January 2019

by Jerry Robinson

Publisher Emeritus (1920-2014)

Most  people who drive cars have had some embarrassing moments when they did something wrong during their beginner days. Not just getting a ticket for going too fast or going through a red light.

I had been lucky and had a clean driving history except for the day years before when I was going too fast down a hill in my 33 Plymouth coupe. I hit a nasty chuckhole which blew the wooden spokes out of both front wheels. As I watched both wheels with tires go sailing ahead of me, my car veered sharply to the left and amazingly went between two phone poles and came to rest head first in a huge pile of brush left there for later pickup by county road crews.

Is there a God? You bet.

By Jean Godden

If the late, mostly unloved Alaskan Way Viaduct had been human, he -- I think it was a "he" -- would be getting social security and Medicare. The viaduct that kept Seattle fenced from its beautiful deep-water harbor was tired, creaky and 66 years old.

It is shocking that what some called "the city's worst mistake" was allowed to stand so many years, blighting city landscape. It is equally hard to believe that the jury-rigged structure  managed to stay upright after it was rattled by two strong earthquakes.

The Viaduct didn't rate a memorial service, but it did have a rollicking sendoff. At the scheduled 10 p.m. closure on January 11, Seattleites crowded both decks, honking horns, dancing in the roadway and watching fireworks. It was a better farewell than the eroding roadway deserved. Heck, there was even a next-day event with hundreds ignoring yellow caution tape and trespassing onto the highway's remains.

People were seen all over the west side as the Super Blood Wolf Moon eclipsed on Sunday evening under only partially cloudy skies. 

Folks came outside, parked by the beach or anywhere they could get a good vantage point to see the relatively rare phenomena. 

 The eclipse coincides with what is called a Supermoon which is a full moon that occurs when it is at or near its closest point to Earth during its orbit. Supermoons appear slightly bigger and brighter in the sky than regular full moons.

The "blood" part refers to the color fully eclipsed moons assume, the result of Earth's atmosphere bending some sunlight onto the mostly dark lunar surface. Red light makes it through, because it has longer wavelengths; shorter-wavelength light such as yellow and blue gets blocked and scattered by our planet's atmosphere.

January's full moon is traditionally known as the Wolf Moon.

Nineteen Seattle Fire units responded to a 911 call near 34th SW and SW Thistle just after 11am and found a garage and attached storage unit in the alley billowing thick gray smoke. An eyewitness on the scene said the fire appeared to originate in the storage shed. No people were hurt. The owner was contacted and arrived to assess the damage.

SFD firefighters used chain saws and pry bars to open the side of the storage area, and sprayed water and chemical foam. The fire was quickly dealt with but they continued to look for hotspots. No one was hurt.

No exact cause or damage amount was released.

A Metro bus collision with a white pickup truck on Thursday night just after 6pm resulted in an impact on a power pole near 128th SW and the southbound HWY509 on ramp. Power in the immediate area was out.

The collision resulted in traffic being blocked on 128th SW as emergency responders arrived and two people were taken off the bus to be examined at Highline Hospital. No serious injuries were reported.

All ramps on to and off 128th from HWY 509 were blocked.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) and King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) are requesting assistance from the community in locating the individual responsible for a December 20, 2018 shooting that hit a child in the head, causing the 14 year old boy to lose his eyesight.

On December 20, 2018 at approximately 11pm, a family was traveling on SB SR 509 just south of the 1st Avenue bridge when the front passenger window was shot out. Tragically their 14 year old son was hit in the head and subsequently lost his vision. It may be this was not intended and the individual using the firearm may not be aware of the consequences of his/her actions.

Upon learning of this child’s injury there may be observable reactions by the responsible individual.

These may include but are not limited to the following: