West Seattle, Washington

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Spotlight Stories


  • Closure

    LOW-BRIDGE CLOSURE: Next weekend’s plan

  • Festival

    FESTIVAL MUSIC: Stage lineups revealed

  • Aurora

    AURORA: Possible second night tonight

15th SW apartment-fire update: “Smoking materials” blamed
January 8, 2008 7:42 am
|      22 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | West Seattle news

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Seattle Fire investigators say the 15th SW apartment fire was an accident – started by “smoking materials” thrown into a trash bag. (Additional photos at top and bottom of this post just sent in today by DJ Sonsteng.) Meantime, WSMom posted this comment following the original WSB report. Way to go:

I happened upon the apartment fire and called 911 at about 3:30 this afternoon. “Seattle Police and Fire, can you hold please” is the answer I received. It’s interesting what goes through your mind at a time like this. The fire was quite big and there was an impressive amount of smoke. I stayed on hold, hoping someone else had already gotten through to a real operator. Not knowing what I should do, I started pounding on doors and yelling “FIRE, GET OUT”. We should all learn how to say “fire” and “get out of the building” in Spanish. When the 911 operator came on the line, she asked if there were people in the building and when I said yes she told me to get them out. It was actually reassuring to be told to do what I was already doing. I carried a little boy out of his family’s apartment and helped him get his shoes on once we were at the sidewalk. His parents had their hands full lifting their newborn’s stroller down the stairs. It was very cold outside and all the little boy had on were pajamas, so I was glad to find some of my son’s outgrown clothes in a giveaway bag in my car and I set to work putting some warm clothes on the child. His parents didn’t speak English so I used the universal language of pointing and shivering to get their permission to dress their child. Right about this time the first of four or five fire trucks pulled up and quickly got the fire under control. My son sat patiently in the car the whole time waiting for me to get back and continue on to his brother’s basketball game. I’m going to make it a point tomorrow to learn how to say “fire, get out” in Spanish just in case.

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West Seattle Weather Watch: A little overnight snow
January 8, 2008 6:07 am
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle weather

There’s some on the car roofs up here on our hill, but not on the road. How about you? 6:30 AM ADDENDUM: No delays or changes reported for Seattle schools; if you need to know what’s happening at schools out of the area, here’s the regional list. 6:45 AM: Adding this photo from the parking strip nearby. Our resident snow expert describes what’s on the grass as “thick, a little bit frozen, slush” but even up here what’s coming down is just light rain; thermometer (note we have one in the right sidebar of this page now too) says 35.

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No further snow in the forecast – at least as of right now.

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Late-nite site note: Pet pix
January 7, 2008 10:30 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Pets

Added this as a PS, hours after the announcement of our fledgling Pets page over the weekend, so in case you missed it: We created a Flickr group you can use to upload your most insanely adorable/heartwarming pet pix, for potential featuring on the WSB Pets page. You can find the West Seattle Blog Pet Photos group here. (There’s a couple of cuddly cat pix there so far, one from us.)

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Who’s in charge of what on the City Council this year
January 7, 2008 7:59 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle politics

Thanks to Stan Lock, one of West Seattle’s two city Neighborhood District Coordinators, for forwarding word of which city councilmembers are running which committees this year. This is important info since in Seattle, city councilmembers do not represent specific districts; seattlelogo.jpginstead, you can take concerns and issues to the specific councilmember(s) focusing on the most relevant area of concern. In addition to word that Richard Conlin succeeds Nick Licata as council president), here are today’s official committee announcements — Licata chairs Culture, Civil Rights, Health and Personnel as well as Labor Policy; West Seattle resident Tom Rasmussen (who also took the oath of office today after his opposition-less re-election run last fall) chairs Parks/Seattle Center; new councilmember Bruce Harrell chairs Energy and Technology; Conlin chairs Environment, Emergency Management, and Utilities; Jean Godden chairs Finance/Budget; Richard McIver chairs Housing/Economic Development; Sally Clark leads Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods; new councilmember Tim Burgess chairs Public Safety/Human Services/Education; and Jan Drago continues to chair the Transportation committee. Their contact info, e-mail as well as phone numbers, is all listed on this city webpage.

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Update: Apartment fire on 15th SW
January 7, 2008 4:22 pm
|      11 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle fires | WS breaking news

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Fire charred the northeast corner of an apartment building at 9200 15th SW this afternoon. Multiple fire units and police were on site. NEW INFO: According to a 5 pm update on the Fire Department media hotline, the flames were confined to one unit on the 1st floor, where one person lived; firefighters evacuated everyone safely from this 10-unit apartment building (county property records here), and no one is hurt. (Later Monday night, investigators determined “smoking materials” accidentally started the fire.) Photos are by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli; we also added 2 WSB video clips below these next two photos:

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Video thumbnail. Click to play
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Video thumbnail. Click to play
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Thanks to everyone who e-mailed, called, and texted to make sure we heard about this!

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One last look at 2007: West Seattle real-estate results
January 7, 2008 3:33 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle housing | West Seattle news

These numbers just in from West Seattle Realtor (and WSB sponsor) Bill Barna:

Average market time: 2006: 34 days / 2007: 42 days (up 24%)

Median price: 2006: $390,000 / 2007: $402,000 (up 3.1%)

Average price: 2006: $445,422 / 2007: $469,473 (up 5.3%)

Number of homes sold: 2006: 1,728 / 2007: 1,642 (down 5.0%)

Bill adds, “Although the annual appreciation is off a little from the record year of 2005 (almost 15% that year!) we are still growing here in West Seattle.” The numbers are from a detailed report he compiles every year, and he says anyone who wants a full copy is welcome to e-mail him (click here).

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Monday miscellany
January 7, 2008 12:27 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   Not WS but we're mentioning it anyway | West Seattle online

REMINDER THAT SUMMER WILL REALLY BE HERE EVENTUALLY: The Big Blog says two Blue Angels will “buzz” the city between 3 and 4 pm today. (If you have been reading WSB at least 5 months, you know we have what one WSB’er charitably described as a “strange obsession” with the Angels.)

WEST SEATTLEITE GUEST-SLOGS STARTING TODAY: Jeff from Soundproof Suite 1850 (which is linked from our newly improved Other Blogs in WS page) has begun his week of Slogging, thanks to the right he procured in The Stranger‘s fundraising auction; we believe this is his first post.

VEDDER VIDEO: What’s described as the first solo music video done by West Seattle rock luminary Eddie Vedder premiered today on VH1 (tv and web; watch it here.)

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West Seattle’s next teardown: Beach Drive bungalow
January 7, 2008 11:53 am
|    Comments Off on West Seattle’s next teardown: Beach Drive bungalow
 |   Development

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3700 block of Beach Drive – the “no parking” signs and hay bales are an unmistakable sign of backhoe-en-route; update’s on Beach Drive Blog (including a link to the upcoming townhouse project). We’ve watched this one because our original West Seattle residence was next door, way back when a grungy convenience store was on the site across the street that is now known as Cormorant Cove Park (nothing like the beach’s next convenience store!).

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Welcoming the newest WSB sponsor: Illusions Hair Design
January 7, 2008 10:30 am
|      5 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

Today we’re extending the traditional WSB welcome to our newest sponsor, Illusions Hair Design (on California between Alaska and Morgan Junctions). This year, Illusions is celebrating 30 years in business, and its achievements over the years — including a Mayor’s Small Business Award and repeat annual votes as “Best on the Westside.” Clicking on the new Illusions ad you see on the right sidebar of this page will take you to information about a special offer regarding one of their many specialties — color services — they do more than 4,000 every year, and provide their stylists with continuing education in haircutting and all chemical services. Illusions also supports the community with donations to more than 100 local organizations each year, including two major fundraisers that they started: “Have a Heart Day” in February, and “Pencil Me in for Kids” during the summer (read more about that here). You may have seen their distinctive VW Bug around town (we photographed it in our Hi-Yu Parade coverage last summer). Thanks to Illusions and all our sponsors for supporting WSB; if you are interested in finding out how to join them, check out our Advertise page (which also lists the current sponsor lineup and our newest opportunities).

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2 notes about getting around
January 7, 2008 7:50 am
|    Comments Off on 2 notes about getting around
 |   Transportation

-State ferries are now on their winter schedule, including fewer runs on Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth.

-You may have heard about Metro taking bike racks off some of its buses. Here’s the official Metro advisory; the specific routes affected are listed as “all bus trips on routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 14, 36, 49 and 70, and some trips on routes 7, 43 and 44.” Doesn’t appear to involve any of the routes directly serving West Seattle.

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Update: Fire callout to West Seattle High School
January 7, 2008 7:19 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   WS breaking news

If you are anywhere near West Seattle HS, you know there’s a fire callout there right now. First it called out as an automatic fire alarm, now scanner traffic says a maintenance person thinks there MIGHT be a “small” fire in one room. So the fire department’s checking it out. 7:23 AM UPDATE: Now they’re talking about resetting a detector, so this doesn’t sound major. 7:29 AM UPDATE: The 911 log shows the call closed. Just in time for the first day of school post-break.

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Highlights of West Seattle’s week ahead
January 7, 2008 5:44 am
|    Comments Off on Highlights of West Seattle’s week ahead
 |   Neighborhoods | West Seattle police | West Seattle schools

Much going on this week – all listed on the WSB Events page – but here’s a small sampling we want to highlight:

TODAY/TONIGHT — Back-to-school day for everyone who wasn’t already back by the end of last week. School open house/tour season is revving up too, with Seattle Lutheran High School having one @ 6:30 tonight (more open houses & tours on the aforementioned Events page, including the West Seattle-wide Middle School Information Night on Thursday, and please send us your open house/tour schedule if it’s not there already).

TOMORROW — Next meeting of Junction Neighborhood Organization (JuNO), 6:30 pm at Ginomai (SW corner 42nd/Genesee), with topics including RapidRide and Adopt-A-Street. Read more on the new JuNO site. (Are you connected to your neighborhood organization? We’ve got a list on the right sidebar of this page.)

WEDNESDAY — Biggest event today involves the rest of the city as well: The Seattle Police Department will begin implementing geographic changes as laid out in the new Neighborhood Policing Plan. You can read it here; we are working on a standalone report about this, but among other things, it means the Southwest Precinct here in West Seattle no longer will handle Georgetown; its remaining turf remains split into two “sectors” but the layout of “beats” within those sectors will change (see page 15-16). Also Wednesday — At 4 pm, before their regular semiweekly meeting, Seattle School Board members hold a “work session” for updates on the controversial Chief Sealth High School/Denny Middle School shared-campus plan. (Recent WSB coverage: 12/19 school board meeting; 12/12 Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting.) Then at 7:30 pm, people interested in the environmental permits required for the Nucor steel mill’s crane-expansion project are invited to a public hearing at Alki Community Center.

THURSDAY — The Southwest Design Review Board is back in action, this time looking at the mixed-use “Spring Hill” project south of The Junction. (Latest WSB reports on that project: Neighbor concern here; meeting announcement here.)

FRIDAY — The West Seattle Kiwanis Club presents a free community concert by the Seattle Symphony, 8 pm @ West Seattle High School.

Again, those are just a few of this week’s events – listed here along with dozens of other West Seattle events planned all the way through October at this point — if yours isn’t there, e-mail us (or go here for our postal-mail address if you prefer to send announcements that way).

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West Seattle Sunday sightings
January 6, 2008 9:47 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   Seen at sea | West Seattle Farmers' Market | Wildlife

Orcas off Fauntleroy, spotted by JumboJim:

Wanted to report that we saw approx. 10-12 orcas off of Lincoln Park and Fauntleroy dock around 10:00-10:30 this A.M. There was at least one male (tall dorsal fin) in the group, maybe two. They were passing to the south. A first time sighting for us from our house. Considering we’re one mile from the water, near the crest of the hill, we were pretty amazed to see them. We had been looking for birds with our spotting scope when we spotted them. I checked an orca hotline and it seems they may have been K pod.”

Smaller marine mammals off Harbor Ave, reported by Paul Cozens:

Around 20 California Sea Lions have been cavorting in the waters between Salty’s and Jack Block Park. There does not appear to be a skinny one in the bunch, indicating they are successfully feeding on something. A Harbor Seal was spotted lounging on the beach this morning, also.

And two luscious West Seattle Farmers’ Market photos from this morning by Lois Grammon-Simpson — heart-y treats from Flying Apron Bakery, followed by those gorgeous tulips (first spotted last week) from Alm Hill Gardens.

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You can take action to save a life – right now
January 6, 2008 6:30 pm
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   How to help

Go here to set up an appointment online to donate blood through the Puget Sound Blood Center. We got a note from WSB reader Mark wanting everyone to know that PSBC supplies are at emergency (low) levels – confirmed by the red bar across the PSBC home page. Mark is a regular blood donor, and when we e-mailed PSBC for more info, they sent this update asking that more people make that part of their lives:Read More

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Statue of Liberty Plaza Project fundraising: 9 days, $25K to go
January 6, 2008 3:33 pm
|      16 COMMENTS
 |   Alki Statue of Liberty | West Seattle news

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As the January 15th deadline for Seattle (Alki) Statue of Liberty Plaza Project fundraising draws near, organizers Paul and Libby Carr have issued another financial update this weekend regarding what they’ve raised and what they’re still trying to bring in:Read More

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Tree trouble
January 6, 2008 1:21 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle weather

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Look closely just past the white sheeting in this photo – you’ll see the rootball of a toppled tree that we noticed is drawing some doubletakes as it rests precariously on the slope where California Way meets Harbor near Seacrest (map).

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Seacrest diver accident update: Fiancee says he didn’t survive
January 6, 2008 10:36 am
|      20 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle news

This just in as a comment below our original report, posted there by Reasa Shuck, who says the diver was her fiance’, and included details on the underwater proposal that WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli learned about at the scene. Reasa identifies her fiance as Joshua Magee. (Update: Less than an hour after we first published this report, authorities confirmed the diver’s death, though without officially releasing his name.):

I am the diver’s fiancee who had a accident at Alki Yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t able to be revived. He surfaced to tell me he was okay and went back under a little while later he surfaced I waved to show him where I was on shore. He went back down and then came up a bit later and screamed help me. I was calling him telling him I was on my way. I got other divers’ attention to where he was and to try to get to him. I tried swimming to him but the water was too cold. Meanwhile other people on the shore called 911. When they pulled him from the water the diver was not breathing and they started rescue breaths. The emergency crews were there to take over after that. He was taken to the hospital and they were still trying to revive him but were not able to. The diver’s name was Joshua Magee and he was a great person and my fiance. Here is the story that Josh wrote about our engagement.

“Ok: If you got this, then it means that I give a rats booty about you. What, you think I keep friends around just for the hell of it? No. I’m done with that game. And I want you to know of a very significant development in my life. As you know, I have been dating the amazing Reasa, for a little over a year now. And she has become an incredible, and irreplaceable part of my life. I truly could not imagine my life without her by my side, nor do I ever want to. With that said, you can probably guess what my next step would be: go on a badass scuba dive, right? What, you didn’t see that coming? Ok, I’ll explain: On Oct. 15th (our 1 year anniversary), I got her SCUBA lessons. “Babe, that’s really cool, but not very romantic,” she said.

“Despite her disappointment, she was a great sport. She took her nightly classes, and passed all of her deep dives with flying colors. Once she was certified, my plan began to unfold. Oh yes, I had a badass plan to go with the badass love I had for this unknowing damsel.

“So, Nov. 24th, I took my soon to be bride to the San Juan Islands, to the beautiful Keystone Jetty, and took our very first dive together. Her trust in me to keep her safe made me feel incredible. I tried to protect her from all the huge sea life there, but I have to admit that a face-to-face encounter with a Giant Pacific Octopus scared the poop out of me, and I franticly swam away without my precious dive buddy. Sorry babe. Anyway, once I gained my composure, I called my love to me. I signaled that I was getting low on air, and it was time to search for a seashell memento of our first dive together, and head for the surface.

“As she began searching, I pulled out the clamshell that I had put together. It was a beautiful shell with purple and white lines. I epoxied the two halves together with an operational hinge, and a rubber-coated clip to hold her ring. No, not the REAL ring, are you crazy?! It was a cheap-o for the dive.

“Now as you have already realized I’m sure, I put a lot of work into this clamshell. So I didn’t want it to get broken before I could pop my big question. So I put it in a Tupperware container to protect it. But one small detail that I did not consider, (anyone that is a diver knows where this going) is that under the pressure of the water, I could not open the Tupperware to save my life! It suctioned closed so tightly that I was truly terrified! I clawed at it, and slammed it against a rock, trying to get it open. I even tried to use my teeth to get it open – sorry mom. But even that didn’t work. Finally I thought to pry it open with my dive knife. Mind you all this, without her seeing my struggle!

“Once I got the shell free, I called her over, and pointed out the great shell sitting in the sand. She expressed her excitement, and reached for the colorful shell. Of course I beat her to it, and scooped it up. I opened the clamshell to reveal a gorgeous ring, and the words on the inside that read ‘Marry me?’.

“Once she realized what I was doing and read the inscription, she eagerly shook her head yes! Was my job done? Oh hell no! If you know me at all, you know better than to think I would let her off that easily.

“As I took the ring out of the shell, and handed it to her, I intentionally dropped it! It sank into the seafloor silt, and was gone forever. I wrote on our underwater slate that I dropped it, and did she see where it fell? She realized the huge problem at hand, and began to frantically search for the ring in the seabed.

“I let her panic for a minute or so, and even pretended to look for the lost ring, and then I wrote on the slate that the real ring was waiting in the truck.

“Yeah, she will probably kill me at some point for this one. Give it your best-shot babe, I don’t sweat you!”

(After sharing that story, Reasa continues in her comment posting): Thank you to the dive community for all of your help and support.

Josh Magee also shared the story of his engagement to Reasa on a MySpace page we found, where his profile quote was a book passage from Stephen Harrigan‘s “Water and Light: A Diver’s Journey,” including “Scuba diving, from the beginning, had an air of dangerous allure. Every landlocked schoolboy knew of its intriguing hazards … and rapture of the deep, which took away his reason, filled his heart with false contentment, and drew him down into the ocean gloom.”

The last diving death at Seacrest was five months ago; 43-year-old Wayne Hernandez died July 31st. One month before that, a diver died near Alki Point on July 1st.

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West Seattle weather watch: Might see snow
January 6, 2008 10:18 am
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle weather

If not today, perhaps tonight, says the National Weather Service‘s latest “forecast discussion.” (When they talk about the 500-plus-foot hills, note that only one area of the city really cracks that level, and it’s right here in West Seattle (as listed on the city’s “highest elevations” page, which also lists the streets with the steepest grades.)

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Save the date: January 18
January 6, 2008 7:51 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   How to help | West Seattle people

That’s when you’re invited to join the WSB team and myriad fine folks for the announcement of the first quarterly West Seattle Community Recognition Award recipients, plus some general mingling. trophy.jpgLocation to be announced shortly. What are those awards we speak of, you’re wondering? Long story short, Julie Mireille Anderson from Divina wanted to find a way to celebrate some of the incredible people in WS, and hatched the idea, inviting WSB to help sponsor and coordinate. How could we resist? Good news is, there’s still time for you to nominate somebody. We originally explained it all here, and now there’s one update: You can get the nomination form in a Word doc (click here) so you can fill it out inline. (Explanatory info is in a Word doc too; get that here.) Nominate somebody right now, then join us on Jan. 18!

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Firsthand account of Seacrest diver rescue
January 6, 2008 12:35 am
|    Comments Off on Firsthand account of Seacrest diver rescue
 |   West Seattle news

On ScubaBoard, one of the people who pulled the diver out of the water at Seacrest Saturday afternoon (see earlier WSB coverage) has posted his story. A thread on the Northwest Dive Club board suggests there’s a report circulating that the diver didn’t make it, but there are no updates at this moment on the Fire Department or Medical Examiner media hotlines, nor in the citywide media.

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Hungry? 4 West Seattle food notes …
January 5, 2008 8:39 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle restaurants

… including tomorrow’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market fresh sheet and 2 deals at upscale West Seattle restaurants; posting it all after a jump since we sense people are still catching up on today’s news, post-game, and don’t want to push all that too far down the main page:Read More

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2 other West Seattle Saturday scenes
January 5, 2008 3:27 pm
|      14 COMMENTS
 |   Seen around town | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

First: While out checking on the Seacrest diver rescue (see report below this one) and West Seattle bridge accident (second report below this one), we also drove along Alki and happened onto this amazing scene: Dozens of people crossing over to the beach at Pepperdock (first photo) around 2 pm, carrying red balloons, which after what looked like a moment of reflection (second photo), they released (third photo). Since we were in our car, we couldn’t ask who or what it was for – please post a comment if you know. 10:20 PM UPDATE: Finally found confirmation; a memorial gathering for a young woman who died.

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Second: West Seattle’s Rainbow Girls braved the blusteriness at midday to collect Christmas trees outside the Masonic Hall in The Junction for the treecycling fundraiser we mentioned here on WSB. If you missed it, our other treecycling info is here.

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Update: Diver rushed to hospital after rescue near Seacrest
January 5, 2008 1:42 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   WS breaking news

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ORIGINAL 1:42 PM REPORT: The fire department’s sending out a big response in that direction – a diver apparently got into trouble – report of CPR under way now – diver’s companions all out of the water and accounted for. 2:35 PM UPDATE: Scene was cleared by the time we got to Seacrest. Appears the diver was rushed to the hospital. 2:40 PM UPDATE: Information gathered at the scene by WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli, who took the photo above (more to come):

The injured man was recently engaged. He and his fiancee are avid divers. In fact, I learned that when he recently proposed to his girlfriend they were on a dive together. He put a ring in a shell and sank it in advance of the dive. When they found it he opened the shell and had an underwater sign to ask if she’d marry him. Today there were a handful of divers out there. This man was off diving on his own in 25 feet of water. The fiancee was not diving with him today but was on the scene and was visibly shaken. Another diver told me that when the diver did not come up his friends alerted the other divers who went over to where he was diving and executed a search.

2:55 PM UPDATE: According to the fire department’s media-hotline update, the diver is in his 40s and was indeed diving solo, and as Christopher learned, found unconscious underwater. The fire department did not have an update on his condition – we will check on that again later. More of Christopher’s photos:

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