West Seattle, Washington
22 Saturday
Among the items of interest for this afternoon’s meeting of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee is an update on the proposal to study the possibility of raising money by charging for parking at some city parks. We brought you first word of this back in October, when Lincoln Park was mentioned as a possible candidate. What’s on the committee’s agenda today is a preliminary report about the feasibility of even studying the topic. You can read it here; it basically says so many issues would come into play, that it just might not be worth it. If councilmembers do want to give it a try, the report says, the “strongest candidates” for paid parking include the Lincoln Park south lot. And one option presented would be a “pilot program” possibly including that lot:
Implement a small pilot program at 1-3 sites, without conducting broader occupancy counts. The sites may include Lake Union Park, Lincoln Park south lot, and Green Lake Community Center. These sites have the least variation in use weekly and seasonally, good transportation alternatives, and controlled nearby street parking. If conducted at all three sites by City staff, the approximate cost of this option would be $182,000, which covers $90,000 for 6 pay stations, and $92,000 in staff costs.
The other two options include spending up to $70,000 for another consultant study – though the report also goes on to note that the possibility of paid city-park parking has been studied multiple times since 2003 – or, dropping the whole thing. The meeting’s at 2 pm (viewable live on Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online at www.seattlechannel.org).
4 PM UPDATE: We’ll have a roundup of the meeting later, including a couple other items, but topline: The committee members were leaning toward the idea of a pilot project at one location, South Lake Union. No formal vote or decision yet – we’ll keep an eye out as the proposal progresses.
(Photo of sea lions on barge buoy, taken from Water Taxi on Tuesday, by “expatom”)
We’ll be tracking the weather all day – good news is that it’s expected, so far, to calm down in time for tonight’s monthly West Seattle Art Walk. We’ll feature a few highlights in a preview later, but in the meantime, you can review featured artists and venues by going to the WSAW website at wsartwalk.com … Also tonight: The Holy Rosary Parents Club-presented screening of the documentary “Race to Nowhere” at Admiral Theater, 6:30 pm … Southwest Seattle Business and Professional Women has a movie screening tonight too, benefiting its scholarship fund – “Iron-Jawed Angels,” 6:30 pm at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center … Afternoon events: All are welcome to say goodbye to longtime Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow, now days away from retirement, at a 1-3 pm party at the precinct (cake and coffee) … At City Hall, the Parks and Seattle Center Committee‘s 2 pm meeting today (agenda here) has items of interest to West Seattle, including updates on the citywide Golf Plan and the Parks and Green Spaces Levy (including purchase of the site for Puget Ridge Edible Park) … More on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar!
While the rain was the big news on Wednesday – Christopher Boffoli‘s video takes a scenic look at Longfellow Creek‘s near-rapids, post-downpour, in the sunshine – the wind is more likely to be the dominant force today (though the rain is back). The National Weather Service has revised the wind advisory for our area twice in recent hours – first it was set to take effect at noon, then it moved back a few hours ago to 10 am, and then it changed again, to be in effect 4 am-10 pm. See the revised advisory here; it suggests gusts up to 50 mph are possible, with the strongest wind expected in the afternoon.
7:04 AM UPDATE: And another revision early this morning … the advisory now expires at 6 pm.
One week ago tonight, Seattle School Board president Steve Sundquist – who represents West Seattle on the board – was in the board’s chambers in SODO, leading his colleagues through a meeting that included firing Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson and another top district official. Tonight, Sundquist was at The Hall at Fauntleroy during the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, reiterating his apology to taxpayers and recapping where the situation stood and what is likely to happen next. His appearance actually came during the meeting’s longest agenda item, a forum on the forthcoming Families and Education Levy, which isn’t even officially on the ballot yet, but is the focus of an intense campaign to keep it from being torpedoed by any anti-school-district sentiment spilling over from the SPS problems. We’ll detail the levy forum/campaigning in a separate story (with video of Denny International Middle School principal Jeff Clark helping make the pro-levy case). Before yielding the mike, Sundquist was asked about Mayor Mike McGinn‘s intentions regarding the district; Sundquist revealed he had met with the mayor twice in the past week, saying he believes the mayor just wants to “help” the district somehow.
From last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting: ANA president Katy Walum read a letter from SDOT turning down the longrunning request for a pedestrian light at 47th/Admiral (map), the intersection where City Council staffer Tatsuo Nakata was hit and killed more than four years ago. ANA has been pressing for stepped-up safety measures at that intersection; the letter signed by SDOT’s Luke Korpi pointed out the intersection has had work done including the addition of curb bulbs and, more recently, stop lines (as you can see in our photo), ultimately concluding that its volume of usage doesn’t merit a pedestrian signal. Walum said she is continuing to hear from area residents who see numerous near-collisions, and vowed not to give up pushing for a signal.
That was just one of the items on the agenda for last night’s meeting in the lower-level meeting room of Admiral Congregational Church – read on for more toplines including the latest on the Lafayette Playground project and the plans for this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha series:Read More
If you haven’t already heard a warning about this bogus call – we’ve heard citywide-media reports about it, and Lola says she got it today:
Just got the weirdest phishing phone call. It’s a robo-call saying “This is Washington Mutual. We’re calling to let you know that your debit card has been locked. Press 1 for more information.”
Since there’s no such thing as Washington Mutual, I hung up and called Chase. No problem with my debit card. It was a phishing call. Might want to alert folks to check with anyone who might fall for this.
Good point – even if you know you wouldn’t fall for it, if you have potentially vulnerable friends or relatives, make sure to warn them.
That’s kid-geared band The Board of Education in concert on Alki last August, with video by Christopher Boffoli for WSB. You don’t have to wait till summer to see them again – they’ll be performing at High Point Community Center a week from Saturday, 10:30 am on March 19th. This is just one of many big springtime events coming up at your West Seattle city-run community centers (including the egg hunts the day before Easter Sunday) – you’ll find them all in the new spring brochure, which is available as a PDF here. Back to the concert – advance tickets through HPCC are $3/person; it’ll be $5 at the door.
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Peter:
Just a heads-up, our house was burglarized sometime between 12:30-3 this afternoon. We live on 38th between Oregon and Genesee [map]. They went through all of the drawers in the bedroom/bathroom and they took two TVs, Nintendo DSI, and jewelry. They kicked in the backdoor and we think they went out through the front door (it was unlocked when my wife came home). Leaving out the front seems pretty risky on their part, since we live on a fairly busy street.
Checking the city map for 911 calls in the past day and a half (there’s a significant lag, so, for example, Peter’s break-in isn’t on the map yet), other West Seattle residential burglaries reported in that time period include two last night – one in the 4700 block of 36th SW and one in the 9200 block of 8th SW.
ADDED 9:18 PM: Also got word of a Junction-area burglary this afternoon, from Steve:
It looks like someone was busy this afternoon. Our house located on 48th Ave and Edmunds was also burglarized. Like Peter’s house they kicked in the back door and went through all the drawers in our bedroom and bathroom. As far as we can tell they only took a laptop computer.
Just in from Shannon Felix of Avalon Glassworks, on behalf of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce awards committee – the big announcement about who will be honored at the Chamber’s annual awards breakfast on April 6th:
The results are in! Thank you to all who submitted nominations for The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Program. From a pool of over one dozen businesses, the committee has selected Salty’s on Alki as the WestSide Business of the Year for 2010. Please join us in honoring them at the Awards Breakfast, coincidentally, at Salty’s on Alki on April 6, 2011. All the nominees represented the quality West Seattle businesses which make us proud, including: West Seattle Thriftway, Mashiko, Bakery Nouveau, Stor-More, Auto Buff, Click! Design That Fits, Luna Park Cafe, ZippyDogs, Roxbury Lanes, Husky Deli, J.F. Henry, and Avalon Glassworks.
A new award category this year is WestSide Emerging Business of the Year. Congratulation to Mountain To Sound Outfitters for being the first recipient and a strong addition to our business community. Some other fresh faces are already making a great impression. Nominees for WestSide Emerging Business of the Year, a category that honored those in business less than three years, included: Tuscan Tea Room, Fresh Bistro, Service Dog Academy, Suite Arrangements, The Swinery, Westside Yoga & Doga, West Seattle Produce Co., The Andover School, Avalon Restaurant, and Feedback Lounge.
Also new this year is the Not-For-Profit category, to which The West Seattle Farmers Market has been chosen WestSide Not-for-Profit Business of the Year. West Seattle is home to some hard-working Not-for-Profit organizations. Nominees for this inaugural award included West Seattle Helpline, Seattle Chinese Garden Society, WestSide Baby, and Rotary Club of West Seattle.
Finally, the second-annual WestSider of the Year award goes to Richard Jump, charismatic executive director of the White Center Food Bank. Since becoming executive director six years ago, he has expanded the programs of the food bank with a new user-friendly facility, additional staff and volunteers, the Baby Pantry, and a Mobile Food Bank to reach even more members of the community. “Every program enhancement or building design decision gives great focus on client dignity and convenience,” expresses Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby. “He recognizes goodness in people, and builds relationships.”
For more information, or to purchase tickets for the WestSide Annual Awards Program Presentation, contact the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, 206-932-5685.
As last year’s Business of the Year honorees, we at WSB congratulate this year’s winners – see you at the breakfast! (P.S. The Chamber’s regular monthly meeting today was at the Southwest Precinct, and some interesting information about West Seattle crimefighting emerged – watch for the story here later.)
When Mayor McGinn visited West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood last Sunday (WSB coverage here), Roxhill Elementary got a shoutout from Maggie Anderson, who works on some of the programs there. She wanted him to know it’s a school that’s working hard to keep growing and improving, and also needs some community TLC. This afternoon, we have some Roxhill news – head teacher Christopher Robert says students were treated to an artistic-cycling assembly at day’s end. His photo shows the guests, Corinna, Stefan and Lukas from the Radsport Cyclists, whose sport combines cycling and ballet. Plus – Roxhill is planning the school’s first-ever fundraising gala for May 12th (at Twist in Belltown); and they’ve just jumped onto Facebook (“like” Roxhill here) and Twitter (@roxhillsea).
(UPDATED THURSDAY AFTERNOON with reply from the fire truck’s owner)
Don’t know yet how long it’s been gone or where it moved off to – we hadn’t traveled 44th SW in The Junction for at least a few days – but the semi-famous front-lawn fire truck is now gone, exactly one month after we published this story after hearing from owner Gary Elliott. He had said the city gave him a deadline of March 15th (city records confirm this) to either move it or get a permit – or face fees and fines – and that he intended to move it, and move it, he seems to have done. (He had told us it ran “perfectly” when he drove it from the northwestern Oregon that sold it to Seattle, 45 mph all the way.) We have sent him a note to inquire about its fate. We’ll update this story with any reply we get; meantime, here’s the truck as shown in our original December report:
THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Short reply from truck owner Gary Elliott just came in:
Removed the fire truck Tuesday, started right up and drove it to Belfair, where we are going to be in the Tahuya Day parade? I hope the city likes the brown lawn.
(Belfair is in Mason County in the South Sound; the parade is in July.)
12:49 PM: Today’s downpour is causing some challenges for drivers – we have word of big puddles along Avalon among other places – more to come – let us know about other trouble spots.
ADDED 1:13 PM: Some photos – top photo is by Christopher Boffoli in The Junction, photo immediately above this paragraph is from Staci at Luna Park Café, where she says it looked like a “river” for a while. We’ve also heard of water “bubbling” from a drain uphill at 35th and Avalon, will be checking on that.
2:44 PM: Just back from driving around to take a look. No remaining signs – the sun’s even been out. As Tiff points out in comments, those hit with temporary flooding included Bakery Nouveau in The Junction, whose Twitter feed says they had to close a while to mop because the rain overwhelmed the drain system – open again now.
5:43 PM: The National Weather Service now has our area under a wind advisory for tomorrow (Thursday), noon-10 pm, saying we could see gusts up to 50 mph.
Though Michael Hoffman has moved his business Liberty Bell Printing out of a storefront and therefore out of The Junction, he’s coming back again this year to organize the West Seattle Junction Car Show, on behalf of the WS Junction Association. He tells WSB the show’s return is now official – and if you’re a car owner or car fan, you can mark your calendar for Sunday, September 18th. More to come in the months ahead.
“The only acceptable crime stat would be no crime in the city,” Seattle Police Chief John Diaz qualified, toward the start of a Tuesday briefing as the last of the 2010 crime statistics were released, finishing the picture of last year in its entirety. We attended the briefing downtown, and reviewed the statistics later, to put together an update including West Seattle specifics.
Citywide headlines included the number of murders – 19, with 15 of them solved – fewest murders since 1956 (three in West Seattle, all solved). Two categories were up – most notably car theft, plus a slight increase in aggravated assaults – while everything else was down. Assistant Chief Jim Pugel, who leads the Investigations Bureau, started the briefing after opening remarks from the chief. Here’s video of their half-hour-long briefing:
(About 21 minutes in, WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand asked Chief Diaz about something Mayor McGinn said in West Seattle last Sunday, regarding a new emphasis on community policing. The chief confirmed that’s under discussion, without offering specifics.)
Aside from this one-sheet breaking down the categories of crimes and listing the citywide numbers, compared to previous years and the “10-year average,” the only other stats available for the year are the monthly precinct-by-precinct sheets posted to the city’s website. From those:
WEST SEATTLE SPECIFICS:
Through the month-by-month breakouts that were posted, we took a look at the two property-crime categories that Southwest Precinct leadership has acknowledged are the most challenging – burglaries and auto thefts. For the year, the SWP area – West Seattle and South Park – had 436 car thefts and 829 burglaries. For car thefts, March 2010 was the low (23) and May 2010 the high (50), while for burglaries, November 2010 was the low (49) and January 2010 the high (95). Compared to a year earlier, burglaries were down (from 983 in 2009) and car thefts were up (from 395 in 2009).
One final set of 2010 numbers – those who think east West Seattle has more crime than west West Seattle might be surprised to hear that the eastern sector (Frank) had fewer burglaries than the western sector (William) – 345 of them were in F, 483 in W. (Here’s the citywide sector map.)
So what are police doing about property crimes? That was discussed during the briefing by Assistant Chief Mike Sanford, who supervises the precincts. He explained how police are looking for micro-crime patterns (which also is another reason why it’s vital that you report even seemingly small crimes) and work to figure out how to deter crime:
You can explore the latest crime statistics further starting with this page on the SPD website – the year-by-year breakout pages are where you will find the precinct-by-precinct links.
We are pleased to share obituaries free of charge on WSB, as a tribute to those who in ways small and large worked to make this a better community, before they passed on. Here’s one we just received, in memory of Jim Anthony, whose memorial is this Saturday:
James T. Anthony went to be with our Lord March 5, 2011. Jim was born in Chase River, B.C. (Vancouver Island) on January 9, 1915 to William and Isabel Anthony (originally from Scotland). With his parents and two older sisters, Jean and Chrissie, Jim grew up in Nanaimo, B.C. As a young man he moved to Vancouver, B.C. where he met and fell in love with Marjorie V. Lear. They were married 62 years, before Marge’s passing in 2002.
In his younger days he delivered groceries via bicycle, was a cowboy rounding up wild horses in Dead Man Creek Valley (interior B.C.), joined the Canadian Army, then switched to the Canadian Navy. He was aboard a mine sweeper in the Mediterranean and saw action at D-Day, Sicily, Italy, and North Africa. In 1952, with his wife, Marge, and two children, Gary and Trisha, the family moved to West Seattle. In 1958 the family became U.S. citizens.
3 quick Alaskan Way Viaduct notes – Northbound this morning, the Seneca exit is backed up more than usual because of a crash at Seneca/2nd – Metro has even rerouted the 21, 54, 55, 56, and 120. It’s not a major-injury situation, though, so a long-running blockage is not likely … THIS SUNDAY, you may have seen signs about a Viaduct closure for the St. Patrick’s Day Dash. To clarify, WSDOT says the 8-11 am closure is north of downtown, Republican to the Aurora Bridge (course map here), so it shouldn’t affect you south of the Battery Street Tunnel … One more reminder, WEEKEND AFTER NEXT, March 19-20, it’s the next weekend-long Alaskan Way Viaduct inspection shutdown, 6 am-6 pm both days.
(‘Distracted‘ cast members photographed by Michael Brunk for ArtsWest)
Feeling “Distracted“? The newest production at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor) may be your antidote. The Lisa Loomer-authored play opens tonight, 7:30; ArtsWest in The Junction – details here … Tonight, the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting is headlined by City Council President Richard Conlin, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy; find the agenda here … “You don’t have to be a Master Gardener to join us,” say the West Seattle Garden Tour Committee‘s leaders – dig into this year’s planning tonight, 6:30 pm (e-mail info@westseattlegardentour.com for the location) … West Seattle CoolMom talks garden planning at 7 pm, C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor; 5612 California) … Feel like dancing? Balorico Studios has a new “spinning and styling” class for women starting tonight at 7 at Kenyon Hall, get info here … Or, like singing? Karaoke debuts at The Bridge tonight, 9:30 pm, with Tony B … If you’re looking for tips on how to look for work, another free job-search workshop is 4:30 pm today at South Seattle Community College‘s WorkSource center, focusing on interviewing basics … And we should also note, this is Ash Wednesday. LOTS more on the calendar – just go here.
(September 2010 photo by Deanie Schwarz for WSB/WCN)
It’s “the pizza that made White Center famous,” but it’s also popular among West Seattleites and beyond, so we’re sharing the news here that Proletariat Pizza confirms it’s about to venture into delivery (as hinted earlier today on their Facebook page). WSB/White Center Now contributor Deanie Schwarz talked to Proletariat’s Stefanie Albaeck, who says they’re starting simple – a customized bicycle now being built in Georgetown will enable home delivery in the 9622 16th SW pizzeria’s immediate area. After that, Proletariat expects to expand to delivery by car, to a much wider area (no boundaries set yet, though eventually they would hope to cover much of White Center, West Seattle, and Burien). Right now, they’re strategizing the logistics of this expansion. It’s already been a half-year since Proletariat celebrated its one-year anniversary – here’s the story Deanie wrote last fall.
GOT THE NEED TO READ? Sanislo Elementary has a Used Book Sale coming up in just a week and a half – 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, March 19th, at the school (1812 SW Myrtle). Used books for both kids and grownups – “most priced below $2,” organizers note.
Heading south – big news in Arbor Heights:
BECU GRANT BUYS A-V CART FOR ARBOR HEIGHTS: In the parent-contributed photo above, that’s Sarah Lyons from BECU at Roxbury Safeway at left, with Robert and Meri Patton of the PTSA, Arbor Heights Elementary principal Dr. Carol Coram at center, and students, at the school assembly that kicked off this week with something big to celebrate: BECU granted Arbor Heights’ PTSA-parent-written-grant request to fund an A-V cart, which includes a projector and sound system, plus the cart to transport them around. We’re told Arbor Heights has never had a cart like this; it will be used for student and staff audio/visual needs, including showing videos and online media in a wide range of subject areas, and helping launch the online Study Island program. It also means teachers will be able to access closed captioning, which is not currently possible with many of the TVs in the school. The BECU grant is for $2,289.88, and Sarah from BECU presented it with the whole school on hand!
You can make it a “good time for a good cause” doubleheader this Saturday night and Sunday midday with two events that WSB is honored to be co-sponsoring:
WEST SEATTLE COMMUNITY ORCHESTRAS’ SPRING GALA: Saturday night, the intergenerational three-group West Seattle Community Orchestras are raising money for their youth programs with a night of music, silent auction, and light dinner at West Seattle’s Kenyon Hall. The gala is at 7 pm Saturday, doors open at 6:30, tickets $25. To check on availability, e-mail Abe Santini at abe@wscorchestras.org.
NATURE CONSORTIUM BRUNCH: Then Sunday, mimosas are on the menu for the Nature Consortium‘s annual brunch. So are roasted-vegetable stratas, the acclaimed cuisine of Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes Catering (WSB sponsor). And you’ll be inspired by a performance from the NC’s Youth Art Program. It’s noon-1:30 pm Sunday at the The Hall at Fauntleroy. It’s free to register (NC contributions will be requested during the event). Just go here to get your name on the list.
(King County rendering of new South Park Bridge design)
Two months after they were requested, bids were opened this afternoon for the new South Park Bridge, and the county has announced that the “apparent low bidder” is Kiewit-Massman. The joint venture of Kiewit Infrastructure West Company (Kiewit, by the way, helped build the West Seattle Bridge) and Massman Construction Company bid just over $96 million dollars, less than the county’s estimate ($98 million-$108 million). In the official county news release, King County Executive Dow Constantine called it an “excellent bid”; it needs to be evaluated before it becomes the official winning bid. Construction is expected to start in May, about 11 months after the old South Park Bridge was permanently closed, and the new bridge is expected to open in mid-2013. On the eve of the bid opening, the county threw a “Thank You, South Park” party last night at the Machinists Union Hall in SP (celebrants posed for the group photo below, including Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott)
(Photo by Ned Ahrens, courtesy King County DOT)
From Devin, a car theft in Fauntleroy:
I wanted to report that our car was stolen on Sunday evening, sometime between 10:30 pm and 6 am Monday. It was parked on the street in front of our house on Vashon View SW [map]. We have filed a police report. The car is a 1996 Acura Integra. It’s dark red with a spoiler on the trunk.
WSBers have spotted stolen cars before, but since we don’t get reports directly from police (their special Twitter feed doesn’t identify the theft location), please keep sending in the info if car theft happens to you. By the way, this is the only category of major crime that rose in Seattle last year compared to 2009, according to 2010 crime stats released today by Seattle Police. We were at HQ for the announcement and are putting together a West Seattle-focused story you’ll see here later.
To the list of political leaders with West Seattle appearances ahead (including City Council President Richard Conlin tomorrow night and all 3 state legislators this Saturday, as previewed here), add one more: Congressmember Jim McDermott has just scheduled a “coffee hour” at West Seattle’s C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) for 10 am March 26th. His staff says it’s the first in a series of “constituent coffee hours” he’ll be holding around the city.
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