West Seattle, Washington
14 Sunday
Just in from Mayor Nickels‘ office – three “open houses” next week where you’re promised the chance to talk with him and city staffers about the December snowstorm response – note the third one is happening here in West Seattle (home to the mayor, deputy mayor, SDOT boss, among others):
SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels invites Seattle residents to talk with him, department heads and city staff about their winter-storm experiences. The input is being gathered as part of a citywide performance review of emergency snow operations.
Three meetings are planned and residents are invited to attend any or all:
● Tuesday, Jan. 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Green Lake Community Center, 7201 E. Green Lake Dr. N.
● Wednesday, Jan. 14, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Garfield Community Center, 2323 E. Cherry St.
● Thursday, Jan. 15, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Southwest Community Center, 2801 S.W. Thistle St. (map)The sessions will offer residents an informal opportunity to talk one-on-one with the mayor and meet with staff from transportation, utilities and other departments.
(one of many photos we received during Snowstorm ’08)
The Seattle City Council has another post-snowstorm discussion coming up next Monday morning, after more than five hours of briefings this past Monday and Tuesday. Since snow-related trouble hit West Seattle particularly hard, from missing buses to missed trash pickups, it’s not surprising that some of the toughest questions at those briefings came from WS-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Before memories of those first two briefings faded too far away, we e-mailed to ask him about any reflections on what he heard – read on to see what he sent back:Read More
City Council President Richard Conlin, once mentioned as a possible challenger to Mayor Nickels next year, has just sent a news release (read it here) announcing he’s running for re-election to the council. Meantime, a WSB Forums member recently launched a campaign … not for mayor, but to find a mayoral candidate. (The other three councilmembers whose terms are up this year: Jan Drago, Nick Licata, and Richard McIver, who previously indicated he wouldn’t run again.)
Live coverage has just started on Seattle Channel (cable 21, or online at seattlechannel.org). This is a council briefing WITHOUT public comment, focusing on the Office of Emergency Management and Department of Transportation. If anything major is revealed, we’ll add it here; otherwise, watch for a summary afterward. Looks like the council has some other business to handle first (including a report on “toxic runoff”), so the storm-response agenda item is NOT first up. 9:55 AM UPDATE: It’s going to be a while – they haven’t gotten through the other agenda items yet. But they are discussing other possible additions to the review schedule, such as inviting the mayor to listen to public comment at some point (first public comment opportunity is at a council briefing at 9:30 am tomorrow), and possibly scheduling an evening meeting for public comment. They are now starting a briefing on salmon, city creeks, and toxic runoff; the storm discussion is to follow that. The creek briefing is certainly relevant to Fauntleroy and Longfellow Creeks in West Seattle, so we’ll summarize its key points afterward too. 10:27 AM UPDATE: Storm response presentation is starting now. 11:33 AM UPDATE: It’s over now, with some interesting revelations along the way – writing up a separate summary.
One week ago today, on a rainy post-snowstorm Sunday afternoon, Sarah and Tas Philp of West Seattle welcomed about a dozen people into their home — not for a holiday party, but for a discussion to help the incoming White House administration decide how to handle an issue that truly touches us all: Health care.Read More
(January 18 note: We now have an INAUGURATION INFO page – click here to go there)
A few national-news sites have posted the Obama/Biden Inauguration Day schedule of events in the past few hours, so it seems to be relatively new news – if you haven’t seen it, here’s the Inauguration Week/Day schedule on the official Inaugural Committee website. From that site, we discovered the Inaugural Committee has its own Twitter feed at @obamainaugural (see/follow it here). Meantime, the first open-to-the-public Inauguration Day events to cross our radar have been on the WSB Events calendar for a few days – here’s the announcement we first published there:
INAUGURATION DAY, will be busy for the WEST SEATTLE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN, as in the morning they will be having a Breakfast/Inauguration Viewing and later in the evening hosting an Inaugural Dinner/Gala. You need not be a member of WSDW, a female, or even a Democrat to attend either function, simply want to celebrate President-elect Obama’s inauguration and the CHANGE it will bring! The BREAKFAST/INAUGURATION VIEWING will be from 7:00 A.M. to approximately 10:00 A.M. at the West Seattle Golf Course. A big screen TV will be provided so to watch the Inauguration and Parade. Please contact WSDW via Karen at (206) 935-3216 or e=mail wsdwomen@yahoo.com to make a reservation.
The WSDWomen’s INAUGURAL DINNER/GALA begins at 6:00 P.M. at The Hall at Fauntleroy with a no-host beer and wine social hour followed at 7:00 P.M. with dinner and a dessert run showcasing absolutely scrumptious desserts. State Sen. Joe McDermott will be the Master of Ceremonies. Dancing and other frivolity will top off the end to a spectacular day! Please contact WSDW via Karen at (206) 935-3216 or e-mail wsdwomen@yahoo.com to obtain tickets to this event.
Reservations are required for both.
Other West Seattle Inauguration Day events open to the public? Let us know – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
ADDED SATURDAY AFTERNOON: First one that we’re adding to the calendar – Dave at West 5 sends word that his Junction establishment’s a fine place to celebrate afterward: “No TVs to watch the event but we will celebrate with Happy Hour pricing all day 11-6, with $4.00 bloody marys & mimosas.”
Just heard back from City Council President Richard Conlin (left), after e-mailing him to ask what kind of inquiries/hearings will ensue regarding Snowstorm ’08-related woes. We decided to ask him because he runs the Environment, Emergency Management, and Utilities Committee, so trash — among other things — would be under his auspices. He says a “more formal response” is coming out later today, but since we asked. First, a “full council briefing” is planned a week from today, January 5th. Next day, Tuesday 1/6, a joint meeting of his committee and the Transportation Committee (chaired by Councilmember Jan Drago, overseeing roads and snowplows among other things), “at which point we will go over the situation in detail and also have a public comment opportunity,” Conlin says, adding, “After that, we will lay out a set of issues to review and work on, and determine how we will involve the public and carry out the review. Our last review (after the 2006 windstorm/flooding) involved a set of joint meetings between EEMU and the Energy Committee, including an evening public comment time, and resulted in a work plan for the Utilities that made an important difference in the performance of City Light in particular in this situation — outages were relatively few (thanks to some proactive tree trimming and other preparation), and were handled and reported back to the public promptly (thanks to some better preparation and organization).” So if you want to address the council personally at your first opportunity, sounds like 1/6 will be your first chance. To e-mail or otherwise contact them now, seattle.gov/council will point you in every possible direction; Conlin’s info is here; Drago’s info is here; EEMU Committee info here; Transportation Committee here. We’ll let you know when times and places are set for the aforementioned meetings/hearings (and any others), and they’ll be on the WSB Events calendar (where we list meetings large and small, outside WS too when it’s of WS relevance like this, as well as other types of events). 2:48 PM UPDATE: The detailed “formal response” promised by Councilmember Conlin has just arrived in our inbox and we suspect many others – read on for the full text, which includes some times (will add to our calendar shortly):Read More
We did sit in for a while on the Uptown Espresso gathering that West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (foreground, right) set up for Saturday morning — after his commentary on the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s future, published here last week, generated some fiery reaction, but he also offered to discuss any other city issue on people’s minds. As you can see from the photo, a tableful of folks showed up to talk about The Viaduct — including a couple people who also shared Viaduct opinions here on WSB in the past week — one of West Seattle’s Stakeholders Advisory Committee reps, Vlad Oustimovitch (back “row,” right; read his writeup here), and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce executive director Patti Mullen (back “row,” left; read the Chamber board’s letter to elected officials here). Some of those who were there hope to draft a letter in support of the bored-tunnel idea that’s not officially one of the 2 final “scenarios” but is still “on the table” (described unofficially as “scenario #2 1/2”). In a related note, West Seattle’s other Stakeholders Advisory Committee rep, Pete Spalding (whose Viaduct comments also were published here), shared a letter written by 7 other committee members, calling for the state/county/city to proceed with a plan that would include the potential for that deep-bore tunnel – read it here. Next Viaduct step: The state/county/city announcement of a preferred option, still supposed to happen before ’08 ends. Got Viaduct comments? Send ’em in here. MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: From Councilmember Rasmussen afterward, his summary: “At least one small business owner who depends on good freight mobility in the corridor and several frequent Metro Transit riders attended. They shared their knowledge of the options as well as their ideas and concerns. Several people spoke of the advantages of a deep bore tunnel over the current two options being considered. I found the meeting to be very valuable and the information and views I heard will help me to be a more informed and stronger voice for all of us who live or work in West Seattle and who will be so significantly impacted by the construction and the final replacement option selected by the state.”
**We told you last summer about the pilot recycling project in city parks. Now the Parks Department hopes you’ll take a moment to answer a survey about it. Here’s the link.
**Reminder that tonight, in addition to the Alaskan Way Viaduct public forum tonight at Town Hall (5-7:30 pm), there are two big public hearings tonight at City Hall – the new tree regulations at 5:30 (more info on the City Council home page), proposed rules about guns in parks at 6:30 (more info here, including a link for online comment).
**Two weeks after Prost West Seattle opened its doors, there’s word West Seattle’s next drink-and-food — plus music — place is getting close. Feedback Lounge (between new Beveridge Place Pub and future Zeeks Pizza/ex-Corner Inn in Morgan Junction) has posted new pix and info on its MySpace site, and a hoped-for January opening is mentioned; its liquor-license application also has shown up on the state’s website.
**Also just got word that Spring Hill in The Junction has launched a blog-format site (an increasingly popular thing for businesses to do). See it here.
TONIGHT: The 34th District Democrats‘ annual holiday party. Among the highlights – two deep-fried smoked turkeys to be provided by outgoing chair Ivan Weiss, whose farewell message on the 34 Dems’ site is a must-read. (The organization elects new leadership next month.) Party’s at 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy, bring a potluck item to share; more info here.
TOMORROW: West Seattle Democratic Women celebrate their holiday party at their monthly luncheon, 11:15 am, West Seattle Golf Course. Lunch costs $10 and there’s still time to RSVP; all the info (including e-mail and phone for reservations) is here.
First we told you December 15th was the night set for the city to hear comments on proposed gun restrictions on city-owned land. Now comes word the proposed tree-cutting restrictions also will be public-comment fodder that same night (trees at 5:30, guns at 6:30), summarized this way:
This council bill would provide interim controls including changes to existing exemptions to the tree ordinance, further restrict tree removal or topping of trees on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in single family zones and to all lots in Lowrise, Midrise and Commercial zones, further limit tree removal to no more than 3 trees of 6 inch caliper or greater in one year, and expand existing code enforcement authority.
Here’s the ordinance; 5:30 pm December 15th, City Hall, is the time and place for public comment (per this agenda – which includes information on how to comment by e-mail or postal mail till mid-January). Coincidentally, word of this came just hours after “A West Seattle Neighbor” e-mailed us a lament about Monday tree-cutting – read on:Read More
The November 4th King County election results are now finalized and certified. Find the official numbers here (among them: 70% for Obama and 64% for Gregoire). Turnout was 84%, up 1% from November 2004. Statewide results aren’t final yet but the Secretary of State’s office “tweeted” earlier today that turnout is now 84.5%.
First of two reports from tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting: 
The group’s fireball chair Dorsol Plants (left; 8/08 photo courtesy Dina Johnson) announced he’s not running for re-election — because he’s going to jump into another election: He’s planning to run for one of the four Seattle City Council seats that will be on the ballot next year. Plants tells WSB he hasn’t decided which one — he wants to be an advocate for “the south end,” which he says has been represented thus far (though council members are elected “at large,” NOT by district) by Richard McIver, who’s not expected to run for re-election. (The other three whose terms expire next year: Nick Licata, Jan Drago, and council president Richard Conlin.) Plants has served as HPAC chair since this past spring, when the announcement of two possible city jail sites (now down to one) near Highland Park forced the group to rise to a new level of activism – though at the time, it was without a chair. While Plants has not previously held elected office, he notes that in addition to serving as HPAC chair during a time of intense lobbying and multiple public-speaking appearances because of the jail-sites fight (check our coverage archive for examples), he also has leadership experience as a veteran of the U.S. Army. The formal filing isn’t till next June, but Plants says he’s already doing paperwork, forming a committee and obtaining a campaign manager, and will have a website up soon.(HPAC’s other three officers also indicated tonight that they will step aside for new leadership; the group received some nominations and will keep that process open till elections at the next HPAC meeting January 26th – more on that in our second report later.)
The Seattle City Council and King County Council both took final budget votes today (city news release here, county news release here); 
no last-minute drama – that was all worked out last week. Many of those councilmembers also send out newsletters, and one of them, Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess (left), followed up his budget note with his thoughts on what should be done to help stop the youth violence that flared in a particularly ugly, and deadly, way this past weekend – in several incidents including the Southcenter shooting. We wanted to share what he has to say – his voice is particularly loud in this matter, as he chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee:Read More
Not in West Seattle but with all the city-owned parkland etc. around here, certainly relevant – the city’s just set a public hearing for the proposed rule restricting guns on city-owned property – read on for the full announcement (including a new webpage through which you can send written comments):Read More
We’ve been tracking the county budget crunch here and on White Center Now; many components of the county budget affect far more than those in unincorporated areas — it also affects public-safety and other services provided for everyone in King County. Council leaders just announced they’ve found a way to save some of the services that were on the chopping block – here’s the entirety of their (long) announcement (P.S., you can send comments online by going here):Read More
Next Monday, the City Council takes its final vote on next year’s budget; today, they’ve just issued the official announcement that they’re done with committee votes. We’re currently combing through the fine print in all the various documents on this page — for example, one item up for consideration today involved a chunk of money coming out of the “skatepark implementation” budget line, so we’ll be checking to see if that will affect the Delridge project, while also looking for other potential local effects – stay tuned. 4:26 PM UPDATE: Here’s what we’ve found out so far: The Delridge skatepark $ could indeed be in jeopardy because it was supposed to come out of that budget line, which has been cut $600,000 for next year, $100,000 for the following year. Also, there is some question about whether the Fauntleroy paving project (which as a side effect spawned the three-lane proposal that we reported, with a followup, last week) might be in jeopardy too – the council has moved some budget $ to a north end project (Linden) that has been decades in the making. The ultimate decision is up to SDOT leadership, we’re told, but since Fauntleroy was the last proposal added to the budget, it would run the risk of being the first one cut.
Both the city and county are in the throes of budget discussions and decisions, and the coming week is pivotal. For those interested in the question of whether the city will build a new jail for misdemeanor offenders — potentially, on one of two southeast West Seattle sites that are on the current “final four” list — there’s word of a budget-related comment opportunity, from Danina Garcia of Real Change, which has been working with jail opponents citywide:
On Monday the city council will have a series of budget meetings to discuss and vote on the “green sheets” before coming to a final budget decision. One of the things before the council is a budget proviso. This proviso would put a hold on 3 million of the 4.5 the mayor requested to move forward on the jail in 2009. This 3 million could not be spent until a panel, which would include people from outside the government, investigated and reported back on whether and how a new jail could be avoided completely, while increasing public safety and public order, if investments were made into preemptive social services, pre-arrest diversion programs and pre-booking programs. There will be a brief public comment period available before the start of business at 9:30 am Monday morning in City Council chambers.
The budget decisions are pretty much all going to be made on Monday; the final vote by the budget committee and then by the full council later in the week are procedural and largely formalities. So this is a prime opportunity to put a stop on expenditures that we don’t need and that will damage neighborhoods and lives.
If you can’t attend the council meeting, there are multiple ways to comment on this issue (or any other) – you’ll find all the info and links you need, by going to the City Council‘s main webpage.
Eight nights after an election in which most of their endorsed candidates/positions emerged victorious, the 34th District Democrats gathered tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, in a celebratory mood but not at all ready to rest on their laurels – here’s our report:Read More
From the WSB Events calendar, three highlights from what’s happening tonight: The 34th District Democrats meet for the first time since last week’s election; 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy — which is in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, which in turn happens to be on the Seattle School Board agenda at 6 pm tonight (district HQ in Sodo), as they vote on approving the $1.8 million deal to sell the building and part of its site to the Fauntleroy Community Services Agency. One other meeting that’s not in West Seattle but affects our area – a draft habitat-restoration plan for the Duwamish River will be discussed at South Seattle Community College‘s Georgetown campus (here’s a map), 5:30 pm.
Great photo of West Seattleite Val Mallinson and her “Victory Bike” on the P-I site. Val had kindly flagged us, so to speak, of her impending ride, but we got stuck elsewhere; glad to be able to share this shot, though!
More numbers out from the King County Elections Department — updated this afternoon. They promise updated numbers late tonight, two updates tomorrow afternoon and late-night, and then daily updates for as long as needed until final results are certified just before Thanksgiving. Statewide, two races remain too close to call: For lands commissioner, Democrat Peter Goldmark is slightly ahead of incumbent Doug Sutherland, and challenger Randy Dorn is slightly ahead of state school superintendent Terry Bergeson (find results for those races here). Meantime, three more local leaders have answered our request on their thoughts on last night’s election and what’s next, including West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen with what’s next for city parks after Prop 2 passed (he chairs the Parks Committee), County Councilmember Dow Constantine with what’s next for mass transit after the Sound Transit measure passed (he chairs the Transportation Committee), and State Rep. Sharon Nelson on what it’s like to be elected for the first time (her first election after being appointed to the State House exactly a year ago) — you don’t often hear elected officials using words like “elated” and “thrilling”:Read More
Steps over the city/county line, at this morning’s grand opening of the new Greenbridge YWCA Learning Center and county library branch (map), County Executive Ron Sims made that simple and heartfelt comment about President-Elect Obama‘s election. (To see the kids he’s referring to, check out our expanded coverage of the event on White Center Now.) Meantime, for everybody looking for a tangible souvenir of history, you might just have to print this out:
We photographed CNN on the bigscreen at Skylark Club and Cafe (WSB sponsor) during last night’s election-party coverage; today, if you’re looking for a newspaper front page to save, you might have trouble, as Kathleen from Highland Park e-mailed:
I don’t know if this will get coverage anywhere but I find the run on print papers today to be fascinating! I got the last Seattle Times and P-I at the Westwood QFC and searched in vain for a copy of the NYTimes. I visited 10 different stores around Highland Park and called many more around West Seattle and White Center. There is no NYT to be found! And again, the P-I and Times are gone in most places too! I guess I’m not the only one to want to memorialize this glorious day. You better believe I’ll be at the stores sooner for the Inauguration issues!
Looks like the Weekly‘s blog had a blurb about this too.
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