West Seattle, Washington
29 Monday
Almost four months after Southwest Pool (map) closed for major renovation work, it’s almost done. We took you behind-the-scenes for a preview of the work back in June; then in August, we reported the original reopening date had been pushed back about a month, to November 1st. This week, we checked back with Parks Department project manager Garrett Farrell to see if West Seattle’s only indoor municipal pool was still on track for reopening then – short answer, yes; long answer follows:
We are making great progress toward the November 1st opening and we still have a lot of work to do.The rains last month had some impact but the contractor has made up a little of the lost time.
The main pieces of equipment are in place (you can see the big gray box has moved from the parking lot to the roof) and we are busy connecting wiring, piping and ductwork so everything can be checked out. The next three weeks will be critical as we basically take the wrappers off everything and make sure fans turn the right direction, boilers boil, and pumps pump.
In the meantime, West Seattle has private indoor pools at the WS Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) and Allstar Fitness. There’s a county-operated pool in White Center, Evergreen Pool.
Thanks to Jerry at JetCityOrange for that photo and word that serious site work has begun at 2775 Harbor Ave (map), less than a week after we brought you word permits had been granted for construction of this building (image courtesy the architecture firm Shugart Bates):
According to the Daily Journal of Commerce, the building is for Western Marine Construction.
That video clip shows one of the most crowded, and liveliest, ribbon-cuttings we’ve ever seen, and after all these years in media, we’ve seen our share. Sanislo Elementary School (map) students joined Mayor Nickels – and other city officials including SDOT boss Grace Crunican, who like Nickels is a West Seattleite, plus City Council Transportation Committee Chair Jan Drago, as well as reps from the pedestrian-advocacy group Feet First – to celebrate the new sidewalks leading up Myrtle to Sanislo. We first showed them to you as work was finishing up in August; here’s how they look today – this is the view eastward down Myrtle:
At today’s event, Sanislo Principal Debbie Nelsen introduced one of her fifth-grade safety helpers, Miles, who talked about the difference the new sidewalks have made:
None of the five schools listed this morning as getting safety improvements next year is in West Seattle, though Concord isn’t far away; here’s the official city news release with the full list. Councilmember Drago noted that the improvements along Sanislo walking routes also included the nearby staircase down to Delridge, which she took us to have a look at (note the new lighting fixture at right):
That’s the same staircase City Council members visited eleven months ago as they announced a new emphasis on pedestrian safety (WSB coverage, with video, here). Today, meantime, Drago even brought along a favorite walking partner — her 19-year-old “grand-dog” Nicky, who recently came to live with her and, she said, successfully completed his first circumnavigation of Green Lake before they came to the Sanislo event:
The mayor also announced more schools in line for pedestrian improvements next year; more on that, and more video from this morning’s event – including a student’s speech! – coming up.
That’s one of many “official” photos taken as what turned out to be a crowd more than 50 strong celebrated Walk This Way Day – part of Walk to School Month – this morning with a stroll from Bar-S Playfield (map) to Alki Elementary (map) — accompanied by Mayor Nickels, in the first of two West Seattle school appearances this morning (the second was at Sanislo Elementary; more on that in our next report). The morning’s events started with the young walkers – and the mayor – learning a chant from Deb Will (a child-safety educator from Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital) representing Safe Kids, which (along with FedEx) offered raffle prizes and stickers to participants:
Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby, which often partners with Safe Kids (including car-seat safety checks back on Stuff the Bus Day), was there too:
Then, with the crowd continuing to grow in size – including police and fire escorts (with Engine 29 alongside), they were off, led by Allison Carver of the Alki Elementary PTA:
After walking up the south side of Admiral to the crossing-guard-staffed intersection at 59th, the walkers arrived at Alki Elementary, where an outdoor assembly followed.
If you’re an Alki Elementary parent, look for safety info coming home via “kid mail” today, because of today’s activities; there’s a PTA meeting tonight too, 6:30 pm at the school, with a different kind of safety — Internet safety — on the agenda.
That photo comes from Helen, who wonders if anybody happens to be “missing” this abandoned car, which turned up overnight (open trunk and all):
I live in the 5900 block of 18th Avenue SW (map), and as I set out to go to work, I saw a car in front of my house this morning. Turns out that my neighbor across the street and 3 or 4 houses south of me had his van stolen around 5 am today. A police officer was there taking a report, and told me he’d run the plates on the car in front of my house, but we all felt it was highly likely that it was stolen.
No word on that yet, but we thought we’d run the pic in case you or somebody you know is looking for that car.
Got this from West Seattleite Beth Martin Quittman with Friends of the Seattle Public Library, which is asking again for support to beat back the budget ax:
The Friends of the SPL have an urgent request for support for the library. The library’s collections budget has been severely cut in the Mayor’s most recent budget. There is a 2.2 million dollar shortfall – this in the face of registrations that are up and a growing city population. The library’s collection budget is still at less than 2002 levels.
The collections budget is what is used for putting materials on the shelves. When it takes six months to get a book that you are waiting for, the shortfall in the collections budget is the reason why!
The Friends are asking for support from the public to let City Council members know how important the library is. People can write letters, send e-mails, or best of all attend the Council meetings …
There’s lots more information about this at the Friends’ blog, friendsofspl.wordpress.com – including specifics on hearings tonight and later this month, and how to send e-mail that would be considered “official testimony” if it’s received at a certain time (more on that here).
Want to help organize an “Eat Local Now!” dinner to raise awareness and $? Tonight, you are invited to join the first organizing meeting for what will be the first such dinner in West Seattle. Read on:Read More
Three hours after the safety rally at 35th/Juneau ended, a minor car accident tonight briefly blocked part of 35th at the exact same spot. No major injuries, and it cleared fairly quickly – police were pulling away as we pulled up, so the image at left is all we could get – but it underscored what neighbors like Lynda Bui told us at the rally — this is a spot with frequent problems, and they’re pretty sure they know why:
(VIDEO CLIP NO LONGER AVAILABLE)
The rally wasn’t just about that spot on 35th, but the speeding (and other) problems that have earned it the nickname “I-35.” Organizers chose this spot because it’s where a crash injured a High Point teenager last month. The city didn’t let today’s rally go unanswered. In fact, we got e-mail from SDOT communications director Rick Sheridan hours earlier, noting that city reps had met with organizers ahead of time and that the two groups “had a very positive discussion about making 35th Avenue SW a better corridor for all. As noted in our handout, drivers can help this effort by obeying the speed limit and being more aware of pedestrians.” More on that handout – a city-prepared document – plus organizers’ reaction and other followup, ahead:Read More
That’s a photo by Karen Derby – who you met in this story we published 2 weeks ago about her recovery from serious injuries in a June crash in Westwood, when her motorcycle collided with a minivan. We got word late today from John Smersh at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) that Click! will show Karen’s photographs during the West Seattle Art Walk this Thursday (6-9 pm). Click! is waiving all commission, so that Karen can apply all the proceeds of photography sales toward her medical expenses. John also tells us Karen’s expected to be at Click! sometime after 6:30 pm on Art Walk night, so drop by, say hello, and check out her photographs.
(photo by Christopher Boffoli)
ORIGINAL REPORT: Cal-Mor is the cylindrical building on California just north of Fauntleroy. First engine there said “nothing visible”; now they’re investigating inside the building. 8:27 PM UPDATE: WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is there and says California is closed at the scene. 8:34 PM UPDATE: We’re arriving at the scene and it appears California is open southbound, blocked northbound next to Cal-Mor; the California/Fauntleroy intersection is flowing OK. 8:43 PM UPDATE: Both sides of California OK now, but emergency vehicles curbside so still a little bit slow going. Just talked to the incident commander on the scene, Bill Zander; he tells us that it was a case of burned “food on the stove” — only damage from the door that had to be broken down so fire crews could get in, because the tenant apparently resisted requests to open the door. The incident commander says the tenant was having a bit of respiratory trouble from the smoke, got treated with oxygen, but chose to return to his apartment rather than being taken to the hospital for a precautionary checkout.
This Thursday night, the High Point mixed-use proposal at 35th/Graham — officially, 3420 SW Graham (map) — comes back before the Southwest Design Review Board, which voiced major concerns in August about the first design proposal and asked for a second round of “early design guidance.” Tonight, you can preview the presentation that will be given to the board on Thursday, because the city has posted it on the Design Review website (download the 43-page PDF here). Thursday’s meeting is at 6:30 pm at Hiawatha Community Center.
If you see a two-piece tile artwork that resembles what’s shown above – you may be able to solve the mystery of a ripoff at West Seattle’s newest dining/drinking establishment, The Bohemian. Proprietors Jason and Eirik Rice‘s mom Terri wrote us with the details:
I was so upset that a person stole our beautiful tiles from the front of our Ladies Room door on Saturday night. We have tried so hard to make everything nice & comfortable for our guests and to be treated like this it is a real disappointment. Our neighborhood friends are also upset that this has happened in their place. Please put something in the blog that will let this “person” know that they should be ashamed of themselves. And their Mother would be also.
She says there’s a bottle-of-wine reward for anyone who returns the stolen tiles (not taken during a break-in, but during hours when The Bohemian was open, “on a busy Saturday night”).
Not only were concerned residents out along 35th at Juneau for this afternoon’s rally — so were representatives of organizations including the High Point Neighborhood Association, Neighborhood House, Providence’s Elizabeth House, and Safe Futures, including these young participants:
A major city contingent was on hand too: SDOT reps including communications director Rick Sheridan, and Seattle Police including Community Police Team Officer Kevin McDaniel:
A radar-wielding motorcycle officer was stationed on the west side of 35th as well:
On the east side, just north of the rally site, there was an SPD cruiser with radar-equipped speed readout on the east side. SDOT reps actually met with organizers including Neighborhood House’s Denise Sharify yesterday to talk about what has been done on the street and what they plan to do next, and Sharify tells WSB she’s “very optimistic.” We’ll post another report later with video as well as details of what the city says it will do. Meantime, you’ll likely see something about this on tonight’s TV news, as we counted at least three photojournalists at various times during the hourlong rally.
Just in from King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s office, the official announcement:
With a month left in the 2008 sailing season the Elliott Bay Water Taxi continues to attract new passengers—and break records.
A total of 167,748 riders used the West Seattle-to-downtown foot ferry through the end of September, exceeding last year’s record of 161,331 riders. September 2008 ridership was up 9.7 percent over last September’s totals.
“The Water Taxi has routinely exceeded its 2007 ridership totals all summer,” said King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. “This puts another record year on the books as we look forward to year-round Water Taxi operation in 2010.”
The King County Ferry District took over Water Taxi funding earlier this year. This countywide special district also funds the operation of the Vashon Island-to-downtown passenger-only ferry and is expected to add up to five demonstration routes serving other Puget Sound and Lake Washington communities in the next few years. … The 2008 Water Taxi season runs through Friday, Oct. 31.
Last weekend, we covered two Blessing of the Animals events, presented Saturday by The Mount and presented Sunday by St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (photo left). Today, we just got word of another one – 10 am this Sunday at Alki Congregational United Church of Christ, whose announcement follows: In honor of St. Francis, Patron Saint of Animals, bring your pets and human friends to this very special service. We all worship together — children, adults, cats, dogs, goldfish, birds, and last year we even had a jar of bees (who put a jar of honey in the offering plate!). Dogs on leashes and cats in carriers, please. For information, e-mail alkiucc@attglobal.net.
FIRST UPDATE: We promised to check on the cause of the outage that left an estimated 4,000-plus south West Seattle homes and businesses without power for more than an hour, right about this time yesterday. Just heard back from Scott Thomsen at Seattle City Light; he says it’s listed as an underground cable failure – those happen from time to time for a variety of reasons, anything from age to damage caused by weather conditions in earlier months and years. SECOND UPDATE: We checked on the Arbor Heights/Fauntleroy Comcast outage reported by Hopey this morning in comments on this post; Comcast’s Shauna Causey tells WSB that two technicians are in the area right now and if it’s not fixed yet, it should be shortly.
A week and a half ago, when we followed up on the news a day earlier of a barbecue joint coming to the Fauntleroy/36th building (next to Tervo’s) by talking to its proprietor, he told us he didn’t want to say too much till he’d finished up some more paperwork. Late last night, he called WSB to say his city license is a done deal and he’s ready to talk. Otis Austin also says that instead of rebranding as “Sammich Slingers,” he’s going to keep the OK Corral name by which his barbecue is well-known in the North End – the new sign in the Fauntleroy storefront’s window (photo above) is already evidence of that. Read on to find out more about his plans:Read More
That’s the historic ex-substation building (an official city landmark) at Dakota Place Park, which has mostly languished (the site sign and city webpage mention ’06 scheduled completion) at California/Dakota (map) north of The Junction for some time. In the comments on WSB coverage of the Prop 2 (parks levy) campaign stopping at Delridge Playfield weekend before last, DW asked what’s going on with Dakota Place; West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (Parks Committee chair) then posted he’d get the answer. Here’s what he found out: Bids are due tomorrow on the “exterior construction” package for the park; the project is to be complete by next January, with elements including: “Plaza with integrated artwork, ADA access, site lighting, multiple seating elements, refurbishing existing historic elements, automated irrigation, and extensive community-provided landscaping.” Meantime, work is to be finished by next spring on the “building package,” which includes “hazardous material abatement, historically correct window replacement, new roof, brick re-pointing, and seismic upgrades are complete.” Though the above-mentioned city webpage for Dakota Place isn’t entirely up to date, you can see the site schematic design there; the website for the citizens’ group that announced in January the city had committed to finish the park by last May (WSB report here) is no longer up and running. TUESDAY NIGHT UPDATE: Councilmember Rasmussen asked the Parks Department what’s led to the delays on the Dakota Place project; he was told that one big problem was that the “… project manager was reassigned to finalize the Statue of Liberty project. That project came in on time and on budget. What is so challenging for the Parks Department is that they have only so many project managers and when their attention is moved to time-consuming projects with great sensitivity to deadlines like the Statue other things will be delayed. Park’s does a great job but is stretched thin.”
Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar (besides this of course being the night of Presidential Debate #2):
PEDESTRIAN-SAFETY RALLY: As first mentioned in this report, everyone concerned about safety on West Seattle streets is invited to join a rally 3-4 pm today at 35th/Juneau in High Point (map) – that’s the intersection where a 15-year-old girl was hit last month.
SCOUTING: Another local Cub Scout pack is signing up new members tonight – the sign-up meeting for Cub Scout Pack 799 is at 7 pm tonight, Arbor Heights Elementary lunchroom. Boys 1st-5th grade are invited.
DENNY/SEALTH PROJECT DEPARTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: As mentioned in our report from last night, this group is reviewing the request for zoning “departures” required by the Denny/Sealth combined-campus proposal – less parking, more height. The public’s invited to tonight’s meeting, 7 pm at the Denny cafeteria (more info here).
Seriously breezy but not catastrophically windy; no major problems reported overnight or currently. The National Weather Service‘s morning “forecast discussion” says this system is moving through “as advertised” and things should quiet down later this morning, with the next notable development some colder air on Thursday with daytime highs as low as the upper 40s. 7:43 AM UPDATE: In comments, Hopey notes a Fauntleroy/Arbor Heights Comcast service outage. We’ll update if we can find out more about its status.
Just a few months till Seattle Public Schools aims to have a final decision on the future of the Denny Middle School site, once the new Denny is built and occupied on the Chief Sealth campus nearby – and tonight was the first of three key meetings in the process that are all happening this week. The Westwood Neighborhood Council organized this one in hopes of clarifying community priorities for the Denny site, and the cozy group in attendance emerged with a list:Read More
Last month, we updated the city’s timeline for a Junction-area parking review — while some of the work will start before the end of the year, most of it won’t happen till next year, several months later than the earlier projection. We mention this because you might be wondering what’s up with that review if you read this P-I article about the controversial results of a similar city study in Fremont.
(photo courtesy Scott C)
Shortly after that photo was taken, more than a dozen people sat down under that canopy at Orchard Street Ravine on Saturday morning – subsequently besieged by rain and wind – to hear city Parks Department managers unveil a new proposal for the 38th SW “connector” into the ravine – and some were aghast. Previously, the department was looking at building a stairway into the ravine along what is technically 38th Ave SW right-of-way – now, suddenly, it’s proposing a simpler trail instead. What galled many of the people who gathered to hear about this was the amount of money, and time, spent to get to a point that some consider being almost back at square one. Read on:Read More
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