Quick reminder this afternoon: If you are not currently registered to vote in the state of Washington, you still have a few hours left to register if you want to vote in the August 17th primary. The King County Elections page explains where to go – you have to do it in person before they close at 4:30. Meantime, Election Day is one week from tomorrow. You have till that day – Tuesday, August 17 – to mail your ballot or drop it off at one of the two remaining dropboxes; more info here. (As of Friday night, the county says, about 10 percent of all voters had returned their ballots.)
ORIGINAL 12:13 PM REPORT:Ryan Cox, the 32-year-old man with multiple vandalism arrests in West Seattle in the past year and a half, is in jail again, and due in court today. We discovered this while checking the King County Jail Register for an unrelated case. Police confirm he was arrested for graffiti vandalism in the 7100 block of Fauntleroy SW (map) just after 10 am Saturday. He is scheduled for arraignment this afternoon in the Mental Health Court program of Seattle Municipal Court. What is most notable here is that after his last arrest in February, for a tire-slashing incident, he pleaded guilty and was given a suspended sentence of nearly a year in jail. John McGoodwin from the City Attorney’s Office later told the Morgan Community Association (covered in this WSB report) that if Cox got into trouble again anytime “soon,” that sentence could be reinstated. After his previous arrests, for multiple incidents of graffiti vandalism (often involving a profane slur linking homosexuality with pedophilia, and police say this case involved “homophobic” graffiti as well), Cox was twice found incompetent to stand trial, with charges dismissed as a result, and sent to Western State Hospital for evaluation both times, but not committed. (The above photo was released by police while Cox was being sought in the cases for which he was arrested last December; we’ll let you know what happens today in court.)
2:03 PM UPDATE: We’re at the downtown city courthouse, where Cox’s brief hearing has just concluded. Read on for details:Read More
For the second morning in a row, an Admiral District business has been hit by a smash-and-grab burglary. Early Sunday, as reported here, it was Luciano’s Pizza; around 2:40 am today, it was Admiral Shoe Repair (on the south side of Admiral just east of California), where the covered-over door was a telltale sign. Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James confirms that both are the type of break-in that has hit West Seattle now at least 10 times in less than a month (plus areas to the south handled by the King County Sheriff’s Office); he says detectives are out right now “looking at video” and checking on other evidence. (Thanks to Katie for the tip.)
The Blue Angels took off from Boeing Field minutes ago – gone till next Seafair. The takeoff was same format as the airshows – the 4 from the “diamond” first, the 2 solos following and splitting west/east right over the runway, and it’s one of those you see in our iPhone photo. The two-seater #7 followed, with support C-130 “Fat Albert” a few minutes afterward. Thanks to WSB’er Lori for the tip – she went to the Museum of Flight to find out their departure plans firsthand. She checked their schedule and it appears they’re headed back to home base in Pensacola, Florida. ADDED 11:29 AM: One last photo from their Seafair shows – David Rosen of SlickPix Photography took this one, which shows why the I-90 bridge is always closed for the Lake Washington shows:
Also today: West Seattle’s two city Neighborhood Services Officesare closed for a furlough day (Junction and Delridge), as are the others around the city; and tonight, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library (Delridge/Brandon).
(added 8:23 am) For Blue Angels fans – we have word from WSB’er Lori, who went to the Museum of Flight to find out if they’re leaving today, that they’re heading out this morning. Fat Albert, she says, is scheduled to go wheels-up at 9 am.
Chief Sealth International High School principal John Boyd is moving his school back to its renovated campus at 2600 SW Thistle after two years, and shares word of a sneak-preview event more than a week before the first day of school. It’s a fundraiser for the Friends of Sealth scholarship fund:
Friends of Sealth and Chief Sealth International High School cordially invite you to a:
Sneak Preview Party
September 1st, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Special Guest: Ross Parker, Bassetti Architects
Join us at 6:00 p.m. at the Chief Sealth Main Building entrance for the inside story on the renovation.
At 6:30 p.m. a private tour will be given of the newly renovated main building, gymnasium and the New Galleria. Be the first to tour the completed site!
RESERVATIONS ARE RESPECTFULLY REQUIRED: $50 donation per person.
Proceeds from the Chief Sealth Sneak Preview will benefit the Friends of Sealth Scholarship program.
For Reservations please contact Dick Lee at (206) 252-0476 or email at rjlee@seattleschools.org
Our first little seal pup nicknamed Primo has been hanging out on Alki off and on since last night. He spent the majority of today keeping Seal Sitters on our toes! He’s a gorgeous, but thin little pup. Please spread the word for people to be alert as they walk along the beach and to call us immediately if they come across a pup.
Here’s the number: 206-905-SEAL. Robin has Primo’s full story, with a photo, on the Seal Sitters’ “blubberblog” – go here.
First word of that came in June from local real-estate entrepreneur Mike Gain, who applied for the zoning change along with longtime business partner Roger Cayce. Then we followed up when the city’s memo was available. Since then, Admiral residents Dennis Ross and Stephen Levey have filed an appeal, under the name Admiral Community Council. (The group is separate from the Admiral Neighborhood Association, though ANA did send the city a letter in December 2007 [read it here] outlining why it did not support the rezoning proposal.) And residents near the proposed rezoning area have launched a new opposition group, organizing online via Facebook. Read on for more on what’s happening now, what happens next, and the key date for those with something to say about the proposal:Read More
Thanks to Aaron for the tip: A small power outage has affected several establishments on the east side of California, north of Admiral Way. He says it had something to do with a transformer problem behind Admiral Pub. Looks like that’s one of three businesses affected, along with Yen Wor and Brickyard; we just went in and checked – Admiral Pub is empty right now, Yen Wor is open, waiting for “an hour or two” to see what happens,” and Brickyard is open but, a Twitter tipster also says, serving drinks, not food, and “cash only.” They say they were told the power may not return before midnight; we’re checking with City Light. (The other side of the street is NOT affected.)
For the first time in months, there’s a West Seattle project up for Southwest Design Review Board consideration – as first reported here one month ago, it’s a mixed-use project at 7100 Delridge Way (map), north of the Shell station that’s kitty-corner from Home Depot and Arco. And today, you can get a very preliminary peek at the shape it might take: “Early design” renderings are now available online in the packet that’s posted on the city website in advance of the 6:30 pm Thursday DRB meeting (West Seattle Senior Center, California/Oregon). Keep in mind, the renderings do NOT include exterior finishes – they’re more for “massing” (size/shape) than anything else. As is required for Early Design, architect Warren Pollock proposes 3 alternatives, labeling #1 as the “preferred alternative”:
The Delridge Neighborhood Plan designates the site vicinity as the “South Node” and it anticipates the development of a walkable pedestrian-scale neighborhood center. The “South Node” is a transportation cross road. There is an important transit stop on Delridge Way SW at the Northwest corner of our site at the foot of the city stairway in the SW Myrtle R /.W. … Concept A locates the building at the sidewalk edge to engage with pedestrian activity moving to and from the transit stop. Commercial space is located at sidewalk level and is transparent to allow views into the space and pedestrian exposure for the business that operates there.
The massing of the building will create the “street wall” that is necessary to achieve a sense of defined space for the neighborhood center. Future development on both sides of the street is necessary to full realize this “goal” of the neighborhood plan, but this project is a start in that direction.
The north end of our street wall will be a green landscape wall that will function as a backdrop for seating for people waiting for transit. Leaning against a glass storefront is not a comfortable way to wait for the bus. Project parking is internal on level 1 behind the commercial space and it steps up to level 2 to respond to the existing topography. …
The several stories of apartments are configured to create an internal courtyard that will be an activity space for the residents. A large opening in the west façade connects the court yard to the street and to the emerging neighborhood center. … 3 rental houses will be build on the hillside to the east of the apartments on the edge of the Urban Forest. … The parking for the houses is in the apartment garage. Elevators will provide access to the pedestrian bridge that crosses over the courtyard to the house. The bridge also provides a connection to the Urban Forest and to the stairway in the SW Myrtle St R / W. …
Less than a week after police confirmed to WSB that they are investigating the recent spate of broken-glass business break-ins as an official “burglary pattern,” there’s been another one. Luciano’s Pizza next to Admiral Theater confirms someone broke their window – it’s hard to tell from the photo because new glass is already in – and took their tip jar. (Thanks to the folks at nearby Mission for the tip; they say police were going around checking with other businesses.)
“The Delridge Way” – pitching in to get something done, rather than waiting for it to be done for you – needs to be “the Seattle way,” Mayor Mike McGinn declared during his North Delridge walking tour, especially in this time of crunched civic budgets.
Our video above includes the perfect example. Steps away from where the mayor’s Saturday morning walking tour began at Delridge/Brandon, he was introduced to the North Delridge neighbors who have spent their Saturday mornings all summer long cleaning up a much-used but long-trashed alley.
That’s Patrick Baer in the video, explaining the project to the mayor (who you see using his smartphone to tweet this photo), while his fellow volunteers – not on behalf of any group, organization, or government agency, totally ad hoc – continue weeding and cleaning.
It was just part of what McGinn saw during a tour arranged by Neighborhood Services Coordinator Ron Angeles to help the mayor learn more about this part of West Seattle – and in the end, he spent two hours, starting with a sitdown chat at Pearls coffee/tea shop, which included not only the mayor but also Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao, and also led to this photo op:
From left with the mayor, that’s Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie, and too-many-involvements-to-list area advocate/leader Pete Spalding (who provided that photo; all others in this story were taken by us). Spalding told WSB that the sitdown included talk of the goals that Strategic Delridge (explained here) has been focusing on – and then, it was off to see the area in person – come along for more photos (think you’ve seen everything in Delridge? and the mayor’s comments on how all this may figure into the city’s big picture:Read More
The day’s off to a drizzly start, just like Saturday (sun later?), but there’s plenty to do. INDOORS:There’s a 3 pm matinee performance of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (right) by Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) at West Seattle High School Theater. Tickets are available online at Brown Paper Tickets, in person at Square One Books (WSB sponsor) or at the door … Tonight Alki Arts, the new gallery next to Cactus (2820 Alki SW), celebrates its “one-month anniversary” with a 6-9 pm wine/dessert reception … Sundays are always all-ages night at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), with three live bands scheduled tonight (listed on the Skylark calendar), starting at 7 … OUTDOORS: Volunteer beach naturalists from the Seattle Aquarium (WSB sponsor) program will be out 9 am-noon at Lincoln and Constellation Parks for one last low-enough-to-see-something tide (-2.0 just after 10 am) … West Seattle Farmers’ Market is 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska; here’s the fresh sheet (from Gravensteins to garlic!) … Highland Park Sunday Market is happening at the HP Improvement Club parking lot again today too, 12th/Holden, 11 am-3 pm (see what’s in store) … And it’s the second day for the Festival of India on Alki, noon-7 pm (presented by Vedic Cultural Center – info here).
Darren in High Point caught a Blue Angels jet on video over his home in the 34th/Findlay area on Saturday, and tipped us via Twitter. For a while in the murky midday, many of us Blue Angels-watchers wondered if they would be able to go up at all, even for the so-called “low show,” but at 1:31 pm, off they went for 40 minutes of flight. This time, we watched from the lot just north of the Boeing Field tower, after two days in the lot to its south; this quick clip shows part of the crowd and also the folks who had the real front-row seat, on the balcony outside (and atop!) the tower itself:
That lot and the one south of the tower are both reachable from turnoffs along East Marginal Way; if you don’t want to watch through chain link and barbed wire, bring a ladder or prepare to sit atop your vehicle! But neither compares to watching from the Museum of Flight itself, where you can snag a spot along the southern fence to watch the pageantry from the maintenance crews prepping the F/A-18s to the pilots’ “walkdown” (check the WSB video by Cliff DesPeaux from Friday for a taste of what it’s like.) As for the performance over Lake Washington – David DeSiga shared this Saturday photo:
If you watch from the lake shore in the official Seafair zone – where you also can see the hydro races and other airshow acts – you’ll need tickets (info online). And one last traffic reminder, the I-90 bridge will again be closed approximately 12:45 pm-2:40 pm, and that invariably slows things up on feeder freeways, particularly northbound I-5 (and in turn, the West Seattle Bridge’s east end getting to I-5). On the downtown waterfront, this is the final day for fleet tours, which are free – the Seafair website has details on those. P.S. One last note – a source who wanted to be anonymous said, “Watch for a BIG airshow surprise between 2-3 pm Sunday.” That would be AFTER the Blue Angels. We’ll see! (8:33 AM:Looks like it’s the 787 … or maybe not a surprise? Seafair’s FB page lists airshow order as “Today’s Boeing Air Show Schedule: 10:00 Opening Ceremony – Sean Tucker, 10:10 USCG H65 SAR, 10:20 Sean Tucker – Challenger, 11:20 HFF – F7 and F8, 11:35 USAF C-17, 11:50 Boeing 787, 12:40 John Klatt, 1:00 USN – F/A 18F, 1:15 Clay Lacy – Lear 24, 1:25 Fat Albert – C130, 1:35 U.S. Navy Blue Angels, 4:15 E/A 18 Fly-Over, …4:20 Sean Tucker – Challenger, 4:35 Tim Weber — Extra 300, 4:50 John Klatt – Staudacher!“)
(Photos courtesy West Seattle Amateur Radio Club)
If you were out on Alki on Saturday and passed the Oldsmobile seen on the left in the photo above, you might have noticed it was no ordinary car: It served as an antenna for the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club, whose members set up a tent at Alki Beach Park, conducting a special operation in honor of the nearby Alki Lighthouse:
(By the tent, that’s Chris [KE7JBF], who we’re told brought the pink box o’ treats from Cupcake Royale [WSB sponsor].) The event’s goal: To “activate” the lighthouse via radio transmissions with the code USA005, in honor of International Lighthouse and Lightship Week (which concluded on Saturday). Club member Steve (K6US) sent the code before the Saturday rain really got going:
They weren’t able to operate from the lighthouse itself, according to club vice president Curt Black (WR5J), because, as an official U.S. Coast Guard installation, “it’s pretty busy during Seafair.” So they’re hoping to set up on its grounds in two weeks, on August 21st. (You can find out more about the club at westseattlearc.com.)
If you’re on Puget Ridge and wondering what all the police action is about, officers are responding to a report of a flipped car in the 5600 block of 21st SW (map), empty after two females were reportedly seen running from the scene.
Here’s our original story from January; then in March, they held a fundraiser at Talarico’s to help them get to their $5,000 goal, the amount required to participate in the climb. Tonight, we can report that not only did they reach their financial goal, but David summitted Mount Rainier on July 24th during Climb for the Cure.
“It was a great feeling … a big relief,” says David.
“C” shared this story, saying it happened about 5:30 pm Friday:
I witnessed a hit and run accident at the corner of California and Myrtle. A red sedan rear-ended a SUV. He then proceeded to back away from the SUV and take off down California! (For the record, there did not appear to be any serious injuries). I pulled over, as did a few other awesome West Seattle-ites, and called 911. As I was describing the event to the 911 operator I realized that the license plate of the sedan had pulled off the car when the criminal pulled away from the SUV! The perpetrator’s plate was lying in the middle of the road! My neighbors and I gave our story to the SPD officers that arrived and hopefully they will be able to catch the guy!
We’ll do our best to find out if they actually did.
By Christian Reyes
University of Washington News Lab
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Amid summer plans and college applications, Chief Sealth International High School student Molly Freed took a break from her regular life to attend a special conference with her social-studies teacher more than a thousand miles away.
Freed and her teacher, Noah Zeichner, were named Bezos Scholars in mid-April, an honor that only 12 students and 12 educators received across the country. All scholars attended the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in July.
“I was incredibly excited,” Freed said when describing her reaction when she first heard the news. “I had connected my happiness in general to whether or not I got into the program, so I was relieved that my summer was (going to be) as life-changing as I thought.”
Here’s the official word: West Seattle Outdoor Movies‘ plan to show “Star Trek” tonight is canceled because of rain – there’s no indoor backup. Even if it stopped raining by dusk, it would still be soggy after the all-day rain. “Star Trek” will be rescheduled for Saturday night, August 28th, stretching out the WSOM season beyond the previously scheduled 8/21 end date.
Volunteers, mostly Rotary Club of West Seattle members, converged on Rotary Viewpoint Park (35th/Alaska) in the rain this morning to spruce things up before Tuesday night’s rededication event. Most notable, check out the pole’s new “surroundings” – the flowers that were growing around its base have been removed, replaced by rocks so the pole can be fully seen. Other planting beds in the small park received more-conventional touchups:
Tuesday night’s event is at 5 pm, followed by a no-host celebration in the Golf Course clubhouse down the hill. The pole was reinstalled a week and a half ago.
Update: If the weather doesn’t lift, tonight’s showing of “Star Trek” for West Seattle Outdoor Movies in The Junction is at risk – Lora Lewis from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), your emcee and host for the movies, tells us the “on or off” call will be made at 4:30 pm. If it IS rained out, Lora says it’ll be rescheduled for August 28th (currently, August 21st is the last scheduled movie). We’ll have the latest here at 4:30, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
We’re just back from Mayor McGinn‘s walking tour of North Delridge, and the photo above is from one of the stops – a work party along Longfellow Creek, with volunteers including Rat City Rollergirls. Other stops included the North Delridge P-Patch – where the mayor talked about budget realities – as well as the Delridge Fresh Food Spot produce stand by Super 24, and the alley behind the starting point (Delridge Library), site of a now-weekly cleanup by nearby residents who got to tell the mayor all about it. He actually spent about 2 hours in the area, with the tour preceded by a half-hour meeting with a small group of local leaders at Pearls coffee shop – as for the tour attendance, it peaked around 20 people (including neighborhood leaders, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao and Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association executive director Derek Birnie and several DNDA board members, Camp Long’s Sheila Brown, local uber-advocate/activist/leader Pete Spalding, and Delridge District Council chair Mat McBride, but not counting your co-publishers, the only newspeople on hand). Many more photos and the full story later.
What is most notable here is that after his last arrest in February, for a tire-slashing incident, he 
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