle-Ballard project overall is becoming “more complex,” ST’s Don Billen told the board; his part of the presentation starts 49 minutes into the meeting video. (You can read the accompanying memo to the board here.) These are still rough estimates, since the project remains relatively early in the planning process, but the increase is attributed mostly to the increased cost of property acquisition – since development has continued on the potentially needed parcels – and construction.
As an example of the former, the presentation cited the potential need for right-of-way on the Fauntleroy/Alaska corner, including the site of the two-building Legacy Partners project that’s now under construction, if that site were chosen for the Junction station (sites further west drew more attention during the public-comment process). The cost of that site, if needed, was previously estimated at $76 million – and now estimated at $252 million. (Board member Dow Constantine, the West Seattle-residing King County Executive, inferred underground development may look more attractive as a result of numbers like that.)
“While these numbers are sobering, they’re not catastrophic,” said CEO Peter Rogoff, promising that ST is still committed to all the projects. But overall, the increased cost estimate for West Seattle-Ballard (which includes a new downtown tunnel) and other ST projects is so dramatic that ST plans to hire a consultant for an “independent cost review” to be complete before April – as ST continues its “realignment” process, to decide how projects’ schedules will have to change because of the funding gap. (The West Seattle completion date already has been pushed back one year to 2031.) Board members are expected to get a closer look at the “affordability gap” when they meet for a workshop on realignment two weeks from today (January 21st). In the meantime, ST is still working on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the West Seattle-Ballard project, due out later this year.
Kaari Higgins died 10 years ago today, the victim of one of West Seattle’s unsolved murders.
One of her two children, now a grown woman, continues trying to find justice for her mom. Lindsay Higgins asked that we publish her plea:
Kaari Higgins was found brutally beaten in her Fauntlee Hills home on December 31st, 2010, and succumbed to her injuries one week later on January 7th, 2011. The attack occurred sometime between 6 am and noon on that New Year’s Eve. On the 10th anniversary of her death, I want to remind the West Seattle community of this unsolved homicide. I was 12 at the time, and now that I am older I still hope to find answers.
Unfortunately, my mom’s case was not widely covered in the media, but there were a few articles published. This Seattle PI story most accurately reported the key details surrounding the case:
It was a few minutes past noon on New Year’s Eve 2010 when a medic dispatcher received a call about a woman unresponsive in West Seattle.
“There’s someone unconscious bleeding from the mouth, face down on the floor in the hallway,” a man said, directing medics to the 4000 block of Southwest Concord Street.
Homicide detectives were unaware of Higgins’ case until after her death – more than a week after her injuries were reported. It was only when her body was examined that investigators realized that it was unlikely her injuries came from a simple fall.
Police say Higgins had a split lip, two black eyes, a bruise on her lower left back, a bruise on her shoulders and a fractured bone. Investigators think she was beaten that New Year’s Eve – her 47th birthday.
I hope that somebody knows something, and that this post might trigger a memory. I urge anyone with possible information or tips on Kaari’s death to contact SPD’s Homicide Tip Line: 206-233-5000.
We reported on Ms. Higgins’s death in 2012, after SPD brought the case to light via a list of unsolved murders.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
WOMAN ARRESTED FOR UNINTENTIONALLY SHOOTING HUSBAND: SPD investigated a shooting late last night in southeast West Seattle. We heard some of the radio discussion, and SPD summarized it online this afternoon. A 911 call – with no one talking but a “disturbance in the background” – 
brought officers to a house in the 9000 block of 3rd SW. On arrival, officers saw blood on a car. They eventually determined that a woman in the house had fired a gun, hitting a man in the hand. The SPD Blotter report says the suspect is the victim’s wife, and that it happened after they argued with a man “who ended up pepper spraying the couple. They said the woman then took out a handgun and fired a ‘warning shot,’ which struck her husband in the hand. The couple said they then chased the known man out of their home and the wife fired three additional rounds.” She was arrested; the gun (SPD photo at right) was recovered.
STABBING SUSPECT CHARGED: We reported last Sunday that one man was stabbed and a suspect arrested after an incident at Transitional Resources in the 2900 block of SW Avalon Way. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged the suspect, 34-year-old Harrison Washington, with second-degree assault. Charging documents say he does not have a criminal history and that the two have known each other for several years; the victim told police he was stabbed without provocation after asking Washington for a cigarette and being told he could get one in the suspect’s apartment, then finding none. Washington is in jail, bail set at $250,000.
ALERT FOR RUNNERS: Received from a reader who asked only to be identified as a “solo female runner”:
At 6:15 AM this morning (Thursday, Jan 7), I was running on Marine View Drive near the curve towards Seola Greenbelt Park /35th Ave SW with my headlight and reflective vest on for visibility. I had seen a late model gray Toyota truck traveling the opposite direction, but then noticed it was driving my direction slowly behind me a distance away, never passing me. I became concerned since I was quickly approaching the park open space, away from homes. I decided to cross the street and run up a driveway to the side of a house out of sight and turn off my light. I could hear the truck stop and it did not continue traveling my direction. Once I no longer heard the truck, I quickly made my way home on side streets without my light off. I didn’t have a cell phone on me to report to Seattle PD for investigation, but did call later to report the incident. I just want any early-morning runners to be aware of this incident for safety reasons.
Two bridge-related notes today:
COMMUNITY TASK FORCE MEETING NEXT WEEK: During last night’s District 1 Community Network meeting, West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force member Deb Barker broke the news that the WSBCTF will meet next Wednesday (January 13th). SDOT confirms to WSB that the meeting is set for noon Wednesday; no link or agenda yet. Though the WSBCTF, which is an all-volunteer group, decided to keep meeting, the other advisory group assembled and convened last spring – the Technical Advisory Panel – ended its work last month (as reported here last week).
FRIDAY UPDATE: The meeting viewing link has been added to this page along with a note that agenda items will include low-bridge access policy and Reconnect West Seattle.
LOW BRIDGE CAMERA-TICKETING REMINDER: We reconfirmed with SDOT today that the low-bridge enforcement cameras remain on schedule for activation next Monday (January 11th). Between 5 am and 9 pm, 7 days a week, the cameras will photograph plates (but not drivers) of vehicles crossing the bridge, and the owners of vehicles that aren’t authorized to be using the bridge at the time will get $75 citations. Need a refresher on the current rules? Go here.
(WSB photos)
The former mini-market at 7789 Highland Park Way SW is going to be a corner store again.
Highland Park Corner Store, to be specific.
Back in October, we reported that the property had been bought, and was being renovated, by West Seattle preservationist/entrepreneur John Bennett. Our story noted that he was seeking a tenant.
One of the people who saw that story was Meaghan Haas, a Highland Park resident who tells WSB she had been “looking for ways to be more involved in the local community.” That fit right in with Bennett’s stated hope of finding “a business that will make the neighborhood a better place.”
Haas has a background in the events industry – music, arts, and marketing, including time working at One Reel – known for big Seattle events like Bumbershoot – and the Vera Project. She plans to open the store in phases: “We’re planning to open with coffee service next month via a walk-up window, with deli service following a few months later. By the end of the year, we’re planning to open up the store with grocery staples, wine, and beer (including a few on tap), as well as a spot to sit down and enjoy a drink or a sandwich with friends and neighbors.”
In that first phase, Highland Park Corner Store will offer QED Coffee, Macrina Bakery pastries, and White Knuckle ready-made sandwiches; Haas is still finalizing other suppliers: “Overall, the goal is to source everything as locally as possible.” When she moves to the deli phase, that “will mean a limited menu of sandwiches and salads to start.”
But first, she’s just “looking forward to opening up and serving our neighbors – and the greater community of West Seattle.”
(Thanks to everyone who tipped us that the site had signs of a tenant!)
(WSB photos)
Ten months have passed since most in-person learning was suspended, and getting online – reliably and affordably – is still a challenge for some students. Help is on the way to hundreds more, thanks to HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor). More than 220 laptops that HomeStreet no longer needed have just been given to InterConnection, a Seattle nonprofit that will refurbish them for reuse.
After HomeStreet’s IT team extensively prepared the computers for the donation, InterConnection visited the bank’s operations center Wednesday morning to pick them up. (Here’s how their donation process works.) HomeStreet also gave InterConnection $1,000; that’ll help with InterConnection’s costs to prepare the laptops for their new owners.
From left in the photo above are HomeStreet’s Vicki Foege, Mickey Pierce and Abraham Mears from InterConnection, Bob Livingston from HomeStreet, InterConnection president Cheryl Roe, Caly Jellum and Jay Bhuller from HomeStreet, a Puget Sound-based bank whose branches include one in the West Seattle Junction (4022 SW Alaska).
The holiday season is over, but community needs – and giving opportunities – are not. Here’s a way you can help – the annual Combat Arts Academy donation drive for the West Seattle Food Bank and its Clothesline, which help thousands of your neighbors in need.
From the CAA announcement:
In the early years, CAA collected about 1,500 pounds of food each food drive; in 2020, we collected 6,000 lbs of food! In light of the pandemic and all of the challenges it has posed, we want to encourage donations of any kind, instead of setting a specific weight goal. Currently, financial contributions are highly encouraged by the WSFB due to the pandemic, but we (CAA) will collect any of the following items:
Clothesline – Gently used or new items for any age (infants, kids, teens, adults), including:
Underwear (New only)
Gloves, Coats, Scarves (think Seattle winter-wear)
Blankets, Sleeping Bags, Linens
Diapers & Formula
Any clothing
Visit https://westseattlefoodbank.org/clothesline/ to find more requested items.WSFB – any non-perishable, canned, or packaged item is welcome
Shelf-stable milk
Juice (individual servings)
Canned Meals (soup, chili, Mac and Cheese, etc.)
Healthy snacks (granola bars, raisins, fruit leather, dried fruit, etc.)
Individual Snack packs (peanut butter, tuna, etc.)
Applesauce/fruit cups
Visit westseattlefoodbank.org/donate-food to find more requested food items.Financial Donations:
– Drop off a check (made payable to the West Seattle Food Bank) at the front desk for the drive, or contribute online at westseattlefoodbank.org/donate-money. If you choose to contribute online, please add a note that it’s on behalf of the CAA Drive.
The amazing thing about the WSFB is how they strengthen the West Seattle community through the power of neighbors helping neighbors; their mission is so important in this current time of need.
Donations accepted at Combat Arts Academy (5050 Delridge Way SW), Monday-Friday 8 am-8 pm. For questions or comments, contact us at welcome@caaseattle.com or 206-420-1834
6:07 AM: It’s Thursday, January 7th, the 290th morning without the West Seattle Bridge.
ROAD (ETC.) WORK
Delridge project – Here are the toplines for this week. (The Thistle closure hadn’t happened as of Wednesday midday, but lanes were reduced on the west side of the intersection.)
California and Myrtle – Lane closures and a big middle-of-street tank are part of a sewer-repair project.
TRANSIT
Metro – On regular schedule
Water Taxi – On regular schedule
CHECK TRAFFIC BEFORE YOU GO
West Marginal Way (substitute camera since the one at Highland Park Way has been out of alignment):
Highland Park Way/Holden:
The 5-way intersection (Spokane/West Marginal/Delridge/Chelan):
Restricted-daytime-access (open to all 9 pm-5 am, with camera enforcement starting 1/11/21) low bridge:
The main detour route across the Duwamish River, the 1st Avenue South Bridge (map) . Here are two cameras:
The other major bridge across the river – the South Park Bridge (map). Here’s the nearest camera:
Going through South Park? Don’t speed. (Same goes for the other detour-route neighborhoods, like Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.)
To check for bridges’ marine-traffic openings, see the @SDOTBridges Twitter feed.
You can view all local traffic cams here; locally relevant cameras are also shown on this WSB page.
Trouble on the roads/paths/water? Let us know – text (but not if you’re driving!) 206-293-6302.
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