West Seattle, Washington
30 Monday
Another milestone bringing the Delridge Skatepark closer to reality: Bids for the project were opened today, according to Seattle Parks‘ Kelly Davidson, who’s leading the project. She notes that nothing is final immediately – so this doesn’t necessarily mean the low bidder gets the contract: “We have a lot of paperwork to complete before this contract can be awarded. The process to review and approve all necessary paperwork usually takes at minimum two weeks. This contract will not be considered awarded until all documentation has been approved by the City.” That said – TF Sahli Construction – which built the two-year-old Lower Woodland skatepark – appears to be the low bidder, at $413,000; second lowest was Grindline Skateparks, the West Seattle firm that designed the Delridge project (subcontracting for Abbotswood, Davidson clarifies; final design shown above) – $502,000; A-1 Landscaping and Construction came in third at $576,000; Construct Company, LLC, was the high bid at $589,000. Construction is expected to start next month. THURSDAY MORNING NOTE: Matthew Lee Johnston, a West Seattleite who’s on the Skatepark Advisory Committee and runs seattleskateparks.org, has published his thoughts on this there.
(As of 6:20 pm, 99% of those affected had the power back. At 1:15 am Tuesday, the rest went on)
4:56 PM: Checking on a fire call in the 6900 block of Delridge (map) and – may be coincidental, or not – a report of a power outage at the West Ridge Apartments. We’re also getting multiple reports via Twitter and e-mail of power flickers in other areas; scanner ace Katie tells us the 6900 block of Delridge incident is reported as a burning transformer.
5:11 PM UPDATE: Apparently another transformer fire, per the scanner. Big traffic trouble, according to our crew on the scene. Police and fire are working to keep people away from the area. Another update – we’re now being told at the scene that this started when a tree came down and snapped a line, sparking fire(s). You can see the tree in this photo:
The power will be out until Seattle City Light can repair the damaged line, fire crews tell us at the scene.
5:21 PM UPDATE: Lights are out at Delridge/Orchard and Delridge/Myrtle – compounding the traffic trouble. And in comments, as well as via Twitter/Facebook, we’re getting indications the outage is fairly widespread – reports from Westwood and Highland Park as well as Delridge vicinity.
5:30 PM UPDATE: Just checked with City Light – 3,700 customers (homes/businesses) affected by the outage right now. No estimate yet for when they’ll get the power back on, but we have seen more SCL crews arriving in the area. SCL has an official news release out about this – see it here.
6:03 PM UPDATE: No updates on the repair situation so far. Have substituted better photos from our official camera, for the early ones sent in via BlackBerry. Also added the one immediately above – note Engine 87 – that’s not a regular West Seattle engine; because so many WS crews were at the industrial-district fire (we’ll be adding photos of some of them!), crews from elsewhere shifted into our area.
6:10 PM UPDATE: In comments as well as FB and e-mail, we’re hearing from some folks who just got their power back.
6:20 PM UPDATE: City Light reports via Twitter that all but 37 customers (homes/businesses) have their power back – the remainder may be out for more than five additional hours, while repairs are done.
6:44 PM: Here’s the brief SCL online wrapup. Thanks again to everyone who has shared information via comments, texts, phone calls, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc. – that provides a much more thorough picture of what’s happening in situations like this than is possible even to see with on-scene reporting plus the utility’s own reports, plus fast word as things change and are resolved. Here’s how to reach us 24/7.
10:07 PM: Thanks to Dietrich for sharing video shot as the incident unfolded – it’s more than 7 minutes long, but a little more than halfway in, you will see some of the flames (shot from down the block):
1:48 AM TUESDAY: Via Facebook, Phil tells us the last pocket got its power back at 1:15 am – after more than eight hours without it.
The day after North Delridge Neighborhood Council members previewed their new website at their monthly meeting, the site is live at ndnc.org. It’s got features including a photo page – and contact info for council leaders. (The Admiral Neighborhood Association is working on a site too, and that’s part of their agenda tonight.) We’ll be adding the NDNC’s new site posthaste to the list of community-organization links in the WSB sidebar.
West Seattle’s busy sign-painter Japhy Witte, aka the “Sign Savant,” was at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) this afternoon, to decorate Skylark’s exterior at 3803 Delridge Way with signs of the changes kicking in a week from today: 7 days a week – no more Monday closures – but no weekday lunches (brunch continues); also, there’s a new campaign to make sure you know you can call ahead to order Skylark dinner for takeout/pickup (convenient if you come off The Bridge at Delridge) – 206-935-2111, as the sign says:
(The menu is online, of course, as is the live/no-cover music schedule.) Skylark announced the changes last week – proprietor Jessie SK told us today that a few people were so excited about Mondays, they showed up today, but she wants to remind everyone, the first Monday is NEXT week, September 20th, doors opening at 3 pm.
(The night after that, incidentally, is Skylark’s very popular monthly Alauda belly-dance showcase.)
Two evening events of note are under way right now and continuing till 8 pm:
In Delridge, you can say hi to reps from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council during the Delridge Night Market – they’re selling I (Heart) Delridge T-shirts for just $15, and you’ll also find fresh produce for sale from Clean Greens. 5955 Delridge (map).
(Photo added 6:10 pm, courtesy John Smersh)
In the Admiral District, it’s the last big party at Click! Design That Fits before their Junction move next month (as reported here) – artist Alena Hennessy is there tonight, after bringing in new artwork and screen-printed scarves and T-shirts. Details on the Click! site; they’re at 2210 California SW (map).
ORIGINAL 7:22 PM REPORT: On our way to the assault with weapons call in the 8400 block of Delridge.
7:28 PM: Christopher Boffoli is there (and sent the photo added above) and confirms that Delridge is closed at Thistle. He says this is apparently a stabbing – and there is a report there may be a suspect in custody at 16th and Henderson, less than a mile away.
7:34 PM: Delridge reopening.
7:51 PM UPDATE: From police, according to WSB’s Patrick Sand at the scene – all parties known to one another and allegedly it started over an argument about money. Suspect fled and still at large; victim received cut to arm and refused treatment.
Lots of West Seattle business changes making news this week – first M3 Bodyworks 
moved a few blocks north, then Click! Design That Fits announced it’s moving to The Junction, this morning, Square One Books‘ closure, and now, news of changes at Skylark Café and Club (which like M3 and Click! is a WSB sponsor). Announced by proprietor Jessie SK via e-mail newsletter this morning:
Skylark will soon be 7 days a week. You asked for it, you got it…well, actually, you asked for it and we ignored you for a really long time. “We’re a small family-run biz,” we protested. “We need a day off.” The confusion persisted, however, since restaurants close on Mondays, and you all have insisted on perceiving us as a bar. (It’s okay, we forgive you, we don’t mind being a bar. You can bring your kids here though, I swear!)
When will we do the emergency building repairs? When will we sleep? How will our Kitchen Manager have a spare moment to take care of his first child who was just born this weekend? All these questions are answered by announcement number two…
We’re closing for weekday lunch. Fear not! We shall keep our extraordinarily long happy hour (3 pm to 7 pm all seven days of the week) and just open right up with said happy hour on weekdays. We shall most certainly keep our popular and delicious weekend brunch (9 am to 3 pm Saturday AND Sunday).
THESE NEW HOURS ARE EFFECTIVE AS OF TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. So weekday lunch ceases at the end of this week, and Monday, September 20 at 3 pm is your first day to come hang out with us [on a Monday].
Feel free to e-mail us feedback or further suggestions, or better yet come on in on a Monday starting September 20th and say hi in person!
Skylark is at 3803 Delridge Way (map), just south of The Bridge, and you can call ahead for takeout, by the way. Plus their almost-world-famous no-cover live music continues – the full calendar can always be found here.
Haven’t had dinner yet? Like Mexican food? New option – West Seattle’s second taco truck has arrived (the first one is El Rey Del Taco, which has been north of Home Depot for more than 2 years). Thanks to Brent for the tip – Taqueria Contreras is now open outside the Super 24 at 5455 Delridge Way. It’s along the north side of the store, and even if you are driving south, it’s not easy to see – but you can park on the south or west sides of the store. They say they’re open 10 am-10 pm, seven days a week, and this is their first week; according to the business-card-size menu they gave us, their offerings include:
Tacos $1.25
Burrito $5.50
Torta $6.50
Quesadilla $5.50
Mulitas $2
Sopitos $2.50
Alambres $8.99
Enchiladas $7.99
Burrito Mojado $7.99Special #1 – 5 tacos, 1 can soda $6.75; special #2, 1 burrito, 1 taco, 1 can soda, $6.75
Their list of meats: Beef, pork, barbecue pork, chicken, beef tongue, beef cheeks. You can call in advance for a to-go order, 206-391-7608.
That photo’s just out of the WSB inbox from JB, along with this report:
Someone just dumped a truckload of demolition and yard debris partially in the alley and also across SW Trenton near Delridge Way (map). I cleared the road enough to make it passable and then snapped some pictures. … The event occurred around 11:15 pm. I reported this to Seattle police. Looks like the truck that dumped the debris was headed south. Have there been any reports or incidents like this elsewhere in the area? Any help in identifying the culprits is appreciated.
ADDED 8:58 AM: JB had sent a second photo – so we’re adding it:
(Photos added 3:33 pm)
Just got word here from co-owner Melinda Nguyen that Pho Aroma (at Delridge/Findlay) is now officially open for business. Read more about Pho Aroma in our preview story from last month. ADDED 3:33 PM: Dropped by for a few photos. Owners Melinda (center with glasses) and Scott (to the left of Melinda) have lots of family members there to help and celebrate today!
ADDED 7:31 PM: Just noticed that the Delridge Grassroots Leadership website has a scan of the Pho Aroma menu!
Story and photos by Ina Dash, Genevieve Carrillo,
& the RecTech Teen Photojournalism Internship
Special to West Seattle Blog
Many flights were taken at the Delridge Library one recent day.
Cut-up pieces of colored paper lay scattered on the floor, as kids constructed a variety of handmade paper airplanes and rockets and took them for test flights outside the library doors.
This summer, the library has teamed up with the Museum of Flight to create a summer program that helps kids around the community express their creativity while learning about aviation. A communications officer at the Delridge Library, Cheresse Thoeny, noticed that “we… [had] …a lot of boys in this neighborhood” and wanted to find something “interesting to kids of all different ages” to bring the community together.
Thanks to Sha’ari from Inner Listening Healing Gongs and Sound Therapy (on Facebook here) for that photo from inside Pho Aroma, the new Delridge restaurant (first previewed here a month ago) that’s getting ready to open. Sha’ari says they’re expecting a final inspection on Wednesday; WSB contributor Keri DeTore had just spoken with the proprietors and learned they hope to be open by next weekend. Meantime, a couple miles east, a grand opening this morning in White Center:
Apple and peach pie were the kickoff offerings (and non-pie treats too) at 3.14 Bakery, just a couple doors south of Roxbury on 16th SW in the heart of the White Center business district. That photo is by WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz, whose full report on the opening will be up on partner site White Center Now a bit later this evening (update: here’s that link).
(Photos by Evan Miglorie)
Get any get-out-the-vote doorbellers at your house/apartment today? Here’s one group that set out from Delridge Community Center this morning – volunteers from the Washington Bus, which is trying to encourage younger voters to participate more in the political process. They rallied before hitting the streets:
Stacy and Tunny are the leaders of this year’s Washington Bus fellows – a political-organizing summer camp of sorts (explained here):
After several hours of GOTV’ing throughout the 34th Legislative District – including White Center and Burien – the group planned an afterparty at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Meantime – voted yet? Don’t let your ballot just sit there on top of the TV console (or kitchen table, or wherever) till it’s late. 80 percent of ballots aren’t in as of last night, says King County! If you need more voting info – it’s all linked here.
We’ve been out covering a boatload of big events, but first wanted to tell you, if you watch West Seattle development, that the first Southwest Design Review Board meeting in about half a year is over, and the 7100 Delridge project – 58 apartments, 1,750 square feet of retail, and three rental houses behind the building – made it through the “Early Design Guidance” phase. We’ll add full details later about architect Warren Pollock‘s presentation and SWDRB members’ advice. Next step: At least one more meeting, at which the design will have to be presented in more detail.
6:30 tonight at the Senior Center of West Seattle (meeting room upstairs – enter from SW Oregon), the Southwest Design Review Board meets for the first time in months, with one project on the agenda: 7100 Delridge (map; site in photo at left), proposed for 58 units and a 1,750-square-foot commercial space, with three detached “rental homes” in the greenbelt behind the main building. The first meeting (and sometimes subsequent ones, depending on how meeting #1 goes) is for “early design guidance,” so the package of information and graphics (see it here) is more about size, shape, and concept, than the building’s final appearance. (Public comment is welcome, even encouraged, at DRB meetings, if you’ve never been; here’s a guide for the process.)
A low-key meeting Monday night for the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, one of the few neighborhood groups NOT skipping a meeting in August. NDNC had 2 unanimous votes (with about half a dozen members present to vote), finalizing Karrie Kohlhaas as new co-chair and Patrick Baer as the new treasurer. The group also discussed features for its in-the-works website – being built by a student volunteer – and brainstormed ways to participate in the ongoing Delridge Fresh Food Spot community events at Super 24, including potentially tabling at the next Delridge Night Market (September 11th). NDNC co-chair Jay Mirro also recapped the Brandon Street Natural Area work party on Saturday, which included volunteers from Seattle Works and Rat City Rollergirls, as well as a visit from Mayor McGinn (during his North Delridge walking tour – WSB coverage here and here). No other major news from the meeting; NDNC now meets the second Monday of each month, 6:30 pm, at Delridge Library, so the next meeting will be Sept. 13.
For the first time in months, there’s a West Seattle project up for Southwest Design Review Board consideration – as first reported here one month ago, it’s a mixed-use project at 7100 Delridge Way (map), north of the Shell station that’s kitty-corner from Home Depot and Arco. And today, you can get a very preliminary peek at the shape it might take: “Early design” renderings are now available online in the packet that’s posted on the city website in advance of the 6:30 pm Thursday DRB meeting (West Seattle Senior Center, California/Oregon). Keep in mind, the renderings do NOT include exterior finishes – they’re more for “massing” (size/shape) than anything else. As is required for Early Design, architect Warren Pollock proposes 3 alternatives, labeling #1 as the “preferred alternative”:
The Delridge Neighborhood Plan designates the site vicinity as the “South Node” and it anticipates the development of a walkable pedestrian-scale neighborhood center. The “South Node” is a transportation cross road. There is an important transit stop on Delridge Way SW at the Northwest corner of our site at the foot of the city stairway in the SW Myrtle R /.W. … Concept A locates the building at the sidewalk edge to engage with pedestrian activity moving to and from the transit stop. Commercial space is located at sidewalk level and is transparent to allow views into the space and pedestrian exposure for the business that operates there.
The massing of the building will create the “street wall” that is necessary to achieve a sense of defined space for the neighborhood center. Future development on both sides of the street is necessary to full realize this “goal” of the neighborhood plan, but this project is a start in that direction.
The north end of our street wall will be a green landscape wall that will function as a backdrop for seating for people waiting for transit. Leaning against a glass storefront is not a comfortable way to wait for the bus. Project parking is internal on level 1 behind the commercial space and it steps up to level 2 to respond to the existing topography. …
The several stories of apartments are configured to create an internal courtyard that will be an activity space for the residents. A large opening in the west façade connects the court yard to the street and to the emerging neighborhood center. … 3 rental houses will be build on the hillside to the east of the apartments on the edge of the Urban Forest. … The parking for the houses is in the apartment garage. Elevators will provide access to the pedestrian bridge that crosses over the courtyard to the house. The bridge also provides a connection to the Urban Forest and to the stairway in the SW Myrtle St R / W. …
Again, you can look at the full proposal packet here; public comments are always encouraged at Design Review Board meetings. (The city’s project-status page is here.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“The Delridge Way” – pitching in to get something done, rather than waiting for it to be done for you – needs to be “the Seattle way,” Mayor Mike McGinn declared during his North Delridge walking tour, especially in this time of crunched civic budgets.
Our video above includes the perfect example. Steps away from where the mayor’s Saturday morning walking tour began at Delridge/Brandon, he was introduced to the North Delridge neighbors who have spent their Saturday mornings all summer long cleaning up a much-used but long-trashed alley.
That’s Patrick Baer in the video, explaining the project to the mayor (who you see using his smartphone to tweet this photo), while his fellow volunteers – not on behalf of any group, organization, or government agency, totally ad hoc – continue weeding and cleaning.
It was just part of what McGinn saw during a tour arranged by Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ron Angeles to help the mayor learn more about this part of West Seattle – and in the end, he spent two hours, starting with a sitdown chat at Pearls coffee/tea shop, which included not only the mayor but also Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao, and also led to this photo op:
From left with the mayor, that’s Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie, and too-many-involvements-to-list area advocate/leader Pete Spalding (who provided that photo; all others in this story were taken by us). Spalding told WSB that the sitdown included talk of the goals that Strategic Delridge (explained here) has been focusing on – and then, it was off to see the area in person – come along for more photos (think you’ve seen everything in Delridge? and the mayor’s comments on how all this may figure into the city’s big picture:Read More
We’re just back from Mayor McGinn‘s walking tour of North Delridge, and the photo above is from one of the stops – a work party along Longfellow Creek, with volunteers including Rat City Rollergirls. Other stops included the North Delridge P-Patch – where the mayor talked about budget realities – as well as the Delridge Fresh Food Spot produce stand by Super 24, and the alley behind the starting point (Delridge Library), site of a now-weekly cleanup by nearby residents who got to tell the mayor all about it. He actually spent about 2 hours in the area, with the tour preceded by a half-hour meeting with a small group of local leaders at Pearls coffee shop – as for the tour attendance, it peaked around 20 people (including neighborhood leaders, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao and Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie and several DNDA board members, Camp Long’s Sheila Brown, local uber-advocate/activist/leader Pete Spalding, and Delridge District Council chair Mat McBride, but not counting your co-publishers, the only newspeople on hand). Many more photos and the full story later.
For the second consecutive Saturday, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will visit West Seattle tomorrow – not for an event this time (he was here last Saturday to help celebrate the Camp Long Lodge reopening), but to find out more about our area, specifically the Delridge neighborhood. His tour guide: Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhood District Coordinator for the Department of Neighborhoods and longtime West Seattleite; the tour starts at Ron’s HQ, the Neighborhood Services Center in the same building as the Delridge Library (5405 Delridge Way), 10 am tomorrow, and will end about an hour and a quarter later at the Delridge P-Patch – all welcome – one of the first stops will be the Clean Greens produce-sales stand alongside Super 24, which is open 10 am-6 pm every Friday and Saturday this summer.
… and they’re asking for feedback. We spotted this about a week after its recent “soft launch”; now DNDA executive director Derek Birnie has published an item on the Delridge Grassroots Leadership site (one of 100+ featured on the WSB “Blogs” page) asking for feedback on the new dnda.org format, which offers more aggregation of Delridge-area news/info from multiple sources, as well as a bolder look at what DNDA itself is up to. Check out the revamped website here.
Just got a little more information on a police/fire “assault with weapons” call early this morning in the 8800 block of 16th SW (map). Scanner traffic at the time, just before 2 am, did not suggest a suspect on the loose, and no details were available then, but we have some now: Det. Mark Jamieson in the SPD media unit tells WSB that police were called about a “disturbance” described as a “loud verbal argument”; then a second call mentioned an “intoxicated” man with a knife outside, “screaming.” Turned out one man had been stabbed in the upper back and arm, resulting in what were called “superficial wounds,” and the suspect was quickly arrested; scanner traffic during the call suggested the suspect might also have had some kind of injury, but Det. Jamieson is still checking on that. 9:54 AM UPDATE: A few more details – the victim is 46; the suspect, 28, and was indeed taken to the hospital for “facial and head wounds” – he is under guard there but once released, Det. Jamieson says, will be booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault and harassment.
Fruit and juice samples are part of what awaits you at the second Delridge Fresh Food Spot ‘Night Market’, in the north lot of Super 24 at Delridge/Findlay (map) till 8 pm tonight – the samples are free, but fresh produce is on sale too. The first Night Market, as part of transforming Delridge into a fresh-food oasis instead of its current “food desert” status, was held on a Saturday, but this one’s on a special night to link up with everybody out and about for Night Out. Just look for the signs:
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