West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
1:12 PM: Thanks for the photos. Seattle Fire and Police are on the scene of a car-on-side crash in the 1300 block of Alki Avenue SW.
1:16 PM: SFD says firefighters have extricated one person from the crashed car.
1:24 PM: Firefighters just told dispatch that one person is going to the hospital by private ambulance, which indicates injuries are not life-threatening.
1:35 PM: We’ve confirmed at the scene that the driver, a woman, was transported. One lane of traffic has just reopened at the scene. … Two parked vehicles were damaged – one hit by the driver and pushed into the other one.
4:05 PM: SFD tells us the 77-year-old driver was in stable condition when she was taken to the hospital.
We’re catching up with the files in some long-running criminal cases. First: A reader tipped us that the case of a quadruple shooting at Alki Beach in June 2021, killing one person and injuring three others, has ended in a plea agreement.
(June 2021 photo by David Hutchinson)
Milton Arnold III of Des Moines, now 21, originally was charged with second-degree murder for killing 22-year-old Tilorae Shepherd of Federal Way and two counts of first-degree assault for wounding a man and woman (the fourth victim was a friend of Arnold, hit accidentally). The gunfire followed a confrontation over fireworks, as detailed in our first report on the original charges. At some point Shepherd reportedly displayed a gun but did not pull it. Arnold claimed he fired in self-defense, and prosecutors cited that as the reason for reducing the charges; he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault. He had no prior convictions, and court documents show that last month King County Superior Court Judge Ken Schubert sentenced him to a total of four and a half years in prison. That will include credit for time served since his arrest two and a half years ago.
(Cormorants, photographed in mid-December by Steve Bender on the Duwamish River at T-107 Park)
The low-key week-between-holidays continues, but you do have some options in the hours ahead:
SCRABBLE CLUB: Play 12:30-1:30 pm at Margie’s Café inside the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon).
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Tasting room/wine bar on the north end of South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) is open 1 pm-8 pm.
BUSINESS FESTIVAL DURING KWANZAA, DAY 1: 2-7 pm, workshops and vendors at the Washington State Black Legacy Institute (2656 42nd SW), as previewed here. Today’s lineup is on this RSVP page.
VISCON CELLARS: Tasting room/wine bar open – wine by the glass or bottle – 5-9 pm at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor). Viscon’s first-ever sparkling wine is available in time for New Year’s!
ASTRA LUMINA: One more week for the celestially inspired light show on the grounds of the Seattle Chinese Garden at the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus continues tonight, 5 pm. Timed tickets and pricing info here.
LIVE MUSIC AT C & P: Art Frankel performs at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm.
SHOWCASE AT THE SPOT: Fridays are Live Artist Showcase nights at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way), 7-10 pm.
LIVE MUSIC AT WEST SEATTLE BREWING: Mercury Black, 8 pm. (4415 Fauntleroy Way SW)
DJ NIGHT AT REVELRY ROOM: Music 9 pm-1 am on Fridays! Tonight’s DJ: Lady Coco. (4547 California SW)
Something to add to our calendar? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Cozy Comedy, run by two West Seattleites who produce shows here and around the region, has big news:
We have our FIRST charity comedy show coming up on January 11, 2024, benefiting the Lafayette PTA! Cozy Comedy will not be making a penny of profit from this show; all proceeds are going to the Lafayette PTA. Otter on the Rocks has graciously agreed to let us have an additional evening of entertainment in their business for this great cause!
Tickets are available at this link – eventbrite.com/e/laughing-for-leopards-comedy-fundraiser-for-lafayette-pta-tickets-759136446547
Date and Time – Thursday, January 11, 7 pm show start!
Where: Otter on the Rocks, West Seattle
Benefitting the Lafayette PTA
Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral) is one of the venues where Cozy Comedy – whose backstory we told last year – presents shows each
(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)
Back on Tuesday, we published photographer Brittany Noelle‘s report about discovering a new baby orca with the Southern Residents’ J-Pod. Now whale advocates are excited about the calf’s relatively speedy gender reveal. He showed himself to West Seattle researchers Mark and Maya Sears, and The Whale Trail‘s Donna Sandstrom sent us their photos and details last night:
Mark and Maya Sears were out with J pod again (Thursday). They encountered J60, and confirmed he is a male! They encountered the whales near Point No Point on the north end of Bainbridge Island.
It can sometimes takes a while to determine gender of an orca – when they are young, the only way to tell them apart is by the markings on their underbellies. A whale has to roll over so the markings are visible – which J60 did (Thursday), twice!
(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)
J60’s mom is J40 (aka Suttles), a 19-year-old female. This is her first calf (that we know of). Maya said that J46, a 13-yr-old female named Star, spent a lot of time around the new calf too.
An interesting bit of history – Mark and Maya were the first people to spot J40 in 2004, when she was a newborn calf. The Sears encountered J40 and her mom J14 (Samish) mid-channel between Lincoln Park and Blake Island on December 21, 2004:
(2004 photo of then-newborn J40 and J14, by Mark Sears)
Nearly nineteen years to the day after they spotted J40, they spotted her first calf (J60).
There’s long been speculation that central Puget Sound is a calving ground for the southern residents. At least for J pod, that appears to be true!
(Photo by Maya Sears, NMFS Permit 27052)
There are now 10 calves under five years old in the southern resident population, and six of those are female. The future of the population is here! Whether they survive and thrive into adulthood is up to us.
Here’s how people can help:
-Give the orcas the acoustic space they need to forage, rest, and socialize.
-Watch southern residents from shore, and stay 1000 yards away from them at sea..
-Take the pledge at givethemspace.org and encourage your friends to take it too.
-Download the free app Whale Alert to learn when southern residents are near. Share any whale sightings with the app too..This year Washington State passed legislation to establish a 1000-yard acoustic buffer around the orcas. The setback will become mandatory in 2025 – a welcome step forward. But the orcas need our help today. Take the pledge and help us give J60 a fighting chance!
J60’s birth brings the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales’ population to 76.
6:00 AM: Good morning. It’s Friday, December 29, and we’re headed for another three-day holiday weekend.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Mostly cloudy, chance of rain, high in the mid-50s. Today’s sunrise will be at 7:57 am, and the sun will set at 4:24 pm.
TRANSIT UPDATES + HOLIDAY PREVIEWS
Holiday previews – Here’s the announcement about most transit services going fare-free on New Year’s Eve (until 3 am New Year’s Day) … On NY Day, Metro buses will be on a Sunday schedule; the Water Taxis will be out of service (despite the big hockey event at T-Mobile Park).
Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you’re wondering where the boat is.
Metro today – Regular schedule; check advisories here.
Washington State Ferries today – 2-boat service on the Triangle Route. Check alerts for changes, and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
(If you’ve noticed that the video options on SDOT’s camera map don’t work, SDOT tells us they’re working on it, but no ETA for the fix.)
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, and Delridge/Oregon.
High Bridge – the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
Low Bridge:
1st Ave. S. Bridge – another route across the river:
Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if applicable). Thank you!
David sent this as an open thank-you letter for Thursday evening help:
At around 5 pm, my old 1984 gray Chevy Cavalier station wagon’s transmission finally died while waiting to make a left-hand turn on 35th Avenue SW and SW Thistle westbound with a load of groceries from the White Center Safeway.
I’d like to publicly thank the unknown young lady and unknown female driver of a big white pickup truck who came to my assistance and gave me a “heavenly shove” out of the left-turn lane onto westbound SW Thistle so I could safely wait for a tow to my residence in Upper Gatewood.
For a second consecutive night, police are investigating gunfire in Highland Park. They responded to a call from someone who reported seeing someone fire a gun out a car window in the 8100 block of 8th SW around 8:23 pm. The caller then said they found at least one shell casing while police were on the way. No injuries are reported; the only description so far is that the person fired toward a building from the passenger side of an “early model sedan” that was last seen heading west on SW Elmgrove. This is about half a mile south of where last night’s gunfire happened.
New on the city’s bidding website, several earthquake-safety retrofit projects around the city – including the pedestrian overpass at Delridge and Oregon, between the south end of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center and the east side of Delridge Playfield/Community Center. This comes one year after the decision to keep and retrofit the bridge – after community opposition to proposed removal – was announced. Scope of the project is described as follows:
Seismic retrofit project that involves retrofit of superstructure, columns, and footings through section build up and/or use of CFRP wraps, as well as separating ramps from the structure and building up a lightweight fill support for ramps, adding new expansion joints at the ramps, removing and reinstalling handrails, and modifying the ends of handrails at new expansion joints.
In 2021, SDOT estimated the retrofit cost as ~$4 million; the estimate is now up to more than $5 million. It’s already retrofitted the area’s other pedestrian overpass, the SW Andover bridge over the southwest end of the West Seattle Bridge. The deadline for bids on the Delridge/Oregon project is January 17. The work could last up to a year, according to this slide deck from a briefing last year.
If you happen onto an abandoned electric scooter, it might belong to Joel, who emailed to report: “I today had my Nami Burn-E 2 Max electric scooter stolen from the South side bike rack of the Admiral Junction Safeway across from Hiawatha park at approximately 12:40 PM. It is black and weighs about 100 lbs. There is a security code for starting it.”
Two opportunities for holiday giving are concluding shortly, so we’re reminding you one more time:
DAVE NEWMAN STATE FARM INSURANCE AGENCY WARM CLOTHING DRIVE: In conjunction with the West Seattle Food Bank/West Seattle Helpline, the agency (a longtime WSB sponsor) is collecting donations of clothes, coats, and shoes through the end of this week. (For undergarments and socks, please donate only new and unopened packages.) Please drop off your donations at 3435 California Ave SW. The office is open for donations today until 5 pm, tomorrow 9 am-5 pm.
GIVE JOY FOR WESTSIDE BABY: Through month’s end, the West Seattleite-founded, White Center-based organization helping babies and kids still has two ways to participate in their holiday “joy drive”:
*Send warm items our way through our Amazon Wishlist
WestSide Baby is organizing the drive to “ensure that children in our community have the basics they need, like diapers and safety equipment – and also that they have the opportunity to experience extra joy this season.”
1:47 PM: The Mount tells us John has been found, safe, and is back home.
Earlier:Read More
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Here are the Thursday highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
PRESCHOOLER STORY TIME: 10:30 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library (2306 42nd SW).
WEST SEATTLE UKULELE PLAYERS: All levels welcome to this weekly 1 pm gathering. Email westseattleukuleleplayerswsup@gmail.com for an update on where they’re playing today.
NORTHWEST WINE ACADEMY: Tasting room/wine bar at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor) open 1 pm-8 pm – stop by if you’re going to the next event, which also is on the campus’s north end!
ASTRA LUMINA: Celestially inspired light show on the grounds of the Seattle Chinese Garden at the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus, starting at 5 pm. Timed tickets and info here.
VISCON CELLARS: Tasting room/wine bar open 5-9 pm (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) – get a bottle of their first-ever sparkling wine for your holiday celebration!
RAPIDRIDE ROAD-WORK QUESTIONS? The H Line construction team will be available for an hour one last time at 5 pm tonight, online or by phone, for Q/A. Our preview explains how to participate.
WESTIES RUN CLUB: Meet at Future Primitive Beer Bar (2536 Alki SW) at 6:30 pm for a 3-mile run – more in our calendar listing.
BLUES NIGHT: 6:30-9 pm at The Spot West Seattle (2920 SW Avalon Way), every Thursday you can listen to the blues.
YOGA, BREATH WORK, GONG BATH, MORE: 7 pm at Move2Center (3618 SW Alaska), $35.
Planning something that should be on our calendar and in daily preview lists like this? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
7:02 AM: Good morning. It’s Thursday, December 28. We’re publishing the daily transportation notes later than usual today because of breaking-news coverage earlier.
WEATHER + SUNRISE/SUNSET TIMES
Mostly cloudy, chance of showers, high in the mid-50s. Today’s sunrise will be at 7:57 am, and the sun will set at 4:24 pm.
(Wednesday photo by Curry Gibson)
TRANSIT UPDATES + HOLIDAY PREVIEWS
Holiday previews – Here’s the announcement about most transit services going fare-free on New Year’s Eve (until 3 am New Year’s Day) … On NY Day, Metro buses will be on a Sunday schedule; the Water Taxis will be out of service.
Water Taxi today – Regular schedule. Check the real-time map if you’re wondering where the boat is.
Metro today – Regular schedule; check advisories here.
Washington State Ferries today – 2-boat service on the Triangle Route. Check alerts for changes, and use the real-time map to see where your ferry is.
SPOTLIGHT TRAFFIC CAMERAS
(The state fixed its tech troubles after several hours Wednesday. If you’ve noticed that the video options on SDOT’s camera map don’t work, SDOT tells us they’re working on it, but no ETA for the fix.)
Delridge cameras: Besides the one below (Delridge/Orchard), cameras are also at Delridge/Genesee, Delridge/Juneau, Delridge/Henderson, and Delridge/Oregon.
High Bridge – the main camera:
High Bridge – the view from its southwest end (when SDOT points the 35th/Avalon/Fauntleroy camera that way):
Low Bridge:
1st Ave. S. Bridge – another route across the river:
Highway 99: – northbound side at Lander:
MORE TRAFFIC CAMS: See all working traffic cams citywide here, most with video options; West Seattle and vicinity-relevant cameras are on this WSB page.
BRIDGE INFO: The @SDOTBridges feed on X (ex-Twitter) shows whether the city’s movable bridges are opening for vessel traffic.
If you see a problem on the bridges/streets/paths/bay, please text or call us (when you can do that safely, and after you’ve reported to authorities if applicable). Thank you!
5:40 AM: Thanks for the tip. Seattle Fire is at a house in the 3700 block of SW Austin. The fire is described as under control. Updates to come.
5:52 AM: Firefighters have just declared the fire “tapped” (out). The call log indicates they’ve been on scene since about 5:25 am. We’re on our way over to check on injuries and extent of damage.
6:01 AM: Just as we arrived, firefighters told dispatch that reptile pets mentioned earlier as being in the house have been “extricated.” Meantime, SFD’s investigator has arrived to start looking into the fire’s cause. We’re waiting to speak with an incident commander.
6:16 AM: Firefighters tell us at the scene that no one was hurt, and the rescued pets – snakes – are OK. Since the fire is out, some of the responding units are starting to leave.
11:47 AM: Still missing from the house, Auzzie the cat:
The photo was forwarded by a neighbor who asks that if you find Auzzie, call Jeff (206) 612-9558. (We’re also adding to our Lost/Found Pets page.)
ADDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON: According to SFD spokesperson Kaila Lafferty, “Investigators ruled the fire was accidental, likely caused by an overheated power strip. It’s important to remember to plug high powered appliances such as space heaters and toaster ovens directly into the wall outlet, never into an extension cord or power strip.”
ALSO: Here’s a crowdfunding page set up to help the victims.
1:33 AM: After 911 calls reporting suspected gunfire near 12th/Holden about 15 minutes ago, police have found evidence in an alley. Officers have told dispatch they’ve located at least six casings. … A nearby resident also is reporting two bullet holes in their apartment. No injuries reported so far.
2:10 AM: SPD says “multiple units were damaged.”
10:30 PM: The Guardian One helicopter is over West Seattle to help look for a missing man. He is described as white, 76, 5’9″ to 5’10”, white hair that’s balding on top, beard, last seen in a black coat and green or gray pants. He was last seen about 4:30 pm, in the 4800 block of 35th SW (at or near The Mount). If you see him, call 911. (We don’t have a photo or name – no official alert so far, but police asked for helicopter help since G1 is up tonight.)
10:50 PM: Helicopter crew discussion over radio with police indicates the man is missing from The Mount. The helicopter looked over areas such as the nearby golf course and greenbelt areas but absent any further leads, has told police that there’s not much they can do with surface streets, so they’re moving on. Police said the man is known to walk around the facility grounds or in nearby neighborhoods.
1 AM: No further updates heard, and still no official alert; we’ll follow up first thing in the morning.
9:28 AM: Both police and The Mount confirm that he is still missing; we will have a separate story with photo shortly. (Update: Here it is.)
1:50 PM: Just updated that story too – The Mount says John is back, safe, and well.
10:11 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a “full response” to the 4700 block of California SW – a water heater reported to be on fire in a back storage room at Talarico’s. Updates to come.
10:14 PM: The incident commander just told dispatch the water-heater fire is “mostly out.” They’re reducing the response.
(Added: Photo posted in comments by Matt B)
10:21 PM: Firefighters say everything’s handled, “all utilities secured” too, and they’re closing their response.
When we reported last week on the Washington State Black Legacy Institute, which recently moved to the historic former church at 2656 42nd SW, we noted the first big public event coming up: the Business Festival During Kwanzaa.
WSBLI, which hopes to inspire by surfacing long-lost stories including those of successful Black entrepreneurs a century-plus ago, will host entrepreneurs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. WSBLI describes the festival as a “vibrant manifestation of unity, self-determination, and cooperative economics” – three of Kwanzaa’s seven principles. Planned events include free workshops with business and financial experts as well as a homebuyer’s workshop and a vendor fair. WSBLI curator Roger Evans is producing promotional videos for the vendors – here’s the first one:
Other vendors, as listed on this flyer, are scheduled to include A Sista Thang Fashions, Clean Greens Farm, Common Scentz, Diana’s Beauty, Kimberly’s Gems, Merle the Art Lady, Nikky’s Niche Designs, and Tea Moss Shop. Business Festival hours will be 2-7 pm Friday (December 29), 11 am-7 pm Saturday (December 30), and 11 am-5 pm Sunday (December 31). The festival and workshops are free, but WSBLI requests RSVP through Eventbrite – here’s the Friday link; here’s the Saturday link; here’s the Sunday link. Each of those links also will show you the workshop lineup for that day.
Two reader reports:
STOLEN BACKPACK: If you find one, it might be the one to which Brian referred in this note: “I want to report a stolen backpack with valuables taken from my friend’s car on Beach Drive north of Me Kwa Mooks as she was moving a recycle bin from the driveway.. If found, call 206 992-7219 … This happened yesterday, December 26, at about 3:45 pm and was reported to Seattle Police already.” (We’re awaiting descriptive information.)
APPARENTLY ABANDONED BICYCLE: John says this bike was left against a North Admiral utility pole:
Let us know if it’s yours.
After Bakery Nouveau posted on social media that it’s closed in West Seattle until January 3rd, we got a couple questions about why, so we went to The Junction in hopes of finding someone there to ask. The sign on the door attributes the closure to “oven issues,” and that’s what an employee on site told us, saying the holiday posed a bit of difficulty in getting parts.
(November photo by Gill Loring – new turn signal at 26th/Roxbury)
Questions about road work related to the RapidRide H Line, which has continued months after the bus line launched last spring? King County’s project team has held periodic online “office hours” to answer questions, and tomorrow will bring the last one: 5 pm-6 pm Thursday (December 28), via this link (meeting ID: 228 271 1759), also accessible by phone (253-215-8782). The announcement – which was in their final project newsletter – notes that “we are continuing some paving and punch list work.” If you can’t “drop in” during that hour, you can ask a question any time at rapidride@kingcounty.gov.
10:44 AM: Seattle Fire has sent a “rescue extrication” response to the 5600 block of California SW [map]. It’s reported to be a crash involving at least one flipped vehicle. Updates to come.
10:49 AM: Arriving crews report that the vehicle is on its side with the driver trapped. California will be fully blocked in the area.
(Added: Photo posted by commenter Corprew)
10:58 AM: SFD reports they’ve gotten the driver out safely.
11:08 AM: Police just told dispatch they’re going to get traffic going again by reopening the southbound and center lanes.
2:42 PM: We followed up with SFD; the driver was not hurt and did not require treatment or transport.
ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: SPD tells us today that the driver was arrested for investigation of DUI.
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