Two women on a walk by Beach Drive and Lowman Park around 8:45am this morning were followed by a man with intent of them seeing him behaving lewd.  The Caucasian male was driving a white Mazda pick-up truck has been reported to the police… you can read the details on West Seattle Blog.

The driver is described as being in his 40's with "average/heavy build, thinning brown hair, wearing a white shirt and khaki work pants".

Please contact the police if you have information about this or a had a similar experience with this person.

Apparently this creature has blue wings and landed on my husband by Jacobsen… any idea what type of insect this is?

This otter didn’t notice us watching as he dined on this fish.

I tend to shy away from writing about my "day job" on Beach Drive Blog…however it occurred to me that there are some significant changes that may impact many in the Alki area who have higher valued homes that may require larger loan amounts with their mortgages.  I'd be remiss not to give my neighbors a heads up on something that may have dramatic impact on their finances.

Unless Congress passes an extension of the current loan limits, they will be lowered on October 1, 2011 and possibly again on January 1, 2012.  The current conforming "high balance" loan limit for a single family dwelling in the Seattle area is $567,500, any loan amount over that is considered a "jumbo" (or non-conforming) and often has a higher interest rate and tougher qualifying guidelines.  Our current conforming loan limits are technically "temporary" and are set to roll back to $506,000 on October 1, 2011. Fannie Mae has hinted that we may see loan amounts reduced further effective 2012 as conforming loan limits are based on median home values.  We probably won't have more information about the loan limits for next year until November. 

Reducing the loan limits from $567,500 to $506,000 means that potential home buyers will need to come up with $61,500 more for a down payment if they want to have a conforming mortgage, for a home priced around $710,000.  If you are selling a home in this price range, you may want to consider that there may be fewer buyers available should your home require a larger down payment or jumbo financing.  For those considering refinancing a conforming mortgage, if their loan amount is over $506,000, they should act soon.  Often times, lenders will implement guidelines well in advance to what Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA or VA will do in order to not get caught holding a mortgage with "yesterday's" higher loan amount.

Loan amounts are being reduced across Washington State, I'm addressing the limits that will be impacting our West Seattle neighborhood.   FHA "high balance" loan limits are set to be reduced on October 1, 2011 as well.

Mortgage rates are still very low and the difference between a jumbo and conforming interest rate is about 0.5% in rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. If I can be of any assistance, please contact me.  I'm always happy to help a neighbhor.

And now…back to our regular programming.

No parking zones will be enforced tomorrow starting a 7:00 am and ending on Thursday, July 14th at 7:00 pm for several blocks of Beach Drive.  This is for repaving of the 4500 – 4600 blocks (additional blocks are closed).

Bus stops have been temporarily moved too.  This one has been moved about a block south of it's normal location to the 4700 block with will be a tow zone tomorrow morning too.

Today's low tide of -2.5 happened at 10:38 this morning.  Check out the tides for the rest of the week with a full moon this Thursday:

Monday, May 16:

• 11.42 at 5:48 pm
• 6.06 at 11:04 pm

Tuesday, May 17:

• 11.75 at 4:18 am
• -3.17 at 11:22 am
• 11.9 at 6:41 pm
• 6.47 at 11:59 pm

Wednesday, May 18:

• 11.44 at 5:01 am
• -3.37 at 12:05 pm
• 12.13 at 7:31 pm

Thursday, May 19:

• 6.68 at 12:54 am
• 10.95 at 5:47 am
• -3.13 at 12:50 pm
• 12.13 at 8:20 pm

Friday, May 20:

• 6.71 at 1:50 am
• 10.31 at 6:36 am
• -2.51 at 1:36 pm
• 11.98 at 9:07 pm

Saturday, May 21:

• 6.57 at 2:50 am
• 9.55 at 7:29 am
• -1.6 at 2:22 pm
• 11.74 at 9:54 pm

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning until 8:00 p.m. this evening…stating:

…SOUTH WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS 60 MPH UNTIL THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. WINDS EASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH AFTER 8 PM AND TO 10 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Tides are currently at about 5 ft (estimating from my tide chart) with the next high tide of 9.52 ft at 9:14 p.m. tonight.  Picturing the waves 4.52 feet higher is a bit daunting.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast

…GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT PST TONIGHT… TONIGHT…SW WIND 30 TO 40 KT THIS EVENING…. WIND ALL AREAS EASING EASING TO SW 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 6 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT LATE. SCATTERED SHOWERS.

Here's the current forecast from the National Weather Service for West Seattle:

Wednesday: Rain. High near 45. Windy, with a south southeast wind 8 to 11 mph increasing to between 30 and 33 mph. Winds could gust as high as 49 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday Night: Rain showers likely before 4am, then rain and snow showers likely. Snow level 1200 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Breezy, with a south wind 19 to 22 mph decreasing to between 11 and 14 mph. Winds could gust as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Seattle Area Tides for Wednesday, March 2, 11:

High   4:22 AM    11.3  

Low  10:08 AM     5.2     

High   3:15 PM     9.8

Low   9:40 PM     0.7

Puget Sound Marine Forecast

…GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON…

WED…SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT…BECOMING S 25 TO 35 KT BY NOON. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO 3 TO 6 FT. RAIN.

WED NIGHT…S WIND 20 TO 30 KT…EASING AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 5 FT…SUBSIDING.

 

We received this email message regarding the "beloved Beach Drive bovine" and thought it was important to share with our readers.

When the cow carcass beached in my front yard on Friday afternoon, I called the Seattle Animal Control.  In a short period of time, an Officer responded.  We discussed the public health implications and the fact that the carcass would inevitably continue to float north, with the high tide, until it reached the public beach at Me-kwa Mooks Park or Constellation Marine Reserve Walkway.  The Officer called his supervisor who immediately decided to extract the carcass from the water. She had a number of plans, the best of which was having the Seattle Police Harbor Patrol tow the "floater" to a boat landing where they could use a winch to get it into a rendering company truck. The cow was then lashed to a nearby bulkhead to prevent it from floating out on the high tide Saturday morning. There was no hesitation, hand wringing or bureaucratic entanglement.

On Saturday morning, the Animal Control Supervisor showed up with the necessary manpower to get the job done, one way or another. She advised that the Seattle Police were amenable to her plan and that the Harbor Patrol Supervisor was en route to further assess the plans viability, from their perspective.  The Harbor Patrol Supervisor arrived and then summoned their vessel. Another police officer donned a drysuit and proceeded into the water to secure a line to the carcass to ensure safe and successful towing. In time, the patrol boat arrived and within a few minutes was on its way to the Don Armeni boat launch, with the cow in tow. Seattle Animal Control also arranged for a rendering company to meet them at the boat launch.

The point of this post script is to say simply and clearly that there was quick, decisive, competent cooperative action at work here by two different city agencies to solve a relatively small but potentially stinky public health problem. There was no complaint, reluctance or ineptitude.  I haven't met a nicer group of people in a long time. It was great to watch the frequently maligned city government workers doing what they do best – getting the job done well day after day and honestly earning every dollar that they take home in salary. These were all "can do" people with a very friendly and positive attitude. This story is really about good city employees doing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.