West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photo from May 2009, KaBOOM! Delridge design meeting)
Two years ago, Delridge got a new playground thanks to the nonprofit KaBOOM! Now, another West Seattle neighborhood is getting one – High Point. They’ve been trying for a while, and now Bataan Park has been chosen, according to news shared by High Point Neighborhood Association‘s Jennifer Cobb. The playground will be built on September 23rd – but first, it has to be designed, and as was the case with Delridge, there will be a “Design Day” for kids. It’s set for next Tuesday, July 19th, at the Neighborhood House-operated High Point Neighborhood Center. It’s estimated that this playground will serve more than 500 kids in the High Point area. The event will be ongoing from 4:30-7:30 pm on Tuesday; the center is at 6400 Sylvan Way SW. Partners in the playground project include the Windermere Foundation.
Big day for transportation news. One more story in the pipe after this, but first, a couple Alaskan Way Viaduct notes: The new “multi-use trail” for bicycles/pedestrians/etc. officially opens Monday morning at 5 am. WSDOT’s announcement has an invitation for people who plan to use it: “Come celebrate with us on the north end of the trail near S. King Street during Monday’s morning and evening commute, 6:30 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. We’re looking forward to meeting you!” … Second note, the next scheduled closure is two weeks away, 5:30 pm July 30th through 5 am August 1st, starting with the Seafair Torchlight Run – details here.
Because of state budget cuts, state troopers/cadets will no longer be helping direct traffic at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal as of this Sunday, according to a news release that just arrived. Read on for the details:Read More
(Diaper drive at C & P – photo courtesy WestSide Baby)
Delayed edition of the daily highlights because of this morning’s breaking news. From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
DIAPER DRIVE RIGHT NOW! Till noon, C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) and Windermere West Seattle Realtors Desiree Loughlin, Sandra Merkin and Kelly Malloy are co-sponsoring a Special Diaper Drive and Coffee Break to benefit WestSide Baby! Free coffee/lemonade if you bring a package of diapers (5612 California SW). If you can’t make it to this one – here are other upcoming diaper drives, including Stuff The Bus day on July 24th.
KIDS’ FUN FEST: At Hiawatha Community Center (2700 California SW) – hours of fun at Fun Fest which will feature carnival games, bouncy toys, refreshments, a dunk tank, children’s entertainment, face painting, and more. Noon-3 pm, $5 for a bracelet or 25 cents a ticket.
WEST SEATTLE HI-YU JUNIOR COURT CORONATION: On the east lawn of Hiawatha during Kids’ Fun Fest, 1 pm.
STORY TELLING: At the White Center Cultural Center (9421 18th Avenue SW), 5:30 pm – open date for Somali storytelling by Mohamed Hassan.
RIVER CELEBRATION: Reiki Fellowship Barbecue Celebration of the Duwamish River at Duwamish Waterway Park from 6-7 pm. Bring something to throw on the grill and enjoy the community of like-minded friends as we come together to honor the river and all its life.
SKATING PARTY: White Center Jubilee Days Retro Roller Skating Party, 7:30 pm to 11 pm, Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th SW). More atJubileeDays.org
MOVIE NIGHT: Movie Night at Highland Park Improvement Club (1116 SW Holden). Doors open at 6:30 pm, movie at 7pm, *Free admission* Movie hint: Hayley Mills plays twins in this 1961 summer camp classic.
(12:55 PM: Just followed up with police – the man they were seeking has been booked into jail).
(Photo substituted 9:30 am – courtesy of Amanda – not added till incident was announced as over)
5:48 AM: On our way to Delridge/Hudson (map), where multiple tips say SWAT/police situation has blocked the road.
6:03 AM: From the scene – Delridge is blocked between Hudson and Edmunds. Metro says the 120 is affected by this – use the stops at Delridge/Oregon or Delridge/Brandon. E-mails say police have been there for a while, using a bullhorn to get someone to come out.
6:25 AM: Per SPD Blotter, this is a domestic-violence situation – it traces back to a search at Camp Long that we had heard on the scanner for a while around midnight last night:
On July 14th at approximately 11:38 p.m. officers responded to a campground in the 5200 block of 35th Avenue SW for a report of a domestic disturbance between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The suspect, a 20-year-old male, threatened his girlfriend with a gun. The victim was not injured and no shots were fired. The suspect fled the scene prior to the arrival of responding officers.
Officers continued to search for the suspect and information developed during the course of their investigation led them to the suspect’s residence in the 5000 block of Delridge Way SW. Officers surrounded the residence and subsequently saw the suspect through a window in the house however, the suspect refused to come outside and surrender to officers.
The SWAT team and negotiators were called to the scene and thus far negotiators have been unable to get the suspect to come outside. Three other adult males believed to be roommates of the suspect have come out and were all interviewed and released. There may be one other roommate still inside the house with the suspect.
This incident is ongoing and we are trying to come to a peaceful resolution.
6:52 AM: If you are in the area and hearing what you think are gunshots – they are noisemaking devices police use at scenes like this. (Somebody who heard them reported them to police as “fireworks.”)
8:05 AM: No change. Delridge still blocked from Edmunds to Hudson. 120 bus detouring. All as mentioned above. We will have someone on scene till it’s over, so as soon as there’s a change, we’ll update here as well as via Facebook and Twitter. Also, as noted in comments, thanks to those who have sent photos – we honor the police’s request not to show SWAT officers’ positions during standoffs so the photos we’ve received so far (aside from ours, above, showing roadblock spots) will be held till this has safely ended.
8:45 AM: No change. We’re staked out with two TV crews. Photo added above, shot earlier. Traffic still detouring down 25th and 26th SW, and it’s a tight squeeze.
9:27 AM: Situation over. The suspect somehow got out of the house and turned himself in at the Southwest Precinct (roughly a mile south), at the behest of his mother, according to SPD Det. Mark Jamieson. Delridge will be reopening shortly. We’ll add video of briefing once we’re back at HQ.
9:50 AM: Delridge is now fully open again. Northbound reopened before southbound, but the roadblock at the latter JUST cleared.
10:35 AM: The briefing video from an hour ago:
Afterward, scanner traffic indicated police found at least two guns in the house. We will check back later with police to see if anyone related to all this was actually arrested – as Det. Jamieson mentioned, roommates were brought out for questioning.
12:55 PM: SPD’s Det. Jamieson says the man they were seeking has indeed been booked into jail, for investigation of felony domestic violence harassment and assault. He does not know yet if anyone else related to the case was placed under arrest.
With a nod to the original WSB story, Seattle Times columnist Nicole Brodeur tells the tale of Village Green Perennial Nursery owner Vera Johnson‘s bank battle to fight off foreclosure. (Note that when Brodeur contacted Bank of America, she got the same kind of conflicting answers Vera reported.) Our story from Tuesday is here; you can sign Vera’s online petition here.
(WSB photos and video by Patrick Sand)
During tonight’s West Seattle Art Walk, muralist Glenn Case started work on a mural, about murals, at Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor). He explains the project in this quick clip:
Some of the most vivid work we saw tonight was by Sheila Lengle, showing at Shoofly Pie Company:
Sheila’s art career is in resurgence – you might remember her as the owner of Critical Mass and ec’Collective art galleries. She says she’ll be the August artist at Brunette Mix (WSB sponsor), also in The Junction, and will have a September show at Alki Arts.
Our Junction adventure continued at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), which had a visit from the DRY Soda team, offering free samples:
Inside, artist Dawn Endean:
And then back up California at Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), a little marimba music from NZIRA:
Hotwire, of course, is where you’ll find West Seattle Outdoor Movies for the next six Saturday nights, weather permitting, starting with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” at dusk this Saturday (free, bring your own chair/blanket, and a few dollars for concessions/raffles that benefit local nonprofits). West Seattle Art Walk, meantime, is always the second Thursday of the month, 6-9 pm, and you can watch for updates at the Art Walk website.
As usual, the city’s out with its weekend traffic advisory for big events – just so you’ll know what to expect. Not that you want to go TOO far – this weekend’s big events here include West Seattle Outdoor Movies‘ seasonal debut on Saturday (“Ferris Bueller” at dusk) and the West Seattle Garden Tour on Sunday (plus, next door in White Center, the Jubilee Days Street Fair all weekend) – but in case you have to leave, here’s what SDOT sent late today, after the jump:Read More
We’re welcoming the newest WSB sponsor – whose message for you includes an invitation: EuropaKids International Preschool is celebrating its 6th year in West Seattle and we are having a Fall Open House this Saturday – July 16th, 2011 – at 10:30 am to introduce our new Mandarin Chinese program to you and your family. The EuropaKids half-day program is a multilingual language PRESCHOOL dedicated to preparing your child(ren) for the upcoming elementary school years by using the gift of foreign language as our focus. Learning a second or third language during the preschool years is not only the easiest time to pick up a new language and culture, but current research has shown that multilingual children have many measurable advantages over monolingual children later on in the elementary years!
EuropaKids International Preschool currently offers THREE LANGUAGES for your little ones to decide upon as they embark upon their journey: SPANISH, GERMAN, and MANDARIN. For fall 2011, we are introducing a new tuition plan designed to make it easier for you to enroll your child for multiple days. Please have a look at our website at www.europakids.com for more details.
Given the choice between a traditional English preschool program or a multi-cultural language-focused preschool, the choice seems clear! Please RSVP for our Open House and call Nicole at (206) 708-5784, or e-mail us using the contact form on our website www.europakids.com. See you on July 16th!
We thank EuropaKids International Preschool for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.
Two reports of vandalism in West Seattle Crime Watch today, including one at a P-Patch that trashed not just gardeners’ hard work, but also crops destined to feed local food-bank clients. From Tiffany, who shared the photo:
I’m writing to let you know that the West Genesee P-Patch (SW Genesee & 42nd Ave SW) was vandalized last night. It happened sometime between 7pm last night and 9am this morning. The vandals overturned our picnic table, threw one of the benches in one of the plots, uprooted plants and tomato cages, and smashed plants. There wasn’t a single plot that escaped damage, though some suffered more than others. We all finally had nice gardens going after a slow start to summer, so needless to say, we’re pretty bummed out. Most disappointing though, is the damage they did to our food bank plot. The vandals completely destroyed all our squash plants, broccoli, and some of the kale and we won’t be able to save those. We will all be salvaging as much of the destroyed plants as we can however, from both our food bank plot and our own plots, and donating it to the food bank so it won’t go to waste.
The silver lining here is that the damage was confined to plants and we won’t have to replace any of the structures. Also, many of the uprooted plants will survive if we can all get them back into the ground soon. It just stinks because we all work hard on our gardens and are happy to be a part of a community garden that brightens up the neighborhood and helps provide fresh food for those in need (so many great comments from people walking by to the Summerfest this weekend!). It’s a blow to have someone come in and try to ruin that.
Anyway, I hope you can post this information on the blog and ask people in the area keep an eye out to help us prevent this from happening again. For now we’ll do our best to get our garden back in shape!
Another vandalism case not far away, after the jump:Read More
While remodeling an area of the old Fauntleroy Schoolhouse to serve as a Pilates studio, Pamela Phillips-Blevins discovered a bit of history, a blackboard that appears to have been frozen in time – in 1939.
Way over on the right side of the blackboard, a few names for a “list” (gotta wonder what “list” that was):
Pamela says they found this blackboard under a newer one. Hers is one of several new businesses in the old schoolhouse, now nonprofit-owned (after a deal was completed last year). Fauntleroy Schoolhouse is 93 years old, according to this thumbnail history from Seattle Public Schools, which closed it in 1981.
If you had somehow missed our previous reports that Les Schwab Tires was moving into the former Huling/Gee used-cars site at 38th/Alaska in The Triangle, it’ll be hard to miss now – the big sign’s going up today. We first reported in January that Les Schwab was remodeling the site; last month, the company told us they’re expecting to open in September.
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*An alert citizen called 911 early Tuesday to report a suspicious male with a flashlight peering into car windows near the 4000 block of 34th SW. Officers arrived and encountered one of the community’s more prolific thieves. He was carrying a backpack that held two GPS devices, and his jacket pocket contained a large amount of change. The 18-year-old Delridge-area resident was booked into King County Jail.
*Just after midnight Saturday, a taxi driver picked up a fare downtown and drove her to the 6700 block of Delridge. She started to leave without paying. He threatened to call 911. Her response? “Then I’ll shoot you.” The driver called her bluff (and 911) and continued driving until he saw patrol cars approaching in the 6900 block of Delridge. Officers questioned the woman, asking if she had a gun. She opened her purse, which contained a loaded five-shot Smith and Wesson. She was booked into King County jail for investigation of assault.
After the jump, four more summaries, including one with more information on a story covered as breaking news earlier this week:Read More
She has led efforts that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for breast-cancer research – our photo at left, in fact, is from her appearance as a model during the Northwest Hope and Healing benefit fashion show two months ago, and her 3-Day Walk “Team Tracy” efforts are legendary. Now a group of friends insists that it’s time West Seattleite Tracy Dart accept a little help for herself, in her three-time fight against the disease. They’ve just announced the event “We Heart Tracy Dart,” set for 7-10 pm August 7th at The Bridge (4439 35th SW). The bands Explone and In Cahoots are already lined up. Find out more on this Facebook page. On her own website, Tracy mentions it in her newest post – right after talking about her latest chemo treatment, making it clear this isn’t something she has asked for, but her friends “REALLY want to do it.” Donations will be taken at the door during the benefit, and you’ll be able to buy raffle tickets; organizers note, “100% of donations go into a trust account that will be used to pay living and medical expenses while Tracy recovers from treatment. Stuff like prescriptions, insurance premiums, utilities, rent and transportation costs.”
It’s Art Walk night! The monthly West Seattle Art Walk tops our highlights from the WSB West Seattle (and beyond) Events calendar for tonight:
JULY ART WALK! Dozens of venues all around West Seattle – many previewed at wsartwalk.com – take a few minutes to browse through and plan your stops. Meet artists, enjoy their work, and at many spots, refreshments too, 6-9 tonight. Here’s the map of Art Walk locations.
SHOP LATE IN THE JUNCTION: In The Junction, which has the biggest concentration of Art Walk venues, it’s another edition of Shop Late Thursdays, till 9 pm – see the list of participating merchants here.
‘ASK AN EXPERT’ AT THE TOOL LIBRARY: During West Seattle Art Walk nights, you can also “Ask An Expert” at the West Seattle Tool Library, which is at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW). Open in conjunction with Art Walk (there are several artists who live/work at the Center), the Ask the Expert hours are 6:30-8:30 pm in the Community Workshop at Youngstown (southeast side of the building).
TONIGHT’S JUBILEE DAYS EVENT: White Center Jubilee Days Rock & Bowl, 7 pm to 10 pm at Magic Lanes (10612 15th SW). More info at JubileeDays.org
Politics can have its moments of levity. Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and West Seattle political activist Chris Porter had one Wednesday night during the candidates’ reception/mixer at The Hall at Fauntleroy co-sponsored by the Greater Seattle Business Association and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. It’s the first of two pre-election events with which the Chamber is involved this month – the next one is the tunnel-related Referendum 1 forum that it’s presenting a week from tonight (6 pm July 21st, West Seattle High School, two reps from each side, with your editor here as moderator). More photos after the jump:Read More
Good thing most of Wednesday’s big events were scheduled for evening – that’s when the sun shone the brightest, which was good news for the ribbon-cutting at Avalon Place, the new apartment building for Transitional Resources. They are headquartered in the 2900 block of SW Avalon Way, south of the Luna Park business district, and that’s where they have long provided housing, help, and hope for people dealing with mental illness; Avalon Place also reaches out to chronically homeless people, who are the targeted clients for the new building. Read on for more photos from, and information about, Wednesday night’s event:Read More
More nice weather, more door-to-door alerts. Tonight, three in West Seattle, and one from a WS woman who wants to put out a warning about what happened to her mom in Magnolia, just in case. Read on:Read More
At this week’s Rotary Club of West Seattle lunch meeting, new president Sue Lindblom (from longtime WSB sponsor Illusions Hair Design) and new District 5030 Governor Ann Liberato paused for a photo-op with the brand-new banner celebrating the club’s status as home to the district governor. Busy times for the Rotarians – with several upcoming events, including a first-ever wine-tasting fundraiser:
*JULY 12 – the Rotary Kiddies’ Parade right before the West Seattle Grand Parade, all kids welcome to march, ride, walk, roll, 10 am, California/Genesee (“>pre-register here)
*JULY 22-23: Next round of the three-round Rotary Berry Sale (WSB sponsor) – raspberries will be ready for pickup. Order in advance, online.
*AUGUST 4 – the club’s 1st annual wine-tasting event/auction, with live music, “heavy hors d’oeuvres,” and of course, the wine! 5:30 pm, full details here. This is a fundraiser for the Rotary’s Children’s Holiday Shopping Spree and other humanitarian projects, locally and worldwide.
(From left, ANA secretary Jim Cavin, president Katy Walum, City Council candidate Brad Meacham, City Councilmember Bruce Harrell)
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Political discussion, local business interests, community safety, and summer entertainment took center stage at the July meeting of the Admiral Neighborhood Association Tuesday night at Admiral Congregational Church.
Meeting highlights included discussions with two candidates for the Seattle City Council, details about the Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series (lineup here), a presentation about disaster preparedness, and updates on ANA’s efforts to engage with Admiral-area businesses.
Cheap, organic, fresh vegetables – as fresh as if you picked them yourself – are on sale right now at the summer’s first weekly High Point Market Garden Farm Stand shopping availability (32nd/Juneau, till 7 pm). The veggies are grown feet away:
Just park on Juneau – if you’re not walking, biking, busing – and look for the stand’s canopy:
Besides what you see in our top photo, they also have various greens including lettuce, plus peas, carrots, and potatoes. And if you miss it today, they’re open again every Wednesday TFN, 4-7 pm.
Just in from SDOT – the planned overnight closures of the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct, rescheduled for this weekend, are now CANCELED completely, because of “material availability.” No new dates, yet.
After a “mechanical failure” that made Rachel Marie unavailable for this morning’s runs, the county says it’s repaired and will resume its normal West Seattle Water Taxi schedule for this afternoon.
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