Beach Drive Natural Gas Main Replacement

May 1, 2024 by 1 Comment

Puget Sound Energy will be replacing portions of the existing underground natural gas main along parts of Beach Drive in two weeks. This project is expected to start on May 13th and last for up to seven months from the 4800 block to Lincoln Park Way. This stretch of Beach Drive will be reduced to one lane and controlled by flaggers and portions of sidewalks may be closed.

Some PSE customers may experience an interruption of natural gas. PSE says they will notify customers prior to work if their gas is required to be temporarily shut off. Please call 1-888-225-5773 for more information.

Jeff McCoy is the PSE Project Manager. He can be reached at jeff.mccoy@pse.com; reference project #109115749.

Ready for the good news??? I’m hoping this will deter some of the speed racers down Beach Drive this summer… at least from Lincoln Park to Jacobson.

Filed Under: Construction, Safety Tagged With: , , ,

State Parks bet on Tillicum Village

April 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment

A new tenant for the iconic Native American styled “village” on Blake Island has signed a multi-year lease to renovate and expand the existing vacated buildings near the state park’s marina. 

Big Fin Casinos Inc., a Klallam tribal consortium based in Tacoma is planning on keeping the nearly 60-year-old iconic name “Tillicum Village” for it’s new resort project. The onset of COVID-19 marked the end of Argosy Cruises long run of island excursions which officially ended with an announcement on December 13th 2021 with the Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission.

Billy Trimble, Project Manager for BFC, recently responded to the News Tribune “We have an agreement with the State to keep our Tillicum venue harmonious with the State Parks natural setting. This property is exclusively designed to accommodate clientele that values recreational gambling in a non-smoking and slots free environment. This is exclusively a card and dice establishment. No one needs to be concerned about multi-level flashy signage or loud Leonard Skynyrd tribute bands …. think more Blue Oyster Cult-ish acoustic type concerts.” He went on to say he was “absolutely elated of the amount of progress being made to meet our June 3rd grand opening. Nearly all 8 units reserved for our Whale level clientele are in final stages of construction and the dock renovations are well underway.”

Transportation to and from Tillicum Casino will initially be operated by TUG (Tribal Union Gill-netter Association) located at Port of Tacoma’s pier on Dock Street. Future plans include whale watching excursions to and from Blake Island when Orca are in the vicinity.

Before you plan to drum up the courage to bet the entire tent or boat on a solid blackjack hand, know that this small scale Tillicum resort is exclusively reserved for Big Fin patrons. Will the powers-to-be eventually open the village up to the general boating and camping public? I wouldn’t bet on it.

Scupper reporting for BDB

 

Filed Under: Just for fun, Not on Beach Drive, Scupper Tagged With: ,

Hit and Run this Morning

February 28, 2024 by 2 Comments


This morning just after 6:00 am, a car was struck along the 4800 block of Beach Drive. Apparently the driver who struck the car, took off on foot heading north onto properties on the 4700 block of Beach Drive.

A person wearing a hoodie was seen on a home camera walking along seawalls heading north towards Emma Schmitz Viewpoint.

A second person wearing a light jacket was also seen on a camera on property on the 4700 block of Beach Drive near the same time.

No injuries were reported.

Filed Under: Crime Tagged With: ,

Beautiful Photos compliments of Patrick Robinson

February 3, 2024 by Leave a Comment


You can see more of Patrick’s lovely photos here.

Filed Under: Art, Puget Sound Tagged With: , , , ,

Windy Weather: Gale Watch and Wind Advisory starting later tonight

January 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment

The US National Weather Service has issued its first Blizzard Warning for the Cascades and Olympics in over 11 years. While our neighborhood will thankfully miss that experience, it looks like we are in for some windy weather.

A Gale Warning has been issued starting later tonight for Puget Sound and a Wind Advisory is in effect from 4:00 am to 10:00 pm on Tuesday.

The current weather forecast have possible snow on Thursday.

Check out the current forecast from Wind Alert (as I write this at 5:55 am on Monday morning).

High tide for Tuesday, January 9th is estimated at 11.61 feet at 4:50 AM and 11.03 feet at 1:47 PM.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

Puget Sound and Hood Canal-
247 AM PST Mon Jan 8 2024

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
LATE TONIGHT...
...GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
EVENING...

.TODAY...S wind 5 to 15 kt becoming 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon.
Wind waves 2 ft or less. Rain. 
.TONIGHT...S wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 20 to 30 kt after
midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Rain. 
.TUE...SW wind 20 to 30 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt in the
afternoon. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. Rain. 
.TUE NIGHT...SW wind 20 to 30 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt after
midnight. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft.  

National Weather Service
...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM PST TUESDAY...

* WHAT...Southwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph
  expected.
Filed Under: Weather Tagged With: , ,

Power Outage Along Beach Drive

January 6, 2024 by Leave a Comment


145 neighbors are without power this morning. Seattle City Light is investigating the cause.

Filed Under: Safety

Gale Warning Later Tonight

December 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hang onto your hats – it looks like we’re in for some gusty weather starting later today. Check out the forecasted gusts in the 40s starting around midnight.

Tides from NOAA show that our next high tide will be around 12 feet at 9:15 am on Saturday (we’re just past high tide as I’m writing this).  Winds are estimated to be gusting around 25 mph according to the graph above at that time. Luckily during the predicted gusts in the 40s, we’ll be at very low tides. Stay tuned!

Puget Sound Marine Forecast as of 248 AM PST Fri Dec 1 2023

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
AFTERNOON

TODAY
S wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft. A chance of
rain in the morning then a slight chance of rain in the afternoon.

TONIGHT
S wind 20 to 30 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt after
midnight. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. A chance of rain in the evening
then rain after midnight.

SAT
SW wind 25 to 35 kt easing to 15 to 25 kt in the
afternoon. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft subsiding to 2 to 4 ft in the
afternoon. Rain likely in the morning then rain in the afternoon.

Filed Under: Safety, Weather

Gale Warning and Wind Advisory in effect starting tonight

November 10, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Strong, gusty winds are in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. It looks like tides should be in our favor with a high tide of 9.80 feet at 3:57 am on Saturday and 11.07 feet at 2:52 pm.

This is a screenshot from WindAlert with gusts possibly hitting the 40mph and more starting around 9pm tonight. 
From the National Weather Service
1255 PM PST Fri Nov 10 2023

…WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM PST
SATURDAY…

* WHAT…South winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph
expected.

* WHERE…Southwest Interior, Everett and Vicinity, Tacoma Area,
Hood Canal Area, Lower Chehalis Valley Area, Central Coast,
Bellevue and Vicinity, Seattle and Vicinity and Bremerton and
Vicinity.

* WHEN…From 7 PM this evening to 7 AM PST Saturday.

* IMPACTS…Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects.
Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may
result.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Winds will be strongest near the water.

Last but not least, the Marine Forecast:

PZZ135-111100-

Puget Sound and Hood Canal-  200 PM PST Fri Nov 10 2023
GALE WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON
TONIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt rising to 25 to 35 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft building to 4 to 6 ft after  midnight. Rain.
SAT  S wind 20 to 30 kt becoming SW 15 to 25 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 3 to 5 ft. Rain in the morning then a  chance of showers in the afternoon.
SAT NIGHT  S wind 15 to 25 kt easing to 5 to 15 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 2 ft or less after  midnight. Rain in the evening then a chance of rain after  midnight.

Filed Under: Weather

Free Extra Yard Waste Pickup this Month

November 4, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Don’t forget! If you currently have yard waste pick up through the City of Seattle, you can dispose of additional leaves/yard waste during the month of November.

Free extra yard waste pickup in November

Extra yard waste fees are not charged in November, when customers are asked to keep fall leaves out of drains to reduce the risk of flooding. Households can put out up to 10 bags of extra yard waste per collection day for free from November 1 to 30.

Please note that this free service is only available to customers who are currently billed for regular food and yard waste collection.

Filed Under: FREE, Garden

The Hallberg Memorial Bench

November 3, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Hi Rhonda, I meant to send you this long ago. Here is a bit about the memorial benches and a story Ada wrote. Please use any or all if it fits for the blog. As ever, thanks for all you do. Sincerely, Tia

My folks dear neighbor Ed Marcus arranged for a memorial for Ada and Bob Hallberg; both of them did a lot to build community, preserve our natural spaces and the history of the area.  Their memorial bench sits on Beach Drive at the foot of Jacobsen road and next to another memorial bench for a significant community activist, Suzy King. Ada and Suzy, worked to gather community involvement and support so that together they could preserve the green spaces and unobstructed views of the water that we all can enjoy today as we walk and drive along beach drive. Weather watch park, Mee Kwa mooks and more only exist today because people came together on an issue they agreed upon and they made it happen. The activism by my mother, Ada, Suzy and others made a difference. And their likemindedness override their differences. Ada’s description of “This Peaceful Spot” reminds us of the joy of having public access to the treasured beauty that surrounds us here.

This Peaceful Spot by Ada Hallberg
With my head down, I push along the rocky beach near Alki Lighthouse. A surge of the southwest wind is invigorating. I press my hands into my pocket as I plunge along. Out of the bay crisp caps of white froth appear like beaten egg whites. On the brink of the clear waves they foam against crystal water.
This is the beautiful picture I took for granted in my childhood. In my adulthood, as well – this incomparably beautiful sight, set off by the Olympic Mountains and the forest across the smooth calm of Puget Sound.
I feel the full strength of the wind as I round the Point — or, Constellation Park.
Carefully I cross the clay outcropping that folds, one over the other, even more exposed than they were ten years ago. Then, University of Washington Professor Dixie Lee Ray would often stand on the outcroppings in any kind of weather, lecturing her class on the beach’s biological and geological features:
“The crust of the earth is layered; it can fold up, it can buckle, and sometimes the parts beneath become exposed.” As one of her listeners, I wondered: was she talking about the clay? I had intended to phone her about that.
At 63rd Street I climb from the beach onto some large, black rocks; it is easy to step on one then another, until I get up to the sidewalk. I walk along and the beach is not within my view because the houses and apartments are close together.
After a half dozen blocks of walking on the sidewalk, I squeeze back down to the beach at Andover Street, using an obscured path in an overgrown area past a holly tree and over a pile of chopped wood.
I feel that I have intruded into a private space, although a few years ago the Grad family and Fred Fletcher bought this beach property and assured access for the public.
There used to be a spot on the beach here, somewhere, a bit sheltered in the wind. Ahh, yes, here it is: a quiet pool of water behind this log. Wait a minute! What is this? The body of a dead seagull in great disarray is floating, its neck all askew, its body bloated, its feathers discolored and matted. A rusty can with a partially attached label. At first I start to examine… Ohh, what’s the use!
Deliberately I look away towards the north. In my sight a davenport is sitting on the beach among the sand and rocks. Kelp is wrapping around the arm, some draped across the back; pillows are following off.
Waves dully roll in, now close to shore. There is a lethargy about these waves: the clearness gone from their crests; with slumped shoulders they push in. I turn my back and make my way to the sidewalk. Soon I will be at my destination, Carroll Street and Beach Drive. It is only a mile from where I began my walk at the lighthouse. I look forward to sitting in the small cove at the foot of Carroll Street, across from the Rustica Restaurant.
Finally arriving, I walk down to the small comfortable beach and lie among the logs. This 150 feet of waterfront is still open to the public, and most of us think it always will be; though we may be wrong about that. But for now, I will enjoy this peaceful spot.
Filed Under: Books, Parks, People
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